One Hundred Three
Ash
We looked up to see the sky turning reddish as the blood moon came full into view.
Ava gasped as she peered up. “Time is running out! Dig faster!”
Ayden and I continued shoveling sand until we hit something hard. The jolt shook my whole body as I realized we’d finally reached the bottom.
“Quick! Brush the sand off! Amber, Reese, help us!” Ava commanded.
The winds picked up and began swirling the sand around us. The night had cooled off significantly, as we shivered in our jackets. The ladies jumped down in the newly excavated hole next to us. We all began to frantically brush the sand from the metal until a door was revealed.
“My God, it’s real,” Ayden whispered.
Standing back, I felt my head spinning with the implications of what we had just uncovered. Everything Ava had told us was true. There was no doubt in my mind we would find just what Ava promised us.
Ava gazed heavenward and smiled at us. “Pull it open,” she ordered.
The winds howled as we blinked continuously to keep the sand from our eyes.
“Here maybe this will help.” Amber and Reese handed us each crowbars.
Several agonizing tugs later and the door popped open. All of us struggled to push the heavy door aside.
Ava snatched a flashlight and shined it down into the cavernous pit.
“What’s in there?” Reese cried looking down as she held Ava’s arm.
I looked down into the pit. As the light illuminated the tomb, we could see walls covered in ancient hieroglyphics and several large gold objects covered in thousands of years of dust. “How the hell are we going to get down there?” I asked her. The drop alone was several hundred feet. If we were to jump, we’d likely break our legs or worse.
Ava stared at me for a moment then shined her flashlight on the stone stairway in the corner.
“Oh,” I murmured feeling foolish.
“Let’s go. The moon is almost at its height. For the ritual to work, I have to do it soon!” Ava cried motioning us to follow her.
Ritual? Who said anything about a ritual? If the situation could possibly get more frightening, it just did. I shuddered clutching Amber’s hand as we descended into the pit. We each had flashlights so as soon as we reached the bottom we could see everything around us. The smell of ancient air filled our nostrils. We were deep inside a pit that hadn’t seen human visitors for thousands of years. The thought was disconcerting as we moved about cautiously.
“Be careful,” Ava warned. “Don’t touch a thing unless I say so. This place hasn’t been touched in thousands of years. We don’t know what exactly is down here.”
I looked above our heads. The moon was slightly to the side. Soon it would move directly overhead.
Quickly, Ava looked about the room. She walked over to a large gold sarcophagus. It was covered in a thick layer of dust. She motioned for Reese to bring her backpack to her. Unzipping it, she retrieved a rag from it. She rubbed it until the gold shone brilliantly.
We marveled at the intricate patterns painted on the sarcophagus. The figure depicted on the outside was one of a woman wearing a long headdress. Several spider like creatures decorated the headdress.
Ava pulled the medallion from beneath her shirt. She held it up to compare the hieroglyphics with the ones on the sarcophagus. “This is it,” she whispered.
We sat our flashlights down aiming them at sarcophagus.
“How could this be?” Reese whispered to Ayden.
He shrugged standing in awe of the room.
The overwhelming smell of mustiness and ancient relics of the distant past assaulted my senses. My eyes burned from dust and sand.
Ava was in her element. She clawed her way through the grime to the edges of the sarcophagus tracing the hieroglyphics with her fingers. She read the words aloud, “When the halflings reach the bastion…They shall lift up their wings as eagles…Soaring to the highest point. She will behold her queen. Cherish her, And great powers shall be bestowed upon her. Death will come as a thunderbolt to the unbelievers. Restoring life to those who thirst for it.” Her eyes glassy and unfocused. She seemed as though in a trance.
“Ava, are you okay?” Reese walked up and touched her arm.
She jerked away violently. “No, step back. All of you. It’s time.” The moon moved directly over the tomb.
“Ava, you can’t possibly move that by yourself!” I dropped my flashlight rushing to her side.
“Stand back!” she yelled holding her hands up.
I stopped cold.
She stood poised to lift the lid of the sarcophagus. With a mighty heave, she pushed the golden lid to the side. I held my breath waiting to see what was inside. As if in a dreamlike state, Ava pulled the medallion from her neck placing it atop the mummy’s forehead. Instantly, her head fell back and she uttered the most terrifying shriek I’d ever heard.
We all clasped our hands over our ears as she continued making that horrifying sound.
Abruptly, she clamped her mouth shut.
The moonlight shone down through the medallion hitting it directly in the center beaming light throughout the coffin. The light blinded us as we blinked several times.
Then it happened.
Thousands of spiders emerged from the sarcophagus flooding the room.
Reese and Amber screamed jumping around.
I scooped Amber up into my arms as Ayden did the same for Reese.
When I looked back at Ava, I nearly passed out. An enormous black spider was sitting in her hands. She smiled at it speaking soft words.
“Ava! What the fuck?” Ayden yelled as the girls continued shrieking over the spiders.
Strangely, they never touched us.
“This is the queen. My queen, Ujaesus.”
I couldn’t breathe as I watched the huge spider scamper up her arm to her shoulder. Its’ multiple eyes seemed to be looking at us all. The thing seemed ancient, wise, and all knowing. It was covered in tiny hairs similar to a tarantula. It sickened me.
“This is what I wanted. This was what I needed to see.” Ava reached to brush the spider softly with her finger.
“These are the spiders?” I asked still balancing Amber in my arms.
“Yes. I need to collect their venom.”
“How the hell do we do that?” Ayden inquired holding Reese as she wailed in his arms.
“I’ll do it. Don’t touch them. Remember what can cure, can also kill. Only I can touch them.”
No argument from me, I thought. I had no desire to touch them. I wanted out of the fucking tomb as soon as possible.
Ava took a large jar from the backpack and collected several spiders. With a soft push, I watched fascinated as droplets of a golden liquid flowed from their tiny bodies. After she’d filled the jars, she released the spiders. They scurried back into the sarcophagus beneath the mummy from where they came. Ava slipped the jars into the backpack. The huge spider still sat on her shoulder. I cringed just looking at the thing.
Both Ayden and I put the girls down as they had calmed since the spiders had returned to the coffin.
My mouth felt dry. I had no words.
Ava took the medallion back from the mummy and put it around her neck. “It’s done, my queen as you wished. We shall go now.”
We all gave a collective sigh of relief. The horror of the tomb was nearly over. Then abruptly, our flashlights went out. We were surrounded in total darkness. Amber and Reese screamed. The dark was filled with sounds all of them echoing off of the walls. We froze not knowing what to do. A clanking sound could be heard as well as the scurrying of tiny legs. Fuck! The spiders! I wrapped my arms tightly around Amber. She was softly crying. “Ava, what’s going on?” I asked trying to wield my flashlight like a weapon in case anything or anyone was down here with us.
“Ava?” Ayden called.
There was nothing but the echo of our own voices. Then a soft hissing sound emerged from the depths of the darkness.
“Ava!” we all screamed her name.
I had the most sickening sense that something was behind me. I gulped as my hands shook.
Amber cringed beside me.
Ayden and Reese were standing next to the wall.
Then, Ava appeared in front of us. “Remember don’t touch a thing,” she cautioned.
“The flashlights,” Ayden began.
Ava touched her finger to his lips. “It’s fine. Just follow me.”
I wanted to scream at her, “How?” It was completely dark in the tomb. The scurrying sounds could still be heard.
“Where are the steps?” Amber whispered frantically in my ear.
I was just as eager as she was to leave. I still had the most frightening feeling as if ancient soldiers were going to pop out from the depths of the tomb at any moment.
“We’re not leaving yet. There’s something I still have to do.”
“What?” Ayden demanded his voice becoming frantic. He was as eager to leave the tomb as I was.
“I have to return the medallion to its’ rightful place.”
I felt sick. The tomb was stiflingly hot and the lack of air moving through it made it seem as though it were closing in on us. The walls of the tomb grew narrower as we walked.
“Ava, are we almost there?” Reese asked in a worried voice.
“Just a few more feet.”
“How can you tell? It’s dark.” Amber’s voice was filled with fear and frustration.
Our desire to leave the tomb was palpable.
“I just know,” she replied in a firm voice.
I wondered if that hideous spider was still sitting atop her shoulder. The thought of it filled me with revulsion.
Abruptly, our flashlights beamed light everywhere as we entered a large open room. The walls were decorated with colorful hieroglyphics the same way the other room was. Ancient carvings of men, women, and spiders were etched into the stone.
In the center of the room appeared to be an altar of some kind. It was about 4 and a half feet high and about 4 feet wide. The altar was made of stone embellished with pictures of a woman and spiders. In the center of the altar was a golden spider. It had jewels for eyes and emeralds decorated each leg of it. I was fascinated. A sculpture such as that would be worth a fortune!
Ava walked slowly to the altar. She knelt before it placing her hands atop it. She mumbled several words before removing the medallion from around her neck. Holding it up towards the altar, she murmured several more words before placing it back onto the altar. “Thank you,” she said.
We all stood transfixed at the sight. The gold from the altar gleamed brilliantly as our flashlights shone upon it.
The golden beauty of the altar captivated me. I couldn’t imagine ancient people having created it. I left Amber’s side to get a closer look.
“What are you doing, Ash?” Amber whispered as she stood still as a statue next to Ayden and Reese.
“I have to see.” My eyes were riveted on the spider sitting atop the altar. Its’ bejeweled eyes bored into my own beckoning to me, calling my name as I stepped closer. “I have to know,” the words spilled from my lips. I heard my own voice speaking, but it was as if I had no control over my own tongue.
The three of them stood watching me as Ava bit her lip stepping aside as I drew closer. “Ash, don’t!” she cried grabbing my arm.
Before I knew it, my fingers wrapped around the golden statue. Instantly, I felt a jolt of electricity knocking me backwards. A throbbing pain erupted through my body. I clinched my eyes shut as hard as I could. Then when I opened them, I was immediately transported to another time. I couldn’t see Amber, Ayden, Reese, or Ava.
All I could see was her.
Captivating in her long aqua blue dress woven with golden threads, I glimpsed her long silky black hair spilling down her back. The peaks of her breasts jutted out against the flimsy cotton.
As the moonlight illuminated her silhouette, I could see her body clearly through the cloak. She was breathtaking. I couldn’t breathe as I leaned back against the satiny pillows. I looked about me. I was no longer in the tomb, but rather I was in a lavish palace lying on a floor covered in silk pillows.
Looking down at myself, I saw I was clad in a white Egyptian fine linen skirt and a gold shirt emblazoned with jewels. I touched my hands to my head to find it adorned in a blue and gold headdress. My hair was long and bound beneath the headdress.
Was I some type of ruler? Where was I? What was happening?
“Finally, you have come, Amon. It has been too long, my darling,” she purred as she crept closer to me.
The great room was wide and open. A strong wind poured in from the north. I peered out to see the great Nile River in the distance. “I’m speechless,” I found myself saying.
“Your princess, Nephiri is here.” She smiled. Her eyes were rimmed in kohl black eyeliner swept outward from the corners. Her lips were painted deep red. Her hair was decorated with golden headband from which dangled several jewels.
“Nephiri,” I whispered her name. She was most beautiful. Her hips undulated as she walked towards me. Seizing her in my arms, I threw open her dress. The material was so sheer and fine it seemed to melt away. I pressed my lips to hers feeling her melt into me.
“My lord, Amon,” she murmured as my hands roamed her body. Her curves were deliciously full and I couldn’t get enough of her. A statue of the god Anubis with his face of a jackal and the body of a man loomed over us.
I pushed her back onto the pillows as the moonlight enveloped us. My lips found her nipples nudging them with my tongue. They grew harder and firmer under my touch until they reminded me of the nectar from the sweetest fruit east of the Nile.
“Please, take me, Amon,” she begged as she slipped her golden headband off. She placed aside us as my lips traversed the rest of her body.
Her scent was sweetness and spice. Her dusky flesh was a delight to my palate. Parting her legs, I dipped my tongue into her. She squealed with pleasure as she wrapped her legs around my head. I removed my headdress before proceeding. My fingers peeled the lips of her core back so I could taste her very essence. Her core pulsed as I licked her soft lips up and down. Her juices glazed my face with her sweetness as I lapped at her core.
“Take me now,” she mewled as I whipped my shirt off. She ran her hands over my heavily muscled chest feeling each ab muscle inch by inch before lying back and spreading her legs wide.
“Not this way, Princess.” I growled flipping her over onto her knees. Her curvy ass was in the air and I clutched at her full, feminine hips. My cock was raging as I rubbed the tip against her wetness.
Immediately, I thrust my cock deep inside her. She was tight, so tight I thought I would break my cock off inside her. As I slid my cock in and out of her, Nephiri cried out clutching the pillows burying her face deep into them.
“Is this what you wanted, my Princess?” I spat the words as I pummeled her with my cock. “Tell me how much you love it,” I commanded.
“Amon, oh Amon, I love it. I need it!” she cried out her pussy gripping my cock as she came.
Immediately, I was drenched in her juices. My rapture was just beginning.
My screams soon accompanied hers. I roared loudly as I came deep inside her. Grabbing her hips roughly, I drove myself deep inside her thrusting violently as I came again.
I felt dizzy as I collapsed onto the pillows next to her. My lips brushed hers before I closed my eyes. The hot sand spewed into the tent as a storm began to whip through the air.
“Nephiri, Nephiri,” I chanted her name softly as I stroked her hair.
Her emerald green eyes gazed back at me. “Shall I be your queen now, Amon?”
Her eyes, so familiar, enchanted me even after I was spent. “Of course.”
“Ash! Ash!” I heard a voice calling me through the darkness. My eyes fluttered open to see Amber standing by my right. I was lying on the ground. I looked up and saw Ayden and Reese on my left looking concerned.
“Are you okay?” Ayden held his hand out to me. He helped me to my feet.
“What the hell happened?” I rubbed my head and felt my normal short hair again. There was a huge, painful lump on the back of my head.
“You grabbed the statue and then fell backwards,” Reese replied.
“Why did I—why would I do that?”
“I warned you, didn’t I?” Ava emerged from behind the altar. She had replaced the statue next to the medallion.
I nodded rubbing my head.
“Now let’s get the hell out of here before someone finds us,” Ava advised.
She didn’t have to tell us twice. We all grabbed our gear and followed to the stone steps.
“Push the door back into place,” Ava instructed. “We need to leave this place as we found it.”
“Why? Don’t you think they’ll want to retrieve the rest of the spiders?” Ayden asked casting a weary glance at the shovels we’d left lying in the sand.
It was still the middle of the night and we were both exhausted. The last thing either of us wanted was to shovel all that damn sand back into place.
“They don’t need to. I took several spiders and their venom. They can mate the spiders in the lab.”
My head ached too much to argue with her. If Ava said we were to replace the sand, then we would. Quickly, we pushed the sand back over the huge metal door.
We trudged back through the desert to the van that was still waiting for us. The driver was sleeping. “I was getting worried about you. Did you all get what you came for?” he asked.
“Of course. I always do.” Ava winked.
As the van rumbled its way through the desert back onto the road, we were accosted by a long black car.
Abruptly, the van came to a halt. “It’s the CPD. Get out,” the driver hissed. “Do whatever they say. Get your papers ready.”
My head throbbed with pain. All I wanted to do was get back to the hotel. I could still smell the scent of Nephiri’s perfume in my nostrils. I had no idea what I’d just experienced, but it frightened me nonetheless. We scrambled out of the van clutching our passports.
“Who are you? Why are you out here in the middle of the night?” Several guards armed with machine guns demanded as we stood before them. The lights of the city flickered in the distance.
“We’re Americans,” Ava asserted gesturing for us to show our passports.
They murmured something in Arabic we couldn’t understand. They took our passports and passed them amongst themselves. They all nodded several times then laughed.
“Who’s the Americans?”
“We all are,” Ava answered looking annoyed.
The night air was startlingly cool and we shivered in our jackets.
“This says you’re not American. They are all American, but this says you’re British.” One of the guards with a thick black mustache gestured to her passport.
She peered at it closely. “So? British, American, who cares?”
“Miss….Jaynes, is it?”
We all looked at each other. Why had she given him a fake passport? Ayden’s was fake, but why was hers?
“Yes, Samantha Jaynes. I’m from Liverpool.”
They all laughed loudly.
The driver was sweating so badly his collar was soaked.
“Really? You don’t have a Scouse accent,” one of the guards spoke in a clearly British accent.
Ava glared at him. “I didn’t say I lived there all my life, you fucking moron. Liverpool is my current residence. I was born in the United States.”
The guard scowled at her and motioned to the rest of us. “Get back in the fucking van. Get back to your hotel and don’t let us catch you out here again.”
Eagerly, we opened the van door, but the guard grabbed Ava’s arm. “You’re not going anywhere. This passport is obviously fake.”
“Get your fucking hands off of me.” Ava squirmed in his grip.
“You all go now. You can retrieve your friend tomorrow at the police station if she can prove her correct identity.”
I didn’t know what to do. Should we leave? Was Ava safe with these assholes?
“We must go now, please.” The driver urged us.
“Go, Ash. I’ll figure this out.” Ava nodded at me.
Worriedly, I huddled inside the van with the others. As we headed towards the hotel, I thought about Ava. She was strong to be sure, but how was she going to get herself out of this?
Our plane was on the tarmac getting ready for takeoff. The pilot had advised me that we couldn’t wait much longer. Ayden had left early this morning to find Ava. They still hadn’t returned. “We have to wait for Ava and Ayden. I’m not leaving here without them,” I stated firmly.
Reese and Amber gave me worried looks.
We kept looking out the window praying for their safe return.
Amy, the flight attendant touched my shoulder. “We can’t wait any longer. A huge storm is coming in. If we don’t leave now, we’ll be stuck here for a while.”
“I’m not leaving without my brother and sister!” I shouted standing up.
Before I could go any further, the plane door opened. Ayden appeared with Ava in tow. Her long black hair was disheveled, but otherwise she appeared to be okay. “Oh my God, how did you get her out?” I asked Ayden.
He flopped down onto the chair grabbing a bottle of water. “Why don’t you let her tell you?” he asked panting for breath.
Ava gave a sardonic grin.
The policemen took me to what they called a ‘holding center’. I assumed it would be like a jail. However, the primitive quarters reminded me more of a Russian gulag than a jail. I was shoved into a tiny cell with cold, cement floors and walls stained with dried blood. I sat down on a hard metal bunk covered in a flimsy cot mattress and shivered.
I’d been in several jails in the U.S. before for various crimes, but I never had to stay very long. I’d always had various members of law enforcement in my back pocket so I never really had to worry.
But this was Egypt.
As I sat there trying to think of who I could contact to assist me, an attractive younger guard came to my cell.
“Is this her? The British American?” The guard laughed motioning to me. He spoke in accented Arabic. I sensed his native tongue wasn’t Arabic rather a Romance language perhaps French or Spanish.
“That’s her.” The fat guard who’d brought me in tossed him the keys. “See what you can do with her. Maybe she’ll talk to you.”
The young guard smiled at me knowingly. I met his eyes squarely to let him know I wasn’t afraid of him. Indeed, I wasn’t. I had yet to meet a man who could make cower in fear. I’d lived through enough hell as a young girl with my own mother who would lock me in a closet for days on end. There was nothing this asshole could do to me that I couldn’t handle.
Or didn’t want to.
He threw open the cell door.
Calmly, I stood up from the bed. With a quick jut of my chin, I let him know I wasn’t some weak woman to push around. If he wanted to take me, he was going to have to work for it.
His boots clicked on the tile floor as he inched closer. I braced myself against the bunk. My eyes darted about to see if anyone else was around.
We were all alone.
The overhead lights case an eerie glow to the dank room. The heavy, musky scent of urine stung my nostrils. Ignoring it, I pressed the back of my head to the bunk.
He moved towards me until we were toe to toe. I could see tiny hairs he’d missed while shaving. His eyes were dark brown nearly black and glittered with hatred. I could see large pores in his face and he reeked of garlic. I nearly gagged from his body odor and longed to hold my nose.
But I held his gaze. If this motherfucker wanted a challenge, I was more than ready to give it to him.
“So you’re the dirty sow who thinks she can deceive the Egyptian government?”
I smirked raising my eyebrow.“I don’t think it. I know it. Got a problem with that?”
His eyes widened slightly.
I knew he considered me more than brazen to confront him.
“You know, Miss, I could ensure you never leave this cell alive.”
I laughed drawing clenching my hands. “I could say the same.”
He looked me up and down slowly then burst out laughing. “You’re going to fight me? A tiny thing like you? Please, I don’t fight women. I fuck them.” He drew his hand to my breast cupping it lightly.
I cringed beneath his touch. His breath was hot on my face making my stomach churn. “So that’s what you want? Why didn’t you just say so?” I batted my eyes at him.
He grinned unbuckling his pants. He pushed me down onto the flimsy cot. “Are you going to strip or do I have to cut your clothes off?” He removed a large hunting knife from a leather sheath on his hip.
I admired its’ length. I imagined it was bigger than his cock. The thought made me laugh.
Infuriated by my laughter, he brought the knife to my throat.
The blade nicked my skin causing blood to trickle from the cut on my neck. I winced, but kept my gaze steady.
“You think this is funny? How about I fuck your tight hole with this knife first? Then I’ll do whatever is left.” Tiny droplets of his saliva sprayed me as he spoke.
“You do whatever you have to do to keep your boss happy. Whatever makes you feel like a real man. I was laughing because that knife is probably a lot bigger than your cock. That’s why you carry it around.”
His face turned bright red.
It was comical to see him struggle to comprehend a woman pinned beneath him about to be assaulted was refusing to give into his petty threats. I imagined all the women that had been in this cell before me had cowered before him inflating his ego before he terrorized them. The thought enraged me strengthening me.
“Any last words before I tear you apart?” He hissed in my ear as the knife was still pressing at my throat.
“Just a question.”
“What?” He withdrew the knife from my throat dragging it slowly down my body to my stomach.
“Has any woman actually wanted to fuck you? Or did you have to terrorize them to get pussy?”
“Bitch,” he seethed slicing my clothes apart. “I’m gonna love cutting you up after I fuck you until you scream.”
Brutally, he shoved my legs open. He drew the knife down between my breasts to the top of my pussy. “Ohhhhh, that’s a pretty little box you have there. It’s a shame I’m going to have to tear it up.”
I’d had just about enough of this asshole.
As he pulled his cock out of his pants, he let the knife clatter to the floor. He fisted his cock which was, indeed, quite small and positioned himself to thrust into me.
The whole jail was deathly quiet.
“Stop,” I uttered one word that echoed throughout the cell.
“Fuck you.” His hand struck me in the face whipping my head to the side. My mouth was flooded with the taste of blood.
“This is your final warning.” My words uttered with calm as I closed my eyes briefly. He ignored me and I felt his flesh touch my opening.
“Nyet!” I called. As the large spider hiding in my pocket raced up my arm onto his neck.
“What is this?” He screamed jumping back as the spider’s fangs bit deeply into his skin pumping its’ venom into his veins. He fell backwards hitting his head on the concrete. He writhed in agony from the spider bite kicking his feet on the floor. His face turned bright red his hands clasping his neck as he struggled to breathe.
I stood up wrapping myself in the shreds of my clothes. As his struggle came to an end, I watched as foam sputtered from his mouth. I spat down into his face.
“Who’s not leaving this cell? I think that would be you.” I yanked the keys from his pocket and gave his body a vicious kick.
“Come,” I called to the spider bending down for her to run up my arm.
It was good to be the queen.
We all stared at her our mouths agape.
I cringed thinking the spider was on board the plane somewhere.
“Are you all just going to sit there like that? It’s going to be a pretty boring trip.” Ava rolled her eyes leaning her head back against the seat.
“That’s how you got away?” Amber asked incredulously.
“Pretty much.” She smirked looking like the cat who ate the canary. The rest of trip went smoothly.
A jerking motion awoke me as we touched down in New York City. The plane skidded onto the runway. Gripping the arms of the seat, I said a silent prayer of thanks that we were back safely in the U.S.
Turning to me, Ava flashed a wicked grin. “Now we just have to meet with Global Medical Management and see what they say.”
After the harrowing adventure in Egypt, I was ready to deal with anything.
“Be quiet,” Ava whispered as we walked through the corridor of the main building.
It was one of the most elaborate office buildings I’d ever been inside and I was from Manhattan.
Massive Greek Ionic columns surrounded the outside of the building. The inside was decorated in lavish classical style paintings. Old fashioned gas lamps adorned the walls. It certainly wasn’t the type of place you would expect to house a modern pharmaceutical company.
Ava was certainly dressed for the occasion. She had her long black hair swept back into a low ponytail. She was wearing a light gray suit jacket and pencil skirt with a dark blue blouse. Her high heels were black. Ayden and I both wore our regular suits and ties.
Arriving on the top floor, Ava, Ayden, and I walked into the waiting area. Plush leather couches littered the room as we waited for our appointment. Ava carried the bag that held the spiders and the venom. I loathed for that bag to even be near me. I had to admit it made me nervous to think the spiders would get out.
“Blackthorne?” the redheaded receptionist called our names.
Ava gathered her bag and we walked inside the office. If the outside of the building had been lavish, then the private office was extraordinary.
“You are Ava Blackthorne?” A tall thin man in his early 50s nodded at her. Another shorter man with a huge bald spot stood beside him.
“Yes, and these are my brothers, Ayden and Ashton. We have a proposal for you I believe your company would benefit from.”
“I’m Robert Thomas and this is Dr. Miles Fordham.”
We shook their hands. I knew who Robert Thomas was. He held a great amount of power and had government and business contacts everywhere. He was revered as much as he was loathed.
“Have a seat. Miss Blackthorne informed us that there was something remarkable you all found on a recent trip to Egypt.” Robert sat across from us at the long conference table.
“Ava,” she corrected.
“Alright, Ava, you spoke of the elusive spider species, theraphosa cavaticus. Where did you uncover them?” Dr. Fordham eyed us suspiciously.
Ava propped the tan briefcase on the table. She unlocked it and placed a glass jar containing two spiders on the table.
The two men sat back in awe.
“Behold, gentlemen, theraphosa cavaticus. I have two jars full of venom and three jars containing more live spiders. This is the real deal.” Ava looked at us both.
Dr. Fordham picked up the jar containing the spiders and turned it over in his hands. He reached for a slim black case opening it to remove a magnifying glass. He peered at them through the glass turning it over again and again mumbling to himself.
“What do you think, Dr. Fordham?” Robert asked as he glanced at the insects.
“These appear to be theraphosa cavaticus. I won’t know for sure until I take a sample back to the lab. May I?” he asked Ava.
“Of course.”
He donned a pair of white latex gloves before pouring a bit of the venom into a test tube. He took one of the spiders and placed in a petri dish. “I’ll be right back.”
Robert continued to make small talk with us.
We all rolled our eyes as we waited to hear if we were going to make several billion dollars on this deal.
About a half an hour later, Dr. Fordham came back surrounded by several doctors. “Where did you get these spiders?” he demanded slapping his hand on the table in front of us.
Ayden and I jumped, but Ava remained calm. “Egypt, but that is irrelevant. These are the species you were looking for, are they not? That’s what you’ve been looking for, isn’t it? These spiders are the Holy Grail of the cancer world.” Ava folded her arms across her chest. I could tell from the way she sighed she wasn’t in the mood for the academia world’s shit.
“Yes, they are, but what I want to know is how did you find them? We’ve been looking for this species of spiders for more than twenty years!” Another doctor raged at us.
Ava looked nonplussed. She reached across the table and snatched the vial with the spider in it. “If you don’t want what we have to offer, then fuck off.”
Another doctor who resembled a Nazi with his pinched face and tight smile grabbed her arm. “Not so fast, Miss Blackthorne.”
I had half-expected him to call her ‘Fraulein’ as he even spoke in a German accent.
“Do you want it or not? I want to talk terms,” Ava spat her words angrily at them.
Both Ayden and I nervously sat in our chairs waiting their replies.
The doctors and Robert whispered amongst themselves. Finally, they addressed us. “Of course we do. What are the terms you are proposing?” Robert drummed his fingers on the table.
“For the spiders and the venom? Given that these spiders contain venom that can cure cancer, we will open the bidding at $20 billion,” Ava stated confidently.
The doctors’ eyes widened in disbelief. Robert nearly choked on the water he was drinking. “Are you out of your minds? That’s out of the question.” Robert’s face turned bright red.
Ava shrugged. “Then we will take our specimens to another company or better yet, another country. I hear that Russia may be quite interested in what I have to offer.”
“You’re bluffing. You don’t have any contacts with Russian drug companies.”
Ava laughed. “You do know who were are, don’t you? Ashler Blackthorne had a great deal of influence with the Russian mafiya. I think that will open a lot of doors for us there.”
“Ashler Blackthorne died in 2015. Times have changed.”
Where my father was concerned, I had no discretion. I was tired of listening to what Ava succinctly referred to as ‘bullshit’. “We are his children. We are continuing his legacy. I will not sit here and have you impugn his name, do you understand me?” I pounded my fist on the table so hard the specimen jars shook. The yellow venom sloshed inside the vial. “Gentlemen, the opening bid is $20 billion considering that you will likely make ten times that amount is undeniable. This money is to compensate us for the risks we took getting these spiders. Not only was the trip perilous to us, but we suffered a plane crash which took the life of our pilots.”
The doctors and Robert conferred once more. “We are prepared to offer you $5 billion not a penny more.” Robert stated emphatically.
“$9 billion,” I countered.
Ava shot me a warning look.
I ignored her. Negotiation was my forte.
“$6 billion.”
“$8 billion.” I adored negotiation. These clowns didn’t know who they were dealing with. If they wouldn’t acquiesce to our demands, then we would contact my father’s old friend, Yuri Romanov in Moscow. He was a vor in the Russian mafiya. Still, being a former Navy lieutenant, I had a strong sense of patriotism. I wanted my own country to have the rights to this drug.
“$7 billion and that’s our final offer.” Robert folded his arms.
Perfect. That’s the number we imagined they would finally offer us.
“My attorneys will forward you the paperwork. We’ll meet next week same time here to sign everything.” I stood up from the table pleased it had gone so well.
“Not so fast, Ash.” Ava’s voice was stern. The room felt overwhelmingly stuffy. The doctors continued to sit quietly as Robert spoke.
“What else, Miss Blackthorne?”
“How do we know that you’re going to use the spiders and their venom for the benefit of mankind? How do we know you’re using them for good?”
The doctors looked about the room. Robert cleared his throat. “What we use them for is none of your concern. Once you sign these papers, then the spiders become ours. You will detail a map directing us to precisely where you found them.”
Ayden frowned. “That’s not good enough. I didn’t risk my life for just money. I wanted something good to come of this. I wanted to be able to help people.”
“It’s not your concern. If you want the money, you’ll sign the papers. Otherwise, you can take your business elsewhere.” Robert stood up.
The doctors appeared shocked. I could tell they were hungry to get their hands on the spiders.
I knew by the tone of his voice they had no intention of helping anyone. I wanted the venom to help others as well, but if they weren’t willing to do that, I didn’t know what else we could do. We could take the spiders and venom to the Russians, but I doubted they would use it for what it was intended for. Besides, Ayden wasn’t going to leave here until he got their word that they would use the venom for the good of mankind.
Unless I used the one bargaining chip that gave him back what he so desperately wanted. “Gentlemen, could we speak to Robert alone?” I addressed the doctors.
They gathered their belongings and left the room eyeing us suspiciously.
Ava studied me as I spoke to Robert.
“Level with us. You’re going to fucking bury this, aren’t you?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
His mouth turned down as he nodded. “We don’t have a choice. This could be the medical miracle of the century, but the big drug companies will pull all our funding. Something like this could put them out of business. They will lose billions of dollars. Something this big could literally sink the economy. Jobs will be lost. People will lose their homes, their livelihoods. So we’re offering you money to go away.”
“That’s bullshit!” Ayden slammed his fist on the table. “We’re taking these specimens to Russia.”
Ava and I grabbed his arm. “Not yet, Ayden. As much as it upsets me, I will allow you to keep the specimens if you do one thing for us.” Ava’s fingers dug into his arm.
“No, Ava.” Ayden reached for the vials.
I slapped his arm.
“What is that?” Robert asked, rubbing his temples.
“Our brother here committed a crime last year. We need a guarantee he will never face prosecution for it.” I surveyed their faces.
They all looked to Robert.
Ayden’s face went pale. He leaned back slowly.
“Is that all? I can make some calls. I don’t know what he did, but unless he tried assassinating the president, I can get it fixed for you. I’ll have the papers drawn up.”
I looked at Ava and Ayden for approval.
She nodded readily.
Ayden looked doubtful.
I could tell he was weighing his own freedom with the possibility of helping others.
I knew what side would win. He was a Blackthorne after all. “It’s fine with me,” he mumbled. “But I still want to go on record stating my goal was for this to help people.”
Duly noted, I thought. As much as it sickened me to have something so valuable denied to sick people, we all signed the papers.
As we walked out, Ava pinched my side. “Look,” she hissed. Indeed, there was in her pocket two small vials containing venom. “You don’t think I’d give them everything, did you? Now Ayden is free and we’re $7 billion dollars richer.”
“What the hell are you going to do with that, Ava?” Ayden was shocked as he looked at the vials.
“You’ll see.”