Rhiannon swears, grabs her gun and aims it at the fleeing Luqmani, firing it.

John hurries over to Lugmani's car, angrily shouting,

"Let's get the bastard! Rhiannon, you drive, my shoulder is hurt! Janos, the motorcycle?"

Locky's intense thinking is suddenly halted when he pipes up to the Pilot.

"There," he points, a little off the direction of the Nile. "I think that's the direction we should be heading into. I'm not sure exactly, so it might be best to fly low. Hopefully we'll be able to see 'em..."

Luqmani's initial burst of speed doesn't last him long, since the wound in his side soon begins to slow him down. Even so, he is still moving with surprising determination and speed when Rhiannon and Janos open fire on him.

The first bullets miss as Luqmani bobs and weaves - a combination of natural agility and astonishing luck keeping him out of harm's way. Even so, he isn't able to keep it up for long - with the second round, a bullet clips his thigh. He manages to stay on his feet and staggers another couple of steps, weaving off the road and dropping again. For a moment, it looks as if he is falling ...

But then, he rises, throwing a grin over his shoulder as he draws up the forgotten motorcycle from the side of the road. His luck continues to shield him from gunfire as he quickly swings a leg over the bike and tests the engine. He treats any pursuers closing the distance to another quick (if pained) smile before the motorcycle bursts to life - carrying him back towards the city.

Despite the dark, all three of our heroes are perceptive enough to spot something lying on the ground as Luqmani speeds away - possibly something he dropped or maybe just a part that fell off of the somewhat damaged bike. John reaches Luqmani's car to find the driver slumped in front of the wheel. Now barely conscious, the man is an obstacle for anyone wanting to drive this vehicle.

Whatever the three decide to do, their actions are almost immediately preempted as the fading whine of the motorcycle is overwhelmed by a louder hum from somewhere not far off. The trio spots a plane in the distance sticking low to the ground and heading straight toward the two cars. It rushes down upon them, its twin props sending it roaring over their heads. At first, the three take cover, not sure if the plane carries friends or enemies, but their tension is soon dispelled as the radio crackles with a greeting from the rest of the team.

Above, the pilot brings the plane up, banks, and pulls around to use the road as a makeshift runway - grumbling all the way about how much of this mission has been imposing on the limits of his contract.

Rhiannon curses and bangs the car seat before leaping out of the car and heading very carefully to where the motorcycle was, looking for the object he dropped.

Janos stops firing, stands up, and pulls his sword out of the sand.

"Wait, Ms. Lewis, I will get it. Please attend to Frederick and let's hope the plane we are hearing is friendly."
"After all, Mr. King would forgive me for coming back without the engine, but not for coming back without you."

Throughout his speach, the Count's voice is calm, cool, and dispassionate.

He will then start walking down the road toward the item Luqmani dropped. He will holster his firearm, but keep the sword out.

"Damn it, we've lost him!"

John gets out of the car via the passenger door, leaning against the car, almost sulkily, fingering the hole in his jacket (and his shoulder) created by Lugmani's gunshot.

Locky's the first to jump out of the plane, running towards the ground group.

"Hey guys! Good to see you managed to stop that guy!"

As Janos carefully approaches the object on the ground, he begins to hear a quiet ticking sound emanating from the device. His first thought is that it must be a bomb (left by Luqmani as a last bit of spite), but he notices that the device is virtually featureless with no apparent means of triggering a timer.

When picked up, the device is seen to be a simple steel box - about the size of a cigar box. The only feature on its surface is a grill formed by small holes punched into one face. The soft ticking emanates from this grill. Turning toward the Chrysler, the ticking increases in speed. Approaching the Chrysler, the frequency of the ticking increases rapidly - ultimately blending into a rapid whirring sound. It appears to be reacting to the engine from the Consulate. Odd ...

The pilot brings the engines down to an idle, but leaves the plane humming - ready for take off. He gets up and heads out the door after Locky, pausing to tell Jameson and Blaine: "Three point landing on packed sand and gravel - after being shot at. I damn well better be getting a bonus after this."

Getting to the cars, he approaches Rhiannon and attempts a salute, saying, "Ma'am. David Goodin - pilot for K.I.S. I have orders to fly you all safely to Alexandria, then New York. Mr. King informed me that I am to defer to your authority if anything comes up."

Jameson clasps the pilot's hand, "Well done my friend , do not worry I'm sure you'll be well compensated."

He then disembarks the plane and joins the rest of the group. "Looks like you guys managed to stave off the competition ... say what have you got there Janos?"

Jameson walks over to his friend and examines the object over Janos' shoulder. "Seems to be reacting to its proximity to the engine. Where'd you find this thing anyway?"

Jameson looks at it, puzzled, for a few seconds more before turning to Blaine and Locky, "You gents want to give me a hand? We should get the engine loaded into the plane so we can get moving."

Jameson walks over to the car and opens the trunk staring down at the engine waiting for somebody to offer a hand.

"I believe you are correct, Mr. Bradford."
Janos give the big man a smile.
"Sorry about all this. Had I known you would be arriving so soon, I would have tried to save you someone. Did you have a rough ride to the airport?"

Janos is winding down now and seems more at ease and relaxed.

Then,
"Luqmani got away. He has the devil's own luck, that one. By the way, could you help me with someone."

Janos goes over to Luqmani's car and checks the men he fought. He will motion to the two still living men,
"Could you help me get these two on board. We can leave them with someone in authority in Alexandria. We can leave a note pinned to their chests. That one," Janos points to the driver, "helped me a bit, though under duress."

Once they have taken care of those two, and have the engine on the plane, Janos goes back and checks on the motorcycle driver as well. Just in case he is still alive.

Blaine disembarks the plane, and when he sees that there are no enemoes about he holsters his gun.

"Yeah Bradford, I hear ya'. Let's get the Fratzit on board. How're the rest of you doin'? All in one piece more or less?" he says as he approaches the crated engine and nods to his assistant as they get ready to lift it.

Rhiannon rubs a bruise on her forehead and nods to the pilot. "Thanks, Dave," she says quietly, with an air of familiarity. "Let's clean up and get the hell out of here. I want to reach civilisation quickly."

Jameson wipes a bit of sweat off his forehead, "Damn that thing is heavy!" he says after he and Blaine load it into the plane. "So Janos what do you think we oughta do with the noisemaker?"

"Keep it with us and see if one of Mr. King's technicians can put a name to the creator."

Jameson looks at Janos with a skeptical expression, then around at the others, "Aren't you a bit worried that the ticking seems to speed up as it gets closer to the engine? What if it was some sort of fail-safe that Luqmani had?"

Jameson looks around at the others, "I'm not scared, mind you, but I dunno if it worth the risk. Maybe it'd be better if I took one of these cars and drove the box to Alexandria separate like?"

"At any rate lemme check it out, I have some training in the sciences," he looks up, "Don't be suprised, I've taken not only physics and chemistry but a few engineering classes as well ..."

"I'm a renaissance man!" he finishes with a smile, as he gently takes the object from Janos.

"As much as the Luckmani guy isn't much of an issue now, just personally? I'd much prefer to get home. The brits are going to notice their engine missing reasonably soon. Maybe we should just keep the ticker on the opposite side of the plane?"

Nodding agreement with Rhiannon, Goodin goes to help Janos move the captured men to the plane. Luqmani's driver is clearly bleeding to death, and he loses consciousness while being moved. Goodin remains in the plane, working with a first aid kit to stabilize the driver while Jameson and Blaine manhandle the device into the plane - a difficult task to manage with only a ladder to reach the door.

Janos finds Youssef, the motorcyclist, laying unconscious in the middle of the road. He appears to have taken a head wound; the left side of his face is smeared with blood. Lifting the fallen man, Janos takes him to the plane as well. There, he finds John - stripped of jacket and shirt - getting patched up under Goodin's none-to-gentle hand. Once Gooding stops John's bleeding, he turns his attention to cleaning up Youssef. Catching Janos before he steps outside, Goodin probes: "Looks like you got tagged up too. Need something for that?"

Back outside, Janos and Jameson eyeball the ticker while the others finish moving baggage to the airplane. The reasonable guess is that the device detects something in (or released by) the machine. It could be a trap set to go off near the machine, but that seems unlikely - Luqmani's employer presumably wanted the machine intact. Luqmani was probably just given the device in order to keep track of the machine. Regardless, the device's means of functioning is impossible to discern.

At this point, everything except a few of the passengers has been moved to the plane. Goodin leans out the door, wiping blood from his hands with a shred of someone's shirt, and shouts, "Time to go gents - everything's loaded, and I don't like to leave this crate sitting idling for too long."

Janos sits back and let's Goodin attend his wounds. When he finishes, the Count gives him a quiet,
"Thank you."

"Let's get out of here, then."

"If the device isn't a bomb, let's take it back. If you aren't sure, then leave it."

Janos seems to be winding down from the mission.

Blaine settles in near the captured men.

"I'll watch these mooks." he says as he takes his gun out and keeps it hand, giving the men a very meaningful look.

"You probably can't understand what I'm saying, but you get me don't you?" he says to them. "We ain't gonna have any trouble are we?".

Rhiannon climbs aboard, slumping in her seat. "Dear God," she murmurs. "I hope we have a little rest before the next mission."

John turns to Rhiannon, grimacing in pain after Goodin's work, and cradling his jacket with his good arm.

"I concur, Ms. Lewis."

He nods pleasantly, then turns away muttering to himself.

"Now I'll have to patch the jacket again..."

Locky sets down into his seat. As he sits down, he feels the extra smoke pellets that John had given him. Locky thinks, smiles, then sits down again. Who knows? They may just come in handy, thinks Locky, as he settles in for the flight...

Jameson turns the "detector" over and over in his hands, staring at it absentmindedly while the others board the plane. To hell with it, I doubt that he'd bring a booby trap device along in case he failed , he thinks to himself.

Jameson takes a moment to survey the scene once more, looking for any dropped or forgotten items.

Satisfied that there's nothing to be left behind Jameson walks slowly up the steps and boards the plane. He stuffs the box into his Jacket pocket and closes the boarding door tightly.

Jameson bangs on the planes outer shell, "Good to go pilot," he say before finding a seat. He looks around the cabin at his companions, his new friends, and lets his body relax.

He reaches into his jacket, now rumpled and dirty, he'll catch hell at the tailor/cleaner for its condition. He pulls the nearly forgotten flask of bourbon from his vest and takes a swig, then seeing Fred's conditions holds the bottle toward him, "Hey doc, I think you need this more than I do, you want?"

Jameson sits back into the seat as the plane takes off and begins to wonder what he missed, Luqmani gave up the prize far too easily for his taste. As the planes lifts off and banks toward Alexandria the hum of the engines becomes joined by a gentle snore as Jameson drifts into sleep.

The plane rises under Goodin's sure hand, leaving behind both the ground and the chaos of conflict. Luqmani's involvement is worrying, but he is out of the picture for now - no matter how fast he moves, he does not have wings. Calm and satisfaction may now fall over our heroes, and perhaps more than one of them finds himself or herself lulled into slumber by the drone of the engine.

Soon, however, they are interrupted as the plane begins its descent on the outskirts of Alexandria. The air strip has been commandeered K.I.S. personnel, ready to effect a quick transfer to the waiting transport. The captured men are taken off the field and disposed of according to the team's request as handlers move the machine with the team's baggage and as a doctor takes a more expert look at the team's wounds.

The next leg of the trip will be on a different plane, this one truly an impressive example of K.I.S.'s resources. The massive aircraft is large enough for eight passengers, with almost twice as much space in its open belly - accessible through a lowered cargo ramp built into the rear of the plane. The machine and the baggage are carted up into the plane, and Goodin soon herds the team after.

The ramp rises, closing behind them as they climb up into the well-appointed passenger seating. Goodin's co-pilot is waiting in the cockpit, with the engines already warm. Goodin drops into his seat with obvious pleasure, and begins to taxi, even as the team is still settling down. With his hand at the controls, the K.I.S. lifts off, wheels about, and is on its way home.


It is many hours before our heroes touch land again, but the time passes quickly as they sleep off the stress of the night and begin to recuperate from their experiences. It is noon in New York when the transport reaches the city, and not long after when the plane finally touches down at a K.I.S.-owned air strip outside the city limits. There, the team is met by a small contingent of K.I.S. employees - including Leslie Cornish, King's legal advisor and personnel manager.

Approaching at the head of a cluster of engineers and security men, Leslie greets the team cheerfully, saying, "Excellent work, people - really excellent work. Everyone back here is terribly impressed by your performance yesterday - and on the first time out too! Let me be the first to congratulate you on a job well done."

Unfortunately, his good humor is less than infectious. The team is jet-lagged, tired, and stir-crazy from almost twenty hours in the air. Further, their bruises, cuts, and deeper wounds have matured enough to produce a steady, throbbing ache throughout their bodies. All this considered, they are left a little cold by Leslie's somewhat overdone cheer.

Somewhat put out by the lackluster nature of their response, Leslie adds, "Well, these gentlemen will be taking care of the 'package.' While Mr. King cannot be here now, he wants to see you tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, Mr. King encourages you to relax - accommodations have been arranged, if you need them. Miss Lewis? Mr. King needs you at his office - a car is waiting outside the fence."

The group remains at the air field for a time, watching the unloading of the device they worked and fought so hard to obtain. While it is hard to say if it will be worth the trouble, they at last feel a growing satisfaction as - over all the aches and pains - they recognize a hard job well done.

Rhiannon must leave before long, and the group takes their farewells before her departure. As she is driven to K.I.S. Plaza, Janos makes a gesture of magnamity and cameraderie - offering the remainder of the group lodging at the Waldorf-Astoria for the duration of their stay in the Big Apple. His suggestion is greeted warmly, and the men soon depart as well - luggage being sent after them once the plane is fully unloaded.

Regardless of the challenges and hurts of their time in Cairo, it can only be said that our heroes came away with an unqualified success - and that this story is now at an ...