Disclaimer: Uh, last time I checked, Ben and co. not mine! Dustin, Nick, and everyone else that I threw in before are mine though!
A/N: Thanks for all of your quick reviews! I just can't believe that we're already reaching this point, you guys! This is my last chapter! BUT (see, there's a "but". Don't panic yet) I do have an epilogue planned. AND (see, there's an "and" too) since I've reached 200 reviews (and much beyond, thank you everyone!), I will throw in a little surprise after the epilogue and then something else that you'll all love. So, this isn't over yet! Thank you so much to daisyduke80, Halo, doodlegirll, Miss Hermione Jane Granger, karmine, AliuIce0814, Majestik Moose, unorthodox yo-yo, riley-poole27, and fantomfairy for your wonderful reviews! Also, special thanks to ripooleexQlp, who reviewed chapter 24 but I didn't see the review before I submitted 25. Thank you! All right, here we go!
Chapter 26
Riley climbed down from the chair and walked with Abigail to join Ben at the entrance of the narrow doorway. The three of them stared down the flight of stone steps, wondering what awaited them at the bottom.
"Well, I think Riley should go first," Ben finally said, putting his arm around the younger man's shoulders.
"What? Why me?" Riley asked with surprise.
Abigail gave him a kind smile. "Well, you were the one who figured out your father's final clue when Ben and I couldn't," she answered him, ruffling his hair playfully. "Also, the treasure belongs to you and your family, not us."
Riley sighed. "That may be true, but Ben-!" he began.
"No, Riley. This is your turn," Ben interrupted him, shaking him gently. "Lead the way."
"Well, all right…" Riley took out the flashlight that everyone had been handed before the tour began, and he cautiously began to head down the spiraling stairs. Ben and Abigail followed close behind, their flashlights also out for visibility. Riley stumbled a little as one of the stone steps crumbled beneath his feet, but he was saved from falling by Ben's sturdy hand. The rest of the way down went by without any near accidents, and they found themselves facing a long, underground, dirt path. Some water dropped down from the earthy ceiling above because of the rain that had recently fallen.
Abigail nudged Riley to make him go forward, but instead, he linked arms with Ben and Abigail so that they would stick together, their three separate flashlight beams merging to create one as they walked. At one point, Riley cried out in surprise when a rat ran out on the dirt path in front of them, making Abigail and Ben laugh as they were forced to stop because of the small rodent. The techie laughed nervously, wondering what other creepy crawlies were in the tunnel.
Soon, the three friends reached a stone wall at the end of the path without running into any other alarming creatures. Riley, Ben, and Abigail separated and began to look over the stone with their flashlights, searching for a clue that could lead them further. Riley wandered aimlessly, though his eyes were intent as they scanned the wall. What exactly he was looking for, he wasn't sure.
Then, he stopped when he saw a small indent on the wall in the shape of a cross. Riley stepped closer to it to look at it better, and then he looked down at the pendant around his neck. Remembering how the carved pipe had helped them to discover the Templar Treasure, he quickly pulled the jade cross off over his head and gently pushed it into the indent. He jumped when the loud sound of stone moving against stone echoed around them, and Ben and Abigail quickly joined Riley, seeing that a part of the seeming solid wall had moved back to form a thin doorway. The treasure hunter moved forward, and with Riley's help, he slid the stone door aside, revealing another narrow hallway.
Riley hesitated when he saw how small it was, but he smiled slightly when Abigail took his hand in hers reassuringly. They then followed Ben as he led the way through the hallway, and they all stopped in awe when it finally opened into a large, rectangular room. Gold bars and coins were stacked in many piles that almost rose to the ceiling, covering most of the floor space. Jewelry such as strands of pearls, diamonds, and emeralds were scattered throughout the room along with other valuables such as golden watches. Everything that Jesse James had ever stolen was glistening in the beams of their flashlights.
"Congratulations, Riley," Abigail said with a broad smile as Ben shook the younger man excitedly. "This is all yours."
But Riley shook his head as he looked at all of the riches that had belonged to his family since the year 1882. "No, not all for me," he replied, turning to face his two best friends. "Even you said before that this treasure belongs to my family and I, Abi. Well, you are the only family that I have left, so I'm going to share it with both of you."
"No, Riley," Ben told him as he shook his head. "You deserve all of this and more after what you've been through. Don't waste this on us."
"I'm not wasting it, Ben," Riley muttered with a small smile. "You guys are what helped me to find the treasure in the first place. Come on. Go pick out what you want before I change my mind. At least you don't have to worry about if you should get fired, Abi."
Abigail sighed and exchanged a look with Ben before she began to wander through the piles of gold and jewels, if anything just to see what there was. Ben smiled as he followed her, also curious.
Riley scanned the large room again, unable to believe that all of the riches truly belonged to him. It just didn't seem possible… Then, amongst the gold and gemstones, a hint of shining silver caught his eye. Curious, he wandered over, seeing that it was a bracelet with a diamond pendant on it. There was a note tied to it, and the techie had to squint to see the faded writing.
For Clara
A smile appeared on his face when he realized that Jesse James must have left the bracelet for his ancestor. Though he clearly wasn't Clara, Riley picked it up and put it in his pocket, knowing that he could give it to someone that was important to him one day.
Xxxxxxxxxx
Nick slowly opened his eyes, groaning as returning to consciousness brought back the immense pain in his side. The last thing he remembered was pushing Ian out of the way of the gun that Dustin was holding, shortly followed by the most excruciating pain that he had ever felt in his life. Thinking about his stepbrother suddenly made him panic. Where was Ian? Was he okay?
"Are you all right?"
At the sound of the sudden question, Nick quickly turned to his right, surprised at who he saw sitting in a chair next to him. "Ian?" he asked.
Ian smiled at him and nodded, but Nick noticed immediately that something was different. His stepbrother's hands were handcuffed to the head rail of the bed that he was laying in, and there were three FBI agents standing around the room. "Where are we?" the younger man asked anxiously. "What's going on?"
"Relax," Ian answered with a slight laugh. "We're in a high-security medical facility because of the wound you have acquired. It's not a hospital, but this is were all us criminals go if we need medical attention. Dustin and Powell are being held in the next room. Once you are well enough, we will all be moved to prison. But you may rest easy for now."
Nick sighed deeply, closing his eyes again as he made himself comfortable against the pillows. "So, we really are going to prison, aren't we?" he muttered.
"Yes, little brother," Ian said, and odd shine in his eyes as he watched Nick look at him again with recognition. "We're going to prison."
Xxxxxxxxxx
"So, why didn't you tell me that Abi was expecting?" Riley asked as he walked down the sidewalk with his best friend. It had been a couple of weeks since they had discovered the treasure of Jesse James in St. Joseph and had all become richer, and he had only just found out that day that there was going to be a new member of their strange but tightly-knit family.
"Well, it never really came up in conversation, Riley," Ben answered as he laughed. "Besides, I didn't want Ian to know about it."
Riley rolled his eyes. "You could have told me before we met up with Ian, you know," he said with annoyance. "Or after."
"It just wasn't the right time."
"Stop making up excuses."
Ben laughed again. "I'm sorry, Riley," he muttered.
"You should be," Riley retorted with a smile. "But just warn me whenever she's having one of her bad mood swings so I can stay away and not be yelled at."
"Deal. I don't blame you after that fake realistic-looking spider that you put in her suitcase before we left Missouri."
"Ha, that was hilarious. I didn't even think they had those in St. Joseph!" Riley laughed as they drew nearer to the pizzeria where Kristi, Dustin's old girlfriend, still worked. It was such a beautiful day that they had decided to walk instead of drive, and since Abigail was at work, they had decided to meet for lunch. The two friends had mainly been talking about the somewhat recent events and also figure out what to do with the rest of the Jesse James treasure. So far, they hadn't figured out anything…
"Hey, did Sadusky ever tell you what that third word was that was written in Cathy's notebook that night she was killed at the funeral home?" Ben suddenly asked. "I know he had some people working on it."
"Oh, that? Yeah, he gave me a call about a week ago," Riley answered off-handedly. "He said that those people you mentioned think that that last word was supposed to be danger or something like that. But I'm off the hook anyway since Dustin admitted to killing her…"
Ben's eyes softened with sorrow when he heard the younger man's statement, wanting to change the topic away from Dustin. "I'm just thinking about how interesting a young child will be in our lives," he muttered.
Riley smiled. "It sure will be," he agreed. "But I must say that I feel sorry for him or her."
"Why is that, Riley?"
"Because they'll have you and Abi for parents," Riley told him. "With a history buff and a document freak, they won't have a chance."
Ben raised his eyebrows. "Chance of what?" he asked.
Riley's eyes shone. "Of being cool."
The treasure hunger looked startled by the comment, which made Riley laugh since that was the reaction he had hoped to get. "I'm just kidding, Ben. I said this at your wedding and I'll say it again. You and Abi are awesome and are probably the best friends that I'll ever have," the techie said. "You'll make great parents."
"You didn't say that last part at the wedding," Ben said.
Riley rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah. I added that in because of the situation," he muttered. "Oh, I almost forgot. I want to show you what I got in the mail today."
The two friends stopped when they were in front of the pizzeria, and Riley pulled out a card from his laptop bag. Ben took it and saw that it was a sympathy card by the cover. He opened it and quickly read over the message inside.
"I'm so sorry for the loss of your father, Riley. Pass the message along to Dustin also. I love you both and am always thinking about you."
"This took a while to get here," Ben commented, seeing that it was from Riley's Aunt Mary.
Riley smiled. "Duh, Ben. It takes mail a long time to get here from New Delhi, India, you know," he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Ben watched as the techie then entered the pizzeria with confusion, looking back down at the card in his hand. Riley really did have an aunt who lived in New Delhi, India? He remembered the night when the younger man had been looking through pictures of the two of them on his laptop and had claimed that he was sending them to her, but he had believed that he had only made that up as an excuse to not tell him what was really on his mind. Knowing that he would never fully understand Riley, Ben smiled and laughed to himself as he followed his best friend into the pizzeria.
A/N: That may be the end of the actual story, but there's still more to come. Look out for the epilogue and two more surprises coming soon! In honor of one of my friends who isn't on this site, here's an alternate ending for her: When Ben, Abigail, and Riley find the treasure room, she runs in and touches the first piece of treasure that she sees. Claiming that she touched it first and it is now hers, she laughs and runs from the room. Ben, Abigail, and Riley watch her leave in complete and utter confusion. Anyway, thanks for reading! Your reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!