Thanks for all your kind reviews so far and sorry for letting you wait ages for an update. Afraid this chapter is a bit short, but I promise the next one will be longer and hopefully a bit sooner too!
Chapter 2, Reasons
Lara was rudely awakened by water splashing in her face. A headache immediately moved up, and the sharp light in the room only made it worse. She looked up and was greeted by Gunderson's grumpy expression. As much as Lara wanted to get up and punch him in the face, she very well knew it wasn't possible. The tomb raider had been seated on a chair, with her hands tied behind her back.
Before Lara had time to realize it, Gunderson's fist connected with her jaw. She flinched, that would leave a nasty bruise. He leaned in closer, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Next time you try and make fun out of me, I will break a bone."
He kept the short space between them to try and intimidate the tomb raider. But Lara wasn't born yesterday, she kept her eyes locked on his and smirked.
"I don't know, I kind of like to call you muscles, it suits you."
He already raised his fist to deliver another punch, but it never landed.
"That's quite enough, Gunderson, I need her in one piece, for the moment."
To his own regret, Marten Gunderson lowered his fist and scowled at Lara as she laughed at him. He turned to Joachim Karel and nodded.
"Apologies, Master Karel."
While Gunderson backed away from Lara, she took the time to scan her surroundings. She seemed to be in an empty warehouse, only a few boxes were spread around the room and in a quick glance she only saw two exits, one was right in front of her, another one was a window on the roof. But for the moment escaping was impossible. Except for Karel and Gunderson, there were about five more men in the warehouse, all of them armed.
She looked up at Karel when he stepped in front of her. "Miss Croft, have you ever heard of the Ferilium?"
"The metal used to make the Chirugai, of course I've heard of it." She replied.
Karel shrugged. "Close Miss Croft, I wasn't talking about the metal, I was talking about the Ferilium, an ancient race specialized in crafting the very metal you are talking about."
Lara narrowed her eyes at him. "There has never been proof of their existence, only myths, stories." She said.
He chuckled, taking a few paces closer to Lara. "Oh Miss Croft, surely not even you believe that myths are just…myths."
She raised her shoulders. "Perhaps you are right. But then you obviously have found proof."
Karel nodded and reached inside his jacket pocket. He removed a small locker and held it up in the air.
"A locker, made out of the same metal as the Chirugai." He said. "Look at the back, what do you see?"
He held the locker closer to Lara, the tomb raider saw something graved on the back. Her eyes widened, she had heard that name before.
"Konstantin Heissturm." She said confused. "It still doesn't proof that the Ferilium are real."
And Karel, surprisingly, nodded in agreement. "Not yet, but I am certain that Konstantin can tell us more."
"Konstantin is dead, murdered by Eckhardt and you know that."
He shrugged and placed the locker back into his pocket. "Of course he is, but we both know someone who could tell us where exactly we can find the temple the Lux Veritartis buried him."
Lara knew who he was talking about. "Kurtis Trent…" she said softly.
Karel ironically clapped his hands. "Well done Miss Croft, well done."
"How do you know he is still alive." She wondered.
"We will soon find out."
Lara frowned and wasn't sure what he meant by that. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I have the Chirugai, Miss Croft. And I have you. Would he still be alive, he will be here sooner or later. I'm sure you could have figured that out yourself."
Karel snapped his fingers at the guards and they slowly started to leave the room. "So I suggest, Miss Croft, you sit tight and behave yourself in the meantime, otherwise I might not be able to stop Gunderson from harming you."
Lara looked at Marten Gunderson and saw him smile at her, he wouldn't want nothing more than to stick to the promise he had made to her earlier today.
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Once again, it's a bit short but i hope you enjoyed it. Hope to see you soon!
