Chapter Four
Larry Daley tossed his jacket on the couch, frustrated that he could not find a way to keep his friends in New York. The Smithsonian was a great museum – he was secretly planning a vacation for himself and Nick and was going to take him there.
"So that's it, they're gone now?"
"Yeah. I just wish there was something I could have done, Nick."
Getting two plates out and putting them on the nearby table, Larry divided up the take out food he'd gotten, giving Nick a good sized portion. He liked the fact that he was able to provide stability for his son – he'd started as a night guard and now was in charge of a company worth millions.
Just then, the phone rang. Larry picked it up, wondering who would be calling him at this hour.
"Jed? How'd you dial the phone?"
"Long story, Gigantor! Dexter stole the tablet and now we're in a world of hurt, boy!"
Larry stopped what he'd been doing to give his full attention to the conversation.
"What's going on?"
"Kahmunrah!"
"Who's that, Jed?"
"Ahkmenrah's big brother. He's here – not a friendly! I repeat, not a friendly!"
"Is that Atilla? Jed?" The abrupt end to the conversation told Larry that sunrise must have come up. He also could hear the voice of a woman in the background – one that did not belong to any of his museum friends.
"Dad, what was that about?" Nick looked worried. Putting his phone in his pocket, Larry grabbed his keys, and stuffed the take out containers into a bag.
"I'm gonna drop you off at your mom's. I don't know what's up but I intend to find out."
After dropping off Nick at his mother Erica's house, Larry looked up flights to Washington. Making his way to the airport, he got up to the desk where the tickets were sold.
"I need a flight to Washington – family emergency." The older woman nodded, typing into the computer.
"Alright, there's been a no show so you can get on the flight that leaves in an hour. Here's your ticket and boarding pass. Have a good flight!"
Larry ran as fast as he could, getting through security and making his way to the boarding area. So many things were going through his mind, like why Ahkmenrah had never mentioned having a brother. Larry figured he no doubt had brothers and sisters he wondered why he said so little about his own family.
He also wondered how Dexter had managed to steal the tablet without anyone noticing. While the monkey could certainly be very cheeky at times, Larry never thought he would pull a stunt like this.
"Have a good flight, sir."
"Thanks." Larry hurried on board, quickly finding his seat. The flight itself would be less than two hours, which gave him a few hours time to find out exactly who this Kahmunrah was.
"We have now landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Thank you for flying with us and have a great day!"
Undoing his seat belt, Larry tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the other passengers to get off the plane. Once he managed to get off, he made his way to the entrance and hailed a cab.
"Where are you going today?"
"I need you to get me to the Smithsonian as fast as you can."
The driver nodded and drove off. Taking a moment to look at some of the things that passed the window, Larry only hoped his friends were safe. His mind went back to that strange female voice he had heard over the phone. It sounded somewhat British, but American as well. He hoped she was alright.
'Probably frightened out of her mind.' Larry thought to himself. Once he paid the cab driver, he got his phone out and called Nick.
"Nick, I'm here. McPhee said the Federal Archives are at the Smithsonian. Where exactly am I going?"
Nick quickly pulled up a map of the Smithsonian on his laptop.
"That's the thing, dad. The Smithsonian is actually nineteen different museums all laid out around the National Mall from the Capital to the Lincoln Memorial. They've got everything there – there's some really neat stuff."
"Nick, focus! Which museum are the archives in?"
"Not in, under. It looks like the archives run underneath the entire Smithsonian."
Larry went pale.
"So if Ahkmenrah's tablet is down there -"
"Then the biggest museum in the world is coming to life."
"Look, I gotta go. I'll call you when I'm in."
Larry shoved his phone in his pocket and made his way around. He could see there was an art museum, and an air and space museum. He grabbed a map that someone had left on a nearby bench and headed into the main building.
The Smithsonian Castle was impressive building. Larry took mental notes on some of the exhibits there, trying to figure out who might give him trouble.
When he found the exhibit for Kahmunrah, the only person inside was a woman.
"Uh, hey. So what can you tell me about this neat stuff?"
The woman looked at him, with her red hair cascading down her shoulders and bright green eyes, Larry could tell she was smart.
"It's not open to the public yet – I'm afraid I'll need to ask you to leave."
Larry then heard that same voice he'd heard last night when Jedediah had called him. He stepped closer to the woman, lowering his voice so others wouldn't over hear them.
"Look, I need a favor. Any chance you can get me to the archives?"
"I can't do that."
"Please, this is important. My friends are down there. They need my help."
Then it hit me – this must have been the friend Sacagawea had mentioned last night.
"Look, I could lose my job if I let you down there."
Larry was willing to plead with her.
"You don't have to come with me."
"No, I do need to come with you."
Larry extended his hand to her.
"Before I forget, I'm Larry Daley."
"Alessandra Bianchi – I work in the Egyptology department here."
Larry nodded. Thinking for a moment, he wondered what would be the best course of action. At least he didn't have to lie about why he needed to get into the archives.
"How about we grab lunch? Maybe you could tell me a bit more about this Kahmunrah."
I nodded.
"Fine, we'll talk over lunch."
We headed to one of the many cafe places that the Smithsonian had to offer. On the way, Larry told me about the museum back in New York, his son Nick and how he'd ended up working as a night guard in the first place.
"I've told you what I know, now you need to tell me what you know."
We sat in a remote corner so that people wouldn't hear us.
"My father is the head of the Egyptology department here. He spent forty years of life trying to find Kahmunrah's tomb and I end up walking right into it. We were studying the tombs in the Valley of the Kings at the time."
"Ahkmenrah never mentioned he had a brother."
"I may not know Ahkmenrah, but I don't blame him. Kahmunrah was notorious for having a violent temper, as well as an almost unhealthy appetite for war."
Larry took a bite of the sandwich and continued listening.
"Kahmunrah reigned for fourteen years – during the first two years he was Pharaoh he went to war with Nubia, and not only handed the Nubians a crushing defeat, he personally executed their king rather violently. The following twelve years were actually one of the most peaceful times in history."
Larry nodded.
"He sounds dangerous."
I nodded, stuffing a bite of the pizza I had in my mouth.
"He was known as Kahmunrah the Bloodthirsty for a very good reason. When we opened his tomb the number of weapons we found in there was mind boggling. Here are some pictures."
Larry scrolled through the pictures – it blew his mind seeing so many weapons. Knives, spears and all sorts of things.
"Are these all here at the Smithsonian?"
"Thankfully no. Most of the artifacts are still in Egypt – it's just a matter of figuring out what is going where. As for Kahmunrah, the reason he's here at the Smithsonian is because I wanted to study him further."
"So you got to make that choice because you found him?"
I nodded, taking a sip of my soda.
"That's exactly it. I'll tell you this, Kahmunrah is very dangerous – if you want to back out now you can."
I watched as Larry shook his head.
"I'm not abandoning my friends. Jedediah told me how helpful you were."
I took the two trays, threw out the garbage on them and put them on top of the bins.
"Well then Larry, I guess we're going to war."
