Bab 170: Chapter 170: Can't Help But Laugh
"Let go of me, William! Great, now Abigail's taken the Declaration of Independence back. All my efforts were wasted. Damn it, get away from me, don't touch me!" Ben Gates shouted angrily.
William let go of Ben Gates, seeing that he was feigning extreme agitation, even appearing as though he wanted to hit him.
Internally amused, William raised his voice, urging Ben to calm down, while deliberately showing his hands and stepping back, making it clear that he had no place to hide anything in his clothes.
Seeing that William was genuinely backing off, Ben Gates secretly rejoiced, shaking his fist and shouting, "Bastard, don't let me see you again. Go to hell, William!"
Just then, Riley yelled, "Hurry up, Ben, the alarm's going off, let's go!"
Reminded by Riley, Ben quickly turned and got into the car. Abigail, who was at the side door of the archive, saw them trying to escape and shouted to William, "Stop them, William! If the police come, we'll all be suspects."
Her shout was exactly what William wanted. Pretending to be reminded by Abigail, he quickly ran to the car, banging on the rear door.
Riley ignored William, slamming the gas pedal, causing the car to speed away. William was knocked down beside the Declaration of Independence lying under the car.
Lying on the ground, he discreetly slipped the genuine Declaration into his storage space. After a few seconds, he stood up, dusting off his hands and clothes, as Abigail ran over with a tearful voice, calling, "Are you alright, darling? Are you hurt?"
Seeing William's pained expression, Abigail began to cry, hugging him and repeatedly apologizing.
"It's alright, it's alright, Abby. I'm not hurt, just took a fall and my knee hurts a bit, but it's nothing serious. Don't worry, darling."
William felt touched by Abigail's tears and concern for his injury. He quickly comforted her, "There, there, darling. I'm fine, don't worry. Let's return the Declaration quickly. When the police arrive, we can clear ourselves of suspicion."
Seeing that William was indeed fine, Abigail stopped crying, nodding while holding onto his arm, and followed him back to the archive.
They hadn't crossed the street when several security guards rushed out of the side door. Seeing them, Abigail quickly said, "Call the police! Ben Gates stole the Declaration, but William and I retrieved it."
The security guards, who knew Abigail, immediately took action. One guard used a radio to communicate, while the others escorted Abigail and William back to the archive.
Back in the reception hall, Abigail handed the Declaration to the anxious curator and several other officials.
Seeing the Declaration in the curator's hands, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But an observant official suddenly exclaimed, "Curator, this might not be the real Declaration. It's too new."
Everyone had been too tense to notice before. Hearing his colleague's words, the curator quickly took a closer look.
The curator's heart sank. "Oh God," he muttered, his hands trembling as he and another colleague carefully unfolded the document. They had barely opened it halfway when they saw the barcode sticker on the replica.
Everyone gasped. This was a major problem.
William felt secretly pleased. Ben Gates would surely take the fall for this. Once he left the archive, he would never be able to explain himself. Even if the police caught him and he claimed the document he had was fake, no one would believe him.
William struggled to maintain a worried and uneasy expression, mirroring those around him. Thankfully, Abigail started crying again, and William quickly lowered his head to comfort her, afraid he might burst out laughing. It was really hard to hold it in, especially seeing the Americans around him looking like they had lost their parents.
To avoid laughing, William tried to divert his attention, thinking carefully about whether there were any flaws in tonight's events. Once he was sure there were none, he began considering the aftermath.
Tonight was destined to be eventful. The investigation team would definitely question him, and William was already planning how to handle them.
As he thought about it, William had an idea. If someone were to steal the fake Declaration from Ben Gates, it would further complicate matters for him and shift the investigation's focus to the thieves.
The more William thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. If he hired an assassin to steal the document and then arranged for John Wick to kill the assassin, the situation would become even more tangled.
But then, wouldn't he also have to eliminate John Wick?
William dismissed this idea because he couldn't leave immediately to deal with John Wick. He had to clear himself of suspicion first.
Interestingly, William could still hear Ben Gates and Riley's conversation through his earpiece.
Riley wanted to go to Ben Gates' house to examine the back of the Declaration for any hidden secrets, but Ben refused. He understood that his identity was exposed and going home would be walking into a trap.
Finally, they decided to head to Pittsburgh to find Ben's father before the investigation team did, as they needed some letters, some of Benjamin's letters.
William listened to their conversation, guessing that John Wick was still tailing them. He wanted to call John Wick to confirm, but surrounded by people, it wasn't the right time for a call.
He couldn't use the microphone either, as he had stored it in his space during the security check. William lightly tapped his earpiece, and a few seconds later, John Wick's voice came through, "Boss, I'm following Ben Gates. What's the next move?"
William tapped once, indicating to continue following.
"Got it, keep following," John Wick confirmed.
Within minutes, a large number of detectives from the investigation bureau surrounded the archive.
Soon, a man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties stepped onto the stage and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Cedric from the Washington Secret Service. An incident occurred here tonight. No one is allowed to leave, but I assure you, your safety is our priority. Please cooperate. Thank you."
Why were Secret Service agents here instead of investigators? William wondered, then suddenly spotted the bald Church. His heart skipped a beat, wondering why Church, from the New York Secret Service, was here.
Church observed the crowd from the stage and quickly noticed William standing among them, holding a beautiful woman.
Church whispered something to Cedric, and shortly after, a few security guards approached William. "Mr. Devonshire, please come with us. The Secret Service wants to speak with you privately."
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