Chapter Eight
Ian's eyes fluttered open, and it took him a moment to get oriented. The meeting was in a few hours, and he was in a hotel in London. He got out of bed and selected a nice suit to wear. He had to make a good impression, of course. He walked down to the kitchen next to the lobby and had a couple muffins, not listening to the news that was playing on the three flatscreen televisions mounted around the kitchen-slash-dining-room. He walked out as soon as he could, tossing the wrappers in the nearest garbage can.
Ian returned to his room and got the last of what affairs needed to be settled prior to the meeting in order. He ran a hand through his hair and walked out the door.
NTNT
Riley stared at the computer screen, running search after search and coming up emptyhanded but bound and determined to find a way to help his girlfriend and her family any way he could. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the time in the lower right-hand corner, and he ultimately decided to shut his computer off. He walked over to the couch and collapsed, falling asleep before he made contact with the cushions.
NTNT
Riley awoke late the next morning to find that he had four missed calls: two from Ben, one from Abigail, and one from Tanya. He called Tanya back.
"Hello," Tanya said when she answered.
"Hey, T, just thought I'd call you back, since you called me, like, a few minutes ago."
"Oh, alright. You know, you really didn't have to. I was just checking on you, making sure everything was alright."
"Well, I didn't find anything, but I did get a good, I guess, half-morning's rest."
"That's good."
"So, what're you up to?"
"No good, as usual. I'm actually getting close to reaching my daily quota of scheming and conniving." She and Riley shared a laugh, and she continued, "I'm really hoping my brother's meeting went well. This could be the last such opportunity we get in a long time, and we're in a better position to take it now versus at the next available time, which could be any time, perhaps one in the far off future."
"If I know Ian, then I know he has everything under control and you have nothing to worry about, T. That's just how he rolls."
"Absolutely, because he's cool like that."
"Because he's a total control freak like that."
"I understand you two don't have the best history, but I still say my brother is cool."
"And I'm giving you that one, but I still say he's a control freak with a weird, trigger-happy side."
"Newsflash, Ian's not a huge fan of guns. He's more the 'use them when necessary' type, regardless of the state of his judgment."
"Are you sure we're talking about the same Ian?"
"I don't know any other Ian who could be my brother at the same time."
"Okay, good point. Now, have you had any more strange feelings or visions lately?"
"Not of late. Why?"
"Just checking."
"Oh, uh, alright."
"Ri, that's really sweet, you know."
"Thanks, T. I just wanna make you happy."
"You do make me happy." Riley grinned, and he tried to hide his laughter, but it didn't do much good. "You're laughing, aren't you?"
"Yes," he said meekly. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about that. I know you're not laughing at me. Anyway, enough about me. How's your life?"
"Uh, okay. I mean, I'm pretty sure Ben's gonna propose to Abi, and even though I wish him luck, I'm kinda...kinda unsure."
"Why?"
"She's...well...she's a little...crazy."
"What do you expect? She has this high-powered job, boobs the size of her head, no really effective role in anything, need I go on?"
"No, I think you made your point."
"Oh, good. I need to make sure sometimes. Most people generally don't understand even when a point is being made."
"I hope you don't think I'm one of them."
"Why would I consider you to be when you've proven yourself otherwise?" Tanya asked, and Riley was fairly certain he could hear the confusion in her voice.
"That's a good question," he said. "I dunno how to answer, but it's a good question."
"Thank you."
"Hey, uh, I've been kinda thinkin', maybe we should go out again tonight."
"That depends on what happens, to be honest, and given the nature of the notice, I really can't give an answer."
"Uh, okay, maybe a few days from now."
"Alright, that sounds good."
"I guess I should let you go now, even though I don't want to, but I know Ian will think I'm some creepy stalker who's obsessed with you if I keep you on the phone for hours and hours and hours."
"I understand. I'll talk to you later, alright?"
"Okay, cool. I love you."
"I love you, too, Riley. Don't forget that."
"I won't."
"Cheerio."
"Later." Riley snapped his phone shut and set it on the coffee table, reaching for the remote in the process. He turned on the television and began a round of channel surfing before settling on something that was mildly interesting.
NTNT
Ian walked into his hotel room and plopped into a sitting position at the foot of his bed. The meeting itself was uneventful, but progress had been made, and it was this fact that had made it onto his list of blessings.
He turned on the television and began flipping through the limited list of channels before finding absolutely nothing of interest and turning the television off.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and ran a quick check of his messages before calling his sister.
"'Ello," Tanya said. "How'd it go?"
"Uneventful," Ian replied. "How was your day, or night, or whatever it happens to be?"
"Just fine. Nothing of true note happened, but I didn't have the worst day of my life either."
"Well, that's good. At least I don't need to send orders home right away to have someone kick someone else's arse for me."
"You're counting your blessings, aren't you?"
"Well, of course. Just think, a largely uneventful meeting, you've had a largely uneventful day, though I'm assuming you talked to Riley."
"You're good at this."
"Thank you." Ian lay back on his bed and allowed himself to relax. "So, tell me, what did you two talk about?"
"Nothing much, really. He was just checking on me, I was checking on him, and we made small talk about Abigail and various other topics, sort of like I'm doing with you. We talked about you a little bit, he thought you'd think he was obsessed with me if he kept me on the phone for hours at a time. Quick question: would you?"
"Perhaps, if I had no idea who he was. I have some degree of respect for Riley, and if he asked, certainly I'd let you two marry."
"Marry? Where's this coming from? Do you want to offload me already?"
"No, I don't. You're my sister, Tanya."
"I know that."
"Besides, you needn't worry about Riley. He should already be crystal clear on my rules of conduct for dating my sister."
"I'm fairly certain that's the case, given that the bit about being seen as a stalker was how he ended the phone call."
"Good. He's being careful, that's a good sign. I wouldn't trust my sister with anyone else."
"Alright, now, have you gotten a chance to look at Freemasons' Hall?"
"No, I haven't, but I have several days to myself now."
"Take your time, Ian."
"You know I will."
"I guess I should let you have those several days rather than just keep you on the phone like this," Tanya said.
"I'll talk to you later," Ian replied. "You can rest assured of that."
"Don't think I don't trust you, and yes, I'll talk to you later."
Ian snapped his phone shut and shoved it into his pocket. Within moments, his mind worked to figure out what he was going to do about this particular problem he'd been asked to solve and what he'd do with whatever information he obtained. The latter, he figured, must be dependent on the information itself, which, it seemed, was dependent on the answer to the problem. It was very much like the search for the Templar Treasure in that respect.
His thoughts flashed on Mr. O'Malley, a friend of the family when he was a boy. For a moment, Ian wasn't sure of Mr. O'Malley would recognize him, or, if he did, would he remember why? Regardless, perhaps it would be worth something to try to find and catch up with Mr. O'Malley.
His mind grasped the thought and began planning out exactly what he would ask O'Malley and what he could do with whatever information he obtained from the conversation. The latter depended on the answers to his questions and whether or not he deemed them useful in any way, shape, or form, or if he would later on, in which case he'd remember as much of what he learned as possible.
The question soon became a matter of how, and he had a response as soon as the question came to him.