Summary: Title says it all. Co-authored by Torilei and HaloFin17. Not a typical fanfic from us by any means, but this is such a common idea, we decided to try it out and have some fun with it, too. So do join us and laugh with us as we laugh at ourselves. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: It's always depressing to say it, but we don't own anyone or anything related to "National Treasure".
Halo's A/N: Wow, I guess we really are over halfway through the movie now, aren't we? Come to think of it, we're about halfway through the fic, too. Big Thank You's to all you wonderful reviewers for the last chapter: TheBlueHour, daisyduke80, Thuraya Known, Miss Fenway, GreenLightsaberGirl, and Anna. You guys are the best! And in response to daisyduke's "suggestions"... all I can really say at this point, my friend, is that I suggest you stick around with us for the long haul, cause you might not be too disappointed. Also, as a note to my dear friend Tori, I'm afraid her troubles are far from over. If you thought you felt sorry for her after the last chapter, with all that running around, well... just wait. From where I'm standing at this point, it really is better to be with Ian and Co, lol. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Ben and Tori hurried along, trying to stay out of the open and anxious to reunite with Abigail and Riley. Tori actually wondered if maybe she wasn't more concerned for Riley than Ben was. And she had even seen the movie – practically had the whole thing memorized! But what if maybe, just maybe, things with the truck hadn't gone exactly as they were supposed to this time?
Her worry for Riley, coupled with the lingering anxiety of being chased by two men with guns, made her almost want to cry with relief when Ben's cell phone rang.
"Hello?" He answered the call, and judging from his evident frustration immediately thereafter, Tori could tell Riley had just dropped the bomb about how he and Abigail had lost the Declaration to Ian. But at least they were both still alive and well.
"Let me talk to him!" She reached up and tried to take the phone away from Ben like she had done with Riley back on the night of the heist, but Ben was much taller than her, and it was a losing battle on her end.
The treasure hunter instructed his friend to meet them at the car and hung up.
"Dang it," Tori muttered under her breath with a snap of her fingers. She had really wanted to talk to Riley! But then she gulped as they neared the vehicle and began looking around nervously.
Well, she thought to herself as she tried to remain optimistic in a situation that clearly wasn't, I guess I'm about to find out what it's like to be arrested.
"Hello, Mr. Gates."
Ben and Tori both stopped in their tracks and turned to see Agent Peter Sadusky of the FBI. Naturally, Tori was not surprised to see him in the least, but Ben looked absolutely crestfallen. He didn't offer the slightest resistance when two more agents appeared out of a nearby coffee shop, shoved him roughly against the side of his father's car, and handcuffed him.
Tori received similar treatment, though considerably gentler she noticed, as Benjamin Gates was the primary suspect here. At Agent Hendricks' order, she was unceremoniously pushed down into a police car without much of a second thought. She wasn't even searched that thoroughly and much to her disbelief, still had her cell phone. Surely, this had to be some sort of miracle! Either that, or Agent Hendricks was even more incompetent than she'd ever imagined. No wonder she'd never liked that guy... Even though now, it was working out in her favor.
But as she was sitting anxiously in the backseat of the vehicle, Tori caught a glimpse of Abigail and Riley rounding a street corner in front of her. The two who still had their freedom turned around at once and made a quick escape, but Riley caught sight of her as she leaned out of the car a bit, and just before he disappeared back around the corner, he sent a small wave of his hand in her direction.
Tori smiled sadly as she watched him go before leaning back in her seat as an agent closed the door, and in her helplessness, suddenly felt the need to choke back tears.
Bye, Riley...
xxx
It had taken longer than Ian would have liked for the rest of them to locate Phil and Powell, the latter of whom was still nursing a swollen nose and a bruised cheek from where Ben had struck him, but soon enough they were back at the cars and ready to move onward. Just then, Ian's cell phone rang, and Haley had a pretty strong suspicion of who was calling.
"Hello? Why, Riley, what a pleasant surprise. Oh, really? I am sorry to hear that. Yes, put her on." A self-satisfied smirk spread across the Englishman's face as the conversation continued, which Haley noted didn't subtract at all from the handsomeness of his features, and he began to pace while Abigail spoke.
"Done," he agreed at last. "I'll take care of everything, and we'll be in touch."
He hung up, and Shaw immediately asked, "What was that all about?"
Ian grinned as he explained, "Gates and Haley's young friend have both been captured by the FBI. Riley and Dr. Chase would like us to rescue them from their custody, and in exchange – the treasure is all ours."
Shaw laughed and clapped his old friend on the shoulder. "Excellent! This shouldn't be too difficult at all, compared to some of the other jobs we've pulled. So what's the plan?"
"And Tori will be included in this plan, right?" Haley prompted.
"Of course she will," Ian assured her, then gathered all five of them around him on one side of the SUV. He lowered his voice. "All right, so here's what we're going to do."
xxx
Within the past hour, Tori had developed a new loathing for handcuffs. They were what kept her and Ben tied down to this desk right now, and she hated the fact she couldn't even scratch her nose without it being a struggle of epic proportions.
Agent Sadusky started talking to Ben about the Declaration, the treasure, and various "doors" that somehow all led to prison. And since Tori already knew this speech practically by heart, she instead directed her attention over to Agent Hendricks, who sat back behind Sadusky. Her aversion to the man was even stronger than usual now, and so she glared at him without ceasing, putting every ounce of hatred she possessed, which wasn't much, into the look.
The young agent didn't seem to notice at first, but before long, even he couldn't miss the pair of hazel eyes that bore into him like daggers. He tried to ignore it, but the girl was relentless, and soon he began to shift uncomfortably in his seat. Even when he tried to carry on with his work as though nothing strange was happening, he was clearly flustered and distracted. Finally, he snapped.
"Stop looking at me!" Hendricks was on his feet now, staring back at her, but Tori remained undaunted. "Blink already, will you?! What did I ever do to you, huh? Now stop staring at me!"
"Agent Hendricks, calm down!" Sadusky snapped while Tory tried to hold back a laugh. "What's gotten into you? Now, I want you to leave the poor girl alone and get yourself back under control at once."
The head agent looked ready to continue with his verbal lashing, but Hendricks was saved from any further abuse when Ben's phone suddenly rang. The other agents all jumped at the sound and within seconds, were ready to trace the source of the call. When all was in place, Sadusky nodded, and Ben picked up his phone.
"Hello? I'm chained to a desk, but thanks for asking."
Even Tori tore her baleful eyes away from Agent Hendricks then and tried to listen in on the call herself. It was Ian, and the conversation taking place here was vital to the rest of the movie. She crossed her fingers and prayed everything would go as planned; with the exception, of course, that she herself would also be included in Ian's brilliant rescue scheme. She needn't have worried.
Ben soon hung up, and the agents all now looked uncharacteristically anxious. Ian must have mentioned sending the Declaration back as a box of confetti. It was then explained to her, as though she didn't already know, that she and Ben were to meet Ian on the flight deck of the US Intrepid in New York City, tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. Tori nodded and began at that moment to mentally prepare herself. It was going to be a long night.
xxx
Ian returned shortly after making his phone call to Ben, and soon Viktor had been sent off in the SUV on a "special errand" while the others were left to cram into the sedan for their road trip to New York City. Haley had never been there before, so she was looking forward to it, especially since they would be primarily visiting the more historical parts of the city and Tori had told her all about her own visit there when they were back at home.
And so they were on their way, with Phil driving, Ian seated up front, and Haley squished in the back between Powell and Shaw. It was late in the afternoon now, and the sun was sinking in the sky behind them as they drove eastward. Ian had called ahead to reserve a hotel suite for them, but no one had spoken since.
"So," Haley said at last, trying to casually break the silence, "do you guys not believe in music, or what? Cause it's really quiet back here, and it was on the way over from DC, too. Or is it that you all just have such different tastes that it's impossible to agree on something? I already know from personal experience that Viktor's musical tastes don't exactly line up with my own."
Ian turned his head slightly to look back at her and simply stated, "Silence is golden." With that, he leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes.
"Or I suppose I could take a nap," Haley whispered to herself. It had been a long day, after all, and no doubt they were all tired by now. She looked on either side of her, and sure enough, Shaw was already nodding off on her left, and on her right, Powell was staring vacantly out the window. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder to rouse him from his sleepy reverie.
"Huh?"
"Powell, can I please use your shoulder as a pillow?"
The Scotsman blinked, taken aback by the nature of the question, but an amused smile slowly played across his lips. "Why?"
"Well, if I ask first, then it won't be so awkward when my head accidently hits your shoulder," she explained.
"Okay, but why me?"
Haley stared at Powell, then over at the sleeping Shaw, and back at Powell again. Her eyes begged the question, "Does this seriously even need answering?"
He chuckled, understanding, and gave in. "All right, go ahead. If my jacket wasn't off limits, I suppose my shoulder isn't, either."
"Thank you!" Haley grinned and rested her head contentedly against his shoulder. She could already feel herself dozing off in the utter silence of the vehicle, but before she fell asleep, she noticed that Phil seemed to keep glancing back in the rearview mirror a lot more often than was necessary for simple highway driving. She had no idea what he could have possibly found so fascinating.
xxx
Had the circumstances been different, Tori probably would have enjoyed her first helicopter ride, but as it was, she was a prisoner in FBI custody being transported under guard from Philadelphia to New York City. And she was still handcuffed, much to her great annoyance. At this point, it was safe to say she was not having very much fun. She had wanted to go to New York City again ever since her first trip there back home, but not in this manner. She and Ben were put up in a small room together for the night – their temporary cell, Tori imagined. And indeed, there wasn't much to be found in this place, save for two rigid-looking cots, a small nightstand, and a few extra blankets.
Agent Sadusky was the last person to speak to them before they were locked away. He saw to it that they were given some food and suggested that they get a good night's sleep. They would be given their instructions in the morning, prior to their scheduled meeting with Ian. Then he left, and they were alone.
"Well, this looks cozy," Tori observed. She sat down on one of the cots and much to her dismay, found that it felt every bit as uncomfortable as it looked. She winced, thinking she would much rather fall asleep against Riley again. He had been surprisingly comfortable the night before, even if she had unwittingly put his legs to sleep. She couldn't believe it had been so short a time since that happened – it felt so much longer.
Ben tried to stay positive and handed her one of the plates of food. "At least they fed us."
Tori inspected the food closely and prodded at it a little with her fork. "What is it?"
"Chicken, I think." He took a bite. "Or, at least it tastes like chicken."
"Ben, everything tastes like chicken. Didn't you watch The Lion King when you were little?" Tori's appetite was not exactly improving as she poked the meat-like substance with a little more force. At least it didn't jiggle.
"Come on, Tori, you should eat it," Ben admonished her. "We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow, and who knows how long it'll be before we have the chance to eat or sleep again."
"I just hope we don't end up in prison."
He laughed. "Me, too! I knew it would probably happen ever since I decided to steal the Declaration, but I'm still hoping maybe we can turn things around for the better, and I can avoid being locked away for the rest of my life."
"And... what about me?" It was a thought she hadn't really given much thought to before, but the prospect of prison being a legitimate possibility was starting to scare her more than she'd like to admit.
Ben frowned, deep in thought, and studied her closely for a moment. "You know, I'm not sure what they'd do with you. You technically didn't steal the Declaration or do anything else overly illegal. How old are you, anyway?"
"Seventeen."
"Hmm. Well, that complicates things even more. I guess we'll just have to wait and see, and hope for the best."
"Thanks for the burst of confidence there, Ben." Tori sighed and grudgingly forked a bit of her meal. It did indeed taste like chicken much to his credit, and she had to admit it tasted better than it looked, though it definitely wasn't something that she would eat by choice. Taking Ben's advice, she ate as much as she could, but by now, her stomach was more than a little upset as she felt an anxiety attack coming on, and she didn't eat too much of her "chicken". Unlike Ben, she knew exactly what lay ahead of them in the coming day, and the prospect of jumping off that huge ship was no longer nearly as exciting as she'd once thought it might be now that she was actually going to do it.
"You know," Ben commented, almost as though he could see just how close to a full-blown panic attack she was, after they'd finished eating, "during the Revolutionary War, a 'Tory' was actually someone who supported the British."
A brief moment passed before Tori grinned – she knew where this was heading. And not only was she immediately grateful for the distraction since it could put her anxiety on hold, but she was actually feeling quite confident about jumping headlong into an in-depth historical discussion with Benjamin Franklin Gates. It looked like that AP American History class she took the year before was going to be useful for something after all!
So the evening wore on, and the two of them discussed everything from the Free Masons, to states' rights, to FDR and the New Deal, and to one of her favorite topics about Lincoln attempting to keep the Union together during the Civil War and all the infamous battles that had occurred. After that, they moved on to common myths in history and even almost stupid but entertaining facts, some that Tori didn't even know. But the time flew by, and finally, Ben looked at his watch.
"It's getting late," he said, though he was obviously reluctant to terminate such a stimulating conversation. "We should probably get some sleep now. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
Tori chuckled as he finished speaking and muttered under her breath, "Oh, you have no idea..."
"What was that?"
"Uh, nothing! Nothing at all."
"Oh, okay, then. Goodnight, Tori."
"Goodnight, Ben."
Halo's A/N: And so there you have it. A bit shorter than the other chapters, perhaps, but hopefully still a good one. And don't you really feel sorry for Tori now? Being separated from her dear friend Riley! Oh, I know, I shouldn't rub it in. My time will come...
Tori's A/N: Yeah, I'm not in a too good position right now, am I? But I got to stare down Hendricks, which has been one of my many goals in life now accomplished, lol. It sucks being arrested, but it was fun having a historical conversation with Ben Gates! And yes, I'm separated from my best friend Riley. But when it said I almost cried after I saw him wave at me, I actually felt like crying after I read through it to edit! Dang it, Halo. But don't worry. Her time is coming...
