Happy New Year everyone! In the words of the great Bender Bending Rodriguez: I'm back baby!
Sorry it had been so long since the last chapter, time just got away from me. Dealing with things like work, moving, not to mention writer's block, it's been difficult to write more chapters. I actually wrote about five versions of this chapter from scratch, each completely different, but I never felt satisfied with any of them. Maybe I'll repurpose those scenes later.
"So what do you think?" Victor Sullivan asked one of the customers in his antiques shop, an almost bleach blonde man in a three piece suit who had been bent over one of the shelves, observing the same artifact for the last five minutes.
"Wow," the man said in a friendly tone, turning his head to face Sully, "That is one strange relic."
"Ah, you have great taste," Sully told him, recognizing the piece as one of many Nate had brought him over the years, "That is an interesting little treasure."
"I'll say," the blonde man replied, meticulously inspecting every square inch of the small gold orb, "What do these weird markings mean?"
"You know, the guy who sold it to me told me what they meant," Sully grumbled, racking his brain to remember what Nate had said those odd symbols translated into, "and neither one of us had any idea what this means, but if I remember right, he said it translates as naughty dog, madman."
"Naughty dog, madman?" the man repeated methodically, "Well that's about the most cryptic message I've ever heard."
"Me too, and I've heard some doozies," Sully chuckled.
Before he could continue, he was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. He pulled his cell out of his pocket, but it wasn't ringing. He excused himself, the blonde man nodding in understanding as Sully walked behind the shop's front counter. He felt slightly confused when he realized that it was his prepaid burner phone ringing.
"Hello?" Sully asked as he picked up the phone.
"Sully it's me," Nate's voice came over the line. Sully could hear the apprehension in his voice.
"Nate? What're you doing calling me on the emergency line, what's wrong?"
"Well," Nate took a deep breath, "The less I tell you, the better, but…" after a long sigh, Nate began to tell him everything.
"Well I'll be go to hell," Victor Sullivan mumbled under his breath, pressing the burner phone to his ear as Nate filled him in on the events of the past few days. He could barely believe what he was hearing, "You guys gonna be alright?"
"I hope so Sully," Nate sighed over the phone, "We should be, as long as we stay low. Don't forget to look into that name for me, okay?"
"Sure kid," Sully replied, "I'll see what the underground has to say about Benjamin Edwards." Sully paused for a moment, searching for something reassuring to say, "And kid, you guys will be fine. I know you'll take good care of each other."
"Thanks Sully," Nate exhaled, "Just take care of yourself. I don't know how badly these guys will want to track me down."
"I'll be fine kid, but I'll keep an eye out," Sully reassured.
He said his goodbyes, and then hung up the phone as he returned his attention back to his antiques shop.
"Goddamn," Sully thought as he reflected on what Nate told him, "What the fuck have they been dragged into?" Pausing for a second, he looked out at the handful of customers milling around his shop, wondering what kind of precautions he should take.
"Though, I guess a guy that makes the lights go wonky should be easy to see coming," he thought with a chuckle.
He walked back over to the man in the suit, who was just hanging up his own cell phone.
"Sorry about that," Sully told him.
"Oh, don't worry about it," the man in the suit replied with a smile, "I had a business call I had to take." He shook the phone a little to emphasize it before placing it back in his pocket, "I think I'll go ahead and take this piece."
"Fantastic choice my friend," Sully replied, "You won't regret it."
Sully packed up the strange relic into a well-padded box, bringing it up to the front counter so he could ring up the transaction. After paying for the piece, the man in the suit put the box under his arm, thanking Sully as he walked out the door of the shop.
After the man stepped out of the shop, he adjusted the package underneath his arm, pulling his cell phone out of his jacket pocket with his free hand. Hitting speed dial, he held the phone up to his ear.
"Hey, it's me," The man said, his silvery blue eyes growing cold, "Sullivan's a dead end, he doesn't know anything."
He waited for a moment, listening to the voice on the other end of the phone. "Yes, Drake did make contact, just like we thought. Yeah, but I'm telling you, Sullivan doesn't know anything. I blue jacked his phone and listened to the call. He warned him about what was going on, but he didn't come to him for his way out."
The blonde man stopped at the street corner, waiting for a few moments. After a couple of seconds, a black sedan rolled up, and the man promptly took a seat in the back before it drove off.
"Unfortunately for us, Drake was smart," the man in the suit spoke calmly, "He gave Sullivan almost no information, but he did ask for Sullivan to dig for information on Mr. Edwards."
"No I'm not concerned about it," he continued after letting the person on the phone speak, "Do you really think they'll find anything relevant about him? Just worry about finding Drake. If Sullivan didn't give him his way out we need to find out who did."
He hung up the phone, a dark, serious look lingering on his face. After a few moments, he dialed the phone again.
"Mr. Edwards, hi," the man greeted over the phone, "You know those two men you told to watch over the Drakes?"
"Yes?" came a simple, expectant reply.
"Well I want you to find them, right now, and figure out exactly what the hell happened. And if they don't have any good news," he paused for dramatic effect, "kill them."
He could practically hear Ben grin on the other end of the phone. "You read my mind."
Nate couldn't sleep.
Elena had gone to bed hours ago, the hotel room dark. Nothing bad had happened; the day had passed by uneventfully. It had been relatively boring actually. There was a brief orientation led by Finch, discussing proper behavior and etiquette for all the students during their stay and for their time at the dig. Afterwards, there was a short tour of the local area, followed by the assignment of hotel rooms. All the other students shared rooms together, but Finch had arranged a separate room for Nate and Elena, understanding that Nate wouldn't be too keen on the idea of his wife and daughter sharing a room with several college kids. Not a single event since they had left Miami warranted the level of paranoia that Nate was feeling, but he still couldn't shake it. He still couldn't get rest to find him. So he just sat there, the events of the past few days on repeat in his head as he kept a silent, unwavering vigil over the crib in front of him, Juliet sleeping peacefully inside.
"Nate?" he heard Elena's sleepy voice call out. He turned to see her shuffling over to him, rubbing her tired eyes, "You okay?"
"Yeah," he sighed as she took a seat next to him, "I'm just trying to make sense of this situation, I guess."
"I don't know," Elena responded, "We'll figure something out, we always do."
Nat put an arm around Elena's waist as the couple sat together in silence, watching their daughter sleep, not a care in the world. Nate pulled her in close, prompting Elena to rest her head on his shoulders. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him so on edge, so paranoid. He had always tried to play everything off, pretending he was fine, but this was different. He used to live for the high risk life. She looked down at Juliet, who cooed in her sleep, shifting in her crib.
"The danger's just not welcome anymore," she thought.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Nate's gaze popped to the door immediately. Before Elena knew it, Nate had snapped to attention, drawing a small Walther pistol from his waist band, holding it high as he approached the door.
"It's like he expects there to be an army on the other side." Elena's concern increased as she watched him approach the door. She knew she had never seen him this bad before.
Nate held the gun in his right hand, aiming it as he grabbed the door knob with his left. He cocked the hammer back as he turned the knob, Elena watching from the other side of the room. Nate took a deep breath and pulled the door open, the sights of his PPK aimed squarely at David Reese.
"Easy hoss," David sighed in a half scolding, half concerned tone, his hands held up in faux surrender, "It's just me."
Elena gave a sigh of relief when she saw David, and Nate de cocked his gun, giving his own relieved exhale as he engaged the safety, lowering the pistol to his side.
"You know, if I had known that I would end up staring down its barrel, I wouldn't have bothered to get you that gun while you were busy with your little orientation" Reese cracked, inviting himself in.
"Sorry about that man," Nate apologized quietly, returning the pistol to his waistband at the small of his back.
"No problem, it's not like it's the first time one of us has pointed a gun at the other," David countered with a smirk, "Sorry if I woke y'all up, but we didn't really get any chances to talk earlier."
"It's okay David," Elena replied, stepping up to greet him, "We were already up. What did you want to talk about?"
"I was wondering if we know what our next step is yet Blondie," Reese replied, "This dig ain't gonna last forever."
"We're still working on that," Nate piped in, his voice weary, "I've got Sully looking into the guys who're after us, but that's about it."
"And you've got no idea who these guys are?"
Nate sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "A few, but nothing that really helps us right now."
Reese groaned in frustration, running his fingers through his straw blonde hair. "So what do we do now?"
"Let's just take this one step at a time," Elena piped in, "There's not really anything we can do right now. Let's just keep low and see if Sully finds anything that can help us."
"Alright," Reese conceded, "But if things go south again, we gotta be ready to get outta dodge." He paused for a moment as the Drakes nodded in agreement, noticing the bags under Nate's eyes. The past few days were obviously wearing on him. He put a hand on Nate's shoulder, guiding him to the other side of the room.
"Seriously brother," David Reese said, speaking in a hushed tone, "You need to relax."
"I am relaxed," Nate replied earnestly, keeping his voice down, mirroring his friend's tone.
"You kiddin' me worry stone?" Reese cracked, "You're so damn tense, I can feel it down the hall. Why the hell do you think I came down here?"
"I'm fine," Nate insisted, a smile spreading across his face, "It's just," he sighed for a moment, unconsciously rubbing his hand through his hair, "Been a long time is all. Things have changed"
"Well you better get your head in the game," Reese told him, the patronizing tone gone from his voice, "Or have you forgotten? In this game, tense gets us killed." He raised his eyebrows, his expression conveying the seriousness of his message.
"This isn't a game Reese!" Nate replied in quiet argument. He looked over at Elena, who had gone to sit by Juliet's crib. "This is my life! More importantly, my family's lives, and I can't let anything happen to them!"
"Well then, you better be damn sure you can do what needs to be done when the time comes," Reese cautioned, "'Cause whether you got into this situation by choice, or were dragged into it kicking and screaming, doesn't change what you need to do."
Nate sighed. His friend had a point. He nodded in concession, and the two of them walked back over to Elena, who was singing quietly to her sleeping daughter. She looked up at the pair as they approached
"We can continue this talk in the morning," Reese continued, concern for his friend evident in his voice, "We all need to get some sleep." He stared at Nate for emphasis.
"Yeah," Nate nodded, "We'll figure something out tomorrow."
David nodded, giving a hug to both Nate and Elena before exiting the room. The couple sat in silence for a moment, and then the two of them proceeded over to the hotel bed. Nate took a seat on his side, setting his PPK on the bedside table.
"So what'd David have to say that he felt he had to pull you away for?" She asked.
Nate gave a weak smile, looking over his shoulder to face her, trying to articulate his thoughts. "He basically told me I'd better pull my head out of my ass, and be ready for the worst case scenario."
Elena let out a small chuckle, "That sounds like David," she paused, and then leaned over towards her husband, cupping his cheek in her hand, "But seriously Nate, we'll be fine. You've always come through for us before, and I know you won't let us down now."
She thought back over the years she had known Nate. "Besides," she continued reassuringly, pulling him in close, "I think everyone you know owes you credit for saving their lives at least once."
"True," Nate chuckled, allowing himself to fall back onto the bed as Elena laid down next to him, draping an arm across his chest. "Just like I owe you credit for saving my ass on many an occasion."
"Well," Elena replied, a playful smile dancing across her face, "It is an ass worth saving!"
Nate chuckled, and pulled Elena in for a kiss. A low moan escaped her lips as they parted.
"That it is," Nate chuckled, his cocky grin plastered across his face as he lowered his head to the pillow, "That it is."
"We may need to have a talk with Finch about what classifies as a mid-size dig," Elena cracked as she and Nate drove up to the dig site.
The couple stepped out of the car, looking out over the sprawling grounds ahead of them. Elena retrieved her notebook and tape recorder from the car, and Nate placed a set of aviators on his face as they entered the site.
"This may just be the biggest archaeological dig I've ever legally gotten into," Nate joked, his cocky grin growing. He looked at the sign by the entrance, noting the dig's main benefactor
"The Vincent Perez Foundation?" Nate frowned, "Why does that name sound familiar?"
"Good morning Nate!" a voice caught his attention, and he turned to see Gabriel approaching them. The day was still very young, and already his friend and teacher was covered in a thin layer of dirt and dust.
"A mid-size dig huh?" Nate smirked, peering over the top of his sunglasses at his friend.
"About that," Finch replied with a subtle smile, "Apparently they were given a boost in funding recently, allowing them to greatly increase the dig size. Come on, the other students are over here."
Gabe turned, leading Nate and Elena through the grounds. They both observed the site with wonder. There were tents and canopies of all shapes and sizes, pits and trenches being dug, and every kind of excavation equipment imaginable. Archaeologist were unearthing pottery fragments and arrowheads, carefully measuring and documenting everything.
"So where's David?" Gabe turned to ask, "I thought he was your cameraman for this story."
"Oh, I didn't need him today," Elena replied, "I thought I'd take care of some initial interviews today, get all the basics first."
"Yeah," Nate chuckled, "We've got him doing a favor for us today."
"Sorry, not used to kids," Reese had said, holding his hands up defensively. "We don't tend to work well together."
"Aw come on Reese," Nate chided, passing a crying Juliet to her mom, "When you two first met, you guys were just adorable together!"
"She puked on me!" Reese exclaimed, earning a chuckle from both Elena and Nate, "Ruined my lucky western shirt too," he continued, grumbling under his breath.
Elena rocked Juliet on her shoulder, only marginally successful in calming her. "You got puked on while you were wearing it David," she chuckled, "How lucky could it be?"
"Oh, now you want to start blondie?" Reese countered indignantly. He couldn't help but admit her point though, allowing a smile to stretch across his face. "Besides, I thought y'all wanted me to play camera guy at this dig."
"Please, just watch Juliet for today," Elena pleaded.
As much as he wanted to say no, Elena had a way of getting to him, "Fine, I'll watch your dang kid," Reese grumbled, throwing up his hands in defeat.
"Who's paying for this dig Gabe?" Elena asked, her notepad out, her mind in journalist mode.
"Well, I couldn't name them all," Gabe replied, "There's a multitude of donors contributing to this dig, but they're all channeled through the Victor Perez Foundation. The name struck a chord in Nate's memory again, but as he racked his brain, he couldn't for the life of him place it.
Elena made a note, and then looked up again. "Well who's in charge of the dig?"
"That would be the foundation's creator; you'll meet her in a minute."
"Her?" Nate frowned, the pieces slowly coming together in his head. But before he finished connecting the dots in his head, a voice derailed his train of thought.
"Nathan Drake?" a woman called out, disbelief in her voice. "What's it been, fourteen years?"
Nate recognized the voice, turning at the sound of his name. "Chase?!" he stood shocked as Marisa Chase came up to greet him.
"Oh, good morning Dr. Chase," Finch interjected, "Elena, this is Marisa Chase, the dig coordinator." He paused, catching the silence between Nate and Chase a few moments late, "Have you two met before?"
"I was about to ask the same question," Elena agreed, sharing Gabe's confusion.
"I'm an, old friend of Nate's" Chase explained, extending a hand to Elena, "As Professor Finch said, I'm Marisa, you can call me Chase."
"Elena Fisher-Drake," Elena introduced herself, shaking Chase's hand.
Nate stood silent, unsure of what to do. Gabe noticed the tension on his face, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling him aside as the two women got acquainted.
"So how in the world do you know Dr. Chase?" Finch whispered.
Nate stood in awkward silence for a moment before simply answering, "Ex-girlfriend."
"Oh," Gabe replied, a sympathetic frown spreading across his face. Without another word he gave Nate a pat on the shoulder, as if to say good luck, and walked away to the student tent.
Sorry you had to wait almost a year for another chapter! I hope you enjoy it! And as always, please give me constructive criticism! Review, review, review! I'd love to know what you think of the story, the pacing, my portrayal of the characters, and my original characters. Speaking of OCs, this marks the second appearance of the man in the suit, the villain who's right under everyone's nose. I intentionally minimalized Ben's time in this chapter, for I felt that he had taken up too much of the past few chapters. But if you'd like to see him more, just let me know. And I promise, I won't make you wait another year for the next chapter!