Nate found himself on a chair, sitting in the middle of a shabby room. No furniture, old paint, some old papers lying around in the corners. Too many shabby rooms around here, he thought to himself resignedly. His hands were not moving, he had to realise they were tied behind his back again and he could not move from the chair. Damn it, he thought. This could not be that he woke up every other day tied to a chair or a bed. He strained, but he could not even stir, except moving the chair along a few centimetres. There were hardly any light coming through the only dirty window.

Nate raised his head when he heard noise from outside and the handle moved down. Nate froze, not being able to do anything else but wait and see what would happen. He held his breath. The steps were barely audible, the door opened with a silent creak, and to his greatest surprise Lara sneaked into the room.

"Lara" – he was wondering, but she held a finger in front of her lips to hush him.

Lara came closer, carefully, listening if anyone was approaching. She was wearing the same tight clothes as in the labyrinth before. Nate raised a brow when she stepped to him, but instead of freeing him, she was just staring at him with curious eyes, looking very much interested in what she was seeing. She lightly brushed her finger over his face, circling it over to the other side.

"What are you doing?" – Nate whispered in amazement, not being able to resist looking at her body. In any other situation he would have found the whole thing amazingly arousing, but not now… not when there were armed men outside waiting to beat the translation out of him.

"I thought you were waiting for this second chance" – she all but purred, and Nate could not believe his ears. Of course he wished for this, but how could she think of this right now? Lara walked around him, Nate had to turn his head to be able to follow her. Good Lord, she had curves.

"We need to get out of here" – Nate tried to convince her with less and less enthusiasm when Lara stepped in front of him, straddling him just like that night in his apartment. He had never wished more in his life for being able to move his hands.

"You still want to leave?" – she asked him, playing with the ring hanging on his chest.

"I'm not sure" – he stuttered, swallowing hard when her fingers skimmed through his hair.

"I like it when you can't resist" – she continued in a tempting voice. "Let's finish what we started" – her lips came closer to him, almost touching his…

SPLASH … the cold water dragged him out of his reverie so suddenly that for a moment Nate did not know who he was. Strangely enough he was sitting on the chair, in the middle of the shabby room just as in his dreams. Only Lara was missing. Instead there was a guy standing in front of him with a bucket in his hand that was now empty. The cold water was dropping from his hair into his face, and Nate was angrily spitting it out, looking confused at his attacker.

The door opened, just like before, slowly, creaking, and a woman stepped into the room. This is almost creepy, Nate thought as he looked up, but it was not Lara. Without the big hat, he almost did not recognise her, but it was the same woman from the castle. She was wearing clothes like in a Hollywood movie, moving elegantly through the room, not taking her eyes off him.

"I'm so glad we meet again" – she started to talk after a while. "Somehow I knew in the castle it wouldn't be the last time I see you."

"You shouldn't have bothered so much to get my attention" – Nate shook his head to get rid of the water that was still dropping in his face.

"Oh, it didn't put me to any inconveniences" – she continued the polite conversation. "You don't seem to be surprised."

Nate's eyes scanned her figure. The woman looked almost strange in these surroundings. She did not fit into the picture. Nate felt like being in the wrong movie, being still a bit too confused to think clear.

"There is always a bad guy… sorry, woman" – he corrected himself quickly.

"I like you" – the woman walked over to him, her fingers slightly touching his face just like Lara's in his dream before. This is now really spooky, Nate thought, trying to pull away. Now he really hoped she would not sit in his lap. That would be just great, he almost had to laugh at the idea. "It would be a pity if I had to kill you."

"What should I say? I wouldn't cherish the idea either" – Nate joked lightly.

"Good" – fortunately she did not continue and stepped away from him again. Nate could not see her for a while as she was standing behind him. "Now that we agreed on this, I would like you to help me a little bit" – he could only hear her voice, but he did not like how it sounded. Cold, calculated, very much unemotional. Now that there was only the voice, Nate suddenly found her icy.

"I hope you don't need fashion tips because I'm not really good with that" – he mused, waiting for her to appear in front of him again.

"Oh, don't worry" – she laughed casually, but without any lightness. "I have some better fitting tasks for you" – finally she walked over and stopped in front of him. "Where is the woman?" – she asked coldly, leaning forward a bit to look into his eyes.

"I don't get it" – Nate kept talking coolly. "Why is everyone asking about her? Am I not good enough?"

"I definitely prefer your company, but I don't like surprises. So where is she?" – she pulled out a small blade and pushed it against his neck.

"Hey" – Nate drew back as much as he could. "Be careful with that."

"I only ask you once more. Where is she?" – she pressed it more against his skin, almost cutting into it.

"I've already told your men that she left. I don't share with anyone" – Nate held her gaze, and she lowered the knife after a few seconds.

"I don't believe you, but for a little while I still need your help." – she turned to leave. "I know Lara Croft never backs out of anything. Keep your eyes open" – she ordered the armed man, who stayed in the room with Nate.

Nate lowered his head, trying to move his numb limbs a bit, watching the guy at the door from the corner of his eyes in the meantime. Who the hell was this woman, he contemplated. And how did she know Lara? No matter how he tried, he had to realise that there was no chance he could have freed himself. Suddenly Lara came to his mind. It may not have been the best idea to throw the rope down, but at the moment he had not thought about it. Could she get out? Damn it, he thought with a worried expression on his face. He needed to get out of here and find her before it was too late. His guard trained his gun on him when Nate struggle to break free on the chair, but then he was only smiling maliciously, seeing he could not reach anything with it. Nate almost wanted to groan out in his frustration when he raised his head and glimpsed something he never would have imagined to see. For a moment he thought he was fantasizing again.

The hazel eyes appeared in the window just for a moment before Lara hid behind the wall again. This one glance was enough for Nate to understand what he had to do.

"You there" – Nate spoke to the guard, who raised his head, but did not move. "I need some water" – Nate looked at him, but the guy was just standing there as if not understanding what he had said. "Come on, Ms Ice queen surely wouldn't be happy if you let me die here."

The guard only muttered under his breath, but did not react at all.

"Then at least open the window a bit to get in some fresh air" – Nate tried his luck again. "What are you afraid of? That I fly away?"

"Okay, just shut up" – the guy murmured and started towards the window, not taking his eyes off Nate. Light breeze entered the room when he opened one half of the window. The next thing the guy felt was a blow against the back of his neck and he dropped to the ground. Nate raised his head and Lara was standing right there, smiling satisfied.

"How good you already understand me without words" – she whispered in a low voice. "Happy to see me?"

"If you finally free me from this chair, then I am" – Nate eagerly wiggled on the chair.

"Quiet!" – Lara froze when she heard some noise, but the steps died away again without coming closer.

"I'm glad you made it out." – he looked at her. "Sorry about the rope."

"Don't think about it" – she smiled at him, stopping in front of him for a moment what made Nate raise a brow. This is definitely weird, he mused inwardly, looking at her standing there.

"Lara, we don't have time for this now. You need to untie me now" – he emphasized that last word and Lara tilted her head slightly, watching him with narrowed eyes before stepping behind him.

"Of course I untie you. What were you thinking?" – she started messing with the ropes.

"Nothing" – Nate swallowed, being glad she could not see his face blushing slightly.

"Wait, I need to find a knife." – Lara jumped over to the guard lying on the floor motionless. She moved fast, efficient, searching the guy's pockets, and finally pulling out a small pocket-knife. Nate could feel her stopping for a fraction of a second every time they heard a whisper from the other side of the door.

"We need to get out of here" – he said rubbing his wrist when Lara finally cut the ropes and he could stand up again. "Do you have an idea where the stone could be?" – he looked at her.

"What do you think? I concentrated on getting you out of here" – Lara walked back to the guard again, taking away anything useful from him. Nate took the gun out of her hand, checking the magazine. "Hey, just because I'm a woman, it doesn't mean you can have the weapon" – she chafed.

"Sorry, I've been taught to take care of women" – he grinned at her, walking to the door to listen if there was anyone outside.

"I told you the first time I don't need you to save me. Let's not forget after all who saved who just now" – she stood with hands on her hips.

"Are you going to argue about this now or should we try to get out of here?" – Lara rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him. She walked over to him, trying to forget about her annoyance. Even if she knew they would not necessarily need the stone, she wanted her bag back. "I go first and when I tell you it's safe, you'll follow" – Nate reached for the handle and opened the door to a crack. Yeah, sure, she thought amused, but let it be.

The corridor looked empty, the greyish walls were in big need of a new paint. The first rays of the rising sun gave it a nice contrast though. One half of the window at the end was covered with some old newspaper, but the other side let in the faint light. Nate stepped back when an angry looking guy appeared at the other end, but he did not walk towards them. When he was out of sight again Nate sneaked out and silently tiptoed to the next doorway. Waving to Lara, he signalised she could join.

Lara flatted to the wall right behind Nate, trying to gauge the situation. In the next hall there were at least six guys lingering around, there was no way they could take them all out with one gun.

"What do you think of that door?" – Lara whispered, pointing to a shabby looking, brown door on the far side. It was obvious that it was not the way out, but she had something else on her mind.

"I don't think we can get out there. Maybe we should try to find another way" – Nate suggested.

"There's no other way. I came through the window and I can tell you we are cornered."

"We need the element of surprise" – Nate peered out again.

"I think I can help you with that" – Lara smiled, and without making a sound she opened the door where they were standing at.

"Wait, what are you doing?" – Nate jabbered softly, looking bewildered. "You don't even have a gun."

"This has never caused a problem. Just make your move when you think it's time. You'll know exactly when this will be." – Lara disappeared behind the door, leaving the more than surprised Nate alone. Nate was waiting and waiting what seemed like eternity, but nothing happened. He started to think something went wrong when the door next to him opened again. "What are you …?"

"Shh" – Lara pressed a finger to his mouth. "I changed my mind and found a better way" – she pulled him into the room, closing the door silently. "I was planning to take out these guys, but realised it was not needed. It's more to our advantage if they don't even find out for a while that we are gone" – she explained while opening the window on the other side. "We're going to climb over there" – she pointed out.

"Are you serious?" – Nate frowned after looking out from behind her. The ledge running around the building was so thin he doubted half of his feet would fit on them. But it was undeniably leading to the fire escape about twenty meters away from them.

"Are you afraid of heights?" – Lara teased him a bit, seeing the four-storey depths below them.

"I thought I'd already proved the opposite to you" – he smiled at her. "Let's go."

"That's how I like you" – Lara obviously enjoyed the situation. The more dangerous, the better. Nate liked this about her far too much. All her crazy little ideas that made him wonder whether they survived the next minutes, but so far they had. He watched her climb out of the window, not really minding the view her back side offered him. He definitely needed to see more of this, he decided smiling and climbed after her.

He was right, the ledge was thin indeed. He could hardly steady his heels on it. Flattening against the wall with his back, he tried to follow Lara, who seemed to be in her element.

"Could you read the carving on the stone?" – she asked whispering, concentrating on her next move.

"I didn't really have a chance" – he stopped for a moment to regain his balance after his left foot almost slipped off. God, he thought. This woman was going to kill him one day. He could only hope some neighbours would not spot them from the opposite house and call the police that two crazy people were trying to kill themselves. Would be a funny thought to be caught by the local police.

"So we have no idea where we need to go from here?" – Lara's voice was as causal as ever. As if they were not killing themselves if they made a wrong move.

"I would say we need to get down from here in one piece" – he joked, knowing perfectly she did not mean that.

"Very funny" – Lara stopped at a window and carefully leaned to the side a bit to peer in. If there was someone inside, it could be some problem to shimmy to the other side of the window without being noticed. Nate got closer, stopping almost at her side. Below them a motorbike passed by, but no one noticed them so far. Being early morning, the traffic was very low. "I think we are lucky" – she whispered, leaning even further. Nate instinctively grabbed her hand, though there was not a big chance he could hold her if she fell.

As there was only old furniture piled up in the corners in the room, Lara moved on slowly and Nate let go of her hand again.

"Have I told you I never liked morning exercises?" – Nate sighed in relief when they finally climbed onto the fire escape.

"Maybe I could change your mind one day" – she winked at him and without waiting for a reply, she started to climb up to the next floor, leaving Nate wonder what she meant.

"You need to explain.." – he followed her, but Lara hushed him again. They were standing in front of a window and glimpsed the elegant woman sitting with her back towards them, holding the stone in her hands.