Trinity Church was filled with a quiet beauty, Adrienne felt less stressed just being inside. Ben whispered to his father, wanting to know if he was ok, before turning to Ian.
"Let him and Adrienne go, Ian."
"When we find the treasure." Ian replied, turning around.
"No. Now. Or you can figure out the clues for yourself. Good Luck." Ben said, shoving the glasses and case at him.
"Ben…" Ian said looking as though he was about to explain the whole situation. The doors opened and Viktor with Shippen, Abigail and Riley entered, ruining the moment. Adrienne rushed over to Abigail and slid into the pew next to her.
"Adrienne are you ok? I was so worried about you been being dragged around by Ian." Abigail whispered.
"I ran into a brick wall, that's what happened to my face." She glanced behind them at where Viktor lunged in the seat behind them, and began to explain the whole thing in hushed tones. Abigail listened in silence, but Riley wasn't so quiet.
"What! I don't…." Abigail clapped a hand over his mouth, and smiled nervously at Shippen, who Adrienne was sure knew what was going on.
"Well that explains why his men are such bad shots." Abigial whispered, when Adrienne had finished. "I'll tell Ben when I get a chance. Riley, you be quiet about this." They all looked up as Ben said. "Not inside, beneath. Beneath the church." Ian nodded and stood.
"To the basement, then."
Adrienne followed Shaw, down in to the boiler room. She was surprised to find several rows of tombstones set into the wall.
"Hey! Par..I found it! Him!" Riley called, gesturing excitedly to a tombstone.
"Ben!" Ian said, turning and stepping back as Ben hurried over.
"Parkington lane, He was a third-degree master mason of the Blue Lo…Hey!" He jumped back as Viktor swung a giant wrench, into the tombstone. Where did the wrench come from? Adrienne absentmindedly wondered.
"You told Dr. Chase about Viktor?" Ian asked in a hushed tone, pulling Adrienne away from the others.
"Yes, she said she would tell Ben as soon as she could."
Ian nodded, looking slightly relived. "Good."
Viktor finished smashing the tombstone to rubble and the guys hauled the coffin out. Isn't there a law against disturbing the dead? Adrienne's thoughts were interrupted by the bottom of the rotting coffin falling out, along with what was left of Mr. Parkington Lane.
"Ew." Adrienne commented right after Abigail gasped, "Oh!"
"Careful no one steps in him." Shippen said sarcastically. Everyone gathered around and peered into now-revealed tunnel where the coffin had been.
"Ok. Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?" Riley asked
"Right. McGregor, stay here." Ian said.
"And if anyone should come out with out us, well…use your imagination." Viktor added, an evil look on his face. Why doesn't someone just shoot him or hit him on the head? Adrienne asked herself, swallowing as she looked down the tunnel as Ben scrambled into it. It's dark. She climbed in after Shaw, who had a flashlight. Up ahead there was a blaze of light, where the tunnel ended. Shaw climbed out, Adrienne followed him when she felt something in her hair, moving! She jumped out of the tunnel and grabbed the closest person.
"Get it out! Get it out!" She exclaimed. "Get what?" Ian asked, looking confusedly at her.
"There is something in my hair! I can't stand it!" Shaw shined his light on Adrienne's head.
"What is it?" she asked as Ian dropped something on the floor and stepped on it. It crunched loudly.
"A very big cockroach. Apparently, they live down here."
Adrienne shuddered. Ben led the way, further into the catacomb-like tunnels.
"Careful." He said as Adrienne passed. She turned to look behind her, for Abigail and saw her and Ben, passionately kiss.
"Why does that never happen to me?" Shippen asked the air.
"Maybe you should consider a career change." Adrienne suggested. The tunnel had widened slightly and shallow arches lined the walls, lit by Ben's torch.
"These arches…" Patrick began, looking at an arch.
"Ancient, stylistically." Ian answered, before he finished. Ben stopped at an arch and knelt, looking at a shallow trough cut in the floor.
"And all this brickwork. It's…1700s." Patrick continued. Adrienne glanced over Ben's shoulder, as he smelled the black stuff filling it. He touched the torch to it and flames shot up, racing down the tunnel in a neat line. He stepped to the other side, to the other side of the catacomb and lit a similar trough.
"Good stuff." Riley commented. The lines of fire lit a path between them, illuminating the way.
"Come on." Ian said, after a moment of observation, taking Adrienne's arm.
"It's leading us under the graveyard." Patrick said, as Ben slashed at hanging cobwebs with his torch. A strand of the stuff fell into Adrienne's face and she batted it away. Viktor followed Ben closely, behind her.
"That probally went a long way toward keeping this place undiscovered." Patrick said, determined to play a tour guide. Adrienne filed each bit of information away as she heard it, her love for things of the past, keeping her intrigued. Ian swiped at more cobwebs falling in front of him and Adrienne, as they followed the fire-lit path. The light from the flames fell across his face, giving it an eerie red glow and darkening the shadows.
"What?" Ian asked, catching her gaze.
"You look evil, with the fire light." Adrienne answered in a monotone, knowing that wasn't the case.
"Appearances can be deceiving, don't ever forget that." Ian replied, glancing back, then continuing on.
"What's this?" Ian asked, as they entered a larger room.
"It's a chandelier." Ben replied, looking at the huge iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Light! Adrienne thought happily as Ben lit it. He and Riley then lowered the chandelier out into the center of what appeared to be a bottomless pit. Everyone peered down, trying to see the bottom.
"Wow." Riley said.
"Look at the elevators." Ben said as Adrienne noticed a couple rickety looking platforms dangling from ropes.
"A dumb waiter system." Mr. Gates informed.
"How do a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?" Shippen asked with astonishment.
"Same way they built the pyramids and the Great Wall of China." Ben replied, still looking down into the dark depths.
"Yeah, the aliens helped them." Riley said. Adrienne snickered.
"Right, What are we waiting for?' Viktor snapped, as Shippen handed the torch to Patrick.
"I'm not going out on that thing." He protested. "200 years of termite damage and rot."
"Dad, do what they say." Ben said quietly. Patrick sighed, but stepped out and began making his way, cautiously across the old wood. Adrienne glanced down and wished she hadn't.
"We're right under the Trinity graveyard. That's why no one ever found this place."
"That's nice." Adrienne said nervously, stepping over a hole. There was a sudden rumbling and Adrienne froze, behind Ian, as dirt and other unidentified stuff fell.
"What is that?" Riley asked as the floor and walls vibrated. The rumbling slowly faded.
"Subway." Ian answered. Adrienne took a couple steps forward when with a loud crash behind her, Shaw plunged through the rotting boards. Adrienne stared in horror as his flashlight light got smaller and smaller till it vanished completely. Suddenly before anyone could speak the walkway they were on began to crumble. Adrienne glanced around, unsure of what was safe to stand on. Riley leapt across to another platform as Ben began to fall.
"Hold on! Hold on!" Abigail said frantically.
"Adrienne! Get over here!" Adrienne tore her gaze off of Ben's predicament and scrambled over to a still-holding platform where everyone else was. It didn't hold for very long. The piece of walkway Adrienne, Ian, Shippen and Patrick were on began to tilt and slide ominously. She grabbed a board on the wall and held on for dear life.
"Ok. Get on the elevator. " Ian ordered, seeing it a short distance away.
"Jump!" Shippen jumped across and Viktor followed, unhesitatingly. Abigail managed to help pull Ben onto the other elevator, to safety. The boards beneath Adrienne's feet tilted even further.
"Jump!" Ian ordered Patrick, then turned to Adrienne. Mr. Gates made it across safely, slamming into the rope hand guard on the elevator.
"Go!" Adrienne felt herself being half flung across the gap and bent her knees, attempting to cushion her fall. Ian slammed into the elevator right behind her, barely making it as the walkway fell. On the other elevator, Ben started to hand the Declaration to Riley, but suddenly the elevator fell out from under them. It shot downward then stopped two of the ropes breaking. Abigail slid down it, saved only from a death, like Shaw's, by Ben's grip.
"Get down there! Get down there!" Patrick frantically said. The broken elevator swung back and forth, Abigail hanging off the edge. The Declaration! Adrienne realized, noticing its precarious perch on the edge. As the elevator swung up, Ben released Abigail to grab the document. She hit part of the walkway below, with a painful sounding thump.
"Oh no! Ben!" She cried as Ben, having secured the Declaration, almost flew off the edge as the elevator continued to tilt.
"Hang on!" Patrick tossed the end of the rope he and Ian had been pulling free, down to where Ben could grab it. He swung over to the walkway Abigail was on, Ian and Patrick bracing themselves against his weight.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I dropped you. I had to save the Declaration." He apologized fervently to Abigail.
"No, don't be. I would have done exactly the same thing to you." She replied. Wow, talk about a love for history. Adrienne thought, shaking her head.
Shippen slowly lowered the elevator to Ben, Riley and Abigail's level.
"Get on." Viktor ordered.
"It's not worth it." Ben insisted. "Can't you see, Ian?"
Ian said nothing, but looked tense.
"We go on." Viktor said, flatly.
"The status quo. Keep the status quo." Patrick murmured.
"Oh, shut up, you crazy old fool." Viktor snapped as everyone else filed on. As Shippen began turning the wheel to lower the elevator again, Ian's cell phone rang. Pulling it out he turned away from the others.
"Hello. Really?" There was a silence.
"You're sure? Good. Thank you." Ian turned back, putting his phone away.
"Who was that?" Viktor demanded.
"My stock broker." Ian cooly replied. As Viktor turned away, satisfied, Adrienne stepped closer.
"And what did the stock broker have to say?" she whispered. Ian turned away again, so his smile could not be seen.
"They don't have him."
