A/n-That was a nasty piece of writer's block, I'm telling you. Thankfully, it didn't last very long, but I couldn't come up with a single idea where to go from the last chapter. Ick. As if to pile it on, school and water polo started, which means that I have nightly Spanish, Geometry, and whatever-the-hell-else-the-teachers-decide-to-throw-at-us homework ON TOP OF water polo practice. Thus, excuse the slow updates…
Disclaimer-All I own is the woman with the water bottle and the insane plot line!
PS-sarahofearth and MagRowan get a point for guessing Ian's plot, but as you will soon see…bah, go read it yourself before I give it away!
PPS-I know some of the timelines are unrealistic, but I live on the West Coast and have never been to Philadelphia or Washington D.C. Remember, its called fanFICTION not fanFACT
MAJOR NOTE FOR MOVIE FREAKS LIKE ME- I based this chapter more on the "Extended Shaft Sequence" in the Deleted Scenes on the DVD, simply because I think it contained more action and exciting bits. But I put my unique twist on things, as you'll see at the beginning of this chapter…enjoy, mis amigos, enjoy!
Ian was grumpy the entire car ride back from Washington D.C. and as they drove around Philadelphia hoping that inspiration would strike. Driving there had been a complete and utter waste of his time. Chances were, by now Ben would've figured out the next three clues without the Declaration. He knew he shouldn't have handed Riley over so quickly. The Declaration was no help without whatever Ben had found at Independence Hall. Shaw, who was driving once again, noted Ian's silent fury, and knew that the anger was directed toward himself.
"Who would've known that Patrick Gates would be in Boston for the next few days for a convention of something-or-other?" Shaw said, but the look that Ian gave him instantly shut him up. It had been an excellent plan from the get-go; kidnap Ben's father and use him to their even greater advantage than they had used Riley. Unfortunately for them, Patrick had left town for some convention or other. The house sitter had been very vague.
Little did Ian and co. know that the house sitter was really an FBI agent, and Patrick was at the FBI headquarters, answering question upon question about Ben, Ben's closest friends, why they would steal the Declaration, etc. The FBI agent had been stationed at the house in case Ben foolishly returned. Truly, they did not expect an intelligent man such as Ben Gates to go to the first person the FBI would hunt down, but they did so all the same. The appearance of a several men at Patrick's house had been suspicious, but the FBI agent there considered it a coincidence. Probably some of the senior Gates' friends coming for a poker night. His colleagues had other things to worry about, such as the disappearance of Dr. Abigail Chase and one of Ben's closest friends, a Mr. Riley Poole, suspiciously at the time that Ben Gates stole the Declaration. It would be a major lead for the FBI if they could link the doctor and the young man to Benjamin Gates, a major lead indeed.
As they drove past Trinity Church, Ian blinked. One of the cars parked outside was very familiar… "Shaw!" Ian cried, his anger dissipating, "Stop the car!" Shaw very well couldn't stop in the middle of Broadway, so he cruised looking for a parking spot for several moments before Ian could fully investigate the car. Yes, it was the one that he'd left Riley in. A growl of anger rumbled in his head, but he ignored the voice telling him that he should've kept the younger man longer. He knew how to get to Ben now. It was a stroke of luck finding him at Trinity Church. He and Shaw were soon joined by the rest of the crew, "I think it's time we find a treasure, boys," Ian said, and stormed into the church.
Ben and Abigail had tried to leave Riley in the car, but the young man would have none of it. He insisted that his injuries were superficial and that he had been in the treasure hunt longer than Abigail had, and that if anyone would stay in the car, it would be her. It was true that Riley showed no signs of a concussion or any injuries besides a lovely black eye, and there really was no reason to leave him in the car besides to keep him safe from whatever else fate would throw at them. But as was already stated, the young man would have none of it. All three of them had been searching the church and the graveyard for another clue for a considerable amount of time now.
"There has to be another clue. We're missing something," He looked at the ocular device, which Riley was fiddling with and wishing he could've seen the image on the Declaration of Independence.
"Maybe your father was right, and there is no treasure. Maybe the other clue was accidentally discovered already and is lost or was destroyed. Maybe we misinterpreted the clue. Maybe it's not even in Trinity Church." Abigail said glumly.
"It has to be real. It has to be here. We both know it's here because of the symbol on the map. But where…" Ben mused. He looked over at Riley, who was looking through the device and changing the colors of the glass.
"We've been all over the church and the graveyard, Ben. It isn't here," Abigail was saying, not noticing that Ben wasn't paying attention.
"Damn! There was more to it!" Ben growled. Abigail and Riley looked at him curiously; "There was more on the back of the Declaration! The different colors of glass give different messages!"
"And we don't have the Declaration," Abigail said softly. Ben was angry with himself. He should've guessed that there was more; he shouldn't have given the Declaration to Ian. You would've kept the Declaration? His cooler, reasonable side asked, At the risk of your best friend's life? Ben realized that he would've done the same thing a million times over to protect Riley or Abigail. Ben could see the downcast expression on Riley's face; the younger man obviously blamed himself for this setback.
"It doesn't matter," Ben said, "We'll find the treasure with or without the Declaration. We just need to think as the Freemasons did, 200 years ago. Where would you hide a treasure that you didn't want anyone to find?"
"Underground," Riley said, remembering the stories of pirates and buried chests.
"They had nowhere else to put it, so we can use that," Ben assented.
"The clue said "Heere at the Wall" so we can guess that it's somewhere around here," Abigail added, "Could it be right under our feet?" Ben nodded.
"I think it's safe to assume that we're standing right over the treasure," He said, feeling giddy. They were so close and yet so far.
"It wouldn't be right below the surface, or they would've found it by now," Abigail said, shaking her head.
"There has to be a passage to it somewhere," Riley added.
"Then let's get to the lowest point of the church," Ben said, grinning, "The catacombs,"
Ironically, just as Ben, Abigail, and Riley left the Sanctuary of the church, Ian, Shaw and the other mutinied men entered. Ian, having hoped to run into Ben, was carrying the Declaration and had the Meerschaum pipe in one of his pockets.
"Damn, where is he?" Ian growled. He knew that Ben, Riley, and Dr. Chase were in here somewhere; their car was parked outside. He had to think like Ben. If he was looking for a giant treasure, where would he go…the only place to hide a treasure would be underground. Ian didn't think that there would be another clue leading somewhere else; the thought of it never crossed his mind, "We're going to the catacombs, men," Ian said, smiling to himself. By the end of the day, he'd be rich.
"What are we supposed to be looking for down here?" Riley asked, looking around the catacombs. There was just something about being surrounded by the skeletons of dead people that gave Riley the shivers.
"Honestly, Riley, I don't know. A trapdoor through the floor, a series of symbols, a segment of wall that looks fake, anything," Ben said with a sigh, investigating a grave marker.
"That narrows things down," Riley sighed, making for another part of the crypt. He stopped by a random marker, reading it wearily. Parkington Lane, he thought, Sounds like a street. I'd hate to be named "Parkington". A voice broke him out of his reverie.
"We really have to stop meeting like this," Riley froze. Not again…He looked up to face Ian Howe, for the second time in the past day.
"I agree," Riley said, trying to put on a brave façade.
"This may sound cliched, but take me to your leader," Ian said, grinning maliciously. Riley gulped as he noted his other former comrades: Shaw, Phil, and Powell to name a few. He was terribly outnumbered again. There was only one thing to do; take Ian to Ben.
"Ben," Riley said, looking at his friend who was in deep conversation with Abigail over something on a gravestone.
"Riley, did you find anything?" Ben asked, not looking up.
"Unfortunately, I found several things," Ben looked up confused, but confusion turned to shock and anger when he found Ian, Shaw, and company right behind Riley.
"It appears that great minds think alike, Ben," Ian said, smiling. Ben gave no answer, sizing up the situation. Once again, Ian had Riley, but this time he had the Declaration too. There was only one thing to do.
"What do you want now, Ian?" Ben asked wearily.
"The same thing I've always wanted, Ben. The treasure. We both know it's here somewhere, and I can safely assume that you have the key to my lock," Ian said, using a sloppy metaphor for the Declaration and the ocular device, "How about we put the past behind us and do as we meant to do in the first place: work together to find the treasure? We have the old crew, with the addition of the lovely Dr. Chase. I'm getting tired of this game, Ben. We'll find the treasure, split it amongst ourselves, and go our own separate ways," Ben had no choice but to agree. He knew that the treasure had corrupted one of his former closest friends, and the "game", as Ian put it, had gotten too dirty for Ben's liking.
"Alright, Ian. We can wipe the slate clean," Ben said, despite knowing that neither he nor Ian would put the past behind them. Ben was still angry with Ian for kidnapping Riley and trying to kill them on the Charlotte, and Ian would still do whatever it took to get his hands on the treasure. What mattered now, though, was their safety. Ben, Abigail, and Riley were quite outnumbered, and Ian and co. had firearms.
"Good. So, Ben, what did you find at Independence Hall?" Ian asked, smiling.
"This," Ben said, pulling the ocular device out of his pocket, "It's to read the back of the Declaration of Independence. Ian pulled out the Declaration.
"Then I suppose it's good that I brought it, eh?" Ian asked, carefully unrolling it. Ben nodded stiffly. Chances were, Ian had the Meerschaum pipe on his person, also. Ben put on the glasses, seeing the original "Heere at the Wall" message. He adjusted the glass colors as he'd seen Riley do up in the Sanctuary.
"Parkington Lane…Beneath Parkington Lane," Ben read, and handed Ian the glasses.
"Incredible," Ian said softly, reading the inscriptions, "But why would they take us here, then lead us somewhere else?" he asked.
"It doesn't!" Riley said, grinning in spite of the predicament, "Parkington Lane is—I mean, was a man! I was looking at his grave marker when I ran into these guys,"
"Where?" Ben asked. Riley pointed down the hall. Ben carefully rolled up the Declaration and slung the case over his back. It was a small, but nice measure of comfort to know that he had the Declaration back in his possession.
Several moments later, the group of people were standing around the grave marker, "Parkington Lane, third degree master mason," Ben said, grinning. He had been right in assuming the treasure was right beneath the church.
"Look out!" someone cried as one of Ian's men swung a sledgehammer at the grave marker, and Ben's head. He jumped back just in time as the hammer shattered the grave marker with the ease of cracking an egg. The coffin inside was pulled out, and gave everyone a scare as the skeleton fell through the flimsy bottom. It was obvious that whomever built the coffin didn't expect anyone to pull it out of its resting-place 200 years later. However, it was worth it; Shaw pointed a flashlight into the grave, revealing a tunnel leading to the bowels of the earth.
"Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?" Riley said, unable to repress the quip.
"Right. McGregor, Viktor, you stay here. And if anyone comes back without me…well, use your imagination," Ian said, looking towards two of his men. Ben scowled. It meant, in essence, that they would have to protect Ian, or none of them would ever get out of the church alive. Already he was trying to formulate a plan for him, Riley, and Abigail to stay alive as long as possible. Ian looked towards him, smiling slightly and handing him a flashlight, "Shall we?" Ben hoisted himself into the tunnel, crawling along with the flashlight. He noticed that Ian had crawled in after him, followed by Shaw. After that, Ben had to concentrate on where he was going. It would be an interesting predicament if they ran into a dead end.
It was only a few feet before Ben arrived in a room where he could comfortably stand. Torches were hanging from the walls; Ben pulled one off and looked to the other men entering after him, "Got a light?" he asked, offering the torch. Ian produced a lighter, and several seconds later the torch was a mass of flames. Ben handed the flashlight to Shaw and led the way with the torch. He knew that they were the first people to enter the tunnel since the Masons had sealed it from the outside world and buried Parkington Lane to hide it. The torch was also more useful to burn away cobwebs spanning the path; it was getting irritating to get a face of old spider webs. After walking down a small flight of steps, Ben allowed Shaw and Ian to go before him.
"Careful," he said to Ian, truthfully. He wouldn't want to face Viktor and McGregor if Ian died and they returned to the surface without him. Ben didn't know what was at the end of the tunnel, but chances were it would be decayed and dangerous. As Riley passed, Ben put his hand on the younger man's shoulder, reassuring him and letting him know that he didn't blame Riley for everything that had gone wrong. Riley returned the gesture; he knew how dangerous it was but also knew that he could count on Ben to lead them through it. As Abigail passed, Ben grabbed her shoulder, "Come here," he said, pulling her into a kiss. There was a possibility that either, or both of them would die, and repressing his feelings for the "mean Declaration lady", as Riley had called her at the Gala, could mean that he'd never get to express them to her. She smiled as she went down the tunnel, followed by Ben. Powell, last in line, had witnessed the entire scene and sighed morosely.
"Why does that never happen to me?" he asked himself aloud.
The group wandered farther down the tunnel. It almost seemed like they were going to the Gates of Hell themselves.
"What's this?" Ian asked, from the front of the group. Although it was nearly impossible to see more than four feet in front of him, he could sense the immensity of the room he had just entered. He paused, allowing Ben to go before him with the torch. Ben strode boldly forward, noting that they had left the stone passageways and were now walking over wood; wood that had been destroyed by termites and rot for over 200 years. Gaping holes in the floor and ominous creaking sounds put Ben on edge and worried that going down there without any equipment was a bad idea. Ben reached the end of what could be a sort of balcony, and looked out over the edge. He couldn't see much behind or below a giant wooden chandelier.
"It's a chandelier," Ben said, in amazement. He wasn't intentionally voicing the obvious; he reasoned that he had said it for the benefit of his cohorts and captors. He looked for a point where he could set it alight, and upon finding it, he did so. In an impressive display of primitive pyrotechnics rigged by gunpowder, the three-tier chandelier burst forth into an amazing light source, allowing the group to see the giant labyrinth that they were in. He handed the torch to Ian and motioned to Riley.
"Here," he said, and with the younger man's help he undid the ropes binding the chandelier to the balcony and let it down, dangling in the middle of a vast ancient predecessor to the modern elevator. Tying it so it hung there, Ben and the others stared in amazement at the giant labyrinth of elevators and wooden walkways that the Templars had created over 200 years ago.
"Look at the elevators," Ben said, his voice layered in triumph and amazement. The treasure had to be here somewhere; wasn't this underground passage evidence of that?
"How do a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?" Powell said, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"The same way they built the pyramids, and the Great Wall of China," Ben replied, his admiration for those that had gone before rising swiftly.
"Yeah…" Riley said, looking around, "Aliens helped them," Of course, everyone ignored this attempt at lightening the situation, and Riley decided that now was definitely not the time for quirky jokes.
"Right," said Ian, "Let's go," Ian, still holding the torch that Ben had handed them, headed down the wooden staircase first, Powell close behind him, "Careful," he added, testing each board before he put his full weight on it. If the Templars had built this 200 years ago, he was positive that one wrong step could send all of them plummeting to their doom. Behind Powell were Shaw, Ben, Riley, and Abigail. Abigail wished she had a torch or a flashlight to keep the semi-darkness from closing in behind her. Despite the fact that the chandelier made it easier to see, it was still unnerving to look back and see the wooden path vanish into the darkness.
The group slowly and carefully made their way along the passages, their heartbeats accelerated by the tension and fear of the dark abyss below them. The wood creaked and shifted under their weight, and each gave a silent prayer for safety regardless of how religious they were normally.
"We're right under the Trinity Graveyard, probably why nobody found this," Ben said. Great, there's dead people on top of us, Riley thought, suddenly imagining the ceiling opening up and a load of corpses and skeletons raining down on the group, smashing the passageway, sending them plummeting down into the chasm to die and remain there forever with the already dead, at least until some hapless clergy member or tourist noticed the demolished grave marker and the casket of Parkington Lane. He shook his head furiously to rid his mind of the haunting images. It would do no good to think that way down here.
A sudden, horrific rumbling sound, accompanied by the violent shaking of the entire underground passage made Riley jump and think that what he had been imagining was actually coming to pass. Dust and dirt rained down on them, and the earthquake slowly subsided. Every member of the group was silently surprised that they were not plummeting to their deaths.
"Subway," said Ian, in an unnaturally steady voice. Ben nodded, confirming Ian's statement. If the subway rattled the entire place that badly, it was a miracle it was still in relatively good shape, and it would be anther one if it remained in that condition long enough for them to find the treasure and return to the surface. It was several more seconds before the unnerving shaking of the wood had stopped and everyone was certain that it was safe to move on again. They were wrong.
Shaw had only taken two steps before the wooden path collapsed under him. He gave a scream as the image of Powell in front of him suddenly accelerated upward…or was it he who was plummeting downward? Time seemed to slow as he looked down, into the abyss, then up to see the stricken faces of the other members of the group looking down on him. That was when he started screaming. Shaw never lost the grip on his flashlight, even as the darkness swallowed him up and he could see no more above him. Nobody even heard the sound of his body smacking into the ground.
Abigail covered her mouth in horror. She had known all along that plummeting to one's doom was entirely feasible, but she hadn't expected it to actually happen. Somehow, Powell had ended up in front of Ian, though Ian did not remember moving. He looked up at Ben, speechless. After Ben, Shaw had been his closest friend on the original crew. It was almost like he was Ben, and it was Riley who had fallen to his death. The pain in his eyes was obvious. Ben looked away to Abigail, who was making soft sounds of distress.
It was at that terrible moment that the boards, weakened from the weight of the group and from the loss of supports from Shaw's fall, crashed again. Ian, who had been standing on a particular part of the ill-fated section of path, felt the ground fall out from under him and twisted around, grabbing a stronger section of the trail.
"Hang on!" Powell shouted, straining to be heard above the smashing and breaking of planks. On the other side of the hole, the trail had also began a steep fall. Abigail, who had been last in line, was away from the epicenter of the damage; Ben and Riley, however, were not. Ben, like Ian, had a death grip on Abigail's part of the passageway, and Riley was several feet below the two other men, dangling over the abyss and grabbing nothing more than one of the planks that had been holding their section of the path to the wall. His support creaked ominously, and Riley struggled to pull himself up. He gave a strained cry, hoping that someone would be able to help him before his grip failed and he ended up as Shaw did.
Powell, by this time, had a grip on Ian's wrist and was trying to pull the other man onto the safer section of planks, "I've gotchyou," Powell said, heaving Ian up. Ben was struggling to pull himself up the falling path, and Abigail, leaning over as far as she dared, extended her hand.
"Grab my hand!" she shouted, reaching for Ben. He grabbed it, and with her assistance, he got up onto the path. He promised himself never to underestimate the strength of the doctor. Ian had been fully rescued and was straining to get his breath back and to calm his racing heart; he had never been in such a horrifying and deadly predicament. However, his safety was not insured for long as the planks that he and Powell were standing on began to fall themselves. Not far away was one of the elevators, and Ian knew that the only way to save him and his friend was to jump for it. He wasn't sure if the elevator could handle two grown men leaping onto it from several feet away, but it was either not do anything and die, or try to save themselves and possibly die. He opted for the latter.
"Get on the elevator," he said to Powell, who gave him a nervous look, "Jump!" he said, half shoving Powell over. He gave a strangled yell as he leapt for the elevator, and to Ian's relief the old wooden structure did not plummet to the ground.
"It' s OK!" Powell said, and part of Ian sighed in relief. The rest of Ian, however, expertly tossed Powell the torch and leapt, just before the section collapsed into the crevasse.
Ben, meanwhile, had somehow managed to get Riley near enough so that he could grab his friend's hand. Luckily, Riley was small, lightweight, and easy to haul to safety. Once on the safe section of passage, Riley nearly collapsed onto the wood and rope banister that "protected" them from falling into the ravine. He was covered in sweat and his breath was coming in short, fast gasps; Ben was afraid that this on top of the injuries that Riley had already suffered could cause the young man to pass out.
"Ian," Ben said, looking down at Powell and Ian below him, "We can't go down this way. We'll leave, we'll come back with safety gear and an exploration crew,"
"No," said Ian, "We'll find the treasure. Now get in the elevator," He didn't mean to sound too harsh; Shaw was dead, and he, Ben, and Riley had all almost died.
"You saw what happened to Shaw," Ben said, trying to cajole Ian. It did the opposite. Ian's face contorted into a grotesque scowl, and he whipped out his gun.
"If you do not get into the elevator, Ben, I'll kill Dr. Chase and Riley right here, right now," he said, his voice a low snarl. He also produced the gun and took off the safety, telling the others that Ian's threat was not an empty one. Ben gulped. With the loss of his closest friend, Ian was dangerous and willing to do whatever it took to ensure that Shaw's death was not in vain.
"Ok, relax Ian," Ben said slowly, as the three of them moved towards the elevator. As he slowly cranked the elevator down, he didn't notice the frayed piece of rope growing nearer and nearer to the wheel controlling the speed of the elevator…
YES FOR NEW CLIFF-HANGER! I was going to go all the way through the shaft sequence right there, but I decided that it would make the chapter too long. I think this makes up for the short previous chapter, eh? I hope nobody hates me for cutting Patrick, but I never liked him very much to begin with. It's actually quite tricky writing the sequences without him…Anyway, please review and cheerio! Mmm…cheerios…:drools: