Alex dumped his suitcase and his mongoose in his bedroom, then he ran downstairs and went into the main drawing room. His parents and his baby brother were waiting for him.

'Oh my God, there he is!' said Alex.

'Yes, here he is,' said Evy. 'Would you like to hold him, Alex?'

Alex nodded enthusiastically. Evy smiled, then she transferred her younger son into the arms of her older son. Alex stared at the baby for several seconds, then his expression completely melted.

'Isn't he fantastic?' said Alex. 'Oh my God, he's so cute! Hey there, little guy. Do you know who I am? I'm your big brother.'

Rick and Evy exchanged a smile and gave each other a loving squeeze.

'What's his name?' Alex asked.

'Oh, Rick!' said Evy. 'I can't believe you didn't tell him that on the way over from Egypt!'

'I thought we should do it together, honey,' said Rick.

'Oh, how sweet of you,' Evy said with a smile. 'Now that we're all here, you go ahead and tell him.'

'I think you should be the one to tell him, Evy,' said Rick.

'Please, will one of you tell him?' said Alex.

'Your brother's name is Michael,' said Evy.

'Ooh, great name,' said Alex. 'Positively heroic! But, er... isn't that a bit of a mouthful, Michael O'Connell?'

'Good old Mike O'Connell,' said Rick.

'And before that, dear little Mikey O'Connell,' said Evy.

'Okay, yeah,' Alex said with a smile, 'those work. Hi there, Mikey. My name's Alex. Someday I'm gonna train you to be a great Medjai warrior... if you want me to, that is. But I'm always gonna be there for you, no matter what. And I'm the Supreme Medjai, so you pretty much completely lucked out so far as having an older brother is concerned.'

Michael made a few gurgling noises, then he reached out to investigate the forefinger that Alex was dangling over him.

'I think he likes me,' said Alex, looking up at his parents with an enormous smile on his face.

'Of course he likes you, sport,' said Rick. 'Like you said, you're his big brother and he knows it.'

'Is it okay if I hold him for a while longer?' said Alex.

'Of course,' said Evy. 'Let's all take a seat and catch up a bit, shall we?'

Alex selected an armchair and carefully backed himself into it, while Rick and Evy sat together on the couch. Michael snuggled contentedly against Alex's chest. Alex fixed his brother with a look of devotion.

'I hope he doesn't think he's gonna get any milk out of there,' said Alex.

'He doesn't,' Evy said with a smile. 'He's just enjoying being close to you, Alex.'

'Yeah, I've been getting quite a lot of that lately,' said Alex, smiling to himself.

'How's that, son?' asked Rick.

'Hmm? Oh, nothing!' Alex said quickly. 'So, tell me about your dig in St Albans.'

'Before we do that, I think you should tell your mom all about the little gift you have for her in your suitcase,' said Rick. 'And how you managed to get it there, of course.'

'A little gift for me?' said Evy. 'Oh, Alex, you shouldn't have!'

'Well, it was kind of an accident, to be honest with you, Mom,' said Alex. 'But I'm glad I've been able to bring it back to you after all this time.'

'Do tell me what you're talking about, Alex.'

'The Book of the Dead.'

'Good Lord,' Evy breathed. 'Where did you find it?'

'Hamanaptra,' said Alex. 'You know, where people usually find it.'

'You just have to hear this, Evy!' said Rick. 'You won't believe what Alex has been doing over the past few days.'

'Yeah,' said Alex, 'I can hardly believe a lot of it myself. But at least you can take the Book of the Dead back to the British Museum now, which has to be a good thing, right?'

'Yes,' said Evy, 'I suppose that's the best place for it. Although I haven't actually set foot in the museum since I heard those two tour guides gossiping about me behind my back.'

'They weren't gossiping, Evy,' said Rick.

'They were!' said Evy. 'One of them said, "Do you think Evelyn's pregnant?" and then the other one said, "Of course she is! Who's Evelyn?". I hate being talked about like that, particularly by people who don't know who I am!'

'Never mind, honey,' Rick said soothingly. 'The story of Alex's adventure at Hamanaptra will take your mind off all that unpleasantness. Go ahead, son.'

'Okay,' said Alex. 'Just listen to this, Mom – you'll love it, I promise!'


'Oh dear,' Evy sighed, 'I wonder if Imhotep will really stay dead for good this time!'

'He will if the Sceptre of Djed does its job properly,' said Alex.

'Whatever happens with Imhotep, at least that bottom-feeder Weasler is finally where he belongs,' said Rick. 'Behind bars!'

'Oh yes,' said Evy, 'I'm very glad about that. He was always a mediocre scholar at best, but as a henchman to the undead he was rather too persistent for my liking.'

The sound of the front door being opened suddenly came into the room.

'Coo-ee!' a familiar voice called from the hallway. 'Anyone home?'

'In here, Jonathan!' Rick called back. 'You might as well come and join us, now that you've barged in to our house without warning!'

'Thanks,' said Jonathan, as he sauntered into the drawing room. 'Oh, how cute – the O'Connell brothers have met at last!'

'We sure have, Uncle Jonathan,' Alex grinned. 'And we're getting along like a house on fire.'

'It's pretty easy to get along with someone who's asleep,' Jonathan remarked, nodding at the inert figure in Alex's arms.

'We were getting along just fine when he was awake too,' Alex laughed.

'To what do we owe the honour of your company, Jonathan?' said Evy.

'I've come to see Alex, of course,' said Jonathan. 'And to tell you all that my loan has been approved by the bank, and I move in to my new business premises in two weeks!'

'Wonderful,' said Rick. 'That means you'll be asking us to bail you out of financial ruin in two and a half weeks!'

'Oh, ye of little faith,' said Jonathan.

'What kind of business are you gonna be doing in these new premises, Uncle Jonathan?' said Alex.

'I'm opening a nightclub!' Jonathan declared. 'Just wait 'til you hear what it's going to be called. You'll love this, Alex. I'm calling it "Imhotep's"!'

'Ugh,' Alex winced. 'Just when I was hoping never to hear that name again.'

'You were?' said Jonathan.

'Yeah, I was,' said Alex. 'And I'd love to tell you all about why that is, Uncle Jonathan, but first I think I should give the baby back to Mom.'

'Why do you think that?' said Jonathan.

'Because he's getting hungry,' said Alex. 'He'll wake up pretty soon and he'll want a feed.'

'How do you know that, son?' said Rick.

'Huh? Oh, I'm reading his mind,' said Alex. 'I'm not particularly trying to, actually, but I don't think I should be too worried about that. It could just be that I can't turn the power on and off for babies because they have raw feelings rather than actual thoughts, like I get with Tut and the Medjai horses. Or it could be that I've accidentally let all my internal walls down because I've gone completely gaga over meeting my little brother. Or perhaps because we're brothers, our brains are linked so strongly that my mental powers activated on their own when I touched him. Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.'

Alex found that Rick, Evy and Jonathan were all staring at him with mouths agape. He frowned.

'What?' said Alex. 'I wrote and told you about my mind-reading powers, remember?'

'Yes... yes, we remember, son,' said Rick. 'But I guess it was always going to be a shock to see you actually using them.'

'It's not that we didn't believe you, of course,' said Evy. 'It's just that some things need to be witnessed first-hand before they can be fully processed by the brain.'

'As you've been away for almost a year, I'm sure you've done a whole lot of stuff that's likely to make us stare at you with our gaping mouths open like fish if we hear about it,' said Jonathan.

'Yeah,' said Alex, 'that's definitely true!'

'Okay, well, I'll take Mikey back and he can let me know when he's ready to be fed,' said Evy, getting to her feet and approaching her two sons.

'And I'll tell Uncle Jonathan all about Hamanaptra,' said Alex, as he carefully handed over the baby.

'Hamanaptra?' said Jonathan. 'What on earth did you want to go back there for, mate?'

Alex grinned and said, 'Take a wild guess, Uncle Jonathan!'


Four weeks later...

Jonathan and Alex came up from the cellar of Jonathan's nightclub, each carrying a crate of alcoholic drinks. They deposited the crates on the bar, then Alex started to hand the bottles to Jonathan, who slid or clipped them into various places.

'So, Alex,' said Jonathan, 'what do you think of the place?'

'I think it's absolutely fantastic, Uncle Jonathan,' Alex grinned at him. 'I just know you're gonna make a big success of this whole venture.'

'Yes, it's been going pretty well so far,' said Jonathan. 'I don't mind admitting to being cautiously optimistic... although I still have a few overhead costs I need to repay.'

'That's not gonna be a problem though, right?'

'No problem at all, mate. After the Friday night rush, I should be firmly back in the black.'

Alex smiled at his uncle. The main door of the building was then assaulted by a series of frenzied knocks. The colour drained from Jonathan's face.

'We know you're in there, Carnahan!' an aggressive voice came through the door. 'The boss wants fifty quid from you right now, otherwise we rearrange your face!'

Jonathan grabbed Alex by the shoulders and pulled him to the floor behind the bar.

'Just keep very quiet!' said Jonathan. 'They'll give up and go away in a minute.'

'That sounds like a very short-term solution to the problem, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex.

'Short-term is better than no-term,' said Jonathan. 'The trouble with many of my business associates is that they just don't understand the value of patience. I'll be able to pay back everything I owe after Friday night, but until then...'

'You just have to hope they don't find a chance to beat the crap out of you,' said Alex.

'Yes, precisely,' said Jonathan.

The knocking and shouting continued for some time. When he suspected that his visitors had given up, Jonathan peered over the top of the bar.

'They're leaving... I think they're leaving,' he said. 'Yes, they've gone.'

'I sure hope you know what you're doing, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex, rising to his feet and dusting himself off.

'Of course I do,' said Jonathan. 'It's just that I always do things in my own inimitable style that no one else seems to be able to fully get to grips with.'

'Yeah,' Alex said with a smile, 'that's what worries me.'

'I think we should head home now,' said Jonathan. 'They may be back soon, and they might bring... well, it'd be best if I make myself scarce, all things considered. I need to collect that paperwork from my office. Could you grab the keys and lock up behind us, Alex?'

'Sure,' said Alex, 'no problem, Uncle Jonathan.'

They made a quick trip to the office, where Jonathan retrieved his paperwork and Alex took charge of the keys. They emerged from the front door of the club into a very foggy street.

'That fog's gotten about ten times thicker since we arrived,' Alex remarked.

'Looks like it's going to be a bad one,' said Jonathan. 'I hope it lifts by Friday night, otherwise no one'll feel like going out to a nightclub.'

As Jonathan set forth into the grey mist, Alex turned to lock the door. When he turned back, he found that he could no longer see his companion.

'Uncle Jonathan!' he called. 'Where did you go? Wait for me!'

A loud thud and a strangled cry of pain came to Alex's ears. He ran around the side of the building to find Jonathan being physically restrained by one unpleasant-looking thug and punched in the stomach by a second.

'Where's the money, Carnahan?' the thug in front of Jonathan demanded.

'I already told you, I'll have it on Friday!' said Jonathan. 'Rearranging my face isn't going to make it come any quicker... in fact it'll impede my hosting duties, and I might not make any money at all!'

'Don't mess us about, Carnahan,' said the thug. 'You're gonna give us something today, otherwise...'

'You don't know the danger you're putting yourselves in, threatening me like this!' said Jonathan. 'My nephew's around here somewhere and he has super-powers, so...'

The two thugs burst into raucous laughter. Alex judged the moment to be right for him to intervene. He ran up behind the thug who was holding Jonathan and kicked his legs out from under him, then he punched the thug who had been doing all the talking in the face. The talkative thug recovered quickly and rushed at Alex; Alex socked him in the abdomen and sent him crashing into a wall.

Jonathan had managed to land a good punch on the second thug while he had been dragging himself back to his feet. With Alex's attention now focused on him too, the second thug ran back down the alley at top speed. Alex turned back to face the first thug, but he too was in full retreat.

'You've got 'til Friday, Carnahan!' the first thug's voice wafted through the fog. 'No one'll be able to save you after that; not even your super-powered nephew!'

'Phew,' said Jonathan, wiping the sweat from his forehead. 'Thanks, Alex.'

'Uncle Jonathan, are you sure everything's gonna be okay?' said Alex.

'Oh, yes,' Jonathan said airily. 'You heard him, didn't you? They won't be back 'til Friday, and things will be hunky-dory by then!'

Jonathan bent to retrieve his paperwork from the ground. When he straightened up again, his expression was far less confident than it had been before.

'Of course, that's assuming I can actually make enough money on Friday night,' he said uncertainly. 'I might not manage it, particularly if this fog persists. I don't know why I thought I could do this, really. What was I thinking? I'm no businessman! Maybe I should throw myself on the mercy of the bank and see if they'll buy the premises back for a reasonable sum. Jeez, this fog is cold!'

'Come on, Uncle Jonathan, that's not the attitude!' said Alex, clapping Jonathan on the back. 'At least wait 'til Friday and see how it goes, huh?'

'But what if those guys come back on Friday and I can't pay them and they rearrange my face? Or they might decide to do that even if I can pay them!'

'Well, I'll come with you and wait in the office – I can't be in the main part of the club during business hours, obviously – and then if those guys try to do anything to you, I'll totally kick their butts; how about that, huh?'

Jonathan laughed and put an arm around his nephew's shoulders. Alex grinned back at him.

'Okay, Alex,' said Jonathan, 'you can be my bodyguard. Now come on, let's go home – this fog is chilling me right through to my bones.'

'Yeah,' said Alex, casting an uncertain glance at the overcast sky, 'it sure is a chilly one.'


Alex and Evy were standing at the kitchen sink. Evy was removing various items of crockery and cutlery from the water and passing them to Alex, who was drying them with a cloth.

'That fog's just not letting up, is it?' said Alex, peering out of the window. 'It's so thick, I can barely see across the street.'

'It's perpetuating a very inaccurate stereotype,' said Evy. 'Most Americans seem to think that London looks like this pretty much all of the time, but it was the Victorians – with their somewhat excessive coal-burning tendencies – who used to make proper pea-soupers on a regular basis.'

'Well, it looks like we've made one now,' said Alex.

'Yes, it certainly does seem that way,' said Evy. 'I'm so glad I'm on maternity leave and I don't have to leave the house.'

'Come on, Mom,' Alex grinned, 'I bet you're just itching to go back to work at the museum, aren't you? You'll probably take Mikey with you in one of those body-harness things.'

'No, I don't think so,' Evy sighed. 'To tell you the truth, Alex, I really don't have a lot of enthusiasm for that place anymore. I feel like I've catalogued enough artefacts to last me several lifetimes... and to be perfectly honest, when you've seen one ancient piece of tat, you've seen them all.'

'Are you okay, Mom?' said Alex. 'That really didn't sound like you talking just now.'

'I've had an epiphany,' said Evy. 'My entire life so far has been a complete waste of time... oh, except for my two wonderful sons, of course! But my professional life... ugh, boring!'

'Well if you feel that way, you should probably get another job,' said Alex.

'I couldn't possibly get another job!' said Evy. 'What else would anyone ever hire me to do? You tell me that, Alex!'

'You could do anything you put your mind to, Mom,' said Alex. 'Hey, maybe you could write a series of books about our adventures all around the world! I bet they'd sell really well, plus it'd be a great job for someone with a baby 'cause you could work from home.'

'I'm not a writer, Alex,' Evy sighed. 'I'd probably think I had an excellent idea for a story and then it would turn out to be utter bilge!'

'I don't get where you're coming from, Mom,' said Alex. 'You've already given a few speeches and lectures about your adventures, and you said you really enjoyed doing it and people really enjoyed listening to you. I bet those people would love to buy your books. Just think how successful you could be as an author! I don't know why none of us has thought of this before. I think it's a brilliant idea, even by my own admission.'

'It's... it's pointless, Alex,' said Evy. 'Can you finish off the last of this washing-up on your own? I need to get the chicken in the oven and peel the carrots and make... chicken.'

'Er... sure, Mom,' said Alex, as he watched his mother plodding across the kitchen in a very unenthusiastic manner. 'Look, are you sure you're okay?'

'I'm fine, Alex,' Evy sighed. 'There's nothing wrong with me; everything's just fine.'

Alex continued to look at Evy with concern on his face. He was distracted by the sound of the front door opening, which was quickly followed by the appearance of Rick and Jonathan in the kitchen.

'It's just another twenty quid, I swear!' Jonathan was pleading. 'I'll make it all back on Friday night, then I can pay what I owe you... plus a few other people.'

'What kind of people?' Rick asked suspiciously.

'Um... investors,' said Jonathan.

'You mean loan sharks,' said Rick.

'Well, I wouldn't call them that,' said Jonathan. 'Although if you don't give me the twenty quid, I may no longer have any kneecaps by the end of the week.'

'Okay, fine, you can have another twenty pounds!' said Rick. 'But that's the last penny I'm gonna give you, Jonathan, and I want it all back by the end of next week!'

'Thanks, Rick,' said Jonathan.

'You're a free-loading bum,' said Rick. 'You know that, don't you?'

'Yes, I know,' Jonathan sighed. 'I don't know why I ever thought I could be a successful nightclub owner... or a successful anything! Jonathan Carnahan, the world's most diverse screw-up! That's me.'

'You hear that?' said Rick. 'It's the sound of no one disagreeing with you.'

'I disagree with you, Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex.

'Thanks, mate,' said Jonathan, fixing Alex with a weak smile. 'But even the Supreme Medjai can't be right about everything. I've just come to a decision: I'm going to hand over the club to the bank and take what they'll give me for it. Hopefully it'll be enough to clear my debts, but taking my track record into account... well, I'll probably lose my kneecaps anyway.'

'But Uncle Jonathan,' said Alex, 'last week you were saying how happy you were to be running your own business at last, and how you'd been waiting for this opportunity your whole life!'

'It was a pipe-dream, Alex,' Jonathan sighed. 'Nothing more.'

'You're being too hard on yourself, Jonathan,' Rick said with a sigh. 'What right do I have to judge you? I've never been able to hold down a real job. At least you're trying, right? I mean, what have I ever done? I've been a solider, a mercenary, an archaeologist, a mummy-hunter... I've never been a reliable provider for my family! I'm even worse than my own dad! He... he was right to abandon me all those years ago. He could obviously tell what a failure I was going to become!'

'What the hell is wrong with everyone today?' Alex exclaimed shrilly, slamming his fist onto the draining board and making the dishes rattle. 'You're all acting like... like... well, I don't even know what you're acting like, but I definitely don't like how you're acting!'

'Sorry, mate,' said Jonathan. 'Perhaps it's the fog – we're all suffering from sunlight deprivation.'

'Yeah,' said Alex, 'I was starting to think the same thing, Uncle Jonathan... or something like it, anyway.'

'Alex, you're the one worthwhile thing I've ever produced in my life,' said Rick. 'But you just don't need me anymore, so I really am totally useless now!'

'Of course I need you, Dad!' said Alex.

'You don't!' said Rick. 'You have an army of Medjai at your command, Alex! You have Ardeth and the Minotaur and Fadil and Yanit...'

'That doesn't mean I don't need you as well! Even if our relationship is a little different now, it's still really important to me, Dad. The same goes for you, Uncle Jonathan... and for you, Mom!'

'Don't be silly, Alex,' said Evy, as she half-heartedly shoved the chicken into the oven. 'Your father's right and you know it.'

'That's nonsense!' said Alex. 'And even if it wasn't, you're forgetting about Mikey! How could any of you think that he doesn't need you?'

'Poor little Mikey,' Rick sighed. 'What were we thinking, bringing a poor, innocent child into such a world as this? Maybe it would've been better if we...'

Rick left the sentence unfinished, but no one made any attempt to contradict him. Looking extremely worried now, Alex opened his mouth to say something else. He was forestalled by the sound of crying coming from the drawing room.

'You see?' said Alex. 'He needs you right now!'

'Just let him cry,' said Evy. 'He'll be doing plenty of that in his life, so why shouldn't he get a head-start now?'

'We couldn't do anything for him anyway,' said Rick. 'We've always been terrible parents – he'd be better off without us.'

Alex gaped at his parents for several seconds, then he adopted a determined expression and ran to see to his brother.