Bryce picked up a small spiral notebook and thumbed through the well-worn pages.

"Let's see," he sighed, "work on upgrading security system, change security codes, update software, fix Astin Martin, run anti-virus through system, work on Simon."

Bryce scratched his head. "Well, looks like you're my last priority, mate."

Bryce twiddled his thumbs anxiously. He so wanted to upgrade Simon. His goal was to make him so agile, so deadly, that Lara would be exhausted after every training session. He could imagine her, unarmed, underneath Simon, trying to push his blades and sawing mechanisms away from her face. She would be sweating profusely and her muscles, tensing to their extent. Bryce would be watching from the monitoring screen seeing Lara's arms finally wearing out. She would call for Bryce to disengage Simon, and Lara would at last be defeated.

A huge grin spread across Bryce's face. He was left in a fantasy that he hoped would come true.

Alex limped up the stairs and turned the corner, after he peeked around for the barrel of a gun.

"Lara! Lara, wait." He watched as she slowly turned around to face him.

"Alex, I'm through with you. You tried to steal from me again!" Alex winced as she spat out the last word.

"Lara, I know what I did was wrong, but just please, hear me out..." He got no further. The electricity went off, and they were left in the dark, with only the skylight shining down on the main room. Alex turned his head to scan his surroundings. He looked back at Lara; she wasn't there.

"Lara!" He hissed. Something hard jabbed him in the stomach, throwing him off balance for a moment.

"Lara?" He looked in his hands and discovered a loaded M-16 and no sight of Lara.

Lara raised her uzis and peeked around the column that hid her slender figure. She moved quickly as a huge explosion shattered the glass ceiling above the main room.

Can't anyone just break down the front door? Lara thought as she crouched in the darkness.

She watched the figures, clad in black, as they hung from the ceiling on thick black cords. Lara counted them quickly- about sixteen in the air, and most likely, more on the way. The morning light shone through the shattered hole in the ceiling.

Robbers in the middle of the day? Thought Lara as she shook her head in disapproval.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the room; she noticed about five others trying their best to hide in the minimal shadows. Now Lara's eyes darted to the office- no sign of Bryce, and the alarm had sent the glass barriers over the perimeter.

Good, Lara smirked, now let's hope they don't have any putty.

Lara slinked from column to column until she was exactly opposite the office. She heard the dangling commander speak:

"Move out, men!" Then into a microphone, "No sign of Croft, sir."

Lara strained her ears to hear more. Silence followed the commander's words and then another man's voice cracked over the radio:

"Good. Have the men split up and find that amulet! Don't leave until it is in your possession! Any sign of Croft- kill her. Over and out."

Lara felt her eyes grow large and her face reddened slightly. So Alex did have a reason.

She shook the thought away from her mind and aimed her uzis for the closest dangling goon. She fired, sending bullets flying in a loud explosion. Her shots were greeted with spray of numerous bullets hitting every piece of wall, column, and banister in her general vicinity.

"Move men! Go, go, go! Take all risks; kill Croft!"

Lara rolled her eyes. If I had a pence for every time someone said that...

Her thought trailed off as she spotted the five men she had pinpointed out earlier slinking around the top of the stairs. Her uzis sounded once again, immediately catching the attention of the five goons. Lara ran from her hiding spot as the men discovered her. She heard two satisfactory thumps behind her as she made her way down the hall.

"Three down," she chuckled.

Alex hid opposite the corridor from Lara and watched as five men charged up the stairs. He calmly moved to the adjacent corner and laughed softly to himself as two men fell to the floor and the other three ran after Lara, yelling obscenities. Alex silently crouched and inched his way toward the edge of the banister. He carefully took aim at a still-dangling goon and fired the M-16. The bullets scored and Alex caught a glimpse of the body go limp as he ducked back around a column. Below him, Alex could hear the men trying to break into Lara's office.

Sensing an opportunity to make his way to the other side of the stairs, Alex cautiously hobbled past the columns until he reached the opening where the stairs connected. He carefully peered around the corner and looked toward the office. Was that a shoe?

Bryce must still be in there!

Alex smacked his forehead lightly with the palm of his hand, but something caught his eye through the cracks between his fingers.