Journal of a Legend
Nate was sitting at a bar by the beach. He was waiting for his friend Victor Sullivan to arrive. Nate had just heard of a big find from a contact in Russia. Sully was late as usual, probably flirting with some bikini babe. Nate was anxious to tell Sully about this find. After a few minutes Sully finally showed up. He sat on the bar stool and lit a cigar.
"What took you so long?"Nate asked. "I was chatting to a lady, I got her number, and besides I wasn't that long, it only took five minutes."Sully explained. "She'll tell you that in the bedroom later."Nate Joked as Sully chuckled. "So anyway Nate what's this big find you've been etching to tell me about?" Sully asked. "Okay, see my contact in Moscow told me about an artifact that the Russian Government had locked up in their archives." Nate explained. "Wait what? You want to break into the Russian archive? What artifact is worth ten years in a Russian prison?"Sully asked. "Well Sully if you would let me explain."Nate snapped. "Sorry "Sully said. "Boris was snooping around the Russian archive and saw the journal of the great Henry Jones Junior." Nate said. "Who the hell is Henry Jones Junior?" Sully asked. "You know, Indiana Jones, the archaeologist from the thirties who found several noteworthy treasures." Nate explained. "Oh that guy. But Nate is it really worth going all the way to Moscow to steal this diary? You don't even know if he kept all the information in there." Sully reasoned. "Firstly Sully, it's a journal not a diary. And secondly I'm definitely going, are you in or not?"Nate asked. "No, this is way too dangerous. I'm not breaking into a government agency for some mangy old book." Sully said. "Suit yourself then."
Nate flew out to Russia the next day. Boris would be the only help he would get. It was a long flight but Nate eventually landed in Moscow. As he got out the plane there was snow everywhere. As Nate was leaving the airport he saw Boris with a sign saying MR DRAKE. Boris briefed him on the archive and what things to avoid. Nate spent the rest of the day resting in Boris's flat preparing for the long night ahead of him.
At 1:00am Nate arrived at the archive. He was dressed in all black and had a headset with Boris on the other end. Nate climbed over a gate and then crouched behind some boxes. He listened for the footsteps of guards. Nate peeked and there were no guards in sight. Nate then snuck over to a vent and went inside. He had Boris telling him the way to the room with the Journal. Nate was slightly nervous, although Nate had a bit of experience in stealth; it still wasn't his strong suit. Nate then reached the room. He looked out the vent for guards, no sign of one. Nate then exited the vent and went up to the safe. He stuck his ear against the door and slowly turned the knob to get the right combination. As he opened the safe there were tons of old books. But Nate had only come for one.
He found it; it was a brown leather book with the signature Indiana Jones. There was also a tag on it with the Russian federation logo. Just as Nate closed the safe he heard a gun cock and felt cold metal against his head. He then heard the voice of a posh English woman. "Hand over the book."She demanded. Nate gave her the book then turned around to see a dark haired woman in a sleek cat suit; it was none other than Lara Croft. Though the two never met formally they both knew of each other. "Come on aren't you gonna buy me dinner first?"Nate joked. She rolled her eyes clearly not finding it funny.
"At least introduce yourself." Nate said. "Why, I already know who you are Mr. Drake and you certainly know who I am."Lara said. "True, but we were never formally introduced. Hi I'm Nathan Drake, but my friends call me Nate." Nate said. "I really don't have time for this." Lara said. "Come on Lara, I thought you British people had manners." Nate said, but this only angered Lara. "Firstly you address me as Lady Croft, only my friends call me Lara. And How dare you say I don't have manners you stupid American." Lara shouted.
But then two guards stormed in shouting in Russian. Ah crap Nate thought to himself. "Look what you've done now you bloody idiot!" Lara shouted. Lara then began speaking in Russian. He had no idea what they were saying but then one grabbed Nate while the other began shouting in Russian. Lara began to run away but Nate wouldn't allow it. "Hey look she's getting Away!"Nate shouted and pointed at her. One then pulled a gun out and pointed it at Lara. Nate then elbowed the guard in the stomach and slammed his head against the wall to knock him out. Lara knocked out the other guard. Nate then tackled Lara. "Get off me!" She demanded. "Not without the journal."Nate retaliated. She punched him in the stomach pushed him off and then ran for the vent. But she dropped a Hilton Hotel key.
Nate then made for the vent but she was long gone. Once Nate returned to the apartment Boris was furious. "You idiot those guards could of killed you? What the hell were you thinking?" Boris shouted. "Well Boris she had the journal so I had to think of something to stop her from getting away." Nate explained. "So you think alerting the guards would help? You would have had a better chance just chasing her! " Boris shouted. "Well no because I know where she's staying."Nate said as he produced the room key. "You lucky little devil." Boris said surprised. "Only problem is, I don't know the room number." Nate said. "No problem, I can find out with this scanner." Boris said as he scanned the card.
Nate changed into his street clothes and went to the Hilton. As Nate entered the Hilton he ignored the moody receptionist and went straight to the elevator. He quickly checked his watch, 3:15 am. He got off at the 15th floor and headed for Lara's room, which happened to be a big suite. As he entered the room he listened for signs of sleeping. He heard heavy breathing meaning he was safe. The suite had a bedroom and a lounge room. Nate just hoped the journal wasn't in the bedroom. Nate spent 15 minutes searching with no luck. Where did she hide it, Nate thought to himself. He sat on the couch trying to think where else it might be. Nate then saw a bronze box under the chest of drawers. He opened it and the book was there. Nate took the book and replaced it with the hotel bible he found in a drawer. Nate left the room with relief knowing he had the journal and Lara hopefully wouldn't notice. But even if she did, she couldn't track him.
Lara had returned from Russia and entered Croft Manor. She greeted Zip with a big smile on her face. "Shall I take your bags upstairs Lady Croft?" Winston asked. "Not just yet Winston, I need to get something out first."Lara replied. "Very well Lady Croft. Is there anything else I can do for you?"Winston asked. "A cup of tea would be great."Lara said. "Very well Lady Croft." Winston said as he walked into the kitchen. "So I'm guessing you got the book judging by your face."Zip said. "Of course I got it, haven't you learnt I always got the artifact Zip?" Lara asked rhetorically. "Okay lets' see it then." Said Zip. "Not very patient are we Zip? I haven't gotten a chance to read the book myself actually. I didn't get a chance after the ruckus that buffoon Drake caused. But fine, it's in my case." Lara said.
Lara opened her case and looked around a bit before pulling out a bronze box. She handed the box to Zip. Zip opened the box and pulled a brown book, but when Zip read the book a confused look went on his face. "What's that face for Zip?" Lara asked. "You know this is a bible right?" Zip said. "What? That can be right, let me see it." Lara demanded as Zip handed the book over. Lara read the book and it was indeed a bible. Lara then got very angry. "How is this possible? I definitely put the journal in the box. Why is there a hotel bible in here?" Lara shouted. "Maybe you were so tired you put the wrong book into the box." Zip suggested. "No, I know I put the right book in there, unless someone snuck into my room that night." Lara Said. "Huh?" Zip said confused. "Remember I lost my room key, Mr. Drake clearly pick pocketed me when he tackled me. He then used the key to find my hotel, how he found my room, I don't know. I clearly underestimated him. Zip I need you to find the address of Nathan Drake." Lara ordered.
"Uh I'm going to need more than just Nathan Drake." Zip said. "He's American." Lara replied. "Again I'm gonna need more than Nathan Drake in America, there could be thousands of Nathan Drakes in one state alone. "Fine, he didn't sound southern or New York, so that leaves the whole of the Midwest and east coast, try Missouri." Lara said. Zip opened his Laptop and began typing. "Zero results." Zip said. "Well I can't guess every state into we find him. You don't know another way?" Lara asked. "Well it would help if you could give me a news article, isn't this guy mentioned in the archaeologist community?" Zip asked. "Well he supposedly found El Dorado but he conveniently lost the statue. He also found Shambala which was also conveniently destroyed. He also claimed to find Iram of the pillars, which was-"Lara was interrupted. "Conveniently destroyed? Well I'll Google those several things and see where I can go from there. I'll let you know if I find anything."Zip said.
Lara waited anxiously for Zips response. An eternity seemed to pass when Zip finally called Lara over. "Los Angeles California." Zip said. "Are you sure that's the right one?" Lara asked. "Positive. Any way I'll send you a PDF of all of Drakes information, you've got a flight to LA to catch." Zip said. "I don't want to show up straight away Zip, He'll expect that, I need to wait a few days before I paying him a visit. Zip I need you to hack his emails so I can get an idea of his schedule. I don't want to get caught after all."
As soon as Nate had gotten back to his apartment he spent hours reading through the journal. It was amazing the stuff that Dr. Jones had written. Nate then got a text from Sully asking about the book. He arranged Sully to meet him later at his apartment. He didn't want to bring the book out in public, too risky.
Sully arrived a couple hours later. "So Nate let's see this journal that you broke into the Russian archives to get." Sully said. Nate got out the book and handed it to Sully. Sully flicked through with much disappointment. "Nate this is just a ten year old kid doing bad sketches, why did you bother to steal this?" Sully asked. "No sully that's just the first few pages, he had this journal since he was eight years old. There are all sorts of places he saw that you wouldn't believe. Skip ahead a few pages." Nate said as Sully flicked through a few more pages. "I dunno Nate. These are still a bunch of dumb pictures. Hey is that Pancho Villa?"Sully asked. "Yep, he met all sorts of famous figures. You have to read through it a few times but there is gold in there."Nate explained. "Well have you found any good leads?" Sully asked. "Just one, but it's a big one, the Holy Grail. I'm not one hundred percent sure how to find it, but it's got directions from the city of Alexandretta."Nate said. "Alexandretta, never heard of it, is this city still around?" Sully asked. "I dunno, I'm gonna need to research this a bit more, but I'm sure I can dig up something." Nate said.
"Also, how is it that you stole this journal from the Lara Croft?" Sully asked. Nate explained what happened to Sully. "Wow, so you just tackled her? And she didn't kill you after." Sully asked. "Yep, I think she was too concerned with escaping to care, lucky for me she dropped her room key." Nate said. "You're lucky Nate, that woman is hot headed, you don't want to piss her off." Sully explained. "Wait how do you know, have you met her?" Nate asked. "I met her a couple of years back. You declined this job because you were busy with Elena. Anyway we both wanted a red ruby and I got to it first. But the fire in her eyes made me just let her have it. And don't flirt with her kid. That only makes her madder. You should be careful; she might track you in a few days and come to take back the journal." Sully warned Nate. "Oh come on how's she going to track me? She doesn't know me or where I live. For all she knows I'm Canadian, Brits can't tell the difference just ask Charlie." Nate said. "I'm just warning kid, don't underestimate her." Sully warned Nate once more.
It had been a couple of weeks and Nate had not gotten very far. While Nate had found out that Alexandretta was the old name for Iskenderun in Turkey, Nate couldn't read the writing of the map. Dr. Jones's dad had terrible handwriting. And the map was messily drawn too so Nate still had a lot of work to do. Nate was fresh out of coffee so he needed to get some more if he was ever going to decipher this map. Nate also needed a break from his apartment as he'd been in there way too long.
As Nate was walking back from the grocery store he saw a woman in the distance. Nate looked at her but she ducked behind a dumpster. "That was weird." Nate said out loud. As he continued walking he saw the woman's reflection in the shop window. Who was this strange woman and why was she following Nate. The woman appeared to be a tourist judging by her outfit. She was dressed in a white summer dress, oversized sunglasses and a straw hat. She clearly wasn't from around here as local Californians don't wear summer clothes at this time of year. Nate then decided to go through a busy street in order to lose this mystery woman. As Nate exited the busy street he looked around and the woman was gone. He went back to his apartment to assess the situation.
Lara had arrived in Los Angeles last week. But Natee hadn't been using his email much so she couldn't determine much of his schedule. After a week of no emails, Lara decided to start tailing him. He didn't leave his apartment much but when he did it was always for menial things such as grocery shopping. After a week of tailing Lara still had no luck. As Nate was returning home from yet another grocery trip, he turned around and spotted Lara. She quickly ducked behind the nearest dumpster. She counted to ten before continuing to tail him. Nate then started rushing and then went into a busy street. Lara tried to keep up but once he went into the busy street, Lara couldn't see him. Another day of no results Lara sighed. Lara hoped Nate didn't recognize her when she was spotted. She was wearing a disguise. She was dressed in a white summer dress, a straw hat and those oversized sunglasses that movie stars wear. Lara hated dressing so girly but if she wore her regular clothes Nate would recognize her in a heartbeat. Lara doubted her disguise though. All the other women were wearing Jeans and coats. some were even wearing wooly scarves and hats. How people could wear such warm clothes in such warm weather was beyond her.
Lara went back to her Hotel to Skype Zip and to tell him of any updates. She was hoping he would have more updates than her but judging by the past two weeks he probably had none. Lara opened her laptop and called Zip. "Anything new Zip, I could really use something." Lara asked. "Sadly no, I guess you found nothing either?" Zip asked. "No, but he did spot me before." Lara said. "What? Did he walk up to you or anything? Please tell me he didn't recognize you." Zip said slightly panicky. "I hope he didn't, I've been wearing this bloody disguise. I look like a bloody movie star." Lara said. "Or a Kardashian." Zip said. "A kard what?" Lara asked. "A Kardashian, they're America's latest reality TV family, although, a Kardashian probably wouldn't dress so tourist like." Zip said. "What do you mean by tourist like?" Lara asked. "I mean no local dresses so summery at this time of year." Zip explained. "But it's so hot; I don't know how everyone isn't dropping their body weight in sweat." Lara replied. "To you it's hot, to a Californian its cold. Anyway this whole tailing thing is a waste of time, just sneak into his apartment when he's out. You're getting nowhere with this tailing." Zip said. "Look Zip, I don't want to just storm in there, what if he's also there. And he could come back at any moment we need to plan this." Lara said. "How about you just hang around his apartment until he exits, then you go in there, take the book and go out. Just think about it.
Nate left his apartment for a stroll. All of this research was doing his head in and he needed some fresh air. As Nate left his apartment building he saw her again. That strange woman from yesterday was sitting on a bench opposite the building. She had a newspaper open but there was no way she was reading it. This woman was clearly spying on Nate. What did she want with him? Maybe she was an FBI agent investigating his neighbor mister Gupta. Nah, an FBI agent wouldn't be so careless, nor would she tail Nate. Maybe she was from the Russian federation and they caught his face on camera. If she was Russian then she'd have an accent. Nate decided he should confront her and see what she wants.
Lara saw Nate leave his apartment and disappear around a corner. Zip was right, all this waiting was pointless, so she decided to just go into his apartment and hope for the best. "Zip, I'm going in" Lara said to Zip through her headset. She entered the building and walked up several flights of stairs to Nate's apartment. Just as she reached the apartment she realized she'd forgotten her lock picking tools and there was no way she could enter his apartment without raising attention. Then Lara felt a tap on her shoulder and heard a voice. "Excuse miss are you lost?" It was Nate. Lara's heart began racing, how could she be so stupid as to get caught twice. She put on a terrible American accent. "Uh, no dude, I must be like in the wrong building." She said hoping he'd buy it. "Yes you clearly are." Nate said looking confused. "I'm like totally sorry dude. I'll split now. There is some gnarly wave's man." Lara said rushing off. "Okay then."Nate said in further confusion.
"Lara that is the worst American accent I've ever heard. Could you be more stereotypical?" Zip said. "I'm sorry Zip, but I didn't want him to recognize me and my accent would be a dead giveaway."Lara replied. "Come on, I've heard Mexicans do better American accents. You speak a dozen languages couldn't you pretend to be foreign and not know English?"Zip asked. "Sorry Zip I panicked. It's not like you gave me any advice, if I didn't say anything he would gotten suspicious."Lara said. "And it's not suspicious for a tourist with a terrible valley girl accent to be wandering around an apartment building."Zip said. "Look I know that accent was a bad idea, but it was all I could think of. Anyway Zip, I think I have another idea."Lara said. "What is it this time?"Zip asked. "Okay, you send him an email telling him to meet you at the other end of town." "Huh?" Zip asked. "Send him an email from one of your fake accounts saying you have some important information and to meet you in Chino, and sign it Doctor X. Then I'll sneak into his apartment once he leaves and take the book. Then once I'm back in my hotel room tell him you had to cancel."Lara explained. "Alright Lara, it might not work, but we got nothing to lose so I'll send the email." Zip said.
Nate called Sully as soon as he entered his apartment. "Hey kid what's up?" Sully asked. "That strange woman just tried to sneak into my apartment." "What?" Sully asked confused. "But it gets weirder. I spoke to her and she put on this terrible valley girl accent, whoever this woman is she's not American." Nate said. "Maybe she's with the Russian government and wants that book back."Sully suggested. "That would explain the terrible accent." "Damn it kid, I told you not to mess with the Russian government." Sully said. Then there was a beep. "What was that? Sully asked. "An email, dear Mr. Drake, I have important information blah blah blah, please meet me in chino 5pm today signed Doctor X. Someone clearly wants me out my apartment. But Doctor X, I mean really." Nate said.
"Look kid I'll help you out, but if an army of Russian soldiers swarm us we'll have to surrender." Sully said. "Well I think they're just sending this one woman. Sully can you come over, but be sure to enter through the alley so she doesn't see you." Nate asked. "Sure kid." Nate had it all planned. Nate went outside his apartment at 4pm; he could see the woman in the distance. He then went back into his apartment through the back entrance. "Okay, She'll be coming in at any second, distract her as long as you can." Nate explained. "Got it." Sully said. Nate then went back into his apartment and turned all the lights off then hid by the bookshelf. After 10 minutes Sully called Nate quickly. "Alright kid she's coming your way, when I spoke to her she claimed to not know English as she spoke a foreign language."Sully explained. "Was it Russian?" Nate asked. "I don't know but we don't have time, I gotta go, stay hidden." Sully said hanging up.
The woman entered the apartment; she started looking through drawers when Nate turned on the light. "Looking for this?" Nate said while holding the journal with a smirk. The woman then faced Nate. "Lara Croft, I should've known, though your disguise did have me going." "So you think I blended in?" Lara asked. "No not at all, you look like a tourist; no one dresses like that at this time of year. You just don't usually dress that girly, and that valley girl accent, just awful."Nate said. "Enough of your banter, just give me the bloody book!" Lara ordered him. "No thanks, I worked hard to get this. They're not just handing these out for free you know." Nate joked. "You only want it so you can grave rob some poor people. Now give it to me you dim-witted thief." Lara demanded.
"Dim-witted thief, you think you're any better than me?" Nate asked beginning to get mad. "As a matter of fact I do. You just want to steal from dead people and make a profit from it." Lara said. "That's exactly what you do, except you just keep the treasures for yourself. I wish I could keep some relics, but I don't have a trust fund to dip into."Nate retaliated "How dare you compare me to you?"Lara shouted. "We're the same Lara; the only difference between us is I have to make a living, whereas you've had all your money given to you by your rich family!" Nate shouted back. "You're just jealous that I have loads of money and you don't!" Lara yelled. "Yes I am jealous, as is everyone else in the world that has to work hard to make ends meet! You can just travel the world all you want and don't have to give a shit about an impatient landlord!" Nate shouted. "Yes I may have money but I lost my family in return! I would trade all of my fortune just to see my parents again! But you wouldn't care as you still have your lovely parents!"Lara screamed.
"Actually I don't, when I was five my Mom killed herself and my dad put me in an orphanage. I never got to know my parents."Nate said calmly. Nate couldn't believe he just told her that. He never told anyone that before. Not even Sully. Lara's expression changed from that of anger to sorrow. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know. My mother did die when I was fairly young but I always had my father. He died when I was older, but I still got to know him. It must've been awful growing up in an orphanage with no family." Lara said apologetically. "Its fine, just don't make assumptions about people."Nate said cynically. "Look Nathan, you can keep the journal. It would just end up in a display case collecting dust." Lara said. She then got out a check book. "Also here. sorry about you never knowing your father." Lara said as she handed him a check. She then left his apartment.
Nate couldn't believe what had just happened. He shared his darkest secret with Lara Croft a woman he had only just met, and she gave him a check. There wasn't enough to retire, but there was enough to so he could take it easy for a while. Sully then came into his apartment a few minutes later.
"Kid what the hell happened, I heard screaming from the lobby?"Sully asked. Nate told him what had just happened leaving out the part where he spilled his secret. "Wow so she just gave up the book and wrote you a check? That's crazy."Sully said. "I know, I still can't believe it. I guess she felt bad that when I went home empty handed I had even larger debt than to begin with." Nate said. "Who knew Lara Croft had a heart of gold?" Sully asked. "Anyway after all this sneaking and screaming I could do with a break."Nate said tiredly. "You wanna watch the Lakers game? They're playing the Nicks." Sully asked. "Sure I'll get some beers from the fridge."Nate said. As Nate brought two beers Sully lit a cigar. "Oh come on Sully you're not smoking that thing in here." Nate moaned. "Nate you know I can't watch a game without my cigar." Sully moaned back. "My neighbors complained last time you smoked one of those. They said they'd get the landlord next time."Nate said. "Well I'll talk to the landlord then." Sully said. "He's quite stubborn Sully. You don't want to get on his bad said. Bob said he keeps a tomahawk in the basement for scalping bad tenants" Nate joked and they both chuckled. They both fell asleep during the game. It had been a long day.
Lara got back to her Hotel room and told Zip what happened. "So after all of that effort you're just letting him have the book?"Zip asked confused. "Yes Zip, he needed it more than I did."Lara said. "But Lara, we worked our asses off; you're really going to go home with nothing?" Zip asked still confused. "Look Zip, Nathan has had a tough life. I always spent time with my dad growing up and he never had that option. And I would just put that book in a case where it would never see the light of day." Lara explained. "Whatever, are you leaving for LAX now?" Zip asked. "Soon, I'm just going to checkout then I'll be on my way.
After several more weeks, Nate decided the Holy Grail was way too dangerous in the wrong hands. And he still couldn't decipher Henry Jones Seniors map. After looking through several other pages of the journal he found no other leads to treasure. Nate then put the journal in a safe deposit box. His apartment was not a safe place for it.
Fin-