Chapter Ten
A tall, chestnut-haired woman in a grey suit walked into the office and said, "I have a Mr. Riley Poole for you on line two."
"Thank you," the President said. "I've been expecting him." He reached over, picked up the reciever, and pressed a button. The woman walked out of the room with a nod and a smile, and the President said, "Good evening, Mr. Poole."
"Good evening, Mr. President, but much as I'd love to sit here and chit-chat, let me get right to the point," Riley said. "I need to meet with you about Page Forty-seven."
"Have you found anything?"
"Well, that's what I need to meet with you about. I'm sure it's highly classified, and I'm smart enough to know that that means we can't talk about it over the phone."
"Hence your stresses on meeting in person."
"Exactly."
"Are you available Thursday at ten?"
"Oh, absolutely."
"Well, great. I'll see you then."
The line went dead.
NTNT
Riley snapped his phone shut and said, "Thursday at ten." Ian gestured to Powell, who pulled Riley's laptop toward him, opened the web browser, and entered exactly what Ian told him to.
"Are you sure about this?" Ben asked, his eyes solely on Riley.
"This was agreed on long before all this happened," Riley replied. "Don't expect me to know exactly what's going through Ian's mind right now."
"Riley, all I'm trying to say is, maybe there's another way."
"Let's have at it and add it to our myriad of solutions. This is from the President's super-secret book, and the only way to know for sure if we have it right is to talk to the President himself."
"The meetings are closed. You know that as well as I do."
"Not to us," Ian said between giving instructions to Powell.
"Wait, whaddaya mean?" Riley asked.
"Ben said it himself. I have nearly unlimited resources, and I'm smart. Don't think at least part of that has changed due to some recent...setbacks."
"So what's your grand plan this time?" Ben asked, turning his gaze toward Ian.
"Suffice it to say that whatever Riley wears on Thursday to meet the President, it should have a front breast pocket."
Ben and Riley exchanged glances but remained silent.
NTNT
Tanya came to to the sound of duct tape being ripped off of flesh, followed shortly by coughing and gasping. She blinked a few times and turned her head. Abigail was next to her, her eyes on the ground and her breathing heavy.
Tanya looked around some more, seeing that they were in some small, metal box, presumably the back of a stripped-down van or gutted catering truck. There were four armed men in the truck along with Nathaniel, leaving Tanya to assume the fifth was at the wheel.
"Where are we? Where are you taking us?" Abigail demanded in a shrill voice.
"Spare us all and shut up," Tanya said dryly, giving Abigail a sidelong, cold glance.
"She's right, you know," Nathaniel said evenly. Tanya's eyes widened a little in surprise at what he'd said and how he said it, but she dared not let anyone else see it.
"If I may," Tanya began, "what do you expect the riddle on Page Forty-seven points to? What I mean is, is it a literal map with a literal 'X marks the spot', do you think?"
"Page Forty-seven leads to an actual treasure in much the same way as that compass around your neck points to magnetic north," Nathaniel replied, gesturing to Tanya's neck. She'd forgotten she'd worn the compass that day, and she wondered why he hadn't ripped it off her neck while she was unconscious if it was so valuable to him. "You wonder why I haven't taken the compass? Very few can understand its power, and quite frankly, Tanya, I knew you were far more gifted than the average Howe."
Abigail shot Tanya a questioning look, but the latter knew she had Nathaniel exactly where she wanted him. "So you think I'm gifted enough to be able to get you to wherever ths ends?"
"Yes."
"That's why you kidnapped me, so what about Abigail."
"Leverage."
"Well, if you have me, why didn't you just let her go?"
"Because I still need Gates' help, and quite frankly, this is the only way I'm assured of his cooperation."
"Alright, we have that established."
"Someone please tell me what you're talking about," Abigail said, looking from Tanya to Nathaniel.
"I've just established the motive behind our kidnapping," Tanya replied.
"So, we're leverage?"
"You are. I can help figure this puzzle out."
Abigail groaned and slouched backwards, the back of her head against the wall of their little mobile box.
NTNT
"Ian, let's have a look at that schematic. I think it's our answer," Ben said.
"We're going back to the beginning?" Ian asked in reply, furrowing his brow at Ben.
"Maybe, but more importantly, we're going to give Nathaniel an answer as soon as possible, or we lose Tanya and Abi."
Ian sighed and handed over his sketch of the winding staircase underneath Trinity Church. Ben unfolded it and studied the sketch. "Not bad."
"Thank you."
"Why're we doing this when I'm meeting with the President in two days?" Riley asked.
Phil shrugged. "My best guess is we're trying to get to wherever this leads and make sure everyone comes back intact at the same time."
"Okay, then, so why not do what we did with Ian?"
"Because we're working together now," Ian said. "Whether you like it or not, we're in this together, and we're going to get my sister and Abigail back, no matter what."
Riley shrugged and stared back down at his computer screen.
NTNT
The van slowed to a stop, and Tanya silently sighed in relief. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Abigail visibly relax. Nathaniel gestured to one of the men, who jerked Tanya forward and sliced at the rope around her wrists with a knife. Within seconds, Abigail, too, was free, and the man was back at Nathaniel's side. Tanya and Abigail exchanged glances, but neither dared to speak.
"It doesn't sound like you two intend to scream or run away," Nathaniel said evenly. "Perhaps you'd like to see where we've taken you." He gestured to two other men, who pulled the two women to their feet and ushered them out through the back door and out into the street. They looked around at their surroundings almost in wonder. The sun had set already, and Tanya immediately felt as if they were being watched, more powerfully than she had at Ian's mansion. A little way down the street, she could see Shaw's transparent form on the sidewalk, his hands loosely clasped in front of him. He seemed to shine a little more than some of the others on the sidewalk or walking through the streets.
"Where are we?" Abigail asked.
"Well, I've been out for roughly an hour and a half, and thus afterward I only remember the truck moving for roughly an hour more, so, my best estimate is somewhere in New York," Tanya replied.
"You're right," Nathaniel said. "I've got the feeling you remember this place, Abigail."
Abigail looked around at the buildings around her, letting her eyes adjust, and then her eyes drifted over to the street signs: Wall Street and Broadway. A jolt of familiarity hit her like a ton of bricks.