*** 4 Years later ***

Samuel Drake found himself bored once more. After his adventure alongside Chloe Frazer and the questionable Nadine Ross, he found himself once again in his dingy little flat with a familiar emptiness. Though he had to admit, teaming up with Nadine rather than fighting her carried a smidgen of satisfaction with it. Just wait until Nathan heard that one, for Sam was sure his little brother would never believe him.

He smiled a little; he needed to call his brother. He missed him very much, but he understood that he had a life now, with his lovely wife Elena. Soon enough he could see them having a baby. Hell, Uncle Sam! Now that would be something. He liked the idea of a niece or nephew, because what was better than to take a kid on an adventure of a lifetime? He would take them everywhere, show them all the things he had discovered, and he would make sure he was the best uncle going.

Sam sat up and dragged his hands down his face, sighing heavily into his palms. What now? He thought. What's the next wild adventure?

His phone began to buzz in his jeans pocket, making him groan and pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Sully." He said, holding the phone to his ear.

"I hear you're back in the States. How was India?" came the old man's gruff, almost sarcastic tone. Sam smirked.

"A crazy ride, old man. Guess who I bumped in to?" he said, his smirk deepening.

"I dread to even think."

"Nadine Ross."

There was a pause. "Be serious now, son."

"Oh, I am. Chloe thought she was the right candidate to help us."

"Son of a bitch. How are you alive? She was intent on killing you six months ago!"

"Her and Chloe are partners now." Sam told him, smiling now. "What a mad world we live in. I can't wait to tell Nate."

"Did you all find the tusk of Ganesh?"

"Oh yeah," he replied, though his toned dipped into annoyance. "The girls want to give it to the Ministry of Culture." He sighed heavily. "I'm waving goodbye to my fortune."

"Get your ass over here," Sully said after a minute. "We can catch up over a drink. Besides, we have business to contend with."

"What kind of business?"

"A friend of mine is in trouble." Sully replied. "You're gonna help her."

"Wait, Sully-" the line went dead. Damn it. He had his own plans to contend with, not that he knew what they were yet. But Sully didn't need to know that. Sam liked working alone mostly; he could think better. Unless it was with his brother, though he knew those days were over. He was content with that. He'd almost lost Nathan more than once in Libertalia; he wasn't going to take that kind of risk again. Nathan had a life, and a perfect one. Sam wasn't going to be the brother who threatened to screw that up again. He made sure of then when he slipped the coins of Avery's treasure into Elena's pocket.

Sitting up, Sam looked out of the window into the murky evening, the world flashing by him without paying him any mind. Though he knew he was safe, the sound of gunshots and men shouting still swam through his mind, and his body ached with his time in India. Asav had been a harsh man, though Rafe had been harsher. It was amazing to think what treasure did to a man, even to go as far as murder. In respect, at least Rafe had had the dream of finding Avery's treasure for years. Asav? Well, he traded the tusk for a bomb to kill thousands of people. Treasure drove people to madness.

Getting to his feet, the gunshots still blasted in his mind as he prayed that this job was not nearly as demanding.

Clad in his favourite outfit of a t-shirt, denim jacket and jeans, Sam found himself at Sully's door. He could have done with his lovely warm bed, snug and dreaming of his next adventure, but instead he was stood outside of his home just on the outskirts of town. The evening was cool, but not too bad, the end of summer and beginning of autumn on the horizon. It was better than the blistering heat of India.

He knocked three times, and after a few moments the polished wooden door opened. Sully grinned at him on the other side, a lit cigar hanging between his teeth.

"You made it here in double time." He said.

Sam shrugged. "Well, yeah. You sounded like there wasn't another option."

"There isn't." he agreed. "Come in."

The two men shuffled inside. Sam had been to Sully's place before. It was a quint, almost like a small museum. It felt warm, wooden beams hanging from the ceiling and the cream walls mounted with framed photographs. Half of them featured Nate, back in his youth, and it made Sam smile. He may have missed the mayhem, but he was glad his little brother got up to no good in all of the right ways.

Sully led him through a small hallway and into the main living area. There was an open fire, and the sofas surrounded it cosily. The T.V. was playing in the background, and the walls were covered in shelved artefacts from over the many years of his treasure hunting. It reminded him of the home he'd explored with Nate back in the day, when they were searching for their mother's journal. Only Sully's was much tidier. It made him feel right at home.

"So what's the problem?" Sam asked as he settled himself into one of the sofas. Sully took the seat opposite him, smiling a somewhat odd smile.

"I'm just waiting for her to arrive." He answered, taking a long drag of his cigar.

"For who to arrive?" Sam pressed. "Another dodgy business deal gone wrong, old man? Need me to clean up the mess." He leaned back, chuckling. "I didn't take you for a desperate man."

"Easy, smart ass. Don't get ahead of yourself." Sully said, raising a brow. "Just a young friend of mine, looking for a point in the right direction."

"Young?" Sam urged, his curiosity sparked. "How young are we talking?" He didn't like where this was going. He could barely work as a team with people his own age, let alone a kid. Kids didn't listen. His future niece or nephew would be one thing in the distant future, but now?

"Well…" Sully began, but a knock at the door interrupted him. Sam stiffened. Oh boy. He stared at Sully as he got up and left the room, eagerly going to answer the door. Sam's heart began to thud loudly, and something in his gut told him he was not going to like this. Moments went by, with mumbling at the door, and an agitated voice flew through the hall and into Sam's ears. They sounded too young for his liking, and very upset.

"Please, Sully, I can't do this without you." The female voice was getting louder now as they walked to the living room. "Don't send me off with some stranger, I need you!"

"You'll be in good hands, kid, I promise."

"Bullshit!"

Sam stared as the new comer entered the room. A young girl, no older than sixteen years old, was staring back at him with teary eyes. Blood had dried on a split lower lip, and her right eye was heavily bruised. She looked dishevelled, her hoody filthy and her jeans ripped, and not in the fashion kind of way. Dark hair was wild and long, sticking to her face with sweat and tears, and suddenly Sam felt he had his work cut out. Her green eyes, greener than any other pair of eyes he had ever seen, were pleading… and angry.

"Riley, this is…" Sully began, but was quickly cut off.

"No, I'd rather do it alone! Just fly me there! You don't need to do anything else! I can do it alone."

"Looks like you're handling things just fine, lovey." Sam said sarcastically, eying up her injuries with a keen eye, curious as to who would do such a thing to no more than a child.

"Shut up!" the girl, Riley, snapped, and turned back to Sully. She tugged on his arm, urging him back towards the door. She was a petite little thing, fragile as a bird, but the fury and fear in her eyes spoke differently. "Sully, please, I'm begging you. It's you or nothing."

"Sam is quite capable of taking care of you." Sully replied, taking her shoulder in reassurance. Am I? Sam hissed in his thoughts. What kind of trouble had this kid gotten in to?

"No!"

"Why?" Sully sounded exasperated.

"Because… because… just because!"

"You're being erratic."

"I'm being careful!"

"You're being a hysterical little girl." Sam muttered, annoyed now. What a waste of time. "No offence, Sully, but I've been insulted by enough women recently, I don't need a kid knocking down my ego, too."

"Yeah, bye, bye." Riley snapped sarcastically, and the bruise around her eye only seemed to turn a darker shade of purple by the minute. She must have really taken a hit.

"Sam, wait." Sully ordered just as Sam got to his feet. "You'll get something out of this. I just need you to guide her somewhere, that's it. What you choose to do after is up to you."

"Guide her where, exactly?" Sam replied, staring at the angry, beaten girl before him. She glared back at him, but judging by the deflating of her stance, she knew she was losing the battle.

"Costa Rica." Sully replied, and waited for Sam to pick up his hint.

"Isn't that near…"

"Yes. I got a lead on it, that way it's a win, win for both of you. Just take her where she needs to go, and you can do the rest."

"You're kidding." Sam grinned. This kid was actually his ticket to yet another gold mine, and all of a sudden he was very excited to catch the next flight out of America. The girl looked like she was about to ask something, but before anything else could be said, the sounds of gunshots began to sound through the building.

And they weren't in Sam's head.

I hope you enjoyed!