Antiquity

Chapter 2-- Mummy Mafia


The flight left his ass in a cramp and a mean one. Limping off of the steps towards the little airport, he rubbed his right ass cheek with a swear. Inside, the building wasn't air-conditioned well and he was regretting wearing his ever comfortable sweater and button-up shirt underneath it. He promptly removed it, standing in toe with the other people waiting for their luggage.

God it was hot…and it didn't help being crammed into a bus either to get to the city of Cairo where Menefar was supposed to live. Once the bus stopped, he was grateful to be able to stretch his legs, shouldering his pack and heading into the city. The city itself was mostly like a city anywhere else…just a lot more dust on everything.

A jingle in his pack made him stop, setting his back on a table outside of a cairo street cafe, pulling out the little dagger. It was rattling like crazy and he tried to quiet it down by wrapping a handkerchief around it, sticking it in his pant pocket. It wouldn't stop jingling but at least it wasn't as loud anymore. As he walked around, he could feel it start to move around more and insanely more as he passed by a house that resembled Aladdin's palace. He stood outside the gate, staring at the windows and doors.

One caught his attention.

In the window, there was the single figure sitting on the ledge, staring out over the city with a lone gaze. Slowly, the head started to turn until their eyes met. The jingling in his pocket started to get incessantly louder, Harley pulling it out and looking at it. He held it up to the person in the window, the jingling stopping.

Was that really Menefer?

"You there! Get away from the gate!"Someone yelled from behind him. He stepped to the side, seeing a sleek, black car pull into the gate in front of him. The windows were tinted so dark that he thought it was dark as night in there.

'As dark as arabian nights…'He smirked to himself.

"You're on private property."Someone spoke, an olive-skinned man stepping from behind the stone portion of the gate. He had dark shades on, his inky black hair combed back.

"You and your friends speak pretty good english."Harley commented, indicating to the driver of the vehicle who had yelled at him.

"It's necessary for business. Please move from the area."The guard said, indicating to the street.

"Can't I take a look inside? I'm an…appraisal merchant from Hollywood! You know, where they make movies?"Harley lied through his teeth.

"A hollywood appraisal merchant? Never heard of it."The guard said, pushing a button on his side after some foreign gibber came spewing through. He spoke some gibberish into it, getting a response in the same. He looked to Harley then to the house.

"Come back tomorrow."He answered to Harley.

"Quick question though…Who is that? In the window. He doesn't look like he wants to be in there."Harley pointed out, the guard turning around.

"That's the son of the owner of this place. Come back tomorrow."The guard said before disappearing behind the stone wall.

Harley stood there a little while longer, stepping away and heading across the street. Maybe he could get a little information from the neighbors around the rich-looking home. He took his place at a cafe, sitting up a cup of rich tasting coffee, probably some of the best he ever had.

"Stranger, you look like your curious."The shop owner said, leaning out the little window.

"Great, another english speaking native. Can you tell me about the man in the window? The one that's the 'son of the owner' of that place?"Harley said. The shop owner, rubbed his chin that had some thick five o'clock shadow on it.

"Him? That's not his son. The man was brought there years ago as an item he purchased."The man said with a nod, still scratching his chin.

"An item?"Harley questioned. "He's still a human being…I don't think he was bought…more like stolen."

"You would be correct, sir…I see him every day looking out the window. A couple nights, I've see him try to climb out the window but they would always find him again and drag him back. I've talked to him once, nice fellow."The shop owner said with another scratch. "You seem interested. If you want to keep your nuts, I suggest you keep your nose out of that place."

"It's a little too late for that…"Harley said with a swallow.

"Right, Sir Hollywood appraisal man."The shop keeper laughed. "I like you, here some sandwiches, half-price."

"What, not free?"Harley smirked.

"I have six children to feed."The shop keeper said as he received his payment and went back inside. "Enjoy and good luck to you and your nuts."

Harley sighed heavily. This trip was going to be harder than he thought. It couldn't just be in and out could it? That night, he found his hotel and fell asleep after hitting the pillow. Hot weather didn't exactly agree with him.

During the night, he had a heavy haze about his head. Like someone had filled it with incense and smoke to confuse him somewhat. Out of all of it, there was the same man from the shop and the window staring at him as he sat on the ledge of the hotel window. He slinked over, his skin illuminated by just a single lamp in the room as he crawled onto the bed, resting his hips on top of Harley's and leaning down.

"You found me…now come help me…"He whispered into his ear.


Harley awoke with a start, his forehead perspiring heavily. Looking out, he saw that his window was open and down on his bed was covered in a fine layer of sand. Great. Disintegrated again. A knock on his door brought him to attention.

Going to answer, he saw that it was the guard from yesterday and he had someone with him, wrapped up in some brown wraps. "Are you Harley Grendal?"He asked, hurrying inside and pulling the person with him.

"How did you…"Harley started.

"Menefar told me he's been having visions of you since way before you came here. You arrived on a flight yesterday afternoon didn't you?"The guard said.

"How the hell do you know this?!"Harley said, the person who had been pulled in with the guard from the gate pulling back to the hood.

"You're Aubbey's Grandson…Aren't you?"The man, from what now he could tell seeing him up close for the first time, spoke. Aubbey was a nickname only his Grandmother used for his Grandfather…which meant they had to be really good friends for this random stranger to say it like that.

"Are you…Menefer?"Harley asked.

He nodded. "I've been waiting for you to come for so long…When Aubbey's letters stopped coming three months ago, I feared the worst…"He said.

"Wait, letters?"Harley said, sitting down his bed again. Menefer joined him.

"We had been writing letters to stay in contact…Even after I had been taken several years ago. Amonen would bring them to me from home…"He said, looking to the guard. "He was my only connection to the outside world…"

Amonen nodded. "And you're finally here…which means you can now get the hell out of here."He said as he crossed his arms.

"No but I've got enough that I can get him one. Do you have a passport and everything?"He asked. "We can leave tonight if possible."

"Yes, yes, Aubbey and Amonen got me one…I sort of needed one anyway since the one who bought me travels…and takes me with him to other countries."Menefer said sadly.

"I don't know what for but he always comes back empty handed."Amonen said as he removed a backpack from his shoulder and tossed it on the bed. "In there has his passport and a ticket to America with some other things he'll need. I'll make up some story for us so we can leave. Get your shit together and go."He said, scoffing.

Menefer rose to his feet, putting his hand gently on Amonen's shoulder. "Thank you, Amo…I owe you so much. Please…be careful."He said softly. "Wait, did you say 'we'?"He asked again, his bright desert jade eyes blinking.

"You think I'm going to let you go to some strange country alone with some stranger's grandkid for who all hell knows what he's doing? Besides, I've already pissed the boss off. Running is the best thing to do."Amonen said.

"I'm not careless."Harley said with a twitch of his eye.

"I'm not saying you are."Amonen answered flatly. "Let's go. Grab your suitcase, I have a ride waiting for us at the back of the building."He said as he gave Harley a kick in the shin to get him moving.

God this was happening all too fast. Harley changed clothes and packed his things carelessly into his pack. As he threw his pants from earlier into the bag, the hairpin fell out and hit the floor. Menefer saw, picking it up. "My hair pin…He really did keep it…"He said with a smile.

"It was tucked with the letter and everything I found. You can have it back…I don't think I'll have to use it to find you again."Harley said as he zipped the bag closed.

"Thank you…."Menefer said, tucking it into his hair to tie it back. Outside was a beat-up looking jeep with none other than the shop keeper.

"Hollywood!"The shopkeeper said with a thumb's up.

"I…can't believe it…"Harley said, Amonen and Menefer grabbing his arms and pulling him into the jeep. The shopkeeper let out a laugh, driving up with a kick of dust behind them.

At the airport, they all remained in the jeep while Amonen went to scope things out. When he returned, he climbed back into the jeep and patted the side. "They're here. We'll have to take another flight out another day where they're not going to check."He said.

"Great, we can't just make it like Indiana Jones and knock them out."Harley heaved. "And we can't go back to hotel."

"Why not go to a different city and use a different airport?"Menefer suggested. All heads turned.

"Do you know where one is?"Amonen asked.

Menefer nodded. "There's one in Port Said and Alexandria. We can go to one of those and fly from there can't we?"He said with another nod.

"Port Said is the furthest but we can make it to Alexandria before they can."Amonen said as he tapped the Shopkeeper's shoulder.

"Right, to Alexandria then. You owe me big time if you ever come back here. He might as well blow a giant hole in my shop."He said as he pulled away from the airport and punched it down the road again towards the next airport.

It was a long drive. Menefer and Amonen fell asleep but Harley sat wide awake. He didn't know how they could relax in this kind of state…being chased by some mafia guys while passing by the pyramids and have them actually be some resurrected mummies.

He could only wish for that…Mummies were easier to take down right? Sitting back he felt a weight on his right shoulder. Menefer had leaned into him after a bump in the road had rattled the jeep a little. For some reason…he could really tell that the man was happy to be out and about. His skin was smooth as porcelain under the light of the sun overhead but he looked a little hot to be wearing so many layers. Reaching his hand over precariously, he parted his clothing some so some cool wind from driving could hit his skin, Menefer mumbling something in Arabic.

"Checking if he's male or female?"Amonen said, having one eye open and looking at Harley.

"I couldn't honestly tell when I first saw him in…whatever he appeared in. He's got a face that'd make a woman jealous and a figure to boot but he's got a wood and some pool balls to make sure the anatomy's there for the man…"Harley said though Amonen smirked.

"It's gotten him in trouble a few times. He's gotten marriage proposals from visitors to the boss's home and a couple attempts to his sanity as well."Amonen said, sitting up and looking back. "The man who bought him tried to make sure to instill the fear of other people to him by having him violated several times by strangers…All of whom I tried to dispatch quickly."

"That's horrible…"Harley frowned.

"It's the truth…it's why he needed to get out of there."Amonen frowned. "What's this in for you? You could have just said no to everything and just stayed home."

Harley crossed his arms, Menefer snuggling up to him a little more. "My grandfather's will has instilled the fear of God into me…And this was his final wish. Though, I was surprised to see Menefer so young…there's a photograph of him back at the shop that was taken fifty-seven years ago but he looks like he's barely kicking thirty."he noted.

"From what I understand about Menefer…Is that he's hundreds of years old. He would have to be in order to keep the lock on whatever he's trying to keep back locked away forever…How no one discovered his purpose until nearly sixty years ago is a mystery to everyone."Amonen said as he looked ahead. There ahead was the city of Alexandria and signs in the odd lettering that pointed to where they needed to go. There was no long lines or awkward waits.

Amon checked the airport and found none of the guards or others from the boss's home and any other acquaintances of the mafia that were chasing them. It was a bit of a wait for the plane to arrive but it gave everyone time to sleep and say an unfortunate good-bye to the shopkeeper.

"Hollywood, stay safe my friend."He said, shaking friends with Harley.

"You too shopkeeper guy."He said, giving his shoulder a pat. "Kiss the wife and kids for me?"

"Who? Her? Oooh, you are welcome do that for me my friend. Safe travels to everyone."The shopkeeper smiled before leaving the airport in his beat-up jeep. Menefer stared at the back of the man, shivering a little and holding his head.

"What's wrong?"Harley said, kneeling down and holding his shoulders.

"He's having a vision. It happens, just let it pass."Amonen said as he sat petting Menefer's hair a little. Menefer perspired in a hot sweat which soon dried when the vision in his head passed. "What was it?"

"That man is going to die…They'll find him…and kill his family…He helped us all knowing that it would happen…"Menefer said with a sniff.

"Can't we stop it?"Harley asked, getting to his feet.

"If you go…you will die. Please…stay…"Menefer said, his eyes shimmering. "Don't leave us alone here."

Harley stared, looking back towards the exit of the airport. There was nothing he could do to help the man who helped them. Was the cruel fact really true? Could something Menefer saw in his head really happen?

He didn't come here to die but he did come here to help Menefer and his protector get to America safely.

Helping him off the floor, Harley helped the shaking man sit down as they waited for the plane to arrive and so they could board. It was an agonizing wait and it didn't help that Amonen would get up to go check on everything before they actually boarded.

It was even more so when they found out they were separated but with some sweet romancing from Menefer to one of the staff on the plane, they ended up sitting together.

In first class.

Maybe there was a benefit to having Menefer's feminine features and women who were just as curious to find out what gender he was. Curiosity won bets.

Harley sighed, playing with the buttons on one of the seats. "Ooohh yeah…Gasp, there's a vibration setting?"He said as he pushed another button, sliding down in his seat more. Menefer chuckled.

"Have you never flown this way before?"Menefer asked, leaning on the armrest some.

"Never been able to afford it but this is the liiife…."He said, his lips curling in delight.

"It is a one up from coach…"Amonen said, Menefer chuckling a little and settling back again. A little curious to the seat itself, he pushed the vibration button Harley was playing with, jumping a little. He looked down and around, wriggling around to find out where it was coming from. Amonen put an arm on his shoulder, pushing him back again.

"Just sit back and relax…"He said, pushing the button on his own and sitting. He had the same silly face that Harley had which meant that it must have felt good. Leaning back, he felt the little motions massage certain parts of him, his eyes closing.

"Sir? Sir…Would you like something to eat?"An attendant said as he was woken by Amonen. Menefer opened his eyes drowsily.

"What time is it?"He yawned, sitting up in his seat.

"Dinner time. Apparently it's a whole roast chicken."Harley grinned, licking his lips.

"Oh…Yes, please."Menefer said as he was given a good helping of food before the attendant poured a glass of wine and left. It was just…a relief to be off the ground and away that he had probably slept for hours. Amonen and Harley had let him sleep right through lunch.

He probably really needed the sleep and the vibrations had lulled him into a comfortable position.

The rest of the flight was peaceful and even as they landed, Menefer didn't feel homesick. The desert sunsets, the cool nights and the food he would miss but the imprisonment he felt was something that he wouldn't. When they landed, they went through the whole angst of customs and soon were piled into a taxi.

"It's so much cooler here…What season is this?"Menefer asked, looking around. The leaves were all green but some of them were turning rich, brilliant colors.

"That? We're about to go into the fall. Do you like it? It gets kind of cold."Harley answered.

"Yes, hot weather every day is nice but this feels wonderful. It's right in the middle."Menefer said with a smile, sticking his head out the window some. Amonen pulled him back into the taxi with a huff and a sniff.

"What's the matter, Amonen? You aren't getting sick are you?"Harley teased.

"No…I just don't like cold weather."Amonen sniffed. "Are we there yet? This cab smells like cigarettes and ass."

"Well excuse me if my customers always smell like ass."The cab driver said as he pulled up to an old building. "That'll be fifty bucks. Forty for the ride, ten for pissin' me off."

"Hard ass."Harley said, slapping the money into the cabbie's hand and watching as the yellow vehicle drove off. The chocolate-haired man shook his head and turned around, looking up at the Antique shop.

"Why are we here?"Amonen sniffed again.

"This is where he lives, Amonen…It's Aubbey's Antique shop…"Menefer said with a soft, remembrance smile. "I can't believe that he actually did it…He always told me about it…but I didn't think he would actually do it."

"Eh? You mean he planned to be an Antique dealer?"Harley said with a raise of his eyebrow.

"He figured it would strike him pretty lucky if something rare fell in his lap."Menefer said with a smirk. Harley stared at him, shaking his head a little and leading the two foreigners into the shop, the only way up to the apartment.