Chapter 2: Bonnie

"You see the cartouche there?" William asked his boss as he pointed at the map.

William had unfolded the paper to discover a map to the ancient city of the dead, famously known as Hamunaptra. It was legend. No one had ever come close to discovering its location, and his son of a bitch brother managed to find the map to it. William would sell his soul just to see the ruins of the once beautiful city. And the amount of gold and other valuables would certainly sate Jonathan's wallet, and eventually his bank account if he ever got one.

"It's the official royal seal of Seti the first, I'm sure if it," William continued.

Dr. Bey cleared his throat, looking uninterested. "Perhaps," he mumbled.

"Two questions," Jonathan asked as he made his way behind the desk. "Who the hell was Seti the first, and was he rich?"

"He was the second pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty, said to be the wealthiest pharaoh of them all," William replied with a cheeky grin.

"Good. That's good," Jonathan said with a smile. "I like this fellow. I like him very much."

"I've already dated the map. It's almost three thousand years old," William said before pointing at the writing on the map. "And if you look at the hieratic just here, well, it's Hamunaptra."

Dr. Bey paused before rolling his eyes. "Dear God, don't be ridiculous," he said. "We're scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra's a myth told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists."

"Yes, I know all the silly blither blather about the city being protected by the curse if a mummy nonsense, but my research has led me to believe that the city itself may have actually existed."

Jonathan squinted his eyes at William. "Are we talking about the Hamunaptra?" he asked.

"Yes," William said, grinning from ear to ear. "The City of the Dead, where the earliest pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt."

"Yes, yes, in-in a big, underground treasure chamber," Jonathan stuttered happily, making Dr. Bey scoff. "Oh, come on. Everybody knows the story," Jonathan argued. "The entire necropolis was rugged to sink into the sand in Pharaoh's command. A flick of a switch, and the whole place would disappear beneath the sand dunes, taking the treasure with it."

Dr. Bey held the map up to the lit candle as he examined the map more thoroughly. "As the Americans would say, it's all fairy tales and hokum-oh, my goodness!" he shouted as the map started on fire, drawing the other's attention. "Look at that!"

Dr. Bey tossed it and Jonathan and William both clambered around it on their knees to pat out the flames. They lifted the map and Jonathan gasped. "You've burnt it! You've burned off the part with the lost city!" he shrilled.

"It's for the best, I'm sure," Dr. Bey replied, making both William and Jonathan's jaws drop. "Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one's ever found it. Most...have never returned." Dr. Bey huffed before clearing his throat. "Now go clean up the library...and no more knocking off mummy's heads. I don't want to hear anymore about this Hamunaptra nonsense."

William started to argue but Jonathon stopped him. "C'mon, old chap. I'll help you clean up."

William sighed and nodded before making his way out of Dr. Bey's office, taking the map and object with him, Jonathan close on his tail. "That man is bloody infuriating," the librarian growled.

Jonathan laughed and slung an arm around his brother's shoulders. "He's lucky to have you, and he knows it."

"Not likely," William grumbled as they walked into the library, then he rubbed his hands together. "Right, shall we start then?"

Jonathan raised an eyebrow at the mess. "What did you do?" he asked with a giggle.

"I was on a ladder and it knocked into one of the shelves. Everything went downhill after that."

Jonathan barked with laughter before heading over to a fallen shelf. "This looks far too heavy for me."

William rolled his eyes and made his way over. "Maybe for you, old man."

William got to work on lifting the shelves while Jonathan spent his time looking through the books instead of putting them back in their respective spots. The librarian had to scold him several times for help, but eventually Jonathan conceded and started being more active with reorganizing all the books and documents.

While this was going on, however, William was going over in his head what Dr. Bey said about most people never returning from their quest to the ancient city. Did that mean there were people who did survive, and more importantly, were that nearby?

"Jonathan," William blurted out. "You said you got the puzzle box at a dig site in Thebes?"

"Yes," Jonathan said, keeping his eyes on the books that he was shelving. "Why?"

William crossed his arms and cleared his throat. "And were you authorized to participate in the dig?"

Jonathan paused. "Well, I didn't tell you how I got the puzzle box, I only said the where."

The younger brother groaned. "Jonathan!"

Jonathan chuckled. "I was out drinking and this woman had it on her. Drunk out of her mind, she was," he reminisced. "Some men made indecent proposals towards her and a brawl took place. It was poking out of her pocket and I simply..." he popped his mouth. "Snatched it up."

William's jaw dropped. "Was the lady harmed?"

Jonathan laughed. "Not from where I was standing."

William huffed before rubbing his face. "No, you were probably crouched in some corner, hiding." He grabbed Jonathan by the collar and started dragging the man. "C'mon!"

"Where are we going?!" Jonathan yelped.

"To find the lady!"

William was furious with his brother but at least they found a lead. The younger man had to keep dragging Jonathan along to where the local casbah was, Jonathan having eventually admitted that the fight did not actually take place in Thebes. After asking around, they found out that the woman had been taken to Cairo prison. The brothers hurried over there, although Jonathan was reluctant to go. William insisted, however.

Once they got to the prison, they announced who they were and who they were looking for. They were told to wait, and the minutes dragged on, William consistently scolding Jonathan for his deception.

"You told me that you got it on a dig down in Thebes!" William shouted as they were allowed entry by the warden of the prison.

"Well, I was mistaken," Jonathan replied as they walked.

"You lied to me!"

"I lie to everybody. What makes you so special?"

"I am your brother!"

"Well, that just makes you more gullible."

"Jonathan, you stole it from a drunk at the local casbah!"

"Picked her pocket, actually so-"

Jonathan made to turn around but William snatched him back and made him walk in the right direction. "Stop acting ridiculous! She is just a woman, what are you so frightened of?"

Jonathan went pale in the face. "She had guns."

William blinked in confusion before looking at the warden. "What exactly is this woman in prison for?" he asked, still dragging Jonathan over to the man.

"Well, this I did not know," the warden replied at the cage, leaning on it. "But when I heard you were coming, I asked her that myself."

Jonathan and William stopped just before the metal cage. "And what did she say?"

"She said she was just looking for a good time," the man smiled as the green prison door opened.

William stared in awe and shock as two man dragged out a very disheveled, very dirty looking woman in men's clothes, consisting of a sleeveless undershirt and trousers. The guards hit her in the back and she growled angrily, clutching the metal as she slid to a knee. There was a wildness in her eyes that William found both beautiful and terrifying.

The rest of her, however...

"This is...this is the woman that you stole it from?" William whispered to his brother, never taking his eyes off the woman before him.

"Yes, exactly," Jonathan replied uncomfortably. "So why don't we just go sniff out-"

"Who are you?" the woman asked, looking at both the men, then she eyed William with a look of scrutiny. "And who's the bookworm?"