10485/Turnpikin'

Turnpikin'
Date of Scene:	19 December 2019
Location:	Lake Oling/Ngoling, China
Synopsis:	Cindy and Indy make a discovery...and are discovered themselves.
Cast of Characters:	Indiana Jones, Silk

---

Indiana Jones has posed:
The Land Rover may be old, but it was making good time over the low-quality roads (read: hard-packed dirt). For the first couple of minutes, Indiana Jones was doing his level best to put distance between them and the ones behind him.
Thousands of miles away, in another country, and he hears the name "Tombstone." To him, coincidence is like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and an honest politician. Namely, there ain't no such animal.

It is a few more miles before he looks to Cindy. He was worried she might have been hit, but until now, it hadn't been safe enough to check. "Cindy? You okay?" he blurted as the vehicle crested another hill.

Silk has posed:
"Oh I'm fine," Cindy says, finally breaking her silence. She had been listening to her senses as they first began the journey, but as the urgency faded, her senses dissolved into unsettling thoughts. At Indy's voice, she snaps back to the here and now. "I got grazed on the shoulder, but it's already healin', and it'll be a memory within another hour. You're okay...?"

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy nods. "I heard a bullet pass by my left ear as I was getting through the door. It makes a 'thupping' sound, so it was within an inch of me ear. Farther away, and I wouldn't have heard it. Closer..." He smiles wryly. "...I still wouldn't have heard it."

Silk has posed:
And...those were the unsettling thoughts that had been consuming Cindy. She turns her eyes back to the road(-ish) and stares with wide, honeyed brown eyes. At first, she is silent. But curiosity finally gets the better of her.

"What happens if you get killed?" She knows the question is incorrectly worded. But also...it isn't. "You have life forever. But what about something like THAT? There is no cure for a bullet in the brain."

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy is silent for a few moments. "I know I'm not immune to a bullet. Or a knife. If I get killed...then I get killed. Everyone owes one death, in spite of what the Hindus say...and I've gotten a little too close to God's presence more than once. So I have to be clever. And maybe, just maybe, a little lucky."

Silk has posed:
Cindy is a little taken aback. The thought hadn't occurred to her that he could be killed. All this time, she had been chewing at it. Fretting at its edges. Trying to figure out the loophole--the exception that would save him from a mortal wound. But as it turns out, Cindy is just as immortal as Indy. She won't take his survival for granted anymore. She'll protect him. She vows it to herself and his God, and anyone else who might need to know. But as the storm churns inside her, and threats and promises are issued, her facade remains intact. For his sake.

"Oh," she breathes softly.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy glances to her. She's thinking deep thoughts. He knows the look. He's seen it in a number of faces, including his own.

"Let's...just try to keep that from happening. Okay...Oling Lake. Cindy, do you still have your...oh, hell, use mine. Use the BetterVPN link, we don't want all of mainland China knowing what we're up to. Look up Oling Lake. My phone's in my jacket pocket."

Silk has posed:
"A'right," Cindy replies, trying to distract herself from her thoughts. "But you don't hafta worry. I'm not lettin' any of that happen."

She fishes out his phone and looks up Oling Lake. "Dude, your browser history. SERIOUSLY?" Not that she looked at it. But it's fun to tease and bluff.

"Okay, got it. We're good on this....path...for a bit longer." She turns off the screen of his phone, and pushes it back into his jacket pocket, shaking her head slowly.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy nods. "You...might want to change back into your normal clothes. We'll be coming up on a security checkpoint in thirty miles or so. Probably not a good idea to look like a Japanese ninja." He looked back to the windshield, looking out into the rainy day. It had gotten rather dark.
"After we get far enough away, I'm going to take a look at what we've got."

Silk has posed:
Cindy nods. "What all DID you get? Did we leave anything behind?" It hadn't occurred to her until now to ask. But she bails over into the back seat and starts putting on clothes over her costume. She pauses before putting on her hoodie, long enough to sew up the gash in the shoulder of her top. Best to appear bulletproof, if the opportunity presents itself again. Then she pulls the red hoodie on over her head.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy frowned. "I don't think so...but hoping to goodness has never worked out well. And they may have gotten the plates on this thing. So we will have to work fast." He takes a breath. "I found a pane of etched glass. Artwork from the first century AD. It is titled, 'Mu's Home near Lake Oling.' The thing is...the characters are written in an old JAPANESE dialect, not Middle Chinese. There is a record of Korean monks traveling through China at that time, so the date fits."

Silk has posed:
Nodding thoughtfully, Cindy sighs. "Well, if they were smart, they got the plates on this one. I wouldn't lay money on them being that smart, but they DID find us, so there's that." She is climbing back over into the passenger seat again, and lands with a plop. "So what do we think is at the lake now?" And by 'we,' she means Indy.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy chuckles. "One thing at a time, Cindy. One thing at a time..."

Two hours and three checkpoints later, they arrive at their destination.
Lake Oling is now known as Lake Ngoring, but the terrain hasn't changed much. The Land Rover also picks up a new set of plates from a rusted-out Toyota that was being used as a chicken coop. Cash on the barrelhead. But it is worth the money Indy paid, as they are soon at the tiny village of Golog. It is a place that seems take out of time itself. Houses that may be older than America sit on the street next to a store selling bootleg DVDs. People wearing older clothes and Nehru jackets listening to iPods. A mix of old and new.
Indy stops in an empty lot next to a marketplace with stalls selling vegetables, food cooked at the stand next to an ancient vending machine with THINGS GO BETTER WITH COKE.
Indy shut off the engine, then reached for the pouch, sliding the pane of thin round glass the size of a Frisbee out of the pouch.

The scene was a tranquil lakeside scene, the Japanese characters on the left side, a mountain range on the right. It the mountain range, a tiny palace can be seen.

Silk has posed:
Watching Indy narrowly, Cindy shoves the last of a protein bar in her mouth and crumples the package, stuffing it into a small bag that's already full of the same. "Is this different from the place with the peaches, or the same?" Cindy asks, still trying to swallow the last of the bar.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy nods. He seems almost enraptured by the glass art itself, holding it reverently. "Yes...and I think I know the significance of it. But we will have to go to Lake Oling...Ngoring to find out." He looked to Cindy and she could see it in his face. Indy was on the verge of seeing something, something grand, awe-encompassing, a validation of his role as archaeologist. The uncovering of history itself.
"What do you say, Cindy? One more thing to see before we get the Hell out of China?"

Silk has posed:
That look. That is the look that has always drawn Cindy to him. There's something inside him that relics from ancient realms just light up, and his brilliance becomes infectious. "I'm with you, Partner. Come what may. You're already knocking on the door, and I can't wait to see what's on the other side."

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy grins, handing the glass to Cindy. "Hang on to that."

Another hour and they are nearing the lake. It is quiet, almost remote, and apart from one lone pier, there seems to be no sign of residual life there.
The Land Rover moves around the perimeter of the lake, starting on the west side and moving counter-clockwise along the perimeter of the lake. They pass boats on the lake, farmers walking along the country roads. It seems like a scene right out of some old movie.

...so why was Cindy's Spider-Sense tingling slightly, like the ghost of an itch?
"There...I think it's there," Indy said, pointing towards one hill overlooking the lake.

Silk has posed:
Cindy has tensed up, and she is clutching the console with one hand, trying to focus on that tingling sensation. "Something is wrong, though, Indy..." She doesn't elaborate yet, because she can't put her finger on it...yet. She is looking in the side mirror, and turning to look behind them, then settling back into her seat, gnawing on that unease.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy looks to Cindy. She can see he is also alarmed. He has never had cause to doubt her almost-precognitive intuition. If she says there is danger, there is danger.
But she can also see that intensity, and she can see that his desire for knowledge is stronger.
"We'll make this quick, promise." Indy smiled reassuringly, then stepped out, opening the door for Cindy.

Silk has posed:
"I'm not sure speed is gonna help, Indy. It's something....here. Everywhere. But faint. Old. It's...everywhere. Are there records of any sort of...curse, or anything like that?"

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy shook his head. "Nothing I can recall about this place. But let's not linger too long."
He took the plate from Cindy and walked to the hill nearby, standing at the edge of it. Then he held up the plate in front of him...and smiled. He beckoned to Cindy, giving it to her and saying, "You'll know it when you see it."
Holding the plate up revealed that, from here, it matched the mountain range to the right...in fact, it was a dead-on match when she superimposed the plate over the lake and the mountains.

And in a little hollow depression of one mountain, the palace seemed to glow.

Silk has posed:
Halting for a moment, whether in trepidation, admiration, or some combination of the two, Cindy sucks in a breath. "Wow...it really exists. And it's even more beautiful in person." But she shivers. That tingle isn't going anywhere.

"All right. We need to get in, do what we need to, and get out. Because something or someone...doesn't want us here. Maybe both. And it isn't the same as the tingle I felt with just those two jackasses who busted in on us back there."

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy nodded, taking the plate from Cindy. "Okay. I think we have enough. Let's..."
He was about to say "Let's go," but then the plate suddenly shatters, the plate breaking a moment before the whipcrack of a high-powered rifle came over the water. Cindy's Spider-Sense tells her it is, amazingly enough, out on the water.
Indy moves towards the Land Rover. He almost makes it when he hears a far-off "thump." His eyes suddenly go wide as he jumps away from the Land Rover.
A moment later, a mortar round makes the ground erupt just in front of the Land Rover, flipping it up and over to land on its roof.

A voice suddenly comes from one of the boats on the lake.

"DO NOT MOVE! IF YOU MOVE, YOU WILL BE SHOT!"

Silk has posed:
Cindy contemplates for a moment the possibility of grabbing Indy and taking to the treetops, but they are a good fifty yards from the treeline. And these jokers hit a plate from that distance. "I'd grab you and get us to safety, but if they can hit a plate at that distance, they can hit a you-and-me moving target," she says softly, without moving. "Got any ideas?"

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy nodded. "Yeah. Raise your hands and stand still. If they wanted us dead, we'd be dead. So...they want us alive. It would probably be a good idea to find out..."
His voice trails off as a sound of thunder is heard. Low at first, but rising in volume steadily...and then a Mongol horde seems to explode from the forest.
Not Mongols. The riders held AK-47s instead of longbows. But they were still riding horses, and they were coming out of the forest like army ants. There had to be over a hundred of them.
The riders drew closer, surrounding Indy and Cindy.

Silk has posed:
"And...THAT...would explain why it was coming from everywhere, all around us," Cindy says above the roar of the riders. She raises her hands and sighs resignedly. "So much for get in and get out, huh?"

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy sighed. "Sorry, Cindy. Just...wait and see for now? See what they want."
One rider came forward. He had a big, warm smile that did not quite reach the eyes. The eyes were...glittering. Like pinwheels at dusk. He was a tall, broad-shouldered Nepalese man, with a thin Fu Manchu mustache and full beard.
"Dr. Jones...Miss Moon. I am so VERY pleased to meet you. I am the great chief Tuan Kang. Welcome...to New Mongolia."
Indy frowned. "Your compass must be screwed up. We're in Chi-"
Kang moved quickly, back-handing Indy's face on the left cheek. Indy's head rocked to the side, but he recovered, his face looking up with resolute anger in it. "Not any more. This is now New Mongolia. And I...am its Khan."

Silk has posed:
It's all Cindy can do to maintain her composure when the man strikes Indy. If she gives in to her instincts now, her cover will be blown. She is too full of adrenaline to control her actions, let alone her speed. Instead, she narrows her eyes. "What do you want with us?" she asks the man.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Kang smiles to Cindy. "Your Girl Friday, Dr. Jones?" He chuckles. "She's a tasty thing, in spite of her being a low-born Korean bitch." Kang gave her that same smile, the one not making it to his eyes, before looking to Indy. "Now, you will give us what you took from the PRC. The glass plate."
Indy smiled mirthlessly. "Dropped what was left of it over there." He indicated the direction with a tilt of his head. "After your sniper shot it."

Kang's face went dark almost immediately. The Smiler had gone on holday, and this glowering demon had replaced him. <CHECK IT OUT!> he barked at another rider, who nodded and dismounted, walking over to the area. He knelt...winced...then reached down and picked up something, walking it over to Kang.
It was a piece of glass, showing half of the palace. It was no larger than a dime. The other rider said, "That's the biggest piece, Great Khan."

Silk has posed:
"You mean your sniper wasn't aiming for the plate?" Cindy asked, with a hint of a smile creeping in despite her best efforts. "I had thought the sniper had impeccable aim. And what he really had was rotten luck?" It gave her a little thrill to know that his own man had destroyed what he sought, after that low-born comment.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Kang whispered to the man with the glass chip in his hand. The man nodded, raised his radio and said, <Len. The Great Khan wants you to convey his gratitude.>
Roughly 200 yards away, there was some activity on one of the boats. Then, a tiny 'Pop' came over the water, and one of the occupants tumbled into the water.
The radio chirped, <Done.>
Kang nodded, now looking at Indy with a hard face. "Even the devoted can make mistakes, Indiana Jones. You know what was on that plate. You know where the palace of Hsi Wang Mu is."
Indy frowned. "You know an awful lot for a would-be warlord, Kang."
Kang smiled. "It is useful to have eyes and ears everywhere." He snapped his fingers, and two riders appeared with handcuffs and chains. "Bind them. we're taking them with us..."

He suddenly chuckled. "...And we have to set the stage for your friends from America, Dr. Jones."

Silk has posed:
Cindy doesn't understand how Indy could have any information that they themselves do not. The palace is...right there....But she recognizes that their impression of secret information is quite possibly the only reason that the pair is still alive. And she is thankful for the pockets of her hoodie, stuffed with protein bars. Without them, this might be a much lengthier and more dismal stay than anticipated.

She looks to the handcuffs, then to Indy, her expression panicked.

Indiana Jones has posed:
Indy sighs. "Relax, Miss Moon." He had to be careful. There was enough of an attachment that Kang might use, but...no sense revealing everything. "It's okay. As soon as they get what they want, they have no reason to do anything to us." His voice was calm and reassuring, but his eyes were alert and focused.
They had to stall for time. Right now they were up against a small army and they needed to wait for the right time to act. Maybe the others Kang expected might add an element of chaos. But right now, they needed to live to make it to the next hour. And the one after that.

Silk has posed:
"Yes, Sir." Cindy sighs, resigning herself to their temporary fate. Luckily, what weapons Cindy holds are imperceptible in visual and physical searches. For that much, she could be thankful.