Chapter Text
It was a calm, overcast day in New Orleans, and Sam, Nathan, and Sullivan were enjoying some smokes out in the back alleyway of Jameson's bar--or, more accurately, Sam and Sullivan were smoking while Nathan not-so-subtly hit them with reproachful glances every four seconds from his seat on a crate.
"Nate, will you cut that out?" Sully grumbled. "Let a man die his own way."
Nathan sighed in such a beleaguered old-lady-fashion that Sam couldn't help laughing. "Easy, Nathan," he joked through the cigarette between his teeth, Nathan's disapproval ironically making him savor it "you're gonna make your pearls fall off your necklace if you get yourself all worked up."
Nathan opened his mouth to retort, but was distracted by the arrival of a girl entering the alleyway. She was petite, but well-built, with the biceps and confident posture of someone who worked out a lot. The contrast of that muscle--and her tense expression--with her surprisingly innocent Disney-princess face was a strange one; it made all three men start watching her out of the corner of their eyes, and made Nathan shut up.
The girl only gave them a cursory glance before starting to pace, eyes roving between the alleyway's entrances and the harbor's boats. Clearly she was waiting for something, Sam mused, and he shared a curious glance with the other two men.
"Hot date?" Nathan asked politely, and Sam and Sully both glanced at him, surprised. It never failed to amuse Sam that his baby brother could make friends literally anywhere, anytime; he might always be the funny one, but Nathan had that boy-next-door thing that made people of all ages love him instantly. Sam was secretly a little jealous.
As always, Nathan's inquiry was interpreted as a lighthearted and friendly one instead of an intrusion; the girl stopped in her tracks for a second, as if she'd forgotten they were present, and put on a small, rueful smile before pacing again with her hands on her hips. "Afraid not," she laughed in a distracted English accent. "But I am supposed to meet someone here."
"Right here? In this alleyway?" Nathan asked, and again the woman recognized his question as a nonthreatening one. She nodded with another little laugh, but a more nervous one this time. "Yes, I-oh thank GOD you're here--"
You walked around the corner just then briskly, your sister instantly running towards you and grabbing your upper arms urgently. "I failed, Y/N. Worse--" she burst out, looking panicked.
You were much taller than your sister, and you'd seen her freakouts far more than once, so you just looked down at her with a skeptical expression while she clutched you. "Lara, what the hell did you DO? Jonah's been calling me all night!"
"I-I forgot to say goodbye to him, I was too busy coming here to find you," Lara replied rapidly, looking a little ashamed as she realized she'd made someone worry. You sighed, the situation all too familiar, and ran a hand through your long (H/C) hair in tired exasperation.
"And why are we meeting here?" you asked, gesturing vaguely at the alley, your eyes still on her face. You could see that there were some people a little farther down in the alley, but your sister's volume and frantic presence were too urgent and directly-pressing for you to look at them.
Lara stepped away from you, her hands to her head, and started pacing in place nervously. "You-you remember the Kukulkan legend?" she asked tentatively, words coming clearer now that she'd let some of the stress out.
"Yes," you said, sighing again and crossing your arms to lean against the opposite building's wall.
"Trinity's after it. The site in Cozumel was undamaged. You know what that means--"
"YES, I know what it means," you cut in smoothly, still unimpressed. Your eyes traveled through the alleyway, running over the men for a brief second before your sister's pacing made your attention go back to her. "So you went there?"
"Yes, and I found the--I--" Lara practically seemed to choke on her words. "Dominguez has the dagger. I lost it."
THAT made you freeze in place, and your eyes locked onto her face. You were not someone who got angry easily--but when you did, you had a HELL of an icy stare, and Lara always dreaded being the target of it. She visibly flinched, shrinking away like a scolded child.
"Wait." Your voice was low and dark, your height and your glare making Lara grow smaller and your expression shifting to become genuinely upset.
"You TOOK it?!" You hadn't yelled--instead it was a loud incredulity-laden whisper, that the men in the quiet alley easily heard--but Lara winced as if you had.
"Shh!" She said, hands up in a placating gesture. She glanced behind you to see if anyone from the open street was listening in, before going back to looking dismayed and defensive.
"Lara," you said slowly, ignoring her warning and speaking at normal volume now "TELL me you were not stupid enough to take it without the Box."
There was a moment of silence--the eavesdropping men staying stock-still, fascinated--before Lara seemed to crumple.
"Trinity was right on my tail!" she protested feebly, her voice rising in volume and growing more entreating. Your own hands went to your head now, and you turned away in frustration for a second, looking absolutely infuriated as she continued trying to get your attention back "We couldn't let them get hold of it--"
"'WE', as if Jonah had any part in this plan," you cut in, rolling your eyes knowingly. "YOU did this, and you know it. What happened in Mexico yesterday, that was you." Lara stopped moving, her eyes big and wet, and nodded. "You know about that?" she asked quietly.
"Of course I know about that," you snapped. "I read the fucking news." It was your turn to start pacing now, and Lara recognized the change in the dynamic and wisely stood still. This was how it always was; Lara created a problem, found a way to transfer the stress, and then waited for her big sister to fix the problem. You couldn't BELIEVE you were back here again.
"Jesus Christ, people DIED, Lara!" you hissed, standing still for a second and staring at her in dismay. "HOW could you be so stupid?!"
"I know, but there's no time! Y/N, he'll use the Box and the knife to--"
"I KNOW what he'll do with it--" you snapped, cutting her off again in exasperation. You sighed and put your hands on your hips, regrouping. "Okay. He hasn't found the Box yet, or yesterday wouldn't have happened."
Lara nodded tentatively, sensing that the yelling-at-Lara part of the day might be over for the moment. You ran a hand through your hair again and straightened.
"You're going to help?" Lara whispered nervously.
"Of course I'm going to help," you replied bitterly, not even looking at her. "I don't have a CHOICE." You sighed again and rubbed your forehead. "Okay, I can't help without all the information. Where is Dominguez now?"
"I don't know," Lara said faintly, shrugging helplessly, "but I know that we have to go to Pe--"
"DON'T say it." You held up a hand, a little more aware of the eavesdroppers now even though you weren't looking at them. "He'll catch up to wherever we go eventually. Does anyone in Cozumel know what caused it?"
Lara knew you meant yesterday's catastrophe. "No, I don't think so."
"Okay. And Jonah?"
"He's still on board..."
"Fine. Where's Sophie?"
Lara looked hesitant, and you finally met her eyes again. "Syria," she whispered.
You looked skywards for a second and smiled grimly, unable to do anything but laugh bitterly at the situation. "Goddammit, why can't you two ever make anything easy," you muttered to yourself. "All right. And who's with Dominguez from Trinity?"
"Commander Rourke."
You nodded to yourself as you looked off into the distance over the harbor; that news was something positive, at least. "That's good."
Lara looked pleased. "It is?"
You nodded again, still mostly to yourself. "Rourke's men will listen to him more than Dominguez. If I can broaden the divide between the two, Dominguez will lose almost the entirety of his fighting force."
You started moving toward the bar's back door, near the three men. Normally you'd have been more discreet--but there was no time for that now. "Come on," you said to Lara, moving briskly, "Jameson can find us a plane."
The men were staring at you as you walked by--two of them changed their faces to smiles (the youngest and oldest, it looked like) while the middle one gave you one of the most devilish smirks you'd ever seen. It surprised you, and your gaze lingered on him for a second; seeing that you weren't exactly smiling or smirking back, Sam felt his courage start to waver and his grin fade--but then you went inside, your sister following like a kicked dog.
There was silence for a second while all three guys looked straight ahead, deep in thought.
"Well," Sully eventually said.
"Yep," Sam responded.
"Yeah." Nathan murmured last.
At that, Sully turned and opened the door. "Excuse me, ladies," Sam already heard him saying, "I hear you're in need of a plane?"