After thirty minutes on the road, Riley and Elsie reached a dock where there was one boat sitting unclaimed.
"I guess everyone else got a pretty good headstart," Elsie stated as she followed Riley onto the one boat left behind. "How do we find the others?" she inquired as she watched him navigate down the river, confidently.
Riley pointed ahead at something which was invisible to Elsie's eyes, "Most people don't know this but boats leave back a trail when they move across rivers like the Mississippi. We're going to follow it until the trail goes cold," he shared.
"Is that something you learned from Ben or is this one of your little treasure troves of knowledge?" she inquired, genuinely as she sat back, enjoying watching him in his element.
He glanced back at her, his face wearing a prideful expression, "This one is all me, baby. I wouldn't get too relaxed if I were you. Billie is no idiot. She probably has people stationed all over the river," he added as a warning, causing her to grasp her weapon, readying it for confrontation.
After another thirty minutes, and a very uncomfortable spot littered with fog, Riley pulled their boat onto land.
"The trail ends here," he shared as he got out before reaching his hand out to her, "We'll be on foot from here. Stay sharp," he instructed as he moved into the jungle of the Mississippi, reaching his hand back to take hers in his own.
Riley and Elsie walked through the swamplands of Mississippi until they heard someone else and moved quickly to a spot of supposed safety.
"Don't do anything foolish," Riley instructed as he saw Elsie peek around the tree to see who was in their midst.
She caught a glimpse of a man she didn't know before she whispered to Riley, "There's a man and he is definitely not someone associated with my group. I think I can distract him long enough for you to take care of him," she added as she moved out of the safety of the trees with her arms raised.
"Excuse me!" Elsie shouted, "Can you help me? I'm lost and I don't know how to get back to my group. I was with my college science class when I got separated from them. Have you seen anyone in the area?" she inquired while Riley admired her ability to come up with a quick excuse to explain her presence in the area.
Riley had his gun trained on the stranger as he watched the man respond, "I highly doubt that any college class would be here, even for a science class."
Before Riley could fire, the man shot off a bullet that landed in Elsie's shoulder. Riley shot the man in the head, but he was too late as he rushed out of their hiding spot to be by her side.
"Are you alright?" Riley asked, his voice filled with panic as he lowered himself down to her level
Elsie took a deep breath, gasping as she pulled off her sweater to put pressure on the wound in her shoulder, "I'm alright. We can keep going. The bullet went straight through," she shared as she grasped onto his hand to stand back up and continue moving through the forest to where Jess had gone.
Riley shook his head as he took on her weight to guide her through the swamplands until they reached a familiar face.
"Ethan!" Elsie exclaimed as she saw Jess's friend who she thought should be her boyfriend making his way towards them, "Is Jess ok?"
Ethan nodded, "She's ok for now," he replied, "Billie is the only one with her. Everyone else on her team is dead," he shared as he saw the blood-soaked cloth on her shoulder, "Are you alright?"
"I will be," Elsie replied, "What's your plan? I know you've got some idea of how to handle this mess," she added as Riley continued putting pressure on her shoulder.
Ethan nodded, "I already called for help. The FBI should be here any second. I would say that you should follow me into the action, but I think Riley should get you to a doctor. You're losing a lot of blood," he stated, matter-of-factly.
Riley raised his brow as he looked at her wound, "Babe, I want to help you help your friends, but he's right. You're losing blood much faster than your body can handle. Can we please turn back?"
Elsie took a deep breath before she nodded, "Yes, we don't have a choice. I'm feeling more and more light-headed as we move forward so I'll be no help to anyone," she directed her attention to Ethan, "Are you going to go back in? I'll feel much better if you do," she added as she felt herself depending on Riley more and more.
Ethan nodded, "Yes, I'll go in with the good guys. You two should get back to the docks. I promise that everything will be ok," he added with the confidence Elsie needed to see for her to agree.
"Thank you," Riley mouthed to Ethan as he turned back, carrying most of Elsie's weight back to their boat.
Riley and Elsie reached the docks within thirty minutes of meeting, Ethan. Agents were already en route to meet Ethan while others had stayed behind to help with medical emergencies.
Riley pulled an almost unconscious Elsie off of their boat to the nearest agent, "She was shot in the shoulder," he began explaining, "The bullet went straight through but it must have hit something important because the bleeding hasn't stopped," he shared as the agent took her from him and moved her to the triage area.
After a few minutes, the agent spoke, "You're right. She was hit and it went straight through but she lost a significant amount of blood which means that the bullet hit an artery," he shared, but Riley had a feeling the agent had more to say.
"Is there something else?" Riley questioned as she grasped Elsie's hand in his own, no longer caring about the treasure or anything else.
Before the agent could respond, Jess and the others returned to the dock.
"Did you find the treasure?" Riley asked as she stood by Elsie's side, holding onto her hand tightly.
Jess nodded as she wiped the sweat from her brow, "How did you two get here? Is Elsie ok?"
Riley replied, "Tasha reached out and Elsie insisted that we be here, but she was shot before we could get to you guys."
The agent interrupted their reunion, "Mr. Poole, Elsie is pregnant. That's why her body reacted so strongly to the injury. Don't worry," he reassured the newly panicked father-to-be, "She and the baby are doing just fine."
Riley glanced down at his fiance, "You would be expecting our first child while we're out hunting for a treasure that we have no business finding," he whispered as he noticed her eyes starting to open.
"I'm pregnant?" Elsie asked as she looked into Riley's eyes, her own wide with surprise.
Riley nodded, "You are. And, your friends found the Pan American treasure," he leaned down and placed a kiss ot her forehead, "I'd call today a great day all around."
His happiness caused Elsie to smile, no longer worrying about any of the other logistics involved in their news, "You're right, baby," she stated as she pulled his face down to hers in a passionate kiss.
The End