Storm Clouds by Steven Becker

Author:Steven Becker [Becker, Steven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The White Marlin Press
Published: 2021-04-04T22:00:00+00:00

24

Luxor, Egypt

Ahmed was informed of Gretchen’s call by one of his guards mere seconds after it had been made. As the Minister of Tourism, any attack on a hotel guest was reported directly to him. If you didn’t count panhandling tomb attendants or obnoxious souvenir peddlers, there was virtually no crime against tourists. With internet review sites as popular as they were, any incident would be livestreamed and shared with prospective tourists as it happened. The government had worked hard to eliminate everything except the random pickpocket or purse snatcher. Besides being impossible to police, that kind of crime was expected by tourists and most were prepared for it. For some it even added to the adventure.

Fortunately, he was staying in the same hotel, biding his time until Rashi was satisfied and unsealed the tomb. The timing had to be perfect. He’d received a message from Beecher early this morning that progress was on schedule. The excavator and Kosma were both doing their parts. Finally, Ahmed felt he was getting closer to finding the cache and with any luck the answer was within his grasp. With his life quite literally on the line, he had decided to stay in the city to ensure everything continued to go according to plan.

On paper, Egypt was essentially a republic. Parliament and the president were elected, but that is where the lines started to blur between an authoritarian regime and a democracy. With the army behind him and the power to dissolve Parliament, the president was omnipotent during his six-year term. Even without that kind of power, like in many democracies, his appointed underlings served at his pleasure and could be dismissed for any reason at any time. The difference, which Ahmed had seen firsthand with the firing of his predecessor, was that there was no future career after a government post. There were no interviews, speaking tours, book contracts, or lobbyists lining up to pay someone with insider connections. It wasn’t unusual for the dismissed men to simply disappear.

Ahmed understood what failure meant. As soon as he got the message that security had been called, he roused his four guards, who were glued to a professional wrestling match. From their comments it wasn’t the first time they had seen it.

“Seventh floor. Now.”

He followed the men to the elevator. Minutes after the call for help had been made, they were moving down the hallway. The army men crept down the corridor with a rehearsed precision, allowing Ahmed to hang back and observe. As he watched them deploy down the corridor in the direction of the room, he could see that they clearly knew what they were doing. Ahmed understood his role as a brake in case things got out of hand.

The door was closed when they reached the room. Two men moved to each side and one knocked loudly.

“Security!”

There was no answer. He repeated the query with the same result. Ahmed moved forward. “Are you sure this is the correct room?” The placard read Room 707.

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