"I'm sorry, Ms. Croft, but Gryner will not be able to see you right now. Perhaps you'd like to make an appointment?"
Lara forced herself not to grit her teeth noticeably, hiding her exasperation with the bottle-blonde receptionist smugly perched behind the desk in front of her.
"It's important that I see him; there's an issue that has come up with an object he purchased at auction yesterday." Lara tried to let a faint look of urgency cast over her cool features, hoping to make the secretary think it was an emergency.
Well, maybe it was…
She spared a glance at the security guard standing next to the metal detector in the expansive lobby's entrance. She had sworn for one second that his features had blurred as she walked in, looking exactly like the young man who had…appeared…in Maddox's room. He didn't see her looking at him, his obviously Hispanic features looking bored.
"If you would like to schedule a tentative appointment for…" the woman briefly glanced at something on her computer screen, "…the twenty-fifth, I might be able to get you a few moments with him." She looked up with false expectation.
Lara really had to fight from gritting her teeth. She wasn't going to wait for another day, much less nearly a month.
"It's vital that I see him now," Lara said. Coupled with a pair of Beretta 9mm's and a dark alley, her tone would have—and had—scared off the toughest street thug.
The other woman leaned forward, cocking her head to the side and offering a frozen smile.
"Ms. Croft, even if you wanted to give him the cure for cancer you wouldn't be able to see him. Now, unless you make an appointment for the twenty-fifth, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Her eyes slid to a point behind Lara and she knew that the security guard was getting a very meaningful look.
Lara gave her an equally cool smile. "Fine then. Thank you for your help." She didn't bother to cover up the sarcasm. After all, wasn't that a prerogative of the aristocracy?
She gave the guard a cool glance as she left the lobby, making her way down the crowded sidewalk to her car.
She'd tried the polite way. Now it was time to get what she wanted.
~~~~~
Lara shivered as the cold night air blew across her face, carrying wisps of steam away from the vents on the roof. She looked around cautiously, hands resting on the grips of the handguns at her side, fingers fairly twitching in readiness.
She peered around a bit, listening to the wind lightly rattle the rooftop antennas until she was satisfied that she was alone. Her quiet caution turned to fluid speed as she snapped the quick releases on the harness connecting her to the grapple line, letting it drop to the ground. She gave the line a tug, making sure that it was still connected to the next building over; Lara had learned a long time ago that it never hurt to double-check your way out.
She was through flimsy lock on the roof access door in a minute, her booted feet making only the slightest whisper on the concrete steps in front of her. She moved cautiously, into a small maintence room and then following a door into the elevator shafts. She briefly consulted the bits of the building map she had memorized earlier and walked across the metal grate walkway to one of the empty shafts, pulling a few bits of gear from one of the many pockets in her tight-fitting flightsuit. A second later she had clipped onto the elevator cable, stepping out into the shaft and hanging in midair. She stayed there, barely twisting on the cable, listening for the slightest sound.
All was quiet, and she began moving down the cable hand over hand, quickly zipping down the core of the tall building. A dozen floors down she came to a halt, quickly unclipping herself with one hand and reaching out with her legs to secure a foothold on the access walkway. A bit of a flip and she was on the grate, both pistols in hand.
It was pretty simple after that. The lock into the building itself was laughingly simple, and the security cameras at the corner of each hallway took practiced timing and patience—both of which Lara had in abundance. Minutes later she was in a security room, snipping select wires.
She slipped the cutters back into her pocket, walking easily down the hallway, her boots whispering on the plush carpet as she scanned the nameplates on the office doors. Her lips quirked up in a tiny smile when she found the door she was looking for, reading the brass nameplate on the double oak doors. She was through the lock in another instant, looking around the expansive office.
One thing that chasing after rare artifacts had taught Lara was how to ransack an office. It was far too easy to just make a mess, missing subtle clues entirely. In order to get results, you had to know what to look for, what the inhabitant was like.
Lara pursed her lips, her eyes flying to the ancient Greek amphora, still decorated with scenes of Hercules' exploits on it, sitting in a glass case between the desk and large window overlooking the city.
Close, but too obvious.
She looked around again, eyes raking over the desk, coming to rest on a small figurine on the corner. It was of a youth wearing winged sandals, outstretched and holding a staff in his hand. A small engraved plaque was set in the base: "Apollo".
Gryner was such an avid collector that the fake stood out like a beacon.
She took a step forward, picking up the statue with a gloved hand. Turning it over, she noticed a small black button recessed into the bottom of the base, pressing it while looking around warily.
A section of the wall behind the desk swung inward with a faint click, exposing a safe the size of a walk-in closet. Lara stepped toward it, still cautious as she pulled out a mini Maglite, shining it into the safe's depths. The small metal alcove was lined with metal shelves covered with glass: illuminated with soft lighting. Various objects, all ancient Greek or Roman in nature, were laid out like museum displays within the cases.
But Lara only had eyes for the small statue sitting in a case all by itself in the back of the safe. She felt a chill run down her spine and shrugged it off, telling herself not to be irrational. Pulling out a small glass-cutter, she cut a hole in the side of the case, just big enough for her to pull the statue out of.
It was heavy in her hands, probably made of solid lead or copper. It was poor craftsmanship, but Lara could easily see that it was supposed to be a female form, holding a spear against her side. Simple in design, it certainly didn't look all that important.
Lara didn't contemplate it any further, stuffing the small statue into her pack and trying to ignore the brief, ugly feeling of déjà vu that she felt as she stepped out of the safe, pushing the black button on the other figurine. She replaced the figuring back on the desk once the safe door eased shut again, quickly moving across the large office.
Her hand had just come to rest on the knob of the heavy oak door, when it burst inward, nearly smashing into her face and forcing her to scramble backwards as a powerful white light shone right in her eyes, fouling her night vision and blinding her.
"Stop right there!" Lara could hear familiar metal-on-plastic sounds: automatic weapons being zeroed in on a target.
On her.
For one second time seemed to slow as her hands came up, squinting into the light, trying to make out the blurry silhouettes in front of her.
"Grab 'er," someone muttered, and Lara heard someone walking towards her, making out one of the silhouettes coming closer. She knew he was holding a weapon on her, and she stayed perfectly still.
Until he grabbed her wrist, trying to get her under control.
She easily turned the tables, grabbing him by the throat and forcing him between the silhouettes and herself just before she leapt up into the air, spinning sideways in a tight arc.
Automatic gunfire opened up with a roar, a wall of lead pouring into the confined office, shredding everything in its path…
~~~~~