Hello everybody! :)

So, are any of you curious?... I'm so sorry for leaving you cliffhanging for so long. As you all know, life can be quite demanding sometimes. Fortunately there are also times suitable for writing ffs. :D

Anyway, thank you VERY MUCH all for your feedback once more! :) I really value every single of your reactions.

If you keep reading the story even despite the repeated (and hopefully past) delays, I will be be very thankful.

And now back to the story...

Chapter 32: Out of Strength and Patience

The soldier standing nearest to the edge of the precipice was giving the wildly swirling water beneath a piercing look. But instead of setting out to follow the duo on the run, he unhooked his walkie-talkie. The grumbling of the group behind his back was getting on the man's nerves. He turned to the knot, irritated. "Everyone shut your trap! I've got a call to make."

"We're not gonna go after them?" one of the mercenaries asked the leader of the unit, interrupting the superior's current trail of thoughts.

"You've heard the original plan and its variants, haven't you?" he growled. "So shut the hell up and wait for the confirmation of the next instructions." Then the man took a deep breath before speaking. He was definitely not very happy about the message he was about to pass. "Alpha, this is Team Foxtrot. Do you copy? Over."

"Team Foxtrot, this is Alpha. Loud and clear. Go ahead. Over," the sharp, distinctive voice of Marten Gunderson came quickly.

"The both targets has escaped. Over."

"The map? Over."

"Negative." The man smacked his lips in dissatisfaction. "We're following the secondary orders. Standing by. Over."

The answer came without a pause again. "Affirmative. Plan B it is, then. Go to the pre-arranged positions and tasks. Over."

"Copy that. Team Foxtrot over and out." The mercenary took the last look at the whirling river deep under his feet. Then he turned to the rest of the unit. "Let's go! Call off the others! Move! All of you! Now!"

The mercenary carping earlier spat out in disgruntlement and followed the already leaving group.

The crockery on the tray was clinking prominently. Nothing new, Winston thought, reconciled with the natural flow of the human lifespan. He was well aware that his age was taking its price more and more with each new day. But even though the old man's hands were shaky and not as steady as before, he had never let any full salver fall. And the butler was properly proud about that. The speed of fulfilling all the various tasks and chores was another story, though. To Winston's relief, Lara had always been patient and never complained about anything. And he knew it would never change. The Lady of the manor was like a daughter to him, after all. They were like a real family. In this case, even closer than blood relatives since Lara had not been seeing her parents or other distant family members.

Winston entered the room Lara's technical helper had named 'Zip's Great Headquarters'. At the first sight the place was filled with heaps of various technology, seemingly without any order. The visiting resident seemed to be comfortable, though.

The butler put a tray on the empty food trolley he had brought earlier. The object was meant to prevent Zip from eating and drinking over the keyboard, diverse gadgets, papers and other various stuff scattered on the tables. Unsuccessfully. No matter where Zip had taken the food, it always ended up dangerously close to the machinery stuff. Since the very beginning of Lara's young friend's presence in the manor, the elderly man had always found the certain irony in the fact that Zip was always caring and exaggeratedly overprotective of all his artificial tools, yet the African American didn't seem to mind the stuff being spread over with crumbs or things getting spilled and spattered with cold and even hot drinks. "I have brought some refreshment."

The computer geek turned to him and his eyes widened in delight. "Splendid! Thanks!" then he paused. "But ya shouldn't attend to me like this. Lara'd be mad at me."

"I like being useful. She knows that very well. Just feel free to suit yourself. Lara wouldn't mind at all. She wants you to feel comfortable here."

Zip didn't hesitate for long. "'Kay... so what do we have here?" The American comrade eyed the content on the just brought tray. Eventually he made his choice and grabbed a fistful of cookies, stuffing them in his mouth. "Man..." he exhaled with content. "So yummy!"

Winston had been made to half guess the youngster's words, but still got the message. "What are you working on, if I may ask?"

"Sure! Right now I'm just diggin' through the files of those Agency guys. Hackin' like a diligent robotic bee. My sweet reprisal to those bastards. There're plenty of data. For at least several hours of fun with decoding'em. I'm confident to be findin' somethin' really interestin' soon."

"I see... And any news from Lara?"

"Not yet." He turned to Winston's slightly troubled expresion. "I bet she's fine. Gonna call when she wanna and can."

"We can only hope that everything is alright..."

"Look, no worries. Ya know her. And if anythin' else fails, she's got this Kurtis fellow with her. He ain't goona let anythin' bad happen to her. It's in his own interest, y'know," he added with a giggle.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" the butler asked with sincere wonder written in his affable face.

"Well,... Y'know..." Zip grinned from ear to ear, excessively lifting his eyebrows.

The butler seemed to be deep in thought, not grasping Zip's hints.

"C'mon!" The young man spread his arms and leaned back into his chair. "You've seen 'em yourself! How they're oglin' each other I mean!"

Winston cleared his throat, hoping to bring Zip back on the way of the decent behaviour and courtesy. "It is not my place to comment on anything like that. I fully respect Lara's privacy." Mostly... he thought, feeling a little bit guilty about his previous talk to Kurtis. Without any of Lara's consent and even knowledge.

"And she's brought him here," Zip continued, as if not hearing the old British at all, "into her very own home. And accordin' to her own words, she's known him just for several days. Days! What more do ya need to know, man?!"

"If Lara thinks so, I also believe that the man is reliable and trustworthy. On top of it, Lara has never been frivolous in her personal relationships. As you very well know."

"I dunno, actually... Whatever." Zip turned his attention back to the monitors. "But mark my words. Trent is totally into her. And she's also more than extremely interested."

"It would be nice, actually," Winston declared, half lost in thought. "They seem to be well matched in many ways."

The geek's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Good grief! So we're in agreement! Cool! And the stereotypes claim that the differences between the old and younger generations are major... It's always seemed nonsense to me."

"There are not so many distinctions between the two of us, indeed."

"True! For example, we're both very wise and good-looking. Ya also look great for your age!" he exclaimed.

The man representing the aged generation only smiled faintly at Zip's sincerity and ever-present straightforwardness. "Anyway, enjoy your snack."

"Thanks man! You're my savior! I've been half dead with tiredness already."

"You are welcome." The butler left the room, hoping that Lara - the woman he loved like a daughter - was having a peaceful day as well.

Nothingness.

Accompanied only by the deathlike silence...

Then the complete void filled with vague, weak impulses somewhere in the background. As if hearing a few dim tones from far away. The beat of a long forgotten melody, lost deep in memories. Shortly afterwards the darkness appeared. She could actually feel something. What is this?... That distorted sensation in the distance was getting stronger gradually. Now she was aware of perceiving at least. Still, all that as if hidden in the thick fog. But present for sure. What a great change contrary to the emptiness before. Even though the current uneasiness and discomfort were not very pleasant either.

I feel numb with cold... But my lips feels... warm... Just let me sleep...

The haze thinned out a bit more.

Wait... Wasn't I supposed to do something important?... And why is it so hard to breathe? Whose voice is this?... Kurtis? Is that you?...

"C'mon, wake up... Lara!" As the sound had cleared, she opened her eyes with a startle, struggling for breath. Immediately she bent over to clear her throat from the water she had inhaled, coughing and gagging, being able to produce sharp intakes of breath at the moment.

"Hey there." Kurtis was steadying Lara's convulsing body by the hands placed on her shoulders. "You're with me?"

Even despite the shock, the Tomb Raider thought she could get a glimpse of relief written in her companion's face. Or was it just her imagination... or a simple wish? "Wha...?" she immediately gasped again as she had tried to speak. Too soon. Damn. Now she could sense her saviour patting her on the backs in a gently manner.

"You okay?" He asked after her spasm of coughs had finally ceased.

"I guess so..."With her breathing completely stable now, she spat out. "Yuck!"

"I won't be taking this personally," he noted in a joke.

"Good to see... that your good mood is not leaving you," she growled with a hoarse voice, straightening up into a sitting position.

"I've got a good reason. I've just saved the day and Your Highness, haven't I?" Then he collapsed beside her, exhausted. "You almost gave me a heart-attack."

"I am not the one to be blamed. To be honest, back there that was not the best landing I've ever dreamed of," Lara proclaimed, wiping of her mouth by the back of her hand. "You'd better train more, sissy," she uttered with a weak side grin.

Kurtis smirked wearily. "Yeah, saving spoiled British ladies is a sissy occupation. Right. I'm glad to see you're okay. Back to the snooty yourself I mean. I'd miss this."

"Compliments aside, what happened exactly?" she asked in a serious tone now, putting the strands of the wet hair out of her face. Then she subconsciously started huddling to keep warm.

He sat closer next to her, holding out his arm and embracing her from behind, rubbing Lara's arms. "We hit the water way harder than planned, I admit. I lost you under the surface. But luckily found you pretty quickly and breathed life back into your veins. I think you've got your head hit pretty hard." He gestured toward the bloody slash on the side of her head. "You've got me pretty scared for a bit. I thought you were a goner."

"Not until I make you quit smoking," she said with a mischievous grin. Then she instinctively touched the sore place on her head. "I think it's just a scratch..." Lara squinted at him, asking herself why she was feeling so safe in his arms. And didn't mind the close proximity and his touch at all.

"Show me..." he frowned as Lara had backed away instinctively. "Don't be afraid," he said with a slight amusement, still prepared to check the wound near her forehead in more detail. "I'll be careful."

"I'm not afraid at all."

"I know. That's what concerns me," he said with a sigh and let his hand drop.

"I can tend my minor injuries later. Just like you." Then Lara's sight aimed up the rocks in the far distance. "I guess they were not eager to jump down as well to follow us," she concluded.

"Nope. But we'd still better move soon." He let go of her and stood up.

"Alright." Lara had got up with notably wobbly legs so Kurtis hurried to support her by grabbing her elbow, pulling her up.

"I'm fine." She staggered again as soon as he had let go of her.

"Whoa!" He caught her by the arm again. "Are you gonna make it?"

"Yes, it's likely just a slight concussion. Nothing serious."

"Yup, I wasn't expecting anything less from a woman who managed to get The Black Alchemist on his knees. But you should still take it easy."

She smiled. "So much flattery and care..." Lara noted in joke. "Thanks for the support. Literally. And thank you for keeping me alive."

"It's okay. You also pushed me out of that first shooter's range back there," he stated with a shrug. "On top of it, the whole jumping down was your crazy plan, after all. And it worked. To my own surprise."

She shook her head. "By the way, I've changed my mind. I think that we both deserve a stiff drink now. And some opulence dinner."

"That's what I'm sayin' from the very beginning," he said with a satisfied grin. "How 'bout the map?"

She reached into her backpack, taking the fragment out of the padded waterproof bag. "Perfectly save and undamaged. I'm no newbie in this," she announced with a proud smile.

"Me neither," he patted the back pouch attached to his belt. "Always ready to make a fire, for example."

"To smoke I suppose," she retorted. "That's not very honourable."

He grinned to her remark. "Not only for that purpose. Also when I'm chilled to the bone. Look, over there is a cave." He pointed to the structure of rocks nearby. "We can make a fire and get dry in there."

Lara dedicated him a hard glance.

"What?" he laughed. "I'm not gonna try anything. Don't worry."

"Well, such an original invitation just can't be declined I guess", she said with a reconciled shrug. "Let's go into your cave, then." Lara set out on her own this time, suspecting Kurtis of watching her closely because of her shaky condition. She was sure the American was on alert to hurry to her aid if needed.

The duo entered the opening. Inside Lara immediately noticed several walls made of worked stones. "This place is not that bad, after all."

"Looks like some more old Anasazi ruins," Kurtis clarified. "Nothing special. There're plenty of them around the state."

"You mean the leftovers of the ancestral Puebloan people who lived here in Utah roughly 2,000 years ago, right?"

"Yeah... You've made your research, haven't you?" he noted with his typical side-smirk.

"Of course, but I've already heard about these cliff dwelling ruins and other remains in the area a long time ago. It's in the range of my professional interest. And quite well-known in general."

"Since this place has obviously awakened a sparkle of interest in your eyes, I'm gonna start up a fire for real for a change. Feel free admiring all these empty walls in the meantime."

She grimaced, but set out to feast her eyes on the work of the local ancestors anyway. "I'll look what's in the back." Still rubbing her arms to get warm, after a while she sneaked a look back at Kurtis, who was gently blowing the air into the simple fire ring. She smiled to herself as the flame had got stronger. He definitely knows what he's doing. Then she returned to her exploring. Soon she was back. "There's another room behind this wall," she called out after a while, approaching him again. "Other than that, nothing strictly eye-catching. Or dangerous. But I've still quite enjoyed the sightseeing."

"Good. I'll let you here alone now in case you'd like to take off some of your clothes," he said with a smirk, standing up from the now strong flame. "I'll be at your disposal over there to hold some apparel for you if need." He gathered material for another fire and headed into the back part.

Lara couldn't hold back a smile, but she decided not to react to the innuendo. "Thanks for the fire."

"Glad to serve, M'Lady," he called after her. "I'll be hoping for some original repay from your side in the future."

Lara could easily imagine his wide smirk according to the amused tone of his voice. "Don't hold your breath," she said in jest to herself quietly, smiling from ear to ear.

Once they had been ready to continue, they made their way back to the hotel. This time, the only attackers and dangers were presented by snakes together with voids and crumbling stones beneath their feets. No armed human enemies for once. Even like that, the long, rough tiring day had taken the two adventurers lot of energy. They had quickly taken care of their injuries and made themselves presentable to be able to visit the hotel dining room. Even all the good substantial food and promised drinks hadn't helped as much as planned, though. It was obvious it would require more for the couple to recharge their batteries.

Again back in their room, Kurtis collapsed into an armchair. "I've chosen a wrong career," he stated in irony. Then he sighed, reached into the backpack and started placing a pen, his journal with notes and some other papers on the table.

Lara only smiled weakly at his dry humour. "We should send the digitalized image of the map to Zip. He can get to many specialized sources easily."

Kurtis frowned. "And are you sure it's safe? I mean, they've hacked your network before."

"Trust me, Zip has done everything possible and even impossible to make sure it wouldn't be permitted in any way anymore." Kurtis's expression didn't seem convinced enough to Lara. "It's also the matter of the geek's honour, you know," she added. "And Zip is really taking that very seriously."

"Okay. I believe you two. And Zip's fervor. The guy seems to be really enthusiastic concerning this all technical stuff."

"He definitely is. And we can fully rely on him... Can I help you with deciphering it anyhow?" she gestured towards the map.

"I'm afraid not."

"If that's the case, I'll make a call home, send the data and then get some rest. Let me know if you get anything." With that she left without waiting for his confirmation, swiftly closing the door behind her.

Kurtis watched the door with a concerned frown for a bit. He suspected that Lara was still feeling disheartened over Alisa and Liam's deaths. He left the thoughts about the Tomb Raider and tried to focus on his task again, concentrating on the map fragment and his notes.

XXX

Lara had been starring at the white ceiling, trying to tone down her dark mood. She had been trying to fall asleep, but unsuccessfully. There had been too many thoughts on her mind. What the hell has been happening lately? The light knocking made her turn on the bed. "Come in."

"Hey," he said gently.

"Any progress already?" she asked, lifting herself up and leaning back on elbows. "That was quick."

"Nope. Not yet. I'm just taking a short break. And I've just wanted to make sure that you're alright."

"I see... The head doesn't hurt. No nausea or dizziness. I'm fine," she said in an impassive tone. "I've just wanted to rest for a bit when there's a chance."

"Yeah, I've thought you'd say that," he said, casually leaning against the wall. "I just don't believe any of it, y'know."

She threw him an annoyed glance.

"What?" He deflected her look by his passive, unbreakable expression. "Wanna persuade me otherwise?" Just try me.

"Don't pretend like you really know me," she retorted with narrowed eyes.

Kurtis smirked. "Well, I'm not even gonna if you don't let me," he stated with only a tiny hint of starting irritation, not really in the mood for such discussions. "That's for sure."

"And why exactly should I want that?" Lara asked defensively.

Almost literally biting his tongue to hold himself back from some rough answer full of irony, he crossed his arms. Let's try it in a good way first. "Firstly, it'd be easier to evade Karel's face-lifting tricks, for example."

"Fair enough," she agreed. "But let's start some other time..." Then she paused in pretended wonder. "Isn't it what you always say?" She looked up at Kurtis. "Later?" Lara herself was not sure what had made her so irritated and sarcastic at the very moment. The American had done nothing wrong. More the opposite. But she had always hated to be interrogated in any way. Besides, Kurtis' earlier secrecy together with delaying his answers had been calling the reliability of her partner into question. And she hated having even the tiniest doubt about his loyalty.

"Look," he ran his hand over his face in exhaustion, "I'm afraid you're not gonna beat Karel in the 'impersonate me' contest. Now you rather tell me what's up."

She swallowed the first bitty remark that came on her mind and looked aside instead, deciding to be honest with him. She sat up."There just have been way too many deaths of innocent people for my taste." Lara continued before he could interrupt. "You were right, Alisa and Liam's murders were not my fault. But it doesn't help very much. No matter how hard we try, we always seem to be a step behind Karel. One way or another. And many people pay for that." Then her wary, ironic self-defence wall kicked back. "So I'm sorry if I'm not bright and cheerful."

So I was right... Kurtis sighed. "I know how it feels, really," he stated with obvious compassion and understanding.

"Great. So we both have messed up lives," she shifted in discomfort, stretching her neck. "That's really encouraging," she added in irony.

"You mean fucked-up lives, right?" he noted in a light tone. He knew well that pity was not the way to go with Lara. But what was the right one? To his slight astonishment the witty approach had worked.

She shook her head with a tired smile. "You can say that. I've been raised in a slightly different way for using such expressions, though. Even though your term is more accurate." Then her minor amusement vanished. "We are still breathing, though. Unlike some others."

"We'll make Karel pay. I promise."

"As much as I find the idea appealing," she started doubtingly, "it won't bring any of those dead back."

"Yeah," he exhaled loudly and tilted his head. "That's the problem with a vengeance. It's still worth it, though."

"Is it really?" She lifted her head to met the American's gaze. "Do you really feel better now Eckhardt is dead?"

Kurtis paused, being caught off guard by such a challenging question at the very moment. But he knew that Lara didn't mean to assail him. At least he presumed so. Then, for the first time, he really tried to think about the death of his father's murderer in more detail. "In a sense, yes. It's not like everything is bathing in sunshine now. But it brings me a certain level of peace at least. It's a load off my chest. Yes," he uttered at last, as if assuring himself more than her.

"It's better than nothing I guess," Lara said, reconciled.

"It definitely is."

"I just hate that they keep dragging innocents into this. That's not how this should be played. But don't worry, I've handled worse in the past," she stated automatically. Right after letting the words out of her mouth Lara realized that she herself was not persuaded by the statement. Although losing so many people around her in a short period of time was not anything exactly new to her, it was still equally painful.

"And can you deal with such a situation this time as well?" he asked quietly after a while, interrupting her confused thoughts.

Trent's question struck her like a blow between the eyes. "What?" Lara asked in surprise, throwing him a disbelieving look. "Excuse me? Are you trying to push me aside?"

"I've got the part of the map now." He shrugged and looked to the ground. "I just wanna know for sure. And let you go if you want—"

"Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?" she retorted back, clearly offended.

"Take it easy. I didn't say anything like that. Why do you always seem to have a feeling that you need to keep fighting with me?"

"That's a nonsense."

"Lara..." Kurtis gave her a inquiring gaze. "Really?"

"It's just... I don't need to be told what to do and how. I'm used to work alone. That's all."

On top of the exhausting day followed by several long hours of trying to decode the map in vain, Kurtis' patience just expired. "So am I. But let me remind you that this is not your everyday's job. You should listen to my advice carefully. And not to argue with me. You keep jumping head first into everything without any warning. It needs to stop. This matter with the Cabal has been my scope of activity for quite a long time, ok?"

"I also have some experience so maybe you could give a little bit more value to my opinion in our planning as well," she retorted. "Stop playing my bodyguard."

Kurtis got irked by her last note in particular. "You got into all this only by an accident, and not so long time ago. Remember that. Your safety is my commitment now since I've asked you to—"

"That's not true! Oh my... You are such a hypocritical—"

"What's your job again?" he didn't let her finish the thought. "The boring one you can always back away from because you are rich enough? Archaeology? That hobby of yours? Well, any of the archaeological brushes won't really help you against a Nephilim. I assure you. Or are you planning to throw some Egyptian mummification vase on Karel or what?"

"The precise term is a canopic jar," she corrected him, unable not to do it. "Anyway—"

"This is not a matter of ownership count of encyclopedias. This is war and you still don't seem to grasp the whole picture."

"Huh?! So until I'm not running around and chopping demons' heads off I'm doing nothing, right? You have no idea what I've seen or faced during my previous travels. Even far before Paris and Prague. You'd be surprised."

"Lara, this is not about..." he pinched the bridge of his nose. The lost self-control started slowly restoring back to equilibrium. He didn't understand how she could throw him off balance so easily. "This is really dangerous. We don't even know if we can actually... kill Karel. Unlike Eckhardt. And I... This is my fight and duty, not yours."

"You are really... impossible. This is not about you. It's about everyone. The whole world. And I won't let it fall just because of your arrogance."

"Arrogance?" he chuckled bitterly. "I'm trying to protect you! You've almost died several times just today!"

"Comes from the man with a shot wound."

Seriously?! Kill me now... He was feeling like hitting the head against the wall at this point. "You were never meant to be a part of this. This war can bring nothing good to anyone. That's one of the reasons why you should want to stay away and consider letting it go. I'm doin' you a favor here."

"I can't just leave all this behind and you know it!"

"You should think this through again. You'll thank me later."

She sighed in irritation. This leads nowhere. "We've had this talk before, haven't we?"

"Yeah, and now I'm just testing if you were listening to me earlier," he said in icy voice, still unable to hold his temper back completely. I should have never asked her... And just go AWOL...

"I have a reason to go after him, remember?" Lara sighed loudly. "I've thought you understood my stance earlier. What has changed now?"

"Earlier I haven't realized it would be so difficult," he uttered, looking aside.

"Like what exactly?"

He looked deep into her eyes, as if looking for a clue. "Doesn't matter." He turned to leave, clearly regretting his words.

"No," she stood up and walked up to him. "You've started this pointless conversation so now tell me. Kurtis," she said, grabbing him and moving right into his evading gaze. "What is it? What's bothering you?"

The American hesitated before speaking. "To be constantly worried... about someone I care about to get hurt," he said eventually, looking right into her eyes.

Lara was taken aback by his statement a little. Kurtis... She paused, replaying and thinking about his words. Maybe we have the same problem, stranger... she thought. "You're not the only one dealing with this," she said at last, lowering her gaze and turning away. "Karel has been way too close to Winston and Zip. And it's not all..." This is not the right time to get emotional, Lara scolded herself. "Either way, I'd always rather have control over the situation than waiting and doing nothing. With no knowledge at all."

"Look—"

"No, stop it... I know what's going in your head. You are considering taking the map and flee, aren't you?" she asked with a sinister smile. "For my own good, right?"

Kurtis seemed to be taken aback only for a fraction of second, obliquely confirming her guess. How the hell can she know that's an option? he thought in dismay. Unbelievable...

"Just for your information, if you do that..." she moved even closer. "I will find you. Because that's my usual job. Finding things. And I'm good at it. I assure you. On top of that, you should remember that I'm the one boring archaeologist with guns... Well, in case no one steals them, of course," she couldn't help but remind him bitingly.

"There you go again, getting mad," he waved his hands in resignation. "I've just wanted to make sure that you know you still have a choice. I've never really had the privilege concerning this war."

She squeezed her lips together. Her feelings were conflicted, currently mostly pending between confusion, anger and compassion. The anger prevailed, though. "I've already made my choice, whenever you like it or not. That's not your problem. And now, the map is waiting," she proclaimed after a few seconds of silence. "You should go to devote to it. We need to find out that location."

Kurtis shook his head in disbelief. Have all good intentions get punished? "I've originally come to check up on you, you know?"

"I don't need it," she retorted without any hesitation. "Your concern is totally misplaced. And particularly unwelcomed in this case."

"Fine. My bad. As milady wishes. Now if you excuse me..." He made a pretended bow and left the room with snapping the door shut.

Lara sighed and lowered her head in shame and regret. "Great."