Lara Croft in the Search for Xanadu
By
Neil Stokes
This story contains some violence and bad language.
Thanks to Eva, Chris and Jess.
Tomb Raider, Lara Croft, her image and likeness are trademark and copyright © of EIDOS Interactive and Core Design. No infringement or challenge to these copyrights is intended.
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Chapter 5: Smiley's People"Why?"
"Because I like it that way," answered Lara.
"Why?"
"Because if I plait it, it stops it getting in the way."
"Why?" asked Angela for what seemed like the millionth time.
Lara changed tack: "Look, do you want an ice cream or not?"
Angela thought for a moment. "Maybe," she said as she swung her legs back and forth beneath the bench seat. They were sitting on an esplanade lined with palm trees that hid the hotel and the marina beyond and shielded them from the hot midday sun. At this time in the afternoon there was only the odd tourist making for the beach. They had been talking and had got somewhere on the bonding front - the hotel incident seemed just about forgotten and Lara was relieved to see that Angela had recovered so well so quickly. "You can have my clip if you want, Lara," said Angela reaching up to her hair and extracting an orange butterfly shaped hair clip.
"Thanks," replied Lara, "but you might need it."
"No," insisted the girl, "I want you to have it. I don't need it."
Lara smiled. She felt gratitude out of all proportion with the cheap hair-clip the girl was offering. "Thank you, Angela. Thank you very much," she said, glad that her sunglasses where in place to hide the emotion that stung her eyes. What the hell's the matter with me, she wondered as she attached the clip to her braid.
"You're welcome," said Angela, the adult phrase sounding unnaturally formulaic. "Oh, look at that puppy," she suddenly cried, getting down from the bench and running over to where an old man strolled with a miniature dog. Lara let her go, watching her bend down to pat the animal. The old man smiled and spoke to her but she didn't seem to mind that she couldn't understand what he was saying; she listened politely.
Although Lara had no experience with kids she could see that Angela was a good example of the species and Lara was quite pleased with the way she had handled her so far. Before coming out to Barcelona she had let her initial feelings of attraction run free without trying to force them into a context. She had read all the stuff Hurt had sent of course and knew Angela's story well. Her mother had been a celebrated university professor who had died during childbirth; her father an unknown archaeologist who had been taking the girl with him on his travels for the last few years. Hardly a stable upbringing but Lara guessed she had gained in other ways - she was tough for her age especially in her adaptability. Then there was the Xanadu connection. Cotting had written that Angela was the key to the Orb of Longing before he had died in that hotel room. Or rather before he had been murdered by Hurt's people as she tended to think of it. She knew she had to start digging into all of that soon. Angela was happily fussing over the dog but it was clear the old man wanted to move on. Lara stood up. "How about that ice cream?" she shouted over.
Angela stood too and the old man took the opportunity to continue his walk. "Maybe," she said, thinking for a moment before raising her arm and pointing in the direction of a shopping mall on the other side of the trees where a hand-painted sign read 'SKATE HIRE'. "Lara, can we go skating?"
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Lara spun round, skating backwards. Angela was already some way behind but Lara was impressed; her movements showed a child's clumsiness but there was also a determination to succeed that kept her on her skates. She approached, puffing exaggeratedly and suddenly realising she didn't know how to stop. Her face took on an expression of alarm as she went crashing into Lara, who was knocked backwards and with a whoop fell to the floor laughing. The girl lay in a giggling heap on top of Lara, who raised her head to look at her. "The secret to in-line skating is stopping. I guess you hadn't worked that out yet."
"Show me, then" answered the girl, piqued.
Lara got to her feet once again and looked down, saying: "Don't do anything for the moment. Just watch and then you can have a go." She drifted away across the square. As she got to the far side she slid her right foot forward and pressed the heel down, forcing the brake against the concrete. She came to a gradual halt. Turning to beckon Angela she looked across the square but the girl wasn't there. Lara didn't do anything at first except listen to the sudden thump of her heart. She'd been having fun and had let her guard down, breaking her own rules. Lara didn't stop to wait for the girl to appear from round a corner; she was already furiously skating to where she had left her. In a moment she was skidding to a halt, had scanned the area and was moving off towards the shopping mall. A young couple, almost certainly tourists, were passing through the glass sliding doors as she arrived but Lara didn't slow down. Reaching out she grabbed the man's arm and used him to swing herself around until she was facing him, finishing her manoeuvre by pulling him towards her until their noses were almost touching: "Did you see a young girl just then?"
The man couldn't speak at first and then he started trying to pull his arm out of Lara's grip: "What the ...?"
"Tell me!" Shouted Lara with such fury that the man cringed and said: "Yeah, I saw a girl. What's...?"
"A dark-haired girl. Chinese looking."
"No this one was blonde and she was on skates."
"That's the one," said Lara, letting the man go, spinning and skating into the mall.
As it was afternoon the shops were closed and the place was largely deserted. Lara was moving down a short corridor that connected with a set of stairs that spiralled down around a central lift shaft. The stairs gave access to several levels and as she approached the centre she could see she was on the highest. She was moving fast, the stairs suddenly at her feet. Turning her body she came out of a 360º spin, thrusting out her leg, jamming her skate against the shiny floor and stopping herself immediately. From where she was standing at the edge of the wide stairwell she could see down into the complex. She scanned each floor, following the profile of the stairs as far as the lowest level where she spotted three men in casual clothes. The one in front was older and leaner than the other two who, from their identical height, bulk and movement, were clearly twins. The older man had a wriggling, kicking Angela crammed under his arm and his other hand pressed over her face, preventing her from screaming. The three of them were hurrying but the struggling child was proving to be a handful. Rob Smiley!
Rob Smiley. Rob Smiley. Rob Smiley. The name, like a chant inside her head, provided a rhythm to skate to as she headed back down the corridor, stopped, turned and began pushing powerfully in the direction of the stairs once more. Rob Smiley. Rob Smiley. On the marble floor of the shopping centre her speed increased. Rob Smiley. The open stairwell came into view. Rob Smiley. At the last instant when she was about to go crashing into the protective balustrade she leapt, bending her knees and pulling her feet up as high as possible. As she sailed over the stairs she suddenly straightened her legs and smashed her skates at the stair-rail, jamming the metal in the space between the two inside wheels. She bent her knees and held out her arms for balance like a surfer as she slipped down the spiralling metal rail in a shower of sparks. "Rob Smiley!" she screamed as she swooped down.
The man holding Angela stopped where he was at the bottom. He was trying to control Angela, forcing his two accomplices to step in and help. Lara swept briefly out of view behind the lift shaft as she made her sliding descent. Looking upwards, Rob Smiley's weathered face broke into a broad grin and as Lara appeared again he let out a long whistle of appreciation. In a flash of yellow, crooked teeth the twins revealed their extreme ugliness at the same time as drawing pistols from their coats. The one nearest to Lara tried to raise his gun but Angela, with a well aimed blow to the solar plexus, left him gasping and giving Lara time to pass around the other side of the central shaft. She could hear Smiley's thick Australian accent shout: "Lara Croft, you are just the most fucking beautiful creature on this planet. How can I compete with that?"
Lara ducked down as far as she could when she saw that she was about to slide back into view. "You can't," she shouted back. "Now let the girl go."
"You see, that's what gets me about you!" Lara was back into the open and she could see that one of the twins had wrapped his arms around Angela, finally immobilising her while Smiley was still grinning but with anger in his voice: "you think you're the fucking bee's knees. Haven't you seen Pimp and Pump here? Don't you think you may be outnumbered?"
One of the twins let go a volley of deafening gunfire in Lara's direction but she was already gone. Throwing her weight backwards, pulling her skates off the rail, she flipped head over heels. Her skates arced downwards as her body began to right itself and her feet came down with such force that when they smashed into Pimp he crumpled under her instantly. Lara bounced off his prone body and fell to the floor. A second later she was back on her feet, her skates wedged against the stairs and Pimp's gun aimed at Pump who, having shoved Angela into Smiley's arms, was aiming right back. Smiley was halfway across the floor of the complex, the kicking, screaming Angela still under his arm when Lara commanded: "Let the girl go, Smiley or..."
"Or what?" Smiley taunted, stopping and dodging a flung elbow from the girl. "I got a gun too, y'know." He had reached the entrance to the underground car park on the far side. Out of the corner of her eye Lara could see the glint of metal. Pump's shallow reptilian eyes stared while his crazy smile stretched into inches of pale gum and stained tombstone teeth. A saliva-flecked hiss escaped as, laughing at her predicament, he replaced his firearm and bent to help his groaning twin to his feet. One supporting the other they hobbled down the stairs to where Smiley stood. Smiley laughed, shouting: "Pimp's not going to forget you, Lara. As if any of us could. Come on boys."
Lara watched him back out of the door into the car park, dragging the sobbing Angela. She saw the pleading terror in the girl's eyes as she twisted her head trying to keep Lara in view as long as possible. Before they disappeared, Lara shouted: "Don't worry Angela. I'll come and get you." She waited a few moments and was about to follow when she heard a gun cock behind her and a man's voice shouting in Spanish. She turned and saw two policemen, their pistols drawn, aiming at her while they barked instructions. Flicking the safety catch Lara let Pimp's gun drop to the ground as she said out loud to herself: "Everyone's pointing guns at me today."