Blueblood 3: The Others - 7. Cairo

That week was agony again for me; more so for Mom and Willie. By the end of the week, Mom and Willie were back. Colin called Tad Morsi to tell him we were arriving at the beginning of the next week. He also emailed Amasis and told him were we coming, but didn’t know where Tad Morsi was housing us. Tad Morsi was still insisting he was making the arrangements.

Gio had brought sketches to us and we told what we wanted of the drawings he brought. We got it all together and loaded up.

We, at last, all gathered and flew to the airport and boarded the plane, taking off for Cairo.

Again, we crossed the ocean and landed at Cairo International Airport. Opening the door, we stepped out to get off the plane having flown nonstop for twelve hours or more, avoiding areas of conflict on the way.

The people of Egypt are…well…they aren’t black and they aren’t white. They are beautiful people, there were a few men and woman that would turn an eye. Science is still trying to figure out what they are. They were people. Then again, it didn’t matter. Now, they were breeding with other races and the lines were beginning to blur. I knew of the three groups: Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid. These people really more resembled none specifically. I can’t really say where the hell we were, except we were in Cairo. I’d researched where we were going. I knew about the fertile area that water from the Nile made fertile. I also knew the Sahara was right here! The tip of it anyway. This was North Africa. We were unloading on the tarmac and meeting a few men at the bottom.

Colin and I had changed before we landed, but I could only imagine what someone greeting us would see. Colin was definitely taking no one’s opinions or worrying about what anyone thought. Though I have to admit, Mark, Stan, Chuck, and Shelly with the dark sunglasses and dark suits were going to take no prisoners. It was morning here now, but no one would give us shit! Not with this crew.

A man came up to us. “Mr. Wentworth?” He was not a bad looking man. He enjoyed eating. He wasn’t fat, but heavier than he should be. Clearly, he was Egyptian. Not dark, but not white or even biracial as I had seen in the world and he was human, as the hair on his head was showing signs of losing its grip with his head on top.

“Yes.” Colin and I both said. I noticed then as Chuck and Mark came up and stood behind me and Colin. Their faces unmoving and emotionless, but scanned the area with those dark glass covered eyes. They were our security! I glanced back at Chuck whose mouth corner went up a split second at me but returned to the emotionless watching.

Colin smiled at me and turned to the man. “I’m Colin Wentworth.” He said. “This is my husband, Devon Wentworth.”

The man looked surprised and almost didn’t complete holding his hand out. “I see.” He stammered a little. “I’m Tad Morsi.”

I watched the grin appear on Colin’s face, but it was not a humored grin. It was a knowing grin. He let it go for the moment taking Mr. Morsi’s hand.

Colin raised his hand to stop Mr. Morsi. He and I both put our earpieces in and took the device out of our pockets and clipped them to our lapels.

“Sorry,” Colin said smiling. “The program works, but if someone speaks to us in Arabic, we’ll understand them and if they don’t speak English, we can in Arabic.” He grinned. “There is a slight lag with verbal conversations. The whole sentence has to be entered before it gives the right response.”

Mr. Morsi nodded. “I understand.” He smiled. “Most people in Cairo speak English. I will admit. This device…will it translate the hieroglyphics? Make it possible for everyone to read them?”

Colin nodded. “That’s what our hope is. There are people that can read hieroglyphics. There are some that can read some of them. These devices will make it possible for anyone to read all of them.” He pulled out the other little scanner. “With this…all they do is scan the wall and they don’t have to wait for someone to tell them what it says. They look at the screen and it should be in whatever language they use.”

“And that doesn’t apply to just hieroglyphics,” I added. “Any scroll, anything written in any language can be scanned and translated for the person reading. It makes people less dependent on others to do it for them.” I pointed to the portable scanner. “This can also possibly read portions of walls that have faded with time. The markings are there still, just hard to read.”

Now any discomfort about Colin’s and my marriage was forgotten. “We have equipment that can do that as well.” He looked at the scanner closer. “This would be easier to carry around and use.”

Colin shrugged. “Maybe.” He waved at the plane. “The CPU and hardware don’t have to be with this, just joined by satellite.” He said holding the scanner. “But the scanner reads it and will translate it right here.”

“Hopefully,” I added again.

Colin looked back. “These are friends and family that work with me.” He motioned for George to come down the steps from the plane. “This is Dr. George Holm. He and I started Holms' Laboratories.”

George nodded and shook Mr. Morsi’s hand. “This little venture, I leave to my friend Colin. I have science. He does the business.”

Colin smiled at George who went back beside Burke as they stood close together. I watched Mr. Morsi’s eyes grow again. He eyes traveled over the various couples. My Mother and Willie were together. Shelly stood alone. Gabriella was with Alex. Stan had joined Mark, but clearly saying they were also together.

I noticed a couple of vans there. “I thought you told him we would take care of things,” I said to Colin as I waved toward the vans.

Colin looked at the vans. “I did.” He defended. “We have it handled, Mr. Morsi.” Colin waved as three limousines drove up. “I appreciate what you’ve done. We have it under control. You made arrangements for us to stay?”

Tad Morsi nodded. “I think you’ll be pleased.” He smiled. “The vans can your take luggage.” He looked at George. “The equipment? Can our officials inspect them, please?”

George nodded. “Sure, but they can only look inside if I open anything.”

“The equipment is very sensitive,” Colin explained.

Mr. Morsi nodded. “That won’t be a problem.”

Everything we had was documented, including the vials of serum. Certified and sealed by the FBI. We all were sweating them finding the serum, but they didn’t question it. Chuck and Shelly were there as the inspectors went through our things. No facial changes just watched. Completely emotionless.

It took about an hour before we were cleared and allowed in the limos. Luggage and other vans followed us to where Mr. Morsi told our driver to go. Cairo was on the edge of the fertile areas of this region right next to the Nile River which fed the fertile area. To the southwest was desert and south was desert. We were heading northeast. I was having an issue with what I saw. Clearly, we were not in the United States. This was a whole new world for me. I was looking at a city that had both old structures and modern. The people that were walking; men wore modern clothes and those long robe-like garments. Women wore the burkas and others didn’t. There were dark-skinned people and other Egyptians that were not. The highway was just cars and…no, I definitely would not be driving here. This was the end of autumn and soon it would be winter so the temperature wasn’t bad. It would be cool that night but now wasn’t bad at all. We rode a little while as it soon would be mid-day. We’d left early, but lost a few hours. It should be noon here. I felt the loss of a day.

Okay, I only knew this part of the world through TV and movies. I half expected to see Charlton Heston or Yul Brynner come around the corner! I was waiting for something spectacular. A chariot or something. It was no Hollywood set. The fertile area was tropical! Palm trees and plant life everywhere here. He questioned Colin about what he was hoping to accomplish.

“This program is used by several agencies and government including the United Nations and companies that have to deal with other countries and various languages. A system that can be used by the average man who isn’t so versed in languages can use it easily.” Colin smiled. “No others needed. The scanner and computers will make it very simple. And, if it works on the hieroglyphics and other writings, it could be a great boon to colleges, universities…with Delkenzie software and my computers, it will make things a lot easier.” Colin looked at Mr. Morsi a little more intently. “I asked you for help because this is a venture for me; my company. I needed your permission to come here and assistance in getting into some places…maybe. This is my business. I am aware that there are those that can read and understand hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone made translation possible, but not everyone can and will learn to translate. I also know that not everyone can with hieroglyphics. Streamlining translations would be profitable for me. As good as I believe the Delkenzie program is, testing it on something like this is important. It will help future scholars and institutions with the translating of all documents and spoken languages and even forgotten and unused languages today.” Colin took a breath. “I pay my own way, Mr. Morsi. I will pay for whatever you have gotten for us to stay. You insisted you handle it, so I let you. We will begin…with your permission…our work. We may need permits or whatever from you or government to search and do what we need to. I was willing to go elsewhere, but again you insisted. We can all profit from what we’re about to do.”

Mr. Morsi nodded with a smile. “We can do that.”

We pulled into a walled complex. The house…mansion…was huge! We pulled to a stop in front. Whoever owned it was very, very rich.

“This mansion is…well…the owner died a year ago and right now it’s in dispute as to who inherits it.” He smiled. “Right now, it is under our government’s control. It has twenty bedrooms and over forty rooms. It is fully staffed. I think you will be comfortable here.”

We got out of the cars and I looked at this mansion. It had…a different construction. I stayed in a big house at Wentworth. I stayed at Thornwood. This was totally different. This mansion was the color of stone or sand. It was not a new construction but looked well maintained. It had part of the roof that had the dome structures as you saw in many Middle Eastern homes or Mosques. There were four floors with a flat roof spreading out beyond the dome. There was a stone banister that lined the floors, making a balcony/terrace that surrounded the house to see from.

Colin smiled and nodded at the house. “It looks beautiful.” He looked again at Mr. Morsi. “How long is it available? We could be a month or two.”

Mr. Morsi smiled and shook his head. “That won’t be a problem. The dispute will go on for months or years. There’s no hurry, but the staff need jobs. You’re being here makes that possible. If it does get resolved and you have to move…we’ll give notice to you and we will make arrangements elsewhere. It does have a secure room for…” he waved at the truck that had our computers and equipment in, “…for your things.”

Colin nodded and took my hand. He stopped as Mr. Morsi’s eyebrows rose seeing what he did. “Oh, and one more thing,” Colin said calmly and smiled. “I noticed when I introduced my husband, your reaction was telling…just like I saw your reaction just now. I am aware that this country doesn’t…accept people like my husband and me…that goes for you and anyone here working now. They don’t have to work for or with someone that makes them uncomfortable.”

“It’s just not common here.” Mr. Morsi said defensively.

Colin stiffened and smiled that smile that said he knew better. “I would contest that it isn’t common. It may be more common than you know about or want to believe, but it does happen here.” Colin continued. “I have seen on the Internet how you treat people here like us.” He looked at Mr. Morsi more seriously. “My husband and I will behave ourselves in public, but…we are not from this country. We are not citizens here. We’re your guests. I expect us to be treated with respect as human beings. That goes for everyone I have with us. These people are trusted members of my family and dear friends; including the people doing our security. Respect us, or we leave. Have your issue with it, but if this is going to be a problem…we can get back to the airport and leave. No problem.”

Tad Morsi nodded waving us to stop. “It will be no problem. I promise.”

Colin nodded and we walked up the steps to the entrance and stepped into the house. Colin didn’t let go of my hand. When we walked in…I was stunned. The floor was polished…something. Marble? It was the color of sand! From the entrance way, there were steps down a little. On either side were these large statues of cats about four feet high; big cats that shimmered gold. Next to those were the floor lamps that stood higher than the cats. Lining the steps down to a shining floor that gleamed was a table on either wall also had things of sculptures of sphinx-like creatures on each desk/table in gold with the pharaoh headdress on each. They weren’t missing their noses here. The walls were stone with stone pillars that held the ceiling up. Way up! Twenty feet at least! To the right behind the pillars was a sitting area with large cushioned places designed to sit, lounge and talk. A table between them and a couch that had ornate tables at the sides of the couch and it was all very well-lit. There were doorway arches on the left that went into other rooms. The whole place said Egypt. There was a formal dining room, a less formal dining room. A full kitchen. A study or office. And then he brought us in a covered area where there was a huge pool. Again there were pillars that edged the pool holding up a domed ceiling painted to look like the blue sky and clouds. This was no pool for children. No diving board, but you could smell the chlorine. He showed us some of the bedrooms, one was used by the original owner as his master bedroom. Whoever built this place had a thing for the color of sand and stone. Now, I was seeing what I saw in the movies like The Ten Commandments; the ornate floor that gleamed and large sitting area in front of an enormous fireplace and everything was spread out. It was two or three times the size of our bedroom in Wentworth. The staff. There was a man in charge of the whole house, various housekeepers and several that worked in the kitchen. Again, Colin said what he did to Mr. Morsi about us and said if there was a problem with us, they should leave now. No one left. Mr. Morsi showed us a room that could be secured with our equipment. It took nearly two hours to unload and secure everything and lock it up. Colin had the key and was assured that only he had that key. It was after midnight at home in New York or Charleston when we were finally left alone. I wasn’t tired though. Colin and I said our good-nights to all that came with us and went to our room.

I grinned as Colin sat at a desk with the laptop we had hooked to the satellite network. He gave a tired sigh. I came up behind him as he typed to let Amasis know where we were and that we were in Egypt. I put my hands on his shoulders and let them come over his chest from behind. He was now smiling as he typed. “I hope I behaved as I was expected.” He said.

I laughed as I kissed the top of his head as I hugged him in his seated position. “You had me convinced! There were moments when I forgot why we came here in the first place.”

He chuckled and hit send for his message to Amasis. “I sounded right then?” He asked as he turned around in the chair and I felt his hands go up around me and up my back, bringing me closer to him.

I nodded kissing him. “As I said, I almost forgot about Amasis and the other vampires.” I looked at Colin in his emerald eyes. “Maybe we should do what we say we are.”

Colin looked surprised. “We are.”

I nodded. “I mean about his program. We can do all that we said. See if this program can be used as we said. Not just looking for evidence of vampires, but do what we said, translate everything. If we can, there could be a market. Our computers and Mitch's program could really benefit others.”

Colin grinned as he stood up. “I know.” He said kissing me more. “I’ve already spoken with Mitch about licensing his program on our computers to do just that. We really will be seeing if the program and our computers work well. I thought of marketing a lesser version program for people to buy and add to their current computers. I would sell a scanner and audio device which they can attach and download the program and call it the Language Buddy.”

I grinned larger. “You have?”

He nodded smiling again more. “The program Mitch let us use is huge. It would take up too much memory for a regular laptop or even a desktop computer. A lesser one with few languages would take up less space. If they wanted to add a language…that’s extra. An expansion pack!” He grinned. “Languages will not be a problem anymore.”

“You’ll have to include Stan in this. He came up with the name.” I said.

Colin nodded. “And as the program learns and more information is loaded, Stan will be the one to oversee that now and later if he wants. So, of course, I’ll include him.” He gave a shrugging nod. “Mitch McKenzie profits and we profit.” He said backing us up toward the bed. “We really are doing what we say we are.”

“The whole vampire thing is just…a sideline?” I asked as I let my hands run over him.

“Not at all,” Colin said as he kissed me and let his lips travel over my face to my neck. “We’re doing that, too. Only Mr. Morsi doesn’t need to know that.” We were at the bed as he lowered me back to lie on it with him above me. “I’m not sleepy yet.” He grinned. “It must be the opposite of jetlag.” He said reaching for my belt. “What do you say about tiring ourselves out?”

I unbuttoned his shirt. “I like that idea.” I ran my hands over his warm skin below the shirt and shoved it off him.

It was a while before we both collapsed against each other and tried to regulate our heartbeats and rapid breaths.

Colin smiled as we cuddled together. “I never get tired of loving you, Devon.”

I smiled as he pulled me again closer to him. “I will never tire of loving you. I love you, Colin.”

He smiled as he kissed me. “I love you, too Devon.”

I kissed him. “I know you do.”