Lara Croft

Parisian Ghetto

6:25 AM

Lara turned away from Janice and headed up the stairs. On top, she found herself at a small park leading up to another turn to the left. A sign that read Café Metro stood around the corner. She strolled to the café at the end of the street. A motorbike was parked by the door.

Looks like not everyone's hiding.

Lara walked in and looked at the quiet café. A man sat at the corner reading the newspaper. He raised it over his face, concealing it. She ignored him and walked up to the person standing by the till.

"Are you Pierre?" Lara said, making him look up at her.

"Possibly. What can I get you?" putting down the money he'd been counting.

"Information," placing her hand on her hip.

I feel so lost without my pistols.

"Really! Well everyone wants something for nothing," he said.

Lara sighed.

Should have known this ain't gonna be easy. Well, let's hear what he wants.

"It needn't be for nothing. We could trade," Lara said, smirking.

"Trade?" raising an eyebrow.

"You used to work at the Le Serpent Rouge. I need to find your ex-boss, Bouchard."

"You don't look like the police," he said, glancing at the window.

"No, I don't, but I do deal with problems. Sort them out," Lara said.

"Run errands, no doubt," he said, smirking a little.

Newspapers shuffled behind her. The man who'd been reading it was looking down his coffee.

He looks familiar. She shook her head. Ah, I need to focus.

Lara looked back at Pierre. "If need be. And they pay well enough."

"Hm! What sort of problems?"

Ah, he's good.

"What sort of problems do you have? Any situations that need clearing up? Difficulties removed?"

"In exchange for information about Louis Bouchard. Hm, that's dangerous information."

"I'm a dangerous girl, and right now I'm losing patience." Lara scowled, her eyes darting around the cafe.

"I do have a situation that needs tidying. A retrieval job," Pierre said. "Something I forgot to pick up from Le Serpent Rouge when I left in a hurry. It's mine and I want it back."

That sounds too easy. Why wouldn't he pick it up himself?

"Why don't you just pick it up yourself?"

"Two guesses."

"Bouchard? The Monstrum?"

"Don't joke about the Monstrum!" he said. "Bouchard ran a lot of operations there. The place will be staked out."

Great. Just when I think this is going to be easy.

"Just tell me where the item is in the club," Lara said.

Pierre sighed, his eyes snapping up.

He opened a draw. All she knew was if Pierre was going to take out a gun, she'd have little cover. But she'd manage. She always did.

"It's small. Small enough to fit inside one of the stage lights. The one that doesn't work," Pierre said, taking out a key of sorts.

"That's it? Okay, I can work with that. How do I get into the club?"

"With this." He hands her the key. "That'll get you in the stage area at the back. Return what's mine to me and I'll put you in touch with Louis Bouchard."

"I'm sure he'll be glad to hear from you again."

"He isn't going to. I'll just tell you where to find him. Then it's up to you."

"Okay. If this doesn't work out. I know where to find you. Don't I, Pierre," Lara said, walking out and shutting the door behind her.

Kurtis Trent.

Parisian Ghetto

6:32 AM

Kurtis noticed the owner of the Café hesitating to pick up the phone. It rang as soon as Lara left a minute ago.

He'd gotten lucky. But it bothered him that she was looking for a mafia guy.

What does Bouchard have to do with Eckhardt?

One way to find out.

Kurtis went over to the owner.

The owner smiled thinly as the phone stopped ringing.

"I couldn't help myself from overhearing your conversation with the woman. I'm also looking for Bouchard. Any chance you could help me?"

The phone rang again.

Pierre stiffened as he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"I'll call you back. I have a customer," Pierre said, dropping the phone and glancing at Kurtis.

"Well, this is interesting. Very," Pierre said with a smirk. "Well if you beat the woman and bring back the box then I'll be more than able to help you."

"No problem," Kurtis said

He walked out of the café.

Pierre was in trouble. And Miss Croft just left his café.

The person on the other end of the call was someone Kurtis was looking for. It meant Bouchard and Pierre were working for Eckhardt.

Lara's going to need all the help she can get.

He climbed on his bike, revved up the engine, and headed for the club: Le Serpent Rouge.

I promise you, brother. I'll keep an eye on Lara.

He stomped on the gas and zoomed across the city.

Lara Croft

Parisian Ghetto

6:40 AM

Lara made her way down to where she had talked to Janice earlier. As she passed her by, Janice stopped her.

"Cherie!"

Lara turned around and looked at her, as she did she heard a motorbike in the distance but ignored it.

"Janice, is something wrong?" Lara said as the prostitute took some heavy breathing after running after Lara.

"I got word, Cherie. The police have hired an investigator to look into Bouchard and the Monstrum."

"Do they believe Bouchard and the Monstrum are connected?"

"I don't know Cherie but I just thought to warn you seeing as the police are framing you for your friend's death."

Lara looked at Janice wide-eyed.

How did she find out about that?

Seeing Lara's frown Janice sighed. "I went past a vendor selling the newspapers. Saw your face on the front page."

"Why do I get the impression you don't believe the news?"

"There's something about you, Lara, that I just can't see you killing him."

"Thank you."

"But be careful Cherie, did Pierre help you."

"Sort of, let's just say I need to get into the club before he can help me."

"Well Cherie, be careful in there, Bouchard's guards are trigger happy."

"I will."

Janice nodded and turned around heading back to her corner. Lara sighed and went on heading for the club but as she neared the building she saw the same motorbike she saw at the Cafe parked nearby the alley.

That's odd

She took a few steps but paused as she saw the man from the cafe coming out of the alley. She gasped as it was the same man from the museum.

William's brother. Stoping in her track as she watched him. What was he doing here?

He paused, seeing her standing inches away from him, he winked at her but he quickly jumped onto his motorbike and peeled out of there before Lara could ask him any questions.

She sighed and headed into the alley, unlocking the door to the back of the club.

Inside the club was quiet. Ahead of her was a long corridor that went around a corner directly to her left out to be a small office.

Lara could hear it was not empty: she could hear footsteps to her left which sounded concrete, like someone pacing around a small room in circles. She would need to move quietly.

She froze, however, when she heard the voice from the person's radio.

"Bravo one, is everything clear on your end?"

She heard him click the radio button to respond.

"Charly one, I'm bored out of my skull, just wish something interesting could happen."

"Bravo one, you'll have to wait for Bouchard to call you in for something like that, nothing would ever happen here."

"Charly one, like he would choose me over you."

"Guys, Mike one here, I had to move down in the basement. Something triggered the alarm."

"Need help."

"Yes, Charly one"

"Coming, Over and out."

Lara frowned

I wonder if it was the stranger I saw now in the alley.

She didn't care at the moment for them, only the lone guard in the small room wanting something to happen to make his day. With her there, he might just get his wish.

Lara peered down towards the room and saw his back was to her while he placed his radio back on his belt. She took this opportunity to move across part of the corridor. She heard the guard start pacing around again and mumbling to himself.

"Maybe I could talk to Bouchard about giving fieldwork." He mumbled with himself.

Lara looked down the long part of the corridor and there was a storeroom with no door and further down was a switch. She figured the switch would turn the lights out in the corridor and she could hide in the room and wait for him to investigate so she could incapacitate him. She hoped he wouldn't call on his radio before going to take a look as she switched the lights out and crept quickly into the storeroom.

"Oh great, what now?" He mumbled storming to the switch passing the storeroom without checking it.

Good, he fell for it.

Lara snaked behind him and took him down silently. She dragged him back to the room he'd been pacing in which turned out to be a small office.

This must be the stage office.

She propped him in the chair and slumped him down on the desk. Lara searched him, taking his service weapon off him and removing the clip.

"This will come in handy." She said, also picking up his radio so she could keep track of the other guards.

I need to move fast before they realize something.

Leaving the guard where he was, she left the room, taking the keys she found in the back door and locking him in.

That should keep him from alerting the others.

There were a few more keys. "Maybe these are for the building."

Lara made her way up the corridor and some steps at the end till she came to a door. She listened on the radio for a couple of minutes.

"Charly one, did you see that?"

"Mike one, no I didn't, what you see."

"I don't know, but checking it out, watch that door."

"Should we alert the others?"

"No, they are guarding the stage."

Others, hmmm.

As far as she could tell they were at least six or seven inside, possibly more. At least two of them were in the basement.

Lara poised and armed herself, she then opened the door carefully and slipped in. The door was right next to the stage and was sheltered slightly by some large crates which gave her some cover.

At least no one has spotted me yet.

She peeled around to see that there were two guards in there. She needed to get to the stage lights which were high up and she certainly wouldn't get there unnoticed. She looked up, there were at least two gallery levels. If the club followed the tradition then controls for the lights would be high up either on the second gallery level or another above that which she could see.

One of the guards' radios sounded, and Lara froze again, listening in.

"Eco one, come in."

"This is, Eco one."

"Be on the alert. We can't get hold of Bravo one."

The very one I had just incapacitated.

"It's been quiet here by the stage area."

"Good, we're heading to Bravo one."

I should take them out one at a time

One guard came towards her location, she crouched and choked him. The sound of his surprise alerted the others who came as well.

"Charly one, we have an intruder in the stage area."

"Eco one, we are on our way."

Great the plan went well until he called whoever was on the other end of the radio.

Panicking at this point would be dangerous, so Lara waited till he was close enough and till he'd finished talking to surprise him as well. The two men were hidden behind the crates and Lara disarmed them and relieved them of their clips to add to her small arsenal.

Would be nice to take a second weapon, but no place in these small pockets.

Lara left her cover of the crates and ventured into her new territory, gun in hand. The sound of a door opening caused her to take cover on the stage. From her new location, another two men came into the dance hall.

Guessing they're the ones from the radio.

The time for subtlety was over. On the stage were the sound system and the controls for the lighting rig which was suspended two levels up and probably not the lights she needed to get to. The new guards were getting closer and Lara threw the switches, turning on the lights and blaring music before standing and taking aim at the now stunned and confused guards.

"What's going on?"

"That bitch turned the music on."

"Move to your left, I'll take the right."

These aren't mercenaries that I encountered in previous explorations.

Lara sighed as she reloaded the gun in her hand.

They're guards just doing their job but they're in my way.

The sound of the blaring music covered the gunshots nicely, and Lara made her way to the next level.

One guard came out of a room at the top of the stairs. A second came up behind her and she took him out as well. She jogged around the first level to the steps that went to the second.

"Stop intruder." A guard yelled at her and he fired his gun.

The shot rang out past her and she ducked down behind the banisters of the stairs. On the second level opposite was another guard shooting at her, missing. The man stopped and made his way to Lara's location.

Lara waited for him to get closer before standing and taking him out. She crept around expecting another man to come out from another room in the opposite corner.

"Hey, you have no way to go." A guard said coming out and shooting at her, a couple of the shots hit some of the riggings on the same level.

You guys are a pain in my neck.

The rigging collapsed onto the floor. The man didn't stand long under Lara's aim.

Lara got to the door he came out of and realized that there were no stairs up to the third level.

This place needs a makeover.

She backtracked to the stairs she came up. And there was a door she hadn't noticed earlier, she tried it and it was locked. She took out the keys she'd borrowed earlier and tried a couple in the door. One worked and she made her way in and up a ladder to the control room.

This is where I want to be.

No one was up there but that wouldn't last for long down on the ground floor she could see some more guards making their way up.

These guys just don't give up.

In the room were two doors, one led out to the catwalk above the gallery levels, and the other was an outside door and her way out.

Lara switched the light rig on and sure enough one of the four lights wasn't working, just as Pierre said.

So far so good, Pierre.

She moved the lights around remotely until she got the light into a maintenance box where she could get to the light. She left the room and crossed a maintenance catwalk to the light. From her vantage point, she could see the guards rearranging themselves to capture the intruder. One was making his way to the control room.

"You guys are good at your job but I am an expert in this." She said more to herself than the guards below.

She collected the box from the light and made her way back, shooting the man who'd just come up and left by the outside door.