This takes place after my first fic for this awesome game called 'Everything I'm Not'. I'm not too happy with the ending, I couldn't get it to work with me. This plot has been bugging me ever since I posted my first Unchartedstory. At some parts in this fic. I like how parts came out and other parts... blah... it wouldn't work with me at the time for some reason and I kept redoing it, but it still refused to work with me. But I did my best.

Disclaimer: I don't own Uncharted or the characters that appear in the original games. Disappointing, really.

The Sabotage

Elena casually made her way towards the counter, sliding on the stool beside him and waited to see if he would remark about something; least acknowledge her presence. He didn't and the blond rubbed the back of her neck. Their relationship was a strange one, not the typical type of a romantic couple; though he did call her pet names, but still.

It was different.

"You could at least buy me a beer." She suggested and watched him grin from the corner of her eye. Nodding to the bartender, he took a swig of his beer and proceeded to remain silent; odd. "Aren't you going to ask how my day went? Ask about any given assignments I've received?"

"You know I don't give a bloody care about your work, love. Never have, never will. End of story, can you just leave it at that?"

"Could you at least pretend for one second you give a 'bloody care'?" The blond bit back and took a sip of her beer that had been placed in front of her. She focused her attention on him (still) as she waited to see what reaction he would give; whether he would do as she said or remain the way he was. At times she would find herself wondering how they even ended up as a pair, completely opposites; barely seeing eye to eye.

He shook his head and let out a silky chuckle, turning his face towards her and his dark eyes boring right into her soul. "Alright, fine you win." He held up a finger, stopping her from interrupting him (which she wasn't going to do in the first place) and continued, "Just this once, sweetheart."

"Now," he turned his body towards her, arm resting against the counter and the other resting on his knee, "what is so bloody fantastic that you need me to ask about, hmm?"

Snorting, the woman rolled her eyes. "That's better than nothing, I suppose."

"Damn straight, darling."

"Today I was able to hook a juicy topic." She watched his expression thoughtfully, an eyebrow lifting and the other furrowing downward. Usually he gave this look when she would ask him to do a simple task, never uttering a word, letting her figure out on her own that she was the one who would have to do it.

They continued to sit there, his eyes still on her with his infamous expression and she taking another sip from her drink. People seemed to clutter into the small empty bar, ready for the football game to begin and cheer drunkenly for their team. Elena quickly scanned the room and was thankfully that no one was close to them, not even the bartender for he went to serve customers their drinks.

Cigarette smoke hit her nostrils like a detonator and the voice boomed louder in excitement as they placed bets against one another.

"Apparently, it has to do with the Grand Duchess Anastasia."

"Oh, that's bloody fantastic. Let me guess it's about another looney that's saying she's either Anastasia herself or that she's their ancestor, correct?" He scoffed and turned his body back around, both elbows resting against the cracked wooden surface.

Elena huffed in return and lightly punched him in the arm. "No, not entirely… a person claims to have found her resting place. But he refuses to take anyone there unless they're willing to pay a high price. So… that's what we're going to do."

The man nodded, looking completely bored out of his mind before quickly turning his focus back on her (visually). "Wait a bloody second, sweetheart; what's this 'we' business?"

She gave him one her all knowing looks.

"Oh, no… there is absolutely no way I'm going. It's out of the question!" He hissed, scanning the area incase any unwanted listeners were listening in. "Besides, I'm on vacation. No blooming treasure hunts, no bloody messes and searching for something, nothing. Just pure relaxation; so forget it, I am not going with you."

"You're one of the best out there." Elena tried coaxing him, placing a hand on top of his and giving it a squeeze. "What if we need someone to do lots and lots of climbing to make sure the others find another way in?"

"Get Drake to go with you, sweetheart."

"He's with Chloe on another hunt." Her tone was flat, unbelieving that he wouldn't remember this. She, again, gave his hand a soft squeeze and frowned up at him; hoping he would make the right decision. "Come on, I need you."

He didn't say anything, didn't look at her; kept his gaze strictly on the bottle in his hands.

"Plus you get a free trip to Russia. Free food, free needed attire for it, free," she paused figuring he would like this one the best, "firearm of all kind."

"When do we leave?"

"Ha, knew it."

"It's not because of the free firearm!" He exclaimed and gave up when she continued to smirk at him. "… mostly for the free food part…"

Elena laughed softly and shook her head. "We leave tomorrow morning."

"Fantastic," He pulled the cash from his pocket, placing it beside the beer bottle and stood, turning to lead the way out of the place when he ended up coming face to face with a man an inch or two shorter than him.

"Is this guy bugging you, Elena?" The newcomer asked and seemed to puff his chest out, trying to give off being tough as his eyes flickered over to the blond. He seemed younger compared to him, almost as if he recently graduated from high school and kept his black hair short, simply allowing it to stick up with the help of gel.

"Who the h—l are you?" He asked, moving forward as Elena placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Nicholas, it's alright. He's the one I've been telling you about." She explained keeping him at bay from attacking this 'Nicholas' person. "He's agreed to come with us and make sure of our safety incase anything goes… downhill."

The guy nodded and lifted his lips in a smile. "Sorry about that… can't be too careful, ya know?"

Instead he didn't pay him any mind, turning to the woman with golden locks and jerked a thumb at the fellow. "You didn't mention having this scrawny fella joining in on our party."

"I kinda figured you would already know."

"And how the bloody h—l am I supposed to 'already know', sweetheart?" He responded in anger, not exactly happy with how this whole ordeal was turning out. If anything it seemed to be trailing off in the direction of how the Cintamani Stone turned out. How first he was approached by Lazarevic and offered all he wanted; required; asked for.

"Because he's the cameraman, that's how."

Nicholas seemed to take this as a hint and held his hand out. "My name's Nicholas, though you already gathered that part. Um… but anyway, it's Nicholas Danielson. Most people call me Nick for short, you're free to too I guess."

He ignored his offered hand, staring down at Danielson with mildly annoyance.

"And you can call me Flynn."

"So are you two, like, a couple or somewhere along the lines of that relationship?" Nicholas asked trying to lighten the tension filled air. They allowed Lev (the person claiming to find Anastasia's resting place) guide them into the mouth of an old mining workplace. Having endured plenty, they realized they were about to receive more on their plates.

Apparently, a treasure hunter known as Yang Tai Shi; a cruel hearted fellow, Flynn had described him as while the three ran from the chamber (seeing the tomb with their own eyes, but unsure of if it truly was Anastasia or not) and managed to shoot a few of his men in escaping.

Yang Tai Shi had trapped them; paid a man named Lev (the 'claimer' of discovering the tomb) to bring them here, in hopes that Miss. Fisher would provide the man he was after. Clearly he was disappointed when Harry Flynn had set foot in the room, outraged at how his plan failed. And that's when an idea struck him; hold the three prisoners (maybe kill the two men; keep the girl) to lure Drake right into his hand.

Luck was in their favor as Harry snuck a grenade from his pocket, pulling the pin and throwing it in the air, giving them enough time to run and gain more ground than his men.

"Why don't you try making a move on her and watch as I pull the trigger; blowing your brains out." Flynn called over his shoulder and to prove his point further he placed a calloused hand on the Desert-5 that was in the holster strapped to his hip. And for extra caution he had even requested for a tranquillizer dart gun (kept safely inside his jacket; with two grenades too) and a FAL secured on his back. "Go on, I dare you."

"Harry." Elena allowed the tone of authority to speak, warning him not to push it. "Yes, Nick, we're together. But why ask about it right now?"

"I'm trying my hardest to stop thinking about how psychopaths are hunting us down just because of how some guy pissed the other guy off!" His tone slipped and let the hysterical part of him free, eyes dashing back and forth from side to side. "We're going to die in here; we're going to die in here! And no one will know it!"

"Nick, we're not going to die." Elena soothed; trying to calm him.

Harry rolled his eyes and tried to figure out which airshaft would be the best way to take. Too dangerous to take the one they had come through, in case Tai Shi's men laid in wait. But the rest could possibly lead to a dead end or to their second choice of how they would like to die (either those two or running into more of his men).

"Figure which one we should take yet?"

"… c'mon, let's try this way." He headed onward in, the one further away from the two places they had gone through in hopes that the tunnel would lead them out; back into civilization. Close to it anyway, they needed drive down the rocky roads of the mountains and had about another hundred miles before reaching civilization.

'I'm bloody going to kill Drake.'

Decades seemed to pass as they continued their journey, no one uttering a single word in fear of it causing an echo and allowing Tai Shi's men to stumble upon them.

Finally, however, Nicholas couldn't take the silence and his mind begged to be released from the knowledge that people were searching for them, hunting them down like prey.

"How did you two meet?"

"I'll tell you about that later."

"I don't see why you should bloody tell him at all, love."

Nick bit his lip and tried going for a different subject; in hopes that Flynn wouldn't remark about. He didn't like the man, sensing on the start of their journey that he wasn't an enjoyable person to be around and yet Elena was dating him. It was a little funny how the man completely ignored him on the fight to Russia, the road trip here and the walk to the grave.

Now he snapped at him, annoyed and a bit hostile (so Nick believed).

"How is it we end up in this mess?" Elena asked Harry, ignoring Nick for a few brief moments, staring up at the fellow who once worked on the side of evil (which, in some degree, he still claimed to work for the villains; saying he was one, after all).

"Easy, you took the bait foolishly hoping to gain even bigger fame, sweetheart."

"I mean how could he be so sure I would bring Nate?"

"Obviously he hasn't heard that Nate's found himself a new girl; one with a better, closer relationship with."

The reporter placed her chin in the palm of her hand, fingers tapping against her bottom lip in thought as she continued to keep her pace with his (leaving Nick in the back) and lost in the essence of her mind. "How did he even know about Nate and me to begin with?"

"Remember the abilities of a treasure hunter, darling." He tapped the side of his temple and yawned, wishing he had gotten more sleep on the way here.

"Yeah, but shouldn't he know about how Nate and I aren't together anymore?"

"Tai Shi isn't very smart when it comes to keeping updated about certain statuses. He's a worse treasure hunter than Raja; that's for sure. Even Raja was a better hunter than he is, but a lot more vicious makes up for it. In personal experience, Tai Shi is as bad as Lazarevic. Almost," he added.

"Wait, do you mean as in 'Eddie Raja'?"

Harry nodded in puzzlement. "Yeah, how do you know about—"

"I sorta met him when Nate was searching for El Dorado." Elena cut in while glancing back to make sure Nicholas was keeping up with them.

"Should've known," He jumped over a cart that had fallen to its side long ago. Elena struggled over after him and took the camera from Nick so he could do the same. "It's a shame that it was cursed. It would've made tons of money from it."

"Sully was able to get a load full of gold. Mostly it turned out he used it to pay a few more I.."

"What else do you expect from an old sack of—"

"Harry, don't." Again she interjected, feeling that Sully was a loyal friend (although it did seem suspicious when Nate had told her he was dead; than she discovered he was with those cruel other two hunters). But Sullivan came out in the end, trying his best to give them false information.

"Sorry, sorry."

"… how did you know that El Dorado was cursed?"

"Before I used Drake, I was still his 'friend', I guess you could put it, and he told me a few of the details."

"Did he tell you how it was cursed?"

"Making someone who inhales the corpse inside the golden coffin and turning them into some wild, vicious zombie creature?" Harry smirked at how Elena seemed to deflate (probably unable to tell him about it). "Yeah, he told me that part."

"Whoa, just whoa." Nick said and the two turned to focus their attention on him. "What do you mean by that? Nothing like that could ever happen."

"Times like these I wished the camera had survived…"

"If you don't believe that, chum," Flynn began strolling down the path once more, "you'll never believe the second supernatural event that happened which brought Elena and me together."

"Can't you shoot them with your tranquillizer gun?" Elena whispered as they huddled behind a cargo container, seeing as soon as they made it out, Tai Shi's men were lazing about in splotches. "Or is it an illegal drug mixed in with it?"

"They're totally non-lethal don't worry about that. But their distance in shooting is absolute sh-t." He removed the Desert 5 from its safe spot and glanced around the corner, and ducked back in when a man came from a few feet away from behind another cargo container.

"Oh, that's fantastic." Her voice filled with sarcasm. "Why ask for it when it doesn't work?"

"Because," Harry began to explain as he peeked out of the corner again, "you never know when you'll be able to get a close hit for it to work. Besides who knows? It actually might come in use on this journey."

"Why not use the sniper?" Nick asked and had been filming the whole time since Elena insisted on getting some footage. "Can't it take them out without us being noticed?"

Harry gave a laugh at his foolishness. "You have no idea about firearm do you? This is a FAL not a Dragon Sniper. Two completely different things and either way, they both make a 'bang' sound. So no, can't work."

"Oh, I was right; we are going to die." Nicholas gave a weak wail and again started to lose his self-control. "Our dissembled body parts will be sent to our family and friends!"

"Is he always bloody like this?"

"He's never been in a dangerous situation like this."

"A shame he wasn't shot instead of Jerry."

"Jeff; his name was Jeff." She corrected him again. "And he's never been in this type of issue, so give him a break. It's not like he's had much experience like you've had. Even I have more experience. And you know that so stop trying to discourage him, Harry. OK?"

The treasure hunter gave no reply, seeming to have not even heard a word she had said. Instead he was too focused on the man that had his back to them for fifteen seconds; if he would remain that way, there was a chance he could sneak up behind him and break his neck without causing a ruckus. 'Just like the good old times.'

Swiftly he crouched and lunged away from his hiding place, quickly and carefully sneaking up on the chum and without further ado, leaped at him and instantly got a grip of his neck, snapping it and hearing the fatal 'crack' sound before placing him down on the ground softly.

He checked to see if any other guards were around before signaling to the two that for now the coast was clear.

"… he just snapped the guy's neck…" Nick pointed out like an idiot. "He just killed someone with his bare hands… Elena do you know you're dating a murderer?"

"Treasure hunter is more like it, mate." Harry didn't bother to turn his eyes to him, watching the strangled expression come alive on his face. "Come on, this way."

They flew on the ground softly, trying not to make a sound and dodged a man who was busy napping or Harry using a tranquillizer (Elena insisted on it seeing as how disturbed Nicholas was after the neck breaking). Finally they made it to an opening where cars were, only surrounded by more men; all awake and alert for any sights of distress.

To make sure, they each counted in their heads at how many they saw before agreed that twenty-four men were posted here.

"Now is this the part where we die?"

"Nick, stop it. We're alive so far and that's how this will end. Stop whining and suck it up." Elena scolded him, already pulling the hidden .45 Defender from its hiding spot and quickly loading it.

"When did you get that?"

"Nick, after everything I've been through I know when to carry one of these."

"Good girl," Harry whispered with a smirk of a smile plastered on his face. He carefully removed the FAL from his back and took aim at a nearby oil can, nestled between six men. That would leave only eighteen if this shot hit its mark and instantly killed them. "Ready for this, love?"

"Not really, but sooner than later right?"

"Exactly," he pulled the trigger and watched as in seconds the can exploded; men flying backwards and forwards from their position as other caused an uproar, a commander demanding to find the culprit.

Everything seem to break lose as gunfire was exchanged everywhere, Harry quickly chancing to get a quick shot at a few of them, watching as they fell, while Elena would fire on one with a bulletproof vest and firing an SAS-12 repeatedly. He shouted at her to aim at his head and she did; watching as his limp body fell to the ground and a pool of blood forming.

Shouts of rage and curses flew about as the commander lost more of his men, down to seven (including him). He spat something in Chinese and snatched a M32-Hammer from a comrade that had gotten hit by one of Harry's FAL bullets.

"Oh no… oh no!" Harry scrambled from their hiding spot, yelling at Elena and Danielson to do the same as a grenade was launched from his weapon and landed right where Nicholas had wedged himself between the two and exploded.

The British treasure hunter ducked beneath another cover in hopes the wielder of the M32-Hammer hadn't seen him. He scanned for any sign of Elena and breathed a sigh of relief seeing her poke her head from her safe spot; Nick doing the same and filmed for a bit before ducking back and, most likely, curling back up into a ball.

He peeked from his spot and watched as the (now) four men started forward to inspect the fallen rumble and nearby objects for any of their attackers. Backtracking slowly, Harry rose to his feet and shuffled backwards, before turning the corner of his new shelter and leaned back against the wall, mind reeling to figure out how he would get them out of this situation (although it was Elena's fault for volunteering for this 'hot topic').

Again he listened to the murmurs of the men; among each other. He didn't dare glance to see how far they were and which was closer to him. They could spot the movement and know it was him, cornering him like a trapped animal. But he also needed to know if anyone of them were sneaking up alongside his cover, soon to discover him?

"Over there!"

He blinked and turned his head, expecting to see one of the men pointing their gun in his face. But no one was there and he poked his head from the corner, watching in horror as they stalked to where Elena was.

"Oh sh-t," He mouthed and pulled back, strapping the FAL back in place and pulling out the Desert 5. Seven bullets and five men left standing. With perfect aim and luck, only two bullets would be left and unused. But it didn't seem so easy, once one was out the remainder would turn and start firing at him; perhaps the commander would even come hurrying over the corner to place a bullet in his brain.

So instead he did decided on another solution; threw a grenade in their direction and listened to the cries of surprise that changed into death and swung around the opposite corner, raising his pistol and catching the bulky man by surprise as well; lodging a bullet into his skull.

Wind spoke in whispers, sorrowing over the lives of the lost and quieted down too.

It reminded him of the time back when they were so close to Shambhala; the wind crying as he followed Lazarevic down towards the secret passage that would take them to the great treasure. The bodies of his fallen warriors scattered and he had wondered how Drake could have done all of this damage, with one companion too. Soon, he discovered what really was behind most of it.

He would have believed that if Zoran Lazarevic had said he was actually related to those beasts. Only difference was that he was bald and didn't have blue skin.

"Impressive,"

Harry bolted his body towards the voice to discover Yang standing closer to him; a few more men behind him and two of them gripping Elena and Nick's arm tightly in their grasp. Mentally he cursed the Chinese treasure hunter and his damn commander (obviously he hadn't seen him walkie-talkie his boss).

"But why go through all this trouble, Flynn? I would've simply let you go." Tai Shi said in a dangerously calm tone, eyes leering in malice at the British hunter. "I don't have a bone to pick with you."

He scanned the area before placing his attention once again on him. "Correction; didn't."

"You kept musing to yourself, muttering how you were going to kill me and him." Flynn replied and pointed at Nick who was trying to put on his 'tough guy' act, like the time when he caught him and Elena sitting at the bar. "Besides, I'm simply doing what I was hired to do; keep those two journalists safe. That's all."

"You were never one for a hero type, Flynn. And you always said you had no interest in becoming on. Or has finding secret treasures really brought you down in the business? Unable to discover any and having to resort to being a bodyguard."

"What can I say, mate? I can never resist large amounts of money."

"So you wouldn't mind if I eliminate him?" Tai Shi didn't move a muscle; instead the man holding Danielson removed the pistol from his belt and placed it against his temple. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead and Nicholas became a pasty color.

"NO! Leave him out of this!" Elena shouted and jerked her body, trying to free herself from the buff man restraining her.

"I gotta do my job, mate." Harry lifted his Desert 5 and took aim between his eyes, not flinching as the rest of his men aimed theirs at him. He flicked his focus to Elena, watching as her mouth hung in horror and eyes wide as saucers, but quickly flicked them back to Tai Shi. "Otherwise I won't get paid."

"I shall make you an offer, Flynn." His men lowered their guns when he signaled them to. "You help bring Nate Drake into my clutches and I'll let him live. Than you may escort Mr. Danielson back, to get your 'hard earned' money; deal?"

"And you let her go now, safe and unharmed."

Tai Shi pulled his lips back in a thin smile. "No, I'll be keeping her."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, chum. I have to make sure they both make it back; alive." Harry balled his hand into a fist, the one free of the gun, as his teeth gritted in bitter hatred. His mind battled for his rational side, part of him wanting to tell Tai Shi he had already called 'dibs' on her (too dangerous to say he was actually in love with her). If he did that, than he would gain another upper hand. But if he didn't, he would also insist to keep her.

"You can't do that! I'm a human being!" Elena roared like a lioness, continuing to struggle against her captor. "And I demand you let us go now—!"

She became mute by having her captor's hand cover her mouth; muffling her screams of irritation. Harry kept his eyes trained on Yang and saw the twitch of a scowl crossing his face. He watched him carefully as he turned his body halfway to stare at Elena (giving her the evil eye) and her muffled cries became louder, thrashing wildly against her bonds.

Finally Yang turned his attention back to Flynn. "Take the b-tch, she's too noisy anyway."

Something that sounded like an 'excuse me' came from Elena, blinking savagely at him and even released a muffled huff sound.

"So, do we have a deal?"

"…"

Harry knew if he averted his eyes to stare into Elena's she would be screaming at him not to. Nate was her friend and one time more than that. He had saved her life though it was basically his fault getting her into the mess. And what would Chloe think once they were caught in the web? Would she truly hate his guts this time?

'Sh-t,' his mind growled and tried to work out another solution; none coming to him.

"We have a deal."

"Well, well, well."

He glanced up from his seat, chin resting on his joined hands, at the newcomers and watched as they both slid into the seat opposite of his.

"Finally wanting to apologize for stabbing me in the back?" Nate asked and let the sentence hang in the air before laughing softly. "Couldn't resist, but I must say getting a call from you asking to meet us here was unexpected. Not too mention it caused us to stop in our tracks of finding vast amounts of jewels and buying plane tickets of the next flight to here."

"Yeah, what's up?" Chloe sat back with a curious light in her eyes.

If he wasn't wired, Harry would have spilled everything; the assignment, the trap, the capture, and now this second trap he was in on. But to make sure Elena stayed safe and out of harm's way; she always insisted she could take care of herself, but at times a moment of weakness would crack through her walls and she would let them. After all, that was why she had asked him to go on this trip with her. So that was half of the reason.

"I found something you might want in on."

Nate didn't hide his accusing suspicion. "Hired by another psycho and wanting to get me out of the way for another three months?"

"Look, can we put that behind us? I'm trying to make amends by letting you in on this fantastic find."

"What exactly is this 'wondrous' discovery?" Chloe tried to coax Nate into hearing him out.

"… a tomb."

"'A tomb'? That's it? You figure out where we are, call us and demand we get here A.S.A.P. and tell us your great find is a tomb?" Nate laughed as he questioned him, finding this entire matter insane. "This tomb better be someone important, Flynn."

"Trust me, mate, it is."

They waited in silence for Harry to drop the big news of his find.

"Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia," Harry forced a grin to appear on his face. Once more, he mentally cursed himself knowing fully well Elena and Nicholas were both in the room where Tai Shi was listening in to the conversation; Elena cursing him out of existence probably. And he also wondered if she would end it with him after this.

"You're kidding," Nate breathed out softly and fell back against his seat in shock, "you actually found Anastasia? I don't believe this sh-t."

"I don't believe it either." Chloe chimed in, the shock evident in her voice.

"Wait a second," Nate again stared at him in suspicion, regarding Flynn silently, "what's the point in telling us if you've already found its resting place? Or did you only find something that could possibly lead to its resting place?"

"Better yet did you get hired by another wacko?"

"No, no, and… no." Harry answered forcing the honest tone to escape past his lips. Reality it being 'hired' back another wacko. But instead of working with the man, he was simply working for him. No, not working for Tai Shi, for his and Elena's survival.

Oh yeah and her cameraman, Danielson.

"Look, do you want in or not?"

Chloe and Nate each glanced at one another from the corner of their eyes, speaking telepathically about what their decision would be. Harry knew he couldn't rush this; rush them. It wasn't like they were partners anymore; they were fiancés now. They needed time to resolve their answer, both knowing they needed to agree what that answer was first before giving him the key.

"This better not be a setup, Flynn." Nate jammed his finger downward on the table, as if pointing to a location on a map. He gave him the evil eye in warning, silently telling him what his death would be like if it was.

'Sorry to disappoint you, Drake. But it was either you or Elena."

"When do we leave?" Chloe announced and caught Harry's gaze.

"We leave now."

Harry hung behind them as they ran towards the open room, excitedly gossiping about the grave their eyes greedily took in. He noted how Drake seemed to look like a little boy that had received a wondrous gift bestowed upon him. And Chloe, she glowed with pure happiness and anxiousness. Less than a few minutes, seconds even, those bright smiles would disburse into thin lips of anger or frowns of disappointment.

Stalking up behind them slowly, he removed the Desert 5 from its place and raised it up at Drake's back.

"This is it," Nate breathed out unaware of the gun aiming at his back, "I don't believe this. And this time there's no cursed men or guardian things to keep us from making this find known."

"Harry, how did you ever discover it to begin with…?" Chloe spun on her heel, the smile falling and the blank expression painting carefully to her face. She reached out to touch Nate's hand and he, too, turned around a dark look quickly fixing into place.

"Oh, you've got to be sh-tting me!"

"Oh, Harry not again…"

He held back the grimace at the broken tone Chloe had used. Like the time when he had appeared in the temple, broken and beaten. Even if she held no romantic feelings for him, she had told him that she was his friend. That she was willing, more than Nate, to give him a second chance; to which he pushed away, but secretly accepted. She had helped him and Elena calm Nate down when Elena decided to tell him that she and he, well, were in love.

Nate didn't like the idea; he went ballistic at the very thought of such a relationship between him and the blond. But with much convincing from Chloe and her sly ways, he finally gave in; only he swore that if Flynn tried anything, use her as bait for revenge or worse, he would kill him himself.

"Sorry, mates." He swayed back and forth on his feet, hand steady on Nate's form and unwavering. The scene, to him, reminded of what had happened on the train; shooting Drake when he hadn't been paying attention and catching both, him and Chloe, off guard. Just like he did this time, though they had been suspicious about it at first; they believed he really had changed; even if he would never admit it.

"Excellent work, Flynn, knew you could get the job done."

Harry didn't both glancing to his left side and instead watched as Chloe and her fiancée did; one with a look of surprise and the other a look as if meeting his grim reaper. Tai Shi stepped from the shadows and suddenly so did his men from all sides. He stood straight and tall, a few steps higher than Nate and Chloe.

"I can't believe this." Drake pushed the words from gritted teeth and clenched his fists, snapping his pupils back to Flynn before Tai Shi.

Chloe made a move to free the .45 Defender from her back pocket, but was violently shoved by one of Tai Shi's men into the tomb and over, a cloud of dust forming over the spot they landed. Nate yelped her name in horror and made a move to jump over too, ready to snap the man's neck if not for the forty other firearms pointing directly at him.

"Leave her out of this." Nate demanded as he watched the man rise to his feet, dragging a disgruntled Chloe with him and keeping a firm hold on her. She mumbled a 'b-----d' between her teeth and Harry was thankful that the brute hadn't heard her sweet compliment about him.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Drake. You had me go through terrible trouble in trying to get you here." Yang spoke in a dull tone, inwardly pleased to see how frustrated Nate was getting.

"Sure it was since Flynn is such a great friend of mine." He spat the name 'Flynn' as if it were a disease; a murderous, deadly, and vile one at that.

"Actually Flynn did it so he would get paid,"

"Figures, what else is new?"

"Not by me, Mr. Drake. But by people he was hired to protect." Tai Shi suppressed the victory smile from plastering itself on his face. He would give it freedom as soon as the time was right. "For you see, I had hoped you would have come in his place."

"Huh?" Nate glanced at Harry who had his head down, eyes staring blindly at his shoes.

"Let go of me!"

Instantly their heads snapped towards the recognizable voice of a young blond they knew.

"Elena?" He blinked a few times and knew she was no imagination. There she was, hair ruffled and clothes untidy from the faint dirt marks and sweat from all the fighting she must have done. Beside her another man held a younger looking one; pale and squeamish from all the 'excitement' going on.

"I heard from sources that you and she were a pair. However, it appears and happens to be old news. Instead she hired the well known Mr. Flynn for protection if needed. And well, like you said, he'll do anything to get money."

"Oh," Chloe breathed out and kept her mouth shut. She gave a slight nod to Nate when he had met her gaze and they both knew that Flynn didn't really have a choice; that he hadn't done it for money, so they hoped; he had done it to protect and save Elena.

"There they are, Flynn, unharmed and unscratched. You may take them and have your leave now. Don't want this reporter getting another juicy topic about how gruesome the murder of Mr. Drake was." Tai Shi waved his hand and roughly, the two journalists were pushed forward, tumbling between Harry and Nate.

Steadily Elena rose to her feet, but besides that she didn't move an inch. Nicholas quickly ran to the exit, wanting to leave from this nightmare he was forced to live in for a few hours. Cautiously Harry approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

'Least she's not extremely upset with me.' Harry thought seeing as she didn't shake him off. He let it slip down her arm, feeling the goose bumps that had risen on her skin from the coldness (he had insisted she bring a jacket, but she declined) and he gripped her hand before glancing back at Nate and Chloe.

They stared at them, a bit of understanding in their eyes. And Nate seemed… pleased?

'Probably because I'm making certain that she stays safe.'

Without further ado, he quickly hurried off after Danielson; Elena being dragged as if she were actually a lifeless and life size doll. He found the cameraman in the place where they had first been when he had been trying to figure out which way they should go. He briefly checked Elena and let her go, seeing as she seemed lost at what to do.

"We can't leave them." She muttered inaudibly and it took Harry a few to realize she had even spoken. "We have to do something; we can't just leave them, abandon them. It isn't right."

"I know."

"So why are we leaving?" She lifted her dazed gaze to him and walked towards him, watching as he loaded his Desert 5. "What are you doing? … You can't possibly be thinking of taking them all on by yourself?"

"Danielson, you and Elena are going to take that tunnel," Harry pointed to the one he spoke of, "get the get away vehicle into place and as soon as we get it, you're going to step on the gas pedals and drive like you're crazy mad. Understood?"

"No, I'm not letting you go in by yourself. You need to have backup. There's no way you'll be able to take most of them out without getting Nate and Chloe killed. Think about it, Harry." Elena gripped the side of his arms, fisting the smooth leather jacket in her hands. Desperation was pooling out into thick chunks and Harry gazed down at her steadily. "Harry, please."

"I thought you wanted a hero for a boyfriend, love." He joked.

"I never said that!"

He shrugged; "Still wanted one, right? Well here you are, sweetheart, a one time hero. Only for this one time occasion; I'll be playing more villain parts in the future. And besides you don't have a firearm on you. Too risky,"

"But I can get one off of some dead guy. Once you shoot him, of course."

"Elena, sweetheart, we don't really have time to argue. Just do what I say, alright? I'll be the bloody hero and," He faked a shiver, "save the day, a special for today only. Now get going."

Harry shoved her into Nicholas before taking off, jogging down the crumpled tunnel before coming to a halt and hid in the shadows, watching as how Drake had fallen to his knees; face bruised and raw from too many beatings Tai Shi's men had done. Chloe cursed loudly at them, trying to force the man's grip off her and help him.

'It's now or never, mate.'

He aimed and with a smirk, pulled the trigger.

"Why does he even want to kill you anyway, Nate?" Elena asked as the four were settled at the table in her apartment. Harry had caused a panic chaos and Chloe had been able to use that time by shoving her foot back against her captor's kneecaps, causing him to fall and howl in pain. She had nabbed his Mirco-9mm from his belt and took out six others, grabbing one of theirs and tossing it to Nate.

Tai Shi hadn't taken it too well, roaring a high pitch scream and pulled his two 92FS-9mm from his belt and started shooting at Nate, missing him a few inches and soon having to chase after the three down the tunnels. Harry had snuck a grenade to his collection and pulled the pin, tossing it back while yelling 'Here you go' at them.

The get away car was on edge when they had crashed in and Danielson quickly put the gas to the medal, speeding over the speed limit and Harry, Nate, and Chloe would check ever ten seconds to see if anyone was on their trail.

The flight back to America was a silent and grave one, wanting to get away as soon as possible. And once they landed, Nick had informed Elena (if it was alright with her) that he wished to leave for home and take a few days off of work. She even promised to tell their boss about it and call him when she got the chance to do so.

Now the two couples seated across from another; Elena re-bandaging Harry's wound (who insisted it was fine) as Nate held an icepack to his temple and Chloe was lounging about in her chair, taking a few sips of the beer from the reporter's fridge. They sat there in silence even when Elena had finished tended to his shoulder and billions of seconds ticked by before she finally decided to ask Nate the question.

"Like always it has to do with Sully owing money," Nate began and Harry muttered a 'figures that sack of sh-t is involved'. Ignoring him and smiling even when Elena told him to knock it off, he continued; "I told Sully I would help him out this once—"

"You're always helping him out." Chloe corrected.

"… right… well, yeah…" He pressed the icepack closer to his aching forehead. "So seeing as I didn't have enough money of what he owed Tai Shi, I gave him counterfeit money."

"Nate!" Elena's scolding tone came out, eyes shimmering with some unknown emotion.

Harry snickered silently within himself at the pitiful face he gave. He knew if he let it show than the blond would again turn on him, scolding him and (probably) accusing him of doing such actions as well. Never had he ever done such an act, he always made sure to take the offer of the highest bidder. That was how he was signed up to help Zoran Lazarevic; he was willing to give whatever amounts of pay one wished for.

As long as it got him what he wanted; needed.

"Stupid, I know." He smiled sheepishly at her trying to make the atmosphere clearer. "That… and because I… well… uh…"

Nate glanced at Chloe from the corner of his eye before back at Elena and seemed to be begging, within his eyes, not to make him say it aloud; in her presence. She, however, didn't understand what he was getting at.

"Chloe used to be his lover?"

"What?" Chloe released a laugh and shook her head. "Sunshine, I've only heard of him. Never before have I met the fellow until now. Where did you come up with that?"

The two women stared at each other and started to exchange conversation as Nate sulked in his seat and kept slouching further down, almost wanting to melt right into the floor and be gone from this place. Flynn flicked his eyes back and forth between all three of them and suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Something in Drake's body language gave him away and Flynn had caught it.

'You sly little b-----d; you messed with his sister.'Harry coughed to hide his chuckle otherwise he would be interrogated next. Instead he closed his eyes and leaned back, relaxing his muscles from the tension of the passed days that had transpired. It seemed as if it happened all in the same day and he would have believed it had. Just like the event of searching and discovering Shambhala. 'Surprising how fast the time seems to go.'

"Hey," Elena whispered and he felt a small shake of the shoulder jumble him from dreamland.

Yawning, Harry rubbed his face and noticed that both Chloe and Drake weren't in their seats any longer. He turned his attention to the blond and opened his mouth to ask where the two went before she placed a finger on his lips and smiled softly.

"You fell asleep."

He wouldn't deny it; it was true.

"Feel like you'll be able to get back to your place or wanna crash on my couch?" She asked and he turned his body around to glance in her small living room, scanning the couch and its status.

It seemed acceptable for the most part. Almost seemed brand new and comfortable enough to sleep on for the next few hours until the sun rose and brought another day with it. And it was seated right in front of the television set; therefore he could hear whatever he was watching on low volume without fearing of waking Elena up.

Plus he didn't feel up to waking back to his place or trying to catch a cab.

"Think I'll crash here for tonight, love." He sleepily stood to his feet and headed towards the couch. He sat and, kicking off his shoes, laid down and let out a soft 'ah' sound of delight. "Not bad, not bad."

Elena had disappeared and when she returned had a few blankets folded close to her chest and a pillow clutched in one hand. He grabbed the pillow, saying a 'thanks, love' and nestled his head on it, turning his attention to the screen and closed his eyes; hoping to hear Elena's footsteps retreat to her bedroom and that way, he could watch a few shows before going back to sleep.

'What the bloody h—l?'He furrowed his eyebrows and blinked himself awake when he felt something… no… someone clamper onto the couch and press against him (in fear of falling off) and squishing him between the back of the sofa and the being. He opened his eyes next and raised an eyebrow as Elena settled the blanket over them.

"Elena, love, what are you doing?"

She snorted at how innocent he tried to be. "Don't give me that. I saw that look; you were going to watch whatever shows are on while I'm asleep in my bed."

Harry gave a low 'hmm' in response as he closed his eyes, nuzzling her hair and taking in a breath of her scent. Sleep was the only option left considering Elena was exhausted from the days past events too and he wouldn't keep her up from the low buzz of the T.V.

"So, what do you wanna watch until we pass out?"

He opened his eyes again and was greeted by the low glow of the television and grinned.

"Have I told you that I love you, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, yeah." She said and returned his toothy grin. "I love you too."

"Now tell me what you want to watch."

Thanks for reading!

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