Banner shuffled around the partition with fatigue written large across his face as Cole crouched behind the small set of display cases in the front entryway of the deceptively not-so-little little jewelry shop. He watched as the young Tavakia, some would call him a goblin, carefully placed a platinum ring set with a spiral of sapphires onto a finger of the elegantly feminine cast stone hand made just for displaying such lovely rings. Celia, of red skin and silver hair, had sent him to the front with another tray of such rings, to give to Cole who was filling the displays with recently produced bits and bobs of fine jewelry. Cole had been about to call his task complete, as the woozy looking Banner listlessly trudged out from around the partition with the second tray.
Cole looked at Banner, and shook his head at either the state of the man, or at the prospect of finding display placements for the contents of this second tray; Banner wasn’t certain which. He smiled at Cole and shrugged.
Cole held out his hands for the tray, and turned once again to the opened back of the case he had been working in. Banner watched as the tray was emptied into the two display cases, and even walked around to the front of the cases to watch as Cole worked to fastidiously arrange each piece to catch the light to best advantage.
Banner was about to ask Cole why he was doing this. Banner had seen plenty of merchants put out displays in the long ago days before the Migration. But that had been in a much different setting, with different circumstances than this little closed room with prettily made wood and glass boxes.
Those craftsmen and women amongst the People did not make “displays” as such. They made an item, and as that item was worn, or used, others would notice its quality, and ask the owner who had made such a wonderful thing. Then word would spread that ‘C’Iadi made beautiful circlets of antler. Or that ‘Pr’Ia could weave unparalleled coats. It was a different way. But before he could get a word
A buzzing noise sounded from behind Banner, and he was in mid-spin to face whatever ensorcelled insect might be attacking when he saw the calm look on Cole’s face, his gray-hazel eyes smiling, as he reached toward a round bump on the wall. When he touched it, the buzzing ceased, and the door behind Banner that led to the street clicked loudly.
As the shop door opened, several sharp inhales marked the entrance of a tall elegant man in a startlingly white suit. Chocolate eyes twinkled from beneath a high ridge of a golden brown brow as the tall, athletically fit man stepped up from the outside street and entered the small foyer.
As they watched, he also watched them, though the smile on his face was not near the expressions Cole and Banner wore. The man dismissed Banner for some reason, stepping past the shorter man to stand across the display cases from Cole.
The young Tavakia wore a pleasant expression, though Banner thought it looked forced.
Leaning toward Cole slightly, as if to whisper a secret to him, the tall man said in a lightly accented voice, “Hello. I don’t intend any harm, and I am here under a flag of truce. Please tell the Great Geb that I have come to treat with him on behalf of my Master.”
Cole held up a single finger, and leaned to the left of the man who now loomed over him, and smiled at Banner. “I”m sorry Mister Tinker, your order isn’t quite finished yet. There is a coffee shop just down the street with a large black cat on the sign out front. If you would like to wait there, have a coffee and a muffin, on us, Mister Stark has an account there. We will bring you your repaired wedding band before you have finished your pastry.”
Cole then smiled broadly at Banner.
Banner nodded back, almost amazed at how smoothly Cole had done this, and smiled back at the lad. He turned and stepped out onto the sidewalk, and moved off to the left, as Cole had pointed, looking for the storefront with the large black cat on its signage. He noticed the tall man had not glanced back at him even once, having dismissed Banner as possibly just another customer in the shop.
He wasn't quite happy with this “Mister Tinker” business, though.
Nurse Ellen watched as the elegant man in the expensive white silk suit was led into the larger office next to the smaller, private office that Mister Stark used. She could not believe the man was so calm, either. He stood motionless, with a peaceful smile gracing his handsomely symmetrical face, in the same room as Alvin, Curt and Cole. Having seen the havoc they each had done to this man’s underlings? Agents? Coworkers…? Over the past several days, she was confused as to why he was here. Was he brave, she wondered, stupid, or just insanely loyal to whomever it was he worked for? Regardless, his serene demeanor was uncanny.
Ellen also wasn’t certain why she had been ushered into the meeting as well. She wasn’t a part of all of this. Not really. Ellen knew she was more or less just a tag-along; a hanger on, if anything. She had been the nurse watching over Banner, and that Banner had used to learn modern English while he had been healing. Once he had left the hospital, she had just been swept up in his flight from the people who had been chasing him; and she still had no idea exactly who that might be, nor why. And now she was sitting in a conference room in a small jewelry business in America.
Alvin Trutt sat on one side of Ellen, and Cole, now in a new set of clothes, sat next to her on her right and smiled up at her. She wasn’t certain as to why, but his hair looked curlier, and slightly more ginger. And his skin was now a healthy golden tan, as if he had spent several weeks at the beach since she had last seen him, some twenty-few minutes ago. Between that and the new set of clothes, she wasn’t sure what was going on.
Stolen story; please report.
Across from her sat Mister Stark, and his wife, Ahoo, in all of her elegant glory. She wore a stylish plum colored pants suit, with a matching hijab, embroidered in gold, that covered her face. Apparently, she covered her face around strangers. She otherwise either just wore the head covering here in the shop, or went bare-headed in all of her exotic, bald, tattooed glory. Ellen fleetingly wondered how she would look with her head shaved.
Some women just made you question your own fashion choices; and Ahoo Stark was one of those amazing, stylish beauties.
Next to Ahoo, looking like a disheveled crow by comparison, was Mister Stark himself. He smiled blandly, almost neutrally, as he watched their newest guest.
Curt loomed by the door, and once they were all seated, he closed the door, nodding to Mister Stark.
“I’m so happy to finally meet you all;” the visitor said in honeyed tones. HIs eyes drifted around the room, but spent a noticeable, lingering moment or two on Ellen, Alvin, and Cole. “I am the Great One’s emissary, Tamir Abin Ur. You may, my friends, call me Tamir, if you please.” He was obviously happy to be here, though Ellen had no idea why.
“After the mistakes made by one of Master Amra’s more overzealous subcontractors,” Mister Stark snorted at this. “Yes. Unfortunate. He was retained to contact your factors, and open discussions with you about a reconciliation. Men like yourself and Master Amra move through the world making ripples, Mighty Geb. You, yourself have been known to change the very map, on occasion. Master Amra wanted to convey to you, in the opening of these talks, that he is willing to forgive you your many tresspasses. As an offer of sincerity, He returns to you your title of Mighty Geb.”
Ahoo had placed her long fingered hand over Mister Stark’s where he had them clasped together in front of himself on the table. Ellen wondered at what “Mighty Geb” was, but let it pass for now.
Mister Stark let out a long sigh as his eyes dropped to the table.
“Please, this is simply a courtesy visit. Let us call this visit, if we must, a prelude to a business deal. My benefactor is interested in reopening both diplomatic and business ties with you, Great Geb. This long standing enmity between you two is disastrous for humanity. I am enjoined by my Principle to make offers to you to ensure you make no more of these unwarranted attacks upon Master Amra, his agents and representatives, SunRize Corp International, and all interests therein. We can talk over the final terms while on route to Egypt. Master Amra will be so happy to see you have finally come to the right decision. He has never wanted you as his enemy, Great Geb.”
He gave a slight bow toward Mister Stark. “You may bring along your D’jinni… wife, even though such beings have been banned from the Sun Blessed Lands of the Nile for several centuries. Master Amra is willing to make an exception for you. This time.” He smiled broadly as he said it, but Ellen thought that smile was a butcher’s smile who had just been delivered an extra side of beef.
With a dismissive shake of his head, his unruly hair waving with the motions, Mister Stark spoke up in a clear, and calm voice. His deep, resonant tones conveying a relaxed attitude that many in the room, Ellen included, were not feeling.
“Sir, thank you for conveying this generous offer of a visit to Cairo. I am sorry to have to turn you down. I and my companions will have to bid you farewell as you return to your employer. Please tell my grandson that I do miss him. He is welcome to visit my home any time he chooses, and he will be welcomed. With enough warning of his visit, I can even arrange for visits with his siblings, his Mother, and one or two aunts and cousins, if he has the time. But, I have too much work to do here.”
Elgin flashed the man a warm smile, and winked.
Tamir had not been expecting this answer, and he worked his mouth open and closed a few times trying to regain his composure. “I’m not certain you have fully understood what Master Amra is offering you, sir.” Tamir was hiding his frustration poorly. “Your father is generously allowing you to return to the lands of your birth! He is magnanimously willing to forgive you your many rebellions against him. He’s…”
“He is MY grandson.” Elgin cut the man off before he could get any more worked up. “I know he has spent a lot of time trying to usurp the titles, roles, and responsibilities of his elders. He was always a precocious boy. But, the man you call Amra, is indeed, my grandson. He is not the ‘Father of Egypt,’ nor is he the ‘Father of the Ennead,’ either.”
Tamir Abin Ur had gone still. Ellen wasn’t certain exactly what this was, and didn’t understand much of what Elgin was saying. Next to her, Mister Trutt was tense, and while the dwarf smiled, she could feel the waves of tension emanating from the man. Cole, on her other side, was relaxed. Too relaxed for what she had seen of the shy, and generally nervous young man.
“My master told me you would say such things, and that you would deny the truths of the world.” He stood, and took from his pocket a digipad style envelope. One of SunRize’s newest products. The thin datapad folded up like a traditional envelope, and when unfolded would act as both a standard datapad as well as having a prerecorded “letter” stored in memory for the recipient.
“When you are ready to return to your father’s good will and benevolence, there is a passport set in this dataslip. It will allow you passage into Egypt and inform your FATHER of your arrival.” With that, he turned to the door where Curt still loomed.
Elgin nodded, and without missing a single heartbeat, Curt opened the door to the man while offering a wide, toothy grin. Curt’s white, button up shirt would have looked professional on anyone else, but on his 2.2 meter tall frame, the crisply rolled up sleeves looked like a threat as he held the door open.
“Also, Tamir, you should know. And feel free to let my grandson know,” Elgin said calmly. “Anywhere humanity can go, I can go. I was in Cairo last month.”
Tamir’s head whipped back to elgin at that, his eyes going wide.
“Ahoo and I visit Cairo every year, and have for decades. Last month we even went on one of the public tours offered by SunRize Corp of its main business campus. You can check your security halos for November 29th.”
Tamir Abin Ur looked like he was about to pass out as his usually smooth mahogany skin went through several shades of pale and sweaty.
Ahoo then chimed in, because she had to. “I wore bright yellow that day. Should be easy to spot. We dined in your cafeteria! The kosheri was delightful, but sadly the warah enab were very dry.”