Woo, chapter seven. Again thanks to everyone whos sticking with me. I have everything written so you'll get updates once a week until the end :)
After they had taped Patrick to the chair with a drink in one hand and a remote in the other they had hopped in his car. Riley was sprawled out in the back seat next to her. Taking of two thirds of the seat which ensued a foot war until Ben told them to "Stop it or I'll turn this car right around and take you to see the FBI."
Needless to say that stopped it.
"Your dad's got a sweet ride."
"I think we should change clothes. We might look kind of conspicuous don't you think?" Ben said.
"Yea." Rachel said, massaging her feet. "I picked the wrong shoes to become a fugitive in."
"I would love to go shopping too but we have no money." Riley groaned.
"Here." Ben handed Abigail a book. "I took this from his house. He usually tucks a few hundred dollars somewhere between those pages."
"Common sense. How appropriate." She shook the money out of the book.
"When are we going to get there? I'm hungry, Rachel stole most of the pizza. This car smells weird."
They dropped Riley off near the Franklin Institute and then drove to urban outfitters to change.
She quickly (as quickly as girls do) picked out a pair of jeans, thick red sweater, denim jacket, and of course shoes that she could run in without breaking something. Then she went to change, finding Ben and Abigail in their conversation already.
She slipped into a changing room next to theirs and started getting changed.
"So you show up at your father's door, say your in trouble and the first thing he assumes is that Rachel is your long lost daughter."
"Is there a question in there?"Ben asked.
"I think theres an interesting story in there." Abigail prodded.
"Well my father thinks I have been a little to cavalier in my personal life."
"I see."
Ben stepped out and rested his arms on the door. "Let me ask you something. Have you ever told someone, not a relative, I love you?"
Abigail then came out and mimicked his stance. "Yes."
"More than on someone?"
"Yes."
"Oh, then my father would say you are a little to cavalier in your personal life too."
"So you get your sense of absolute certainty from him?"
"I'm
sure I don't know what you mean.
"Well you're certain the
treasure is real no matter what anyone else thinks."
"No. I hope it's real. I mean I have dreamt it was real since my grandfather told me about it. I want to hold it. I feel like I am so close I can taste it. I just...I just want to know it's not something in my head or in my heart."
Que romantic moment.
"People don't really talk that way anymore you know."
Rachel came out of the dressing room. "Yup, people don't, but he's special. We should probably get this stuff paid for and get going."
The two lovebirds nodded and they went to pay.
While standing at the counter Riley bounded up the stairs.
"Did you get it Riley?" Ben asked
"Oh I got it. The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow. Now Pass and Stow referring to the..."
The three of them cut him off. "The Liberty Bell."
"Why do you have to do that?" Poor Riley.
"Well John Pass and John Stow cast the bell.
"Well what does the rest of this mean?"
"Wait a minute. The vision to see the treasured past must refer to a way to read the map."
"I thought the cipher was the map."
"No." Rachel interrupted. "The cipher was a way to find the way to read the map."
Ben paused. "You really need to stop it, its creeping me out."
"And the way to read the map comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the Liberty Bell." Abigail deduced.
"Crosses in front of the house of the Liberty Bell. Independence hall." Ben elaborated.
"It's a timely shadow. It's a specific time."
"Uh, what time?"
Here comes thinking mode. "What time? What time? Wait wait, you're going to love this." He walked back over to the checker. "Excuse me, can I see one of those hundred dollar bills I paid you with?"
The clerk gave of a look of pure horror. "No..."
"Well, uh, I have this diver's watch. It's called a sub-mariner. I dive with it. It's actually quite valuable. You could use it as collateral."
The clerk got one of the bills out of the register. "Whatever."
"Thank you. On the back of a hundred dollar bill is an etching of independence hall, based on a painting done in the 1780s."
The woman handed him the bill. He handed her the watch.
"Thank you, and the artist was actually a friend of Benjamin Franklin. It's wonderful. Hold this."
He handed Abigail the case, giving her a look.
"Okay. I'm not going anywhere."
He grabbed a water bottle from the counter. "Now I think that if we look at this clock tower, we may find the specific time."
Looking through the bottle he focused on the bill.
"What do you see?" Abigail asked.
"2:22." He answered.
"What time is it now."
The clerk looked at the watch. "Almost 3."
Everyone
let out an annoyed breath of air except for Riley.
"We
missed it." Abigail said.
"No we didn't. We didn't miss it because...wait you don't know this? I know something about history that you don't know."
"I would be very exited to learn about it Riley."
"Hold on one second. Let me just...just take in this moment. This is...is cool. Is this how you feel all the time? Because...except for now of course.."
"Okay Riley your moment is over spit it out." Rachel said.
"Alright! What I know is that daylight savings wasn't established until World War 1. If it's three P.M. now, that means in 1776 it would be 2 P.M."
Never had there been a happier Riley...well until his bluish green man with a weird goatee but that's for later.
"Riley you're a genius."
"Lets go."
The three started heading towards the escalators while Riley hung back a bit.
"Okay. Do you actually know who the first person to suggest daylight savings was?"
"Benjamin Franklin." They all called back.
Poor Riley, back to being historically challenged again.
Hope you enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you think!
