Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

“Hold everything and pull the ripcord,” said David. “A private army of mercenary soldiers, operating openly in the middle of London? There’s no way the police would stand for that.”

Edward smiled unpleasantly. “Trust me, all the necessary people have been very well paid to look the other way.”

He produced a map from his desk drawer, and spread it out on the desk. Daniel and Tina leaned forward.

“What are we looking at?” said Daniel.

“The sewer systems underneath the British Museum,” said Edward.

Daniel stared at him. “Oh, you have got to be kidding . . . ”

“What’s the problem?” said Edward. “Too grand to go wading through a little sewage?”

“Well . . . yes!” said Daniel.

“Hydes don’t do sewers,” Tina said flatly.

“They do if I tell them to,” said Edward. He met Tina’s gaze until she looked away, and then continued. “Professor Pinder assured me this is the only way in that no one else knows about. So get used to the idea.”

They studied the map carefully. Edward traced one particular tunnel with a blunt fingertip.

“This route leads to an old access point, from the days when certain individuals wanted to move items in and out of the Museum without being seen. Smugglers, forgers, religious fanatics . . . So, you will enter the sewers unobserved by the exterior guards, follow the tunnels until you reach the access point, and then enter the Museum and take down all the guards standing between you and the mummies.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” said Daniel.

“Quietly,” said Edward.

“How are we supposed to kill the mummies?” said Tina. “If they’re still alive, or at the very least extraordinarily well preserved, I’m guessing it’ll take a lot more than a whiff of garlic and a wooden stake to make them lie down and give up the ghost.”

Edward smiled. “I think you’ll find that fire will do the job quite thoroughly. With so many chemicals in their bodies, they should go up like fireworks. You’ll be provided with flare pistols, but please . . . try not to burn down the whole room in the process. That might attract unwanted attention.”

He presented Tina with the mission file, a map of the sewers, and a floor plan for the Egyptian Rooms. Daniel felt a little left out on not being given anything, but couldn’t see how to complain without sounding petty.

“Down to the first floor with you, o my children,” said Edward. “Where my personal tailors are waiting to outfit you with clothes more suitable for burgling a British institution.”

Tina shook her head stubbornly. “I am not giving up my evening dress. It’s lucky.”

“It won’t be, after you’ve spent some time slogging through London’s finest sewage,” said Edward. “The smell would travel ahead of you and tap the guards on their shoulders, to let them know you were on your way.”

Daniel looked apologetically at Tina. “He has a point.”

Tina scowled. “I hate it when people get reasonable. Hydes don’t do reasonable. That’s half the point of being a Hyde.”

“What’s the other half?” said Daniel.

“Sensual indulgence and indiscriminate violence.”

“That’s my girl,” said Edward. “Now, off you go and get changed. You’ll like your new outfits.”

“What if we don’t?” said Tina.

“Feel free to complain,” said Edward. “See how far that gets you.”

Back in the elevator, on their way down to the first floor, Daniel looked steadily at Tina, who was staring straight ahead and hugging the mission file tightly to her.

“Why didn’t you back me up, when I said we needed backup in the field?”

“Because it’s not easy for me to say no to Edward,” said Tina, fixing her gaze on the changing floor numbers so she wouldn’t have to look at him. “He made me what I am.”

“Doesn’t mean he owns you,” said Daniel. “I thought not taking any shit from anyone was what being a Hyde was all about.”

“You agreed to take on this mission fast enough!”

“Because the mummies need taking down,” said Daniel. “But once this is over, I think we’re going to have to do something about Edward Hyde.”

Tina looked at him for the first time. “What did you have in mind?”

“Something permanent.”

“And violent?”

“Almost certainly,” said Daniel. “But I can’t do it alone. I’m going to need your help.”

Tina grinned. “Count me in. Hydes don’t do daddy issues.”

The grim tailors, looking more than ever like unfrocked undertakers, fell on Daniel and Tina the moment they walked through the door, and thrust into their arms the new outfits Edward had ordered. These turned out to be night-dark one-piece catsuits, complete with built-in boots, all designed to keep out the cold, the waters in the sewer tunnels, and anything else that needed keeping out. Daniel was a little embarrassed when he discovered he’d have to get naked to climb into the catsuit, because they fitted so tightly there wasn’t room for any underwear. But Tina shed her clothes so quickly and unself-consciously he didn’t see how he could object.

“Just think of the tailors as doctors,” said Tina, dropping her underwear to the floor and kicking her shoes to one side. “They’ve seen it all before, and weren’t impressed the first time.”