North Brabant, Netherlands

They spent the night in their hotel watching for any sign of the police and then took the next flight out of Honolulu to Atlanta. Another day later they boarded another flight and arrived at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

With only their duffel bags they were quickly through customs and in their rental car and ten hours since boarding in Atlanta they were driving along the A2 towards Heeswijk. An hour later they drove through the Abbey's brick arch entry on Abdijstraat and parked in the car park surrounded by head-high hedging. It was after midday and the day was cloudy and brisk.

Berne Abbey had changed a lot since it was founded in 1134 and its modern facade was that of a large brick building with white framed windows. Attached to the main building was a church with a high pointed steeple and large, circular glass window with the eight-point star of redemption depicted on it.

The car park was empty, and Nate and Sully walked past the church and through the entrance into the main building. Inside was a modern setting with plastered white walls and modern furniture set in an open, relaxing style. They were greeted by a pleasant-looking, middle-aged man standing behind a counter. He was clean shaven and wore his hair short in a way that reminded Nate of a military haircut.

"Welkom in de abdij van Berne. ik ben-

Nate held a hand up, "English?" he asked with an embarrassed smile.

"Of course. Welcome to the Berne Abbey" he said in heavily accented English. "I am Brother Janssen, how may I assist you today?"

Sully moved off to a rack of brochures advertising the local sights and attractions while Nate broke into the rehearsed spiel they'd agreed on.

"Hello, my friend and I here are researchers from the Bishop Museum in the United States. We are doing some research on travels to and from the Hawaiian Islands of people of interest. We were hoping we would be able to examine some of your records."

Aside from being researchers, it wasn't a total lie. And even then, treasure hunting required some degree of research anyway.

Brother Janssen gave them a warm smile, "I am not able to assist, but I will take you to meet Brother de Haan, the records keeper here at the Abbey. He may be able to assist. If you will follow me."

He indicated to the door to the side of the counter and Nate called to Sully who had a brochure in his hand.

"A beer tasting tour?" Nate asked, glancing at the brochure.

Sully shrugged, "Yeah, they do it right here at the Abbey. Where are we going?"

"We're going to meet someone who might be able to help us."

"Excellent" Sully said as he pocketed the brochure.

Brother Janssen took them deeper into the Abbey, leading them down hallways lined with religious paintings and wooden crosses. He gave them a brief history of the Abbey as they walked. It was founded in 1137 and is the oldest religious community in the Netherlands. He told them how it had been plundered in 1572 during the Dutch War of Independence and burned down in 1579 in the same war.

Nate threw Sully a look when they were told this information thinking this put all they knew in doubt, but Sully just smiled and winked.

Janssen continued on, telling them they currently had 20 Augustinian monks, and he admitted that the numbers were dwindling but they still kept up their community relations and expanded from not only providing Church services but also providing accommodation to guests and education courses as well as opening a bookstore.

"Don't forget the beer tasting tour" Sully said, holding up the brochure.

"Of course. It is one of our more popular events. If it is of interest to you, we run them once a week.

"And here we are." He stopped outside a heavy wooden door with a name plate that read:

Archief

Opening the door, he led them into a large room filled with more paintings but also wooden shelves running from one side of the room to the other stacked with files and folders and boxes. An elderly man with thinning white hair and wearing simple slacks and a shirt was sitting at a writing desk, pen running furiously across the pages of what looked to be a ledger and mumbling something to himself in Dutch.

"Brother de Haan?" Janssen said softly.

The old man looked up, his face that of old leather, and regarded them with a cold, blue-eyed stare.

Nate already had the feeling this wasn't going to go well.

"Wat!" he barked.

Janssen looked unfazed and Nate guessed this crotchety old man was always this abrasive, even to his fellow brothers. He introduced Nate and Sully as researchers from America who wanted to explore their archives for information to assist with their research.

Brother de Haan turned out to be very unhelpful.

"Absolutely not! Vertrekken!" he barked standing up from his chair and pointing the way they had come in.

While they left the room, Janssen and de Haan exchanged some quiet words in Dutch, before closing the door behind them. He gave them a sheepish smile.

"My apologies. I was unaware Brother de Haan was deeply involved in an important project. He is a man who takes his work seriously and does not like to be disturbed."

He started walking back the way they came with Nate and Sully in tow.

"What is he working on?" Sully asked.

Janssen shrugged, "I am not sure. It must have come from the Abbot for it to be so important."

"Do you know when we can inspect the records?"

Janssen gave them an apologetic smile, "I am sorry, my friends, but I do not know. Brother de Haan is very protective of his charge and will not let anyone in until he is finished. Not even his fellow brothers."

He led them through the hall and back into the entrance area of the building.

"I am truly sorry I could not assist you with your research," he told them, leading them to the front door. "I believe you may find some information from the Nationaal Archief. They are located at The Hague."

Nate nodded solemnly.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Janssen asked.

Nate wanted to tell him thanks for nothing, but Sully cut in before he could get a word out.

"Hey, when does the next tour start?" he said holding up the brochure.