After defeating Eckhardt, Lara made her way back to the ledge where Kurtis had given her a boost. Not knowing another way down, she jumped off and landed in a crouch. Her ankles felt as if they were on fire after taking the brunt of the jump.
Boaz's body lay about eight feet away, her head lying innocently beside it. Lara took note that kurtis wasn't anywhere to be seen; that was when she spied his ancient weapon, laid unmoving, in a pool of blood. She stumbled over to it, her side painful. Picking up the weapon, it began to pull her towards the door in which Boaz had emerged. The weapon could have pulled her arm out of its socket.
Trailing the bladed disc, Lara found herself in a dark, dingy tunnel. In the distance there was a dull light, emitting from a gas lamp. She made her way through the tunnel, following the constant footprints until she heard the sound of distant groaning. Following the sound, Lara saw what looked to be an injured man using the wall of the tunnel for support.
Removing one of her desert eagles from its holster, Lara cautiously stepped closer to the man. There was something familiar about him, the dark hair, and the ragged clothes. Holding her pistol in front of her, she confronted him.
"Don't make a sound, just turn slowly towards me" Lara said, in her demanding tone. The man whirled around, Lara found herself staring down the oh-so-familiar barrel of Kurtis's Boran X and gazing deep into his azure eyes. Realizing that the woman was Lara, Kurtis put the Boran back into his side holster. Lara too, was about to relent until she remembered Karel's transformations, which included that of Kurtis. She levelled her gun back up to the surprised face of Kurtis.
Kurtis stood there, surprise flickered across his face which was then replaced by concern when Lara's eyes widened in panic. He gripped his abdomen where Boaz had skewered him and looked into the panicked and determined eyes of Lara.
"Lara, what are you doing?" Kurtis asked, becoming quite concerned at her behaviour. She sighed before speaking.
"How do I know that you're not Karel?" Lara asked, trying to keep a straight face. Kurtis looked at her in confusion. He began to wonder what Karel had done to make this usually bright, confident young woman to make her so panicked…so…vulnerable.
"Lara, it's me, it's Kurtis" Kurtis replied, looking at Lara's shaking hands before looking into her eyes that were filled with unshed tears.
"That's not enough, please Kurtis, I need proof" Lara said, her voice wavering. Kurtis looked at Lara with sympathy evident in his eyes.
"You came into Café Metro and threatened Pierre; the owner. You retrieved a box for him from Le Serpent Rouge and I nearly knocked you down with my bike" Kurtis recalled, relieved when Lara slowly lowered the gun. She gave a sigh before placing the gun back into its holster.
Gingerly, Lara took the last few steps up to Kurtis and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry'. Kurtis gave her a nod before groaning in pain, his stomach wound bleeding heavily. Lara took hold of one of his arms and wrapped it around her shoulders, effectively holding him up. Using her right arm, Lara hooked it around Kurtis's waist and hoistered him into a less painful position. He gave a weak groan as Lara began to steadily guide them, as one, to the nearest exit which was at the end of the tunnel.
They emerged into a loading bay, taking it slow due to the severity of Kurtis's wound. Coming up to a metal fire exit, Lara placed Kurtis against the wall whilst she checked whether it was safe. She cautiously opened the door a crack and saw that the French police were swarmed outside. Lara slammed the door back shut and turned to abruptly look at Kurtis weak form.
Seeing the look on her face, Kurtis reached for his Boran. When Lara saw what he was attempting, she shook her head and closed her eyes before heavily sighing.
"What is it?" Kurtis asked, his tone becoming panicked at Lara's paled face. "Lara, you have to tell me".
"The police. I'm still a wanted woman. Don't forget, I'm the monstrum" Lara said, her tone becoming bitter at the last sentence. Kurtis placed a hand on her cheek and watched as she visibly relaxed.
"You need to go. Now. Before they catch you. If they get you and lock you up, when I recover I will come and get you out. You can trust me" Kurtis said, his tone sincere. Lara shook her head. She knew she wasn't getting out of this one. Her reputation was in tatters, her life turned upside down. The only people who she could trust now was Winston and Kurtis. Lara took one last look at Kurtis, who was slumped against a pillar and opened the door.
Kurtis's eyes widened when he realized what she was going to do. She was giving herself up. She was going to sacrifice her freedom. Kurtis lunged for her arm, but caught nothing but air.
"Lara!?" Kurtis groaned. He stumbled after her, wanting to stop her from making a mistake. There was no chance that she would run, he should have known that. She is Lara Croft after all. Tailing her, Kurtis stepped into the bright lights beyond the doorway. The police were gathered in a semi-circle, prepared for a fight to the death with the monstrum. Even though they were told that she was a woman, they were still on edge. The monstrum had been on the streets of Paris and Prague for months now and this was their only lead, a woman that had been spotted leaving Werner Von Croy's apartment with blood on her hands that had been running from police the same night.
Lady Lara Croft had been a mystery; disappearing from police radar. And it appears that since then she has made a new friend by the name of Kurtis Trent. It could be that he could be considered as an accomplice. Now here she was, giving herself up to them.
Lara walked forward, keeping her hands in the air, her braid swinging in the breeze.
"Get down on the ground with your hands up!" One of the officers shouted through a megaphone. "We don't want to have to use force."
Lara sighed, she knew it would come to this. She knelt down with her hands up. Two officers came at the ready with handcuffs. They forced her down to the ground, she grunted as one of the officers placed a heavy foot on her back. Kurtis was forced to his knees as an officer called for an ambulance. Taking in the scene, Kurtis saw what they were doing to Lara. It made his blood boil. She had surrendered, she wasn't resisting.
"Hey! Hey! Let her go, she's not gonna run. Trust me." Kurtis shouted to the officer. The officer sneered at him.
"She's the monstrum. 'She's not gonna run' are you kidding me? She ran before, she should count herself lucky that we didn't shoot her on sight" The officer said, smirking at Kurtis's attempts. Kurtis rolled his eyes. Lara gave Kurtis a weak smile in gratitude; she knew he was only trying to ease the situation.
The officer that had his foot on Lara's back clicked a set of shiny silver handcuffs tightly around her wrists and thrusted his foot harder into her back. Lara took a sharp intake of breath and clenched her hands together to get her mind to focus. Kurtis really wasn't happy with their treatment of Lara. He got up off of his knees and stumbled over to the officer.
"Cut her some slack, she surrendered even though she's not the person you're after." Kurtis said menacingly, his tone making the officer step back. Kurtis took hold of Lara's forearm and pulled her up, she stumbled so he gripped her tighter and set her on her feet.
Walking up to the officer, Kurtis decided a little payback was in order as Lara was his friend, someone he can actually trust. "How would you like it if someone was to knock you down and thrust their foot into your back, huh?" Kurtis asked, his tone patronizing. "You wouldn't. Isn't there a saying that goes 'treat others as you would like to be treated yourself?' I guess you didn't follow that rule, unless you want me to do that. So here's the deal, you leave her be or I decide to do to you what you did to her, do you understand?" His tone had become so menacing that Lara took an involuntary step back. Her eyes widened when his threat had an unspoken message that he was protecting her, in his own way.
The officer stepped back and walked back to his vehicle. As he did, Kurtis turned back to face Lara who looked like someone who had been threatened herself.
"Lara?" Kurtis asked, his tone full of concern. He knew that Lara would be a bit off after everything that had happened, but she looked scared, really scared. "You okay?" She looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. "Lara?" He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She immediately flinched back, as if burned.
Kurtis knew immediately what had happened. She had gone into shock. He knew that it wasn't surprising after everything that had gone on. Taking a tentative step forward, Kurtis enveloped Lara in his arms, giving her a sense of safety and security.
"Kurtis..." Lara mumbled into his shoulder, tears leaking out of her eyes. "What are we going to do?" Kurtis rested his head in her hair as she spoke.
"We're going to get this all sorted. Together." Kurtis said defiantly. He then doubled over as his wound had got the better of him. Lara was at his side in an instant, gently holding him. The paramedics rushed over and were yelling orders at each other. Lara just sat there, not knowing what she could do to be of help to them.
"Lara..." Kurtis groaned, his voice strained. Lara took hold of his hand to let him know she was still there. She had to work around the 'cuffs that were still secured around her wrists. The paramedics worked feverishly, attempting to get him stabilized. They placed bandages around his waist to quell the bleeding. Lara just kept tight hold of Kurtis's hand, as if she could stop him from slipping away. "Lara...stay wi...th me?" Kurtis asked weakly. Lara gave a slight laugh and a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I will...just...just save your strength, you'll be needing it." Lara said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Kurtis smirked weakly, giving Lara's hand a squeeze. One of the paramedics began speaking to Lara.
"Miss, we need to get him to a hospital, we have him stabilized but he needs surgery." Lara nodded slightly, still not releasing Kurtis's hand. The paramedic eyed the 'cuffs, knowing that Lara would be going with the police officer but also knowing that if Lara was to leave, the patient would become distressed, leaving him fighting the wrong battle. "Officer," the paramedic shouted. The officer dashed over, ready to take Ms Croft into custody. "You won't be needed," the paramedic said. Lara looked up strangely. "She'll be accompanying the patient to the hospital." The officer looked angry, but kept his words to himself, and removed the handcuffs from Lara's wrists.
The paramedics loaded Kurtis into the ambulance and then helped Lara in. They began to speed off towards the hospital.
"Lara...?" Kurtis groaned his voice a little stronger than before. "You still here?" Lara laughed before replying.
"Surely it should be me asking you that question?" Lara asked, one eyebrow raised and a beaming smile.
They arrived at the hospital fairly quickly, once there; they rushed Kurtis to surgery leaving Lara with the forms to fill in. She filled them in as much as she could, only then realizing that she barely knew Kurtis Trent. She was then guided to a private waiting room where one of the doctors explained Kurtis's condition.
He had been impaled but it had missed all of his vital organs, they had been able to effectively patch him up and get him to recovery. They had, had to give him a general anaesthetic so he would be groggy for a while but otherwise fine. Lara was relived to hear this. She had been tense, sitting there in a plastic waiting room chair.
"When will I be able to see him?" Lara asked politely, her good manners taking over. The doctor fidgeted a bit, knowing Lara was supposed to be in police custody.
"You can see him now since you'll be...indisposed tomorrow," The doctor said snidely. Lara ignored this as she was desperate to see Kurtis. The doctor escorted Lara to the recovery room where Kurtis had been placed.
Walking slowly, Lara saw Kurtis in the bed at the end of the long room. She gingerly stepped near the bed, not wanting to disturb his relatively peaceful sleep. Carefully placing a chair next to the bed, Lara sat down and placed her backpack on the floor. She sat with a straight back for about half an hour before finally relenting and leaning back. By this time it was about 22:30 and Lara was exhausted. Dozing off, Lara's body slumped and she fell into a deep sleep.
Kurtis awoke in a bright white room. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to his new surroundings, which he realized was a hospital. Noticing the window, Kurtis saw it was still dark outside which meant that it must have been really early morning. Seeing something move in the corner of his eye, Kurtis saw Lara, sleeping. She didn't look peaceful but Kurtis didn't want to wake her.
When she began to murmur words like 'Karel' Kurtis decided he had to wake her. He knew that it was a particularly traumatic event for her, and that she wouldn't want to re-live it. Being careful of his bandaging, Kurtis slipped out of the bed and carefully stepped near Lara. He gently nudged her awake slowly, not wanting to wake her too abruptly. Lara opened her eyes to see Kurtis, looking at her, concerned.
"You okay?" He asked, looking into her eyes. Lara smiled.
"Of course. I should be asking you that, you're the one in the hospital. So the question is, how are you?" Lara asked, smirking. Kurtis shrugged and sat back down on the bed.
"I'm not too bad, it doesn't hurt much." Kurtis said, referring to his wound. Lara leaned back in her chair as the awkward silence took over. "Y'know Lara, I'm glad you stuck around."
"Well, I'm going to get going; I'm supposed to be having a meeting with a detective." Lara said, her tone not giving anything away. Kurtis knew that he shouldn't be surprised, Lara had been through a lot these past few days and he doubted that spending time with a man who was recovering in hospital was helping her.
"Okay, will I see you later?" Kurtis asked, hopeful. Lara smiled.
"Sure, if I don't get arrested in the meantime" Lara said, her tone humorous. And with that she strolled out of the hospital, happy that Kurtis wanted her around.