The Uncharted Tomb

Chapter Six - Instincts

"Ahoy there!"

The four were greeted by a chipper, middle-aged man dressed in a dark-blue pilot uniform waving his aviator cap back and forth at them.
"Ahoy?" Sully grunted as he exited the jeep, "Since when do pilots say ahoy?"
"One that used to be in the Royal Marines," Samantha answered while waving back at the pilot. "Hi Mister Abbott!"

As they gathered their belongings from the jeep, the pilot made his way down the jet's stairs to come and greet them. Sully looked over to Nathan who seemed to be lost in thought. So he figured it would be a good idea to flick what remained of his cigar stump at his face. Nate jumped instantly as the burning ashes from the maduro wrapper made their mark on his cheek.

"Ow! Sully, what the hell?"
"Good morning sunshine. It's time to jet on outta here."

Though simmering in emotion, Nate knew he was right. It was time to regain focus. So he swiped the small trail of ashes off his face and exited the car. Lara took a brief notice of this as she slung her book-bag over her shoulder. She looked to Samantha who was walking toward Mr. Abbott.

"How have you been my dear?" The pilot asked. "It has been quite some time since you two graced me with your presence."

"I dunno, A few months I take it?"

The pilot smiled and looked over as Lara approached them.
"Oh Lara, it's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too Mr. Abbott."
"It seems that I am able to grant your request for expedited arrival. It was not easy considering the destination you are headed. However, I was able to secure a, so-to-speak, safe passage."
"Oh thank you, Mr. Abbott. I appreciate your efforts." Lara responded.
Looking over Lara's shoulder, Abbott asked, "Who are your friends?"

The three looked over to Nathan and Sully who were gathering the rest of their belongings.
"Geez Sully," Nathan began, "Your luggage has put on more weight than that sultry Puerto-Rican liaison you told me about."
"I thought we agreed to not talking about my past conquests?"
"Yeah, you said conquests. You never mention side-quests."
"She was hardly a side-quest, at least in the beginning."
"Yeah I remember the picture she sent to you after you stopped seeing her."
"Give it a rest Nate. It's bad enough I threw in the rest of my extension money to get that jeep. The last thing I need from you is blabbering about dating statistics. Because the last time I checked, I'm the undisputed..."

"Gentlemen!"

Both of them turned to see Abbott, Lara and Sam staring at them with concerned looks on their faces. Nate and Sully had the famed deer-in-headlights expression on theirs.

"Uhh hi," Nathan attempted to make it less awkward walking over to greet Mr. Abbott. Placing all of his (and some of Sully's) baggage on the ground, he extended his hand greeting.
"Nathan Drake, pleasure to meet you."
"Gregory Abbott, the pleasure is mine."
Abbott quickly sized them up before eventually extending his hand to shake with Nate's.

Considering the interesting conversation they just heard, Lara felt the need to clear them for Gregory's sake. For she knew he was very protective.
"Nathan and Sully are experienced treasure-hunters. We agreed to a deal recently where we would help each other find what it is we're looking for."
"Ah, wonderful. Well come on then. There's plenty of space where you can stow your lot."
"Sounds good to me." Sully said as he rushed passed Nathan heading up the plane's door steps.
"Sully really? You're gunna leave your crap for me to grab now?"
"Here," Lara walked over to him to help, "I'll lend a hand."
"No it's fine really."
Nathan quickly attempted to grab all of the bags all at once. He grabbed most of them before several fell from his hands.
Lara giggled under her breath. "You don't like asking for help much do you?"
"Well Sully is supposed to be helping. It mostly his stuff anyway."
"It's fine," Lara said, "I can carry these."
Nathan was quite surprised. Not only was she carrying three of the more heavier bags, she didn't seem to be breaking a sweat while trekking them into the plane. He smiled while grabbing the remaining carry-on bags and started up the steps.
Alright Nate, keep your cool, he said to himself. She's just a skinny British girl with some decent upper body strength. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.