Riley Poole x reader ~A National Treasure Fanfiction~

Chapter 10

So sorry for the delay! I've been kinda sort of REALLY busy, and I've been forgetting to update. Finally, here it is! 

"Ian's back." Riley glanced over your head out of the window. "And...hey-look! Ben's with him!" You twisted awkwardly and spotted Ben, Ian, Kevin, Abigail and a couple other men(who were undoubtedly Ian's) striding towards the car. As they moved closer, you noticed that Ben was dripping salty puddles, completely soaked. You gasped. "Riley-Ben's dad! What's he doing here?" Beside you Riley squinted and then widened his eyes in an expression of shock. "I have no idea." 

You heard the car emit a soft click, and the car door was flung open. "Get out." One of Ian's minions snarled at you. You carefully swung your legs over to the side of the car. "Untie them." Ian ordered. "We don't want to look suspicious." The man obligingly untied your legs and then your arms. You attempted to step forward, but a sharp pain from the bullet wound pierced your leg, and you crumpled to the ground. Ben moved forward, alarm flashing through his eyes. "Are you okay?" Riley sarcastically called from where he was being untied in the car, "Oh, yeah, she's great. She was only shot by Ian." Ben whirled around angrily to face Ian. "You said they were both unharmed." A smirk played on Ian's lips. "Mostly unharmed. Close enough." Ian  strolled confidently forward. Ben followed, a reluctant expression on his face, and Ian's men forced you and Riley as well. Riley quickly lifted you off the ground and trudged behind Ben and Ian. 

"Thanks Riley." You managed to hiss out through gritted teeth, not entirely over the pain of trying to stand on your leg. Not entirely paying attention to where you were headed, you were suddenly aware of entering some kind of large building, and from the looks of it, it was a church. "Trinity church." Riley whispered to you, as if reading your mind. "Let's have a look at that map." Ian commandingly said to Ben. Ben unrolled it and the two men peered at it together, until Ian murmured, "Parkington Lane." Ben corrected, "Beneath Parkington Lane." Ian grunted. "Yeah, whatever." He paused. "Why would the map take us here and then lead us elsewhere? Where is Parkington Lane?" Ben shook his head. "It has to be around here somewhere. Beneath the church. Start searching." 

Ian shot a mutinous glance at Ben, as if to say, "I'm the one who's giving orders here!", but it went unnoticed. After fifteen minutes of searching, Riley shouted, "Hey! Over here! I found it- I mean him!" Everyone clustered around the tombstone marked, "Parkington Lane". Ian thoughtfully said to himself, "It's a person, not a place." Ben started, "He was a mason, look-" the vertical tombstone suddenly fell forward, and along with it came tumbling out the bones of Parkington Lane. Riley screamed and then fell silent, sending embarrassed glances at everyone around him. Ian growled, "Be quiet, you fool! Do you want to attract attention?" 

Ben looked into the hole in the wall where the bones had been. "It's an entrance. The treasure must be down here." Riley skeptically stared down the dark, dusty tunnel. "Greeaat. Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel in the tomb first?" Ian snorted, glared at Riley and then stepped inside. He called to two of his men, "Stay outside. If anyone comes out without me.... You know what to do." The men nodded, clear expressions of relief on their faces. Lucky them. You plunged into the darkness, completely blind. "Anyone have a flashlight?" Ben questioned. "I have a lighter. " Ian tossed it to Ben, who flicked in on. A torch conveniently sat within reach, so Ben took it from the wall and lit it, passing the lighter back to Ian. 

With this new light, you could see for the first time the incredible structure of the pathway. It was a series of paths, rooms, and... Elevators? Old fashioned wooden elevators? That seemed a little impossible, but Ben confirmed your suspicions. "Look at the elevator system." He breathed out, clearly just as amazed as the rest of the group. A dark abyss yawned beneath the complicated elevator-path system, with no visible end. You shuddered. Hopefully, the paths would hold everyone's weight. Riley, who was still holding you because of your injured leg, sent you an assuring smile. 

"Careful everyone," Ben warned. "This is old. Like, really old." You held your breath as the ancient wood creaked  beneath you. The small party slowly made it's way forward in silence, one foot in front of the other. Suddenly, you heard a loud cracking noise, followed by a scream that slowly faded away. The path had broken. Panic flared inside of you. Would that one part be the only one that broke, or would the whole thing come crashing down? You waited a few moments, and then let out your breath. It seemed like the rest of you were safe for now. A quick glance told you that it had been one of Ian's men who fell, and Ben, Abigail and Riley were safe. "Help!" Another one of Ian's men suddenly begged as he clung to the part of the wooden path that broken, dangling precariously above the bottomless pit. You stiffened, and another, louder crack told you that the man had fallen. But he wasn't the only thing to fall. 

A wood let out a loud groan, and without any warning, it began to collapse. Screams and shouts filled the musty air as the wood gave way under everyone's feet. "I'm gonna jump, (Y/n)!" Riley shouted. "Hang on to my back!" Riley held you behind his back and you gripped his shoulders. He leaped towards a path close to the side and landed on it. Thankfully, this one stayed put. "Is everyone okay? Ben?" Riley called out nervously. "We're fine. Abigail and I, at least." Came the reply. You let out your breath. The danger was over, for now.