The Illuminati Treasure Act 2

                    Nickel & Dime Productions, proudly presents, The Illuminati Tresure

               Starring Donny Wayne as Karl Timperman & Mary Coyne as Easther Leballe

They made the train with little time to spare & the trip would take just over an hour, which would give them enough time to have dinner & for Karl to tell Esther where he believed they might find the treasure.

Karl "As I see it Esther there are two possibilities where we might find what we're looking for" He was careful not to mention the word treasure as the dinning carriage was fairly full & you just never knew who might be listening. "It will either be in  Philadelphia or Montrose as those are the places the two were at the time they would have been President's homes.. Now by the time we arrive in Philadelphia tonight it will be to late to find out anything of use, so we'll just book into a hotel. But by coming tonight instead of the morning it means if we don't find what we're looking for there we can take the morning train on to D.C. & from there head on to Montrose"

Esther "Is this some kind of a sly plan to get me to spend the night in a hotel with you Karl ?" Karl was a bit taken back by this, but upon seen the mischievous grin on Esther face replied, " Absolutely  Esther & I can assure you my intensions are completely dishonourable." At this they both had a good laugh    

They stayed the night at a hotel near the train station, getting two comfortable rooms & the next morning after an early breakfast got a bus downtown to Franklin Court, where Franklin’s house and print shop once stood at Market and 4th Street. The area is mostly shops, warehouses, and a recreation of a Colonial-period bar. Independence Hall is just down the way. 

Inside Independence Hall, they find a park guide who informs them that Franklin lived in the area from 1785, when he became President of Pennsylvania, until his death in 1790. Also on the same street as his house was his print shop, from which he produced the Philadelphia Aurora newspaper. They are gone now, torn down in 1812 to make way for more profitable real estate. However, President Taft suggested the whole area should be turned into a national park! Who knows? Maybe one day there will be a recreation of the house… There is nothing under the area where Franklin’s house stood; of that the guide is sure. As they made their way back to bus stop they failed to notice the two men that were following them.

A dead end! Back at the train station they catch the Morning Congressional to Washington, While there Karl phones  Schultz to report their progress & to see if the Detective as any more information that might be of help to them. Schultz tells Karl they pick up one of the man that shot him & took the book but that he's shut up tighter then a clam & that they haven't recovered the book. They then rented  an automobile from Hertz Rent-a-Car & set out for Montrose, Virginia, not long after they leave the city they're driving on dirt roads that are decently-maintained, but are currently frozen solid, they hope to reach Stratford hall in two hours. Stratford Hall is the family seat of the Lee family. President Richard Lee lived here, and so did his esteemed descendent, General Robert E. Lee. The current occupier is Jorden T Lee, a retired army Major.

About 10 miles out of Washington. Esther " Karl I think we're been followed" Karl " What , are you sure Esther ? after all its a busy enough road still" Esther "Fairly sure, there's a gray car behind us that's been there for a while now & seems to be staying back just enough to keep us in sight but not to be noticed" Karl " Speed up a touch & see if they stay with us" Esther "Okay, but these roads are frozen" Karl "Esther your the best driver I know I'm sure you can handle it" Esther brought the speed up to 40mph & held it there only slowing down once to take a turn off, but the gray car stayed with them & had even closed the gap a bit.

Esther "Their still there Karl" Karl "So I see, okay Esther lets see if we we can shake them, this road seems to have more bends in it so it shouldn't be to hard" Karl wasn't kidding when he said Esther was the best driver he knew, she was in fact a very skilled driver & one of her past times was in fact car racing, something that she had won no small number of titles at. 

As Esther pushed down on the accelerator the speedometer started rising, 50, 60 as they headed into a bend in the road, with all the confidence of a skilled driver, Esther left it to the last moment to reduce their speed, lightly put a foot on the breaks while at the same time working her way down though the gears, then quickly working back up through the gears & accelerating as they shot out of the bend. While the distance between the two cars was growing the gray car was still on their tail as the miles raced by.

While Esther's face showed she was fully concentrated on the road, Karl also noticed there was a glint in her eye's. Karl " Your enjoying this aren't you ?" Esther "It is kind of trilling Karl, hold on there's some bends ahead" Once again applying only light pressure on the brakes & moving down through the gears, Esther guided the car safely around the bends with only the slightest of a wobble on the traceries surface. The gray car however came unstuck as it tried to make the bend & went skidding off the road, coming to a halt as the side of the car slammed into a tree.          

Karl "Well done Esther, that should take care of them" Esther "I hope their alright Karl, I feel kind of bad driving off & leaving them there" Karl " They'll be Fine, I can see some of them getting out of the car & the fact that they hit the tree side on instead of head on should help" The rest of the trip passed uneventfully & just over two hours after setting off they arrived at Stratford Hall.

After parking the car they made their way up the steps to the hall door, which after they'd knocked was answered by an old butler, who surprised them by telling them the Master of the house was expecting them & if they would be so kind as to follow him.  

Major Jorden T Lee retired, turned out to be a kindly old gentleman, now confined to a wheelchair in his later days but who's mind seemed to be as bright as a polished button. "Welcome, welcome" the Major greeted them warmly, " Schultz phone to say you were on your way, I do hope the journey wasn't to taxing with the icy roads" Karl " Not at all Major, Esther here is a first class driver"   

The Major " Now please sit-down & tell me what it is I can do to help you young folk?"

Esther & Karl spent the next 10 minute or so telling the Major what had happen & what they found out since the night of the party, when Karl had been shot & the book be taken. 

The Major "Nasty business been shot believe me I know but good to see you seem to be on the mend, now as for this treasure whatever it is, do you really thing it could be here somewhere ? oh how exciting"

Karl "We hope so Major, or if not that there might be some clue as to where it might be found, I know this was President Richard Lee family home at the time & Franklin did say in a correspondence that it was safe in the President's house, so even if its not here now I truely believe that it was here at some point"

The Major "Well this old house is still very much the same as it was in those times, so I would guess that the best place to start would be the library which has a little study attached to it, I'll get Williams to show you where it is & if there's anything else you need to ask or see please feel free to do so"

The library was very much the kind that you would expect to find in a house from this era, with bookshelves lining all four walls from floor to ceiling.

Esther "Oh Karl how are we ever going to find anything in here, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack"

Karl "It will be quite a challenge Esther, but you'll find after we've looked around a bit it will narrow our search down to a smaller area"

It was as Karl said but still a few hours had passed & they had found nothing of help, it was however in the study that they got their little bit of good fortune, while looking through an old notebook belonging to the former President, that Esther came across a passage in Latin, translated it read

The Father is moved some time before the Son.

The Carpenter is moved some time after the Father

The Mother is moved immediately before the Son

The Carpenter is not moved after Mother. 

Esther "What do you think it means Karl? 

Karl" It means we need to find a church Esther, ring the bell & we'll ask Williams if there's a church on the estate"

Williams " A church sir, no there hasn't been a church on the estate in quite a while, there is however the ruins of one."

Karl " Could you point us in the direction of it Williams ?" & then noticing it was starting to get dark outside added "Would there be a couple of torches in the house we could borrow please."

Williams "If you give a moment sir I'll locate some torches & then I'll point you in the direction of the old ruin" 

At the hall door Williams "If you take that little pathway through the little wood it will lead you to the ruin"

Thanking Williams, they set off & as they entered the woods turned on the torches, after a couple of minutes they came to a small clearing where the remains of the old church stood.

The church was in such a state of ruin, that it was with sinking hearths that they entered it, thinking that if this was where the clues had lead them, then it was very unlikely that they would find anything.

However in a corner stood  what they were looking for, "Bingo" said Karl as the beam of his torch picked it out, 4 statues.  Karl " Right Esther give a hand to see if we can move these in the right order"

It was tough going as the statues hadn't be moves in a long time, but as they moved the last one they heard a load click behind them & turning around seen an opening in the floor with some steps leading down.

At the base of the steps they found they were in some kind of a natural passage, how far it went on for they couldn't guess, for beyond the limits of the light from their torches was total darkness. 

Karl " Well its no paved pathway Esther, but we may as well follow it."

It was not what she wanted to hear, but knew Karl was right, they'd come a long way to get here & there was no point in turning back now when as she hoped the end was in sight, even if that end was hidden by the darkness.

On & on in silence, each lost it their own thoughts,  they followed the passage, untill at last they came to a pair of  big steel doors, shining their torches around Esther noticed a leaver built into the wall on one side of the doors. Karl" Hold my torch for me Esther" handing the torch to her Karl moved over to the leaver & grabbing it with both hands pulled down on it, at first it didn't budge but as Karl put all of his strength into it the lever finally gave & started to move downwards, & as it did so the doors swung open.

Stepping inside it was not what they had expected, while the walls were still the natural stone, the floor was of smooth stone slabs, while about a quarter of the way across the room was a small wall of stone with a stone ballast rail with some step in the middle leading up to anther stone slab floor, but the room looked empty.

Esther "Oh Karl its empty all of this afford for nothing" But as they stepped up onto the upper level they seen crates stacked in a corner.

Their joy however was short lived, as a voice called out from behind. "Thank you Miss Leballe & Mr Timperman, we'll take it from here" Turning around they were faced by four men in robes.

Karl whispering "Esther back up to the wall so they can get behind you" & then in a louder voice "You don't except us to just let you take the creates & walk out of here ?"

One of the men "That's exactly what's going to happen" then to his friends "Lets get them" With that they rushed forward, two of them going for Esther, with the other two going for Karl.  

Esther truth be told was as bad at fighting as she was good at driving, but the fact that two of the men went for Esther gave Karl a fighting chance, noticing one of the men had pulled out a knife Karl smashed the brolly he'd been using as a walking stick across the mans hand sending the blade spinning from it.

A blow landing on Esther sent her head smacking against the wall & she collapsed in a heap on the floor, but by that time Karl had already dispatched of one of his assailants & as the two who had attacked Esther turn on him a sharp right on the side of the head of the other paid an end to him.

Unless these two were better fighters then their friends Karl was fairlly confident it was a fight he could win, even though he was tiring from haven fought the other two men.  

As it turned out these two were no better in a fight then their pals, after he laid one of them out with a upper cut, the last man turned to run, but quick as a flash Karl spun the brolly in his hand & hooked the man around an ankle, as the man went sprawling he came down chin first on the floor.

With the fight finish Karl went over to Esther & helping her gain her feet said "Come on we've got to get out of here"

Esther " What about them Karl, what's to stop them making off with the crates when we're gone ?"

Karl "Don't worry Esther, their not going to be going anywhere, now come on"

Esther was still confused by what Karl meant but as they stepped out of the room all was revealed, as Karl went over & pulled the leaver up closing the doors.

Karl "You might not have noticed Esther, but there's no way to open the doors from the inside, so our friends will be nice & safe in there until we return"

Once back at the house Karl phoned  Schultz & filled him in on all that had happened since he'd last spoken to him,  Schultz then told Karl to remain at the house until he arranged for help to come to them. 

While waiting Karl & Esther told Major what had happened, he really was amazed & said "To think its been here all of this time,"

When the local police arrived Karl lead them down to where the secret room was with the crates & now four man, as Karl pulled down on the leaver the police stood ready to rush in & apprehend the men inside.

The men inside where back on their feet but seen the police officers with their night sticks at the ready decided to not put up a fight.

The police sergeant "Ok boys take them away"

Karl closed the doors to the room as they left & when they reached the top of the stairs back in to the church one of the policemen stay on watch until members of the Illuminati arrived to take procession of the crates.   

 Its Christmas eve & Karl & Esther are enjoying a meal in one of Newyork's better restaurants.

Esther " Well I don't think its a bit fair, that they don't tells us what was in all of those crates Karl, after all we went through to find them for them"

Karl "Like all societies Esther they have their secrets & they did reward us well for finding them, which reminds me here's your half of the reward" & as he hands her a cheque he added " Marry Christmas Esther" 

                                                                 Fin

Authors note, the above story is loosely base on a RPG adventure written by Scott Rhymer & all rights to the story are belonging to Black Campbell Entertainment, LLC & are used here without the owner's permission.

As always my thanks for dropping in & if you'd care to leave a comment it would be welcomed :)