𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐒 》 MILO THATCH

𝔈𝔫𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔢𝔰

𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗘𝗦
𖣔𖣘𖣔

(NAME) BROKE THROUGH TO THE SURFACE WITH A LARGE GASP, MILO SPRINGING UP BESIDE HER TEN TIMES MORE DRAMATICALLY. The large grin she had been wearing dissolved almost instantly when she registered the view before them. For a short and blissful moment, she had forgotten all about the dangers she was meant to warn Milo about. And now it was too late.

She could only hope that he wouldn't hate her forever.

''Have a nice swim?'' The Commander asked, he was down on one knee, making sure his face was in Milo's as he smirked.

Milo pulled himself close to a rock, shielding his upper body from the others. If the circumstances had been different, (Name) was sure that she would've smiled at him. ''Hey guys, what're you, uh, what're you doing here?''

A hand appeared near her face and (Name) looked up to see Audrey with a nice, warm-looking, fluffy towel. She was about to refuse, but Audrey's eyes were pleading - had they been threatened? Nodding ever so slightly, (Name) took it and used it to hoist herself out of the water, not bothering with the towel.

Her gaze remained on the floor, reading the murals, although she actually had no idea what it was saying, it was more welcoming than what she would see if she was to look up. She wondered if any of the markings on the floor would let her know what she was meant to do from his point on.

Vinny cocked his gun to fill the silence, but (Name) could see in his eyes that he wasn't going to shoot it. Originally, their weapons had been to get rid of actual, inanimate obstacles they came across, (Name) had never been witness to them being used as threats but from the ease in which the commander and Helga held theirs, she could tell it had happened before. But were they actually willing to kill? (Name) didn't want to find out.

''What's, what's with all the guns?'' Milo tried, his gaze falling on to (Name) in hopes she'd have the decency to explain everything. She opened her mouth slightly, shaking her head as she tried to think of something good to say.

''I tried-'' Remembering the look in Audrey's eyes, (Name) changed her words. ''I'm sorry.''

''(Name)? Guys?'' Milo's voice broke slightly when he sad her name and it took all of her strength to stay standing. Milo let out a deep breath, his hand whipping his hair back. ''I'm such an idiot!'' (Name) didn't think her words would be very comforting right now, she bit her lip and stayed silent. ''This is just another treasure hunt for you. You're after the crystal.''

''Oh, you mean this?'' Rourke revealed what he was holding, raising it out of Milo's reach whilst still letting him see what it was, he was flaunting it.

''The heart of Atlantis.'' For a brief second, Milo and (Name)'s eyes meant, and a flash of understanding passed through his. She had mentioned the missing page earlier. She had known. (Name)'s heart swelled with hope - had he finally pieced together all her clues? No. Her heart tore when he looked away from her, slight disgust on his features.

''Yeah. About that, I would've told you sooner, but it was strictly on a need-to-know basis and, well, now you know,'' Rourke stood, dusting his gun off with the missing page. ''I had to be sure you were one of us,'' tucking his gun into his belt, Rourke held his hand out to Milo in a way that Aurdey had done for (Name), but instead of urgency there was ill intent written all over his face. ''Welcome to the club, son.''

''I'm no Mercenary,'' Milo said, pushing himself away from the rock and therefore, away from the team. Away from (Name).

With horrible timing, Kida finally broke through the water, her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, causing her to be momentarily distracted as it allowed multiple guards to grab her by the hair, yanking her away. Milo reached out for her, consequently multiple guns were aimed at his face. (Name) took an indecisive step forward, stopping when Audrey placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back gently.

Kida, however, apparently didn't need Milo to reach out for her. She had flipped the guard over her shoulder and into the water, catching his gun in mid-air before snapping it over her knee. Two other's rushed for her. One was flung into a rock and the other was pinned down, his gun pressed into his chest as Kida revealed a knife. It was sent flying from her hand by one scarily accurate bullet. With one final kick to the guy, another three dragged Kida away and into custody.

''Mercenary? I prefer the term, ''adventure capitalist''.'' Rourke said, his gun passing from hand to hand as if it was a toy, and not smoking at the end from where he had fired at someone. ''Besides, you're the one who got us here. You led us right to the treasure chest.''

''You don't know what you're tampering with, Rourke,'' Milo said, his voice louder than (Name) had ever heard it as he swiftly climbed out from the water and stood in front of the Commander, not once looking bothered by the height difference or muscle difference or gun difference or - did Milo have a death wish?

''What's to know? It's big. It's shiny. It's gonna make us all rich.''

''You think it's some kind of a diamond, I thought it was some kind of a battery, but we're both wrong. It's their life force. That crystal is the only thing keeping these people alive! You take that away, and they'll die.''

''Well, that changes things.'' For a foolish moment, (Name) felt relief as he handed Helga the missing page. ''Helga, what do you think?''

Merely glancing at it before passing it back, the blonde woman smirked. ''Knowing that - I'd double the price.''

''I was thinking triple.''

''Rourke, don't do this.''

''Academics, you never want to get your hands dirty. Think about it. If you give back every stolen artifact from the museum, you'd be left with an empty building. We're just providing a necessary service to the archaeological community.''

''Not interested.''

Rourke gave a very forceful sigh. ''Gotta admit, I'm disappointed. You're an idealist, just like your grandfather. Do yourself a favour, Milo. Don't be like him. For once, do the smart thing.''

Milo stared on in silence.

Rourke smirked, as if he wanted that as an answer. ''I really hate it when negotiations go sour.'' With a click of his fingers, (Name) was dragged away from Audrey's grasp and pushed onto the floor, Kida joining her seconds after. The men who had been holding Kida cocked their guns and (Name)could feel it press down on the back of her neck.

A glance to the left revealed that Audrey was being held back by Vinny before she span to face away from her, and one to the right revealed that Milo had no idea what to do in this situation.

''I-I thought (Name) was one of you guys,'' Milo said, desperately trying to stall.

Rourke shrugged. ''That was before she began fraternizing with the enemy.'' Milo hadn't even been the enemy until seconds ago, but (Name) held her tongue, electing to just glare at him instead.

''Now let's try again,'' Rourke said, holding the page in front of Milo's face.

𖣔𖣘𖣔

My bad, guys, I thought I had published this chapter last week, but apparently not! I was wondering why people were asking for an update already lol