Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure, just Elizabeth and this particular plot idea.

Chapter Two

Mr. Gates was wary of what the future had in store for him. His son's girlfriend was a puddle of tears nowadays, and his son's best friend was missing. Poor Ben was merely trying to keep his friends afloat in a sea of chaos and fear. The older man sighed and leaned back into his recliner. After they found the treasure, his back had started acting up. He just couldn't keep up with the younger generation.

"I better get grandchildren before I die." he muttered.

He picked up the remote and turned on the news. Mr. Gates chuckled to himself as the news discussed all about the treasure hunt he had been a part of, frowning when they highlighted Elizabeth's tragic death. Then the camera shifted to a picture of Ian.

"We have just learned that Ian Howe, the man who tried to steal the Declaration of Independence, but was thwarted by the Gates family, has somehow escaped from jail. Authorities say-"

In an instant, Mr. Gates' pleasant evening was shattered. He vaulted out of his chair and ran to the telephone. He dialed Ben's apartment number, pacing with each ring. When he heard the answering machine, he slammed the phone down and began to rifle through his stacks of paper, looking for Ben's cell phone number. Some papers scattered on the ground before he was able to find it. Dialing quickly, he paced faster.

"...Dad? Why are you calling at... two in the morning...?" a groggy Ben answered the phone.
"I'm calling because Ian's escaped from jail! Ben, he's going to come after you! I want you to call up Agent Sadusky and have agents watch you until he's apprehended. He's a dangerous man and I'm worried son." Mr. Gates said quickly.
"I don't know his number dad, I figure he'll call us in the morning okay, so don't worry. Ian won't make any moves so soon after breaking out." Ben said, trying to reassure his father.
"He had better call tomorrow. I'm positive Ian will come after you. No doubt, so be careful."
"I will dad, you too. I'm sure he'll be mad at all of us. Hopefully we can catch him when he comes for me."
Ben heard a sigh over the phone as his father began to speak again. "I'd rather he not come after you at all. Agent Sadusky will have no choice but to use you as bait and that's what I'm worried about."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Take care of yourself dad." Ben said.
"I'll try, but it's a parent's prerogative Okay, you too son, you too." Mr. Gates replied.

He hung up the phone and walked tiredly out of the kitchen. Once he was in bed, he picked up the picture of his parents. He sighed tiredly and rubbed his face. He moved to place it back on his nightstand but he gasped in surprise and dropped it. The glass shattered.

Ben snapped his cell phone shut and laid down next to Abigail in her bed.

"Is your dad okay?" she asked softly.
"Yeah, he's okay. He just saw a news reel about Ian and got pretty worried." Ben murmured.

He scooted down under the covers and pulled her close to him. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled.

'If you're listening God, please keep Abigail safe. I can't loose her...' he thought sleepily before drifting off again.

Agent Sadusky had a migraine. A big one. He rubbed his temples and tried to listen in to what his agent had to say.

"So are you telling me that we have no leads? They just walked out of the prison and into thin air? You're telling me no one saw them? Or their car? They weren't stopped? Can someone tell me what the hell is wrong with this picture?! We had him under tight security and he escaped by a simple little switcher-roo that no one noticed until three and a half hours later?!" he slammed down the folder filled with security photos. "This is..." he swallowed his words. "That's just wonderful. Spectacular!"

He rubbed his temples again and sat down in a chair.

"I want agents with Mr. Gates, Ben Gates, and Dr. Abigail Chase. Howe will most likely go after them, at least one at a time. I want every single man in the prison, inmates included, interviewed for any information. I want Riley Poole found and I want the files on Dr. Elizabeth Chase's death." he commanded.

The agents scurried off to do as they were told and quickly for when Agent Sadusky was in a bad mood, heads didn't roll off bodies, they were blasted off.

Sadusky stalked off to find migraine medicine. Ten minutes later, he received the files on Elizabeth's death. He read them in depth, repeatedly. He set down the file and ran over the facts in his head.

One, Elizabeth had lost a lot of blood. Two, she had contracted a fever due to the shock her system received losing and gaining blood so fast. Three, she slipped into a coma. Four, she was recovering and was expected to wake up in a day or two. Five, she died due to heart failure from the fever that never really left her system. Six, this was unexpected and had caught doctors unawares.

He thought of all the cases where doctors would euthanize their patients they deemed to be suffering and wanted to put out of their misery. But this didn't fit that scenario. The windows in her room didn't open and she was on the twelfth floor. The security videos showed no interference from outside her room. Could it all just be a clean death, an accident that coincided with Howe's escape?

It was true that they hadn't been able to catch all of Howe's men but they had made sure that he hadn't of had contact with anyone. So why did his gut tell him that Elizabeth's death had been foul play? And if there was one thing that had gotten Sadusky to the top of the FBI, it was most definitely his instincts.

"Sir, we have some bad news. Mr. Gates was found dead in his home. And, you should see this." the agent handed him a picture.

Agent Sadusky's mouth formed a grim line of anger. He slammed the picture down.

"Dammit! Those men better be within two feet of Ben Gates and Abigail Chase or God help them!" he stormed out of the room with the agent following him nervously.

The picture was a photo of Mr. Gates' bedroom wall. His body was crumpled at the base of it and in blood was written "2 down 3 to go"

Ben had just gotten back to sleep when he heard the front door burst open.

"What the-?" Abigail squeaked in fright as men with guns came into the room.
"Dr. Chase? Mr. Gates...? Are you both alright? We're the FBI and we have orders to stay with you two until Ian Howe is apprehended." an agent said, a little thrown off that they were both together.

Ben nodded and murmured something to an agent nearby. The man colored a bit and motioned the other men to leave for a moment.

After about a minute or so, Abigail and Ben left her room, Abigail blushing profusely.

"Ah, Mr. Gates, Dr. Chase, I'm glad to see you two are okay." Agent Sadusky said.
Ben walked over and shook hands with him. "I take it this is to protect us from Ian Howe?" he asked, sitting down next to Sadusky on a couch. Abigail mimicked him.
"Yes, normally we wouldn't have used so much force." the agent's eyes flickered to Abigail's face. "We have our suspicions that Ian may be linked to your sister's death." he said softly.

Her eyes turned to stone, her mouth in a grim line, and her hands balled up in fists.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this Ben," he turned his attention to him. "But we didn't get to your father's in time. He was murdered. I'm so sorry."

Ben sat there numbly. He couldn't believe it. He had just talked to his father, maybe not five minutes before he had died! He balled his hands into fists. Ian would pay. Ian would pay with his life.

Elizabeth was all cried out. She had a hand shaped bruise on her right cheek, a gash on the back of her head, scrapes, cuts, bruises all over her body, and her lips were bloody and swollen. She laid on the concrete ground, pain racking her body as Victor grabbed her by the hair and hoisted her up so her face was parallel to his.

"Count your lucky stars that Ian's saving you for himself." he spat maliciously and slammed his lips onto hers.

She gasped in pain as he molested her mouth. Reacting purely on instinct, she bit down on his tongue. He yelped in pain as his blood filled her mouth and threw her to the ground.

"Bitch."

He kicked her roughly in the stomach and stalked out of the room.

"That'll teach you to mouth off to me..."

She whimpered and curled up in a ball, spitting some blood and spit out of her mouth.

"Could have brushed his teeth..." she muttered, before fainting.