Chapter Eleven
The sun was setting on London as Riley, Tanya, Ian, and O'Malley slipped through a back entrance into Freemasons' Hall. "Typically I don't let anyone in back here," O'Malley explained in a low voice, "but this is a special occasion. Be very careful, though, and don't make too much noise."
As a foursome, they slipped inside, staying close to the wall as they crossed what at first seemed to be an impenetrable expanse of blackness. Riley crept close to Tanya and laced his fingers through hers. She reached out with her free hand and felt along the wall until she accidentally bumped into O'Malley, whom she almost forgot was in front of her. There was a series of sounds from in front of her, concluding with a tapping noise on a wall. Tanya followed, pulling Riley along behind her, and judging by the sounds of the footsteps, Ian was also close behind.
They'd turned a corner, she noticed, and the rustle of fabric behind her gave her a dreadful feeling that there was no turning back. After what felt like an eternity, O'Malley pulled out his lighter and flicked the switch. A tiny orange flame illuminated what was in fact a tunnel, a narrow stone tunnel just a few inches taller than Ian. True, they could only see a few feet in either direction, but it was enough for them to get their bearings.
"Okay, now what?" Riley asked in a low voice.
"We keep moving," O'Malley replied, continuing to walk forward and taking the relatively small sphere of light with him. Riley was quick to follow, followed in his own right by Tanya and Ian, as close to side-by-side as they could get.
Just when Tanya seemed to think this tunnel stretched on into oblivion with no end in sight, O'Malley stopped them in front of a mahogany door which looked like it hadn't been used in years, if not decades or even centuries. O'Malley snapped his lighter shut, pocketed it, and fished around in his pockets for a while. After some time, he pulled out a key and felt around on the door in front of him before finally being able to insert the key into its hole and unlock the door. It screached when O'Malley pushed it open, and the smell of mold and heavy dust rolled into the tunnel on a gust of cold air.
She felt the strangest thing at that moment, a mixture of fear and excitement, and before she knew exactly what she was doing, she pulled Ian down the tunnel and through the doorway. "Hey, what's going on?" Riley called, following of his own free will.
"I'll explain later," Tanya found herself saying.
"Just keep going straight until you run into a wall," O'Malley called from the other side of the doorway. "Either that or you trip on something." There was a sound of metal sliding across a rock of some form, and Tanya slowed to a stop, kneeling to feel the floor, only to find O'Malley's lighter. "Keep going."
Much as Tanya would've loved to have followed O'Malley's instructions, the sound of cold, calculating footsteps coming up the corridor made her freeze in place. Ian tried to pull her along with him, but only succeeded in pulling her to her feet. The footsteps came closer, and Ian, Tanya, and Riley found themselves in a small huddle, peering through the darkness, trying to see what was going on.
O'Malley gasped and stumbled a little across the width of the hall. After a moment, and in the ensuing silence, a voice hissed, "Where're your little friends? I know they must be down here with you somewhere. Show me the way, will you?"
Riley bit his lip to keep his scream from escaping, and Tanya did her best to swallow as quietly as possible. Almost out of instinct, Ian's hand drifted to the gun in his pocket.
A brilliant light flooded the chamber, revealing some of the most bloodcurdling details about the scene playing out before the threesome within. The man, the President, was pressing a knife to O'Malley's throat, and he'd evidently come prepared for any eventuality. "There you are," he hissed. "I've been looking all over for you three, especially Mr. Howe here. Your brother's tough, Ms. Howe. You should be proud of him for that."
"What do you want?" Ian asked, narrowing his eyes.
"What did you want when you stabbed Mr. Gates in the back in an effort to get to the Templar Treasure? I want the same thing. Money."
"Then it looks like you need a harsh lesson in reality."
"There's no one here to teach it to me, and there's nothing to prove I need one, so it doesn't look like you can do much, Mr. Howe, which isn't good for your friend here. In fact, his whole situation doesn't look all that good." He took the knife and drove it into O'Malley's neck, all the way to the hilt, and he tossed the body aside and stepped into the chamber. "Should've done that yesterday, when he stopped being useful to me. Now do you want to cooperate with me, or do I have to kill your sister, too?"
Ian pulled the gun out of his pocket, cocked it, and had it pointing directly between the President's eyebrows in record time. "Do you want to die?" he asked evenly.
"Oh, I wondered where that went," he replied with a smirk. "Thanks for finding it."
As the President moved to grab it, Ian jerked the gun away, holding it high over his head. "Don't think it's going to be that easy. After all, we wouldn't want the whole world knowing you were carrying a loaded gun in England, would we."
"You're the one carrying it, and I can ruin you."
"I figured out how to protect myself. All you were tryng to do was achieve high political standing."
Tanya and Riley exchanged glances before slipping back a few paces. "Okay, what's the plan?" Riley asked in a low voice.
"Get the flashlight," Tanya replied.
"Hey, El Presedente," Riley called. "How do you expect us to help you get the treasure if you don't give us the flashlight?"
Tanya gave Riley a weird look, but she caught on an instant later. "We know where to find it," she added, "and we can't have the one man in our little expedition party with the decent light source getting dreadfully lost, can we?"
The President and Ian looked toward Tanya and Riley simultaneously, both somewhat baffled. Eventually, the former conceded and handed the flashlight to Tanya, who directed its light down the tunnel before them.
"Now what?" Riley asked as soon as they were several paces ahead.
"Just trust me. I have a hunch," Tanya replied.
NTNT
"Exactly how much longer does this tunnel go?" the President asked for what Tanya presumed to be the eighteenth time. At least by that point she understood how parents felt when restless children asked, "Are we there yet?" over and over again on long road trips.
"You'll know when we get to the end of it," Tanya replied, for what also had to be the eighteenth time. "Since we haven't gotten there, you don't get to know just yet."
"This better be over soon."
Tanya stopped and turned on her heel to face the President. "Look, I don't know how many times we have to have this exchange before you get the main idea I'm trying to express, but it's starting to wear on my last good nerve. If you want to keep pressing this button, go ahead, but chances are, you won't last long." To emphasize this, she looked at Ian, who still had the gun in his hand. "Watch your step, because you're dealing with Howes."
"I know."
Tanya turned again and proceeded with Riley down the tunnel, swinging the flashlight back and forth a few degrees each direction. "I do admit though," she said after a moment, "this tunnel does seem endless."
"When're we gonna trip over something or run into something?" Riley asked.
"I honestly don't know."
Tanya allowed her mind to wander for a moment, drifting in front of her through the tunnel. "Oh, wow, it does seem endless."
"Wha-didn't she just say that?" the President asked.
"Shut it and let my sister do what she does best," Ian snapped.
Tanya smirked and continued walking. Several minutes later, Riley stumbled and said, "Hey, I tripped over something."
"Let's see what it is," Tanya said, directing the beam of the flashlight on the object Riley was examining. "Looks like a rock," she added.
"So, do we keep going?"
"For now, but keep the rock." She helped Riley up, and they continued down the tunnel. He handed the rock to her in exchange for the flashlight.
"A rock?" the President snapped. "That's it?"
"I told you to shut up," Ian replied, ready to press the gun into the man's back and pull the trigger.
Tanya ran her fingers over the rock gently, methodically. She rubbed off some dirt, only to find that it was, in fact, a rock. "False alarm," she said, tossing the rock aside and taking the flashlight back from Riley.
"Good thing you checked it out," Ian replied. "We always need to be sure."
"Now, let's get to the end of this thing."
"Sounds good to me," Riley said.