The Uncharted Tales

Chapter 25

Part 2 Drake's Fortune

Victor Sullivan

Nate didn't come back to their room that night.

Or the next one.

Or the one after that.

Sully hardly saw Nate and Elena over the course of the two weeks they stayed in Panama. The two of them were lost in their own little world, developing familiarity and habits unique to them. When he watched them together, he saw Nate's arm curl around her waist and how her hand lingered on his chest, head thrown back in laughter from whatever witty comment he made. They were like two lovestruck teenagers, hardly spending any time apart. Sully saw them on occasion through their stay, particularly when they all met up for dinner or spent long hours lazing on the beach.

Sully didn't mind it all so much. In fact, he let Nate and Elena have their space, and couldn't help but marvel at the effect the reporter had on the kid. He was calmer, a certain ease about him Sully hadn't seen in a long, long time. His usual frenetic need to hunt down the latest job seemed to have stalled for the time being, and he was perfectly content to simply sit in her company.

He was different with her, and Sully's suspicions of having her around only being a good thing turned out to be true. Sully had never seen anything like it before, certainly not with Nate's previous – and all too short-lived – relationship attempts.

That wasn't to say it was all smooth sailing. Nate and Elena were both incredibly stubborn individuals. They were constantly testing each other, finding out what the other's limits were, and yet neither of them were ever willing to back down. She was good for him, Sully thought. He finally found someone who was impervious to his charms and was completely unfazed by his smartass remarks. She didn't hesitate to knock him down a peg or two, and Sully was relieved for it. It was time for someone else to keep him in check for once; he had plenty of years under his belt keeping his kid in line.

Elena was persistent, too. She kept asking questions, not once failing to seek out answers. He couldn't exactly blame her for wanting to know more about the two rag-tag men she threw her lot in with; the only problem was that she was drifting ever closer to sensitive territory. He wondered how long it would take before she asked one too many questioned.

Even Sully couldn't evade her impromptu interrogations and, maybe, it was only a matter of time before she cornered him.

Which was exactly what she did.

Sully was lounging at the beach side bar with his cigar when Elena slid in the chair across from him. Nate was off at the front desk, bartering for a few more nights of extended stay. He eyed her from the corner of his eye.

"So..." She drew out the word and Sully raised a brow. "This is what you two do, huh? Sit around on the beachside all day?"

Sully huffed air out his nose in a silent laugh. "It's hard livin', what can I say?"

Elena hummed in agreement. "Kinda like journalism," She mused. "All the traveling, research, tracking down clues to the next story..." Sully nodded somewhat reluctantly, not quite sure what he was agreeing to or what she was getting at. She twirled the little plastic umbrella in her drink as she peered shrewdly up at him. "There's projects I've been working on for years. After a while you can get a little... obsessive."

Sully didn't say anything, but he did find himself smiling approvingly. She already had the kid all figured out.

"Nate told me he's been researching Drake since he was a kid, following in his mother's footsteps. He said that was how you two met, when he stole the ring."