Chapter Thirteen
"'The wisdom always refers to the beginning,'" Ian whispered to himself, fiddling with his fingers as he leaned back in one of the chairs in his study. Of course, the inscription wasn't the only thing on his mind.
Twice now Shaw's ghost had in some way helped save his life, in similar methods to Shaw's when he was alive. The police and archivists searching through the chamber under Trinity Church had recovered a body with a bullet hole in the chest laying next to an object almost unrecognizable as a gun. Before that, there was Nathaniel's statement to police about someone-something-which grabbed his wrist and kept him from firing yet another shot to join the fray he'd begun.
Beyond all that, Shaw had a way of appearing and making him feel a little bit better, which was something he'd come to appreciate and perhaps rely on.
His thoughts drifted back to the inscription and everything that had happened and that he'd learned thusfar. 'The wisdom always refers to the beginning'. "That's where we need to go next," he whispered, "but which beginning?" There were dozens, possibly scores of beginnings he could go back to. Just like the mystery of the compass Tanya explained to him.
NTNT
Tanya lay back acrss her couch, studying the ceiling. Her hand fingered the compass and she managed to recreate a perfect image of the compass on the floor of the treasure room in her mind. Ian had explained the inscription to her, and it partially made sense.
Someone knocked on the door, and she got to her feet and answered. "Well, hello, Riley," she said. Riley hugged her gently, and she led him inside. "What brings you here?"
"You do. You always bring me here," Riley said.
Together they sat down on the couch, and Tanya switched on the television and began channel surfing. "Random conspiracy theory junk or mindless bitchfest?"
"Mm, you pick."
"I'd rather you did, since I chose last time."
"Okay, that's fair. Conspiracy theory junk sounds good."
She pressed a button on the remote and settled into Riley, who wrapped his arm around her. "Do you think we're going to find out where this ends?" she asked.
"I hope so. I don't wanna end up like Patrick Gates." She chuckled, and he said, "What?" giving her a playful shove. She shoved him back and laughed some more.
"We'll get to its end. It just takes time, just as the whole search for the Templar Treasure did."
"Okay, well, at least we don't have Nathaniel to worry about."
"But you have to meet with the President tomorrow."
"You still think Ian's going to manage to have you listen in?"
"He's busy getting everything set up, and perhaps there's a little reflection thrown in there, as well."
"Sounds like Ian."
She smiled and settled even deeper into him, paying only minimal attention to the program. He stroked her arm with his thumb for a moment before tracing circles and spirals with his index finger. After a moment, Tanya switched the television off and fell asleep, still leaning into Riley. Riley shifted their position so that she was resting on top of him as they lay across the length of the couch, and eventually, he fell asleep, too.