no, I don't own Tomb Raider. DUH!
Chapter One
The Job
Lara Croft, archaeologist and explorer travels the world in search of ancient artifacts, hidden tombs, and lost cities. With her two friends, Pistol 1 and Pistol 2, Lara can recover, find, or even kill almost anything. She's had tons of adventures, ranging from the Wall of China to the pyramids of Egypt. Of the thousands she has killed, she feels no pity.
But lately Lara hadn't been getting any business. She thought that maybe there was nothing left for her to look for, and therefore no business. She could always hire herself, but for what?
Lara Croft was entirely bored. She hadn't gotten a job in more than a month and had already done all the practice courses at least five times.
"How about a nice glass of lemonade?" offered her butler, Hillary.
"No thank you, I'm just too bored," replied Lara. She even asked Bryce, the scientist at the Croft mansion, if he had gotten any calls about a job, sometimes four or five times a day. He always said no.
The days went by, one by one. Every day Lara got a little more bored. She even thought about retiring.
One night, Lara lay down in her bed. It was almost midnight and she was so bored all day, she got extremely tired now. She was just dozing off when a crash of breaking glass came from the front hall. Lara pulled her pistols from under her pillow and started running.
She put her back to the column on the balcony overlooking the front hall. Peering over the edge she saw five men dressed in all black with M-16's locked and loaded. "No problem," thought Lara. She rolled to the next column, not bringing any attention from the men. From there, she saw Hillary with his revolver looking carefully over the edge of the window across the room, and Bryce with his pump-action shotgun right next to him.
She was about to give them the signal to move in for action, when a deep voice called her name.
"Lara Croft," said a man dressed in a black fur coat.
'The expensive type,' thought Lara. 'Definitely a jobâor a kidnapping, a killing, or a theft.'
"State your business," bellowed Lara.
"I need help finding a priceless artifact," he replied.
Lara walked down the balcony and went to the stairs to reach the front hall. "Why didn't you just say so," she said, "and what's with breaking my window?!"
"I'm sorry, but with all the cars outside, I thought there might be trouble."
Lara walked a little bit closer, pistols still drawn. "What cars," she asked, "and who are you anyway?"
"I'm sorry. I forgot about introducing myself. I'm James Trottley."
He had walked closer and she could see that he was a fairly handsome man, but something told her that he had a hidden past of dark secrets.
"We believe you may be in great danger, Lara, presuming that those cars out there aren't yours." By now Wayne and Bruce had reached the front hall.
"Why me, which artifact, and where? And quickly," Lara questioned.
"Well, to be exact, you're an extraordinary archaeologist that'll stop at nothing, I would like to recover the five orbs of mystery, we're not sure yet to where it is," James replied.
"And great danger is like a little bug to me. I can squash it with the greatest of ease," she said with pride.
Just after that statement a small creak, apparently from a door, sounded behind Lara. She turned just in time to dodge the bullet being shot at her.
B-DAMM! B-DAMM! Now there was a dead body in the front hall, and Lara knew that there would soon be a lot more.
"Get ready," she said.
Another man appeared in the doorway next to the dead corpse. A moment later, about fifty bullets had been shot into him. Then more and more men started rushing through the door. Lara and her accomplices did their best to get them all down, but a few had slipped past the gunfire and made to a new position in the room.
"I'll finish them off," James said, and signaled for his men to start firing towards the few escapees. All the men were dead in a matter of minutes.
"Well," said Lara, "that was exciting." The others just nodded in agreement. 'Must have been too exciting for them,' she thought.
"What do you know about this event of enthusiasm," Lara said, "I'm sure there's something you know, James."
"Why don't we take a look at your helpless victims, Lara," he replied, "Unless of course you 'squashed them a little too hard' with those pistols of yours."
Lara walked over to one of the bodies. He was wearing all black, and there was a picture of a Japanese flag on the side of the black shirt he was wearing. She looked at his face and saw that this definitely wasn't a native of Japan.
"Well, everyone," Lara said, "now that I have a job I'd like to get some sleep. But Wayne, would you please get me two tickets to Japan for tomorrow. I've got a bit ofâinvestigating to do."
"Of course, Lara. That's what you do best."
"I can think of something better," Lara said, "Sleep, and don't think of any ideas, boys." She walked up the stairs, down the balcony, and into her bedroom.