Only A Shadow

Chapter Fourteen

Only an hour and a half after meeting with Gabriel, my family and I were walking down the smooth streets of Tripoli, also known as the heart of the Acadia. It was about two o'clock, therefore we were all extremely hungry. After stopping at a small restaurant and eating Pastitsio, we sat out on the patio outside the cafe'.

"What are we doing here?" I asked impatiently, "shouldn't we be doing something?"

Dad nodded and pulled out his smartphone from his Queen fanny pack. He dialed a number and soon was conversing with another person.

"Hello, Mr. Lajos? I was wondering if you could look up Amun and any family he had."

A small warbly voice emitted from the smart phone. "I see." My dad said. "Gabriel, his descendant, told us that Amun had a wife in Tripoli. Yes, Gabriel. Gabriel Kaufman."

Mr. Lajos' warbly voice was heard once more. "Oh, I see. Perhaps he wants to find it before we do. Oh, really? That's interesting. It was taken to a museum...in Patmos. Got it. And the name of the museum? Right. Thank Lajos, we'll make our way there post haste."

Immediately after ending the call, he turned to us and mumbled across the bristol table. "Apparently, this whole Tripoli idea was a trick."

"What?!" I cried standing up from my metal chair, "Why?"

"Shh. Don't attract attention." Dad ordered, gesturing for me take my seat once more. "Anyways, Lajos told me that the HQ in Switzerland had an agent with the last name Kaufman. The agent died in a terrible plane crash."

"Oh," My mom whispered solemnly.

"So it's a revenge story?" I asked eagerly.

"Yes. Aside from that, Lajos tells me that a museum found out about Amun's shipwreck and took a basket of scrolls from the ship to put on display."

"In Patmos?" I asked.

"Exactly. So, we'd best make our way there quickly."

"Okay, let's go!" I stated, rising quickly from the metal chair once more. B ut this time, it was with purpose.

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We walked through the revolving glass doors of the museum, finding at the desk an elegant young woman with sharp amber eyes. "How may I help you?" She asked sweetly, tapping her long nails on the curved front desk.

"May I speak to your manager?"

"Of course, but why?" She replied meekly, squinting her eyes.

"It's extremely important."

She took in a deep breath and turned to find her manager. As the short manager burst through the door, she told the young woman, "This better not be your boyfriend aga-" She stopped immediately after seeing Dad.

"Ramon?" She asked starry-eyed.

"Hello, mother." Dad repeated softly with tears welling up in his eyes.

Wait, what?! I have a grandmother?! First, my parents are spies, now I have a grandmother I don't know about?

The little lady ran to her tall son and embraced him at the waist. "Oh Ramon! Why didn't you tell me you were visiting?"

"I didn't know until this morning." Dad chuckled.

"Oh my," my grandmother sighed, wiping away tears of joy. "And is this Artemis?" She stroked my cheek lovingly. I simply smiled with pursed lips. "My, how you've grown." She said as she hugged me. "So, what brings you to Tripoli?"