Chapter 1: A phone call
The sun blazed through the small parting of the blue curtains, revealing the cluttered bedroom of an apartment situated in Key West Florida. The battlefield of the floor was polluted by scattered scrunched up paper balls and piles of lifeless bodies of clothing. A double bed took up most of the space in the bedroom, placed halfway between the divided no-man's-land.
The silence and stillness of the flat was interrupted abruptly by blaring rings of a telephone in another room. During the first double-rings a man lying face down on the bed, who had since been very still, flinched. A second eruption of rings echoed throughout the flat having more effect than the first. The man was now jolted from his deep sleep. He raised his head and looked towards a watch placed near a half-empty whisky bottle on his bed side table. He winced as the small hand was indicating towards the 8.
Cursing, Nate sat up and twisted the cap off the whisky bottle and took a swift swig. He clenched his fist around the bottle's neck and grimaced as the wooden taste exploded into multiple bitter flavours in his mouth, lingering long after the liquid was swallowed. He screwed the cap back on and replaced the bottle. Slowly he hauled himself up, his bones cracked in disagreement.
His bare feet padded softly on the floorboards in his hall as he lethargically staggered towards the piercing rings off the telephone. He lifted the receiver and held it to his ear.
"Hello?" His voice sounded rough, indicating his lack of sleep and or soberness.
"Hey kid, how you holding up? Still eating right? Last time I saw you, you looked a little scrawny"
"Yeah… I'm all right Sully."
He absentmindedly began picking at the thumbtack on the pin board which held up vibrant pictures of exotic locations. His eyes trailed over to a certain pictured in the bottom right hand corner. The picture showed a much cheerier Nathan Drake with a blonde woman, fastened in his arms.
"So… how's the girl?"
"Dunno, not heard from her in months" Nate said, still staring at the picture. "It's pretty much over, we are just too different. It's probably best if we both just move on" with that he tore the photo from the board, scrunching it up with his free hand and throwing it in a nearby bin.
"If you say so kid. I did warn you about broads before though, if you're not careful they'll eat away at your heart, and your wallet"
"Hey, I'll be fine, c'mon you know me." Nate chuckled as he tried to disguise his pain. There was a moment's pause between the two friends. Sully was first to break silence.
"Did I ever tell you about the time that bartender in Costa Rica locked me out my hotel room?"
Nathan perked up at the mention of a typical memory his counterpart had just recalled.
"So, how much you got left? Not pissed most of it away on glamorous gifts for women and cigars have you?" he quizzed after Sully's story was over.
"You've got to spend a little to live a little kid. And as a matter of fact I haven't even held one in a week" Sully announced in defence.
"You're quitting? Huh. So you're still smoking though?" Nate teased.
"Ha ha, very funny" Sully sarcastically congratulated him.
"I only work with what you give me" Nate remarked as he smiled with his usual crooked grin.
"Hmm, you may be on a downer but it sure has left your cockiness intact. It's a wonder no one has shut you up yet"
"Look who's talking, never mind hunting for logbooks you could fill a dozen on your endeavours venturing from brothel to brothel" Nate was now back to his old self with no sign of remorse in his voice. "Listen Sully, as captivating as this conversation is I really need to head, I told Harry I'd meet him at the airport, he's been digging up on some things and says he's got a hit"
"Flynn? How is the British sonnovabitch? And digging up on what kind of things?" Sully questioned.
"All will be revealed in good time. I'm telling you Sully, this is big." Nate reassured him.
"Big? How big? BIG big?" He had caught Sully's full attention by this point.
"Goodbye Sullivan. I'll call you the minute I get back"
"Well make sure you do Nate, Harry sure has his way of putting ideas in your head"
"Who said he was the bad influence?"
Nathan put the receiver down and ran his fingers through his black hair; it was still sticking up at odd angles from his sleep. He was in a better mood now as he returned to his room he slipped on some jeans and a clean t-shirt. Before leaving his apartment he caught his reflection in a mirror. With the tips of his fingers he examined the extent to which his stubble had grown over the course of a couple days however his conversation with Sully had left him with no time to shave. It would have to do; after all it was only Harry. With that Nate grabbed his car keys and left the apartment. There was a final noise as Nate locked the door and then the house was silent.