Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

Daniel took off his gas mask, and the smell from his catsuit hit him like a punch in the face. He all but ripped the suit apart getting out of it, and Tina did the same. They changed into their casual clothes, stuffed the soiled catsuits into their backpacks, and then dropped them through the trapdoor into the sewer—remembering at the very last moment to take out the flare pistols and the flares first, and distribute them in convenient pockets.

They closed the trapdoor quietly, and then Tina consulted the map in her head and pointed the way. They set off through the Egyptian Rooms, moving so quietly they didn’t even disturb the flames on the candles. Ancient artifacts loomed up out of the gloom, dead reminders of a dead world. Stylized faces stared out of the shadows with eyes that never closed, and tall figures of forsaken gods watched sternly from their pedestals as the Hydes padded softly past them.

And then Daniel gestured urgently for Tina to stop, as he spotted the first guard. The mercenary soldier was half hidden in the shadows, standing with his back to a sarcophagus. He had the same body armor and really big gun as the guards outside, but he also had night goggles and kept moving his head in a slow arc, so he could cover everything in his range of vision with a minimum of movement. Daniel and Tina stood very still, concealed in their own shadows. Tina pressed her mouth against Daniel’s ear.

“We have to kill every single mercenary standing guard,” she said quietly. “We can’t risk them sneaking up on us from behind, while we’re busy dealing with the mummies.”

“I didn’t join Edward’s war to kill people,” said Daniel. “I’m only in it for the monsters.”

“Some people are monsters,” Tina said reasonably.

Daniel craned his neck, to check out the shadows around the guard. “Why can’t we just go round him? We know where all the guards are stationed. It’s in the file.”

“Because we would have to be lucky all the time, and they’d only have to be lucky once,” said Tina. “We have to kill all of them, to make sure no one gets a chance to sound the alarm.” She realized her voice was starting to rise, and quickly lowered it again. “This could be our only opportunity to catch the mummies all together in one place, out in the open and vulnerable.”

Daniel shook his head stubbornly. “I won’t kill people just because they’re inconvenient and in the way. Because they’re doing their job.”

“These are mercenary soldiers we’re talking about,” said Tina, with heavy patience. “Their whole job is based around killing people who got in the way of their employers.”

“Soldiers are like policemen,” said Daniel. “Doing a job that needs doing, that no one else wants to.”

“You’re not a policeman anymore,” said Tina. “You’re a Hyde.”

“As long as I remember what it means to be a cop, I’m not just a Hyde,” said Daniel. “I’m still me.” He wished her were as sure of this as he sounded.

Tina looked like she wanted to throw her hands in the air and then grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him, but she forced herself to stay calm and give reason another try.

“These guards aren’t soldiers serving their country,” she said. “They’re here to protect monsters. To make it possible for the monsters to go on destroying lives. We can’t watch our backs and concentrate on taking out the mummies.” And then she stopped, and looked closely at him. “This isn’t about them—it’s about you, isn’t it? What’s the real problem here, Daniel?”

He met her gaze steadily. “I can’t kill people in cold blood. That would make me a monster. Just like Edward.”

Tina shook her head slowly. “How many times do I have to tell you this? You are nothing like Edward.”

Daniel smiled briefly. “Because you know him so well.”

“Exactly. All right . . . Try this. These guards are professional killers. According to the mission file, which I’m assuming you didn’t finish, they’ve hired out to every trouble spot there is, specializing in protecting the really bad apples. Because that’s where the money is. Every single one of them has innocent blood on their hands; people whose only crime was to live in the wrong place. And now the mercenaries have come here, to protect the mummies, who between them have probably destroyed more lives than all the soldiers put together. Just think of all the victims who’ve suffered at their hands . . . and see if your blood is still cold.”

“It’s not that simple,” said Daniel.

“Sometimes, it really is,” said Tina. “We have to do this, Daniel, if we’re to get to the mummies. You didn’t have any problem disposing of the vampires in the Underground, because you saw what they did to people. Trust me, the mummies are just as bad. It’s still all about addiction, and what it does to people.”

Daniel thought about that for a moment, and then nodded slowly.

“How do you want to do this?”

“Sneak up on them from behind,” Tina said briskly. “Go for a stranglehold or a broken neck, and then lower the body carefully to the floor so it won’t make a noise.”