Chapter III: Close But No Cigar

"…if they want the Declaration back, and not just a box of confetti, you'll come alone."

Ian slammed the pay phone back down on its receiver, letting out a frustrated curse as he did so. Ben had gotten himself caught by the FBI. Normally Ian would see this as a good thing, meaning that he would no longer have to race the other man to the treasure. But apparently he was missing something. Something important that made having the Declaration of Independence pointless. He didn't know how Dr. Chase got his number, but she was quick to call him and convince him to help get Ben out of custody. She was probably just trying to make up for losing the Declaration in the first place.

"What are we doing now?" Shaw asked as Ian came back to the SUV.

"We're going to help Ben escape from the FBI."

"What?!"

"Apparently we still need his help. So tomorrow morning we're going to be at the Intrepid, ready with the diving gear."

The three henchmen looked thoughtful for a moment before Powell spoke up. "Wait…we're going to New York? Why?"

"Because according to Dr. Chase the treasure is in the city somewhere on Broadway."

Powell snorted at this in disbelief.

"We have no choice. We need those glasses Ben found."

"What about him?" Shaw said, jerking his thumb behind him at one of the parked SUV's trunks.

At this Ian's frown changed into a maniacal grin. He would have considered killing Riley, now that he had the Declaration. But it turned out that once they helped Ben, he may still need some coercing to give Ian the treasure. So he would keep the annoying kid alive to use further as collateral. He would keep Riley alive, but that didn't mean they still couldn't torment him.

He glanced at his watch. "It's almost five now. We'll meet at my flat and relax for the night. Maybe celebrate a little with our friend Mr. Poole."

"Why would Ian want to meet at the Intrepid? Why not here in Philadelphia?"

Ben shook his head, though he did have some idea of what Ian's intentions were. "I have no idea."

Sadusky stared at him for a long time, as though trying to read right through Ben's eyes and into his brain. "Fine," the FBI agent said finally. "We'll get something set up to monitor you when the exchange is made. I don't want you to do anything without me telling you to. If this works out, Ian Howe will be going to jail for a long time...who knows, maybe the two of you will even be cell mates."

Ben was silent while Sadusky scrutinized him with a grin. He knew there was nothing he could say to change his fate, but suddenly it wasn't his own fate he was worried about. Sadusky had just stood up and was starting to bark orders for the helicopter to take them to New York when Ben spoke up again.

"Wait, Agent Sadusky," he said.

The older man turned and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Ben? Don't tell me you're afraid of heights, because you are coming with us in the helicopter—"

Ben shook his head. "No it's not that. There's one very important detail I left out of my story before."

Sadusky took his seat again. "Alright Mr. Gates, you've got my attention."

"Ian doesn't just have the Declaration," Ben said sincerely. He swallowed hard before continuing, as thought it was very difficult for him to say what needed to be said. "There was…someone else with me before this whole debacle."

Sadusky looked unimpressed. "I already suspected you'd had an accomplice, besides Dr. Chase that is."

"I told you she had nothing to do with this…but that's not the point. My friend, Riley Poole, was kidnapped last night." Then as a side note he added, "and he's not an accomplice either. He's completely innocent, just like Abigail."

Sadusky folded his hands on the table and leaned closer to look Ben in the eye. "So now you're saying that Ian Howe, your once business partner, kidnapped your friend to get you to steal the Declaration?"

That sounded good to Ben and he would have thought of running with the story to get out of jail time, but that wasn't what he was trying to get across. "No...well, not exactly. Listen—the point is, Ian has Riley and he's holding him until I find the treasure. If you and your agents are there when I meet Ian tomorrow morning, I'm afraid of what will happen to my friend."

Sadusky stared Ben down for a moment and took in the look of genuine worry and fear that was on the treasure hunter's face. "What was your friend's name again?"

"It…it's Riley," Ben said, hoping that this meant Sadusky was taking him seriously. "Riley Poole. Like swimming pool with an e."

"You're not just jerking my chain, are you Ben? Because if you are you're only digging yourself deeper into a hole…"

Ben shook his head. "No, no…I'm telling the truth, I swear. I'm really worried about him. Ian isn't really too fond of the kid, and if he finds out you're tailing me at the Intrepid…" Ben let out a shaky breath. "I just want Riley to be okay. I'll get the Declaration and go to jail. Just…just make him be okay."

Sadusky's expression softened when he saw how terrified Ben obviously was. "Alright, Mr. Gates. We're still keeping tabs on you, but I'll make sure my agents are on the lookout for Ian Howe and where he might be keeping your friend. We'll keep a safe distance until we know Riley is safe."

Ben nearly melted with relief. "Thank you, Sadusky. I really appreciate this."

"Don't read too deeply into it, Mr. Gates," the FBI agent said as he stood up again. "We've got a long night ahead of us."

After sitting in hours of traffic, they finally made it into uptown New York City. Riley had slept for most of the drive, panic only making him stay conscious for so long. He had no idea where they were going, or what was going on, or what was going to happen to him…

He jerked awake as the SUV hit a large bump. Riley was used to being jostled around by now, and he actually recognized this particular feeling from moving in and out of parking garages. Riley groaned. That meant they were switching cars again. He only hoped it was a car with an open trunk like this one and not the tight closed space of the first car. He was pretty sure he would suffocate to death this time if it was.

"We're here," a gruff voice said from above him.

He raised his head slowly, his neck stiff from sitting for so long. Shaw was leaning over the backseat grinning madly down at his hostage. Riley blinked. That look alone scared him. The large hands that were reaching down towards him terrified him.

"Hold still," Shaw grumbled as Riley tried in vain to squirm away from his grasp. Shaw slid his hands under Riley's arms and hoisted the smaller man up and over the back of the car seat. He then tore the tape from Riley's mouth, which let out a harsh yell as soon as Riley's lips were free.

"Shut up," Shaw growled as he smothered Riley's mouth with his hand. Once Riley was quiet, Shaw removed his hand, allowing the younger man to finally take a deep, refreshing breath. Ah, oxygen had never tasted so good. He wheezed and gasped and somehow managed to not scream when Shaw tore the tape of his wrists. He winced and actually let out a little whimper as circulation came painfully back into his arms. Then he was spun around by Shaw so he was sitting normally in the seat, facing Ian who was looking back at him from the front of the SUV. Riley gulped nervously.

"Hello, Riley. I'm sorry we haven't seen much of each other since last night. But I'm sure you're no stranger to being ignored for long periods of time."

Riley glared at Ian, ignoring his comment. "Where's…Ben?" he rasped.

"My, Riley," Ian said. "That sounds awful." He twisted around in his seat for a moment and reemerged with a bottle of water. "Here, you must be parched." He set the bottle in Riley's lap.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, thanks." His fingers were sore and tingling like mad as he lifted the bottle up. He struggled with the top for a minute, but was unable to get his numb fingers to grip it.

"Give it here," Shaw growled, impatient with Riley's struggling. He opened the bottle and held it one hand while his other hand suddenly yanked Riley's head back by his hair. He shoved the bottle in Riley's face and forced the liquid into his mouth. Riley coughed and sputtered but was glad to have even a little bit of water in his parched and aching throat. As soon as the attack had begun it was over, leaving Riley to look at Ian again while water dripped off his face and onto his shirt. He took deep, wheezing breaths, willing himself to try to breathe normally.

"Ben has apparently been arrested," Ian said, calmly continuing their conversation as though there had been no interruption.

Riley felt his eyes bulge as he gasped, "What?!"

"And I have the Declaration," Ian said with a smirk as he pulled the canister out from under his seat to show the young man.

Riley felt himself grow even paler than he already was as he realized what this meant. "You…you're going to…k-kill me?"

Riley was surprised to see Ian throw his head back and chuckle whole heartedly at the question. This only made Riley more nervous and he squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't think he'd ever seen Ian laugh like this before, and, frankly, it scared him.

"Ah, Riley," Ian said once his laughing fit was over. "You always were the funny one."

Riley's frown deepened. Ian had never thought his jokes were funny. And the situation he was in now certainly wasn't a comical one.

Ian became serious again very quickly. "I had every intention of killing you, but I still need Ben's help. So as long as I need Ben's help, you're not expendable—just an annoying piece of baggage I have to carry around."

Riley glared at him. He was glad they weren't going to kill him yet, but he didn't like being considered a piece of baggage. In fact this wasn't the first time Ian had called him that. Even on their way to the Arctic to find the Charlotte, Ian had called Riley this, and the comment made all of his comrades laugh. Ben didn't laugh, but he hadn't really stuck up for Riley, either.

"I'm going to help Ben get out of police custody in the morning and we're all going to find the treasure. You're coming up to my place for the night." Then, after seeing the surprised look on Riley's face he added, "I can't very well have you sitting in my car all night, now can I?"

"I guess not," Riley muttered.

"Good," Ian said, nodding to Shaw. "Let's go."

With a ding they were on the seventeenth floor and Riley found himself once again being shoved along down a nicely lit hallway. He counted only one other door on the hall before they stopped at Ian's. These were pretty good size apartments if there were only a couple per floor. But that just meant fewer people were around to hear Riley's yells for help.

He'd barely gotten a look around Ian's apartment before he was yanked to the side and forced a little ways down the hall. There was another door down here, and Riley had a split second where he feared they were going to tie him up again and lock him in a closet or something. It was probably the equivalent to leaving him in a car trunk.

"Get in there," Shaw grumbled, forcing him forward into what Riley found was a moderately sized and very well kempt bathroom. "Do what you need to do and wait for me to come back." He emphasized his statement by shaking Riley roughly by the collar of his T-shirt. "Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah I got it," he mumbled, shrugging himself out of Shaw's grip. "Hands off the material, man."

Shaw glared menacingly at him before closing the door. Riley stood there for a few minutes, listening intently through the door as Shaw walked away. He waited in silence, making sure Shaw was really gone and wasn't going to burst in and grab him or something. After a moment he pushed himself away from the door, satisfied no one was going to disturb him.

The first thing Riley did was relieve himself. He hadn't realized until just then that he hadn't been able to use a restroom since he was at Ben's dad's house. And oh man had he been sitting in the car for a long time, his bladder filling by the hour…

He washed his hands, noting with amusement that the faucet was made of a very shiny gold looking material. He was quick to cup his hands and capture the stream of refreshingly cool water. He splashed his face and lapped up some of it to soothe his still aching throat and dry mouth. After he felt he'd drunk enough water to make up for the past day's dry spell, he raised his head and finally got a glance of himself in the mirror.

It was a good thing he was still leaning pretty heavily on the sink, or else he might have fallen down in shock. The person looking back at him did not look like Riley Poole. He was very pale, even paler than normal, his reflection looking no more than a ghostly vision of his usual pallor. The only parts of his face that weren't pale was the gash on his cheek surrounded by a purpling bruise, the red mark striping his face where the duct tape had been, and his eyes.

Riley blinked. Are those my eyes? His light blue orbs were accented by dark smudges, markings that usually indicated a sleepless night spent in front of a computer screen. But these were lined with red, making it look like he had been crying. Had he been crying? Riley didn't think so, but he couldn't really remember much, either. The whole day was kind of fuzzy in his mind.

He splashed some more water on his face and wiped at his eyes, hoping that they would go back to looking like normal. He smoothed down his wild dark hair as best as he could, but no matter how many times he ran his hand through it, he still looked like a semi crazed person. Oh well. At least the dried blood was out of his hair line and he'd determined the bump on his head wasn't nearly as painful as it had been earlier.

And now he was supposed to, what, wait for Shaw to come back and get him? Yeah right.

Riley scanned the room. No window, so there was no way out other than the door. There wasn't even a curtain over the shower, and no rod that he could maybe use as a weapon. He briefly considered hiding behind the door with the toilet bowl lid in his hands before he remembered that that required touching the toilet bowl lid. Gross. He opened the cabinet under the sink and the one behind the mirror he was looking at, only to find that both were empty. Ian wasn't kidding when he said he hadn't been here in a while.

What now? Riley stood at the door, fidgeting and bouncing from foot to foot. He didn't know what to do. What could he do? He had to get out of there, he knew that much. He was certainly in for a rough night if he stuck around at Ian's place. But, he reasoned, they were nice enough to let him use the bathroom and get a drink after nearly dehydrating in the trunk of their car.

Riley shook his head. They were probably letting him use the lavatory so that he didn't lose control of his bodily functions while they were hurting him. Riley shuddered. Yeah, that was probably it. He imagined Ian wouldn't want to clean up after him anyway.

This got Riley to thinking what exactly they were going to do to him. Beat him up? It certainly wouldn't be the first time. But then again the guys that had kicked his ass in the past were kids that just happened to be bigger than he was in school. Shaw alone could probably take on a dozen of Riley's past bullies at once.

Ian would surely be more creative than just knocking Riley around. Riley imagined he had a collection of torture devices just sitting around in another room of the apartment. Knives, needles, an electric chair, a stretching rack… Riley shuddered. As much as he would like to be taller, he really hoped Ian didn't have one of those. Or any of those for that matter. He didn't think he could take it.

Riley wasn't known for having the greatest tolerance for pain. He knew this better than anyone. He could spit out an "uncle" faster than his attackers could blink when he was a kid. There was no way he could withstand a long torture session. Hell he felt sick just looking at other people's blood. If Ian used knives…well Riley would definitely lose control of at least his gag reflex.

No matter what they were going to do, or what Riley feared they were going to do, it all led back to one thing—he needed to get the hell out of there.

He pressed his face against the door and listened to the hall outside again. Nothing. All he could hear was silence. Huh, that's weird. Maybe they were just going to leave him there. He could do some damage to Ian's extravagant apartment…that would be fun.

No, that was too easy. They wouldn't just leave him here. Shaw was just being really quiet outside the door, waiting to scare Riley when he came out.

Riley sank to the floor as quietly as he could so he could press his face against the cold ground. He could just see light coming from the hall illuminating the hardwood floors. There was a reflection off the floor, but it was hard for Riley to tell what he was looking at. Didn't look like people, though. And there were no feet outside of the door that he could see.

He stood up again, perplexed at the situation he now found himself in. What was this, some kind of trick? No one was even paying attention to him. If they'd driven him up and down the east coast securely tied up in the trunk of their car, why would they ignore him now?

The front door to the apartment was only down the hall. Maybe ten feet, at the most. Freedom was ten feet away, but still…

Riley grimaced, clenching his head in his fisted hands. He was so confused, and his still pounding headache wasn't helping anything. He was scared, nervous, uncertain…nothing that he wasn't used to feeling, though that fact wasn't really helping him either.

"Aw, screw it," he finally mumbled, his voice still hoarse and barely audible.

He slowly turned the handle and pulled the door back towards him an inch. Coast was clear. Time to go find Ben and save him from the FBI.

"Leaving already, Riley?"

He froze at the sound of Ian's voice. His captors were right behind him, watching with amusement as he tried to sneak out of the apartment.

"Yeah…I just kinda…you know…" He had to stop when his sore throat caused his voice to falter. He made eye contact with Ian and was surprised to see that the maniacal smile was gone. Instead he looked genuinely…disappointed that Riley was trying to leave.

"You can't go now," Ian said. "We just ordered a pizza."

Riley actually let out a nervous, somewhat high pitched laugh. "Really?"

Ian smiled lightly, but not in the cruel way that Riley had become accustomed to since his capture. "You do like pizza, don't you, Riley? I think I remember that you do."

Okay, now Riley was really confused. This had to be some kind of trick. They'd kidnapped him, tied him up and shoved him a trunk. And now they were offering him food? Not just any food—this was a pizza, which just happened to be Riley's favorite food, no matter what the topping was.

Riley laughed nervously again and took a step back towards the door. "Yeah sure…you're pretending to be nice to me…so you can do something really…mean." He felt his hand close around the door handle. "Well I'm not falling for it! I'm not as stupid as you guys think and—"

The doorbell rang.

Riley stopped at the sound, taking a moment to catch his breath. Everyone was staring at him. The doorbell rang again. Riley didn't think—he just moved instinctively to the door and wrenched it open.

"Um, hello?" he rasped, staring wide eyed at a tall young woman in a red cap with three pizza boxes held out in her arms.

She blinked at him in surprise, raising her eyebrows as she looked him up and down with eyes as wide as his. He felt himself blush as her gaze scrutinized his pale and ragged appearance. She cleared her throat after a moment and asked with a prominent New York accent, "somebody here order pizza?"

Riley was still gaping as Ian pushed him aside, pulling out his wallet as he did so. "Yes, miss. How much do I owe you?"

"Forty two dollars," the woman said, finally taking her attention off of Riley.

Shaw took the pizzas while Ian passed the delivery girl three twenty dollar bills. "There you go. Keep the change."

Riley couldn't see it, but Ian must have winked or something, because she suddenly blushed and smiled widely at him. "Thank you, sir!" With that she backed into the hallway and dashed away, the stupid smile never leaving her face.

"I think she fancied you, mate," Shaw said, nodding to Ian.

Ian laughed whole heartedly as he shut the door to the apartment. "Yes, these American girls do love a man with an accent. And money, of course."

Shaw laughed too, shaking his head as he carried the pizzas to another room in the apartment. Riley watched him go, his jaw dropping as he looked in disbelief from Ian to Shaw, and then back to Ian. "You think she 'fancied' you?! What the hell is going on?!"

Everyone in the apartment stopped to stare at Riley, as though they were genuinely shocked by his outburst.

"We're…having pizza…and beer…" Ian stammered with a very confused expression on his face.

"But you…you're the bad guys! Aren't you supposed to, like, beat me up or something?"

Ian took a step closer. "Do you want us to beat you up?"

Riley shrank away. "Um, no. I just thought…"

"Well then come on, before the pizza gets cold," Ian said jovially, clapping Riley on the back before turning to the dining room.

Riley hesitated for a moment, still very confused by the whole thing. He looked from the dining room to the door then back again, wondering if he should try to make a run for it again. But while he was trying to decide what to do, his stomach grumbled loudly, effectively making the decision for him.

"Ah, Riley," Ian said as he came in. "Sit wherever you like."

Riley did, his eyes never leaving Ian's face, as though he were waiting for the true, demonic Ian to come forth again.

"What kind of topping would you like?"

"Uh, pepperoni, I guess."

Ian put a slice in front of him. Riley stared at it, wondering if it was poisoned. But the other guys were eating it, and none of them had dropped dead yet. Riley took a small, hesitant bite, decided that it was okay, and then scarffed the rest of it down in record time. He wasn't even a big drinker, but when a bottle of beer was placed in front of him, he gulped that down, too.

"Slow down there, big guy," Shaw said with a chuckle.

Riley nearly choked. Hearing someone like Shaw chuckle would make anyone choke. None of this made any sense at all, and when he said so out loud, everyone was laughing.

"You're right, Riley," Ian said, wiping jovial tears out of his eyes. "This doesn't make any sense."

Riley froze, not liking at all where this was suddenly going. "Aw, no. I was just kidding. Everything's fine…we're cool…"

"Think about it, kid," Shaw said. "Is this really what you were expecting us to do to you?"

"Honestly? No, I guess not."

Ian stood up and placed a gentle hand on Riley's shoulder. "Well, I think you've had enough pizza. It's time to go back to reality."

"What?! But I don't wanna…"

"Sorry, Riley," Ian said, sounding genuinely sorry. "It's time for you to wake up."

Riley swallowed hard before saying softly, "do I have to?"

Ian nodded. "I'm afraid so." With that he nonchalantly pulled his fist back and slammed it into Riley's face.

Riley jerked awake as his head fell forward against the door with a dull thud.

"Ow," he muttered. He rubbed at the now sore spot on his forehead. That was by far the weirdest, most vivid daydream he'd ever had. And he had never been so disappointed to find out that this dream wasn't real—and he'd had plenty of dreams involving very attractive young ladies that he'd wished were real.

He shook his head. He was still in the bathroom and there was still no sound coming from the hallway. If he was going to make his escape, now was the time to do it…

Posting these two chapters now at the same time at…uh…it's like one something in the morning…because I might not post again anytime soon so I figured I'd hold you over with these chapters while posting was still semi fresh in my mind :)