Chapter 8
Hidden in Plain Sight
Standing in the middle of King's Bay was the tower they were looking for. Nathan parked the jeep close to it, and got out, Sully with him. "Alright," said Nathan, "There's our tower." King's Bay was a large town, with a busy marketplace, and building packed tightly together. It was in slightly better shape than many other third world countries, though it certainly wasn't the cleanest city. The buildings had clay shingles, and there were people crowding the streets, riding motorized scooters or other small vehicles. There were power lines in disrepair lining the streets, with lemurs crossing them. Nathan and Sully were both in the marketplace, the busiest part of the city. "You really think all the treasure's just going to be sitting in the middle of a blasted market?" "Ah yeah," said Nathan, "That'd be crazy." Sully scoffed. "But we have seen crazy before," Nathan said. Sully chuckled, "That we have," he said. Nathan looked around the bricked parking area. There were several people crowded around a white jalopy, trying to fix the steaming engine. There was a withering paper sign plastered over one of the brick buildings. It proclaimed, "Welcome to Madagascar! It's incredible!" Nathan chuckled. He began descending the steps down into the marketplace. There were at least sixteen people all crowded around a booth looking at the exotic spices the merchant was selling. Nathan entered an open building next to the market. It was an office for the International Passport Bureau. Nothing to see, he exited. There was a wagon on a side street being drawn by a pair of oxen. Nathan walked over to wait for Sully. He patted one of them on the head. "Hey pal," he said, "Happen to see any pirate treasure around here?" Sully walked over and saw Nathan, "Hey, Nate!" he called. "Sorry," he said to the ox, "He's so impatient." He walked back over to Sully. As he walked, Sully bumped right into a young woman in a white dress. When he did, all of her items fell to the ground. "Oh I am so sorry!" Sully said. "Here, let me help you." Sully and the woman began picking up the items. They finished picking everything up. "My mistake," Sully said. The woman thanked him before she walked off. Sully turned his head to Nathan, "Did you see the way she looked at me?" he said. Nathan rolled his eyes and Sully adjusted his grey moustache. "You are delusional…" Nathan said. They continued making their way towards the tower. Nathan passed a maintenance worker painting one of the buildings. The further they went into the marketplace, the busier everything got. Salesmen and saleswomen selling their products, chanting prices and item names. There were stalls hanging with curtains and awnings, there were fabrics, incense, spices, food items, souvenirs, clothes. Nathan was nearly overwhelmed by all of it. He looked over everything, and suddenly, a woman got in his way. "Apples!" she said, "Fresh apples! Best apples in the market!" Nathan shook his head and held out his hand, "Thank you, not interested." He tried to move on, but the woman persisted, "Sir, you may find better apples here, but you won't find better! Please, buy one!" Nathan sighed, "Alright," he took the apple and paid for it. "Thank you very much sir," she said, "enjoy your apple, and tell your friends!" Nathan began walking away. "Well I don't think I'll have to," he said looking back. The woman was accosting Sully now. He took a bite out of the apple. After chewing it a bit, he nodded. This apple certainly was quite delicious. He kept on walking, passing a large booth selling sausage and other meats. The booth next to that one was selling fish. He suddenly felt something crawling over him. He tried to turn around, but suddenly the thing snatched the apple out of his hand. It was a cheeky ring tailed lemur. Nathan chuckled. The lemur simply ate the apple while perched on Nathan's arm like a parakeet. Nathan chuckled, "Hey there little guy," he said. He reached out and scratched the lemur behind the ears. "How you doing?" He began scratching the lemur on his shoulders and back. The lemur closed his eyes and purred almost like a cat. Suddenly Nathan heard Sully, "Nate." Said Sully, almost in a scolding tone. Nathan had been so preoccupied with petting the lemur he hadn't noticed Sully walk up. "Tower." Sully said pointing. "Ah Sully come on, look it's a lemur!" the lemur stared at Sully, still perched on Nathan's arm. "Come on!" Nathan said, "Come say hi!" Sully held his hand, "No. I'm good." Nathan shook his head and put the lemur back on the ground. He began walking off when suddenly the lemur crawled right back up Nathan's back. "Hey Sully!" he said, "Look who's back!" "Rabies, Nate," Sully replied. After a bit, he got the lemur back on the ground. Sully and Nathan resumed their trip. "Hey you know what," Nathan said, "after all this is over and done with, I'm getting a dog." "Hey," Sully replied, "If we get out of this all in one piece I'll buy you the dog!" "Mind if I name it Victor?" Nathan asked. Sully chuckled, "Sure." Sully detoured off to a booth that was selling colorful shirts. "Hey Nate," he said holding up a bright scarlet button up shirt, "Mind if I buy one of these?" Nathan laughed, "Sully you'd gotta be crazy to wear one of those!" Sully chuckled, "Ha. Crazy handsome!" Nathan rolled his eyes once again. They walked up to an upper level of the market. This area was filled with food items cooking. "Oh man," Sully said, "Something smells good…" Nathan agreed completely. There were birds roasting, nuts in boxes, fish, meat, fruits, and other foodstuffs. At the end of the area was a booth selling hand carved wooden toys. Then, Nathan suddenly realized that the tower was right in front of them. He huffed. "Well shopping time's over," he said to himself. He tried the door. Locked, of course. He looked around. At the side of the building, there was an unlocked window. He made sure nobody saw him, and then he and Sully slipped through the window into the tower. The inside of the tower was twice the size of Avery's tower next to the volcano. It was in near perfect condition, and there were bronze statues of the saints on the wall, with marble arches on the ceiling. The wall was painted a deep maroon, and there were gold chandeliers hanging from the top of the tower. "Wow," said Sully, "This is in much better condition than any of the other towers," "Well it's in the middle of the city," said Nathan. There, in the main center room of the tower, was a large circular depression in the floor. In the middle of the circle were a pair of scales. The scales of justice, also the sigil of pirate captain Edward England. "So what are we looking for?" Sully asked, "Good question," Nate replied. There was a strange statue right above a large doorway that led to a pair of stairs that climbed up. It looked like a faceless wraith. Its robes looked like the cloak of an executioner, and it had both his hands out, ready to grab somebody's soul. Things like that usually didn't bother Nathan, but that particular statue put a chill up his spine. He entered the doorway and walked up the stairs. There was a large metal doorway with serpents slithering across it, looking like Chinese dragons. When he did, he entered a gigantic room. "Whoa…" he said as he entered. The room was over one hundred feet high, and it was a huge clock tower. Oversized clock mechanisms loomed above him. There were enormous gears that weighed more than a ton, and wooden scaffolding to reach and repair all of the mechanics. However, in the center of the tower, there was something quite different. There was yet another strange circular depression in the floor. However, there was a small four foot high stone post with a small, golden hole in it. Nathan took the bronze coin out of his pocket, "Now what do you bet…" he said to himself. He flipped the coin in his hand, and then pressed it into the perfectly fitting hole. The post fell downwards, and then the circular depression began to turn into a spiraling staircase, very similar to the staircase in Avery's tower near the volcano. Nathan and Sully looked down. "This has got to be the place!" Nathan said excitedly, "Call Sam!" Sully tried dialing Sam's number, but it went to voicemail. "Not the best coverage in this city," Sully said. "Well no reason to wait," Nathan said, "Come on, let's see what Avery has in store for us." Nathan took the coin off of the post, and they began walking down the stairs. "Fingers crossed for piles of gold and jewels," Sully said. Nathan wasn't quite sure what they would find down here. Suddenly, Sully's phone buzzed. He answered, "Sam! Finally! You OK?" Nathan could just hear Sam reply, "Yeah, I just searched my tower, I found nothing." "Yeah well," Sully said, "We're definitely in the right place. Make your way over here. It's the marketplace tower." "Are you serious?" Sam said excited, "OK, I'm on my way!" Sully hung up, "He's coming," Sully said. The staircase had become a dark hallway. There were ancient torches still lit on the wall. The walls were ornately accented, and whitewashed. The hallway then gently spiraled downwards, the staircase continuing downwards. After a while, they reached a doorway. The doorway was decorated exactly the same as the first, with serpents slithering across the bronze door. However, right above the doorway, was something the other door lacked. A golden sideways skull and crossbones: Avery's sigil. Nathan pushed the door, and when he did, the room immediately took him back. The room itself was hauntingly dim, and not very big. There were four statues right in front: Henry Avery and Thomas Tew, partners in crime. However, beside those statues were another pair of far more disturbing figures. They were positioned exactly the same as the wraith that had been further up, however, instead of having a faceless hood, the hoods were down, revealing bare skulls. Their hands were still outstretched, greedy and malicious, with skeletal fingers frozen in time. In the middle of the room was a large circular stone table that was raised right out of the ground. Written on the table was the word, "Founders," and below that were pirate sigils. At the very top were Henry Avery and Thomas Tew's sigils. Below their sigils were the sigils of Christopher Condent, Anne Bonney, and Adam Baldridge. After looking it over, Nathan and Sully both walked into the next room. "Well look at this!" Nathan said, "It's them!" Inside this room, which was the same size as the last, were three painted portraits. One of Christopher Condent, one of Anne Bonny, and one of Adam Baldridge. "It's like a museum down here," Sully said. Nathan looked at the portraits. Anne Bonny was dressed in black, with a pair of pistols at her side, with a head of flaming red hair. The portrait of Christopher Condent was much more pirate-like. He was leaning on a cutlass, laying on a bed. He had a head wrapped in a cloth, with scowling eyes and mouth. He had an unruly beard and head of hair. The most notable feature was his fake left hand. It was made of metal. Adam Baldridge was probably the wealthiest looking pirate. He was wearing striking red clothes, with a gigantic curly wig. There were two ships in the background and he was holding a raised glass of red wine. His hat was wide, and there was a large ostrich feather stuck in it. "Hey Sully," Nathan said, "Take a look at his moustache!" Sully huffed. Baldridge had an impeccable handlebar moustache, "It's almost as impressive as yours," Nathan said. Sully shrugged, "Meh. It's alright…" They looked and saw yet another room, filled with three more pirate portraits. The next set began with a man named William Mayes. He operated out of Rhode Island, just like Thomas Tew. Nathan saw their sigils. Unfortunately, the sigils were mixed up, not painted onto their portraits. Nathan wanted to know who was who. "Hey Sully," Nathan said, "let me see your phone. I need to ask Sam who these sigils belong to." Sully handed Nathan his phone and Nathan snapped a picture, and then texted it to Sam. After a moment Sam ringed. "Hey," Nathan said, "You still in the tower?" "Yeah," Sam replied, "Just climbed back down. What's with the picture you just sent?" "I'll fill you in later," Nathan said, "For now, I just need to know who's who." "Well," Sam said, "The dolphins are Richard Want, the trident is Joseph Farrell, and the two hands with the pearl is William Mayes." "Alright, great," said Nathan, "Just stay where there's good reception, I might need your help again." "Wait Nathan did you find the treasure?" Sam asked. "No, not yet," Nathan replied, "But I got some clues to figure out. I'll keep you posted. Be careful." With that, Sam and Nathan hung up, and they kept looking. The portrait of Richard Want was especially interesting. He was wearing a heavy black coat, with a thick black wig, and smoking a long black pipe. "Books, globes, this guy looks like a scholar," Sully observed. "Yeah, Want was the captain of the Dolphin." Sully huffed, "Yeah," he said, "Looks like he and Baldridge were having a 'best wigs' contest." They walked over to the portrait of Joseph Farrell. He looked like he was extremely irritated. He had a swashbuckling look to him, a classic pirate look. After looking at everything, they reached the next room, which was far different. This room was the same size, but there were no portraits, something far different. There was a large golden table shaped like a huge drum. There was a glistening brass star in the center of a compass, and the edges of the table were ornately decorated, with three silver medallions at each end of the table. "What is this?" Sully asked. "Not sure yet…" Nathan replied. "Maybe send it to Sam?" Sully suggested. Nathan rolled his eyes and took a picture of each of the medallions. When he looked closer, he realized that the medallions were pictures of islands. He got in a better position with more torchlight, then he snapped the photo. "Alright," Nathan said, "Let's see what he makes of them." Nathan walked over to one of the silver maps. They were small, about six inches across. Nathan looked closely, each of the maps had raised details. Curious, he took out his notebook and ripped out three pages. He quickly rubbed his pencil over the paper, and the details of the map came into focus. "What are you doing?" Sully asked. "Hold on," Nathan replied. He walked over to the next map, and scratched it into the next sheet, then did it to the third one. "You just took pictures," Sully said. Nathan finished scratching the third one, "Well Avery's recruits wouldn't've had smartphones obviously…So this would've been the only way for them to get to the next clue. He took the papers, and put them in front of each other, then he put it into the light of the torch. The torchlight illuminated Avery's insignia, right on a group of islands. "Well it would look like we're packing our bags again kid." Sully said. Nathan smiled, then noticed something written on Avery's insignia, which said, "For God and Liberty." Nathan was shocked. "Oh…No, no, no it can't be!" he said, "Can't be what?" Sully asked. "It's so obvious! Why didn't I see this before!?" Nathan continued. Sully, frustrated, said, "Enough with the suspense, what in the world are you talking about?" Nathan's phone buzzed and he quickly answered it, "Sam!" he said, "Did you get the photos?" There wasn't a reply that came at once. Then, there was a laugh. The laugh certainly wasn't Sam's. "Here I am, calling what I thought was Sullivan's phone, and look who picks up! How you been Nate?" "Hey Rafe," Nathan replied. Sully's eyes widened, "What?" he mouthed. "Not too bad," Nathan said, "How'd you get this number? Did Sullivan leave it on a cocktail napkin?" Rafe laughed, "I wish," he said, "No, no, I had to pay top dollar to find you guys." "Yeah," said Nathan as they began to leave the room, "Well I hope you didn't spend too much money on this whole Avery thing. I hear the competition's fierce." "Yeah you pulled off some clever moves there," Rafe said, "But in the end all that matters is who gets to Avery's treasure first." Nathan laughed, "Well that sounds like a bet," he said. He heard Rafe laugh on the other end, "Hey Nate, you know I'm always game but my partner…well she prefers to…mitigate unnecessary risks." Sully opened to door to leave the pirate chamber, and head back to the main tower, "Wow," he said, "Rafe Adler taking orders from somebody else. Oh, how times have changed." "Look Nate," Rafe said, "I'm going to make you a one-time offer here. You drop everything. Go home…Live your life…and I'm willing to forgive and forget. For old time's sake." Nathan began walking back up the spiral staircase, "Well as tempting as that sounds Rafe," he said, "I'm usually not the kind of guy who likes to quit while he's ahead…" "OK," Rafe said, "For God and liberty…" Nathan halted, "These are nice pictures Nate," Rafe said, "Good composition." Nathan paused, "You hacked our phones," he said. "You stole my cross!" Rafe fired back, "Listen Nate, if you're half as smart as you think you are, you'll accept my offer. What's it gonna be?" Nathan saw Sam was trying to call, "Well look," Nathan said, "As nice as it's been to catch up with you I really have to take this call so…" he hung up. He began to hasten up the steps, "Let me guess," Sully said, "Goons with guns on their way here now…" Nathan answered Sam's call, "Sam!" he said, "For God and liberty," Sam said, "Nathan do you understand what this means?" "Sam," Nathan said, "Listen to me. Get off the streets right now! And destroy your phone, Rafe knows where we are! You gotta find some place to hide!" Suddenly, Nathan heard gunshots, "Sam?" Nathan yelled frantically, "Sam!?" No answer. The call ended. He took the phone, threw it on the ground and stomped it to pieces. "Hey!" Sully said. Nathan huffed, "I'll buy you a new one," he said, "Look, our phones have GPS, and if Rafe's hacked them, then all he would have to do is track us with it." Sully nodded, and they began making their way out of the tower. They unbarred the door and there were several people with quizzical looks on their faces, before they went back to either buying or selling. Nathan walked over to a railing. The tower was at the highest point in King's Bay, and there was a lookout area where you could see over nearly the entire city. He looked around, and saw it, "Look," Nathan said pointing downwards, "There's Sam's tower." Sully nodded, "Alright, let's get back to the jeep," he said. They began running through the crowd, pushing their way back to the jeep, "How long do you think we have before Rafe gets here?" Nathan asked, "Let's not stick around to find out…" Sully replied. Sully went down a staircase, but Nathan was held up by a salesman, this time, he had to force his way through. Sully beckoned from the bottom of the staircase, "Down here Nate," he said. Suddenly he heard three gunshots. Everybody in the market dispersed, and Nathan and Sully took cover. Hiding behind a pallet of stacked sugar sacks, Nathan saw three Shoreline mercenaries coming at them, with more on the way. He shot one of them down, and saw Sully make a dash for it. The mercenaries were armed with AK's, but Nathan only had a pistol, and not much ammo. Nathan tossed a grenade over to the remaining mercenaries. It exploded. "Good work Nate!" Sully called. Nathan ran over to the men's bodies and grabbed an AK and ammo. They tried rushing over to the jeep, but suddenly an enormous armored vehicle crashed through the market, and began shooting at them from its hood mounted machine gun. Nathan slid and used a line of sacked goods to hide behind. There was a man on the roof of the van shooting the gun. Nathan saw three mercenaries climb out of the van, and start shooting. Nathan and Sully hid inside a fishmonger booth. The stairs that led up to the lot, and the jeep, were just beside the booth. Nathan and Sully made a break for it, bullets from the van's gun whistling past them. They bolted, before Nathan vaulted into the jeep, Sully beside him. "You good?" Nathan asked, "Great," Sully replied, "Floor it!" Nathan shoved his foot into the gas pedal, before the jeep began screeching forward, smoke hovering above the screech marks on the pavement. Nathan swerved onto a side street, "Alright," Nathan said, "How do we get to Sam?" "Just keep heading downhill," Sully replied. Nathan followed his advice, staying on an extremely narrow side-street that ran just along the edge of the cliff. He gassed it, and suddenly saw three Shoreline mercenaries blocking the path. With nothing but the three men, Nathan revved the engine. The three men jumped out of the way. Nathan skidded down a hairpin turn, and blasted his way back into downtown King's Bay, parallel to the market, but just below it. There were people on the streets. Nathan punched the horn, blaring his way, and avoiding the people. "Don't hit anyone!" Sully shouted. Suddenly the armored truck burst onto the street from an alleyway. "It's that blasted truck again!" Sully yelled. The truck drove ahead of them, raining bullets down on them. Nathan winced, and he saw an alleyway. He threw the steering wheel to the side, and cut down somebody's yard. He smashed through the garden, willing to make any reparations, as long as he could get away from the armored Shoreline truck! The yard ended, and he drove down the hillside, off-road. He ran into somebody's clothesline. "Hey that was clean laundry!" Sully said, "They can wash it again!" Nathan retorted. They exploded back onto the road, and like a plague, the armored truck was right in front of them. He was forced down into the lower marketplace. This marketplace was at the complete opposite side of town than the one Sully and Nathan had been inside. He went under the archway, "Where on earth are you going?!" shouted Sully. Nathan entered the marketplace, which was nearly deserted, everybody running away from the shooting truck. He smashed through stalls and carts, goods flying everywhere. "You're the one who just said head down!" Nathan said back. People were scattered, running like a flock of birds scared witless. The market street continued, Nathan obliterating even more stalls, "Well this was a splendid idea Nate," Sully said, "Do you want to drive!?" Nathan shouted, frustrated. Suddenly the market street ended, and they blew out of the alleyway at the very center of King's Bay, a large roundabout with the town center on one end, and a large statue of the town's founder at the center of the roundabout. The street was horribly congested, with people everywhere. Nathan screeched around, desperately trying to dodge each vehicle. Suddenly, who should arrive but Shoreline's truck. It erupted onto the street like a nuclear bomb, shooting mindlessly in Nathan's direction. Nathan swerved off the roundabout, machine gun bullets pinging off the sides of the jeep, putting holes in the metal. He was on the street that led down to Sam's tower. Suddenly all the traffic heading down that street. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" Sully shouted. Nathan bumped into a bus that had stopped. Construction workers had abandoned the unfinished road, and panicked drivers had taken it. Nathan steered to right, to a dirty alley. The road ended. He reversed back up the alley, turned, and burst back onto the roundabout, the truck waiting, and shooting maniacally. "What now?!" Nathan yelled, "Up those stairs!" Sully shouted back. Nathan saw them, a pair of stairs that he could use as a ramp to get off the roundabout. He revved the engine, and hit the steps. He got several seconds of air time before slamming back onto the ground. They were now off the road, heading down a grassy hill. "Man Rafe really wants us out of the picture," said Nathan. Sully huffed, "Gee you think?" They saw the main road, and after jumping off the retaining wall, they hit the asphalt again. Nathan laughed. "I think we lost 'em. Don't want to jinx myself though…" "Hey Nate," said Sully, "We can never, ever come back to this city." "Add it to the list," Nathan replied. The main road began twisting and turning on its way down the mountainside. Suddenly the came to another construction site, this time with workers. "What!?" Nathan shouted, "Hey," said Sully, "You got a 4x4, go around!" Nathan drove around the construction site, running over several orange cones, "Sorry fellas!" Sully yelled, "First time driver here!" They left the site in the dust, "Ha!" said Nathan, "Let's see that truck get past that!" As if on cue, the truck exploded out of a side-street. "Cut right! Go right!" Sully shouted. Nathan thrust the steering wheel right, and they entered another unpaved area, before the area dropped off into a cliff. Nathan slammed onto the rooftops of some houses, before hitting the asphalt again. They saw the tower just ahead, "We're close!" Nathan shouted, "Keep an eye out for Sam!" They stopped the jeep, and saw what looked like a huge convoy running across the highway. "Hey!" Nathan yelled, "I think that's him!" Sam was riding an orange motorcycle, and there were three Shoreline mercenaries tailing him, two on motorcycles of their own, and one in a military jeep. Nathan couldn't get to the main road, but he could get onto the river valley, which ran right next to the road. The main river was about a half mile away, and Sam would be driving above it on the road. He floored it, "Hang on!" Nathan yelled, "What do you think I've been doing?!" Sully replied. Nathan entered the muddy area next to the river. The main road was right above them, but he couldn't quite get to it. He kept driving next to the road, before driving up the hill. Suddenly, he saw the river right in front of him, "We're running out of road kid," Sully said. Nathan kept driving. The river got closer and closer. Next he was driving across a dock that led out across the water. "Nate!" Sully shouted. Nathan saw one of the trucks had a large crane-like winch attached to it, "Here!" Nathan shouted, "Take the wheel!" The dock was about to stop, and Nathan grabbed his grappling hook, "What!?" Sully yelled, "Are you out of your blasted mind!?" "Yeah, probably," said Nathan, and he swung the hook. The jeep screeched to a halt just before the end of the dock, and Nathan swung suspended in midair from the crane winch on the Shoreline vehicle, just above the river. The bridge beside Nathan was filled with Shoreline goons, and he could hear their gunshots even while suspended. Suddenly he saw a decaying wooden structure that looked like scaffolding He was heading right for it, and he couldn't dodge. He braced himself, and he slammed into it. His tight grip of the hook loosed, and the rope slid through his hands. He grabbed it just before the rope ran out, but he had let go far too much. Half of his body was skimming across the water like a skipping stone. He struggled to climb up the rope with all his might. He began climbing up the rope, and suddenly he saw a tugboat coming through the water. He lurched his way up the rope, and pulled his legs up to his chest. The boat passed, and suddenly he saw the shoreline. The convoy had left the highway, and was driving through the muddy banks. Nathan braced, and he slammed into the mud. Suddenly he was being dragged like a ragdoll. He heard a mercenary from behind yell, "Hey! He's dragging from that truck!" They began shooting at him. Nathan yelled in frustration, and reeled in the rope. He tried to stand up, slipping across the mud as if he was waterskiing barefoot. He jumped off the ground, and climbed up off the ground. He turned around, holding the rope with one hand, and holding a pistol in the other. He aimed for the mercenary, who was in a jeep. He shot at the mercenary, then saw that the truck's engine was steaming, he shot the engine repeatedly, and suddenly the jeep exploded, throwing the mercenary up into the air. He turned around and climbed into the back of the truck with the winched crane. There was a mercenary that held up a pistol at Nathan. Nathan reacted lightning fast, and throwing himself into the back of the truck, he smacked him across the head with the butt of his pistol. "Don't shoot at me!" he yelled, before throwing the mercenary out of the truck. Suddenly, he saw two mercenaries drive up behind him on a motorcycle. They started shooting, but Nathan had the better aim. He shot the mercenary's hand, and he let go of the handlebars. On such uneven terrain, the motorcycle destabilized and flipped over, sending the mercenaries flying. They left the riverbank, and started driving across dryer plains. The last huts of King's Bay blurring past. Suddenly, the engine of the truck he was on burst into flames. He had to get off. He saw a large jeep was right in front of him. He jumped onto the cab of the truck, and jumped off onto the jeep in front. As soon as he did, the truck he had been on exploded. There was a mercenary in the back of the jeep. He lunged at Nathan with the butt of his AK, but Nathan dodged and landed several vicious punches, before yanking the AK out of the mercenary's hand and finishing him off. There was a smaller jeep beside him, with mercenaries shooting at him. Nathan saw they had gas cans sitting on the side of the jeep. He shot them, and they exploded, the engine following suit. He could see Sam driving along, leaning across the handlebars of his motorcycle like a horse jockey at the Kentucky Derby. The jeep he was on now also started flaming. He looked to see a much smaller, speedier jeep beside him. He jumped onto the side. There were two mercenaries inside. He took care of the first one. When he jumped, he grabbed the first mercenaries head, and slammed it into the side of the jeep, before throwing him off. The driver of the jeep put up a fight. He jabbed Nathan in the face with his fists, but Nathan kicked him out of the jeep, before thrusting himself into the driver's side. He slammed down on the gas pedal, and the jeep began zooming forward. There were two motorcycle riders shooting at him, but Nathan ran his jeep into them before zooming back forward. There were two jeeps in front of him, both shooting. The jeep wasn't armored, and Nathan sideswiped them. One of them smashed into a rock and blew up, but the other jeep sideswiped Nathan himself. Nathan took one hand off the wheel, and shot with his AK. The driver was shot down, and Nathan kept driving. Nathan looked, and saw five motorcycle riders pour into the plain. He was catching up to Sam. He ran over one of the motorcyclists, but one of them landed on the roof of the jeep. The mercenary wasn't dazed in the least, and began crawling over to Nathan, Nathan was ready, and he smacked the butt of his AK into the man's face. The man fell to the ground. Suddenly they entered a farming outpost, and they burst into a barren field. Nathan rammed another mercenary. He was now almost right next to Sam. "Sam!" he yelled. He saw Sam shooting a mercenary, who fell to the ground. There was a wall right next to Nathan, and he let one of the mercenaries drive up, before he sandwiched the motorcycle between his jeep and the wall. Sam was right next to him. Sam looked over, "Hey brother!" he said. A rain of bullets, and they parted a bit, "Get closer!" Nathan yelled. "I'm trying!" Sam yelled back. Sam swerved back next to Nathan. "Get on!" they both said in unison. "Sam," Nathan yelled, "Get in the car! Right now!" "I'm faster, stop arguing!" Sam replied. Suddenly, Sam yelled, "Nathan stop!" He saw Sam brake, and Nathan looked to the right. All he saw was the grille of a huge truck, before his jeep flipped over upside down, and he was trapped underneath. He was disoriented for a few moments from the shock. When he came to his senses, he realized that the jeep had flipped upside down, and he was still inside, trapped. He wasn't pinned under anything, and no bones were broken. There was a spark, and suddenly the dashboard caught on fire. Nathan grunted, "I gotta get out of here…" Suddenly the flames spread to above Nathan's head. He could feel the heat wanting to grab him. He grabbed something and tried pulling himself over to the opening. Suddenly he heard voices, they were Shoreline voices. "No way he could've survived that," said a voice. "Why chance it?" said the other. Nathan got out his pistol. He kicked the door open and unloaded his clip. Both the men fell. He clambered out of the jeep. Still laying on the ground, he saw the infamous armored truck in front of him. "Are you kidding me!?" Nathan said. The truck began screeching, but didn't get a good running start on the muddy ground. He saw Sam pull up on his motorcycle. "Hop on!" he yelled Nathan jumped on the motorcycle, the truck suddenly gaining ground. Sam made for the river, and the truck followed. Nathan grabbed his AK and tried shooting the truck. It was armored, and the bullets had little impact. They drove through an open warehouse, the truck crashing behind them, gaining ground. "How're we doing back there!?" shouted Sam, "Not good! Not good at all!" Nathan said back. The truck was so close Nathan could feel the intense heat radiating from its grille. "Come on Sam!" Nathan shouted. "I'm going as fast as I can!" Sam yelled behind. Suddenly Nathan saw a tractor trailer parked in front of them, and there was nowhere to turn. "This is gonna be close!" Sam shouted. He leaned, and the motorcycle slid across the ground. The armored truck slammed into the tractor trailer and exploded, sparks and debris crashing everywhere. They slid right under the trailer, and came to a stop. Sam propped the motorcycle back upright. They breathed heavily, "You…You OK?" Sam asked, "Yeah." Nathan said with a chuckle. There were several dock workers that had all ran over to witness the spectacle. "Alright," said Sam, "Let's get out of here." With that, Sam drove the motorcycle out of the dock, the workers still not messing with them.
Outside of their motel, Sully was waiting for Sam and Nathan to arrive. It was getting late, and the sun was nearly set. They were now well out of King's Bay, and the flickering motel sign was attracting a healthy amount of mosquitoes. Sully heard a small engine and saw Nathan and Sam pull up. They parked, and walked over. "OK," said Sam, "I think the coast is clear." Nathan nodded, and Sully walked over. Nathan pulled out the three pages of his notebook he had got from the pirate museum. "For God and liberty," Sam said, "It's just their stupid motto, all those paradise references. I can't believe we missed it." "I see you two made it out alive," Sully said with crossed arms and a smile on his face. "Way better than OK," Sam said, "We found Libertalia. Sam laughed, but Sully looked confused. "Liber…Liber-what-ia?" "Libertalia," Nathan said, "It seems that Avery founded the legendary pirate colony." "More like a pirate utopia," Sam corrected. They slowly ambled over to their room, passing the large outdoor swimming pool. "OK," said Sully, "But what about the treasure?" Sam put a hand on Sully's shoulder, and said with a glint in his eye, "See, as the story goes, this place provided a safe haven for hundreds, maybe even thousands…of pirates. And they shared everything! Property, resources…" "Money?" Sully interjected. Sam nodded, "In one common treasury building." Sully chuckled, "Well OK…Where is this pirate sanctuary?" "There." Nathan said. Nathan pointed to an island he had circled on his notebook sheet, "This Island. Just northeast of King's Bay." Sully chuckled, "And Rafe has a copy of this?" Nathan nodded, "Yeah, but by the time he figures it out, we'll be well on our way to Libertalia." He opened the door to their motel room, "I'm telling you," he said as he walked in, "That treasure is as good as…" he didn't finished. His stomach did a flip-flop. There, standing in the room, looking at all their maps and plans, was Elena.