Mysterious Cairo Read Online Free Page B

held for him, however, Max left her father behind in a secret hospital. He also left some instructions. Jennie told me that, if Burban didn't report back to Terra at least once a month, then his agents there were to kill Dr. Raasbaalen. He had a nice little double-hold on her. Devious and nasty.
    Pretty standard stuff.
    To continue, the Terran gangster left his operations in the care of a few "trustworthy" lieutenants and moved to Earth—Cairo, Egypt, to be specific. He became quickly acclimated and became one of the leading criminal and non-Imperial bosses in the New Empire of the Nile. He was bigger than the Icarus Club, but only because he was more realistic and less subtle. Even though the Nile Empire seems to encourage gangsters and dictator-wannabes, a scum like Max has to be pretty careful if he doesn't want to attract the attention of even the Mystery Men.
    That's how he enters my picture. When you can't appeal to the great MMs, and going to the police is obviously no good, you hire somebody like me to do your dirty laundry for you.
    But what a load this was.
    I'd heard enough. I broke Jennie off just as she was getting to the "what I want you to do" part of her story. I cleared my throat and said:
    "I don't do house calls."
    She looked confused. "Pardon? I don't understand."
    I looked at my watch — pointedly. "I don't do any cosm-hopping, sweetie; I can't go after your father."
    Jennie looked at me and laughed — I can't tell you what this does to my "disinterested" act. Maybe she thought I was being funny, or maybe she was cracking up; I didn't know. I did know I didn't like it, though. All the laugh did was remind me that she was Mrs. Burban, willing or not.
    "I wouldn't expect you to, handsome," the accent on the appellation was intentional — I guess I deserved it after the "sweetie" crack, "If I wanted to hire a hero I wouldn't be here."
    That stung a little, but it was no more than I'd been telling her. "I don't see how I can help you, then."
    "What? Haven't you been listening?" She shook her head, "I want you to find my husband, not my father!"
    This was getting a little too strange, even for me, "Wait a minute ... this guy is responsible for I don't know how much sorrow and destruction, not to mention your father's condition and your current . marital status, and you want him back?"
    Now, she was getting angry, "Of course I don't want him back!"
    "Then —"
    Pulling out the necklace, she shoved the ankh in my face, "If he dies, you idiot, I'm dead!" Then she sat and glared at me. The cigarette, unlit, was crushed between her fingers.
    Not to mention your father ...
    I thought about it. God help me, but I was actually considering taking this case. It may sound stupid, but in the last hour or so I'd developed some sort of respect for Mrs. Jennie Burban (I couldn't think of her as Mrs. Max Burban, no matter how hard I tried).
    Not trust, but respect.
    Besides, I figured that, with Burban out of the picture for now, Jennie's got to be controlling the purse-strings — and it was a hefty purse.
    But that didn't outweigh the negative side to this deal. Den Abhibe, the other gangmembers, and whoever was responsible for Burban's disappearance would be working against me. Sure, I'd bucked the odds before, but this time I'd be going against —
    Then my eyes caught Jennie anxiously fiddling with the ankh around her neck. It hit me like a bucket of icewater — the Two M's. I jumped up.
    "Sorry, Mrs. Burban; I can't help you." I walked around my desk as she rose.
    I must admit, she almost turned me around with the jaw-drop and the stunned look—she'd honestly thought that, after she told me her story, I'd play hero.
    Sometimes it helps not being from Terra.
    She sat down again, hard.
    "I'll pay ten thousand royals—in advance," she stammered. She still couldn't believe it and, after hearing her fee, I couldn't either. Again, I almost said yes. Instead, I grabbed her by the arm and "helped" her up.
    She looked at