#long last

People forget that the greatest conqueror is he who conquers himself - Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, Empress of Russia

St. Petersburg

The strip club was ablaze, acrid columns of smoke billowing out of the doors and windows, blasted wide open by the explosion just a few minutes before. Both punters and dancers were still running out of the burning building, collapsing on their knees in the street and coughing, gasping as they tried to catch their breath. The thumping music had long since ground to a halt, the speaker system presumably melted into a puddle of goo.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, fast approaching from the far side of the River Neva, but they wouldn’t make it in time to save the club. Precious seconds were rapidly ticking away for anyone left inside.

Another blast shook the ground, throwing more debris from the windows, the roar of the flames growing louder as the building was quickly engulfed.

Sam Drake and Georgia Chapman burst from the haze of smoke in the doorway, sprinting out of the club and into the freezing Russian winter. They weren’t out of harm’s way yet, far from it. The two of them were being pursued. Outnumbered, armed men hot on their heels as they tried to flee.

Sam grabbed Georgia’s hand to stop her falling as their feet landed on cobbles coated in a layer of ice.

“Haul ass!” He yelled at her.

“Shit, shit, shit!!” Georgia shrieked, completely terrified as she heard the bullets whizz past her. “They’re shooting at us!”

“I know!”

“Where are we going?!”

“Workin’ on it- oh, bike, bike, bike!” Sam had clocked the motorbike pulled up at the side of the road 30 yards away and abruptly changed direction, yanking her arm. “C’mon, Peach, faster!”

“I’m in heels, you bellend!” Georgia just knew she was going to break an ankle any moment. She was convinced she was seconds away from meeting her maker. That would really ruin her day.

This is it, this is how I die. My bullet-riddled corpse is being sent back to England in a box.

They skidded to a halt on the ash-coloured snow piled up at the side of the road and crouched behind a parked car. Sam went to work on the bike.

“There’s no keys!” Georgia pointed out.

“Don’t need ‘em. Trust me, this ain’t the first time.”

They could hear voices approaching, someone barking orders in Russian, trying to locate them in the dark voids between the street lamps.

Sam whispered to her. “Keep your head down. Take this, cover me.”

He tried to push his handgun into her closed fists but Georgia shook her head and mouthed no. Was he forgetting who she was? She was a bloody librarian! She’d never held a gun in her life, never mind used one!

“I can’t!” She protested.

“You gotta! We ain’t gettin’ out of here if you don’t!”

“I can’t, Sam-“

“Just take the damn gun!” He hissed at her, temper fraying.

“I don’t know how!”

“Point and squeeze. If all else fails club ‘em to death with it or somethin’.” He wasn’t kidding this time, they were really in the shit.

“Fuck!” She whimpered as a stray bullet shattered the car window right next to her. Their hunters were firing short bursts randomly, trying to catch them out.

Sam yanked her closer towards him, trying to keep them both out of sight behind the car. “Head down! Goddammit...”

The men with guns were getting closer, they didn’t have long until they would be discovered. Georgia blindly poked the handgun over the top of the car wing and fired a warning shot. She heard swearing in Russian. Shit! Did I actually hit somebody? There was no way she would be peering over to check.

“Hey, I think you got one! Just need another few seconds here…”

“Sam, what about the others?” She asked worriedly.

He was still fiddling with the bike, trying desperately to get the engine to start, it was stone cold in the sub-zero temperatures.

“They’ll be fine, c’mon, c’mon you son of a-“

Vrrooommmm

“There we go!” Sam yelled triumphantly over the sudden noise.

He revved the bike loudly, drawing attention to the fact they were about to make a quick getaway. Georgia heard the men clamouring to each other, narrowing down their search area to where she and Sam were hiding. They too were slipping and scrambling on the ice, struggling to get a foothold.

“Time to go.” Sam held out his hand to her. “Hop on!”

Georgia grabbed him and scrambled aboard as fast as she could, her first time on a motorbike. She’d barely got a grip on Sam’s jacket before they were gone, speeding down the street away from the inferno.

There were more gunshots from behind them, but they were now a moving target, and soon out of firing distance. Neither of them dared to look back.

As they crossed the river she finally had time to think to herself how the bloody hell did we get out of that alive?

The motorbike roared off into the night, Georgia still clinging tightly to Sam, seriously regretting her decision to follow him to Russia.

Chapter 2

***

Notes:

And we’re back!

This will be mainly updated on Ao3, I’m unsure if I’ll put it all on tumblr. If it’s anything like the last one, there could be around 50 chapters :/

- I’m not sure how often I will update, but I’m so excited to finish this story! Hopefully at least once a week (but I said that for Long Overdue and I uploaded nearly every day pfffft who am I)

- As before, full notes will be at the very end of the story, confirming what is historical fact and what I’ve made up.

- All named characters except Georgia Chapman and Volkova are the property of Naughty Dog and I take no ownership of them

- This work is not for profit

Thank you for all the support, I still can’t get over how well Long Overdue was received. It feels like a really weird dream. Hopefully Long Last will be as fulfilling, enjoy!

Peace,

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

Venice, 3 days earlier

“See ya around, Miss-Georgia-Like-A-Peach!”

Those had been the last words Sam Drake had said to her, before he walked out of the door and onto a plane to Moscow to resume his search for the Golden Library.

Less than an hour later, she had seized her moment and booked herself a plane ticket for that night to follow him. How was it possible she missed him so much already? It didn’t make any sense. She was normally so level-headed, how could she be this crazy about someone after only a few days?! And to think that when they first met she was less than enamoured. That had all changed very quickly.

But after she clicked ‘confirm’ to buy her ticket and realised she couldn’t take it back she’d immediately started hyperventilating in a panic.

“Shit, shit, shit…” Georgia rocked back and forward, head in her hands, before sitting up straight again, her jaw set in determination. This was be good for her, going out of her comfort zone. “No…no. I am doing this. I. Am. Doing. This.”

She just had to get through a full day of work first, hopefully she had gotten away with sneaking into the high-security document stores yesterday. She hadn’t technically done anything wrong, after all, and she had left everything as she found it.

Her little tabby cat, Meems, miaowed at her demandingly from the opposite arm of the sofa. Georgia leaned over to scratch her between the ears, the cat tolerating it for once.

“Yes, yes…I’ll feed you in a minute. I’m off to track down your favourite person tonight. Are you happy now?”

That was another thing, had to find someone to watch the damn cat while she was gone. She really hadn’t thought this through.

***

At work Georgia struggled to concentrate, still thinking about the events of the past few days. How Sam and Sully had just waltzed in like they owned the place at the Biblioteca Marciana. Telling her they needed help breaking into her library to examine certain documents, the next piece of the puzzle in finding the Lost Library of Ivan the Terrible, thought to be buried somewhere underneath St. Petersburg. The documents they needed turned out to be none other than Cardinal Bessarion’s copies of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, pointing them towards the historic Kremlin wall in Moscow.

She hadn’t wanted to help them at first, but after some coercion, or as Georgia would have put it, outright blackmail, she was caught up in the excitement of it all. The whole glorious mystery around the Byzantine Empire, Ivan the Terrible, Grigori Rasputin, and before she knew it, she’d gotten caught up in Sam’s charm too. That definitely wasn’t supposed to happen.

She kept blushing whenever she thought about him, checking for the millionth time her scarf wasn’t slipping out of place to reveal just how bruised her neck was. She couldn’t stop daydreaming about how he’d touched her, how he’d kissed her, how good he’d made her feel after so long. How he seemed to know her better than she knew herself. Although she’d managed to surprise him too, once or twice. It was those memories in particular that made her duck her head as her cheeks turned crimson.

She kept checking her phone wistfully, even though she wasn’t supposed to have it on her at work. Hours passed with no message from Sam. If she didn’t know better, it was like he’d already forgotten her.

***

By afternoon Sam still hadn’t contacted her, but Georgia was determined not to be the one to text first. She didn’t want to seem too desperate, it had only been a few hours, and he was probably busy, but she had to let him know she’d be landing in Russia at some point.

A worry popped into her head. He’s bored of me already. He got what he wanted and now he’s going to ditch me. But he said he would come and visit again…ugh, I don’t know what to think.

But in less than 12 hours, she’d know for sure, either way. Her flight was just after 8 that evening, putting her in Moscow and if she got her way, whatever bed Sam was staying in, around midnight.

If it turned out he didn’t want to see her again she could try and have a lovely few days in Moscow by herself, alternating between sightseeing and crying her eyes out, most likely. She didn’t want to say she was already more attached than was healthy, but she knew exactly why. Sam had been decent to her. Pathetic. All it took was him being nice, the bare minimum she should expect and she’d fallen so hard. He wasn’t even her type, not really.

You’re getting ahead of yourself. Why wouldn’t he be pleased to see you, and have an extra pair of hands to look for the library? I’ve already proven myself, in more ways than one.

Something she was justifiably nervous about was meeting Sam’s associates in Moscow, especially since at least one of them was a woman. Despite assuring her it was just a business relationship, Georgia was still a little suspicious. She’d find out soon enough exactly what the deal was between her and Sam.

***

Georgia had manage to cajole Alice, her workmate at the library to look after Meems while she was gone. All sorted out under the pretence that her mother wasn’t well and she had to go back to London for a few days, maybe longer. Playing the sympathy card.

She wasn’t that keen on Alice poking around her apartment, because she inevitably would want to nose around all her belongings, but there was nobody else available at such short notice. She made sure the little safe in her bedroom was definitely locked. The memory card Sam had retrieved for her was still tucked away inside, away from prying eyes. She certainly didn’t want anyone else getting their hands on that.

She decided not to tell her parents she was going to Russia. Just a few days, and she’d be back, safe and sound. Better not to say anything than have to lie to them.

Just a few days. That was the plan.

***

It was nearly 8pm. Georgia was sitting in Marco Polo airport departures with a coffee, waiting on the bing-bong that would announce her flight was ready to board.

She was turning the Avery coin over and over in her pocket. Sam thought he was so smart, leaving it on her living room table when she had done her utmost to give it back to him. We’ll see who’s laughing when I sneak this back to him in Russia.

Still no text from him, but she’d finally given in and messaged a minute ago, short and sweet.

I’m about to get on a flight to Moscow.

No response yet.

She was excited, but also extremely anxious. This was the most spontaneous thing she’d ever done. When leaving her apartment she’d had severe second thoughts, going so far as to shut the door and start walking back up the stairs. She’d had an argument with herself standing outside her neighbours. History was being made right now and this was her chance to be a part of it. To not be so bloody scared of the unknown anymore.

Eventually she’d turned around and walked downstairs again, not looking back this time.

***

“Miss Chapman?”

Georgia looked up from her book, startled. “Yes?”

Two men in stewards uniforms and hi-vis vests were standing in front of her.

“We have several empty seats in business class, and we’d like to upgrade you. Would you please follow us?”

“Uhm, okay…” She hadn’t heard the call to start boarding business class, must have zoned out for a minute thinking about the coin and missed it. Most of the seats near the gate already had people sitting in them, the flight looked pretty full. But why would you question the word of someone who was wearing a uniform?

She gathered her things and got up to follow them, sliding the coin into her jeans pocket.

Instead of taking her up to the gate that led onto the runway where the plane was waiting, they took her off to one side, through some doors and down a corridor that stretched off as far as she could see.

Georgia was puzzled. “Uh, where are we going?”

“This route is quicker, and you’ll be out on the runway in the cold for less time.”

Something wasn’t adding up here. They never let you go anywhere in an airport without seeing your passport first. She tried to remember, but they’d definitely only asked for her name, not for ID.

She was getting a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, warning her that she wasn’t safe. Why were they taking her away from the rest of the passengers? Did these guys actually work for the airline?

Georgia thought back to the previous day when she was scouring through the Bessarion store in the library to look at Homer’s works, a man had turned up who Sam and Sully were definitely not happy to see. They had ‘dealt with him’ outside, whatever that meant. But what if that strange man wasn’t the only one who had travelled to Venice to thwart their plans?

There could be more of them.

They could be here.

I might really be in trouble.

How could I have been so stupid to go with them? So naïve?

Quick, make an excuse and go get help.

Georgia laughed nervously. “Oh fudge! I’m really sorry, I left my headphones on the seat back there, in the lounge, can I just-“

“We’ll have someone bring them to you.” The man on her left suddenly gripped her arm firmly. “We need to get you on the plane first, before the other passengers.”

Georgia felt like a cold metal vice was tightening around her stomach. She was definitely in danger. They were taking her out of sight for a reason.

Her eyes flicked downwards and she saw that the other man had a syringe in his hand and was in the process of slyly taking the plastic cap off.

Shit!

Run.

Georgia suddenly twisted and shoved her arm downwards, forcing the man on her left to let go. She took her chance and ducked to the side, twisting out of reach. Seeing the long stretch of corridor behind her, she turned and booked it.

There was pressure around her shoulders. One of them had grabbed onto her rucksack and was trying to drag her backwards. She struggled wildly so he couldn’t get a better grip, vaguely aware the other man was hanging back slightly, presumably so as not to stab himself with the needle intended for her. Whatever was in that syringe was bad news.

Georgia slipped her arms out of the straps, letting her bag drop to the floor and took off, sprinting as fast as she could back in the direction of the departure lounge. Her heart was pounding and her breathing ragged, she was terrified, these men were out to get her and were going to do God knows what to her.

It was all because of the library. It had to be. What else would make her a target to them? Who the Hell had Sam and Sully pissed off?

I should have stayed home.

Why did I have to follow Sam bloody Drake?

“Get her! Quickly!”

She thought she was going to make it, not far now, just a few more seconds and she’d be safe, she was about to burst back into the departure lounge, the Polizia would be called, the men would be arrested, everything would be fine.

She was stretching forwards, reaching for the handle on the door when one of the men grabbed her ponytail and jerked her back as she hissed in pain.

This is it, they’ve got me, I’m done for.

She was praying Sam would just show up, in the way that he usually did, out of nowhere in the nick of time. But as the two men pinned her down on the floor and silenced her, trying to keep her head still, it started to sink in she was truly alone.

Nobody’s coming to help me this time.

It felt no different than an insect bite on her neck. The same skin that was covered in bruises from Sam’s attention the night before. She winced, the liquid in the syringe was cold, and it stung.

The edges of her vision started going black instantly and she couldn’t work out where her limbs were anymore, or how to move them, she was helpless.

“That’s it, take it easy, just go to sleep.”

She opened her mouth to tell them both to fuck off but all that came out was a wordless gasp.

Before she slipped under completely she could only apologise in her head, over and over.

I am in so much shit.

Sam, I’m sorry.

***

Thanks for reading!

Chapter 4 | Chapter 6

Concrete under her boots instead of snow. A metal door sliding shut behind her. Even her teeth were aching from the cold air, and her feet were blocks of ice.

After the plane journey and the driving wind outside, Georgia felt like her head was underwater, her hearing still hadn’t adjusted and her ears needed to pop again. On top of that everything was still muffled by the bloody bag.

They were in a large, mostly empty building of some kind, that much she could tell from the echoes as they walked deeper inside. Was this the meeting place? Was Sam here already?

“Alrighty then, let’s do this!” Volkova announced. “Well done for not being late. Yes Frazer, that’s mostly directed at you. Where’s my egg?”

“Patience is a virtue, darling.” It was the gravelly voice Georgia recognised from the phone call earlier. “Is that her?” Frazer quietly asked someone next to her.

“Yeah, that’s her. What’s with the bag?” Sam was here. Oh my God, Sam’s really here. He shouted across to her. “You okay, Pe-, uh…Georgia? I didn’t mean for all this-“

She just wanted to shout back to him that she was never following his sorry arse anywhere again but she didn’t get a chance to respond.

“Yes, yes, all very sweet, blah blah blah. You can match your teeth to the bruises on her neck, if you want to make sure it’s definitely your girl.” Volkova jeered. “Dirty boy.”

“I really didn’t need to hear that.” A new voice spoke up, another woman. Georgia turned her head to try and discern whose side she was on. She seemed to be in the same area as Sam and Frazer, presumably with them. “It’s bad enough hearing him go on and on about it.” The accent was unmistakable. She’s South African.

“Come on, chop, chop. You’ve got the egg? You know it’s mine, technically I got there first.”

“Hey now, finders keepers.”

“Not today, Sammy boy. More like Whoever’s-Got-The-Biggest-Balls-Keepers. And that’s me.”

“Not so catchy though is it? Gonna have to work on that if you wanna graduate from villain school.”

Georgia still couldn’t see anything, she had no idea what was going on, but she didn’t like how Sam was winding up Volkova, getting her more and more strung out. She clearly thrived on this sort of thing, and Sam wasn’t the one with the upper hand in this negotiation.

Just stop. She wanted to say. You’ll make her do something awful.

“You talk too much.” Volkova said, clearly seething at his comeback. “I’m not convinced you want your Peach returned to you that badly.”

Suddenly there was a click near the right side of Georgia’s head and something cold and cylindrical being pushed in just above her ear.

Shit, that’s a fucking gun. There is a gun to my head right now. Georgia’s heart leapt into her mouth.

“Sam!” She choked out in alarm.

“Hey, hey, hey!” She heard him shout. “Just, take it easy okay? She hasn’t done anything.”

“No, but she is excellent leverage don’t you think?” Volkova said. “Do you really want an innocent...well, I don’t know if innocent really applies after sleeping with you, Samuel-“

“What the fuck ...” Georgia heard the South African woman mutter. She squirmed underneath the hood, glad she didn’t have to meet anyone’s gaze.

“- almost innocent girl’s blood on your hands?”

There was silence.

“I thought not.” Volkova said smugly. “Hand it over.”

“See, here’s the thing-“

“Not the time, Sam.” Frazer warned him.

Yeah, Sam. Really not the time! Listen to her!

“Chloe, I know what I’m doing. Just give me a sec, okay?”

“What’s going on?” For the first time since she’d met her, Volkova sounded…uneasy? “What are you up to, Drake?”

“Just hear me out…”

“Don’t come any closer!”

“It’s not personal, okay-“

“It is to me! Your brother killed my aunt in Ubar!” Her voice was turning shrill again. Whatever Sam was attempting, it wasn’t working.

“Nathan tried to help her, we keep telling you.”

“And what proof do we have of that, beside’s Nathan’s stinking journal? All I know is, my aunt was killed but your brother came back alive. You know she practically raised me?!”

Volkova took a moment to calm herself, huffing and muttering under her breath, pacing around. When she spoke again she’d composed herself, but her voice had a new, unsettling edge.

“But isn’t it better this way, Samuel? That I come after you and the plaything you have no real interest in outside of obligation, than going after Nathan, Elena and that sweet little baby? Don’t think I won’t, I got Sullivan, didn’t I?”

Oh God, Sully.

She was still talking, taunting, like she had done to Georgia on the plane. “Casey…No, no, silly me. It’s Cassie, isn’t it? She must be coming up 2 years old now, isn’t she?”

“You better not be threatening my family.” Sam’s tone changed instantly, aggressive now.

No, not a child. This is getting out of hand, any second someone’s going to snap…

“Go anywhere near Nate’s daughter and you won’t just have Sam to deal with.” Chloe cut in, sounding furious.

“You’ll have all of us, every single one. Every contact we’ve got in this business coming after your head. And believe me, there’s a lot of them.” The South African woman said, her voice level. “That’s not a mistake you want to make.”

“And you think that would stop us? We’re the Lernaean Hydra, ‘Don’t Cross’ Ross. Cut one head off, two more appear, just as unpleasant. And Peach here is about to get a bullet in hers, if you don’t hand over that egg in the next minute.”

“As much as I love your dedication to the Greek theme-“ Sam said dryly. “I don’t take kindly to threats on people I care about. And I’m gonna make you pay for bringing Cassie into this, you can bet on that. Also, if I’m not mistaken, Chloe asked you to bring pizza -“

Safe word. It’s all about to kick off.

God, she hoped her hunch was right because she was about to do something very risky. Now or never.

Georgia suddenly twisted her hands down, and the man holding onto her lost his grip. It was enough, a few moments was all she needed. She threw herself forwards onto the floor just as Ross yelled ”Clear!” and the gunfire kicked off all around her. Georgia flattened herself down, not daring to move, praying no stray bullets hit her, or took out Sam and the two women that were with him. She could hear Volkova swearing and screaming in broken Russian. “Get her, get Chapman!”

Then someone grabbed her arm. She jerked away from the contact before Ross shouted at her over the din, pulling her to her feet. “Come on, we’ve got to go, now!”

The hood was ripped off and she was momentarily blinded until her eyes adjusted to the floodlights surrounding them. Ross was still dragging her along, telling her not to stop running, to stay low, amid explosions and shouts of ”grenade!” from all sides. The South African shielded Georgia with her body as she turned back around to fire, covering Sam and Chloe as they ran to join them.

Reunited, at last. But now what?

What the fuck have I gotten involved with?

***

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

…

…

…what?

Where am I?

God, why is it so loud?

Georgia slowly came to, groaning quietly. Her head was pounding. She didn’t open her eyes immediately. As her senses adjusted to her new environment, she realised she was in motion. Her ears felt strange, like they needed to pop. She was in a plane, the roar of the engines and constant low vibration familiar to her.

Why was she in a plane?

It came back to her slowly, what had happened in the airport. Georgia had the horrible realisation this wasn’t the flight she was supposed to be on. Who had captured her? What did they want from her? Where was she going?

How was she going to let Sam know she was in trouble?

Would she even see him again?

Oh my God, Mum and Dad are going to be fuming I’ve done something so stupid. Their own daughter, kidnapped. How will they even know what’s happened to me? Shit! I should have told them…

Am I going to die?

Can’t worry about that now. First things first. Open your eyes. Got to find out what’s going on.

She braced herself and opened both eyes at once. She nearly cried out when there was still darkness. What the Hell was in that syringe?

I’ve gone blind!

Okay, don’t panic, it could just be pitch black. You’re alive, in a way that’s good enough for now.

Georgia became aware that her face was very warm, though the rest of her was chilled. On top of that there was a funny smell, a musty odour.

She realised her head was covered in a cloth bag that had clearly gotten damp at some point and not been dried properly. That was why she couldn’t see. Her sensitive nose was going haywire and she tried not to gag.

Suddenly, overwhelmingly, she missed the smell of Sam’s cigarette smoke. Georgia would have given anything to have it filling up her nostrils than the stench of the smelly old fabric.

She shifted around, trying to work out if she was sitting down or not. Good news, she could move all her limbs, the bad news was she was tightly restrained, tied to the chair she was sitting in, and already she had pins and needles. She could only wriggle helplessly, the ropes had no give at all.

Well, I’m definitely in a lot of trouble here. But in one piece, for now.

A female voice spoke up, close by. Clipped English accent, Georgia couldn’t tell exactly where she was from over the noise of the plane engines. Definitely not London.

“Good evening. This is your captain speaking. We have approximately 1 hour left before we begin our descent into Moscow. The ground temperature is cold as balls, and local time is 10 minutes past I-know-you-slept-with-Samuel-Drake.”

“Huh…what?” Georgia’s voice sounded rough. Dry and scratchy after being asleep. But, she was being taken to Moscow after all?

Hang on a minute, she’s knows Sam and I-

“If you would like refreshments from the cart…well, there isn’t a cart. Sucks to be you right now. Sounds like you could use some water too.”

“Where am I?” She demanded, her voice stronger. She was almost shouting to make herself heard through the bag.

“We’re in a plane, silly! I believe we’re somewhere over Belarus, hang on, let me check-“ bang bang bang as the woman hit a metal object beside her.

The noise made Georgia jump. She heard conversation in a foreign language, it sounded like Russian.

“Yup. Belarus.” The woman confirmed.

Georgia started to struggle. “Why did you kidnap me? Who are you?!”

“Now, now, less of that. Don’t make me get another needle! You were supposed to be out for the whole journey but you turned out to be taller than we expected and it wore off pretty quickly. But you can’t give too high a dose of that stuff or you’ll never walk again.”

The woman abruptly giggled to herself as if she found the idea of Georgia paralysed hilarious.

“Oh, and just a tip, if you’re a woman travelling alone, never and I mean ever, have your hair in a ponytail. It’s very easy to grab.”

She didn’t like this woman’s sense of humour, or how she was far too cheerful and friendly while threatening to drug her for the second time.

“Are you not going to answer my questions then?”

“Oh, right! Sorry, I’m just too excited! You can call me Volkova.”

“We’re going by surnames now?”

“It’s not my real name. I just thought it was apt since we were going to Russia.” The woman started tapping her feet on the floor without rhythm. Georgia had enough of her bearings back to be annoyed by the sound. “It means wolf. I like wolves.”

She was having her doubts about engaging in conversation with this strange women. She tried to figure out whether or not to push for more answers when Volkova decided for her.

“So, Miss Chapman…Samuel Drake, eh?”

“I-uh…” I really don’t want to talk about Sam with you.

“He hasn’t called you yet, incase you were wondering.”

Oh.

“We’re in a plane…no signal…” Georgia muttered, feeling as though she’d been punched in the gut.

Volkova scoffed. “As if. We have wi-fi on board you know. What, you think we’re savages? Stop making excuses for him.”

I thought he’d be happy I was coming. Guess I was wrong.

“But I do need to get into your phone. I’m pretty relieved you woke up, now I can get your passcode.”

“Not a chance.”

“I wasn’t asking you. I was telling you. So do as I say or I’m going to start breaking fingers.”

Georgia started to sweat in fear. Fuck! She’s a bloody psychopath!

“1-5-0-8-9-4.” Without hesitation.

Volkova giggled again at her haste. “Special date?”

“My parent’s wedding.” Georgia didn’t particularly want to tell her, but she had a feeling Volkova would just know if she was lying. It wasn’t worth it.

“So sweet, such a homebody. What on Earth are you doing messing around with those delinquents, Drake and his crew?”

At that moment in time, she couldn’t come up with an answer. She didn’t even know herself anymore. Why had she gone after Sam? Now it seemed like a really stupid idea. She was way out of her depth.

Volkova didn’t take any notice of her silence, talking away to herself, undeterred. “Okay, let’s have a look through your messages…surprise, surprise, top of the list, Sam Drake. What have you been saying to him?”

Despite everything else going on, Georgia felt her face reddening inside the bag.

“Aw, you end your messages to him with a kiss? Well, he is laying on the charm thick isn’t he? So that you’ll do whatever he wants, oldest trick in the book. His book anyway.”

The drugs were probably still wearing off, but her head was swimming. She continued to sit there in silence, absorbing all of Volkova’s snide little comments as she had a good look through the contents of her phone. She didn’t want to believe any of it, but all her fears were being confirmed. She was just a number. He didn’t actually care about her.

“Have you sent him any pictures? No, nothing interesting. Just him being an idiot beside some statue. You’re awfully quiet-“

Her phone started ringing.

“Speak of the Devil. Looks like Mr. Drake finally checked his messages and wants to know if you’ve landed yet.”

Oh my God, Sam. I need to warn him.

Volkova had put him on speaker and his familiar voice filled the cabin. It was so good to hear, even though she was upset with him for taking so long to respond.

“Hey Peach! Just couldn’t get enough of me, huh? You were pretty sweet last night, I have to-“

Her captor interrupted him. “Hello Samuel.”

There was a pause. Then Sam was cursing. A woman’s voice was in the background, demanding to know what was going on. Georgia felt sick. Who was that? He’d found another woman? Already? Was that his so-called ‘associate’? Why was he still with her so late at night?

Then he was back. The warm, easy-going tone he’d used when he thought he was talking to Georgia was long gone. Now he sounded cold, dangerous.

“Shit, we wondered where you’d got to. If you’ve done anything to her-“

“Didn’t think we were this close, did you? I would have left your Peach alone, safe and sound in Venice if she wasn’t so desperate to get railed again.” Volkova said matter-of-factly. “She’s fine, by the way. A little battered and bruised. Oh no, wait. That was you, last night.”

Georgia could hear the woman on the other end of the phone arguing loudly with Sam as he tried to reply. She had a strange accent. Definitely Australian, but there was a mix of other places too.

Volkova tutted and raised her voice. “Tell Frazer to shut her enormous mouth, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.”

“Did you get that Chl- alright, just so you know, she’s flipping you the bird. I’d feel bad if I didn’t tell you. So what now?”

Volkova walked around the back of Georgia and started playing with her ponytail with her gloved hands. She tried to shrink away, the touch was making her shudder but Volkova slid her hand around the front of her neck and forced her back against her stomach, tilting Georgia’s chin up, so uncomfortable.

“This one really is very pretty, Samuel, it would be a shame for anything to happen to that gorgeous face. I’m tempted to have a little fun.”

“I-…don’t you even think about it…let me talk to her-“

There was sounds of fumbling, and a lot more swearing, then the Australian woman’s voice spoke up, taking control.

“Enough of the mindfuckery. You want to bargain for the hostage, Volkova? Tell us where to meet you. We’ll be there. Bring pizza.”

Wait a minute. Pizza? It was a bit tenuous, but Frazer had used the safe word she and Sam had agreed on for their mission in Venice. Was that for her benefit? To let her know everything would be okay?

“I’ll text you the address from the lovely Miss Chapman’s phone. Don’t be late.”

“Ham and pineapple.” Frazer demanded. Oh yes, they were definitely letting Georgia know the was situation in hand. That was her pizza order. Her pulse slowed down a fraction.

“Really? Ew, that’s disgusting…wait, no! No, I make the rules here! I’m not bringing pizza. I’m bringing my hostage and you’re bringing the egg.”

“Stuffed crust.” Frazer fired a parting shot.

“Alright, that’s enough!” There was a faint beep as Volkova hung up. She sighed, and Georgia pictured her rubbing her temples. “I really cannot stand her. It’s the voice, it just grates on me…”

Georgia was reassured. Sam had sounded livid that she had been captured, and clearly wanted to get her back. All she had to do was make it through another hour of flying with this obviously unhinged woman without injury, and Sam and Frazer would come and get her. She didn’t much like being reduced to a damsel in distress, but there wasn’t a lot she could do about it.

One thing was really bothering her though, more than her own welfare. Someone was clearly not accounted for and she hadn’t heard any mention of him yet.

Where is Sully?

Is he okay?

***

Thanks for reading!