The Uncharted Tomb

Chapter Nine - Know Thy Enemy

"What exactly is going on here?"
"Nathan..."

Lara walked up to him while fastening the straps on her bookbag.
"Do you remember when I told you about those contacts that helped Sam and I get into the country?"
Nathan looked up at Hassan and his men, then returned his eyes to Lara.
"I take it, these are your contacts?"
"Yes exactly."
"How do you know if they can be trusted?" Nathan whispered.
Lara almost laughed at the idea. "I've known them for years. You have nothing to be worried about."
"Yeah well, I've known plenty of people for years who ended up betraying me down the road. How do you know they won't do the same?"
Lara sighed, "An old friend of mine helped me in my time of need. He knew all kinds of people, including Hassan. These are trustworthy men. If my mentor trusted them, so do I. And you should too."
Nathan scratched the back of his head. "If you say so."
It was obvious to Lara that Nathan was highly reluctant to trust. But Hassan took note of the situation, cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"I'm wise enough to understand when someone does not trust me. Even if they are whispering."
Nathan was silent but his eyes were carefully analyzing Jafari.
"The truth is, you don't have to trust me. But outside of my reach, you have no one to help you. So the way I see it, you really don't have much of a choice."
Before Nathan could speak, Hassan quickly tossed something at him. Nathan reacted and caught it before it reached his face. It was a Beretta 92F. Nathan sharpened his glance on the firearm. Then looked at Hassan.
"How did you...?"
Hassan silenced him by putting his hand up. "We are very resourceful Mr. Drake. If you plan to traverse these lands - with the Order of Trinity around every corner - you'd be wise to pack accordingly."

Nathan closely examined the weapon. He was convinced that it was definitely his. But the last time he saw it was in London... in Charlie's possession. But he and Chloe were missing in action since then.
"How did you get this?"
"You're asking the leader of a militant organization how a simple Beretta was acquired?"
Nathan suddenly felt slightly embarrassed. He looked at the gun again and realized that it wasn't his. There were certain trimmings on this handgun that did not belong on his original.
"Uhh, sorry I just..."
"We bought it off eBay."
Apparently, one of Hassan's followers had a sense of humor and they all began laughing hard. All except Lara and Nathan who simply watched.
Nathan cracked a slight smile.
"Ha... yeah! eBay, that's a good one."
"Just so you are informed," Hassan continued, "we have already mapped out the journey. We know how to get there. But I tell you, it will not be an easy trek. Trinity has eyes and ears everywhere, but so do we. We have provisions in the bunker below, eat just enough and rest up. We leave early morning."

Hassan turned to Lara and nodded. As he exited Nathan quickly repeated his name, "Hassan!"
He turned around to look at Drake. Nathan smiled and simply said, "Thank you."
Hassan nodded and he and his procession of soldiers exited the room.
Lara removed the book bag from her shoulders and sat on a nearby chair. Nathan eyed her as she seemed pretty exhausted. But he had questions.
"So what happened when you woke up?"
"We got lucky. Hassan's men found us before Trinity did. They put us in a jeep and drove off. But we were spotted and soldiers began firing at us. Hassan's men were able to fend off the soldiers from Trinity and we escaped."
"I see." Nathan noted while glancing at the gun again.
"Did you happen to see...?"
"Sully and Sam? No we didn't."
Nathan looked down struggling with the thought that they might have...
"They survived, Nathan."
"What?"
Lara couldn't turn away from his deep-seated thinking. She also noticed that he was still looking at the gun Hassan had gave him. There was probably something behind why he kept taking such careful glances at it, but she shrugged it off.
"I don't, I refuse to believe they are dead. They are survivors just as much as we are."
"Yeah," Nathan agreed, "I just hope they are alright."

~

"Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead."
After those words spoken in a thick Russian accent settled through his ears, Sully opened his eyes to an unfamiliar character looming over him. His bald head, grey-suit with red tie, thick stature and menacing eyes led him to believe that he was not in good company. With the few seconds he had before a conversation was sure to begin, Sully took a quick glance around. There were two combat-garbed men armed with assault rifles standing by the door to the room they were in. The room itself was barren with only a small window and the bed Sully was apparently sleeping on.
"To save you the trouble of asking, I'll go ahead and tell you where you are and who I am. One: you are in deep sh*t. And two: I am the one who's going to keep you buried in it."