[OOC] Romancing the Artifact

[World Traveler]

After getting out of the taxi and tipping the driver Devin stood up and look at his surroundings. The city of Istanbul was already awake with the first call to prayer happened over an hour ago. In front of him stood the cities archaeological museum. One of the worlds largest collections of ancient artifacts ranging from before Christ to the modern age. It was a giant treasure box to most of the people in Devin's profession, but they were a different breed. The treasure hunter made his way up the stairs and entered the museum just as the doors were opened to the public.

"Welcome to the Istanbul Museum of Archaeology." A young man said from behind the counter. "If you are part of a city tour your ticket should be in your pamphlet. If not we can process your ticket purchase at the desk to my right." He threw on a fake smile all too common for someone working with thankless tourists all day. Fortunately for him Devin wasn't interested in any treatment. Ambiguity was his friend right now.

"Devin noticed the small calendar in front of the customer service desk and noticed the notches next to today's date. "As-Salāmu `Alaykum" The date was a notch showing that the boy was likely on his first day of fasting for Ramadan.

The young man instantly seemed to relax and responded to the traditional Muslim greeting. "Alaykum As-Salaam. How can I help you sir?"

Devin shifted through his messenger bag and pulled out a security badge. "My name is Matthew Keller. I am here to do a short security inspection of your North display wing I believe it is your observatory and celestial cartography room?" Devin didn't have to hold his breath. He played enough poker badly to know he just had to pretend he belonged.

After a quick spell of typing on the computer the young man nodded his head. "That is the name we have here. I'll just check you in and you can be on your way." The young man took the card and swiped it in. He then seemed to do a few more things and then waved Devin through. A happy smile was added that made Devin smile back.

"Okay now we get to the task at hand..." Devin said to himself as he made his way to the North Wing of the building. His hand went to his bag and touched the small brass object he always kept close to his person.

[Sincerely]

Brandy gathered her hair into a high ponytail and secured it with a rubber band. Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, she splashed some cool water on her face. After patting her face dry she nodded slightly. "You deserve this." She mumbled to herself. "You did all the work, you deserve all the credit." With one final deep breath, she pushed her bag further up her shoulder and exited the bathroom. Reaching into her bag she pulled out the specialized I.D. she had been given and clipped it to her light brown jacket. Smoothing out her clothes, Brandy looked around and spotted the museum coordinator. Strolling up to him she smiled softly. "Hello sir, I'm Brandy Parks. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The stocky, middle-aged man shook her hand and greeted her. "I assume you've had a tour of our lovely facilities." He said gesturing to the room of their latest exhibits.

She nodded. "Oh yes, this is one of my favorite archaeological museums in the world. I come every time you add something new. And it looks like it's my turn to provide that something new." She said with a chuckle.

"You would assume correctly. Of course the entire archaeology community was impressed with your findings, some would like to have the opportunity to mull over your findings and get the scientific proof to back them." He explained walking her slowly around the room.

Slightly shocked, Brandy took a moment to collect her thoughts. "I was...unaware that there was disagreements towards the legitimacy of my findings. It was my knowledge that with Mr. Reed funding my explorations and digs, no one would be blantantly obvious about their lack of belief."

Sighing, the man stopped at one of the exhibits. It was a precious stone incased in a glass box. Of course, this was only a well created replica. In all actuality the real stone was stored underground in a temperature controlled bunker. Not many of the artifacts were placed there though. In other museums, everything above ground was a fake. But here, the lack of interest in art, culture, and science somehow spurred the company into leaving all of their relishes to be seen by the public. That is, of course, permitting the condition of said artifacts. The coordinator turned his attention from the encased gem and laid his gaze on Brandy. "While Mr. Reed is an upholding figure, you're finds seem far too staged to be real. If you take into consideration all the publications and digs that have proved your specimen to be non-existent, we have to get valid credentials from the entire board before we would let such a...debatable piece into our museum. I'm sorry."

"I--, but--, My findings are legitimate in every aspect. This--this is supposed to be my big break. I've surveyed the land, I've read the publications and journals, I've traced the geography all the way back here. Here in your own backyard, and you can't bother to give me my credit!" She exclaimed, her manner shifting from baffled to infuriated. "I have spent my entire life looking into this. I have had every door possible slammed in my face, and finally when things are looking up because I have funding. Finally when things are looking great, because I have a successful dig, you're telling me that it's not real!" She found herself shouting.

The coordinator glared at her until she finished. "If you are done," He said sending her a sharp look for deawing attention. "While we cannot host your artifacts, my team and I do find your skills invaluable and there is a job offering here if you wish to take it. You said for yourself, you have come here many times because we have the best findings in the world here. We want you to go and travel the globe, identifying recent finds and determining which are good enough to showcase here."

"I, I'll have to think about it." She stumbled out.

[World Traveler]

When Devin walked along the central hallway he saw a woman leave the restrooms. It was obvious that more time was spent on her than any of the sculptures standing behind her. Devin had never been anything other than weak against beautiful woman, but thankfully he had a much more pressing matter to distract him from the pigtailed beauty.

The Museum was still mostly empty with the bus tourists still in the courtyard getting their pre-tour talk. The only ones who had tickets and were in the museum were the early to rise backpack travelers. Thankfully they aren’t the kind who invest a lot of time in stuff that isn’t both old and photographic. Their blindness was something Devin was happy to take advantage of.

Making his way up the stairs Devin finally reached the room he wanted. He saw it closed off and was happy that a large plastic sheet was up blocking people’s view of the whole area. He flashed his badge to the guard and then walked through without waiting. The guard didn’t follow so Devin seemed to be in the clear. The first second he looked around the room he spent admiring all the maps and artifacts around him.

The room was a paradise for any cartographer fan. Maps were all over the walls and navigation tools were displayed throughout the floor of the room. All were amazing in their own rite, but only one held a specific secret. Glancing at the different maps on the wall Devin scoured the room until he came across a map encased in a massive glass display case. Looking at the full map he noticed some tearing around the edges.

‘Shit’ Devin thought to himself. The tearing was fine, but the small fibers that came out from the tear told him that the material it was made of wax paper when the real map was made from papyrus. The one in the display was a fake. Something he hadn’t planned for. He was told that the maps were kept in climate controlled displays and due to their more or less ‘neat, but not that neat’ factor with the public they weren’t often duplicated for display. Devin had the ready availability of flash photography on phone to blame most likely.

Exiting the room and again showing his badge to the guard he muttered something about getting some of his tools. He had no interest in the room anymore and saw a full week of planning quickly spiral down the drain. While taking the steps he heard a rather scathing voice echo throughout the hall. Looking down he saw the woman from earlier talking with the man Devin recognized as the curator for the entire museum.

“Excuse me?” Devin said. He didn’t know what the conversation was, but seeing the curator meant he could do some damage control. “Hi, my name is Matthew Keller. I am with the antiquities protection department for this facilities insurance firm. I was instructed to review the security for your astrological section, but I noticed some of the maps were the duplicates. Could one of you assist me in getting to the lower basement to check on the real deals?”

Devin realized he was supposed to be a computer and security nerd and not a well versed artifact appraiser. Even if he were to back up the unusually high knowledge with the age old “I am an enthusiast” the duplicates at this sort of museum were top of the line. “At least I was told in an email. Heck knows I couldn’t tell old from older around that room.” He gave a warm smile to the man and then a much warming smile to the woman.

[Sincerely]

Just as Brandy was about to leave she and her potential boss were approached by someone by the name of Matthew Keller. She looked him up and down, admiring his obvious good looks. He explained some reason for needed to see the genuine artifacts stored downstairs. The curator's eyes brightened as he looked at Brandy. "What a stroke of good luck. I can take you down there to let you see the types of things we admire. Allow you to get a feel for the place for backstage of this whole production. And you Mr. Keller can check on the maps." He said before walking towards one of the "employees only" doors. "Please, both of you, follow me." He held the door open and waited for both to follow behind him. At each door he punched in a security code before a buzz emitted and the door was unlocked.

On the descent down, Brandy couldn't help but explain herself. "Look, I really do appreciate the job offer Mr. Philbin, but my real dream is to have my finds hosted here, not to be looking at others and determining which are worthy enough. I just don't think I can be unbiased knowing that every piece I look at is getting a chance I should have had." She crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't know of a clearer way to say no without damaging her chances of getting chosen to be displayed here.

Mr. Philbin looked at her as he unlocked the final door. "All the maps and other sensitive artifacts are down here Mr. Keller." He said before turning his attention to Brandy. "Look, I get that it's irritating. To have us turn you down, just to give you an even more demeaning job. But like you said yourself, you're good. I think in a decade or so, you could be one of the best. So why not hone you're skills by studying with real life experience. Learn to pick up on the details that led to your own downfall, so that it won't happen anymore. Take a look around, and sleep on it. At this moment in time though, I'm going to have you put on our payroll as our liason. You can go wherever you want to unwind, let off steam, whatever. Just, occassionally bring us back a trophy or two for us to showcase okay?" He stated before leaving to complete the paperwork.

Brandy stared after him, mouth agape. "Unbelievable." She muttered. Even after saying no, she has a job. At least she can go wherever she wants. It seems as though she doesn't even have to check in with a boss or anything. A quarterly trip to Istanbul isn't so bad. Getting paid for her free time, tracking down other people's find. Questioning them herself, more importantly, deciding if they are better than hers. Stepping further into the storage space, she nodded slightly. It could work itself out. She wouldn't have to rely on Mr. Reed for a paycheck anymore. looking around, she was careful not to touch anything. It really was truly amazing to be down here. Seeing all of these things, upclose and personal. If she had gloves, she could touch them. She continued to walk around looking into the crates at the different discovered gems.

[World Traveler]

Devin was starting to get very nervous about how things were going. Things had never gone this well for him. They didn’t go this well on his prom night, they didn’t go this well during his time at college, and every poker hand he has ever had. He was being taken by the hand almost literally to the X on his treasure map. Well, not his treasure map, but the one he knows exists.

Trying to be as much a fly on the wall as possible Devin allowed himself the pleasure of listing to the conversation between the two museum employees. From what he could hear the man was giving the woman a runaround job. It sounded nice, but from the woman’s response and body language he felt there was more to it.

The door was open and Devin quickly started to look around the room. It wasn’t beyond him that just within reach was likely more money in antiquities than he could ever hope to find, but he was admiring the collection. Not looking to steal it. He saw near the back row a crate of boxes followed by a few hanging shelves that said maps. Quick as he could he started to get excited as he set his book down and began to rummage through his things. Passing by his own small tool set he pulled out a protractor and quickly started to put on gloves.

“Looks like you have a bit of organizing to do down here.” Devin said to the man who was still near the doorway. He got a small laugh, but at this point the man was looking at what Devin was doing and not talking to the woman. There was concern in his voice and he saw it best to get his answers answered.

“Is there a reason you are having to see the actual articles?” He said it loud enough that it pulled Devin back into the reality that he was there under false pretenses. Quick as he could he did damage control while slipping on some gloves.

“You wouldn’t believe how many times we are told the real deal is in the basement when all that is there is the paperwork telling us the real thing is in the basement.” Devin said in a matter of fact tone. He then started to go through the maps as gently as he could until he got to the third one and smiled. “Marco…” He said as the map had ‘Polo’ written in the top right corner.

Now that he had the right map Devin knew he needed to get to work. He set the map on the top of the others and returned to his bag where he started pulling out a few instruments similar to the ones on display in the North Wing. They were old enough to be worthy of being in this museum. The final item he pulled out was an old book. Written by the man who drew the map he had just handled.

[Sincerely]

After browsing through most of the items in the front, Brandy had to admit it. She was really impressed. Everything here was about three times older than the country of Istanbul itself. And those were the items they had gotten last week. As she walked the length of the aisle, she noticed that the crates were dated based off the time period there were from. Seeing as how she was in the current millenium, she headed further into to the basement to find items of her own appreciation.

When she reached the back wall, she let out a soft gasp. There were things here that revolutionized her field. Some of the things stored down here, they didn't even bother to replicate upstairs because it was so important. Digging in her bag, Brandy prayed that she had some time of covering that would allow her to hold just one of these items. "Bingo." She said pulling out a plastic baggie containing several pairs of latex gloves. She zipped her jacket about halfway up so as not to let the ends smack into something. After tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear, she pulled out a pair of gloves and carefully slipped them on. "Okay beautiful," She said picking up a bone with the upmost caution. "Let me get a better look at you." She rotated and turned the bone over, admiring the lack of dents from spades. She could even see the streaks of dirt that they tried to brush off, but gave up on under the threat of destroying the find. She carefully laid the piece back into the case. "Wow, just wow." She exclaimed to herself.

As she continued to look around at the variuos artifacts she noticed the insurance guy down at the end of the row. She had never heard of companies coming to check the validity of the artifacts. Scientists, sure. But insurance companies? Never. With suspicion in her eyes, she made her way over to the man. "So what exactly is it that you're checking for on the maps?" She asked idly running her fingertips along the edge of the crate.

She looked over at the curator dusting between the crevices of the boxes, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Who are you? And why do you need an original copy of a map?" She breathed, checking to make sure that she wasn't heard.

[World Traveler]

Taking an old compass and laying it carefully over the map Devin waited as the needle began to swish back and forth. While the needle began to slow down he took out his modern compass and watched the needle point towards the doorway where the older man was waiting. Devin couldn't hid his smile as he watched the compass on the map have its needle pointing almost 90 degrees south. As he dragged it down the map he was interrupted by the woman who had joined him down in the basement.

Before he was able to explain that he was just a simple insurance auditor or some other position that made his actions make sense she leaned in close to him and whispered a small interview. Her breath could be felt on his ear and made a small tingle roll over his spine. He could see how close he was to getting the answers he needed from the map so he decided to work and talk at the same time.

“The original map was actually drawn and made by Marco Polo. The people who recreated it weren’t privy to all the hidden information the original creator left on the map.” Devin played the pronoun game on purpose so as to peek the woman’s interest rather than get an abrupt obstacle appear in front of him. As he dragged the old compass down the map he was careful to lift it above the papyrus so the metal wouldn’t damage the map.

While the compass continued to point south Devin returned to telling his story. “Marco Polo’s journey was one of the most complete writings of a person traveling at the time. He wasn’t just sharing a story, but sharing the entire world with those back in Italy and the rest of Western Europe. Every stop, obstacle, person, animal, and plant was written about and even drawn in great detail except for a single stop. The last stop before he made before heading out on land via Jerusalem.”

Only recently had historians discovered that before that Marco Polo had traveled to Alexandra before making port in the Holy City. There was still a great debate over why this was left out and at times seemingly actively hidden from Polo’s journey and stories. Some believe that it was as simple as Polo leaving the city off due to it being a business trip for someone else on the boat. A minor detour before the true exploration began. Others have varying levels of conspiracy theories.

“I am sure you heard about this. It was in all the peer review papers your boss seems keen on.” Devin gave a wave of his head over to the old man who was now looking over their way. Devin then saw the needle swing back north just as he passed it over the city of Alexandra.” The smile on his face wouldn’t be bigger even if he had just been given a million bucks. What he just found was worth more. He found validation.

“Eccellente!” Devin exclaimed in Italian. He looked up at the woman and smiled again. “That feeling when you know you are on the right trail. Almost as good as sex.” He then reached up and kissed the woman square on the lips. “But I guess that depends on the partner. You have been a wonderful assistant…” Devin realized he didn’t know the woman’s name. “Anyways I need to get to Alexandra. You know the best way to the airport?” Devin was already packing his bag up and getting ready to leave.

“Looks like everything here is checking out. Not that we thought there was anything shady going on. You obviously have the best in the business looking over everything.” Devin looked back at the women and then started to make his way to the door.

[Sincerely]

Brandy leaned over and watched as he measured the angles on the map. He started explaining how it was drawn by Marco Polo, but of course she already knew that. She continued to listen as he explained Polo's incredible attention to detail regarding his voyages. Well, most of his voyage. There was one gaping hole that led to many speculations. But no one would ever know the real reason why it wasn't documented in Polo's journals. There was no way to prove what he had seen there without a time machine. Brandy had sat through lectures of speculations as to what exactly happened in Alexandra and each was more different than the last. When he mentioned her boss, she turned her head and flashed him a smile, in hopes of keeping him at bay long enough for her to find out what this guy wanted with the map. When she turned back around, he was grinning incredibly hard.

"What happened? What did you find?" She asked trying to get a closer look at the map. She hadn't seen anything the entire time he was working. Then she looks away for two seconds and he looked like he won the lottery. She looked at him in utter confusion, only to be kissed. Before she could respond he had pulled away. "You're comparing a map to sex?" She pulled off her gloves with a sharp snap, before shoving them in her bag. "I'm not your assisstant. You don't know my name and I don't know yours. You're just some crazy guy with a compass." She hissed.

In the blink of an eye, it seemed like he was onto a completely different topic. "Alexandra? Why are you going there? Trying to collect enough details to come up with the latest conspiracy theory? It's not worth it. No one knows what Marco Polo did there." She said, her voice trailing after him. After all his things were packed up, he quickly excused himself.

Putting her hand on her forehead, Brandy genuinely tried to figure out what he was trying to find. When she was stumped, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep without knowing how it would all end up. Brandy approached the curator with a soft smile. "I don't need to sleep on it. I'll take the job. You have my information, so add me to your payroll as soon as you possibly can. I'm going to go and find something amazing for you." SHe said stepping out of the storage area. As soon as she was in the hallway, she broke into a sprint, trying to catch up to this mysterious man. She saw him back in the lobby exiting the museum. "Hey! Wait up!" She jogged up to him. "You never told me who you were. But at this point you owe me so much more than you're name." She said stepping out onto the street and flagging down a taxi. She hopped in and held the door open for him. "Are you coming or not?" She asked, shifting her bag, flat onto her lap.

[World Traveler]

Of all the things Devin was bad with it was people. He was good at charming them, persuading them, and ever entertaining them, but getting them was something he had never grasped. It was this inability that usually led him into questionable situations. Be it a poor choice in company or a poor choice in business partners. For that reason he wasn’t skeptical when things went his way. He was downright paranoid. He also wasn’t that good at cards, but he knew never to give up your hand and that included what he was looking for.

The woman was more than a challenge to understand as they left the room and then the entire museum all of which seemed to be too good to be true. Here and there he gave an off handed comment until he was outside about getting back to the insurance company. He wasn’t too far gone to forget to say goodbye to the front desk person who helped him earlier, but after that he quickly made his exit with the woman following after him. Devin started to tense up as he saw a large amount of security in his future. Instead it was most questions.

“Sure I did my name is Matthew Keller.” Devin said with far less confidence as was common for him. The woman then brought up a debt between them which made Devin even more nervous. Had he found another treasure hunter? He thought she was s dig head with archaeology as a passion and only the next fact, but if money was on her mind she was even more confusing. When she stepped into her taxi Devin took a quick look around and froze for a moment.

The face he saw across the street was one he wouldn’t forget. When you owe someone as much money as Devin did and he knew what they do to collect you don’t make it a habit of forgetting their face. Without thinking of the next minute he jumped into the car and gave the driver the address to the nearest busy market street he could think of. “To the Grand Bazaar” He said. Over 2 million people visit the famous market in Istanbul’s old district if someone was following you it was likely one of the best places to start.

“I don’t know what you are after beautiful, but I can tell you right now unless it is trouble I wouldn’t recommend following me.” Devin didn’t mean anything threatening by this. In fact a threat from Devin was about as dangerous as a care bear. It was part of the reason he was so bad at cards. Looking into his bag he grabbed the compass and his notebook. Unknown to him his passport fell out and onto the car floor.

In the journal he started writing down Alexandria. When he jumps into his journal, but at least this time he was aware of his companion. “I want you to know I am not looking to steal anything. I wasn’t interested in the map, but what was underneath it. IF you want to report me or think I stole anything you can search me after we lose the unwanted attention. That said the less you know about me the better for me.” Devin looked up but then quickly back at his journal which he flipped over to a map of the Middle East with indiscernible notes and numbers. “Sure you understand love.

Passport says Devil Coal ; From Seattle : Washington ; Age : 28 It shows travel throughout the world save for Antarctica.

[Sincerely]

Brandy sighed and pulled a compact mirror from her bag. She checked her eyeliner and reapplied some lipstick. Looking at him, she shot him a dirty look. "You're name is not Matthew Keller. That's bullshit and I know it. I've never heard of insurance companies checking up on museums. I've also never seen any normal person know so much about Marco Polo. You know more than me and I'm a freaking archaeologist. Well now I'm the curator's assisstant, but still." SHe gave a small yelp, when he jumped into the taxi quickly. Everything up to this point had been a struggle with this man, and now all of a sudden he wanted to do what she said. She packed away her makeup and stared at him when he sent them off towards the Grand Bazaar.

Pulling the hair tie out of her hair, she let it fall around her shoulders. "I thought you had to get to the airport. Why the sudden need to go shopping? She asked. He told her that she needed to stay away from him. "Look, guy, if it weren't for me, that curator would have examined every piece of fake I.D. you have on you. You owe me the truth." SHe crossed her arms against her chest. She wanted to make him feel guilty, but she had no solid proof that the curator wasn't just an extremely gullible person. She had a feeling that anyone with a halfway decent excuse could have gotten past him. But she wanted to give herself some credit.

She heard a soft thump hit the carpeted floor of the cab. Looking down, she saw his open passport. She quickly read over the information before leaning back into the seat. "I don't think you stole anything," She said with a huff. When he spoke of unwanted attention, she turned around looking out the back window. There was a large, black SUV weaving in and out of the traffic faster than any other car on the road. A sinking feeling settled in her gut. It didn't take a genius to figure out that whoever was in the SUV was coming for them. She turned back and leaned up against the partition. "I'll pay you double if you get us there in five minutes." Before she had a chance to sit back, she was slammed back by the sudden acceleration of the cab. Money was a great catalyst in most situations. "Look, Devin." She said using the name she saw on the passport. "I don't understand but you need to explain. You showed up at a museum and used a compass on an ancient map, then practically sprinted out of the place. Now we're being chased by guys in a government vehicle. At this point even if I left you alone, those guys trailing us, would still try to get me to get information on you. For my own safety, I can't leave. You dragged me into this mess, so you better clear up the water." By this point, she was fuming. Just thirty minutes ago, she was getting rejected from her dream exhibit. Now she was in some type of action movie. She could pinch herself a million times, but it wouldn't make a difference. It still felt like a dream. Except she wasn't sure how long it would be until she woke up.

[World Traveler]

Upon hearing his real name Devin was pulled from his journal and back into the reality of his little adventure had a plus one he hadn't planned or wanted. "You were the kind of girl who beat up the guy he liked in the playground weren't you?" The question was rhetorical, but he let it hang before moving the conversation to more constructive parts.

"Marco Polo admitted to traveling to Alexandria in his letters to his brother who was at the time one of the five members of the Vatican Public Policy Pontificates." Devin had been aware enough to remember the woman had said she was out of her element with Marco Polo so he went into more detail. "They were in charge of protecting the public from what the church deemed harmful or dangerous. For the most part they just used their power to squish out anti-church groups, but sometimes they actually got something right. The letters have Marco writing to his brother that the object was received and would be contained."

Devin looked back and saw that the vehicle did indeed have government plates. "Makes sense that Kipling would have some pull here." He muttered before continuing. "The letters are real." Devin said before the woman could bring up the fact that the letters were often a myth that many people including those in the church who admit many of Marco Polo's papers, maps, and personal journals were destroyed. "The church, under orders of Marco's brother, were burnt as soon as he returned, but copies were made during Polo's time in China." The taxi took a hard right and some of Devin's things started to spill out including the compass he used earlier. "Stop the car." Devin said as he started picking his things up. He also took his passport back.

"Get me to the airport and I will tell you the rest. You are right Kipling isn't the kind to enjoy letting odd ends stay loose, but you step out of this car with me you aren't a loose end you are an unknown. You are already one to me and that is fine. I am really just a puppy looking for the perfect place to be, but with Kipling you are a target. Get out, find the police and you are clean a clear." Devin realized this wasn't much of a warning or an invitation, but it was what he said and he stuck with it. The taxi stopped and before he even had enough time to count the cash thrown at him Devin was out the door and making his way through the crowd of tourists. One hand on his compass and the other on the bit of metal casing around a bullet.

[Sincerely]

Brandy scoffed at the idea of hurting guys to get their attention. "No, I'm the girl who knocked sense into my friends' crushes. Needless to say there was rarely a time I couldn't go on a group date." She said proudly. She listened as he explained more about Marco Polo's mysterious stop. "Okay, so Marco Polo had a brother who was a member of the Vatican's mob. That all makes sense, but what's the object that had to be contained?" She asked curving her fingers to make air quotes. She looked back to see the black SUV closer. She was amazed that a vehicle that big was gaining on them in these crowded streets. But if she was driving and saw that car behind her, she would pull over to the side and let them through to avoid getting caught in whatever crossfire was about to happen.

Whipping her head back around to face him, she practically screamed. "Who is this Kipling person and why is he trying to kill you?" She wasn't completely sure if he had a bounty on his head, but it was safe to assume the worst when it came to this guy. She sucked in another breath ready to continue screaming, when he said the letters were real. At this point she laughed in his face. "Are you kidding me? The letters aren't real. They're just an archaeologist's bedtime story. Something like an insolvable math equation. You know there's no answer but you still try to connect the dots every once in a while just because." She was thrown into the door and winced as she cradled her arm. The cab driver mumbled off some poor excuse for an apology and she waved him off. It wasn't that big of a deal and it barely even hurt. When Devin ran out of the taxi, she just sat there shell shocked for a few moments.

After a moment's hesitation, she slid out of the backseat and ran into the Bazaar trying to keep an eye on him. She fished through her bag and pulled out her phone. Tired of murmuring half-hearted apologies for elbowing someone or stepping on their toes, Brandy focused all her energy on running and praying that he would pick up his phone. After several rings a deep, husky voice came through, "Hello?" He asked. "Wake the hell up and get the plane ready. Don't ask any questions, because I'm calling in my favor." She said into the receiver. She found Devin, but made sure to stay a few paces behind. If that Kipling person or his goons, assuming he had goons, caught up to them, she needed the opportunity to break away. The guy on the phone groaned and she heard the bedsprings squeaking as he got up. "Oh, and I need it done in fifteen minutes." She said before hanging up. She dropped her phone back in her bag and called out. "Devin! When you see the table selling bottu make a hard left." She said before heading out in front of him.

[World Traveler]

The chaos of the Grand Bazaar was the perfect smoke screen. If anyone tried to followed Devin they would be hard pressed to make their way through the sea of tourists. Every language of the world was being used to describe the long standing market. Once the center of all things traded from the far east to the far west the Grand Bazaar was now one of the largest tourists attractions in all of Istanbul. People came to buy the classic trophies and souvenirs such as rugs, hookah pipes, and swords. Through the clutter and mess plenty of novelty graphic t-shirts could be seen waterfalling from the top of the shops walls.

It was only by luck of a moment of silence that Devin heard the directions ordered by the woman in the museum. Up ahead he saw the place where she was describing. The bottu shop was clearly marked by the giant sculpture of Vishnu the god of destruction in the Hindu religion. Slightly off in the largely muslim heavy market, but popular amongst many tourists who were flocking the store front. Up ahead Devin saw a familiar face and wasn’t happy about it. “Miggy you look terrible!” He said just before the man punched him in the face.

“You damn snake Matthew!” The man said with his fist going up for another swing. He never delivered it as Devin recovered and kicked him in the chest.

“You really need to work on that handshake Miggy. People are going to start thinking you might be a rude fella.” Devin then ducked as one of Miggys cohorts came around for a tackle. Ready for this he grabbed the man’s arm and twisted till he fell into a nearby table and crashed out of the way. “Seems you are running with a bad crowd. Best do what I did and hit the trail solo.” Devin then turned right at the store and was quickly met by the woman who he saw take a short kick to one of the guys.

“At this point I think we might be best to split from here. You wouldn’t happen to have an exit from here? He then saw several people who were likely more security. “Time to disappear.” Devin then grabbed the woman and pulled her into a shop. He then looked at the store owner and quickly spoke in arabic. “Soyunma odası lütfen.” The two were then lead towards the back and showed two changing rooms. “Teşekkür ederim” Devin said.

Before anyone came into the shop Devin grabbed two t-shirts and some other horrendous tourist clothes and threw them towards the woman. “Time to put on a disguise.” Only way we are getting out is through the cover of the crowd. He then began changing in the room and throwing on the shirt and sunglasses. It wasn’t a full makeover but people would have to look twice unless they really knew Devin.

“So any thoughts on how to mingle with the crowd...?” Devin at this point decided it was time to learn the woman’s name. “What is your name by the way?”

[Sincerely]

Brandy sped off into the crowd, trying to blend in as a tourist. She reached the booth and was about to hang a left, when some huge brute came out of nowhere and grabbed her pulling her. She went to scream and a large, heavy, and rather sweaty hand was placed over her mouth. The man pulled her in closer with her back against his front. She pulled her elbow forward and slammed it into his ribcage. Giving her just enough time to take a step back and turn around. He was at eye level, so she threw a punch that landed right across his jaw. He spit out blood and she tried to run away. He caught her wrist and stopped her again. Spinning quickly, she sent her leg sailing up, finding home between the man's thighs.

She turned and saw Devin behind her. "Split up, that's pointless. There's bound to be more of them and things work out better if you do them as a team." She said. He grabbed her and pulled her into one of the shops. "Disappear, how are we going to..." Before she could finish the thought they were shown the changing rooms. She dropped her bag on the floor and pulled her jacket off of her shoulders. She shed her shirt and slipped on the over-priced t-shirt. She grabbed a sun hat and slid it on. She tucked her jacket and shirt into a corner of the room. Without thinking twice, Brandy quickly divided her hair into two braids that fell down her back.

She picked her bag back up, and slung it over her shoulder. "Grab a camera." She said before snatching a scarf and tying it loosely. "Oh, my name's Brandy. Brandy Parks." She said with a smile. She couldn't believe that they actually hadn't had a formal introduction. But everything about this was informal and out of the ordinary.

"Now come on." She said stepping back out into the dry air. She grabbed his hand and laced her fingers through his. As they walked, she quickly snagged an unattended shopping bag with some company's logo plastered on the side. "We should be good to go now." She whispered, her eyes darting back and forth for anyone who was paying attention to her. She rounded a corner and the crowd began to thin out.

[World Traveler]

Devin heard the name Brandy and thought it sounded familiar. He didn't have time to think about where it was he heard it before as she started leading them out of the Bazaar. He quickly looked at his wallet and said goodbye to the remaining cash that was in it. The store owner seemed to smile with a all too knowing look. What he was assuming was not something Devin was interested in hearing.

With a camera in one hand and a beautiful woman in the other Devin took to the crowd until it started to thin out. They were reaching the restaurant section of the market which was really only for tourists due to most of the population fasting. Were they to come back after sundown there wouldn't be a non Muslim in sight as it was common for entire families to book tables after their fasts were allowed to be broken.

As the crowed thinned so did their cover. Thankfully Brandy started chatting with a couple who was part of some sort of walking tour. They quickly made friends and soon enough were joining the tour as it rounded back to the main streets just outside the market. Looking around the exit Devin nor Brandy saw a guy or gal who looked out of place. Still they were cautious and continue to play the part of a couple on vacation.

"So how did you two meet?" A member of the group asked Devin and Brandy as they were given a few minutes to buy water. They thought about ditching the group, but then thought it better to stay for a little longer.

"I only met her a few hours ago..." Devin said without thinking. This earned him a firm elbow in the side from Brandy who flashed a brilliant smile.

"Your humor never translates Matthew." She said as the group laughed with her. She then show a look at Devin who only shrugged back as if to say. 'Alright we can make a story.'

"No, but really we share a common passion for the ancient world. In fact we met while underground shifting through a bunch of artifacts. Brandy is a archaeologist while I am a historian. It was faith that brought us together I guess." Devin threw an arm over Brandy and then asked the other couple to take a picture of them as they rounded past another massive mosque.

While they were posing Devin leaned over to Brandy. "The letters aren't a myth." He then looked at the camera while Brandy seemed to look back over at him. This earned a straight face from the person taking the picture. "Maybe one with Devin not whispering in the fair ladies ear?"

[Sincerely]

Brandy spotted a group tour thanks to the someone's idiotic idea of having the tour guides wear matching shirts with the tour's logo plastered on the back, along with every other piece of merchandise they could squeeze their name onto. Brandy walked over to one of the couples and introduced them. She quickly fabricated some story about wanting to see the country up close and personal. This struck gold with the group, and they were quickly allowed the chance to join their tour.

She tried to keep an eye out for any of those guys from earlier, but most of her attention was spent answering questions and "ooh-ing" and "aah-ing" over simple facts like who built what and for how long. One of the couples tossed out a question about how they met, and before she could answer Devin opened his mouth. She shoved her elbow into his side hoping to remind him of the fact that they were supposed to be a couple. She covered his slip up with a joke and stared daggers at him while the group laughed it off. She listened to his story and smiled. "It was love at first sight." She added.

Leaning into his chest, she posed for the picture. She tried not to stiffen up when he whispered in her ear. "Of course." She replied at the idea of taking a new picture. "Behave." She said softly, earning a few envious glares from the other women. Standing still long enough for another picture to be taken, she thanked the man as Devin got the camera back.

Taking a quick sip of water, she heard her phone ringing and excused herself from the group. "Hello?" She answered. "Where the hell are you? You called me and woke me up, threatened me to get it done in record time, which I did by the way. But then after all of that you aren't even here." He yelled through the receiver.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. There was a little bump in the road. We'll be there as soon as we can." She said hanging up. "We? Who's we--"

Brandy looked down at her feet and bit the inside of her cheek hard. When her eyes started to water she turned around and reapproached the group. Sniffling she grabbed Devin's arm. "We have to go. My brother, he...he just got hit by a car. We have to go back to our room and pack our things. I can't imagine being here knowing he could possibly be on his death bed." She buried her face in his chest and let her body shake with sobs.

As he led her away, Brandy straightened her composure slightly and wiped her eyes. "There's a plane waiting for us at the airport. Luckily, the tour group was leading us even closer. It's maybe five, ten minutes away." She said softly as they headed out.

They got to the airport without incident, even though their walk was spent constantly looking over their shoulder. She led him over to the private section for personal planes. They walked across the Tarmac until Brandy spotted him. When he saw her, his eyes lit up. She ran towards her fiends and jumped into his arms, while he spun her around. "Andrew, you are a lifesaver." She said kissing his cheek. She looked back and Devin and waved him over. "Come on let's go."

[World Traveler]

Devin smiled and made small talk while his recent companion excused herself. His eyes were supposed to remain on the tour group, but he found it easier to glance back at Brandy. Her body language was easy and enjoyable to read Devin found himself looking at her hair and thinking of other ways she might wear it. He concluded that he liked the ponytail best.

When Brandy returned to the group her entire demeanor had changed. Instead of her friendly smile a straight face damming the tears was present. Without thinking of the act or knowing about it Devin reflexively moved next to her. Before anyone else he asked what had happened. Worried that whoever she had been in touch with was suddenly struck down or had already been caught up in his little adventure. Hearing that her brother was in a car accident was jolting.

Holding her closer than he had before he was nearly thrown off the street when she, without missing a beat, turned back to her usual self. She mentioned something about losing time and that they could make it up by reaching the small airport in fifteen minutes. This goal was reached in record time as the two crossed the old highway now littered with small highway market stalls.

A jet engines roar told the two that they had arrived at their destination. The wind started to pick up and Devin pulled his shirt closer to his chest as they walked towards one of the nearby hangers. Soon enough they reached their destination as Brandy seemed overjoyed to reunite with the man who met them there. Her energy made Devin smile while a twinge of subconscious jealousy tickled the back of his thoughts.

The treasure hunter walked towards the two and held out a hand for the man named Andrew to shake. He did so with a bear like grip. Doing his best to respond in kind Devin was happy as the two broke away and Brandy called Devin over so they could get going. Andrew seemed to have already completed the pre-flight check and seconds later they were in the plane heading towards the north end of the tarmac.

"It would seem your promotion wasn't completely needed for you to see the world." Devin said looking around and somewhat amazed at how quickly she was able to rally the flight out of seemingly thin air, or a single phone call. Which was the same thing to Devin. Brandy was as remorseful as they came and that interested Devin greatly. The plane was stopped and each person was asked to present their passports. As Devin handed his over the customs agent asked to see his bag.

After they went through the leather messenger bag they gave the plane the approval to leave and the agents existed the plane. Thankful they didn't get an idea to do a pat down Devin let out a sigh of relief. While personal gun ownership wasn't entirely illegal in Turkey it was frowned upon if you didn't have a lot of paperwork. Non of which Devin had with him.

[Sincerely]

Brandy hopped in the plane and placed her bag on the floor. She leaned over the seat so that Andrew could better hear her over the noise of the plane starting up. "We're headed to Alexandria. Get us there as soon as you can." She said before moving back and sitting in her own seat. She flashed Devin a smile before digging out her own passport. It was a huge stroke of luck that she only planned to be in the country for the day. Otherwise all of her belongings would have been stored in the drawers of some hotel room, rather than in her bag. She leaned back to click in the seatbelt. Despite it's small appearance, primarily compared to the size of all the commercial planes around them, the Beechcraft B200 Super King Air was a very comfortable plane for a long journey. The leather seats were comfortable by themselves, but the small couches past the first four seats were great if you needed to lie down.

The plane took off smoothly, and as soon as they were in the air, Brandy shed her seatbelt. She turned towards Devin and crossed her legs. "I'm sorry by the way. In case I got any makeup on your shirt or anything. I just needed a way to get us out of there. I had called Andrew when we were in the Bazaar but, things slowed us down a bit." She said with a soft chuckle.

For everything that she had been through today, she was suprisingly calm about the whole thing. But she had a sinking feeling when the thought dawned on her that this probably was the least dangerous part of the whole trip. She leaned her head against the headrest. Letting her cheek slide against the cool leather, she curled herself up a bit and let her thoughts roam. This might be her only chance to think about everything that happened today. Brandy was a big "What if?" type of person. So she played back each of her decisions today trying to see if she could have done something better at any point in time. While usually she had a million different spinoffs of her daily events, this time she came up blank.

[World Traveler]

Devin smiled as Brandy seemed apologetic over the state of his shirt. Looking down he saw a smudge here and there from the rush of the Bazaar and resulting scuffles that occurred. It was a classic Istanbul tourist shirt that had the Blue Mosque at the center with the countries flag in the background. He shook off the whole thing and smiled up at Brandy. "The shirt is the least of my worries darling."

Devin committed himself to relaxing as the plane took off. As it started to level off he thought about grabbing a nap, but decided against it. Instead he figured the time could be best spent reviewing the information he had gathered during his time in Istanbul. Pulling out his journal and opening it to the book marked page he began reading the Italian that was written on the paper.

"L'onere ho messo sulle spalle è più pesante di qualsiasi impero. Dei velocità mio fratello , e mantenere la chiave di sicurezza..."

Continually rereading the last portion of the paragraph sent Devin into a sort of hypnotic state where he stayed for several moments. A small amount of turbulence jolted him back to the present. Seeing little headway being made in the way of the letter he shifted his focus to something else in his bag. The compass he had used on Polo's map and then another artifact. This one was a unique collection of prayer beads known as a red rosary beads called this due to their red tint.

The beads were all different shaped and seemed carefully made so. Normally they would be small spheres of similar size; however, in this case they each had a side added with the first one having four sides and the last having somewhere in the realm of 25. The age of these beads was up for debate; however, their last owner was a good starting point. In the small corner of the four sided bead the initials R. de P.

"I think it is about time I took advantage of the bathroom." Devin said as he got up. He set the beads and journal back into his bag and set it in his seat as he made his way to the back of the plane where there was a small but comfortable restroom. While in the bathroom he looked at himself in the mirror and started to get a handle on everything that had happened in the past two days. While the last several hours had been crazy it was the last 48 hours that had actually been the full story that lead to him being 35,000 feet in the air heading to Egypt. He returned shortly after a few collected breaths.

[Sincerely]

Brandy found herself blushing slightly when he took off his shirt, so she dropped her gaze to the floor. After fidgeting in her seat, she brought one of her legs up and sat on it, while letting the other dangle over the edge of her knee. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. When he excused himself to the bathroom, she merely nodded. The constant hum of the plane was beginning to feel soothing. Within minutes, she was asleep.

-----------------------------------------------

She felt something shaking her shoulder, and tried to shrug it off and drift back to sleep. But whoever it was wouldn't let her and persisted she get up. With a groan she opened her eyes and glared at the first person she laid eyes on. "Andrew, why are you waking me up?" She asked tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

His mere response was just a grin. "We're here. In Egypt, Alexandria to be precise." He said stepping out of the plane. Slowly, she followed him, wincing as her joints complained at the sudden movements. She rubbed the back of her neck trying to get rid of its stiffness.

She dropped her bag at her feet and wrapped her arms around Andrew's neck. "Thanks, hun. You're awesome. And I would say that I owe you one, but I feel like the tally is going to be a little higher than that." She said, sending a quick glance to Devin. "So stay, enjoy Egypt and leave you're phone on." She said giving him a quick peck on the cheek, before walking away. Her foot was asleep, and she despised that tingly feeling and was determined to get rid of it as she walked around the plane.

Andrew nodded and hugged her tightly before she pulled away. He stretched his arms over his head, when he spotted Devin. "Been a pleasure, hopefully we can do this again." He said holding out his hand. "But just know this, I don't know what you've told Brandy that has her so willing to help you. But if she gets hurt and you're the cause of it, I'll take you for a skydiving lesson and accidently forget the parachute." He said with a glare before walking away.

Brandy circled back around and walked over to Devin. "Okay, so where to exactly? I doubt the tourist-y places are where the real details are hiding." She said undoing the braids in her hair. She gathered it up together into a ponytail and secured it with a rubber band before picking up her bag.