Disclaimer: I only own Candace 'Ace' Mitchell. The entire plot, characters or songs you recognize (or don't) aren't mine either.
Author's Note: Number 2! Hope you like. Hate it? Love it? Tell me! GUESS WHAT NATIONAL TREASURE LOVERS! National Treasure: Book of Secrets is coming out in December 2007!
National Treasure
Frustrated, they exited the FBI building. Candace was dressed casually in a grey wife-beater, black sweater, jeans and her aviators perched on her nose.
"Is it really so hard to believe that someone is going to steal the Declaration of Independence?" Riley asked, annoyed.
"Yes." Candace muttered.
"They're not going to worry about something they know is safe." Added Ben.
"Anyone that can do anything is going to think we're crazy, and anyone crazy enough to believe us won't want to help." Riley moaned.
"We need someone one step short of crazy." Ben said.
"Obsessed?" Riley asked.
"No, passionate." He replied.
"National Archives?" Candace asked Ben.
"National Archives." He confirmed. The trio waited in the waiting room to meet 'Dr. Chase'. Just another lost cause. Candace thought. "Hey Ace, pass me one of those?" Ben pointed to a pamphlet that said something about a gala. A woman opened the door and spoke to Ben.
"Dr. Chase can see you now Mr. Brown." She said.
"Mr. Brown?" Riley asked.
"We don't get a lot of respect in the academic community." Ben replied.
"Who are you?" He asked Candace as they entered the room.
"Laura James." She murmured out of the corner of her mouth. The woman at the desk was blonde, pretty and well… pretty.
"Good Afternoon! I'm Abigail Chase." She shook each of their hands.
"Paul Brown." Ben introduced himself.
"Laura James." Candace said politely.
"And you?" Abigail asked a startled Riley.
"Uh… Bill." He stuttered.
"How may I help you?" She asked, sitting down.
"Well…" Candace was interrupted by Ben.
"Your accent! Pennsylvanian-Dutch?"
"Saxony-German." She replied.
"So you're not American?" Riley asked. Candace kicked him in the leg.
"I am, I just wasn't born here." She replied, as if talking to a small child.
"Nice collection." Ben motioned to a board with pins. "You're missing the 1789 inaugural one though. I found one once."
"Lucky you." She replied evenly. "My assistant said this was urgent?"
""Yes ma'am." They sat in the three chairs provided in front of the desk. "I'm going to get straight to the point." Ben said.
"Someone is going to steal the Declaration of Independence." Candace blurted out. Ben glared at her, and then turned back to a stunned Dr. Chase.
"Well, I'll put you in contact with the FBI." She replied, reaching for the phone.
"We've already informed the FBI and they're assured us there is no way it can be stolen." Ben said.
"They're right." Abigail told them.
"We have reason to believe otherwise. But if we were given the privilege to view the document, we'd be able to tell you if it was actually in any danger." Ben said.
"What do you think you're going to find?" She asked.
"We believe that there is and encryption" He stressed the last word. "On the back."
"An encryption, like a code?" She asked.
"A map." Candace clarified.
"A map of what?"
"'The location…of objects of… historic and intrinsic value." Ben said slowly.
"A treasure map?"
"That's where we lost the FBI." Riley told her.
"You're treasure hunters aren't you?" She asked.
"More like treasure protectors." Ben clarified.
"I've personally seen the back of the Declaration of Independence, and all it says is Original Declaration of Independence dated July 4 1776." She told him. "But no map." Ben sighed and looked over to Candace and Riley. Candace was rubbing her temples, and Riley was sending him tiny shakes of the head.
"It's invisible." He said sadly.
"Oh?" She asked mockingly.
"And that's where we lost the department of homeland security." Riley added.
"What led you to this assumption?" She asked.
"The engraving on the stem of a two hundred year old pipe." Candace said offhandedly.
"May I see it?"
"We don't have it." Riley mumbled. She leaned forward on the desk.
"Did Bigfoot take it?" She mocked.
"Time to go." Candace said, and exited the room quickly followed by Riley. Ben came out a minute later.
"Let's go take a look at it." Riley suggested with a frown. They all stood in front of the Declaration wallowing in self-pity.
"One hundred and eighty years of searching, and we're three feet away." Ben sighed. "Of all the ideas that became the United States, there is a line here that is at the heart of all the others." He said. "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and provide new guards for their future security." He recited.
"That's beautiful." Candace smiled.
"People don't talk that way anymore." Ben said, mostly to himself.
"What does it mean?" Riley asked, puzzled.
"It means that if there's something wrong, those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action." He paused. "And I'm going to steal it." He said firmly and walked out. Riley and Candace looked at each other in shock, and then chased after him.
"This…this is huge." Riley told Ben as they all sat on the steps of the Lincoln memorial.
"Like prison huge Ben." Candace added. "You're going to go to prison, you know that right?"
"Yeah probably."
"Oh okay." Riley said sarcastically. "Usually that would bother most people."
"Ian's going to try and steal it. And he does, he'll destroy the Declaration." Ben said. "So the only way to save it from being stolen is to steal it. It's kind of backwards really."
"It's impossible Ben. Even if there was a way, I'd help you, you know that. But… there isn't." Candace told him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"It can't be done. Come with me, I'll prove it to you." Riley stated.
"This, Ben, is the Library of Congress. The biggest library in the world." Riley explained. Candace snorted.
"You would know." He glared at her, and then continued.
"They're all saying the same thing, listen to Riley." He brought out a big book.
"You boys have your fun; I'm going to do some lady stuff." Candace said, hopped off the tale she was sitting on, and wandered around. Riley just announced it could in fact be done, when a librarian came up to the two puzzled men. Riley was scared she might have heard their plan to steal the Declaration.
"Excuse me," She apologized, "But a woman who called herself 'Ace' was removed from the library. She is waiting outside for you." She smiled politely and left the two.
"Oh Ace!" Ben muttered and rubbed his forehead. She ran up to them as they stepped outside.
"I've been waiting forever!" She huffed.
"What did you do?" Ben moaned.
"I tried to see how high I could stack the books 'till they fell over." She said innocently. "But how did you two do?"
"We have a plan." Riley grinned.
This was boring. Riley got to do fun stuff with his computer, and Ben was doing some spy work with water and powder. Well, Candace did get to set off the alarms with a special laser Riley gave her. And it was pretty fun watching the old lady almost have a heart attack. Now, she was sitting in the stuffy van with her most favorite person in the world. Not. Inconspicuously dressed in dark skinny jeans, a black hoodie and a ski-mask in the pocket, just in case, she sat in the back of the van with Riley, an earpiece popped in, ready to go.
"Testing! One, two three!" She shouted into the microphone.
"Shut up Ace." Ben muttered. They all breathed a sigh of relief when Ben was let in with no hassle. One less problem. Ben made it into the washroom, where he rid himself of the jumper, and tucked the screwdriver into his suit.
"How do you look?" Riley teased.
"Not bad." Ben replied.
"Mazel tov." Candace told him.
"What does that even mean?" Riley asked her.
"It's good luck in Hebrew." She replied. Ben went up to the ballroom, where he searched for Abigail Chase.
"For you." He said, handing her a glass of champagne.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"tell her she looks nice." Candace said to Ben.
"No. Hurry up and get out of there." Riley snapped. Candace and Riley didn't hear the rest of the conversation because they were arguing with each other.
"He's allowed to tell her she looks nice!" Candace shouted to Riley.
"Ace, calm down. I got it." Ben zipped the bag shut and watched as the thumbprint showed upon the glass.
"Is it working?" She asked, much calmer this time.
"Yeah." Ben said weakly.
"Our evil plan is working." Riley whispered in disbelief. Ben used her thumbprint for the scanner to get into the elevator, and then used the backlight to read the password. Ben read out the letters for Riley's anagram program.
"A, E, O, L, G, R, F, Y, V." Ben read. Riley quickly entered them in his computer.
"Top results," Riley said. "A glove fry, a very golf, fargo levy, gravy floe, valley frog." He continued.
"No wait. It's Valley Forge. She pressed the E and L twice." Ben entered the password, and it worked.
"Fargo levy?" Candace asked skeptically.
"Shut up." He growled. Riley switched the video feeds on the computer.
"Hey look! Ben's invisible!" She said loudly. Ben pointed up to the camera at them and Riley waved. "He can't see you, stupid!" Candace laughed. "Ben, we're half done." She said as he reached the document in its large, heavy casing. Unscrewing the casing was a long, tedious job that was taking forever. Suddenly, Riley lost his feed. The computer screen went grey and fuzzy.
"Ben! Ben I lost the feed!" Riley panicked.
"What?" Ben asked.
"I can't see you! I can't see anything!" Riley said in horror.
"Ben get out." Candace said calmly. "Now."
"I'm taking the whole thing." Ben said, lifting the frame and shuffled out to the elevator. Secretly freaking out on the inside, Riley and Candace waited in silence until they heard gunshots.
"Ben who's shooting?" Riley asked.
"Ben are you okay?" Candace asked frantically, trying to see anything on the screen.
"Yes." He grunted.
"Who was that?" Riley asked.
"Ian. I'm in the elevator, don't worry." It seemed like ages until Ben came outside.
"Finally." Candace sighed.
"Shut up and start the car." Riley hopped into the driver's seat and started the van. Candace slid into the passenger's side, and Ben came around the back of the truck.
"Oh shit." Candace said, and pointed out the window. "Uh, Ben? The mean Declaration lady is behind you."
"Shit!" Ben muttered.
"This is bad!" Candace moaned as Abigail Chase asked Ben what was going on.
"Stop chatting and get in the van!" Riley growled. "Hurry!" A loud, buzzing alarm sent Candace into hyperventilation.
"We're going to get caught. We're going to jail!" Riley grabbed her shoulder.
"Calm down Ace." He told her. She nodded and shut her eyes tightly. "Ben will get us through this." Candace opened her eyes to see Dr. Chase running back to the building. She slipped in the backseat, and Ben climbed into the passenger's side. Dr. Chase was in the middle of the road when a blue truck came up to her, and a man snatched her up into the truck. One of Ian's henchmen started shooting at the van.
"Go after them!" Ben shouted.
"No good adventure without a car chase." Candace moaned. As it turns out, they recovered Dr. Chase from Ian, but she gave them the document.
"Relax guys. That was a souvenir. I thought it'd be better to have an extra just in case that happened. Turns out I was right. Now could you please stop shouting?" He asked Abigail, who had somehow ended up in the back with him, and Candace had stolen the front. He then unveiled the actual document, in a protective tube.
"Give me that!" Abigail cried.
"She's still shouting." Candace whined.
"Now, I do recall paying for this. I paid for the real and the fake one, but you lost that. So you owe me thirty-five dollars plus tax." Ben told Abigail.
"Genius." Riley laughed.
"Well who were those guys?" She asked.
"Hmm, well just the guys we warned you about." Ben reminded her.
"But you didn't believe us!" Riley added haughtily.
"We did the only thing we could to keep it safe." Candace told her. Abigail was silent for a second, but then began to shout and curse at them.
"Ben she swore at me!" Candace complained.
"I think we deserved that." Ben told her.
"There is not a treasure map on the back of the Declaration!" Abigail denied.
"And there's no way anyone could steal this!" Ben said, shaking the tube to emphasize his point. "Everything I told you was the truth."
"I want that document Mr. Brown." She said stonily. Ben winced.
"Well, almost everything." He told her. "My name is Ben Gates. That's Candace Mitchell and Riley Poole."
"Present!" Riley called, raising a hand.
"Wait. Did you say Gates and Mitchell?" She asked. "You're that family with the conspiracy theory about the Founding Fathers!"
"It's not a conspiracy." Candace said, hurt.
"Per say." Riley added.
"Well how do you intend to prove that theory? In the back of a moving van?" She snapped.
"We have a clean room environment set up at Ben's apartment." Riley told her.
"We can't go back there." Ben said. "I paid with a credit card."
"What?" Riley shouted. "Ben come on! They're probably tracking us by now!"
"I know! And we need those letters." Ben sighed.
"What letters?" Abigail asked.
"Silence Dogood." Candace muttered.
"Take a right. Stop at the park." Ben sighed. They stopped at the park, and Ben got out to pace, and think.
"You know Ben, it took you two seconds to decide to steal the Declaration." Riley mentioned.
"Yeah but I didn't think I'd actually have to tell my dad about it." He sighed.
"You have the original Silence Dogood letters?" Abigail asked. "Steal those too?" She muttered.
"They're digital scans, now be quiet." Ben said.
"Where did you get the scans?" She inquired.
"Because I know the man who has the originals, now shush." Ben said, irritated.
"Why do you need them?"
"She really can't shut her mouth, can she?" Ben turned to Riley and Candace. They laughed. "Look, I will let you hold this if you promise to shut up, please!" Ben said, exasperated.He returned to his pacing. Candace and Riley turned back to the radio, listening in on any news of their crime.
"Are you okay?" Riley asked her. He knew she was pretty shaken up about the whole ordeal.
"Yeah thanks." She smiled. They looked outside quickly after they heard shouting. Abigail had tried to run away, but Ben had tackled her down, and retrieved the document.
"Thanks. Now shoo." He told her.
"I'm not leaving without the document." She said stubbornly.
"Well you're not leaving with it."
"Well then you shouldn't have told me where you're going." She said with a glint in her eye and a smile on her face. Ben sighed, and Candace groaned, smacking her head on the dashboard repeatedly. Ben climbed back into the car, and Abigail followed with a smirk. Riley started driving again.
"Uh, Ben?" Candace broke the silence.
"Yeah Ace?" He sighed.
"It's my fault the FBI knows where we are." She blushed. "I kind of… borrowed two-fifty from your wallet. I got thirsty. I'm sorry." She apologized. Ben groaned and leaned his head on the back of the seat.