Chapter 7; Traveling Abroad
Derek waited for the plane to reach top altitude before laying his seat back; all kinds of thoughts were roaming through his always active mind, but the one that stuck around the longest was his private life. He finally had one and at the moment it was out of reach. That is the life of a Legacy precept. Listening to all of the commotion in the lower classes of the flight Derek’s thoughts turned back to the time he had to accept a coach flight from San Francisco to Athens, Greece.
Swearing that would never happen again, Derek shook the thoughts of the unruly kids out of his mind. Parents never seemed to make their children behave these days and he wondered if that was because of the child abuse laws or the fact that parents gave up caring what their children did. On the bright side, he did get to be a part of an amazing expedition and met a great woman to boot. An archaeologist was the perfect catch, having alot in common he didn't have to hide his secret life from her.
"Drink?" the stewardess offered Derek something from the cart. "A little white wine will be fine" Derek smiled his handsome smile as he scanned the woman. "Here you are and if you need anything else just call" the stewardess returned his smile. "I’ll do that" Derek was checking out her exiting form. "Nice set of buns on that one."
*Thar Desert, Pakistan*
The days were hot but that didn’t stop Andrea from moving forward with her plans, wiping the sweat from her brow nothing was going to get in her way. The determined archaeologist was on a mission of great importance, she had received word that a greatly sought after artifact was said to have surfaced after being lost for so many centuries. Setting up camp for the night Andrea and her crew prepared for their last meal before dawn. All 20 explorers ate a feast of various types of chips and cookies while savoring the delicious cheese burgers Andrea prepared over an open fire. Indulging themselves in songs and stories as they ate, they washed down the meal with the choice of coffee, bottled water or 20 oz bottles of Coke or Dr. Pepper.
"Once we return with our prize, steak dinner on me" Andrea raised her bottle in a toast to her devoted crew. "We will be eatin’ first class" Dr. Peter Evans, the dig's anthropologist raised his coffee mug. "Just don’t bankrupt me" Andrea laughed. "I do have a special dinner planned." "We know your net worth so there is no way we can bankrupt you in just one meal" Mark, the assistant archaeologist laughed. "Remember I have seen you guys eat" Andrea excused herself to retire for the night. "So what's the birthday boy going to be indulging himself in?" Brian, the head photographer grinned. "Wouldn’t you like to know" Andrea disappeared in the darkness to tunes of hell yeah.
Dr. Andrea Archer was one beautiful woman with a body men hungered for. Even though she had a tough exterior that didn't keep the men on her crew from wondering about her. Half Greek and half Indian, she had to be one incredible lover, but the question was, which heritage prevailed in the throws of passion.
Slipping into her tent, Andrea readied herself for a night of loneliness, thanks to this expedition not even as much as a kiss from Derek's magical lips had been felt in weeks. Making herself comfortable on top of her sleeping bag, Andrea fell asleep with her memories and cherished photos of Derek and her father lying on her chest close to her heart. Derek was a recent good luck charm for her and the photo of her father always brought her good luck on the toughest of expeditions. It was the last happy memory of a 16 year old daddy's girl and the father who left her behind due to tragic death.
"I am going to try to enter the underground pyramid this morning" Andrea informed her crew as she slipped the photo of her father in her pocket and put on her gloves. "So be ready with the rope incase something goes wrong, you will have to pull me up immediately." "Dr. Archer" a bearded man approached her from a newly arrived jeep. "May I help you?" Andrea stood to greet the man.
"I have a message for you, your service said it was urgent you get this as soon as possible" he held out his thinning hand for her to take the sweaty paper. "Is everything alright?" Andrea thanked the man and gave him some bottled water. “All I know is what I was told" the man bid everyone good day and left in his jeep.
Reading over the note several times Andrea wasn’t sure what to make of it, the look of confusion in her eyes held everyone's concern. The scribbled chicken scratch wasn’t very plain, barely legible at the least, even for her trained expert eye to decipher; this gave the good doctor cause to worry.
Emergency…help
Tribunal…Funds Mandatory
<st1:City><st1:place>London</st1:place></st1:City>
Call Alex & Nick
"What’s up doc?" Wesley, the expedition linguistic expert looked over her shoulder. "I know you are great with translating languages but is something wrong?" "I have to go, apparently there is trouble at home" Andrea quickly headed for her tent to pack her things. "I will notify you with plans to resume this expedition at a later date." "Sure thing" everyone went to break camp and pack the gear.
Alex was typing away as she put her nose to the grindstone, it would serve Derek right if she just quit. The beautiful and talented researcher deserved better than this-better than being locked up in a room without the added pleasure of an outside view. Even the non-existence of dates was starting to frustrate her; how could a woman have a good time when Derek Rayne was running background checks on every good prospect?
"I think I’ll take my laptop to the kitchen where I can get a lovely view as well as a snack if I need it" Alex stretched and yawned. "With Nick gone I can pretty much have my choice of food, it's not like there will be anyone checking out my caboose anyway--thanks Derek."
Alex was enjoying the peace and quiet on a full stomach; she was content with her CD player and choice of music, with Nick and Derek around all she would get were snide comments and suggestions of their favorite rock ‘n’ roll bands. It was hard to picture Derek a fan of hard rock but he did have his days. Finally drifting into a pleasant mood, the ringing of the phone drifted into her moment.
"Luna Foundation Alex Moreau speaking." "Alex, what’s going on? What’s wrong? Is Derek okay?" Andrea was firing question like speeding bullets. "Well hello to you to sis" Alex tried to calm Andrea down. "Alex, I am in Pakistan where the phone connections aren’t that great, tell me what happened to Derek and why London wants to hang his ass with a tribunal" Andrea was impatient. "Does he need a lawyer? Is that what he needs money for?" "What are you talking about?" Alex sipped her tea. "I received an urgent message in the desert" Andrea explained. "What did it say?" Alex grabbed a pencil and paper.
"Emergency…help…Tribunal…Funds Mandatory…London…call Alex & Nick" Andrea read the dirty paper. "That’s it?" Alex bit into her croissant. "Isn’t that enough!" Andrea exploded with worry.
"The note should have read differently" Alex swallowed the cream cheese filling and read the correct message. "Is that all!" Andrea growled with anger. “I was pulled off a major dig for that. I will kill that Dutch S.O.B. when I see him again." "Get in line" Alex noticed her cheerful mood was fading at the mention of her boss and mentor. "Derek Rayne leaving me here alone to work on my Homer Simpson ass, just because he has the nerve to think I best suit the Legacy on my rump behind a friggin’ computer terminal." "Monty Burns getting to you again?" Andrea found a laugh inside herself. "If he calls tell him to eat my shorts as well as yours."
"So you got him edible undies for his birthday?" Alex reached for another cream cheese croissant. "No" Andrea was almost blushing at the suggestion. "Dinner out complete with symphony, a night cap at his favorite hotel with a new negligee, the one he has had his eye on for months to be exact; but after this stunt he might not get any of it."
"What exactly did you get him to enjoy other than the nightie?" Alex was curious. "A new silk robe and his favorite imported expensive cologne, Royal Copenhagen" Andrea answered. "Derek hasn’t been able to find any for a while and has been grouchy about it" Alex commented. "I asked his supplier to keep it from him until I can give it to him myself" Andrea told Alex her secret.
"This is one birthday he will love and finally be able to relax if William Sloan doesn’t find a way to bother him" Alex avoided their esteemed leader’s mood when the ruling precept interfered with his plans. "I took care of William and by the time I am through with Dr. Derek Rayne, he will be so agreeable you and Nick will be thanking me on hands and knees" Andrea softly laughed. "How are you going to manage that?" Alex was dying to know. "A week at the very bed and breakfast he has been having trouble getting reservations for" Andrea was holding the pamphlet for the Whispering Gardens Inn in her hand.
