Chapter 2:

Escaped

Alexis was somewhat starstruck as she watched the now famous Ben Gates walk to meet them as they parked in the driveway of Riley and Ben's house. The house itself was a large red brick mansion built in the early 1800's. The door and windows were arched and trimmed with white wood. There were tall trees all around the house and expansive gardens on either side of the driveway. "I can't believe you live here." Alexis whispered to Riley, though she was sure he couldn't hear her.

Ben seemed greatly distraught. "It's Ian!" He declared. "He escaped from prison!"

"How?" Riley asked in astonishment. He stepped out of the car and motioned for Alexis to do the same.

"No one knows." Ben said. "But I have no doubt he'll be after us. We put him in prison and he'll want revenge."

Alexis listened in silence. Was Riley really in grave danger?

"Let's go inside." Riley said, suddenly feeling very insecure outside in the open. "Oh, by the way, this is Alexis."

"I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances. I'm am pleased to meet you, though." Ben said.

As they walk to the front door, Riley explained to Ben why Alexis was with him.

The inside of the house was just as grand as the outside. An ornate crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling in the entry hall. There was a curved staircase that led to an upstairs hall. Alexis barely had enough time to take in the other details. Riley and Ben whisked by, so she followed them quickly. They walked into a cozy den, lit by two floor lamps. The furniture was old fashioned and elegant. Ben motioned for Alexis to sit on the sofa next to Riley. He sat in a chair across from them.

"Have you told Abigail?" Riley asked.

"I've already contacted her. They are stepping up security at the Archives."

"What about here?"

"I'm going to have the security system upgraded tomorrow." Ben said.

"Ben, tomorrow could be too late!" Riley said. An oppressive silence followed. Ben knew Riley had a point.

"I'll call Sadusky. He might be able to help." Ben said finally.

Somewhere in the house, a clock chimed 5:00.

"You should take her home." Ben said.

"Yeah, sorry about all this." Riley said apologetically. "Let's go."

As they walked back to the door, Ben stopped Riley. "Be your guard. Ian could have already made it this far."

Riley gave Ben a reassuring smile. "Don't worry."

As they drove out of the driveway, Riley offered to take Alexis to work the next day. "I can pick you up after your last class and take you to the Archives."

"That would be great." Alexis said. " I don't know if the police will find my car anytime soon."

They stopped at a stoplight. Riley found a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down his cell phone number. "Call me after your last class tomorrow."

Alexis tore the paper in half and wrote her number down. "Here's my number in case anything comes up."

The light turned green and they began moving again. Riley looked in his side-view mirror then turned his head slowly back to the front. "Alexis, don't freak out on me, but…" His voice took on a high pitched note of pure terror. "But Ian's right behind us!"