The Uncharted Tales

Chapter 28

Part 3: Among Thieves

Victor Sullivan

Chloe had a week's head start on them by the time they flew out of Turkey to Indonesia. As it stood, when Chloe returned to camp, she would be near impossible to reach, mainly to ensure neither Flynn nor Lazarevic caught onto her deceit. Once again, Sully had to marvel at her gumption; either she was on their side, or she was playing one hell of a triple bluff. At the very least, Nate seemed to come around on her. The prospect of a new adventure sparked a giddy excitement in his eyes, and he could hardly sit still in the airport terminal and when they were able to board their plane.

To err on the side of caution, they traded out their passports with one of their various false identities to slip under authorities' radars. After Nate's spectacular burglary attempt and subsequent stint in prison, Sully knew it wasn't worth the risk to stick with the documents that got them into Turkey. It was times like these when he dearly missed the Hog Wild. That old seaplane had gotten him out of plenty of scrapes over the years, and this was one of those instances where they could have used a cleaner exit strategy.

Oh well. Maybe, if Nate ever settled down on his quest for great things, and if Sully ever managed to squirrel enough away for a comfortable retirement, he'd get another seaplane and travel the world as he pleased. For the foreseeable future, Nate wasn't giving this life up any time soon, and no way in hell was Sully going to sit back and let the kid get his revenge on Flynn on his own.

~ ~ ~

That was, if he didn't die of heatstroke first. Sully cursed whosever idea it was to put them in the middle of another goddamned jungle. Again. He had his fill after the whole debacle with El Dorado, and the only part he had to be grateful for was the lack of mutant Spanish colonists roaming in the undergrowth...

Still, it was hot, muggy, and they were forced to wade through waist-deep bogs. Tangled roots growing out of the riverbanks were near impossible to traverse over, so they took to the waterways. Sully wiped away every bead of sweat that dripped down from his hairline to his neck, smearing mucky water across his skin. The jungle in Borneo was miserable, yet Nate powered through, unheeding of fallen trees they were forced to climb over and mud pits that threatened to suck them in ever deeper.

Sully wasn't quite as thrilled as the kid was. He prided himself on his fit physique at his age, especially when it seemed as though he was surrounded by young, bright faces lately. He was old compared to the competition, and he couldn't keep denying that, lately, he couldn't keep up with Nate like he once had. He was already itching to find a place for a quick rest and regroup, but he didn't stand a chance with Nate pushing on like he was.

"I'm sweatin' like a hooker in Church," He grumbled as he rubbed sweat from his forehead.

For the first time on their trek through the swamp, Nate paused for a fraction of a second to shoot Sully a dubious frown. "You brought a hooker to Church?"

"Why not?" Sully shrugged.

Nate rolled his eyes, finally easing on his frantic pace. "I think we're almost there. Chloe, you reading us?"

Sully twisted the earpiece further into his ear, mostly as a distraction to wait out the labored pause between Nate reaching out to Chloe and her eventual response. "Loud and clear."

"We're gettin' close," Sully said.

"Okay," she said quickly in a hushed tone, "listen closely. I've planted charges all around the perimeter of the camp. You two just need to arm them. I also left the detonator for you. Once you've set all the charges, just hit the detonator, and it's showtime. The first one should be ahead of you- oh, shit, I have to go. Good luck."