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"Bonjour-"
Belloq had just barely stood up from the flimsy chair he had been sitting on when he was slammed against the wall.
He grimaced.
Indiana pinned him against the hotel room wall, using his larger frame to trap the Frenchman in place. "What are you doing here?"
He ran his hand on René's body, ostensibly to check for weapons. "I don't appreciate you sneaking into my room. Have you not heard of knocking?"
René gave him a look but had the sense not to point out that Indiana had chosen to stay at his favorite hotel in Paris, all the while knowing his rival was around.
Or that he had forgotten to lock his door.
René shifted slightly against Indiana's body. He was definitely getting excited.
Not that Indiana wasn't.
He let go of René and stepped back. He had no intention of letting things escalate so quickly. He had a job to do.
Besides-
As if René had read his mind, he crossed his arms. "Are you still being a sore loser?"
Indiana glared at him. The last time they had been after the same artifact, a mythical harp middle of Finnish wilderness, René had come out the victor.
Indiana had almost had it! But the harp had slipped through his fingers. The translation of the journal he had followed had spoken of 'dragons' guarding it. It had turned out 'giant snakes' would have been a more accurate description.
René rubbed his shoulder theatrically, as if Indiana's grip had genuinely bruised him. "It was not my fault you found the circumstances... Challenging."
There was some amusement in his voice, but somehow Indiana minded it less than from some people.
It was, he realized, because despite his back-stabbing nature, René had never directly used his phobia of snakes against him.
It was just one of the boundaries they didn't cross. Just like René would never show up at the university, or how Indiana wouldn't actually swing his fist at him.
Not that the Frenchman seemed to mind some roughness-
Later, Indiana told himself.
It wasn't just the two of them involved in this chase, time was of the essence.
René seemed to agree, as he pulled out a medallion. He lifted it up for Indiana to inspect. "17th century."
Indiana took the medallion. "That's a few centuries late," he pointed out. Jeanne D'Arc had lived in the 15th century.
René said nothing, instead keeping his opinion to himself as Indiana inspected the piece.
It was a rough piece of craftsmanship. Had René not dated it for him, Indiana could have easily accepted it was from Jeanne's time. It had an almost stick figure who was wielding a sword, and a series of symbols on the other side.
"Where is this from?" Indiana asked eventually.
"It belonged to a Franciscan monk, Brother Bernardino, in the 17th century, and was buried with him in his grave in Germany. He had dedicated his life to the study of Jeanne D'Arc."
"I have heard about him," Indiana said carefully. He didn't want to reveal too much, but anyone who had traced this rumored cave where the saint Jeanne had hidden her sword was familiar with Brother Bernardino's work. "He left his order, and there were suspicions and accusations of him being a pagan, worshiping some mother goddess through Jeanne."
"Personally I believe he was merely interested in the history. Not enough religious conviction though, perhaps."
"Possibly," Indiana said.
Jeanne D'Arc had certainly been a real historical person. Indiana had no opinion on whether she had talked to God, but her leaving some of her weapons in a cache on the French countryside was certainly plausible.
Indiana gave René a look. "I am sure you are helping me out of the goodness of your heart."
"Consider it an investment," René told him. "I very much would prefer you succeeded in this over Doctor Dutronc."
"Not a big fan, huh?" Indiana asked. He himself had only passing familiarity with the other French archaeologist who was after the sword of Jeanne D'Arc.
"I do not like him," René said. "The man is insufferable. All he cares about when it comes to this find are its possible uses for nationalist propaganda."
"I see." Indiana knew the saint Jeanne had gained popularity during the Great War as the defender of France. He could guess how some more nationalist elements viewed her and the possibility of finding her sword.
"It would be a powerful symbol," Indiana said.
"And that's all they care for it to be," René said. "Frankly, if they do not happen to find anything they will likely come up with some medieval sword and parade it around as hers."
Indiana nodded. "I see. And you'd hate for that to happen."
“It's not purely because I care about historical truth. I'd also rather not see Dutronc succeed.”
Indiana knew René well enough to know he was being genuine. Of course lot was left unsaid. Indiana was certain that if there was something actually valuable in this cave René was more than ready to swoop in and claim it for himself.
But for now their goals, both real and implied, aligned.
René reached to pull Indiana into a kiss. Indiana returned it eagerly and buried his fingers into his hair.
Maybe we have some time before-
René broke the kiss. "Good luck."
Indiana mumbled something as he watched him leave.
It was odd, this song and dance they did.
Indiana ran his fingers on the medallion. He'd need to look into those symbols some of them were familiar.
It was really odd how this all worked.
How both him and René did their own thing and were at least in theory directly opposed.
And yet it all worked in undeniable harmony.