Loss

FantasysMagic

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure, Disney does.

Chapter 6

- - -

It had taken Ben an hour to get to the bank. An hour drive that usually only took about twenty minutes on a good day. Today however, was not a good day.

In fact, none of his days hadn't been good for nearly three months now. So now whenever something happened, even if it was just the smallest of small setbacks, his whole day was completely ruined. Either he ended up blowing up at Abby or a colleague, or Abby ended up blowing up at him, and they would be angry for the rest of the day. Ben wished it would stop. He wished that he could just go through a single day without getting mad, or letting some small problem anger or frustrate him to no end. But the truth was, with Riley gone, he didn't know how life could ever be the same again. How could he just go about his daily business, as though Riley had never been a part of his life? As though he were never there to begin with? Riley was...he was...

Ben shook his head, and turned his attention back to the road before him. He had been stuck in traffic for an hour now, and in hindsight he realized that perhaps he should have gone earlier in the day, rather than at 4:30 in the afternoon. But Abigail insisted that they needed to cash checks that they had received, or else those who wrote them would start to complain. Ben could honestly care less, but knowing that if he didn't get out of the house and let off a little steam, he would come to regret it. So he listened to Abigail, and here he was – stuck. In the middle of the road, in the wrong lane, with a slew of vehicles on all sides of him, and the bank only one block away.

Finally the light turned green, and Ben made a dash for the lane to his right, and by sheer luck he managed to catch an open spot in between two cars, but not without causing the guy behind him to honk his horn in angry protest.

"Yeah, yeah – you'll get over it." Ben muttered as he swerved into the banks parking lot. Thinking he was home free, Ben couldn't help but grin in triumph. Lo and behold however, it turned out that 4:30 was a popular time for people who wanted to cash their pay day checks; especially on a Friday. So when Ben drove into the parking lot, there was practically no parking space available. Ben was forced to drive in circles a few times, until he finally spotted a small space in between two large trucks. With no other choice, Ben started to drive in.

Somehow he managed to safely get his car parked, but with practically no room to spare. He had to squeeze himself out of the doorway, and at the same time not touch the other vehicle beside him. Finally he got out into the open, and without a second glance he headed into the building. He was rushed to get his banking done and get home in time to grade some papers before supper time. He was so rushed, that he didn't notice the black van driving slowly into the parking lot.

- - -

It was Riley's first big time robbery. In the last few weeks, Matt had seen fit to take Riley with him - and others of his choice - out for some small time thievery in and around the city. It was just small stuff – breaking into houses mostly, and grabbing a few, inconspicuous items that were valuable, but most likely wouldn't be missed.

Riley had felt a little uneasy about the thefts at first, but knowing that doing it would help to get him accepted by the others, and keep him from going back into the basement, he couldn't help but jump at the chance to prove himself. A part of him knew that what he was doing was wrong; that stealing these people's personal items was going against everything he had ever been taught as a child. But then again, he had a pretty crappy childhood, so who's to say what he had been taught was really wrong, or really right? There were so many things that he had once believed that he now knew to be wrong, so it seemed perfectly logical that not stealing from someone could be one of them. Besides, as Matt had said, the people they were stealing from were not the innocents they played themselves out to be. They were all Black Hearts, and so thus deserved to be stolen from. In fact, it was right of them (Matt and the others) to do so.

What was more, was that after the first few break ins, Riley found that he was actually enjoying it. He enjoyed the thrill of excitement that he got when they first entered a house, everyone quiet at first to determine if there were any unwanted residents (such as a dog or cat) that would give them away or cause problems for them at any point in time. When they were given the clear, they would then proceed to search all the spots in the house where most people kept their most prized, possessions. They then determined which ones could be taken without causing much of a commotion when the family came home, and which ones could be passed off as simply having been misplaced. Riley had started liking their little "excursions", as Matt called it, and he often looked forward to when their next "job" would be. But robbing a bank was different. It wasn't like robbing a house when the owners weren't home. There was no time to make a plan at a moments notice, and no time to pick and choose which objects to steal. You had to be fast, you had to be able to think and plan in a difficult and high tense situation, and you needed to be able to handle a large group of distressed and upset people. But it was a high pay out, if everything went according to plan, that is.

Riley had been nervous to take on this kind of job, and didn't know if he was ready yet for something as high scale as this. But Matt and the others assured him that he wouldn't be doing any of the hard stuff, such as obtaining the actual money from the bank tellers, or negotiating with anyone. All he would have to do was hold a gun, and watch over a certain area of the building, making sure no one tried to phone, text, or most of all, escape. A small part of Riley, the same, small part that had at first felt uneasy about the house thefts, pushed and shoved him in the back of his mind, screaming at him that what he was doing was wrong, that there was no way that he could point a gun at someone and threaten them with their life. But like before, Riley just pushed the voice away, and turned his attention back to Matt and the others.

"Alright everyone. Let's go over the plan one more time, for caution's sake." Matt was turned around in the front passenger's seat, looking back at the rest of the group that had compiled into the van. Brians was driving around to the back of the bank, where he would remained parked in the vehicle until the group had to make their getaway. Almost everyone had come out for the job, only Devon remained behind at the house, to make sure nobody came by that they didn't want there, and also to take the stash of recently collected items, should something go wrong with the operation that was going over today. The others however, Olivia, Kyle, Chelsea, Brendan, and now Riley himself, were ready and waiting to do the job at hand.

Riley felt his stomach clench and unclench, as nervousness coursed through his entire body. He listened attentively to Matt , as he explained the plan once more.

"Olivia, you'll be guarding area 43." Matt lifted up a sketch of the interior of the building, and pointed to an area marked '43'. "Brendan, you'll be guarding area 44." Matt again pointed to a location on the sketch, and Brendan nodded as well. "Kyle, you'll be at the main entrance, area 45. And Chelsea, you'll be with me and Riley, over at area 46." Chelsea grinned and nodded, flashing a smile over to Riley, who sat across from her in the bucket seat. "And Riley, you'll be hardwiring the money from the machines, and transferring it to the bank account." Riley nodded like the rest had, and Matt gave him a reassuring grin. "Don't worry kid, you'll do great. Remember, we appreciate the skills you have with computers, and that's why we're using them."

Riley nodded again, this time with more confidence. He and Matt had had many discussions in the past months regarding Riley's phenomenal computer capabilities, and how now they would actually be appreciated, and put to good use, rather than used for menial tasks such as breaking into someone's ex's house. Riley had never felt his skills were that greatly unappreciated before when he was with Benjamin and Abigail Gates, but now when he thought back on it, he realized that they had been menial tasks, and that his old friends hadn't appreciated just how extraordinary his skills really were. It wasn't like he was oblivious to how the Black Hearts had treated him over the years, he had always known it when Ben or Abigail had pushed him aside, or ignored his advice or the things he said, or just plain looked over him, as though he were just the guy that they brought along with them when they needed technology related help, and not their good, if not one of their best, friends.

But Riley was through with that now. He had learned what Ben and Abigail were, and he had come to the realization that the friendship he'd thought he'd had with these people, really wasn't a friendship at all.

But enough of that. Riley shook his head, getting rid of all thoughts of Ben and Abigail. He had a job to do here, something he believed in, and something he was starting to believe that he would die for. He was a Pure Heart, and as such, he needed to save any and all other Pure Hearts as well, before they became contaminated by the Black Hearts. And if that meant robbing a bank to do it, then he would do it.

"Alright guys, this is it." Said Matt. "Masks on."

The group all brought out their black ski masks, and they all pulled it over their heads, leaving the only their eyes visible. They then pulled out identical black sunglasses, and put them over their eyes. Riley looked down at the rest of his body, making sure that the machines needed for the wire transfer were safely placed in his black pants, and that his black jacket effectively covered the gun that lay hidden at his waist. He had been given guns before when they went out "on the town", but this was the first time that he could actually possibly end up using it, and while the thought frightened him, he didn't want to let Matt and the others down. So looking back up, he nodded to Matt, indicating that he was ready to go. Matt nodded back, and gave everyone the thumbs up as Brendan slid open the van door.

"Alright guys, let's do this thing."

- - -

Ben sighed impatiently as he stood behind an old woman in the teller line. The bank was small, and so the most that they had were the tellers and banking machines, and at 4:30 in the afternoon, neither of them were exactly "free". He had considered just trashing the whole idea, and heading back home, but knowing how dense the traffic was right now, and the fact that Abigail would have his hide if he came back home with the cheques still in hand, he decided to stick it out until he got his banking finished and over with, once and for all. It was when he had just started to yawn once more, when the shouting and screaming began.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!!"

Women immediately started screaming, and a loud gunshot went off in the air. Ben's head snapped around as almost everyone beside him started moving at once. Six figures dressed in black had entered the building, nearly all of them brandishing a weapon in their hands. The one that had shouted was obviously the leader, and he was shouting to everyone once more as the rest of the group scattered across the building.

"I SAID EVERYONE DOWN!!! Get down now unless you want to see some blood!!"

Immediately everyone got to the floor, some with their hands over their heads, and other with their hands in their pockets, obviously reaching for their cell phones. Immediately four of the people in the group started pointing their guns at the individuals, forcing them to take their hands out of their pockets, along with their cell phones.

"That's right everyone, cell's out, and on the floor. I don't want any funny business. If I so much as SEE one of your fingers move, then don't be expecting to move that finger any more. In fact, you can pretty much count the rest of your body to be immobile, too. So just play nice, and we'll all get along together fine, okay?"

Riley took a breath, then headed over towards one of the bank machines, where a bunch of people were congregated around. Chelsea followed him, making sure that the group of people saw her gun that she held in her hand. She motioned for them to move into the corner, and they hurriedly obeyed. Riley quickly got to work, taking out a small machine from his pocket, along with a group of wires. He moved over to the closest banking machine, and swiftly began the process of hooking up the wires, and transferring all the money from the bank into the account that had been specially set up just for this job. He was nervous though, and his hands began to shake as he started to type in code words and passwords that would allow him to hack his way into the banks system's mainframe. For a few minutes, everything seemed to be going right according to plan. Riley could hear a few sobs echo throughout the building, but he ignored them and pressed on. But when a movement was caught in the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but instinctively look up, if not just for a brief moment. When he did look up, his breath abruptly caught in his throat, and his fingers and entire body froze where they were.

Ben.

- - -

Ben could feel his heart thumping in his chest as two of the group's members started walking over to where he was sitting. At first he had thought they had figured out who he was, and were now coming over to deal with him specifically. But then he passed by him, and the fear that had overwhelmed him was now abated, for the time being. He watched carefully as the two walked over to one of the bank machines, which was less than five feet away from where he was sitting. Then suddenly, everything clicked, and Ben realized exactly what the group of bank robbers were doing. They were transferring the money from the bank into a separate account, which was more likely than not set up in a way that would be completely under the radar, so that no authorities would even begin to think that anything was wrong. Ben watched as the man (his companion obviously a woman) began typing at breakneck speed, his fingers flying over the keyboard as though death were on the line. In, which a way, it was. As Ben watched, his thoughts suddenly went back to all the times Riley had watched himself type on his laptop or his home computer, and how he almost always said something degrading about it, such as how slow he was, or how he wasn't typing in the "proper" way. Usually Ben didn't mind Riley's teasing, but the last day that he had seen him, the day Riley had been kidnapped and never heard nor seen from again, Ben had been in a weird mood. His temper for Riley's antics was uncommonly short that day, and having had that disagreement with his father when he and Riley had come home had only made it worse. So when Riley had started berating him about his typing skills, he couldn't help but snap at him. He had felt bad for it afterwards, but then it just seemed that everything Riley did was grating on his last nerve, so he never bothered to apologise. Then Riley had been kidnapped, and everything had changed. He regretted his outburst at Riley every day , and he wished that he could go back in time to change things. But he couldn't, so all he could do was wait. Wait for the likely news that Riley's body had been found in some lake, deformed beyond recognition. For nothing could be as bad as that, could it?

Ben moved, adjusting his position against the counter so that he could at least be somewhat comfortable. Well, as comfortable as one can be when surrounded by a group of armed robbers. The movement must have caught the man who was doing the transfer's eye, as he turned his head and glanced over at Ben. Ben gave him his most hardened, angered glare that he could send, and hoped that the man knew how much he was hating him right now. Ben was expecting the robber to just turn back and continue doing what he was doing, but instead, he did something Ben did not expect – he froze. Ben wasn't sure what was going on, but he continued to stare back at him, refusing to turn away. After a moment, the man turned his attention back to the bank machine, his movements tense and quick. Soon the sound of typing started up once again, and the odd, but edged moment passed. Ben continued to watch the man, intrigued as to why the man had stared at him like he had. After another moment, a beeping sound was heard, causing Ben to jump. He looked up at the woman, who had been surveying the room, but was now pressing a button on a pager that hung from her waist.

"Come on Ri, we gotta get going."

Ben's entire body froze, and every thought he had been thinking was now gone from his head in a flash. Ri? But that was...

Ben's eyes snapped to the man, who was now nodding tensely in reply. Ben looked from the man's face, to his fingers, which were, if possible, soaring even fast across the keyboard in a rush to finish. Ben's eyes continued to look back and forth between his face and his hands, but they suddenly stopped when he heard the man speak.
"Ri?" The woman said again.

"Yeah, yeah, almost finished..."

That voice. Ben knew that voice. He had known that voice for years. He had spent time trapped in a cave both beneath a church and Mount Rushmore with that voice. Heck, he had spent nights with that voice. But it couldn't be... could it? No, surely "Ri" meant something else, and he obviously must have just misheard the voice.

The sound of police sirens could be heard faintly in the background, and with every passing moment they could be heard coming closer. The woman glanced over to one of the other robbers, then back to the man beside her.

"Riley! Come on!"

Any doubts about the name "Ri" were crushed as Ben heard the man's full name spoken out loud.

"Nearly there... got it!"

The man's voice was victorious as he yanked the cords from the bank machine, and pressed just a few more buttons, before wrapping up the cords and shoving the small computer into his pants pocket. The woman grabbed the man's hand, and the two ran across the building and into the back, the rest of their team following quickly behind.

Ben couldn't believe what had just happened. He stared at the empty space of the hallway, where the man named Riley had just left with the other robbers just moments before. Thoughts rampaged against Ben's mind, all clamouring for a spot to be heard from, but Ben couldn't think on any of them. He was too shocked to think, too shocked to wonder who that person had been, or if he had been anyone.

Tires were heard screeching against the ground, and seconds later a group of police officers barged into the building, their guns raised and ready to attack, but were lowered once a scan had been done of the area, and no immediate threat could be spotted. All the people who had been in the bank were quick to rise to their feet and exit the building, as per the officer's commands. Ben walked out as well, but it was in a stunned silence that he did so. He was vaguely aware of someone speaking to him, and it wasn't until the voice was raised did his attention finally turn fully back to what was happening. The person speaking to him was a police officer, asking if he was alright. Ben responded that he was, and the officer proceeded to ask him questions pertaining to the hold up. Ben answered the questions best he could, but he didn't add what happened at the end, who he had thought he'd recognized. He wasn't even entirely sure himself, so why bother concerning someone else about it? Besides, Ben thought as the police officer left, leaving Ben to head back to his vehicle, Riley had been gone for nearly three months now; He was bound to start imagining things, bound to start thinking that every person who was named Riley could be his Riley. That sometimes happened during the grieving process, didn't it?

Ben started up his car, and slowly edged his way out of the parking lot, and back onto the road, his hands numb from what he had just experienced. And he hadn't even cashed the cheques.

What was he going to tell Abigail?

- - -

Riley's legs and arms were shaking with adrenaline as he sat in the van, waiting to get dropped off at the house. He couldn't believe it – he had done it! He had successfully, completely, brilliantly done it. He had pulled off the transfer, and without a hitch! Well, almost without a hitch.

"Riley, that was brilliant!" Exclaimed Chelsea as she leaned over and gave Riley a hug. Riley felt his face grow hot, and he tentatively hugged the woman back.

"Er, thanks Chelsea."

Chelsea leaned back and grinned.

"Call me Chels, Ri, all my good friends do."

All Riley could manage to do was nod and give a small smile.

"Chels is right guys," Said Matt, pride evident in his voice. "Riley did an amazing job today. I've had men do transfers before, but I have never seen someone do it that fast – that was simply amazing. When we get back tonight, I'll be buying the drinks, and there will be plenty of them!"

A cheer went up from the group, but Riley remained silent. His thoughts had turned back to who he had seen in the bank – Ben... no, Benjamin, Gates. The two had locked eyes for a moment, and it had shaken Riley badly. He didn't know what to think, he didn't know what to do. He had felt both relief and distress at seeing him, both happiness and anger. But how could he feel all of those at once? He looked up at Matt, and decided he would talk with him when they got back home. Suddenly, a warm hand was placed on his knee, and it gave him a small squeeze. Riley looked up to see Chelsea looking at him small smile on her face.

"Hey, it'll be alright Ri."

The hand remained there, and slowly Riley brought up and placed his own hand over top of it. After a moment he took it in his own, and gave it a small squeeze back.

Maybe things really would be alright.

- - -

Review! It's just a nice, green button below here, that nicely says "review", now go ahead and do so, please, won't you? (Aaah, very bad poetry...)