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Mr. Burton.
His associates, including the tall blond man, had their weapons already drawn and aimed at every one of us.
“Mr. Hayes, please do me the honor of lowering your gun,” Mr. Burton said. “Good, now kick it away from you. Any more tricks up your sleeve? Knives and that sort of thing? No? Fine.”
Then Mr. Burton turned his attention to me. The force of his cold fury nearly knocked me over.
“Stand up and away from Ricardo, Inez,” he said, his voice devoid of any warmth. He dismounted on the left side of his horse, and his companions followed suit, their guns still trained on us.
I recognized the burly man, the mean line of muscle that corded his arms. The other two, the tall blond and the other with a thick beard, drew near Whit. One of them held Whit’s revolver, the general’s initials carved along the side.
“If you can keep your hands up, I’d be most grateful,” Mr. Burton said.
Whit complied with a grimace.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Stand up, Inez,” Mr. Burton said. “And move away from your uncle.”
“But he’s hurt. Please, let me help him.”
“I wasn’t aware you were a physician,” Mr. Burton said coldly. He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at my heart. “I won’t repeat myself. Stand up.”
“Stand up, Olivera,” Whit said, his face paling.
I prepared to stand but my uncle gripped my wrist. His eyes widened slightly, and then flicked downward, toward his necktie. Without stoppingto think, I pulled at the knot, and it loosened. I stood, slipping the fabric off his neck, and quickly stuffed it inside the pocket of my dress.
I stepped away from my uncle, thinking fast. It wasn’t a weapon but it was something.
“Bring the girl,” Mr. Burton said to the burly man. He brushed past, knocking into my shoulder. I teetered on my feet, and barely managed to stay upright.
Whit swung around, snarling. The burly man laughed, and disappeared into one of the tunnels visible on the rocky surface.
“It seems burying you alive wasn’t enough of a motivator,” Mr. Burton said.
“What do you want?” I exploded.
“I want the artifacts your mother stole from me. I want to know where she went. You both worked together on Philae; she clearly trusted you.”
“She left me behind, and took the treasure. I don’t know where she went. The last person who saw her is that tall gentleman standing next to you.”
“The bitch double-crossed us the minute we arrived in Cairo,” the blond spat out.
Mr. Burton cocked his gun, and Whit immediately stood in front of me. “Lower it,” he growled. “She’s telling you the truth. She doesn’t know her mother’s whereabouts.”
“Oh, I believe hernow,” Mr. Burton said. “But fortunately my plan worked to draw forward the person who knows the answer to my question.” He pointed to my uncle. “The bullet grazed him, sit him up.”
Two of Mr. Burton’s companions dismounted and strode to Ricardo and dragged him up to his knees. Blood stained his cotton shirt, and he flinched at the rough movement.
“We’ll wait a moment until we’re all together,” Mr. Burton said.
Whit’s gaze flickered from Mr. Burton to the rest of the men surrounding us. His shoulders were tense, hands clenched into a fist. The burly man appeared at the head of the tunnel, a slight figure hunched by his side. I gasped, and started to move forward—
“Make sure she doesn’t go anywhere, Mr. Hunt, if you please,” Mr. Burton said.
One of the men propping up Ricardo darted toward me, but Whit intercepted him. “Stand back.”
I immediately stopped out of terror for Whit. I didn’t like the way Mr. Burton’s goons sized him up, as if he were disposable. Mr. Burton eyed me shrewdly, and I looked away, furious that I had given away my feelings for Whit.
