CHAPTER 13
Drake decided that before they left the hotel that night he wanted to speak with Miranda for reasons he couldn't quite decide on.
"I'm fine, Nate. Nadia and I have just opened back up for tourists and it gets pretty busy. I miss New York, but I guess that will have to wait until you guys return. How are things in Italy anyway?"
"Well, we think we know where to find the sword." Drake said, sitting down on a small stone bench. He had decided to take the call at a nearby park so as not to disturb Flynn or Sully.
"Well that's great! Where is it?"
"The Roman Forum, at the Temple Divus Julius."
"Makes perfect sense actually. You guys are making great progress. How long do you think it will take to get back?"
"Not long." Drake said, getting up and walking around more. He was finding it difficult to keep still. "Van Meer is here though." That was the bombshell, and not to his surprise, Miranda fell silent. When she spoke again, her voice was noticeably hushed
"He lived through the attack?"
"So did Kroonen and Ambessa."
Miranda was silent again, and Drake tried to listen to see if she was crying. He still couldn't figure out what his reason was for calling her. After almost a full minute of silence, however, he could hardly stand it.
"Miranda, I don't know if I can do this."
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't know. It's just… After Vincent… there is so much that's happened. All my life, this is all I do. I lose so many people who are so important to me. But I've lost track of it all. I forgot why I ever started treasure hunting to begin with. Now all I do is work for low-life criminals and then end up running for my life while screwing them over or getting screwed over by them. At this point, I just want to leave. I just want to forget about all of this. Is that bad?"
"Of course it's not bad." Miranda said, and Drake could now hear the tenderness of her voice, an almost soft motherly tone. But there was something else in her voice that made him think she was fighting off tears. He was also beginning to tear up, but he defiantly wiped the wetness away. Now was not the time. "Nate, it is perfectly normal to want to turn and run away. Your life is in danger. Your friend's lives are in danger. I want you all back here; I want us all to be safe. I want you to leave all of this behind you and come back. But I know that deep down that's not what you want. Have you ever given up before?"
"Yeah…" Drake said, his mind wandering back to just a few months ago when he had given up, not on a job but on someone he loved.
"And how did that make you feel?"
"It was the worst decision of my life." Drake said, now settling to sit on the grass under a tree. There was no point in wiping away his tears anymore.
"So then I think you know what to do."
Drake nodded, but remembered Miranda couldn't see him.
"Yeah, I know. Thank you, Miranda."
"No problem. I'll see you soon. Oh, and Nate?"
"Yeah?"
"Give 'em hell for me, ok?"
"Sure thing."
Drake heard a click as Miranda hung up and he slipped his phone back into his pocket. He sat for at least fifteen minutes under the tree, staring at the sky deep in thought. The sun was setting and the sky was a deep purple color. How many sunsets had he stared at, lost in thought as he prepared for a job? Too many.
Drake stood up and walked back to the hotel, wiping away the tears from his face. He looked up, his eyes burning with determination. All doubt was now gone, and he was ready for what lay before him.
That night, as Sully parked the rental car on the same street as he had before, there was a general air of nervousness. Drake, Sully, and Flynn were armed, but not as well as they would like to be. They were wearing street clothes and had a pistol with four extra clips each. Drake was also carrying a pack with several tools such as rope and flashlights.
The group had decided that the best route to take would be over the same apartment that Flynn and Drake had been on top of earlier. They would use this vantage point to check out van Meer's camp then lower themselves into the Roman Forum. There was a long walk into the central part of the excavation area, but the shadowy darkness made it a far more effective plan than just strolling into the open forum.
When they had reached the top of the apartment, Drake pulled out his binoculars and examined the excavation camp. It was well lit and several soldiers were still patrolling the tents. However, none of the soldiers were leaving the radius of the central camp, keeping the outskirts of the Forum not only dark, but remarkably secluded. Even better, van Meer, Kroonen, and Ambessa were nowhere to be seen.
"Ready?" Drake asked, looking at Flynn and Sully. They both nodded and made their way to the edge of the apartment roof. Drake secured the rope and clipped it to the carbineer that was hooked on his belt. He quickly rappelled down the side of the building and over the small fence that would have blocked their way had they gone through the alleyway. Sully and Flynn followed him and they regrouped near the fence. They found themselves amidst a small grove of olive trees not far from the Lacus Curtius. Van Meer's camp was far off to the side, nearby the Basilica of Maxentius.
"Ok, so the Temple is part of the Regia, which is a triangle formed by the Temple of Vesta, the Temple of Divus Julius and the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. The Temple of Antoninus is the large one in the back. The Temple of Vesta is right there, with its re-erected columns." Drake explained, pointing out each of the landmarks. "And that low one is the Temple of Divus Julius." He finished, pointing to a small cluster of walls that was the closest structure to them.
"We are much closer to van Meer's camp then I'm comfortable with." Sully muttered as he looked through the binoculars at the soldiers.
"We'll be fine." Drake reassured him. "Let's go."
Silently, they started creeping along the Forum with weapons in hand. Drake was thankful that the moon provided enough light to avoid obstacles but not enough to expose them. Thus far, everything was going better than expected. This caused him to tense up and be especially on edge.
They soon reached the small, crumbling walls of the Temple Divus Julius and the group took cover to regroup and make a plan.
"Alright, so far so good." Drake whispered, looking around the ruins. "Now, this is the hard part. We have to find something, anything, that might point us in the right direction."
"I'm not gonna lie, Nate. This place is a goddam trash heap. And small too." Sully said, lighting a cigar as he inspected the ruins. "I can't imagine that archaeologists didn't find the sword already."
"Well it must be very well hidden." Drake said as he looked over the wall to van Meer's camp. "And besides, there is always the possibility that we are just going to find another hint to the sword's true location."
"I sure as bloody hell hope not!" Flynn said angrily. "I'm sick of running around looking for this thing. If we can't find it here I say we go home."
"Yeah, nice try Flynn." Drake said absently. "Listen, if you really don't want to help us look around, you can get the easy job. Stand over near the front of the Temple and signal us if any soldiers are coming over, ok?"
"Better than getting all frustrated looking for something we won't find." He grumbled, walking over to one of the front walls, crouching behind it but keeping his head poked over.
"His attitude is really beginning to piss me off." Sully said, glaring at Flynn.
"Leave him alone, Sully." Drake said, turning around to examine the Temple's walls. "Let's just focus on finding this sword."
Drake walked around the Temple for several minutes, inspecting the walls and floor for any signs that might help him. He couldn't find any, and eventually came upon the altar of the Temple. The altar was actually not there, but a small mound with flowers was in its place. The small mound was under a makeshift roof that had been constructed to protect it from the weather, and a railing surrounded the area to protect it from curious trespassers. A small plaque written in Italian read "Ara di Cesare... deposero la spoglia di Cesare nel foro. La dove e l'antica reggia dei Romani, e vi accumularono sopra tavole, sedili e quanto altro legname era li... accese po il fuoco e tutto il popolo assistette al rogo durante la notte. In quel luogo venne eretta dapprima un'ara, oro vi e il tempio dello stesso Cesare, nel quale egli e onorato come un dio."
"What does it mean?" Sully asked, appearing behind him. Drake quickly looked over the plaque again and translated.
"Altar of Caesar ... they laid the remains of Caesar in the forum. Where it was the ancient palace of the Romans, we piled on tables, seats, and more lumber there ... lighted some fire and all the people witnessed the burning during the night. In that place was first built an altar there, and the golden temple of Caesar himself, in which he was honored as a god."
Drake looked at Sully who nodded and they both hopped over the railing. They carefully picked their way around the flowers and started inspecting the mound and walls around it.
"There's nothing here." Drake said after a few minutes, clearly disappointed.
"Hey Nate, didn't you say there used to be a niche?"
"Yeah, where that wall is behind the altar." He muttered, gesturing to the back wall as he inspected a different wall. "But like I said it was blocked up ages ago. Why?"
"Come look at this."
Drake walked over to join Sully, who was standing at the wall where the niche used to be. Sully was pushing lightly against one of the bricks, which shifted slightly. Drake looked closer and saw that the mortar, which was of a different and worse quality than the rest of the structure's mortar, had begun to erode, loosening the bricks. Sully braced himself against the wall and placed all his weight on the brick, which gave way and tumbled through the wall.
"They didn't fill it up, they just blocked it off." He said with a smug grin. Drake stared in disbelief. Was it that easy?
"Well don't just stand there with your goddamn jaw hanging open, help me out!" Sully said, and Drake snapped back to reality.
The two men stood side by side and braced themselves. Together, they launched forward and rammed into the wall. Dust trickled from between the bricks and they kept pushing. Some of the bricks began to move slightly when Drake and Sully pulled back, already covered in a thin veil of sweat.
"Christ that hurt my shoulder." Sully complained, rubbing his entire arm. "Let's hope we only have to do that a few more times."
Drake nodded and the men repeated the process, launching themselves forward and slamming into the bricks then pushing against them. Each time they did it, several of the bricks would shift in place, and after the third time some began to fall.
In one final burst, Drake and Sully launched themselves against the wall. They didn't have to push this time, as the entire wall crumbled as soon as they made contact. The two men toppled into the niche and lay on top of the bricks that had collapsed, panting heavily.
"I hope that wasn't too loud." Drake said, standing up and dusting himself off.
"Who gives a damn about sound, where the hell is the sword?" Sully said angrily, and Drake took a look around the niche for the first time. Sully was right, there was no sword. The niche wasn't even that big, having only been constructed to house a man-sized statue.
"Maybe the bricks are on top of it?" Drake proposed, but Sully shook his head.
"Face it kid. Dead end. There's nothing here. We must have made a mistake somewhere along the way."
"No, it has to be here!" Drake said, digging through the bricks desperately. He was terrified that he had been wrong and failed them all. Maybe all of this was for nothing.
"Kid…" Sully said, standing up and walking to Drake's side.
"Nate, come on, cut it out." He said gently as Drake kept digging furiously through the rubble. He laid a hand on Drake's shoulder, but was just pushed away.
"Goddamn it Nate, there's nothing there! Put your pride away for a second and calm down!"
"No! No, Sully, I know it's here. It has to be here!" Drake yelled, finally revealing the floor. There was nothing there. Drake dropped to his knees and sat in silence. Sully stooped next to him and draped an arm over Drake's shoulders in support.
"Hey, listen we can figure this out. We always do. Let's go get Flynn. We've been really loud and we need to get out. Come on." Sully tried to lift Drake, who sat rigidly, now staring at the wall. "Nate, let's go."
"Sully, do you see it?"
"See what, Nate?"
"There, in the wall." Drake said, pointing. Sully looked but could see nothing.
"There's nothing there, kid. Now get up and get moving, you're making me think you've lost your mind."
"No, Sully, look from this angle!" Drake said, pulling Sully down. "I'm not crazy. The way the light hits it, you can't see it except for down here."
Sully squinted at the wall, then his eyes widened in surprise. He pulled a flashlight out of Drake's bag and shined it on the wall where they were looking.
"Well, I'll be damned." Sully whispered.
On the wall was a small golden imprint of Caesar's Comet. Drake pulled out the seal and held it next to the marking.
"They're the same size." He whispered. He turned to Sully with a gleam in his eyes. "What do you think?"
"Try it." Sully said with a smile.
Drake lined up the seal on top of the imprint and was about to press it down when a loud thud was heard to his left. Drake turned in time to see Flynn get thrown over and lay face down on the dirt. Drake rushed over and squatted down to examine his friend, who had been hit across the face and was bleeding from his nose.
"Easy job my ass…" Flynn muttered.
Drake was still squatting next to Flynn when he felt cold metal press against the back of his head.
"You know the procedure, Mr. Drake."
"Yeah, yeah. Gun down, hands in the air, don't say anything, and stand up slowly." Drake said sarcastically.
"Very good. Now do it."
Drake turned to look at Sully, who was also being held at gunpoint by two soldiers. He tossed his gun to the side and slowly stood up. When he reached his full height, Drake turned his head over his shoulder and spoke to his captor.
"How was that, Jozeph? Did I pass?"
Kroonen pistol-whipped Drake, who fell to the floor clutching his bleeding head.
"How about we try that again, Mr. Drake. And this time, remain silent. Or I will shoot your fingers off, one by one."
Drake stood obediently without saying a word. He decided that making a witty comment was not worth losing his fingers. Kroonen walked Drake over to the side and two soldiers came in, lifting Flynn to his feet and holding him at gunpoint as well. Once Drake, Flynn, and Sully were herded together, Kroonen lifted his radio to his mouth and sent out a message to van Meer.
"Piet, we found them. I'm sending a soldier over to bring you to us." Kroonen gestured to one of the soldiers as he spoke and the man jogged off in the direction of van Meer's camp.
"So what's your take on all this, Jozeph." Flynn said, wiping his bloody face off on his shirt. "The loyal dog to van Meer? Willing to do anything to keep his owner happy?"
Kroonen walked over to Flynn and Drake anticipated the beating Flynn was about to receive. But instead, Kroonen just smirked.
"You think you are so clever, Mr. Flynn? Are you really in a better position than I am? Tell me, is it difficult being constantly in the shadow of Nathan Drake? Do you work for him because you are loyal to him, or because you are greedy?"
"I don't work for him, asshole. I work with him."
There was a moment of silence where Kroonen looked from Flynn to Drake.
"Is this true, Mr. Drake? Do you consider Mr. Flynn your equal?"
"Of course." Drake responded, but not without a guilty look in Flynn's direction.
"Not very convincing." Kroonen said with another wicked smirk. "Do not feel ashamed at the lack of loyalty, I too work for Piet out of greed. I have come upon great amounts of money under his guidance. I consider him a friend, but he is not my master. I work for him because I will equally benefit. More than you can say, Mr. Flynn."
Flynn was about to say something, but Sully cut him off.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you believe in this plague carrying mumbo-jumbo."
"Mumbo-Jumbo?" Kroonen asked, arching an eyebrow. "I would hardly call it such, Mr. Sullivan. This sword has a power that has gone unrecognized for millennia. It will be Piet and I who finally expose it to the world."
As if on cue, van Meer appeared around the corner with Ambessa and several soldiers. He walked over to Drake and stared him in the eyes. Up close, Drake could see that van Meer's eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark, heavy bags. His usually perfect hair was frazzled and unkempt in a sloppy ponytail. Even his sharp goatee was beginning to look frayed. Overall, the man had the appearance of somebody who was obsessed and losing sleep.
"Dhr. Drake, I have grown so tired of the same speech again and again. Why is it that you cannot simply remain captured? This game simply cannot go on any longer." Drake almost felt bad for van Meer. Even his voice sounded weary and beaten down.
"What is it that you have discovered here?" van Meer asked as he inspected the toppled wall and exposed niche. Drake said nothing, opting instead to stare at his former employer. Van Meer walked over to him, scowled angrily, pulled out his gun and shot a nearby soldier in the head.
"Tell me what you have discovered, or Dhr. Sullivan will be next. If I am willing to kill my man I am certainly willing to kill yours. Tell me, now!" Van Meer screamed, losing all composure.
"You've lost your bloody mind." Flynn yelled, staring at the body of the slaughtered soldier.
"Have I, Dhr. Flynn? Well that may very well be so, but it is entirely due to you three, so I see no reason why I shouldn't kill you now! My only solace is in knowing that I will get to see you suffer at the hands of the very artifact you so desperately pursue. This game is over, you have lost." He turned back to Drake, pointing his weapon directly at Sully's head. "Tell me what you found!" He screamed, his finger twitching over the trigger.
"Ok, ok I'll tell you!" Drake said, pulling the seal back out of his pocket. "On the wall, over there." Drake pointed at the niche and van Meer turned, shining a light on the wall.
"There is a gold imprint in the shape of Caesar's Comet. Press the seal into it." Drake said dejectedly as he handed the seal to van Meer.
"You made the right choice, Mr. Drake." Kroonen said, nodding to Drake.
Van Meer walked slowly over to the wall and stared at the golden imprint for almost a full minute.
"If you are wrong, I will kill both Dhr. Sullivan and Dhr. Flynn." van Meer whispered softly. Drake didn't respond and van Meer pressed the seal into the golden imprint. He pushed harder and the seal sank into the wall perfectly. There was a soft sound of turning gears and the seal started to rotate within the wall. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then the ground started to shake softly. The shaking became much stronger and the soldier's began to look around and whisper in fear.
"What is this?" Ambessa said, loading his gun as if it could protect him from the shaking earth.
Van Meer's face took on a look of transcendental joy as the ground began to crack in various place and the sound of gears turning became even louder.
"Look at the altar!" Kroonen cried out, pointing at the mound. Sure enough, the mound where the altar had once been was opening up and exposing a deep pit. Drake stared into the deep chasm and his mouth dropped open when he saw a set of crafted marble stairs rise out of the ground.
The shaking came to a stop and the gears quieted down. Van Meer stared at the staircase and his eyes welled up with tears of joy. Kroonen stepped forward and brushed his hand along the stairs.
"Incredible." He whispered to himself.
Van Meer pulled the seal out of the wall and walked over to join Kroonen, gazing down into the stairwell. He gestured to Ambessa and the soldiers, who came in closer. Van Meer started to walk down, but everybody else hesitated. Nobody had expected this. Van Meer looked around and smiled, his emerald eyes glistening with a strange kind of madness that can only be brought about by an insatiable hunger for something just out of your reach. And yet this madman was the one who was leading them.
"What are you all waiting for? Let's go make history."