Hey, thanks for everyone who told me what a Mary sue was! I can assure everyone that Alexis is not a Mary sue character, for reasons that will become clear in this, and the next few chapters.

Chapter 5:

The Key's Secret

Alexis rang the doorbell apprehensively.

Ben answered the door and ushered her in. "Abigail, Alexis is here."

Abigail walked into the entry hall. "Hi! Do you want anything to drink?" She asked.

"No, I'm fine." Alexis said.

Ben's eyes fell on the key once again. "May I?" He asked.

Alexis untied the ribbon. "Do whatever you need to." She said, handing the ribbon and key to Ben. He turned it over and over, examining every inch.

"See anything?" Said a voice from above them.

Alexis looked up to see Riley leaning on the banister at the top of the staircase.

"Riley, will you take Alexis upstairs to her room?" Ben asked absentmindedly.

"Fine." Riley said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "If you won't tell me anything about the key, then I might as well." He muttered.

"Let me get my stuff and out of my car." Alexis said. She opened the door and went outside.

Ben went into the kitchen and set the key down on the counter. At the same time, the phone started ringing.

Alexis brought two suitcases in. Ben walked into the entry hall and tapped Abigail on the shoulder.

Riley, for fear of being left out of the conversation, practically bounded down the stairs. "What's up?" He asked, arriving at Ben's side.

"Agent Sadusky called. He wants to talk to us at F.B.I. headquarters. Abigail and I will go. Riley, you stay here." Ben said.

Riley's excitement died. "What?" He asked in disbelief.

"Someone has to stay and entertain Alexis." Ben winked at Riley. "And who better than you?"

Riley watched Ben and Abigail leave, feeling slightly angry that he was the one getting left out.

Alexis watched him. She could tell by his slender frame, seemingly weak physique, and pale skin that he, thought now famous, was still a computer geek. The way his light eyes contrasted his dark hair intrigued her. "He's kinda cute." She thought.

Riley turned to face Alexis. "Do you want me to carry those?" He asked, speaking so quickly that Alexis almost couldn't understand him.

"No, they're not very heavy." She said.

"Okay, follow me."

Riley left Alexis alone to unpack in her room. He went back downstairs to the kitchen. "What did Ben see on that key? He wouldn't tell me, so I'll find out myself!" He found the key right where Ben had left it, on the counter next to the phone and Abigail's jewelry cleaner. Ben had not taken the key off the ribbon, and Riley debated with himself if he should. Curiosity won, and he carefully slipped the key off the necklace. He looked it over just as Ben had. All he saw was tarnish. "This is supposed to be the key to a treasure?" He said to himself.

"Riley?"

Riley jumped. He dropped the key and it splashed into the jewelry cleaner with Abigail's necklace.

"Alexis!" Riley exclaimed as he tried to hide the fact that he was trying to fish the 191-year-old key out of a chemical solution.

"What are you doing?" She asked suspiciously.

"Nothing!" Riley said, feeling very flustered, not only because the key was really old, but because it was Alexis's key.

Alexis walked around to the other side of the counter. "Riley!"

"I dropped it." He said sheepishly.

But Alexis was not referring to the key. "No, look!"

Riley looked at the key and saw that where the tarnish had been cleaned off, parts of an inscription could be seen.

"Put it back in!" Alexis said excitedly.

Riley dropped the key back in the cleaner. The two watched as the liquid dissolved the tarnish. When the key had been mostly cleaned, Riley pulled the key out and rubbed the rest of the tarnish off with a towel. The engraving was now visible, but so small, it was hard to read.

Riley held the key close to his eyes, trying in vain to read the words. He pulled out his reading glasses. He looked to Alexis, who, though he didn't know it, liked the way the glasses looked on him. "I'm farsighted." He explained.

"So is my dad." Alexis said.

Riley took the key into the den and held it under a lamp.

"What does it say?" Alexis asked.

"It's still a little hard to read, but here's what I think it says. Could you write it down? Ben usually keeps a pen and some sticky notes by the phone in the kitchen."

Alexis left the room and returned with the materials. "Okay, go ahead."

She wrote as Riley spoke.

"Old Glory seen,

A message writ,

Forever unseen between

A song's moving script.

A printer's secret

Now Fate's unknown Key

The writer does not know

His silver created me."

Riley put the key down and took the note from Alexis. "It's a clue! Just like the one on that pipe!"

"Should we call Ben?" Alexis asked.

"No!" Riley said, more forcefully than he meant to. He really wanted to figure out the clue himself. "I mean. He's in an important meeting with Agent Sadusky right now. I don't want to bother him." He sat down and copied the poem from the sticky note to a piece of notebook paper. He read and reread the clue, but he couldn't make sense of it. He had never been very good with words, and had never made above a B in English. He also had never had much of a mind for history. He knew the basics and a few random facts, but that wasn't enough to help him solve the riddle. Finally, he gave up and sent Ben a text message.

Ben, long story short, we found an inscription on that key and we're having trouble figuring it out. Please get back ASAP -Riley

Ben returned ten minutes later. "We got your message." He said. "Where's the key?"

Riley handed the key to Ben. Unlike Riley, Ben could clearly see the words. Ben handed the key to Abigail so she could read it. "Incredible." She whispered.

"I know." Riley said. "I don't know how they wrote that so small either."

Alexis stifled a laugh. Abigail gave Riley an annoyed look. "Riley, be serious about this."

Riley grinned. "Hey, someone's got to provide the comic relief around here. He took the piece of notebook paper to Ben.

Ben took the paper and the key to the den. "Let's try and figure this out."

The others followed, anxious to see what the clue meant. They all sat down as Ben read the first line. "Old Glory seen."

"Old Glory? That's what early Americans called the flag." Abigail said.

Ben nodded. "So, a flag seen. Okay. A message writ."

Riley saw his opportunity to help. "Another secret message." He said.

"Judging by the next two lines, 'Forever unseen between a moving song's script,' you're probably right." Ben said. "But what song?"

"What song." Abigail echoed.

"What about 'You're a Grand Old Flag?'" Riley suggested.

"No, that wasn't written until 1906." Abigail said. "Good guess though."

"Old Glory seen…" Ben said. He read the next line. "'A printer's secret.' Hmmm. That's not much help. 'Now Fate's unknown Key…Wait! Key's capitalized! It's a name! Just like Silence was on the pipe! Old Glory…moving song…Key…I think the clue is referring to our national anthem!"

Alexis and Riley listened intently.

"That makes sense." Abigail said. "Francis Scott Key wrote The Star Spangled Banner. That ties the song and Key together."

"Yeah, and he wrote it in 1814 while on a British prison ship. He saw the flag, Old Glory, still flying above Ft. McHenry that morning after an intense battle had raged on all night." Ben said.

"So we need to find the copy that he wrote?" Riley asked.

"I don't think that's possible." Alexis said, finally speaking up. "I know that several original printed copies still exist, one is housed at the Library of Congress. But the original written copy hasn't survived."

"I don't think it's the original copy that we're looking for." Ben said. "Look at the next line. 'A printer's secret.' It's referring to a printed copy. And the last two lines, 'The writer does not know his silver created me.' So, apparently, Key didn't know about the secret message. And this key was made from the very silver Key paid the printer with." Ben explained.

"So, we're looking for the printed copies of the Star Spangled Banner to see if there's a secret message between the lines?" Riley asked.

"Yes." Ben said.

"Great, I'll do some research." Riley said and left to begin.

Ben cleared a few things up with Abigail concerning Alexis's work schedule.

Suddenly, Riley rushed back into the room. "I didn't find his name, but the site mentioned that he was a Mason!"

Ben looked at Abigail and Alexis. "Do you two have access to the documents in the Library of Congress?"

Abigail nodded.

"Get your I.D.s. You'll need them." Ben said.

"What about Ian?' Riley asked. "He could try to tail us."

In his excitement, Ben had forgotten about Ian. "Let's take two cars. Ian will naturally follow me, leaving you three free to find the message." He left the room and returned with a very old, very odd pair of spectacles. "Here, you might need these. Be careful." He kissed Abigail.

As they piled into separate cars, Ben stopped to tell the others one last thing. "Guys, whatever you do, don't get separated."