CHAPTER 16
The house was exactly what they needed. It was very isolated (their nearest neighbour was 5 miles away). Lara had exchanged positions with Riley half way there, when they had stopped for a break. She now slowed her jeep to a stop outside the pretty little house. The surrounding area was nothing but the green mountains typical of Wales. Dotted here and there were slight cliff faces and Lara could easily see herself going for a climb when all the research became boring; as she knew it would.
She climbed out of the jeep without saying a word as she looked over the grey stone house. A large section of its front was covered with deep green ivy and the dirt driveway added to its 'country side' appeal. She turned back to the jeep, about to ask Riley what he thought of there temporary home. He was still seated in the passenger seat; sleeping like a baby. Lara grinned and quickly rolled her eyes as she leaned into the jeep and gently shook him awake. "Hmm?" was the only noise he made as he half opened one eye and looked at her without turning his head. "We're here" she informed him, and gave him a sharp shove when he closed his eye again. He almost tumbled from the jeep; luckily his seatbelt was still in place and kept him in his seat. "Hey!" he laughed as he watched Lara move to the front of the jeep. She hopped up onto the bonnet and looked as far as she could see, trying to figure out where possible enemies could hide from view. There were a few places but now she had located them they would not provide much cover.
Satisfied that she had located all of the hiding places, she turned to look down at Riley her hands on hips, he had moved to the side of the jeep. "Right!" she said before she took a deep breath "let's get the stuff inside, shall we?" "yes ma'am" Riley swooped low in a teasing bow, only to have her place one foot on the base of his back as he bent, using him as a step to get off of the jeep.
"Thank you" Lara said simply; a playful smile on her face as she grabbed a couple of her bags from the back.
"That was cheeky!" Riley wagged his finger at her as he moved to help with the bags.
"Well, so was that bow"
"Ok, so we're even" he smiled even more as she pulled a face and quickly popped her tongue out at him.
* * *
Two hours later, they had brought all of the bags into the house, put the jeep out of sight in a small shed outside, and had chosen who would occupy which bedroom. There were a total of three bedrooms, one being the guest room; where they were going to store all of their equipment (guns etc.).
They were both now unpacking their clothes and placing them in the large cupboards in their respective rooms. Even though she had more clothes to put away, Lara finished first (most likely thanks to Winston's neat folding.)
She trotted down the stairs, and grabbed her two remaining cases, and her lap top bag. She found a room that had a long, low cupboard with a clear surface against one wall, and a large desk against the other. Aside from that, it was empty. "Perfect".
Lara smiled to herself as she placed her laptop bag on the desk and set it up. Once the Laptop was plugged in and loading up, she opened the cases and started stacking her books along the surface of the cupboard.
* * *
Riley pushed the last empty canvas bag under the large bed and went to find Lara. Her room was empty so he made his way down stairs. He walked through the spacious living room; thinking to himself how even a small place could look big if things were positioned correctly.
He slowly opened a door to the right, and smiled to himself as he saw Lara seated on the ground with books open next to her, there was a file in front of her, with it's content scattered all over her crossed legs. Simply put, she had made a huge mess.
He stood quietly watching her for a few minutes. The look of intense concentration on her face made him smile more. He felt glad to know someone as intense as Lady Lara Croft.
"Are you always this untidy?" he asked as he finally stepped into the room.
Lara looked slowly away from her papers and glanced at him before returning to her studies.
"Only while I'm working" she turned the sheet over "I'll clean up after myself, don't worry"
Riley smiled and lifted the book off the floor in front of her, sitting where it had been as he placed it in his lap and inspected the page it was open at.
"So what does our situation have to do with Greek mythology?"
Lara glanced at the book he was looking at and simply said one word as she turned back to her research.
"Vanderbelt"
"And the commission?"
Lara nodded as she re-read the noted she had made on the job.
"So" Riley pushed the book to one side and rested his arms on his knees. "Are you going to fill me in?"
Lara looked up at him then and placed the pieces of paper back into the folder they had come from.
"right." She placed her hand on the ground behind her a leaned on them, legs still crossed in front of her as she stretched her back before starting. "I was contacted by Vanderbelt's PA, and was asked to come to his office the next day to discuss 'Business'." She sighed deeply.
"I agreed to meet the little weasel at one o'clock the next day. When I got there; he explained what exactly it was he wanted me to do."
"Yeah"
"He wanted me to recover a Greek artefact known as the 'Ocular Token' from a site in Russia"
"Erm, what was a Greek artefact doing in Russia?"
"I'm guessing that it had been uncovered in Greece and transported there."
"Hmm, makes sense. So was it in a museum or something?"
"No, I had to infiltrate a top security military base to retrieve the token."
"You got into a Russian Base and you're still here to talk about it? Now that's impressive!"
Lara smiled at the comment before continuing. "It wasn't easy"
"Yeah, no kidding."
"Any way" she continued "to cut a long story short, I got the Token and handed it over to Vanderbelt when I got back. And the same night, Gibson came after me, the rest you know."
"It certainly sound like they are trying to keep you out of the way." Riley went silent for a while, trying desperately to come up with a reason for why they would want her dead. "I wonder what they want with that.Token"
"Exactly what I was thinking." Lara hopped up off of the ground and went to her laptop. "I never had the chance to research the Token properly before Vanderbelt sent me out to Russia." She turned to look at Riley; he was flicking through the folder with sheets of paper she had scribbled on.
"Isn't this your research?"
"That's only basic information about the base."
"Basic! Lara, this is anything but basic. You have blueprints for Christ sake. How did you get those?"
"I have my contacts" she smiled at the expression on Riley's face as he stared at her in awe.
"You see that small black book by your knee" she pointed and Riley picked it up. "That's the one; bring it over here would you?"
"Sure" Riley hopped to his feet and moved closer to her. She leaned closer to the laptop as she stood in front of the desk. Riley placed the book on the table next to her hand as he watched her type quickly. The screen of her laptop turned grey as she loaded a programme. He stood close to her as he watched the monitor.
Lara picked up the small book and flicked through its pages. She stopped at one page and handed it back to Riley.
"On the plane on my way home, I made a copy of the markings on the token"
"Good thinking"
She glanced over her shoulder, and smiled "Look at this." She clicked a few keys and the screen changed to one full of text. She scrolled to the bottom of the page and indicated photographs of an ancient Greek temple.
"This is thought to be one of the temples where the ancient Greeks worshiped Zeus and the others. One of only three temples dedicated to all of the Gods."
"So, what does this have to do with the Token?" Riley had hated history classes when he had been at school, but he found that he was extremely interested by the information he was hearing now. He put it down to the fact that his school teacher had been nothing like Lara. If she had, then maybe he would have passed the subject.
"Well," Lara continued "look here" she clicked one of the photographs and one of the wall paintings filled the screen.
"What am I looking at?"
"It's said to be an artist's impression of Zeus, but look, right there" Lara pointed to the lance in the hand of the God.
Riley leaned closer to the screen from behind Lara, making contact with her. He squinted at the screen as she watched his face. Suddenly his eyes widened and he glanced at the book in his hand and then back at the screen.
"It's the token!"
"Exactly!" Lara closed that window and opened another, "I performed a search on this site, looking for information on the Ocular Token"
"Anything there?"
"Well, there's not much, but there's enough to give an idea of why Vanderbelt wants it. It says here that the token was the source of Zeus's strength and immortality. Apparently a mortal, named Maximus, climbed mount Olympus and stole the token from Zeus's lance; ultimately resulting in the fall of the Gods."
"So what did Max do with it?" Riley stepped to Lara's side and leaned against the desk as she read the screen.
"Well, it says that the token was only the map to the key of Zeus's power." She glanced over the text then began reading directly from the screen. "It is said that the one who possesses the Token must unlock its secret and find the key. Once the key is located the holder of the Token will be tested."
"Tested? Like at school?"
"Not quite. It says here that if the Token barer is found 'unsuitable' the guardians are released to dispose of him.or her."
"Guardians?"
"That's what it says. I assume that's what happened at Maximus." She stood up straight and looked over at Riley "he was unsuitable"
"What makes someone suitable?"
Lara looked back at the screen and a frown took form on her brow. "It doesn't say. I guess no one has ever been found suitable."
"Aside from Zeus" Riley took a deep breath and sighed loudly. "Well at least we know what that Token is now."
Lara only nodded as she looked at her laptop; the expression on her face was one of extreme concern.
"What if Vanderbelt is deemed suitable to gain possession of the key? What would a guy like him do with the power of the king of the Gods?"
Riley's jaw tightened as he felt his stomach turn at the thought.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, he won't be found suitable." He placed his hands on Lara's shoulders and lowered his head so his eyes were level with hers. "He's not suitable for anything. aside from two things"
Lara raised her eyebrows as she waited for him to finish.
"One: a good beating delivered by me and Two: the inside of a prison cell!" Lara smiled and Riley joined her.
"You know one thing I've learned about you Lara?" She didn't answer, just waited for him to tell her.
"You worry too much!" with that he smiled and pulled her into a strong hug. Lara buried her face in his chest, trying to forget the feeling of dread swelling in the pit of her stomach. "Come on" Riley's chest vibrated against her face as he spoke in his deep voice "let's go get some food"
The house was exactly what they needed. It was very isolated (their nearest neighbour was 5 miles away). Lara had exchanged positions with Riley half way there, when they had stopped for a break. She now slowed her jeep to a stop outside the pretty little house. The surrounding area was nothing but the green mountains typical of Wales. Dotted here and there were slight cliff faces and Lara could easily see herself going for a climb when all the research became boring; as she knew it would.
She climbed out of the jeep without saying a word as she looked over the grey stone house. A large section of its front was covered with deep green ivy and the dirt driveway added to its 'country side' appeal. She turned back to the jeep, about to ask Riley what he thought of there temporary home. He was still seated in the passenger seat; sleeping like a baby. Lara grinned and quickly rolled her eyes as she leaned into the jeep and gently shook him awake. "Hmm?" was the only noise he made as he half opened one eye and looked at her without turning his head. "We're here" she informed him, and gave him a sharp shove when he closed his eye again. He almost tumbled from the jeep; luckily his seatbelt was still in place and kept him in his seat. "Hey!" he laughed as he watched Lara move to the front of the jeep. She hopped up onto the bonnet and looked as far as she could see, trying to figure out where possible enemies could hide from view. There were a few places but now she had located them they would not provide much cover.
Satisfied that she had located all of the hiding places, she turned to look down at Riley her hands on hips, he had moved to the side of the jeep. "Right!" she said before she took a deep breath "let's get the stuff inside, shall we?" "yes ma'am" Riley swooped low in a teasing bow, only to have her place one foot on the base of his back as he bent, using him as a step to get off of the jeep.
"Thank you" Lara said simply; a playful smile on her face as she grabbed a couple of her bags from the back.
"That was cheeky!" Riley wagged his finger at her as he moved to help with the bags.
"Well, so was that bow"
"Ok, so we're even" he smiled even more as she pulled a face and quickly popped her tongue out at him.
* * *
Two hours later, they had brought all of the bags into the house, put the jeep out of sight in a small shed outside, and had chosen who would occupy which bedroom. There were a total of three bedrooms, one being the guest room; where they were going to store all of their equipment (guns etc.).
They were both now unpacking their clothes and placing them in the large cupboards in their respective rooms. Even though she had more clothes to put away, Lara finished first (most likely thanks to Winston's neat folding.)
She trotted down the stairs, and grabbed her two remaining cases, and her lap top bag. She found a room that had a long, low cupboard with a clear surface against one wall, and a large desk against the other. Aside from that, it was empty. "Perfect".
Lara smiled to herself as she placed her laptop bag on the desk and set it up. Once the Laptop was plugged in and loading up, she opened the cases and started stacking her books along the surface of the cupboard.
* * *
Riley pushed the last empty canvas bag under the large bed and went to find Lara. Her room was empty so he made his way down stairs. He walked through the spacious living room; thinking to himself how even a small place could look big if things were positioned correctly.
He slowly opened a door to the right, and smiled to himself as he saw Lara seated on the ground with books open next to her, there was a file in front of her, with it's content scattered all over her crossed legs. Simply put, she had made a huge mess.
He stood quietly watching her for a few minutes. The look of intense concentration on her face made him smile more. He felt glad to know someone as intense as Lady Lara Croft.
"Are you always this untidy?" he asked as he finally stepped into the room.
Lara looked slowly away from her papers and glanced at him before returning to her studies.
"Only while I'm working" she turned the sheet over "I'll clean up after myself, don't worry"
Riley smiled and lifted the book off the floor in front of her, sitting where it had been as he placed it in his lap and inspected the page it was open at.
"So what does our situation have to do with Greek mythology?"
Lara glanced at the book he was looking at and simply said one word as she turned back to her research.
"Vanderbelt"
"And the commission?"
Lara nodded as she re-read the noted she had made on the job.
"So" Riley pushed the book to one side and rested his arms on his knees. "Are you going to fill me in?"
Lara looked up at him then and placed the pieces of paper back into the folder they had come from.
"right." She placed her hand on the ground behind her a leaned on them, legs still crossed in front of her as she stretched her back before starting. "I was contacted by Vanderbelt's PA, and was asked to come to his office the next day to discuss 'Business'." She sighed deeply.
"I agreed to meet the little weasel at one o'clock the next day. When I got there; he explained what exactly it was he wanted me to do."
"Yeah"
"He wanted me to recover a Greek artefact known as the 'Ocular Token' from a site in Russia"
"Erm, what was a Greek artefact doing in Russia?"
"I'm guessing that it had been uncovered in Greece and transported there."
"Hmm, makes sense. So was it in a museum or something?"
"No, I had to infiltrate a top security military base to retrieve the token."
"You got into a Russian Base and you're still here to talk about it? Now that's impressive!"
Lara smiled at the comment before continuing. "It wasn't easy"
"Yeah, no kidding."
"Any way" she continued "to cut a long story short, I got the Token and handed it over to Vanderbelt when I got back. And the same night, Gibson came after me, the rest you know."
"It certainly sound like they are trying to keep you out of the way." Riley went silent for a while, trying desperately to come up with a reason for why they would want her dead. "I wonder what they want with that.Token"
"Exactly what I was thinking." Lara hopped up off of the ground and went to her laptop. "I never had the chance to research the Token properly before Vanderbelt sent me out to Russia." She turned to look at Riley; he was flicking through the folder with sheets of paper she had scribbled on.
"Isn't this your research?"
"That's only basic information about the base."
"Basic! Lara, this is anything but basic. You have blueprints for Christ sake. How did you get those?"
"I have my contacts" she smiled at the expression on Riley's face as he stared at her in awe.
"You see that small black book by your knee" she pointed and Riley picked it up. "That's the one; bring it over here would you?"
"Sure" Riley hopped to his feet and moved closer to her. She leaned closer to the laptop as she stood in front of the desk. Riley placed the book on the table next to her hand as he watched her type quickly. The screen of her laptop turned grey as she loaded a programme. He stood close to her as he watched the monitor.
Lara picked up the small book and flicked through its pages. She stopped at one page and handed it back to Riley.
"On the plane on my way home, I made a copy of the markings on the token"
"Good thinking"
She glanced over her shoulder, and smiled "Look at this." She clicked a few keys and the screen changed to one full of text. She scrolled to the bottom of the page and indicated photographs of an ancient Greek temple.
"This is thought to be one of the temples where the ancient Greeks worshiped Zeus and the others. One of only three temples dedicated to all of the Gods."
"So, what does this have to do with the Token?" Riley had hated history classes when he had been at school, but he found that he was extremely interested by the information he was hearing now. He put it down to the fact that his school teacher had been nothing like Lara. If she had, then maybe he would have passed the subject.
"Well," Lara continued "look here" she clicked one of the photographs and one of the wall paintings filled the screen.
"What am I looking at?"
"It's said to be an artist's impression of Zeus, but look, right there" Lara pointed to the lance in the hand of the God.
Riley leaned closer to the screen from behind Lara, making contact with her. He squinted at the screen as she watched his face. Suddenly his eyes widened and he glanced at the book in his hand and then back at the screen.
"It's the token!"
"Exactly!" Lara closed that window and opened another, "I performed a search on this site, looking for information on the Ocular Token"
"Anything there?"
"Well, there's not much, but there's enough to give an idea of why Vanderbelt wants it. It says here that the token was the source of Zeus's strength and immortality. Apparently a mortal, named Maximus, climbed mount Olympus and stole the token from Zeus's lance; ultimately resulting in the fall of the Gods."
"So what did Max do with it?" Riley stepped to Lara's side and leaned against the desk as she read the screen.
"Well, it says that the token was only the map to the key of Zeus's power." She glanced over the text then began reading directly from the screen. "It is said that the one who possesses the Token must unlock its secret and find the key. Once the key is located the holder of the Token will be tested."
"Tested? Like at school?"
"Not quite. It says here that if the Token barer is found 'unsuitable' the guardians are released to dispose of him.or her."
"Guardians?"
"That's what it says. I assume that's what happened at Maximus." She stood up straight and looked over at Riley "he was unsuitable"
"What makes someone suitable?"
Lara looked back at the screen and a frown took form on her brow. "It doesn't say. I guess no one has ever been found suitable."
"Aside from Zeus" Riley took a deep breath and sighed loudly. "Well at least we know what that Token is now."
Lara only nodded as she looked at her laptop; the expression on her face was one of extreme concern.
"What if Vanderbelt is deemed suitable to gain possession of the key? What would a guy like him do with the power of the king of the Gods?"
Riley's jaw tightened as he felt his stomach turn at the thought.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, he won't be found suitable." He placed his hands on Lara's shoulders and lowered his head so his eyes were level with hers. "He's not suitable for anything. aside from two things"
Lara raised her eyebrows as she waited for him to finish.
"One: a good beating delivered by me and Two: the inside of a prison cell!" Lara smiled and Riley joined her.
"You know one thing I've learned about you Lara?" She didn't answer, just waited for him to tell her.
"You worry too much!" with that he smiled and pulled her into a strong hug. Lara buried her face in his chest, trying to forget the feeling of dread swelling in the pit of her stomach. "Come on" Riley's chest vibrated against her face as he spoke in his deep voice "let's go get some food"