Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from The Mummy.
The Misadventures of Jonathan Carnahan P.I.
Prologue
Six months! Six months and he was already in dire straits where funds were concerned. How could he have lost so much so fast? Okay, yes Jonathan was not known for his investment skills, but he was in possession of a diamond twice the size of a man's head! Alright, there had been that slight snag where one of the men he owed money to had stolen it, but he had gotten it back. Well, maybe O'Connell had, but Jonathan had definitely led them to the man and helped...with something.
"Well you've bloody done it this time, old boy," Jonathan said to himself as he sat on the plush sofa in his sister's mansion. He propped his slipper clad feet up on the matching floral ottoman as he sat enjoying his third glass of brandy in his favorite black silk smoking jacket. Perhaps it was not the image of a man who was down on his luck and in desperate need of money, but this is how Jonathan worked best. Three sheets to the wind and surrounded by beautiful women. Well at least he was one of the two.
He had been evicted of his London apartment just last week, and he had nowhere else to got but back to Evy's doorstep. Only this time when she dragged him in off the street, she had a ultimatum. He had two weeks to pull himself together and land back on his feet, or she was kicking him out on the street again. "I have a son to raise, and I can't have you laying around here all the time begging for money. So, either put your act together or stay with one of your friends," she had said in the way that only Evy could. Somehow she managed to let you know that she was disappointed in you without even raising her voice. If only their mother had known how to use that skill, then maybe he wouldn't be such a disappointment now.
It really didn't matter. All that mattered right now was that Jonathan had two more days until he would be living out of a suitcase on one of London's streets because frankly he had no friends in this city when he wasn't thoroughly inebriated and losing his money to them. But what could Jonathan do? He was only good at a handful of things, and the whole idea behind this was to gain money not to lose it.
Jonathan got up to pace the expansive room as he thought about his possible career options. He took another sip of his brandy as he paced back and forth in front of the glowing fireplace. "I could work for Evy at the museum," he brain-stormed out loud, but he quickly squashed the idea, knowing that Evy would sooner hire Imhotep himself than let Jonathan near anything that could possibly be mistaken for treasure or be valuable.
"I could open a book store selling ancient texts," he said as he stopped to jab at the fire for a moment. However, selling ancient texts would probably result in a visit from an angry Med-jai, and Jonathan did not want to get on Ardeth's bad side. His pride was still trying to overcome the "are you any good with that?" incident. How was he supposed to know that Ardeth could unsheathe that sword in the blink of an eye? So, maybe selling the secrets of Egypt was a bad idea, but what was he supposed to do?
Disappointed, Jonathan turned to reclaim his seat on the sofa. There was no point wasting his last two days pacing when he could be relaxing. He'd just use the last of his money to buy a good raincoat and a pair of wellington boots, and he'd make his home on the London streets like so many other gamblers.
Just then, Jonathan tripped over something on the floor beside the ottoman. As he pushed himself off the floor, he looked to where his slippers were tangled in the pages of a boot. Grumbling about how children shouldn't leave their books where people could break their necks on them, Jonathan reached over and picked up the text. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes the title read. "Must be one of Alex's," Jonathan said to himself as he flipped through the pages. Soon he was so engrossed in the book of short stories, that he didn't notice the time passing. All the while, an idea was forming in his mind.
It was morning by the time Jonathan finish the entire book. "A detective, now there's a job," he said as he put the book down. "It can't be too hard. After all, we were a bit like detectives when we had to search for Imhotep when he was searching for Ahm Shere. I could do that," he muttered as he began to plan. All he would need is an office and a couple of cases, and he'd be the next Sherlock Holmes. People would come from all over to have him work their cases. He'd be rich and famous...and rich!
"Uncle Jonathan, have you seen the book I've been reading, around here?" Alex asked as he came down the stairs still dressed in his pajamas.
"Alex, old lad, tell me what you think of this," Jonathan said as he ignored his nephew's question. "What do you think of me becoming a private detective?" he asked proudly as he puffed out his chest.
"Uncle Jon, I had to help you find your left slipper last night, how are you going to solve crimes on your own?" Alex asked as he found his book on the ottoman where Jonathan had placed it.
Jon was quiet for a moment as he thought about this. Then he had a brilliant idea. "You're good at finding and solving things. We could be partners. Now, all we need is to find ourselves a case, and we'll be in business," Jonathan said as he began to pace again.
"Uncle Jonathan, I'm only nine years old," Alex pointed out as he looked at his uncle skeptically.
"Then we just won't tell your mother. How does that sound?" Jonathan proposed as he stopped pacing. "Now, how do you suppose we'll get ourselves some clients?" He asked as he sat next to Alex on the sofa and kicked it feet up. They had work to do if they were going to find themselves a case.
XxXxX
So what do you guys think? This is probably going to turn into a series of short stories about Jonathan's misadventures, so everyone will make an appearance in various episodes. Please tell me what you think of this. This is probably going to be a story that I do when I get the urge, so your input and encouragement will probably be what makes me update quickly.