Jake Atlas Extract 2
Jake Atlas Extract 2
Jake Atlas Extract 2
Egyptomania.
Its just a souvenir shop.
My voice sounded as flat as I felt.
What did you expect? Pan asked.
Something else. Anything else. This shop had
been our last hope of finding our parents. After this
we had nowhere to sleep, no plane ticket home, no
money for food or water.
My shirt clung to my back, and my mouth was so
dry I could barely suck up enough spit to lick my lips.
Tantalizing smells wafted from all directions fried
fish, grilled meat, fresh-baked flatbreads.
It had taken for ever to find the shop, across Cairo
on foot in the blazing heat, and then in among a
maze of lanes and alleys that made up Khan el-Khalili, a huge covered market in one of the oldest parts
of the city.
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I was a thief, a troublemaker. I noticed CCTV cameras and security guards wherever I went. It was a
problem, not a skill.
The shop owner carried a tray from his counter.
Hibiscus flower tea, he said. Egyptian custom.
He set the tray on a low table and poured tea from
a glass pot.
You like those mugs? he asked Pan. I give you
good price.
Pan set the mug down and stepped closer to the
security cameras and the masks. What about these
tea towels? she asked.
Yes, good price.
The mans eyes followed Pans every step.
And these Tutankhamun masks? she asked.
The man stopped pouring. No. Those are very
expensive.
Pans eyes flicked to me, and back to the mask with
the sign.
You wont give me a good price? she asked. For
this one here?
That one is not for sale, the man replied. Display
only.
He held up a glass of steaming tea. His smile
looked forced now. What are your names?
Why do you want to know?
Two children alone. It is not usual. Where are
your parents?
I dont know, Pan said. She turned, looked the
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from the blow to his head. Stepping over him, I examined the contents of one of the cabinets. I recognized
some of the kit from action movies. There were flare
guns, sniper scopes, GPS tracking devices
Uh, Jake? Pan said, pointing.
The holograms had changed again, the projections of Mum and Dad now replaced by photos. One
showed our family at Cairo Airport. Another caught
us standing outside The Grand Old Lady of Cairo.
Who had been there, spying on us?
This is too creepy, Pan muttered.
Another photo appeared. It showed Mum crying
on Dads shoulder as we stood over the stolen tablet.
As I looked at the picture, guilt chewed at my insides.
That was the last time wed seen our parents. Was it
the last time we would ever see them?
A mix of shame and anger and that urge to make
trouble came over me then. I kicked one of the cabinets. It shuddered, then rocked. Pan joined in, ramming her shoulder against the case as I booted it
again and again, until the whole thing crashed onto
its side. Glass shattered and gadgets tumbled across
the floor.
I went for a high five, but Pan left me hanging
again.
Jake, look.
Lights beamed from the screen in the floor,
forming another hologram a six-foot statue of an
Egyptian god. The slim figure was wrapped like a
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mummy and wore a white crown shaped like a traffic cone. The image was impossibly real. We could
see every crack in the stone, every flake in its ancient
paint. The figures arms were crossed over his chest
and he held what looked like a candy cane and a tiny
fishing rod, clutching them close as if he was scared
they might get pinched.
Pan touched the hologram. It crackled and
re-formed just as clearly.
Jake, what is going on here?
I didnt have a clue, but I didnt get a chance to
answer.
Oh, Id say breaking and entering, criminal
damage and general childish immaturity.
The voice rang out around the shop. Wed been so
fixated on the holograms that wed not heard one of
the cabinets slide to the side. A tall figure watched us
from a doorway.
So, nothing unusual for the Atlas children, he
added.
He stepped into the shop. He had slicked-back
silver hair and a gleaming red mark on his cheek.
The scarred man! I gasped.
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