The house was surrounded by a painted metal fence, about ten feet high and
topped by spikes. Alex gave Lara a leg up to the top, then she reached down
to pull him up after her before dropping down on the other side. When they
were both standing on the other side of the fence Alex began to walk
towards the house but Lara put out an arm to restrain him. She took the
binoculars out of her rucksack and used them to survey to front aspect of
the building. Silently she handed them to Alex and pointed out a camera
trained on the area in front of the door and a security light, presumably
motion-activated. Alex nodded and they separated, each taking a route
around opposite sides of the house until they met again by the back door.
"Any windows open on your side?" Alex asked. Lara shook her head and reached into her backpack again, this time removing a small velvet bundle containing her lock picking equipment. Alex kept watch as she examined the lock, selected two fine metal pins and began working at the mechanism. It was a difficult one and Lara swore a couple of times when one or other of the pins fell onto the floor and she had to switch on her mini Maglite in order to retrieve them. The lock picking itself was done entirely by touch. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when the mechanism turned.
They entered a large kitchen and immediately the burglar alarm began beeping softly. The sound got louder as Lara ran through the house until she reached the box mounted on the wall by the front door. She had pulled a small device out of her bag by as she ran, which she now quickly switched on and held up to the alarm keypad. Numbers cycled through the digital display on the gadget Bryce had designed, and the alarm was getting still louder. "Come on," Lara whispered impatiently, she could tell by the sound of the alarm that it wouldn't be long until it started proper. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at the flashing numbers they stopped on a combination. Lara hurriedly tapped it into the keypad and the alarm stopped. "Whew," she let out the breath she had been holding, "well done Bryce."
"Where are you Alex?" she said, switching the headset on now.
"Library," his voice came into her ear, "no joy yet."
"Ok, I'll look upstairs." She ran up the steps and pushed the first door she got to. Bedroom, not likely to be in there. The next room seemed to be a study and Lara entered, switching on her torch. A large mahogany desk stood in the centre of the room, facing the window and Lara began to search through the papers strewn across it, her long braid swinging over her shoulder as she leant down. Finding nothing she turned her attention to the drawers in the desk. As she rifled through Alex spoke to her again through the head set.
"I think I just heard a car Lara, hang on I'm going to look." Lara stood up sharply, brushing her braid back over her shoulder impatiently. A few seconds later she heard the crunch of gravel through the earpiece. "Shit! No time to get out, we'd better hide."
Lara had a sudden thought. "The alarm, he'll expect it to be set. Can you get there Alex?"
"I'm there, what's the combination?"
"9-6-4-1" Lara remembered. She heard the beeps as Alex quickly typed it in then pressed the set button. Just in time, as then she heard a key in the lock.
"It's ok, I'm hiding in the lounge," Alex whispered. Lara tiptoed to the door of the study and listened carefully. She heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly ducked behind a large sofa that stood in front of the window.
"Come into the study," Lara recognised the voice as that of the silver- haired man.
"Thank you, Monsieur King." The second voice was that of a woman with a strong French accent.
The lights in the room flicked on and somebody sat down on the sofa Lara was hiding behind. Her hands instinctively hovered over her guns as she attempted to crouch further down and remain unseen. She heard what sounded like something being removed from the wall and placed on the floor, then the spinning of what she took to be a safe mechanism and a door opening.
"This is the scroll, Madame St Clair, and the translation of all but the middle section. Our cipher expert is working on that as we speak, we hope to have it decoded by tomorrow."
Lara recognised the name. St Clair, what did that mean to her?
"And the key? Why have you not managed to acquire the key?"
"I have only limited resources to devote to this enterprise, Madame," the man, Mr King, replied with a sigh. "However it should not be too difficult to ascertain who the purchaser was and to...shall we say remove the item from their possession."
Lara had to stifle a snort. Don't count on it, she thought to herself.
"Do you have the documents?" he continued.
Lara heard a briefcase being popped open. The woman stood up from the sofa, presumably to hand the documents to the man.
Silence reigned for a good five minutes, then Mr King spoke up. "This all seems to be in order, except...your older sister?"
There was a pause. "She passed away in 1980," Madame St Clair replied.
Lara's heart missed a beat, for it was suddenly clear what the name and date meant to her.
"Then it would appear that you are the true heir."
At this point the woman excused herself to powder her nose and Lara took the opportunity to whisper into the walkie-talkie. "Alex, distraction please."
"Sure thing Lara," came the reply, closely followed by a loud crash that she heard first hand as well as through the headset.
The man immediately stood up from the desk and left the room, heading downstairs in the direction the noise had come from. Lara quickly left her hiding place, pulling her digital camera from her bag. She took several snaps of the scroll and then for good measure took a couple of the documents the woman had brought, one of which was an extensive family tree. She then left the room and ducked into the bedroom just as King came back up the stairs, shaking his head in confusion. He returned to the study and the lady came out of the bathroom and followed him in, clicking the door shut behind her.
Lara smiled to herself and tiptoed to the staircase, but remembered just in time that one of the steps had creaked on the way up. She couldn't recall which one, however, so she slid down the wide banister and landed softly on the carpet in the hallway. Alex was waiting for her in the shadows and he grabbed her hand and led her quickly through to the kitchen, where a plate lay smashed on the floor.
"Did you get a picture of the scroll?" he whispered urgently.
"Yes," she replied, "now let's get out of here."
"Any windows open on your side?" Alex asked. Lara shook her head and reached into her backpack again, this time removing a small velvet bundle containing her lock picking equipment. Alex kept watch as she examined the lock, selected two fine metal pins and began working at the mechanism. It was a difficult one and Lara swore a couple of times when one or other of the pins fell onto the floor and she had to switch on her mini Maglite in order to retrieve them. The lock picking itself was done entirely by touch. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when the mechanism turned.
They entered a large kitchen and immediately the burglar alarm began beeping softly. The sound got louder as Lara ran through the house until she reached the box mounted on the wall by the front door. She had pulled a small device out of her bag by as she ran, which she now quickly switched on and held up to the alarm keypad. Numbers cycled through the digital display on the gadget Bryce had designed, and the alarm was getting still louder. "Come on," Lara whispered impatiently, she could tell by the sound of the alarm that it wouldn't be long until it started proper. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at the flashing numbers they stopped on a combination. Lara hurriedly tapped it into the keypad and the alarm stopped. "Whew," she let out the breath she had been holding, "well done Bryce."
"Where are you Alex?" she said, switching the headset on now.
"Library," his voice came into her ear, "no joy yet."
"Ok, I'll look upstairs." She ran up the steps and pushed the first door she got to. Bedroom, not likely to be in there. The next room seemed to be a study and Lara entered, switching on her torch. A large mahogany desk stood in the centre of the room, facing the window and Lara began to search through the papers strewn across it, her long braid swinging over her shoulder as she leant down. Finding nothing she turned her attention to the drawers in the desk. As she rifled through Alex spoke to her again through the head set.
"I think I just heard a car Lara, hang on I'm going to look." Lara stood up sharply, brushing her braid back over her shoulder impatiently. A few seconds later she heard the crunch of gravel through the earpiece. "Shit! No time to get out, we'd better hide."
Lara had a sudden thought. "The alarm, he'll expect it to be set. Can you get there Alex?"
"I'm there, what's the combination?"
"9-6-4-1" Lara remembered. She heard the beeps as Alex quickly typed it in then pressed the set button. Just in time, as then she heard a key in the lock.
"It's ok, I'm hiding in the lounge," Alex whispered. Lara tiptoed to the door of the study and listened carefully. She heard footsteps on the stairs and quickly ducked behind a large sofa that stood in front of the window.
"Come into the study," Lara recognised the voice as that of the silver- haired man.
"Thank you, Monsieur King." The second voice was that of a woman with a strong French accent.
The lights in the room flicked on and somebody sat down on the sofa Lara was hiding behind. Her hands instinctively hovered over her guns as she attempted to crouch further down and remain unseen. She heard what sounded like something being removed from the wall and placed on the floor, then the spinning of what she took to be a safe mechanism and a door opening.
"This is the scroll, Madame St Clair, and the translation of all but the middle section. Our cipher expert is working on that as we speak, we hope to have it decoded by tomorrow."
Lara recognised the name. St Clair, what did that mean to her?
"And the key? Why have you not managed to acquire the key?"
"I have only limited resources to devote to this enterprise, Madame," the man, Mr King, replied with a sigh. "However it should not be too difficult to ascertain who the purchaser was and to...shall we say remove the item from their possession."
Lara had to stifle a snort. Don't count on it, she thought to herself.
"Do you have the documents?" he continued.
Lara heard a briefcase being popped open. The woman stood up from the sofa, presumably to hand the documents to the man.
Silence reigned for a good five minutes, then Mr King spoke up. "This all seems to be in order, except...your older sister?"
There was a pause. "She passed away in 1980," Madame St Clair replied.
Lara's heart missed a beat, for it was suddenly clear what the name and date meant to her.
"Then it would appear that you are the true heir."
At this point the woman excused herself to powder her nose and Lara took the opportunity to whisper into the walkie-talkie. "Alex, distraction please."
"Sure thing Lara," came the reply, closely followed by a loud crash that she heard first hand as well as through the headset.
The man immediately stood up from the desk and left the room, heading downstairs in the direction the noise had come from. Lara quickly left her hiding place, pulling her digital camera from her bag. She took several snaps of the scroll and then for good measure took a couple of the documents the woman had brought, one of which was an extensive family tree. She then left the room and ducked into the bedroom just as King came back up the stairs, shaking his head in confusion. He returned to the study and the lady came out of the bathroom and followed him in, clicking the door shut behind her.
Lara smiled to herself and tiptoed to the staircase, but remembered just in time that one of the steps had creaked on the way up. She couldn't recall which one, however, so she slid down the wide banister and landed softly on the carpet in the hallway. Alex was waiting for her in the shadows and he grabbed her hand and led her quickly through to the kitchen, where a plate lay smashed on the floor.
"Did you get a picture of the scroll?" he whispered urgently.
"Yes," she replied, "now let's get out of here."