Uncharted The Fourth Labyrinth - By Christopher Golden Page 0,37

ran a hand over his face, smoothing his mustache, and then slipped the key card through the lock. Drake felt the weight of his gun against the small of his back but wouldn’t draw it without an immediate threat. The door clicked, and Sully opened it, nodding to Drake even as he held out a hand to indicate that Jada should remain in the hall. She looked as if she might burst with anticipation, but she crossed her arms and waited while they entered and did a quick check to be sure nobody was lying in wait.

“Okay, you can come in,” Sully said.

Jada strode into the room, letting the door swing shut behind her. As Sully started to speak again, she stiff-armed him, shoving him back onto the bed, and Drake burst out laughing.

“That’s the last time you treat me like the damsel in frickin’ distress,” she said, looking fierce despite her diminutive stature.

“That ain’t what it’s about, kid,” Sully said. “Nate and I—we’ve been in situations like this before.”

He started to rise, an apologetic look on his face, and she shoved him down again. Drake laughed, but he shut up when Jada shot him a bristling look. Then she drew her gun, and none of it was funny anymore.

“I know how to fight, Uncle Vic. And I know how to shoot. He might have been your friend, but he was my father. As far as I’m concerned, this little trip is my mission, not yours. I don’t work for you. I don’t take orders from you. Yes, I’ll defer to your experience, especially if whoever wants us dead takes another crack at us. But for the last time, don’t protect me. I’m not a goddamn liability, I’m an asset.”

Drake leaned against the bureau, trying not to smirk as he studied Sully. “I tried to tell you, but noooo—”

Sully glared at him. Drake shrugged.

Jada glanced back and forth between them. “We’re a team on this, or the two of you should just wish me luck and move on to your next bit of thievery for hire.”

Sully stared at the gun in her hand. Drake couldn’t blame him. She hadn’t pointed it at Sully—the barrel was aimed at the headboard—but any time an unholstered gun was in the room, you wanted to know what it would hit if someone pulled the trigger.

“Admit it,” Drake said. “We’re just so damn charming that you can’t bear the idea of being parted from us.”

Jada started to grin, then looked even more irritated that he had succeeded in defusing her righteous fury.

“You’re a couple of scoundrels,” she said.

“But charming scoundrels,” Drake replied.

When it was clear that Jada didn’t plan to shoot him, Drake started searching the room, whistling the Seven Dwarves’ work song from Snow White. Jada laughed and returned the small gun to the holster she wore under her flowing beige blouse.

“Is it safe to get up now?” Sully asked, hands raised as if he were under arrest.

“Shut up and get to work,” Jada said, wearing half a grin.

Sully stood, but as she moved away, he reached out and grabbed her, pulled her in close, and kissed the top of her head.

“It’s not that I don’t think you’re capable,” he said, his voice a rough whisper Drake could barely make out.

“I know,” Jada replied.

Drake thought of half a dozen wisecracks but said nothing. The mirror above the bureau was bolted to the wall, but he had run his fingers around it. Now he was searching the drawers, down on his knees so he could see if Luka had taped anything to the bottoms. It didn’t seem likely. If he really had expected Jada to be suspicious enough to come looking or send someone to investigate, he wouldn’t have hidden anything someplace that could easily be discovered by accident.

Sully checked the closet and then went into the bathroom. Drake heard him moving around, heard the scrape of the toilet tank lid being removed and replaced. Jada busily stripped the bed and then started to shove the mattress aside. Drake couldn’t check under the bureau—there was no room even to slide his fingers beneath it—but he dragged it out to look behind it.

As Sully emerged from the bathroom and he and Jada started going over the nightstands, Drake worked on the entertainment center. He had his hands behind the television when he realized the others had stopped working. He glanced over to see Jada and Sully staring up at the ceiling fan, but when Jada climbed