I'm so sorry it took me so long to post this! I didn't forget about this story! I've just been a little preoccupied. Anyway, please read and enjoy!

"And… they're gone. All right, lads, lady?" Charlie asked cheerfully. I opened my eyes and after making sure the two guys next to me were alright, I grinned. Sully smacked Nate's arm with a chuckle. It worked! Sully groaned to my right as he sat up.

"Oh, God… Thought you were gonna put a silencer on that thing."

"Sully, you've got no sense of drama," Charlie replied with a sweep of his arms. He reached down and helped Sully up.

I raised my arms. "Help a girl up, Charlie?" Charlie tugged me to my feet and I brushed myself off. I wrinkled my nose as the 'blood stain' on my blouse. Oh well, I didn't like my outfit anyway.

"Right. All that racket is gonna bring the cops any minute," Sully warned as he pulled Nate to his feet. "Let's get the hell outta here."

"You coulda pulled a couple of those punches, Charlie," Nate complained.

"What d'ya mean? I hardly touched ya," Charlie insisted.

"You headbutted me." I chuckled at Nate's whiny tone.

"All right, all right, I got a little swept up in the moment," Charlie conceded. "You were the one who said 'make it look realistic.'"

"And you did an amazing job, Charlie," I praised. "If your job as a thug doesn't work out maybe you can be an actor."

"Alex!" Nate whined.

I waved him off. "Oh relax, you big baby. What do you want me to do, kiss it better?"

Nate shrugged. "Wouldn't hurt." I rolled my eyes with a fond smile, but pulled him down by his jacket and kissed his forehead. He slipped his arms around my waist. "You missed." He leaned down and captured my lips.

"Alright you, love birds, save it for the honeymoon," Charlie said. He pulled out his radio. "All right, Bright Eyes, look sharp, they're coming your way. Don't lose 'em."

Nate pulled out the real ring of Francis Drake and slipped it around his neck. "Told you they'd take the bait."

"How long d'you reckon before they realize theirs is a fake?" Charlie inquired as we followed after Marlow's car.

"Who cares? We finally flushed 'em out."

"Now we just follow 'em back to their hole," Sully said. I scrunched my face in disgust.

Nate turned to our smoking friend. "You do realize you make everything sound dirty."

Sully looked genuinely surprised. "I do?"

"Let's get moving," Charlie urged. We jogged down the street. I grimaced at the smell of trash. We ducked down a narrow alley, Sully, Nate, and I hurrying through.

"Come on, Charlie," Nate called. "What's the hold up?" I turned and realized Charlie was still at the other end of the alley.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, all right, all right…" Charlie muttered. He started scooting through the alley, muttering to himself that it would all be over soon the entire time. I glanced at Nate in confusion. He breathed a sigh of relief when he reached the other side. "Oh, that wasn't too bad…"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Nate asked. He yelped when I smacked him over the back of the head for being so callous.

"Nothing, I'm fine." We kept moving and came across a gate that was too high to climb.

"Well, we're not going that way," I said, hands on my hips.

"We can get around this way," Nate announced. He ran over to an electric box on the brick wall and started to climb.

"I'm not climbing that in a skirt and heels, Nate," I told him. Charlie came up beside me and jiggled the gate.

"Just needs a little muscle," Charlie said. He kicked the gate and it swung open.

"Oh, there's a thought," Nate muttered. He dropped down from the pipe he was hanging from as us other three walked through the now open gate. After climbing another wall, we arrived back on the main street and jogged over to a white van. The door opened and a familiar face hopped out.

"Evening, lads and lady," Chloe greeted.

"All right, darling?" Charlie asked. Chloe looked Nate, Sully, and I over.

"Looks like hell spit you three back out."

I shrugged. "Kind of our usual look."

Sully grinned. "Ah, it was a thing of beauty, Chloe."

"Went off without a hitch," Charlie informed her.

"You're unusually quiet," Chloe commented to Nate. "What's up your bum?"

"Oh, well, Charlie seemed to enjoy himself a little bit too much for my taste," Nate replied.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Here we go…"

"My ears are still ringing."

"Oh, for gosh's sake."

"Helps if you have something in between," Chloe teased. Nate shot a halfhearted glare my way when I snorted. "Looks like I missed out on some fun."

"Yeah, you did actually. It was very, very, ah - cathartic," Charlie said.

"Ha ha, that's funny," Nate said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at my boyfriend.

"Any trouble on this end?" I inquired.

Chloe shook her head. "Nah, easy-peasy."

"And you're sure they didn't see you trailing 'em?" Nate inquired.

"Not a chance."

"So which door is Scary Poppins hiding behind?" Charlie asked.

"Behind that one there, the green one." Chloe pointed to a green door several yards away. "They drove in ages ago and it's been dark ever since."

"You think they're still in there?"

Chloe maneuvered around to the back of the van and pulled out guns for everyone. I checked the chamber and slipped the gun into my waistband "Well, I haven't taken my eyes off it. And no one's gone in or out."

Sully eyed his gun. "Think these are really necessary? I mean, it's not like they're expecting us."

"Don't underestimate these blokes. They're not messing about," Charlie warned.

"Hey, we're just going to sneak in and sneak out. Just like that," Nate assured him.

"The last time we planned on sneaking in and out, we wound up in a Turkish prison for three months," I reminded him.

"Maybe, but we're prepared this time," Nate insisted.

I put my hands on my hips. "We thought we were prepared last time. All I'm saying is at the first sign of trouble, I'm shooting first and asking questions later."

"I like her," Charlie stated.

"Oh, I brought you some trousers and trainers," Chloe told me, passing me a bundle.

I smiled in relief. "You are a lifesaver." I don't think I have ever changed faster. Hoping out of the van, I slipped my gun into my waistband, honestly missing my thigh holster. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

"Alex, we're trying to be discreet here," Nate pointed out.

I gave him a deadpan look. "It's a figure of speech." Our little group started walking towards the door.

"Man, I was sorely tempted to just pick up that briefcase back there and walk," Sully said.

"Yeah you got a lousy poker face, mate," Charlie laughed.

"Hey, trust me. That's nothing compared to what we're onto," Nate said.

"Yeah, well at my age a bird in the hand, you know?" Sully replied.

Chloe scrunched her face in disgust. "Eww…"

"Didn't I tell ya?" Nate exclaimed.

"Oh, please," Sully sighed exasperatedly. "Look, I just hope you're right about this."

We stopped at the door. "Seems quiet enough," I noted. I tried the side door. As suspected, locked.

"You think they're still in there?" Nate questioned.

"Well, we're not gonna barge in the front door and find out," Charlie said.

"Well, we can't afford to waste time standing here," Sully countered.

"I'll find a way in and check it out. You four stay here," Nate announced. Using a pipe, he began to climb up the building. I crossed my arms as I admired the view he presented me.

"So, what's it like being the girlfriend of Nathan Drake?" Chloe asked with a teasing grin.

I shrugged, a light blush coating my cheeks. "Not much different, honestly. I still have to save his culo (butt) as usual. The only difference now is that I can kiss him whenever I feel like it."

"Pretty sure they would've had a snogging session if we weren't on the clock," Charlie added.

My blush deepened. "Charlie!"

"What?" I didn't get a chance to get after him as Nate to that moment to interrupt.

"Gimme a hand with this," Nate grunted from the other side of the green door.

"Yeah, yeah. Got it." Charlie, crouched down and slid his hands under the door and lifted, revealing an empty garage.

"Does anybody see a car? Cause I don't see a car," Nate said, frustration clear in his tone.

"I don't understand," Chloe muttered.

"Damn it!" Charlie cursed as he closed the door behind us. "You're sure this is the right one?"

"Yes. The green door. I'm sure," Chloe insisted.

"Nate, we are losing time here," Sully said. "That damn briefcase is looking better and better."

"Hold on, a whole car didn't just disappear without leaving some kind of clue behind," I said. "We need to look around." The group nodded and wandered in different directions.

"They were here all right," Sully commented. "I can still smell the exhaust." I shone my flashlight around the room, scouring for any possible clues. Nate crouched in a doorway, examining something on the ground. I wandered over to see what he was looking at.

"Tire tracks - still wet from the rain," he noted. "Looks like the car turned here." We moved into the next room. The tracks ended at a stone wall. I huffed, unsure what to do. I shifted my weight to one leg and started when the ground beneath my foot shifted. I stepped back and looked down. There was a square in the stone on the ground. I cautiously pressed it with my foot. The square sank again.

"Hey, check this out," I called. The others came over as I pressed the square a couple more times.

"Some kind of mechanism," Chloe guessed. I glanced around and noticed three more squares.

"Maybe," Nate mumbled, gears in his head turning just as mine were. "Four tires, four points of contact. Alex, stay there, you two, back there and there." Nate moved to the square across from mine while Chloe and Charlie took the two back ones. "All right, everybody on three, ready? One, two, three." All four of us jumped simultaneously. Nothing happened.

"And?" Sully questioned.

Nate sighed. "Well, this has got to be it."

"So we're missing something else," I said. I scanned the room. Whatever we were missing, it had to be within reaching distance from the car. The light from my flashlight passed over the wall just in front of me and a small latch opened. I paused. "Hey, Nate." My boyfriend turned as I passed the light over the wall again. He raised his brows as the latch opened again. "Headlights," I stated simply. Nate quickly pulled out his flashlight and aimed it at his section of wall. A second latch opened then the entire wall slid open, revealing a long corridor that appeared to be hand dug.

"Well abra-goddamn-cardabra…" Sully muttered.

"Well, that doesn't look ominous at all," I commented.

"Umm, Nate, just who are we dealing with here?" Chloe asked with a hint of nervousness.

"There's only one way to find out," he replied. "We'll track the car, you head back to the van."

We'll try to stay in radio contact," Charlie said. "I'll let you know when we get through to the other side, all right?"

"Yeah, wherever the hell that is…" Sully grumbled.

"Just be ready for anything," Nate warned Chloe. "Might be a quick exit."

"No doubt," Chloe replied with a smirk as she walked away.

"She's the best driver in the business, you know," Charlie stated.

Nate cast a knowing glance my way. "So I've heard."

"So into the creepy dark tunnel," I said as the wall closed behind us.

"Well, I think we agree this is more than a little weird," Charlie said. I hummed in agreement.

"Who the hell drives their car underground?" Sully wondered.

"Oh, well, let me think. Someone who doesn't want to be followed. You know, it's just a guess," Charlie quipped.

Sully rolled his eyes. "Smart ass."

"Don't ask a question you can't stand the answer to, Sully," I teased. The rough, hand dug tunnel gave way to more professionally built tunnels.

"Looks like they bored straight into the old service tunnels," Nate mused. We came upon a service door.

"It's locked," Charlie noticed.

I pulled out my gun and aimed it at the padlock. "Not for long." I shot the padlock and opened the door. "Onwards." There was a narrow passage between some metal scaffolding and pipes. "It's gonna be a tight fit." I turned and patted Nate's stomach teasingly. "Gonna have to suck in." My boyfriend gave me an offended look which quickly turned mischievous.

"So will you," he said with a smack to my rear. I swayed my hips with a flirtatious smirk as I moved forward.

"Lead on, Macduff," Sully said with a sweep of his arm.

Charlie gave a heavy sigh. "Oh for gosh's sake."

"What?"

"Lay on. It's 'Lay on, Macduff'." I led our treasure hunting group through the tight space. "Can we hurry it along please, mate?" I would have turned my head to check on Charlie, but I probably would've gotten stuck.

"You all right back there?" Sully asked our British friend.

"Yeah, yeah… you know, just not keen on the old tight spaces, that's all," Charlie replied tensely.

"Almost there, Charlie," I assured him. I heard Charlie sigh in relief once we got back into open space.

"Who the hell is Macduff?" Nate inquired.

Charlie fixed him with an incredulous look. "Is there no bottom to your ignorance?"

"It's a Shakespeare reference," I supplied while Sully chuckled.

"Well, at least one of you has some culture." I caught movement up ahead and motioned for everyone to be quiet.

"Guards," Nate whispered.

"You take left, I'll take right." Nate nodded. Two shots later and the guards went down. "Looks like these things are going to come in handy." We continued through the maze of tunnels, every once in a while appearing above the main tunnel so we knew we were on the right path. We almost thought we went the wrong way when we came across a dead end until Nate discovered another hand dug side tunnel leading deeper underground.

"Where the hell are we headed now?" Sully wondered aloud. The tunnel opened up into a large room with vaulted ceilings.

"Charlie, who the hell are we dealing with here?" Nate questioned.

"I don't know, mate, but whoever they are, they are seriously weird," Charlie said.