The Bowl of Itchez-Hatl

The Bowl of Itchez-Haktl Ch. 1

By Harbinger96

A/N: I'm aiming for this to be Uncharted 1 Era Nate and Survivor Lara after the first game, but with a character influenced by both older and newer series Lara. I hope I did the blending well.

Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to Tomb Raider, Uncharted, or any of their characters. This is for entertainment and does not earn money.

---

"What the hell are we doing in here, Sully?" I asked as I looked around the cheap and sleazy club. "I know you're a dirty old man, but why drag me in here?"

The gray haired old man just looked at me as he picked a table for us. "Our contact is here, kid. Don't mess this up because you're closed minded," he scolded me.

"Our contact is a client of this place?" I asked in clear disbelief. "You're kidding me, right?"

"There you go again, jumping to conclusions, Nate. Our contact isn't a customer. Our client is a dancer."

"What are you playing at?" I asked as I watched my old mentor's eyes wander. "Are you being creepy or looking for our 'contact?'" I asked in scare quotes.

"There she is!" Sully whispered as much as his gravelly voice could manage. He started staring at her, and I tried not to. This wasn't my kind of place, despite my free living spirit.

"She's in grad school for archeology and has done damn good work on university projects and sponsored digs. She's working here to put herself through school, and I think we can wrestle her away from here for our line of work."

"Sully, you know we get shot at, stabbed, exploded and kidnapped on the regular, right? Why would she want to do that?" I asked as I saw Sully wave and smile. He had apparently gotten her attention.

"It's worth a shot. Maybe she will like the change in entertainment." Then he spoke to our "contact." "Good afternoon, Miss," he said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Looking for a dance, gents?" I heard a smooth, very posh British accent. Definitely not what I was expecting.

"Just one for my business partner here," Sully said with a wink towards me. "He's all about work and doesn't play often, so I figured he could use a treat."

"Well that's perfect, because my name is Candy, and it would be my pleasure to help you relax this evening."

I broke my staring contest with the floor and lifted my face slowly to see who this girl Sully was so sure about.

I saw long, tan legs with fishnets that ran up to a plaid schoolgirls' skirt. Then a trim, fit stomach showed off by a knotted white blouse. Finally a gorgeous face with intelligent eyes; too intelligent to be here.

"Well hello there," she said as she started dancing, running her hands over her sculpted body. "I gave my name, what's yours?"

"Uh... Nate," I said as my mouth went dry when she ran her hands up my thighs and straddled me. " Nice to meet you, uh, Candy."

"Such manners in a place like this? You haven't even tried to grab my chest yet," she hummed as she pressed said body part to mine, and slid up, putting my face between them.

"He's a respectable guy. Would you mind if the two of us talked shop while you work?"

"Be my guest. I don't need to talk to do this job, do I?" Candy laughed as she dramatically swung her legs off of me, turned around on my lap and ground against me. It took her little time at all to get me, well, excited.

"So Nate, after talking to... Mr. Shegoza," Sully said, picking on the fly what he needed to redact, "our best lead is in Peru."

"Peru... that makes sense!" I said as things started to click. My recall was taking longer than usual as blood headed south. There was a gorgeous young Brit in my lap, dry humping me with her hand in my hair. "And with how quick we got our follow up, I'm assuming we have a good head start on Alvarez?"

"Alvarez is days behind, kid. Alvarez still thinks the Bowl is in Belize."

"Peru? The Bowl?" Candy asked, stopping her cyclonic hips. "The Bowl of Itchez-Haktl?" Her brown eyes shot wide and her jaw dropped.

"I told you not to underestimate her, kid," Sully said with a smirk.

"The Bowl hasn't been seen in... 300 years. What are... I should stop talking. I'm just a dancer..." Candy said to herself and started to unbutton her shirt, or at least the few buttons that were still closed. The girl had some canons, but that's not why me and Sully were there, and she's already proven that.

"Actually, you are why we're here, Lara," Sully said, lowering his voice again, trying not to practically dox the poor girl.

Candy, aka Lara, steeled her expression. "Who are you two? Why do you know me?"

"Sully, maybe it's best if we have this chat elsewhere?" I suggested, noticing Lara's entire body had gone rigid like she was as likely to crack my skull as she was to run. I felt like she'd usually be able to outrun me, but not in the heels she wore.

"We have a VIP area, but it's expensive," Lara warned. "Or you two gents can sit here for my entire shift that just started. Hence why I'm still mostly dressed."

"Damn, we came at the wrong time," I chuckled, and then thought about what I had just said.

Lara looked at me with a smile. "Cheeky bugger, you are." She turned back to Sully. "Well, old boy?"

"We'll take the private room," he said, and we followed Lara's lead.

"Aye, Candy! One bloke per viewing in the VIP, don't forget!" her floor manager called and Lara just waved at him, before grabbing me by the collar and tossing me in the room beyond a purple curtain.

I stumbled and just caught my footing when Lara pushed me and I caught a fancy looking pleather recliner, like a mob boss's chair or something.

I turned around and Lara pushed me into the chair as she untied the knot of her shirt. "Start talking. Hopefully you can multitask," she teased as she stripped out of her shirt, showing a demi-cup, strapless bra that made my mouth water. Yeah I was on business, but I'm a mortal man.

"Finding you was Sully, the old man's idea. This is the first time I ever heard of you," I told her as she turned her back to me and slowly, teasingly pulled down her skirt, revealing a barely-there red g-string. "You uh, you don't have to strip if you don't want to, you know," I offered, rubbing my neck. This Lara was gorgeous, but it felt awkward to be seeing a potential business partner in this state, having just met her.

"Your friend is paying for this, you might as well enjoy it," she shrugged. "And besides; the room isn't micced, but it does have video. If I don't dance while we talk, boss man gets suspicious. So enjoy, Nate."

I couldn't argue with her logic as she straddled me for a second time and pressed her face into the crook of my neck. "You smell good. Like leather and books."

I chuckled. "Anyway, Sully became aware of your academic career, did some poking around and found you here."

"So what's the part I care about?" the young genius asked, licking my neck and grinding her pelvis into me. "I love when clients wear jeans. I feel less rod and I love the feeling of the material," she whispered hotly into my ear and then giggled when she heard me groan.

"Sully wants you to hunt for the Bowl of Itchez-Haktl with us. The best paid internship you're gonna find in this field," I said after clearing my throat.

Lara dug her knees into the chair on the sides of my thighs and leaned back, reaching behind her, pushing her chest out as she unclasped her bra. "Would you like to take it off, Nate, or should I?"

"Hmm? Oh, uh, you can do the honors."

Lara hummed and gently pushed the black and royal purple shell from her tits, and I had to use my willpower not to let my eyes drop from her face. I thanked whatever deity was in charge that she had an adorable heart shaped face.

"Impressive, not a glance. Though you might consider this cheating..." she warned cryptically, but then clasped her hands behind my head and leaned back, all the way back, making her rosy nipples point skyward.

"Damn," I croaked. "I am only human," I tried to tell myself.

"Indeed," Lara giggled as she pulled herself back up, showing insane core strength as she didn't pull on my neck at all. "Certainly human," she said as she swiveled her hips, the spread of her legs perfectly aligned with my hard-on. "So are you freelancers, contractors? Who are you?"

"Uhm, yes, pretty much all of that. We're dealing with the Peruvian Chief of Customs. He has a soft spot for making sure ancestral artifacts don't hit the black market. We find it befor Alvarez, an antiquities smuggler. We give it to the Chief and he pays us under the table with money from seized criminal assets theyve auctioned."

Lara's eyebrows popped, and she bit her lip, and then I felt her fingers on my belly. I looked down and saw that this clothing ninja had successfully undone my belt and jeans without me even noticing!

"So as an intern, how much do I make?" she asked. "Keep looking into my eyes, Nate," she ordered, and I felt her fingers under the waistband of my briefs.

"Shit," I sighed as I felt her fingers touch my tightened skin. "⅓ for each of us. Put it as an internship on your resume, but your partners with us," I explained as she nimbly fit her whole hand between my skin and my underwear.

"Does that mean I have to shake on it like this with Sully, too?" Her eyebrows quirked as she started to slowly move her hand up and down my hardened shaft.

"No, no you don't. This is entirely voluntary on your end," I said with a shaky voice, feeling like my throat was gonna close up.

"It sounds like a good deal. Almost too good to be true. How can I be sure I won't be trafficked as soon as we reach South America?"

This girl was smart. "Hmm. All I can do is promise, really. I don't know how I could prove I'm not a trafficker."

Lara tilted her head to the side, removed her hand, licked her palm, and then started touching me again. "I appreciate your forward approach and candor. Given your line of work I believe I couldn't just Google you."

"Probably not. If you can, it means I'm getting sloppy," I chuckled.

"Speaking of sloppy, I need you to play with my tits, Nate. This looks offly one-sided."

I hesitantly reached forward and palmed Lara's large, perfect breasts and gave them a little squeeze.

"That's a good lad," she giggled. "Fill me in on the rest while I keep working."

So I sat there and enjoyed a fantastic but well placed hand job from a grad student while I massaged her fantastic chest and filled her in on everything Sully and I had up to date.

"Lara, you don't have to fake moan," I laughed as I dragged a palm across her budded nipple. It was genuinely stiff, though.

"Oh, I'm not pretending a thing, love. You have exquisitely rough hands and deft fingers. You have an adventurer's hands, that's for certain."

"Anyway, what are your thoughts on tagging with us for the summer?" I got to the point. "You don't have to strip, and we'll have you back in time for fall semester."

Off on the far wall, I heard a buzzer and a red light softly flashed, politely telling us our time was up.

"It sounds like a hell of a deal to me, Nate. Worst case scenario is I die like a proper explorer of old. Best case scenario is we make fast friends of each other, and make a lot of money."

"It was a pleasure, Lara," I said as I tucked my still full erection back into my pants and Lara put her shirt back on.

"Lara Croft," she gave her full name. "But out in the club, I'm Candy, got it?"

"Yes ma'am. And I'm Nathan Drake, well, all over."

"Indeed you are," Lara purred with a cheeky smile, glancing down at my crotch. "Shame you didn't get to finish," she said as we came out of the curtain. Sully was on the other side of the floor, getting a lap dance himself.

"Do your customers usually?"

"My customers stay inside their pants, except in your case. I like you," she shrugged. "I'm out of here at 8:00 if there's more we need to discuss."

I fought to keep my eyes on the girl who just had my cock in her hand a second ago, but in a strong enough voice I managed, "There's a pub down the street from here. We can iron out our next steps over bangers and a pint," I offered.

"Sounds splendid," Lara smiled and I felt my heart do a... thing. That smile was so genuine, so perfect.

"Great, see you at 8:00 then," I smiled back. Lara turned her face down, her smile still there. I had a feeling I affected her the way she hit me.

---

At a quarter after 8:00, the unreasonably heavy door of the Elk and Hound creaked open, and Lara, our new grad student, stripper and archeologist extraordinaire popped in. Her sharp eyes scanned the room quickly.

I could have flagged her down, but I wanted to see how long it took her to mark me. It took seven seconds before she located me, smiled and waved. Seven seconds to find one person at a corner table in a packed house, someone she had met briefly only once. Pretty good, I thought.

She pulled up a chair across the table from me and swung her feet up, letting them rest on the seat to my left.

"Long day on your feet?" I asked, and slid her my beer to have a sip as she decided what she wanted from the print out.

"Thanks," she smiled graciously and took a fair sip. "I'll do the London brown ale. Original, I know," Lara laughed. "To answer your question, yes it was. The heels don't help, either."

"Sit tight, I'll grab your drink," I said and got up. When I came back with her beer and a refill of mine, Lara's brown eyebrows scrunched together.

"Sully's not here?" she asked.

"Nah. He's an old man. He's already turned in," I answered. "Disappointed?"

"Not as long as you're capable of telling me everything I want to know," the British sleuth shrugged. She looked a lot different now, wearing jeans, biker boots, a white tank top and canvas jacket.

"Well I told you the basics, but if you're going to be in, you should have all of your questions answered. Ask away, if you feel anything is left out, I'll add to it."

"Fair enough," Lara agreed as she took a sip from her pint. "You already explained why me, but who are you and Sully? Can I have a little background on my associates?"

"Yeah, that's a fair question. I like trust builders. You caught my last name is Drake, I believe?" She nodded so I continued. "I'm a descendant of thee Drake, Sir Francis Drake."

Lara's eyes rose and I held my hand up. "Sully did some further digging into who you are, Countess. So why are you stripping?" I asked quietly.

"I am a countess, as your friend sniffed out," she confirmed. "Just like I'm a stripper," she said, not changing her voice. She clearly owned it. "Those are things I am but not who I am, Mr. Drake. I want to add to who I am without relying on things I didn't earn but fell into."

I nodded and sipped my beer, my eyes on hers, captured by the way she spoke.

"You may be a descendant of the mighty Sir Francis Drake, but his blood isn't what makes you a good explorer. At least I hope you're a good explorer."

I was about to make a witty remark when I heard her stomach rumble.

"I'm assuming you haven't eaten between when I first saw you and now?"

She shook her head. "Not so much as a nibble. Don't feel like you need to buy my dinner, Nate," she laughed. "A couple crisps and I can make it till I'm home."

"Yeah, but I'm hungry too. When I get into research, I don't notice I'm hungry until I stop 10 hours later. And consider this a recruitment dinner, like a proper firm."

"I get the feeling you and Sully aren't a proper firm?"

I laughed. "No, no we're not. We have too many fake IDs and not enough retained lobbyists to be a proper firm. We do have perks, though. No job titles, no hierarchy or glass ceiling, no promotions denied until sexual favors, all expenses paid either because we're loaded from jobs or because me and Sully are damn good cons and pick-pockets."

"Those are some good perks. No health insurance, though? No dental?" She huffed. "And no sexual favors for advancement?" I shook my head. "Bummer," she said with a cheeky smirk.

I stammered a bit, and moved on. "Me and Sully have been business partners for a while. We've mostly graduated from petty stuff and moved onto bigger paydays, but the bigger paydays, the more danger."

"Such as?" Lara asked, leaning forward on her chair.

"Well let's see; explosions, high speed chases, mountain climbing, inhospitable climates, wild animals, gun fights, kidnap and torture, arrests, unsafe sleeping conditions, backstabbing, actual stabbing, diseases, getting lost and stranded. There's more, but those are the big ones."

Lara nodded, eyebrows up by her hairline. "Wow. You guys are real adrenaline chasers. Nice."

"Does that scare you off?" I asked, leaning back.

She shook her head, her swishy ponytail moving with her. "No. If you know who I am, you must know who my father is. It sounds all too much like his stories. Father would warn me not to follow him like that, but he'd be internally proud, I think."

"And when you get to independent studies and stuff, keep the work you do for us and turn it in. Two stones, one bird."

"It's one stone, two birds," she corrected.

"Sure," I shrugged off. "Any other questions?"

Lara tapped her chin. "When would we set out?"

"As soon as you're ready, but the sooner the better.

"I can be ready to go damn soon. I'm living with my friend Sam. She owns the place so my stuff will be safe with her. I'll pack what I need. If you come along, it'll go much quicker."

"We won't be leaving tonight," I chuckled.

"No, but all of us packed and in one place will make jump a lot easier, don't you think?"

I nodded. "Sure, but me and Sully only have the two rooms, and I don't want you paying for it. Sully's an old man so he can't sleep on the floor. I can, though."

Lara and I finished the little bit of our beers that made it that far and we got up. "You don't have to sleep on the floor," she told me. "You don't sleep in the buff, do you?"

I swallowed hard, but started to pick up on this being her form of teasing me and ice breaking, so I laughed. "Not when I have guests around."

---

It was a short drive to Lara and Sam's house, and we didn't have too much of a problem getting her street bike into the SUV Sully and I rented during our London trip.

"Nice place," I said as I pulled into the driveway.

"It's nice inside, too. Despite being grad schoolers, Sam and I keep it tidy." As we reached the front door, Lara warned me, "I didn't tell Sam you're with me, and I can't be sure how much clothes she's wearing."

"What?" I asked, pretty sure I heard her, but surprised at what she said.

"Sam, I'm home!" Lara called after unlocking the door and opening it wide.

"Oh, hey babe! Just in time! Dinner's just about ready."

"Are you two a thing?" I asked, having caught the "babe" part.

"No, close friends but not an item. Girls are just girls," Lara shrugged.

"Did you bring someone over?" I heard Sam say, and I thought I heard a bit of worry in her voice.

"Relax, Sam. Nate is cool. I met him at work," Lara explained like that would make everything okay.

Sam, the other occupant, revealed herself from the kitchen as me and Lara kicked off our shoes. She was a tall Asian girl, athletically built with expressive eyes and a cute face. She was only wearing hot pants and a sports bra.

"You brought a customer home?"

Lara sighed. "It's complicated, Sam."

"Is he staying for dinner? There's enough but I'll have to change. My Pellaton workout ran long," she explained.

"Nate is staying for supper," Lara told her. Based on the smells, this was good news to me. "Sam is a brilliant cook," Lara smiled. "Don't worry about changing, either. Nate saw me in less than that, and he was a gentleman."

"Oh stop it," Sam blushed and went back to the kitchen as a timer dinged.

"Go offer Sam a hand while I pack?"