There's just no time. No time at all. Not to argue, not to reflect, we can only act. Reyes blames me - rightly so - for what happened to Alisha. For the artifact and for being taken. At least they never got into the study. Once they had Sam and Alisha they were gone. And we made the job easier for Shaw by having the power of Mehit in a sixteen year old girl. I'm so angry with myself at that.

Soraya charters a helicopter. But where do we even look? How do we even look. It's Amanda that gives us the answer. Laying on the couch nursing her wounds, she calls us into the room and points at the TV. A monstrous storm has formed over Finland, seemingly out of nowhere. At the eye of the storm, that's where we'll find Sam. And with her, Alisha. And once we have them back, I have to find a way to separate the goddess from the girl

The ride in the helicopter is tense. I stare across at Reyes, and she stares back at me. I look away, then sigh and meet her eyes again. "Joslin, I'm sorry. I don't know how she got into the vault. She said it was as though she were being drawn to the relic. Mehit called her."

"We should destroy those things," Reyes snaps. "I'm tired of this shit, Lara. I'm tired of getting caught up in it. Just being around you invites trouble. You can bring your new band of psychos into it, but once we get Alisha back, I… don't think I want her around you any more."

I don't have a coherent protest, but it hurts. Alisha is the last link the two of us have to Roth. But the girl was put at risk because of me. Everyone else made the choice to. Alisha just tagged along with her mother to visit Roth's grave. So I just nod at Reyes, and check my weapons. My axe is a comfort and the kris is heavy at my side. He knows he'll get to feed tonight and I harden myself for what we must do.

We approach the rig, low over the water. The storm is powerful enough to cause the waves to crest almost to the rungs of the landing gear. Reyes leans forward, looking out the cockpit. "We sure this is it?"

I'm positive. "Look at the lightning. It keeps flashing in the same place, regularly."

"The pattern it's in looks kind of familiar," Raya muses. She edges the heli closer to the rig. I don't know how she's keeping us so steady. I'd have killed us three times over by now.

"That's because it's the kanji for the Sun Queen." I click the safeties off and then back on on my pistols. "The landing pad looks clear. Are we all clear on the plan?"

"I set explosives, you two clear the area," Reyes says. "And look." She grabs my arm. "You might be a pain in the ass, but you're still our pain in the ass. Don't die."

The heli bounces to a stop on the pad, skidding a little from the slickness. I'm out first, sinking the kris into the throat of the first man unlucky enough to come investigate us. Raya clears a hatch for Reyes, and then joins me as we start to work our way across the rig. We're both wearing black, and the Lebanese mercenary is carrying a silenced M4A1. I have silencers on my pistols as well, but while Soraya concentrates on ranged targets, I weave into melee. The kris sings in my hand. The more I kill, the faster I move, until my blood is humming and all I see is a hazy shade of red.

"Lara!"

Soraya's voice snaps me out of the bloodlust. I exhale, and very slowly pull the blade away from her throat. I slide it into my belt. "I'm good. I'm sorry." I still don't know how much of that is me and how much is the soul in the blade. I don't actually want to know.

The Merc squeezes my shoulder. Lightning strikes the strange tower at the other side of the rig. It's blinding and loud. The air hums with discharged energy, and the storm starts to dissipate. Fear seizes me and I try to bolt towards the tower. Sam! But Soraya holds me back. "Wait for Reyes!"

I try to struggle and for one brief, mad moment I consider turning the Kris on to my friend. I regain control of myself and turn my head to her. "The storm has stopped. If it's stopped then Sam could be-"

"We don't know that. Don't panic until you've got a reason to. If you lose it now we're all dead." She lets go of me, and I draw my pistols and nod.

"You're right. I'm sorry, I just.."

"If it was Leda I'd feel the same way."

Reyes catches up to us a moment later. She spares a glance at the bodies then looks at me like she's not sure what to think. Like maybe I'm more like Roth than she wants to accept. "Everything is set. We ready?"

"Do it."

The explosion rips through the rig. We use the chaos to sprint for the tower. I shoot two men on the way there without slowing down. One topples off the rig into the water below. There are others waiting. I think I see a glimpse of Shaw and take a shot at him but he's gone before I can confirm a hit. Reyes is a dervish, pumping shotgun shell after shotgun shell into the people foolish enough to cover Shaw's retreat. She'd used to be with the police, and I know she and Roth had gotten into their fair share of fights. I wonder what she really thinks of all this.

As soon as we've cleared the way I start to climb the stairs to the tower. The door opens easily for me, but I wait for the others before diving in.

It's a mess inside. Lighting flickers. There's a burnt and mangled body against the wall, and two others on the floor. Sam is standing in the center of the lab, one arm around Alisha and the other holding a katana that crackles with electricity. They run towards us the second they see us. Sam practically leaps into my arms, and Reyes smothers Alisha in hers. For a few precious seconds it's just me and Sam. "I guess you didn't need us after all."

"We wanted to give you a welcoming party but I couldn't get the decorations up in time."

The rig rocks suddenly and starts to list. I have a thousand questions for our girls but now is clearly not the time. "Reyes, just what did you blow up?"

"I may have gone a little overboard."

Soraya gives her a fond smile. "I always liked your idea of going overboard."

"Don't you even start."

I suppose it was too much for the two of them to be in close quarters and keep the peace. "Argue later, we need to get off this rig right now."

"Hold on." Sam rushes back into the lab. Is she mad? I chase after her, but she evades my grasp.

"Sam, what are you doing? Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine." She picks up the Katana's sheathe. "Just need to get Himiko's sheathe here."

"Himiko's…" Oh. All the equipment suddenly makes sense. I'd seen it before in Shaw's other lab, where he'd been trying to replicate the transference ritual. Had he transferred Himiko's soul into this sword? Sam was still alive, that meant we could remove Mehit without harming Alisha. God, we'd been too late. What if that ritual had killed her? We would have been too late!

"Yeah," Sam says, nodding at me. "But I'm really ready to go home now." She tugs on my arm. "Lara. It's okay. I'm okay."

Soraya snaps from the door way. "If you two are done screwing around, the rig is sinking."

Taking Sam's hand, I drag her out of the lab after Raya and Reyes. "Go after them."

"Lara, what the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm going after Shaw. Wait five minutes, no longer, do you understand?"

She searches my eyes, then throws her head back and groans. "Lara Croft, you march your butt back to our ride or so help me god I'll take you over my knee. You're not going after Shaw. He's gone. Don't play a hero over something stupid!"

"Are you threatening to spank me?" I ask, baffled, as Sam starts to push me after the others.

"Who said anything about a threat."

Sam has come a long way since we crashed in Peru. I need to talk to her about the sword, and what happened with Himiko. She's right. Trying to catch Shaw would only get me hurt or killed. But my instincts don't want to let him go. I want to see his corpse, I want to make him suffer. But Sam won't let me budge. I know I can easily break her grip, I know I can get to Shaw, I know. But the rig rocks beneath us and I realize there's no time.

We run pell mell for the helicopter. Raya is already spinning up the props while Reyes gets Alisha strapped in. I make Sam climb in first before I follow. We're three hundred feet in the air when the rig suddenly tilts onto it's side, sending a plum of water high enough to splash at the cockpit windshield. I glance at Sam as I all but pull her into my lap, and she just smirks at me. I start to wonder who's the more dependent one in this relationship. I can function when she's in danger but that's mostly autopilot.

"Where to?" Soraya asks.

"We agreed to meet the others in London. Winston reserved us a hotel suite under a false name. We need time to regroup and recoup."

"You need time," Reyes interrupted. "I'm taking Alisha home."

"You can't!" Sam waves her hands in front of her, then makes cat clawing motions. "She shapeshifted into a lion! She was gonna rip those guys new assholes if I hadn't convinced Himiko to help us!"

We all look at Alisha in unison. The girl looks distressed. "I don't even remember any of that."

"We'll figure it out." Reyes hugs her daughter against her. "It's okay baby."

"Samantha is right," Soraya chimes in. "We can't risk her hurting someone on accident, and she shouldn't have to carry that guilt around if she does."

"I don't want to hurt anyone. But it's like there's something curled up inside of me. Waiting. Like I told Sam, she's patient. She'll wait you all out if she has to."

Reyes' jaw tightens, and she gives me a look as if demanding that I fix this. I don't know how, but I'm going to. Maybe we can replicate some of what Shaw has done. It worked to pull the Sun Queen out of Sam, but it looks like it took a lot out of her. We can't do anything until we know we can do it for Alisha safely. There may be something in my father's notes. I'll have to pour over them again, and brainstorm with Amanda and Soraya. Whatever I can find out for that girl in Japan will certainly help Alisha, and vice versa, too.

Winston chose a five bedroom suite for us. We take a taxi from the airport, and Sam keeps giggling as the unsuspecting busboy loads up suitcases full of weapons to roll up to the suit. I try to shush her but she just seems really giddy. I guess having another person's soul sucked out of one's body can be liberating. It resembles her when she's been up all night, anyway.

"I wish we could have salvaged some of that equipment for Alisha." I keep my voice low as we walk to the elevator.

"No. Oh no. We'll find another way but it won't be that." Sam slides her arm around my waist. She's carrying the sword with her other hand, wrapped up in a jacket. "It hurt.I mean childbirth probably hurts less. We're not putting that girl through that."

There's a fiercely protective tone in Sam's voice. She looks at Alisha as we crowd into the elevator. I suppose the girl has another guardian now. There's confidence in Sam's voice I only usually really hear when she's talking film, and it's reassuring. I kiss the side of her head. "Are you're going to tell me what happened before we got there at any point?"

"Later," she promises. "I'm still trying to...it was really weird, okay?"

"It's okay, but I don't know if it can wait too long."

The others are already inside the suite when we come in. Alisha runs for the bathroom and Reyes collapses into a cushioned chair. Kwesi is sitting on the balcony, so I check with him first. "How are you feeling?"

He looks up at me with his trademark smile. "Ah, I've been better. It's been a long time since I've seen action like that. It makes me feel young and foolish again."

"Well you certainly look young, but not foolish." I lean against the balcony railing and fold my arms. Behind and below me, a pool is lit up for late night swimmers, but there doesn't seem to be anyone around.

The man laughs, then holds his side. "Oh, but I worry about you and your family. You are caught up in something terrible and I fear before it's all over, someone won't be coming home."

"Let me worry about that, Kwesi. I'm not leaving anyone behind."

"That is not always for us to decide." He shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable, so I help him with a pillow. He squeezes my arm. "I've been thinking about that girl. Alisha. And these artifacts you've spoken of. Our bodies are vessels for our souls, and they're not made to hold more than one. Eventually, that goddess will force Alisha out."

"There's a ritual, but I don't think Shaw has been doing it right."

"Exactly. It's not something you can force. It's something that has to be done naturally." His smile falters. "Well. As natural as this entire situation can be. Perhaps she needs to be drawn out."

I make him promise to rest, then head back inside. Everyone has arranged themselves around the suite's common area. Leda has her head on Soraya's lap and her feet in Sam's. I roll my eyes at them, and sit next to Amanda on the other couch. She's staring at Sam's camera and looks almost shaken.

"What is it?"

She wets her lips, then turns the screen so I can see it. She's zoomed in on a figure, and I realize that must be the seventh person that I'd thought I saw. I take the camera to get a better look. There's something really familiar about him. No, about her. I hiss the name out like a curse. "Giovanna."

Amanda snatches the camera back and looks at it again. "Wait, you know her?"

I get up, pulling Amanda with me and into one of the bedroom. "Yes, she led us to a book in the Vatican, and then accompanied us on our lead in Turkey."

"Remember how I told you about...Brazil. The shadow people and losing my … friend?"

"Yes…" There was some hesitation in her voice and I look at her quizzically.

"My friend was Giovanna's sister. And if she's… That's her, she was there, she's mixed up with Shaw. I don't know what it means but if I see her again I'm going to hit her."

I give her shoulder a pat, since the only people I've seen her let close enough for physical contact have been Kwesi and Jonah. Though she did let Sam hug her. Amanda is a lot like me, and it takes a lot to let someone that close. "She doesn't know we know. We can use that to get some information out of her."

"We should tell the others."

"Sam is never going to let me live this down. The two practically beat each other up."

Amanda laughs. The sound is strained. "Did she win?"

"She was going to until I intervened, I think. I've never seen Sam get like that before, but I think she was still upset at how Giovanna introduced herself." I take the camera back and look at it again. She'd been there at the Hanging Gardens, and she was with Shaw's men. There's no doubt of that in my mind now. That woman used us. "You know, I think I have an idea."

I want to take the fight to Shaw. He has all these artifacts. I still remember the experiments in his lab, and now he threatened Sam and Alisha. I have a brief moment of imagining the look on his face when I sink that kris into his neck, then shake it off.

Giovanna, our presumed friend who'd been so helpful in Rome and Turkey, was a Shaw plant. But we can use that. I call her, and tell her we have another lead. She's more than happy to meet us at the hotel, but I don't want it to look like we're waiting in ambush. Sam and Reyes take Alisha to buy some changes of clothes for all of us. Sam goes reluctantly. She'd given me plenty of 'I told you sos' when we'd revealed what Amanda had discovered, but we need Giovanna to believe we're still in the dark. It's not that I don't believe that Sam is a good actress, but her emotions run high around Giovanna and I'm trying to avoid violence.

When Amanda opens the door for her, there's a moment of surprise on the Italian woman's face. She wasn't expecting Amanda, but she recovers quickly enough and hugs the blonde woman. Amanda's height is the only thing saving her from faceplanting into Giovanna's impressive cleavage. The red-head is dressed like she'd come in from the club and Sam's nickname for her of 'tits mcgee' never seemed more apropos.

"It's so good to see you! How long has it been? Two years? Three?"

Half-afraid that the blonde is going to murder Giovanna, I step in to save her. "I take it you two know each other?"

Amanda squeezes out of Giovanna's grip, shooting me a grateful look before responding. "We go back a ways. I met her sister when I was overseas."

"Fia and Amanda became such fast friends, too. A lot like you and Sam, I'm certain."

Amanda looks distinctly uncomfortable. Giovanna remembers that Sam and I had fallen in love and gotten married, doesn't she? She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, we went crawling around old ruins a lot too."

I take Giovanna's arm. "Lets go out to the balcony and chat." There's no easy way for her to escape if she realized we're on to her from there. She'd have to get past Kwesi, Soraya, Amanda and Leda. I shoot a look at Amanda, trying to tell her that we'll talk later but I don't know if she catches it. I grab a bottle and a pair of glasses on the way out.

On the balcony, I pour us a drink and lean against the railing. "Any luck on your end?"

She shakes her head and takes the glass I offer her. "No, I've come across nothing but dead ends in my research. Once we lost the artifact in Turkey, everything seems to have dried up. You?"

"We had some leads, but our initial trip turned up fruitless," I tell her. Her face remains impassive, the scar curving across her nose lending her a dangerous air. Giovanna seems to rely on mystery and intimidation, because she really can't fight. "We found what I believe were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but Shaw beat us there first." I don't have to feign the bitterness in my voice, or the anger I still feel over what happened there. "I don't know what he did, but the actions of his people destroyed a priceless historical location! Some of those plants were thought to be extinct."

Giovanna's surprise was disingenuous, and any further doubts on my part washed away. "That's terrible! What do you think happened?"

"My guess is they pulled the relic out in an improper manner. Damaged whatever..effect was keeping the Gardens alive."

Giovanna purse her lips, and took a sip from her glass. She turns to look out from the balcony, and I turn around too. "That's a disturbing thought. What if there'd been someway to use that on people? We could extend someone's life. If they were sick or injured it would be doubly valuable."

"That hadn't even occurred to me. Have any of your contacts gotten word on where Shaw is headed next? I believe that we need to be the ones ahead of the game now. We keep getting there much too late."

"What makes you think I have any idea what he's up to?"

I shrug, and set my glass down. "You've proven resourceful, and I'm hunting down every lead that I can. Giovanna, when was the last time you were in the Middle-east?"

The woman suddenly jabs something into my right side. My body spasms. It doesn't hurt except for a localized burning sensation, but I lose all control and tip over the edge of the balcony. I feel Giovanna give me a light shove and then I'm falling. I can't even grab on to anything because my limbs aren't responding.

When I hit the water, it's like running into a wall. All the air rushes from my lungs and I'm dazed. I try to swim, try to move anything but my motions are jerky, and useless. Someone grabs on to me, and I feel a rush of relief until I realize that they're holding me under!