Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter, and just to clear things up, this story is set in 1936, roughly three years after The Mummy Returns. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it…

/Dani/

Chapter Two

Evelyn O'Connell locked up the last of her filing cabinets and walked to the door of her office. She quickly scanned the room once more, making sure everything was in place before closing the lights and shutting the door. She fished through her numerous keys to find the one that would lock her office for the night. Once she found it, she secured her personal bureau and wiggled the doorknob a few times, just to be certain. Satisfied, Evy looped her keys onto her belt and walked towards the exit of the museum. On her way out, she passed Nigel, the head night watchman. He tipped his hat in her direction like a proper gentleman.

"Goodnight Mrs O'Connell," he waved at her.

"Goodnight Nigel," she waved back, "I'll see you nice and early tomorrow morning." With another tip of his hat, Nigel walked off, continuing to patrol the halls of the museum; the museum that Evy was now proud curator of. She had hardly been able to believe the fact that she had received the job after her return from Egypt some three years ago. Evelyn O'Connell, curator of the British Museum. Yes, the title was nice and she quite enjoyed the job. However, there was one negative factor of her work, and that was the hours she spent away from her family. She wasn't worried that they couldn't survive without her as Rick and Alex were more than competent to take care of themselves, not to mention her brother Jonathan. She was simply afraid that she would miss something important, for example Alex growing up into a fine young man. After having a run-in with death on her last adventure, Evy had grown to be even more protective of the men in her life, never wanting to let them go. Still, she had not found the balance between family and work to be too out of synch yet and she was hopeful that the two aspects of her life would remain balanced for much longer.

Pushing open the door to the museum's staff entrance, Evy was met with a cool wave of fresh air, quite a relief from the stale air she breathed all day around the artefacts. Of course she loved looking at them, but after a while she had seen them all a hundred times and her heart ached for something new, something she could discover on her own. Evy shook the thought of adventure out of her head and hurried down the steps, the darkness of the night scaring her slightly. As she walked briskly through the near-empty parking lot, Evy couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that she was being watched. Checking over both her shoulders, she saw no one and drew the conclusion that she was being overly paranoid. However, just in case, she picked up her pace and nearly jogged the last few steps to her car, getting in and starting it right away.

The O'Connell mansion was not tremendously far from the museum; no more than ten minutes. No matter how short a ride though, Evy could not shake her feeling of uneasiness as she drove through the streets of London, constantly checking her rear-view mirrors. She saw nothing other than cars, all of which looked perfectly normal to her. With a sigh, Evy pulled into her driveway and hurried inside. Once in the entrance hall, Evy kicked off her shoes and looked around. Everything seemed normal, but it was so quiet. It was almost unsettling. Grabbing an umbrella from the stand by the door, Evy began to tip-toe down the hall.

"Rick?" she called out softly, "Alex? Jonathan?" There was no answer from any three of the men. Evy continued to move down the hall slowly, hearing a low grunting noise coming from the living room. Taking a deep breath, Evy launched herself into the living room with a fierce cry. She succeeded in surprising the man who had been snoring peacefully on the couch.

"Evy!" Jonathan cried out. He jumped up, completely startled out of sleep and looked at his sister with shock, "Are you trying to scare me to death?" Evy looked at her brother, the wildness in her eyes slowly fading to apology. She gave a little chuckle, which caused Jonathan to raise an eyebrow at her.

"You've gone insane," he stated matter-of-factly, "It's time we had you committed."

"Oh shush Jonathan," Evy smacked her brother on the shoulder playfully, "I'm so sorry for waking you. I thought that someone was in here."

"Someone was," Jonathan retorted, "And you greatly disturbed his sleep."

"I'm sorry," Evy repeated, "Are Rick and Alex anywhere around?"

"Last I saw of them, Rick was headed upstairs to read Alex a bedtime story."

"Thanks Jonathan," Evy smiled at her brother, "Now try to get back to sleep." She turned away from him and made a quick exit from the living room, hearing Jonathan mumble something about hoping insanity doesn't run in the family. Evy, a little more at ease now, casually walked up the stairs, mentally scolding herself for being ridiculous. She had climbed halfway up the great staircase before bumping into someone on their way down.

"Nice umbrella."

"Oh Rick," Evy laughed at her husband's confused expression and launched herself into his arms. He caught her in a dazzling kiss. When the two broke apart, Rick stared fondly at his wife, wiping a stray curl away from her beautiful eyes. He looked at her for a moment longer before decided that there was something bothering her. He could tell.

"What's on your mind?" he asked. Evy sighed heavily as she ran her fingers across his chest. Rick looked down at her expectantly.

"How about some hot cocoa?" Evy suggested, "I feel like some."

"Okay," Rick grasped his wife's hand tightly, "We'll get some cocoa, but first tell me what's bothering you."

"Well, I've been having this feeling," Evy bit her lip in frustration, "Ever since I left the museum I've been feeling like someone is following me. It's ridiculous though. I nearly scared Jonathan half to…" Evy's words were cut off by the shrill ringing of the doorbell. She and Rick exchanged quick glances.

"Maybe it's not so ridiculous," she whispered.

"Stay here," Rick instructed before he bounded back up the stairs. Evy had a sneaking suspicion as to where he was going. She waited quietly for him on the steps for just a moment. Then he was back at her side, a gun in his hand. Together, and silently, the couple crept to the front door. Evy grabbed the doorknob and Rick readied his pistol. He held his hand up to Evy and began to count with his fingers. One…Two…Three!

Evy opened the door wide and Rick leaped at the late night visitor. The two went down with a bang and what sounded like a very female scream. Evy stuck her head out the door to see what the commotion was. Rick was holding out his hand to the woman he had apparently just flattened; a pretty blonde woman, possibly nearing forty, with pale skin and wide eyes, although Evy was sure that was simply because of the shock.

"I'm sorry Ma'am," Rick said with embarrassment as the woman took his hand and pulled herself to her feet.

"Do you greet all your guests this way?" she asked indignantly. Evy noticed a slight trace of a French accent in her voice.

"When they visit this late, pretty much," Rick replied with a smirk. The woman shook her head slightly and proceeded to dust off the grey slacks that had been wrinkled in her fall.

"Can we help you with something?" Evy asked uncertainly. Had this woman been following her all night, causing her deep unrest? Although Evy certainly doubted it, she was reluctant to let go of the notion. Still, a visitor did call for hospitality. The blonde woman looked at Evy and her eyes lit up, as though a huge weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.

"Evelyn O'Connell?" her tone was questioning, yet mild, as though afraid the answer would be no.

"Yes, that's me," Evy nodded politely, "And who, may I ask, are you?"

"Professor Vivienne Lambert," the woman stuck her hand out to Evy, "Ancient History at Oxford University." Evy took her hand and shook it, wondering what on Earth an Oxford professor was doing on her doorstep at this hour. As if reading her mind, Vivienne took a bold step forward.

"I'm in need of your help Mrs O'Connell," she confessed, "Perhaps we could speak inside?"

--x

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