Chapter 4

Nathan slowly stirred, groaning, laying still for a few more minutes, trying to assess how he felt. His mind was fuzzy, his stomach hurt, and his muscles were tight. He vaguely recalled being with Flynn...Sully...Keller... He sat up and looked around, the room small but supplied. His duffle bag was at the base of a table, his clothes sitting on the table folded and washed. He saw a bathroom, deciding to take a shower. He looked through the pile, surprised he had most of his clothes. He grabbed a set, and took off for the shower, scoping his ribs as soon as he could look in the mirror. The wound was healing nicely, definitely another scar though. Another few days and the stitches could come out. He grabbed the little bottles of shampoo and soap, jumping in.

When he came out, towel drying his hair, he paused when he saw Flynn in the chair. He didn't say anything, his thoughts trying to flicker, babysitter popping up. "How are you feeling today?" Flynn asked, Nathan picking up a hint of empathy.

"I'm better, I guess. How are you?"

Flynn just looked at him, finally standing up. "I'm wonderful. Are you ready to go talk to Keller?" Nathan shook his head, catching himself. Wide-eyed, he looked back at Flynn, beginning to remember why Flynn had given him a new batch of the serum. "I wish you hadn't done that mate. Hold still."

Nathan felt his muscles lock, his mind battling over listening to Flynn and pushing him away. He needed to listen, cooperate, go talk to Keller...but… Flynn tried sitting him on the bed, Nathan resisting physically. "I can't Flynn, no more!"

"I know pal, I know. But you have too. Just for a little longer. This dose is much less, like we promised. Just take it, let's go talk to Keller, and then we'll get some food and talk. Sound good?" Nathan shook his head, Flynn able to sit him on the bed, pulling his arm straight. Nathan tried relaxing, but his true mentality wanted to come out. He wanted to call Flynn a snake, traitor, worthless mercenary, not even a common ground treasure hunter... "Easy now... There we go. See? Now we're done. We'll wait a few minutes for it to kick in. If you have anything you'd like to say or ask, I suggest you do it now."

"Why Flynn? Why the hell are you doing this? Why are you helping him and tormenting me? I don't like this!"

"I know, I know you don't like it. I'm doing this for Keller, and myself I suppose. I'm getting a nice cut of the riches, and this time I have a good feeling about it. You're a worthy person to work with besides your damn attitude, and take that away, get you focused, like I said, you're fast. At this point, we need fast and efficient. Keller's done playing the run around."

Nathan only nodded, feeling his muscles tingle. "I know I'm fast, but drugging me isn't the answer!"

"That's the way we have to play it. These are the bad guys. The rich bad guys, and we can cut you a nice portion of the profits. You can even share some with Sullivan as an inconvenience for us snagging you. This is better in the long run. No one gets hurt, and everyone wins. All right?"

Nathan felt himself begin to disassociate again. "All right," he muttered, Flynn smiling and standing back up.

"Excellent! Time for boss man."

Nathan slid on his socks and boots, following Flynn to the office. He felt himself beginning to slip, the walls of the hall beginning to pulse, seeming to pull him to Flynn and the room. Flynn finally stopped walking, knocked on a door, entering a moment later, Nathan feeling the sun splash over him from the window. He blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the brightness.

"Please Nathan, have a seat."

Nathan sat across from the dark haired man, avoiding his eyes, remembering last time. "How are you Nathan?"

"I'm fine," he answered, keeping his eyes down.

"So, that book you found... It's quite interesting. Especially how far you went to have it translated. Sorry it's in my possession now."

"I can't help you with it though if you don't let me read it. Sully figured out the rest of it."

A deep, soft chuckle. "Don't worry Nathan, you'll have a chance once we finish finding the meanings behind the book. So, what do we do from here?"

Nathan risked glancing up, caught a bit of the sunlit snow storm swirling in the eyes. He stared, feeling distorted again. "What...what do you mean?"

He kept his eyes straight, Keller's blue beginning to spiral out, little flecks catching bits of the sun. Keller leaned forward. "I think we need to move onto the next stage, where we're going to need your help with the books, so you're going to have to start reading and looking for clues. What I need for you to do, is tell me everything you know about Hitler, and where you think we're going to have to go afterwards. You lightly touched base with it last time, but now I want the full explanation."

Nathan stared at him, seeing Flynn lean forward out of the corner of his eye. Nathan tried looking around, but the colors hurt his eyes. "Look at me Nathan. Tell me what I need to know."

"Ahh, aaahhh, it started...a while ago, really. Just research. Didn't put anything into motion until about three or four weeks ago..."

Nathan couldn't look away from Keller as he explained their journey, the time frame hard, based off he still didn't know what day it was. He felt tears try to leak from his eyes, finally succeeding when he mentioned the painting that was shown to them while in England. He mentioned Cutter's name, catching a small grin crossing the man's face. Nathan had to pause, his heart pounding, a small river coursing his left cheek.

"Mr. Flynn, please, another dosage if you will. Add half of a part of saline to the syringe. He needs just a little more. This emotion needs to go."

"Yes sir."

Nathan sat there, breathing hard, unable to keep track of his heart rate. He heard Keller stand up from the desk, his hands slowly sliding around the silky wood. "Now, now, Mr. Drake. Just calm down. You were doing so well, but I have don't have much patience. You've pushed my buttons long enough, and I have about ten minutes of free reign with you before Flynn comes back. He doesn't know my full extent while working with the serum. Trust me, you're not my first patient."

Keller walked around the window, shutting the blinds, then having another curtain to drop over, submerging the room in darkness. Nathan felt his fear spike, a slow laughter beginning to rise from across the room. "What are you scared of, Drake? What really makes your heart beat?"

A light flashed to his right, Nathan quickly whipping his head as the ball of light seemed to bounce across the room. It disappeared, Nathan feeling trapped, hands gripping the edge of the chair tight. Another light flashed directly in front of him, then back on and off multiple times. Nathan tried bringing his hand up, but something held it down. "No, no, no Mr. Drake. Keep your hands down. Do you hear me?" Nathan nodded, his heart racing. "Good, good. Do you see me?" Nathan shook his head. "Are you scared of me? What I can do?" Suddenly the flashing stopped, little remnants in Nate's vision flying in all directions. "Do you remember where you are?"

"An...an office," He replied faintly.

"How sure of that are you? Are you sure you're not someplace a bit more scary, trapped down in a cell, no lights, no food, not even a bathroom? Nothing more than the little rats pricking at your toes..."

Nathan thought of the cell, felt himself being thrown…. The floor was cold, he couldn't see anything. Suddenly the voice stopped. "Where...where are you?" he called out. "Who are you?" He slowly moved around, feeling a smooth wall. He tripped, falling back onto the floor onto something wet and patchy. He quickly stood back up, panting harder. His balance seemed skewed, causing him to topple over again. "Why am I here? Let me out!"

"No, Nathan... You will never be free."

Nathan sat up, afraid to move. He felt something at his ankle, causing him to kick, another few pricks at his other ankle, rising up his legs, next biting at his hands. He yelled, trying to reach around and caught a bit of something. Maybe he caught one of the rats nipping at him. Something began laughing, ever so slightly close to his ear, maybe behind him. "You are going to remember this lesson in the dark. I will torment you for hours. I look forward to it, if you cross me. You have done well so far, and I hope we continue down this path. You are my pet, and your emotions need to be cut off. Every time a tear slips, think of a rat biting at your finger, at your toe, and that tear better stop. Do you understand?"

Nathan nodded, quick pricks again in his fingers, Nathan responding aloud. "Yes, yes, I understand. Let me go!"

The pricks faded and the blinds began to rise, Nathan panting as he looked around, realizing he was in the office still, never once actually being in the prison cell. Once the blinds were raised, he recognized Keller. "How…did you do that?" He asked, Keller gesturing towards the chair in front of him.

Twirling a short knife between his fingers, the dark haired man only nodded. Nathan tried calming his breathing, sweat dripping down the back of his neck, mouth dry. The door opened, Nathan giving a short yell as Flynn returned, walking over and quickly giving Nathan the shot.

"Carry on," Flynn said, carefully looking Nathan over, noticing the change in demeanor.

"Charles Cutter. Please, continue on."

Nathan didn't remember giving Keller the man's full name. "Yeah, he, explained the painting. Would like to talk sometime. Gave me his number..." Nathan explained the rest of the trip, the drugs beginning to kick in again threefold. He tried not to lose focus, little pricks at his finger and toes. He kept his eyes matched with Keller, soon coming to, "and that's when you first reached out to me."

"Hmmm..." Keller turned around on the chair, Nathan able to let out his breath, flexing and stretching his hands. "What is it with you and artifacts? If it's in a museum, it's to stay there. A bit greedy, don't you think? Taking something for yourself, when it's meant for the public eye?"

"I'm only fascinated with clues. The items had dates that the museum displayed incorrectly. The photo even has a date on it, and the museum said it was three years after it really was taken, and the swastika was five years before what the museum claims. They're trying to make Hitler look worse than he is. He's a horrible person, but history has it wrong."

"You're so fascinating, Drake. I like it. I like you. This is helpful. Here, Flynn and I are chasing our tails like dogs, and you manage to compare a painting, and steal from a museum over a quarter of the world away. Look at you. And you still feel Argentina is the next stop?"

"After I read the book."

A hand slapped on the table, Nathan flinching, bringing his hands up. "Do you feel Argentina is the next stop?"

Nathan carefully brought his hands down, the blue piercing his thoughts, filling his vision as heat rolled over him again. He didn't know. Pin pricks started up his fingers again, Nathan's breathing increasing, dimly hearing something off to the side. A grunt and a slam startled Nathan, the brunette tipping backwards, scrambling from the fallen chair, reaching the wall, Keller's eyes still trapping his attention. The man was furious, slowly making his way closer to Nathan, pausing for a second before striking Nathan across his face, his head hitting the wall hard. He looked back up as a hand wrapped around his neck, the grip constricting. "I said, do you feel Argentina is the next stop?!"

"No! No I don't!" The hand only tightened, Nathan beginning to lose oxygen, his heart beating out of control, he felt pinpricks traveling up his hands and toes, trying not to let the tears fall out, flashing back and forth between the office and the prison.

"Get off of him!" Suddenly the hand was removed, Nathan scrambling away as he tried to catch his breath.

He was stuck. Trapped in a room with two madmen. He tried to bring his emotions back under control, calm his breathing down. He could keep his head straight. Or try to. Solution, not the problem. Suddenly Flynn was in front of him, holding out a hand, Nathan standing up. "Why do you think we shouldn't go to Argentina next?" he asked, Nathan flicking his eyes back to Keller, who had smoothed his hair back down.

"Be, because I don't think the right clues are there. I think there's information there, but not pointing to where we should go next. I have nothing to work with right now. If there's anything, maybe it will be back in Germany, Spain, Denmark, somewhere else! But maybe not. I could be wrong, but I think Argentina is just a waste of money."

Flynn nodded, grabbing Nathan's arm. "Come on, let's go get you some food then. We're done."

Jumpy, they left the room, Nathan's vision a little bit more even. Even with the last dose, he wasn't tripping as bad as he had been. "What did he say to you when I was gone?" Flynn asked quietly, once they were towards the food area. Nathan kept quiet, thinking of another sandwich. "Nathan, what did he say?"

"He doesn't want you to know."

"God damn it Nate, tell me what he did." Nathan lifted his eyes, seeing the green, feeling drawn towards them. "Clearly he's fucking with you. Playing mind games with you. What did he say?"

Nathan looked back down, gritting his teeth. "He reminded me of a place long ago. Somewhere that caused too many fatalities."

"Yeah, care to elaborate?"

"Solitary. Rats. Tears... All to get a stupid piece of wood that sent my partner and I nowhere." Nathan rubbed his hands, Flynn stopping his lead and grabbing the hands, Nathan risking a glance up. Flynn looked like he was trying to be empathetic.

"Look mate, we're not anywhere near there right now. We're here, in this stupid building. Getting some food. He was just using a scare tactic on you. Did he make the room dark or anything?" Nathan nodded. Flynn gave Nathan a quick pat on the back of the hand. "Then maybe he was just recreating the image to assert his authority over you. Did it feel like any of the 'rats' were biting or something? I saw the spilled water on the carpet."

Nathan ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, there was that." He turned away from Flynn, staring at the baseboards of the wall. He needed to be outside and doing something.

"So, he probably used something to imitate rats biting you. I saw his knife on his desk. He put you in a vulnerable state of mind, had me fetch the concoction that clearly wasn't needed, and then I sealed the deal for his psychosis over you when I came back." Nathan turned back, Flynn walking the rest of the way to the meal room. When they arrived, Flynn headed straight towards the couches. "Make your lunch, I'll be watching the tele when you're done."

Nathan made his lunch, same as last time, eating quickly. Flynn approached him as he washed the dishes off. "All right lad, since you just ate, let's go for a nice walk in the park, take a stroll around the pond, then hit the gym to get the strength back up. Can't have you becoming weaker now."

Nathan slowly nodded, wondering if there really was a park on the property with a pond. Catching Nathan's look, Flynn smiled, Nathan able to question, "are you serious?"

"No, Poppy. Though there is a decent area that is good for stretching."

Nathan followed Flynn's lead, taking a few laps around what seemed the back and side of the building, short pine trees lining the parameter, grass and a small pathway being any decoration. The walk was quiet, Nathan using the time to organize his thoughts and really beginning to see the extent of what he was going to have to do. After about twenty minutes, Flynn led him to the gym, Nathan able to change into workout clothes, and started to put himself back together.

He found a style and routine that worked for him, his muscles beginning to loosen up and his head to clear. He momentarily forgot about everything, Flynn finally tapping on his shoulder, showering once more before getting ready to go into the city. "Boss has an assignment for us, and I want to see how well you perform." Nathan simply nodded, keeping his mouth shut. He was feeling more like his old self, and didn't want to be injected with that drug again.

Within an hour they were cruising to the outskirts of the town, Nathan silent as he looked out the windows. "How you feeling, mate? Any tossing of the stomach?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Just as joyful as a young lad on Christmas." The comments cut there, Nate discreetly content knowing Flynn wasn't stoked about the assignment either.

Within another twenty minutes of exiting the town, they pulled up to a small house on the edge of a farm, Flynn motioning for Nathan to come too. They walked up, the house's white paint peeling and chipping, the porch railing wobbling in the breeze. Faded maroon edged the bay window and the doorway as well. The screen door was rickety, seeming to groan on the hinges in tune with the boards under their feet. The simple four steps up seemed like it was ready to fall apart. Flynn gingerly rapped on the door, within a moment an old man appearing. "You lost?" he asked, voice raspy, but light.

"Ah, no sir," Flynn started, the man already turning, Nathan assuming from his accent.

"We're here to ask you some questions." Nathan hoped his lighter, American tone helped bring the man back around.

"Questions? Like what?"

"Well, you were in World War Two, correct?"

The man stared hard at Nathan, then turning to Flynn. "What's it to you?"

"We just have a few questions. We're trying to straighten out a few bits of history, but, we're missing some pieces," Flynn began again. "We were hoping you can help us out."

Christ. Flynn doing public collection work. Keller must be paying him a generous amount.

"An American and a bloke, eh? Well, fine, make it snappy, come on in. Sit down, in the living room."

Flynn looked at Nathan, Nathan unable to read his face. "I'll improvise if I have to, but I don't know why we're here," Nathan muttered close to Flynn as they crossed through the door.

"Leave it to me, Beaver."

"Did you...really? Really? That reference of all things?"

Flynn looked straight at him, eyes growing curious. "What's it to you? Do my mannerisms...upset you princess?"

"No, not at all. Just...ask your questions and get out of here."

Nathan sat quietly, letting Flynn talk with the man. He piped up every now and again, but with small things, not wanting to be held down and poked when they returned to the hideout lair. Flynn mainly questioned about the war, where he was stationed, what division and rescuing he was able to do, where was he when Hitler passed, where his wife was stationed, how she passed, did he have any personals from Hitler, the war in general, what cities or camps specifically, it seemed like the twenty questions never ended.

The man was gruff but polite about every answer. He took the question about his wife the hardest, but answered. "Haven't been married since. We was twenty-six back then. It was long, hard, she was the only one that wrapped her hands around my heart. And let me tell you, those nurses, hot damn of some gals. But not my Dani Mae. She was my everything."

Finally, Nathan coming out with a set of new information, hoping Flynn received what he wanted, they started traveling back to town, Flynn locking the doors. Nathan looked at him, curious. "Mate, I know you're sober, or just about. I would like some warning before you leap out of the car to find your way back to your friend. I'm glad you're feeling back to normal, but, you know."

"Not yet. Come on, I'm not going to bail or anything."

"That's just it though. You're bloody magic! The shit you pull off—your improvising, playing nice with people, even your damn jokes! You're flawless. So, no, I don't trust you with the damn door and you're getting your shot when you get back. I shouldn't have even let you go this long without another dose but I was curious what your system is getting used to."

"What, you think I'm becoming used to it?" I've never done anything in my life beside drink. So, great, I'm getting used to a damn mind control drug.

"Maybe. I like to look at it as immune. After the reactions that you've had with the doses I've given you—poisoning you, I think your body reacted much quicker to the 'virus' that was suddenly in your system. So no, I don't think it's going to take very long for you to overcome it before we end up accidentally killing you."

"Well, since you've almost succeeded once before, at least you know where the bar is now."

"Look, that was an accident. Things have been fair I suppose between us," Flynn was carefully picking his words, Nathan peering over at him. "I'm just saying this whole ordeal could have been avoided if you had routines like a normal person."

"I was caught up in research. Things happen."

Flynn let out a sigh, the two sitting quietly until they were getting close, Flynn taking a deep breath. "So, before Keller notices anything different, I'm going to give you your dose, leave you in your room, try to get you a few books after I fill Keller in, and then we'll have some dinner, and call it a night. How does that sound sweetheart?"

"Whatever you say, Ninny."

"Fine. Fine. Fine, but I'm doing the best that I can with what I've got. Sorry things aren't up to your standards. Have a bit of patience, dip a little bit of tolerance into the cuppa and we'll be good as gold."

Nathan stared at the large, grey, four story building, lights on in various windows. Flynn parked and they walked through the door, two guards opening the doors for them. Flynn led Nathan to another hallway, opening a door that instantly smelled of cleaner. As soon as Nathan shut the door, Flynn looked at him, crossing his arms. "Look, I don't care for the type of person you are. You're a selfish yank that only wants that extra dollar for himself. You don't care what happens or who you screw over. Just wishy-washy oops! For you. As much as I love seeing Keller have his way with you, it's also not fair. Sober yes, drugged, no. You could have run at any time, but the fact that you haven't means something too. So because of that, you're going to cooperate, take the damn shot, and we'll see again about tomorrow."

Nathan watched him make the serum, not thrilled with the goopy stuff from the vial mixing with the saline and other solution. Flynn measured out ten milliliters, the stuff entered and disposed of, Flynn was leading him to his room. Nathan still couldn't grasp the layout of the building. It was always turn here, turn there, left, left, another right, then another left or something. Flynn opened the door, Nathan entering, seeing a stack of books on the table next to his clothes. He walked over, the drugs beginning to flow through his mind.

Please, put your clothes away. We don't house animals. Talk to Mr. Flynn if you require more of anything else. Here are some of the books I mentioned earlier. Certain pages are highlighted, but do what you will.

Nathan flipped through the books, none being anything he's heard of. Mind beginning to break apart though, he fell onto his bed, listening to how his body was reacting to the drug. He wasn't happy about it, but Sully was safe, Flynn had a bit of pity on him, which made Keller the biggest opposition.

~~/\/\/\

Nathan sat next to the window, watching the trees flash by, cities, hills, all of the last week fading behind. They were only a few hours away from Sully's plane. Finally. He was somewhat relaxed, knowing from here it was going to be easy. Get the book translated, sort out their notes, do a little research, maybe even give Cutter a call and see what he could do to help. Nathan glanced at Sully, seeing a book in his hand that he had picked up at the station. Even though everything looked like it was on track for once, he couldn't help but feel that something was wrong, that they got away too easily.

"Relax, kid, we're fine. I know you're getting antsy, but you did just as well getting out to the spot, now we're almost back. Calm down."

"What do you mean? I am relaxed."

Sully actually looked at him, head slightly tilting to the left. "Then why do you keep constantly looking around, counting the chairs, the lights, the squares on the floor, everything? Relax. We're almost to Bristol. You can go run around in a park or something when we get off, but you need to hold tight until then."

"I am relaxed..."

Nathan dug through his bag, picking the book back out, more so for the pictures. He took his journal out, copying some of the sketches into the book, with coordinates and words. The biggest question was where to go after the journal was translated. There are so many countries that Hitler and the Nazi regime had graced with their presence. And where there weren't Germans there were Sovieta. "We need a map," he muttered, listing off the countries he could remember down the side of a page.

"Why's that?"

"Where do you think the next clue would be? We can't be running all over to find this thing. We can't afford that. Hell, we can afford maybe one or two more runs and that's it. I don't want to get screwed over in this."

"Well, there's the stories about some cities in Argentina, but you're right. We can't afford to run all over. I think the book is going to give us the next big clue, and we can cross to that country. I'm sticking with Argentina or Spain."

"Not in Germany though?"

"There can be a few spots, but Berlin was cleaned pretty thoroughly of the Nazi paraphernalia. Anything related to that time was tossed or hidden. Maybe in the jungles of South America, around Argentina and Columbia, and there were some ties to Spain."

"See? We need a map. Those two countries are no where near each other." Nathan tapped his pencil, finally admitting to himself that he was antsy. This was going to be a big deal if they could pull it off. Really, they needed too, so they could pay their bills. Thank god for credit cards. And actually owning my little apartment. Nathan laid his head down on his arms, listening to the soft rumble of the train. Not a lot of people were onboard with them, which was nice. Where are we going with this? How much more time is this going to take? I want to go to Europe. Heading back to the States is a waste of time, but we need it. Can't bribe a translator enough to keep their mouth shut from a sixty year old book. Nathan sat back up, looking back out the window, frustrated.

He finally settled on laying down on the bench, relaxing, drifting off, using an image of the Sir Francis's ring to calm him. He slipped off, remembering when he first found the ring, all the way back in Cartagena… He was sneaking up on Sully, trailing him...lifting the key from his pocket… But the lady, she turned her eyes to him, a blue filled with so much despise.

"You little sea urchin! What do you think you're doing?"

Nathan dropped the wallet, key tight in his hand as he took a step back defensively. "What's it to you?"

Sully turned to him, the lady looking around him, Nathan seeing the hint of a malevolent smile. "Little thief."

"Takes one to know one!" Nathan turned and ran, holding onto the key. If anything, he could drop it in a pot and come back later. He slipped into an alley, listening for heavy footsteps. He heard them, looking for a ladder... He saw the fire escape he often used to dodge the police, jumping up and barely missing the man's grasp.

"Brat, get back here, now!"

Nate focused on jumping from the roofs, landing on shingles and trying not to slide off. The man was right behind him, so close to grabbing his shirt...He jumped across an alley, the man grabbing his wrist, Nate yelling as he swung back and next to a window, trying to kick the glass. He felt his arm being pulled back, Nathan slipping the key into his shoe. He crossed onto the roof, the thirty foot drop disappearing from sight. The man in the green shirt was furious. "Takes one to know one, eh? Give me back that key, now."

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir."

"Look kid, I'm not here to play games. Give me the god damn key right now. Or, I will search you, and I will find it. I'm not someone you want to mess with."

"Then I need your help too. Deal?"

The man laughed. "I'm not accepting help from a kid. Now, give me the key so we both can carry on with our day."

"Aren't you curious about why I want the key in the first place?"

"No, not really. Kid, this is my gig. Move on, find yourself another sucker."

Nathan ripped his arm from the guys fingers, though his fingers had dug in a bit deep. "Then you better search me, and hope I don't jump off this roof instead. I'm just a little thief."

The man laughed. Laughed! "Look, there's a nice lady back there—" Nathan took off, running back onto the main roof, but the man tackled him again, dropping him hard onto the stone. "Dammit kid, I swear to god, I'm not in the mood for murdering young ones."

"I need it! It belongs to my family! Not some stupid crook like you! Screw your bottom dollar market. I'm not getting anything from this!"

Nathan struggled and slipped from his grasp, shocked for a few seconds before he ran towards the end of the roof and slid down a rain pipe, crossing a balcony, finding a quick getaway through an alley and up another home to where an acquaintance lived.

When evening fell, Nathan made his way back to the museum, quickly in through a window and down towards the case with the ring. He had the ring and the decoder in his hands... "Get that boy!"

The man who had chased him earlier, he was quicker than before. He tackled him, rearing to punch Nathan's face…

Nathan sat up, gasping. His hands clawed at the table, trying to clench anything nearby. They caught a book, Nathan grabbing it and bringing it close to him, rubbing his eyes furiously with the other hand. "You okay Nate?"

Nathan looked at Sully through his fingers, flashing between the nightmare and reality. That wasn't how things went down. Far from it. This man had saved his life. "Yeah, yeah. Just... I don't want to go back to South America if I can help it."

"You don't say..."

"When you found me... I haven't been back. We haven't been back. Just thinking...if things went south instead of how they did... Who's to say anywhere in Argentina is a good idea?"

"Don't dwell on it, for once. Let me take control of everything. Don't worry about going to the country, of we even go there. Let's get the book translated first, okay? There's only a little more diatance, and then you can go haywire on my plane. Alright?"

"Yeah, yeah you're right. Just... I'm getting wrapped up in this already. We need the money and I don't want to disappoint you."

"Don't worry. We'll get this. We always have."

Nathan smiled, leaning back and looking out the train windows once again, the evening sun beginning its decent across the horizon. So close, they were so close to being home.

Ha, finally another post. Sorry it took so long. Rewrote this chapter a bit so it flows better. Any who. Happy holidays, can't believe it's already the end of the year. This next chapter I'm also trying to improve. I have like 6 other projects I'm working on right now so forgive me for getting distracted.

Happy hump day!