Disclaimer: I disclaim everything from the movie(s) and any historical figures.

A/N: Hey! Sorry for the long wait! This weekend has been hectic, but fun! The good news is my friends and I did go to the audition on Friday, but the bad news is Johnny Depp wasn't actually there (but he is going to be in my state in a week from today: Monday the 10th!). We don't know if we made it in or not because they have yet to start calling people who did make it. Then, I was in Minneapolis on Saturday and Sunday, and that was a blast. We had so much fun going to the Mall of America and everything! But, enough about my weekend, and thank you to Miss Hermione Jane Granger, daisyduke80, bigmacsparkey, unorthodox yo-yo, Halo, momiji'sunusedhalo, AliuIce0814, fantomfairy, Majestik Moose, Jedi'Pirate Jaeh for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all very much! So, without further ado, onto the next chapter!

Note: I just contradicted myself. There's still one more thing I gotta' say. I am still taking some creative license with Jesse James here, okay?

Chapter 18

Ian looked over his shoulder when the back door of the SUV opened and Nick slid inside next to Powell, Ian's henchman that they had also sprung from jail. "Did you get the clue?" Dustin asked immediately from the passenger seat beside the English man.

"I did, but I don't exactly know how much it means," Nick answered, handing the paper to his best friend. "It's a name."

Dustin quickly looked over the paper. "That's all the clue was?" he said in disbelief. "There wasn't any more?"

"No…"

"Let me see," Ian muttered, taking the paper from Dustin and glancing at the two words hastily scribbled on it. He laughed a little after he had read it over. "You told me that you studied history, Dustin."

"I did," Dustin protested in his defense. "I just don't remember there being a Thomas Howard in history."

"There was, that just wasn't his actual name," Ian continued. "Come now, Dustin. You have to know this if you studied history, especially outside of school."

Dustin narrowed his eyes at the English man. "Well if you're so smart, what is it?"

Ian smirked. "It's Jesse James. You know, the bandit?" he explained. "His alias was Thomas Howard."

Powell leaned forward from the backseat, ignoring the glare shot at him from a disgruntled Dustin. "So, what do we have to do to find out about the clue?" he asked. "Research or somethin'?"

But Ian only shrugged as he started up the SUV, handing the paper to him. "We can always go to the library."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"I'm sure that the Library of Congress must have something."

Ben knew that was the hint that would lead them to the next clue, but to confirm it, he would have to speak with Charlie since he was author of the clue. The treasure hunter kissed Abigail good-bye as she left for work and sank down on the couch and took out his cell phone, finding the retired doctor's name on his list of contacts and pushing the call button. After the third ring, the phone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Yes, this is Ben."

"Oh, hi, Ben," Charlie said cheerfully. "Good to hear from you. How's Riley doing?"

"He's feeling a lot better," Ben told him. "Still not completely, but he's growing stronger every day. But I wanted to tell you that we solved Daniel's clue."

Ben could almost see the smile that was reflected in Charlie's voice. "So now you know the story of the treasure of Jesse James?" he asked.

"Yes," Ben answered. "Daniel also told us that the Library of Congress may be a good place to go."

"I see that you are truly ready for my clue," Charlie stated. "All right then. It is in the Library of Congress, but it's a book that you can't find on the shelves. My daughter works there. Just find her, tell her that I sent you, and ask for book number 0.00. Her name is Amy."

0.00? That was the weirdest book number that Ben had ever heard, but that was probably because the book they needed wasn't even in the library's system. "Thank you very much, Charlie," he said. "Will do. Bye."

"Good luck."

Ben flipped his cell phone closed after the doctor's words of encouragement, just as Riley came down the stairs and sat down on the chair across from the couch. "Good morning, Ben."

"Good morning," Ben replied, noticing by his watch that it was almost noon. "What are your plans for today now that you are among the living?"

Riley smirked at the sarcastic question. "Well, probably watch some cartoons, eat a little, maybe take a nap later this afternoon, and then finally watch some movie that's like thirty some years old before going to bed at seven. You know, the only things that you allow me to do," he explained.

Ben raised his eyebrow with amusement. He wasn't that overprotective. "How about going to the library with me to pick up a book?" he asked.

"Whoa. Is Ben Gates really asking me to leave the house when I'm weak from hunger and suffering from a high fever?" Riley said sarcastically, over exaggerating his condition.

The treasure hunter smiled. "Why are you so surprised? You went out yesterday."

"Yeah, but that was against your wishes. This time, you're suggesting it."

"You're funny."

Riley smiled. "I know," he replied. "Humor is one of the qualities I pride myself with. So, which library are we going to?"

Ben met his gaze. "Expect a bit of a drive. We're going to the Library of Congress."

Xxxxxxxxxx

"All right. So let me get this straight," Riley muttered. "We are looking for one girl named Amy who works in the largest library in the world?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Ben replied casually as they entered the building.

"This is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. You know that, don't you?" Riley asked, lowering his voice since they were in a library and one had to be quiet.

"Probably."

Riley looked at his friend with only slight disbelief. "Would discourage most people…"

"Well when we do find her, let me do the talking," Ben said, his eyes moving around the large building. "I know exactly what we're looking for."

"Well why don't you start with the service desk?" Riley suggested, gesturing in its general direction. "It's their job to help people."

Ben shrugged and approached the desk that his friend had pointed out. A woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties with her light brown hair tied behind her head was sitting behind it, and she looked up and gave them a friendly smile when they stopped in front of her. "How may I help you gentlemen?" she asked politely.

"I was wondering if you could help me find someone," Ben answered. "Do you know where I could find Amy Harrison?"

The woman's smile broadened. "You're talking to her," she told him.

Ben blinked with surprise and exchanged a "that was easy" look with Riley. "Seriously?"

"Yes," Amy said with a small laugh. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Well, your father sent us to pick up a book from you," Ben explained. "It's one that can't be found on the shelves and has the number 0.00. I was wondering if you had it."

Amy studied him carefully for a long moment while Riley looked at his best friend with confusion. "All right. This way please," she finally muttered, getting to her feet and straightening out her skirt.

Ben and Riley followed her away from the service desk and across the room to where a door with a glowing red exit sign hanging over it was. Amy pushed open the door and headed down a flight of spiraling stone stairs with the two friends close behind her, the air becoming colder with each step they took. When they reached the bottom, they found themselves faced with a wall of lockers. Amy approached it, having to stand on her toes to reach one of the lockers higher up on the wall. Riley and Ben turned around so that they wouldn't see her combination, only looking back when they heard the door open. Amy reached inside and pulled out a thin, black, leather book and shut the door, locking it again.

"That's not a very big book," Riley commented, looking at it in the librarian's hands as she walked back over to them.

"Well, there's not too much in it, but what is in there is important," Amy told them, handing the book to Ben. "Whatever you do, don't open it until you get home. You don't want any pairs of unfriendly eyes seeing the contents."

Ben looked down on the cover as he slowly nodded. "Thank you very much, Amy. This is really helpful to us."

Amy smiled. "No problem. Always a pleasure to help the great treasure hunter, Benjamin Gates," she replied. "So, what are you looking for this time? Jesse James' secret treasure?"

"That's pretty much it," Ben confirmed with a small smile. "And you've just given us the next clue."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ian picked up his cell phone from the wooden table in front of him when it began to ring. "What happened in the Library of Congress, Powell?" he asked, looking away from the television when Dustin entered the living room carrying bowls of lasagna for himself, Ian, and Nick. The English man listened intently for a minute while the Poole sat down on the couch beside him, picking up some lasagna with his fork. "All right. We'll keep an eye on Gates and Riley and try to figure out the meaning of the next clue."

Nick glanced at him when there was another silence while Ian listened to Powell again, taking a bite of his lasagna. "Oh, that's even better. Keep an eye on that librarian. She may be of some use to us. Call back when you have something." Then, he flipped his phone shut.

"What was that about?" Dustin asked, though he clearly didn't care what Ian said.

"Ben and Riley have found the next clue," Ian answered as he changed the television station, clear that he didn't care what Dustin had to say either. "We'll have to find a way to get our hands on it."

"All right, so what we should do is-!" Dustin began, but was cut off by Ian raising his hand in the air.

"Not so fast, Poole," he interrupted. "We're going to do this my way."

Dustin glared at him angrily. "Who died and made you leader?" he demanded. "I'm the one who got you out of jail, Ian."

"You wouldn't have gotten this far without me," Ian countered heatedly. "Making rash decisions like murdering your father and an old funeral home owner of little importance. You're lucky that I stepped in and helped you to break into the museum. Though I still say that you shouldn't have used explosives…"

"What are we going to do about the clue?" Nick suddenly asked, trying to break up the argument before it turned ugly.

Dustin sighed and turned away from them while Ian looked at the younger man with a small smile. "All right. Here's what we're going to do."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ben sat down at the kitchen table, placing the small, black book they had gotten from the Library of Congress down while Riley sat in the chair beside him. "Ready?" the older man asked. His best friend nodded, and Ben slowly opened the fragile book.

On the first page was a riddle. Ben leaned forward and read aloud:

"The tale of a bandit true

Has led you to this clue.

Do not think hard,

For the answer is not far.

Down you now must go

To where the tale was told.

To find the sum you seek,

You only need to peek

Into the life of one man now dead

At where he met his tragic end."

"This is talking about the story of Jesse James that Daniel told us, right?" Riley asked, still looking at the words as he read them over in his mind.

"Yeah, has to be," Ben answered as he thought about the riddle. "All right, so 'down you now must go to where the tale was told'. That has to be St. Joseph, Missouri since that's where the story took place."

"Right, but then it goes on to say 'at where he met his tragic end'," Riley added. "That would be his home, wouldn't it? That's where he was shot, or 'met his tragic end'."

Ben sighed. "The only thing is, they have made a display of Jesse James' home," he muttered thoughtfully. "I'm unsure that a mind as brilliant as his was would hide something so valuable in a place that could easily be in plain sight."

Riley nodded, thinking this over. "Well, judging by the clue, the treasure has to be somewhere in St. Joseph," he said. "Only one problem. That's an entire town. Jesse James only lived in one house while he was there, and that is the only place I can really think of to look. It wouldn't hurt to check there, would it?"

"No, it wouldn't," Ben agreed, "but I'm just not sure how we're going to find the house. I don't know where it is in St. Joseph…"

"Do we know anyone who does?" Riley asked sarcastically.

Surprisingly, Ben smiled. "I can think of one person who might, or at least may be able to find out," he answered. "I'm going to call my mom."

Riley watched as the older man got to his feet and went into the living room, taking out his cell phone. "I thought she was the expert on dead languages!" he called after him.

"She works at a college, Riley. She knows more than that," Ben's voice floated into the kitchen from the living room. "Now-! Oh, hi, Mom. It's Ben. No, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering if you could help me with something…"

"Okay then," Riley muttered to himself, tuning out the rest of Ben's words as he turned back to the book. He glanced at the riddle for only a second before deciding to turn the page. He saw that there was a note taped to the blank page, but what it said made him gasp.

Riley,

If you're reading this, I assume that my suspicions about Dustin were correct and I'm not there to help you along, but you have solved all of the clues on your own so far. You only have one more to go, and then you will find the family treasure that no one has yet been able to find. But to get my clue, you need to go to the place where Jesse James gave the map to Clara. Good luck, kiddo. I love you.

Dad

Tears burned in Riley's eyes and angrily threatened to fall as he read the note from his dad again, but he was somehow able to hold them back. This was the final piece of evidence that he needed to prove to himself that Dustin really had killed Jeremy, the words coming straight from their father's mouth… well, hand in this case.

"Hey, Riley. Guess what?" Ben said with a smile as he entered the kitchen. But then, his smile vanished and his eyes narrowed in concern when he saw his best friend. "Riley, are you all right?"

"Fine," Riley muttered, wiping his tears away as he struggled to regain himself so his best friend wouldn't worry. "Now, what are you so excited about? Did you get the address?"

Ben slowly sat down at the table and placed his hand gently on the younger man's tense back. "Yeah," he replied. "But first tell me what's wrong."

Riley sighed with defeat as he carefully slid the book over to the treasure hunter, still open to the page with the note from Jeremy taped on it. Ben quickly read it over, and his face darkened with sorrow. "I think we need to get to Missouri as soon as possible," he commented, looking up at the techie after he had turned the page and saw a picture of a young girl who must have been Clara wearing the same pendant that Riley had. "Are you up for it, Riley?"

The younger man was quiet for a young moment as he stared blankly at the table, but then he nodded. "I am."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Amy hummed as she finished cleaning up her desk before moving on to grabbing her light jacket and purse. She was always the last one to leave the Library of Congress, but she didn't mind since she loved the large building with all of its books. The librarian smiled to herself when she thought about the strange visit she had gotten from Benjamin Gates and his kind of cute friend earlier that day. She hoped that they had solved the riddle that her father had written as she turned off the lights and stepped out into the cool night air, locking the doors.

Suddenly, Amy screamed as her arm was roughly grabbed from behind, but a large hand was quickly placed over her mouth to silence her. Her green eyes widened with fear when she saw the face of Powell, the man she recognized as being the one who had escaped from prison with the dangerous Ian Howe.

"Don't fret, my dear," he whispered in her ear, almost tauntingly. "Come quietly and you will not be harmed."

A/N: Not good! But, at least Ben and Riley understand the clue, and all they have to do is go get it. I sense a vacation! This is completely random, but I am very excited for the newest "Batman" movie to come out! Is anyone else out there excited too? I've heard that this Joker (Heath Ledger) is going to be very evil. I mean, he's scary looking, but here's a quote that I found from actor Sir Michael Caine on Ledger's performance of the classic villain: "He is going to surprise a lot of people. He is absolutely terrifying. I'd say that he is the scariest thing I've ever seen on screen." I can't wait! Lol! Let's hope that he's as scary as he says he is! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!