Lara Croft in the Search for Xanadu Chapter 4: Three's a Crowd, a tomb raider fanfic

Lara Croft in the Search for Xanadu Lara Croft in the Search for Xanadu

Neil Stokes

This story contains some violence and bad language.

Thanks to Eva, Chris and Jess.

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Chapter 4: Three's a Crowd Christopher Columbus, with a lone seagull for company, stood atop his pedestal and pointed confidently towards America. Hundreds of feet below Lara Croft, amid the commercial bustle of Barcelona's old port, followed his directions and found herself at the foot of a newly built glass structure crammed full of shoppers, moviegoers and tourists. Beyond the harbour the Mediterranean shimmered beneath the bright sun.

She went and sat on a bench to review her situation. Having flown direct from Heathrow, a taxi had taken her as far as Plaza Cataluña setting her down among crowds of tourists who were only outnumbered by the swarms of greedy pigeons that boldly gorged on the seed in their outstretched palms. What she had imagined as a leisurely stroll down the Ramblas, festooned with flower stalls and human statues, had become a tussle for walking space. According to her information Angela was being kept in the swanky 'Hotel Arts', a block of burnished glass caged in a skeleton of white girders, which she could see towering above the Olympic village area a mile further along the coast. She decided she would walk the rest of the way and try to get the girl on her own without too many of Hurt's people getting involved. Whether Hurt could be trusted or not, and she thought not, she would try to do this thing without any contributions of help.

Which brought her round to Angela. The mere thought of the child, and she had thought of her often over the last couple of days, aroused a mixture of emotions that left her feeling confused. She had gone far enough to question her unlikely reaction to the photo and she had even tinkered with ideas represented by words usually banished from her vocabulary, like 'loneliness', but she had withdrawn from any real examination of her feelings out of an unfamiliar fear. Introspection did not suit her she decided and standing she forced herself to concentrate on the job in hand. She replaced her sunglasses and began walking through the port complex in the direction of the hotel. Dressed in summer clothes she easily blended in with the many tourists that milled about the shops and restaurants.

Unmolested and hardly noticed she exchanged the noisy heat of the street for the air-conditioned tranquillity of the hotel lobby. A few minutes after giving her name to the receptionist she saw a tall serious-looking man leave one of the lifts opposite and stride towards her. Despite the fine cut of his suit she could see he was one of the hard men with which people like Hurt insisted on surrounding and from the way he moved she knew he was armed. He came straight over and asked sullenly: "Lara Croft?"

There was something about these goons that always released an irrepressible vein of mischief in her and she could never resist the temptation to tease them. "At your service," she replied cheerfully, "Mr...?" As he wrestled with his own surname she could see that even the simplest social situations were a struggle for him but he eventually came up with 'Reed'. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Reed," she shot back, offering her hand. With an effort Reed took it and grunted. Lara beamed a beautiful smile at him but also noted the gnarled strength in his handshake and warned herself not to push him too far.

Reed's social skills didn't improve much in the lift to the twelfth floor, Lara mercilessly bombarding him with a series of social pleasantries and questions about Catalan culture that he made no effort to respond to. Although she knew there was little sense in making enemies without good reason she couldn't help but show bullies like this how they failed to intimidate her. Reed was also one of Hurt's men and she now transferred the defiance she had felt during their original interview to this rude incarnation of his power. The lift slowed to a halt and Reed indicated the open doors with a nod. Lara moved ahead of him, feeling like she should have the muzzle of a gun digging in her ribs. By the time they arrived at the double doors of the suite Reed had had enough time to think up some form of retaliation. Leaning forward to open the doors he turned and said: "Time the kid had a real nanny anyway. I'm up to here with the squealin'." Lara's pride ignited like gunpowder; saying nothing she lifted her hand and slipped her sunglasses slowly down to the tip of her nose, unveiling her clear hostile eyes. Reed was hard and she knew he wouldn't scare easily but she was rewarded with a feeling of satisfaction when he blinked.

Although it was bright and sunny outside it was stuffy and dark in the large suite and Lara could see no sign of Angela in the gloom. She walked over to the drawn curtains and ripping them open allowed the sunlight to flood in; still no Angela. She glanced over at Reed who was standing like a bouncer and who nodded in the direction of a side door in response to her questioning look. Lara walked over to it and entered.

Before she'd finished taking a step into the room she froze. On the far side of the small bedroom the large windows that looked out over the busy road below were wide open. Beyond the windows was a narrow balcony and what made her heart boom was the sight of Angela perched on the balcony rail with an immense drop below. The girl hadn't heard Lara enter and instead seemed fascinated by the activity in the street. As quietly as she could Lara edged slowly round the perimeter of the room, entering Angela's field of vision gradually to avoid startling her. Her back against the far wall she inched to within a metre or so of the girl, who seemed to be enjoying the way the warm breeze rushed against her and lifted her hair away from her face. She was smiling and still hadn't noticed Lara who crept ever nearer.

Lara took another step and saw the smile disappear, the child's jerk of surprise and her arms start to flail an instant after a man's angry voice shouted: "Get the fuck off that balcony, now." Angela had slipped but the strength of the wind seemed to hold her for a moment before she actually began to fall. That fraction of a moment was all Lara needed to leap the final distance between herself and the girl, her arms full stretch and her hands clawed like talons. The metal rail of the balcony crashed into her chest, winding her but she had the girl tightly in her grip and dangling by her foot like a rag doll. "Help me, you oaf," Lara shouted to Reed but he was already there hauling both of them into the room. Lara shook herself from his fist and grabbed Angela who was in shock and still hadn't started crying yet.

"Try anything like that again," Reed shouted them, "and I'll throw the pair of you off the balcony."

He wakes up once he has someone to threaten at last, observed Lara but letting it lie she raised her palm out to silence him and keep him at a distance. Hugging Angela to her hip she slowly walked her into the main room. The child's shock was beginning to crack and the girl was now crying loudly in between huge gasping breaths. As Lara sat her down on the large sofa Reed came back and took up his bouncer stance nearby. "Go take a walk, Reed," Lara said quietly from her kneeling position in front of the child where she was trying to calm her down. Reed didn't move so Lara looked up at him and said: "I thought you've been waiting for a nanny? Well let me get on with it." He looked down at her, not with anger but with a professional distaste that he didn't try or was unable to conceal. At the same time Lara could sense him battling with some conflict in his mind - orders probably, she thought. She didn't look away from his hard stare and again saw him blink before he left the hotel room, slamming the door behind him. As Lara turned back to attend to the child she was thinking that although Reed was hard, he was also weak.

Meanwhile Angela had calmed down a little and her crying had become a rhythmic sobbing. Events had moved too quickly for her to think about who this strange woman was and why she was there. The extent of her need for comfort after her shock made her accept Lara unconditionally and now she put her arms around her neck as the last sobs died away. This gesture unsettled Lara, which was unusual enough without her having to deal with the sudden unexpected sensation of relief that flooded through her. She was supposed to be comforting the child and now here she was soaking up this affection like a parched plant in a shower. For a few seconds she closed her eyes and buried her face in the warm fragrance of the child's hair. She heard the words: "Thank you," but couldn't tell whether it was Angela or herself who had said them. "OK. Everything's OK now," said Lara, "let's go." She stood with a dozing Angela clasped against her and left the hotel room.

In the lobby Reed watched them pass through the sliding doors into the bright sunlight. He turned to the public telephone behind him and dialled. When his call was answered he said: "Smiley? Yeah, they just left."