Hi guys, so I rewatched The Mummy and forgot how much I loved it and the Americans! I honestly think they deserve more love. Anyway, this fic is somewhat a retelling of the movie with my own twists and some more focus on the Americans- Burns, Daniels and Henderson.

Summary- A young woman has lived in Cairo as a thief for two years now, no one is quite sure of her origins and she has earned the moniker Jackal courtesy of the jail warden. Overhearing of a quest to the fabled city of the dead Hamunaptra she is determined to go and sneaks aboard the riverboat, discreetly following the Americans, Dr. Chamberlain and Beni. Her motives are unclear and no one is willing to trust a thief and a stoaway, assuming she is only after a share of the gold out there, but it runs much deeper for the thief, Jess. For Jess her salvation lies in Hamunaptra as it holds the key to righting a terrible wrong in her past and helping to undo an unimaginable evil.

Rick O'Connell was bored, a strange emotion to feel in a hellhole like this and yet he did. He sagged against the wooden bars that frustratingly refused to bend and turned a dull gaze to the left where a new prisoner was being dragged in. Another small, young, scruffy male, maybe somewhere in their twenties, they were becoming a common sight in here although this one didn't look like a native or a member of the legion.

"In there thief," one of his guards snarled in Egyptian before pushing him into a waiting cell.

A thief then, no surprise there, Rick wondered what the penalty for that would be, a simple removal of the hands or a hanging like he was due. He gave the cell a brief glance, the boy, whose face was in the shade of a battered hat, was in with a middle aged drunkard who had apparently once been a respectable member of the town. The family name of the drunkard was Salih, and he claimed in moments of rambling that his family had once held great wealth and power, poor irony then that he was guilty of embezzlement and cheating. There was a rumour in town that he did carry some trinket, key or relic on him, the tale varied from tavern to tavern, that it was magical or could lead to the treasure and that he had vowed to be buried with it. O'Connell doubted it immensely but it hardly mattered in here.

The American shut his eyes briefly and bowed his head; it was coming up to high noon and the sun at its worst. There were cells inside in the lovely cool shade but when the warden took a disliking to you, you baked in the afternoon sun in small cells that smelt of faeces and urine, and the warden most definitely had a disliking for Rick. His entire body was burning, he was laced with sweat and he was beginning to feel sick with the heat. This wasn't a jovial summer to sun in, it was a cruel, scorching torment, people died in this heat every day and he was beginning to wonder if it might kill him before the noose.

As his throat began to hurt as it ached for water his angry thoughts turned to the Englishman who had robbed him of the only thing of value left in his possession. A reminder of that cursed wasteland, now he would never know what it had represented. There was a part of him that never wanted to return to that dead city again and yet there was a bigger part that just had to know its secrets and the truth of the evil and power he had sensed there. His whole army had marched there without needing the command too after all, it was a fable that had turned out to be real, how could he not wonder about its mysteries? He sighed in frustration, now wondering was all he would ever do about the city.

"Hh...hey!"

Rick opened his right eye and turned his head slightly as he heard the hoarse voice of Salih.

"Hey!" the man repeated himself with more conviction.

For a moment Rick wondered if he was hallucinating thanks to sunstroke and he found himself turning in shock, both eyes open now. The gate was open! How in the hell was that possible? His eyes searched for the young thief who had been in there just moments ago. There he was, just about to run in front of Rick's cell. He waited, had to time this right or the opportunity would be gone forever. His hand snapped out in a desperate grab as the thief made a run for it and he successfully grasped the end of a filthy formerly cream shirt.

"Let go!" a voice protested indignantly, just a little higher pitched than Rick might have expected.

"Get me out of here," he begged as he tightened his grasp. "I'll make it worth your while, I swear!" He looked at the boy with a serious conviction in his dark blue eyes.

The boy glanced over his bony shoulder as the guards started crying out and started moving in his direction. "Forget it!" he snapped.

"I know where treasure is, lots of it!" Rick snapped desperately. If it hadn't been so spontaneous he would have been able to say something a little less dumb and perhaps more convincing but there was no time to think.

Rick let out a curse as a fist punching down on his hand was his answer but he still did not let go. In desperation the thief shoved hard against his bars, pushing Rick's hand back with the full force of his body. A single curl of golden-brown hair slipped out of the front of the hat then prompting a curious look from Rick as he lost his grasp in the assault.

"Come back you jackal!" the warden hollered.

The thief bolted off, moving with a surprising agility leaving Salih to be kicked back into the cell and Rick sitting in a frustrated heap as he wondered how the hell a mere boy, and he wondered about that too, could escape with such ease and so quickly too whilst he had managed to rot here for three days without any hint of success in his own many attempts at freedom.

Cairo, capital of Egypt and its jewel, a tarnished jewel albeit but a jewel nonetheless. Egypt was meant to be independent now and yet you wouldn't know it to look around this city, it was a cesspit of nationalities, the irritating presence of the British soldiers reminding the natives that their newfound independence was fragile at best, the French Foreign Nationals reminding everyone of war, and of course the Westerners who fancied themselves explorers but were really just grave robbers and thieves in the making.

Jess, also fondly known as Jackal by several wronged people in the town, including some noble visitors, walked across the dusty streets of the capital with ease. Head bowed beneath a pith helmet, hair carefully pinned up under it, shirt collar high at her chin and she looked like just another idiotic would be adventurer. Alright she was a bit short and lean for a heroic adventurer and the pith helmet was definitely too big and kept sloping over her brow and blocking her vision but no one cared enough to notice these points. The other thieves of the city saw that her clothes were dirty and worn and dismissed her as poor and not worth their time, the British men who glimpsed her ignored her as unworthy competition, whilst the Americans leered at her silently as another stupidly dressed Englishman.

She paused slightly and five feet behind her a lanky, black Pharaoh Hound halted too. Again it was something odd about her to notice and yet no one seemed too, dismissing the dog as yet another stray of the city. He was in fact her one loyal companion in the whole rotten capital. Anu, the hound had helped her a year back, biting the hand of a guard who had seized her in a compromising situation in a nobleman's house. Ever since that fateful day Jess and Anu were, as she liked to think, firm friends.

The sun had set and most respectable people were off the dusty streets, no surprise then that a group of Americans were out walking to a nearby tavern. Jess knew she should ignore them, she had gotten her prize for the day but didn't their satchels look tempting and Americans were usually such easy marks in this city. Her stomach gave a low growl reminding her of a need to eat and she wondered dully exactly when her last meal had been. She swallowed hard and slipped over to a stall that was starting to close. Surrendering the pith hat in the shadows to the ground of an alleyway where some cats might paw at it, she then moved with ease past the stall. Walking by without once glancing at it, barely noticeable in the long shadows of the clay buildings, it wasn't hard to snatch up a new hat- small, brown, dented and highly unflattering, it would do the job for now. She slipped it on and entered the busy, rundown tavern with little difficulty.

It was crowded with locals and visitors alike, undoubtedly because it was cheap even if the beer did taste of warm cat pee, the main room was stuffy and the air was sickly sweet with sweat and cheap aftershaves. Jess took up a post against the crumbling left wall, giving her a clear sight of the Americans so she could pick her target and moment with ease. There were four in total, one who had a burning scorn in his dark eyes as he looked about the tavern's patrons with distain as if it was all beneath him, a blonde who evidently fancied himself a cowboy, and two brunettes, one of whom wore glasses and had a slightly nervous disposition as he seemed to huddle closer to his friends and looked to unsavoury drinkers with unease, whilst the other wore a suit and was easily the best dressed of the four.

"All we want is gold doc," the blonde said to the affronted, scowling man on his left.

"It's not so simple," the man grumbled tiredly in an accent that made it clear he was in fact an Englishman. "Maps are inaccurate, places are booby trapped or have been robbed," he lamented.

Jess rolled her eyes, greedy treasure hunters, 'big surprise,' she thought sardonically. Ignoring the protests of the blonde she made her move, walking up to them softly until she was close enough, then she turned and put her back to them. It was risky but more inconspicuous as she appeared apart from them; nothing looked odder than someone just standing staring at someone else's back. She had them memorised anyway, blondie down the left side, a deep pocket in his trousers, yep, she felt a small pouch of coins and drew it up painfully slowly. Coins were always a pain to steal since they had a high chance of jingling and giving the game away. She got them out and slipped them into her own back pocket before sidestepping subtly, on to the next victim. She dismissed glasses, his lower jacket pockets were stitched and he had nothing in his back trouser pockets, she could tell that much, so on to the suit. Down into the right jacket pocket, yep, success again. She felt something metallic, a couple of coins, and a chain, some type of jewellery? She would inspect it later. She removed the goods carefully and added them to her other back pocket before turning and stepping back.

It was then that Jess spied the beady eyed Hungarian approaching the Americans with a smirk, looking at them with the same hungry gleam in his eyes that she had.

"My friends," he addressed them brightly, earning a nonplussed look from the suit, "I heard you discussing an interest we both share."

"And what's that?" the cowboy queried frostily.

"Gold," came the fervent answer.

"Ha," the Englishman scorned, "let me guess, for a small fee you can guide us to a fortune."

"Well yes," the Hungarian retorted as he lost some of his confidence.

"Go back to whatever hovel you crept out of," the Englishman dismissed him, "we have been offered the same thing by a dozen people like you."

"Oh?" The man's dark eyes filled with a nasty glint that Jess recognised all too well, if she was a jackal then this man was a snake. "You've been offered a guide to Hamunaptra then?" he queried airily.

Jess let out a small gasp of surprise before she could help it but mercifully it went unnoticed by the Englishman's own gasp and the blonde's curse of disbelief. Her golden-brown eyes went wide and she took a step forward without meaning to as her heart started pounding rapidly. Had she heard right? Was it the same place? It had to be! After all this time!

"You lie!" the Englishman accused.

The Hungarian shrugged carelessly with a smug, seemingly innocent grin, he knew he had gained control of the conversation again. "My friend I do not lie about places I have been to."

"Been to?" the blonde marvelled.

"Who cares?" the dark haired male in the suit snapped impatiently. "What's one ancient pile of ruins to another? I just want some damn treasure."

"Hamunaptra isn't just a pile of ruins Daniels," the blonde snarled at his companion with an irritated look, "it's the lost City of the Dead," he paused to give the Hungarian an unfavourable look, "if it's even real."

"I assure you it is real," the Hungarian retorted confidently, pausing to adjust his red hat, "and for a negotiable fee I can take you."

"To a place that may exist," the suit, Daniels, remarked dubiously. "Forget it."

"Forget it and forget all the wealth of Egypt," the Hungarian commented almost warningly.

"Doc?" the blonde quipped as he looked to the Englishman.

The dark haired man frowned with a thoughtful look. "They say Seti was the wealthiest of the pharaohs and that all his treasure was hidden there," he murmured, "but there has never been any proof of it."

"I can take my offer to a more willing group," the Hungarian commented sharply with a smirk.

"Now wait just a minute," the cowboy said as he waved one hand at the man. "Let's get a drink and talk about this."

The Hungarian turned then to scan for prying ears and eyes and his beady gaze fell on Jess. She bowed her head then and reluctantly slipped through the crowds and disappeared out into the night. Hamunaptra, the lost City of the Dead, could it be real? The man was a snake, no doubt, and he could just be a clever con artist but she knew she couldn't just let it go, no matter how small the odds were she had to, after years of waiting and hunting this was the first she had even heard mention of the city, she had to find out! Knowing the Americans wouldn't be venturing off in the dead of the night she headed off to find her own abode for the night, pausing to scratch the ears of Anu as he finally joined her side.

Giza Port, always a busy part of the city, here the odour of promise hung heavy in the air today as the scents of imported and exported perfumes, soaps and spices enticed the noses of would be travellers and eager merchants. Every walk of life was here- children, men women, dogs, cats, cattle, goats, horses and donkeys. Carts, carriages, and pedestrians struggled to manoeuvre past each other and the market stalls between the yellow canopied warehouse buildings and the glittering river itself.

Jess looked up at the riverboat with a mixture of apprehension and awe, it seemed sturdy enough but she had never been one for travelling on water despite having done so more than once. The streets were packed as usual; even the bright afternoon sun couldn't stop prosperity in the city. The skies were clear, a warm turquoise that used to appear pretty to her but was now just a promise of no mercy from the sun, well at least it also meant no storms to disturb their travel, not yet anyway. She looked out across the silvery waters of the Nile, there was life, far more valuable that any gold buried in the sands, the Nile was the real reason the country kept going, without water there was only desert and death. It was beautiful, she could still appreciate that, wide, clear and busy with boats and yachts of trade and pleasure, it hurt to look at after a while as the sun's white rays were too bright on it.

She had followed the Americans here, shadowing them since the dawn knowing that they wouldn't waste any time. She had been unsurprised to find they had decided to risk the Hungarian's promises of a forgotten city of wealth and were now moving quickly with a purpose, determined to reach this fabled dormant domain of gold as soon as possible. Sadly, Cairo did not share their drive, there was only one riverboat going the direction they needed to go and that was now, just past midday, which had forced them to linger in the dusty city for a few frustrated, sweaty hours before they had to clamber on with everyone else.

"Tickets," the crew member remarked wearily as the trio and their panting, unhappy Egyptologist finally reached the top of the gangway.

Three tickets came out easily but the man with the glasses, who Jess had learned was called Burns, suddenly found himself patting his pockets with confusion and a frown.

"Ticket?" the crewman made it a suspicious query as he gave the now flustering man a stern glance.

"Burns now is not the time," the cowboy styled American grumbled as he frowned at his friend tiredly, "where the hell did you put it?"

Being forced to wait in the sticky, heavy heat with only cheap, warm alcohol to provide a brief relief had not helped the group any and their frustrations were finally starting to show.

"It was right here," Burns retorted as he patted at the front pocket of his white shirt. "I couldn't have lost it," he stammered, "there's no hole."

'No,' Jess thought with a smug smile, 'not lost.' It had been a tricky theft and she could have avoided it, there were plenty of other people waiting around the docks to pilfer a ticket from but she had liked the challenge.

The cowboy would have been the easiest to take from, his ticket had been shoved carelessly into the lower pocket of his jacket, easy pickings for anyone but Jess was determined to exercise her skills, undoubtedly she would need them in Hamunaptra. So she had played a very patient waiting game in a small, dingy bar, sitting in the shadows of a crowded, lopsided table, ignoring her companions there as she had watched subtly, hoping her chance would come before the Americans thought to depart.

After half an hour in the bar Jess' opportunity had arisen as the man known as Burns had given up his fashion sense and given into the heat, tugging off his blazer and leaving his shirt exposed. Of course his ticket had been at the front of his shirt, he wasn't stupid, so Jess still had to wait until he had stood and headed to the bar. It was easy after that, she had orchestrated the crowds with a few nudges and sidesteps here and there until Burns had inevitably bumped into an oily scalped Frenchman who had had enough mosquito bites to suggest a temper that wouldn't allow Burns' mumbled apology to satisfy him.

In the minor chaos that had followed with the defensive Henderson and gung-ho Daniels up and ready to meet the challenge before the Egyptologist, Dr. Chamberlain, had diffused the situation, Jess was able to 'bump' into Burns unnoticed. She had done so with the other gawkers and the Frenchman's colleagues who were getting up close too and the ticket was gone. Burns had noticed something but dismissed it as an unpleasant nudge from the Frenchman.

Jess knew it was a risky move on her part, if the Americans didn't have tickets they might not depart and it might all be for naught but she knew their ilk; they weren't going to let a minor problem like this keep them from their gold. So let them work for their theft then just like she had to. She watched from behind them with a coy gaze partially concealed beneath a dusty black hat, too focused on the poor Burns to notice the piercing eyes of Beni.

The Hungarian studied the figure behind them curiously, certain the small, thin form looked a little familiar, and what was with that a glint of a smile beneath the hat? His frown deepened before he rolled his eyes as Daniels reached for a gun; it always seemed to be his answer to a problem. 'Damn Americans,' Beni thought scornfully, 'they're going to get me shot before we even get on this boat.' He let out a nervous laugh as he stepped forward to his take his turn at neutralising what would undoubtedly be the first of many problems with the Yankees.

Henderson and Daniels were both yelling angrily at the crewman who was demanding they leave the queue.

"He's got a ticket," Daniels snapped, "just hold your horses!"

Jess' smile widened as people behind them started complaining whilst the good Dr. Chamberlain muttered a few choice words under his breath as he struggled to balance his luggage.

'If these guys can't get onto a boat what chance do they have in the city of the dead?' Jess pondered to herself sardonically.

"Could you hurry up already, make them swim if they don't have tickets!"

Jess tensed at that voice, it sounded vaguely familiar. She glanced over her shoulder and down the crowded gangway trying to spy the caller.

"Yes make them swim!" an Englishman's voice piped up as he waved an arm in the air.

Jess frowned as she spotted him, she definitely knew that voice. That Englishman was the reason she had been thrown in a cell, oh sure she had planned the whole thing but he hadn't known that, reporting her for pocketing a watch of his when he was a no good thief himself. She looked to his companions, a young, bookish, brunette woman and a handsome man, neither of whom she recognised. What she missed was the bumbling warden lingering behind them, just out of sight behind the Englishman.

"Look, my friends have a lot of coin," Beni addressed the crewman quickly in a low voice as he clapped a hand on his right shoulder, "how about we pay you for two tickets for our inconvenience?"

"Now wait just a minute-" Henderson began a protest.

"Oh for heaven's sake just do it!" Dr. Chamberlain snapped as a fly started buzzing a little too closely to his nose.

"You'll get it all back, and much more," Beni reminded them with a yellow toothed grin.

Jess shook her head as the trio reluctantly fumbled for their cash. 'Money, how disappointing,' she thought disparagingly. 'So it's guns or gold, how narrow minded.'

They compared their notes and coins before finally shoving a handful of it over to the crewman. "Let us on already," Henderson growled at the man as he glared at him with his dark blue eyes.

The crewman accepted the coin with a nod, hiding the joy from his face as he stepped back and finally granted them access.

"Finally," Daniels grumbled wearily.

Jess stepped up next, holding out her ticket and ignoring the look of scorn she got in return as the man puzzled over her attire and gender. Brown trousers, a cream shirt, brown leather belt, brown boots and a faded, long, mustard vest, and of course the ill-suited black hat that offered little disguise. She wasn't trying to be in disguise, just a little more inconspicuous as an unescorted woman on a boat, better she was overlooked as a boy than noticed for that.

The crewman snatched her ticket off her before spitting to the right showing that he knew she was a female and was disgusted by it. Jess just rolled her amber-brown eyes at him before slinging her brown satchel up her right shoulder and continuing onto the boat.

"So how far is this place anyway?" Daniels grunted from a few feet up ahead.

"It is three days down the Nile, then two days by camel, Barat'm," Beni answered calmly as he glanced about the deck curiously, his beady eyes taking in the wealthier looking travellers eagerly.

"All the money we're payin' you, there better be something under that sand," Daniels retorted warningly with a glare. His already short fuse had reached its limitations after their problems boarding.

Beni read the threat in the man's almost black-blue stare and knew he was a man quite likely to shoot someone who crossed him.

"Hamunaptra, Daniels," the blonde Henderson calmed his friend as he clapped a hand on his left shoulder. "That's all you gotta keep telling yourself. Hamunaptra."

"We're gonna find it, boys," Burns chirped up with a small grin, his stress already forgotten now that they were onboard, "and we're gonna make history."

"And get rich doin' it," Henderson added confidently.

"Let's get a drink first," Daniels murmured moodily as he shrugged off Henderson's hand.

Jess watched as they headed off to their quarters. The young woman didn't bother with attempting to find quarters for herself, her ticket was stolen after all and the paths to get up on the boat were still packed so it would be hard to imagine any spare rooms on board. Weary, she settled for a nice spot on deck under the shade of an aged, yellowing umbrella, sitting on a wooden deckchair, stretching out her legs and crossing them at the ankles, head bowed and giving the illusion of a person inattentive and napping. They were all safely on board now, no need to worry about where to go next until the riverboat docked.

Then her dark adventure could begin. Let the Americans have the gold, she had something much more important to find in the dangerous city of the dead, something far more valuable.