AU CHAPTER 4
Avery would spend most of their time together talking about anything that came to mind; her day, her classes, the weather. He was slowly opening up to her too. He was allowing himself to find trust within her. Even if she could not free him, he was grateful for her company. In the midst of their random conversation about what colors represented each emotion best, his guards started tapping their spears. Avery became annoyed as she thought the new night guard, Larry, was back. She had met him briefly in passing. She had to admit that after his first few mistakes on the job, he seemed to be stepping into his role as night guard.
Knowing the drill by now, she quickly hid behind a column as Ahk started screaming and banging on the lid. She dared herself to peek around the corner and to her surprise, it wasn't Larry at all. It was the old night guards; Cecil, Gus, and Reginald.
What are they doing here? I thought they left last week!
"Quiet down there Pharaoh!" Gus yelled at Ahk. The three men approached the sarcophagus but they were looking directly at the tablet.
"You know that tablet of yours would fetch a pretty penny from the highest bidder." Reginald stated matter of factly. Avery's eyes widened as she heard this information. Surely they're joking right? They're not actually going to steal the tablet right?
Hearing this Ahk started to scream even louder and pound his lid out of rage.
"Ha! It's not like you can do anything about it, pipsqueak! Keep on screaming because you ain't getting out! You're acting like a little crybaby!" Gus was taunting Ahk. Avery stood horrified by it.
"Gentlemen please, it's been 54 years since we locked him up. Best decision we ever made. It made our job so much easier knowing you wouldn't interfere with our plans. And now we have the perfect scapegoat in our new night guard, Larry Daley." Cecil had finally said his peace.
"And what about that intern girl, Avery? If she keeps snooping around, she'll get what's coming to her." Reginald said with a threat. Her heart leapt in her throat.
Are they trying to pin this on me too? I knew I wasn't going crazy about those missing artifacts! This is bad though.
"I wouldn't worry too much about her. I talked to her about keeping her distance. And if she does what she's told, she shouldn't be a problem."
She remembered his cryptic message from a previous talk and suddenly it all made sense to her. He didn't want her involved in this yet he was perfectly fine with framing Larry. Part of her felt a little relief at that but she was already involved whether she liked it or not. Her heart beat so loud that she was afraid they would notice.
"Scream all you want Pharaoh. Soon you won't be screaming anymore. C'mon gentlemen, we've got some last minute preparations to attend to before the big day." Cecil announced and led the trio out of the exhibit. Only when she was sure they were a far distance did she emerge and tell Ahk to stop.
"Ahk, they're gonna steal your tablet! This can't be happening!" She could feel a panic bubble in her chest but also anger. How could Cecil do this? What could they have to gain from stealing the tablet, other than a mountain of riches?
"Avery, please calm yourself. You can't let that happen. You cannot let them steal my tablet." How he wished he wasn't trapped.
"It's three against one, Ahk! They're way more crafty and conniving than I thought. I need to find Larry. I need to warn him about this. I'm sorry, I have to go!" She gathered up her belongings and rushed out into the hallway to find Larry. She didn't even say goodbye to Ahk.
"Avery! Please be safe…" He whispered.
AN: so I feel like Gus would def be the one to antagonize Ahk. I have a small headcanon that the 3 of them may have taunted him because he obvi couldn't fight back.
Also if you don't remember, in the original story, Avery is doing inventory on artifacts and discovers that things she just cataloged had gone missing. She kept looking into it, against Cecil's veiled warning, and ended up getting thrown under the bus alongside Larry.