Bobby says with a grin "C'mon, mate! This ancient city's got you spooked, is all. What with all those mummies around, I'm not surprised you're feeling watched!"
Aleksei looks at Bobby and Perrin. "Maybe so. Maybe is war shakes. Still, be on guard. Do not trust everyone on ship."
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The remainder of the day passes without incident, though Aleksei feels eyes upon him all day. Dinner is freshly-caught fish, garnished with vegetables, in a white-wine sauce. The officers discuss the events of the day, duty rosters, etc. Nothing seems amiss, but Aleksei is still as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.
The journey continues, with the ship eventually putting in at Alexandria. By the time you arrive, Aleksei is a bundle of nerves. You board the train and find your compartment for the 4-hour ride to Cairo.
It is 1415 local time when the conductor comes for your tickets, about 20 minutes into the trip.
Aleksei tried to calm himself, taking deep breaths and reminding himself that he is only paranoid because he was taught to be. He still does not let his guard up, but he is at least able to stifle his nervousness for the moment. He calmly passes the conductor his tickets as he approaches.
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The conductor takes the tickets from each of you, stamps them, and leaves. About 30 minutes later, Perrin is dozing off, while Aleksei and Bobby entertain themselves playing cards. People pass by your compartment, going to or from the other cars, but one shadow seems persistent. A shadowy figure lurks near the door!
Aleksei notices the figure and tries not to show that he does. Looking at Bobby, then down at his cards, he says, "Do you have six?" Even though they are playing Gin Rummy, he hopes his brother gets the clue..
= 15
"No, I *don't* - what do ya want to do about it?" he says, asking Aleksei for a plan.
Aleksei ponders a brief moment. "Need something to drink. Going to bar car. Join me?" He then stands, eyeing the door.
= 11
= 5
Figuring out that Aleksei is concerned about something outside the door, Bobby casually says "Sure, why not?", but then bolts out of his seat and is in the narrow corridor in an instant, looking around.
= 5
Bobby tries to twist the guy's arm behind his back :
= 12
"Alright, mate, what're ya doin' watching us? Explain yourself quick, before I take your arm off!"
Aleksei moves close to the man's face. "Report back to whom?"
Aleksei nods. "Good. We will go and meet him. You will come along as.. what is word? Insurance."
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Cairo; the city is quite crowded, with all manner of people going to and fro. With the crowds, it is easy to forget that there is a war on. Street hawkers call out to you as you pass, speaking English surprisingly well. Your "companion" leads you through the crowded streets to an alleyway in which there is a doorway.
"Schonn is inside," he says.
"It seems odd that right now is the time you set up to meet Schonn" Bobby says. "Aleksei, any ideas how we should handle this? We all go in together, pretending to be friends with our guy here, but with our hands on our pistols in our pockets?"
"Contact will be expecting only this man. I go in, he goes in, then you come in. We watch, he make contact, we intercept. He will of course warn his contact and if he tries to run, we stop him. If this man is smart, he says nothing, gets away and we still get our man." He glares at the spy with eyes as cold as a Siberian winter.
"Just to be clear," Bobby explain to their friend, "if you go meet your contact and don't give *us* away to him, we'll let *you* get away. If you give us away, we'll hunt you down."
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The man nods his understanding and enters the building without a word. From inside, you can hear a conversation in German.
"Report," a gruff voice says.
"I followed them as instructed. There were a few moments where they almost saw me, but I managed to not be seen."
"So what are they doing here? Are they investigating the scroll?"
"Unknown for certain, but I assume so. Else why would they be in Cairo?"
"Then keep following them and keep an eye on them. Disguise yourself as a local and offer your services as a guide."
Casually moving over to where Aleksei is, Bobby whispers "So, what do we do now? Go over and confront the new fellow after our guy leaves?"
Aleksei thinks for a moment. "No, this could be better. We lead our 'guide' on a wild goose chase. Let him think we are here for nothing more than sightseeing. Then we follow him back to this Schonn and see what he does with the information. "
"The problem with that is, he *knows* we're outside here, listening in. And, we promised we'd let him go. So why would he stick around us anymore? And, with him as our 'guide', we can't actually work on our mission, which involves the scroll."
Aleksei nods to Bobby before the informant comes out. "You are correct. We should perhaps go and confront Schonn then, but let us be careful. He may not be alone."
When the informant comes out, Aleksei replies. "Yes, you have. You may go, but remember, your life belongs to us know. Anything happens, we come for you." Turning to Bobby, he says, "Shall we?", and opens the door.
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As you enter, you find yourselves in a small office. A well-dressed, mustachioed man sits behind a mahogany desk. The desk is clean and well-kept, and a serving tray holding six glasses and a bottle of liquid sit upon it. He looks up as you enter, his face a mixture of surprise and annoyance. "Gentlemen, please come in. I admit that I hadn't expected you quite so soon. I shall have to deal with Mr. Hertzeg's incompetence and disloyalty later. But, you are here now and I suppose that we must adjust. Please, sit down." He indicates a quartet of chairs that are arranged before the table. "Would you care for a smoke? Perhaps a drink?" he asks, holding forth a gold cigarette case. "I imagine there are things that you would like to discuss with me." His accent is also unmistakably German.
Aleksei takes a puff of his already lit cigar and blows the smoke in the direction of the German man. Showing an air of confidence, he sits in the chair directly across from him. "I will admit, you have an advantage in already knowing who we are, which tells me that we ourselves have an issue with disloyalty. Thank you for showing us that. We also imagine you have much to discuss with us as well, since you were obviously expecting us at some point, regardless of timing."
Hand-waving away the drink and the smoke (they might be drugged), Bobby says "Alright, mate, let's get down to brass tacks - what's your interest in the scroll? Why is it so valuable?"
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He shrugs and pours himself a drink. "The scroll was found in the Valley of the Kings in a heretofore undiscovered tomb. It is written in an unknown language, neither Ancient Egyptian nor Coptic. That is what little we know for certain. Its age is estimated to be at least 3,000 years old, and possibly more. Its value is, of course, priceless.
"I would be lying if I told you that our interest in the scroll was entirely academic, but certainly, that is a primary motivator." He takes a drink from his glass. "Yes," he nods, looking at Aleksei, "You were expected. We knew that sooner or later, we would be discovered. Herr Spider would very much like you to forget what you have learned and go back to your duties. You are soldiers, not spies or archaeologists. But since, clearly, you cannot be expected to suppress your curiosity, we find ourselves at odds.
"Who knows what secrets may be discovered if the scroll can be translated? Did you know that the Ancient Egyptians had a vast knowledge of medicine, including specialized fields of study? Their knowledge of mathematics was equally impressive. Can you see how important the wisdom locked in that scroll might be?"
Aleskei shrugs as he leans back in the chair, blowing more smoke from his cigar. "While that scroll may contain a lot of knowledge, confusing it with wisdom might be folly. Such as the wisdom for how to use such knowledge. Something I think your other primary motivators might entail. What exactly does Herr Spider intend to do with said scroll?"
"Yeah," Perrin adds, "Who's to say that thing isn't an ancient recipe for fruit salad?"
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"Study it, of course. The same as you. I do not believe for one moment that the scroll is something as mundane as a recipe, and neither do you. I will not lie to you. If my employer were to gain the scroll, he would use it to further the interests of the Kaiser, just as your people intend to do with your President, I expect.
"But another question remains. You are here in Cairo, and I confess I have no idea why. As I said, you are not archeologists and the Front is a fair distance from here. Would you care to enlighten me?"
Aleksei nods, stifling a smile at Perrin's joke. "Perhaps, but not all of this war is fought on the Front. As you said, we are already at odds. You want what is best for Kaiser, we do not. We are fighting a war of information, who knows what and how much of it. If this scroll is indeed of any use beyond light reading material, then it should not fall in any hands that would use it for personal or global gain. Don't you agree?"
Bobby thinks to himself "But the problem is, England already has the scroll, and Doyle's with MI-something, so how can we *not* use the scroll to our military advantage?"
"Are we to understand that you have it in your possession already?", Aleksei counters. "We will do what is necessary to ensure that it isn't used improperly."
Bobby leans over to Aleksei and cupping his hand around his ear, whispers as softly as possible "Aleksei, what are you saying? You know that the professor has the scroll back in England, and Doyle belongs to military intelligence - there's *no way* we could destroy the scroll!"
Aleksei turns and smiles at Bobby. He then turns to Herr Schonn. "My colleague is concerned that you will not be able to hold up your end of the bargain, should it accidentally come into our possession and accidentally catch fire. We want assurances that your network of friends will leave the three of us alone as we go about our business in Cairo. Or is that something we will have to speak to Herr Spider about?"
Aleksei considers for a moment. "Are you suggesting a trade, Herr Schonn?"