Zahra took a long pull of her beer, then sighed. “I’ll have to remember that…”
The two women never formally introduced one another. They just sat there and shot the shit, getting to know each other through informal conversation. Yana was grateful for it, too. Meeting new people — people she was going to have to rely on whether she wanted to or not — was always more awkward than it needed to be.
Zahra must have felt the same way, hence the lack of conventional introductions.
The bar was mostly empty, and the bartender was also acting as a de facto waiter. He was currently away from the bar, giving the mercenary and the archeologist some much-needed privacy.
“So, FSB, huh?”
Yana nodded. “Yes.”
“How long?”
Yana emptied her lowball. “Too long.” She was thankful that Zahra didn’t push the subject further. She knew Eddy would have already clued her in. “What about you? What did you do before this?”
“British Army Intelligence Linguist.”
That stunned Yana. “You’re British?” Zahra’s voice contained
The non-Brit smiled. “That’s what my passport says… I grew up in New York and moved to England with my dad and brother after my mom was murdered.”
Yana sensed there was a lot to unpack there, so she left it alone.
“What about after the army?”
Zahra took another long pull. “Worked for the British Museum for a bit… until it sorta blew up.”
“That was you?” Yana asked, once again shocked. She’d heard about the attack on the museum shortly after it had happened. There’d been quite a few deaths, and
“I was there, yeah,” Zahra replied. “But no, I didn’t cause the destruction.” She looked away. “My cousin did. He tried to kill me several times.”
Yana shook her head. “You are a very confusing woman to get a read on, you know that?”
Zahra shrugged. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”
“One thing… In public, please call me Anastasia.”
“Why’s that?” Zahra asked, eyebrow raised.
“Let’s just say that I have made a name for myself in certain circles. I’ve also collected a long list of enemies along the way.”
“
“Yes, well, sort of,” Yana replied, seamlessly shifting back to English. “They are an extremist group out of Libya, right?”
Zahra drained her beer and waggled her head.
“Egypt, and they
The bartender returned and offered the two operatives another round. Since they had nothing to do until tomorrow afternoon, they happily obliged. Yana ordered another vodka, but, this time, Zahra ordered a Cucumber Gin Gimlet.
“Interesting choice,” Yana said, glancing at the cocktail.
Zahra tried it. Her eyes lit up. “Had one recently. Wanted to give it another go.”
“And?”
“Better than the first. Loads of cucumber. The other one was too limey for me.” She rattled off a string of light-speed Spanish to the bartender. He gave Zahra a small bow before moving off. “Wanna try?”
Yana shook her head. “I may be a woman, but I’m not
Zahra set her drink down. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yana didn’t reply. She just gave her associate a small smirk and sipped her vodka.
Zahra returned her smirk with one of her own, and the pair finished their drinks in silence. The weather was beautiful, blowing in a gentle breeze across the bar.
“So,” Yana finally said, setting her second empty down, “about the Scales of Anubis…”
Zahra shook her head. “Not getting into it.”
“Aw, come on.” Yana playfully pouted. “If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine…”
A knock at the door roused a half-hungover, fully jetlagged Zahra. She needed coffee and something meaty and greasy to eat. If she had been back in the States, that would have been a pair of McGriddles. Then again, there were McDonald’s restaurants everywhere. The first thing she’d do when she got out of bed, besides emptying her bladder, was check to see if there was one near her hotel.
There was another knock at the door.
She sighed. The McGriddles would now be the
“I’m fine, thank you!” Zahra shouted, eyes closed.
Another series of knocks followed.
She repeated her reply in Spanish and was quickly answered by yet another flurry of knocks.
“Come on, really?” Zahra rolled out of bed dressed in a loose t-shirt and hip-hugging shorts. “I said, I’m fine!”
In her slightly dazed state, Zahra unlocked the door and turned the knob. If she had been totally coherent, she would have checked the peephole first.
As soon as the door cracked open, it was kicked in. It struck Zahra in the forearms and knocked her back. She had just gotten her arms up in time to keep it from hitting her squarely in the face.
