Chapter Seven – The Find

Declaimer: I do not own National Treasure or any of the characters. That right belongs to the Disney Corporation.

Author's Note: I'm quite sorry it's been a while since I've been able to update, my grandmother just pasted away and it's been really hard for me to be able to write. Also, with me having to work night shifts it's difficult for me to write because during the day I go out and do things, night being my only time. However, let me reassure you you're in for a treat as the story progresses, a big surprise is what I shall promise you. Thank you for your patience….

As the dust cleared, Ben noticed a piece of parchment in the cubby-like hole."More documents?" Riley asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"No," Ben replied pulling the paper out and examining it better, "It's a map."

"An actual map, right, I mean it's not made of a series of random numbers left for us to decode?" Riley retorted, leaning against another pillar.

Abigail quickly overlooked the map with Ben, "Why does it illustrate the islands of the Caribbean?"

Ben slowly pulled out the infamous Benjamin Franklin eyeglasses and slipped them on the edge of his nose. Very carefully he skimmed across the map until he came upon some words at the top, "Words…they read… 'What you seek is not fool's gold, Port Royal is first as the search unfolds, written in Penn you'll find the clue, in This you might find something new.'

Taking off the glasses Ben rubbed his temples with his forefinger and thumb, "Alright, let's break this down… 'fool's gold' probably means this is not going to be a gold and riches search."

"How do you figure?" Riley chimed in with a look of pure confusion.

"Basically it's stating it isn't gold that us 'fools' are looking for. This is something else…" Ben came back with quickly, trying to make things easier for everyone to understand.

"Than what could it be?" Abigail asked, looking closer at the map's locations.

"There isn't enough here for me to decipher exactly what we're searching for. However, this indication of Port Royal…why would the map lead us here?." He stated.

"Do you think the map is wrong?" Riley asked striding up beside them to also get a glimpse of the map.

"I don't think it's wrong but Port Royal was a trading town surrounded by many other trading villages in that area with the threat of pirates. Nothing is really historically documented in that region. The only references you ever really receive from that area are the legends and folklore of pirates and fables of Blackbeard. " Ben thought aloud.

"Are you sure you didn't see anything else unusual about the riddle?" Abigail asked, trying to make more sense of the situation.

"'Penn' was capitalized and spelled P-E-N-N" retorted suddenly, looking as though he had just won the lottery.

"Can you share the excitement please?" Riley asked, grinning back at Ben sarcastically.

After a few seconds of getting over the sheer irony of the situation Ben let out a chuckle, "'Penn' is referring to Admiral William Penn or more nationally known as 'the founder of Pennsylvania'." Ben said.

"Ok…"Riley replied, motioning him to elaborate a little on the biography.

"Sir William Penn was a British Admiral who basically served in the first Dutch War and in 1654 was made commander of the fleet that sailed for the West Indies and captured Jamaica in 1655. His residence resided at Port Royal for quite a while." Ben declared, showing off his American History skills.

"You know Ben…you could make a fortune on Jeopardy." Riley supposed.

The comical essence of Riley's serious, yet humorous joke brought everyone's attention back to their surroundings. They all realized right away that they had spent way too much time occupying the library and that they were in danger of being noticed.

"It's time we leave, you have the clue Ben." Jake stated, pulling on the back of Riley's jacket to get the group's attention.

"Yo, watch the leather man…its part of the 1 percent." Riley replied emphasizing the '1 percent', and slapping Jake's hand away, pulling on the edges of the rawhide material.

With a push and a shove Jake quickly got the three hostages back under his control using his weapon as a nice influence, "We haven't got the time to talk about our findings anymore…we'll finish this up outside. Move it!" he shouted.

Down the hall echoes bounced off the wall approaching them, this time they knew it wasn't their voices retracing down the corridor. The conclusion they drew was that the science fair was over and they were all going back to their routines.

Ben saw this as an opportunity as Jake was watching the shadows get larger on the wall from down the hallway he edge over behind him and tried not to let his shoes squeak on the floor. Once in length of a good leg reach he kicked the gun right out of Jake's hand.

They all watched the pistol slide across the marble, sounding like skaters across slick ice.

Abigail quickly hurried over to the gun, bending over, and grasping it firmly in her hands. It wouldn't have been the first time she'd held a gun having to work in the national archives with the threat of perpetrators the knowledge of some weaponry was required, "Don't move..." she said directly to Jake who froze instantly.

People started to enter the library and Ben started to realize it was only a matter of minutes before they were caught

"This is bad, right?" Riley asked, helping Ben tie Jake's hands together with his shoelaces.

"This will have to do…" Ben said aloud, ignoring Riley's remark.

"Leave him…"Abigail announced, grabbing both Ben and Riley by the arms and pulling them down a long corridor, away from where they originally entered, "There is another way…"