Gareth Delivers a Package

*** WARNING..... PICTURE HEAVY UPDATE HERE ***

It had been bugging Gareth for a while, yet he lacked the courage to deliver one simple package to his destination in Shang Sim Lah (or something similiar, he's totally useless at remembering stuff you know.... always relies on me to remember!!!!)



It was a case of now or never.

Hey, don't look at me like that! It's not MY fault you and vacations don't mix very well.



If he delivered that package, it would be a step up the corporate ladder.
One step closer to his Life Time Wish, of being a Master Thief.



Well, the burden finally got too heavy, so Gareth decided, whilst everybody was busy, to take off to China and deliver this package straight to his boss' contact....
.. and then he'd come straight home.

As you know, vacations and Gareth just don't quite mix.



Now, where's the 'ON' switch???

*sigh*
Ah, there it is!!!



*sigh* so many choices.
Just pick one will ya, before you chicken out again!!!



Do you think I'm doing the right thing here?
I dunno, it's entirely your choice. That package can stay there until it rots.... really.
Fat lot of good you are.....

*sigh*



So, he booked the air fare and accommodation via the internet, grabbed his overnight bag, and headed outside to wait for the airport bus.

Oh yay!!! I'm finally doing it!!! I'm going to China!!!!



Nervous?

Hell yeah! You think this is a SMILE???? I'm gritting my teeth here!!!!




And stopped dead.




What the hell......????

Parked on the road, was a limo. Not just ANY limo though. This one was courtesy of Gareth's boss. Apparently, this package is that precious a cargo, that he's laying on the luxury, just to make sure it gets to the airport in one piece.




After that, it's entirely up to Gareth to find his way to his contact (name unknown until he gets there - all hush hush stuff ya know!!!)

So, Gareth felt apprehensive, nervous, yet flattered too, as he sank into the plush beige kid leather seats,




staring out of the tinted windows.....




The boss must like you.
Um, yeah......

...... whilst the chauffeur said nothing and just started driving.




Well, Gareth arrived at Base Camp, and was immediately struck by how HUGE everything was. How even Base Camp dwarfed him so much.




Getting his bearings, he decided to hop onto his beloved scooter and make his way up some (well, a LOT of) steep banks towards his contact.




Unfortunately, he discovered that there weren't many roads in China, so he had to run the rest of the way!!!




He finally arrived, a little sweaty and fatigued, but he managed to hand over the precious cargo, and was told by his contact, that he would be rewarded well.




At first, Gareth wanted to go home. But after taking a long look around this magnificent country, and taking a recommendation from his contact....




... he decided to take a visit to the Temple of Souls.




Apparently the view from the watchtower was breathtaking, as it spanned the entire countryside, from all angles.




Alas, because of the lack of roads, Gareth was forced to run all the way, so he decided to whip out his tracksuit from his overnight bag, and make the most of his exercise regime at the same time as admiring the view.




He arrived at the Temple, but was too exhausted to climb the many stairs to the tower.




So he decided to return to Base Camp instead.

He took a photo of the view from Base Camp, before calling transportation to the airport.




He'd had enough and wanted to get home.




He wasn't surprised however, once he landed back at Riverview, when the limo suddenly ground to a halt just on the border of town, and he was made to ride his scooter all the way back home.






Guess that's the whole thing about being in the criminal business....
.. you never know WHO you can trust!!!!!

Rhonda's 'Unexpected' Adventure

**WARNING .... VERY PICTURE HEAVY UPDATE HERE**

Along with family life, both Gareth and Rhonda STILL had to go to work and earn some money to pay for bills etc.

So the two of them decided to set up a fitness regime together.

When the kids were either in bed asleep ... or in Alice's case... at school, and they had a couple of days off, they set about boosting up their Athletic skills.



At some point, you'd see them either working out with the radio....



.... or running miles on the treadmill.



Until finally they'd get their promotions.

In Rhonda's case, it was Burglar (complete with the stripy uniform)



and a REALLY dashing... handsome looking Gareth....



.... in his uniform as Cat Burglar.




YUM

But that's not what this chapter is REALLY about.

A while back, Gareth had the opportunity to go to China to deliver a 'special package' to the contact there. Nervous of travelling so far, he put it on the back burner.

It's not the same with Rhonda.

Determined to get some bonuses, she booked the trip and dashed out of the house before anybody could question her on where she was going and what she was doing.




But this 'job' wasn't based in China. It was based in Egypt.




Arriving at base camp, she looked around at the tents all scattered around her.
Obviously the 'contact' wasn't in this part of the desert.




Behind her were some buildings, and after asking directions, she finally found her contact.



The woman didn't give a name, but accepted the package gracefully.




Then she freaked out as a few flies buzzed by their ears.



Rhonda didn't flinch, after all, she was used to folks freaking out. She had a husband and daughter back home who did that on a regular basis.

Next to her, was a plum tree, rare in Riverview, but laden with ripe fruit. So she decided to harvest this succulent bounty and take it back home.




In her wishes panel, she had the desire to visit a pyramid, so, after hopping onto a hired scooter, she made her way along the dust roads, towards the pyramids themselves.




During her journey, she couldn't help noticing just how VAST this desert was. She felt like an ant crawling over the expansive golden sands.




Finally, she reached her destination, and gaped in awe at the HUGE ancient construction before her.



She couldn't believe she was here.... standing in front of one of the oldest relics in Sim history!!!




Even the entrance was so HUGE it dwarfed her!!!




Her desire fired up even more as she wished to go inside this place.
There was one snag, however.

The entrance was hidden.

So she ran her hands up and down the sandstone, trying to find a secret latch/pulley/whatever, that would open the door and let her in.




With a groaning, grinding noise, the entrance suddenly started shifting.... leaving a dark chasm for her to stare into.




Awe and apprehension filled her as she waited for the stones to stop shifting.




Stepping inside, she felt the contrasting cool air from the dusty heat of the outside. A small corridor lined with gilded statues led to a small wooden door before her.




Opening it, she smiled at the vast ante chamber before her.




There was a blank wall before her, but that didn't phase Rhonda at all. Determined to gain even further access into this construction, she took note of a statue that didn't look quite 'right'. It was slightly off centre - as if it was some kind of trigger.

So she gave it a mighty heave, and it shifted forward.



Just as three walls swung open to reveal a secret entrance.




Wiping her brow and stretching her arms, she went forth to examine the next ante chamber there.




There was a heavy wooden chest that she couldn't resist peeking into. Inside, there were some coins.




To her left hand side, behind the wooden door, there was a funny rushing sound. At first she thought it might be a hidden oasis, underground river or waterfall of some kind. As she noted just how arid the atmosphere was here.




Curious, she went inside and came face to face with....

... a wall of flames!!!




Now, you'd think, with her pyromaniac tendencies, and her love of living dangerously..... she'd be tempted to challenge those flames and go for the lever embedded in the wall behind those flames.

But as she got closer, she realised that this wasn't for her.
She had a family back home.




And to take part in a dangerous adventure like this, was really silly.

So she turned around and headed out of the pyramid, hopped onto her scooter and went back to the market.

There, whilst she waited for the shuttle bus to take her back to the airport, she couldn't help noticing a strange looking man.

He'd been hanging around earlier, with a lap top tucked under his arm.




And now, he appeared angry at the idea of such a remote place, not having electricity.





Hmmm..... strange.... very strange.

Rhonda didn't go home empty handed.
She took a picture of the campsite, to remind her of her 'adventure'.