main character: Angel
disclaimer: Angel is the creation of Joss Whedon, Jonothan and his misadventures belong to the Mummy movies.
distribution: Jinni, Paula - anyone else ask first.
note: 20 minutes with Angel response, set after the Mummy Returns, after the Romany Curse, before the start of BtVS.
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11:48
Angel sighed as he slumped a bit more deeply into the shadows at the back of the little booth. IT was the darkest corner of the pub, and the place where he was least likely to bee seen. IT had less than outstanding bar service for just that reason.
"You just can't understand what it's like. I Was this close." The skinny Englishman made a gesture, his fingers about an inch apart. "That close to treasure beyond your wildest dreams. That diamond... huge. And now it's all gone."
Idly, he wondered if the drunken man had any idea how dangerous that sort of talk could be fore him. Talking about fabulous amounts of gold and diamonds in a pub.... It was practically an invitation to be followed in an effort to beat out the location. He'd actually used the strategy before, when he was still eating people... He shook his head, and took another drink of the bitter alcohol, hoping to numb down the memories.
"You can't be serious. Where would that much gold even be?" The bearded man had a speculative gleam in his eye, one that spoke of the hope of finding that gold for himself.
His hand shook as the drunk - wasn't his name Jonothan? - the drunk man gestured. "Far away, miserable country. Full of dead bodies, sand everywhere... and my God, the curses on the place. It's not worth it. Really."
"What's this about curses?" The little man was at the elbow of the bearded man, and something about his just whispered 'rat' - or maybe 'accountant'.
"Egypt. Sand, curses, those damn beetles..." Jonathan sipped at his drink, grimacing at the taste.
"I thought it was the land of mummies?" The bearded man's question sounded harmless.
"Never bring up the mummies! Leave them to rot away in their damn tombs, never let them out! Never let them out, it's a terrible mistake." Jonathan glared, his whole body tense.
"err... right." It was obvious that the bearded man thought that Jonothan was just a raving drunk. Possibly even a delusional one.
Jonothan dropped some money on the bar, and staggered as he stood up. "I think... that's enough for me. Good evening."
` Angel sighed, and decided that it might be good to follow the man. He certainly seemed rather worse for the alcohol, and even if he wasn't, he probably wouldn't be very good ad defending himself. Besides, he'd been feeling restless anyhow.
He tried not to feel smug as he followed Jonothan. It was no great feat to stalk someone that drunk, and if he was as much the impractical idle-rich as he'd seemed, then he probably wouldn't have noticed even sober. But he just had the feeling that the bearded man might try something.
"You didn't tell me what I really wanted to hear." Beard-man's voice rang in the empty street.
Jonothan stopped, looking around in obvious puzzlement. "What's that?"
"Where's the gold? How much gold? And will I need my own damn train line to get it out?"
"It's under the sand now. Valley... Oasis of Ammmm.... Amon-Sherry. No, Sherry's a drink. Sher." Jonothan peered at the man, his eyes not quite focused. "But it's not safe."
"I don't think it'sll be that much trouble. We'll jus plan ourselves a little expedition."
A trio of large men stepped out, looking ready to pummel Jonothan into talking. They were large, with vicious smiles and dull eyes - minions, thought human ones.
"Now, here's where someone's going to have to step in. The odds just aren't fair anymore." Angel stepped out of the shadows. "Tell you what, just to make things a bit more sporting, why don't I offer Jonothan - that is your name, right? Why don't I offer Jono here a hand?"
"This doesn't concern you, Irish." Beard glared at Angel, while motioning towards his men.
"I insist." Angel smiled, trying not to let his fangs drop.
In the end, it wasn't a fair fight at all. Jonothan managed to hit one of the men before getting knocked down, while Angel dealt with the thugs easily. The bearded man fled, probably fearing police involvement. Angel took the opportunity to drink from one of them, not enough to kill, but a nice bite.
"Need a hand getting home?" He asked the fallen Englishman, hoping that he hadn't seen anything.
Jonothan lurched upwards, brushing at his wrinkled shirt. "Er, yes, I think that might be good. Thank you."
If he'd realized that he'd end up invited to stay at the ancestral home, he might not have asked. Especially not if he'd known that it would mean listening to stories of a horrible mummy, given vast power by a curse, and the way that Jonothan - with a bit of help from his sister and her husband - had been forced to stop the Mummy Imhotep. The vast hordes of gold that he'd seen - and lost - at each encounter.
Clearly, the Romany weren't as nasty with a curse as they thought. That thing with Imhotep and the eternity as a mummy... It sounded far worse than being a vampire with a soul.
12:08.
The End