Summary: The long-awaited sequel to Tori's and Halo's random silliness. Title still says it all, and please bear in mind, we're still just having fun. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I wish we could say differently this second time around, but even though we've now been a part of National Treasure, we still own nothing. Except ourselves, of course.

Authors' A/N: Hi, we're back! I suppose we're still making progress here, slowly but surely. Thank you bunches to Miss Fenway and daisyduke80 for their reviews, and also to everyone else who's still reading and sticking with us! We really do appreciate your patience. And with that said, here goes the great kidnapping adventure of Chapter Nine.

Chapter 9

"T, will you please stop pacing?"

No answer.

"You know, Tori, Riley's right. You have been doing a lot of pacing lately."

The aggravated brunette in question threw up her hands. "Well, maybe that's because pacing is all I can ever do with you people! I hate being left behind while everyone else gets to go do all the important stuff!"

Tori's restless pacing continued without so much as a pause, entirely unaffected by the cool Virginian night air. She stood with Riley and Abigail in a deserted parking about two miles from Mt. Vernon, where a daring and reckless kidnapping was now well under way.

Aware of her companions' concerned stares, she wrung her hands, still pacing. "I don't know, it's just everyone else is gone taking all the risks, and it makes me feel so worthless."

"No!" Riley was in front of her in an instant, grabbing her firmly by the shoulders so that she ceased her pacing. "Tori, you are not worthless! How could you even say that? Don't you realize how important you are to me – to all of us? I don't ever want to hear you talk like that again. Okay?"

Pleasantly startled by his vehemence, Tori nodded mutely but soon found herself offering him a timid smile of appreciation. He smiled back and tightened his grip on her shoulders one last time before releasing her. Abigail, meanwhile, observed the whole interaction with a small, knowing smile on her face. As far as she could see, things here were progressing nicely. Finally.

Riley's outburst seemed to have appeased Tori for a time, but it was difficult when truly all they could do was wait. Patrick had posed as an errant fisherman to distract the guards while Ben, dressed in his customary tuxedo disguise, infiltrated the President's birthday party. Ian and Company were dispersed throughout the perimeter, beyond the reach of the Secret Service agents, but close enough to still keep an eye on things just in case Mitch and his gang likewise decided to crash the party.

One hour ticked by, and then another. And poor Tori was frantic once again.

"Oh no," she lamented as she resumed her panicked pacing. "Why aren't they back yet? It's been too long, they should have been back by now! What if something's happened to them? What if they found Ian? What if Ben got caught, and now we'll never find the Book of Secrets?!"

"Tori! T, calm down, they're all right." But despite his best efforts, Riley's young lady friend still looked as though she were about to tear her hair out. Which would have been a great loss because she had just gotten it cut, and they all agreed the pixie style was most flattering on her.

At length, the desperate techie turned to Abigail and pleaded, "Help me!"

She only raised her eyebrows and continued filing her nails. "Why do you need my help, Riley Poole?"

"Because you're a girl, so you should know how to handle another girl who's totally freaking out on me!"

Abigail just smiled. Riley was on his own here, and they both knew it. Besides, it would be good for him – a profitable time of bonding between him and Tori, if nothing else. It was just cute that he cared and got himself so worked up on his dear friend's account.

But just as Riley was beginning to fear that Tori's reckless pacing would lead her to another state entirely, their comrades returned, and he was eternally grateful. As was Tori. She ran up to hug the first person she saw, who happened to be Patrick, and he responded with a calming, fatherly pat on her shoulder. It did wonders.

"Well?" Abigail pressed Ben once they had all congregated together. "How'd it go?"

"Everything went fine," he replied, still looking immensely relieved to be in the company of his friends and not a high-security prison.

"And how about the rest of you?" Tori asked anxiously, addressing Ian as she reached out and set a hand on his arm.

"Well enough," he answered with a shrug and a shared glance with Shaw as he lightly patted her hand. Riley bristled slightly. "We found a couple suspicious characters prowling around. No idea who they were, but they were armed with sniper rifles."

"What happened?"

"We took them out."

Abigail's jaw dropped, and her eyes widened, horrified. "You killed them?"

Shaw rolled his eyes at her. "No. Unfortunately."

"But they are tied up nicely and waiting for the Secret Service to find them. It'll make their night, I'm sure, on top of having to search for the President."

Even Riley looked impressed. "How'd you do it?"

The Englishman chuckled quietly, almost to himself. "Let's just say it helps to have the element of surprise on your side."

Tori grinned as he spoke, relieved beyond expression that they were all gathered here together again! Well, almost all of them.

"But the Book, Ben," Riley urged. "What about the President's Book of Secrets?"

The treasure hunter grinned in turn. "I told him about our situation, and he told me everything we need to know. We have to get to the Library of Congress, and fast. Something tells me Sadusky might already have an idea of who is behind this fiasco tonight."


"How are you feeling?"

"Terrible."

"Really? That bad?"

"No, actually. Miserable is a better word."

"I thought I was supposed to be the Walking Thesaurus?"

"You still are. I'm the Lying Down Thesaurus."

Haley grinned. At least Phil had maintained his sense of humor, now that he was awake, and she finally had someone to talk to!

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

"Nope." Phil grimaced as he tried to shift positions on the bed. "Afraid not. Just keep me company, okay, Sweetheart?"

"Gladly." She patted his head affectionately, but couldn't think of much else to do after that besides pace. It didn't do much but wear a hole in the floor, she realized, but somehow it made her feel just a little bit closer to Tori somehow. Who knew? Maybe Tori was pacing quite a bit herself lately, and their almost-sisterly bond carried the desire over to her?

"You don't have to keep pacing like that, you know," Phil's weary voice interjected into her thoughts. "Just watching you is enough to make me dizzy, which makes my head hurt even more."

Haley stopped in her tracks. "Sorry! It's just so natural. I mean, there's nothing else to bloody do in here."

"You sound like Shaw." Phil sounded amused, and a small smile played across his lips. "You sure you haven't seem him recently?"

"No, I haven't seen him since you all were hauled off to prison two years ago." She chuckled suddenly. "But if Mitch is telling the truth, it sounds like Tori's seeing a lot of him right now. Poor girl."

"Yeah. Shaw's not the easiest person in the world to get along with; unless you're Ian, that is."

Haley nodded but had to violently battle the urge to start pacing again. So she tapped her toe instead. Close enough, she supposed.

Phil frowned. "I notice you seem a lot more anxious this time around."

"Huh?"

"When we kidnapped you last time, you were your normal fun and cheery self – the Haley that won me over. But now, you just look like one big nervous wreck."

Haley sighed, letting her shoulders sag a little as she thought that over. "Yeah, but last time I wasn't being kept in the same tiny closet for days on end. Plus... I don't know, I guess I just trusted you guys more for some reason."

She couldn't tell him the real reason, of course – that she'd already known how everything was going to turn out last time. But this time? This time, she'd no idea.

"I hate seeing you like this," Phil spoke up. "Especially since there really isn't anything we can do now to get out of this bloody hell-hole."

Haley laughed. "Who sounds like Shaw now?" she gently teased, but nevertheless, his words struck true. They really were stuck now, and for a man like Phil, it must have been eating away at him more than she, as a girl, could ever realize. But seeing him so despondent like this hurt her almost as much.

At this point, sadly, there really wasn't much either of them could do for the other, except simply be there. So Haley walked over and lay down on the bed beside him, snuggling up against his arm.

Under normal circumstances, this surely would have raised a little red flag in the back of her mind, but as it was, Phil could scarcely move. He tried to lift his arm and put it around her shoulders, but even that motion was arrested by the stabbing pains in his side. He hissed audibly, and while Haley did indeed feel sorry for him, she also found it difficult not to laugh at his pitiable state.

"Poor Phil."

His dark eyes narrowed down at her, and this time, she did laugh.

"I'm sorry, Phil, I'm sorry. But I know, you don't need my sympathy."

Still smiling, Haley kissed him on the cheek and laid her head down on his shoulder. Strangely enough, she felt perfectly safe and cozy here just by being close to him. And what was more, this would be the best night's sleep she'd had in days! Phil was so much comfier than that darn chair.


All was quiet in the Library of Congress. Deceptively quiet. Tori kept glancing around nervously as their group of seven progressed through the building's stunning beauty. Patrick was back at home, most likely praying for their safe return, and Viktor was out in the car waiting waiting for their safe return. But Tori felt pretty confident he wasn't praying for them.

By listening to Shaw's confiscated police scanner on the way over, they now knew that Agent Sadusky had indeed guessed them to be the culprits, and the FBI was in hot pursuit. It didn't leave them very much time, but right now, things were still quiet.

Ben, followed closely by Ian, led them all up to where the Book of Secrets was hidden, and after a bit of trial and error, they had the prize laid out in front of them. Tori stood on her tip-toes, trying to see over Powell's broad shoulder and not having very much luck. Maybe she should have bought some heels on one of her many shopping trips with Haley, after all.

But she did have a pretty good view of Ben, and she distinctly saw him take two pictures on his phone – one of the plank they needed from the Resolute Desk, and one of the ever-mysterious Page Forty-seven. And Tori couldn't see it. She'd gone through all this and come all this way through both movies – she was standing two feet away from the bloody thing – and she still didn't know what it said. Dang it!

She would have to vent about this to Haley once they got her back, for Tori had been struggling to make a habit of talking and thinking as though there was no doubt that they would succeed in rescuing their two friends. It gave her hope, no matter how chaotic things got.

All of a sudden, Ben's head jerked up toward the library entrance. "Oh no."

Speaking of chaos.

Ian took charge. "Quick, everyone else get out of here. I'll stay with Ben to make sure we have everything we need. Now, go!"

There was no disobeying Ian Howe, and the rest of them took off down the stairs with fire at their heels. Tori lingered behind for a moment, her last glance back at their two leaders disclosed that they had just finished returning the Book to its proper place and were likewise on their way. That made her feel better, but there was still the issue of the FBI agents rapidly closing in on them.

"Move!" Shaw shouted from behind her. He even shoved her in the shoulder to emphasize the point, but Tori noted it was only hard enough to urge her forward and not make her stumble. Riley glared daggers back at him anyway before grabbing Tori's arm and pulling her onward himself.

At long last, they reached the parking lot.

"I work here!" Abigail shouted needlessly as they dashed past the dazed security guard.

Tori looked behind her once more, the blood pounding in her ears as she ran. Shaw and Powell were back there, but where were Ben and Ian?

They arrived at their van and piled in, practically having to crawl over the top of each other in the process. In particular, Tori and Shaw seemed to be all too eager to nudge and push each other aside to claim their spots, and one had to wonder if they were perhaps doing so on purpose. Viktor started the vehicle at the bald man's insistence and began inching forward. Where were those two?

There! Tori felt like she could have cried when Benjamin Gates and Ian Howe finally came rushing into sight around the corner. They jumped into the van even as Viktor was accelerating away, and their companions helped to pull them in.

But they weren't in the clear yet. Security was starting to close down everything around the Library of Congress, and getting out of this parking lot was clearly going to be a wild ride. And so it was.

Half of them didn't even have time to get their seatbelts fastened, so they were bouncing around like a bunch of rag dolls as Viktor violently jerked the van from side to side. Riley and Shaw clunked heads as they crashed into each other. Ben all but faceplanted into Powell's shoulder. Tori shrieked as she was knocked over into Ian's lap. Abigail hit her head on the ceiling and bit out a curse in German and muttered something else in English about how she wished she was driving.

The pillar-like barricades at the parking lot entrance were just beginning to rise up as they approached, and Tori braced herself as she grasped the Englishman's arm, grateful for his steadying hand on her back. They bounced over the barriers and down the street like a rock skipping across a tranquil pond, and as they drove off into the night, a collective cheer of victory went up from all of them.

Well, all of them except Abigail.

Halo's A/N: Whew, that was exhausting. But we have another chapter done, and hopefully you can expect more soon. Oh, and ain't it sweet how Riley and Phil are both all protective? Gotta love those guys. See ya next time!

Tori's A/N: Aw, that was sweet! I really liked this chapter. Riley is getting awfully protective... and jealous, apparently. But thanks for reading! Our next chapter is on its way!