▌Chapter 14 ─ Love and Treasure ▌

━━━━━ CLARA WATCHED AS the dumbwaiter came down towards them soon stopping. Ian looked at the other four that were on the other side of the steps.

"Get on." Ian said, still looking at them.

"Ian, it's not worth it." Ben told him, not wanting to risk the danger of anyone else.

"Do you imagine any one of your lives is more valuable to me than Shaw's? We go on."

Clara sighed, lowering her head slightly. "The status quo." Patrick breathed out. "Keep the status quo."

Ben helped Clara over to the other side, Patrick grabbing her and pulling her towards him. Soon the other's including Ben climbed into the dumbwaiter. From there they moved down to their next destination. Abigail held onto the fire, while Clara stood in the back near Patrick. Ian was next to her. Ben held onto the rope as they moved closer to the end.

"Now what?" Riley asked.

"This is... This is where it all leads." Patrick said, as Ben threw the rope over catching it on a pole.

Ben pulled on the rope allowing them to move closer, Riley helped him. Once they reached the other side he tightened the rope making sure the dumbwaiter would stay in place. He took the light back from Abigail stepping off of it.

"Okay, let's go." Ben said, looking around.

Ian was the second to get off, also looking around. They moved forward while Riley stepped off, turning back towards the others and helping Abigail though she didn't need it. Patrick placed his arm around Clara's back while Riley helped her off. Once they were all off they proceeded to move forward.

Ben was the first to enter the next room, he turned slightly, moving the torch over to another torch that rested on the wall. He moved into the small area looking around, Ian following behind him. Clara looked around seeing if there was anything that might lead them to the treasure. She walked over the wall examining it, Patrick walked over to one of the lanterns and allowed the fire to run around inside of it.

"What is this?" Riley asked.

"So where's the treasure?" Powell questioned.

Ben removed his hand from the wall, looking back at Ian and Powell. "Well?" Ian questioned him.

"This is it?"

Clara looked at Ben seeing the sadden look that rested on his face, but she knew he was in fact faking it. So she decided it would be best to play along as well.

"We came all this way for a dead end?" Riley said, continuing to ask Ben questions.

Ben lifted his hand to his forehead, sighing. "Yes." Ian turned away laughing, not wanting to believe Ben.

"There's gotta be something more."

"Riley, there's nothing more."

"Another clue..."

"No, there are no more clues! That's it, okay? It's over! End of the road. The treasure's gone. Moved. Taken somewhere else."

"You're not playing games with me, are you, Ben?" Ian questioned him, walking back towards him. "You know where it is."

"No."

"Okay, go."

Clara watched as Powell went back the way they had gone, leaving them behind. Ian soon started to move backwards.

"Hey, wait a minute." Ben said, following after them.

"Hey! Ian, wait!"

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"Ian..."

"We'll be trapped."

"Don't do this."

"You can't just leave us here." Clara said, looking at the man as the dumbwaiter started to move back up.

"Yes, I can. Unless Ben tells me the next clue." Ian said, as Powell stopped the dumbwaiter.

"There isn't another clue." Ben told him.

"Ian, listen, why don't you come back down here and we can talk through this together?" Riley questioned him as Ian turned towards Powell grabbing a hold of his gun. He proceeded to point it at them.

"Don't speak again."

"Okay."

"The clue. Where's the treasure? Ben?" Ian asked him, pulling the trigger back.

"The lantern." Patrick said, looking at Ian.

"Dad."

"The status quo has changed, son."

"Don't."

"It's part of Freemason teachings. In King Solomon's temple there was a winding staircase. It signified the journey that had to be made to find the light of truth. The lantern is the clue."

"And what does it mean?"

"Boston. It's Boston." Ben told him.

"The Old North Church in Boston, where Thomas Newton hung a lantern in the steeple, to signal Paul Revere that the British were coming. 'One if by land, two if by sea.' One lantern. Under the winding staircase of the steeple, that's where we have to look."

"Thank you."

"Hey, you have to take us with you."

"Why? So you can escape in Boston? Besides, with you out of the picture there's less baggage to carry."

"What if we lied?" Patrick asked him, which resulted in Ian lifting the gun up again.

"Did you?" Ian asked him.

"What if there's another clue?" Ben proceeded to ask him.

"Then I'll know right where to find you." Powell started moving them up, leaving them behind. "See you, Ben."

"No!" Ben shouted.

"There's no other way out!" Riley said soon after.

"Come back!" Abigail shouted.

"You're gonna need us, Ian!"

"We're all gonna die."

"No we're not." Clara breathed, out turning around.

"It's gonna be okay, Riley. I'm sorry I yelled at you." Ben said, following behind Clara as she ran back down the walkway.

"It's okay, kiddo." Patrick said, following behind them.

"Okay, boys, what's going on? The British came by sea. It was two lanterns, not one." Abigail told them.

"Ian needed another clue, so we gave it to him." Patrick answered.

"Yes, indeed." Clara said with a smile on her face as she looked at the imprints on the wall.

"It was a fake. It was a fake clue. That means by the time Ian figures it out and comes back here, we'll still be trapped, and he'll shoot us then."

"No he won't." Clara spoke, looking back at Riley.

"Either way we're gonna die."

"Nobody's gonna die. There's another way out."

"Where?" Riley asked, walking forward.

"Through the treasure room."

Clara turned looking at Ben, watching as he pressed down on the eye. It caused the door to move back slightly. Ben proceeded to look at his father and then at Clara. He handed his torch over to Riley who took it.

"Here." Patrick said, handing his torch to Abigail.

Clara walked over to Abigail and Riley as Ben and Patrick pushed on the door moving it to the side. Once it was open Ben took the torch back from Riley and proceeded to walk forward. Clara, Abigail and Riley followed behind Patrick and Ben looking around. Ben walked forward lowering his torch to the ground while Patrick lit the torches behind them.

"Looks like someone got here first." Riley said, still looking around.

"I'm sorry, Ben." Abigail uttered.

"It's gone." Ben turned back to look at them. Clara could hear how upset he was, it just didn't feel right. She felt that there was still more to the room.

"Listen, Ben..." Patrick spoke, his eyes on his son.

"It may have even been gone before Charles Carroll told the story to Thomas Gates."

"It doesn't matter."

"I know. Cause you were right. Clara was right."

"No, I wasn't right."

"Neither was I, Ben." Clara said, jumping into the conversation.

"This room is real, Ben. And that means the treasure is real. We're in the company of some of the most brilliant minds in history, because you found what they left behind for us to find and understood the meaning of it. You did it, Ben. For all of us. Your grandfather, and all of us." Clara walked forward, a smile resting on her lips as Patrick continued to talk to his son, to give him the hope that he needed in the moment. "And I've never been so happy to be proven wrong."

Ben walked away from his father moving over to one of the stone tables, sitting on the edge of it. Clara turned slightly, placing her eyes on him. He was still trying to figure everything out. "I just really thought I was gonna find the treasure." Ben told everyone.

Patrick looked over at Clara who nodded her head. "Okay." Patrick called out as he and Clara walked towards Ben. "Then we just keep looking for it."

"I'm in." Abigail said, walking forward. Ben looked at Abigail and then at his father. But his eyes landed on Clara who stared back at him.

"I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon." Clara spoke, sending him a soft smile.

"Okay." Ben said, looking at the three.

"Not to be Johnny Rain Cloud here, but that's not gonna happen. Because as far as I can see, we're still trapped down here." Riley said.

"Yeah." Abigail breathed out.

"Now, Ben, where is this other way out?"

"Well, that's it. It doesn't make any sense, because the first thing the builders would have done after getting down here was cut a secondary shaft back out for air..."

Patrick walked away from them searching for something. "Right." He said.

"...in case of cave-ins."

Ben walked to the walk, placing his hands on the metal circles with crests on them. Abigail and Clara were right behind him. He handed the torch over to Abigail who took it from him. He then looked back at the circles, looking at each of them. Clara's eyes fell onto one of the circles that seemed to have an indent in it. It still had a crest but the crest was the shape of something that would hopefully fit in it. He placed his fingers in the indent, still looking at it.

"Could it really be that simple?" Ben asked himself, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. Clara looked down at his hands seeing what looked to be the exact fit to the shape of the indent. "'The secret lies with Charlotte.'"

They all watched as he placed in and pushed it back, it seeming was a perfect fit. He then placed the pipe onto the circle below it and proceeded to push it in. Ben turned it around until it was upside down, then he pushed the circle inward. A puff of air escaped from the seal in almost causing the torches to go out. They all turned towards the door that was opening. Riley stood up from where he had been sitting looking at the door in front of them.

Clara placed her hand on Ben's arm, sending him a smile. Patrick proceeded to walk towards it. Clara followed behind Patrick, followed by Abigail and then Riley, They came to a stop staring at the treasure room in complete shock. Ben soon came in after them, the shock was evident on his face. Patrick, Riley and Abigail proceeded to walk away from Clara and Ben looking around at everything. Clara looked over at Ben for a brief moment.

"It's actually real. I owe you an apology, Ben." Clara said, soon walking away from him to look around at the treasure.

Clara looked over at Riley watching him hug a statue tightly, a smile on his face. She proceeded to walk around the room looking at the ancient treasure that could hopefully go to museums. She hoped that this would be talked about now that Ben had discovered it. She stopped, looking over at Ben as he placed the torch down on something. Seconds later the fire started to spread down, lighting up as it passed by more treasure. Clara walked over towards Ben as he moved to the edge looking out.

"Yes!" Patrick shouted in excitement, happy that his son never gave up.

Clara laughed, soon turning to look over at Riley, Abigail doing the same thing. "Riley, are you crying?" Abigail asked him.

"Look." He said. "Stairs."

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Ben had since called the FBI, they had made it out of the treasure room and were back in the church. Ben sat at the front of the church on the steps. Clara walked in-between the seats, soon sitting down and looking towards the front. They weren't that far away from Ben who picked himself up as Sudusky walked towards him. Ben briefly looked over at Clara who sat next to Patrick. Ben then handed the Declaration of Independence over to Sudusky.

"Just like that?" He questioned Ben.

"Just like that." Ben simply replied.

"You do know you just handed me your biggest bargaining chip?"

"The Declaration of Independence is not a bargaining chip. Not to me."

"Have a seat. So what's your offer?" The two sat down on the steps.

"How about a bribe. Say $10 billion?"

"I take it you found the treasure?"

"It's about five storeys beneath your shoes."

"You know, the Templars and the Freemasons believed that the treasure was too great for any one man to have, not even a king. That's why they went to such lengths to keep it hidden."

"That's right. The Founding Fathers believed the same thing about the government. I figure their solution will work for the treasure too."

"Give it to the people."

"Divide it amongst the Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Cairo museum... There's thousands of years of world history down there. And it belongs to the world, and everybody in it."

"You really don't understand the concept of a bargaining chip." Sudusky said.

Ben laughed a little. "Okay, here's what I want. Dr. Chase gets off completely clean, not even a little Post-it on her service record. And the same for Clara Bass, I think maybe it's time she's hired to work with antique documents and artifacts." Ben said.

He briefly looked over at Clara and Abigail. Abigail placed a smile on her face and soon nodded her head. While Clara sent him a smile.

"Okay."

"I want the credit for the find to go to the entire Gates family, with the assistance of Mr. Riley Poole."

"And what about you?"

"I'd really love not to go to prison. I can't even begin to describe how much I would love not to go to prison."

"Someone's got to go to prison, Ben."

"Well, if you've got a helicopter, I think I can help with that."

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It was the following day, Ian had gone to prison with the help of Ben. Clara would start working with Abigail the coming week. She would no longer have to teach students, even though she did love it and would miss the classes. They currently were walking through the walkway, passing by tall trees, and little trees. Clara held onto Ben's hand, while holding onto a book in her other hand. Abigail was on the other side of her.

"Yeah. You got it, Chief. Thank you. Bye." Riley said, hanging up the phone. "They want us in Cairo next week for the opening of the exhibit. They're sending a private jet."

"Wow." Clara said, with a smile on her face. Ben looked over at her shortly after.

"That's fun." Abigail added.

"Yeah, big whoop. We could have had a whole fleet of private jets. Ten percent, Ben. They offered you 10 percent and you turned it down."

"Sounds like someone is extremely upset." Clara said, with a smirk on her lips.

"Riley, we've been over this. It was too much. I couldn't accept it."

"I still have this splinter that's been festering for three months from an old piece of wood."

"Okay, I'll tell you what. The next time we find a treasure that redefines history for all mankind, you make the call on the finder's fee."

"That's not as funny. What do you care? You got the girl. And Abigail, well I have to drop her off."

"Yes you do." Abigail replied, causing both her and Clara to chuckle.

"No, more like he got me back." Clara proceeded to tell Riley, looking over at Ben.

"It's true." Ben told her.

"Yeah, it's true." Clara said, kissing him. She moved closer, placing her hand with her book on his chest then proceeded to look at Riley while Abigail moved to the other side of him.

"Rub it in. Enjoy your spoils while I sit on one percent."

Riley jumped into his car while Abigail walked to the other side opening the door. She climbed in waving goodbye. Both Ben and Clara walked over to them, Ben leaning slightly to look at his car.

"One stinking percent. Half of one percent, actually. At least Abigail got something cool. One percent. Unbelievable."

"I'm sorry for your suffering, Riley."

"For the record, Ben, I like the house."

"You know, I chose this estate because in 1812 Charles Carroll met..."

"Yeah, someone that did something in history and had fun. That's great. Wonderful." Riley turned on his car, looking over at the two. "Could have had a bigger house."

The two watched Riley pull away from them leaving to drop Abigail off at her home. Once they were gone the two turned around and started to walk towards the house.

"I made something for you." Clara said, opening the book up.

"You did? What?" Ben asked her really curious to know what it was.

She handed it over to him and began walking ahead. "A map."

"A map? Where does it lead to?"

"You'll figure it out." Clara said, looking back at him.

The blonde took off running towards the house, Ben soon followed behind her. She laughed, turning slightly to look back at him, but proceeded forward. She was happy at that moment, she was happy that Ben had come to her and asked for her help. It brought them back together and she felt that this time it would be different. He made her happier this time. And then she thought that maybe the first time wasn't the right time and that this time was the right. Clara got to be with the person she always loved.