Page 111 of The Artist
Khan was quick to open up his messages and roam through them to find the one from Freya. Projecting it up for all of us to see, he opened pictures of Aubri kayaking, rappelling, and hanging out of the drone on a rope.
“What is she doing? Is she trying to get herself killed?” Khan exclaimed.
“Look at her face,” Pearl said and pointed. “She looks ecstatic with happiness.”
“Because she’s a daredevil and an adrenaline junkie. But that’s exactly what’s going to get her killed.” Magni got up and moved to the window with a huff.
“What did you expect? She’syourdaughter,” Pearl reminded him. “Magni, honestly. I hope you can see the irony of your double standard. You and Khan have always advocated pushing children to their limits and teaching them survival skills. You’ve even accused me of holding back Thor’s development because I worried about his safety.”
“That’s different. Aubri is…” Magni groaned.
“Female? Is that what you were about to say?” Pearl looked from my father to my mother. “Laura, you want to weigh in here?”
“Aubri can hold her own,” Laura said and walked to my dad’s side. “We know she can. It’s the part about her cleaning up radioactive areas and being alone with four men that concerns us.”
“Can we see Indiana’s status report?” I asked and pointed to a holo file that was attached.
Khan started the hologram and Indiana popped up above the meeting table. He spent a little time adjusting his recorder and brushing his hair back. He’d always cared too much about his appearance and was a fanatic when it came to trimming his hair and beard.
“Okay, so, I’m not sure how to do this, but I think I owe you a quick update. As you know by now, Aubri fucking lost her mind and decided to stay in Old Europe. Mason was tied up protecting his wife and baby, and there’s no way Thor could have stayed with her since he’s the heir and all. Anyway, I stayed. Ihadto.” Indiana touched his beard and sighed.
“Aubri is… well, being Aubri. Keeping an eye on her is like catching a fart in a fucking tornado. Every time I turn my back on her she’s up to something crazy. At least she has impressed the other Explorers, who now worship her as if she was some reborn warrior goddess.” Shaking his head, Indiana looked to the side and back.
“I’ve told her to do a recording, but she knows you’re all mad at her and wants to give you time to cool down. Hopefully, this holo will show you that Aubri is having the time of her life.” He gave a small eye roll.
“I can’t call any of you, yet. There’s some type of blocking mechanism on outgoing calls from here. Victor and I butted heads over it before Aubri and I went on this expedition. I’ve told him to use his self-proclaimed genius and fix that shit. Hmm… what else should I tell you? Oh, yeah, Aubri and I were given a temporary apartment. We spent one night there before we left to go with Banni and his team of Explorers. They’re a crazy bunch, but so far, we get along. I’m sending a few pictures of my young grasshopper, so you can see for yourself that she’s having fun and clearly thinks she’s a reincarnation of mom’s hero, Lara Croft. Banni said he can message Victor, and I know Victor has a way to contact Freya, so I’m hoping this message will reach you through them. As soon as I have a direct connection, I’ll let you know.” Straightening up, Indiana looked around. “As you can see it’s not that different from the Northlands with all the forest here. It’s hard to imagine that four hundred years ago where I’m sitting now was a bustling city with millions of people, buildings, and cars. Banni tells us we’re in what used to be called Bordeaux. He’s shown us pictures and it was a beautiful city. We’re finding ruins here and there, so I know you would love it, Mom.”
Indiana touched the recorder and spun around to show the surroundings before he looked into the camera again. “That’s it for my first status report. Send us a message back, will you? Just remember that the French will see it, so… you know.”
Turning his head, Indiana shouted. “Aubri, do you want to say hello to people at home?”
The camera swung to show Aubri in the distance sitting in front of a bonfire with three men. She waved.
“If you want some food you’d better hurry or we’ll eat all of the stew.”
Indiana grinned. “That’s my cue. Bye for now.”
The hologram disappeared and left us all in silence for a moment.
“Oh, sweet tidings,” Pearl breathed. “They’re doing well.”
“Freya, I want to send a message to Indiana,” Magni said.
Freya sighed. “He already knows, Uncle Magni. You don’t need to tell him.”
“You don’t know what I was going to tell him.”
She tilted her head. “I know you. You’ll send him a message threatening to tear him into a thousand pieces if he touches Aubri. And then you’ll mutter in the end that you appreciate him staying to watch out for her. Indiana already knows not to touch her, so it’s redundant.”
Magni grunted. “Then I’m sending a message to Aubri instead.”
“Fine. Anyone else wants to say something to the two Explorers?”
“I’ll do my own,” I said. “I want to thank them and tell them we’ll wait with the wedding celebration until they’re back home.”
“Good idea. That reminds me.” Khan leaned back in his seat. “We need to spin this situation to our advantage. I agree that we should postpone the wedding celebration, but I’ll perform the ceremony and do a press release. We have to address Aubri’s absence.”
“What do you plan to write?” I asked.
