The hall was frigid as Clarke led him to the doorway. Huge double doors swung inward as she unlocked and pushed them. They both kept their eyes forward, refusing to look down the hall to the door still marked off with neon yellow police tape.

"So our new Egyptian Exhibit was being held until you could put in your two cents. I hope you'll find something in here you'd like to pontificate on." Clarke stepped into the room, her boot heels clicked and echoed off the marbled floor and high ceiling. Large hanging chandeliers let light to the artifacts carefully set on a long wooden table.

"Seems like everything set up already." Alex pushed her carefully to the table, and turned to shut the door behind them.

"Yes, we wanted to make sure everything was here right away. You should have seen the glow on the Professors face when he picked this up out of the crate." He turned to watch as she lifted a piece of solid gold from the tabletop. The reflecting glare from the lights off the gold bathed her face gently giving her a statuesque look before the import of the item penetrated his mind.

"Holy Crap!" he stepped forward, intending to rip the book from her grasp, but she held it away.

"What?"

"Do you have any idea what that it?" Alex could feel a cold sweat pop out from his back.

"The book of Amun-Ra." She smirked, "Any child should know that."

"You haven't read from it?"

"Well…"

"No, of course not." Alex remembered, and sighed heavily as he took the book from her.

"You need a key." He nodded when she commented.

"Yes, you need a key." He agreed, running his palm over the lock set firmly in the golden cover. And the only key he knew of, rested calmly in his mothers safe, an ocean away.

"I think this puzzle box may have something to do with it, maybe, possibly." Alex swore in his mind, "Of course, that's just conjecture."

"Of course." He smiled indulgently as he stopped himself from just plucking it out of her hand. He placed the book carefully down and held out his hand. "May I?"

"Here." Clarke set it in his palm and turned back to the table.

Five sides, dark metal, the eye of Ra and several hieroglyphs later Alex concluded that just touching two of the symbols on opposite sides…

"Crap."

"What?" Alex twirled around to look at the table, the other artifacts just looked like typical tomb treasure, the puzzle box he slipped into his jacket pocket when she turned her attention back to the table was something else all together.

"Da, I'm telling you… No dad, they haven't opened it yet." Alex sighed as he leaned against the glass. He'd slipped out of the Museum saying that he was hungry. In fact he stopped at the hot dog vender at the corner to ask directions to the nearest public phone and picked up one with everything on it. He fiddled with the box as he swallowed the last bite. "Da, where is mum?" The top flipped open as he pressed and twisted, a star shape emerged from the top. "No Da, I'm serious. You know, this is the kind of thing the Meiji should be handling, how the hell was the book discovered again, much less let out of the country?"

"Who are the Meiji?"

"Da, you know…" Alex turned around only to have the key snatched from his hands and a tiny palm pushed against his chest. "Da, I'll have to get back to you."

"Who are you talking to?" Clarke grabbed the phone and glared as Alex went to take it back. "Don't start!" she placed the phone to her ear and smacked Alex's hand away.

"Who is this?" She demanded.

An ocean away Rick smiled and leaned back in his chair. Sounds like the girls a toughie. "This is Rick O'Connell."

"And could you tell me Mr. O'Connell," she growled, "Why your son chose to steal an object from my Museum?"

"Ma'am I can only tell you that what you hold in your possession is very dangerous and better sent back to Egypt before something bad happens."

"It's just a book! What harm ever came from reading a book?" She paused as the coughing laugh from the telephone and the one coming from the man squished in the telephone booth with her each exploded.

"I'll tell you a story sometime." Alex took the phone from her hand and said goodbye to his father, "I'll fix it dad. Just tell mum to stand by, and find out how this stuff got shipped." He nodded as Rick imparted some last minute warnings, "I'll be careful. Tell Mum I love her… Yeah, you too, bye."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Clarke demanded as she flung open the glass door.

"Protecting the world maybe?" Alex muttered as he followed her into open air.

"What?"

"Nothing. Look, you don't have to believe me, you just have to send the book and the key back to Egypt. They can't stay here. Its dangerous."

"And this is the key? How did you open it?" she looked down at the open box and traced her finger along the jagged edges of the star.

"It doesn't matter." He tried to grab it back, but only succeeded in taking the arm of her jacket as she shifted away. He tugged her toward him and grabbed her chin with his other hand. He forced her to look up into his eyes. "This is magic best left buried."

"Magic?" she scoffed, "It's a book."

"And who says a book can't be magic?" Alex softened his grip on her arm, and brought his hands to her shoulders. "Until we settle this I need to ask for your word." She still glared defiantly into his eyes, and saw a seriousness she hadn't expected. He seemed tired as he blinked and lowered his forehead to rest on hers.

"My word on what?" Clarke hissed.

"You won't mention this to anyone else, and you won't try to read from the book." He held her head where it was as she tried to jerk away. "Promise me."

His hands where firm, his breath was warm as it fluttered against her lips. He was serious, she realized, as his breath shook out. He was worried, nervous about that book.

"I didn't realize you were superstitious."

"Cautious." He corrected.

"Fine."

"Fine what?"

"I won't tell anyone about the book of the dead, and I won't try to read from it." She let her breath out as he released her.

"Good." Alex nodded and grabbed the key before she could protest. "Good." He pressed two symbols gently, and twisted, then handed the box back to her. "Now lets go, you need to give the cops their statement."

He turned away and started toward the car.

She paused for just one more second, looked down and pressed the sides of the box carefully. A slight give of the metal greeted her smiled.

"I won't try, Alex…" she tucked the box into her jacket pocket and smiled, "I'll succeed."