Okay. Updated. Read. You know you want to.
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"Abigail, give me the Declaration," Mary stated for the third time, and for the third time, Dr. Chase hesitated to hand it over. After Mary and Ben's 'joyous' family reunion, the four turned the kitchen into a temporary lab. Not up to Abigail's standards, of course, but it was better than nothing.
The woman holding the document simply tightened her grip, like a child asked to share their favorite toy. Riley could not help but notice the similarity.
"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Abigail stated, feeling queasy over what they were about to do to the Declaration.
"We've done lots of things that you wouldn't consider a good idea, and yet you're still here," Ben said as he came walking into the kitchen with some q-tips and latex gloves. Dr. Chase muttered a few foreign words, and handed the document begrudgingly over to Mary.
"Much obliged, Queen of the Documents," Mary said brightly, earning grins from Riley and Ben, but a glare from the queen. The brunette frowned as she twirled the cap off of the plastic container, "I was just kidding Abigail."
"The Queen never jokes," Riley muttered sarcastically as he readied a notebook and pen.
"You know, a queen can have someone beheaded," Abigail hissed, sending daggers towards the young man, which put an end to Riley's fun. He shut his mouth and sighed. Riley wanted to just get the information from the Declaration and head out. He waited impatiently as Mary, Abigail, and Ben pulled out the document from it protective covering along with unrolling it very carefully. That was when Patrick Gates made a random appearance. Riley noticed the man looked a lot calmer than he did half an hour ago.
The father grew a look of curiosity once he saw the paper in his son's hands. "Looks like animal skin," he noted out loud, "How old is it?"
Everyone in the kitchen looked towards the curious man with a nervous expression. Mary cleared her throat awkwardly and pretended to study the Declaration along with Abigail. Riley looked down at his hoodie, and imagined there was something on it. Ben stood still and mumbled in response, "At least two-hundred years."
Patrick then noticed the fine condition of the paper, "Really? You sure?"
"Pretty darn," Ben said quickly, never meeting his father's eyes.
A snort escaped Mary's mouth. She could not help it, the circumstances made the situation humorous. Riley gave the woman an incredulous look, and she simply shrugged.
"What's so funny, Mary?" she heard her father ask out of innocent interest.
Now it was Riley's turn to snort at how the woman looked up in shock. Patrick really wanted to know for he held an expecting look on his face.
"Oh! I…um…well," a sneaky thought occurred to her during her stuttering. A cat-like smile appeared on her face as she said flippantly. "I'm sorry, it's just every time I look at Riley here, I can't help but laugh." She then raised her hand and ruffled the already messy hair of the computer nerd with an innocent smile.
Riley shrugged the hand off with a scowl, "Shouldn't you be getting back to the Black Pearl?"
Mary lost her innocent smile and did not appreciate the sounds of muffled laughter around her, "Ha ha…" she laughed sarcastically; though a little part of her was glad Riley felt good enough to insult her again. It brought some normality to the evening. "Thanks Riley; always good to hear your insults," Mary replied with a genuine smile, throwing the insulter off guard.
She wasn't supposed to smile, Riley thought feeling flustered from the expression. Unfortunately, he felt everyone's eyes on him after their small exchange, and the uncomfortable feeling set in. "Anyways," he quickly said to direct the conversation somewhere else, "If this thing is in invisible ink how do we look at it?"
"Throw it in the oven," Patrick said quickly. He thought he might as well be helpful, but he did not expect the sudden negativity toward his suggestion.
"NO!" They all yelled in his face, not out of anger, but fear. This baffled the man.
"Higher sulfate ink can only be brought out with heat," Patrick explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He cocked an eyebrow at his two children; with all of the studying they had done surely they knew basic chemistry.
Abigail cleared her throat and regained her composure, though her hands gripped the table. "Yes…but this-"
"It's very old," Ben interrupted, earning a glare from Dr. Chase. "It's very old. And we can't risk compromising the map."
Riley and Mary nodded enthusiastically to back up his claim. Mary really wanted to scream out "It's the Declaration of Independence; we can't throw it in the oven!" But, she didn't.
The father sighed and turned around while saying, "You need a reagent."
"Dad," Mary whined, "We got this." She knew she sounded immature when she said that, but the man was treating her and Ben like they were kids. Of course, by saying her previous statement immaturely…it did not help her case.
"Dad, it's really late," Ben added along with Mary's statement, "Why don't you get some rest?"
More interested in the project now, Patrick Gates shook his head standing firm in his spot by the kitchen door. "I'm fine."
Riley sighed and wondered if Ben and Mary put up with this all the time when they still lived in the family house. He clicked and re-clicked his pen. Soon the noise coming from the pen made the computer nerd relax, so he continued doing the small activity.
Mary heard the constant clicking, and looked up to see Riley looking at the floor just clicking away with his pen. Normally, anyone would be annoyed with the sound, but she found it rather endearing. Aw, he's nervous after all.
Juggling with one of the lemons in her hand, Mary did not expect the endearing individual in question to suddenly look up. Surprised, the woman juggled the lemon too high and it fell down to land on Abigail's head.
Embarrassed and hoping Riley did not notice her looking at him; Mary proceeded to apologize to the blonde. What's wrong with me? Stop acting weird, Mary. She thought this seriously, for the current events would not turn out any better if she could not get her priorities straight. Therefore, Mary kept her eyes glued to the document Ben and Abigail were handling, and put an emotionless mask on.
"Hand me a lemon, Mary," Ben stated, hands shaking from what he was about to do. All eyes were on him while he took the halved lemon from his sister's equally trembling hand. When he raised the fruit above the Declaration of Independence, Ben breathed out sharply as a hand wrapped around his wrist out of nowhere. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see a disturbed Abigail Chase whose fair skin had taken on a paler color.
"You can't do that," the woman ordered with her fingers tightening around Ben's wrist.
Ben of all people knew how nerve-wracking their current experiment was, but he could not falter; not when everyone had sacrificed so much to help him. Nevertheless, he lowered his hand and looked at Dr. Chase. "It has to be done."
The woman still would not let go of his wrist, and her eyes gave him a piercing look. "Then someone who is trained to handle antique documents is going to do it." She pushed Ben aside and held out her gloved hand, asking for the lemon. Ben complied, surprised at the scholar's sudden willingness and determination. He backed with his hands raised in defeat. "Okay."
Mary kept her eyes glued to the document, letting everything else fade away. As the q-tip gently glided across the upper right-hand corner of the Declaration of Independence, her heart literally jumped. Please, let there be a symbol. Please, she pleaded to herself. Mary had put her all into finding the map, and now she and Ben were at the climax of their goal. If the symbol did not appear…she had absolutely no idea what she would do, or how she would face her dad.
The four individuals huddled around the table, waiting for the effect of the lemon to take place. A second passed, and then another.
Nothing appeared in the right-hand corner.
No…Ben and Mary thought with horrified expressions. Mary straightened up, and backed away from the table only to have Riley pull her back. "Wait," he ordered, keeping his eyes focused on the Declaration. There is no way nothing is there. We've all put our lives on the line for this. Though, he was starting to a feel nervous at the thought of failure.
Abigail threw the q-tip to the side with a disappointed look directed at Ben. For a moment, she actually did believe him. This made her feel foolish, putting a small amount of trust in the man's theory only to be proven wrong. Abigail would have told Ben the usual "I told you so," but the heart-broken look on the his face silenced her from doing so. He really did believe it was there.
No one said anything for a few excruciatingly long seconds.
"I told you," Patrick Gates interrupted the silence with a knowing look, "You need heat."
Abigail looked up in surprise at the elderly man. She wondered why he was so willing to help when he berated them only a few minutes ago.
Ben felt another dash of hope, and he glanced at Dr. Chase who held a conflicted expression on her features. She looked back, and he realized that the blonde wanted the map to be there, as well. So, without saying anything to each other, they both bent towards the Declaration. They looked at each other once more out of apprehension, their faces almost touching, and turned back towards the document. They slowly breathed out, letting their breath heat up the corner of the document.
And like magic, a faint outline of black ink appeared on the parchment.
Mary couldn't keep it in. She squealed out of delight, and actually hugged the man next to her…who happened to be Riley.
"Mary!" he gasped with a streak of red on his face, "I can't breathe!"
Not thinking anything of it, she still laughed. "Sorry," the woman apologized and let go of the flustered individual. Mary turned around back towards the Declaration of Independence wanting to give the document a huge hug as well, but she knew Abigail would have her head if she tried such a thing. When she turned, however, a strange sight met her eyes.
Abigail was giving Ben a genuine smile, and he returned it whole-heartedly.
"We need more juice," Ben said with excitement, oblivious to the outrageous stares his sister gave him.
Abigail nodded enthusiastically, "We need more heat!" Not bothering to think about the double entendre of her previous words, the woman freely zipped out of the room to find a hair dryer. The words, however, did not slip so obliviously past the people she left behind in the room. In fact, Ben found himself unable to keep his skin from turning into the color of a ripe strawberry, while Riley and Mary found themselves unable to keep a straight face. Patrick simply didn't get the innuendo.
"You okay Ben?" Mary asked innocently, enjoying her acts of sisterly love. "You look a little- oh, what's the word I'm looking for- flustered at Dr. Chase's statement."
The brother quickly turned away from his sister and friend wanting to hide his embarrassment. Ben never did well with embarrassment…especially when it involved members of the opposite sex.
And, of course, Riley had to put his own two cents in. "You know, it's rude to turn away from people while they're speaking," he spoke with a sly grin.
"What are you all talking about?" Patrick asked with his brow furrowed.
Ben chose to turn back to the audience after that question. He shook his head fervently, "Nothing, Dad. They're just being…themselves."
Mary frowned, but laughed lightly afterwards, "He's right, Dad. We're just giving him a hard time. I am his sister after all."
"And I'm the annoying best friend," Riley concurred. He frowned a second later. Great, not only does Mary insult me, but I insult myself now. The young man noticed the curious looks he was receiving, so he simply shook his head implying he did not want to say anything else.
Tonight's messing with all of our heads, Mary thought with a sigh, but there was no way she found herself depressed at that moment. Everyone had just discovered one of the most important finds of American history. The woman grinned at the thought of revealing the whole map on the back of the Declaration. Her grin faltered a little when she felt someone's eyes upon her. Mary brought her head up to see her father looking at her with a curious expression.
"Mary," Patrick began, sounding like a concerned father, "What happened to your eye-"
"I'm back!" Abigail rushed back into the kitchen, glowing with excitement. The change from the cold professional to the bright blond standing before Ben surprised him. He wondered if Abigail's true personality was actually that of the individual looking so alive.
Dr. Chase's hand grasped an old hair dryer, and she sent Patrick Gates an apologetic look, "Sorry, I borrowed this without asking."
Forgetting about his previous inquiry, the elderly man nodded and waved his hand. "It's fine." Though, the question of how much of his personal belongings did the woman go through before she found the hair dryer passed through Patrick's mind.
"Right," Mary nodded, breathing again. She mentally screamed her thanks to Dr. Chase repeatedly. "Let's get cracking."
It took some time to carefully dampen the Declaration with lemon juice. Abigail ended up scolding Ben a few times, and he provided his own, witty comebacks. Mary held down the top edges of the document while the blonde held the bottom edges so Ben would not wrinkle the parchment. Riley sat back on a bar stool with his pen and notepad like always. Occasionally, he offered words of moral support.
"Don't bend it," Riley said, clicking his tongue. "Remember there's only one in the entire world…" the sentence died off when he received a multitude of glares.
"Just trying to lighten the mood," he muttered, looking down-trodden.
"Please go back to clicking your pen," Mary said, annoyed. She already felt nervous about handling a document of such importance to her nation, and Riley did not need to keep reminding her.
Riley raised his hand in mock defeat and rolled his eyes, "Of course, because I'm the only one in here who doesn't know how to hold a piece of paper down."
The brunette's eyes flashed, "You're the one who said it, who am I to disagree?"
Ben and Abigail gave inquisitive glances to the fuming pair. The blonde arched an eyebrow as she saw the flushed features of the woman across from her. Her curious eyes then met Ben's and she nodded her head slightly towards Mary and Riley.
"Nothing to worry about," Ben said under his breath, "It always happens."
Abigail wasn't so sure. In fact, from the way Riley kept glancing at the brunette and the way Mary looked so flustered, she figured there was an underlying factor causing the bickering. But, it was none of her business, so Abigail decided to just play aloof.
"Okay," Ben said with finality. "That's it." The entire backside of the Declaration of Independence was covered in lemon juice. Mary and Abigail let go of the edges, and the latter retrieved the plugged-in hair dryer. Mary backed up, but did not bother to go anywhere near Riley. His little comment still ticked her off. Riley didn't look so happy either. He now spent his time tapping his pen violently against his notepad, making sure a certain individual would hear it.
Abigail dried the parchment carefully, and Ben noticed a few droplets of sweat forming on her brow. She is so nervous…yet she keeps it all inside. He hated to say, but he admired the woman for keeping up such a strong face. However, a change on the Declaration distracted Ben from his secret observation. Abigail and Mary gasped right when their eyes met the aged paper. A two columned list of numbers appeared clear as day.
A loud screeching distracted Mary and she saw Riley had scooted his stool closer to the table with a look of a curious child. She also noticed that his pad remained blank. Her arm nudged him in the side. With a sharp look, the computer nerd begrudgingly jotted the numbers down.
The numbers began to fade away when Abigail shut the hair dryer off, and Riley finished copying the numbers.
"…It's not a map…is it?" Riley asked, looking at the fading ink with a furrowed brow. Patrick came from the doorway and looked over Riley's shoulder. He had almost gone to bed, but whether he liked it or not, his kids' project intrigued him. With a glance at the numbers, the elderly man heaved a knowing sigh.
"More clues," he muttered. "What a surprise." Though, the man did recognize a surge of hope within him. During his years as a treasure hunter, Patrick Gates actually did not find many clues pertaining to the Templar Treasure. Seeing as his offspring have found many clues, the old feeling of exhilaration weaved its way slowly back into his heart.
Riley decided to ignore Patrick's sarcastic statement, "Are those latitudes and longitudes?" If so…there are a lot of them…
Mary shrugged, still watching the last of the numbers fade away. The magnificence of the find still captivated her. "Sort of," she answered Riley. Mary knew exactly what it was, and she was about to tell the wondering Riley, but Ben and Abigail started talking.
"That's why we need the Silence Dogood letters," he stated, referring to the information.
Abigail started to understand the riddle which she had only heard bits and pieces of. She pointed to Riley's notepad, "That's the key?"
Ben gave the blonde an appraising look. She may be stubborn, but I have to give her credit for intellect. He nodded, "The key in Silence undetected."
"Right," Mary said with finality, "So can we have the letters, Dad?"
The woman definitely did not expect her father to look away guiltily when she asked. I thought Ben and I were the only ones who had a reason to do that…The movement made an uncomfortable feeling start to form in her stomach.
Meanwhile, Riley still had no idea what the numbers meant, and the fact no one had even answered him yet got on his nerves.
"Would someone please tell me what these magic numbers are?"
"It's an Ottendorf Cipher," Abigail and Mary answered at the exact same time. They looked at each in surprise, and then snorted.
"Great minds think alike," Abigail stated with a grin.
Mary nodded with the same expression, "Indeed they do."
The women's small moment of triumph was interrupted by an impatient sigh from Riley who still looked as confused as ever.
"Okay. Yes. You're both super super smart. What's an Ottendorf Cipher?" He disregarded the sharp looks he received from both women, but Riley Poole grew tired from being left in the dark.
"Somebody needs a nap," Mary said under her breath.
"We all need a nap," Ben snapped quickly, giving warning looks to both his sister and friend.
Patrick decided to speak up, as well. He had no idea where the tense atmosphere came from (or why Mary and Riley seem to get along one minute and then hate each other the next).
"You're both right; it's an Ottendorf Cipher," Patrick said in a calming manner, and then turned towards Riley, gesturing towards his notepad, "Just codes."
"Book codes, to be more precise," Mary added, still a little on edge.
Ben borrowed the notepad, "Each of these numbers corresponds to a word in the key."
"Usually a random book or newspaper article," Abigail continued. I thought I was the only one who read about Ottendorf ciphers, Dr. Chase thought with a ghost of a smile. She kept finding herself surprised by Ben's words and actions.
"In this case, the Silence Dogood letters," Ben went on without hesitation, and held up the numbers so everyone could see to demonstrate, "So it's like the page number of that key text, the line on that page, and the letter in that line." Once his lesson concluded, Ben found himself exhilarated again. One step closer. He turned towards his father, who –for some reason- made his way to exit the kitchen without telling anyone.
"Dad," Ben called out, a little disturbed by his father's actions. "Where are the letters?"
Patrick looked startled at the question, and he turned around. "You know," he began nervously, "It's just by sheer happenstance that their grandfather…"
He's avoiding the question, the four individuals thought at the same time.
"Dad," his son started, becoming anxious. The last time Mary called their father, the man mentioned having the letters in his possession. Please tell me he still has them.
"…even found those," Patrick Gates continued, like nothing was wrong, "They were in an antique desk from the press room…"
"Dad." Even Mary tried to get him to answer them. Everyone's once excited faces slowly melted into ones of fatigue.
"…from the New England Current," the elderly man happily chattered on. "That's a newspaper."
Ben and Mary walked up to either side of their father and cornered him.
"Dad," Ben quietly said with a hidden edge, "Where are the letters?"
Patrick Gates paused, and then let out a defeated sigh. "I don't have them, son."
Mary widened her eyes out of shock while Ben just stared dead-on at their father.
"What?"
"I don't have them."
Riley and Abigail heard the whole thing. Abigail went brain-dead and Riley put his head in his hands to hide his frustration. Great, now what? He thought; ready to get out of the Gate's family house.
After a short moment of silence Ben stiffly walked out of the kitchen with everyone else following. He dropped into a chair near the door, and yanked his gloves off.
"Where are they?" the man asked with eerie patience. Mary knew the tone quite well.
Patrick Gates was not going to be intimidated by his own children, so he stood tall as the head of the family he should be. "I donated them to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia." The letters were a nice artifact to have, but he felt everyone else in America had the right to see them publicly, as well. Plus, he had no idea the Silence Dogood letters held one of the clues.
Ben simply nodded and rose up from the chair, "Time to go." I need to get out of here before I explode. He wasn't angry per se, but very very frustrated.
Mary sighed and waved her hand, "Nice seeing you, Dad." She missed her father's stunned look and walked back into the kitchen to collect her things.
Riley walked in right after her. "No rest for the weary," he mumbled. Mary nodded with an uncharismatic snort, and the head motion made something catch the man's eye. Her eye bandage had loosened considerably, and looked like it would fall apart any second. Mary noticed it as well, and reached up to reapply the bandage tape. A hand stopped hers, however.
"Don't," she heard Riley order sternly, "Your hands are covered with lemon juice so don't bring your hands close to your face." Riley Poole may have a pessimistic air about him, but when it came to health issues he was always serious. "…Unless you want to experience something more painful than your punches."
"They don't hurt that bad," Mary replied defensively (you're just a wimp), but she did drop her hands. After she did, Riley surprised her again by leaning in to inspect the bandage. By instinct, Mary leaned back.
Riley sighed, irritated with the action. "You're not making this easier. Come back to Riley," he said like he would to a dog and reached out, pulling her back by the arm.
If there was ever a time Mary wanted to slap some sense into herself, the current moment topped the charts. The rising temperature in her body, the jolt of emotion she felt when Riley's fingertips touched her bare skin…all of it…it made her feel so…
Well, what did she feel? Yeah, attraction could be the answer for everything, but the word still did not seem like an acceptable answer. So far, Mary only knew that this feeling was unlike any she had felt before, and knowing this only confused her more.
Before Riley focused all of his attention on the eye patch, he noticed a very concentrated expression on Mary's face; like she had just read a passage in a book that confused her and nothing could bring her out of her contemplating trance. Now that's a rare look, the man thought amused.
After he inspected the bandage, Riley felt relieved when it was just the tape that needed replaced. He leaned back and rummaged through his backpack at his feet. While he got the adhesive ready, he glanced towards the brunette sitting in front of him. Yup, still confused, the man thought as the same expression still remained on Mary's features. He leaned in again to replace the tape with a grin.
"Wow, the great-minded Mary Gates looks confused," Riley chuckled when the woman comically snapped out of her stupor. "Why don't you ask the parrot on your shoulder?"
"If pirate jokes are the only comedy you can provide, I would suggest you keep them all to yourself," Mary snapped. Her outburst of anger brought a silence over the pair as Riley finished fixing the eye patch.
Riley leaned back and put the tape back in his bag without a word, but he still wanted to know what Mary looked confused about. In fact, her expression from before had returned, taking the woman's mind somewhere else again.
"Anything you want to talk about?" he asked, rubbing his hand on his neck awkwardly. He usually did not ask the woman questions like the one he just asked, but Riley knew that freezing on the spot and looking away was not a typical Mary reaction.
Gosh, one of the few times he cares about my well-being and he had to ask now.
"You know," Riley said with a curious expression, "if you act like that, I'm only going to want to know more." After he said that, Mary looked up and surprised the man by having a completely flushed face.
"Look," she said calmly, though her physical features completely gave her away, "I appreciate the concern, but now is definitely not the time or the place I would want to discuss this, and- CRAP!!"
Riley almost slid out of his chair and had to restart his heart after such a shocking response. He looked at the woman with an incredulous look, hoping to get an answer as to why she almost made him go into cardiac arrest. Instead, Mary jumped up from her seat with a panicked expression and sprinted in the opposite direction. Riley whipped his head around to see where Mary sprinted to, and then he saw why…
Patrick Gates had made his way towards the Declaration of Independence with quite the look of curiosity on his face.
"Crap," Riley hissed, and hoped Mary could stop her father from discovering they had stolen the Declaration of Independence.
But it was too late.
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Abigail had been unaware of the developing situations. Her eyes had continued to gaze at the back of the Declaration. Ben was right. The simple truth still made her intelligent mind race around, trying to create a solution to the hidden map on one of the most important documents of history that no American historian knew about. The truth, however, stared back at her in front of her eyes just a few moments ago. Now, the only question remaining in Abigail's mind was her next course of action. Do I stay with Ben and the others, or do I leave everything here? She couldn't leave without the Declaration, of course, so if Abigail decided to leave, she would somehow get the document back and return it to the National Archives…The professional Dr. Abigail Chase would do that immediately. If only Abigail felt like her professional self at the time, but she did not. Instead, the woman felt compelled to see the journey through to the end with Ben, Riley, and Mary. Exhilaration coursed through her veins, and Abigail knew what to do.
I am going to find this treasure; this national treasure.
The blond smoothed the parchment beneath her fingertips with an awed expression. "I still can't believe it," Abigail whispered, catching the attention of Ben, "All this time; no one knew what was on the back-"
"The back of what?" An unexpected voice interrupted the moment, and out of nowhere, the parchment disappeared from her grasp, appearing in the hands of Patrick Gates.
"NO!!" Everyone yelled, except for Riley, who could only shout some nonsense out. I need to learn how to speak properly in dire situations.
The elderly man paid no heed to the loud warning because his eyes had already caught the all too familiar script heading on the top of the parchment. His face turned ashen and his hands shook, not believing what they held.
"Oh my God…" Patrick breathed out, unable to look away from the document. "OH MY GOD!"
"Dad," Mary squeaked, inching closer to the almost-convulsing man.
"I know," Ben answered his father, putting a hand to his face to hide his horrified look. The rest let their agape mouths show freely.
Patrick Gates felt his eyes start to water from utter shock, and he continued speaking frantically, "Oh my God, what have you done? This is- this is-" Even he couldn't say the name of what lay in his shaking hands.
"The Declaration of Independence," Mary whispered, hoping her answer would save time. It didn't because her father tuned her out.
"I know!" Ben stated louder, taking his hand away from his face. He actually looked irritated, but only because he knew that he and his friends definitely had to leave at that moment. Secret's out, got to go.
"…The Declaration of Independence," Patrick finally got out, close to tears. His hands gripped on tighter to the document, making Abigail's eyes bug out. Her hand shot out to gently take the Declaration from the man's grasp.
"Yes," she responded softly as Patrick slowly let go of the priceless paper, "and it's very delicate." Dr. Chase breathed a sigh of relief when he let go.
Turning around to face his children, the panicking man asked with high-pitched disbelief, "You stole it?!" Sure, during Mary and Ben's teenage years they went through the rebellious faze, but never did Patrick Gate's children ever steal anything. Now the first time they did, they decided to steal the Declaration of Independence. It made no sense!
Mary flinched at the accusation, and found a spot on the carpet very interesting. She noticed Riley point with both of his hands at Mary and Ben. The woman scowled and hit the man hard in the arm. Hearing the grunt of pain brought a sense of relief to the woman, but she still looked towards her brother with a pleading look that told Ben, "Can we please go now?"
Ben had no problem adhering to the non-verbal request and gathered his things while quickly answering his father. "Dad, I can explain, but I don't have time. It was necessary, and you saw the cipher-"
"And that will lead to another clue, and that will lead to another clue, and that is all you will ever find!" Patrick roared, angry beyond belief. He walked briskly to where his children stood. "There is no treasure. I wasted twenty years of my life, and now both of you have destroyed yours, and you've pulled me into all of this." He saw the guilty looks on Ben and Mary's faces. Patrick would not back down, however. He never thought his own children would bring him into this illegal mess. No way. If the police came, Patrick would do the honest thing.
Mary sat there under the penetrable gaze of her father. She knew how much trouble she was in, and how much her father could get in if the police came to his house. They were fugitives after all. How do we make him look innocent? The woman racked her brain for a few seconds. At the end of her seemingly endless thinking, Mary suddenly snapped her fingers, perking up…and the exact same time Ben did the exact same thing.
Mary grinned, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Ben nodded with a knowing smile, "Definitely."
Patrick frowned at his children's sudden brightness during a serious situation, and he also recognized when those two had something up their sleeves. The mischievous looks he was getting did not ease his suspicions either.
"What?"
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A few hectic minutes later…
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"Hey Dad? Do you like this lamp?" Mary asked, lifting the object up off of a small table.
Ben finished the last of the rope that bound the still-confused Patrick Gates to a chair. The other three busied themselves with making a mess of the living room because all of it coincided with Ben and Mary's plan.
Patrick eyed the lamp warily, "Not really." And, with a simple nod, Mary dropped the lamp and a crash resounded throughout the house. "You're not going to destroy my entire house are you?!"
"No, we're just making it look like we snapped and robbed you," Ben said, standing from his kneeling position. "By the way, we're taking your car…and some money."
"There's no need," Patrick muttered as everyone else finished their duties. "All of you have already snapped and you are now taking my car and money; robbery."
Mary filled a Styrofoam cup with water and placed it in her father's bound hand…like any loving daughter would. "Come on, we'll bring the car back…don't know about the cash."
"What if Ian blows up the car like he did the Charlotte?" Riley asked randomly as Ben started pushing everyone out the door towards the garage. Abigail's eyes bugged out.
"He what?!" She hadn't heart that part of the story yet.
Ben took a deep breath to control his impatience. "I'll explain everything later."
Patrick didn't fare well either with the new bit of information. "Who in world is Ian?! He blew up the Charlotte?!" Now he knew Ben and Mary did not tell him everything. Ian won't blow up my car too, will he?
An awkward pause followed Riley's slip up. Ben finally broke it with a loud sigh, and walked into the garage quickly saying, "Mary and I will tell you all about it later. See you, got to go, bye." He quickly shut the door, leaving a shocked Patrick Gates.
The bound man looked around his house, mourning the mess which used to be his living room. He sighed and took a sip out of his cup of water.
"If my car blows up, those two are grounded."
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Well, I finally finished this chapter! Yay! I had so much trouble with this chapter, trying to decide what to change and what to keep the same from the movie. Not to mention I suck at writing romance. I am trying though! I appreciate all of the reviews, I swear this is my favorite story I am currently writing because all of you guys are so good to me…*sniff* Anyways…enough of my stupid emotions. I wrote one of the chapters ahead, unfortunately it isn't the next one, but since we're getting to the meat of the story, the updates should come quicker.
Hope all of you enjoyed reading it! Please Read and Review.
P.S.: More Riley and Mary action coming up. ;)