Okay, so, I promised three chapters this weekend and I'm planing on holding true to that! If you thought last chapter was slow, you're in luck this is where the real action begins!

Chapter 12:

Mount Vernon

"Ian!" Riley exclaimed.

"You seem surprised. Did you not think I would try to find the next clue?" Ian said sarcastically.

Riley drew back as Ian stepped through the door; followed by Jones and two other men neither Riley nor Alexis had seen before.

"So, Riley," Ian continued in an eerily friendly manner. "Where are Ben and Abigail?"

"Obviously not here." Riley growled.

Ian shifted his attention to Alexis. "And this must be the lovely Miss Lowell. I don't believe we've been formally introduced, but since we already know each other's names, I see no need for those formalities now."

"Yeah, so you can kill us that much faster!" Riley screamed in his mind. "Leave us alone, Ian." Riley said warningly.

Suddenly, Alexis made a bolt for the door! The instant he saw her move, Riley ran around the opposite side of their harassers. Ian was caught by surprise. "Get them!" He shouted.

Riley and Alexis ran into the sanctuary of the church. "Down here!" Alexis said, grabbing Riley's hand and diving under a pew.

A few seconds later, they heard Ian and his men storm in.

"I don't see them." One of the new men said.

" They're in here somewhere." Ian remarked.

Alexis quietly took a hymnal from the pew in front of theirs as Jones crept toward them

He leaned his head down to look underneath.

Alexis lashed out, striking the unfortunate crook on the back of the neck and rendering him unconscious.

Ian heard the commotion and , smiling, walked down the isle to where Jones lay.

Alexis pulled back in fright. "I should have known someone would hear that!" She thought.

Ian knelt down and looked under the pew. Alexis lashed out with the hymnal again, but Ian caught her wrist and pulled her up. "We now, look who's the little warrior!"

"Let me go!" Alexis screeched, thrashing wildly.

One of the other men pulled Riley up by the hood of his jacket.

Ian smiled at Alexis. "I'll be taking that key."

"No!" Alexis yelled instinctively, grabbing for the necklace, but Ian had already broken it. Riley made no move to stop him.

"Now, it's clear that neither of you know the next clue. Ben will have taken it upon himself to find it. So, I'll be off to find him." Ian said, releasing Alexis's wrist. He turned and signaled for the other two men to carry Jones to their car, then walked out of the church.

Alexis's shaking legs gave way and she sank to the floor. Riley fumbled with his phone as he tried to dial Ben's number. "Ben, hide! Do something! He said as soon as Ben picked up.

There was no further discussion except ,"Meet us at the car."

Riley hung up, then led the still reeling Alexis outside.

Ben hurried Abigail and Patrick into the museum. He stopped on of the workers. "Is there a back way out?"

The woman nodded. "Follow me."

Riley and Alexis watched as Ian entered the museum.

"Come on." Riley said and grabbed Alexis's hand. They both ran across the street and watched the door from the other side of the Escalade.

Ben walked around the side of the museum followed by Patrick and Abigail. Ben unlocked the car. "Everyone in, now!"

Within seconds, everyone was in and Ben got the car out of there.

"What did you find?" Riley asked.

"Mount Vernon." Ben answered simply. "We're flying to Virginia."

Meanwhile, Ian and his men searched the museum. Ian finally realized what must have happened. "Damn! I shouldn't have let those two go! They must have warned the others! They used the bloody back door trick!"

Suddenly, a woman approached him. "May I help you, sir?" She asked in a friendly voice.

"Do you have a back door?" Ian inquired.

"Yes, why?" The woman said.

"Did you let anyone use it recently. Anyone not employed here?"

"Yes, a group of three."

"What were they looking at before they left?"

The woman became suspicious. "Why?"

There was a brief silence. "Scavenger hunt!" One of the men said.

Ian glared at him.

"Sponsored by a radio station. It's a contest. 'The Ultimate Treasure Hunt'! Winner gets ten grand!"

The woman relaxed. "Oh, in that case, follow me."

Ben parked the car in the airport parking lot, then again, called Sadusky. "We're going to Mount Vernon, Virginia. The car's at the airport. We'll need another one once we get there."

"Well Ben, I think you're going to close the book on the treasure of the Knights Templar for good." Sadusky remarked.

"Ian might be trailing us. I have no way of knowing, though." Ben said.

"We'll take care of Ian." Sadusky said. "You just worry about the treasure."

The group's little excursion took only two hours, and by 10:00, they were in the air on their way to Virginia.

Alexis and Riley's seats were next to each other. Alexis let Riley take the window seat.

Several minutes into the flight, Riley remembered what he had bought for Alexis. "Hey Al…Lexi?"

Alexis pulled herself from the magazine she was reading. "Yes?"

"I…bought this for you earlier." Riley said, handing her a small gift box.

Alexis took the box gently from Riley's hands and opened it. Inside were a gold chain and a small gold pendant in the shape of an American flag. Colored enamel gave the flag color.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Alexis exclaimed. She undid the clasp and draped it around her neck. "Thank you so much!" She took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.

Ben was contemplating where the treasure could be. If it had been hidden at Mount Vernon, why hadn't anyone else found it?

"What are you thinking about?" Abigail asked.

Ben was brought back from his thoughts by her voice. "I was wondering why no one had found the treasure if it's hidden somewhere like Mount Vernon, a major historical site."

Abigail smiled. "For the same reason no one had found the treasure under Trinity Church. The place is a national shrine. Why disturb it?"

The plane touched down in Virginia an hour later.

The five imedeately found the new car provided by the F.B.I.

"Well," Ben said. "Here we go."

The landscape flashed by as the car sped along the road to Mount Vernon. The occupants of the car were silent in their anticipation. None of them knew if this would be the last stop on their quest, or just the next step.

The car rounded a corner and the estate of George Washington came into view.

"So, this is it." Patrick said.

"This is it." Ben agreed.

They took a guided tour of the house, but found nothing to indicate a hidden passageway.

"I just don't get it!" Ben said in frustration once they were outside the house. "I thought it would be here."

Riley was surveying the landscape, deep in thought. He walked away from the house toward the river, about a half a mile away.

Alexis turned. "Riley, where are you going?"

"I have this idea that what we're looking for is- AHHHHH!" Riley screamed as the ground beneath him gave way and he plunged downward into total darkness.