Fan Fiction: Crossovers
Shadow of the Warrior

  8:00 am - The Museum of Natural History

  Tracy and Sam Catchem were met the door of the museum and were escorted in by an attendant. The walls of the museum were high and arched, and were supported by tall pillars that ran through the halls of the museum. The main entrance of the museum was decorated with brightly colored tapestries from ancient civilizations from all over the world. Sam looked at Tracy, "Gee, Tracy look at all the colors, it's beautiful ain't it? Like looking at a flock of butterflies or something." Tracy snarled a "Yeah I guess so" back to Sam. It wasn't that the beauty of the art work was lost on Tracy, his mind was just occupied on the case he was working on, a case that he had to solve and cover up at the same time. He was mulling over how exactly he was going to fight a foreign power and Big Boy at the same time all while keeping it quiet. Tracy thought to himself, The press manages to find the names of every suspect I apprehend and his background. In Chicago the newspapers are as much entertainment as news. Those press hounds won't stop until they dig up every last bit of info on case they could. How I am supposed to solve a crime, fight a war, and apprehend a "Ghost" vigilante without making a sound? Tracy shook his head as the attendant led them into another wing of the museum.

  The colorful tapestries ended as the trio entered a room filled with glass display cases bathed in hard white light. This section of the museum was the armory. The display cases housed the armor of old Feudal knights from England, Japanese Samurai, and Viking Warriors. Tracy stopped for a minute to admire the old warriors. He felt a connection to these men; in their time, it was up to them to protect the people of their homeland just as it was his job today. Tracy stared at them and said under his breath, "You guys had it a lot easier in your time you just found your enemy and put the pointy end of the sword in the other guy ? no questions asked." Sam had walked a few feet ahead; he stopped and called his friend, "Tracy it's in this room up ahead. Let's go." Tracy followed Sam and the attendant into a room decorated like the inside of an Egyptian pyramid. The walls were lined with statues carved into the shape of pharaohs and Mid-Eastern gods. They were lit with old fashion gas lanterns to give the effect of torch light to the room. At the back of the room, the ancient coffin lay on the ground surrounded by glass. The attendant walked the pair of detectives to the front of the coffin then addressed them. "Officers, if you will wait here I will go and get Professor Lane for you." Sam nodded affirmatively to the attendant and watched him wander off to anther part of the museum.

  Sam turned to Dick and said, "How much do ya figure Big Boy is gettin' to steal this thing Tracy?" Tracy replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "That's what we're here to find out." From an entrance to the right of the room Tracy could see two people entering the room. One was an elderly man with a gray hair and small white mustache, wearing glasses and dressed in a suit. He did not so much walk into the room as doddered. Tracy figured this person to be Professor Lane.

  With the dim light Tracy could make out the outline of the second person. He and Sam stared at the two figures as they come closer into the light. As the approaching duo came into the light of the first gas lamp Tracy could finally see the second person. As the professor doddered along his companion seemed to glided across the floor. She was a slender blond woman, with slightly curly hair, she was wearing a black dress that fit her hourglass shaped body perfectly. Her most noticeable attribute however, were her stunning blue eyes. Tracy was transfixed by them as she approached. Sam stood next to him with his mouth wide open and eyes bulging out of their sockets. Looking at this gorgeous woman Tracy was amazed at how much she reminded him of the deadly vixen he had run across before, known as Breathless Mahoney.

  As the duo walked up to them Tracy snapped his mind back into reality. The old man held out his hand. "Good morning, officers I am Professor Lane and this is my daughter, Margo." Tracy replied, "Detectives Tracy and Catchem. Thanks for meeting with us this morning." Sam reached and grabbed Margo's hand, and not so much kissed it as slobbered on it as he said, "Enchanted." Tracy slightly shook his head back and fourth, he thought to himself that while Sam was a good friend and a skilled detective, he was sometimes short in the common sense and manners department.

  Tracy continued on, "We have some questions we would like to ask you about this coffin and the attempted robbery on it last night." Margo spoke, "It's not just any coffin Detective Tracy, it's the coffin of the warrior king Gilgamesh." Tracy looked puzzled. "I'm sorry ma'am my knowledge of dead kings isn't what it should be. Could you please fill me in?" Margo replied, "According to myth, Gilgamesh was the half-human son of the Ra, King of the Mesopotamian gods. His legend tells of him fighting giants and monsters in order to protect his people. But he was more then that. Have you ever heard the story of Noah's Ark, detective?" Tracy nodded as Margo continued, "Gilgamesh was attributed with performing the same feet several thousand years before the story of Noah. In fact, it is believed that many stories in ancient religions are retelling of the story of Gilgamesh, Noah, Samson, Hercules, Achilles. The story of Gilgamesh ends with him fearing his own mortality, he began the search for the means to eternal life."

  The professor looked at his daughter. "Well said my dear! I could not of said it better myself. She is not only my daughter but also my assistant." Tracy looked at the two of them, "So you're telling me that there is an immortal god inside that coffin." The professor laughed, "Heavens no! This is a museum not a magic shop. While I do believe that the mummy inside this coffin is that of Gilgamesh I do not think that he is a god. I'm not studying Gilgamesh the legend but Gilgamesh the man. I think that there is the body of a very large warrior king inside that coffin whose deeds grew into the legends that we know today. His sheer size alone would give him legendary status. A man of seven-plus feet tall would be giant by today's standards but several thousand years ago, a god would have been the only thing that could describe a man of his massive proportions."

  Sam continued to stare open mouthed at Margo as Tracy continue his questioning. "Professor if the people who were after this coffin were able to steal it how much would they be able to sell it for?" The professor scratched his head and shifted his eyes, "Well the museum paid two million for the coffin but I suppose a collector on the black market would pay near five million for it." Tracy wrote down the information in his notepad as he continued his questioning. "Can you think of any collectors who might be willing to steal the coffin for his private collection?" The professor replied sullenly, "I'm sure detective I know of several collectors who would stoop to devious means to add artifacts to their collection, but I do not think they would be easily able to hide and move something of this size. The coffin is nearly nine feet long and weighs nearly a thousand pounds" Tracy replied, "Could you please give us a list of the collectors you mentioned, so we can run background checks on them and see if they have moved any large sums of money." The Professor shook his head yes as Tracy continued, "There is something else that bothers me professor, the mobsters I think are behind this would be hard pressed to pull this job of for five million, they could make that much in a year without losing men or time, is it possible there is some hidden aspect of the tomb that might up its value significantly?"

  The professor looked quizzically at the coffin. "Well Margo and I have not had the chance to properly examine the coffin yet. I suppose that there could be some hidden compartment of treasure we are unaware of?" Tracy stared at the coffin. "Listen professor, until this mess is straightened out I want access to this coffin restricted to you and your daughter, and I'm going to have uniformed officers watch this display." The professor responded, "All right detective, anything I can do to help out Chicago's finest." Tracy shook the professor's hand, "Thanks." Turning toward Margo he tipped his hat and said, "Ma'am." Sam also shook the professor's hand and then reached for Margo's hand, but she stepped back and smiled politely.

  Tracy and Sam walked out of the museum and back to their car. As they entered the vehicle, Tracy turned to Sam, "Something doesn't add up Sam. Even for five mil, this job seems to costly for Big Boy. It's already cost him four men who could be making him easier money in other venues. He would not have taken this job unless he was getting a considerably larger payoff. I also can't believe that five mil is enough to cause the Nazi army to invade our city. There's something else going on with that coffin and we better find out what it is before things get a lot bloodier around here."