This is something my sister and I came up with. We basically threw an idea around until we came up with this. And then I wrote it. She would claim I took my own sweet time doing it. Because I did. But, hey, at least it's up now.
If We Shall Meet Again
"We will meet again my friend,
A hundred years from today
Far away from where we lived
And where we used to play.
We will know each others' eyes
And wonder where we met
Your laugh will sound familiar
Your heart, I won't forget.
We will meet, I'm sure of this,
But let's not wait til then...
Let's take a walk beneath the stars
And share this world again."
- Ron Atchison
"So when is this girl supposed to meet us?" Sully asked, lighting his cigar. He breathed it in and blew the smoke out.
"She said she'd get here at seven. It's only six forty-five, so we've got a bit of time," Nate informed, sitting back in his chair and taking in a gulp of his coffee. The two were seated at a table outside a cafe. They were to meet a woman who would pay them to bring her along on their latest expediation near Panama.
"Did she mention what time the plane leaves? And she's paying for us, right?"
"Eight thirty. And yes, she is. She's paying for just about everything except for meals. She must really want this footage for her show." Nate had gotten a call from her a week early when she had heard about his research and the results. She had said that she'd really benefit from him allowing her along, and that'd she'd pay for the trip as well. She also wasn't interested in keeping anything they found, so, to Nate and Sully, that was a bonus.
"What's her name again?" the old man asked, inhaling another lungful off his cigar.
"Elena, if I remember right. Not sure about the last name though. I think it starts with an F. Maybe. I could be entirely wrong on that though." Nate drank from his coffee again. He didn't exactly like the taste, but it kept him from falling asleep. He had stayed up past one the night before watching a marathon on the History channel. Not the smartest thing to do, but, hey, he could sleep on the flight. He usually did anyway.
There was barely anybody in the cafe, let alone sitting outside on the chilly spring morning. The only people outside were Drake and Sully and inside there were only three people, none of them at all interesting.
"So, what's she look like?" Sully asked, letting his 'curiosity' get the best of him.
"No idea. Well, I know she's blonde. Other than that, no idea."
"You arranged this whole trip without knowing what she looks like?"
"Yeah. We set it all up through phone calls and emails. She's got a pretty voice though, if that helps." Nate smirked as he looked over at his father figure/best friend.
"It helps loads, Nate. Thank you so much for that input," the man spoke sarcastically.
"No problem." There was silence again, the only interuption being that of the quiet sounds of the younger man drinking his coffee. A sudden gust of wind blew over them, sending a shiver down Nate's spine.
"I can't wait to get to Panama," Sully said. "It'll be warm there. Hopefully."
Nate noticed a woman walking down the sidewalk. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she wore a light purple shirt that had buttons up the front with a white tanktop underneath. She had her eyes fixed on them and she walked with a purpose. "Oh, this might be her," Nate said, capturing Sully's attention. They both watched as she approached.
"Hey," she said once she was close enough, a nervous smile on her face. "Are you Nathan Drake?"
"Why, yes, I am," he answered with a charming smile.
She stuck out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Elena Fisher."
"Nice to finally meet you in person," he spoke cheerfully. Sully cleared his throat. "Oh, this is my friend and mentor, Sully."
"A pleasure to meet you," the older man said, taking her hand and leaning foreword to kiss the back of it. It was his normal greeting to any woman he was introduced to. When he leaned back, he said, "You said your last name if Fisher? We did a job for a Fisher a long while back. You remember that, Nate? Had to be, what, a year after I found you?"
Nate thought for a moment. "Oh, yeah! That job where we had to get the thirteenth centuary jeweled urn. I remember that one."
"Wait, hold on a second... You were the people my dad hired to get that back?" She looked at them incredulously. "That had to be, what, fifteen years ago at least. Maybe more."
"Yeah. That was a bigger job than I was used to back then. I had to do a lot of quick thinking for a sixteen year old boy." Nate chuckled. "Actually..." He looked up at her, examining her face. "I think I saw you back then."
"Yeah. I remember that too," she spoke softly, thinking back.
"Hey... Hey, Nate, get up." The teenager groaned at the sound of his gaurdian's voice. "We got a job, so get up!"
"Nhhh... It's Saturday. Let me sleep," Nate muttered through the pillow. "It's Wednesday, and get up. We have to go meet with a client. Don't you want to get paid?"
Nate sighed and turned his head away from the pillow. "Fine. When do we have to leave?"
"Ten minutes from now."
"I'll be ready in five."
As Sully left the room, he sat up and stretched. He threw off his blankets and placed his feet on the ground. It was a rainy summer morning, thunder grumbling in the distance.
He stood and quickly got dressed. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was late in the morning. He opened the curtain and looked out at the rain.
"C'mon, Nate! We gotta go!" Sully called. "This is gonna be a big job with big rewards!"
"I'm coming." He left his bedroom and found Sully putting on shoes by the door. "Where's the job at?"
"Rich end a' town. Guy wants us to get something back that was stolen from him."
"How much is he paying?" Nate asked bending down to grab his shoe.
"Enough for us to move out of this crappy apartment," the older man said with a grin.
It took them about fifteen minutes to arrive at the house. It was large and white, with dark green shutters. They were brought inside immediately and led through a large room. The first thing Nate noticed was the sitting area by the fireplace, consisting of three couches and two single comfortable looking chairs. On either side of the fireplace, farther away and against the walls, was a staircase going up to the second story. The chimney of the fireplace went up, interupting the open space there. Behind the sitting area, toward the far wall, was a whole area behind a glass wall, dedicated to the many artifacts in showcase glasses. The door they were heading to was besides the glass wall.
Nate paused. There was a girl about his age, possibly a year or two younger, standing next to the top of the staircase. She was pretty blonde hair back in a ponytail and wearing a form fitting t-shirt. She was biting her lip, watching as he and Sully were led to the room. Her eyes met his and they stayed that way until Sully's voice was heard. "Nate! C'mon. Stop daydreaming and let's go." Nate looked over to see Sully motioning him into the room. He glanced back up at the girl to see she was no longer there.
The plane wasn't very full. Elena had gotten the tickets two days prior, so there was no issue in boarding. The three had seats next to each other. The two men let Elena have the window seat, Nate taking the window, Sully taking the aisle seat. Elena took out a book from her carry-on.
"Whatcha reading?" Nate asked.
"World War Z," she answered, showing him the cover of the book. "It's pretty good."
"Oh, I've heard of that. Isn't it written like an interview the entire time?"
"Yeah. It's kinda messed up at some parts though."
"What zombie book would be good if that didn't happen?"
They both chuckled. Small talk like this was nice. It was an easy way for them to get acquainted this way and, it let them both see if they were compatible. It wasn't like they would act on those actions, at least not immediatly, but it was like two animals circling each other, learning each other's scent in order to find each other's limits or something similar. In the time they talked, which was about an hour, Nate learned that she enjoyed traveling and history. Something they both had in common. She learned that he had been to numerous countries and, for the most part, was bilingual. She admired that.
Now that she knew the man besides her a bit better, she felt more comfortable and was able to settle in to her seat easily. While she continued to read, sleep pulled him into it's depths.
"That's the house," Sully said, dragging a hand through his brown hair. "You remember your part?"
"Yup. Get inside, learn the schedule," the teen replied.
"Okay. Your route inside'll haveta be the vents. There's access to one on the roof. From there, your on your own."
"Got it."
"See you when you get out."
Nate ducked out of the car and strolled up to the house. He quickly scaled up the side and onto the roof. There was an opening to the vents there, which he unscrewed. He slid in, army crawling through. He found an opening and managed to slip down into a hallway. He stuck his hands in his pockets and acted as if he belonged there. He already knew everything about the family that lived there, so it would be easy to trick whoever showed up.
Speak of the devil, a kid around his age came around the corner. The kid seemed thick built, and was taller than Nate.
"Who are you?" the kid asked, accusing.
Nate chuckled. "You with the security detail?"
"My dad is."
"Well, my dad is your dad's boss. I'm Guy Frazer," Nate lied. "Who are you?"
"I'm Charlie..." Charlie gave Nate a confused look. "Chloe never said she had a brother..."
Nate shrugged. "I don't exactly make the family proud. I just got back from reform school. My family doesn't like to talk about me."
Charlie fell for it hard. "Bummer." Nate nodded. "What are you doing in this wing, mate?"
"My dad decided to trust me to go get his fancy vase for him. I've got to bring it back to his office," Nate explained. "Thought I might as well. Bring me there?"
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, okay." The boy led Nate down three different hallways. At the end of the last one way a small stand, a glass case over the urn in which Nate needed.
There was a tall muscular man standing besides it, arms crossed. He gave a wary look at Nate. "Who've you got there, Charlie?" The man's voice was deep, almost a growl.
"It's Guy Frazer, Dad," Charlie said. "He came to get the urn for his dad."
Nate tried to seem nonchalant as Charlie's father put an icy gaze over him. After a minute, he was sure he was going to be found a fraud. He breathed a sigh of relief when the man reached behind the stand the urn was on and pulled out a suitcase. He unlocked the glass case and placed the urn inside the protective cushion in the suitcase. "Here. Be careful with it. And bring it back in one piece."
Nate smiled, taking the suitcase. "Will do."
He disappeared down the hallway, suitcase in hand. Just wait until Sully heard about this.
"You don't get seasick, do you?" Nate asked as he pulled the rental car up to the docks.
She shook her head. "No."
"Good. I wouldn't be surprised if the sea decided to be rough just because it knew I'd be here," he chuckled.
She laughed lightly. "Not so good with the elements, are you?"
"No, he's not." Sully chimed in. "Or any type of vehicle that has an engine, or is at all flammable."
"That just makes me feel better," she joked. They climbed out of the car, Nate being a gentleman by opening Elena's for her. They headed towards the boat they had rented, having already called ahead. Nate stepped on first, holding a hand out to assist Elena. "I've got to change," she said and headed below deck.
Sully looked over at Nate. "She gonna be another one of your flings?" he asked.
Nate shook his head. "I think she might be more." Sully raised his eyebrows, un-believing. "What? There's gotta be a reason we've met again, fifteen years plus later."
"If you say so, kid."
Sully immediatly went to the office with the suitcase. Nate turned around to examine the artifacts that had been collected. There she was again. Her hands were splayed on a glass case, staring at a small amulet displayed within. Nate glanced over at Sully. The older man was deep in conversation with the client, Mr. Fisher. Nate took his chance to approach the blonde.
"Hey."
She looked startled for a moment. "Oh, hi."
"Whatcha got there?" he asked, looking at her object of speculation.
"It's a Elizabethan Era amulet. Worn by the queen herself at one point." The blonde's eyes never left the piece of jewelry. "My dad said it's been handed down through our family up until three generations ago, when my great great grandfather was robbed. Dad managed to find it about a week ago."
"I'm surprised a girl like you is interested in this sort of stuff," he stated, looking more at her than the object in the glass case.
She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Please. You don't know what kind of girl I am." She allowed herself a glance up at him. He liked her eyes.
"I'd like to find out," he offered, a lopsided grin on his face. She raised her eyebrows, an almost invisible smirk on her face.
"Nate, get over here! Our job here is done." Nate looked over to see Sully approaching. "And," Sully paused, his signature grin on his face. "We've been paid."
The teenager looked back to see the girl had disappeared. He was disappointed. She had been cute. He returned his attention to Sully. "Are we leaving?"
"Yeah. Got everything? That girl didn't break your ego, did she?" Sully joked. He had seen the way Nate had been looking at her. "Girls have a way of doing that to guys."
"Ha ha, very funny. No. I barely said hello. Didn't even know her name."
"Well, we gotta get going. Maybe you can get her name if we ever get another job from this guy. C'mon."
Nate sighed and followed his mentor to the exit.
"You ready to dive?" Elena asked.
Nate nodded. "Yep. Let's go find the bones of my ancestor."
"I can't believe you're this excited about your ancestry. Most guys don't even know their grandmother's maiden name."
He gave her a lopsided grin, one she remembered well. "It's hard not to be interested when he was a famous explorer!"
"Well, you're definately taking after him, if I'm to believe the stories you two have been telling," she concluded, slipping her arm out of her life jacket and into the harness that held the oxygen tank to her back.
"I'll take that as a compliment." He sat down besides her, his oxygen tank already firmly in place and dipped his feet into the water. She finished clipping her own oxygen tank on quickly. He held out his hand. "You ready for this?"
She took his hand. "Yup. Let's dive."
With the intertwining of their hands, so too was their lives.
Thanks for reading!~
