Chapter 1

"Look at this Ben!"

The sound of Abigail's frantic voice echoed through Ben's head. He was on the front porch of their home pacing around talking with his good friend Riley when she immediately thrust the day's newspaper in his hands. All three sat down on the cold concrete steps leading up to the mansion Ben and Abigail were currently living in as a brisk afternoon breeze gusted by.

"Look at this!" she repeated. Abigail stared into Ben's eyes as his eyes slowly turned towards the crumpled newspaper that lay clutched in his hands. His eyes scanned the page until he saw what Abigail was so worried about. In big black bold letters at the top of the page read the headline "Prison Escapee on the Run". Now if that wasn't scary enough by itself, the picture below it sent chills down Ben's spine. In the black and white photograph was a man with dirty blonde mangy hair who looked rather forlorn. Etched in his face were wrinkles which portrayed a worn out look about him and it was plainly visible that he was angry. That man was Ian Howe.

"How—how did h-he—wait what?" Ben sputtered, desperately attempting to force the many questions out of his mouth. Riley stood beside him, mouth equally as wide open as Ben's.

"That's Ian!" Riley exclaimed, just realizing the situation at hand and jabbing the picture of Ian with his index finger.

"Very good Riley," Abigail said sarcastically, a teasing grin spreading across her face.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Riley answered back to her sardonic remark.

Ben, however, wasn't paying much attention to their little conversation. He was more concerned about how Ian had managed to escape prison. Not many people have ever done that before—but then again it was Ian. Ben skimmed through the article and read it out loud:

Ian Howe, accused of kidnapping, attempted murder, and trespassing on government property, has escaped from prison. There is no word on where he went; however, the police have a lead on where he could have gone. There is no news yet of how he managed to escape this highly guarded facility. Howe has a notorious reputation after his clash with famous treasure hunter Ben Gates. Tune into the news for daily updates on this catastrophe. Be aware of Howe. If you see him or know anything useful about him, please alert the police.

Below the text was a small description of Ian including his height, age, etc. so other citizens could help identify him.

Ben finished reading and sat the paper down on the front porch steps beside him. His face was filled with terror though he tried his best to conceal it. Abigail leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. Riley looked as if he just saw a ghost. He was stunned. All three sat in silence until Riley piped up.

"What do you think he'll do? I mean it's not like Ian's our good best friend—although that would be nice right now," Riley joked. Ben revealed a small smile but was enveloped in the situation at hand. What would Ian do?

--

Meanwhile Ian, having finally escaped from prison, trudged towards the city. He sat down to rest on a rock jutting out of the barren land. In his hand, he grasped the same newspaper Ben had read from. He glanced at the headline and chuckled to himself. He didn't mind being on the run although he would have to be a bit more careful. There was only one thing on his mind and that was revenge. Revenge on Ben.

--

"Do you think Ian will come here, for us?" Riley asked.

"I'm not sure Riley," Ben replied, his face filled with angst and worry. He knew Ian would come but did not want to scare Riley even more.

"Well, it's better to not dwell on it," Abigail suggested. "Let's go inside."

Ben knew she was right and so he and Riley followed Abigail inside the mansion, trudging their feet along. The trio arrived in a room and sat down on the cushioned couches by the fireplace which was glowing with bright red and orange sparks. Abigail decided to take their minds off of the subject she had been so keen to tell them.

"Riley, are you going to write a new book about our adventure to Cibola?"

"I'm not sure yet," Riley responded, "Maybe."

"I bet you've gotten many sales on your book about the Templar Treasure," Abigail said, hoping to cheer Riley up.

"Yeah, I guess," Riley said back, uninterested. Abigail's face fell, disappointed.

Riley saw this and so he added, "Sorry Abby for being like this. It's just after what we've been through, we have to watch out for Ian as well? It doesn't seem fair."

"You're right," Abigail concluded and then she turned around to look at Ben who had stayed silent this whole time.

"Ben?" she asked gently.

"Hmm, what?" Ben said, obviously not paying attention to anything other than the article he had just read.

"Are you alright Ben?" Abigail asked again.

"Yeah, fine," Ben said.

"Well you seem a bit- I don't know- out of it?" Riley pointed out. Abigail gave him a nudge with her elbow and he quieted down.

"I'm fine," Ben said once more. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Alright," Abigail said. "I'll go get some drinks."

She left Ben and Riley to themselves as she got up and walked towards the kitchen.

"You know, she's just trying to help," Riley announced to Ben.

"I know," Ben said. "I just can't believe Ian's back."

He muttered under his breath once more as if he couldn't believe it, "Ian's back."

Please review! This is my first National Treasure fanfic and there will be more chapters to come. Thanks.