I tagged along with Ben, tightening the straps on the backpack just a little. I made my pace as fast as his. Once a bus was behind us as we crossed the street, I nodded and we broke into a run. I never ran so fast before in my life. We sprinted through the street and finally into a cemetery where the two guys decided to start shooting us.

You want to play that way? Fine by me.

I pulled out my sword and deflected a couple of the shots. Ben was ahead of me as Powell got closer. Ben hit him with the container and then his fist.

"Ow!"

"Next time, leave the real hitting to me."

Phil was in sight.

"Aw, come on!"

"Hurry!"

We tried going through gardens but no luck. We just ran through the neighborhood and finally found a fire escape ladder. As Ben climbed it, Phil caught up and started shooting. I pushed the barrel up and fisted him in the gut before flipping onto the ladder and climbing quickly. We ran on the house roofs until we reached a dead end.

"Hey, Gates!"

We turned around to find Phil exhausted.

"Enough, man! Give me the document."

"All right, Phil."

Ben slowly removed the container from his shoulder and then tossed it to Phil. We hurried down another escape ladder. But to my surprise, once I thought we were out of harm's way, another pair of guys followed us. We scurried away but they wouldn't leave. I turned around and decided to fight back. Kicks and fists were thrown around until something sharp was pushed into my neck. I looked at Ben one last time.

"Run! Don't look back!"

"Esther-"

"GO!"

The last thing I saw was Ben running away from me as the world turned black.

/

I woke up, really groggy and dizzy. I was in some container because of the warmth and darkness in the space. When my eyes finally adjusted, I was disgusted at the sight in front of me.

"Hello, Esther. I'm glad you're here."

"I would say the same thing, Ian. If I wasn't kidnapped against my will."

"You didn't leave me much of choice. I only want to talk."

"Talk away all you want to. I won't tell you a thing."

The phone rang. Ian looked greatly confused at the caller ID. He answered it anyways.

"Hello?" He looked at me. "Why don't I have my little associate answer for me?"

He gave the phone to me and I tried holding it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Esther!? Is that you!?"

"Abigail? What- why are you calling Ian?"

"Ben has been taken into custody. We were wondering if Ian could help us get Ben back."

"I hate to say this, but that sounds as bad as the moment Ben said he would steal the Declaration of Independence. It's practically a suicide mission."

"Not if Ian has the upper hand in the matter with the pipe and Declaration."

Now I was really starting to regret getting involved in all of this.

"What do you propose?"

"Put me back on with Ian."

I gave the phone back to him and tried focusing on what was happening.

Alex! Alex, are you there!?

No answer. I really freaked out for a moment. Ian smiled at me. I had that chill go down my spine. In mere seconds, an oxygen mask was put over my mouth and a weird gas was pumped through.

"It's a mixture of oxygen and chloroform. This should keep you under for some time so that you don't fight back so much."

I stared at him, quite confused.

"I know that you're immune to almost every sedative created, but that was a while ago. And sedatives have grown more advanced. It was easy to find one you hadn't tried yet. I do know one thing about this mixture your breathing: if you take in too much, you won't be able to concentrate very well. Which is ideal for my purposes of keeping you here. Understand?"

Ian wasn't kidding. My head hurt a ton. Yes, I took in doses of sedatives and truth serums so that I could be a very good liar and get out quickly if need be. However, taking in a lot of an airborne sedative is exhausting and causes severe headaches over time. But I could still think just a little.

I figured out that I was in the back of a van as soon as the vibrations stopped. The doors opened and I was pulled outside. The sun blinded my eyes. Ian picked up a pay phone and made a call.

"Hello Ben. How are you?"

Chained to a desk, I bet.

"Sorry to hear that."

As if, I mouthed at Ian. He stared at me sternly.

"I want you to meet me on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid. You know where that is?"

It's in New York City harbor. Wait. That's nearby where Alex and I met up.

"Meet me there at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. And bring those glasses you found at Independence Hall. Yeah, I know about the glasses. We can take a look at the Declaration, and then you can be on your way."

I'll bet Ben doubts what Ian is saying right now.

"I told you from the start, I only wanted to borrow it. You can have it. And the glasses. I'll even throw in the pipe from the Charlotte."

Ian looked at me from the corner of his eye while listening to Ben.

"Esther? Well, she and I have some unfinished business to take care of before I release her. I get to decide how she leaves. In fact, I'll be kind enough to let her talk to you for a minute."

Ian gave me the phone.

"Hello?"

"Esther, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. For now. Ben, please just take care of yourself."

"What about you? I'm not leaving you to deal with Ian."

"Ben, I don't have a choice. I need to settle things on my own." I bit my lip. "Ben, if you can, tell Teacher that I'm sorry. He'll know what I mean."

"What if I can't reach him?"

"Trust me. Someone there will lead you to him." I glanced up to Ian. "Whatever you do from here, don't listen to Ian. He's planning something that will be out of your hands and- Uh!"

Ian slapped me and I fell to the ground, groaning from the impact. I was surprised by how effective the chloroform was.

"Now, will you be there?"

Ben said yes. I knew he said yes.

"And tell the FBI agents listening in on this call if they want the Declaration back, and not just a box of confetti, as well as Esther no matter how she arrives, then you'll come alone."

Ian hung up and dragged me into the van once again. He sat proudly for a little before looking down at me.

"Is there something you wanted to do in New York? I'll let you do one thing for an hour before we meet up with Gates. Consider this… for old times sake, eh?"

I paused for a moment. I trusted Ian once and he betrayed that trust. But he seemed to want us to get back on good terms unlike the last time we met. I decided to take a chance.

"There's a spot I want to visit on the harbor. FBI shouldn't be there, if you're curious."

Ian looked at me with the same spark of interest he had all those years ago.

"Tell us how to get there."