Chapter 13 Indiana Jones and The Golden Spider

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Posted by Indiana Jayne from klg-40-96.tm.net.my on July 09, 2000 at 02:53:20:

It's done, Riggs and the rest!! I'd just like to say that Goodsport was the one who answered all my questions and cleared my mind about stuff. He also helped me with Deirdre's and Fiddler's scene. Thanks a lot, Goody!!! :)) And enjoy!

Chapter 13 - Lift Off

Indiana Jones watched the land below become smaller and smaller as the seaplane soared higher into the air. Dark yellow and orange shades of the sun colored the evening sky. Despite the sky was darker than before, Indy managed to spot only a few cirrus clouds hovering above, showing no sign of any possible storm. The weather was perfect for flying. And it was also a perfect time for catching some sleep. Well, the last time he had sufficient sleep during this trip was......he couldn't remember. That shows how long I've been neglecting rest,he smiled to himself as he shifted his body on the passenger seat to a comfortable position and closed his eyelids for that peaceful slumber he had longed for.
"So, erm, Mister Shaggy?" that perky male voice broke the silence so sudden that Indy's eyes flew wide open.
"Si?"
"Tell us what's the E got to do the Golden Spider! Is it because it's the first letter of a Spanish word like what Doctor Jones said??" Indiana James Lambert asked with much enthusiasm.
"Whoa, el chico! My, aren't you an excited one," Shaggy raised his hands slightly as if to calm James down.
"Don't worry, he's always like this in class," Micah said flatly.
"Oh, you-"
"Okay, fellas! This ends here, all right?" Indy cut James off his curse. "Right, Shaggy. What's with the E?" Indy's tone revealed a tinge of annoyance. At this question, all the attention was focused on Shaggy. Even Sophia Hapgood had moved closer towards Shaggy.
"The 'E' actually symbolizes a lake shaped of an 'E' which is the direct clue to where our third marker lies. But, the problem is, no one really knows where is its exact location. We only know that the marker, which is a key to open the Golden Spider, is northwest from the lake, so that means that the lake is our so-called compass to finding the marker,"Shaggy explained in detail.
"But isn't it impossible for a lake to be shaped like an 'E'?" Micah's facial expression was pure puzzlement.
"It is possible, Micah, but it's very rare and it takes a very long period to develop. As a river slows down when reaching flatlands, it bends from side to side creating curved edges. After a very long time, the curved edges soon separate from the river and become individual horse-shoe shaped lakes and the river is straight again. Therefore, I suppose one horse-shoe lake joined by another at the bottom would have possibly created the 'E' lake," Sophia Hapgood answered.
"First, she steals artifacts from an expedition, then she has this out of this world communication power and now she can even be a Geography teacher! What else can you do, Sophia? Juggle plates while walking on water?" Indy laughed sarcastically. Ignoring Indy's tease, Sophia just rolled her eyes away from him. From the cockpit of the plane, a melodious giggle was heard. Everybody swiveled their heads to the front.
"Well, at least Indy's Girl has a sense of humour," Indy added. Sophia groaned.
"But Mister Shaggy, it's just a lake! Why is everybody so fanatic over the 'E' anyway?" James attention was still focused on Shaggy intently. Shaggy's eyebrows narrowed. He looked somewhat provoked.
"Hmmmm....are you trying to hint something to me?"
"No! No, of course not. I just-I just-" James immediately withdrew his question but Shaggy started laughing.
"I was just kidding! Don't be afraid of Jose Manuel de la Shaggy, el chico! Anyway, the fact that the lake is so mysterious intrigues and inspires many, many people. Most people relate the 'E' lake with the Golden Spider because no one has a clue about the lake, just like they don't have a clue about the powers of the Golden Spider. There are many rumours about the Spider and the lake. The water of the lake is also believed to ward off any kind of evil."
"You've told us about the 'E' lake and the third marker but what about the second marker, the one we are supposed to be looking for. What is it, Shaggy?" Indiana Jones enquired, forgetting his desire to rest.
"I was getting to that," Shaggy licked his lips. "The second marker is very important because it will solve the mystery about the location of the lake. It is a map hidden in the Pyrenees Mountains as I have mentioned before. But the location of the lake won't be revealed on the map alone. That's where the first marker, the Pardosa Hortensis' blood comes in. One has to smear the blood all over the map. When the map dries, all the blood will evaporate from it except for a certain part of the map which stays stained by the blood. And that part of the map, is the location of the lake."

* * * * *

Megara slept silently with her head leaning on Indiana Jerico's broad right shoulder. Indiana Jerico watched her as her chest heaved up and down steadily as she took in deep breaths of air. He pushed a loose strand of hair out of her beautiful face and tucked it behind her ear lovingly. Poor Megara, why must a gentle creature like herself be involved in such violence and confusion?he thought to himself. He lifted his head to the front where Aragorn was singing loudly to himself as he flew the seaplane to Spain. Slowly, Indiana Jerico stood up and placed Megara's head gently on the seat. Then, he took careful steps towards Aragorn.
"We're going to see the wizard! The wonderful wizard of Oz!!!!" Aragorn sang cheerfully as he bobbed his head gently from side to side. He stopped when Jerico tapped on his shoulder.
"Oh, hi Jerico!!" Aragorn greeted with a grin..
"Hey, you really have a knack for singing you know," Jerico praised after returning Aragorn's smile politely.
"Thanks! But I already know that! We're going to see the wizard!! The wonderful-" Aragorn replied and started singing again but Jerico cut him off.
"Wait, Aragorn! You didn't let me finish. You do have a great voice but I'm afraid you'll have to lower down the volume in case you wake Megara up. She's really tired."
"Okay!" Aragorn obediently complied.
"Thanks, Aragorn!" Jerico patted his back good-naturedly and turned back to the passenger seat to find Megara already up.
"I need to tell you something, Jerico," Megara uttered weakly as she rubbed her eyes.
"Megara, you need to rest," Indiana Jerico took Meg's hand and sat her back down.
"Jerico, I don't want to a part of this anymore. I don't even care if I don't get the money," she paused before adding softly, "And I don't want to marry Muppet."
"What?!" Jerico exclaimed in shock.
"Muppet wants to marry me after we get the money from the Germans. I loved him at first but he started treating me like one of his tools. I was his communicator, he didn't care about me after all. He used me," and with that, Meg avoided Jerico's gaze and blinked away the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Jerico took her face in his hands and gently turned it towards him. She looked hurt, her eyes have lost their sparkle and his heart melted at the very sight of her. He wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Megara, don't cry. Everything will be okay," he consoled.
"When Muppet gets all the money he would probably do away with me. Less men, more share. And I was so stupid to believe that he really loved me. So, so stupid," Megara whispered between sobs. Just when Indiana Jerico was about to say something, Megara spoke again.
"Jerico, we must stop Muppet. Heaven knows what he will do with all that loot. I will help you get the Golden Spider back to where it belongs," she removed Jerico's hands from her face. "It's the only thing I can do now."

* * * * *

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Allu inserted a coin into the public telephone in the New York airport's waiting hall and dialed for the operator. Once the operator connected his line to San Francisco, he heard the familiar voice he wanted to speak to.
"Hey, Muppet. It's Allu," he told.
"Right, my trusty sidekick in New York! So, have you seen them?" Muppet got right down to business.
"Yeah, as predicted, they bought tickets to the expected destination. Aren't you going to Spain too?"
"In just a minute. My men are fueling up the plane," Muppet answered but then resumed to the subject. "Remember, confront that Pollack, not the Asian."
"Yeah, yeah. You've reminded me a dozen times already," Allu rolled his eyes. "What's wrong with the other one anyway?"
"No apparent reason. I just have a bad vibe about her," Muppet explained. Just then, the speakers in the airport crackled and the announcer's voice came on air.
"This is the last boarding call for the departure of the SwissAir DC-3 from New York to Azores," echoed the announcement in the hall.

"Okay, Muppet. I got to go now," Allu hung up and rushed to board the plane.

* * * * *

ALBERTA, CANADA

Things are getting fishy in here, Brett Lambert thought after Jeef had sent out the All Points Bulletin informing all Canadian authorities to keep an eye out for Reggie. His lone footsteps echoed as he stepped into the holding garage containing the stagecoach Reggie had stolen earlier. Brett scanned the coach starting from the outside and later proceeding to the interior. I don't get it. What's with this 'E' here?he wondered as he spotted the letter scratched on the side wall. Then, he remembered something. When Michaelson had called him to check on the number plate, it belonged to a British man named Muppet. Muppet had an 'E' tattoo on the lower part of his neck! That's why the 'E' was so familiar. But was there something sinister behind the 'E' or was just pure coincidence? He peeked into the space under the floorboards. Suddenly something shiny caught his eye.
"Great Caesar's ghost!" he exclaimed aloud as he picked up the tiny chip of gold between his fingertips. I'm sure this isn't Reggie's gold capped tooth. It's far too small and much more shiny, Brett deduced as he observed the chip. He sniffed the gold chip. Hmmmmmm..........and it doesn't stink like Reggie's mouth too! Thank goodness! So what could it be?
"This is too weird," Brett said under his breath as he rushed back to his office to make a call that would hopefully answer all his questions.

* * * * *

"Michaelson?"
"Brett? You sound really tense. What's going on?" Michaelson answered. He had just settled back in his office at the police station when Melanie passed the line to him.
"I should be asking you that, Mike. You know about that Muppet guy?" Brett asked from the other end of the line.
"Yeah..."
"Well, Muppet has this 'E' tattoo on the lower part of his neck and just now, I recovered a carriage stolen by Reggie, one of them bandits in Alberta. There is an 'E' scrawled on the carriage and Reggie ran away with what was hidden in the carriage floorboards. Right now, I am holding a chip of gold I found under those floorboards, so that means Reggie must have stolen something made out of gold. There aren't any gold robberies reported here so far. I'm suspecting that whatever was stolen isn't Canadian and maybe that Muppet bloke has something to do with this since there's that 'E' connection. So, Michaelson, can you tell me what the hell is going on?" Brett finished his long explanation.
Michaelson rubbed his throbbing head as he tried to grasp what Brett had told him.
"You know what, Brett? I have no freaking idea what you're talking about or what's happening but I know a guy who has the answer. In fact, I think I'll go get him now," Michaelson placed the receiver down and lifted it up again. He dialed a number and waited. That private eye should be back in his office by now.
"Hello, Gladys. Where's Goodsport?"

* * * * *

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Short Round wondered aloud as he fastened his seat belt across his chest.
"Maybe you dread seeing Ulla treating her Buster all sweet and sugary like those donuts she makes!" Indiana Riggs called out from the front.
"I think Mr. Pettit sounds better," Short Round remarked bitterly.
"You can call him whatever you want once you see him in Spain," Goodsport chipped in He sighed as he thought about the fact that Mr. Pettit was his only guide to finding the Golden Spider. Besides, how was he going to find him when Spain is already in turmoil? He knew Mr. Pettit was helping out in the war but Goodsport had a hunch that somehow he would land himself in trouble when finding Mr. Pettit. Indiana Riggs was about to take off when suddenly something made him jump.
"You fellas planning your vacation so soon?" Michaelson's voice suddenly popped out of nowhere. Goodsport and Short Round swiveled their heads to the Clipper's door to see him standing on the docks. Indiana Riggs turned off the engine immediately.
"Michaelson, I don't get it. What are you-"
"Save it, Goodsport. You owe me an explanation. After all, you're the one who asked me first about the number plate," Michaelson then began telling them about the call from Brett.
Goodsport's eyebrows furrowed as Michaelson finished. He was confused. His thoughts raced from Megara to the number plate, to Muppet, to Muppet's 'E' tattoo, to the other 'E' in the carriage and to the chip of gold! No one can deny that there was some strange connection. Does that mean that we're changing our destination to Alberta?

* * * * *


"Hey Indy, I don't hear no Brazilian talking! Where's Carlos?" Indy's Girl called out. Indiana Jones face turned serious when he remembered the dead Brazilian guide.
"Oh, him. Well, we were taking a rest after trekking for so long when suddenly, poisonous darts started flying around and-"
BANG! BANG! BANG! Gun shots suddenly fired out of nowhere.
"Hate it to break it to ya but we just got hit!!!" Indy's Girl shouted.
"What on Earth??!!" exclaimed Micah Johnson. Everybody on the plane scanned around to find their mystery attacker.
"Over there!" Shaggy pointed at a black seaplane, now flying beside them on the right. There was a golden logo of a spider painted on the plane's rear. Indy could see only three shadows in the plane; the pilot and two other men holding rifles pointed at them.

"Everybody, get down!!" ordered Indy. Luckily, everybody ducked before the men sprayed their bullets at the seaplane. Some of the bullets hit one of the seaplane's wing and it started to smoke.
"Damn, just what we needed!" cursed Indy's Girl.
The black seaplane flew nearer to the them. One of the men stood in the plane's doorway.
"He's trying to hop over!" Sophia cried out. Indy, who was close to the door flattened himself on the floor and motioned the others to follow suit. When the man jumped onto the seaplane, Indy stuck his foot out and tripped the man over. The man fell on his face. Then, James spotted a wrench nearby and knocked him out cold.
Meanwhile, it was Indy's turn to jump onto the black plane. The remaining man aimed his rifle at Indy but Indy swiped down and grabbed the man's lower body, sending them both pressed on each other on the floor. The rifle skittered away from the man's grasp. Indy attempted to throw a punch at the man's jaw but the man caught hold of Indy's wrist and used his other hand to send a fist into Indy's face. Indy's head snapped back. The man rose to his feet and reached for his rifle but Indy kicked it away. He sent an uppercut up the man's chin and pushed him out of the plane. The man screamed as his body dropped from that great height.
"Indy!!! Those gunmen really hit us where it hurts!! I have to land the plane or else we'll crash!!" Indy's Girl called out frantically from the other plane.
"Don't wait for me! Go ahead!!!" Indy called back. Wiping the blood off his nose, he picked the rifle up and shot the petrified pilot. He quickly threw the pilot's lifeless body out of his seat and grabbed the steering. He saw Indy's Girl's seaplane descending to land. Okay, let's see if I remember how to do this, Indy thought as he attempted to land the plane. Meanwhile on the ground, Indy's Girl successfully landed her plane on a nearby lake.
"Quick, everybody out before it explodes!!" Shaggy shouted as he gripped the jar of spider blood tightly and jumped out of the plane with a splash. The rest followed and swam as far as they could away from the burning plane. Then, with a loud boom, the plane blew. An enormous puff of black smoke filled the air.
A minute later, Indy landed with the seaplane still intact.
"Nice landing," Sophia Hapgood complimented when the rest rushed over to the plane.
"Thanks, my second time," Indy replied with a lopsided smile and turned to Shaggy who entered cockpit. "Shaggy, who were those people?"
Shaggy flipped the dead pilot over and spotted the two tattoos on his lower arms.
"No surprise, Indy. The Brothers of the Golden Spider."



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