Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue! ;D
Chapter 3: King Of Anything
"Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me
Who made you king of anything?
So you dare tell me who to be?
Who died and made you king of anything?"
- "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles
Connor thought about making a run for it, or maybe even just casually walking away from the museum; but he had a feeling that this Becker guy had ordered his men to prevent [Connor] from leaving the premises.
"Connor—I—" Stephen began, trying to break the silence.
"Save it, Stephen." Connor cut him off. "I don't wanna hear any more lies that you plan on saying to get me to come back on the team. I'm following through on this, like I promised; and then I'm done."
"This really is too big a place for us to cover though," Stephen admitted.
Connor didn't respond.
"Look, I really did think that we needed your help and I wouldn't have come to you if I honestly didn't think you were needed on a case." Stephen continued.
"I'm touched." Connor replied dryly, flashing his flashlight suspiciously about the corridors, mummies and statues illuminated by the light.
"I know you really don't want to; but you're going to have to face everything that's happened in the past eight months eventually." Stephen spoke sternly.
Connor stopped short and spun to stare angrily at Stephen, gun slightly raised.
"I had my reasons for leaving. I have no intentions of coming back, Stephen. I'm here to help this one time because of a lie you told me." Connor explained, fire burning in his eyes.
Stephen glanced back and forth between the gun and Connor, as he heard the soldiers aim their guns at Connor.
"We both know you can't shoot a gun, Connor. Now, put it away before someone gets hurt." Stephen pointed out.
Connor lowered his gun, "don't be so sure that I'm the same person I was eight months ago, Stephen."
Connor turned and continued to lead the way, looking for any creatures that shouldn't be there.
"Something's bothering you," Jenny stated as she, Cutter, Becker, and some of Becker's men walked the empty museum.
"Of course there's something bothering me!" Cutter answered angrily. "Someone I let down is back."
There was no need to name Connor aloud. Jenny and Nick both knew who he was talking about.
"Maybe this is your second chance to make things up to him. Maybe you can finally redeem yourself in his eyes." Jenny proposed.
"The only way that I could redeem myself in Connor's eyes would be if I rewrote history."
"You know you can't."
"Let's just face it, he'll never forgive me and never return to the ARC."
"Sir, according to Lester's orders, any civilian, who witnesses the business of the ARC, first hand, must be briefed and sign the official secrets act." Becker pointed out.
"This is a special case, it's out of Lester's jurisdiction." Cutter answered.
"But—"Becker began.
"If Connor wants to come back after this then he can; but other than that, the option of returning to the ARC will not be forced upon him, got it?" Cutter cut him off.
Just as they rounded a corner, Stephen and Connor aimed their guns at a young woman, who came out of one of the nearby doors.
"Stay where you are." Connor ordered.
She had dark, tan skin with long dark hair to match her brown eyes. She wore tan gaucho pants with a white dress shirt and burnt orange jacket. She also donned a pair of flats on her feet.
The young woman looked both startled and terrified at the same time.
"Cutter" Stephen called to the slightly older man who was approaching them from down the hall.
Cutter and Jenny, along with Becker and the rest of his men came bolting down the hall.
Connor lowered his gun as Cutter came closer.
"Who are you?" Cutter asked calmly.
"Doctor—Doctor Page" she answered backing against the wall. "And you?"
"Nick Cutter."
"Let me—let me guess, you're thieves or something." Dr. Page spoke.
"Actually, I'm a professor." Cutter answered, continuing to lead the interrogation.
Dr. Page glanced at the gun and back at Cutter's face. "I've never seen a professor with a gun before."
Cutter glanced at the gun like it was some ordinary object, like a watch or something. "It's a—pretty specialized field."
Connor rolled his eyes and in the process, noticed an arm poking out from behind a display case and jabbed Stephen.
They walked over to the arm, causing Cutter and the other s to follow.
"Oh, God." Connor muttered.
The woman had been mauled by whatever had been stalking the museum.
"It's a creature kill." Stephen deduced, checking the dead woman for a pulse.
Dr. Page leaned in to see that she recognized the woman.
"Margret." She whispered and quickly turned around, running for an exit.
Stephen and Connor looked up to see the Dr. Page was already clear down the hall.
"Nick." Stephen called, causing him to look up and see the sight as well.
"Dr. Page!" Cutter called, as he and the others gave pursuit.
Dr. Page kept near the closest wall looking for the switch that would open the dock for her to escape. She froze when she noticed a strange light, accompanied by a strange noise.
"Hello?" She called.
Suddenly, a giant creature, that resembled the Egyptian demon Amut, came crawling over the crates in front of her, causing her to inadvertently scream.
She grabbed a nearby artifact and prepared to defend herself.
Suddenly, everything happened at once.
The loading dock opened, causing the creature to flee through the new opening, frightening the workers, while the door to the storage room burst open, allowing the strange people she'd met only a few moments ago access to the room.
"What happened?" Cutter asked.
"I just—I just saw the Amut." Was all Dr. Page could muster.
"Look, I believe you saw something; but I don't think it was Amut." Cutter replied.
"It looked just like that!" Dr. Page defended, pointing to a nearby statue.
"Right, Stephen with me; Jenny get back to the ARC and do some damage control."
The ARC?" Dr. Page asked confused.
"Not that one." Connor assured her.
"Connor you stay with Dr. Page and try to figure out where the anomaly is from and what we're up against. Becker you and your men stay here and—" Cutter continued.
"What makes you think I'm going to continue to participate in this?" Connor asked incredulously.
"Well, you would've left by now, but you haven't."
"Only because I was afraid your new friends we're gonna shoot me!"
"Look, let's just sort things out and then argue, yeah?" Stephen suggested.
"Who died and made you king of anything? Oh, I think I—" Connor began, but Jenny stopped him.
"Connor, please, not here. We'll take care of it later." Jenny pleaded.
Connor nodded.
"I'm done with all of this after this incursion is sorted." Connor stated firmly as he turned and began his work.
Cutter and Stephen fled to track the creature, while everyone else did as they were told.
"What was that all about?" Dr. Page asked, crouching down next to Connor.
"Nothing to worry about." Connor muttered as he stared up at the Sun Cage and the anomaly.
"If my safety is concerned, I think it's something to be greatly worried about." She pointed out.
"Safety's not an issue. Not in this particular case anyway, yet." Connor answered as he examined the Sun Cage.
"What do these hieroglyphs refer to, Dr. Page?" Connor asked changing the subject as he squatted down in front of the Sun Cage.
"Sarah."
"What?" Connor asked confused looking up at her.
"I'd feel a lot better about this situation if you'd call me Sarah." She smiled, crouching down next to him.
"Connor," he replied, giving a slight smile, to make her feel a bit better about the circumstances.
Please Review! ;D