Dr. Phibes Rises Again by William Goldstein

Author:William Goldstein [Goldstein, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Film
Publisher: Premier Digital Publishing
Published: 2011-11-17T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

“Sonsabitchin’ flies’ll eat the sonsabitchin’ hat off yer bloody head before you can get yer sonsabitchin’ hand up to swat ‘em. Ya ruddy beetle-assed bugger, come back here!” Hackett slammed his helmet into the sand and stomped after the black speck. Even though it was after four it was still so damn hot that Shavers couldn’t blame his partner for popping off. The older man’s big belly lurched and swung over his thick legs as he bounded over the rubble, kicking up big puffs of dust with his hot boots. The fly could have gotten away if he had been a caterpillar, because Hackett got his sweat up right away, and after three or four hops his face was so wet he kept blinking his eyes to get rid of the damp.

“You better cut that out, big man, he’s got the drop on you.” Shavers ran the stake bed right across Hackett’s path, and swung back around at him.

“Hey, mate, you back? What’d you find out there today?” Hackett flopped against the side of the truck, then bounced right off again. “Sonsabitches! that’s hot!”

“Today I found something different, a lot of sand. Wouldn’t be surprised there’s enough for a desert.”

“You goin’ to call it a day? Because if you are, that’s two of us.” Hackett had his red handkerchief out of his shorts and was blotting his face.

“Better not, Hackett. If the others from Nairobi met Biderbeck on schedule, the whole bloomin’ lot’ll be out here day after tomorrow. Knowing Mr. Biderbeck, I’d like to have finished what we’re supposed to survey. Goin’ to fill up my canteen and have one more run around them hills.”

“Sure you didn’t find an oasis with some dancing girls, you old billy goat?”

“No, but I’ll keep it in mind. Right now I’d even settle for a bloomin’ mirage!” Shavers finished filling his canteen, swung the truck around and zipped back out across the dunes. He was gone in less than half a minute and the place got quiet again. Hackett almost wished that fly would come back. The spot they had picked couldn’t have been more isolated. It wasn’t really the Nile valley but the edge of the Sahara, so that everything west of them for about a thousand miles was sand dunes. To the east rose a string of rock ridges with Amarna somewhere on the other side. Between the rocks and the sand they had exactly one palm tree, a deep well that worked only in fits, and a deadline to meet. Hackett dragged the big tent out of the truck. If he got the thing up that afternoon he could work on the surveying with Shavers in the morning, which beat lugging a 300-pound sack of canvas around at that time of day.

While Hackett banged away at the tent pegs, his partner was moving across the dunes at full throttle. Shavers had been a platoon leader during the war where he made a name for himself as a marauder. His specialty was the short devastating raid, where surprise and firepower settled the business quickly.

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