From Bad to Worse

There’s a thief. The camp is in disarray as every guard is being lined up outside. It all feels like a bad case of dejá vu. The police groan as the hot sun is making them uncomfortable. The researchers are uncomfortable too, but for different reasons. They decided to split up in two groups to make the process faster. There’s only a few places an extension cable could be missing from and that’s where the next clue is, if anywhere.

Monica runs out of the workers tent and shakes her head at Connor who went around the tent. “Not this one… god. We’re letting them escape!” Monica runs to her tent and Connor follows her calmly. He enters and sees Monica look around frantically. “Monica. Hey. Relax.” He walks over to her and looks down as she feels for any cables under her desk: “What happened to calm and collected Monica? Huh?”

The woman looks up scowling and gets up slowly: “Do you have any idea about the gravity of this situation, Connor?! We… we..! Ah! How are you so calm?!” She starts running out of the building as Connor grabs her arm. The girl looks back furrowing her brow. “Ok, think about it, Monica. How did they know which box it was. Were they coded somehow? No, they weren’t. They cut the lock on the exact one. Do you think they really guessed? Think about it, Monica.”

She looks thoughtful and sits on the side of her well made bed and holds a hand over her mouth: “I-I… that is weird. H-how… did they..? They must’ve seen when I opened the box. I did that yesterday…” She looks up at Connor who nods and takes a chair and sits beside her: “Was there anyone else in the tent when you did that. Any chance someone was looking?” She shakes her head and sighs: “It’s hopeless… they must be long gone now. H-how are we going to make any discoveries now? W-we lost the ankhs! What was all that we did in the temple for?”

Connor fixes his hat and crosses his arms: “... Was there someone looking? What were you doing there?” He keeps his voice calm and raises an eyebrow at the girl. Monica looks at him helplessly and blushes: “W-well! I was just… just looking. I wanted to see them. I wanted to check up on them. I can’t believe they are…” Connor grabs her arm again and leans closer: “Focus. Was there someone in there with you. That’s our only clue right now. Forget the cables. You are not thinking clearly. Have you been there a lot? You know what I think?” Connor says: “I think you are obsessed.” Monica looks down embarrassed and stammers:

“T-there was only one… h-his name is Paul. I put him there to g-guard the ankhs… I thought there should’ve been a guard... I don't feel so good...” She bites on her index finger and looks miserable. “So, this Paul. He was one of the police, right? Maybe the rest will know, huh? Maybe we should go ask them? You see, Monica…” Connor rubs the woman’s arm with his thumb and makes her look up. “I don’t think the real issue is that some asshole stole these things. I think the issue is that you can’t stop obsessing about this whole thing. It’s like it’s a romance novel to you, isn’t it? I heard about what happened in that temple from Nolan. You were acting weird. You know, the folks and I are a little worried.”

The girl leans back and looks at Connor shyly, her jaw trembling. “Y-you are right! This is just something I… something I’ve been dreaming about for so long! It feels like a dream come true to me! I can’t help myself, Connor! Ever since Baya and I...” Connor sees as the girl’s eyes flash yellow for a second. It freaks him out and he gets up. “What happened with you and Baya? You’ve not been yourself since that night. You’ve just been obsessed to throw yourself in danger. It ain’t nothing like you used to be like. It looks to me like you like this whole thing a little too much.” The girl lies on the bed and hold her head: “C-Connor… could you do me a favor? Could you get the ankhs back for me? There’s something… all I can think about is… I can't get him out of my head. Ah, my head.” She moans and holds her head as she squirms on the bed. Connor watches the poor woman reach for her pants and slips a hand inside.

“W-would you be my p-pharaoh, Connor? Would you h-help me, ah! O-oh, I want sex... oh I want it so bad! I can't focus on anything! Ah!” She whines and looks feverish. Connor backs away and leaves the girl squirming on her bed, panting and that same yellow gleam back in her eyes. Monica is definatelly not alright. That bird boy owes everyone some answers..