Disclaimer: I don't own anything
A/N-This is a long chapter because my school play is this week and I won't be able to update for a couple of days. Enjoy!
Chapter Six:
By the time he and Claire reached the living room, Riley was outright fuming. She had absolutely no right to come barging into my room like that! he thought angrily. Don't they teach people how to knock at Harvard?
Stomping into the room, he flung himself down on an armchair, ignoring the looks from Ben and Abbie. Claire entered the room moments later, looking somewhat embarrassed, and Abbie's expression changed from confused to amused.
"Alright." Ben started, "I think we should begin by making a list of people who know about the document."
"Uh, Guys?" Riley asked looking around. "I think it's kind of obvious. Who was here last night for her-." he shot a less-than-friendly look at Claire. "-little pirate story who isn't here now? And has a criminal record a mile long? And who's tried to kill us for treasure before?"
Glancing over a Claire, Riley realized that the thoughtless accusation of her brother because he was mad probably wasn't a good idea.
"My brother did not hire someone to steal the Blackbeard documents!" she hissed. "Why would he have someone trash his own sister's apartment?"
"Maybe you're in on it!" Riley accused. "Great way to throw suspicion off by hiring someone to break in and pretend to look for a document!"
"That's not true and you know it!" she yelled. "I realize I probably embarrassed you earlier, but you've had unfair prejudices against me and my brother since we've met, so I suggest you either shut up or……" She looked flustered trying to think up an appropriate option. "just shut up!"
"Claire! Riley!" Abigail shouted. "Both of you stop it! Claire, no one" she gave Riley a look "is accusing your brother. Let's focus on trying to find the man who actually did this."
Both muttering under their breath, Riley crossed his arms and slouched down in his chair while Claire crossed the room and sat in the armchair farthest away from Riley.
"Well," she began, "The only person I told about the letters was my thesis advisor, Professor Robinson. He's a fellow Blackbeard enthusiast, and he had helped me on some of my research. When I told him I was giving it to you, he did get a little mad." she said. Riley remembered the phone conversation he had overheard the first time they met.
"But he definitely wouldn't do something like this." she added hurriedly. "I didn't know him very well, but he wasn't the kind of guy who would resort to violence to get some important documents."
Ben frowned. "Is there anyone he could have told?"
Claire hesitated. "He told me that he was going to look for a private sponsor for me. He didn't want the school taking all the credit. But I don't think he had started looking when I told him I was giving it away."
Nodding Ben stood up. "We should have the FBI question him anyway. Maybe he contacted the wrong kind of person. Meanwhile, we should leave as soon as possible."
Riley stood up. "I can get us the next flight to Nassau under fake names."
Claire shook her head. "That's impossible-we'll need fake passports."
Riley smirked "That's not a problem."
"Riley's our resident computer nerd." Abigail informed Claire.
"I prefer genius, thanks."
Claire rolled her eyes. "Somehow I'm not surprised."
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"Are you sure you have everything?" Ian asked her one last time.
"I'm sure. I have all my books on Edward Teach, my notes, and most importantly, the letters." Claire reassured him as she managed to find a spot in the airport parking lot.
"I meant clothes, shampoo, maybe an extra pair of shoes? You know, what normal girls bring when they go to the Bahamas?" he questioned sarcastically as he helped her pull her bags across the lot.
"I'm all set. All I need are my fake passport and ticket, which I'm told Bill Gates will provide when we meet him right here at the front.'
Ian grinned. "I see you've gotten to know Riley"
"THE most insufferable, annoying, arrogant……." she muttered, trailing off when she saw Riley pull up in what was possibly the most gorgeous car she had ever seen. While Ian had gone through his car stage when he was teen, she had absolutely no idea what kind of make it was. All she knew was that it was red and shiny and she wanted it.
"Nice car Riley." Ian remarked, surprised.
Riley adjusted his expensive-looking sunglasses that were made to make guys look cool, but looked kind of awkward on him.
"Thank you." he replied smoothly, his "Rico Suave" demeanor ruined when he tripped and fell on his ass while trying to get out of he car. Jumping up quickly, he threw a passport to Claire, which she failed to catch. Ian had apparently sucked up all the reflex genes as well. Picking it up off the ground, she opened it to see a picture of her with the name "Jane Smith" printed next to it.
"Very creative." she remarked "Where'd you get this picture of me?"
"From your school's website, right next to your confidential files." Riley answered smugly. "By the way, your teachers think you're reclusive."
"That's personal information!" Claire hissed "I could have given you a picture; you didn't have to invade my privacy!"
"You're one to talk about invading privacy!" Riley retorted.
What the bloody hell are they talking about? Ian wondered. Claire and Riley's argument was cut short by the arrival of Ben and Abbie, who had just come from dropping Patrick off at the elder Patrick Gates' house.
"Everyone ready?" Ben asked. "Riley, can we have our passports?
Handing them to Ben, Riley explained. "Actually, there were no flights to Nassau this week, so I had to……tweak our traveling plans a little."
"Tweak how?" Abigail asked cautiously.
"We're actually only flying to Florida." Riley explained.
"Then what do we need the passports for?"
Riley cringed. "I rented a boat to take us to Nassau from there."
"But that's a three day trip!" Claire said, horrified. There was no way she was going to spend three days trapped in a confined space with Riley Poole. "We'll have to hire a guy to drive the boat, which could risk our identities."
"It's ok Clare," Ben assured her. "I can drive a boat. I learned in the Navy." Checking his watch, he said "We're going to be late, we should go."
After hugging his sister. Ian looked her square in the eye. "Be careful. No doing any crazy stunts. I'll call you once a day to tell you what the feds have gotten so far."
She grinned. "Aren't you glad you have something to do while I'm away? And while you're helping the FBI, I can rest assured that you're not doing anything illegal."
Ian rolled his eyes "Yes, I'm thrilled. Off you go now."
Hugging him one last time, Claire grabbed her bags and followed Abbie and Riley into the airport. As Ben started to bring up the rear, Ian stopped him.
"Ben" he said quietly. "If anything happens to my sister…." he trailed off, not threateningly, but worriedly. Looking at him, Ben could se how concerned he really was.
"She'll be fine Ian." he convinced him. "We all will."
Nodding, Ian turned and walked back toward the parking lot. He had an FBI agent to meet.
Riley handed out tickets. "You two are going to be right across from us." told Ben and Abbie.
"First class, not bad." Claire commented. Then she saw the number on her ticket. As Riley noticed her glare he explained. "Hey, I didn't want to sit next to you either, but we can't have you presenting your little historical monologue to a complete stranger who pretends to be your buddy."
This was going to be an extremely long flight,Claire thought.
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Riley was keeping mercifully silent, Claire thought as the plane leveled out. He had his nose buried in some book. Glancing over, she saw the titile: The Curse of The Bermuda Triangle.
"You believe in that myth?" she asked, gesturing towards the book.
"It's not a myth." Riley snapped. "There is documented proof that the number of shipwrecks and plane crashes in that area are a statistical anomaly."
"I thought that techno geeks didn't believe in anything they couldn't understand." she commented skeptically.
"And I thought that history geeks believed in any "myths" they read in books." Riley fired back. "Looks like we both broke the stereotype."
Claire scowled. Why couldn't she ever think up good comebacks like that? She hated it when someone else had the last word.
"You know, it defies the laws of nature, not to mention gravity, that ships and planes could just be sucked down into the water." she argued. "There is no existing power that large."
"No existing power, but what do we really know? Humans have only been on the earth for a few thousand years, while the earth has been around for millions. We have no way of knowing if there is a giant force in the Bermuda Triangle." Riley countered.
"Yes we do! Because we have computer nerds like you who can do practically everything with a laptop, including hack into people's private files!"
"Hey! You're changing the subject!" Riley protested.
Watching the two argue from across the aisle, Abigail smiled. "You know who they remind me of?" She asked, nudging Ben.
"Who?"
"Us."
Ben chortled. "Except they hate each other."
"We weren't so fond of each other either when we first met." Abigail reminded him. "Besides, I think that they'd get along well if they stopped yelling."
Ben recognized the look in his wife's eye. "Abbie, remembered what happened the last time you tried to set Riley up?"
"This is different," she argued. "They're just like us!"
"Aghhh….. just stop talking!" Claire yelled from across the aisle, throwing her hands up in defeat.
"Hey, you started it! I was reading peacefully!"
"Well," Abigail amended "Almost."
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Florida was really bright. Too bright, Claire decided. She had been cooped up in dark libraries for far too long. Squinting, she managed to run into a bench next to the sidewalk. Riley, who was wearing his ridiculous looking sunglasses, looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. Rubbing her knee, Claire ignored him. "Where is this dock place anyway?" she asked Ben.
"Right down the street."
As they neared the docks, the air cooled from the sea breeze. Claire smiled and enjoyed the feeling, tilting her head back. She hadn't been to the beach since she started grad school-she'd been too busy. But years before, when she had lived with Ian, they used to go to the beach all the time. She would swim around and pretend she was Blackbeard, scourge of the oceans. She had been, she realized fondly, quite a geek.
Claire's memories were interrupted when they came to a stop on the dock in front of a ship. She gaped admiringly. This was what she was going to spend three days on? It wasn't quite the dinghy she had expected.
The ship was all shining hardwood, no ugly plastic to make it look like a yacht. It was long, not as long as some of the ships on the dock, but long enough to have an expansive belowdecks, which meant that maybe she wouldn't be squished up to everyone 24/7. It must have been a huge sailboat primarily, since it had a mast and sails, but there had been an engine installed. On the side in shining red letters was the "U.S.S. Dolphin."
"She's beautiful." Ben said, and Claire nodded. It was like one of the ships from her daydreams as an awkward teenager who wanted to set out to sea and be a pirate, or just drift along the ocean. Picking up her bags, she started across the walkway onto the bridge. Throwing her bags unceremoniously on the deck, she went to stand at the very front of the ship, right below the carved figurehead.
Even though she was an insufferable know-it-all obsessed with history, Riley couldn't help but think that she kid of looked like a live figurehead with her head tilted back in the breeze.
Wow-the sea air must really be getting to me, he thought, chuckling amusedly.
As Ben and Abbie climbed aboard (and Riley argued with the dock owned for ten minutes about the price of the ship) the dock workers untied the ship and the U.S.S. Dolphin set sail, with the new crew of four waving (Claire enthusiastically, Riley half-heartedly).
As the ship headed out into the sunset, it looked like a scene from an adventure movie. The four stood at the bow (front) of the ship and enjoyed the setting sun.
"So…" Riley began, breaking the picturesque silence. "Who knows which way it is to Nassau?"
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