Chapter 3
A Normal Life
Fifteen years later…
"Alright, made it to the bottom," said Nathan. "OK," said the voice. It was Jameson. Nathan, in his scuba gear took a breath out of his rebreather. The water here was crystal clear, and fish were swimming in all directions. The riverbed was rocky, and calm, with sand in places. There was tall waterweed flowing in all different directions. "According to your signal you're at the coordinates. Any sign of our haul?" Nathan replied, "No, not yet anyway. You got any pings from up there?" "Afraid not," said Jameson. Nathan continued swimming. Jameson had offered him a quick job of hauling up some items that had been lost on their last trip, when a shipwreck had dumped its cargo. He was a harbor master, and a stickler for doing things on schedule. "By my watch you're at a quarter tank," said Jameson, "Do you want to come up?" Nathan said back, "Nah, it can't be far." "If you don't find it soon I'm calling it," Jameson said through the radio, "I'll find it." Nathan said. Nathan kept swimming in the warm water, and then he saw something that looked like metal on the riverbed partially buried in sand. He swam up and brushed off the sand. "Hey I got something here," said Nathan, "What is it?" asked Jameson. Nathan began talking almost to himself, "No rust…right color…maybe it hit the rocks and tore off before tumbling…" "Hey," said Jameson, "You're mumbling." Nathan chuckled, "Sorry, it looks like a piece of our wreck. Must be close by." Jameson chuckled himself and said, "You're teasing me now Drake, you're teasing me." A short swim down the gently sloping floor and he came across a large metal cargo crate. "I found it," said Nathan. "How's it look?" asked Jameson. "It's beat up, but intact," replied Nathan. There was a large gash in the metal, too narrow for him to swim through, but large enough for him to see into the crate. Nathan radioed in, "Well most of the boxes are here…" "Can you get an accurate count?" asked Jameson, "No, I'd have to get inside for that," replied Nathan. Nathan looked and went over to the doors of the crate. After a bit of a struggle to undo the bolt, he opened the doors, and a school of small fish swam out. "Oh!" said Nathan as the tiny fish darted past, "Morning fellas." He took a few stokes inside before calling Jameson, "Alright I'm in." Jameson said, "Alright, how's the cargo?" Nathan replied, "Well most of it is still strapped down." Nathan went down to check the count. He called in, "OK, we're shy two crates. I'll go round them up." Jameson said, "You sure Drake? You're tank's getting low." Nathan brushed him off again, "They can't be far. Give me a sec." He turned around, and saw a large gash in the bottom of the trailer. Inside the gash was one of the crates, but it was pinned under the trailer. They would have to raise the trailer to get the other crate. Nathan gave the situation to Jameson, and after searching around the area, he found the other crate. "Alright," said Nathan, "Got them both." "Perfect timing," said Jameson, "We're right above you, sling is on the way down." After a few moments, the crane sling went down. He hooked the trailer up to the sling and they raised it up just enough for him to swim under and retrieve the crate that had been pinned. Nathan then swam inside the trailer, secured the crate, and swam over on top of the sling to hitch a ride up. After breaking the surface he heard Jameson say, "Ah there you are! How you feeling Drake?" "Well better now that I'm out of that river!" said Nathan, "I'm going to stink like fish for a week!" Hanging over top of the barge, Nathan sat down on the sling and worked his flippers off. After being lowered, Nathan took his rebreather off. "Good to have you back Drake!" a salvage worker called up. "Good to be back!" Nathan said. He tossed his gear down to the worker and jumped off the trailer. Some of the salvage workers had gathered at the trailer. Nathan left them to their work and walked over to Jameson. When Jameson saw Nathan come up he smiled and giving him a friendly slap on the back he said, "My hero!" Nathan chuckled and Jameson said, "Come on, let's see what you brought us." He walked with Jameson over to the crates and said, "Well let's see now…" He looked at Nathan, and holding out a crowbar said, "Care to do the honors?" Nathan took the crowbar, "Yeah sure," he said, "Thanks." He pried open the wooden crate and looked at the inside, "Well would you look at that," said Nathan, "We struck copper." Inside the crates were loops of copper. "You'd be surprised how much this stuff is worth," said Jameson, "Client's paying a lot of money for the full recovery. You didn't know that's what we were salvaging? Hm. I thought the client mentioned it. No matter." Nathan chuckled and said, "You sure you don't want to melt it down and make some pennies?" Jameson laughed and said, "Come on, let's celebrate! First round's on me." Nathan laughed, "Oh no! I'm not bar-hopping with you guys, not unless there's hazard pay. If you don't mind I'm just going to go home, do some paperwork and crash. Raincheck though?" Jameson nodded, "Alright. Suit yourself. Hey, good work today!" "Thanks," said Nathan as he looked at the boxes one last time.
Locking his trailer, he was about to get in his car to leave when he saw Jameson walk up, "Hey," said Nathan, "What are you doing in here?" Jameson said, "Uh…I got a present for you." "A present?" said Nathan. Jameson handed Nathan a sheet of paper, "What's this?" asked Nathan. "Got some news from my contact about that wreck off the coast of Malaysia…" Nathan chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Oh no…" Nathan said. Jameson was once again trying to get Nathan to sign onto the Malaysia Job. "The ship's intact," said Jameson, "Cargo's ripe for the picking." "You are a persistent one I'll give you that," said Nathan handing Jameson the paper. Jameson gently pushed his hand back and continued, "And…all the money came in for the equipment too. We're all set. Except of course, my best guy. The guy I trust for the job, the only one…he's got cold feet." Nathan said, "My feet were never warm to begin with. Tell me, this 'contact' of yours…he got the permits?" "No he can't get the permits. No-one can get the stupid permits," "Course not," said Nathan. Jameson continued his pitch, "But Nate, don't you see that works in our favor? No permits means no competition, the ship's ours!" "No permits means no go," Nathan said. Jameson put a hand on Nathan's shoulder and said, "Nathan look…this is retirement money. For the both of us. Now I don't know about you, but I don't want to be working on salvage when I'm sixty. Do you?" Nathan thought for a moment. Didn't salvage jobs pay upwards of eighty-thousand a year? "Sure beats prison." He sighed, "Listen, I have to pass. And so should you." Nathan tried once again to hand the paper to Jameson, but Jameson made one last valiant attempt, "Just take it with you, humor me OK?" Nathan shook his head, "I'm not going to change my mind!" Jameson said, "Well it don't hurt to sleep on it, does it?" Nathan folded the paper with a sigh, and turning to leave he said, "Say hi to Carla and the kids for me," Nathan waved, and Jameson called one last time, "No pressure Nate…But think about it!" Nathan waved one last time, shaking his head.
Looking at the paper Jameson gave him, Nathan thought long and hard. "Man you've really done your research on this…" Nathan said to himself as he sat at his desk, "It would make on great find…No! No, no way!" He folded the paper and put it in his filing cabinet. He got up. His office was inside the attic, which was filled with relics of his past adventures all over the world. A small idol he had found deep in China, notes from all over the world, old letters. Tenzin's jacket, a small silver skull. Looking on his bookshelf was a treasure he had a special place for. A small gold doubloon found in a German U-boat in the middle of the jungle. Then there was a photo of Nathan, his friend Sully, and Elena at the beach. He had married Elena after that. There was also a photo of Nathan with Tenzin. He sighed. He missed Tenzin. Another treasure was a puzzle from Sir Francis Drake. He'd never forget the phrase, "Long gone." Walking from his desk to the other end of the room, he opened a box that he seldom opened. It was Sam's things. Inside was a photo of Nathan and Sam. He was about to take it out, but decided not to. He didn't want to go through seeing his brother again. The crucifix with the penitent thief was also in the box. He had never taken up finding Captain Avery's treasure again. Sighing he shut the box. When he looked up, he saw his favorite plastic Nerf gun. Smiling he took it up. There was still some foam darts in it. Chuckling he looked up at the ceiling. He had hung up targets on the ceiling for such times. He quickly grabbed the plastic pistol and said, "Oh no! Here they come! I'm surrounded." Hiding behind a shelf, he quickly shot one of the targets, "Take that!" he said. Somersaulting to the next shelf, he shot another target, "Gotcha!" he said. He heard his wife Elena call from downstairs, "Hey Nate! You coming down to eat?" Nathan called back, "Uh, yeah! Be right there!" he shot again, "Eat plastic!" Chuckling, he walked over to the holster and put the Nerf gun back. "Well, play time's over," he said. He walked down the ladder out of the attic. He walked into Elena's office and looked at her desk. On it was a Bangkok travel guide. He chuckled, another article probably. On the wall were many of Elena's awards. He looked at a photo of him and Elena on vacation. He wanted to go on more vacations, but his entire life had been filled with danger and adventure. Was it wrong to want to finally settle down? Looking at another corner was the largest photo in Elena's office. It was a photo of their wedding day. Nathan chuckled, the wonderful memories coming back. It was their first kiss. Sully had been their best man. While most people would get married at a church, that wasn't quite exotic enough for him and Elena. They had gotten married on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Well, enough time down memory lane, Nathan went down the staircase. He saw Elena on her laptop sitting on the couch. Elena was wearing a loose pink button down shirt with khaki pants. She had her blonde hair up in a ponytail, and her attractive face was covered in a look of extreme concentration. Looking up at Nathan, she smiled and said, "You were up there a long time," said Elena with a smile, "I was researching something," Nathan said with a grin. "Oh is that what we're calling it these days?" Elena chuckled. "Hey would you mind grabbing the food?" asked Elena, "I'm just wrapping up here." Nathan nodded, "Sure." He walked over to the counter and picked up two bowls of soup. Nathan had always loved Elena's soup. Walking back to the couch he heard Elena type faster and harder than she had been before. A cue she was on her finishing sentence. Just as he sat down Elena gasped, "Oh done!" she closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table before stretching. "Finish it?" asked Nathan. "Yeah," Elena said. "Good for you," said Nathan. Elena shrugged and said, "You know, it's probably too long, and full of typos, but that's what editors are for right?" Elena brushed some of her blonde hair away from her eyes and took her spoon. "Gosh, I'm starving!" Elena said as she tucked in. She began eating far faster than normal. "So," said Elena with her mouth full, "Hww wzz yr dy?" Nathan laughed, "What? Got none of that." Elena chuckled, "Sorry. How was your day?" "Oh," Nathan said, "It was fine. Typical day in paradise. I got to pull a bunch of garbage out of a river." "Ooh!" Elena said, "Yeah…" Nathan said. "At least you got to go for a swim," said Elena, "Did you find any exciting garbage?" "Oh," said Nathan, "Brilliant stuff. It was an early twenty-first century truck. Apparently the natives called it a semi." "Oh brother," Elena said. "Boring stuff," Nathan said, "Have you been thinking about maybe starting up your TV show again?" Elena sighed, "Well…I don't know. It just seems like I went from TV show host to journalist right before we sort of retired. Right now I'm just writing articles for the magazine. That's enough for now." Nathan nodded."Tell me about the article." Elena spooned more soup into her mouth, this time swallowing and said after thinking a bit, "Well…it started out as this fluff piece. About tourism in Bangkok, but I don't think the magazine is going to like that angle since everyone that got off the plane started complaining of how rude the smog was, like a shock to the lungs, the second you got off the plane…" Nathan listened and then looked off into the mantelpiece above the fireplace. Propped against it was a huge painting of the jungles of Nepal. The painting depicted foaming turquoise seas below white, chalky cliffs. Tall spires of rock towered above the beach, and a bright blue sky covered the thick green jungles like a—Nathan felt something tap him on the shoulder. "Wha?" Nathan asked. Elena gave Nathan a look and said, "Where are you?" "What?" said Nathan, "Just keep going, it was very interesting!" "Oh," said Elena, "Interesting, what's my article about?" A few awkward seconds, "What?" Nathan asked, biding time. "This one?" Elena kept her eyes on Nathan, "Mmm-Hmm" Elena said still looking at Nathan. Nathan decided to risk it, "Uh…the people of…uh…Bangkok. About the smog and how they can't uh…get a flight anywhere and people can't breathe…" Elena smiled, "Wow…" she said. Nathan chuckled, "Alright I'm sorry. I usually don't drift off like that you have to admit!" Elena said, "Granted, still that was a valiant attempt." "I was in the ballpark right?" Nathan said. Elena replied, "In a different state but yeah you were in a ballpark." They both chuckled, and Nathan sighed deeply. A few seconds passed, and Elena said, "Jameson asked you about the Malaysia Job again." "Jameson always asks me about the Malaysia Job," Nathan replied. "Look Nate, I really think you should take it," Elena said. Nathan thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "You know what, I don't want it. Really. I mean he doesn't have the permits, and we agreed we're not going to take that kind of work anymore, it's dishonest and it's not worth it." Elena said, "OK, but it doesn't sound that risky. Nobody owns it. You could call Sullivan." Nathan shook his head, "Look, honey I just," "You haven't seen him in what two years?" Elena said. "Look, baby can we please just drop this?" Nathan asked. Elena said, "Alright, I just don't want you to not take it because of me." Nathan said, frustrated, "I'm not taking it because of me OK?" He sighed. "Look I appreciate the gesture it's just…" He didn't finish. Elena got up after a few seconds and said, "Well I'm going to go and do the dishes." Nathan took her arm and said, "No I'll do them." "You did them last night," Elena said. "No," said Nathan, "You cooked, I clean. It's fine. How about…How about I earn the right to do them, how about I play you for it?" Elena looked confused, "Play me for it?" "Yeah," Nathan said, "How about I try and beat your high-score on your TV game thing." "My TV game thing?" Elena said. "Yeah," said Nathan I've seen you play it in your spare time, and it's just running and jumping which I have a natural talent for." "Oh please," said Elena, "Ooh so you're scared now?" Nathan said. He began clucking like a chicken. Elena nodded, and walked over to her small game console. While Elena would occasionally play video games on her old first gen console when she had no other work to do, or articles to write, Nathan never understood video games. He had no desire to play them, and considered them a waste of time. Why play video games when you could do half the stuff on them in real life? The console turned on and it started to load. "Is this it?" asked Nathan. "No," said Elena, "It has to load." "Load?" asked Nathan, "Yes," A few more loops of the loading circle and Nathan said, "This is taking a really long time." Elena rolled her eyes and said, "You have no patience." That much was true…"When you turn something on," said Nathan, "You expect it to…" the main menu for the game popped up, "Oh OK, here we go." Elena had chosen the Jungle Fox Jumper game for Nathan, one that she knew he'd mess up on badly. Not knowing how to start the game Nathan said, "OK so uh…How do you make it go?" Elena said, "You push the start button." "I knew that," Nathan said. Elena gave him a look with a mischievous smile on her face. The game started, and Elena said, "OK, you have to run towards the camera." The game was a simple jumper game, with you as a fox in a jungle. You had to jump over obstacles and smash crates for apples. The camera was in front of the fox. Nathan didn't know what to say. People did this in their spare time? Why? This was the most ridiculous thing he had ever seen. Still, the zany jungle music was pretty cool… The fox began running close to a ravine, and Elena continued her tutorial, "Alright, use the X button to jump." "Right," said Nathan, "Which one's X? Oh got it." Suddenly a huge boulder began chasing the fox. "Alright run away from the boulder," said Elena. "Why is the boulder chasing me?" Nathan asked, "I did nothing to this boulder!" The fox smashed some crates, and Nathan kept going with his critiquing. "Why is a fox smashing crates? That's not realistic…and why is he wearing jeans?" Suddenly Nathan's fox fell in a pit. A "Game Over," screen came on, along with music that sounded almost too much like the Price is Right fail jingle. "What happened?" Nathan asked, "You fell in a pit," Elena said, "Can't I climb out?" Nathan asked, "Nope, you're dead." said Elena. Nathan shook his head and said, "Well that's not realistic. If it were me I'd just climb out. He should learn to climb. Climbing's always helped me." After dodging multiple boulders, fences and pits, Nathan made it to the end of the level. He saw the score come up. His score was 2130. Elena's high score was 3500. The fox made a sad face and he went back to the main menu. Nathan was stunned. "What?" he said holding his hands up, "That's it!?" Elena laughed and looked at Nathan with a twinkle in her eye, "You asked for it," she said. Elena stretched again while Nathan sat in the gutter of defeat. "You have to be kidding me!" Nathan said, "I practically had it!" Elena put her arms around Nathan and said "Hey, you can always give it another shot. Come on, double or nothing my car could use a good cleaning…" "Really?" Nathan said, "Really you're going to go there?" Elena said, "There's this mode called easy mode, I can just switch it on, it's way easier in easy mode…" Nathan shook his head, "Just keep talking, keep talking." "What are you going to do?" Elena taunted, "I'm warning you," Nathan said with a laugh. Elena said, "Come on chicken? Huh?" Nathan went into pouncing position, "One last warning!" "Elena said, "Show me!" Nathan pounced and they both wrestled each other to the floor laughing. Laying beside each other Elena looked at Nathan and said, "Hey?" Nathan said, "Yes?" "Are you happy?" Elena asked. Nathan chuckled and said, "Of course!" Nathan said, "I have a beautiful wife who I adore with all my heart, a lovely house to spend time with her in, and so many other things. You?" Elena looked like she was thinking and said, "Um…" Nathan laughed, "Um?" he said, "Really?" Elena looked at Nathan and said, "Come here." All too ready to oblige, Nathan kissed his wife tenderly. Before he had married Elena, Nathan never really knew what love was. Now, he knew he still never would. It was far too wonderful for any man to truly know.
Signing papers was one of Nathan's hated pastimes. He had gotten up bright and early to finish some business regarding the salvage. He now wondered why he even bothered about permits. After all, the only thing they created was just more paperwork! He just kept signing, stamping, and folding countless sheets. He was inside his office at the docks, and Jameson hadn't even shown up yet. He heard a knock on the office door. He sighed, "We're not open yet!" Nathan said. A few seconds, and the person knocked again. Nathan raised an eyebrow, maybe the person didn't hear. He said a bit louder, "We're closed!" There. No way that the person didn't hear. Another knock. Nathan rolled his eyes, "Come on man," he said under his breath, before getting up and saying, annoyed, "Alright! I'm coming, I'm coming!" He marched over to the door, "Idiot…" he said to himself. He opened the door to see the man. His back was turned and he was looking through the papers on the table in the middle of the room. "Can I help you?" asked the aggravated Nathan. The man said, "Yeah, uh…I'm looking for my younger brother." Nathan's heart skipped a beat. He knew that voice. "He's about your height," said the man, who now turned. Nathan knew who it was. That face was unmistakable. "A little leaner, definitely less gray in the temples." Nathan stepped back, unbelieving, "Sam?" Nathan asked. Sam nodded and said, "It's good to see you again Nathan." Nathan felt himself getting choked up, he stepped forward and embraced his brother, "Oh Sam!" Sam laughed and said, "Hey! Whoa! Alright take it easy pal." Nathan stepped back and asked the question, "How? I thought you…Sam I saw you get shot!" "Yes you did," replied Sam, "Right here," Sam lifted his shirt. There was not just one, not two, but three bullet-holes in Sam's lower stomach. Sam shook his head and said, "The doctors they patched me up and tossed me right back into the cell." Sam walked into Nathan's office, and Nathan said, "Yeah but…I made calls! I checked everywhere for you. Everything I've heard, everything I've found confirmed that you…you were dead." Sam shook his head and replied, "Nate we killed a guard. The guards there wanted to see me rot in that cell for the rest of my life, and I nearly did." Nathan still was trying to take it all in. "Oh Sam I…If I would've known I swear to you I would've come back-" "I know you would've Nathan," said Sam, "I know Nathan…I know. The important thing is that I'm out." Nathan was still unbelieving, he said, "Hey, let's go outside. I could use some air…" They walked out onto the dock, the waters of the river lapping against the concrete wall. Sam chuckled and said, "You're not going to pass out on me are you?" Nathan replied, "I just might…It's a lot to digest!" Sam took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. Faint trails of smoke drifted into the air. Nathan still wanted to know more, and he asked, "Sam still, how did you get out? When did you get out? How'd you even get here to find me?" Sam held his hand out, "Alright, alright Nathan!" Sam said with a chuckle, "Slow down. Have a seat." The two men sat down on the bench. Sam looked at Nathan and said, "Hey, I want to hear about you." Nathan laughed, "Me? What's to tell?" "Well," said Sam, "I called some of the old contacts, they tell me some pretty crazy stories." Nathan rolled his eyes, "Oh, what stories?" Sam said, "Well, gut-shot, hanging from a derailed train in the Himalayas," Nathan said, "Well…Yeah, that…that actually happened." Sam shook his head and said, "Ah come on man! What did I miss?" Nathan sighed. He had been on so many wild and extraordinary adventures. All while he thought Sam was dead, he had explored the globe finding artifacts and relics, "Ah Sam where do I start?" Sam replied, "Start with the best part?" Nathan thought… "OK," he said, "Do you remember the theory that we had that Sir Francis Drake faked his own death?" "Yeah," said Sam. "He did," said Nathan, "I found the coffin." "Off the coast of Panama?" Sam asked. "Yes!" replied Nathan. "OK," said Nathan, "Get this, I open the thing, and there's no body. But…at the bottom, is his old journal. Man…wait till you hear what happened next…"
"I mean what can I say…another lost city destroyed…but we made it out alive. Barely." Nathan finished telling his tale of his discovery of El Dorado. The sun had come up, and the river was now busy with boats coming back and forth. Sam took a thoughtful drag on his cigarette before blowing the smoke out in a whistle. "Unbelievable," he said. "Yeah," said Nathan, "Yeah it was. Wish you could've been there." "No," said Sam, "I mean it's literally unbelievable." He made a motion with his hand and said, "I mean you tell me you stumble upon yet another archaeological gold mine and somehow…you managed to walk away…with nothing." Nathan threw up his hand and replied, "Well it's the story of my life I guess…But you know I managed to grab a few trinkets here and there. Paid off the house, the car, the engagement ring…hey, the engagement ring, I'm married! Elena from the stories? She's my wife! You have to come meet her! Tonight, dinner. At my place; you're coming to dinner, I can tell her all about you." Nathan got up from the bench and Nathan suddenly realized what that meant. "Crap I have to tell her all about you…" Sam sighed and walked over to the dock railing. "Nathan," said Sam, "I'm in a lot of trouble here." Nathan was concerned, "What? What kind of trouble." He walked over beside Sam, leaning against the railing. Sighing once more, and closing his eyes, Sam said, "Does the name Hector Alcazar mean anything to you?" Nathan thought for a moment, "Yeah," he said, "He's the drug lord, the Butcher of Panama, right?" Nathan felt a knot in his gut, "Why?" Sam still stood there, seeming reluctant to answer. "Funny story," Sam said, "But um…Last year he was my cell mate." Nathan didn't say anything. Sam said, "So this is how I got out of prison…"
Just a few more. Sam was exercising in his cell. Just because he was in prison didn't mean he couldn't stay in shape. Sweat on his temple, Sam stopped for a breather and looked at Alcazar, who was staring out of the cell door. "What, you're not reading tonight?" Sam said still sitting on the cold, hard floor. Alcazar's answer was shadowy. "Samuel come here," he said with coldness. Sam got up and walked over to the door. Alcazar looked at Sam and said, "The guards. They're singing." Sam shrugged and said, "Well yeah, they're probably drunk." "Perhaps," said Alcazar, "But they are content." Sam looked out. Then Alcazar said, "How can they be content with their small lives? Their miserable jobs?" Sam chuckled and said, "Well they have wives to go home to. What have we got?" Sam walked over to his mat on the floor. "We have ambition," Alcazar said, "And when we get out of here, that ambition will take us to places these idiots can't even imagine." Sam laid down on the mat and said, "Well, amen to your optimism." He closed his eyes and sighed. Alcazar said, "What will you do when you get out of here Samuel?" Sam laughed, "That's if I get out of here. I'm sure you can imagine." "I can," Alcazar responded, "But I want you to say it." Sam chuckled and said, "I will find the greatest pirate treasure of all time. Which I'm sure you're sick of hearing by now." "Oh no," said Alcazar, "The thought of Captain Avery's four hundred million in gold and jewels has become a sweet lullaby for me." He paused for a moment, then said, "Do you really think you can find it?" Sam thought for a second, "Given the opportunity…absolutely!" Alcazar chuckled, "Ambition," he said, "What is that Avery quote?" Sam repeated the quote of the captain, "I am a man of fortune, and I must seek my fortune." Alcazar thought for a bit then said, "I like how he thinks." Suddenly Sam heard a gunshot, and people yelling. He lurched up in bed, though Alcazar didn't seem surprised at all. "What was that?" Sam asked, to which Alcazar replied, "The opportunity of a lifetime." Sam looked to see masked men in bulletproof vests come towards the cell holding AK's at the ready. They greeted Alcazar and talked to him in Spanish. Alcazar took a pistol from the henchman, and then, looking at Sam he said, "Samuel, are you ready to seek your fortune?" Sam thought for a moment, he could either rot in this cell for a crime he didn't commit and had no part in, or he could have this one chance at escape. "Yes," he said, before leaving the cell for what he hoped would be the last time.