Chapter Three
Loose Ends

Chloe swatted at various insects as she stepped outside her tent. Walking along the planks, she saw several men at work unearthing artifacts in search of the Cintimani Stone, whatever that was. That wasn't what interested her.

She found Flynn closer to the jungle, crouched under a tree near one of the dig sites. He was looking for something. She came up behind him and announced her intent.

"I'm leaving."

Flynn stood up rapidly from where he had been searching in the underbrush, bumping his head against a branch. He put a hand there and fell to his knees again, getting up more slowly this time. He turned around. "You're what?"

"Don't act like that tree branch gave you amnesia," she replied, crossing her arms. "You heard what I said."

"You can't leave! We're so close to the treasure. I can feel it!"

"Harry, it's been two months and we haven't found any stone. We haven't even found the bodies of the men who were shipwrecked. I'm getting devoured by mosquitoes every night, and if I catch one more of Lazarevic's men staring at my ass I swear I'm going to castrate them!"

The worried expression disappeared from his face and Flynn assumed his usual smirk. "See, that's why you only attract fellows like Drake and I. No man in his right mind wants a damn Amazon."

"So you admit that you're not in your right mind?" she jabbed, adopting a more playful expression as well.

"Why else would I stay out here in the jungle for two months when I could be at home tossing back a pint?"

"Good point."

"At least the benefits aren't bad," he said, moving closer. "Although if you left, I'd have to demand a much larger paycheck." He grabbed her waist and pulled her in close.

Chloe turned her head to the side so that his lips hit her cheek. He opened his eyes and narrowed them, then released her. "I know why you're leaving."

"Oh really?" she challenged, crossing her arms. "And what have you deduced, oh wise one?"

"You're going after Drake."

She glared at him. "That's absurd."

"Is it?" He crossed his own arms. "You've reminded me at every possible opportunity that Drake would have had this figured out by now. You practically have a shrine built to the fellow. Just because he found El Dorado does not mean that I am any less capable."

"No, but the fact that we've been here two months and even Lazarevic has figured out more than you does."

Flynn just scowled at her.

"Look, I'm just getting tired of coming up empty-handed. Not to mention dealing with Lazarevic. Thank God he doesn't seem to have any sort of sex drive or I would have never agreed to work for that ugly bastard in the first place."

"He puts all his energy into being insane," Flynn quipped, and they both chuckled. After a moment, he grew more serious. "Speaking of your womanly charms, how much of what we had was an act?"

Chloe laughed at that. "Oh, don't act like you weren't just in it for the fun either, Harry. I mean seriously, can you imagine us together?"

He didn't laugh. He actually looked a little hurt. Chloe stopped smiling. "Yes," he answered very quietly. "I can."

And suddenly she understood. Everything he'd done was to impress her. It was jealousy that drove him, jealousy of Nate and the way she admired him despite his tendency to leave her behind. He didn't just want to outdo Nate—he aimed to replace him in her life.

"Oh God, Harry, I'm sorry…."

"No you're not," he snapped. The vulnerability that was so clearly visible on his face just a moment ago had suddenly disappeared behind a mask of hate. "You never are."

"That's not true," she told him. "I didn't know you really felt that way about all this. I thought we were just having fun."

"It's never 'just fun' with someone as beautiful as you," he rebutted. "In fact, it's never 'just fun,' period. Free love is just another way of saying you don't give a fuck."

"I gave you plenty of fucks."

"Yeah, and I'll bet you enjoyed it." He crossed his arms again, defending himself by refusing to let her in. "This is why you can never trust a woman. You really don't care if you hurt anyone, do you?"

"You don't either. Or did you even consider how Nate might feel when you left him there to get caught?"

He glared at her. "I did what I had to do."

"Don't lie, Harry." She crossed her arms, raising her own defenses. They had become like archers on opposite walls, firing at each other from a distance. "You did it because you were jealous. You didn't like that he had me before you."

"Yeah, well I doubt he was your bloody first," he snapped, lowering his arms so he could point at her accusingly. He started walking in a semicircle, moving to her right. "I wonder if you even cared when you left him."

"For your information, Nate walked out on me," she informed him, pointing to herself. "Now he had a very good reason for doing so, but that's not what we're here to talk about. I already told you I'm leaving."

"Well then get to it." He turned around and walked away.

Chloe felt just a tiny bit of pain in her chest. It grew progressively bigger the further he got. Steeling herself, she ignored the wound and set her features into a glare.

"I suppose I will."

"You are being unbelievably stupid," Chloe told herself as she headed for the first normal-sized door she had seen in a while. "There's no way he's going to want to help you. You'll just end up making a fool out of yourself."

Despite her out-loud chiding of herself, Chloe continued toward the door. Once there, she pressed the doorbell and waited.

And then waited some more.

It took a full five minutes for her to press the button again, this time with her ear against the door to hear if it made any sound. She heard it, and wondered if the old man's ears had just gone out. He'd certainly fired that revolver enough times in his life to make most normal people go deaf.

Grumbling, Chloe reached above the door sill, trying to find a spare key. Nothing. She leaned over into one of the many potted plants and started to root around. Just when she thought she might be getting somewhere, the door opened. She froze.

"Now there's an ass I haven't seen in a while."

She rolled her eyes. 'Ever the charmer.' She stood up and dusted herself off. "Hello, Victor. May I come in?"

"Sure, why the hell not?" Sullivan stepped out of the way and allowed her to pass. As she did, she noticed his eyes were still watching her behind. She decided kicking him would not exactly be the most polite course of action and decided to indulge him. She was trying to make a good impression, after all. "If you're lookin' for Nate, he's not here. I think he went to the Bahamas or something."

"Actually, he's in a Turkish prison," she revealed as they entered the study.

"Again? What the hell did he do this time?"

She sat down in one of the many expensive leather chairs. "Tried to lift a thirteenth century Mongolian oil lamp from a museum. Apparently it belonged to Marco Polo."

Sullivan took a seat as well, picking up the cigar he had apparently been smoking before he answered the door. "This wouldn't happen to be the same museum that he barely made it out of last time, would it? The one in Istanbul?"

"The same. Harry Flynn and I talked him into it."

"Flynn? What the hell were you doin' workin' with him? The guy's a backstabbing, no good son of a—"

"Yes, and Drake knows that now. He deliberately set off the alarm so that the guards would catch him. I've recently cut ties with him. He doesn't know I'm here right now."

"Well what the hell was so important about an oil lamp that you'd track down Nate? You know he'd never go into that museum again unless it was somethin' really big."

She smiled and crossed her legs. "Actually, it was pretty big. The lamp held a clue as to where to find Marco Polo's lost fleet."

Sullivan's eyes widened. "You gotta be shittin' me."

"Nope, no shit here." She held up her hands. "Flynn and I delivered the map to the client who requested it, Zoran Lazarevic."

He stood up. "Lazarevic? You mean that fugitive war criminal the news has been talkin' about? I thought he was dead!"

"So does the UN, which is why he was able to go to Borneo without any trouble. We found the ships there."

"Damn." He looked away for a moment, then pointed his cigar at her. "You didn't have anything to do with Nate getting thrown in that shithole, did you? Because I swear to God, I'll…."

Chloe stood up and walked closer to him. "You'll what?"

He sputtered for a few seconds before shrugging. "Ah, I got nothin'."

"Don't worry, I had nothing to do with it." She walked past him and over to one of the many bookcases. "Flynn actually bragged about how he had managed to outsmart the legendary Nathan Drake."

Sullivan raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, so he didn't phrase it like a super villain but he was still pretty damn proud about pulling off that big of a double-cross. I wanted to punch him in the face."

"Why didn't you?"

Chloe shrugged and leaned back against the books. "His nose was already bleeding. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt when I slammed on the brakes."

He laughed and took another drag from his cigar.

"Anyway, I came to see you because I need your help getting Nate out of prison."

Sullivan blew the smoke out of his mouth slowly, and regarded her with a very serious expression. "Now you know I'd do anything for Nate," he said, gesturing with the cigar. "But where do you stand in all this? I mean you two haven't been together since—"

She raised a hand, and he stopped talking. "Don't bring it up, Victor; we both know what happened. We don't need to talk about it."

"Fair enough. Is he suddenly interested in you again?"

"Well, the feeling was mutual until he got thrown into that so-called 'shithole.' Which I think is an understatement, by the way."

He shrugged. "I'm with ya there."

"I guess you could say that I'm concerned for him. He isn't just a loose end in all this mess. He's the key."

"So that's it, then." He took another puff of the cigar, then exhaled. "You got the first part of the puzzle figured out and you want Nate's help deciphering the rest."

Chloe nodded. "Pretty much."

He shrugged again. "Sounds good to me. It's gonna be pretty expensive, though."

"We could just sneak in and bust him out, you know."

"And risk endin' up in there ourselves? I don't think so. I'd prefer to keep this one legal, if you don't mind."

"Of course not." She stood up straight and walked closer to him. "You'll help me talk to him, though? Keep him from trying to kill me?"

Sullivan laughed. "Like he actually could."

She smirked. "I know. I just don't want him to get filth all over my clothes."

"I don't think you're gonna be able to avoid that," he said, dragging from his cigar one more time. "Especially if he hugs you."

"I don't think I'm in any danger of that, either," she rebutted. "I just want him calm long enough for us to explain everything to him."

He sighed and pushed the nose of the cigar against one of the posts, snuffing it and leaving a black circle on the wood. He took out a silver case from his pocket and placed the cigar in there. "I'll do what I can," he said after he was finished putting it away. "But you know what his temper's like. You'd better have one hell of a plan for him to still be interested after what he's been through."

"Well, I think the opportunity to go on another adventure with old friends will be enough incentive," Chloe replied, smiling. "Although I suppose the Cintimani Stone is another."

He raised an eyebrow. "The what?"

"I'll let him explain that to you," she said, then held out her hand. "So do we have a deal?"

Sullivan hesitated for a moment, then shook her hand. "You bet."

Author's Notes: I suppose I could have dedicated another couple chapters to the time leading up to this, but I honestly ran out of story to tell. None of that seemed relevant, and to be perfectly honest the second chapter wasn't even part of the original plan. I wrote up the two scenes that comprise the first chapter as well as the two in this one in a single day and planned to publish that, but we all know how well that worked out. Besides, nobody's reading this anyway.

I may do another story in this fandom someday. However, I have a bunch of other stories to finish and some real life crap to take care of, so it'll probably have to wait. Until then, enjoy.