Walk like an Egyption

 Week's Prompt: One of the Seven Wonders, Cruise Ship, A Bar in Manchester.   

Taylor Smith didn’t want for much—just the easy yet busy life he led. He had a past, as we all have, but now he was a changed man. His priority was to keep his wife, Megan, happy, as well as to manage his pride and joy, the 101, a four-storey building just off Deansgate in Manchester.

The ground floor housed a traditional pub. On the first floor was the 101 Restaurant, which served as the primary revenue generator of his empire. It was the place to be seen; reservations had to be made months in advance, and the waiting list was as long as his arm. The second floor was divided into two sections; one side featured a dance school where Megan, his wife of twenty years, taught Ballroom, Tap, Latin, and essentially any style of dance. The other side was set up for live performances, as Manchester boasted a strong supply of young talent, ensuring the venue was fully booked every weekend. Plus, it was rented out on weekdays.

On the top floor was something Taylor was immensely pleased about; it was another good money earner; it was one of the many nightclubs in the city, opening at ten and closing at five in the morning. The nightclub was also known as 101, and the licence only allowed them to run on Friday and Saturday nights.

Each Tuesday morning at eight thirty, Taylor and his staff held a meeting in the Pub.

“Ok,” said Benny the bookkeeper, “Last week was a good week, the pub was up fifteen per cent on the week before, but ten per cent on last year,” holding his hand up to stop Taylor jumping in, “But remember Man City had the parade through the city bringing in thousands more people” 

“Ok, what about the restaurant?” Taylor asked.

Benny opened up another window on his laptop, “As ever, up and up, we are turning punters away by the bucket full, I’ve had to get another sim card just for the business, I had some chap from Coronation St ringing me on a Sunday morning to ask if he could book a table for six”. He paused, took a breath, “You know, we did speak about expanding and taking over some of the first floor”

“Yes, we did” Taylor stood up and poured himself a coffee “Anyone else want one?” he asked. The three sat at the table and said No thanks. “Yes, the First floor, I haven’t got round to…, erm, how do I say this, approach Megan about it”

“So, I take that as a no for now,” Taylor nodded. “Right, Last night, 101 venue was hired out to the Northern Soul association, and we made some good money at the bar, plus the rent for the night”

“I hear there was a little trouble”? Taylor quizzed.

Sue spoke for the first time, “Yes, there was a bus load from Amsterdam, one of them thought he could sell some pills, he was soon stopped and thrown out”

“Well, don Sue”

“Thanks, oh, and I telephoned my cousin just to be on the lookout for the bus, when going back through the port, he may find some things hidden away” 

“An anonymous tip-off about someone smuggling drugs into Amsterdam,” Benny said, smiling.

“Are you still going away next week?”  Sue asked.

“Yes, Megan has booked a river cruise down the Nile, something about wanting to see the Giza Pyramids” Taylor shook his head. “And she keeps telling me it will be my first holiday in five years”

                                                            ----------

We skip a week to where Taylor and Megan are sitting, having breakfast on the riverboat El Cid.

“This is the life,” Megan said, pouring herself another glass of orange juice. “I'm sorry, it’s our last day.”

“I could get used to it, but at some point you need to work, I'm not old enough to retire,” Taylor pointed to some of the other guests eating breakfast in the outside seating area.

“Yeah, I guess so” Megan picked up a brochure from a side table. “Can we please go and see the Pyramids today?” opening to a page she had already read several times.

“We were too late to book a trip from the boat, so we will have to get one of the local taxis.” He pointed with his head to a line of white cars parked outside the port gates,

“Well, I’ve finished, so come on, let's go” Megan grabbed her bag, her sunglasses, and a bottle of water from the fridge.

On scanning their cruise cards at the gate, Taylor walked out into mayhem. Several taxi drivers came at once, all with an A3-size laminated sheet of paper. The one nearest started with his sales pitch. “Sir, Sir, I take you to see the Pyramids, good price, see here, I have air con, free iced water, and will return you to the boat in plenty of time”

Taylor took hold of the laminate, turning to Megan and asking, “You sure you wanna do this?” as more men started to thrust themselves forward.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Taylor could see the excitement on her face.

Talking to the first driver that approached them, “How much, full trip, and back here?”

The driver shook his hand “Hello, my name is Ahmed, thirty-five US dollars, that’s all, cheap as chips, as you Brits say”

Taylor looked at Megan, “Ok, let's go”

The trip from the port to the Pyramids was a long, hot drive; the air con had stopped working, and the bottled water was warm.

When they arrived at a car park, Ahmed stopped and turned to talk to them, “Right, my friend, I will wait here for one hour, and then we will go to my uncle's shop where you can buy lots of souvenirs, OK?”

Taylor shook his head; he had been warned about the scams and was ready. “No, it’s not ok; we go back to the boat, no stopping”

Ahmed put his palms together, saying, “No problem, my friend, you are the boss”

Taylor and Megan took nearly two hours, walking around and chatting with some of the people from their cruise. The group that had taken the official tour, on returning to the car, Taylor could see that Ahmed was not happy. “Thanks for this, Ahmed. Now, can we go back to the boat?”

“Not yet, my friend,” he had a lopsided smile on his face, “It will cost you one hundred dollars for me to take you back”

“Like hell it will. We agreed on a price, now take us back”

Shaking his head, Ahmed said, “No, no, my friend, you pay, or you get out and make your way back”

Megan was getting very agitated, “Just pay him, Tay, we have the money, I don’t want any trouble, I just want to get back”

“Ok,” not wanting to upset Megan, he agreed he would. Taking out one hundred dollars from his wallet, he threw them on the passenger seat, “Here, your bas.....” Megan stopped him from finishing.

The drive back was quiet; Ahmed was sniggering at him through the rear-view mirror. Little did he know Taylor had a past. In his youth, he got into the wrong crowd, as his mum called it. Before he finished school, he started running drugs for the local gang, and then stepped up to collect rents and loan repayments. Soon, he became an enforcer for the main gangs in Trafford. Other gangs knew not to mess with him, and the Police knew all about him. The day he decided to get out was the day he was asked to grab a child and hold him as collateral until the mother paid off her debts. That was it for Taylor. Nearing the port gates, Taylor punched the back of the driver’s seat and told Ahmed, “Stop at the shop, I need some cold water”

“No problem, my friend, you are the Boss,” with a cheese grin on his face, he stopped.

“Megan, you get some water and one of those fridge magnets you’ve been collecting. I need a word with the driver here.” Megan got out, closing the door behind her. On entering the shop, a bell chimed.

Ahmed was about to say something when Taylor put his right hand through the gap between the front seat and the door, grabbing hold of Ahmed's head. His large hand covered Ahmed's mouth and nose. Earlier, when he threw the money onto the passenger seat, he noticed a food container and a plastic knife and fork. Pulling Ahmed's head back onto the head restraint, he reached for the plastic knife. Then, lifting Ahmed's shirt, he felt for his ribs and pushed as hard as he could. The plastic pierced Ahmed's skin, driving in about three inches, then sliding it about, he was causing as much damage as he could. The shop doorbell chimed, snapping the plastic and leaving a good three inches inside Ahmed's ribcage. Taylor grabbed the money and then wiped his hands on the blanket that covered the back seat before getting out.

“Come on, Hun; let’s get back to the boat. I need a drink, and as it's all-inclusive, I might have a few”

After scanning their cruise cards and smiling at the security crew, they walked back to their cabin. Megan stopped to chat with some friends she had made during the ten-night cruise. Taylor caught up with their cabin steward, “Hey, Ramon, in here” Taylor opened their cabin door, and Ramon followed in. Taking off his shirt and shorts, he asked Ramon, “Can you get these cleaned today”?

“Sorry, Sir, it is the last day, the laundry will be prepared for the new intake tomorrow.”

Taylor passed over three of the twenty-dollar bills, “Here, one for the laundry, two for you”

Ramon took the money and the clothes, smiling, “No problem, Sir, I will have them back before you pack your cases tonight.”

That evening, sitting in a bar waiting to be called in for dinner, Taylor ordered a Martini. On one of the TVs, it was showing the local news. “What happened?” Taylor asked the bartender to translate.

“A taxi driver was killed; the police think it was one of the other Taxi firms”

“A lot of bad blood between them,” Taylor quizzed.

“Oh yes, lots of corruption,” he went back to cleaning glasses.

“What was that?” Megan asked as she joined him at the bar.

“Oh, nothing to worry yourself about”

The next morning at the Airport, all Taylor could think about was getting on that flight and getting the hell out of Egypt.