Here's Chapter 7! And as you all know, I don't own National Treasure.
About half an hour later, we sat in the Library of Congress. Riley had gathered up some papers, and I sat next to him, Nicole on the opposite side. We look at each other, knowing grins on our faces. Riley and Ben don't seem to notice. Riley clears his throat, ready to begin his speech.
"Ok, pay attention. I've brought you all to the Library of Congress. Why? Because it's one of the biggest libraries in the world. Over 20 million books."
"Wow." I say to myself, looking around. This is my dream library. I could research just about anything here.
"And they're all saying the same thing." Riley continues. "Listen to Riley. What we have here, guys, is an entire layout of the Archives, short of builder's blueprints. We've got phone lines, construction orders, water and sewage, it's all here." Riley holds up each one as he lists them off.
"You'd think this stuff wouldn't be so easy to get." Nicole remarked. I nodded in agreement.
"Well, not necessarily easy." Riley grinned, looking rather mischievous. I wanted him to explain, but that could wait. He put a book over the counter and began his speech. "Now, when the Declaration's on display, it's surrounded by guards, and video monitors, and little families from Iowa, and little kids on their eighth grade field trips."
I giggled. Riley smiled at me, probably glad that someone appreciated his attempts at humor.
"And beneath an inch of bullet proof glass is an army of sensors and heat monitors that will go off if someone gets too close with a high fever." Riley paused to turn the page. "When it's not on display, it is lowered into a four foot thick, concrete, steel plated vault, which happens to be equipped with electric combination lock and biometric access denial system."
"Wow. That makes things a lot harder." I said, trying to pretend I didn't know what was coming next.
"Just a little." Riley said. Now it was Ben's turn.
"Did you know it took Thomas Edison nearly 2000 tries to develop the carbonized cotton thread filament for the incandescent light bulb?"
"What?"
I had forgotten. Nicole was not into using big words. Ben ignored her.
"Edison?" Riley seemed confused.
"Well, that's a lovely bit of trivia there Ben." I commented.
"When asked abut it, he said 'I didn't fail, I found out 2000 ways not to make a light bulb.' But he only needed one way to make it work." Ben placed another book over on the side of the counter where Riley and I sat. "The preservation room. Enjoy. Go ahead."
Riley sat down, pulling the book towards him.
"Do you know what the preservation room is for?" Ben asked.
"Delicious jams and jellies?" Riley asked. I had to stifle another giggle. Nicole sighed.
"Thanks Riley. Now you made me hungry." She said. I reached over and smacked her.
"You're always hungry, Nicole." I laughed, shaking my head.
"No, not jams and jellies, Riley." Ben shook his head. "The preservation room is where they clean, maintain, and repair all the documents and storage housings when they're not on display or in the vault. Now, when the case needs work…"
"They take it to the preservation room!" Nicole and I said in unison. Ben looked a little surprised.
"You two catch on quickly. Now, the best time for us or Ian to steal it would be the gala this weekend when the guards are distracted by the VIPs upstairs. But we'll make out way to the preservation room where there's much less security." Ben sat back in his chair, giving Riley time to think it all over.
"Hmm… Ian…the gala…preservation room…" Riley looked up, his eyes meeting Ben's. "This might be possible."
Ben nodded. "It might."
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The next 3 days became a blur of preparation. There was so much we had to put together. We decided I would go with Ben. I was reluctant at first, for I feared Nicole and Riley might kill each other. But after lots of reassuring, I finally decided to go with him. The night of the gala came quickly. I stood in the bedroom of Ben's apartment, changing into the dress I was going to wear.
It was a floor length halter dress, and it was dark blue. It fit me pretty well. I looked myself over in the mirror. My hair was up in a bun, except for one strand that refused stay in place, and I was wearing a pair of heels beneath the dress. I heard knocking on the door as a tried to move
"Kathleen, are you almost…" Riley stopped short as I opened the door. His mouth was hanging open in shock. "ready."
"Is something wrong?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "Do I look bad?"
"No…No, no no. You look…you look amazing." Riley stammered.
"Thanks." I grinned. We stayed silent for a moment. Our faces were barely inches apart. My heart was pounding in my chest. I stared into his eyes for a long time, and he stared back. "Something wrong?"
"You're really beautiful." He said softly. I could feel my heart in my ears. He had to be kidding right? But I found out that he wasn't as he closed the gap between our faces. The kiss was soft and sweet. I leaned back against the wall, feeling his tongue gently trace my bottom lip. After about another minute, he finally pulled away. I was breathing hard.
"Wow." I said softly. "No one's ever kissed me like that before."
"It wasn't bad, was it?"
I shook my head. "No. Not at all." I walked away, going to gather up the rest of my things. I couldn't wait to tell Nicole!
Sorry. Had to do it. . I don't know why. I've always wanted to kiss Riley, so I had Kathleen do it. Closest I could get.
Thanks for reading! You know the drill!
