Chapter 9

The Man with the Treasure Map

"They're safe!" Emily called, taking a step or two into Patrick's den. "The children found Ben and Abigail!" Patrick stood up from his desk and folded his wife into his arms, hugging her warmly.

"There now," Patrick chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "Didn't I tell you the kids would come through?"

"A mother never believes until she sees," Emily muttered. "Besides, it's not over yet. Instead of being sensible and going home, they're on their way to Baguio to find some map to lead them to where the gold is hidden."

"Now, don't you get yourself all worked up. They made it this far and you know how smart they all are," Patrick said reassuringly.

"Smart won't keep them from that madwoman," Emily insisted.

"What are you talking about?" Patrick said.

"There's some woman a little older than Charlie and Will and she's the one trying to hurt Ben and Abigail!" Emily explained.

"We'll keep an eye on it," Patrick said soothingly, tipping Emily's face up to meet his and kissing her softly. "For now, I think you ought to come upstairs with me and lie down."

"I don't know if I ought to leave the children…" Emily said, her voice soft with worry as she turned her head to look at the still open door. Without a word, Patrick coaxed her to face him again and kissed her again in earnest, holding her until she relaxed into the kiss and returned it. Coming up for air nearly a minute later, Emily gently stroked her husband's face.

"Then again…" Emily conceded. Patrick chuckled, running his hand through her soft golden curls.

"Just for a little while," Patrick said, holding her hand as he led her toward the door. "A little sleep never hurt anyone."

"They can't get into that much trouble," Emily said, keeping close to him on the way up the stairs. "We'll just lie down for a little while…"

"That's my girl," Patrick said, pushing their bedroom door shut after she entered behind him.

*************

"You know, the weather was perfectly clear a few minutes ago," Emily Anne said, staring out a window of their new accommodations.

"I know—do you see those thunderheads? We're in for a whopper storm tonight," Will said. Abe smiled from a chair across the room as he remembered a conversation he'd had with Jane not too long ago.

"You can thank Grandpa and Grandma for that," Abe chimed in.

"What are you talking about?" Will asked, turning to face him. Abigail smiled from where she was sitting with Ben on a sofa nearby. It had been her that taught the kids that their loved ones never really leave them.

"The day we all met at mom and dad's, there was a really short thunderstorm and I couldn't figure out why. Janie and I came to the conclusion that it was Grandma Em's way of telling us that she was worried about dad and when the rain stopped suddenly, she must have realized that we were on the trail and that dad was going to be okay," Abe explained.

"That's very sweet, Abe," Abigail murmured.

"She'd be in knots if she knew that we didn't just go home," Ben chuckled.

"I'm sure your dad has her under control," Abigail said soothingly.

"Honey, it may have looked that way, but dad *never* had mom under control," Ben laughed. The kids joined this laughter a moment later, remembering some of the more prominent tirades their grandmother had unleashed in her later years.

"All right, so where do we find this guy who has the map?" Charlotte said. Ben got up and located his backpack, pulling out a binder stuffed full of his research materials.

"It's not going to be easy," Ben said. "The Japanese royal family has been hunting down those who know anything about the true location of the gold since the end of the Second World War."

"You said he's the last one," Will said.

"That's right," Ben replied. "We're going to have to go about this quietly. Will—you and I are going to go into town to see what we can find out."

"While the rest of us damsels sit here like we don't know anything? Are you serious?" Abigail growled.

"Speak for yourself, Aunt Abigail," Jamie said.

"For sure!" Abe added, folding his arms over his chest in offense.

"There are simply too many of us to go out there all at once. We haven't heard from Riley and the others for a while and two Americans are less conspicuous than eight. Will and I are going alone," Ben insisted. Abigail finally relented, but she wasn't happy about it. Abe sat down at the computer while the others found other quiet distractions and Ben and Will were gone.

*************

The past few days had not been kind to Riley. Though his wife and kids kept him well supplied with good meals and kept him company, the long nights and the extended time in front of the computer when added to the stress of not knowing what was going to happen to his best friend had worn on the family 'nerd'. Jacqui had retired to bed long ago, and Riley blinked and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before getting up from his chair.

Two steps later, a wave of dizziness swept over him and he tripped over the coffee table and knocked over an end table and the lamp upon it as he fell. His chest suddenly felt tight and his breath too short for him to breathe properly. He opened his mouth to call for Jacqui and couldn't get her name out. He lay on the floor on his back, staring up at Ben and Abigail's living room ceiling in the dark and wondered what was happening to him as consciousness fled.

"Riley!" Jacob cried, thudding down the stairs into the living area and flicking on a light. Nadya and Jacqui were on his heels and Maggie, Jacob and Nadya's youngest daughter took one look and turned back up the stairs to tell her cousins what was happening.

"Say something!" Jacqui pleaded, stroking her husband's face in panic.

"Call an ambulance!" Jacob demanded, sending Nadya running for her cell phone.

Minutes later, Jacqui was shuddering helplessly as she sobbed into her twin brother's embrace. They'd been all but pushed out of the emergency room and Jacqui couldn't hold herself upright for fear. She collapsed into a chair with Jacob on one side and Nadya on the other and wept harshly in the silence of the night shift of the hospital.

"Jay…what am I going to do without him?" Jacqui sobbed.

"Don't think like that," Jacob said, barely holding back his own tears as he watched his twin sister cry. "Riley's going to be okay, they're going to save him, Jacqui."

"I hope you're right!" Jacqui wept. "Please, God, I hope you're right!"

*************

Emily sat up carefully, extracting herself from her husband's arms. Something wasn't right and she wasn't sure what it was.

"Did you feel that?" Emily said softly. Patrick grunted quietly and shifted his weight. He concentrated for a moment and then looked at Emily in surprise.

"The last time I felt that sensation, I woke up with you beside me here for the first time," Patrick replied. Emily's panic was immediate, and blatant. Both of the elder Gates' commenced to searching the house. Emily's first instinct was to check Ben's old bedroom, her first natural fear to suspect that her son had somehow met his demise.

"Emily!" Patrick called from another room down the hall. Emily rushed to find him crouched next to the bed in the guest room where Riley was warmly ensconced beneath the covers.

"No," Emily growled. "Not yet."

"We don't have a choice in this, Em," Patrick mumbled, shaking his head.

"NO!" Emily cried, sitting down on the edge of the bed, one hand covering Riley's hand and her other hand stroking his hair. She took a shaky breath and then swallowed to steady herself before she spoke again.

"Riley, listen to me. You need to fight. Fight your way back, Riley. Ben needs you, sweet Jacqui needs you…your grandchild needs you. Heaven will be here when your time truly comes, Riley. Go back, my dear, go," Emily coaxed. Patrick had taken hold of Riley's other hand, bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Take good care of them for us…" Emily whispered, pressing a tender kiss to Riley's forehead as a tear fell from her eyes to splash on Riley's cheek.

"We always considered you a son…we couldn't have asked for a better brother for Ben," Patrick added. "We love you…all of you."

Slowly, steadily, as quietly as he had appeared, Riley's tightly curled and sleeping form vanished and Emily slid off the bed into Patrick's arms where they held one another for a few minutes before weakly getting up to make their way to the living room. Perhaps the window would be able to show them what was happening.

*************

"Riley?"

Riley's eyesight was fuzzy and unfocused for the first few seconds, but as it cleared, his wife's pure green eyes and distraught expression came into view. His chest hurt terribly and it was hard to move but one thing was certain: he was alive.

"Riley, talk to me," Jacqui said, her voice thick with sadness. Her lip trembled, her eyes were shiny with tears, and he could now see that Jacob and Nadya were there, too.

"I love you," Riley muttered softly. Jacqui burst into fresh tears and carefully leaned over to hug him. "Ben's mom and dad said to say 'hi'." Jacob and Nadya were torn between tears and a wide grin. If Riley's sense of humor was intact, it was likely that he'd be fine.

"You saw Patrick and Emily?" Jacqui murmured.

"Yes," Riley replied, his voice gaining a little strength. He told them what he'd heard and felt and his stunned family listened with rapt attention. As Jacob and Nadya gently offered to go back to the house for the night to let the girls know what was going on, Jacqui was falling asleep curled against Riley's side. Riley lifted a shaking hand to touch his cheek and his fingertips met with a teardrop. Jacqui had been sitting on the other side of the bed—there was no way her tears could have gotten onto that side of his face. Humbled and grateful, Riley closed his eyes and took a slow breath before kissing the top of Jacqui's head and falling deeply asleep with Emily and Patrick's words echoing in his mind.

"Take good care of them for us…"

"We love you…all of you."

"We love you, too," Riley mumbled as sleep claimed his thoughts.

*************

The early evening in the Philippines was slowly coming to life with the glow of lanterns and signs and strings of lights criss-crossing across the main drag. Ben and Will made their way slowly through the throngs of people, coming to a run-down bar.

"What are we doing here?" Will mumbled softly near his father's ear.

"Having a drink, son," Ben said with a crooked grin.

"We don't have time for this," Will said. Ben sat down at the bar and smiled politely as he ordered a drink for them both. When the bartender returned with their drinks, Ben asked if he knew of the man they were looking for.

"Hitoshi Watanabe," Ben asked. The bartender frowned and shook his head.

"Americans?" the large, older man asked. Ben nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

"Your Japanese is sloppy," the man replied with a teasing smile.

"It's a difficult language and I respect that," Ben said, grateful to be able to converse in a language he understood better.

"Watanabe is a difficult man to find," the bartender said as he busied himself washing thick glass tumblers.

"What would a man have to do to make it easier?" Will asked.

"What business do you have with him?" the bartender probed.

"What's it to you?" Will said.

"Will," Ben warned softly.

"If you even know his name that means you want something from him. People have been trying to kill him for decades. You understand his need for anonymity," the bartender replied, looking directly at Ben.

"Yes," Ben said carefully. "I do."

"Dad?" Will asked softly. Ben held up a finger for Will to wait.

"So you know that if someone were to look for Hitoshi Watanabe, he would have to be very careful. The information he seeks from him is delicate," the bartender said.

"We know. We seek this information to restore a valuable piece of East Asian history to the world," Ben said.

"Nothing for yourselves?" the man asked.

"Only the satisfaction of knowing we contributed to history," Ben replied, still meeting the man's eyes. Will looked from one to the other, only vaguely following what was happening. Business continued around them as the bartender paused to serve another customer and then return.

"Do you enjoy visiting religious sites?" the bartender asked. Will furrowed his brow. Suddenly the conversation had taken a much lighter tone.

"Yes," Ben said. "I find cathedrals and monasteries very peaceful."

"May I recommend one?" the bartender offered.

"Of course," Ben said. Will took his blackberry from his pocket and pretended to answer a text message when he was actually sending one.

"There is a lovely Benedictine monastery just outside of Aringay, beside the sea, and there you may find the peacefulness you seek," the bartender. "You should speak to Sister Austin, my sister. She would be able to tell you more about the history of the area and show you around."

"That would be kind of her," Ben said.

"Yes," the bartender said. "She, like you, appreciates history." Ben urged Will to hurry and they rushed back to their hotel.

"What the hell was that?" Will asked as they entered the hotel room. "We went looking for this Watanabe guy and all we got was a beer and tourist advice?"

"Son," Ben said gently.

"No. You know what? You and mom are going home. We don't have time to mess around with this stuff," Will stormed. Abigail stood up from the computer where Emily Anne had been bent over her shoulder.

"What's going on?" Emily Anne asked.

"You didn't find him?" Abigail asked.

"We spent all night talking to a sweaty bartender with three days worth of shadow on his fat face and all the further we got was that Watanabe is 'difficult to find'," Will growled.

"Will, you're not listening," Ben said.

"Oh, I was listening," Will retorted, "A convent by the sea full of cute little nuns who love history. Monastic communities don't go around hiding huge stashes of gold, dad!"

"William Clark!" Abigail cried, folding her arms over her chest.

"Will, what are you doing?" Emily Anne demanded.

Will—that *was* Hitoshi Watanabe," Ben said.

"What?" Will hissed.

"Why else would he ask all of those things? Why would he ask about what we wanted out of the treasure hunt?" Ben asked, waiting for the information to sink in.

"Uncle Riley said that the treasure allegedly is hidden in an underground cave--"

"…And that there was a golden Buddha guarding the entrance in a convent on the edge of the city," Ben finished. "It never said which city. Watanabe himself was here in Baguio, but the convent where the entrance is hidden is in Aringay."

Will sat down hard. He owed his father an apology but was shaking too hard to say it just yet.

"Dad…"

"I know, son. You're frustrated and I'm sorry I didn't make it clearer that the bartender was the man we were looking for. I didn't want to blow his cover," Ben said.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I blew my top and I shouldn't have," Will said.

"We're getting somewhere, Will, I promise," Ben said when Will got up to hug him. Will wandered over to kiss Emily Anne while Ben looked over at Abigail.

"You might want to sit down—I have bad news," Abigail murmured.

*************