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unpleasant event, we’ll head back out to the site after breakfast. Deal?”
    No response at first, but after Ishi offered to split guard duty with me at the window, she offered a muted ‘okay’. Ishi volunteered for the first shift, and then I would relieve him for the rest of the night around 2:00 a.m., and keep watch until seven o’clock, when we would begin getting ready for ‘Bluehenge, take two’.
    In the meantime, I shared a cold bed with Marie, where an imaginary line was enforced between us in the dimness. Some folks surely would’ve suggested counting sheep to get some shut-eye that night. But I preferred plotting a counter attack, in case the Egyptians foiled our next expedition. There was no denying we would be badly outmanned, no matter how things went down in a battle.
    I longed for my preferred Baretta, which would’ve been impossible to smuggle inside the UK. And, we didn’t have enough time to secure another pistol or any other firearms since arriving in London. The only thing I managed to procure was another Bowie knife.
    It would have to do. At least the damned thing felt great in my hands, like a long lost friend. That thought brought a smile to my face, allowing the day’s weariness to exit quietly. Soon after, I was fast asleep.
     
     
     

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    The next morning brought sunshine and warmer temperatures. By twenty degrees would be my guess, and actually eighteen degrees according to the lovely Brit gal on the ‘tele’. Amazing how a change in the weather can also bring a change in perspective. And Marie looked amazing—not just slightly dolled up in her sweatshirt and jeans. It was the glow to her countenance, almost as radiant as it had been after a night of cavorting between the sheets with me. Of course, none of that was possible last night, with the invisible detente line and Ishi resting less than ten feet away. Maybe she came to terms with her personal demons. Hopefully she did. Time would tell.
    “So, you’re not angry at me anymore?” I asked, discreetly, as we made our way to the inn’s small restaurant. Ishi was far ahead of us, his raging hunger spurring him toward the scent of sausage and biscuits.
    “I haven’t been angry since you shut the hell up last night.”
    She smiled impishly.
    “Oh really?” I returned her smile with a sly grin, and slipped in a quick kiss. “We’ll see who wins next time.”
    She almost took the bait, but as I hoped, she didn’t. Anyone watching us walk hand in hand up to the table Ishi secured for us would’ve never guessed how tenuous our bliss was that morning.
    “We’re going to have a good day today, no?” Ishi wasn’t fooled, and he offered us both a pained grin.
    “It depends on Nick,” said Marie. Her curved luscious lips were held firm, almost as a thin-lined grimace.
    “I’ll behave,” I said, demurely.
    It’s as close as she’d get to a white flag without lowering her sword first. But it ensured a pleasant meal and the promise of an enjoyable morning. All of us brought ravenous appetites, which surprised me until I remembered yesterday’s unexpected encounter. We had merely picked at our dinner.
    After breakfast, we set out in earnest to make the most of December’s shrinking daylight hours, checking the van for obvious explosives and climbing in quickly once it appeared we wouldn’t be blown to smithereens. Still, a tense moment awaited Marie starting the engine. Yeah, she got to drive again, but it seemed wiser to wait for a better battle to wage. My gut told me that our decision to stick around another day rummaging on the banks of the River Avon might prove regrettable.
    None of us detected anything or anyone suspicious on the highway, and in fact, no one had looked anything like our friends from yesterday—other than a cook at the B&B. That guy could’ve passed as a close buddy of the Audi’s occupants. It took me a moment to realize the dirty looks he gave us were instead a reaction