Samantha Grace felt nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. She’d hated to leave Morgan alone at the hospital but she also couldn’t stand the thought of missing out on the showdown with Femi. When all this was done, she was planning on mending fences with Morgan. Perhaps she’d ask him out to coffee, assuming she could make it clear that she didn’t think romance was — or should be — in the cards.
"We should have called ahead," Eun said. "We might have saved this man’s life."
Gray impassively looked at the younger man. "I’m convinced that such a thing would have only led to more deaths. We came as quickly as we could. We can debate this later."
Eun nodded, knowing his employer was right. Gray allowed his aides to question his decisions to a certain extent but ultimately he was the man behind Assistance Unlimited.
"Chief," Samantha whispered. "Look at that."
Gray spotted it immediately: the sign that led into the Egyptian exhibit. It seemed too perfect that a resurrected mummy would seek out the familiar in a museum. "Single file," Gray commanded. "I’ll be in the front, Samantha in the middle, Eun at the rear."
Down the corridor they crept, hearing voices up ahead. There was also a terrible stench that forced Samantha to pull a tissue from her pocket. She held it over her nose but it did little to help.
When they came round the corner, all three of them froze in place at the bizarre sight before them. Femi sat on her throne, looking like the Cheshire cat, with a grin that spread from ear to ear. The Undying cultists stood before her, talking softly to each other. The four mummies shuffled their feet, making hoarse groaning sounds in the back of their throats.
Femi spotted the newcomers and stood up, alerting The Undying in the process. Achmed clenched his hands into fists but remained silent, allowing Femi to determine how this should proceed.
"Who are you?" she demanded, using an imperious tone of voice.
Lazarus stepped forward, displaying no fear of the mummies who hovered nearby. "My name is Lazarus Gray and these are two of my assistants. Earlier this evening, you killed a woman who had hired us and left another of my aides near death. I’ve come seeking retribution."
"You address me as if you were an equal," Femi replied. "I do not like that."
"You might have been royalty at some point in the past," Gray countered. "But that was long ago. The world has changed."
"Then I shall change it back."
Gray took a deep breath before answering in the negative. "That won’t happen. Surrender now and I’ll see that your return to the grave will happen quickly and peacefully. Resist and I’ll send you to hell with a scream on your lips."
Samantha blinked. Gray didn’t usually use such strong language and very rarely did he go into a combat with death as his goal. She didn’t know if it was something related to the woman from his past or just simply a recognition of the danger posed by Femi, but it was obvious that he wasn’t playing around tonight.
Femi stared at Lazarus in evident disbelief. With a sneer, she raised her chin toward the four mummies who stood in the room, each of them smelling like an open grave. "My undead warriors… kill these intruders."
The mummies hissed, their bodies suddenly flooded by a devilish desire to murder. They shambled toward the three members of Assistance Unlimited while The Undying backed away, eager to watch the carnage. The first of the undead creatures reached Gray, who discharged three shells from his Hand Ejector II. The bullets ripped through the cloth and skin of the mummy but did nothing more than stagger it. It grabbed hold of Gray’s wrist and bent it cruelly to the side, squeezing so hard that he was forced to drop his gun.
Eun sprang forward, attempting to distract two of the monsters before they could gang up on Samantha. He kicked one of them in the chest and sent it toppling backward, where it finally smacked into the wall. He then drove a karate chop into another’s neck but the impact sent a shockwave of pain up his arm. Hitting the mummy felt like striking a sack of potatoes. The mummy shot out both hands and grabbed the young Korean around the neck, applying enough pressure that Eun quickly saw stars.
Having witnessed the futility of Gray’s attempts at shooting his opponent, Samantha quickly hiked up her skirt and placed her own pistol back in her garter. She then allowed the fourth and final mummy to lunge for her. She grabbed hold of its arm and twisted, tossing it over her shoulder in a classic jujitsu maneuver. The mummy landed with a thud on the floor and Samantha drew back before diving down with knee extended. Her knee struck the mummy in the face, crushing its nose. The mummy made a wheezing sound as Samantha stood up again and began kicking its head, finally reducing its dried skull to a pile of dust.
The pretty blonde whirled about and realized that her two male companions were not faring nearly as well. Both Gray and Eun were grappling with their enemies, which left one mummy free. This creature was now lumbering toward her with malice in its glowing eyes. Samantha glanced up to see Femi had taken her place on the throne again and was watching the battle with obvious bloodlust.
Samantha knew that her same judo flip would probably not work on a second mummy so she elected to take the offensive. Now that she knew that the creatures might have tough flesh and be resistant to pain but that their insides were quiet brittle, she pulled her gun back out and rushed toward her foe. She jumped into the air, wrapping her legs around the mummy and jamming the barrel of her gun right down its gullet. She unloaded four rounds into the beast, completely blowing out the back of its head. It staggered before toppling over and Samantha rolled out of the way before she could be trapped beneath it.
Eun was close to passing out and his attempts at breaking the mummy’s hold on his throat were growing feebler. He thought he saw the ghost of his father over the undead monster’s shoulder, smiling to him. In Korean, his father seemed to be saying, "Do not give up. We will see you eventually… but now is not your time to die."
Drawing strength from the vision, Eun raised his hands to the mummy’s face, digging his fingers into the toothless mouth. He focused all his strength on pulling the thing’s maw open wider, hoping that the brittleness of the creature’s bones would help him. The thing had dense flesh that felt like it was padded with some thick material but it was still an ancient thing and the bones had grown soft. Eun cried out as the mummy’s skull cracked and the top half of its head gave way, splitting along the seam of its mouth. The top half of the skull flew into the air, smashing against a nearby wall and falling to the floor in shards of dust and bone.
By this point, Achmed was growing concerned. He looked desperately at Femi but the Princess merely held up a hand, obviously telling him to be patient. She was studying Lazarus Gray closely, her pink tongue darting out to moisten her lips. Achmed felt a surge of jealousy and turned his attentions back to the battle. He had hoped to become a consort to Femi — after all, it was he who had restored her to life. But now he recognized the signs of physical interest she had in Gray. If necessary, he swore that he’d kill Lazarus himself to ensure that no one came between him and his princess.
Lazarus and his opponent were still locked in a tight grapple but the founder of Assistance Unlimited was slowly gaining an advantage. Despite the undead’s tremendous strength, Gray was possessed of an indomitable will that often allowed him to overpower seemingly superior foes. Lazarus gritted his teeth as he forced the mummy’s arms out from his body and with tremendous effort, Gray suddenly brought them up and then down, cracking them at the elbows. Bone and dust flew from the wounds and Gray took one of the ruined limbs and used it to beat the mummy about the head, driving it to the floor. He continued his assault until the mummy’s head was nothing more than powder.