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annerbhp. Have to post this in four chunks.
Title: SG-Mummy - Part 1 and 2
By:kellifer_fic
Rated: PG
Disclaimer - Don't own, don't sue.
Is: Sam/Jack - Team
Summary: The Mummy - SG-1 style
Excerpt: The man cocked his head, looking at her appraisingly. “Are you sure you’re a librarian?” he asked.
“Yes I’m sure,” Sam snapped. “Why?”
“It’s just, librarians aren’t usually so…” the man waved a hand in an undiscernible gesture.
“What?” Sam demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So…hot,” he shrugged.
“Oh!” Sam squeaked.
Daniel smacked a hand on his face. “This is like a nightmare,” he grumbled.
Part One
“For cryin’ out loud!”
Jack O’Neill grabbed a handful of Harry Maybourne’s shirt as they pelted through the ruins of a once great city, intent on keeping themselves alive. Maybourne, terrified, wasn’t helping much and Jack fought the very real temptation to leave the man behind.
Damn morals.
Maybourne skidded on the shifting sand underfoot again, managing to get Jack tangled as well, and they both fell into an undignified heap. Maybourne put both hands on Jack’s belly, pushing himself upwards and running as fast as his short legs would take him.
“Oof!” Jack exclaimed, as he was winded by Maybourne’s move. He rolled sideways and came face to face with about twenty ancient rifles, all inches from his face.
He grinned sheepishly, silently swearing bloody vengeance on Maybourne if the two should ever cross paths again.
“Hiya, fellas,” he greeted.
The last thing he saw was the butt of a rifle as it arced towards his face.
<8>
Samantha Carter smiled at the aging Museum curator across from her, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
“We need it,” she said, her tone wheedling. The man rubbed his bald pate and let out a resigned sigh.
“And just why do we need it?” he demanded, already looking pallid at the prospect of the large sums of money Sam was asking him to part with.
“If I’m to properly find out the age of some of our more fascinating items, I need the proper equipment,” Sam said, batting her eyelashes. “George, please.”
George Hammond sighed mightily, before flipping the catalogue in front of him, face down on the table. “If your parents, Allah rest their souls, were not mostly responsible for keeping this Museum open through the lean years, I’d have a good mind to fire you. I hired you to catalogue and translate. Not carry out experiments.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Daniel is far better at the translations. I’m good at finding out what these objects do, what their purpose was. Some of this stuff is way beyond anything the Ancient Egyptians should have been able to come up with. Don’t you just find that.-“
“Fascinating, yes I know. Sometimes I think your brain is a curse more than a benefit. I may not have an index system that works but I know that the Scroll of Arcman is exactly six thousand and twelve years old.”
“That’s helpful in finding out-“
“What would be helpful is if you would do the job I pay you for at least some of the time.” George said seriously, standing and collecting the few parchments he had been looking over. “Honestly Samantha, I couldn’t love you more if you were my own daughter, but I need a librarian, not a scientist.”
George bustled out of the room and Sam watched after him go, torn. She knew she should be doing the job he was paying her for, but she got bored easily, and distracted. There were just some things her brain latched onto and didn’t want to let go. She supposed that perhaps George was right.
Her mind was sometimes a curse.
A noise behind her caused Sam to jerk around. The Museum was closed and except for George and her, supposed to be empty. She stood slowly, making her way through the stacks at the back of the museum. Sometimes kids came in to gawk at the artefacts and lost track of time, finding themselves locked in the museum after hours and too scared of getting in trouble to come out.
At that moment, Sam felt a hand grab her shoulder. She spun into the body behind her, bringing an elbow down sharply and she heard an exhaled curse. She then dropped her weight forward, wrenching the arm that had grabbed her up and over and the rest of the person with it.
She reached blindly beside her and grabbed a small statue of Bastet. She raised it over her head, intending to brain the person below her with it when there was an outraged squawk that she recognised.
“Don’t break that! Do you know what that is?”
Sam sighed and leaned over until she could make out the horrified face of her brother, Daniel. She rapped the statuette on his forehead.
“Ow!” he protested, holding his forehead. “It was only a joke.”
“You scared me half to death,” Sam growled, standing and offering Daniel a hand up. He took it and let her pull him to his feet. She got assailed with the pungent stench of day old whiskey and Sam recoiled, smacking Daniel in the head again.
“Ow! Okay, what was that for?” he snapped, cradling his abused head.
“If you didn’t drink so much, you would have a brilliant career,” Sam sighed, leading Daniel back out of the stacks. He stumbled after her, scowling.
“I’m doing quite well, thankyou,” he grumbled, reaching into his jacket for something. Sam turned on him.
“Oh yes, that was a marvellous display at your last lecture, talking about aliens and how pyramids are their landing platforms.” Sam threw up her hands in exasperation. “How could you have been surprised to have lost your job and all your funding?”
“I was sober for that I’ll have you know. I’ve only been drinking since then because I am disgusted with the ignorance of the intellectual community as a whole.” Daniel let out a tremendous burp and smacked a hand over his mouth, flushing.
“Oh Daniel,” Sam shook her head, rubbing a thumb over the red mark where she’d smacked him with the statuette. “Did I hit you too hard?”
“No, look, we both know that there are some inconsistencies with the objects we find and the level of Ancient Egyptian technology, such that it was. They made some incredible advancements without the apparent benefit of coming to it naturally, almost as if someone taught them.”
“I’m not having this argument with you again.” Sam sank back into her chair at the large wooden desk where her work was laid out and dropped her head into her hands. A moment later Daniel lay something down on the table in front of her.
“I found something. At least…I think I have. Tell me I’ve found something.”
Sam looked up and narrowed her eyes. Before her was laid out what looked like a gold bracelet with rings. The rings were attached by a delicate chain and when Sam picked it up and turned it over, it looked like the chain was designed to sit across someone’s palm. There was a jewel in the centre of it, unlike anything Sam had ever seen.
“Where did you find this?” she breathed.
“I’m not sure actually,” Daniel confessed. “All I know is, I woke up covered in sand and I had this. I know I went out to one of my dig sites but I can’t remember which one.”
“Daniel?”
“Yes?”
“I think you found something.”
Part Two
“I told you the dating equipment would come in handy. This piece is over four thousand years old.”
George looked over the rims of his glasses at Sam, holding the gold slave bracelet out for his inspection. George indicated that she should put it down with a wave of the hand and then leaned forward.
“Somebody is pulling your leg. This can’t be-“
“I dated it myself. It’s like nothing we’ve ever found before. It might actually prove that was another civilization living alongside the Egyptians.”
George looked up, clearly startled. There was a crash from outside and then Daniel stumbled into the room, dragging with him the candelabra that he’d managed to knock over. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
George rounded on Sam. “I should’ve known your brother was behind this,” he sighed, picking up the bracelet and shaking it in Daniel’s direction. “More useless garbage.” He turned on Daniel. “You’re not content with ruining your own career, you insist on bringing down Samantha with you?”
Daniel opened his mouth, all colour draining from his face. “I found this, and if you have a way I could fake the aging process then I’d like to hear it, because I’d be able to make a fortune.”
“Besides, there’s a word inscribed under the jewel on the palm setting,” Sam said, excited, turning the bracelet over in George’s hands. “See?”
George squinted and then dropped the bracelet, as if it had burned him. “Hamunaptra?” he breathed. “It is a myth.”
“How about this?” Sam arched an eyebrow, retrieving the bracelet and putting it on. George made a squeak of protest as she held it up, faced towards a blank wall. She pressed the jewel that rested on her palm and there was a flare of orange light. All three people in the room looked up at the wall, and the map that was thrown against it, etched in fine orange lines.
“How did you know it did that?” Daniel demanded.
Sam smiled. “I’m good at working things out. If I’m right, we have a map to the Lost City of the Dead.”
Daniel grimaced. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“It’s reputed to be the place where the Pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt,” Sam added.
“So, when do we leave?” Daniel said, rubbing his hands.
“The problem is, the map is incomplete. We need a starting point. Daniel, we need to know where you found this, really.”
“Ah…well, there might be a slight problem with that,” Daniel said, looking at his feet.
“I know you were drunk, but we really need to know which dig site you found this at. Maybe if we go to each one, you’ll remember”
“I…uh, remembered where I got it,” Daniel mumbled, cheeks colouring.
“That’s great! Where?” Sam asked, excited.
“Well, it’s not exactly a where More of a…who. I kind of …liberated it from someone.”
“Daniel,” Sam growled, her tone a warning.
<8>
“Well, we may have a slight problem,” Daniel said as they entered the prison grounds.
“Oh really, how can it be worse than having to get a man out of prison?” Sam demanded, whirling on her brother. He smiled sheepishly and pointed upwards, towards a set of gallows. There was a man being led up the steps, hands bound behind his back.
“Don’t you dare,” Sam breathed and Daniel shrugged helplessly.
Sam spotted a portly man who was standing at the bottom of the steps, looking pleased and rubbing his belly. She dashed towards him. “Wait!” she called as the noose was slipped around the prisoner’s neck. The Warden turned towards her, interest on his face.
“Yes, my pretty. What can I do for you?”
“I need that man,” Sam said, pointing upwards. The Warden’s face fell and he glanced up at the top of the gallows, squinting in the late afternoon sun.
“I’m sorry to disappoint such a beautiful woman, but that mangy cur must dangle.”
“I’ll give you…” Sam dug into her bag, desperately searching for any money she had on her. “One hundred pounds,” she said triumphantly, coming up with a handful of cash. The Warden raised an eyebrow and the man who was to be hanged and his escort had turned towards the sound of the commotion.
“I am sorry, my precious, but I would pay that much to just to see this man hanged. He slept with my wife.”
Sam’s mouth dropped open. “Um,” she looked to Daniel, motioning him over. As soon as he was close enough, she dug into his pockets, Daniel letting out a “Hey!” of protest. “Two hundred and twenty three pounds,” she offered desperately as the noose was slipped over the man’s neck.
“Want to hurry it up, lady?” the man called and she looked up at him. He had realised she was his ticket out of prison and had his bound hands held out to her. “I mean, I know I look like I’m having a good time, but if you’re going to get me out of this, I’d appreciate you doing it now.” He made a hurry-up gesture with his hands and Sam wondered if it was uncharitable to be annoyed by a man about to be hanged.
“Sorry, my wife’s honour is worth more than that,” the man snapped.
“How much is it worth?” Daniel asked. The man slapped his bound hands to his face and Sam looked at Daniel, her mouth open. Daniel blinked. “Ooh, that did not come out how I meant,” he sighed, rubbing his forehead.
The Warden looked outraged, and made a gesture to the escort, who kicked the bound man forward, who stumbled and fell through the opening in the floor of the gallows. Sam turned away with a cry, only to be brought back around by the Warden’s harsh bark of laughter.
“His neck did not break. I love it when that happens,” he sighed and Sam looked back at the gallows and the man who was rapidly strangling. “Oooh, look, he is strong. This one’s going to last a while.”
“He can lead us to Hamunaptra!” Sam said and it was Daniel’s turn to look outraged.
The Warden turned to Sam, one eyebrow raised. “Truly? He knows where the City of the Dead is located?”
“No, but we have a map which is useless if he can’t tell us where he got it,” Sam explained, knowing a simple ‘yes’ would have been enough but never being able to lie quite so baldly.
“I don’t believe you,” the Warden said, flapping a dismissive hand at her.
“Look, if it turns out not to be true, you can still hang him, just later. If it is true, then you’re watching an untold fortune strangle,” Daniel said in a rush, stepping forward.
The Warden sighed heavily, finally throwing up his hands. ”Fine,” he barked, before gesturing at the escort at the top of the gallows. The man pulled a curved and wicked looking scimitar from a scabbard at his waist and leaned forward, slicing through the rope with a casual flick of the wrist.
The bound man thumped to the earth, rolling over and gagging, pulling the rope from his abused throat. Sam walked over to the man and looked down at him, wrinkling her nose when she caught a whiff of just how badly he smelled.
“Could you cut it just a little closer next time? I almost didn’t die there,” the man croaked, looking annoyed.
“You could say thankyou,” Sam said primly.
The man glared at her. “Thankyou for taking your sweet time while I was strangling to death.”
“You’re welcome,” Sam said brightly.
The man turned his eyes on Daniel and they narrowed. “You look familiar,” he growled
<8>
George looked at the snifter of brandy on his desk and opened it with a shaking hand.
“She must die,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“She will fail and perish in the desert,” one of the dark men that stood in front of his desk intoned. George shook his head sadly.
“This is Samantha Carter. She will not fail. You must kill her and her brother and anyone else she might have told.”
“It will be done. There is another expedition that is travelling trying to find the Lost City,” the man intoned.
“Forget them. They do not have the hand device. Without it, their information is useless.”
<8>
“This intel you have better be good. I’m investing a lot of my own personal funds in this trip,” the tall, grey-haired man intoned, casting a threatening eye on his trembling guide.
“Yes, Mister Kinsey. Believe me; I have been to the city. I have trod on its holy sands. I have-“
“Yes, alright, Maybourne. From what I’m paying you, you’d better be right.” Kinsey growled, looking back at the two trusted mercenaries he had brought with him. Both men were hard of face and deeply loyal. Henderson and Kawalsky smiled and returned the nod they were tipped.
“Three days down the Nile, and then two on camel and it will have been the most profitable investment of your life, of all our lives,” Maybourne said, rubbing his hands together.
<8>
“How can we trust he’s going to show up?” Sam demanded. One thing she’d always worried about was how trusting her brother could be. He was a lush and sometimes a thief, but also tended to believe the best about people. He was quite simply, the sweetest cad you could ever hope to come across.
“I don’t know. He promised to meet us here and he seems like a man of his word.”
“He seems like a filthy degenerate,” Sam growled, just as a shadow was thrown across her. She looked sideways and saw a tall and rakishly handsome man with greying hair threaded through sandy brown. There was amusement dancing in his brown eyes and Sam felt her cheeks warm, suddenly recognising him.
“Well, I’ve had a shower, so at least I’m not filthy anymore. Can’t help you out about the second part unfortunately.” He grinned, making Sam flush deeper and Daniel looked between them, rolling his eyes.
“Oh, perfect,” he sighed.
“Look,” Sam said, straightening her shoulders. “I can assure you that if this is some kind of hoax, I will-“
Sam stuttered to a halt when the man stepped into her personal space, face inches from her own. “My Colonel found that map in an Ancient Fortress and he had a platoon of my men believing in it so much that we marched across the desert from Libya and into Egypt. I’m the only one that survived.”
Sam swallowed loudly. “Alright then,” she breathed, backing up a step.
The man cocked his head, looking at her appraisingly. “Are you sure you’re a librarian?” he asked.
“Yes I’m sure,” Sam snapped. “Why?”
“It’s just, librarians aren’t usually so…” the man waved a hand in an undiscernible gesture.
“What?” Sam demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So…hot,” the man shrugged.
“Oh!” Sam squeaked.
Daniel smacked a hand on his face. “This is like a nightmare,” he grumbled.
The man picked up their bags and stepped onto the gangway that led up to the passenger steamer they were going to take.
“I… don’t even know what your name is!” Sam called, elbowing Daniel in the ribs when he made moony faces at her.
“O’Neill. Jack O’Neill,” Jack threw over his shoulder, disappearing into the throng of passengers.
Next Part
annerbhp. Have to post this in four chunks.Title: SG-Mummy - Part 1 and 2
By:
kellifer_ficRated: PG
Disclaimer - Don't own, don't sue.
Is: Sam/Jack - Team
Summary: The Mummy - SG-1 style
Excerpt: The man cocked his head, looking at her appraisingly. “Are you sure you’re a librarian?” he asked.
“Yes I’m sure,” Sam snapped. “Why?”
“It’s just, librarians aren’t usually so…” the man waved a hand in an undiscernible gesture.
“What?” Sam demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So…hot,” he shrugged.
“Oh!” Sam squeaked.
Daniel smacked a hand on his face. “This is like a nightmare,” he grumbled.
Part One
“For cryin’ out loud!”
Jack O’Neill grabbed a handful of Harry Maybourne’s shirt as they pelted through the ruins of a once great city, intent on keeping themselves alive. Maybourne, terrified, wasn’t helping much and Jack fought the very real temptation to leave the man behind.
Damn morals.
Maybourne skidded on the shifting sand underfoot again, managing to get Jack tangled as well, and they both fell into an undignified heap. Maybourne put both hands on Jack’s belly, pushing himself upwards and running as fast as his short legs would take him.
“Oof!” Jack exclaimed, as he was winded by Maybourne’s move. He rolled sideways and came face to face with about twenty ancient rifles, all inches from his face.
He grinned sheepishly, silently swearing bloody vengeance on Maybourne if the two should ever cross paths again.
“Hiya, fellas,” he greeted.
The last thing he saw was the butt of a rifle as it arced towards his face.
<8>
Samantha Carter smiled at the aging Museum curator across from her, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
“We need it,” she said, her tone wheedling. The man rubbed his bald pate and let out a resigned sigh.
“And just why do we need it?” he demanded, already looking pallid at the prospect of the large sums of money Sam was asking him to part with.
“If I’m to properly find out the age of some of our more fascinating items, I need the proper equipment,” Sam said, batting her eyelashes. “George, please.”
George Hammond sighed mightily, before flipping the catalogue in front of him, face down on the table. “If your parents, Allah rest their souls, were not mostly responsible for keeping this Museum open through the lean years, I’d have a good mind to fire you. I hired you to catalogue and translate. Not carry out experiments.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Daniel is far better at the translations. I’m good at finding out what these objects do, what their purpose was. Some of this stuff is way beyond anything the Ancient Egyptians should have been able to come up with. Don’t you just find that.-“
“Fascinating, yes I know. Sometimes I think your brain is a curse more than a benefit. I may not have an index system that works but I know that the Scroll of Arcman is exactly six thousand and twelve years old.”
“That’s helpful in finding out-“
“What would be helpful is if you would do the job I pay you for at least some of the time.” George said seriously, standing and collecting the few parchments he had been looking over. “Honestly Samantha, I couldn’t love you more if you were my own daughter, but I need a librarian, not a scientist.”
George bustled out of the room and Sam watched after him go, torn. She knew she should be doing the job he was paying her for, but she got bored easily, and distracted. There were just some things her brain latched onto and didn’t want to let go. She supposed that perhaps George was right.
Her mind was sometimes a curse.
A noise behind her caused Sam to jerk around. The Museum was closed and except for George and her, supposed to be empty. She stood slowly, making her way through the stacks at the back of the museum. Sometimes kids came in to gawk at the artefacts and lost track of time, finding themselves locked in the museum after hours and too scared of getting in trouble to come out.
At that moment, Sam felt a hand grab her shoulder. She spun into the body behind her, bringing an elbow down sharply and she heard an exhaled curse. She then dropped her weight forward, wrenching the arm that had grabbed her up and over and the rest of the person with it.
She reached blindly beside her and grabbed a small statue of Bastet. She raised it over her head, intending to brain the person below her with it when there was an outraged squawk that she recognised.
“Don’t break that! Do you know what that is?”
Sam sighed and leaned over until she could make out the horrified face of her brother, Daniel. She rapped the statuette on his forehead.
“Ow!” he protested, holding his forehead. “It was only a joke.”
“You scared me half to death,” Sam growled, standing and offering Daniel a hand up. He took it and let her pull him to his feet. She got assailed with the pungent stench of day old whiskey and Sam recoiled, smacking Daniel in the head again.
“Ow! Okay, what was that for?” he snapped, cradling his abused head.
“If you didn’t drink so much, you would have a brilliant career,” Sam sighed, leading Daniel back out of the stacks. He stumbled after her, scowling.
“I’m doing quite well, thankyou,” he grumbled, reaching into his jacket for something. Sam turned on him.
“Oh yes, that was a marvellous display at your last lecture, talking about aliens and how pyramids are their landing platforms.” Sam threw up her hands in exasperation. “How could you have been surprised to have lost your job and all your funding?”
“I was sober for that I’ll have you know. I’ve only been drinking since then because I am disgusted with the ignorance of the intellectual community as a whole.” Daniel let out a tremendous burp and smacked a hand over his mouth, flushing.
“Oh Daniel,” Sam shook her head, rubbing a thumb over the red mark where she’d smacked him with the statuette. “Did I hit you too hard?”
“No, look, we both know that there are some inconsistencies with the objects we find and the level of Ancient Egyptian technology, such that it was. They made some incredible advancements without the apparent benefit of coming to it naturally, almost as if someone taught them.”
“I’m not having this argument with you again.” Sam sank back into her chair at the large wooden desk where her work was laid out and dropped her head into her hands. A moment later Daniel lay something down on the table in front of her.
“I found something. At least…I think I have. Tell me I’ve found something.”
Sam looked up and narrowed her eyes. Before her was laid out what looked like a gold bracelet with rings. The rings were attached by a delicate chain and when Sam picked it up and turned it over, it looked like the chain was designed to sit across someone’s palm. There was a jewel in the centre of it, unlike anything Sam had ever seen.
“Where did you find this?” she breathed.
“I’m not sure actually,” Daniel confessed. “All I know is, I woke up covered in sand and I had this. I know I went out to one of my dig sites but I can’t remember which one.”
“Daniel?”
“Yes?”
“I think you found something.”
Part Two
“I told you the dating equipment would come in handy. This piece is over four thousand years old.”
George looked over the rims of his glasses at Sam, holding the gold slave bracelet out for his inspection. George indicated that she should put it down with a wave of the hand and then leaned forward.
“Somebody is pulling your leg. This can’t be-“
“I dated it myself. It’s like nothing we’ve ever found before. It might actually prove that was another civilization living alongside the Egyptians.”
George looked up, clearly startled. There was a crash from outside and then Daniel stumbled into the room, dragging with him the candelabra that he’d managed to knock over. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
George rounded on Sam. “I should’ve known your brother was behind this,” he sighed, picking up the bracelet and shaking it in Daniel’s direction. “More useless garbage.” He turned on Daniel. “You’re not content with ruining your own career, you insist on bringing down Samantha with you?”
Daniel opened his mouth, all colour draining from his face. “I found this, and if you have a way I could fake the aging process then I’d like to hear it, because I’d be able to make a fortune.”
“Besides, there’s a word inscribed under the jewel on the palm setting,” Sam said, excited, turning the bracelet over in George’s hands. “See?”
George squinted and then dropped the bracelet, as if it had burned him. “Hamunaptra?” he breathed. “It is a myth.”
“How about this?” Sam arched an eyebrow, retrieving the bracelet and putting it on. George made a squeak of protest as she held it up, faced towards a blank wall. She pressed the jewel that rested on her palm and there was a flare of orange light. All three people in the room looked up at the wall, and the map that was thrown against it, etched in fine orange lines.
“How did you know it did that?” Daniel demanded.
Sam smiled. “I’m good at working things out. If I’m right, we have a map to the Lost City of the Dead.”
Daniel grimaced. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“It’s reputed to be the place where the Pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt,” Sam added.
“So, when do we leave?” Daniel said, rubbing his hands.
“The problem is, the map is incomplete. We need a starting point. Daniel, we need to know where you found this, really.”
“Ah…well, there might be a slight problem with that,” Daniel said, looking at his feet.
“I know you were drunk, but we really need to know which dig site you found this at. Maybe if we go to each one, you’ll remember”
“I…uh, remembered where I got it,” Daniel mumbled, cheeks colouring.
“That’s great! Where?” Sam asked, excited.
“Well, it’s not exactly a where More of a…who. I kind of …liberated it from someone.”
“Daniel,” Sam growled, her tone a warning.
<8>
“Well, we may have a slight problem,” Daniel said as they entered the prison grounds.
“Oh really, how can it be worse than having to get a man out of prison?” Sam demanded, whirling on her brother. He smiled sheepishly and pointed upwards, towards a set of gallows. There was a man being led up the steps, hands bound behind his back.
“Don’t you dare,” Sam breathed and Daniel shrugged helplessly.
Sam spotted a portly man who was standing at the bottom of the steps, looking pleased and rubbing his belly. She dashed towards him. “Wait!” she called as the noose was slipped around the prisoner’s neck. The Warden turned towards her, interest on his face.
“Yes, my pretty. What can I do for you?”
“I need that man,” Sam said, pointing upwards. The Warden’s face fell and he glanced up at the top of the gallows, squinting in the late afternoon sun.
“I’m sorry to disappoint such a beautiful woman, but that mangy cur must dangle.”
“I’ll give you…” Sam dug into her bag, desperately searching for any money she had on her. “One hundred pounds,” she said triumphantly, coming up with a handful of cash. The Warden raised an eyebrow and the man who was to be hanged and his escort had turned towards the sound of the commotion.
“I am sorry, my precious, but I would pay that much to just to see this man hanged. He slept with my wife.”
Sam’s mouth dropped open. “Um,” she looked to Daniel, motioning him over. As soon as he was close enough, she dug into his pockets, Daniel letting out a “Hey!” of protest. “Two hundred and twenty three pounds,” she offered desperately as the noose was slipped over the man’s neck.
“Want to hurry it up, lady?” the man called and she looked up at him. He had realised she was his ticket out of prison and had his bound hands held out to her. “I mean, I know I look like I’m having a good time, but if you’re going to get me out of this, I’d appreciate you doing it now.” He made a hurry-up gesture with his hands and Sam wondered if it was uncharitable to be annoyed by a man about to be hanged.
“Sorry, my wife’s honour is worth more than that,” the man snapped.
“How much is it worth?” Daniel asked. The man slapped his bound hands to his face and Sam looked at Daniel, her mouth open. Daniel blinked. “Ooh, that did not come out how I meant,” he sighed, rubbing his forehead.
The Warden looked outraged, and made a gesture to the escort, who kicked the bound man forward, who stumbled and fell through the opening in the floor of the gallows. Sam turned away with a cry, only to be brought back around by the Warden’s harsh bark of laughter.
“His neck did not break. I love it when that happens,” he sighed and Sam looked back at the gallows and the man who was rapidly strangling. “Oooh, look, he is strong. This one’s going to last a while.”
“He can lead us to Hamunaptra!” Sam said and it was Daniel’s turn to look outraged.
The Warden turned to Sam, one eyebrow raised. “Truly? He knows where the City of the Dead is located?”
“No, but we have a map which is useless if he can’t tell us where he got it,” Sam explained, knowing a simple ‘yes’ would have been enough but never being able to lie quite so baldly.
“I don’t believe you,” the Warden said, flapping a dismissive hand at her.
“Look, if it turns out not to be true, you can still hang him, just later. If it is true, then you’re watching an untold fortune strangle,” Daniel said in a rush, stepping forward.
The Warden sighed heavily, finally throwing up his hands. ”Fine,” he barked, before gesturing at the escort at the top of the gallows. The man pulled a curved and wicked looking scimitar from a scabbard at his waist and leaned forward, slicing through the rope with a casual flick of the wrist.
The bound man thumped to the earth, rolling over and gagging, pulling the rope from his abused throat. Sam walked over to the man and looked down at him, wrinkling her nose when she caught a whiff of just how badly he smelled.
“Could you cut it just a little closer next time? I almost didn’t die there,” the man croaked, looking annoyed.
“You could say thankyou,” Sam said primly.
The man glared at her. “Thankyou for taking your sweet time while I was strangling to death.”
“You’re welcome,” Sam said brightly.
The man turned his eyes on Daniel and they narrowed. “You look familiar,” he growled
<8>
George looked at the snifter of brandy on his desk and opened it with a shaking hand.
“She must die,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
“She will fail and perish in the desert,” one of the dark men that stood in front of his desk intoned. George shook his head sadly.
“This is Samantha Carter. She will not fail. You must kill her and her brother and anyone else she might have told.”
“It will be done. There is another expedition that is travelling trying to find the Lost City,” the man intoned.
“Forget them. They do not have the hand device. Without it, their information is useless.”
<8>
“This intel you have better be good. I’m investing a lot of my own personal funds in this trip,” the tall, grey-haired man intoned, casting a threatening eye on his trembling guide.
“Yes, Mister Kinsey. Believe me; I have been to the city. I have trod on its holy sands. I have-“
“Yes, alright, Maybourne. From what I’m paying you, you’d better be right.” Kinsey growled, looking back at the two trusted mercenaries he had brought with him. Both men were hard of face and deeply loyal. Henderson and Kawalsky smiled and returned the nod they were tipped.
“Three days down the Nile, and then two on camel and it will have been the most profitable investment of your life, of all our lives,” Maybourne said, rubbing his hands together.
<8>
“How can we trust he’s going to show up?” Sam demanded. One thing she’d always worried about was how trusting her brother could be. He was a lush and sometimes a thief, but also tended to believe the best about people. He was quite simply, the sweetest cad you could ever hope to come across.
“I don’t know. He promised to meet us here and he seems like a man of his word.”
“He seems like a filthy degenerate,” Sam growled, just as a shadow was thrown across her. She looked sideways and saw a tall and rakishly handsome man with greying hair threaded through sandy brown. There was amusement dancing in his brown eyes and Sam felt her cheeks warm, suddenly recognising him.
“Well, I’ve had a shower, so at least I’m not filthy anymore. Can’t help you out about the second part unfortunately.” He grinned, making Sam flush deeper and Daniel looked between them, rolling his eyes.
“Oh, perfect,” he sighed.
“Look,” Sam said, straightening her shoulders. “I can assure you that if this is some kind of hoax, I will-“
Sam stuttered to a halt when the man stepped into her personal space, face inches from her own. “My Colonel found that map in an Ancient Fortress and he had a platoon of my men believing in it so much that we marched across the desert from Libya and into Egypt. I’m the only one that survived.”
Sam swallowed loudly. “Alright then,” she breathed, backing up a step.
The man cocked his head, looking at her appraisingly. “Are you sure you’re a librarian?” he asked.
“Yes I’m sure,” Sam snapped. “Why?”
“It’s just, librarians aren’t usually so…” the man waved a hand in an undiscernible gesture.
“What?” Sam demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So…hot,” the man shrugged.
“Oh!” Sam squeaked.
Daniel smacked a hand on his face. “This is like a nightmare,” he grumbled.
The man picked up their bags and stepped onto the gangway that led up to the passenger steamer they were going to take.
“I… don’t even know what your name is!” Sam called, elbowing Daniel in the ribs when he made moony faces at her.
“O’Neill. Jack O’Neill,” Jack threw over his shoulder, disappearing into the throng of passengers.
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