Shanghai, 2 days later

.

The second eye was lying on the table, in front of the mirror. A simple stone ball, replicating an eye. Nothing exciting, yet Lara had been waiting for possessing it for years. She was lying on the bed, opposite the mirror, in a small hotel room in Shanghai, and kept watching the ball.

At the base of the bed, a small arsenal of weapons was spread on the floor, including guns, grenades, knives and a riffle. She liked to be prepared. And so far the whole trip had held quite some surprises, starting with the loss of the first eye, and ending with a partner she didn't want to have. So she'd prepared.

Bryce had organized a helicopter that would fly them to Northern China where the tomb was located. The fact that she was force to take Drake with her didn't particularly please her, but it wasn't the end of the world. The tomb of Chagatai wasn't her main target, so she'd accept his presence. There would be enough treasure in there, and the diary was all she was interested in. Once they're inside, there must be a chance to find it. Then she'd walk away, continue her search for Genghis Khan's tomb, and they would never meet again.

She stood, went to the mirror and lifted the eye. The piece of stone felt heavy on her open palm. Even though she'd examined it a dozens of times, she couldn't find out what it was good for. No mechanism was hidden inside, no carvings to be seen, no hint what it could do. It looked like a simple piece of stone. A piece of stone that would somehow grant her access to the diary. She was sure of that.

Lara placed the headset into her ear. "Did you find out anything about the eyes?"

"Nothing new," Bryce answered. "The document I found says nothing about how to use them. You seem to be right. Those idiots haven't even found out what they actually are." His fingers flashed across the keyboard again.

"Well, then I'll find out on the spot. It won't be the first time I need to improvise." She took her backpack, and placed the stone into it. "It's almost three. I need to go to the meeting point. Is everything done?"

"Yes. The helicopter will be waiting for you on the roof."

"Fine. I hope Drake will show up."

"I'm sure he will. You need each other. He won't get anywhere with one eye either." He kept typing. "Just make sure he doesn't find out about the diary."

"Don't worry. That won't be a problem. I'll be very happy when I get inside the tomb of Chagatai. And I'll be even happier if I have the diary in my hands. I'll convince him that I was after the tomb and nothing else."

"Take care."

"I'll check in as soon as we take off." She removed the headset, and put it into her pocket. Before she left, she selected two handguns and a grenade to take with her. Just to be sure. A girl couldn't be cautious enough.

She put on her sunglasses, took a last look before she closed the door.

The streets were fairly crowded as she stepped out of the hotel, and headed down the road. From time to time, she stopped at a window, pretended to look at the goods, but her real intention was to check her surroundings. At the second stop, she spotted a man on the other side of the street, who seemed to walk with the same speed. Hadn't she seen him in the lobby? Dark shirt, sunglasses, strong arms. Surely not a regular tourist roaming the streets.

Lara sped up, turned into a side road, and the man followed her. Damn it, she thought with irritation. How had they found her again? She had to shake him off before heading to the meeting point.

She left the side road, and the view around the corner pleased her. A huge market was running at the end of the road, people swirling everywhere. Just what she needed. After one look behind, she entered the crowd. The man wasn't alone, she saw him give a signal to some others, who came from all around. She didn't like it.

Speeding up, she hurried along between the stands, trying to dodge people without arousing suspicion. Colors blended, the smell of spices mixed, faces turned to her, people sent her curious glances. She heard the harsh comments behind her as the man in the dark shirt pushed the people aside.

Thirty minutes were left, she had to hurry up.

Checking her possibilities, she turned left, and before the man followed, she pulled into the cover of a scarf stand. The man passed by, but she saw a similar guy in a black shirt at the end of the row. Her options were limited. Either she waited until they found her, or she ran and tried her luck. She chose the latter.

She dashed out of cover, and ran along the stands, tossing people out of her way. The man in the black shirt spotted her, and talked into his radio before running after her. The market swirled up. Something was going on, but no one knew what. When she came to a spice stand in a secluded area, she paused in an alcove, and watched the man approach her. He seemed to have lost her from sight because he slowed down, checking every stand.

Lara waited for her chance.

The man crouched, looked under the spice stand, then stood and scanned the crowd with a nervous expression. His boss wouldn't be happy to hear that he'd lost the target, Lara thought, and prepared. When the man took a step toward her, she acted immediately. Looping her arm around his neck, she caught him in a grip and pulled him into the alcove. Her arm tightened around his neck, and he chocked.

"Who do you work for?" she asked, holding him tight. His fingers clutched her arm, but she didn't let go. "Spit it out."

"Go… to… hell," he managed to say.

"Really?" She took a gun, and pushed it against his temple that made him stop wriggling. "Just nod if you want to say yes. Do you work for Johansson?"

The man moved his head. "Does this mean yes?"

This time he nodded twice.

"Good boy." She removed her arm from his neck, and took the radio off his belt. "Now tell the others that you just saw me at the eastern entrance." When he hesitated, she pressed the gun harder. "Do it."

The man took the radio and talked briefly. When he finished, Lara swirled him around. "It was nice meeting you." With the butt of her gun, she hit the man in the middle of his forehead, and he sprawled on the ground. "Sweet dreams."

After waiting a few minutes, she spied out and was relieved to see that the men in the black shirts were gone. She headed to the west.

...

Nate was about a five-minute drive from the meeting point when the taxi got stuck in a traffic jam. Sounds of honking filled the streets, inside the cab it was hot like in a sauna even if he opened the window. The air stood still. He glanced at his watch. Only fifteen minutes were left for him to get there.

Letting out a sigh, he searched for money, gave a few banknotes to the driver, and got out. A nice run in this heat was the last thing he needed. After a light jog, he arrived to the tower building. His stare moved up to the top where a helicopter should be waiting for them. He really hoped that Lara Croft was reliable. After their meeting in Malaysia, he checked her out, but time was limited, and Sully's words didn't give him reassurance either. They were opponents, chasing the same loot, but at least they were both on the same side. Not on the one of Johansson.

The situation annoyed him to a certain extent, but he tried to make the best out of it. He needed to be careful not to let the control out of his hand. Lara Croft had proved to be far more dominant in that half an hour of their meeting than what he found acceptable. And he still couldn't get the feeling out of his head that he'd walked into her trap. A plan laid out according to her liking.

On the last floor, he stepped out of the elevator, and jogged up the few stairs that led to the door. The helicopter was standing at the far edge of the roof, the rotor still motionless.

In the shadow of the wall, Lara Croft was waiting for him, her back against the wall, her arms crossed on her chest. So she'd been the first to arrive again. It must have been quite some luck that Nate had outrun her that one time, and acquired the first eye.

"I'm glad to see you Ms. Croft."

"Call me Lara. No need to complicate things if we work together on this." Nate didn't expect this friendly tone from her, but was happy to hear that they wouldn't spend the next days as enemies glaring at each other.

"Nate." He took her offered hand. The handshake was strong from both sides, but neither of them tried to overdo it. "So we're ready to take off?"

"I guess I don't need to ask if you brought the eye?"

"I guess I don't need to ask if you brought yours?"

She put up her hands as a sign of acceptance. "Fair enough." That was the moment when they both understood they were equal partners. "Let's not waste time then."

She picked up her backpack, and they headed to the helicopter. The sun was blazing down, the sky clear without a single cloud. It was only a fraction of second when something glinted on the neighboring roof, but it caught Nate's attention. He halted, listened, and when he heard the whooshing noise grow louder, he threw himself to the ground, pulling Lara with him. The rocket hit the helicopter on its side, and the machine exploded with a deafening bang. A hot shockwave swept across the roof, throwing them back to the doorway.

Nate fell hard against the wall, his ears throbbing with pain. As he opened his eyes, black smoke closed the view, he could hardly make out the scorched silhouettes of the wreck. He coughed to clear his throat.

"You're okay?"

Lara rose to her elbows, and threw away the rests of her broken sunglasses. "What was that?"

"A rocket. Johansson's not joking."

"I don't get it. If he wants us dead, why didn't he wait until we got in?"

Nate scratched his head. "That's a good question. Maybe he didn't want to risk losing the eyes."

The sounds of heavy footsteps came from behind the door. "We better think about this later, and get the hell out of here."

Lara jumped to her feet, and blocked the door with a metal bar.

"Find a way. Quickly." Holding his hand in front of his face, Nate inched closer to the burning wreck, and looked down. "You won't like this."

"I like anything that brings me away from here." She looked down, and saw the window-washing platform hanging a few floors below them.

The mercenaries reached the door, and banged it from inside with full force. Lara knew it wouldn't hold much longer.

"C'mon, jump," Nate said as he jumped over the edge. The door burst open, and the first shots whizzed through the air, only inches away from Lara's head. She didn't think twice. The fall was risky, but she landed hard on the platform that shook under their weight. When the first soldier looked down, Lara trained her gun upwards, and shot. The man lost his balance, and fell, hardly missing the platform.

"Why the hell are they so mad at you?" she shouted, while Nate pressed the button, and the platform started downwards with a far too slow speed.

"It's a long story." Nate fired, and hit two men above them. "I'll tell you later."

"I can't wait."

When Lara missed the target, a mercenary jumped over the edge, and landed heavily on the platform beside Nate. The weight of the two men pulled down the side of the platform, Lara had to grab the wires, not to lose her footing. Raising her pistols, she targeted the man, but Nate stood between them and she didn't have a clean shot. A scuffle began, as Nate grabbed him, and the platform swung dangerously.

A shot was fired, it plunged into the window next to her head.

"Bloody hell," she cursed, and supported both of her hands on the railing. She swung her legs, and when Nate collected a punch and was out of the way, Lara planted a hard kick into the ribs of the mercenary. The man stumbled back, and the momentum brought him over the railing.

"Shit," Nate cried out, as the soldier grabbed his arm, and pulled him over as well. He managed to grab the railing in the last moment, and hung in the ten-floor height, with the soldier clinging to his feet. "Get him off me," he cried, as he felt his hand slip off the metal.

"Stop wriggling." Lara trained her gun, and shot. One shot, one chance. She hit the man in the middle of his forehead, and he fell silently, without a sound.

Nate caught the railing with his other hand too, and Lara pulled him in. "I don't know if I should thank you for this. You almost killed me."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." She smiled at him, as the platform continued down and the bullets didn't reach them anymore.

Once they reached the ground, they jumped out, and ran into the cover of a side road. The area seemed clean, but Nate didn't want to trust it to luck. "What now? I think we need a new plan."

"We need to get away from here. Bryce won't be able to arrange a new helicopter so quickly. We have to find another way."

"I think I know what we'll do. Give me your phone." He reached out, waiting for her to react.

"You don't even have a phone?"

"I don't like to carry much stuff." He took it from her, and dialed a number. After the call was taken, he talked briefly, explaining where they were. "It's done. ETA of the vehicle is in about ten minutes, two streets farther down. Let's go."

The mercenaries were nowhere to be seen, so they sneaked out of the alley, and following the road, they headed to the south. At the next corner, Nate came to a halt, and pushed Lara behind the building.

"Hey…" she said, but he hushed her.

"Over there." He showed to the opposite site where two men in black shirts searched the street. They looked at faces, checked the shops.

"Would you take your hand off me?"

While he kept his eyes on the enemy, Nate hadn't realized that he still had his arm in front of her, pressing her to the wall.

"Sorry." He pulled away his arm. "I didn't mean to… anyway. They are gone. Let's move on."

They used the chance when a swarm of people crossed the road, and they blended into the crowd. Nate went first, Lara after him, checking the street behind them from time to time. When the group reached the next corner, they changed direction, and disappeared in the alley.

"The meeting point is over there. We still have a minute."

"I hope your friend is reliable," Lara muttered.

"Believe me. She is."

"She?"

Nate didn't have time to answer as a car turned into the road, and skidded to a halt in front of them. A woman sat at the wheel, peered out through the open window, and waved to Nate.

"Here we go." Nate spied out, then jumped into the car, and motioned to Lara to follow him. "Lara Croft, this is Chloe Fraser. Chloe, this is Lara."

The two women exchanged glances in the rearview mirror, then Chloe floored it, and the car shot out into the traffic. As fast as it was able to.

"What is this car? Are you a suburban housewife now?" Nate wondered, seeing the minivan.

"I expected something like 'Hi Chloe, nice to see you, thanks for saving my ass again'."

Nate laughed out. "Hi Chloe, nice to see you, and thanks for saving my ass again."

"When did I hear from you the last time? A year ago? What have you been doing?"

"You better don't know." Nate found support on the door when Chloe took the next curve with high speed.

She looked into the mirror again. "And you managed to drag someone into your crazy undertakings again. Honey, you should be careful. Trouble is his middle name."

Lara liked her. "Don't worry about me. I know what trouble is."

"Take my advice and get out of this while you still can." She honked, and overtook someone, racing through the crossing.

"I think that chance is long gone."

Chloe sent a side-glance to Nate, who avoided eye contact, then looked into the mirror again, checking on Lara. "I didn't think I'd become the last year's model so fast."

"What do you mean?" Lara asked, confused.

"Nothing." Nate cut in. "We're not… anyway. Just bring us to the station please."

"I could tell you some stories about this guy here. When the two of us…"

"Chloe." Nate raised his voice. "These are ancient things. I don't think anyone wants to hear them."

"Oh I do," Lara said with a smile, and pulled closer.

The station showing up at the end of the road saved Nate from the embarrassment. "Maybe next time, darling." Chloe stepped on the brake and the car stopped with a nod.

Nate leaned over, pressed a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks for saving my ass, Chloe."

"Don't mention it." Her eyes followed him, as he got out, and stood in front of the car. "Hey," she said to Lara before she opened the door. "Take care of him, okay? He's a good guy."

"Sure." Their eyes met a last time before Lara got out and joined Nate.

"And don't forget to send me a postcard." Chloe waved to them, and sped away into the city.

.

"What a pity. I'd love to hear those stories about you," Lara said as they hurried into the station.

"I bet you would." He squeezed himself through the crowd standing at the ticket window. "Maybe next time. But remember, whatever you hear about me from Chloe, don't believe a word of it."

Lara rolled her eyes, and followed him to the platforms. She made a mental note of asking Bryce to find out something about Nate's past. It sounded interesting. She started to have the feeling things never went according to plan when Nate was around.

The station was one big swirl of people, but that suited them. The mercenaries seemed to be lost, they spotted no men in black shirts, or anyone else looking suspicious.

Nate looked up to the information board. "Crap. Out train's about to leave. If we don't catch this one, we'll need to wait two hours."

"I don't feel like waiting two hours." Lara rushed along the first platform, and spotted the train a bit farther down. It was an old thing with red cars, and railings, a steam locomotive in the front. "C'mon. It's leaving." She ran, gathering all her strength.

The woman was fast, Nate thought as he fell behind. The train tooted, steam shot out of its chimney as the engine started to work with a loud noise that closed out the chatting of people. Nate still had about five meters to cover when the train rolled out of the platform, with Lara standing in the back.

"Run, Nate," she shouted, and reached out to him. What the hell, he thought and cursed himself for being irritated by the grin on her face. That grin faded a bit, probably because she knew she wouldn't get into Chagatai's tomb without the first eye that was hiding in Nate's bag.

"Now or never," he said to himself, and hurled forward, grabbing her hand. Her strength surprised him as she pulled, and he could reach the railing. The train sped up, and left the station. "Thanks." He dusted off his trousers.

"Some training wouldn't hurt you," she said, and opened the door leading into the wagon.

Inside only a few people were sitting, but they went on, searching for a quiet section where they could talk. Three wagons down, they found an empty cabin, and they plopped down to the seats.

Lara took the headset. "Bryce. We need another helicopter," she said without greeting.

"Why? What happened to the one I sent you?"

"Well, we had some trouble in Shanghai. I hope the thing was insured."

"Jesus, Lara."

"We're moving north by train. Get me a new helicopter, and send it to pick us up."

Bryce let out a sigh. "Alright. You got it."

"I'll check in as soon as possible." Lara cut the line, put the headset away again, and leaned back in the seat. "What?" she asked when Nate kept watching her from the opposite seat.

"I love your accent."

Lara's mouth pulled to a smile. "Well. I'm glad cos I can't change it."

"And I like the way you handle things. Seems to me you weren't surprised about the attack."

"Not really. Happens to me every now and then, too." She stretched and put her feet on the edge of the seat. "Care to tell me what's this all about?"

"It's a long story. Johansson contacted me that he wants to acquire Chagatai's eyes, and paid me to find out where they were. I wasn't aware of them before, so I started some investigation, and that's how I came upon their locations. When Sully told me what they were good for, and what kind of a person Johansson is, I decided that I won't give them to him. He wasn't really happy when he found out that I kept a few information from him. For example where the first eye was. He had me followed, and this is when you and I met for the first time."

"Hmm… that mistake cost me a lot," she mused.

"Can be. I kinda start to like this trip." He picked up the first eye, put it on his palm. "What are we supposed to do with them?"

"I don't know. I know where Chagatai's tomb is, I found it years ago, but I couldn't get in without the eyes. When we're there, we'll find out what they're good for."

She took the second eye, held it the same way. Two stone balls, pretty much the same.

"Sully was right," Nate said when his gaze moved from the stone eyes to hers. "You're tough."

"Sully…" Lara was thinking, trying to recall a face. "Sullivan, right?" When Nate nodded, she put back the second eye into her bag. "Now I remember. The auction in London. He was after a Chinese dagger."

"Right. And you walked away with it in the end."

Her smile returned. "He wasn't convincing enough. After the auction he invited me to a drink, but he wasn't convincing enough with that either."

"That's Sully. You broke his heart." Nate laughed out. "Don't take it as an offence. That's how he is." He put back the eye into his bag as well. "But I guess in this case he's innocent. Who would resist the temptation?"

"You seemed to have learnt a lot from him," she said with a glance of curiosity. As silence stretched, the train followed the tracks to the north, and Lara watched the scenery. "Chloe's very pretty."

"That was ages ago. She's complicated."

The train rattled across a bridge, and let out a sharp toot. Nate didn't want to talk about her, didn't feel it would be fair. And which woman liked to hear about old flames of a man anyway? One thought hadn't left his mind though ever since he heard of Lara, but he didn't know how to ask. When Lara raised a brow at his constant looking, Nate couldn't hold back his curiosity.

"You're a Lady?" he wondered.

Lara laughed out as she unzipped her leather jacket. "Now you look at me as if you expected me to show up in a corset and a white wig."

"Maybe not, but I surely didn't expect this." He remembered the first time he saw her, at the café in Malaysia. This time, she wore pretty similar clothes, and those curves were still impressive. "I'd be curious about the corset though."

"I don't think I have one."

"I don't think you need one."

The smile on her face told him she wasn't annoyed by his words. She looked rather intrigued, as if changing her opinion about him.

The monotonous rattling of the train was disturbed by the roar of an engine and shouts of men. "Crap," Nate said as he looked out the window, and saw a truck approach the last wagon. Men in black shirts jumped over to the train, heavy weapons hanging on their backs. "I can't believe this."

Lara joined him. "I guess the nice part of the journey's over. Let's go."

They grabbed their bags, pushed the guns into their belts, and moved forward inside the train. When Lara looked out between two wagons, the men were entering the last car.

"They're going inside."

"Then we'll leaving," Nate said, and gripped the edge of the roof, pulling himself up. "C'mon." He reached down to her. On the top, they hid behind a vent box, assessed the situation.

"Can you see them?" Lara asked, pushing a full cartridge into her gun.

"Not yet." He peered out, and saw the first guy climb up the roof. The mercenary stood there, obviously waiting for an order. "I'll take care of him."

Nate rolled down the side of the wagon, caught the edge, and shimmied along until he was hanging right below the man with the gun. Just one step closer, he thought and waited for the right chance. When the man moved, he grabbed his belt, and threw him over the edge with one powerful pull. The mercenary landed in the bushes.

"Nice move," Lara said after Nate returned.

Two more men with guns arrived to the roof, moving toward them. With his back against the vent, Nate readied his gun. "On three?"

"I'll get the right one."

Almost in the same second, they leaned out, fired twice, and the two men sprawled on the roof, their guns falling out of their hands.

"Too bad," Nate said, venturing closer to check if they were dead. "I don't have much ammunition left."

Shouts were coming from down below, they others must have heard the shots. "Run," Nate cried out, and the hurried along the roof, jumping over the gaps between the wagons. As the bullets whizzed in the air, they threw themselves behind a vent, returned the fire. Two men went down. The two of them worked as a team, as if they had known each other for years. Somehow the instinctively felt what the other was about to do.

The train went on, the driver didn't seem to have noticed what was going on. The scenery flashed by, in a curve one mercenary lost his balance, and fell off the train.

"One less," Nate noted behind cover, counting how much ammunition he still had. "It's not looking good."

"I have one more cartridge, and that was it." Lara leaned back, caught her breath. "They're going to corner us." Only one wagon was left before they reached the locomotive that was blowing off steam.

Nate peeked out of cover, pulled his head back as a dozen of shots were fired. "More are coming."

"Bloody fantastic." She pushed the headset into her ear. "Bryce! What about the helicopter? It's time for us to leave. Now!"

"Hey, Lara. It's on its way. Should be there in two minutes."

"Good timing, Bryce."

She shot twice, brought down a mercenary, but the troop was moving closer. Nate killed two. "Move on," he said, and covered her as she jumped over to the last wagon. When his weapon clicked empty, Lara threw him one of hers.

The sound of the rotor mixed into the rattling of the train, and it came closer. The machine wasn't more than a tiny spot on the sky when Lara spotted it.

"C'mon, we're leaving," she shouted to Nate in the mixture of noise from the wind, the train and the helicopter.

The men halted, blocked by the stir of air the machine caused, and they searched for purchase. A rope ladder rolled down, fell right beside Lara, who caught it with one hand, training the gun on the mercenaries. She shot one that came too close to Nate.

When Nate grabbed the ladder as well, the machine moved away, pulling them along, and the two of them were hanging on the ladder like luggage not pulled in timely.

"Have a nice trip," Nate shouted as they flew away, and the soldiers stayed on the train, following them helplessly with their eyes.