Harriman Nelson wished his wildly beating heart wasn’t thumping so loudly as he tried to get a handle on his breathing, afraid both were going to give him away. Right now there were two gunmen out there, searching for him. Why, he had no idea. One minute Lee, Chip and he were wandering through the nearly empty museum, waiting for Serena, when gunshots ran out and the three had found themselves being used for target practice. In a desperate attempt to lose their shooters, the three men had split up. Nelson had no idea where his officers were now and further more, he had no idea where Serena was. Worry for his friends and his daughter ate at him and that was probably the reason he didn’t hear the light foot step or sense the gunman as he came around the corner of the stack of crates Nelson had chosen to hide behind.

"Did you think you could hide from Habib, American?" the Arab gunman snarled, aiming his pistol at Nelson.

Harriman raised both hands in placating manner and moved to get his feet under him. "I’m sure we can talk this over. Just what is it you want?" Nelson asked as the Arab motioned him to his feet. Slowly he stood, trying to buy some time. Nelson's mind was in overdrive as he tried to formulate a plan.

"You take our heritage away from us. You dig up the bones of our ancestors like rocks to be pried from the sands. The gods are not pleased. And to make matters worse, you send a woman to take our ancestors away. A woman! What does a woman know about our past, about our history?"

"It’s not like that! Believe me, your government only wants to protect your history ," Nelson started but Habib was in no mood to hear any explanations.

"SILENCE!" Habib thundered and lunged for Nelson. The two men grappled, Nelson trying to get the gun away from Habib. Habib was holding his own as they traded punches. He reversed his hold on the gun and lashed out, catching the Admiral in the jaw. Harriman reeled backwards and crashed into the stack of crates he had been hiding behind. His head snapped back and connected solidly with the heavy wooden crates. Slowly he sank to the ground and lay still.

"Samir!" Habib called out, and a second similarly dressed Arab appeared, glancing down at the unconscious admiral.

"Is he dead?" Samir asked, reaching down and feeling for a pulse. He found a steady beat and stood, having answered his own question. "What do we do with him? If he is found before we move the mummy there may be suspicions."

"Simple. Amun-Aten-Hotep is being shipped out separately in a special crate. Put the American in the sarcophagus. We will dump his body in the desert, and the gods can determine his fate. Move. There is little time. The woman will be back soon."

The two men levered the limp form of the Admiral up and carried him across the room to the empty sarcophagus. Had Nelson been conscious, he would have recognized the sarcophagus as the same one he and Lee had transported from New York several years ago. Habib swung open the hinged lid and the two of them dropped Nelson’s body in the empty cavity. Habib dropped the lid closed just in time. Serena Harrison barreled into the room.

"Oh, there you are. I need that case loaded and ready to go. By the way, has an American man about five foot nine with red hair and blue eyes come through here? We seem to have misplaced him," Serena said. She eyeballed the closed up sarcophagus.

"No lady, no American has come in here. We will have the sarcophagus loaded for you and ready for transport in the next hour."

"Come on, let’s get that case loaded now. I want to make sure it’s strapped down for the drive to Cairo. I want it on the road tonight."

Samir and Habib exchanged glances but made no further comments. The two of them hefted the now much heavier case and followed Serena out to the loading docks and a waiting truck. Habib and Samir loaded the sarcophagus into the back of the truck and under Serena’s watchful eye, tied the case securely down in the back. When they were done, both men climbed out of the truck and slammed the tailgate down. Habib pulled the canvas tarp tight over the open bed and secured the corners. The case was now hidden from view. Just like Serena wanted it.

"Very nice. Go on back to the store rooms and make sure we’ve gotten everything out. If we're lucky, we can get the last of this stuff out of here in the morning" The two hired hands nodded in assent and left heading for the back storerooms.

Serena watched them go then turned on her heel and headed back out, snatching up the walkie from her hip. "Remind me when we get home that I'm a MARINE researcher. How the devil did I get roped into the project anyway?" she asked, with more than her fair share of disgust dripping from her words.

Wendy Morton, Serena' project coordinator, answered over the walkie . "Because it was your step-father who originally found the tomb, and the museum wanted to honor him by allowing his step-daughter the privilege of overseeing the transfer of Amun-Aten-Hotep to his new home in Cairo."

"I'm touched. Really I am, touched in the head for letting myself get talked into this. By the way, what the blazes has happened to Lee, Chip and my father?"

"Don’t know. I thought they were in the main hall, waiting for you," Wendy’s voice squawked back through the walkie. Serena shook her head even though she knew Wendy couldn’t see her.

"I just came from there. It’s empty," she said. She heard a long breath being let out on the other end of the walkie.

"Girl, this is just ducky. We’re getting word that there may be an attempt to steal the mummy before we can get it to Cairo. It seems there is some weird faction who believes that it’s against the wishes of the gods to move Amun-Aten-Hotep from his ancestral home."

"Great. Why is nothing ever simple?" Serena growled just as she heard the engine on the truck roar to life. She whirled about and ran back to the loading dock just in time to see the truck with her mummy case crash through the doors and speed away.

"Oh, hell no," she snarled and ran after the truck, just as Wendy appeared on the other side of the dock.

"Somebody stole my sarcophagus!" Serena shouted to Wendy.

"I told you! Didn’t I tell you?" Wendy snarled back. Both were running out the broken down doors. Serena saw the truck first, setting empty on the side of the road, but Wendy beat her to it, yanking open the driver's side door and sliding in behind the steering wheel. Serena bounced into the passenger’s side.

"Follow that truck!" she yelled, pointing to the just disappearing tail end of the stolen truck.

Wendy cranked the engine and it rolled over, miracles of miracles. She floored the accelerator, and the truck jerked forward as she threw it in gear. "We’ve never done a car chase," the blond woman said, flashing Serena the famous family high wattage smile..

Serena gave her friend a crooked grin, thumbing back the safety on her ancient Webley pistol. "First time for everything."

~*~*~*~*~

"Lee, LOOK OUT!"

The rusted out truck crashed grill first through a fruit stand, then an already falling down fence line, sending goats and sheep running in every direction. The driver of the truck was a lean dark haired young man who had the wheel in a white-knuckled death grip. Suddenly he wrenched the wheel hard to the right, narrowly avoiding a five-foot stone wall. Three figures in stained and tattered Arab robes, probably the same gunmen who had been targeting them at the museum, were in position along the top of the fence, rifles aimed and ready. Gunshots ricocheted off the cab, then shattered the windshield, showering the occupants of the cab with glass.

"Oops, my bad . . . " Lee Crane apologized to his passenger without taking his eyes off the track in front of him. They were far from out of the woods yet.

"Maybe I should drive." Suggested Chip Morton from his side of the truck. One leg was braced against the dash, the other bracing him in the seat against the floor. He had his own grip of death on the dashboard.

"No can do, pal. Remember the rules. My truck. I stole it, so I’m driving." The truck hit a bump and they hung on. Another round of gunfire blasted by them and both men ducked, hoping the bullets missing anything vital, like gas tanks and internal organs.

"Next time," the truck hit another hole, "I get to steal the truck," Chip replied, hanging on for dear life.

Lee ducked to avoid more gunfire. "What are they shooting at us for? We haven’t done anything," Lee asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Maybe they’re after the Admiral. It wouldn’t be the first time," Chip said. He swiveled in his seat to glance behind them. A second truck was coming up fast. "Lee, we got company," he said. Lee grabbed the rear view and adjusted it till he could see the second truck.

"Crap," he said and floored the accelerator, trying to coax the P.O.S. truck to go just a little bit faster. Their pursuers also sped up and actually gained a little bit.

PING----PING.

Chip ducked instinctively, but the bullets had come nowhere near him. It took a second to realize what was happening. "The tires! Lee, they’re trying to shoot out the tires!" he exclaimed, turning again to look behind them. The second truck was still too far back to get a good look at the driver.

"Hold on, I’m going to try and lose them," Lee said and yanked the truck to the right down an alleyway.

~*~*~*~*~

Harriman came to with a brilliant headache and a terrific jolt. Frantically, he tried to remember where he was, but his mind refused to supply that information. The last thing he could remember was the scuffle with Habib. His jaw and his head continued to throb as a reminder. Another jolt rocked him and Nelson realized he was in some kind of crate or box and it felt like he was in the back of a truck, moving along at a pretty good clip.

He raised both his hands and pressed against the lid of the case. It gave about an inch then stopped. They must have tied the lid down. Nelson thought to himself and tried again. No give. Harry braced himself as the truck bounced again and concentrated on keeping from being bounced around so much. Until they reached their destination, there wasn’t much he could do. He was trapped.

~*~*~*~*~

"Don’t let them get away!" Serena was yelling as she leaned out the passenger’s side window and took aim at the tires one more time. The driver of the lead truck was a slick piece of work, she had to give him that. He seemed to sense when she was about to fire and always managed to swerve the truck just out of her line of fire. She was down to three rounds before she had to switch over to the Baretta.

Suddenly the lead truck swerved to the right and headed down an alley. Wendy let out a whoop of joy. "HAHA, we got ‘em now. This alley's a dead end!" She exclaimed, and let up on the gas. The end of the alley was a nine-foot tall wooden fence. Only the lead truck didn’t stop. It sped up and crashed through the wooden stockade fence, sending boards and splinters in every which direction.

"Don’t these people play by the rules? You’re supposed to stop at a dead end!" Wendy snarled and floored the gas. The truck shot forward and plowed through what was left of the fence.

Too late, Wendy saw the ditch line. The first truck raced straight for the irrigation ditch, skidding to the left as the driver tried to turn the truck to avoid the four-foot deep ditch. No such luck, they had too much speed behind them. In slow motion the truck tilted and keeled to the right. The truck’s front tire slid down the bank of the ditch, and the truck rolled onto it’s right side and came to a stop.

~*~*~*~*~

Nelson felt the truck tip and roll. The case broke free of the straps holding it down and it, too, rolled, then broke free of the truck all together. Nelson felt himself flying before the case slammed down onto the ground and slid for a few more feet before coming to a halt. Nelson lay still, dazed and too stunned and too sore to make any sudden moves.

~*~*~*~*~

Serena flew out of the truck, her Webley held low, stalking the over-turned truck. There was no movement as she came closer.

"Serena! The sarcophagus!" Wendy shouted. Serena turned to see the three thousand-year-old relic resting flat on the ground, apparently undamaged.

"Stay with it. I’m going to check out the truck."

Just then a figure pulled himself up out the passenger side window, followed by a second. Serena could only stare as her brain slowly recognized the blond and brunette duo.

"Lee?" Serena called out and reset the safety on the Webley. Lee Crane looked down at her from his perch on the edge of the truck. Chip had jumped from the turned-over cab onto the ground and started walking toward the archaeologist.

They don’t look very happy, Serena thought to herself. Lee followed Chip’s lead and landed on the ditch’s edge. Lee advanced on the red head. Serena took a deep breath, determined not to let Crane intimidate her. She set her feet and planted her fists on in her hips.

"What is wrong with you? What’s the meaning of chasing and SHOOTING at us? We could have been killed!" Lee demanded, fire in his eyes. Chip had crossed his arms and was standing by his captain, his own eyes like angry blue flame.

Serena stood firm and fired back at the man who towered over her like a dark cloud. "You stole my sarcophagus! How was I to know it was you? It's not like you were carrying a sign, Hi, my name is Lee Crane and me and my buddy just stole this truck," She shot back.

"What are you talking about? What sarcophagus?" Lee demanded as Serena pointed to the case laying off to itself. Wendy was standing guard over it, perched on the edge of the case with her own arms crossed, mimicking her brother. Lee took one look at the case and all the color drained from his face. Chip saw his friend’s reaction and put two and two together.

"Easy, Lee," he said and lay his head on Crane’s shoulder.

Just then Wendy gave a yelp and jumped off the case she had been setting on, landing a good three feet away. She whirled to stare at the case, and the lid that was moving slightly. From inside the lid came a persistent banging, as if someone were beating on the inside of the case.

Lee Crane took two steps backwards. Chip managed to keep his hand on Lee’s arm. Crane was slipping into a panic, faced once more with the mummy that had once possessed him and tried to make him sabotage his own boat. "No . . . It can’t be . . . Chip, you keep that thing away from me," he pleaded and backed up further, maneuvering to put Morton in front of him as he backed way from the horror trying to break free of the case.

Serena kept one eye on the Crane as he freaked out and the other on the sarcophagus lid, shuddering as whatever it was tried break out. That didn’t make any sense, the case should be empty, the mummy was back at the museum, what's causing that? And what's Lee’s problem anyhow? Determined to get to the bottom of whatever was going on, Serena reached down and pulled out a small three-inch dagger from her right boot. She advanced on the case and with a quick slice cut through the ropes holding the lid shut. She trained the Webley on the lid and waited.

The lid was thrown back and Harriman Nelson sat up, blinking in the bright light of day.

"Serena?" he asked, still blinking and focusing on his daughter. He saw the gun and raised an raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind," he said

"Dad?" Serena responded automatically in surprise. Lowering the gun, she added quickly, "Oops, my bad," and she shoved it into a pocket after resetting the safety.

"Admiral?" Chorused Chip and Lee, Lee no longer hiding behind his XO.

"Lee? Chip?" Nelson stared in surprise at his officers, both looking a little worse for wear.

Wendy rolled her eyes, arms still crossed. "Well at least we've got the names straight."

~*~*~*~*~

The five made their way back to the museum after loading the mummy case onto the back of the truck. Back at the museum, Serena made a quick check to make sure the mummy of Amun-Aten-Hotep was still packed away.

Lee was trying to put the whole sequence of events into order. "So, Admiral, you were knocked out and Habib stuffed you into the sarcophagus. Serena had the case loaded into the truck not knowing you were in it. Chip and I stole the truck to get away from the two gunmen chasing us, neither of us realizing you were in the case in the back."

"Then I saw the truck bust through the back doors. I didn’t know it was you and Chip who had stolen the truck, all I knew was someone had stolen my sarcophagus. So Wendy and I took off after you. I thought if I could shoot out the tires, you’d give up the truck and I could get the case back," Serena added, making herself comfortable on a crate. All five had commandeered the dock to better keep a closer eye on the packed away mummy and his case, both stowed safely away in the back of another truck. The Admiral was offering to have a detail from Seaview act as escort for the transfer to Cairo. Once the transfer was complete, Nelson had promised Serena and Wendy a ride back to Santa Barbara. After looking back over the last hour of massive confusion, Serena was willing to accept all the help she could get.

"When I came to, I realized I was in a crate of some kind. I didn’t dawn on me that I was in the mummy case. All I knew was I was trapped and couldn't get out," Nelson was saying.

"And when you started pushing on the lid, I thought it was that damn mummy coming after me again. All I could think about was getting as far away from it as possible," said Lee, rubbing a hand through his hair as he remembered his terror, thinking the mummy had come back for him.

Chip grinned at his friend. "You should have seen yourself, you were in a full blown panic. For a minute I thought you were gonna pass out on me."

"You’re going to have to let me in on this aversion to mummies." Serena said quietly. She gazed questioningly at the three men who had roared into her life not that long ago. Her gaze came to rest on the one solid constant of her life, her best friend Wendy. Wendy Morton was grinning.

"What are you cheesing about?" Serena asked, leaning back against the crates.

Wendy continued to grin and spared a glance at her brother. Slowly, almost as if reading his sister’s mind, Chip also grinned at the archaeologist in amusement. Wendy turned back to Serena, ignoring the puzzled looks of Lee and the Admiral. With as much dignity as she could muster, Wendy tried to explain, "Serena, you should have seen the look on your face when the lid of that sarcophagus fell open and instead of a mummy, you found a daddy!"

*end* for now.