Author's Note: I am soooo sorry about the ridiculously long delay. Being a full-time college student doesn't leave me much time to write :( But I promised myself that I would find the time to write another chapter for you guys over break. I know it's longer than usual, but I hope it was worth the wait!

Chapter 8

Riley frowned, hunching his shoulders against the cool, autumn breeze. He'd tried to rehearse how he would come clean about his little chat with Masson Scott to Ben and Abigail on the drive over. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out so well; he could never seem to come up with the right words. The very thought of the reactions his friends might have was enough to put him on edge.

Watching his breath form a white mist before him and float lazily upwards, Riley pondered just letting the matter drop and carrying on as if nothing had happened. But then Ben'll just end up finding out some other way. Riley sighed, lifting his hand to knock for what seemed like the millionth time. Besides, he doubted he would be able to keep up the act for very long. Ben could read him like an open book. In fact, no one knew him better. Riley gave a small smile. He liked to think that particular part of their friendship worked both ways.

Violently shaking away any hesitation or doubt that lingered in his mind, Riley's eyes burned with a fierce determination. There's no turning back now.

Shifting the bags and drink carrier in his arms, Riley scowled at the door with impatience. He could just hack the security system again. His frown deepened. Yeah 'cause that worked out so well last time; Abigail could be a little sensitive when it came to her personal space.

He had half a mind to just break down the door when it suddenly swung open and revealed a disheveled Abigail. Her hair was a tangled mess with strands flying every which way. Most of her makeup had been rubbed off, and what was left was badly smeared. As his eyes moved downwards, Riley noted that the wrinkled clothes she was wearing were the same ones from last night.

Her slightly unfocused eyes stared at him for a moment before recognition finally flashed through their depths. "Riley!" she exclaimed, blinking owlishly. "I am so sorry! We didn't hear you."

He raised the bags and drinks with a smile. "I come baring gifts! Now are you going to let me in or do you want me to go back to the car and eat all this by myself?"

Abigail opened the door wider, making a grab for the bag as he passed. Riley dodged her with ease and continued down the hall towards the living room, missing the relieved smile that spread across her face. Riley seemed to be in a much better mood today. If he was returning to his old self, that had to be a good sign...right?

"You know, as much as I come over here, I should get a key," he stated with mock annoyance as Abigail caught up.

"That works both ways," she pointed out. "When I get a key to your place, you'll get one to mine."

Riley didn't respond. He did not want to go there.

When they reached the living room, he continued through the doorway and plopped down onto a chair near a window overlooking the back yard, completely disregarding the mess around him. Anyone else would have halted in the entryway, shocked as they took in the scene before them. The beautiful and expensive furniture was draped with dozens of physical and topographic maps. Abigail's precious Boston tea tables were hidden under a mountain of history books and reference material. Some of the maps and books had spilled down onto the floor and were now scattered haphazardly across the carpet. In short, a historical bomb had gone off. Ben was nowhere to be seen.

Home sweet home

"Looks like you guys had one wild night." Riley commented as he surveyed the danger zone. "Did you find anything useful?"

Ben's head suddenly popped up from behind the couch. "We found a lot actually..." he started, stumbling to his feet. His head shot to attention, eyes glued to the table beside Riley. "Is that coffee?"

Riley grabbed the cup from the top left corner of the carrier and held it out. Ben smiled gratefully and took the offering. As he brought the cup to his lips, Ben looked over the rim and noted his friend's anxious demeanor. Though he was hiding it well, Ben could see that Riley was fighting hard not to fidget. After last night, he decided it was best not to push him.

Ben's shoulders sagged in bliss as the scolding liquid spilled down his throat and sharpened his senses. For some reason, Ben handled late nights of research better than Abigail. His hair was slightly tousled, but that suited him just fine. And aside from the occasional crease, his clothes were in surprisingly good condition. The only clue that he had a rough night were his eyes. Bloodshot and misty, the chocolate-brown orbs were only halfway visible as his heavy eyelids sagged, threatening to smother them; the dark bags below stood out starkly against his complexion. However, all those signs had disappeared by the second swig of caffeine.

"And for you..." Riley turned to Abigail as he reached into the bag and tossed her a muffin. "One Poppy Seed Muffin and a steaming cup of...what is this again?" Taking off the lip, he took a quick smell. Reeling back, Riley's eyes snapped wide open. He passed the drink to her wordlessly, handling it with extreme caution, as if he was dealing with highly toxic chemicals.

"Oh, quit being a baby," Abigail rolled her eyes, snatching the cup from his grasp. "It's organic herbal tea. It helps to relieve stress and strengthen the immune system. It's good for you."

"Yeah whatever," he said as he eyed the cup suspiciously. "You keep saying that, but I bet if I dumped it into any one of your house plants, it'd be dead in ten seconds flat." He yelped as she punched him in the arm.

Giving her a halfhearted glare, Riley produced a bacon double cheeseburger from the other bag.

"Oh, and that's so much better." Abigail shot back as he took his first greasy bite. "And for breakfast?"

"What? There's bacon on it, therefore it qualifies as breakfast," he smiled triumphantly and turned towards Ben. "So what did you find out?"

Ben's eyes lit up in a way that was unique to moments when he was close to uncovering the truth. "Well, after spending a majority of the night reading through the rest of the journal, I'm pretty sure we have most of the pieces together.

"After setting anchor on the northeastern coast of Brazil, Isaac's team started heading south. For months they explored the dense forests, cataloging wildlife and land formations along the way. He goes into such great detail, Abigail and I were able to outline basically their entire journey.

"They traveled along the São Francisco River, so water wasn't a problem. Unfortunately, about seven months in they ran out of food. They were living off of fruit and any animals they could hunt, which was mainly fish from the river and birds. It wasn't long until they were down one man and starving. They all would've died if they hadn't encountered a small tribe of natives who took them in, providing food, water, and a safe place to camp. The relief was short lived though. Tension was starting to rise among the group as they started to become suspicious of one another."

"There were only three names Isaac mentions in the whole journal," Abigail jumped in. Having finished her muffin, she absently brushed the crumbs off her jeans. "Mitchell Thomas: Isaac's longtime friend and second-in-command, Alexander Smith: the youngest member of the crew, and Edward Scott."

Riley froze. "Did you say Scott?"

"Yeah, he was one of the senior members," Ben stated, looking at him curiously. "Why?"

"The guy that's been trying to get his hands on the shipment has the same last name. Masson Scott," he sneered. "They're most likely related. He seems to be under the impression that the treasure belongs to him. Oh yeah, and he has some of the creepiest tattoos I've ever seen. I'm telling you, the guy's bad news."

Abigail raised an eyebrow. "And how did you find all this out?"

Riley closed his eyes. It was bound to come out sooner or later. Trying to maintain his composure, he took a deep breath. Oh well. Here goes. "Yeah about that, I met him earlier," he stated offhandedly, crunching up his burger wrapper and shooting it into the trash can across the room.

"You what?!" Ben exclaimed.

Abigail's head snapped up, eyes wide. "When?"

"Last night at the museum," he confessed, suddenly taking a deep interest in the fabric of his hoodie. "He kind of cornered me on the way out. That's the reason I took so long."

"So what? You just decided to keep this little piece of information to yourself?" Ben stated to pace, jaw set and shoulders tense. He was stuck somewhere between anger and disbelief. He knew that something was wrong. Something in his gut kept telling him, keeping him awake, but he hadn't expected this.

Aaand this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. "All we did was talk," Riley shrugged, picking nervously at a hole in his sleeve. "Nothing happened."

"And what if something had?" Ben raked his fingers through his hair and down his face before letting out a long sigh. "I knew I should have gone with you," he whispered.

That set him off. Riley's eyes narrowed in rage as he got to his feet. "Hey! Last time I checked, I don't need a babysitter." Masson's words were back, loudly bouncing around in his skull. It must be very frustrating for those two, especially Benjamin. Having to constantly look over his shoulder to make sure you haven't caused any trouble. "I can take care of myself!"

"That's not the point!" Ben's seethed, voice having risen to a yell. He was so frustrated! Why hadn't Riley come to him about something so important?

"Oh really? Then what is the point, Ben? Huh? 'Cause I'd really like to know." They were now standing almost nose to nose.

"ALRIGHT!" Abigail shouted as she pushed herself between the two of them. "That's enough. Ben, Riley's right. He's a grown man. You can't go around treating him like a child." Riley smirked and opened his mouth to say something when she continued. "On the other hand, Ben's right too, Riley. This isn't just another white lie, you should have said something."

I just did and look how that turned out Riley thought darkly as he sank back down into his chair.

With both men reduced to a pair of pouting school girls, Abigail was finally satisfied. "Now can we please get back to the case?"

Ben hesitated and gave Riley a 'this isn't over' look before continuing. "Well.."

April 21, 1805

"I don't know about this, Chris. I've got a bad feeling," Mitchell grunted as the two men stared out over the open valley. They had been living with these strange people for weeks already. He couldn't quite explain it, but something just didn't sit well with him. "That Scott guy's trouble. He's been seeking off with some of the others, keeping secrets. I don't trust him."

Isaac turned slowly to face his friend, his features smoothed with a sense of calm. "I don't either," he stated with a confident smile.

Mitchell had been friends with Christopher long enough to know what the man was thinking by the look on his face. The one he was currently wearing meant he had a plan.

"Um...excuse me," a timid voice piped up from behind. Both men turned to see the youngest member of their group standing in the doorway. "You said you wanted to see me, sir?"

"Alexander!" Isaac beamed, motioning him over. "Just the man I was looking for. There's a very...descrete matter I wanted to share with you."

"Sir?"

"You've got to be joking," Mitchell snorted.

"Tell me son," Isaac shot his friend a quick glare before continuing, "what are your thoughts regarding Mister Scott?"

Averting his eyes, Alexander shifted under Isaac's intense gaze, uncomfortable with being the center of attention. "Uh, well he seems like a smart man. I mean, he knows a lot of useful things that helped us get this far. He really carries himself with confidence."

"Quite fond of the man are we now Mister Smith?" Mitchell rolled his eyes.

"No need for flattery Alexander. What you say here will stay between the three of us," Isaac urged. "You are free to speak truthfully."

The young man hesitated, searching their faces. "There's been talk," he started slowly. "Mister Scott is recruiting some of the men for something. I don't know what, but he pulled me aside yesterday and told me to take a day or two to consider."

"Do you trust him?"

Alexander's eyes hardened. "No."

"In that case," Isaac and Mitchell exchanged a quick glance. "I need you to do something for me..."

"Isaac enlisted Alexander to accept the offer and spy on Scott." Ben explained. "While giving regular reports to Isaac, he managed to slowly move up the ranks. After months of smuggling ammunition and sneaking off at night to attend secret gatherings, Alexander finally earned Scott's trust. It was during one of the meetings that he figured out what was going on. Scott and his men planned to raid the village and take all the riches for themselves."

"Well, if he had the whole tribe on his side I bet Isaac beat them, right? I mean, even if it was a small tribe, that still leaves it around five to one," Riley pointed out. "They had pretty good odds."

"Hmmm...I don't think so," Ben frowned, shaking his head. "Isaac depicted the tribe as, not only a calm, but peaceful people. I doubt they would have agreed to participate in something as violent as a fight. And even if they did, almost every one of Scott's allies had some form of combat experience. I hate to say it, but against that they probably didn't stand a chance."

"What do you mean probably?" Riley questioned. "What did the journal say?"

"That's just it," Abigail sighed. "Isaac wrote detailed summaries of everything they learned every few days: his thoughts on staying with the tribe, who he suspected of moving over to Scott's side, even everything Alexander told him. He went on for months. Then he just...stopped."

They sat in silence before Riley said what they were all thinking. "So it's safe to assume that they were all killed in the attack."

"Well," Ben stood rolled his head, stretching the kinks from his neck. "We won't know anything for sure until we go and check it out."

"We already have everything sorted," Abigail jumped in, running her fingers over a large map. "Based on the geographic descriptions and timeline, I would have to guess the group encountered the natives somewhere in the southwestern regions of Paraná, Brazil. Ben and I are going to head down there tomorrow and see if we can find the village. Then we'll look for any clues that might point us in the right direction as to where the treasure is hidden. I already bought plane tickets."

"Uh, excuse me," Riley coughed. "What about me?"

Abigail gaped in surprise. "You actually want to spend your weekend hiking through the rainforest?"

"It's not like I have any other plans," he shrugged. "Besides, do you know how many hot women are down there just waiting to experience this?" Riley gestured dramatically towards himself.

"Somewhere close to zero," Abigail muttered as she turned to walk upstairs and get a shower.

"I'm okay with it," Ben shrugged. Actually he was relieved that Riley had volunteered to go. It gave him the opportunity he needed to get the kid alone and figure out what was really going on. He could tell there was more that Riley wasn't telling him, and he was going to figure out what.

"It's settled then," Riley smiled. "We're going to Brazil!"

What do you guys think so far?! Please comment/review. Also, Weak Link is now available on AO3! We'll see how this semester goes and how busy I am. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon!