Rafe was washing the dishes, trying to get it over with while no one was in the kitchen to criticize him. He could hear Victor and Sam outside bullshitting about something while they rebuilt the section of porch railing that Victor had destroyed earlier. There was no reason to fix the porch when the rest of the house was a shit-heap, really, so he didn't know why they were bothering. Still, at least they weren't annoying him, so far be it from him to tell two dumbasses how to they could or could not waste their time.
He had become far more proficient with washing dishes, much to his chagrin, and could get everything done in less than twenty minutes if he wanted to. Right now he wasn't that motivated because he knew that they'd be out there fixing things up for a while; he'd be able to enjoy the peace and time alone in the kitchen. To think that he'd ever look forward to doing chores when it meant he'd be alone… His past would be disgusted with him.
Rafe shook his head to get rid of that thought and picked up a plate to wash it, then paused when he saw what was hiding underneath. No, that wasn't right. Making as little noise as possible, he set the plate aside and closed his fingers around the handle of a small knife, confirming that it was real and he hadn't gone insane quite yet.
It looked sharp, and he had seen enough of Sam's rigorous upkeep to know that it was probably close to deadly, but he still wanted to check. Seeing as he wasn't stupid, he didn't run the blade along his finger like the movies demonstrated- that was a good way to lose a chunk of flesh. Instead, he held his thumb against a single point and added the slightest amount of pressure. It felt sharp, and after a second he felt a give in his skin and a drop of red beaded around the edge of the blade. It wasn't until he pulled his thumb away that he felt any indication of pain.
Oh, yes, he could ruin someone's day with this for sure.
Absent-mindedly, he ran his thumb under the running water in the sink to get rid of the blood smear while keeping his eyes fixated on the blade. There were a few scenarios running through his mind and he wanted to make sure he gave each of them a proper assessment of pros and cons- rushing to action would only breed mistakes, and he couldn't afford those. The only common thread in all of the ideas was that he had to take advantage of the surprise he had now, because if he tried to hide it away for another time then Sam, despite being an idiot, would notice it was gone.
Realistically, he had to expect that he'd only get to use it once; after that he couldn't guarantee he could stop someone from taking it away. That meant he had to choose the one target that would do him the most good.
Samuel was the obvious choice. That man was the root cause of nearly every bad thing that had happened to Rafe in the past fifteen years, including the situation he found himself in now. There were a lot of ways Rafe could fuck him up with the knife… Hell, he wouldn't even have to aim properly. It'd be a long ride out to a hospital for any stab wound.
As for Victor- he was on Nadine's good side, which meant he could possibly be used as a hostage. The only question was if Rafe would be able to keep control of the situation long enough to get away. Even just keeping an eye on Sam while holding Victor under a knife would be a challenge; he wasn't sure he could hold off an army in close quarters.
The last big target was, of course, himself. If he could damage himself badly enough then Victor would be forced to get him to a hospital… Providing Nadine could be convinced, anyway. She did want him dead. And one of the upsides to stabbing Sam was also a downside to stabbing himself- there was a very fine line between something serious enough to get him off the island and something that would kill him along the way.
And, of course, he could use it to damage the property or something minor like that. He almost didn't take that option seriously, because he already knew he'd just end up sore and annoyed at the end of it. Plus he'd have to spend time fixing whatever it was he broke, unless there was something around that wouldn't be fixable… But no. He wasn't that petty.
In the end, the answer itself came to him relatively quickly, but it took a little longer to be able to acknowledge that it was the only viable option. Everything else seemed like too much fun for him to let them go so easily. It was the only way he could see things ending the way he wanted, though, so he finally accepted what he'd have to do.
He left the water running and made his way to the back door, peering through it. Sam and Victor were both distracted with the rail, their backs to him. Good. He slowly pushed the door open, being as noiseless as possible, and took a few steps onto the porch. Close enough to startle them, but far enough that he was out of reach.
"Um, Sam?"
Neither of them even bothered to look up from what they were doing, though Sam did jump a little, so at least he had that. "Sorry, Rafe. You'll have to wait a few minutes if you want me to come check that nothing needs to be washed again."
Rafe frowned, annoyed. Did they already forget what a threat he could be? Good thing he had a chance to remind them. He cleared his throat and tried again, putting more urgency in his voice. "Samuel."
This time Sam actually acknowledged him, and when the older Drake turned around Rafe held the knife up clearly so there could be no mistaking that it was there. He felt a well of satisfaction when Sam nearly fell over backwards as he finally processed what he was holding.
Victor saw the reaction and curiously looked over, and there was a quick flash of fear in his eyes before he was able to recover himself.
Now they were both taking him seriously. Good. "It looks like you forgot something in the sink."
He eyed them, drinking in Sam's reaction. Being in control again gave him a rush that was a better feeling than getting high, and he wanted to soak it into his memory so he could hold onto that feeling for a while.
Interestingly enough, the panic didn't seem to hold Victor for very long. If the old man was smart, he was trying to figure out how turn these odds in his favor. He was a con man, after all.
It took Samuel a bit longer to recover his senses, and when he did, he held up a placating hand. "Now, Rafe-"
And that was his cue to act. Rafe stepped forward towards Sam and inwardly smirked when the other man flinched back. His adrenaline spiked and he was very tempted to just let loose- but no, he had to keep himself in check. Losing self-control was how situations got out of hand.
Rafe brandished the knife again, hesitated just long enough to let Sam start dredging up his regrets, then scoffed and nonchalantly set the knife on an intact piece of railing. "You should be more careful. I don't want to accidentally cut my hand open just because of your negligence."
Sam's look of fear turned to utter confusion, and Rafe took his leave. That was possibly the hardest thing he had to do since arriving here, but it was also the only thing that paid off in the long run. Now he had to get back in the house before someone started lecturing him and ruining his high.
Sam could still feel his heart beating rapidly and it took a few deep breaths to process what had happened. "Ok," he nodded, staring blankly at the door while holding a hand over his chest just to make sure he was still alive, "That was weird." He hadn't expected to get out of that with his throat intact, much less scratch-free.
"That," Sully sighed, letting out the breath he had been holding, "Was progress." He'd be lying if he said that hadn't scared the goddamn hell out of him, but his gut had told him to calm down and wait. His gut had never been wrong before, and if it was wrong now… Well, it was a good enough life while it lasted. Luckily his old instincts had still proven trustworthy.
"Progress?" Sam looked at him. The shock was over and now his cynicism was coming back. "In case you didn't notice, he was toying with me there. And I didn't hear you trying to do anything about it either."
"You're the one who left the knife in there," Sully said wryly, "Besides, you're still breathing, aren't you? The only reason he was toying and not giving you a chance to finally start wearing an eyepatch was because of me doing things, so quit your bellyaching. I don't need to spend the whole day out here fixing this goddamned rail."
"Bellyaching?" Sam scoffed, then took a deep breath and picked up his hammer. "Alright, fine. Why don't you do something useful for once and hold those boards in place for me." He was still a little shaken, but Victor was right. Regardless of what he thought would happen, Rafe didn't actually do him any harm. He could worry about that later, but there was work to do right now.
Sully complied and eyed the hammer. "Just keep that thing away from my fingers."
"I make no promises."
Some time had passed and Rafe was back in his room, drafting some plans in his notebook. The noise from the porch had stopped so he knew that the others were done their work out there, which also meant that soon enough someone would be bothering him.
Almost on cue there was a knock on the door, and Victor announced his presence on the other side. "It's me. Busy?"
Rafe sighed heavily and closed the notebook, then set it aside. Grilling time. He wasn't surprised, even if he didn't actually do anything wrong. "For you, Sully? I'm never too busy," he called out and resettled on his bed so he'd at least be sitting in a somewhat dignified manner.
Sully stepped in and closed the door behind himself, but before he could say anything Rafe held a hand up to stop him.
"I found the knife, I returned it. I did not have it hidden anywhere, I did not break into anything, and I did not take any others. If you check the drawer you'll see I'm not lying. Does that cover what you were going to ask about?"
"Actually, no," Sully said, "But that's all good to know." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Neither of us are really the sentimental type, so I won't stand here and tell you I'm proud of you… But I did want to thank you for giving that knife back right away instead of making something of it." Technically, that little display was making something out of it, but it was harmless so Sully wasn't going to count it against him. He'd done worse to antagonize Sam than just scare him… And Sam had done worse to antagonize Rafe too.
Rafe hesitated, not expecting that, then gave one of his patented reassuring smiles. "What am I going to do with a knife, Victor? Stab someone and get killed? Stab myself and get killed? We both know those aren't options."
So, he wasn't looking to die anytime soon, just as Sully suspected. That was good; it meant Rafe actually cared about his future now. "Still, I'm glad you did it, and I wanted to see if there was anything I can get you on the next shipment in return. Within reason, of course."
Rafe bristled a little then forced himself to relax, but he couldn't help sending Victor an annoyed look. "I am not a dog and I do not need treats for being good, thank you."
Leave it to the kid to get offended by that. Sully shrugged. "Take it as you will, the offer still stands. I'll give you some time to think about it." He went to leave, then paused like he remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot. You've been here long enough to settle into things, so starting next week you're in charge of sweeping the kitchen floor every day alongside the dishes. Sam will show you how to do it."
He could feel the air get colder, but whether or not Rafe liked it, he had just proven he could handle some extra responsibility. Soon enough he'd realize that it also came with extra freedom, but Sully'd let him figure that out on his own. For now, Rafe could sulk. Sully took his leave just in case the kid needed to do some "spontaneous redecorating" in his room.
AN: I hope everyone is doing well right now. I know a lot of people are stuck at home and bored, so I have been playing with the idea of streaming Uncharted 4 to share it with everyone. I know not all of you reading my story have seen it and it might help provide some context to the characters. If I go through with it, I will NOT be asking for donations (and I will turn that option off if I can) so don't worry about being pressured. I just think it would be fun to share one of my favorite games and provide some entertainment. The only catch is I still have to physically go into work right now and I work a late shift so the times would be limited to either the afternoon before I go to work or past midnight when I get home (east coast time). If you guys are interested then please let me know.
In the meantime, thank you all for reading! I appreciate all the comments and reviews, even if I'm really bad at responding to them. Stay safe and stay healthy!