Chapter Nine – Commencement
Declaimer: I do not own National Treasure or any of the characters. That right belongs to the Disney Corporation.
Author's Note: I realize distance between Cambridge and New York is quite a far distance for a taxi, however, I have to admit I live in Florida and have never rode in one. I never thought about it. I will leave it as a taxi though because I really wanted to emphasize the New York's taxi system. We, here in Florida, really don't have any need for taxis…although I'm sure Jacksonville has a few…I live on the far outskirts of Jacksonville where there are pastures and cows…moo…lol…and no I don't live on a farm, I live in a gated community but we're surrounded by at least 2 farms. I'm telling you this just to give you the general idea of where I'm coming from in case I misuse any city-like qualities, even though I've been to Jacksonville quite a few times I'm sure that New York is completely different.
The following morning at 5am, the light was barely beaming through the large glass sliding doors to the balcony, not that any was expected in New York with the frequent fog and cloud coverage. The temperature outside was chilly and the forecast was a chance of snow.
Riley just happened to be the first awake of the three and decided to glide out onto the veranda for a little fresh air. As he stepped out he realized rather quickly that the bitter weather was far much colder than he expected, even with his navy blue flannel pajamas. He hurriedly jumped back inside, gliding the glass doors shut behind him.
The next area he occupied was the kitchen where decided he would make coffee. After rubbing his eyes to give himself more focus, he unpacked his coffeemaker and began making his favorite caffeinated coffee.
As the smell of the fresh, mountain grown beans circulated through each room the essence of a pure, relaxing feeling emerged.
Riley then strolled over to his radio and flipped the 'on' switch just as Abigail appeared from around the hall corner.
"Morning." she spat groggily.
Riley nodded, knowing if he tried to spark conversation before she had her coffee, he would probably end up dead.
As he thought, the first thing Abigail went for was the kettle of coffee, pouring it into a white mug she'd found in an open box on the counter, she figured, was most likely the very same place Riley had retrieved his cup.
As they both sat on the couch, listening to the radio, and drinking coffee a news bulletin shot through the stereo,
"…this just in, attempted murderer, Ian Howe, has been sighted in Cambridge, Massachusetts, unfortunately; however, he was not obtained by police. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts please contact the FBI immediately." The news reporter announced.
"At least we know Ian hasn't left Cambridge yet." Riley pointed out.
"Yes, but I don't doubt that Jake's told him everything already." Abigail replied, sighing.
A few minutes later, after finishing their coffee, Abigail, took their mugs and placed them in the kitchen sink for later rinse.
"Morning," Ben said sleepily, walking into the living room, "Are you all ready to begin are flight to the Caribbean?"
Abigail and Riley acknowledged to Ben that they were indeed all set and waited for him to drink his own coffee before they left, making sure they packed a few essentials before parting.
After taking the elevator down and making it to the lobby, once again they all gave their greeting and best regards to Chris, the desk manager.
"Now, hail us a cab, Riley." Ben ordered to Riley once they were outside in front of the curb.
"Is it because you want to see my skills of taxi summoning?" Riley replied, acting like the rich monopoly man.
Ben chuckled, "No, it's because I figured since you live here, you'd have the ability to obtain one quicker than we could."
"Basically it's the same thing as wanting to see me in action. You know, Washington D.C. has taxis too so what makes you less capable?" Riley retorted back to Ben.
"The taxis here are more reckless, while the drivers back home are less, which is why I figured you would have the better chance," Ben replied, not wanting to explain himself any longer.
"Would you boys knock it off?" Abigail announced as a taxi drove up adjacent to them, "During all that quarrelling, I decided to take it upon myself to flag us down some transportation."
"She's good…" Riley said under his breath so that only Ben could hear.
"You have no idea…" Ben replied, walking toward the cab before Riley could say anything more.
The drive to the airport took about forty-five minutes, which Riley expected, having planned earlier.
"So Ben, tell us the overall plan for this voyage." Abigail requested.
Ben sat back against the leather cushioned back of the taxi that exposed foam from random holes grabbing a folded sheet of paper from his back pocket, "Alright, listen to me carefully because I'm not sure how we're going to go about this. We're taking a plane right now at the International Airport Supls located a block or two from Central Park, to the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in South Carolina where we'll board a plane to the Jacksonville International Airport in Florida. Once we arrive, we're going to stay the night at the Hilton Garden Inn which is one quarter mile east of the airstrip. The next morning we'll board our flight to the Miami International Airport where lastly we'll embark on the Carnival cruise line for a 3-day journey to Jamaica where we'll make our way to Port Royal. Sound like a feasible plan?" Ben asked his companions, questionably.
Abigail nodded, regretting, somewhat, that she had requested for Ben to tell them the entire description of their plans.
Riley just smiled and turned his head toward the window, still trying to put the list of destinations in order in his mind.
Once they made it to the airport, they checked what little baggage they had, and headed for their terminal, being stopped by the security check only a few feet from the passenger terminal.
"Are you bringing with you any vegetation sir?" The security asked Riley, surveying his bag from behind the x-ray screen.
"Does it look like I would hide plants in my brand new leather jacket?" Riley asked sarcastically, receiving somewhat of a 'just keep going and shut up' push from Ben behind him
The security guard just smirked and let Riley pass while continuing his surveillance of Ben and Abigail's belongings, which were limited between the two.
After the confrontation with the guard Ben came up behind Riley and gave him a stare, "Do you want to raise suspicion?"
Riley, who seemed a little stand-offish to Ben at the moment, shook his head from left to right, clearly telling Ben he had got his point across.
"…now boarding flight 180 to Charlotte, South Carolina…" The lady on the intercom announced.
Passengers around the terminal began to head toward the loading platform as the flight attendant called rows and checked tickets.
It didn't take very long before they were on the plane, locating their seats, and being seated.
Ben had ordered them first class tickets, sparing no expense, "Do you like the seats?" he asked snobbishly.
Abigail giggled lightly, "Do you really think we're this good?"
Riley leaned his seat back a bit, "Oh yeah…" he said folding his arms behind his head.
"Um...Riley…all seats are supposed to be in full upright position." Abigail pointed out.
"Oh…yeah…" He shot back, a little red from embarrassment.