I'm back with another chapter! I hope you guys have been enjoying reading this series as much as I have enjoyed writting it. Anywho, enough chit chat, please read and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Until we meet again!

After another long flight on a crowded plane, we finally landed in Yemen. I was seriously getting tired of these long, overstuffed flights. What was the point of being treasure hunters if we couldn't get a private jet or at least fly first class? I stretched my arms above my head, groaning in satisfaction as my back popped. We exited the plane and I spotted Elena standing a few yards away. I grinned and ran up to her.

"It's been far too long," I said as I embraced her.

Elena smiled. "Well if you and Indiana Jones over there weren't so busy galavanting about chasing buried treasures, we might be able to hang out more," she teased.

"Chasing? Is that what we're calling it?" I asked in mock offense.

Elena laughed. "I'm not sure I would call it treasure hunting."

"Elena Fisher, Foreign Correspondent," Sully said as he and Nate joined us.

Elena smiled at the elder. "Hey, Sully." Sully tried to hug her, but she held up her hands. "Uh, no, sorry, that's sorta frowned upon here."

Sully backed up a couple paces. "Oh, right."

"You two can hold hands though," Elena added, grinning as she gestured to Sully and Nate.

Nate laughed awkwardly and shook his head. "How are you, Elena?"

"Good, thanks." Elena looked down at the badges she held and sighed. "So, against my better judgement… These permits will get you through most checkpoints." She handed us the badges.

Nate nodded. "Okay, great."

"Oh, and I shouldn't be worried about what's in those bags, right?"

"Course not," Sully replied easily.

Elena huffed good naturedly, but in a way that indicated she clearly wasn't convinced. "Not yet, anyway." I smiled. She knew us too well. She led the way off the tarmac. I sniggered when I caught Nate jokingly grab Sully's hand out of the corner of my eye. "All right, remember - you're journalists now. So try and act respectable."

"I'm always respectable," I declared.

"Think you can handle that?" Nate teased Sully.

"I think she's talking to you," Sully shot back.

"So what exactly are you three reprobates up to?" Elena inquired.

"Just a little historical research," Nate replied casually. I had originally wanted to tell her why we were coming to Yemen, but he had insisted on telling her only what she needed to know. I had tried telling him that Elena was smart and the truth would eventually come out, but he was firm.

Elena nodded though I could tell she wasn't entirely convinced. "Right. So that explains the big rush."

"Exactly."

"No cursed treasures?"

"Nope."

"No diabolical warlords?"

"No."

"You are the worst liar," Elena laughed. Nate turned to face her.

"What?"

"You are."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, we're not going to start this, are we?"

"Excuse me," Sully interrupted. "The car, where is it?"

"It's over there," Elena replied, gesturing to a jeep parked a few yards away.

"I'll just take the bags and meet you." Sully grabbed our bags and headed for the jeep.

"You two need to figure this out cause while I love you both, I'm not in the mood to deal with this right now," I told Nate and Elena before moving my bag to my shoulder and following after Sully.

Nate's POV

He watched Alex walk off after Sully, before sighing and putting his hands on his hips.

"Is Alex okay?" Elena asked, sending a concerned look towards the blackhaired adventurer.

Nate nodded. "She's fine, just a little stressed. Our current job is turning out to be a bit more frustrating than originally anticipated. And she isn't handling the jet lag well."

Elena sent him a knowing look. "It's about Drake, isn't it?" Nate blinked. Alex was right, he really didn't give the journalist enough credit.

"You don't understand. I finally proved it," he said excitedly. "Drake lied about his route through the East Indies. Four hundred years ago, he came here."

Elena placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Why, Nate?"

"That's what we're here to find out."

"No, I mean, why this obsession?" She corrected. "I'm - I'm just worried."

Nate rolled his eyes. "I can take care of myself, all right?"

Elena scoffed. "You and I both know you would have been dead a long time ago if Alex wasn't around you to pull you out of trouble. But I'm not talking about you." Nate knit his brows in confusion before glancing over his shoulder at the two milling by the jeep. Alex had her head thrown back, laughing loudly at something Sully had said.

"What, Sully and Alex?"

"They would go to the ends of the earth for you, Nate. Heck, Alex would probably blow up the earth for you. Just - don't ask them to." Leaving him to think on her words, Elena walked over to the jeep. Nate gazed at Alex who had plunked herself in one of the back seats of the jeep. He hadn't been completely blind to how this adventure was affecting her. To anyone who didn't know her, Alex appeared as gung ho about this adventure as ever, but he knew better. After their close calls in France and Syria, he had noticed the subtle shift in her demeanor. Even from this distance she looked tired. Her shoulders sagged a bit, eyes not quite as bright as they normally were on a hunt like this, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She had always been more cautious than him when they were on a treasure hunt, preferring to make a plan instead of going in blind as he so often did, it was probably one of the reasons he was still alive. She may have been the one to make the call to Elena to get them access to Yemen, but he had noticed her slight reluctance especially when he had insisted on keeping the journalist on a need to know basis, as much as she tried to hide it. With a sigh, he joined the group.

Alex POV

"All set?" Sully asked as Elena and Nate rejoined the group. Elena took the driver's seat, Sully took shotgun, while Nate sat in the back with me. Elena started the car and drove off. "If you could just drop us at the edge of the city, that would be great."

Elena shook her head. "Not a chance - you three are my responsibility now. I'm not taking my eyes off you."

"Geez, you destroy one ancient city and now you don't trust us to be on our own," I joked.

Elena huffed lightly. "I find it hard to believe you've destroyed only one ancient city."

"I can neither confirm nor deny," I replied. We pulled up to the old city and we all jumped out of the jeep.

"If you're trying to pick up Francis Drake's trail, we should head to the old quarter," Elena suggested. The corner of my lips twitched as the mention of Nate's ancestor. She really did know us too well.

"Ahh, so this is the new part?" Sully inquired, looking around at the buildings that were probably brand new a few centuries ago.

Elena shrugged as she led the way through a narrow passage. "Well, it's all relative. The city was founded at least three thousand years ago." Once we got out of the passage, she stopped and pointed to a crumbling tower a couple miles away. "There, you see that tower up ahead? That's where the old city starts. So we need to make our way over there." As we walked, Elena greeted a few people in Arabic. "All right now, I need you to be on your best behavior."

"Yes, ma'am," Sully replied.

"No, I'm serious, police have patrols everywhere, and we don't need to arouse any suspicions," Elena insisted.

"You got it," Nate agreed.

"Scout's honor," I added.

Nate shot me a look. "You were never in the girl scouts."

"Are you saying I can't have honor?" I questioned in mock offense.

"This right here is what I'm talking about," Elena said, gesturing to Nate and I like an exasperated mother.

"Sorry. We'll be good," I promised. Elena narrowed her eyes at me then shook her head.

"We're just going to cut through the market." I glanced at the market stalls as we passed. I would've loved to just stop and browse, but we were on a mission. Elena stopped, the road ahead was blocked and a couple of officers were standing nearby. "Huh. Okay, it looks like they've got the street blocked off. I'll go see what I can do, you three just stay here." She walked over and began conversing with the two officers. I looked over at a nearby stall and noticed some fruit for sale. Egged on by a growl from my stomach, I wandered over. I searched through until I found a suitable piece and negotiated with the stall owner. I was glad we had decided to change over our currency before we left the airport. I handed over the correct amount of money and happily bit into my snack.

"Whatcha got there?" Nate asked as I wandered back over.

I held up my fruit, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. "Snack, want some?"

Sully shook his head as Nate took a bite. "I can never keep up with all the languages you two speak."

Elena rejoined us, looking disappointed. "All right, it's no good. They're not letting anybody go through. Let's try over here. I know another way around." We went around the corner until we came to a locked gate. Elena spoke to a man at a meat stall next to the gate and he unlocked it for us.

"Good thing we've got you with us," Nate said.

"Yeah, no kidding. Okay, up here." Up some stairs and around another corner only to find the street blocked again.

"Ah, great, more cops," Sully grumbled.

"Yeah, looks like we're not getting through here either," Elena said.

I sighed. "It's never easy is it?" Nate walked over to a building and started up a ladder.

"Hey, up here," he called. "There's gotta be another way through." The three of us glanced at each other before following. We climbed over the wall and walked into what looked like a hotel or apartment building.

"Guys, I don't think we should be in here," Elena whispered nervously.

"Oh c'mon, we'll just cut through. It'll be fine," Nate assured her.

"Famous last words," I muttered.

"Glass half full please." We walked through and came out to a rooftop garden.

"See, down there." Elena pointed to some old, crumbling buildings. "Those buildings would've been hundreds of years old even when Francis Drake was alive."

Nate nodded. "Good thinking."

Sully suddenly nudged Nate. "Nate, Alex." We turned. "Talbot." We looked where he was pointing and sure enough, Talbot was on the street below, flipping through a notebook.

"Who?" Elena asked.

"He's got Charlie's notebook," I growled.

"What? Wait, Charlie Cutter?" Elena demanded.

"No time," Nate insisted as he backed away. "Sully and Alex can explain everything." With that, he jumped off the side of the terrace. I would've yelled after him for leaving us to explain things, but that would have alerted Talbot.

"Okay, what is going on?" Elena demanded. I winced like a scolded child. She had her hands on her hips and was looking rather frustrated.

"It's a bit of a long story," I told her, not really wanting to explain our situation, but a raised eyebrow had me rethinking my strategy. "But I'll give you the abridged version on the way to meet Nate."

"I was right," Elena said with a sigh as we walked back through the city in search of Nate. "You three are on another treasure hunt."

"It's an oversimplification of the facts, but basically," I replied.

"How is that an oversimplification? You three are racing this woman Marlowe as you retrace Francis Drake's steps to find this 'Atlantis of the Sands'."

"Well when you put it that way…"

"Are you guys sure you should be doing this?" Elena asked. I gave her a quizzical look. "It sounds like this Marlowe woman is willing to do just about anything to get to this treasure first."

"We know what we're doing," I insisted, hoping I sounded more sure than I felt.

"You don't sound too sure," Elena commented, seeing right through my facade. Before I could reply, Sully interrupted.

"Guys, I think Nate's in trouble." I paused and I could hear the sound of fighting nearby.

I sighed heavily. "Let's go save his culo (butt), again." We made it back to the market where Nate was engaged in a fist fight with some of Talbot's men.

"Nate! Come on!" Sully called. Nate knocked out the guy he was fighting and ran towards us.

"Okay, this way! Hurry!" Elena urged. We followed her through alleys, twisting and turning. "Hey - through here!" We darted through a door and Sully took up post by the door to make sure we weren't followed. Elena placed her hands on her hips. "You guys really do have a talent for pissing people off, don't you?"

"It's a gift," I replied cheekily, doubled over with my hands on my knees to catch my breath.

Elena sighed and closed her eyes briefly. "Just tell me, what are you really looking for?"

Nate looked up from his journal. "Uh… this." He gestured around him. "C'mere. Sully, Alex, check this out." Nate laid out his journal on a stone well with a grate across it. Elena and I crowded around him and Sully left his post at the door.

"I think we lost 'em. Whaddya got?" The elder asked.

"Looks like we stumbled right into our secret entrance," Nate answered. In the journal was a star much like the one in the mosaics on the ground.

Sully chuckled and patted Elena on the shoulder. "Well, that's our girl."

"Bout time we caught a break," I added.

"Well, I'm not going down there without some hardware," Sully said, peeking over the edge.

"Go talk to the rug merchant we just passed," Elena told him.

"No - guns. Weapons."

"He's not really a rug merchant," Elena replied.

Sully nodded in understanding and I chuckled. "Oh, right." As soon as Sully left, Elena and Nate rounded on each other. I rubbed at my temples as they argued, trying to stave off the headache I could feel forming.

"Oh, shut it, both of you!" I growled. "We don't have time for your arguing." Thankfully, I was saved by Sully coming back with three shotguns.

"Shotguns?" Nate inquired as Sully passed them out.

Sully shrugged. "Why not?"

"I don't suppose he had like a sniper rifle or something?" I inquired as Sully handed me one of the shotguns.

Sully shook his head. "Sorry, sweetheart. I even asked for you." Nate protested when he realized there weren't enough for him. "What? He only had three."

Nate sighed. "Great. All right, just give me a hand with this." The four of us pushed the grating off the well.

"Well, well, well -" Sully joked.

"Ha-ha, that's cute," Nate said as I giggled.

Elena frowned. "What?"

"Because it's a well," Nate clarified.

"Okay, guys… Secret entrance to what? What's down there?" Elena questioned.

"Only one way to find out."

Elena shook her head with a defeated sigh. "Another non-answer."

"You expected something different?" Sully inquired. Nate clambered down into the well and called up when he reached the bottom. The three of us followed, dropping down into the well.