Broken Lies

Chapter 9

The three adventurers ran into a few more shoreliners, and there was a lot more climbing, but they finally made it to the graveyard. They searched for a couple of minutes looking for the right dates on the stones, until finally they found it. Benjamin Bridgman. 1659-1699. It opened an entrance into a crypt, and some catacombs. The space down below was much colder than the air above. Adalyn couldn't help but feel anxious walking down there. She recalled one adventure with  Nate that involved being hunted by nazi experiments. She couldn't sleep with the lights off for months.

"Why would Avery hide his treasure down here?" Sam asked.

"He wouldn't. Something tells me this is only the beginning." Adalyn sighed. She was right. There were some puzzles that they solved, some more difficult than the others, and then they were off to yet another location across the way. When they emerged from the catacombs, Nadine's men were swarming the place.

"Don't these assholes have something better to do than hunting us down?" Adalyn complained. She loaded her pistol and got ready for a fight. There were too many to take down quietly. It didn't take very long and everyone seemed to get out of it unscathed and they made their way towards the cave. Thankfully the three of them didn't run into any more shoreline jerks, and before long, they were in front of the final test. And they discovered, yet again, it's time to pack their bags.

"Kings Bay? Seriously? We went through all this crap and this is what we get? Another damn clue?" Sam started. "Son of a..." suddenly the wall beside them blew up, throwing Adalyn across the floor. That was definitely going to leave some bruises. She felt a hand grab her arm and yank her up to her feet. Her head hurt, and her vision was blurry. She looked up to see that the hand helping her up was not a friendly one. It was one of Nadine's men. She looked over at Sam, he had concern written all over his face.

"Adalyn? Are you alright?" He asked breathlessly.

She nodded slowly. "Nothing I can't handle." She chuckled.

He sighed in relief and looked forward. Adalyn followed his gaze and he was looking at the woman herself, Nadine Ross.

Seeing her face made her blood boil. She had only met the woman once and already hated her.

"You three are very noisy." She smirked and pulled out her walkie speaking into it. "Rafe...Rafe, come in."

"I'm at the graveyard. Nadine, they were here."

"Yeah, I'm looking at them right now." She then looked directly at Adalyn, disgust written all over her face. Adalyn stared right back at her. There was a long pause, but static filled her ears as Rafe pressed the button.

"What?" there was a tone in his voice Adalyn couldn't decipher.

"Come back to the cathedral. Follow the holes."

"I'm on my way. And for God's sake don't shoot them yet!"

Nadine chuckled softly. "Might want to hurry then." She smirked at the three thieves and put the radio away. She looked straight at Adalyn. "Ever since Italy, Rafe has been talking all about you." Sam and Nate looked over at Adalyn with furrowed brows.

"Whatever he told you about me…"

"He didn't have to tell me anything." She replied as she walked forward kneeling in front of Adalyn. "For whatever reason he has…an interest in you. Don't worry though," She leaned forward slightly. "I have my ways of getting his mind off of you." Nadine whispered, smirking suggestively, trying to get a reaction from Adalyn. But she just shrugged in response.  

"You are more than welcome to him. He's just an obsessive prick who can't let go." Adalyn smirked and tilted her head to the side. "But let me ask you something, Ross. If he's really thinking about me all the time, do you really think he's thinking of you when the two of you are..." Adalyn taunted, knowing Nadine's fuse was shorter than hers. The strong woman didn't even let Adalyn finish before she punched Adalyn right in the gut. So hard it knocked her to the ground gasping for air. Sam and Nate tried to jump forward to intervene, but Nadine's men raised their weapons in warning and they stood their ground.