((STOP))!!!!!!!BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER, PLEASE GO BACK A CHAPTER. I ADDED SOMETHING NEW TO THE ENDING OF IT AND IF YOU'RE A BRILEY FAN, YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO READ IT! I REPEAT, DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER UNTIL YOU READ THE NEW ENDING OF CHAPTER 8.
A/n: Ok, I assume if you're reading this right now, you have just finished reading the new and improved Briley-fied ending of chapter 8. In which now I can say, Here's chapter 9! Sorry this took so long
Disclaimer: It's not mine. Well, this chapter is, just not the people in it or the movie with the people in this chapter in it.
Ben led the way down into the dark, musty basement of the Trinity Church. As he walked down the stairs, he kept his keen eyes peeled for a sign of any clue. But that was a lot harder than he anticipated. Half of his brain was still upstairs in the sanctuary of the church with Riley. The treasure hunter didn't want the techie to stay behind. In fact, that was one of the last things he wanted, but after seeing the current physical state of the younger man, Ben knew that it would be in Riley's best interest to stay behind, no use in him getting more hurt when he didn't have to.
When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Ben stepped aside to let Ian, his two men, and Abigail pass in front of him. But of course, Abigail just had to say something.
"Ben," The blonde whispered, pulling Ben out of the ear shot of Ian, Shaw and Shippen. "Look, cooperation only lasts as long as the status quo remains unchanged. Now I've been watching Ian, and I have the feeling that as soon as he gets his hands on that treasure, he's going to have other plans for you, Riley and me."
Ben stared off into space, contemplating what Abigail just said. She really did have a point, and a part of Ben knew that Ian probably had no intentions of giving Riley back, alive. And once he got the treasure, he wouldn't need any of them anymore. There was no telling what the man would do. The treasure hunter expelled a frustrated sigh.
"Well then, we have to find a way to make sure the status quo changes in our favor."
"How?"
"Working on it."
"Hey Ben!" Ian's voice traveled through the basement to where the treasure hunter and Abigail stood conversing about the growing conflict at hand. "I found it…him. I found him!"
"Of course," the treasure hunter came to the realization and almost slapped himself. "It's a name." Ben walked towards the far wall of the basement where Ian was standing next to a stone wall full of what looked to be tomb markers. "Parkington Lane. He was a third degree master mason of the—HEY!" Ben and Ian ducked out of the way as Shippen came and smashed through the limestone with a wrench. Abigail and Ben stood back as Ian and the others eagerly cleaned out the tomb of the shattered rock and removed the casket of the deceased mason.
"Careful," Ben cautioned, his love for anything of historical and intrinsic value kicking in automatically as he lunged forward to help them with the coffin. A popping sound followed Ben's words and soon the skeleton of Parkington Lane fell through the bottom of the casket. It hit the floor with loud thud and kicked up a cloud of hundred year old dust.
"Careful no one steps on him," Shippen half-joked as he and the rest placed the top of the coffin on the ground and out of the way. Shaw supplied the light as Ian and Ben peered into the dark, cryptic tomb.
"Well, what are you waiting for Ben? You still have to find my treasure." Ian gestured toward the mysterious sepulcher, which was his way of saying he was too afraid to go first. Ben looked to Abigail, who gave him a quick nod of approval. The treasure hunter sighed and took the flashlight from Shaw, shining it through the cobwebs and the dust. There was no telling what this was going to lead to, but Ben prayed that this was the final stop on this adventure. He took in a deep breath, inhaling some dust and debris as he did so, and hoisted himself into the tunnel, Ian following not too far behind. They reached the end of the tunnel, stepping out into a small, dark room. Ben shone his flashlight down the dim, narrow hallway and the around the walls of the small alcove, stopping when he came to a torch.
"Got a light?" The treasure hunter turned to Ian, who produced a lighter from his pocket. The ancient torch lit up the room, supplying a lot more light then the single flashlight did. Ben led the way down the corridor.
"Watch your step," He cautioned to everyone as they passed by and made their way down the dimly lit hallway. After a few twist and turns, the passage became wider, the floor turning from dusty rock, to old rotting wood.
"What is this?" Ian asked no one in particular, as he strained to get a better look what was ahead without actually having to step on the decaying timber. Ben made his way to the front of the group to where the Brit was standing. He looked down, taking the first step on to the wooden pathway. The ancient lumber moaned, and the treasure hunter guessed that this was probably the first step anybody had taken on this wood in hundreds of years. He progressed down the path cautiously, gestured to the others that it would be safe to walk on, for now. A few feet ahead the wood planking was cut off by a old wooden railing. The treasure hunter moved towards it, and leaned forward, waving his flaming torch around trying to get a better sense of his surroundings. Ian appeared next to him, not seconds later. "What's that?" Ben's former colleague gestured to the left.
"It's a chandelier," Ben announced. He touched his fiery light source to the old structure and, with help from Ian and Shaw, pushed it into the center. It illuminated the entire chamber, revealing ancient walkways and elevator systems. Everyone looked up in awe at the marvelous craftsmanship of it all.
"How do a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?" Shippen asked.
"The same way they built the pyramids, and the Great Wall of China," Ben answered automatically, sadness shooting through his heart when nothing but silence followed his reply, half-expecting to hear a sarcastic comment from Riley about his conspiracy theory of how the aliens were responsible for creating the seven wonders of the ancient world.
"Alright, let's go." Ian said, not wasting anytime. He looked to Abigail to lead the way. She looked at him like he was nuts.
"I'm not going out on this thing," She protested. "That's two-hundred years of termite damage and rot."
"Abby," Ben's pleading voice came from behind Ian. "Please…For Riley."
Abigail sighed and, seeing the pure disparity in the treasure hunter's light blue eyes, gave in. She took a deep breath and stepped onto one of the landings. It creaked beneath her boats, but other than that, it appeared to be safe. The group moved on by one down the stars without any problems.
"If we just go a little bit further, we can take the elevators the rest of the way," Ben stated at large to the group in ahead of him. This is good, he thought to himself. Everything seems to be going smoothly. Or at least they were, until the entire room started to shake, rocks and dust falling from the ceiling on top of the adventurers. Everyone braced themselves against the railings and the quaking stopped. Ian and Ben exchanged a look.
"Subway," The Brit guessed. The treasure hunter confirmed this with a nod. They continued forward, finally reaching the landing in which they could use the elevators; Ian, Shaw, and Shippen on one and Ben and Abigail on the other.
"It shouldn't be too far down," Ben said, peeking over the railing of the antique elevator. Ian regarded him with a simply nod of his head and then motioned to Shaw to start moving the elevator downward.
"Here, stop here!" The order came from Ben, who brought his elevator to a halt right in front of a very cryptic looking chamber. Ian obeyed, knowing that he was that much closer to getting his treasure.
"Well, this is it," Ben said, stepping onto the landing just outside of their, presumably, last stop on this long and enduring quest. Ian stepped next to him, awaiting Ben's next move. The historian walked into the room, searching for the next instruction or clue or something that told him how to get the treasure so Riley wouldn't die.
"What do we do now?" Ian asked, his British accent was laced with an edgy, irritated tone. "I don't see any treasure."
"It-it can't be," Ben muttered to himself. Please, no!
"What can't be?"
"It's a dead end." Ben regretted the second those words ever fell from his mouth. Ian advanced on him, eyes wild with fury, and overall disbelief. The treasure hunter gulped and took a step back.
"Ian, there's nothing here," Ben said, trying, but failing miserably, to reason with him. "That's it. There are no more clues. No more anything. It's over."
"I'll tell you what's over," Ian snarled, jumping back onto the elevator, as it ascended towards the church. "That's little dork's life."
A/N: BUM BUM BUM!!! Muhahahaha review or else, the fate of Riley depends on it. Well not really, but it will make me wanna update faster : ) Oh, and sorry ahead of time for any grammar mistakes that may have appeared in this chapter. I wanted to get it posted as fast as I could and didn't have time to proof read. Ok, Review!