IC-Ep 2-Haunted by the Past(Story/Brook/Rufus/Benjamin/Anna)

[Mr. Handy]

The British Museum, Great Russell Street - London, England
9:00 AM - Sunday, September 8, 1940

Story, Brook, Rufus, Benjamin, and Anna arrived outside the British Museum on Great Russell Street. The museum was still closed at this hour, but there was a beautiful woman in her thirties strolling up to the gate at this moment, talking to the guard. She wore a knee-length black skirt and a white blouse, and she had short black hair. "Good morning, Miss Siddons," the guard said to her.

"Good morning, Mr. Simpson," she replied. "Everything okay here?"

"Yes, Miss. No damage. None of the bombs fell round here."

"Well, that's a relief."

Story/Brook,[b]Story[/b] and [b]Brook[/b] recognized the woman as [b]Carole Siddons[/b], who had once been [b]Professor Exeter[/b]'s secretary. She looked somewhat older and wearier than she had been the last time they had seen her in 1930, with crow's feet around her eyes, but it was definitely her. She had helped with their investigation, and she had frequently visited [b]Elizabeth[/b] in her hospital room when she had been recovering from her gunshot wound.

[jaysun81]

"Good morning Miss Siddons!" Story waves at her and continues, "It's so good to see you once again after all these years. Though the times are dark I'm afraid. I see you are still here at the museum. A wonderful career choice nonetheless." He smiles at her.

OOC:   Corrected a typo.

[Mr. Handy]

Miss SIddons turned, her jaw dropping in surprise. "Mr. Story!" she exclaims, smiling in delight. "It's good to see you again too. How have you been? You don't look a day older than you did ten years ago. What's your secret?"

[jaysun81]

"I have been well. Thank you for asking, though the travels I undertake are tiring at time. As far as the secret... well, it wouldn't be much of a secret if I told you now would it?" Story winks at Miss Siddons. "You seem to be well. Surely you're no older than when we last met." He smiles and sweeps his hand towards Brook and says, "Do you remember Brook?"

After a moment he remembers the others and says, "Oh, and these are some recent acquaintances... Rufus, Benjamin, and Anna."

[HelplessBystander]

“Pleasure to meet you, miss. Anna Jerkins, alienist from Maxwell’s Sanitarium.” Anna smiled professionally.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, I'm glad to meet all of you as well," she said, smiling back. "I'm Carole Siddons. I do remember you, Brook, and it's good to see you again too." She does a double take. "You haven't aged either! You can't possibly be in your twenties yet, but you must be."

[HelplessBystander]

Anna eyed the three weirdly.

[Thorn]

Brook smiles nervously. "Uh...thanks? I drink a lot of water...It's nice to see you." She glances at Story.

[Mr. Handy]

"How are Elizabeth and Lucius?" Carole asked. "Oh, I do hope he hasn't been interned."

[Thorn]

Brook smiles. "Elisabeth is fine, she's here in London with us. Lucius...he went home. I think he's alright."

[jaysun81]

Story smiles reassuringly at Brook. After she answers Carole, he says, "Yes, Lucius returned home. It was sad to see him go, but extended travels tend to wear on one's soul." He looks at the Museum and continues, "Enough about us. What about you? How have things been?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Quite busy," said Carole, "but I'm all right. Made it through the bombing in one piece. Nothing fell on the Museum last night, but we've already evacuated its most precious treasures, like the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone. Much of that was my doing. I've taken on a lot more responsibility since last you saw me, especially since the war began. If you wanted to see those exhibits, I'm sorry to have to disappoint you. Most of larger items have been taken to Wales and other far-flung places, though there are still some smaller items stored locally - mainly rare books and the like."

[Pastiche]

"Books?" Benjamin's eyes light up. "Do you happen to have any rare Kaballah books, or books about, er, powerful mythical beasts?"

[Mr. Handy]

"We might," said Carole. "There's quite an extensive collection, though most of it's in the National Library of Wales. We've got some put away in Aldwych Underground Station, though there's no real system to how they're stored. They're also usually off-limits, but I could get you in to have a look. I don't normally do that, but since you're friends of Professor Story, I think I can arrange it. I have some work to do here first, but if you give me an hour or so, I can walk you over."

[HelplessBystander]

"I take it that you are a museum worker for some time, miss? I'm from Maxwell's Sanitarium, a patient going by the name of Catherine Exter escaped from the bomb shelter last night, and we were worried that she may be criminally insane and may cause unwanted...disruptions." Anna said, pausing for a moment. "We were under the impression that she had caused certain incidents in the British Museum in her past, and we would like to request some details upon that matter since it would certainly help shed some light on the thought process of the patient and aid us in predicting where she would be most likely to be at."

[Mr. Handy]

"I've been working at the museum for about twelve years now," said Carole. "I was originally the secretary of Professor Winston Exeter, but I didn't know how mad he was, though I was starting to get a little suspicious given his behavior regarding the Dagger of Thoth. I've met his wife Catherine before, and I had no idea about her. She is definitely criminally insane. She nearly murdered poor Gareth Hayes with three bullets in the back. That incident didn't happen at the British Museum, but at some warehouse the Exeters owned - or rather underneath it. I wasn't actually there, so I only know what I read in the papers. Professor Story and Brook were. They haven't told you?"

[HelplessBystander]

"They haven't. We weren't really acquainted by any means. Met last night in the bunkers." Anna said, shaking her head."It would've been helpful, but it unfortunately never came up in casual conversation."

Turning to Story and Brook, "I wouldn't suppose you would mind elaborating? Please?"

[jaysun81]

Caught off guard Story is momentarily at a loss for words. Finally he says to Anna, "That was quite some time ago. We inadvertently unearthed a plot by the Exeter's to summon forth an ancient evil called Nephren-Ka, the Black Pharaoh. As far as what happened underneath, well we all nearly died that night. Elizabeth took a near fatal shot to the head, I was chest shot. Gareth, Dok, and Lucius had also all been wounded. If it wasn't for the distraction caused by Brook's near escape we all might have been sacrificed that night." He takes hold of Brook's hand and gentle squeezes it for a moment before letting go. "Forgive me for not mentioning it earlier. It's a terribly painful memory to not only recall, but recount to others."

[HelplessBystander]

“...I see.” Anna doesn’t quite believe the story, but suffice to say, she got the gist of it. Exter had done some messed up stuff in the past.

[jaysun81]

Seeing Anna wasn't satisfied with his recollection he turns to Miss Siddons and says, "Don't let us monopolize all of your time. I'd hate to see you get a mark on your otherwise excellent employment record. We can catch back up in an hour as you mentioned a few minutes ago."