One-Shot: National Treasure Kiss

Riley Poole peered into the empty blackness beyond as stones fell away to reveal a hidden passageway in Boston's Old North Church. No sights, no sounds of any kind greeted him. He grimaced.

"OK, guys," he called to a strange gathering of both his friends and his enemies. "Who wants to climb down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?" For this was a tomb, set and buried beneath the church.

Lighting a torch, treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates dared to brave the passage first. Holding the stick of fire aloft, he guided his father Patrick, rival Ian Howe, Riley and three of Ian's four henchmen (Shaw, Powell, and Victor Shippen) into the tunnel. All passed freely. But when Dr. Abigail Chase, PhD, brought up the rear, Ben stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Come here." Knowing they might die down there, Ben pulled Abigail to him and kissed her right on the lips, while he still had the chance. Abigail was taken by surprise for a moment, before closing her eyes and kissing him back. She gazed at him, a ghost of a smile hinting her mouth, when they broke apart. Turning away, she proceeded into the tunnel.

But there was one more person to embark on this mission. Seeing the stolen kiss, Phil McGregor, Ian's last goon, groaned, "Why does that never happen to me?" Whether his jealously was meant for Abigail or for Ben was left unsaid.

The torch's light danced as it vanished into the gloom...