Scorpia Rising

a rifle. Alex got in the back. Julius sat in the front. They started up and drove the short distance to an arched entranceway and two massive gates. As they passed into the fort, the gates swung shut behind them, meeting with a solid and conclusive thud.
    And now there was activity all around him. As the jeep slowed down, Alex took it all in: Arab guards with machine guns, a radio tower, satellite dishes, more jeeps, watchtowers, and spotlights. There was a man drawing water from the well, another digging at some sort of salt pile. Overhead, a rope and wooden walkway stretched from one side to the other. He counted about a dozen buildings of different sizes, including one that looked like a chapel and one that was more like a doll’s house.
    There was no sign of Jack.
    “This way,” Julius said.
    Alex followed his doppelganger into a long, narrow building set right next to one of the walls. He found himself in a cool, empty space with a fan turning in the ceiling and a wooden floor. There was a desk and a chair with a Cairo College uniform neatly folded and hanging on the back. Two guards, silent and emotionless, stood waiting for him.
    There was a movement at the door and another man strolled in. Before the man had even spoken, Alex felt the atmosphere in the room change. He turned and found himself facing a short, very slender man with close-cropped gray hair and round glasses. The man looked too small and girlish to be dangerous, but Alex knew he must be in charge.
    He stopped in front of Alex and examined him.
    “What happened to his face?” he demanded.
    “I hit him,” Julius replied.
    “That’s very displeasing, Julius. I specifically asked you not to do that.”
    “He annoyed me.”
    The man turned to Alex. “Welcome to Siwa,” he said. “My name is Razim, and I’ve been looking forward very much to meeting you. I have to say, you do have a remarkable similarity to Julius Grief, a credit to the artistry of modern plastic surgery. I hope you didn’t find the journey too stressful.”
    “Where is Jack?” Alex demanded.
    “She’s here. She’s unhurt—for the time being.”
    “I want to see her.”
    “I’m sure you do, but I’m afraid that won’t be possible. As a matter of fact, I’m afraid you have a rather distasteful experience ahead of you. Believe me when I say that I take no pleasure in it, but I’m aware that in the past you have been equipped with certain ingenious gadgets and I also know that your Mr. Smithers has been in Cairo. So I’m afraid you’ll have to be stripped and searched from head to foot. I won’t actually witness this myself. I’ll spare your blushes. But I would advise you to cooperate with my guards or they will hurt you quite considerably.
    “After that, you will take a shower and all your clothes will be replaced. We have a school uniform for you there, on the chair. We don’t want any exploding buttons or anything like that. As you can see, Alex, I am not a man who makes mistakes. You are now in my power and will remain so until the end of your life.”
    “That’s not a very long time,” Julius muttered.
    “That is indeed the case.” Razim sounded almost sad. “But we can discuss that in the morning. After the guards have finished with you, they’ll take you to a cell. You might be interested to know that we are in an eighteenth-century French fort, and this used to be the prison block. You will be given dinner and then left to sleep. I advise you to take advantage of it. You’ll need all the rest you can get.”
    Julius smirked. Razim nodded at the guards, who moved forward.
    “Good night, Alex. We will meet again tomorrow.”
    “Sleep well!” Julius crowed.
    The two of them left together and then the guards began their work. Two hours later, Alex found himself back in school uniform, alone in a cell that measured about thirty feet square with a bunk, a table, and a bucket for him to use in the night. There was a single barred window that looked onto the outer wall with a long shadow stretching out in the corridor in between. After about twenty minutes, the door opened and another guard came in with a tray holding bread, soup, and a bottle of water. This was all he was going to get for the night.
    But there was no point in starving himself. Alex ate the food and drank half the water. He curled up on the bunk and a short while later, despite everything, he was asleep.
    And now it was the morning, and the scorpion, alarmed by something,