The woman swept her long, brown hair out of her face and rolled over onto her side to check the clock on the wall; eight o'clock. She turned over again, ready to go back to sleep, when the phone on her bedside table rang loudly. Deciding to ignore it and phone back whoever it was later, she buried her face in the pillows. "Lara?" a man's' voice said over a message. "Look, I know this is earlier than usual for you on a Sunday morning, but I've found something…" Lara sat bolt upright, listening intently. "… I've- well, I've found an artefact and it might interest you, so call back later, okay?" Jonathan Walkington didn't have to even finish his sentence before Lara was perched on the end of her bed, excitedly dialling his number. "Hi, Jonathan!" she said. "I'm sorry I didn't pick up earlier- I was having a lie in after that event in Prague…" Her voice trailed off and Jonathan laughed.
"Well, I'm incredibly sorry, your Highness-"
"I don't want to hear your excuses, and you know it!" she said teasingly and sighed. "So what's all this about an artefact?"
"Ah, I was hoping we'd get to that soon! Well, it's located in Easter Island, under one of the statues, and I think it's an amulet of some kind… I've got some pictures of it right here, I'll send them over…" Lara heard the tapping of fingers on a keyboard and stood up and walked over to where her laptop was resting on the desk. She switched it on and opened her e-mails. "And… I've sent them over!" Jonathan said. Lara opened the pictures to look at them closer; seven identical stone carvings, each standing on some sort of stone pedestal. "What do you think?" came Jonathan's voice from the phone. "Well, it's certainly interesting…" Lara muttered, trying to make out the finer details on the blurred, badly-focused photographs. "I can't see much- where do you think the amulet is, then? Under one of them?"
"Well, that's what I think…" replied Jonathan. "But I can't be sure- I was just wondering if you wanted to go and check it out. I would pay, of course." He hastily added. "I'll think about it…" Lara said. "Will you be coming?"
"Of course! You know how much I love this sort of thing- nearly as much as you!" he joked.
"Well, I guess it's settled then. When do you need me?"
"As soon as possible, I suppose. Eleven o'clock, maybe?" Lara's lips spread into a smile. "Yes, that's fine! And should I bring my pistols, or will I need something more heavy-duty?"
After a rushed breakfast of beans on toast and a quick dip in the bath, Lara was ready. All she needed now was to pack her bag. She ran through a mental checklist of the things she would need: her beloved dual pistols, a change of clothes, a torch, a water bottle and two first-aid packs in case of emergencies. She also grabbed a pack of standard flares, which she put in one of her shorts' pockets, and a rifle with two spare magazines, which she slid through her backpacks' holster.
After quickly saying goodbye to Winston, her butler, and making two quick phone calls to tell Jonathan that she was on her way and to book a flight from Heathrow to Chile, she ran out of the door, clipping her black, leather pistol holsters around her waist as she went.
When she reached the small garage where she kept her Norton Streetfighter motorbike, it was already ten o'clock. She hopped on, revved the engine eagerly and sped off down the gravelled path, her long, brown plait flying behind her.