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It was the middle of the night when you received the call, one from a man who you worked with on a wildly unsuccessful job, wasting both your time and money, yet you had nothing but fond memories of him though you found that he enjoyed his cigars far too much. Against your better judgment, coupled with the confusion of being woken up at such a time, you answered the call. Your mind was still foggy and reeling from the fading memory of a wonderful dream as you tried to focus in on what the deep voice at the other end of the line was telling you, rubbing your eyes and mumbling noises in agreement to whatever pointless small talk he was chattering to you at this point.

This chatter went on for far too long and almost threatened to send you back to sleep until the deep voice uttered the word “Orichalcum.” You knew this word from your studies, it was the famous material that supposedly littered the lost city of Atlantis, much like gold was associated with El Dorado. This word made you sit and wake up immediately in your bed, in your mind you knew that you shouldn’t be baited by it, yet you could not resist just hearing a little more about what Sully had to say, besides, you know that Sully wouldn’t call you without good cause is what you said to convince yourself, just hear him out a little longer.

The call lasted a good hour or so, the first 20 minutes were of Sully explaining that it was not him that was asking for you, he was well aware that you had retired after the failed Italy job, he was just calling on behalf of someone else as a favour, letting you know that he had told them you were likely to decline, yet they pushed him to ask anyway. The mention of the Italy Job caused you to shiver, this was the job that cemented the decision for you to leave this life, to vow that you would never put stock into fairy tales again. The Italy Job is what haunted your dreams, how you lost your trusted crew due to your own naivety and willingness to put your trust into someone else . The job was to find a fabled fruit of Eden, a fruitless endeavour is what you called it, meaning to be facetious as your voiced was laced with venom every time anybody asked you about it.

The mention of the Italy job threw you off for a quick moment, until Sully brought you back to the present with the mention of Orichalcum, this was your white whale and Sully knew it, this is why he eventually agreed to call you, every treasure hunter had their own obsession and yours was Atlantis. You had read the stories about the lost city ever since you were a child and you were enamoured, as you grew up you learnt of the philosopher Plato, a man who described Atlantis as “a great island nation, whom used orichalcum to line the temple of Poseidon” This society, if it was real, had secrets that you were desperate to unfold and understand, to learn where Atlantis was and how its people functioned.

The line was silent after Sully mentioned the Orichalcum, as much as you wanted to maintain your retirement, adamant that you would not get roped into this type of mess ever again, you quickly caved in, knowing in your heart that you could not resist this endeavour. Sighing in defeat and slumping your head as you agreed to Sully’s proposition on the phone. You heard a small laugh in the background and Sully saying that his colleague would be in touch shortly. Colleague? You did not sign up to adventure with a colleague of his, you assumed that Sully would be in this adventure, that was the only reason you had agreed, aside from the Orichalcum of course. Deep breaths in and out, that is what you told yourself, the main man of the job would contact you soon and surely he would not be so bad, if Sully was prepared to proposition you on his behalf then he must be legit and someone that Sully trusted at least.

A day or two had passed before you were contacted by text to be ready and where to wait for further instruction, telling you to have your bags and whatever you needed at moment’s notice. A car would pick you up in a nearby field and take you to a private airfield to transport you to your next destination, a place you had no idea about but complied for the sake of the job. The walk to the field was not a bad one, or at least it wouldn’t be if it was not 3am with a heavy rucksack on your back and if you weren’t having to manoeuvrer your way through the nettle plants in the dark. Nevertheless, you arrived for the small plane that you were told would be waiting for you.

Another deep breath is what you needed as you approached the plane, you knew that you had left this life for a reason and now you had been sucked back into it, you did not even have proof that Atlantis and the Orichalcum was real, yet the explorer blood within you just could not resist the possibility of it. You pulled yourself into the plane, throwing your bag to the back and strapping yourself in as tightly as you could, you had never been a good flier, normally you would be three glasses of wine deep before you got on any plane, but you would be damned if your fear would stop you this time, it also helped that you were almost half asleep anyway.

It was juvenile but you began to sing various songs in your mind help to calm you as the small plane took off from the field, flying on regular passenger planes was bad enough, never mind this little tin can airplane you had now found yourself, you were prepared to do anything to calm yourself down, no matter how childish it seemed. After taking off, the flight was surprisingly smooth, you were shocked that such a small plane could ride through the clouds and feel barely any turbulence, you gave small thanks in your head that it was such a smooth ride as you closed your eyes, hoping that sleep would claim you so that you did not have to endure this flight awake.

You were not sure how long you had slept for as you jolted awake, one of the pilots had shook your shoulder just enough to wake you, informing you that the aircraft was about to land. It was a sleepy and barely conscious nod that you gave in reply, yawning and trying to blink the sleep away from your eyes as the pilot walked away. You took a deep breath and stared out of the window, though you hated heights it was fascinating to see the vast ground before you, the field you took off from was muddy and dark, yet now the ground before you was plush and vibrant.

As your flight began to descend you began to recognise the where you were, guessing where you were from one thing alone, the Jabal Tariq. The Rock of Gibraltar as most people would call it, you smiled quietly to yourself at seeing this, you had always believed in the theory that Atlantis was on the coast of Gibraltar, believing in Plato’s writings that it was in the shadow of the Pillars of Hercules. And now here you were, ready to finally discover what most would call a fairy tale, to uncover what was left behind of a once utopian civilisation

The aircraft vibrated and you knew this indicated that touch down would be happening shortly, the anxiety of flying set in once again as you grabbed the armchairs with all your might, bracing yourself for touch down at any moment. Once the wheels of the plane bounced against the floor you sighed with relief, a feeling that was quickly replaced with dread once again as you wondered who you would be working with upon disembarking the plane. You had received barely any information about him, all that Sully said to you was “Don’t get close to him kid.” A comment that filled you with dread, a dread that would hopefully be quelled within minutes as you left the plane and willingly walked into his team to find this Orichalcum of Atlantis.

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The sun almost blinded you as you disembarked the plane, you had to shield yourself from the light with your arm as you stumbled down the stairs to finally reach Terra Firma. Once your boots finally touched the solid ground the anxiety inside you finally let up, now all you had to be nervous about was whom you would be exploring with.

You could see a figure in the distance, one that you could tell was smoking, leading you to roll you eyes and mutter under your breath “Great, another smoker.” Though you had fond memories of Sully, his habit of smoking did get under your skin, you had no love for the smell that it left on every surface as he puffed regularly on his cigars through the entire job. With a deep sigh you hitched your slowly falling rucksack back up and marched ahead, eager to get out into the world for this one last adventure.

As the gap between you and your new partner closed, you began to recognise one of him, you squinted and started second guessing yourself about their identity, surely it couldn’t be who you thought it was, after all you would have assumed Sully would have told you if it was him. Sam Fucking Drake. Your jaw almost hit the floor as you realized it really was him; Sam Drake was the one who had asked for you? A man who discovered the fabled treasure of Henry Avery, whose brother discovered Shambala.

You quickly regained your composure so as not to make things awkward upon first meeting, though you did make a mental note that you would give Sully an earful the next chance you got, you were convinced that he purposely didn’t tell you it was Sam just to fuck with you, knowing that the Drake brothers were considered legends in the treasure seeking world. Though his only comment started to ring in the back of your mind “Don’t get close to him kid.” You started to wonder what that could mean, until your train of thought was interrupted by a smooth voice.

“Good morning Sweetheart, Sully didn’t mention you were so beautiful” And with that comment, any respect you had for him had vanished in an instant. You had initially forgotten how women were treated in the treasure hunting business, it had all come flooding back to you now, remembering that it was hard for a woman to make a name for herself in this world, she would have to prove herself more than what a man would need to do to be respected, purely based on the fact she was a woman.

Though you lost all respect for the man, you could not deny to yourself that his comment and cheeky wink at you almost made you blush, stifling back the smile that threatened to break through, if only just to deny him the satisfaction of knowing he had so easily gotten to you. Now you knew what Sully meant by that comment, with that fresh back in your mind you vowed to be on your guard, this was clearly a man who enjoyed charming women and from the looks of him, he knew that he was good at it as well.

With a fake yawn to hide that he had already gotten under your skin, you held out your hand in a friendly gesture, hoping he would return it and shake yours in an attempt to begin this job with a good start. “Mornin’ Mr Drake” not wanting to seem to star struck by the man before you, you gave a small nod and kept it professional as you spoke to him.

Sam’s reaction almost took you by surprise, or it would have done if he hadn’t started with the flirting immediately. He placed a hand over his heart and feigned surprise, gasping with abject horror at your comment. “Mr Drake?! Sweetheart call me Sam, or Sammy if you want to be playful” Another wink. At this point you could have convinced yourself it was just a tick he had, if not coupled with the flirty drawl of his voice.

You rolled your eyes and gave a soft sigh, as much as you wanted to not let him affect you, Sam couldn’t help but notice the small twitch of your lips, threatening to burst into a smile that would give away your cool and nonchalant demeanor. He kept the fleeting ghost of a smile to himself; he could rile you up more if he wanted to but where would the fun be in that. Sam enjoyed the chase, and he wanted to take it slow for now, neither of you knew how long this job would take and he did not want to spoil the fun part of it so soon.

“Okay… Sam. Where are we headed then?” You were going to be polite, to say that it was a privilege to work with him and thank him for asking specifically for you, yet you had already ascertained that he was not the professional that you had built him up to be in your mind. Instead you would take the casual and stepped back approach that you often had to do in your adventuring years, not getting involved with your colleagues was a lesson it took far too long for you to learn, it would be fun at first but then would leave you heartbroken after the job was done, a feeling you were not so keen to revisit.

A playful smirk broke on Sams face, much to your annoyance as he seemed far too cocky, though if his reputation was to be believed then you could admit that his confidence was well deserved. “You see that car over there sweetheart” Sam leaned over to put an arm around your shoulder, pointing over to a beat-up looking jeep barely even 100 metres away, it took all your strength to not sigh at his sarcasm. “That’s where we are headed” You could imagine how wide his smile was at his own sarcastic joke. You silently cursed yourself for agreeing to accept this job, knowing that it would be a long one if this is what you would have to put up with the entire time.

Picking his hand up from your shoulder with a fake look of disgust, you let it drop at his side as you spouted back to him. “Funnily enough Sam, I gathered that. Where is that car taking us.” You spoke deliberately, as if speaking to a small child, leaving no room for any interpretation for another stupid joke from him. Ever the performer Sam acted with fake offence once again as he looked at you, trying hard not to laugh at you, thinking to himself how adorable you looked when you tried to be professional. At first it was just his playful nature, now he told himself he would crack you by the end of this job, to make you open up and let him into that cold stoney heart of yours, his own personal mission.

“Sweetheart you wound me” He teased back to you, without a wink this time which you thanked silently. “THAT car is taking us into Andalusia, we still need to chart a course to where we think Atlantis is, and that’s where you come in” Sam patted your back roughly and spurred you on towards the car, this job was going to take a lot longer than you had imagined, especially if he had not already had a course set yet. There were rough ideas where Atlantis was though no one had narrowed it down, you had your own personal theories but now that you had a chance to test them it made you anxious. Your entire life you wanted to search for this, and now that you could you were hesitant, to know that you might be wrong or that it may not even exist scared you.

Each step towards the beaten and battered jeep cemented you further into this adventure, each step forward was one that you could not take back, each thud of your boot on the ground was a confirmation that you were committing to this, one last hurrah and attempt at your own shot at glory. Sam pretending to be a gentleman opened the car door for you, bowing sarcastically as he wiggled his eyebrows, inviting you into the car. With a deep sigh you climbed in, scooting over as far as possible so that you did not have to have physical contact with Sam, resigning yourself to the fact you could not back out now, that you were committed and would see this job through to the end.

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The drive into the city of Andalusia was a rough one, with each bump of the ground you were sure that the jeep would give in and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. Sam had no such fear, he in fact loved watching your startled reaction with each bump and jump the car made, laughing to himself as you jolted around desperately trying to hold yourself in place, wildly trying to hold onto anything that would keep you stable.

You weren’t sure how long the drive would last before you pulled up to the hotel, but in your mind it had lasted long enough already, you already felt queasy from the plane ride and this jumpy car ride only exacerbated your easily upset stomach. One thing you noticed throughout the journey was Sam's smile. It was like it was plastered onto his face, it annoyed you that he was enjoying your discomfort far too much, like this was all just a game to him when this job would be the crowning jewel in your life's work.

Treasure seeking had been a large part of your life, heading out on excursions as soon as you were able to fly the nest, you had found the odd trinket here and there on your various jobs, maybe a few coins worth of some value but nothing to write home about. Nothing compared to what the Drake brothers had accomplished, that was why his smiles irritated you so much, they had discovered actual myths and ancient civilizations. You felt that his smiles were mocking you, that this was all just a joke to him, this was your magnum opus, you needed this to be real, knowing that you would feel empty if what you had dreamt about finding your entire life was just a story.

The jeep came to a sharp stop outside a tall white building, you couldn’t have given less of a care to what the building was, you were just happy that the rough journey had ended. Climbing out of the car you felt green, the sickness from the ride threatening to spill out of you as the warm humid air hit you like a brick. You bent over and tried to breathe, hoping that the sickness would dissipate soon. This was one thing that you had never missed about this life, you had always suffered from travel sickness and journeying between places was a major part of these kinds of jobs.

A few minutes had passed until you regained composure, no longer feeling as if you were to be sick at a moment's notice. You looked at the building before you and took a quick measure of it, obviously a hotel but you wanted to scan for how dodgy it would be, whether you would need to pin a chair under your door handle on a night whilst you stayed there. As you walked backwards taking in the image of the place you bumped into something, or someone. You could feel the rumble of the laughter in Sam’s chest as your body collided with his.
“Careful Sweetheart” Sam winked and walked ahead into the hotel, leaving you dazed and confused, as he walked away you noticed he had two bags in his hands. Though you wanted to dislike the man so far, it was hard for you to do so when he was carrying your bags for you, your brain tried every angle to make this feel like a slight against you, that he was doing it because you weren’t strong enough or that he didn’t believe women could carry their own luggage.

Sam handled the check in of the hotel and you prayed to all the Gods that you had separate rooms, you heard other women tell you of so many jobs where the man ‘accidentally’ booked one room and suggested that they share a bed. Thankfully Sam came to you with 2 keys, though the smile on his face was far too mischievous for your liking, you scowled curiously at the back of his head as he led the way to your rooms, though he was kindly carrying your bags you were wondering what he was up to.

Sam dropped your bag in your room with a smile, telling you that he was only next door if you needed him, smirking playfully as he closed the door behind him. It was a nice room, that you admitted to yourself, though surprised that you had one to yourself, in your previous jobs you had shared with other people or even slept on blow up beds on the floor. This was nice for you, you smiled to yourself as you sorted your bag out, you would need to discuss the details of the job with Sam soon and wanted to have everything ready.

Notebooks and printed sources ready, you decided that you would go and see Sam now for information about the job, you were fully prepared with everything you had on Atlantis so were not worried on that front, you were just worried at how Sam would behave. Stood at the threshold of his hotel door you hesitated to knock, your throat closing up with anxiety at the thought of even knocking on the door before you. He was just a man, is what you told yourself, why were you so scared to inform him of the job that you agreed to be on.

You squeezed your eyes shut and rapped your knuckles on the door, it was a job and you had to be professional, he had gotten under your skin earlier but this would be different, he would be professional with work matters, plus he could have been slimy and ‘accidentally’ booked a single room. Sam opened the door with a smile, though that was not the first thing you had noticed, what you had noticed was that he was shirtless, that his chest was bare before you, showcasing all the scars he had collected in his life. Your eyes automatically flicked to his bare chest, for a brief moment before looking back up at Sam’s face, the raise of his eyebrows meant that he had caught you but kept that to himself for now.

“I didn’t think you’d be calling for me so soon, it kind of ruins the fun” That damned smile again. You managed to roll your eyes and not smile at him, trying ever so hard to ignore the fact he was almost bare before you. “I’ve come to discuss the job. Sam. If that’s okay” You raised your brows at him, indicating that you were here for business as you held your notepad and documents against your chest, though the smirk was evident on your face as you tried hard to ignore his charm.

A soft chuckle left Sam’s mouth as he let you into his room, he threw on a sweater and you couldn’t help but watch his muscles as he did so, trying hard to look away and remember Sully’s advice “Don’t get too close to him kid.” You coughed to clear your voice, looking down at your research you began to speak. “If my research is right then we need to head to Jabal Tariq, The Rock Of Gibraltar” Sam sat and watched you intensely as you spoke, taking in every word you said.

You had not noticed how Sam watched you, how he took in every feature of your face, the way your nose crinkled as you spoke and how your lips moved, focusing only on your notes before you. “It is one of the Pillars Of Hercules, something that is mentioned in Plato’s writings, I believe it is connected to Atlantis” You give a nervous sigh and look up, shocked to see how intensely Sam is watching you, to see that he was hanging on every word that you had said, you were now thinking that maybe he was as serious as you about finding this treasure, which made you warm to him slightly, thinking that his previous behaviour was just excitement to get started.

“Exceptional” Sam exclaimed as he clapped his hands together. “At first light tomorrow, we will head out.” The smile on his face made you happy, it was indicative of a love for discovery, you had only seen the flirty side of him for now, but this smile was different, it made you feel warm inside as well.

As soon as you felt that warm glow from Sam’s smile he ruined it for you with one comment. “Is Atlantis the only place you are curious about?” His smile made you laugh, the first time you had finally given in to his antics. You rolled your eyes and stood up, making your way to the door, pretending not to care for his flirtations. As you reached the door you turned back and said in a low sultry tone “We can discuss it some more downstairs over a drink,” You winked at him and walked away to your own room before he could respond.

In your own room you readied yourself to go to the hotel bar, you did not expect Sam to meet you but you needed a very large glass of wine after the day you had just endured. You half hoped that Sam would join you, you had thoroughly disregarded Sully’s comment about Sam now. Yes he was irritating and had flirted with you the entire time but fuck it. Once you had checked into your room you realized that this was potentially your last job, and you might as well have fun with it.

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The hotel bar was empty, a shock to you as you expected it to be bustling with residents of the hotel, with people on vacation wanting to chase the alcohol high, the kind that you only feel on a relaxing holiday, yet it was almost barren, now you were nervous. Where you expected to be in a busy environment, surrounded by happy couples and loud conversations, it was silent, you now hoped that Sam wouldn’t show up, leaving the two of you alone together, alone at the mercy of his charm that was slowly creeping up on you.

One glass of wine down and you started to relax,it had been a long day and you definitely needed this to take the edge off, to stop your mind wandering about the job and the man that came with it, though admittedly you had started to like his cheeky nature. It had been an hour and Sam hadn’t shown up, leading you to believe that he would stay in his own room for the night and not call your bluff, you were relieved yet some part of you was sad at the same time, even if nothing developed between the two of you, you still wanted to have at least a friendly relationship. As you started to finish your second glass of wine and make a move to leave you noticed a figure out of the corner of your eye, one that was now approaching you, it was a familiar figure yet dressed more suavely than when you had first met, causing your palms to sweat as he sat opposite you.

As Sam sat opposite you it was hard to deny how handsome he was, though he’d had some hard years he was undeniably ruggedly attractive. It took all your strength not to blush as he smoothly flagged down a waiter and not only ordered a drink for himself, but one for you as well. As the drinks arrived he toasted his glass to you and smiled that wicked smile you had come to recognise over these past few days of various means of travel with him. “So, what do you want to discuss sweetheart?”

The comment registered in your brain and you wanted to punch yourself for ever returning the flirting earlier, you told yourself that you wanted to have fun for your last adventure but you were regretting it now. You had no idea why Sam had such a chokehold over you in such a short space of time, not even 24 hours ago you were cursing his name, now you were almost speechless before him. In the past you were the one doing the teasing and tormenting of men, making them weak at the knees from your flirting and suggestiveness. It felt strange to you for the shoe to be on the other foot for once, a man rendering you speechless and blushing.

In an attempt to keep your cool you took a large drink of wine, using this time to calculate a response. “Why do you want to find Atlantis, Sam?” Placing emphasis on Sam you made sure to purr it to him, to make him squirm as much as you were due to his comments. This elicited a smile from him, Sam relished the way his name sounded rolling off your tongue, though he would not tell you that just yet, he would wait for a later date when he was far more under your skin.

“Curiosity.” That was his answer. Nothing deep and no deep-seated desire to find it, pure curiosity is what he claimed. What Sam didn’t divulge is that he wanted his own glory, his brother had discovered Shambala and Iram of the Pillars, he wanted something he could call his own as well. Atlantis was the last big find that hadn’t been found yet, and he wanted it to be his. Though he discovered Libertalia with his brother it wasn’t his, people would only remember Nathan and not him, Sam wanted this to be his trophy and you were the key to getting it.

You stared and smiled at Sam after his answer, his behavior so far made you believe that it could be true, yet you could sense that something deep down was driving him, a personal desire like your own to find the city. You smiled and toasted your own drink to Sam, wishing that you would both have an easy journey to Atlantis. The rest of your drinks were covered by Sam, a fact you were surprised by as you expected him to not be so chivalrous, yet with every drink that arrived you accepted it without complaint or question. With each drink came a story, you told Sam of all your previous jobs, and he told you little pieces about the hunt for Libertalia in return, regaling you with pieces of the journey that most people were not privy to.

Though you laughed at each other’s stories back and forth for a few drinks, the laughter ended at the Italy Job, the one memory you did not want to re-live. Sam had asked you about it, and as soon as the words left his lips he knew it was a mistake, he saw you bristle and clam up immediately at the mention of it, your current playful nature now reverting to the stoney woman he met at the airfield. It had always been a hard memory for you, to know that your own naivety caused all those people to be killed, it haunted you. You left the table and returned your glass to the bar without a word, not being impolite but being clear enough that the conversation was over. Though you had thanked Sam for the drinks you could not continue on with this conversation, not the way it was going now. You could hear Sam's voice in the background as you walked away, him pleading for you to come back, telling you how Sully had told him no other person would be better for this job. No number of accolades would make you turn back to him, you needed to be alone and away from such a stupid man, the tears threatened to spill down your face as you walked towards the hotel stairs, desperately trying to hold them back until you were out of Sam's line of sight.

You stalked back up to your room with tears now streaming down your face, your eyes now bright red after having given in from holding them back. The night proved helpful in that you gained a newfound respect for Sam; to see some personality behind the confident façade and hear of his previous adventures. It wasn’t helpful in hashing up the past however, you knew that you would need to deal with it someday yet today would not be the day to do it, it was far too raw for you and still plagued your dreams, the botched Italy Job ever present in your nightmares.

The hotel room felt colder than when you first checked in, the atmosphere of the night having marred the day. It felt like an arduous task but you needed to undress for the night, still you pulled yourself out of the dress that had clung to you, throwing it to one side of the room in anger, barely even having the effort to pull on your pyjamas for the night. You curled yourself up in the hotel bed, huddling under the quilt for protection and warmth, hoping to sleep away the memories that haunted you, to wake in the morning feeling fresh and happy to continue this job.

As you lay down to sleep, burdened by the nightmares of jobs past, Sam carried on drinking downstairs. Sam’s own demons plagued him on a nightly basis, horrors going back to his time in the prison in Panama, he wanted one last victory, to be seen as an explorer like his brother and vowing to himself that he would give anything to achieve it.

Neither of you understood it yet but this job was your last chance at what you had both craved, a desire to be seen, accepted and admired, to go down in history as someone who made a difference and had achieved something worthwhile, not someone who had sat aside and let the world pass them by or coasted by silently underneath someone else's shadow.

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It was a rough wake up call, early morning after a night full of wine was never going to be pleasant, yet you knowingly drank it anyway. The sun broke through the thin linen curtains of your room, even if you had wanted to sleep, the light streaming through would have awoken you anyway, it was obviously a fairly cheap hotel from this factor alone. With a groan you forced yourself out of bed with much reluctance, sighing as you told yourself that you might as well wake early and get started with the job, the events of last night did not fill you with joy at how the day ahead might pan out.

The hot shower was one thing you enjoyed, you weren’t sure at how many of these you would have over the coming days or even weeks so you made sure to thoroughly enjoy this one. The feeling of the hot water splashing over your skin was pure bliss, you could have stayed in this shower for a lifetime, you would have done so if you were not interrupted by the heavy rapping on the hotel door, signaling that it was time to leave soon. After being rudely interrupted from your lovely day dream you exited the shower, shivering wildly after leaving its warm embrace, hugging the towel around you in an attempt to cling to some warmth.

Getting ready did not take much time, you had a bag packed with the essential items ready to go as well as an outfit laid out on the chair in your room. The only thing that was stopping you from being ready was yourself, that was due in part to your experience with Sam the night before, you regretted leaving him at the bar the way you did, hopefully he wouldn't bring it up and it would be business as usual going forward, maybe even some nice banter to lighten the mood, afterall you did have a lovely night with him for the most part, having gotten to hear the stories of his past and to finally get to know him.

Clean and fresh you made your way down the hotel stairs, you had looked briefly over your notes for the day and packed accordingly, you would be going to Jabal Tariq, more commonly known to the people here as the Rock of Gibraltar. This mountain was important when it came to the myth of Atlantis, it was one of the Pillars of Hercules, pillars that opened the strait of Gibraltar and opened the way to the lost city. As you made your way down to the hotel atrium you saw Sam waiting for you, leaning against the hotel wall, thankfully with a smile on his face, although the bags under his eyes signalled that he had a late night by himself.

“Good morning Princess, sleep well?” And the teasing started straight away, you took it in good spirit though, at least he wouldn't bring up the awkwardness of last night or try to call you out for being rude, maybe it would be a good day for the both of you after all .

“Better than you by the looks of it” Your own voice was just as cheerful as his, it shocked you to hear how happy you sounded considering how early it was, trying to deny to yourself that it was Sam who now started to have some sort of cheery effect on you. Sam chuckled at your comment before nodding towards the door, there would be more time for pleasantries and teasing throughout the day, but for now you were both eager to be headed on your way to the mountain.

Though it was early morning the heat hit you like a brick as soon as you stepped through the hotel doors, if it was this warm now then you dreaded how bad it would get later in the day, you almost wished that you hadn't agreed to climb up Jabal Tariq on day one, but unfortunately you had come more than well prepared so there was no excuse that you needed to do more research by the hotel pool. The heat wasn't the only thing that was making you regret this day, your eyes landed back on the old beaten up jeep, you swore that you could still feel your stomach turning from yesterday's ride.

With a resigned sigh you hopped back in and buckled up, making sure your seatbelt was as tight as it could go, pulling on it to double and triple check. Your head and stomach were already feeling a little worse for wear after last night's wine, you just hoped that you wouldn't have to ask Sam to keep pulling over to rest your stomach, he would definitely tease you for that. The drive started a lot calmer and felt smoother than yesterday's escapade, silently thankful that these roads were smoother and less bumpy, it was definitely a blessing for an easily upset stomach and a good omen for the day.

The ride was surprisingly gentle today, so much so that eventually you ended up falling back to sleep from the soft rocking of the jeep, claiming some sorely needed rest from the early wakeup call. As you snored softly to yourself Sam smiled and looked over at you briefly, happy that you didn't bring up last night at the bar, or scold him for bringing your last job up. He truly felt bad that he had upset you, it was not his intent and he never meant to pry but it just slipped out like word vomit, it was the one story Sully would never tell him, mostly out of respect for you and how the whole thing affected you.

Most of the drive to Jabal Tariq was in silence, a silence that was only broken with the occasional snore or mummer as you slept against the window. The silence was welcomed by Sam for the most part, it had been a while since he had worked just one on one with another person, and quite frankly he didn't know how to speak to you just yet. At first you were prickly and uptight, yet you then started returning his playful banter, he'd only known you for a few days and you were already an enigma to him and one that had started to intrigue him greatly.

Jabal Tariq slowly peaked through the treeline, signifying that the soon you would both be upon the base of the mountain, a jeep would not help you here, on foot is the only way you'd be able to find what you were after, hopefully some hidden cave with some indication of your next steps would lie ahead for you. Sam lit up a cigarette to ready himself for the job and gave you a gentle nudge, waking you from the most lovely dream that was now fading into obscurity.

You awoke with a start and panicked momentarily, the dream you were having made you forget about the nightmare jeep you now found yourself in again. With a deep sigh it all came flooding back to you, you hadn't been kidnapped, you were actually here on business. A low rumble of a chuckle brought you from your trance, causing you to snap your head and scowl at Sam. “Something funny big man?” Your own words shocked you, you don't know where ‘big man’ came from, you hadn't used that phrase since the early days of your treasure seeking, back when it was all fun and games as a young treasure seeker.

Sam chuckled some more as he took a long drag of his cigarette. “Well Sweetheart, as cute as you looked drooling in your sleep, I thought you'd want to see that.” The scowl remained on your face as you turned your head to see what he was pointing at, trying hard not to be disgusted at the cigarette he was holding between his fingers. See what? Surely he was making fun of you again until it finally registered what you were looking at. Jabal Tariq. The Rock of Gibraltar. A pillar of Hercules.

The mountain was more colossal than you had imagined, you wondered how on earth you would be able to scale it, never mind find anything pertaining to Atlantis. As you were transfixed upon the mountain, Sam took one last drag of his cigarette and then flicked away out of the window whilst clearing his throat. “Well, seeing as you are awake now, it's time to let off some real steam” That comment confused you, that was until you heard the engine roar into life and jolt forward at a ridiculous speed.

Speeding forward you once again gripped the seat and dashboard for dear life on account of his driving, you had only just set eyes on the mountain and now you were convinced it would be the last thing you would ever see in this world. The look of joy on Sam’s face was only exacerbated by your shock, he sped on forwards closing the gap to finally reach the base of the mountain where the real adventure would begin.

Chapter Text

Once again you threw yourself out of the jeep's door as soon as it stopped, only this time it was at the base of the mountain and not the hotel, now you weren’t just queasy, you actually vomited in the nearby bushes, the wine from the night before burning your throat as it came back up. As much as Sam wanted to laugh at you and revel in your current state, he decided not to push his luck, in truth he did feel that it was his fault for speeding the last few miles to the mountain, and so decided to show you some compassion. As you were being sick you felt a gentle hand rub your back and another one tuck your hair away from your face, Sam didn’t say anything to you as he did this which you were thankful for, though you were currently incapacitated you were grateful for this nice gesture.

You stood up and wiped your mouth upon your sleeve, blinking the last remaining tears from your eyes as you coughed weakly, to be fair you did feel a lot better now but you still wished you hadn’t thrown up, hoping that the base of the mountain wasn’t considered some sort of sacred ground that you had now defiled, that desecrating it with your vomit wasn’t going to place a bad omen on your journey. A few rough pats on your back from Sam and him holding a canteen of water to you made you turn to him and smile weakly, you nodded in thanks and took the water, your eyes almost rolling into the back of your head with how exquisite the cold water felt running down your throat, only to be interrupted by. “Are you quite finished now?”

You chuckled at Sam’s comment, a chuckle that caused water to dribble forth out of your mouth. Trying not to feel embarrassed you offered the canteen back to Sam, wiping the dribbles of water away from your mouth on your sleeve, though you were surprised to see him wrinkle his nose up in partial disgust. “You keep it sweetheart… I’d rather not share that one if you don’t mind.”

“Ah yeah, right… That’s fair i suppose” You smiled weakly and put the canteen in your backpack, you couldn’t blame him for not wanting to take it back after he just witnessed you throwing up in the bushes, if the roles were reversed you would have acted with a lot more disgust than Sam just did.

Now that your stomach was back to normal, the water having settled it somewhat, it was time for you both to prep equipment for the day, your rucksacks were already filled with water and food but you would also potentially need ropes, hammers and picks to scale some of the more difficult walls of Jabal Tariq. As you placed the various climbing equipment into your bag, shuffling items around for maximum space, you noticed Sam out of the corner of your eye, he was putting on a gun holster and packing rounds of ammunition, you looked over in confusion as you were not led to believe that it was that type of job.

“And what's that in that holster Sam?” You didn’t want to be accusatory, but you at least wanted to know why he felt the need to bring a gun on a fairly innocuous mountain, afterall you weren’t aware that any wildlife here could be that dangerous.

“Maybe i'm just happy to see you” You scoffed and looked at him with an eyebrow cocked, you wanted a real answer and he knew it, he was just trying to deflect in the only way he knew how. “What? You’ve worked on these kinds of jobs, it’s just always handy to have at least something to protect yourself with” Sam shrugged and turned away from you to finish packing his own equipment, Sully’s words ringing once again in your head to not get close to him, he was hiding something but you also knew he wasn’t wrong, it really was just good practice to bring something to protect yourself, you almost wished you had brought your own now to even the odds, although hoping to yourself that they won’t need evening at any point, hoping that Sam wouldn’t turn on you late into the job.

Though you watched Sam carefully for another few minutes as he packed his bag, you decided it was not worth pressing for now, hoping that it was just an old paranoid habit he had, Sam hadn’t given you any indication thus far to mistrust him and he seemed genuine that he wanted your help. You brushed away the feeling of mistrust for now but you would keep a close eye on him for the day, to see if any ‘accidents’ happen with the ropes or scaling the harsher faces of the mountain.

Backpacks were full, tightened to your back and you were ready to go, Sam outstretched his arm and bowed slightly to indicate it was ladies first, you chuckled and shook your head at him before leading the way on the dirt parth. Sam was starting to enjoy those little eye rolls and fake annoyed smiles that you gave him, this job was starting to feel less like work for him and more fun like the adventures of his youth, making pretty girls smile and finding treasure as a bonus.

The base of Jabal Tariq was fairly easy to walk up, the well worn dirt path giving you the indications that this must be a popular hiking route, and you could see why, though you were not particularly high up the views were incredible, it made you wish that you had made the choice to come here on vacation well before now. The stunning blue sea of the Strait of Gibraltar was breathtaking, the way it sparkled took your breath away, it was captivating and held your attention until you felt a heavy arm drape around your shoulders.

“It’s almost as blue as your eyes, Sweetheart.” You gave a deep sigh and laughed to yourself as you shrugged Sam’s arm off you, though you would have been lying to yourself if you said that you did not enjoy the feeling of it. “That would have been a fantastic line Sam, if only my eyes were blue.” Unfortunately you did not see the shocked look upon Sam’s face as you turned away to laugh at his cringey line, a thing you deeply regretted as you wish you could have committed it to memory.

This next part of the journey was pleasant, almost making you forget that you were here to do an actual job, Sam was in a fine mood and fine form as well, a form you tried hard not to stare at though failed miserably, he was cracking jokes and telling you more about the jobs he had worked on, he even gave you the true run down on the jobs that his brother Nathan had become famous for, though you were sure he was embellishing some parts for effect, there was no way Nathan could have survived a train derailing over a cliff.

Nonetheless it was nice to be in Sam’s company, it annoyed you that you kept glancing over at his body, admiring him through the now sweat soaked vest he was wearing. He had irritated you the day you met him, pried into your past where you did not want him to, and now he had a gun you did not know about, yet you were still daydreaming over him like a lovesick girl. You vowed to yourself that you would not fall to those feelings, your brow was furrowed as you swore it to yourself, a thing that Sam noticed in the corner of his eye but did not mention, over the last few days he saw you wrestle with your inner emotions over a lot of things and thought it wise not to pry.

The harder trail of the mountain was slowly creeping upon you, becoming steeper with every step, in this instance Sam roped himself to you, meaning that if one person fell the other was doomed as well, to fall down the cliff face and disappear into the treeline. You took that as a strange compliment, you questioned your trust in Sam over the gun but this now assuaged your mistrust, he obviously meant you no harm if he was willing to take a potential fall for you. The wall of the mountain was rough to crawl against, rocks scraping against your knees and sharp stones threatening to draw blood, though you and Sam were tethered together you had to walk carefully, to work as one and mirror each other's steps. The one surface that made you nervous was the ledge, you had barely an inch to place your foot on to walk over, it was littered with wet leaves and foliage and was a struggle with every step, having to practically hug the wall as you inched over step by step across it. At first you cried, your head buried into the vines on the wall to prevent Sam from seeing your tears.

Sam could hear and feel your reluctance, no matter how hard you tried to hide your face away from him. Sam slided back towards you on the ledge, he took you hand in his and tugged you gently towards him “I know it’s hard Sweetheart. Just think of Atlantis, of what you will discover, eh?” Sam kissed your hand and tugged you towards him, trying to coax you back to solid land and towards him, back towards terra firma where you would feel safe once again.

You followed the guiding lead of Sam, gripping his hand so tight you were almost scared you would cut off his blood flow. The ledge before you did not seem so scary once he had guided you away, you followed his gentle pull until you left the ledge, your feet falling on solid ground and falling into Sam’s arms, your arms gripping around his body so tight as if your life depended on it, holding him close for safety. Sam did not protest your hold on him, he returned it in fact, hugging you gently to reassure you that everything was okay, that you had made it back to safety and back to him, stroking your back softly to calm your nerves and assure you that you were safe with him.

As you released Sam from your grip and calmed down you both began to laugh, laughing at how silly you had been over a little ledge, that nothing bad had happened and you were over reacting. You sighed and headed along behind Sam, hoping to yourself that scaling over that ledge was worth the anxiety that it had caused you, knowing to yourself that the only thing that had been hurt was your ego, you were embarrassed at how quickly you were to cling to him and have him comfort you, even more embarrassed at how easy it was for him to comfort you and calm your nerves.

The mountain path ahead now seemed to become less green and more rocky, having to squeeze through crevices and climb over crumbly surfaces was now becoming more common. Each step you took had to be made with precision, for the rock beneath your feet could crumble at the slightest amount of pressure. This face of the mountain was particularly narrow, barely a foothold to be found and you had to climb in single file, you were never a fan of heights so you were thankful that the treeline below you obscured how high up you really were at this point.

A soft tug on the rope that connected you to Sam pulled your gaze away from the treeline below you, staring back at him you could tell by the wild look in his eyes that he had found something of note, something that he knew you would want to see. Edging further towards Sam you found yourself atop a wide surface, a welcome change from the thin ledges you had been struggling on so far, it was nice to feel solid rock underfoot without fear of it giving way at any moment.

What Sam had alerted you to made your eyes grow wide with excitement, a deep cave into the mountain just as you hoped you would find. At the start of this job you told yourself that you would have something profound to say if you discovered a cave on Jabal Tariq as you theorised, yet you could not find any words to do your emotions justice, you just stared at the mouth of the cave in absolute awe. It could only be just a cave but in your heart you knew that it was the key to the next step in finding Atlantis, your heart could not accept any other option at this point.

Whilst you stood admiring the cave, Sam had untethered you both, no longer needing to be bound to each other for safety, it was only after he packed the rope away that he threw his arm around your shoulders and brought you back from your transfixed gaze upon the dark passage into the mountain.

“Whilst it is a lovely looking cave darling, I don’t think we need to stand here admiring it all day” At the beginning of this journey Sam’s joke would have ruined this moment for you, yet now you playfully elbowed him in the ribs and rolled your eyes at his silly remark. You both steeled yourself and ensured you were ready before heading on, making sure you had ample light, food and water before venturing into the dark abyss of the mountain.

Chapter Text

The further you walked into the mountain the darker it became, the light of the entrance slowly fading away behind you until nothing of it existed at all, leaving you at the mercy of the slowly all encompassing darkness. You wondered to yourself how much longer you would walk blindly in the darkness, feeling around in your backpack for a small torch or anything you packed that might emit light, that was until Sam pulled out a lighter and created a makeshift torch. You often wondered how so many old places had so much old wood and cloth lying about but you wouldn't question it now, instead you were just thankful that you had a smoker beside you for once, grateful that his lighter was useful for more than lighting up cigarettes.

The light from the torch was dull and did not illuminate much but it was enough to see what was in front of you, though you had to stick close to Sam to see anything at all, a thing that excited you and bothered you at the same time, you did not want to feel like you needed to be near him, but you also wanted an excuse to be close, to touch him and hold onto him. You quickly threw those thoughts from your mind, your job here was to focus and seek out any clues that would help you, not to admire the body that was hiding beneath the thin vest that clung to Sam’s torso before you, you had no idea what any such Atlantean clues would look like but anything would be better than nothing.

So far the cave had given you nothing, only silence and the sound of crumbling stones beneath your feet, with each step into the cave you felt more disheartened, wondering if Atlantis really was a fairytale now. As you stalked further into the darkness you began to notice some writing upon the walls, it wasn’t quite Latin, nor was it Ancient Greek, it seemed to be a mixture of the two. The discovery of the cave writing alone made you excited, your heart rate spiked as you knew that it meant something was here, something that you were eager to discover and hoped would pertain to what you were searching for.

The path before you began to narrow, closing the space even more between you and Sam, being this close to Sam made you nervous but the thought of the discoveries ahead helped to quell that feeling. You were hardly aware of how far you had ventured into the cave, distracted by the cave writings and excitedly telling Sam at how you had always theorised that the Atlanteans had their own language, now you had tangible proof of it.

Sam entertained your excited mumblings, thinking to himself that it was nice to be so passionate about a job, reflecting to himself about how he felt the same way about Libertalia. Your ramblings were interrupted by the sound of blast not too far from where you were, before you could even scream or ask about the noise Sam dropped the torch and pinned you flush against the wall, his body pressing tight against your own whilst his hand covered your mouth so that you could not make a sound.

Eyes wide and panicked you tried to resist Sam’s hold against you, wanting to be released from his hold and away from the rocks that were now pressing hard into your spine, trying desperately not to think about his body pressing against your own. You looked at Sam angry and confused, wondering why had reacted so viscerally to the loud bang, the look you were giving him was one that let him know that you wanted answers, and you wanted them now.

With a sigh of reluctance Sam held a finger to his lips, the implication of that he would let you go if you would be quiet, waiting for your nod of acceptance that you would be compliant as soon as he removed his hand from your mouth. You nodded obediently and waited for his hand to slowly peel away from your face, taking one large breath before shouting a whisper at him.

“What the fuck Sam?!” Though your voice was a whisper the anger laced behind it was loud. It took all your might to not slap him for pinning you against the wall. You were ready to begin to start shouting at him again, that was until you heard voices in the distance, voices that sounded like they had a purpose here.

“There’s nothing here, just leave that shit and let's go” The voice was muffled through the rocky wall that separated you but it was clear enough, these people that were here were also looking for something and you could take a good guess at what it was that they were after. You waited for what felt like an eternity as the sound of footsteps finally faded away, signalling that you were alone once again before shouting back at Sam. As soon as it was silent and the last footstep was a distant echo, you shoved Sam and demanded answers, you signed up for a simple search and discover job, not whatever this was, thinking back to yourself that this was obviously why he wanted to carry a gun.

Sam stood before you with his hands up in defence, having the gun and brute force made him stronger than you yet he feared you more in this moment, the look of anger in your eyes making him mentally pray to gods that he did not believe in for protection from your wrath. The tension in the air was palpable, you were waiting for Sam to say something and he was waiting for you to attack him, a stalemate between you both and neither wanted to be the first to break.

After a few silent minutes Sam finally spoke, his hands still held up as he approached you. “I’m sorry, I should have told you they would be here.” Sam looked down at his feet with genuine sadness, even in your angered state you could tell he was remorseful and regretted hiding this group from you.

“From the stories Sully told me about you I knew that I would need you, but if I mentioned that Watchtower would be here you would never have agreed.” Sam’s words struck you in a variety of ways. You liked that he had heard such good things about you and was desperate to work with you, yet it annoyed you that he felt he had to lie to get you on board.

“Watchtower? The mercenary group?” you furrowed your brows in confusion as you wondered why they would be here, you had heard of Watchtower before, yet only as guns for hire for rich people who did not want to get their hands dirty, never had they delved into the treasure seeking business. Sam gave a swift nod of confirmation and shrugged his shoulders, he didn’t know why they were here either. Sam was not sure if you were happy or annoyed at his confirmation, on the one hand you were upset that you had a militia to contend with, yet you were happy that Sam came clean with the truth straight away.

Sam held his head in shame as you stared at him, you had no words for him, the man you started to grow close to had betrayed your trust before you had even met each other. You took a deep breath, sighed to yourself and resigned to the fact that you needed to see this through, knowing that you would never have another chance to find Atlantis and its treasure again. You placed a hand on Sam’s shoulder and waited for him to bring his head up and look at you, the look you gave each other was one of understanding. A look that nobody other than treasure seekers would understand, it was a look of acceptance, that you both accepted to see the job until the end, to overcome any obstacle and see it through to the bitter end, and you would do it together.

Chapter Text

The air between Sam and yourself was tense, not even the Atlantean writing upon the wall would pry words from you to make conversation with him, walking ahead in silence was how you carried on, not a word from the other and you accepted that. Stalking on ahead in silence gave you time for introspection, to think how you would move ahead with this job.

As much as you wanted to hate Sam and ignore him you just couldn't find it in yourself to do so. You sighed to yourself because you knew that you would have pulled the same move just a few years ago, when treasure hunting was your entire life, that any discovery was more important than the people you were with.

Forgiveness would need to be earned on Sam's part but you were willing to work with him, knowing that you had no other option at this point, you either found Atlantis with him or not at all, lying was the nature of the job sometimes and you knew it, you just hated to be on the receiving end of it for once.

The silence of the cave didn't become any less deafening as you walked on, the sound of rocks breaking underneath your feet was the only thing that broke the thick atmosphere between you, echoing amongst the rocks as a stark reminder that it was just the two of you alone in the mountain. As you worked up to finally speak to Sam, you came upon a clearing, if you weren't already silent it would have rendered you speechless.

You had been walking for so long in the darkness that the beam of light coming through the other end of the clearing brought tears to your eyes, almost blinding you with it's brilliance. The journey through the cave hadn't been that long yet it still surprised you that it was daylight outside, you were sure that the sun would have set by now.

Your concentration on the light outside was broken with a gentle elbow to your side Sam smiled at you and pointed to the ceiling. Atlantean writing covered the walls of the room you were in, your eyes grew wide taking it all in, staring at the words that were embossed in a yellow colour, it wasn't quite Gold but you couldn't completely identify it.

The carved words were treasure enough to you, this was proof that Atlantis was real, nobody could take that away from you now. You stared at the ceiling for what felt like an age, transfixed as if by staring at them for long enough they would reveal their secrets to you. Your concentration was interrupted with another gentle nudge, as Sam was focused on something else, some strange yellowish coins in his hand, jingling them to shuffle them in his palm before he held them out to you.

You weren't sure what these coins were but they were the same colour as the writing upon the ceiling, they were light and very well worn, you began to theorise to yourself about them and started pacing back and forth, mumbling to yourself under your breath.

Sam watched as the cogs turned in your brain, it was fascinating to see this behaviour from someone else, wondering to himself if he was ever watched in awe when he did the same thing you were doing now. Sam folded his arms and let you work in silence, he could have interrupted and brainstormed with you, but he felt that it would mean more to you to do this on your own.

It was only a few minutes after you started pacing that you stopped dead in your tracks, Sam could almost imagine a little cartoon lightbulb above your head, sparking with the conclusion that you had now come to.

“Would you like to share with the class?” Sam smirked and gestured to the empty room sarcastically, causing a dry laugh to rumble in your throat. Never taking your eyes off the coins in your hand you approached Sam and held out a single coin to him. “It’s money, see the worn ridges and faded figures? These must have been used for trade and passed hands many times. There is no other reason for them to be this worn down and faded.”

Sam lifted the coin into the light that came through the window of the cave, inspecting both sides and seeing the worn away pieces of it, he couldn't disagree with you, he would have come up with the exact same conclusion given enough time.

“The only thing I can't understand why they are here, just these and the Atlantean script on the ceiling” your voice began to trail off again, returning inwards to the cogs of your brain to figure out the next piece of this puzzle.

As you mumbled away to yourself, fidgeting the coins in your palm for any other clue, Sam was transfixed on the coin in his hand. At first glance there seemed to be a carving of Jabal Tariq on either side, though a very worn carving, yet the longer Sam looked at it he was convinced that one side depicted something completely different.

More light was needed for Sam to fully inspect it, squinting alone would not help him find what was missing in this small carving. Moving closer to the cave window he held the coin under the ray of light that was streaming through, trying to find a position that would illuminate the coin the most, flitting between stances to achieve this. That was when it caught Sam's eye.

Jebel Musa. The window in the cave gave a direct view to the second Pillar of Hercules, just over the strait of Gibraltar and on the coast of Morocco. It wasn't two carvings of Jabal Tariq, it was both Pillars, both that were occupying two sides of the same coin. Tossing the coin in the air and catching it with ease Sam began to approach you with a large grin on his face.

As you felt a heavy hand on your shoulder it almost made you yelp out, startled by the sudden interruption of your train of thoughts. The wide smile on Sam's face confused you, wondering what he had found that you had not already. “I know where the next clue is sweetheart.” His voice affected that cocky tone that you had come to recognise, one that suggested he knew something that you ultimately did not.

Sam reached into your empty hand and placed his coin gently on your palm, Jebel Musa side up to see if you could guess the clue as well. Though you inspected the coin you squinted hard back and forth between Sam and then again at the coin, wondering what he was leading you to understand. Sensing your confusion Sam placed a hand on the small of your back and led you to the opening in the cave wall, showing you the direct view over to Jebel Musa.

It took a few seconds of staring through the opening before it finally dawned upon you, holding up the coin next to the visage of the mountain, confirming what Sam was trying to help you understand. Jabal Tariq was the first gate to opening the doors to Atlantis, now you needed to head to Jebel Musa to find the next clue. You weren't sure how long you stood looking out over the sea that stood in your way of Jebel Musa, all this information and knowledge of the existence of Atlantis was still just sinking in.

It was only the collision of your backpack against your body that brought you back to reality, Sam having thrown it at you with that cocky smile still on his face.

“I hope you can stomach being on a boat better than a jeep”

Chapter Text

Part 9 - The Strait Of Gibraltar

As you left the open clearing of Jabal Tariq, you and Sam were giddy and excited about exploring the next mountain and seeing what it had to offer you. In your excited state you proposed a competition, to see who could scale down the mountain face and get back to the jeep first. At first it was a serious job, scaling the walls of the harsh rock and taking due care not to slip, then Sam jumped down into a thicket of trees, sliding through the grass and that was when all bets were off.

You threw yourself into the foliage not long after Sam in the the attempt to catch up to him, laughing as you skidded down the mountain face, feeling the grass and rocks scrape upon your skin as you rushed to try and catch up with him, having lost him in the distance already.

You almost choked when you felt your abrupt stop, Sam was holding the back of your backpack and pulling you towards him. You wanted to shout at him but as Sam pulled you into his lap you noticed the Watchtower mercenaries that were surrounding you, Sam held you close to prevent you both from being seen. The combination of being on Sam’s lap and the Watchtower mercenaries around you made your heart pound wildly, you were sure that Sam could feel your heartbeat as he held you close yet he never mentioned it, you assumed he too was feeling the same rush of fear at being in such close contact to this militia group.

Neither of you were sure what would happen if you were spotted by Watchtower but you decided that you would not wait around to find out. Quietly you both crouched down and stalked away in the grass, moving with complete silence, stopping periodically when you felt you might have been heard. It was an arduous task, but you were thankful for the long grass that shielded you, concealing your body from detection of the mercenaries that now littered the mountain base.

Neither of you could figure out why they were still here, they had left the cave a while back and you did not expect them to be patrolling around the mountain, not after they left with such disinterest. Though for now it was only a theory, you both knew that someone else was pulling the strings, ordering them to keep watching and inspect the rest of the area for anything useful.

Cursing underneath your breath you wondered what your next move would be. You could not return to the hotel just yet, daylight was still above you and Jebel Musa awaited, you both knew that if you did not seek Jebel Musa now then Watchtower would be all over it in a matter of hours. You needed to search the other Pillar as soon as possible, a prospect Sam was already on board with even without asking him.

It was difficult sneaking through the grass undetected, musing to yourself that if you were any older your knees would have given way by now, you dreaded to imagine how Sam was holding up. Thankfully the mercenaries of Watchtower weren't too attentive, allowing you to slip away quietly into the treeline and back to safety. Amongst the trees you both started to calm down, to get your heartbeat back to a normal rate and rest the ache that was in your knees.

There were so many questions that you wanted to ask Sam, like how he knew that Watchtower would be here, and if he knew they would be here then maybe he knew who was controlling them. This was not the time though, you promised yourself you would ask when the stakes of survival were lower, though now you weren’t sure when that would be given that a new piece was introduced onto the chessboard.
Once you were both amongst the treeline you were safe, free to move without fear of detection, the mercenaries only seemed to be interested in what they could see with clear vision, uninterested in any threats that may lay concealed elsewhere. This incompetence of the Watchtower group worked in your favour, you both took quiet and deliberate steps back to where you had parked your jeep, unfortunately you knew that you were approaching your own jeep as you could smell the vomit you left earlier in the day.

The jeep, though you cursed it this morning you had never been so happy to see it as you were now, it was your ticket to getting away from here and you told Sam to drive at full speed. The next destination was Jebel Musa and you would need a boat for that, where you would acquire one you did not know, you trusted Sam for this part.

The drive along the coastline was beautiful, it was only a shame to you that it was marred by the anxiety building up in your chest, if this job hadn’t been your life's ambition you would have quit, yet now you were in too deep and had too much proof that Atlantis was real, you had to see it through. Sam sped on ahead in the jeep that you now praised in your mind, the sun was still high in the sky so that meant you had time, time to find a boat and cross the strait of Gibraltar.

It took Sam a while to source a boat for your journey, many places did not want to rent anything out to cross the strait, you assumed that they had been burned before by people looking for Atlantis and never returning. Eventually Sam found a speed boat, it was small but you did not have much equipment and so would suit you.

Your stomach was starting to do backflips again, the memory of the jeep ride to the hotel and to Jabal Tariq were still fresh in your mind, the feeling of nausea returning as you recalled those rides. Though you felt green you knew that you had to push on, it was important that you made it to the other Pillar of Hercules first.

It took Sam a while to untie the boat but you took this time to unload your backpacks onto it, you both needed a rest from carrying such heavy packs,both needing a well deserved rest on your backs even if only for a moment. The rest of Sam's back did him the world of good, the release of tension allowed him to think straight and finally unhook and start the boat, its engine roaring into life and speeding you both away from the shore.

Where you expected to be queasy you found that you were not, the boat ride was surprisingly smooth compared to the horrible jeep Sam had acquired for this job. The waves were calm and the sun was high in the sky, if only you had a beer you would have thoroughly enjoyed this experience. Leaning back and putting your feet up you shouted over to Captain Sam. “You’re a better Sailor than a driver Sam.”

Sam gave a hearty laugh but did not retort with anything witty of his own, much to your dismay. Sam was fully concentrating on getting you both to the other mountain first, he knew that Watchtower were going to be involved at some point but he did not expect to encounter them so early, he did not realise how clued up they were about this job, assuming that it was some rich and clueless asshole paying them to work for them. This was obviously not the case, someone with knowledge and money was behind this, and Sam did not want them to beat him to his prize.

The boat ride over was fairly pleasant, skimming over the blue ocean sea as nice for you as you did not have the burden of sailing it, it allowed you to relax for a moment and get your thoughts back in order, to think about what you might expect on Jebel Musa.

Your thoughts were easy to consolidate, you theorised that there would be another cave, one with an opening that would mirror Jabal Tariq, though another thought told you that would be too convenient that something else would be afoot. You did not have much time to think about these scenarios as you came to abrupt holt on the beach of Morocco, at the base of Jebel Musa, wether your theories were right or not would be put to the test now.

Exiting the boat was a quick endeavor, you did not even complain or make a comment when Sam lifted you out of the boat with ease. Time was now of the essence and you wanted to reach the mountains secret before Watchtower did. Where you joked and had banter at the base of Jabal Tariq, this mountain felt different, you weren't just exploring at your leisure, time was now of the essence and you had Watchtower to contend with.

Chapter Text

The foliage of Jebel Musa seemed thicker than the greenery of the other Pillar, coupled with the humidity thick in the air you both began to sweat, almost wilting with every step you climbed, wondering how you would ever find what you were looking for.

The tiring heat caused you both to be silent, too exhausted from wading the thick grass, no longer powered by adrenaline as you felt yourself in somewhat relative safety. The walk and climb in silence carried on until you both heard an almighty boom, one that almost knocked the both of you off your feet.

The large bang quickly woke the both of you from your exhaustion, bringing you quickly back to life and becoming alert once again. The ground shook in the aftermath of the bang, you would have convinced yourself it was an earthquake if not for the now rising plume of smoke you could see overhead.

The smoke was thick and black, not one of a fire but one of a detonation, the aftermath of dynamite crashing through rocks in what you can assume is an attempt to break into the mountain faster. Watchtower were here and you could hardly believe it, how could they have beaten you to the mountain when they were still halfway down the mountain when you sailed away was a mystery to you. Then it dawned on you, whoever was calling the shots and pulling the strings had them based at both mountains, it was easier to find what you were looking for when you had all bases covered.

You felt a gentle tug on your arm, calloused fingers gripping at your skin, breaking your concentration on the growing ominous cloud above you, though you didn't take your eyes off it for a few more seconds you let Sam pull you away, guiding you to god knows where. A large thicket of trees and bushes is where you were pulled into, shielding you both away from prying eyes and hopefully far enough away that you could not be heard.

It was almost hard to hear Sam's hushed voice so you leaned in close, so close that you could feel his warm breath on your face and you could see the faintest scars and blemishes that littered his face. “My reckoning is that if they are blasting the mountain that means they haven't found anything yet.”Sam was breathless as he spoke, having pulled you away with urgency. You listened intently and nodded for him to continue, knowing that his logic was sound. “What I think we should do is go to the opposite side of the mountain, we will be out of their line of sight and hope they haven't looked there yet, okay?”

The way Sam phrased his last statement almost threw you off, it was as if he was looking for confirmation or even affirmation from you, he was no longer telling you what you were both going to do, but almost as if he wanted you to be equal with him in this decision. A swift and silent nod and you were both on your way to the south face of the mountain, at least you thought it was the south face, it was embarrassing for a treasure seeker but you had never been good a geography in any sense, you probably wouldn’t be able to find your way out of a room with only one door.

Sam was taking the lead, though it was hard to keep up with him and not lose sight of him in the grass, you were surely out of Watchtower’s vicinity but given that they had a large amount of dynamite packed with them you were sure they were also packing the big guns, it was not worth the risk just to be able to stretch and walk comfortably for a short while.

The sky started to dim and a deep orange glow began to shine through the gaps in the treeline, you and Sam had made good progress up this side of the mountain and if it wasn’t for the mercenaries at the other side you would have found something by now. This side of the mountain face was littered with tiny caves and little nooks and crevices, whether that was a good sign or not you were not sure, at least you did not have to examine them all as they were all only a few steps deep before you came to a stop.

Darkness was now coming on thick and fast, whatever natural light you had left would not last you long and that began to make you nervous, you did not want to be out in the wilderness illuminated by torchlight, you might as well shine a beacon on your location if you were going to do that. Rest was also sorely needed, you hadn’t felt it all day and the ache was slowly creeping into your legs and making each step forward even harder than the last, you could also see the strain in Sam’s face, you know that he would never admit it but he was struggling to move forward as much as you were.

A deep breath in and you swallowed your pride, Sam wouldn’t stop until he was dead so you knew that you would have to be the one to call it a night and return to one of the small caves you had just walked past. “Sam?” Your voice was quiet and soft but he heard it nonetheless, turning back to face you with concern, wondering if something was wrong.

“I think we need to call it a night mate.” Sam tried to interrupt your next words but you managed to cut him off before he could get a single word in. “I know, I know, if we stop now it gives them more time to find something, but if we walk ahead with our torch lights beaming out then we might as well put a giant target on our backs.” You could see the furrowing of Sam’s brow as he tried to come up with an argument to counter you, yet he just had to hang his head in defeat as he knew you were right.

It was hard not to hold back the smirk that was threatening to spread over your face, yet you knew that now was not the time to be smug and act all high and mighty about being right. “Look we are both exhausted asl Sam, we need some sleep if we are going to outsmart those merc bastards.” A soft chuckle left Sam’s chest, he was disheartened that they might get some headway but again you had a point, if you needed to take on any of them then you needed to be well rested.

“So what do you propose then?” Sam asked as he rubbed the back of his neck and shoulders, trying to soothe some of the ache that he had been feeling for the past few hours now, the idea of rest starting to sound more appealing to him now. You gave Sam’s arm a gentle pull to make him follow you, explaining that you had both passed a shallow cave not far back, at least there you could be sheltered from the elements should the weather take a turn, and you could light a small fire without the fear of being detected. Obediently Sam followed you, letting you take the lead hoping that this cave would not be too far away.

The cave was only a few minutes away even by your now slow and exhausted pace, it was like bliss when you finally stumbled upon it, happily heading inside and dropping your rucksacks onto the floor, sighing in almost ecstasy as the weight dropped from your shoulders so you could finally relax the tension in your back. You both sat in silence and took a much needed drink, eating some of the small provisions that you had brought with you, not believing how you could have gone so long in the day barely eating anything, it's funny what excitement and adrenaline can do to a person.

A few minutes of silence went by before Sam stood up and went to leave the cave, leaving you perplexed as you shouted out to ask where he was going, a thing you immediately regretted when he turned back and smiled that cocky smile at you. “Well darling, as much as I would love to cuddle for warmth, I would also like to sit by a fire as well.” You feigned an exasperated sigh and laughed at him, shooing him away to find some wood and leave you in peace for a little while. “Oh don’t worry Darling, I won’t be too long the sun is going down pretty quick, plus I’d like to be back to start that romantic fire for us”

You pretended to ignore the wink and chuckle that he gave you as he left, you weren’t sure when his charm finally broke you down, normally on your old jobs a man like that would have been given a swift slap and be told to piss off, yet now you were enjoying it and happy to return the playful banter, though you warned yourself not to get too attached, you would likely never see Sam again after this job.

That cave was quiet without Sam to wind you up or tease you, every couple of minutes you would steal glances at the mouth of the cave, watching the sun dip even further over the horizon, hoping that Sam would return before nightfall and not get lost in the treeline. To assuage your anxiety you decided to re-examine the coins you and Sam found in the cave on Jabal Tariq, feeling the rough edges along your fingertips trying to figure out what kind of metal they were made from. The coins were too yellow to be silver, too silver to be brass and not yellow enough to be gold, they were something completely different, something you had never seen before, as you began to consider what it could be you were interrupted by a familiar gruff voice.

“Honey i’m home” You snapped your head up to see Sam walking towards you with an armful of wood and grass to start a fire, a prospect that was looking more enticing as the temperature finally started to drop in the air. Stowing the coins away you headed over to where Sam was starting the fire, you could ruminate over them over the course of the next day but for now a fire was more important. The fire wasn’t big but you didn’t need it to be, there were only two of you and the larger the fire the more likely it would be for you to get caught. Upon completion of the base you both looked at it with pride before Sam spoke. “I hope you know how to light the thing, I didn’t exactly grow up as a boy scout.”

You furrowed your brow and squinted at him incredulously, he was seriously asking you to light the fire? “You’ve got a light haven’t you Smokey Joe?!” Sarcasm dripped from your voice as Sam realised you were right and began to laugh, pulling his lighter from his pocket and setting the fire, bringing it to life and creating instant warmth that felt like a deep hug on your now chilly skin.

“I think I might have had a bit too much sun today” Sam joked as you shook your head at him, it had been a very long day and one with far too much excitement. Now that you were warm and rested you could feel the heaviness of your eyes, your head nodding back and forth as you tried to stay awake just a little bit longer but resistance was ultimately futile, you decided to give into the exhaustion and try and make a makeshift bed.

The bed you managed to fashion was just using your backpack as a pillow and hoping that it would be enough and not cause you a stiff neck in the morning. Your head barely touched your backpack before you succumbed to sleep, falling deep into it whilst Sam stayed awake poking the fire, too anxious about Watchtower to succumb to his own exhaustion just yet. Falling asleep was easy and quick, yet you were woken by a gentle nudge only an hour or two later, you were confused why you had been awoken, it was not morning. A confusion that quickly dissipated as you could feel your body shivering and your teeth chattering, the fire had gone out and could not be reignited it seemed.

It was Sam that had woken you and was now sitting next to you. “Come here sweetheart, you’re freezing” His voice was gentle and laced with concern which surprised you, yet you still resisted, you did not want to rely on him and definitely not like this, not to huddle close to him for warmth, to give him the satisfaction of having you in his arms and at his mercy.

“I’m not doing this to be sleazy, you’ll lose some fingers or get hypothermia if you stay like that.” You were silent as you considered it, there was a chance that he could be right but you could also get through the night and only get a mild chill, you wrestled with your own internal pride over this decision before your thoughts were interrupted once again. “Please, I don’t want to see you suffer.”

That was what caught you even more by surprise, did Sam actually care for you now, you had only been working together a few days but the time you had been together and things you had been through were enough to bring two people together. Eventually your resolve had failed, the feeling of the cold and the desire to return to sleep outweighed any pride that you had left.

You rolled over to face Sam and lay beside him, not wanting to move yourself too close, a fruitless endeavour as Sam wrapped his arms around you and held you as close as he could, your head no longer resting on your backpack but now in the crux of his shoulder and nestled against his chest. You would have wrestled against this but he held you close and the warmth from his body was intoxicating, warming you through to your bones and causing the shivers to finally stop. It wasn’t long before you fell back to sleep though this time nestled in Sam’s arms and enjoying his embrace more than you had cared to admit to yourself.

Sam lay there with you wrapped in his arms and breathing softly against the rise and fall of his chest, he told himself that he would be a liar if he didn’t have ulterior motives for taking advantage of your shivering state, but he also couldn’t sit by and watch you suffer in the cold knowing that he could take away the pain of it from you. It was not long after you drifted into slumber that Sam succumbed to it as well, falling into the first dreamless sleep that he had had in a long time.

Chapter Text

As the sun rose it's light penetrated through the treeline of the mountain, leaving beautiful rays of golden light in its wake, the cave you slumbered in was not exempt from this, the light of the sun slowly working its way through the mouth of the cave as it rose slowly in the sky. It wasn’t long before the warm light of the sun began to shine on your face, rousing you from the dreamless sleep you were in, the first dreamless sleep that you both had been blessed with in a long time, one you both were very reluctant to wake from.

The warmth of the sun was like heaven on your skin, the night was cold and almost chilled you to the bone, now you were beginning to feel invigorated and alive again. As you began to rise you shuffled where you lay, the warm light of sun bringing you to life, all whilst huddling into the snug and comfortable body that lay next to you, too asleep to question who it belonged, you were far more concerned with sharing their warmth and comfort as you snuggled into them, inhaling their scent and letting it comfort you as you lay half asleep.

“Well, well, Good morning to you too Sweetheart.” You were half asleep to begin with but that voice gave you a sharp wake up call, the cocky and teasing tone woke you up immediately with a sharp start. You sat up straight and looked down at your sleeping companion, seeing Sam with a cocky grin plastered over his face, you tried to combat his comment with something cocky or witty but it never happened, all you could manage was furrowing your brow in annoyance and even then that wasn't convincing.

Sam stifled back laughter at your response, he knew that you enjoyed his company for the night, he would have admitted that he enjoyed yours but it satisfied him more to see the conflicted look on your face. To see you so shocked and battling your inner turmoil of how you felt. He kept his feelings to himself, it would make for a more entertaining scene for him as you both readied yourself for the day ahead. After all, it would be easier for him if you resisted his attempts, he was starting to more than enjoy your company now, seeing you so excited and enthusiastic about this adventure further drew him to you, not to mention that on the occasions that you let your guard down around him you were like peas in a pod. This way was better for Sam, to have you resist and reject him would help when the adventure ended, he was a man who loved his women and if you did not return his affections then his life could go on as normal.

An annoyed sigh left your lips as you watched Sam rise with ease, a huge smile plastered on his face to annoy you even further. You only slept with him for warmth, you told yourself that you didn't enjoy being near his soft warm body, a lie you tried so hard to convince yourself of, yet you knew that you were growing close to him, a thing you promised yourself and Sullivan you wouldn't do.

Sam stamped out the final pathetic remnants of the fire, not that there was any of it left but you could not be too careful as you finally headed out of the cave. Fed and rested you felt optimistic about the day ahead of you, though Watchtower may be lurking on the other side of the mountain you still felt optimistic. You weren't sure if it was just over exposure from thick foliage but you were sure that the grass and trees were thicker on Jebel Musa, you seemed to break through Jabal Tariq with ease but fatigue could be a bitch, making you think the journey was harder than it was.

There was no sight or sound of Watchtower, no more explosions to be heard for now, a thing you were grateful for, it was hard enough scaling and navigating these pillars without their interference and shooting at you. For now you focused on anything that could be a sign pertaining to Atlantis or any cave of note, a cave on Jabal Tariq is where you found your first clue and you were adamant that a cave here on Jebel Musa would hold the next one.

It was like a rat warren on the mountain, there were seemingly many caves and tunnels, all interconnected just to turn you around from whence you came, frustrating the both of you, now desperate for some more evidence of Atlantis, though the coins were impressive they just weren't enough, you wanted tangible evidence of the civilsation to prove your theories were right, something real that you could produce. You could return home with the coins as proof but nobody would take you seriously, the coins could have come from anywhere and you were far too proud to be mocked by scholars who had never spent a day researching in the field.

The sun rose higher in the sky, beaming it's heat through the trees and down upon you and Sam, not even the shade of their leaves could cover and protect you now,the humid heat had taken you both as its prisoners, the sweat was dripping from your skin, both desperate to find a cave worth looking in just to find some respite from the glaring sun. Wading through the thick grass and leaves was beginning to make you tired, wilting away in the sun as you tried to keep up with Sam who was more than a foot ahead of you, it was tempting to call out and ask him to wait yet you were too proud and stubborn to admit that you were starting to struggle now.

In your mind it was none of Sam's business how you were faring, worrying about your physical state was not something that he had signed up for, yet you wrestled with your inner turmoil over speaking up. On one hand you did not want to appear weak, yet on the other you knew that if your health was compromised then you wouldn't be able to go any further, all these thoughts swirled around your head as you trekked further through the treeline, almost ready to speak up before Sam interrupted your train of thoughts.

“This cave seems a little deeper” Sam nodded towards the cave in question, he sounded exhausted, like it took all of his energy to even string that sentence together, the heat of the sun seeming affecting him as much as it had affected you. You nodded weakly and followed after him, thankful for another cave to wander about in, to hide yourself away from the draining light of the sun.

This cave was in fact deeper than the others, as you walked through it the light of the sun faded away in the distance behind you, leaving you to be reliant on the light from Sam’s lighter, once again cursing yourself for ever complaining about smokers knowing how much you had relied on Sam's lighter so far on this journey.

It felt different in this cave, there was nothing to suggest the Atlanteans ever set foot here, no cave writing or remnants of artifacts, just dark and damp cave walls. The air between you and Sam was questionable as well, you both enjoyed the night prior in each other's arms, yet neither of you wanted to address it, yourself denying it due to how stubborn you were, Sam denying it to himself as he did not want to admit he was having feelings for another person. Sam had spent years in a jail in Panama, he did not want to be tied down with feelings, he wanted to be free and to explore his options, to have women when he wanted and move on, yet you were now breaking through the stoney walls that he had built up.

When Sam first laid eyes upon you on that airfield he thought you attractive, making a mental note to himself to have some fun with you, yet now when he looked at you he saw something more. You were covered sweat, strands of hair were slicked to your face and you were exhausted, yet Sam was still enamoured, even more so in fact, he could see how much you craved this discovery, the passion that drove you to want it over anything else, a thing that caused him to want you even more, knowing that you understood the thrill of the chase, that you understood the craving need of being right, that deep down you would give everything for the adventure and discovery of Atlantis.

It was an odd feeling for Sam, after the prison he had worked with other people, yet none had elicited this feeling within him, though he was excited at finding the treasure or lost civilisation, there was something else there between you, a deeper feeling that made him feel protective and concerned for you. Sam was just about to speak up about your welfare as you entered in an opening in the cave, patterned slabs adorned the floor for the most part, a thing you would have to asses, you were excited and ran off straight away with no regard for yourself as to what could happen, examining the slabs and anything else that screamed Atlantean to you. Sam watched on with a slight smile, he knew all too well the feeling of having your theories being right and he wanted you to revel in it, he wanted to see you smile and be happy, he did not know why he wanted this, only knowing that his heart swelled at watching you so happy to see anything Atlantean.

Sam never truly believed in the rumours of Atlantis before he took this job, he only took it on a whim and hearing that his old friend Sully knew of an Atlantean expert was all that he needed. He felt small within his brother's shadow sometimes, hearing of all his discoveries and thinking that it should have been the two of them that did that together made him sad and yet envious at the same time. Sam wanted this to be real for his own selfish reasons, to have another notch upon his belt that was not attributed to the famous “Nathan Drake”. But now he was finding that he wanted it to be real for you, to see your face if it truly was real, to revel in the the joy of it with you.

Chapter Text

You spurred on ahead and the room took you both by surprise, the way you ran off in excitement was understandable in Sam's mind, he felt the same feeling when he and his brother discovered Libertalia. The one thought that crossed his mind was the worry of traps, he saw you run off to look at the patterned slabs in the room with no regard for any untoward things that may lay there.

The patterned slabs that lay before you were of the same colour of the Atlantean writing you found previously, not quite Gold but close enough in colour. The patterns on these slabs did not match up, all different images adorning them. The images that were present were Apples, sheep, hydra and a sphinx.

These were all important symbols in mythology, looking over them as you decided your next move. The slabs were meant to be walked on, the way they took up the room gave that impression, the odd way they lifted from the floor affirmed your feeling. You approached them with caution, taking in the symbols of the slabs and ruminating over them. As you considered them a thought crossed your mind, that you needed to step on the right ones to cross the room, it was a cliche but all cliches had to start somewhere. You noticed some skeletons laid over various parts of the room, lances dropping from the roof after seemingly wrong answers.

You could see where the wrong answers were judging by the skeletons, yet you still thought to yourself about what this all meant, thinking over the symbols and wondering what it could have corresponded to. It was quiet between yourself and Sam, he kept to himself as he watched you figure out this puzzle, not wanting to disturb your process as he had a quiet moment to himself, lighting up a cigarette and enjoying the warmth of it's smoke in his chest, breathing it all out with a heavy sigh.

You began to recall all the mythology that you knew, flitting between Roman, Grecian and even Egyptian mythology for good measure. You assumed it would be Grecian that would help you but you wanted to cover all bases before you came to a conclusion. Thinking hard you thought of Hercules, the man the pillars were named after. He overcame 12 labours and you began to recall them, it was either the Hydra or the Apples that were the symbols you chose to move ahead.

It was hard to decide which symbol that you put your faith in, however you decided upon the apples. Both the Hydra and apples were thrice in the mythology, yet the thing that swayed you was the colouring of the tiles. The apples were supposedly golden in nature and the depictions on the stone reflected that colour. It was a gamble but it was one you were willing to take.

In your mind this was the only solution, you could not afford to be wrong and kept your apprehensiveness to yourself, not wanting to worry Sam or cause him to question you. Jumping forth with no warning to Sam, he looked on with fear as you took your first step, bracing himself for any adverse reaction whilst prepping himself to heal you, he was shocked when it was eerily quiet.

The stone did not crumble before you, nor did any spears lance you, this was an encouraging sign that you were right and to continue jumping on the apple decorated slabs. Sam's eyes grew wider with each correct slab you stood on, the treasure becoming even more real in his eyes with every step you took, one thing he would not admit to himself was that with each correct step his heart pounded, the relief of knowing you were safe washed over him each time.

It was anxiety inducing but you made it through to the other side, once across you signalled Sam to join you as now he knew where he had to place his feet to join you and not get lanced. Upon joining you he approached you, standing close behind you and looking over your shoulder where you stood, staring down at a table you were contemplating over, you could feel his breath close upon your neck and it almost made you shiver, to know he was no so close to you once again.

It was nothing special this table but you were drawn into it, it seemed to reveal something to you that Sam could not see from where he was stood, yet then he realised. You were stood under the direct gaze of the a window opening in the cave, one where the light was shining only on you, where stood meant that maybe this tables secrets only revealed itself to you.

There was silence in the air as you contemplated the table, Sam could not see it's secrets but you were privy to all of it, to see every secret that it held

It was a map, one that if you believed it, showed the way to Atlantis, it was making your heart beat wildly in your chest, knowing that it was potentially so close by and within your grasp, each step you took made it even more real, causing your heart to pound and making you even more excited, nobody could deny it's existence now and you knew that given the right path you could truly prove it.

The map showed a small island, one just off the coast of Santorini, one that seemed so miniscule that nobody had bothered to look at. Your eyes lit up and you were prepared to excitedly share your findings with with Sam, to smile and tell him where Atlantis was and to celebrate with him.

Your celebrations were stopped before they had even began, a large explosion in the wall interrupting you knocking you both off your feet, slamming you to the floor and making you both cough from the dust of the explosion.

Chapter Text

The explosion knocked you both off your feet, causing a ringing sound to echo in your ears, falling dazed onto the ground and shocking you both. You knew that Watchtower was hanging around the mountain but you did not think they would find this room so fast, you at least hoped you would be in and out without detection.

The ringing persisted in your ears as your sight came back into focus, trying hard to centre the blurry image of Sam in your sight, there were far too many of him before you for your liking. As the fog around you began to fade away, so did the high pitched noise in your ears, providing your head and your lungs with much relief.

You struggled to stand up straight at first, coughing and grabbing around haphazardly for a surface to lean against, being surprised to only find Sam’s hands under your arms and lifting you up and pulling you close. There had already been one blast and he wanted to make sure you were safe should there be another one, if you questioned him about it he would say he needed you to find Atlantis, yet knowing inside he was beginning to feel some sort of way about you.

You began to balance your weight against Sam’s body and centre yourself, all whilst he began scanning you over for any serious injuries, knowing that the sooner he acted the better he could help you. As Sam held up your chin to look upon your face your eyes connected, it could be the blast you had both suffered from but it was as if you were both truly seeing each other for the first time. A connection had finally sparked between you both, one that was slowly interrupted by a low voice emanating from the fresh hole that had been blasted in the wall.

At first your eyes had to adjust to the falling dust around you, though the voice seemed far too familiar to you, a voice that you had never wanted to hear again. Sam stood forward and held you behind him, he was more than aware that you could handle your own in a fight if needed, however he didn't trust a group with dynamite in their arsenal to fight fair, something he had learnt from last experience.

Eventually you managed to peer over Sam's shoulder and make out a figure through the hole in the wall, one that was coming closer and clearer into your vision, a figure that made your heart feel like it had dropped into your stomach. Sean Miller. Sean fucking Miller.

Of all the people from your past it could have been it was obviously him, the one man you could not barter with because you knew he would never cave or could never be trusted. As you stood there watching him stroll into view you could almost feel your body vibrate with pure rage, you wanted nothing more than to leap forth and punch the fucker into the ground for what he had done, yet you were silently thankful that Sam was holding you back, one look from him over his shoulder and he could tell that there was something deeper that you weren't telling him, something you knew you'd have to explain.

Sean's cocky demeanor as he strolled through the fog threatened to enrage you even further, it was almost as if he had planned to corner you here just gloat.

“Ah little Y/N, I was wondering if I would stumble upon you on this journey.” His grin was taunting, he knew that calling you ‘little y/n’ would get under your skin, a name he gave you and one that you had hoped to shed after the Italy job.

Your mouth grew dry as you attempted to speak, suddenly every piece of abuse you wanted to shout at him had become stuck in your throat, unable to find the words to say how you really felt, cursing your own tongue for betraying you.

Sean chuckled to himself, he could see the inner turmoil that you were struggling through, the fire in your eyes showed that you wanted to unleash the famous vitriol that so many others had faced, yet he could see that there was something inside of you that was holding you back. Sean's ego was so clouded that he took this as your affection for him still, laughing and trying to taunt you further still.

“Well my dear, I know absence makes the heart grow fonder but I never expected to render you speechless after all this time.” And with an exaggerated wink, it set Sam off, only being held back by you coming to your senses and pulling at his arm, assuring him that he was being a bastard and playing you both to turn you against each other.

There was a flicker of confusion in Sean's eyes as this exchange panned out, yet he cast it aside for now, he didn't believe that you would fall for one of the Drake brothers, especially not this one. How could you seriously go from him to Sam Drake, failed explorer who was just riding his brother's coattails?

It seemed to be an age where no one had spoken, you were still holding Sam's arm against your body and staring back at Sean Miller, both waiting for the other to act first. The silence was thick in the air, you could feel Sam's arm twitch against your body, he was ready to fight back or escape, yet he was following your lead for now, you knew this man apparently and knew how to work the situation.

Eventually the silence wore you down, dropping Sam's arm and moving just in front of him, lifting the small smoke canister from his saddle bag and hiding it behind you. Though at first you hated he hid the gun and other things in his bag you were thankful for this, heck you were even looking for the “I told you so” conversation if your plan worked and you made it out of here.

Metres away from Sean you stood and looked at him, he was barely any different from what you remembered a few years ago, his beard was fuller now and he slicked his hair back rather than coiffing it, but he still looked the same. The tension in the air was thick as you looked at each other, knowing what happened on that Italy job, Sean knew that you would never trust what he had to say or offer, and he knew that you would never be honest and open with him again. It was a stale mate.

A deep sigh escaped your lips. “Look, Sean, you've got what you wanted, you found the cave so just let us go” you sounded annoyed and defeated, as if to say that it was no great achievement. Sean saw straight through your act and laughed loudly at you.

“On the contrary my little Y/N” it took all your effort not to shiver in disgust.

“I'm looking for Atlantis, thankfully you've provided this map room, but I'm still going to need help. That's why I'm here for you.” You felt several gun barrels aimed against you now, you assumed that Watchtower were just looking for the same clues as you, not that they were looking for you.

“So I would appreciate it if you would come quietly.” The friendliness had now left Sean's voice, replaced with the hint of a threat if you did not co operate as he would like. You looked around slightly and assessed your options, catching in the corner of your eye Sam nodding towards a window near him. It would be a risky jump but you would take it to get away from Watchtower.

Sean Miller stood and waited for your answer, so sure in himself that you would say yes and help him, yet it was a shock to see you pull the pin if the smoke canister you held behind you and launch it at him you only had a few seconds but that was all that you and Sam needed, Sam grabbed your hand in his own and ran with you to the window of the room, taking a running jump and hoping for the best.

As the smoke filled the room and so did errant bullets and shouts, Sean was screaming for anyone to shoot you or Sam and promising to reward the man that brought you both to him. His demands were unfulfilled, as the smoke from the canister started to dissipate he saw you both jump through the window and into the thick treeline below. His fury was unbridled and threatened every one of his men that they needed to find you or else, that you could both not leave this island.

The journey out of the window was easier than it seemed, you hid in the bushes just beneath the window opening, waiting for the perfect moment to move away and head back down to the beach.