Disclaimer:I don't own the characters of National Treasure. I also don't own anyone from The Mummy or Mummy Returns. Natalie is mine.
Author's Note: This would be my first foray into either of these fandoms. Will be a RileyOFC piece. I'm posting it here because there's more characters in here from NatTreasure than The Mummy. Plus it's mostly Rileycentric.
Summary: Riley delivers part of the Freemason Treasure to the Egyptian Musem. Natalie O'Connell has inherited her great-grandfather's sense of adventure. But someone wants part of the treasure, and it'll take Riley, Natalie and a very old friend to help keep it safe!
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Chapter One: The Adventure Begins
The sun was setting on the beautiful cityscape of Cairo, Egypt. Cairo was a mix of the modern and the very, very old. Skyscrapers mixed with domed mosques and palm trees. The Nile wound through the city. A few blocks from the mighty river and through the crazy maze of streets stood the Egyptian Museum. In the distance to the southwest, the huge pyramids outside of Giza stood over the desert like giant sentinels.
The last few visitors were just straggling out of the museum. Closing time was in forty-five minutes. A few were still walking the halls, taking in King Tut's treasures, or the giant statue of Khafre. The museum was so big that many of the visitors had to come back the next day to finish their tour.
Tut was by far the most popular exhibit in the museum, but the next-best was the small room dedicated to Imhotep, the high priest of the pharaoh Seti. Imhotep had died a horrible death for having an affair with Seti's mistress. He was mummified alive. The story went that a group of explorers in the 20s brought Imhotep back to life by reading a passage from the Book of the Dead. Supposedly, they killed him again, but he was resurrected again in 1933. To many, it was just a legend. A story to pass around at the campfire.
But to the young docent who was walking the halls, making sure visitors knew it was a half hour to closing time, the story was very real. Natalie O'Connell stepped up to two men who were reading the plaques on the wall in the Imhotep room. "Excuse me, gentlemen, but the museum is going to close in about thirty minutes. We open again tomorrow at nine a.m. if you'd like to finish reading." She stuck a tendril of her auburn hair behind her ear and surveyed the room with a small smile. "It's a fascinating story, isn't it?" she said, mostly to herself, not the two men who were in the room with her. "All for love, Imhotep vows to resurrect Anck-su-Namun, the mistress of Pharaoh Seti. It's a beautiful story..." she paused, then shrugged. "Well, minus the whole taking over the world thing."
She turned. The two men were now staring intently at her. Each wore black suits, and both had dark eyes that seemed to look right through her. Natalie suddenly felt very self-conscious. "Uh...sorry. Twenty-five minutes, gentlemen. Have a good night." With that, Natalie exited the room, pushing her glasses up her nose. She headed to the information desk to gather her things to leave for the night.
"Hi, Jahi," Natalie said to the night security guard.
Jahi bowed. "Miss Natalie. How was your day?"
She smiled. Jahi was in his fifties, and treated Natalie like a daughter. "Busy as usual," she replied. "May your night be quieter than my day."
He nodded. "Enjoy your night, Miss Natalie."
"See you in the morning, Jahi," Natalie replied. She grabbed her shoulder bag and slipped it over her head. With a wave, she headed out of the large doors and into the dry Cairo evening. As she walked down the stairs, she nearly ran into a young man who was on his way up the stairs. "Sir!" Natalie called, turning to look behind her.
The young man turned. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, with disheveled brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a pair of black and white Converse sneakers, blue jeans and a Batman T-shirt. He was sporting a khaki green shoulder bag. "What?" he asked.
"The museum closes in fifteen minutes," Natalie said. "I would suggest coming back tomorrow morning if you want to see anything." He looked vaguely familiar, but Natalie couldn't figure where she'd seen him before.
"I...no, no I'm not a tourist. I'm looking for a book," he replied. "I was told the gift shop here might have it."
"Well, I work here," Natalie said. "Perhaps I can help you. What book are you looking for, exactly?"
"Well...I don't actually know the author. It's called Adventure in the Sands," he said.
"It's by Alexander O'Connell," Natalie replied, surprised that he was asking for that particular book. "And yes, we do have it."
"Really?" He perked up with excitement. "You-you think we could go in and get it?"
"Sir, everything's been closed down for the night," Natalie reminded him, not understanding the rush. "Tomorrow morning, you can go in and buy it like everyone else."
"No, I sorta...I've kinda..." he smiled, embarrassedly. "I kinda have a bet riding on it."
She looked at him through green eyes. "What sort of bet?"
"My friend Ben...he thinks that this artifact was in the Freemason treasure, but I've told him a trillion times that I've gone through the manifest, and it isn't there. He bet me twenty bucks on it."
"What artifact are you looking for?" Natalie asked, interested now.
"The...uh...the..." he pulled a piece of paper from his pants pocket and opened it. "The Spear of Osiris," he said.
Natalie burst out laughing.
"What?" he asked, slightly miffed.
"I'm sorry, sir. I am. But as it happens, I can tell you for fact that the Spear of Osiris is sitting in the British Museum in the Egyptology wing." She smiled apologetically. "It appears you may have misread your manifest a trillion times, Mr. Poole."
"Great. I'm out twenty bucks..." He looked up sharply at her. "How did you..."
"I saw you on the cover of Time magazine two months ago. I thought you looked familiar, but couldn't quite place your face," Natalie replied.
"Funny, usually I'm the guy nobody remembers. Ben's the guy in the public eye," Riley Poole replied.
"Quite the contrary," Natalie gushed, now acting more as a star-struck fan, "when I saw you on the cover of Time, I-I thought you were quite dashing!"
Riley turned a distinct shade of red. "Really?" he choked out. "I-dashing?"
Now it was Natalie's turn to blush. "I apologize," she said quickly. "I'm Natalie O'Connell, a docent here at the Egyptian Museum."
"Nice to meet you," Riley replied. "How do you know all this stuff about the Spear and... stuff?"
She smiled. "Well, as it happens, the book you requested is one of my favorites." She reached into her bag and pulled out a thin, red, leather-bound book. Adventure in the Sands was stenciled across the front in gold writing. Beneath the title, the author's name glittered in the same gold. Alexander O'Connell.
Riley looked at the book, then at Natalie. "O'Connell?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes, Mr. Poole. Alexander O'Connell was my great-grandfather. He wrote this book." Then she smiled. "From firsthand experience."
"Excuse me?" Riley raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me that..."
She laughed. "Yes. The events in this book actually happened."
He rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. A mummy came back to life."
"Twice," Natalie amended. "Mr. Poole, you teamed up with Benjamin Gates to recover a treasure that was myth, which turned out to be real, yet you can't believe this story?"
Riley opened his mouth to say something, then shook his head. "No. Not really."
Natalie shook her head. Of all the people in the world not to believe her. Granted, most visitors didn't buy what they read in the room, but Riley Poole of all people...She wasn't sure why it was so important that he believe her, but it really irked her that he didn't. "Mr. Poole, the museum is closed. It was wonderful to have met you. Perhaps our paths will cross again." And perhaps they won't. Which would be just fine! She whirled around and her heel caught in a crack in the steps. She pitched forward, crying out in surprise.
Riley grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. She slammed into his chest, breathing hard. They stood like that for a few seconds. Natalie looked up into Riley's eyes. They were quite a breathtaking shade of blue.
"You okay?" Riley asked her. He couldn't help but notice her eyes were the color of a brightly polished emerald.
"Fine." Natalie blinked and stepped back. "Just fine. I...Thank you."
"No problem."
She looked at him. "What exactly are you doing in Cairo, Mr. Poole?"
"Well, when Ben and I found the treasure, Ben decided to split up and return it to where it came from. Ben's in China, returning some stuff there. I was just in Greece. Now I'm here."
"So the museum is getting part of the treasure?" Natalie asked, her eyes widening in excitement. "That's-that's amazing! Incredible!"
"Yeah. I go in to sign paperwork tomorrow." Riley said, hefting his bag higher on his shoulder. "So...you work here?"
"I'm a docent," Natalie replied.
"Ah. Gotcha. Cool." He frowned. "And what exactly is that?"
She smiled. "It's a tour guide. Just with a better name."
"Ah. Cool." He shifted uncomfortable from foot to foot. "Well. Maybe I'll take your advice, and check the place out tomorrow."
"You should. The Egyptian Museum is one of the most visited places in Egypt," Natalie quickly agreed. "Good evening to you, Mr. Poole."
"Riley," she heard him say.
She turned. "I'm sorry?"
He shrugged. "Call me Riley. Mr. Poole makes me sound like I'm fifty."
Natalie nodded. "Uhm...okay. Sure. Good evening...Riley." With that, she headed down the stairs again.
She was halfway down the street when she heard a commotion behind her. Turning, she looked back at the museum. Riley Poole appeared to be in an argument with the two men she'd seen in the Imhotep room earlier. Then one of them grabbed his bag. He jerked it away and started to run down the steps. They were right behind him.
This can't be good, Natalie thought. She ran toward Riley. "Riley! Come on!" she yelled, reaching back and grabbing his hand. They took off, rounding the corner and heading west. Ahead of them, the Nile snaked black in the Cairo night. Lights on Gezira Island reflected off the water.
"Why-are they...chasing you?" Natalie gasped between steps.
Riley was breathing hard. "They want the Freemason treasure!" he rasped. The river was right ahead of them now.
Just then, a car careened out of nowhere, blocking their escape to the north. Riley and Natalie skidded to a stop. "Go, go go the other way!" Natalie said, shoving him the other direction. But the two men from before had split up.
Natalie stopped in her tracks. There was no way to go...except...
Riley saw it. "No. Nonono, come on, this can't be happening!"
"It's happening!" Natalie said, grabbing his arm again. She took off in the only direction left open to them.
Riley screamed as the Nile River came rushing up to meet him. They both hit the water with a splash.
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