Well, here's another exciting chapter of my NT fanfic. Hope you all enjoy and as a New Year gift, I'll update tomorrow also.
She Will Be Loved©
National Treasure™
DISLCAIMER: I do not own National Treasure™ or its characters. I only own Kyle© and that's it. I do want to thank Jerry and they guys for making this movie 'cause it totally kicks total ASS!
Chapter Six
"I found something!" Ben shouts, bringing a wrapped box over to the others.
Kyle and Riley walk over next to Ian who stepped on Ben's other side. Shaw is still walking around, looking for something more.
"What is it?" Riley asks.
"Well, so far, it looks like a box." Kyle replies sarcastically.
Riley glares at her and looks back at the box. Ben opens the box to reveal a very beautiful smoking pike. It seems to be made of ivory shaped as a castle wall with knights carved into it. The stem also had something carved into it: letters. Kyle stares in awe.
"Do you guys know what this is?" Ben asks, holding the pipe up, studying it.
"Is it a billion dollar pipe?" Riley asks with a smile, looking at Ben.
Kyle elbows him.
"Ow." Riley rubs is arm.
"It's a meerschaum pipe. Ah, it's beautiful," says Ian taking the pipe from Ben to get a better look at it.
"Look at the intricacy of the scroll work on the stem," says Ben.
"Is it a million dollar pipe?" Riley asks hopefully.
Kyle rolls her eyes.
"No, it's a clue. Let me see that," Ben says to Ian taking the pipe back from him.
"Duh." Kyle states rolling her eyes.
Ben pulls the stem apart from the rest of the pipe.
"What...don't break it," says Riley.
"It's supposed to do that, love." Kyle whispers to him, patting his shoulder.
Riley frowns but nods to acknowledge her.
"We are one step closer to the treasure, gentlemen," says Ben.
Kyle clears her throat and looks at Ben.
"And lady," he corrects himself.
She smiles in satisfactory.
"Ben, I thought you said the treasure would be on the Charlotte," says Ian, looking confused.
"No, I said it could be here," Ben states.
Ben then proceeds to pull out a knife and prick his thumb with it. Riley cringes and Kyle winces and hides her face in Riley's shoulder. Everyone else looks as if it is something the happens everyday. Ben smears the blood from his thumb along the stem and rolls it on a piece of paper in a small notebook. As he rolls it, a lot of symbols and words show up on the paper.
"These are Templar symbols," says Ben.
He reads what was on the pipe:
"The legend writ,
The stain affected,
The key in Silence undetected,
Fifty-five in iron pen,
Mr. Matlack can't offend.
Kyle rethinks the words as she takes her head away from Riley's shoulder.
"It's a riddle," she says.
"Yeah. I need to think," says Ben sitting down on a barrel.
Ben says his thoughts out loud: "The legend writ, the stain affected. What legend? There is the legend of the Templar treasure, the stain affects the legend. How? The key in silence undetected. Wait! The legend, the key. There's something. A map. Maps have legends, maps have keys. It's a map, an invisible map. So now..."
"Wait a minute," says Ian bringing the hand with the pipe in it to his head, "What do you mean invisible? An invisible map?"
"The stain affected could refer to a die or reagent used to bring about a certain result," Ben replies.
"Yes, and that combined with the key in Silence undetected. The implication is to make what was undetectable detectable. Unless the key in silence could be..." says Ben.
"Prison," Shaw blurts out interrupting Ben.
Kyle looks over at him and frowns. "What?" she asks with her mouth slightly open.
" Albuquerque, see I can do it too. Snorkel," says Riley.
She tries not to laugh knowing that everyone is still seriously except for Riley.
"It's where the map is. Like you said, 55 in iron pen. Iron Pen is a prison," explains Shaw.
"Or it could be since the primary writing medium of the time was iron gull ink; the pen is...just a pen. Then why not say a pen, why say iron pen?" says Kyle.
Ben nods at her impressed.
"Because it's a prison," mumbles Shaw.
Ian moves over and sits on a barrel. Kyle moves closer to Riley, knowing something isn't going to go as planned.
"Wait, iron pen. The ink does not describe what was in the pen, it describes what was penned. It was iron, it was firm. It was mineral, no, no, no, no. It was firm, it was adamant. It was resolved, it was resolved," says Ben coming to a stand still, "Mr. Matlack can't offend. Timothy Matlack was the official scribe of the Continental Congress. Calligrapher, not writer. And to make sure he could not offend the map, it was put on the back of a resolution that was transcribed, a resolution that 55 men signed," he pauses.
Oh crap. I know EXACTLY where he's going with this. Kyle thinks.
"The Declaration of Independence." Ben states.
The mood in the room changed. Everyone seems a little shiftier now than usual.
"Ooooh," says Ian.
"Come on. There's no invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence," argues Riley.
"It's clever really. A document of that importance would ensure the map's survival. And you said several Masons signed it, yeah?" says Ian looking from Riley to Ben then at Kyle back to Ben.
"Yeah, nine for sure," says Ben.
"We'll have to arrange for a way to examine it," says Ian.
Kyle crosses her arms. "You mean steal it?" she asks bitterly.
"I don't think so." Ben says a little more gently than Kyle.
"Ben, the treasure of the Knight's Templar is the treasure of all treasures," says Ian.
"No, der der." Kyle comments sarcastically making Riley crack up.
"Oh, I didn't know that. Really?" says Ben with the same sarcasm.
"Ben, I understand your bitterness, I really do. You've spent your entire life searching for this treasure only to have the historical community treat your family with mockery and contempt. You should be able to rub this treasure in their arrogant faces, and I want you to have the chance to do that," says Ian sincerely.
"How?" Ben asks, looking at Ian straight in the face.
"We all have our areas of expertise. You don't think mine is limited to writing checks, do you? Why, I've arranged a number of operations of...questionable legality," he says looking from Kyle to Ben.
"I would take his word for it," say Shaw standing next to Ian.
"Don't worry. I'll make all the arrangements," says Ian standing.
"No," says Ben sternly.
"I really need your help here, Ben," says Ian.
Kyle moves slowly over to the door at this point, hoping Riley will follow, bit his hasn't noticed her yet.
"Ian, I'm not going to let you steal the Declaration of Independence," says Ben standing along with everyone else.
"Okay, from this point on, all you're going to be is a hindrance," says Ian, while Shaw pulls out a gun and points it at Ben.
"Hey," says Riley.
"What're you going to do? You gonna shoot me, Shaw? Well, you can't shoot me: there's more to the riddle. Information you don't have, I do. I'm the only one who can figure it out and you know that," says Ben putting his hands in the air.
"He's bluffing," says Ian.
"We play poker together, Ian, you know I can't bluff," says Ben.
"Tell me what I need to know...or I'll shoot your friend," says Ian while Shaw points the gun at Riley.
"Hey!" shouts Riley.
"No." Kyle whispers, moving over in front of Riley.
"Quiet Riley! Your jobs finished here." Ian snaps.
"If you want to kill Riley, you'll have to kill me." She says fiercely.
Shaw raises an eyebrow then looks at Ian who just shrugs. Kyle stays put, not even flinching.
"What are you doing?" Riley asks her with worry.
"Saving your life." She replies back in the same whisper.
Ben thinks quickly and pulls out a flare. He strikes it against a barrel and waves it in front of him.
"Look where you're standing. All that gunpowder. You shoot me, I drop this, we all go up," says Ben.
I hope you guys all enjoyed this one and please review. I'll update ASAP!