Once again: Don't know why this story had been deleted. But here it is again.
UNCHARTED: Delayed
She hated him.
More than that.
Elena Fisher couldn't remember when she ever had been that mad on another person. Probably it even was the first time.
How could Nate do something like that to her? He had promised her. Actually almost sworn to give a lecture on their trip to Shambala at this damn gala – and now? Meanwhile it was after midnight and the left guests of the gala amused themselves on the dance floor or at the buffet of the amphitheatre. The last lecture by some journalist from New Orleans ended over an hour ago and now for most of the visitors it was just about their own amusement. Addresses were changed, red hot news retold and socialized with new contacts. Also Elena had wanted to talk to some reporter colleagues, but with her present condition that was as good as impossible. The risk of losing it, even though she had been asked just a normal question, was big.
Elena's anger got even bigger, as she thought of how she just had stood in front of the huge audience stuttering and her mind had blocked. She had been so mad at Nate that she even had forgotten parts of her lecture.
Elena snorted, before she drained her champagne glass off the reel.
And this damned bastard hadn't even let her know that he wouldn't come! And that even though she had bought him a cell phone on purpose two month ago, so that she could at least contact him when he was again on one of his Indiana Jones trips. But the cell phone could also be ticked now, because the master seemed to not even consider it as necessary to respond to any of her two hundred calls.
As a waiter rushed past her with a tray, Elena changed her empty champagne glass quickly with a new one.
She leaned a bit offside on a pillar and watched the goings-on with a grumpy mien. Everybody seemed to be terribly amused – apart from her.
This awkward performance probably would be tagged on her forever. Elena could imagine how her colleagues badmouthed her behind her back already.
Again hot anger rose inside her and Elena clenched her teeth.
Seemingly it was time to go back to the hotel. Standing around here and being angry wasn't really useful, above all in these goddamn shoes with ten centimeter heels.
With a last look at the crowd Elena pushed off from the pillar and turned round.
Suddenly two strong arms seemed to appear from nowhere, which entwined around her middle. One hand laid on her mouth and hindered her to yell frightened. The champagne glass slipped from Elena's fingers and broke with a loud clangor into thousands and thousands of splinters of glass, as it fell to the ground. Someone dragged her into the deserted front-end floor, which was apart from a few lights as good as pitch-dark.
"Who are you and what did you do to Elena Fisher?", a deep voice murmured into her ear. Elena didn't get around to being surprised about this dopey question, because in this moment her fuses blew.
That was really the worst moment to take her on!
With a jerky head movement she got her mouth free, just to bit her attacker into his fingers brutally after that. With a surprised yell the hold around her became looser, but that didn't satisfy her.
With major effort, Elena could bring up, she stepped onto her attacker's foot.
"Holy crap!", a for her well-known voice cursed Elena turned round to her potential "attacker". Nobody else than Nathan Drake stood opposite to her. With a hangdog face he eyeballed his right hand, where the tracks of Elena's bite were clearly visible.
She gulped heavily.
As Elena realized that Nathan really stood in front of her, the anger returned. With a long step she reached him and gave him a proper slap in the face in addition to that.
"Ah, man", he squinched up his face even more, but didn't bother to shoot a waste slander at her, "I think I'm deserving of that."
Elena breathed heavily with arms akimbo. After the slap in the face she felt a bit better.
"I'm too late, I know", for the first time in this evening he looked her in the eyes, but whatever he had wanted to say, he left it be.
His gaze glided baffled down her body and up again – three times until he furrowed his brow.
"Too late is expressed really nice!", finally Elena found her voice again, "Do you have an idea what you've done to me? I stood there like an idiot in front of those people!"
Nate didn't respond to her charge: "Can you explain to me why you never wear something like that when I'm with you?"
He definitely seemed to be more interested in her night blue evening dress than in her disappointment and his reneged promise. That made Elena even angrier.
"Maybe that's because you're as good as never with me!", she spat furiously before she came back to the topic, "Why didn't you call at least? Did you even just for one moment think about what such a bad lecture may mean for my career?"
Nathan seemed to barely listen to her, because he began to orbit her like a vulture. Elena followed his movement to be able to tell him right in his face how disappointed and angry she was.
"I could be fired!", she went on resentfully, "Bad critic falls back on my boss and if you believe it or not, after the thing in El Dorado he is on bad terms with me anyway. I'm on his blacklist already. This evening today should save my job!"
"Mhm", Nate just made while he eyed up pretty accurately the elegant bun in her neck.
"Gosh darn it, Nate!", Elena hit him unkindly at the shoulder so that he finally looked in her eyes again.
He blinked puzzled: "What?"
Bugged out Elena gave a groan before she turned on her heels and simply abandoned him: "There is no sense in talking to you. I know from the beginning on that that wasn't a good idea!"
"Hey, wait!", Nate ran after her, "Where are you going?"
"Away from you!", Elena shouted back angrily over her shoulder, "Before I'm doing something blindfold, I'll regret later."
"Oh come on, Elena, I'm sorry", Nathan followed her without difficulty, "If you at least listen to why I –"
"I don't want to!", she cut him off, "I know what you want to say anyway. Actually you just wanted to pick up Sullivan in Peru, but there you suddenly discovered any crap, which distrained your attention for days and then…"
Elena stumbled across her own feet and cursed. Roughly she repulsed his hand as he wanted to help her. Vigorously she pulled the pumps off her feet and dashed them to the ground. Without paying any more attention to the shoes she went on. Nathan had to restrain a loud laughter. Because that would have been the worst thing he could do at the moment. So he collected her shoes instead of that and followed her out of the amphitheatre on the street.
Barefooted Elena went on.
"And then you thought well checking it cannot do any harm", she continued her speech, "In Italy there's only waiting the blonde reporter for you, but she will make it without you. She's old enough and even survived a grenade explosion, so she'll surely get this lecture arranged without you. Although you promised her to be there to support her, if her crackbrained reporter colleagues would challenge the story of Shambala."
Elena took a deep breath a few times.
The whole thing seemed to really rattle her cage.
"You wouldn't believe it, but thereabout the thing happened.", Nathan answered therefore extra calm.
Elena flashed him a back-breaking glance before she went on with shaking her head. Her patience seemed to near its end.
Several streaks already loosened out of her bun and hang mazy in her face. Nate smirked diabolic because it wasn't a secret that he loved to make her angry.
"Elena, listen…", he tried it again, but she didn't let him finish speaking.
"Oh go to hell, Drake!", she fizzled angrily.
Suddenly she turned into a hotel and disappeared from his field of vision.
Shorttaken he stayed several seconds in front of the hotel entry. If Elena called him Drake, she was really angry. Up to now it also never happened that she abandoned him during a discussion.
In the next moment Nate shrugged his shoulders and followed Elena into the classy hotel unmoved.
Well, it could have run worse.
"Stop following me", Elena threw a nerved gaze over her shoulder to her chaser.
Nathan Drake slandered after her easy-going, while he amply eyeballed the hotel corridor's furniture, they crossed by now.
"I still got your shoes, Elena", to clarify it Nate raised the black pumps.
"Oh? You can keep them, I don't need them anymore", Elena answered without looking at him. Nate sighed.
Gradually that here got really ridiculous.
"Elena, listen to me just for one moment", Nate tried it for the possibly twentieth time, but the addressed person shook her head decidedly.
"Leave me alone, Drake", quickly she unlocked a hotel room with the number 124, "I'm tired."
Nerved Nate rolled his eyes before he hastily put a foot between wall and hotel door, before that one was closed in his face. Angrily he pushed open the door just to bang it again behind him.
"What gives, Elena?", grumpily Nate stepped into the hotel room while Elena ignored him completely. Well, at least he had made it up into her hotel room.
"Elena?"
The blonde reporter seemed to take a new tactic, because she wasn't a bit responsive to him. With an unheeding mien she let herself down on a little stool in front of a dresser with a mirror and stripped off her earrings.
Fair enough, as she wanted. At least he could finish speaking like that.
"Listen. At first: Yes, I've been in Peru before you have the idea of me having been in another country again", he began and Elena's eyes winced to him for a short time – he saw it in the mirror.
"Anyway, at the day as I wanted to pick up Sully in some godforsaken village in the middle of the jungle, I discovered a stashed temple ruin with writings of the Incas. I don't think that someone else apart from me has been there already in the last thirty years."
Elena sighed and began to loosen the pins out of her bun unhandy, so Nathan went on.
"It looked like a sun temple, you know, the buildings in honor of Inti. There was even a sacrificial stone with some…mh, human remains. Anyway…"
A Moment Nate paused and observed Elena sensing her hair.
"Let. I do it", with a single long step he reached her and began systematically to remove the pins from her bun.
A moment Elena remained in her position before she dropped her arms with a beaten sigh.
Silently she observed Nate in the mirror. He looked very concentrated as he sensed for the pins in her hair and then pulled them out one after another. Elena hat to confess that it would have taken a lot longer, if she would have done the work on her own. Damn, she fell for his line again and again!
"And then?", she asked contritely.
"What?", Nate looked up quickly.
"What happened then?", she mumbled hardly hearable, "At the temple remains?"
"Oh", Nathan nodded and went on with the plot, "Well, I found someone who didn't really belong there. General Wooden of the Army."
Elena frowned irritated: "An American general?"
"Yes. He looked like lying down there for several years", Nate explained, "His passport says that he was born sometime in 1935."
Elena winced back: "You searched through his pockets?"
"Seen such I didn't have a choice.", Nate gave back untouched before he pulled the last pin out of her hair.
"Typical", Elena sighed and just like Nate she eyeballed her freed hair pretty critically, which now fell down on her shoulders unkempt.
"That looks pretty funny", Nate smirked awry and Elena flashed him a displeased glance through the mirror.
Unsuspected he went through her blonde hair with his fingers: "I like your hair like this."
Elena stared at him distraughtly for several seconds before she frowned.
"Don't try to distract me", she upbraided him and Nate drew back his hand with a sigh.
While he rummaged in his trouser pocket, Elena began to brush her hair.
"Well, General Wooden had something really interesting with him", Nate dragged out a silver pendant, he had found, and held it in front of Elena's face.
Abruptly she stopped in her movement and put away the brush.
"What is that?", hesitantly she grabbed for the pendant and Nate gave it to her.
Elena turned it a few times in front of her face: "A sun dial?"
"Have a closer look"
Elena squinted her eyes a bit to be able to catch the symbols on the pendant better. But just a moment later she wide opened her eyes.
"Nate! Have you seen the sign here?", disbelieving she turned round to him and pointed on the symbol, Nate had linked to the sun-god Inti.
He nodded and again had this awry smirk on his lips, with which he always twisted her around his finger: "Yes. It looks like the mark of Inti, just with a sort of sword … or pole."
"You mean … Intis golden pole?", Elena was still totally stunned and examined the little pendant overwhelmed.
"Not for sure, but it may be possible.", Nathan answered slowly, "Of course I have to check that. Sully and me gonna fly back to Peru tomorrow evening to the capital Lima. At the city's library there are all remaining notations of Cusco, Inti's pretended city. If I find something, then only there."
"Ah.", Elena's attention still lay on the pendant.
Nate eyeballed here for several seconds silently.
"I want you to watch over it meanwhile."
Elena blinked and baffled lifted her gaze: "Come again?"
"Peru swarms with cutpurses, Elena.", he explained, "You think, I risk that somebody steals me this pendant?"
"But…"
"Listen, Elena, Sully and me gonna look into this case. You can calmly do your work here and come after then."
"Ehm – Nate?"
"As soon as we got a hint to the whereabouts of Inti's pole –"
"Nate!"
He paused: "What?"
"That will not work."
"What? Why?", Nate was puzzled.
"I'm not gonna be here then anymore.", Elena answered hesitating.
Nathan frowned: "What do you mean?"
"I'm gonna fly to Russia tomorrow because of a new story.", Elena explained slowly, but she didn't come further.
"Which story?", he eyeballed here irritated, "You said, you could cut down in the next weeks."
"It came up just today.", Elena tried it again, "There's an environmental scandal there, maybe a war criminal is involved and …"
"Oh stop! Wait!", Nate raised fending his hands, "Did I hear something about a war criminal? Elena, how long is it ago, that you took Lazarevich on? Half a year? Four month? Do I have to remind you of you almost having paid with your life because of this damn story?"
His eyes lingered on the faded, jagged scar for several moments, which went over her wishbone. His gaze became pained, but Elena didn't notice it.
"It was my decision, Nate!", she gave back and stood up, "And aside from that I haven't been the one to send him to afterlife!"
Nate seemed to search for words, until he shook his head: "Elena, I don't like that. Of all damned countries on this world it has to be Russia?"
"Oh, Nate, come on …"
"No. Did you think about Lazarevich maybe still having followers? People, who know that you were involved in the thing with his death?", he reminded her, "Guys, who want revenge?"
Okay, Elena didn't really think about it, but here it was about a matter of principle. He could down to his whim walk through the most dangerous countries of the world and shoot each others' heads with power-hungry people and she wasn't even allowed to fly to Russia for two weeks because of a midget story alone?
"That's not fair!", Elena countered, "You're constantly vanishing for weeks to countries, where wars are raging and every person wears a gun, but me…"
"I'm just realistic, that's all.", Nate returned riled, "Couldn't this damn story wait for a month? I check the thing with the pole, come back and …"
"How the hell do you imagine that?", Elena spit angrily, "Should I go to my boss and say 'Oh sorry, chief, I can do the story only in a couple of weeks, because Nathan Drake forbade me to enter a plane alone'?"
"Don't exaggerate, Elena."
"No, you are exaggerating!", she shouted back.
Nathan closed his eyes and went through his hair with one hand: "Elena, listen. Give me five days. I swear, then I'm back and go to Russia with you, if you want to do this stupid story at all costs."
"I don't need a babysitter!", Elena went on fussing.
"No, but I … you …", Nate halted, "we …"
"What?", Elena folded her arms and eyeballed him awaiting.
Nathan clenched his teeth.
He had said it never before. He just wasn't the kind of man, who kneeled down in front of a woman.
And Elena knew that.
After several seconds he had found the right words.
"You belong to me and it's my job to protect you.", he explained severely, "Especially if it's about trouble you have because of me."
"I would've had this so called trouble also without you.", Elena answered unheeding, "Lazarevich knew that I followed him."
Nathan shook disapprovingly his head, but Elena tried to stay calm.
"Nate, I'm grown. I can take care of myself."
"No, you can't.", he replied calmly, "And you know that as good as me."
Elena clenched her teeth and baled her hands to fists. Her eyes seemed to be colored dark with rage and gleamed dangerously. Instinctively Nate wanted to take a step back, but Elena suddenly stood right in front of him. Before he even could react, her hand lay in his neck and her lips crashed on his.
Nate didn't know why his fights with Elena always ended up in bed. But he suggested that every other man would have been glad about discussions with a woman ceasing like that.
From outside he heard the morning employees' traffic – probably the window was open. Sunlight had crawled across his body in the past couple of minutes and had finally reached his face. A bit morosely he turned round to the bed and yawned.
Following an impulse he let his right hand fall on the blanket beside him.
"Shit", he mumbled and opened his eyes.
The side of the bed beside him was empty and Elena's blanket was removed. Tiredly Nate sat up and went over his eyes with his hand. With a look at a clock on the nightstand he assessed that it was past eleven already. Searching Nate let his gaze wander through the room, just to discover that Elena's cases were missing. Probably she had left already two hours ago. He thought to remember that her flight went at 9 o'clock.
With a moan he let himself fall back into the pillows.
Don't be worried about it, Nate. Elena is grown. She can take care of herself.
It didn't help to repeat Elena's own words over and over again in his mind. He was worried. More than that. He hated her being that stolid, because she always reminded him on himself. And on how she might feel, when he always did his "acts", how she called them fondly.
A couple of minutes later he stared at the ceiling silently, before he finally picked himself up. Grumbling he browsed a few pockets of his jeans for the cell phone, Elena had bought him. It was turned off, but began to blink wildly as he revived it with pushing the button.
131 absent calls.
"Oops", Nate grimaced, before he searched for a special number in the telephone book.
"And, boy, you're still alive?", the common voice of Sullivan sounded at the other end.
"Funny, Sullivan, really funny", Nate rolled his eyes, "Are you still in Italy?"
"Sure", Sully laughed, "just wanted to make the seafront unsafe"
"Has to wait."
"What?", Sully's laugh abruptly stopped, "Why? Peru's not until tomorrow"
"It's about something else. Peru is unimportant", Nathan explained slowly.
There was silence for several moments.
"You're joking!", Sully sounded everything but glowing.
"No", surly Nathan swept over his forehead with his hand, "I gotta go to Russia"
Instantly there was silence at the other end.
"Are you tired of life!", Sully finally shot at him.
"I fear so", Nate sighed heavily, "It's about Elena."
"Is she in trouble?", Sully immediately became serious.
"Not yet", Nathan got up and began to pick up his clothes from the ground, "She's on the way to Russia, because of a new story."
"Hm-hm", Sully commented the whole thing.
"I don't like that."
"You mean, you worry", his old friend corrected.
"Yes. Of course.", Nate gave back.
He paused, before he added: "… It had almost been to late in Shambala. That … something like that will never happen again."
"Yeah, you were quite a wrack", Sully agreed and seemed to be tangled up in his memories, "Listen, Nate, why didn't you just hold Elena off this reckless idea?"
"I tried! You know how stubborn she can be."
"Did you talk to her seriously?"
"What exactly do you mean with 'seriously'?"
"Well", the snap of a lighter sounded in the line – Sullivan seemed to comfy smoke at the moment, "I mean you finally telling her, what she means to you."
"She knows that.", Nathan answered after several seconds of silence.
"You still didn't act on Chloe's advice, did you?", Sully sounded disapprovingly, "Gosh, boy, I thought you would have learned from the affair in Shambala."
Sighing Nate looked to the ground.
For one moment memories rushed through his head – Elena's face, pale and completely motionless, her blood-soaked clothes, the frazzled wound in her ashy skin.
With a deep breath he shook these pictures off.
"I gotta follow her", he resumed the conversation after a couple of seconds.
Sully seemed to sigh: "Suit yourself, boy. I prepare the engine. At the landing place in one hour?"
"I'll be there", Nate threw his shirt on the bed, "Thanks, Sullivan."
"You own me something", that one just answered and ended the call.
Lost in thought Nathan stared out of the window for a few seconds, before he turned round and went to the bathroom. Pretty ungentle he opened the door – and jumped back with a frightened wheeze.
Nobody else but Elena herself replied his gaze. Thoughtfully she looked at him and drummed with her fingers on the two cases, on which she sat.
"Why the hell are you here?", he exclaimed flabbergasted and breathed heavily.
"Pondering", she seriously answered and his facial expression became even more uncomprehending.
He really seemed to look pretty baffled, because Elena sighed loudly.
"I cancelled the story."
He needed a moment to get the meaning of her words.
"What?", he looked at her unbelievingly.
"I gave it to a fellow.", Elena repeated again, "I just talked to my boss again and explained the affair with Lazarevich to him down to the last cent. He said that my reaction would be understandable. … I think you were right"
"… Okay…?"
"Moreover I didn't want you to worry", she added, "not that you get shot in Peru, cause your thoughts are always somewhere else."
"Oh", that was too much for him, definitely.
Elena had cancelled the story because of him? He could imagine only too well which effort that might have cost her. There's another character they both have: both could hardly confess to be wrong.
"Thanks", he finally said and Elena smiled quickly.
Following a sudden inspiration, he dealt with being far more considerate of her in the future. Often he put himself into a new adventure, without thinking about it even just for one moment.
"You know, Nate …", Elena stood up and folded her arms, "even if you don't say some things aloud, I nevertheless know about them."
Silence.
"I see", was everything, he finally could say.
Suddenly he felt quite easy to see through. Did she know him that good?
"Well …", Elena hauled up her cases groaning out of the small bath and put them in front of the hotel door, "You get ready then?"
Irritated he lifted one eyebrow: "For what?"
"Just because I cancelled the story, doesn't mean that I don't work on a new one.", Elena explained, "Any kook, who happened to come along, brought me a new idea."
"Is that so?"
"Mhm", smirking Elena came towards him and looped her arms around his body, "He maundered something about Inti's golden pole and an American general in a temple ruin"
"Really has to be quite a kook", he replied the smirk and swept a mazy wisp of hair out of her eyes.
"Job", she laid her chin on his chest and replied his gaze.
Several seconds they looked at each other silently. Sometimes it really was eerie how good they understood each other without words.
Nate cursed for the possibly thousandth time that he couldn't just tell her. Something hold him off saying it aloud – a sort of defense, which was fixed deep inside of him. Or he just was a damn coward.
As if Elena had heard his thought, her smirk turned to a smile. It was one of those smiles, he didn't got to see very often, but for which every discussion or fight was worth it.
"I call Sully and tell him that he should get ready for a flight to Peru, instead of Russia.", Elena explained and disengaged herself from him.
He almost groaned frustrated, but didn't held her back.
While he browsed the cupboard in the bathroom for soap, he heard the cell phone ringing next door.
Seemingly Elena had turned on the loud speaker.
"Boy, what is it again?", Sullivan's nerved voice sounded after a while in the line – so she had used his cell phone, "Don't say that you changed your mind, I like that girl, so bring her back!"
"Hi Sully, it's me, Elena."
"What the – oh", Sully was surprised, "Ehm, nice to hear from you, my dear"
"Likewise", Elena answered and appeared with the cell phone in the door case, "Listen, Sully, it's about Nate's plans. We're gonna fly to Peru, not to Russio. If it doesn't cause trouble."
She grimaced smirking and Nate shook his head smiling.
For a moment there was silence at the other end of the line. Then Sully began to curse loudly.
"You gotta be kidding me, damn it!"