Summary: Lara/Alex. Years after the Illuminati incident, Lara and Alex find themselves on the run from a dangerous secret. For Lara, her biggest challenge is learning to trust someone other than herself. That is, if she lives long enough to do so.

Chapter 1 - Reasons for Living

The stunning young woman meandered slowly through the crowd, her dark flowing hair blowing gently in the breeze. Green-blue eyes took in her surroundings; a typical English shopping mall on a busy Saturday morning. The glint of steel in one of the store windows caught the woman's eye. She walked into the shop, not realizing other pairs of eyes were tracking her every movement.

----------

Lara Croft scanned the selection of hunting knives in the display case with interest. She was leaning on the counter, trailing a finger across the glass while making a mental checklist of the weapons she already owned. The woman smiled; she could be considered a collector, an enthusiast really - and price tags were not of much consequence when making her purchases.

She paused, suddenly sensing movement out of the corner of her eye. She straightened her back and raised an eyebrow. Three men who had entered the small shop earlier were exchanging whispers while making their way towards her. Lara nonchalantly turned and silently made her way down an aisle full of guns. Alert, she caught the sound of footsteps behind her. Lara shrugged. She was not a paranoid person, but she had been through enough over the years to know being cornered was not an option.

She turned into the next aisle, listening intently. The footsteps continued, quickening their pace. Lara sighed.

I do believe I am being followed.

Lara spun to face the three men, instinctively reaching a hand to the concealed weapons under her jacket. She supposed she could try to lose the men, but sometimes confrontation was the best idea.

She was about to reveal her hidden handguns when she heard breathing behind her. She knew without turning that she was surrounded. Lara mentally berated herself for allowing this to happen. She must have been concentrating so much on the three men before her that she had not heard the others sneak up behind her.

"Miss Croft."

Keeping her cool, Lara slowly turned toward the speaker behind her. She recognized the man in an instant, hiding her surprise behind one of her trademark devil-may-care smiles.

"Julius. After all these years�why now?"

- Flashback -

Tomb of Ten Thousand Shadows
Siberia, Russia

Lara Croft laughed, enjoying the exhilarating feeling of cold air whipping through her braided hair as she sped past collapsing caverns. She expertly guided her team of huskies through tunnels of ice, maneuvering them around falling shards of crystallized stalactites. At the entrance to the frozen tomb, she was greeted by a small group of her friends.

"Lara! Lara, you made it!"

Lara smiled, hugging a skinny, unkempt-looking man who grinned back at her.

"Of course, Bryce. Did you really think I'd leave you to face Hillary alone? Not likely."

"That's my girl, Lara. Resilient as always." Sweet words from an American with unruly blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"Alex�" She replied with a gentle kiss to his cheek.

"Lara, you're bleeding like crazy. Let me help you." Alex had caught sight of the bloody gash running across her palm and trailing blood down her forearm, his blue eyes filled with concern.

Lara smiled at him. "Not now, Alex. Wait until we get out of here. The ducks are waiting."

Lara turned to the third man beside her, a nervous one with shoulder-length hair and a prominent nose.

"Mr. Pimms, thank you. You are now in charge of the dogs. Is that fine with you?"

"Yes. Yes, of course, Lady Croft. Wouldn't do to forget the dogs�" Lara nodded at Pimms.

"Regrettably, Mr. Powell will not be joining us. All right, let's go." Lara led the small group toward the amphibious vehicles waiting nearby.

Lara was climbing onto one of the ducks when she found herself looking down the wrong end of an automatic rifle. She smiled at the muscular, dark-skinned man behind the barrel.

"Ah, Julius. I had forgotten you had orders to kill me."

The man grinned, lowering his gun and extending a hand to help her up.

"Lady Croft. Welcome aboard."

- End Flashback -

"Lady Croft. Let's not make this difficult. You'll need to come with us."

Lara raised an eyebrow. "And what," she paused, "if I do not want to?"

Julius grunted. "Miss Croft. At the moment, you and I are both unarmed. Let's keep it that way." He glanced around the shop. "Unless you'd care to change that?"

Lara clearly understood the unspoken threat. She and Julius' men appeared to be harmless customers, but that could change in an instant. She knew as well as Julius did that both parties were armed, albeit secretly, to the teeth. It was also quite obvious that at the time being, numbers and sheer firepower were not favoring Lara.

"It's your call, Miss Croft."

In addition to the probability of getting herself shot, Lara would not risk endangering the lives of hundreds of shoppers in a gunfight which could be easily avoided. Sometimes it was better to play along.

Lara removed her hand from her jacket, leaving her guns where they were. She met Julius' eyes with a defiant smile.

"So, where are we headed?"

----------

Lara found herself seated across from Julius in an armored van. Interestingly, Julius had made no attempt to handcuff or otherwise restrain her - something Lara would use to her advantage. When the van started to move, she would bolt to the door and -

Julius seemed to know what she was thinking. "Lady Croft, things are not what they seem. It would be to your benefit to remain where you are."

Lara rolled her eyes. "Oh, cut it already. What is it you need me for?"

Just then, the back doors opened briefly to admit a man into the van. Handsome. Witty.

"Hey Lara." Warm voice she'd recognize anywhere. Blue eyes she could drown in. Golden hair she'd never forget. Strong arms she had felt safe in years ago.

Lara's shock was eclipsed only by the feeling of betrayal. Only now did she realize the van had begun to move.

Lara's eyes narrowed, suspicion evident in her voice.

"Alex West. What are you doing here?"

Alex was about to reply when a violent explosion sent tremors through the air. The armored vehicle lurched forward as everyone inside was thrown to the floor.

Alex's pleading eyes met Lara's cold stare.

"That's why we need you, Lara."

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Chapter 2 - The Hunt is On

From the cold floor, Lara pulled herself into a sitting position to level a penetrating glare at the man beside her. Leaning forward until they were an inch apart, she narrowed green-blue eyes to bore into those the color of the sky.

- Flashback -

Venice, Italy

The young woman clad in black approached the handsome, still-dripping man before her.

"Really, Alex? Because if you cross me, we may not be able to remain friends."

- End Flashback -

"Alex - it's over."

Her softly spoken words caused his world to crumble in an instant.

"Wha-? Lara-"

His confused protest was cut off as another, more powerful explosion rocked the van. The overhead lights flickered and went out.

"Move!"

That was Julius shouting to the driver. The van lurched forward.

Alex turned back toward Lara to plead over their now-severed "friendship," whatever that had been - but instead found empty space.

In the instant that the lights had gone out, in that brief moment of distraction, Lara had leapt to her feet and retrieved her trusty Colts from underneath their cover. Now, she was headed for the double-doors at the back of the van.

"No, Lara! Stop-" Alex shouted after her, knowing what she was about to attempt and realizing there was nothing he could do to halt her.

Lara fired once, shattering the doors' lock mechanism. A click sounded and the metal doors flung open, revealing utter chaos outside.

Lara jumped.

She had a split second to register the blurred image of the ground accelerating past. The van had been traveling fast - 50, 60 mph perhaps. On a road, speeding away from the shopping center. Why? From what?

The ground came up. Fast.

This is going to hurt.

Lara braced herself, the impact knocking the air out of her. She had instinctively curled up into a tight ball, one shoulder taking the brunt of the fall. Now she was rolling, tumbling out of the path of oncoming traffic, onto the side of the road.

Lara struggled to her feet, aching all over. She glanced at her shoulder, surveying the damage. Besides various cuts and bruises, a nasty gashed section had developed. Fresh blood seeped up from the skinned portion of the wound, trickling down her arm in red, intertwining rivulets.

Not bad, considering I should be suffering from a broken neck as well.

The force of a nearby explosion nearly knocked her off her feet.

No time to mope over my wounds yet.

Lara heard the van screech to a halt. She broke into a run, heading back toward the smoldering ruins of the shopping mall.

----------

Alex watched in slow-motion as Lara jumped from the back of the speeding vehicle, tumbled to the side, and lived to scoff at her wounds. As she survived a stunt that would leave most people dead. But then again, Lara Croft was not most people. Now the tomb raider was heading straight for her own death trap.

Alex sighed, rubbing his temples as the beginnings of a serious headache set on.

Behind him, Julius chuckled.

"Well. That's Lady Croft for you," he said, studying her retreating form.

----------

Lara exhaled, breathing hard, sprinting past curious onlookers. She was in prime condition - the result after years of 'tomb raiding'; one perilous adventure after another. So why was she short on breath when, really, she hadn't even begun to exert herself?

Must be my bloody arm. Looks like I managed to scrape off an entire layer or two of skin somehow.

She risked a glance at it. Her clothing was drenched in her own blood.

Hurts like it, too.

Too many people were looking in her direction. Lara quickened her pace.

"Bugger. Better hurry," Lara mumbled to herself, beginning to feel the first effects of blood loss.

Suddenly, she stopped. Before her lay the shopping mall - what remained of it, anyway. Carefully, she picked her way through the smoldering debris and charred bodies. She stared in disbelief as survivors let forth high-pitched wails of agony. Had Alex done this?

She shook her head slowly. Not Alex. Not the Alexander West she had known, former friend and contemporary tomb raider.

But if, indeed, he had�this was all her fault. Lara felt sick, watching a pair of blood-covered children in the distance struggle to free the body of their mother from the smoking rubble. Lara swallowed the bile rising in her throat and ran to give a hand.

----------

Halfway there, Lara was forced to stop and lean on a pile of broken concrete, her head spinning. Her vision swam, leaving her feeling dizzy.

I need to wrap my wound; stop the bleeding somehow�losing too much blood�

She gasped, still clinging to the pieces of concrete beams for support. Slowly, her vision began to clear.

Suddenly, there was a burst of noise, shattering the eerie silence.

Gunshots.

Lara dove for cover even as the concrete exploded around her.

Bugger. What is going on?!

Lara sprinted toward what had once been the parking lot, death hot on her heels. Her world spun violently, and suddenly the tomb raider found herself tumbling down the hill of concrete rubble. She winced as she reached the bottom. Slowly, she struggled to her feet. A bullet grazed across her lower thigh, forcing her to gasp in pain and continue moving, regardless of the various slashes, too numerous to count, she had received on the way down.

She ran past the burnt skeletons of cars and between piles of debris, stopping short as she reached a relatively intact motorcycle. Lara smiled, raising an eyebrow. Amazingly, her custom Norton had managed to escape the nearby explosions unharmed. The battered young woman mounted the chrome-colored bike in one swift motion, the motorcycle roaring to life.

----------

Lara leaned forward, weaving her bike neatly around piles of smoldering rubble, volleys of gunfire trailing her progress. Keeping one hand on the chrome-colored handles, she reached for her helmet. But before she could put it on, it was blown to pieces by several stray bullets intended for her person.

"Bugger."

Lara then narrowly missed colliding with a speeding van - Alex and Julius - heading in the opposite direction. She waved.

There was a short stretch of road in front of her before she met traffic. Lara risked a glance behind her. In addition to Alex's van making a sharp 180 degree turn to follow her, several other black vans, with machine guns hanging out the windows, were in hot pursuit.

"Ah well. This could be fun. Several advantages to riding a bike, including�"

Almost upon the car in front of her, Lara pulled back, raising the front wheel of her custom Norton high into the air. A roar of the motor, and Lara was on top of the first car and on to the next, zooming across a racetrack of roofs. A few angry shouts followed her until she shot off the top of an Oldsmobile and turned into a narrow alley.

"Sorry boys," she smirked.

----------

Alex cursed, his mild headache exploding into a full-blown migraine.

"Damn you, Lara Croft!"

"Shut up, West. Lady Croft's a smart enough woman to know how to stay alive."

Julius' usually jolly demeanor had been replaced with the serious expression of a five-star general. Alex had to admire the man; Julius knew when to get down to business, which was why he had once been Powell's right-hand man.

"However, I do believe Lady Croft would benefit from a little assistance," Julius stated, handing an assault rifle to Alex before equipping his own automatic.

Alex saw three vans armed like tanks approaching through the open doors Lara had broken.

"Shit."

----------

Lara was soon weaving through the twisting streets of Surrey that she knew so well, confident that her pursuers were now stuck behind a barrier of stationary cars.

She reached an abrupt dead end, but smiled when she noticed a sturdy wooden plank leaning against a brick wall. Bracing herself, Lara backed her motorcycle up a bit, then sped forward, coaxing the slim bike across the makeshift ramp. She sailed through the air, landing with somewhat of a jolt, and skidded toward the side. Deftly regaining her balance, the tomb raider was on her way when she heard the skid of tires behind her.

Apparently, Lara had managed to lose all but one of the vans tailing her. Lara frowned, expertly maneuvering her trusty bike from side to side to avoid the occasional burst of gunfire from her predatory stalkers. She couldn't see past the heavily tinted windows to identify the people chasing her, but somehow she knew it wouldn't be Alex and Julius.

Lara kept weaving for another block or so, then unexpectedly made so sharp a turn onto another street that the van kept going. She had bought herself the time it would take for the bulky van to turn around, which wasn't much. If she didn't come up with a plan soon, it wouldn't be long before she ran out of gas, or worse, was riddled with bullets.

Lara made as many turns as possible, hoping to throw her would-be captors off, but to no avail. She could hear them following her a block off, as if they knew exactly where she was going�

Lara equipped her headset and sent a transmission home.

"Hullo?"

"Bryce, this is Lara."

"Obviously."

"Listen, I'm being stalked by Julius and his goons."

"Julius? As in Mr. Let's-invade-Croft-Manor?"

"Yes. And I'm not sure where I'm going."

"Oh, that's easy. Well, you're moving rather quickly across the screen, but you just turned onto�oh not good, Lara. You're headed toward a dead end."

"Bugger. I just realized that if you can track me, so can those sods. Which would explain why I can't seem to shake them off."

"Well, you've lost me. What are you going to do?"

"I'll think of something. I want you and Hillary out of the manor immediately. Grab as many guns as you can carry and go. You know where to meet me."

"But-"

"Goodbye, Bryce."

Lara terminated the conversation. As she did so, she ran a hand under the seat of her motorcycle, easily finding the small, firmly attached foreign device.

"GPS. Those cunning criminals."

Now that she thought about it, it had seemed odd that her motorcycle had been waiting for her undamaged, when all around it was carnage.

Then she turned her attention to the fast approaching dead end Bryce had mentioned. No ramp ahead of her, only an unyielding concrete barrier. She had an idea, but�well, it was her or the bike.

Lara made her decision.

The tomb raider accelerated, pushing the silver steed to its maximum speed. There was no turning back now; the van was just about to enter the alley.

The bike ate up the ground in no time, headed straight for its target. The slim female vaulted off at the last second, while the custom Norton collided with the wall seconds later, instantly erupting into a massive ball of fire.

----------

"Look for a body."

"There is none, sir."

"Search the perimeter! The boss won't be happy to hear she escaped."

From the safety of a rooftop, Lara watched with mild interest as armed thugs searched in vain for any sign of her below. She was confused; the men below were clearly not working for Julius.

Then who were they? Since she was only able to see the tops of their heads, Lara was unable to get a look at their faces. But one voice, the voice of the leader, seemed strangely familiar, as if she had heard it before, but she couldn't pinpoint where�

As her adrenaline level dropped, Lara's wound began to sting. She glanced at it, but all she saw was blood. She tore her shirt and tied on a makeshift bandage, but it wasn't much good, as the cloth had already been drenched in the sticky fluid.

Lara took a last contemplative look at the frenzied scene below, then executed a perfect running jump to the roof of another house. She was going to find Alex. She wanted answers; she would get them.

And somebody was going to pay dearly for the loss of her bike.

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Chapter 3 - Answers

The slim figure crept silently through the abandoned hall, her features shrouded in darkness. Reaching her destination, she rapped quietly on the door.

No answer.

The figure inserted a paper clip into the rusty lock and a few moments later a soft click broke the silence. Grasping a pistol in each hand, the woman eased the door open just enough to permit her entry into the darkened room - Alex's apartment.

----------

Lara Croft glanced about the disheveled apartment. Lying on a table top was a single photo of a man and a woman, arm in arm. Lara gingerly picked it up.

"Bloody hell. You haven't forgotten Tibet either, have you Alex?" she smiled bitterly.

Memories flooded back to her. She shook her head; reminiscing over the past wouldn't help her now.

Unexpectedly, Lara felt incredibly tired, as if she had not slept in days. She tried to fight it, but her eyelids weighed a ton and her legs were not cooperating. Stumbling, Lara fell to her knees.

I'll rest for just a short while�

The tomb raider slowly sank to the ground, still clutching the photo. Guns clattered to the floor as the woman succumbed to unconsciousness.

----------

Lara came to much later. Her first thoughts were of confusion.

Where am I? What am I doing here?

The events of the past few hours came back to her in a rush. It was then that the tomb raider noticed the handcuffs binding her wrists; and the fact that she was lying in a bed. A wave of nausea washed over her and the young woman stiffened, not wanting to think about what the circumstances entailed about her situation.

Pit-pat.

The sound of footsteps coming closer.

Lara Croft forced herself to lay back and relax. Breathing slowly, as if still unconscious, she closed her eyes and waited for the footfall to subside.

Carefully, she slid an eye open a slit. She observed the silhouette of a man, and recognizing him, the corner of her lips tilted up.

----------

Alex West stood beside the bed, observing with fascination the exotic, dark-haired beauty before him. Lady Lara Croft. Gorgeous, talented, deadly.

Raider of the tombs and of his heart. Alex sighed. A vengeful angel who would never love him the way he loved her. He shook his head, smiling sadly and turned to walk out.

But suddenly, the seemingly unconscious maiden lying on the bed was at his back, forcing him to his knees. Alex was, to say the least, shocked. Before he knew what was happening, the American felt the chocking hold of metal tightening around his neck.

"What the hell was I doing in your bed, Alex?" a silky voice whispered into his ear.

"Hey Lara. You're up sooner than I expected."

"And the handcuffs?"

"You're a lot to handle, Lara."

The grip on his windpipe tightened. Oops. Wrong thing to say.

"Mr. West, you have ten seconds to tell me what the bloody hell is going on."

"Would you mind loosening up a little? You're seriously starting to choke me."

"And I'm enjoying every lovely moment of it," the tomb raider remarked dryly. She was too; Lara had Alex on his knees in front of her with her wrists on either side of his head, using the very handcuffs he had used on her to cut off his air supply as she pleased.

"Now are you going to tell me willingly, or am I going to have to choke it out of you?" For added emphasis, Lara pulled back on the cuffs a little more.

Click.

Lara looked up, only mildly surprised to see Julius smiling with a gun trained on her.

"That won't be necessary. Let him go."

Lara complied, releasing Alex and then taking a seat on the bed. Alex exploded into a coughing fit. Lara raised an eyebrow.

"Your stupidity amazes me, Alex. What did you think you would get for trying to take advantage of me?"

Julius chuckled, lowering his gun.

"On the contrary, Miss Croft, Mr. West was not about to rape you. In fact, he was the one who patched you up."

Lara, for the first time, noticed that her wounds had been stitched and neatly wrapped.

"Oh."

Alex, now breathing normally, proceeded to remove Lara's handcuffs.

"I think you're even more dangerous with them on than off."

Lara smirked.

"Where are my guns?"

Alex shook his head, grinning, before taking a seat on a pile of boxes across from Lara.

"Your Colts are on the table-"

Lara stood up, but Alex continued.

"-and you can have them after we have a little chat."

Lara sat back down.

"Smashing. That's what I came for, in the first place."

----------

Alex sighed, running a hand through his unruly golden hair.

"Look, I'm not sure how to explain this," he muttered agitatedly.

Lara sat back, patiently waiting.

"Some guy called me, said he had a job for me. I assumed it was archaeological, so I agreed to meet him at a local bar." Alex glanced at Julius, but the dark-skinned man said nothing. Alex continued.

"And there, low and behold, I met Julius. But the guy who called was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he sent an informant over to give us our job." Alex paused, his blue eyes catching Lara's. "To kill you."

Lara's expression remained serious, betraying none of her emotions.

Alex was silent, his eyes continuing to search Lara's in vain. Why, Lara? Why are you afraid of letting others see how you feel?

"Who else was hired?" Lara's tone was icy.

"Pimms. Just me, Julius and Pimms."

"Pimms?" The female tomb raider was unable to hold back her laughter. "Pimms? Whoever it was that wants to kill me is awfully desperate."

Alex glared at her. Julius finally spoke up, "I would be cautious to say he is desperate, Miss Croft. He hired Alex, Pimms and I because we knew you, had dealt with you previously during the Triangle of Light incident. How could this mystery man have known about us when he wasn't even involved? He knows a lot about you; must have been observing you for some time. And judging by the armored search party he sent after you, he is resourceful as well."

Lara nodded, stood up, grabbed her Colts off the table and headed for the door.

"Thank you boys. Now stay out of this and don't get killed, okay? I'll take care of it."

She was about to leave, but Alex stood in her way.

"Lara, let us help you. You don't know what you're dealing with."

"Move, Alex. I work alone."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Frankly, Alex, I don't know what to believe."

"Look, Lara, some perverted maniac is trying to kill you, and none of us knows why."

Lara smiled. "I've had worse."

Alex snapped. "Lara, we were hired to kill you. Instead, we plotted to put you in a van and get you out of there. What happens? Mystery Freak sends along a team of fricking armored tanks to make sure we do our job. We weren't expecting them! Lara, this guy is smart. He was playing us all along."

"Interesting, Alex. Up until this point, I thought money was your god."

"Oh come on, Lara! Cut the crap, would you? You don't actually think that you managed to lose all but one of those armed vans with your fancy trick riding, do you? It took serious shit out of us to bring those tanks down. I didn't know a machine gun could shoot so fast or that a van could make so sharp of a turn without flipping over, the way Pimms was flooring it. All of Julius' men were killed, our van was totaled, and by some crazy miracle Julius, Pimms and I survived with numb trigger fingers but with all our limbs intact. We managed to stop all but one van - the one that came after you. But that wasn't anything compared to the explosives that decimated the shopping mall. This guy has connections, and he has money. If he really wants you dead - none of us stand a chance. Why do you think you were lying in my bed? Julius and I arrived to find you out cold on the floor. You lost a ton of blood - so much in fact, that you shouldn't be alive - and the toll wiped your body out. It's sheer luck that you didn't pass out in the streets where that mastermind would have found you. Now's not the time to be a bitch, Lara. I�" he faltered. I care too much to stand by and watch. "The CIA. They can help."

"Are you underestimating me, Alex?"

He swallowed, stepping to the side. "You just be careful."

Lara didn't answer; she brushed past him and walked out the door.

Julius had left the room long ago. Alex closed his eyes and rested his forehead against a wall.

You're such a fool.

----------

Chapter 4 - Treason

Lara frowned, vaulting over a wall. How long had she been asleep? It had been late at night when she had reached Alex's apartment, now it was early morning; still dark and quiet. Lara ran down a deserted street, involuntarily shivering as the crisp air made contact with her bare skin.

The tomb raider reached an old building with a fa�ade of crumbling brick. Without hesitation, she began to climb. Almost at the top, she lost her footing when the bricks beneath her fell away. She was able to grab hold of a windowsill, but the effort jarred the injury on her arm, which gave a protest of pain. Grunting, Lara slowly pulled herself up. She sat for a bit, forced to admit that Alex had wrapped her wound well.

Maybe Alex was right. I did lose a lot of blood.

Lara wiped the sweat from her face, then reached for the double-paned window. Pushing the bottom portion up, she was able to slide her lithe body inside.

Lara stood up, apparently having entered a kitchen of some sort. She raised an eyebrow as a toaster walked, well more like hopped, by. She followed the toaster out to a small living room where two men were sitting on a sagging, musty-looking couch intensely gazing at a tiny television screen. The toaster hopped over to the first man, a skinny fellow, who removed two slices of warm bread from the top of the machine, and, as he did so, spotted Lara. He nudged the older man beside him, and both greeted her.

"Good morning, Lara."

"Where were you Lara? I made Hillary rush over here, and then you didn't show. I was so bored I tinkered with the toaster."

"Morning Hilly. Bryce, I was busy choking insolent people like yourself."

Hillary frowned while Bryce shrugged.

"Poor buggers. Ah well, at least you had fun." Bryce gestured to the television screen. "You're on the telly again."

Lara turned to the screen. A video showing the shopping mall exploding was playing, then images of the ruined mess and victims went by, including the charred body of the mother surrounded by her crying children that Lara had attempted to help. She felt sick. Then a sketch of herself, drawn with details from "witnesses" (whom Lara recognized as the drivers of the cars she had ridden her motorcycle over), was shown onscreen.

Lara cursed under her breath. They blame me, of course, then they have the gall to draw my nose weirdly.

The news anchor was saying something too:

"Yesterday afternoon, a terrible explosion leveled the largest shopping complex in Surrey, killing hundreds and injuring thousands. Police are still investigating the attack, and are unsure of possible motives. However, a female suspect was seen fleeing the scene on a Norton motorcycle. She is believed to be the archaeologist Lara Croft. She was described as tall, Caucasian with dark hair and blue eyes. Last seen wearing a ponytail, gold jacket and tan slacks, she is armed and dangerous. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call�"

The little screen flickered and with a 'pop!' went blank.

Bryce stuffed the rest of his toast into his mouth and smiled. "Oh look, something to fix�"

Hillary walked over to Lara and patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. He glanced down condescendingly at Bryce's modified toaster, then, whistling, went to the kitchen to make pancakes.

Lara kicked the toaster.

----------

Lara walked briskly down the still-silent street, having changed her appearance slightly. Her hair was down, blowing in the breeze, and she was wearing long jeans with a white shirt and dark glasses. Her guns were tucked into her back pockets; she was still Lara Croft, wanted dead or -well, preferably dead. Oh well.

She strode down the street, stopping at a red Corvette. Lara took off her shades. It was a sharp car; shining like new, but it was bright red�highly conspicuous. Lara put her shades back on. Ah well, dawn was just breaking, and few people would be out.

Within a few minutes, Lara had the car hotwired and on the road. She'd gotten quite good at it, with all the times Bryce had borrowed her vehicles and then misplaced the keys.

Well, I'm already a fugitive, right? So what's grand theft auto added to the list?

Lara accelerated, the sharp Corvette flying over the road, screeching at every bend of the streets. The tomb raider needed time to think.

As a child she had been surrounded by archaeology for as long as she could remember; her father's doing, of course. As a teenager, she went on her first expedition with Werner Von Croy. And she'd been tomb raiding ever since.

Lara had been right when she told Alex that she had been through "worse." She had survived Atlantis, Egypt and Tibet, where she had met him. Lara had recovered countless artifacts, including the Dagger of Xian and the Iris, to name a few. More recently, she had dealt with the Illuminati, nephilim, and the Cradle of Life. Now someone else wanted to kill her. Smashing. He surely couldn't be as bad as the hordes of skeletons, mummies, stone monkeys and ninjas that had attacked her in the past, right?

The Corvette made a sharp right, narrowly avoiding a stray cat. The red blur picked up speed.

This is the Monstrum killings all over again.

Abruptly, the Corvette screeched to a halt. Lara paused to listen to the happy humming of the motor before switching it off. She got out, surveying the car. It was all in one piece, shining like new.

Perfect.

The red Corvette was parked right where she had found it, and the owner would never know that Lady Lara Croft had taken it for a spin.

I hate it when my government turns on me. Really, it's treason - against a person.

It didn't make sense at all. Not long ago, they had accused her of the Monstrum killings, accusations they now knew to be false. And she had just returned from destroying Pandora's Box for MI6. The British government had to know she was not behind the mall bombing. Then why pin it on her? Perhaps the man that was after her was pulling strings. But how could one person be so powerful?

Lara Croft clenched her teeth, heading back down the street. Hillary and Bryce were staying in a secret unit in Boothby's, the old auction house. The only other person who had known about its existence was the elderly clock expert Mr. Wilson, but he was dead.

Lara had gone looking for answers, but all she had gotten was more questions. It was starting to annoy her.

Back at Boothby's, she would pull on her trademark black tanktop, shorts, boots and braid - and then start kicking some serious arse.

 

Lara Croft Tomb Raider © Eidos Interactive Limited. No copyright infringement intended.