Turtle Island
Samuel frowned as he walked behind Rafe and Sara, his hands handcuffed in front of him as Nadine and Orca stood on either side of him, and Knot stood behind him with a weapon trained on his back, daring him to move. But his focus was Rafe and Sara. Samuel was beyond offended that the rich prick had the gull to walk in front of him with his fucking hands on Sara's lower back, rubbing it further into the eldest Drake's face that his baby sister had chosen his enemy over blood. Each time Samuel had tried to speak to her, she'd simply ignore him, but he could see how her body would tense up, and Rafe's thumb would rub soothingly along Sara's back, making him want to vomit. It also didn't help that Nadine would smack him over the head with the butt of her pistol whenever he spoke about anything in general, making him curse Nadine and his sister with every hit he received.
They had stopped in the now-ruined courtyard of the town squire that once been pristine ruins before Shoreline had laid waste to them with RPGs in pursuit of the Drake brothers. Sara frowned as her eyes traced over the rubble, displeased with all the history that had been destroyed in just minutes. Rafe and Nadine stood off to the side, the business partners having a heated discussion out of everyone's earshot. Sara glanced towards them, seeing just how animated Rafe was becoming, but chose to look away, not wanting to get involved in their business transactions.
"I gave the order, Nadine." Rafe hissed, stepping closer to the woman, using his height to tower over her. But she wasn't threatened by him nor impressed, just annoyed. Annoyed that he wouldn't listen to anything she had to say and annoyed that he'd been just a tad too interested in his new play toy standing not a few feet from them. "You and your men were not to shoot to kill Nathan or Samuel Drake. What did you do? Shot Samuel, and as a result, Nathan went over a cliff."
Nadine gritted her teeth. "Samuel was out of control. If I hadn't taken the shot—"
"—I would have handled it." Rafe cut her off, his tone turning dark as he began to threaten the woman's company. "Remember, without my money, Shoreline is nothing. You can't fix the mess your father made with Shoreline without my paycheck. And right now, I could easily terminate our contract."
Her eyes narrowed, and her jaw tensed. "You wouldn't dare…" Nadine challenged the man, stepping closer to square up against him like his height meant nothing.
Rafe smirked, that smug, know-it-all smirk that was always gracing his lips. "Try me." He leaned down to her level, whispering low into her ear. Turning his back on the dark-skinned woman, he approached Sara, whose gaze had moved back to the rubble of the bell tower. The sight of her moody expression made him want to laugh, but he held back, knowing it would only fuel her frustration at that moment. Sara was still going through the motions. She didn't know when or if she would ever feel like herself again or if she could ever get over Nathan's death, and Rafe knew that. He could see it in her eyes, once an enticing green, now dull and empty. Sara was grieving, and no amount of history, artefacts or thrill of treasure could aid in repairing the void that had been torn into her chest. "Sara?" Rafe called for her as he came to stand beside her, gazing down at her quizzically. "Are you doing alright?"
"As well as one can." She breathed. She couldn't bring herself to look at him, to continue to allow him to see her as weak and broken. "But we must press on," Sara spoke, glancing behind her to Samuel, who was frowning as he stood between Knot and Orca, his anger stewing as his eyes worked over each individual yet lingered on his sister. When their eyes met, Sara's gaze hardened into a fiery glare with all the vengeful anger she could muster, and Samuel challenged it. His own gaze was full of the hatred and betrayal he felt. Each sibling blaming the other for what happened to Nathan. "Nadine!" She called out to the British woman, gaining her attention. "Have your men secured a path north to the upper city?"
Nadine pursed her lips. "Yes."
"Good." Sara nodded, looking at Rafe for confirmation. He nodded, too, his hand moving back into place on her lower back as they moved away from the rubble, Nadine beside them as Knot and Orca took up the rear with Samuel. Outside the sitting ruins, several Shoreline jeeps and a plethora of Shoreline mercenaries were waiting for them, armed to the teeth. Sara deemed it redundant because they had Samuel in custody, and Nathan was dead. There were no other threats left to their operation, but for Nadine, she wouldn't take any risks. She wanted everything to be successful. Need everything to be successful. Without the success, it would mean another failure for Shoreline and the end of her father's company. A man like Rafe could ruin any future endeavours the British woman would aspire for with a simple word against her with the power and influence of his reputation.
Knot and Orca had squeezed into the backseat of one jeep, Samuel between them, while Nadine had taken the passenger seat in the leading jeep, Rafe and Sara in the back. As one of the Shoreline mercenaries driving the lead jeep started the convey, Sara had her map back out, tracing the images that marked out the upper city where the twelve pirates that founded Libertalia built their manors. She found it odd that a city built for pirates would separate the colonists like lower class, while Avery and his friends would live higher in the mountains with larger homes. Without thinking about it too long, Sara knew those homes would have been extravagantly furnished, too.
"Nadine," Sara spoke, offering the woman the map. Turning in her seat, Nadine's gaze moved between the brunette and the map, debating on taking it, but after a moment, she did. Sara smiled when she took it. "How well has the path been scouted out?"
Still turned in her seat, Nadine's eyes traced over the map, the slight bumpiness of the jeep jolting her lightly. "Well," Her eyes moved to Sara. "They reported that the path is clear and that the vehicles will be able to make it through with very little effort." Sara and Rafe nodded, finding the information reassuring. Nadine's eyes moved back to the map. "You think the entrance to wherever the treasure is would be in Avery's home?"
Sara nodded again, leaning back in her seat as she dwelled on the topic. "Avery was Libertalia's leader. He would have wanted the treasure within his grasp, and he was a man who knew how to escape capture at every turn therefore, he would have had a backup plan to get off the island with the treasure." She raised a hand to mouth, tracing a low finger over her lips. "There would be a secret passage in his home." Nadine and Rafe looked at her, observing the woman. Nadine sighed, folding up the map and handing it back to the brunette. While the British woman didn't like Sara, she was impressed with Sara's astuteness and foresight when strategically planning out what to do with each step of their treasure hunt. Had they met under different circumstances and maybe been allies from the beginning, Nadine could have seen Sara as someone worthy of her respect and maybe even a friend.
"Any idea where or how to find it?" Nadine asked as Sara pocketed the map. Sara shook her head, stating that she'd need to know more information and see Avery's home in order to figure it out. Nadine groaned, turning back in her seat and facing out the front windscreen. She rolled her jaw as she watched the shrubbery and trees pass them as the Jeep continued to move. All she wanted was to find this treasure, get off the island, and never have to see Rafe Adler ever again. Behind her, Rafe draped an arm over the seat behind Sara while he turned to gaze at the jeep behind theirs, his eyes meeting with Samuel's. Rafe smirked, seeing Samuel's hateful glare, the immense anger behind it and remembered the man's statement that Rafe wouldn't be allowed to touch Sara ever again. Yet, that threat had been nothing, as Rafe had been enjoying teasing Samuel almost as much as he enjoyed tracing his hands over Sara's body. Chuckling, Rafe turned back ahead.
"What are you laughing at?" Sara enquired, her green eyes narrowing on him. Rafe just shook his head, waving off her question and making her roll her eyes at his antics. "Behave yourself." She sighed lightly. Sara had seen him glancing at the jeep behind them, knowing that he was tormenting her brother. If their relationship had been as fractured as it was, Sara would have had an issue with Rafe teasing her eldest brother, yet now, she wanted Samuel to suffer. She blamed him for so much. For tricking Nathan into leaving his job and Elena, pulling them into his vendetta against Rafe, and causing Nathan to go over that cliff. Sara hadn't been aware of just how hard her nails had been digging into her palms or the deep frown on her face, not until Rafe's hand grazed her shoulder, finally pulling her from her thoughts. When she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, she noticed he was looking ahead, meaning that he, too, had been watching her from the corner of his eye, making her smirk.
The rest of the ride to the upper city had been rather uneventful as the Shoreline convoy made its way across the Turtle Island mountains, passing over ruined roads, fallen trees and rivers. Sara found the views picturesque, wondering what the island would have looked like when the settlement was first built. The upper city had been surrounded by a large stone wall that was well fortified, which piqued Sara's curiosity. Yet, it only got worse when their eyes discovered the hundreds of gibbets filled with skeleton remains, causing them to stop the convoy to regard the sight.
"Oh my god," Sara spoke, rising in her seat as she stared wide-eyed at the remains hanging within the confines of the steel frames. "It's the colonists!" She gasped, noticing the state of their attire, identifying them as the lower-class settlers who would have been the ones responsible for building the colony.
Nadine's jaw tensed as she took in the sight. "There must be hundreds of them."
"Why…" Sara muttered. "For them to be strung up like that—"
"—It's a warning." Nadine finished. "The only reason they would have been put in those gibbets is as a punishment and a warning to others." Sara found herself nodding along to the statement, knowing that what the mercenary leader said was true. Sara found herself wondering what the settlers had done to face such a harsh punishment and what the founders had done to earn the ire of the colonists. "We should move on," Nadine muttered, waiting for the brunette to settle back into her seat. Sara swallowed hard, taking one last look at the imprisoned corpses before sitting back down, her jaw tight.
The convoy started again, travelling up the remains of a cobbled road and passing the wall into the upper settlement, which had become flooded. Rafe had made the off-hand comment that there must have been a dam that burst for the city to become as flooded as it was. Nadine just snorted, believing it was not their concern until Sara stated it made the drive to Avery's manor more difficult.
"And which house do you suppose even is Avery's?" Nadine bit, not bothering to move in her seat as she addressed the question towards Sara.
"The big one," Sara stated blankly, making Rafe smirk. "Like any male, Avery is all ego." She looked to Rafe, watching the smirk change into a scowl as he stared back at her, not enjoying the comment, more so over Nadine's snort of laughter. Sara bit her lip as she held back her chuckle, reaching a hand over to grip his thigh, a teasing touch to mock the man further, causing a dangerous glint to appear in his eyes. A glint Sara knew as Rafe being aroused. Sara retracted her hand, shaking her head at how her comments could easily drive the man mad, as Rafe loved the chase and challenge Sara offered. "Male ego…" She muttered under her breath, which didn't go unheard by the man as the smirk returned to his face.
Following Sara's suggestion, the driver obeyed Nadine's orders, taking the convoy to the largest home in the centre of the upper city. Parking outside the mansion, the majority of it appeared to have held up well in the last four hundred years, the home itself having been built high up on a cliff, overlooking the houses of the other pirate founders below, seemingly stating that Avery was better than the rest, as the waters below rushed through what was left of the manors built on the lower lands. There was a sign of whatever took place outside the upper settlement inside the walls, Avery's home being protected by a number of canons. Sara slowly paced around a group of them, tracing her fingers along the metal now overgrown in plant life as Shoreline mercenaries began unloading crates of gear from the back of the jeeps under Nadine and Rafe's supervision.
"Sara…" Samuel whispered hoarsely towards his sister as he stood by Orca and Knot, his eyes drifting to Rafe, hoping not to gain the man's attention. "Hey, Sara…"
Her fingers tightened as they paused over the canon. Sara turned to face her brother, seeing the desperation in his eyes. As he arched more towards her, Orca and Knot moved to grab him, but Sara raised a hand to the two mercenaries. "It's fine." They eased up as she spoke, letting Samuel move closer towards her. "What is it…?" Sara hissed out, her hand dropping from the canon as she crossed her arms at him, her gaze hardening.
"What are you thinking?!" He hissed back, gesturing wildly with his cuffed hands. Samuel's eyes were wide, a mix of concerns and astonishment. "Working with Rafe?!"
Sara scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I was doing this for Nate…and now…" She shrugged carelessly, yet her face was grim. "I'm doing this for Rafe." As she said that, Samuel felt his blood run cold, the same feeling of despair he felt when he saw Nathan fall. He stood up straight, his head shaking as he edged away from her, unable to believe that his sister would do this, would work with their brother's enemy so easily. "What's wrong, Samuel? Don't like feeling betrayed?" Sara scoffed, smirking at her brother. He couldn't speak as much as he wanted to swear and curse the woman out. "Orca. Knot. Contain Samuel, please." The two men obeyed, moving to grab Samuel by his shoulders and pulling him back away from Sara as she turned out back to inspect the canons once again, pushing their conversation to the back of her mind, ignoring Samuel as he fought against the two mercenaries. Rafe and Nadine turned at the sounds of Samuel's yelling, observing how the large man thrashed against Orca and Knot's hold on him as the two men dragged him away from Sara, the brunette woman busying herself with studying an old, overgrown canon.
"Times like this, I'm glad I'm an only child," Nadine muttered, looking away from them. "Or at least not being related to that moron," Rafe smirked, a brief chuckling leaving his lips at Nadine's comment and watching as Samuel was punched in the jaw, hard, by Orca. He turned back to the jeeps as the last of the crates were unloaded. "We move!" Nadine yelled, spinning to face the front doors of Avery's manor. "Bookworm, you good?"
Sara turned to the woman, a smirk on her lips. "I'm good, Queenie." She retorted back, making Nadine falter slightly in her steps, yet the woman did well to hide her annoyance, continuing to stalk up the mansion steps. Rafe reached out for Sara, his hand gracing her lower back as they trailed behind Nadine, while Orca and Knot dragged Samuel as the rest of the Shoreline mercenaries followed. Enter the main foyer of Avery's home, their group was met with the sight of a grand staircase and gold leaf coated carved appliques on the walls, doors and ceilings. Making their way up the main staircase, the group split up, taking a look around for anything that would serve as a clue to where the treasure would be hidden.
"Alright," Rafe spoke, looking around the ruined house. "Any idea what we would be looking for?" He glanced at Sara, who had moved away from him to study her surroundings, tracing her fingers down across walls as she walked. Rafe shifted his eyes to Samuel, who was busy rolling his jaw in an attempt to keep himself silent.
"Avery is egotistical, smart…saw himself as a god among men…" Sara stated, turning around to look at Nadine and Rafe. "Where would a man like that put himself?" She asked rhetorically. "His operations of power?" Nadine crossed her arms at the brunette, just wanting her to make her stupid point and be done with it.
"Sara," Rafe spoke her name, a single brow raised at her.
Smirking, Sara finally gave her answer. "His study. Avery would have a grand library to sit and calculate his plans. And an escape in case those plans failed."
Pulling her radio from her belt, Nadine raised the device to her lips. "Any teams found a library or study?" It didn't take long for one of the teams to report back, revealing that they had found what Nadine was looking for. Their small group waited for one of the mercenaries to come and collect them, leading them towards a long hallway. As they entered the doors to the hallway, Sara spotted a corpse sitting on a couch opposite the doors, a letter in its hands. Picking up the document carefully, she unfurled it, her eyes scanning over it. "What is it? Is it a clue to the treasure?" Nadine asked, causing their group's attention to turn to the brunette.
Licking her lips, Sara began to read out the contents of the letter: "My loyal subjects, as the sun sets on our glorious paradise, we must endeavour to preserve its riches. The traitorous Tew knows our secrets, so we must act quickly. Destroy the dam, cleanse New Devon and move my treasure through the passage to my ship. Lord Avery." Sara sighed, lowering the letter and meeting everyone's gaze.
"Looks like the dam was destroyed," Rafe commented, watching Sara re-roll the letter and gently place it back into the skeleton's grasp. "And you were correct about the secret passage." His eyes moved to Nadine, the woman eager to move on. Sara's gaze was hard as she looked down at the skeleton, a man who had been loyal to his Captain until the end. Nothing was adding up. The dead colonists in cages, warring between Avery and Tew, and the smuggling of the treasure. Just what had happened in Libertalia for it to all fall apart as it did. "Sara?" Rafe spoke, making the brunette turn to him, his face serious as he studied her. She nodded, stepping away from the corpse.
"Good," Nadine stated. "Let's get a move on." She led them down the hall to the study, where a number of Shoreline mercs were waiting on them. As Sara moved off to the side to look through the library, looking for a clue as to where the secret passage could be, Nadine's radio buzzed, making the dark-skinned step aside. "Report." She ordered, waiting for whoever was on the other side to report in.
"Sir, Sekibo here. Nathan Drake and an unknown blonde woman have been spotted in the upper city. How would you like for us to respond?"
Nadine cursed under her breath. "Keep him and his guest away." She ordered, glancing at Sara as she moved around the room, making the woman swallow hard. "But no lethal shots."
"Understood, sir."
As she clipped her radio back to her belt, her eyes moved from Sara to Rafe, gaining the man's attention and signalling him over. With his eyes narrowing, he obeyed, coming to stand in front of her with crossed arms as he demanded her to speak. Biting back an insulting remark, Nadine breathed heavily. "Nathan Drake is alive." She whispered, watching Rafe's eyes widen. The rich boy spared a glance at Sara as she was once again arguing with her brother Samuel over how to access the hidden passage before his eyes moved back to his business partner. "You'll be happy to know I ordered my men not to kill him. You going to tell her?"
His eyes dropped as he thought. "No," Rafe responded, looking at Sara once more. "That anger is fuelling her right now, keeping her focused."
Nadine laughed. "You'll come to regret that decision. Women don't like being lied to and used." Rolling his jaw, Rafe turned from her, the two of them heading back over just as Sara rammed a fist into Samuel's jaw, causing the larger male to fall to the ground, groaning as he rolled around on his back. Nadine laughed again, enjoying the sight of the annoying wanker withering in pain. "Looks like Samuel pissed off the bookworm."
"He was being unhelpful." Sara hissed, rubbing at her knuckles to alleviate the pressure. "Running his goddamn mouth." Knot and Orca, having gotten over their initial shock of watching the smaller woman deck her brother in the face, reached down and hoisted the man back to his feet.
"Samuel…" Rafe started, moving to stand in front of the groaning man as the two mercenaries held him. "Sara's right. You have been rather unhelpful, and seeing as it's up to her what becomes of you, maybe you should do something useful." Signalling for Orca and Knot to release the man, Rafe grabbed Samuel by the back of his neck, forcing him further into the middle of the room. Samuel grunted, yanking himself from Rafe's hold and turning on the man, trying to shove at Rafe's chest, but Rafe only laughed, his hands raised in mock defence as he stepped back from the eldest Drake. "Well? Make yourself useful."
Samuel puffed out his chest, trying to make himself appear imposing despite his cuffed wrists and throbbing jaw. His green eyes travelled over Nadine and her two mercs, Rafe, and finally landed on his baby sister, the same green eyes staring back at him. Their mother's green eyes. "Fine…" He grunted out. After taking a few moments to collect himself, he walked around the large study, stopping behind Avery's desk. His fingers drummed on the surface briefly, and then he spun, looking at the different items that had been set up on display on the walls between the windows.
Rafe sighed heavily as he watched the man, tempted to shoot him. "He's doing this on purpose…" He hissed out, his hands clenching at his side. Sara stepped towards him, placing a hand on his chest as she asked him to relax, something that was easier said than done. Rafe sighed again, looking down at Sara as she smiled reassuringly at him, trying to comfort and quell his rising anger. The sound of something heavy and mechanical caught their attention. Turning their head, they saw Samuel smiling smugly at them as the floor behind him descended into a staircase.
"Ta-da!" Samuel beamed, performing a small jazz hands motion. Nadine quickly gave some hushed orders to her men as Orca and Knot moved forward, grabbing onto Samuel as Rafe and Sara moved to the top of the circular stairwell, gazing down into the pitch-blackness below. Sara looked behind her when she felt a tap on her shoulder and found Knot behind her, offering the woman a torch. She thanked him as she took it, turning the device on. "So, down into the creepy crypt we go?" Samuel chirped, receiving a hard shove from Orca in response. As he stumbled forward, he dropped his lighter, the action having gone unnoticed by everyone as Nadine took up the lead, descending the stairs with Rafe and Sara following. Orca and Knot pulled Samuel along with a group of Shoreline mercenaries behind them, giving Samuel the chance to spare a glance over his shoulder, making sure that none of the mercs noticed his lighter, smirking when they didn't.
After having descended into the catacombs beneath Avery's home, Samuel and Sara had let the group through the dark tunnels, having first travelled through a steel gate that shut close behind them, making it so that they couldn't backtrack until Nadine called for one of her men to come and use the lever on the other side, they decided to press on, walking through winding tunnels until they came around a large wooden platform, making them halt. Some of the floors had fallen through, and when Sara shined her torch on what lay below, the sight of scattered wooden spikes greeted them and some dead pirates that had fallen victim to the trap.
"Ladies first?" Samuel stated, looking at his sister.
She stared back at him with a challenging glare. "Then be a gentleman and listen to what the lady wants. You go first." Sara snapped back, making Samuel roll his jaw.
Nadine stepped forward, aiming the barrel of her gun into the side of Samuel's head. "You heard her. You go first." She nudged the metal into his skull, reinforcing the point.
"Not how I wanted to be dominated by two women…" Samuel muttered, stepping closer to the platform. Sara and Nadine shared a disgusted look over the man's less-than-appealing comment. As Samuel took hesitant steps over each platform square, Sara followed up behind him. "Nothing better than sibling bonding, huh Sara?"
"Don't make me push you in, Sam." Sara yelled back at him, but her brother just laughed at the remark, continuing to work out the puzzle board as he went along. As he made it to the other side, Sara was close behind, the sibling's path being followed by Shoreline and Rafe. Continuing further into the catacombs, they found a room with three doorways, but two were caved in, leaving only one route to take. "Let's hope it's the right one." Sara sighed, taking the only option that they had to press on, but Rafe Stopped her, forcing Samuel in front of her, using the man as a meat shield for any traps they might still encounter. And Sara let him.
Samuel continued to lead them down the ever-winding stone caverns. Their group was fortunate not to encounter any more traps until they entered a large room with a staircase descending further underground. At the rear of the group, Nadine's men had been slowly dropping glow sticks to illuminate their way and mark the route back. Samuel waited until Sara stepped closer beside him to inspect their room, using the opportunity to give his sister a hard shove to the side, forcing the woman into a wall before taking off down the path ahead. As Sara slammed into the wall, she heard the unmistakable click, her body reacting and launching to the side just as a wooden spike descended from the ceiling, impaling the wall where she'd just been standing.
"Sara!" Rafe ran to her side, helping her up as a group of Shoreline mercenaries fired their weapons after Samuel.
"Stop!" Sara called out to the soldiers. "You'll cause a cave-in!" She forced herself to stand, pulling the gun from the back waistband of Rafe's jeans as she ran after her brother. Nadine had to order her men to ceasefire so as not to hit the woman. "Sam!" Sara screamed for the man as she bolted after him, catching only the sight of his retreating back in the darkness. The gun raised in her hand as she fired a shot in his direction, the man dodging the shot as the bullet collided against the harsh stone walls.
"Did you just shoot at me?!" He yelled back at her, using the darkness as a cover to hide from her.
"Did you just push me into a trap?!" Sara yelled back, her eyes straining to catch sight of him, having to rely on listening for him, but all she could hear were the sounds of thundering footsteps coming after her. "Sam?!" She called out for him. Samuel gritted his teeth, ducking down low and using the darkness to manoeuvre away into the tunnel system and escape. "Sam?!" Sara called out again, lowering her weapon as she listened in, yet heard nothing. "Damnit…" She sighed, turning to face the incoming footfalls.
"Sara!" Rafe called out to her as he, Nadine and the women's two lieutenants approached the brunette woman. "You shot at Samuel?" He asked her, eyeing the gun in her hands.
Sara nodded, flipping the gun in her hand as she offered the grip to Rafe. "He's lucky I'm terrible with guns." Rafe chuckled, taking the weapon off her and tucking it back securely into his waistband. "Nadine," Sara addressed the Shoreline leader, running her tongue over her bottom lip as she fought with herself over what she was about to say. "Order you men to shoot Samuel Drake on sight."
Nadine's brows rose as she looked at the brunette before her, not quite sure to believe what the woman had said. "You sure?" She enquired, seeing the hesitancy on Sara's face. Regardless, she nodded, letting Nadine know that her decision was set. Samuel had tried to kill his own baby sister, and Sara couldn't stand for it. The man had cost the woman her beloved brother, Nathan, and now, he had tried to take her life, too. Sara had made up her mind; even if it didn't sit right in her gut, Samuel Drake had to meet his end if he didn't stand down.