‘Let me see this through. As you like to say, fight to the end.’
Despite his clear reluctance, he nodded. ‘Fight to the end.’
5
Egypt
Nina opened the shutter to squint out of the window of the 747 at the blue Mediterranean below and the sandy shoreline on the horizon. She checked her watch; the flight had taken over twelve hours, yet on the ground it was a full day ahead of when they had left New York. ‘God, overnight flights always screw me up,’ she mumbled. ‘My body clock’ll be so out of sync, I’ll probably think we’re meeting Alexander the Great in person.’
Eddie was holding her Kindle. ‘Good, we can tell him he should be called Alexander the Dick .’
‘You’ve been reading about him?’ Before falling asleep, she had used the e-book reader to refresh her memory of both the Alexander Romance and the historical exploits of the ancient leader.
‘Yeah. I knew a bit about him – that he was a tactical genius who never lost a battle – but I’d no idea he was such a bloodthirsty arsehole. That story you told me about how he threatened to kill the entire tribe who took his horse; he would’ve done it, wouldn’t he?’
‘Yes, he would. Alexander preferred to show mercy to the rulers of the lands he conquered, as it made the transfer of power smoother if it seemed like they were voluntarily submitting to Macedonian rule. When it came to ordinary people, though,’ she went on with a grim shrug, ‘he could be completely merci less . It took his army months to win the siege of the city of Tyre, and when they finally broke through the walls, Alexander let his soldiers murder every man, woman and child they found during the first few hours, as a reward for what they’d endured to get in there. After that, anyone suspected of being a defender of the city was crucified, and every surviving civilian was sold into slavery.’
‘Nice bloke,’ Eddie said sarcastically. ‘Doesn’t sound much better than someone like Hitler, but he still somehow ended up being called “the Great”.’
‘History’s written by the winners,’ she reminded him. ‘And Alexander was definitely a winner. He was said to rule “the entirety of the known world”. Which isn’t true, as there were plenty of places the ancient Greeks knew about that he didn’t control – he didn’t even rule the whole of Greece, for that matter. The Spartans wanted nothing to do with him.’
He smiled. ‘Did they meet him and go, “This! Is! Spartaaaaarghhh! ”?’ Other passengers in the first-class cabin looked around irritably at the noise.
‘Words to that effect, I’m sure. But he still ruled the largest empire in history to that point.’
‘“Alexander saw the breadth of his domain and wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.”’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that from the book?’
‘No, Die Hard .’
‘Well, wherever it’s from, it’s a misquote. The actual one’s from Plutarch: “Is it not worthy of tears that, when the number of worlds is infinite, we have not yet become lords of a single one?” Totally the opposite meaning.’
Eddie snorted. ‘Who are you going to listen to – some old Greek, or Hans fucking Gruber?’
The aircraft’s captain spoke over the intercom; they were now only fifteen minutes from Cairo. ‘Shame we couldn’t get a direct flight to Alexandria,’ said Nina, stretching to make the most of her remaining time in the luxurious reclining seat. ‘I’m not looking forward to driving a couple of hours through the desert.’
Her husband was less bothered by the impending slog. ‘At least somebody’s meeting us at the airport.’
Somebody was – though not anyone they had expected.
‘ Macy? ’ Nina said, wondering if the Egyptian heat was already affecting her.
It wasn’t a mirage. ‘Hi!’ Macy replied, giving the couple a perfect white smile. She was wearing what by her standards were quite modest designer clothes, though some of the locals waiting at the
Despite his clear reluctance, he nodded. ‘Fight to the end.’
5
Egypt
Nina opened the shutter to squint out of the window of the 747 at the blue Mediterranean below and the sandy shoreline on the horizon. She checked her watch; the flight had taken over twelve hours, yet on the ground it was a full day ahead of when they had left New York. ‘God, overnight flights always screw me up,’ she mumbled. ‘My body clock’ll be so out of sync, I’ll probably think we’re meeting Alexander the Great in person.’
Eddie was holding her Kindle. ‘Good, we can tell him he should be called Alexander the Dick .’
‘You’ve been reading about him?’ Before falling asleep, she had used the e-book reader to refresh her memory of both the Alexander Romance and the historical exploits of the ancient leader.
‘Yeah. I knew a bit about him – that he was a tactical genius who never lost a battle – but I’d no idea he was such a bloodthirsty arsehole. That story you told me about how he threatened to kill the entire tribe who took his horse; he would’ve done it, wouldn’t he?’
‘Yes, he would. Alexander preferred to show mercy to the rulers of the lands he conquered, as it made the transfer of power smoother if it seemed like they were voluntarily submitting to Macedonian rule. When it came to ordinary people, though,’ she went on with a grim shrug, ‘he could be completely merci less . It took his army months to win the siege of the city of Tyre, and when they finally broke through the walls, Alexander let his soldiers murder every man, woman and child they found during the first few hours, as a reward for what they’d endured to get in there. After that, anyone suspected of being a defender of the city was crucified, and every surviving civilian was sold into slavery.’
‘Nice bloke,’ Eddie said sarcastically. ‘Doesn’t sound much better than someone like Hitler, but he still somehow ended up being called “the Great”.’
‘History’s written by the winners,’ she reminded him. ‘And Alexander was definitely a winner. He was said to rule “the entirety of the known world”. Which isn’t true, as there were plenty of places the ancient Greeks knew about that he didn’t control – he didn’t even rule the whole of Greece, for that matter. The Spartans wanted nothing to do with him.’
He smiled. ‘Did they meet him and go, “This! Is! Spartaaaaarghhh! ”?’ Other passengers in the first-class cabin looked around irritably at the noise.
‘Words to that effect, I’m sure. But he still ruled the largest empire in history to that point.’
‘“Alexander saw the breadth of his domain and wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.”’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that from the book?’
‘No, Die Hard .’
‘Well, wherever it’s from, it’s a misquote. The actual one’s from Plutarch: “Is it not worthy of tears that, when the number of worlds is infinite, we have not yet become lords of a single one?” Totally the opposite meaning.’
Eddie snorted. ‘Who are you going to listen to – some old Greek, or Hans fucking Gruber?’
The aircraft’s captain spoke over the intercom; they were now only fifteen minutes from Cairo. ‘Shame we couldn’t get a direct flight to Alexandria,’ said Nina, stretching to make the most of her remaining time in the luxurious reclining seat. ‘I’m not looking forward to driving a couple of hours through the desert.’
Her husband was less bothered by the impending slog. ‘At least somebody’s meeting us at the airport.’
Somebody was – though not anyone they had expected.
‘ Macy? ’ Nina said, wondering if the Egyptian heat was already affecting her.
It wasn’t a mirage. ‘Hi!’ Macy replied, giving the couple a perfect white smile. She was wearing what by her standards were quite modest designer clothes, though some of the locals waiting at the
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