The hunt was going a lot faster since recruiting Riley and Alex was pleased to realize that he added a far more lighthearted feel to the group. He hadn't quite broke out of his shell, he was more reserved with Ian and his guys than with Alex and Ben, but a lot of his humor shone though when interacting with everyone. Alex noted that he enjoyed the same movies and had a similar sense of humor as her. They quickly became friends, despite the amount of pressure they felt towards finding the treasure.

Ben and Ian were so serious about the treasure it felt nice to joke around with someone. Alex was, of course, concerned about her legacy but she recognized that there was only so much that could be done before finding the next clue. She figured her grandfather would be proud of her either way.

When Ben and Ian started playing poker with a few guys from the apartment complex Alex and Riley had joined. Not to play, but to act as commentators. Alex had never understood poker and Riley wasn't a fan of gambling. This led the two to almost immediately be kicked out of any card game event.

"Looks like Ryan has a bad hand." Alex announced, looking to Riley who widened his eyes and shook his head.

"Get out." Ben stated. He looked pointedly at Alex. She raised her arms and dragged Riley out of the room.

"They're very serious about poker."

"I can tell." He responded as he gave her a small smile.

Usually poker nights were sent in the basement if the apartment complex, meaning that Alex had the apartment to herself. Usually she'd watch a fantasy movie or do some cleaning but since Riley joined their group they usually ordered takeout and went through more facts about history. Alex was certainly not as well rounded with historical events as her brother, a fact that she despised, and she tried to find out as much as she could. She just assumed that Riley didn't want to spent his nights alone.

"There she is." Ben pointed out the name on Riley's computer. "Charlotte" was written in neat cursive on a letter from George Stanford, a Freemason was considered the foremost expert of the treasure.

"Would she really know anything?" Alex questioned as she skimmed through the letter, there wasn't a mention of any treasure, only what seemed to be a personal recollection of the past month.

"Maybe not but it's more than we had ten minutes ago." Ben replied his eyes rows furrowing as he read a line.

"What is it?" Alex asked, causing Riley to look behind him at Ben who was giving a questioning glance to the computer.

"I don't think that this is the Charlotte we're looking for."

Both Alex and Riley slumped while Ben just shook his head and turned away.

"I was really looking forward to buying a yacht." Riley said offhandedly, stopping Ben in his tracks.

"What did you say?" He asked Riley who looked at Alex before beginning to explain.

"Well with the finder's fee I thought, not that the money is the only thing,"

"A boat." Ben reiterated. "You want to buy a boat."

Alex only gave her brother a questioning look as he repeated, "A boat. A ship."He poked at her for a few seconds before she realized his desperation.

Alex hit her palm against her head. "Of course. If the treasure was moved then there must've been a ship involved."

"The Charlotte." Her brother laughed out.

"What about this Charlotte? The ship can't be named after her." Riley continued, looking back at the letter.

Ben waved him off. " Just a coincidence."

It hadn't taken very long to find the ship after discovering that the clue was in fact about a ship and not a person. In proportion they had discovered the clue quickly but it felt like years, not months.

Alex had walked into the apartment and immediately jumped back as Ben rushed from one side of the room to the other. She had just spent over 9 hours at her job and was looking forward to a relaxing night, only Ben had other plans.

"We found the Charlotte!" The moment Ben said that she was being lifted up by her brother. After being spun around and finally standing in solid ground she looked over to Riley. He had a wide eyed stare as he watched the siblings interact.

"What?"

"We've triangulated the approximation of where the Charlotte would have ended up given the-." Riley started to explain but soon Alex's eye lit up.

"Really?!" Alex interrupted as she beamed up at her brother.

"Yep!"

During the past months Ian had recruited a few new guys, bodyguards who just wanted the treasure, Shaw, Shippen and Powell. Ben knew they just wanted to money but going against the man funding his research was a concept foreign to him. Alex felt uneasy towards them but given that Ian trusted them she tolerated them.

"So where is she?" Alex asked excitedly. They had been attempting to track down the ship for months only to be stuck with dead ends. After finding that Charlotte was a ship they had looked over voyage records, only none for that ship were accurate.

Ben smiled as he jumped into the story, explaining the path the ship had traveled and the possibilities of what they'd find on it.

Alex widened her eyes and looked over to Riley, who looked incredibly bored.

"We've heard this before." He explained as Alex nodded her head in understanding. She knew all too well how excited her brother could get about history.

"It's really quite fascinating." Ben gushed as he followed his sister as she wandered around the house, picking up empty beer cans and food wrappers, their apartment had turned into what Alex could only describe as a tornado victim.

"You live like a pig." She announced, leering as Shaw threw more trash on the ground. Her irritation was evident as she immediately picked up the wrapper Shaw had thrown.

"Sorry about that. It's an exciting day." Ben brushed it aside, leaning over to pick up some trash.

"Yes," Ian appeared behind Ben. "Which is why I suggest drinks as we plan our next step."

Alex shrugged. "Give me a minute."

Drinks at the bar was the last place Alex wanted to be. Ian and his gang had quickly taken over the place, loudly celebrating. Ben was faring a tad better, he would occasionally walk over to Alex and give her a squeeze. Alex had nothing against bars. They could be fun, especially when she could bat her eyes and get free drinks. The few times she had gone she had went with a friend and some casual acquaintances. She was comfortably buzzed as her and Riley had found a corner booth in the bar.

Alex continued to beam each time she thought of being one step closer to making her grandfather proud. She found herself swaying to the music and laughing as fellow patrons stumbled around the bar.

"I hate that guy." Riley announced as they watched Ian do another cheer. Alex turned to see who Riley was looking at, spotting Ian at the bar cheering a group of men in front of him.

"Ben knows he's only here for the money right?" He continued as Alex bit back a laugh.

"Aren't you?" Alex questioned, shaking her head when she saw him freeze. Laughing she said,"It's fine. You're at least being helpful."

"Glad to see my work is being appreciated." He smiled. "And it only started out as a money thing. I care about this now." Alex laughed, shaking her head. She didn't doubt Riley's interest in the treasure and she knew that despite everything he always did his best to learn more about the treasure than come up with fast solutions.

"Glad to hear it." Alex replied, clinking her drink with Riley's half drunk beer. "Don't like it?" She asked pointing her head to the glass. She had barely seen Riley take sips of his drink, having ordered it as soon as stepping into the bar. Alex herself wasn't a fan, and she could never fault Riley for anything, let alone finishing a beer.

"Not one bit." He replied.

She glanced at Ben, who was smiling enthusiastically at a guy at the bar, his smile larger than she had ever seen.

"You know what, I'm gonna get something else to drink. I'm going to get you something better than beer. " She told him as she stood up. Riley looked up at her for a few seconds.

"Like what?" He asked. Alex raised her eyebrows, trying to hide a smile.

"Something sweet. I'll be right back." She replied, gently touching his shoulder in reassurance.

It took a while for her to get the drinks as she tended to let the more determined customers go first so when she came back both Ian and Ben were at the booth.

Riley looked incredibly uncomfortable sandwiched between the two men, who leaned across him to talk.

"Let me in." She tapped Ben, relieved that he stood up and let her slide in between him and Riley. Ian have Riley a strange look at the bright pink of the cosmo and vodka cranberry but Alex quickly interjected, "they're both for me."

Ben wouldn't have doubted that the two drinks were for her so he gave her a concerned look before realizing that she had subtly handed one of the drinks to Riley.

"Thanks." Riley responded as he took a sip. Alex smiled at him, looking almost expectantly at his reaction.

"A lot better than beer." She grinned and gave his hand a squeeze before turning her attention to Ben and Ian, who were talking across the table. Attention would be generous. The two of them spoke so fast and passionately that she couldn't barely keep track of who was talking. Within a few minutes she had graduated to sipping her drink ad watching the people surrounding her.

She loved the two men, she really did, but at times she found it best to feign interest and let them believe that she was hanging on every word. The thing with having Ben Gates as a brother, Alex thought, was that Ian Howe was in her life. He had so quickly become another brother figure that she missed the days he wasn't at the apartment, and cherished them.

The day after they found The Charlotte Alex hadn't gotten out of her room until noon. Riley had been sent in first, wafting coffee in her face and promising bagels until she had thrown a pillow at him. Ben was next who told her that they were making the plan to find The Charlotte and they needed her. Last, of course, was Ian, who came in, guns blazing, and made it impossible for her to sleep.

After almost 10 minutes of Ian pestering her to get up she rolled out of her bed and followed him out of her room.

Alex approached the group with messy hair in an oversized shirt and gave them all a glare. Riley gave a small smile and handed her a coffee and egg bagel.

"You're my favorite." She replied in thanks as she leaned fell into the couch, carefully taking a sip. "It's cold." She muttered.

Ben sighed. "If you were up when we were it would've been warm. We need to think of next steps."

Alex rolled her eyes but made no remark as the group bought plane tickets, rented snowmobiles and reverified Riley's information. Their trip to the Canadian Artic would come soon enough and Alex could already feel the excitement of being one step closer to the Templar Treasure.