would set him back at ease.
Castor
had known Aaron Coulter for years, but never had been in his employ. Aaron was
young at the time they met. He was handsome, well-bred, and quite arrogant. He
was smart. Something he was not using to his advantage as of late. Castor
remembered thinking when he first met Aaron that archaeology was a strange
profession for a man with such ambition. But only after a few years in the
field Castor had heard that Aaron was making a name for himself. Now that he
understand that the man also had a ruthless streak in him, he understood why.
Castor
Armeni hadn’t gone a completely different route than Aaron to get to the point
he was at today. But they had landed in two different places.
He
had been born in Mozambique and raised in an orphanage until age fourteen when
he ran away to find his own way in life. That life hadn’t come easy, but it was
the valuable lessons that he learned on the streets that made him into a man.
He
had found love, and been happy with that. For a while. A broken heart, no
different than any other person who had loved and lost, compelled him to keep
moving. And he thought, maybe one day he’d find that part of life again. Unlike
many others in his profession, he understood that things in life didn’t always
have to be hardcore and on the edge. That life could move on a different beat.
One much slower than the one he was programed at this point in his life. He
knew, however, that wouldn’t happen for him anytime soon.
He
pulled the black card table over close to him, took out the burner cell phone
that he and Aaron used to communicate and laid it on the table. He didn’t want
to have to fumble with it when the call from Aaron came in.
He
rubbed his hands down his pants leg, cracked his knuckles and took a look through
his sniper scope.
Yep,
there was a different beat that maybe someday he could live in. But for now, he
was satisfied with the life he was living – and taking the lives when the price
was right.
Chapter Ten
Giza, Egypt
~ 5:30pm
Aaron checked
the speedometer. He couldn’t wait to get there. He pushed in on the gas pedal.
It was his second trip to the Plateau today and although better use of his time
would be staying in his hotel room to form his team, make housing arrangements
and secure equipment, he couldn’t sit still. He had gone to the government
office to see the Director General’s secretary to take care of the last minute
details. Then he set out to find something to eat. Eating had completely
slipped his mind – if it didn’t come naturally, he would have forgotten to
breathe. He was just that excited.
He ended
up driving through the city and fielding calls, with a burger and fries in
hand. He pressed on the gas pedal even harder, turned up the volume on the car
stereo. Usually he funneled music in from the playlist of his MP3 player, but
now it was the Australian accented voice of a geologist that was telling him he
couldn’t get a flight out until the day after tomorrow.
The line
clicked right in the middle of the geologist’s rant of how he should have been
given more notice. Aaron looked at the dashboard screen and smiled. “Look, I’ve
got to call you back,” he said. “But day after tomorrow should be fine. Let’s
talk again tomorrow.” Without waiting for the geologist to acknowledge the end
of the call, he swapped lines. Calls had been coming in non-stop for the last
forty-five minutes, but this call was from the one person he wanted to share
his good news with most of all.
“I see that you
were able to finally get the permit to dig under the Sphinx.” A soft voice came
through the speakers.
Aaron chuckled.
Good news didn’t take long to get around.
“Aww. I wanted
to be the one that told you. How’dya find out?”
“I always know
what you’re doing. So be careful not to try to get anything past me.”
“Never,” Aaron
said and took in a breath. He smiled. “It’s good to hear your voice.
Castor
had known Aaron Coulter for years, but never had been in his employ. Aaron was
young at the time they met. He was handsome, well-bred, and quite arrogant. He
was smart. Something he was not using to his advantage as of late. Castor
remembered thinking when he first met Aaron that archaeology was a strange
profession for a man with such ambition. But only after a few years in the
field Castor had heard that Aaron was making a name for himself. Now that he
understand that the man also had a ruthless streak in him, he understood why.
Castor
Armeni hadn’t gone a completely different route than Aaron to get to the point
he was at today. But they had landed in two different places.
He
had been born in Mozambique and raised in an orphanage until age fourteen when
he ran away to find his own way in life. That life hadn’t come easy, but it was
the valuable lessons that he learned on the streets that made him into a man.
He
had found love, and been happy with that. For a while. A broken heart, no
different than any other person who had loved and lost, compelled him to keep
moving. And he thought, maybe one day he’d find that part of life again. Unlike
many others in his profession, he understood that things in life didn’t always
have to be hardcore and on the edge. That life could move on a different beat.
One much slower than the one he was programed at this point in his life. He
knew, however, that wouldn’t happen for him anytime soon.
He
pulled the black card table over close to him, took out the burner cell phone
that he and Aaron used to communicate and laid it on the table. He didn’t want
to have to fumble with it when the call from Aaron came in.
He
rubbed his hands down his pants leg, cracked his knuckles and took a look through
his sniper scope.
Yep,
there was a different beat that maybe someday he could live in. But for now, he
was satisfied with the life he was living – and taking the lives when the price
was right.
Chapter Ten
Giza, Egypt
~ 5:30pm
Aaron checked
the speedometer. He couldn’t wait to get there. He pushed in on the gas pedal.
It was his second trip to the Plateau today and although better use of his time
would be staying in his hotel room to form his team, make housing arrangements
and secure equipment, he couldn’t sit still. He had gone to the government
office to see the Director General’s secretary to take care of the last minute
details. Then he set out to find something to eat. Eating had completely
slipped his mind – if it didn’t come naturally, he would have forgotten to
breathe. He was just that excited.
He ended
up driving through the city and fielding calls, with a burger and fries in
hand. He pressed on the gas pedal even harder, turned up the volume on the car
stereo. Usually he funneled music in from the playlist of his MP3 player, but
now it was the Australian accented voice of a geologist that was telling him he
couldn’t get a flight out until the day after tomorrow.
The line
clicked right in the middle of the geologist’s rant of how he should have been
given more notice. Aaron looked at the dashboard screen and smiled. “Look, I’ve
got to call you back,” he said. “But day after tomorrow should be fine. Let’s
talk again tomorrow.” Without waiting for the geologist to acknowledge the end
of the call, he swapped lines. Calls had been coming in non-stop for the last
forty-five minutes, but this call was from the one person he wanted to share
his good news with most of all.
“I see that you
were able to finally get the permit to dig under the Sphinx.” A soft voice came
through the speakers.
Aaron chuckled.
Good news didn’t take long to get around.
“Aww. I wanted
to be the one that told you. How’dya find out?”
“I always know
what you’re doing. So be careful not to try to get anything past me.”
“Never,” Aaron
said and took in a breath. He smiled. “It’s good to hear your voice.
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