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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Golden Bee" data-source="post: 9438614" data-attributes="member: 7041055">"You’re going to die here, Americansky!"The Tomb of Doom!“I also have a question”, said the aspiring novelist in the third row. “Actually, it’s more of a comment.” Querida pinched the bridge of her nose.Mid-February, New York. Penny An’te, still nominally secretary of Ziegler Security Services, is setting up the new office in Park West. (The last one was firebombed by a mute maniac, but he got killed by a sniper rifle so it’s all good.) the phone, just installed, rings on the only table.It’s Devika. There’s a big mission, could Penny find Thaza O’Rourke, famed cat burglar raised by apes? And get her to the airfield within an hour? Oh, and pack winter clothing. Already at the plane should be Devi’s horse-fanatic pal, 14-year-old Alice Cavendish. Unless Penny knew anyone else who spoke Mongolian?Devi put down the courtesy phone and strolled down the hall, knocking on the classroom door of Mr. Sidney Rosenthal. Modern readers might see him as a mix of Andre the Giant and Mr. Rogers, but the wrestling promoters of New York know him as the Invincible Orca!Unfortunately, Devika asks Sid to recruit the last member of the group, Querida "Q" Wilcox. The cowgirl novelist is holding a reading in New York, her latest gangster thriller… and absolutely everyone who wants a book signed wants a conversation. Rosenthal might be the nicest guy in wrestling history, but he’s also one of the most patient… eventually, Thaza leaves the plane to call the bookstore, and demands Dolores, Peruvian publicist, end the signing immediately.Sid gets on the plane, gets comfortable, and gets a stack of Devika’s homework. Callahan and Hazoul love assigning homework, but grading it is a different matter.Miss Velyapur waits until the plane is in the air to explain their assignment: helping her mentor Rafe Lancaster with a mission in Mongolia! On landing, Penny quickly buttonholes the industrialist. She's still mad that he attacked the Lala/Simon wedding with a robot. If he steps one foot out of line, she'll cut it off.***The locals had pride though. Q was pushed to the limit by horse racing, and the Orca was nearly pinned by a local competitor! After a lot of drinking and dumplings, Rafe revealed his goal. He had spent a beacoup bucks on a special camel that was capable of finding the hidden tomb of Genghis Khan! And it was a mere two days ride away.The cowgirl made sure the journey was quick, even though city-boy Sid had never sat in a saddle. On the plus side, the group reached their destination with alacrity.  The group was able to survive a betrayal by their native guide and defeat the Mongolians sworn to defend the ancestral mountain. Penny, good-hearted against her best judgment, saved Rafe from a trained–falcon mauling. Thaza and Devi had their hands full with a local shaman, who beat a drum hard enough to cause earthquakes! Luckily, the girl millionaire had picked out the perfect steel necklace from Bloomingdale’s, and the cat burglar silenced the throatsinger.Being fast was a plus. The minus was arriving in time for a giant battle! The general area of the tomb was already home to Russian, German and Japanese forces, all fighting over the steppe. Why? Rumor had it that the banner of Khan made an army undefeatable!The party whipped up with a plan to get the camel across the battlefield. Rosenthal & An’Te analyzed the troop movements. None of the expeditions had expected company, and the battle was a fracas. That gave O’Rourke & Velyapur an idea… A dynamite distraction to draw tri-national attention. Wilcox was tasked with riding the camel around no man’s land, discovering the grave‘s location and signaling the others. The camel was much harder to ride than her pet paso Caramelo, but she made it undetected.A lesser group of adventurers might’ve needed to blow open the tomb entrance. But O’Rourke was a generational talent, and the Indian orphan the perfect sidekick. As the camel wept near an outcropping, Mr. Rosenthal grabbed the keystones and removed them with a mighty heft. The work of dozens of men with shovels, done by him in a New York minute.The group was able to hide the entrance again from the inside, sending Alice around the bend with the horses and camel. (She was a translator, not a fighter.)The party’s amazing streak of luck continued. The cat burglar and the orphan were able to disable traps at a sprint, blocking levers and cracking blades as if they were batting away butterflies. They had reached the final chamber when the group heard Alice’s screams from above!Penny and the Orca answered the challenge. The 6’10" second-grade teacher emerged from the rocks like he was breaching the surface of the ocean. A Russian colonel was grabbing Alice in a hammerlock. The Hebrew killer whale showed the colonel how to really apply the hold. He tried to lift the man into a suplex, when the wily red pulled a knife! Penny couldn’t draw a bead in the confusion…***In the final room, Thaza disabled a springing wall spike. The moldering wooden coffin of Genghis Khan laid before them. A place whose builders have been killed to ensure its secrecy. Devi felt a dark presence…But Lancaster had "every characteristic of the egoistic." He grabbed the banner, and a dark fog covered Thaza’s mind. Rafe wasn’t a rube with more money than sense… he was a God-king, to be obeyed or else!Q grabbed her lasso, her mind not clouded by the banner’s corruption. She had to get that artifact, or it was curtains for the group.***"You’re going to die here, Americansky!" yelled the Bolshevik, knife held low. The Orca fell to his knees…Finally giving Penny the shot. The pinko’s gray matter landed in the snow.***Wppsh! It was tight quarters, but the blue-collar brawler was good with a rope. She made sure to hold the banner indirectly, not wanting to absorb Temüjin‘s spirit. Lancaster’s face was a mask of rage, fury flowing through him even without the artifact.He lunged at the Peruvian, hate casting shadows across his heart. But he couldn’t reach her… Someone was holding his tie.He looked back, into the face of his 13-year-old mentee. Into her glowing purple eyes…Her mystic friendship dissipated the vengeful spirit, rattling the Khan-man. He was himself again, very apologetic… Maybe they could skip telling Penny this one? And how would they keep the treasure safe from foreign forces until it was safe enough to dispose of?  Was there a lingering curse? The nearest safe vault was Cairo…. Which meant a two-day ride to a 15-hour flight!Querida went back to one of the traps, un-jamming a lever and sending the banner into the endless pit below. The artifact was still there…Just in inner Mongolia.***Up on the surface, Rafe and Devika argued whether mind control violated section 8C of their contract. Unfortunately, this clued Penny in that something weird had happened. The argument only ended when Thaza emerged with dozens of non-enchanted artifacts. Not everything was magical in life… But near everything could be sold.</blockquote>

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