there.
Meanwhile, they all had to work together if they wanted to complete their job for the Megellin Foundation. The client had to come first because they were the ones who were paying for the team to be there in the first place. All they could reasonably do to accommodate the military presence was use their ground-penetrating radar first, rather than last.
As they got closer to their on-site trailer, Jason and Molly peered out the windshield.
“What the hell?”
Harry squeezed between the seats so she could see what they were talking about. “Oh.” The storm had washed sand halfway up the side of their trailer, thankfully the side without the door. But the terrain was now completely different from what they’d photographed the day before. “This happens sometimes, folks. Welcome to the desert.” She grinned. This is why desert surveys always had an extra week or so built into their schedule. To allow for the beautiful shifting sands.
“This is an excellent learning opportunity for you two. I’d like you to take more photos today so we can clearly see a before-and-after view on the effect of weather. Jason, in particular, this will be important to your thesis.”
Jason nodded and grabbed his camera from behind the seats. As soon as they came to a stop in front of the trailer, he hopped out and clambered onto the roof of the truck to get the same vantage point as he had the day before.
In fact, Harry couldn’t believe how dramatically the sands had changed. There was a huge dune in the middle of their sector now. She looked at Matt, inscrutable behind his sunglasses. She wondered how he felt. If he would ever forgive himself for the perceived slight against Danny. She sighed, which prompted him to look at her.
After a second he said, “Do you mind if I go look?” He pointed across the site to the boundary flags.
“Not at all, knock yourself out.” She watched him walk methodically around the flags and sighed again.
“You should not have brought him to our door, madam,” Mueen said, following her gaze.
It was unusual to even have him speak to her, without his wife present, let alone verbalize an opinion. She turned her full attention to him. “What do you mean?”
“The man. He will disrupt our life here. No good will come from this.” Mueen looked at Matt, who was barely visible behind the dune. His accent turned more and more American as he spoke, reminding her that he’d studied at UPenn.
“Anytime outsiders come, our village life is changed in some way.” He shook his head. “I sense he will be bad for us.”
“Do we disrupt your village life when we come?” she asked. This was her second trip here and the second time Mueen had acted as guard and translator, although the time before, they had to also have three extra armed guards. Thankfully, security could be lighter now. Having four armed guards with military-grade weapons was embarrassing and couldn’t have done more to point her out as a foreign woman.
He smiled at her, revealing his perfect teeth. “Yes, of course. But my wife loves you so, that my house is good when you are here.”
She laughed. “I love Ain, too.”
“She wants you to come to dinner tonight. All of you.” He bowed slightly as he offered the invitation.
“We would be delighted. Ain is such a wonderful cook.” She was thrilled, actually. Ain was lovely. A ballsy yet demure woman in a man’s world. “Is Matt invited, too?”
Mueen looked back at him for a second and laughed softly to himself as Matt appeared to stumble in the sand. “Maybe you should tell him that walking in sand is an art form in itself,” he said. “Yes, he may come. I will come for you at six tonight.”
“Perfect. Please tell Ain I’m so looking forward to seeing her.” Harry had bought some perfumed oils from an aromatherapy store in the U.S. for her and was happy that she could give them to her herself.
Mueen took himself up to the roof of the trailer, and Harry watched
Meanwhile, they all had to work together if they wanted to complete their job for the Megellin Foundation. The client had to come first because they were the ones who were paying for the team to be there in the first place. All they could reasonably do to accommodate the military presence was use their ground-penetrating radar first, rather than last.
As they got closer to their on-site trailer, Jason and Molly peered out the windshield.
“What the hell?”
Harry squeezed between the seats so she could see what they were talking about. “Oh.” The storm had washed sand halfway up the side of their trailer, thankfully the side without the door. But the terrain was now completely different from what they’d photographed the day before. “This happens sometimes, folks. Welcome to the desert.” She grinned. This is why desert surveys always had an extra week or so built into their schedule. To allow for the beautiful shifting sands.
“This is an excellent learning opportunity for you two. I’d like you to take more photos today so we can clearly see a before-and-after view on the effect of weather. Jason, in particular, this will be important to your thesis.”
Jason nodded and grabbed his camera from behind the seats. As soon as they came to a stop in front of the trailer, he hopped out and clambered onto the roof of the truck to get the same vantage point as he had the day before.
In fact, Harry couldn’t believe how dramatically the sands had changed. There was a huge dune in the middle of their sector now. She looked at Matt, inscrutable behind his sunglasses. She wondered how he felt. If he would ever forgive himself for the perceived slight against Danny. She sighed, which prompted him to look at her.
After a second he said, “Do you mind if I go look?” He pointed across the site to the boundary flags.
“Not at all, knock yourself out.” She watched him walk methodically around the flags and sighed again.
“You should not have brought him to our door, madam,” Mueen said, following her gaze.
It was unusual to even have him speak to her, without his wife present, let alone verbalize an opinion. She turned her full attention to him. “What do you mean?”
“The man. He will disrupt our life here. No good will come from this.” Mueen looked at Matt, who was barely visible behind the dune. His accent turned more and more American as he spoke, reminding her that he’d studied at UPenn.
“Anytime outsiders come, our village life is changed in some way.” He shook his head. “I sense he will be bad for us.”
“Do we disrupt your village life when we come?” she asked. This was her second trip here and the second time Mueen had acted as guard and translator, although the time before, they had to also have three extra armed guards. Thankfully, security could be lighter now. Having four armed guards with military-grade weapons was embarrassing and couldn’t have done more to point her out as a foreign woman.
He smiled at her, revealing his perfect teeth. “Yes, of course. But my wife loves you so, that my house is good when you are here.”
She laughed. “I love Ain, too.”
“She wants you to come to dinner tonight. All of you.” He bowed slightly as he offered the invitation.
“We would be delighted. Ain is such a wonderful cook.” She was thrilled, actually. Ain was lovely. A ballsy yet demure woman in a man’s world. “Is Matt invited, too?”
Mueen looked back at him for a second and laughed softly to himself as Matt appeared to stumble in the sand. “Maybe you should tell him that walking in sand is an art form in itself,” he said. “Yes, he may come. I will come for you at six tonight.”
“Perfect. Please tell Ain I’m so looking forward to seeing her.” Harry had bought some perfumed oils from an aromatherapy store in the U.S. for her and was happy that she could give them to her herself.
Mueen took himself up to the roof of the trailer, and Harry watched
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