Chapter Nine

Tanya checked her phone that night to find that she had a brief text message from Ian: 'have a plan, know where to go, call you soon'. "Depends on how engrossed you become in this new plan of yours," Tanya said to herself, snapping her phone shut and pocketing it. "I certainly hope it's worth the effort."

She walked through the living room, where she found Powell, Phil, and Viktor seated on the couch watching Monty Python and something or other, and into the kitchen, where she made herself some tea and a modest, basic dinner of a bagel and cream cheese, sort of like her breakfast. She could hear the three men's laughter, and she rubbed her eyes at one point. Regardless, this was normal of them, and Tanya was too tired to say anything.

She finished her bagel, put the plate in the sink, took a drink of water, and returned to her tea. Her phone rang, so she fished it out of her pocket to check the caller ID before answering. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, T, what's up?" Riley asked from the other end of the line.

"Oh, nothing, what's up with you?"

"Not a whole lot. I just wanted to talk to you, is all."

"Oh."

"Heard anything from Ian?"

"Not much, just that he's figured out how he's going to proceed with this whole Compass Freemason's Hall thing."

"Okay, that's good, I think. We still have a date in the near future?"

"Oh, of course. I'm all for it. I just need a set date, time, and place."

"Well, uh, I'll see what I come up with."

She laughed. "Alright, sounds good to me."

"Okay, uh, cool."

Tanya smiled and sipped her tea. "You're so cute like this, you know."

"Thanks." She could hear a slight, nervous giggle in his voice.

"So, Riley, are your friends...Ben and Abigail...are they, if I may, engaged?"

"Not that I know of, why?"

"I noticed that they act like a married couple."

"Yeah, they do, sometimes, but we've all been through a lot since we all started looking for the Templar Treasure, and now you're involved in whatever this is, with the Compass and everything."

"Here's hoping this ends soon."

"You're tellin' me."

"I don't see why it shouldn't. We're going back to the beginning, or as close as we know how to get to. The only thing that could go wrong is something happening to Ian, which would cause us to go over to London, and that same something could happen to us, if we're not careful."

"It's Ian, okay? Everything's gonna be fine."

"I know, but that's precisely why I'm worried. He's my brother, and in case you've forgotten, he's the only family I have left."

"I know."

"Not that that's a bad thing. Beats being stuck with Nathaniel."

"Sounds like," Riley replied with another nervous laugh.

"Let's talk seriously for a moment. Is something bothering you?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then Riley said, "I've been wondering a little lately, maybe this is a dead end, a-"

"Wild goose chase?" Tanya asked.

"Yeah. I mean, think about it. The clues could lead anywhere, it's like when we first started looking for the Charlotte. We couldn't tell if she was a person or a ship or something else, and maybe that's what's going on here. Maybe, and don't give me crap for this, this is a set-up by the President for God knows what reason. I know, I know, we've been thinking that for a long time now, but it's not like it's not a possibility anymore now that we have a lead."

Tanya leaned back in her chair and chewed her lip for a moment. "You could be right. After all, if what you say is true, then the real hunt becomes clear. This would be the hunt for the reason, the motive, and also a means to thwart what could be a malevolent plan in action perhaps as we speak." Tanya's phone beeped, and she checked the ID of the caller. "Hold on, I'll call you back." With that, she took the other call.

"Tanya, we have a problem," Ian said through heavy breaths.

"Ian, what's going on? Where are you?"

"Can't say much. I trust you to be able to find me."

"What's going on? Have you been kidnapped or something?"

"Or something. I need you to come to London and find me, do you understand?"

"I understand perfectly. What I want to know is why."

"If you don't, I'm a dead man."

NATM

Riley's phone chimed, alerting him to a text message from his girlfriend, which read simply, 'meet me at airport'. He shoved his phone into his pocket and shrugged on his jacket. Within seconds, he had his keys in hand and was out the door on his way downstairs. He took a chance and waited for the elevator, which he took all the way to the main floor. He walked out the front door with a nod to the receptionist, climbed into the car, and was out of the parking lot half a minute later.

As Riley drove, his mind probed the possibilities of what could've happened to prompt Tanya to send him that text message. 'Meet me at airport'. He knew from the bare-bones nature of the message that this was an important matter, so maybe something happened to her brother. As much of a crappy history he had with Ian, if he wanted his relationship with Tanya to last, then he'd have to put it all aside, because he and Ian might end up related someday, and that fact counted now more than ever.

He sighed. His mind had drifted almost too much, and he had to pull his attention back to the road before he did anything in any way damaging to his convertible. After ensuring that his vehicle was both under control and safe from either real or imagined harm, he relaxed a little.

Eventually, he spotted a burnt orange sportscar in the parking lot of a nearby airport, and he turned. It took him a few minutes to find a parking spot, and once he parked, he climbed out of his car, keys in hand.

"Oh, there you are," Tanya said as soon as Riley was in the lobby. "Don't worry, I've got tickets. Our flight leaves in a few hours."

"So, what? We just wait here?"

"Unless you have a better idea, but we need to be back an hour before our flight."

"So how much time does that leave us?"

"Two hours, at most."

"Better just settle in here, I guess."

NTNT

It was two and a half hours before Tanya and Riley boarded the plane and took their seats. They settled in, and Tanya laced her fingers through Riley's. He ran his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand. "It's gonna be okay," he whispered in her ear.

"I hope you're right," Tanya replied softly. "God, I hope you're right."

"The power of positive thinking."

"Or self-delusion."

"If you tell yourself something enough times, you start to believe it, and you know what happens? It comes true."

"Does that really work?"

"I've had...marginal success."

"Not sure I'll try it yet, then."

Riley laughed softly, and the engine roared. Tanya leaned back in her seat and stared at the back of the seat in front of her. Still, she kept a hold on Riley's hand, and her mind kept wondering what happened to Ian.

NATM

The man who'd been pursuing him for the past several minutes held a gun to his face as he pressed his back against the nearest wall. "Placing that call was a huge mistake," the man hissed, and Ian could easily tell he was American. "Now, before I kill you, tell me something. Who did you call?"

Ian swallowed, searching his mind for a lie to tell this man. He didn't have to search for long. "An ex-girlfriend," he said. An ex-girlfriend? he mentally yelled. That was the best you could come up with?

"Some ex if you called her for help, instead of, oh, I dunno, the authorities. Oh, wait, you think that'd do you any good back in the US?" After a pause, he added, "Didn't think so."

"Actually, we're working on getting back into the on phase of an on-again, off-again relationship. Besides that, I couldn't think of anything else."

The man took two more steps closer to Ian, pressing the gun between his eyes. With some degree of shock, Ian got a good look at the face of the man threatening his life. "Hello, Mr. President," he whispered.