Loss

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure, everything belongs to Disney.

Chapter One

- - -

Riley kicked the door open with his foot, and awkwardly lugged the large box into his apartment. He scrunched up his face as the cardboard pressed against his face, knocking his glasses askew and pushing one end of them into his cheek bone. Opening his eyes as he walked forward, he tried to see where the couch, counter, or table was - anything he could drop this box of cargo on. Spying the low table that lay in front of the couch, he quickly made a beeline for it and unceremoniously dropped the box on it with a 'thud'.

"Finally! Sheesh, the last of the junk is FINISHED!" Riley stretched his arms in the air, a satisfied smile on his lips. Readjusting his glasses, Riley's smile was quick to disappear as he surveyed the rest of his small apartment.

Abigail had wanted a bunch of her stuff from home to be brought over to her and Ben's mansion, and had already gone and made preparations for it to be flown over before realizing that they had nowhere to put it. Riley couldn't understand why they had no place to store her stuff, considering they had a mansion the size of New York, but according to her and Ben, while they had lots and lots of rooms, only a few were accessible at the moment - every other part of the house was in 'dire' need of repair, and so no one could use it. Riley had asked why they didn't just hire someone to fix it, but according to Ben, not just 'anyone' could do that sort of job - they needed some miracle worker or something to do it. It was then that they asked Riley if they could store Abby's stuff at his place until they were able to make room for it, and Riley, being the oh so nice guy that he was, had agreed. It wasn't until a huge truck had pulled up on the street corner and Riley was told that it was full of Abby's stuff did he realize he had made a poor decision.

Riley glared at the massive number of boxes that lay scattered throughout his kitchen and living room, some of which, according to Riley, weighed the size of an elephant.

Yes, a very poor decision indeed.

Sighing, Riley ran a hand through his brown hair and shook his head. Just then, Ben walked through the door, and seeing all of the various boxes scattered all over the place, whistled. He then spotted Riley, and walked over to him.

"Hey Riley, how are you doing?"

Riley looked up at Ben and rolled his eyes.

"Oh fine, just fine. I just only finally came to the realization that I should have said 'no' when you asked me if I wanted to join you on your little treasure hunt, rather than yes."

Ben raised his eyebrows, amused.

"Treasure hunt?"

"Oh, sorry, did I say treasure? I meant when you and your wife asked me to take care of her stuff that you guys apparently had no room to store. Turns out 'my stuff' translates into 'everything I ever owned the first fifty years of my life'."

Ben laughed.

"Better not let Abby hear you say that."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure there are many things I shouldn't let Abby hear."

Ben, seeing that Riley truly was a little miffed at the situation, took another look around the room. It was quite a lot of boxes.

"Hey Riley, I'm sure that we can find another place to put Abby's things if you want. Abby just wanted to make sure her stuff was safe, that's all, and she knew it'd be safe with you."

Riley sighed once more, then seemed to push away his frustration and grinned, secretly pleased that Abby so obviously trusted him - even if it was with stuff she hadn't touched since she'd moved out of her parents house.

"Nah, it's okay. I agreed, so I'll deal with it. Besides, it's not like I really use by bedroom anyway."

Ben grinned and slapped his friend on the back.

"Thanks Riley, we appreciate it."

Riley pushed his glasses back up then said, "So what are you doing today, besides tormenting me?"

Ben walked over to the kitchen island and sat down on one of the stools.

"Nothing really - just stopped by to see if you needed any help, but it looks like you've got everything under control."

"Yup, just have to lug everything into one corner and I'll be done."

"You wanna do that now?"

Riley thought about it for a moment, then shook his head vehemently.

"No thank you! I've had enough of boxes for one day. Let's get out of here, shall we?"

Ben laughed as he slid off the chair and headed for the door.

"Sure - where to O Mighty O Riley?"

"How about McDonalds? We haven't been there in a while."

Ben shook his head as the two walked out into the hall and Riley closed the door behind him.

"You have 50 million dollars, you could go to any restaurant in town, and still you choose McDonalds?"

"Ben, Ben. People don't just go to McDonalds because it's cheap - they go because of the burgers! The fries! The chicken mcnuggets! The fries!"

Ben made a face and the two headed down the stairs towards the parking lot.

"I'm afraid there's a lot of people who would disagree with you Riley. Especially about the fries."

Riley looked at Ben as though he had grown a second head.

"What?? How could anyone hate the fries? They're the best part!"

"Well some think that they're too salty, for one thing."

"Bah. Too salty, yeah right. They're just right Ben, they're just right."

Ben grinned.

"Sure Riley, if you say so." The two arrived at Ben's car and Riley headed around to the passenger's side.

"I do say so Ben, I do." Ben drove out of the lot and onto the road, and the two headed for lunch at McDonalds.

- - -

"Hey Chelsea, you have the rag?"

A woman of about 30 or so nodded her head, her red ponytail swinging back and forth.

"Good." The man who had spoken put his hands in his pockets, and the couple walked down the street. After walking a few blocks, they finally came to a halt in front of a old, small brown apartment building. The man looked around for a moment, then pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and looked at it.

"This the place?" Chelsea asked distastefully.

The man put the paper away. "Yup."

"Looks like a dump to me. Couldn't that guy get something better? Don't normal millionaires buy like, castles or something?"

"Hey, if it makes our job easier, then it's fine with me. Come on lets go." He ran a hand through his short, brown hair and grabbed the woman's hand with his other. The two looked as normal as could be as they walked into the building together, seemingly to be simply going back to their apartment. They passed another couple who was heading outside, and the woman named Chelsea tossed them a smile and a little wave. They then headed for the stairs, until they reached the third floor.

"What's the number again?" Asked Chelsea as her eyes scanned the doors on both sides of the hallway.

"Apartment 25, third floor."

"Then it's down here."

The couple quickly picked up the pace, until they had arrived in front of apartment 25. Trying to look as ordinary as possible, Chelsea stretched and pretended to yawn, walking to the man's left side so as to shield him from the security camera that hung from the other end of the hallway. The man abruptly got to work, fiddling calmly with the door handle and the locking system. Chelsea leaned against the wall for a second, then stood up straight, trying to act as though she were any other person who lived there with their boyfriend.

"What's taking so long Matt?" She asked after another few seconds had passed. Matt ignored her and continued fiddling, until finally he turned the handle and the door gently opened. He looked up at Chelsea and grinned.

"See? I know what I'm doing Chels."

The woman rolled her eyes and pushed her way into the room.

"Whatever. Come on."

Matt quickly followed her and closed the door behind him, making sure it was locked just as he had found it. The two walked deeper into the kitchen, and Chelsea kicked one of the boxes with her foot.

"Sheesh! Is this all his stu-." She was stopped in mid-sentence as a hand suddenly slapped her across the face. Eyes narrowing in anger, she touched her stinging cheek and glared fiercely at her boyfriend; she opened her mouth to speak but Matt cut her off.

"Don't you dare do that again, do you hear me? You know you're not supposed to touch anything! ANYTHING! Geez Chelsea! Sometimes you can be the most stupidest person I've ever met! Do you want us to get caught, huh? Do you want to blow our cover?!"

Chelsea brought her hand down and abruptly turned around, but she didn't speak. After a moment Matt sighed, and walked over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry Chels, I didn't mean to do that. But you have to understand, if even the slightest thing is off in this place, someone could notice, and then we'd be busted. So lets just go and get ready, okay?"

Chelsea remained motionless for a moment, then turned around, a small smile on her half red face.

"Okay."

- - -

Riley swung his legs back and forth as he watched the television from his upside down position on the couch.

"Doesn't that hurt your head Riley?" Asked Abigail as she walked into the room and sat down on a chair, quick to pick up her needle work that lay on the floor beside her.

"You know, I'd have never thought you for one who knits when we first met you." Said Riley, pointedly ignoring her question. "You seemed more of a... bookish type person."

Abigail laughed.

"Well you know, taking one look at you would make someone think you're a 'book person' too."

Riley just stuck his tongue out at her and went back to swinging his legs.

Abigail stared quietly at Riley for a moment, thinking how utterly childish he could be sometimes. At times she wondered if he was really 24, or actually 14. After a few minutes, her thoughts turned to something of a more serious nature. It was something she had been wondering from time to time recently, and she thought that perhaps now when they were alone would be the best time to ask it.

"Hey Riley?"

Riley continued to stare at the tv.

"Hmm?"

"Where's your family? Do they live around here?"

Riley's leg swinging suddenly stopped, and while Abigail couldn't see it, his whole body went rigid. He hardened his stare at the television, then after a moment began moving his legs again. He focussed on the program that was on, hoping that Abigail would think he hadn't heard her and was actually interested in the film.

"Riley?"

Riley inwardly groaned. No such luck.

"Nah, they're back in Wisconsin."

He could tell that Abigail was trying to think up something else to say about them, and he hoped that she wasn't especially curious this evening. Like Ben, once Abigail got on to something, she wouldn't quit until she was satisfied with whatever results she had found.

"Who's all there? Just you're mom and dad, brothers, sisters? You know Riley, I don't exactly know a lot about your family. Do you have a lot of siblings, or are you an only child?"

Riley forced his legs to keep moving, and forced his eyes to remain on the tv - he refused to look anywhere near Abigail.

"Mom and dad are there, as well as my older brother and younger sister." It wasn't a lie. Not in the least. They were definitely still in Wisconsin.

"Oh? How old are your brother and sister?"

"You know Abby, I actually have to go to the bathroom, so this little interrogation of yours will have to wait." Until never.

"I hardly think three questions count as an interrogation."

Riley swung his legs over his head and flipped over, landing on his feet. Standing up, the techi made his way for the bathroom.

"Well news flash Abs, it is definitely an interrogation. Just keep to your grandma knitting, okay? You'll go farther in life."

Abigail just shook her head and smiled.

Riley headed into the kitchen, where Ben was currently typing slowly on his laptop. Riley paused for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together as he stared at Ben's hands. After a moment Ben looked up, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"You know, you type awful sl-."

"Slow; yes, I know Riley. You've only told me every time you see me using a computer."

"Well it's as true now as it was the first time I said it. Honestly Ben, you could get a whole lot more done if you just learned how to type. I mean come on! You're practically typing with just one finger!"

A shot of annoyance passed through Ben, and he frowned at Riley.

"Oh shut up Riley. Not everyone has to be a complete geek like you, you know."

Riley remained silent for a moment, and Ben turned back to his typing. After a second he could hear Riley moved, and he watched out of his peripheral vision as he turned around and started heading towards the bathroom. Ben sighed, knowing that he had been a bit harsh, and looked up to apologize, but Riley was already gone.

But he couldn't help but think that Riley was at least a bit at fault here. He really didn't have to constantly tell him what was wrong with his computer skills every time he saw him at a laptop or their home computer. He was fine with his technological abilities, so why couldn't Riley be? A disgruntled voice came from down the hallway where the bathroom was, "Stupid sink! Take that!" Ben couldn't help but roll his eyes. Even his bathroom wasn't good enough for him. Ben was beginning to think that inviting his friend over here had been a bad idea. He never got much work done, and he could never really spend any alone time with Abby.

Just then the phone rang. Ben reached over and picked up the receiver, putting it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Ben Gates?"

"Yes?"

"This is Ryan Collins from State Hall, and I was wondering if you could possibly come and speak this evening at our State dinner. I know it's short notice, but our previous speaker just cancelled on us, and we really need someone to fill in. Do you think you could do it?"

Ben discarded the idea at first, but after a brief moment of thinking, he decided to change his mind. Ryan Collins was actually a well known acquaintance of his, and had gotten him out of a jam on a couple of occasions. Besides, Ben thought, he needed a break from the... evening, anyway.

"Uh, sure Ryan. When do you need me?"

"Actually, if you came right now, it'd be greatly appreciated."

Ben thought it over for another moment, then nodded.

"Sure. Could you just give me half an hour?"

"Of course. The guests are arriving now, but we won't need you on until 7."

Ben agreed, and the two said their goodbyes. Ben quickly got up and told Abigail the news, and while she was a little miffed at first that he hadn't discussed it with her, she agreed to come along anyways.

"But wait, aren't you going to ask Riley?"

"Actually Abby, I was thinking -."

"Ask Riley what?"

Ben and Abigail turned around to Riley, who was standing in the living room entrance, his eyebrows raised. He walked over to the couch and plopped down on it.

Ben glanced at Abigail, and he knew she had known what he'd been going to say.

"Er, nothing. Just that Abigail and I actually have an appointment tonight that we have to run to. I was just reminding her about it."

"Really? You never told me that. If I had known, I wouldn't have-."

"Yeah, well, I guess I forgot. It's at the State Hall, have to speak there at 7, so we really have to be going now."

Riley looked at his watch.

"Well it's 6:15 now. You're cutting it kinda close, aren't you?"

Ben smiled awkwardly.

"Well we weren't exactly thinking we'd be having you for supper, Riley."

Riley bit his lower lip and looked down at the floor for a second. Abigail clenched her fingers around her knitting needles that now lay motionless on her lap, resisting the urge to say anything.

A few more seconds passed, and Riley slowly got up.

"Oh. Sorry, but, I didn't realize you were bus-."

Ben was already heading to his room where his black suit hung in his closet.

"Do you think you could just call a cab to come pick you up? It'd be pretty hard to have to drop you off. Thanks."

Riley bit his lower lip again, then quickly smiled.

"Uh, sure!" He called, then turned to Abigail.

"See ya Abby, have fun tonight."

Abigail smiled sadly, putting her knitting on the floor and standing up.

"Bye Riley. We'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, bye." Riley grabbed his jacket off the counter and quickly slipped on his shoes before heading outside. Though just before he ran out, he noticed something large sticking out of the trash can. Curious, Riley tilted his head to the side and tried to make out what it was, before realization dawned on him.

It was his book. The one he'd had delivered specially for Ben. He hadn't been able to wait until he'd read it - until he had called him up and raved about how good it was. That call had never come, and it wasn't until later that Riley found out that Ben hadn't even read it yet; he had to practically remind him that he even had a copy, something that neither him, nor even Abigail seemed to care much about. But still, he had hung onto it, which meant something to Riley, however small.

Well, until now.

"Riley, you still here?" Asked Ben from the kitchen as he fixed up his suit's sleeve. Riley quickly looked up at him and grinned.

"Just leaving Ben. Have a good time tonight!"

Ben smiled.

"Yeah, I definitely will. This is only like... the sixteenth dinner I've spoken at in the past two months."

"Well have fun all the same. See ya."

"Bye."

Once out on the steps, Riley fished his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled the taxi service. He scuffed his shoe against the stone pathway impatiently, until finally a few minutes later a yellow taxi drove up onto the driveway. Getting into the car, Riley couldn't help but think that this had not been exactly the way he pictured ending his day. But then again, he thought, a lot of my days are actually a lot like this. Sudden departures and whatnot. Ah, story of my life.

By the time Riley got out of the car and onto his street, any remnants of a bad mood that he'd had had disappeared, and he whistled happily as he walked inside his apartment building. Making his way up to the third floor, Riley fished out his key and jangled it in the lock, before turning the handle and walking inside. He turned on the lights and closed the door behind him, making his way to the counter where he dropped his keys with a clang. Turning towards the window, he stretched and yawned.

What happened next almost occurred too fast for his brain to register. A pair of hands suddenly wrapped around his body, binding his arms to his side. Riley's first reaction was to struggle violently, but the sudden attack had surprised him, and that brief moment between realization and action was all that was needed for another pair of hands to press something to his face. Riley attempted to yell, but the piece of cloth that lay over his nose and mouth stopped him from doing so. Riley, unsure of what was happening, abruptly breathed in, trying to gather as much air as he could. Then suddenly, everything seemed to go black. Black spots appeared in his vision, and his movements quickly decreased. He tried to move his arms and legs, but found that they wouldn't respond to him. Everything seemed to be going numb, and a loud humming noise started in his ears. The whole world seemed to tilt, until he found that he was looking at everything from an odd side angle. Hands came and went in front of his vision, but the cloth remained over his lower face. The last thing he saw before passing out was a grinning face underneath a head of red hair.

- - -