Once at the Independence Hall, the four followed behind a tour to keep the illusion that it was what they were here for. The tour guide rambled off facts about the building and the history, but Ben led the other three into a side room, over a barrier that said 'no admittance employees only', and up the stairs where they quickly and quietly made their way down the hall, through another door, and into the clock tower.
"Wow..." Y/n whispered, gingerly running her fingers across the white glass of the clock. Ben pushed open a hatch and climbed out of the tower ending up underneath the bell in the tower.
"What bell is this?" asked Riley.
"It's the Centennial Bell. It replaced the Liberty Bell in 1876," explained Ben. He went to the railing and looked out towards a wall opposite of their position, looking at his watch.
"There it is," Abigail said, noting the shadow of the tower upon the bricks below.
"All right. I'm gonna go down there, and you meet me in the signing room. Okay?"
"Okay." Abigail beckoned Riley and Y/n to follow her and started back down into the building.
"We just got up here! Back down again? Ugh!" Y/n complained.
"3:22," Riley began. "My idea."
"Well done, Mr. Poole," Y/n smiled at him before climbing down the ladder. Riley smiled and chuckled to himself, feeling slightly giddy for some reason. Abigail, Riley, and Y/n swiftly headed down the stairs and into the signing room, where they waited for their companion to return. A few minutes later, Ben entered the room, hiding something in his jacket.
"Hey. What'd you score?"
"I found this." Ben held up a pair of spectacles with a few colored lenses over the main ones. They looked really, really old, and were covered in dust. "Some kind of ocular device. 'The vision to see the treasured past'. Let me take this." Ben grabbed the Declaration, handing the spectacles to Riley, who inspected them curiously.
"They're like early American X-ray specs," he said in awe. Y/n chuckled lightly at his child-like wonder and admired them as well.
"Benjamin Franklin invented something like these," noted Abigail.
"Uh," started Ben, removing the Declaration from the canister. "I think he invented these."
"So, what do we do with them?" Riley inquired.
"Probably look through them, Riley," Y/n replied sarcastically.
"Oh ha ha."
"You three work with the map, I'll keep watch," Y/n stated, heading to the doorway and watching the hallway. She heard them whisper behind her, but couldn't make out what they were saying. "Ben, there's another tour coming."
"Thanks Y/n," Ben said, then continued to whisper with the two near him. Y/n fiddled with the hem of her shirt, looking around, acting as if she was admiring the architecture in case someone saw her. She heard rushed noises behind her, but kept still. If she panicked, it would draw attention to them. That's what they DIDN'T want. A hand got pressed to her back below her shoulder blades, and she felt a chill run up her spine.
"We gotta go," Riley mumbled.
"What's wrong?" Y/n asked quietly.
"Ian and his goons. Come on." Riley kept his hand on her back as he directed her out of the building with Abigail right behind them.
"Let's walk this way," Abigail instructed. Riley nodded and led Y/n after her the blonde. He moved his hand from her back to grab hers, which she didn't mind, but this was not the time to focus on that. Y/n kept checking over her shoulder, even as they got into a crowd of people.
"Riley!" Y/n exclaimed. Both Abigail and Riley turned to see the man known as Shaw and a second man starting to chase them through the mass of bodies.
"Time to run," Riley said, pulling Y/n's hand and pushing past different people in an attempt to escape. Abigail led the two into a small shopping center quickly and some bystanders stared in confusion. Riley and Y/n went left at an intersection, and lost Abigail in the process.
"Where'd she go?!" Y/n asked in a panic.
"I don't know!" Riley replied. They looked around, hoping to catch sight of the blonde, but couldn't see her anywhere. As they were looking around, they saw Shaw direct his partner in the direction they went.
"Go!" Y/n whisper-shouted, pushing him in any direction he could go, and they ran. After a while, Riley dragged Y/n into a hidden corner and watched as their pursuer darted past. Y/n exhaled sharply, her breaths shaky from the chase and the nerves.
"Are you okay?" Riley asked. "You're not hurt, you're safe?" His hands found their way to the sides of her face, inspecting everywhere he could to see if she was harmed.
"Riley, I'm fine, I'm okay, are you okay?"
"I'm okay," he answered. He caressed her cheek softly, and Y/n froze. This was something she'd only dreamed about, but she never thought it would happen. And it scared her in a way.
"We should find Abigail," she whispered.
"Yeah, right," Riley began. He peeked out from their hiding spot and looked in every direction. Seeing that it was safe to go, he grabbed Y/n's hand again and they set out, being wary of their surroundings. They reached a rack of flowers and saw her, so Riley reached out his opposite hand and touched her shoulder, causing her to yelp and spin around. Riley hushed her, placing a finger to his lips.
"Where were you two?" she inquired.
"Hiding, obviously," replied Y/n.
"Come on. Let's go, let's go." With Abigail in tow, the three dashed out of the building and down the sidewalk, towards where City Hall was. They dashed through traffic, almost getting hit a few times, but made it to the other side and through the arches in the architecture they were heading towards. Y/n got separated from Riley as he got caught up in a group of people, but continued on with Abigail, even though she thought she should go back. Abigail ran into a biker on accident, causing her to trip and release the document. It rolled into traffic, and was somehow safe when a car drove over the tube.
Y/n hurried into the street, reaching down to grab the white canister, when a large truck started blaring its horn, and she realized her choices. Step back and grab the document after the truck passed, or grab it now and risk getting hit. In the long run, the Declaration was excruciatingly more important than her life, so she stayed to grab the historical piece from the ground. Just as she was about to grab it, Riley rushed forward and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her back and collapsing to the ground next to Abigail. As Riley and Abigail looked back up, Ian was snatching the white tube from the road, opening it, and slightly pulling the Declaration out. He gave them a small smirk, and right after, shouts were heard. Abigail pushed herself up as Riley helped Y/n stand.
"Leave them. Let them go," Ian demanded, and his goons did not pursue them anymore. The three hurried off, still watching over their shoulders every once in a while to make sure that they really weren't being followed. Once they were a safe distance away, they stopped to rest, Y/n sitting on a bench and Riley knelt in front of her. Y/n's breathing was now swift and she was shaking. Her knee bounced and she tried to make herself as small as possible. Tears slipped down her cheeks and fell onto her pants.
Abigail looked from the shaking girl to the man. "Is she okay?"
"Panic attack," responded Riley. He placed his hands on Y/n's shoulders and spoke softly. "Y/n, listen to me, okay? You're safe. You're okay. I wasn't going to let you get hurt. I never will."
"Mmhmm," she hummed quietly, an obvious quiver in her tone.
"Take a deep breath," he instructed. She complied, and he breathed with her. "And again." She complied once again, and he placed his hands on her face again. "Look at me." She slightly looked up, not moving her head too much, but met his gaze. "I would rather save you than that document. You are more important to me than the Declaration. You understand?"
She nodded slowly and threw her arms around his neck, hiding her face in his neck. He held her close, rubbing his hand across her back, and slowly, she started to stop shaking.
"How'd you know to do that?" Abigail asked.
"I've witnessed a few of her panic attacks, and so I've learned what works and what doesn't. Sometimes it's talking to her, sometimes you have to distract her, other times you have to just hold her. It's different every time, but there's ways to tell what she needs to calm down. I just remember what helps," Riley explained. Abigail had a look of realization cross her face, and she nodded slowly.
"You're okay," he whispered to Y/n. "You're okay. You're safe." He kissed the side of her head above her ear gently. "You ready to keep going?"
With a small nod, Riley helped her stand, but she kept a grip on his arm. Riley didn't seem to mind, but it only confirmed Abigail's suspicions more, but she kept her thoughts to herself, and lead them down the street to the car to meet Ben.