Adventures of the Exodus

[ElRey]

There was no time to waste, Felix knew that all too well, as he pin-balled himself through the crowd not even throwing a backward glance to check if he had lost Luned in mass of people. He had a rotten feeling in his gut that it might be better if only the more capable of their group reach the scene first. Lacroix wasn't one to miss details, and the boisterous towering redhead from base camp was a detail one would have to be half-blind to forget. Having little idea that she was quite literally already on top of them Felix silently hoped the column of undulating smoke worked well enough as a suitable landmark for everyone to figure out what direction to head while he continued to barrel head long through the surrounding civilian activity.

It struck him as strange, that there was so little of a military reaction, typically one needed some significant monetary funding to keep things so tight. Lacroix knew this all too well too, he had been forced to bribe his way out of trouble here in Egypt and abroad one too many times. In this particular case there had been a handful of military jeeps which had effectively lapped the lot of them, meaning whoever was waiting for them had an in with the authorities. It did not bode well for their little treasure hunting mission, and try as he might to force it from his head, Felix could not shake that sour sensation in his bones.

So wrapped up in his thoughts, the instant break in the crowd, the echo of the gunshot which seemed to reverberate off of every wall, barely registered with Lacroix. He found himself, quite suddenly, fighting against the grain, the crowds which had previously flowed freely about the market now much more concerned with fleeing the scene. Felix's deep green eyes fell first to the crumpled form of the body which lay not far from two men who were unmistakably German. Lacroix's demeanor shifted, his vision going red as proper forms of judgement were condemned in favor of more brutal tactics. He took another step forward...

The sudden pull on his sleeve broke all his concentration on the pair which guarded the hole at the Sphinx's base. He barred his teeth, fist-raised, half expecting another swastika wearing soldier to be the one with a hold of his cotton shirt. As recognition of the diminutive doctor dawned on him, his features took on a look of befuddlement, almost as if unsure what she was even doing there.

"Two." he spat, unable to shake the disdain from his voice, Felix paused as if to consider his words more carefully. "That I can see."

With mention of her plan, Lacroix became acutely aware of the arrival of the rest of their small bazaar party, with the distinct exception of Gibbs. This did little to quell the bitter taste in his tight-lipped mouth, 'we have a spy in our midst' the words seemed to laugh at him mockingly.

A spy indeed, Jackie Boy.

Burton's hardy guffaw drew his attention back to the plan at hand. The portly captain made a fair point, any subterfuge would need to be well thought out, and that required time. A luxury he had his doubts they could actually afford.

"If we're going to waste time plotting it would do well to get out of their line of sight." Felix commanded harshly, the nauseating memories of his childhood influencing his tone more than he would have liked to admit. Outspreading his wingspan, he ushered the group around the nearest corner, just out of sight the Nazi's; completely ignoring any word of protest from his companions.

[The Veteran Geek]

She was pulled along by Alice for a short few steps, unsure of what to do. Luckily her friends released Odette's hand from her grasp. This allowed the young woman to rushed to her tent quickly and grab a few things she would need for some simple excavations of the Sphinx. If there was a Sphinx. The pit of her stomach boiled and something like anger, sadness, and fear mixed there. What if the sphinx was got? What if everything underneath was gone? The thought of loosing history again sent chills through her.

Approximately ten seconds later she was running after leggy Miss Catherine, who headed up their tiny team, and Alice who appeared to be having trouble running in her long skirts. Odette was rather out of shape, she had not done so much running around in a long time. Her legs burned and her lungs tried desperately for air. Catherine shouted for her to be quicker. Odette couldn't help but glare in a momentary lapse of civility. She had been born short, her legs could never dream to travel the length at which Catherine's did.

None the less she ran on like a trooper and when the reached the rest of the group, Odette leaned heavily against nearby a wall. She clutched her bag to her chest as she struggled for oxygen intake. She watched the commotion and only slightly heard what was said. She became alert when Luned announced that she might have a plan. She righted herself and fixed her clothing. Her hair was a wild mess. Somewhere along the way the ribbon which held it back had been tugged out by the wind, leaving it to hang loose once again. Sweat clung in droplets to her face.

There seemed to be a lot going on. She would never be an option for flirtation. She was much too awkward and just a little too Muslim looking to ever work on a German. But then, who really knew. There was no way she would ever offer herself up.

She glanced at Felix. He was right, of course. Though they were mostly blocked by the rioting crowd and the noise was absolutely deafening. Someone could still over hear them if they should wish.

Odette found herself thinking at plans. She found she was absolutely terrible at it. She held too much store in history and so came up with ideas, such as the Trojan horse. Trojan horse.... What if they could come up with something along the lines of a similar idea. Her mind worked furiously to put more relevancy on the old tale.

[Gunther]

Liam lead the small group from the alley, through the bazaar, in the direction of the Cairo road and the Sphinx. Liam tried to keep his speed at a rate to allow the women and the older gentleman to keep up with him. When he heard the gunshot, Liam picked up the pace but ran into the throngs of Egyptians fleeing the sound of the gun. Keeping close to the walls of the buildings, he was able to keep up his pace and ease by the onrushing, panic-stricken mob.

Along the way, they picked up the man known as Lacroix. Then they came to the building at the edge of the city, where the woman, members of the party identified as Catherine stood on top of, clutching a rifle.

Mr. Lacroix suggested the group move out of line of sight and line of fire of the German guards at the Sphinx. This was sound advice. Liam looked at Mr. Lacroix, removed his 45 caliber pistol from the back of his trousers and yelled, "Good idea! I'm going to go up top and speak to the woman with the rifle. Keep everyone out of harm's way and wait for me to come back down here."

Liam made his way up a few flights of stairs to get to the top of the building. "Catherine!?" Liam asked. "Get down behind that wall!" The building had a small three foot wall made of concrete about a foot and a half thick around the edge of the roof's surface. "Please allow me to use your binoculars." The woman reluctantly handed the optics to Liam Donnelly.

He placed the lenses to his eyes and scanned the area where the hole in the sphinx was located. He could easily make out the two German soldiers. They're sand colored uniforms were recognizable, even at this distance. Which Liam estimated at about two hundred yards.

Liam handed the binoculars back to the woman known as Catherine.

"Thanks, you know how to use that thing?"

"Sure, I've been hunting with it all my life."

"Keep an eye on those two down there. If they appear to try to shoot any of the people moving with me, Take them out. Got it?" Liam instructed the large woman with the rifle. She responded in the affirmative. "We'll be moving up along your left to find a concealed avenue of approach so that we can get close to them." Then Liam ran back down the stairs to rejoin the group.

Clutching the pistol, he yelled at the group to follow him. "We need to be able to approach the Sphinx from a direction that they may not be able to see us coming from." He then turned to the left (from Catherine's Point of View) and began running, keeping a row of buildings between him and the Sphinx.

As he passed each open space between the buildings he looked to see that the German's line of sight was slowly becoming obstructed by a portion of the Sphinx. When he could no longer see the two German guards, he led the group between two buildings and dashed across the sand stopping only when he and the rest who followed him were able to touch the wall formed by the Sphinx. From this point, they need only walk less than fifty yards and turn a corner to see where the German guards were.

[Luned]

Two. Okay, they could handle that. Lacroix's suggestion to get out of sight was a good one, but when Liam yelled she cringed; if they were close enough to the guards to recognize the model of their weapons, they were definitely within earshot. Even amid the mayhem, an English-speaking voice purposely raised above the clutter of Arabic would stand out.

Luned allowed herself to be ushered with the others behind a nearby building and looked to Burton, who'd guffawed at the introduction of her plan. She explained lowly as possible, her voice small in the chaos of the street. "Molly would be mute from fright. I'd do the talking. She'd just have to…" Luned gave the cook a sidelong glance, then back to the rest of the group. Good, almost everyone was there. "Distract. We wouldn't go in yet –– we'd be getting the guards quietly out of the way, since an open skirmish might get unwanted attention." The locals were obviously already feeling protective about their national treasure.

Luned waited a moment for everyone's reactions. If enough of the crew was game to make it operable, and if Molly wasn't completely appalled, she'd know to step into action. Except right then Liam shouted again to follow him, and the rest of the crew would have to decide which direction they'd go in: Luned's, Gunther's, or their own.

She wouldn't make a fuss if the others followed their guide, but if they did, she'd linger behind and find slightly higher ground to check on the situation. If anything went wrong for them, she'd be a diversion-in-reserve.

[Melodym]

Alice:

Before she knew it she was being tousled around and then pushed into the crouching position behind some rubble the locals must call a building.

"Why of all the nerve." She was about to get up when she spotted what everyone was making such a commotion about. Nazi's. She had known they were going to be coming, but not this soon! She had planned this trip at least a week in advance before their informants could get their grubby little hands on it. They had to have someone working on the inside, maybe not on this crew, but somewhere.

"I agree with Luned. A woman's wiles is always a welcomed distraction to a solider, and Molly's golden curls should do the trick out in the desert like this. Maybe they'll think she's an oasis. Oh the forbidden love..." Alice sighed dreamily. "Though, if we're going in there right away, we're a bit... lacking. All our equipment is at the campsite. Has everyone thought this through? At the very least we'll need food and water and some first aid provisions. This doesn't seem very-"

She was cut off by Jack hissing for her to shut up.

Apparently one of the guards had heard something suspicious, whether it be Liam's shout, Alice's rambling, or all the other talking that was going on, it was unsure, but he whispered something to the other guard, pulled a smaller gun out of his waistband and then started to approach.

This could work in their favor if they could figure out how.


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Jack was also aware that this meant some intel had been leaked, and despite the glances he caught from pretty boy LaCrotch, Jack hadn't been the one to do so. He wasn't an honorable man, or even good at the best of times, but he did have some standards. He didn't work with Nazi's because if they were to win this war, it would mean death for someone he actually cared about back home, and that was his only weakness. Even men like Jack have family.

He started to set up his rifle, prepared to pick off the second guard from a distance if it came to that, but he would give the rest of the crew time to come up with a better plan, but not too much time. He had a job to do after all.



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Alice was thinking. She knew a lot that this crew didn't, and that could turn this situation from bad to worse.

"Luned, on second thought, that plan might not go very well." She bit down on her bottom lip while trying to keep quiet as the solider got closer. "They know we're here. They're expecting us. Any foreigner will most likely be shot on sight, unless of course they need them for information. As far as I know, they do not have the location of the other shards yet... but we do."

Alice had no idea where she was going with this, but if it could help anyone else devise a plan, she was more than willing to jump on board.

[Faeryx]

Catherine at the sight of the two men standing next to the whole had clambered back up the side of the building she had jumped off. She set down her rifle next to her and knelt, hoisting her binoculars slowly to her eyes and scanning the horizon. She noted the fact that the Jeeps had turned around and the MPs manning them looked rather pleased with themselves. "Rotten little bastards, can't do a damned thing, I bet the magistrate would love to hear about this," she mumbled under her breath. She gripped the edges of the binoculars quite a bit harder than she needed too until her knuckles turned white, she had never much liked the law enforcement officers here in Giza, and this didn't help. With a bit of a start she realized what type of gun the men had on their shoulders, Kar 98s. "I'll be damned," she said slowly, standing and picking up her rifle. She aimed carefully down the sights and about the time she was going to fire, the Nazis did, her instinct was to hit the ground flat on her belly. When she stood back up the streets below were absolute pandemonium. There was no way she could get a shot off now.

While the crowd was surging backwards she stood, rifle in hand, searching the streets below for Alice and the other girl from camp. She spotted a few people who had only been in camp briefly holding there ground in the rush of bodies. As they mob began to clear away from them, one of them realized they were in pretty evident danger of being shot just standing around. Smart man, she thought. Then he started giving orders and ran up the side of the building as well. She smirked at the thought of a man taking charge, she had been doing that most of the day, she wasn't whether to be relieved that she was not the only level headed person in the group or if she should worry about somebody trying to boss her around. Of course there wasn't exactly a whole lot of time for thinking, when he got to the roof he immediately told her to get behind the small wall to her right. She crouched behind it, about to question how exactly he knew her name, but instead handed him the binoculars. He scanned the horizon briefly and handed them back. She laughed slightly at his question, "Of course I know how to use it, I've killed more animals with this weapon than most of the soldiers anywhere in the world can boast." When he mentioned taking the Nazis out she replied "Gladly," with a devilish grin.

When he began shouting orders to the people below she thought for a moment that if she had pulled the trigger on the Nazi below he wouldn't be dead. Simply because she, nor anyone else she assumed, liked the idea of her prancing around Giza with a loaded rifle. So she took a strip clip from her belt and flicked of the safety of the gun so she could pull the bolt back. Quickly and efficiently she loaded all five bullets in the short magazine and brought the bolt forward with just enough force to a catch the waiting bullet. She then pulled it back ever so slightly to make sure the bullet had caught on the end of the bolt. Then, peaking over the slight wall, she drew her sights slightly above the head of the closest Nazi. "Alright you smelly cabbage eater, try something," she whispered, almost to herself.

[Melodym]

Here is a quick summary of the events that followed:

Jack gave them as much time as he possibly could but as the Nazi got far too close for comfort, he took his shot then left the last one to Cat who seemed at the ready. Luckily the sound of gun fire was either not registered by the chaos in town, or simply added to it. Either way, no one was in a hurry to come investigate. Bastest stayed behind to protect their belongings and deal with the MP if necessary.

After quickly moving the bodies into the hole that had been blasted open, Jack reloaded his gun and took the lead for the journey inside.

It led into a man made opening. The rock was smooth and the walls were flat, obviously chiseled away at some point long ago. The hole must have connected with one of the passageways underneath the sphinx, because it led deeper inside. Soon they would be at a point where the air was beginning to chill and taste stale, and the light from outside was trickling in less and less. They wouldn't be able to continue much longer without some sort of light. Jack had a small flashlight, but it wasn't much.

"Ooh, what's this?" Alice was standing towards the middle of the group, rubbing her arms to warm up a bit. They weren't prepared in the slightest. She spotted a strange looking symbol protruding from the wall, just slightly. It glinted of gold. Obviously it needed to be pushed! Alice didn't give it a second thought and quickly pressed the palm of her hand against it until she heard a satisfying click somewhere behind them, then there was the scratching sound of stone moving against stone. "Huh?"

Alice looked behind them, only to see a stone slab sealing them in. Going back that way was no longer an option.

"I'm so sorry! Goodness, how is a girl supposed to know something like that would happen?" She held a hand to her chest in surprise. "Well, at least no one can come in after us, correct? I believe I just did us some good."

Deeper down the path, the area seemed to widen until it formed a small room. The floor was tiled, some more raised than others, and there were small holes all along both sides of the wall. Beyond the room it seemed to lead to two separate hallways, each splitting in a different direction.

They could try their chances and walk across, they could figure out another way through, or someone could read the hieroglyphics on the wall. (Can be asked in OOC.)