Lara Croft in the Search for Xanadu Chapter 7: The Mongol King, 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 7: The Mongol King

"Please. I beg you not to worry my dear. It could have happened to anyone." Hurt's hand slipped down the entire length of Lara's naked thigh and squeezed. His touch brought her back to the present, by which time Hurt was safely pacing the other side of the office. For the first time in two days Lara Croft stopped thinking about Angela and from the stout leather armchair in front of Hurt's vast desk, where she sat slumped as if exhausted, she stared at Hurt over the top of her sunglasses with unconcealed contempt. "In fact, I'm glad it was you," he went on, "anyone else would have made a complete balls up of it."

"Really?" she spat sarcastically.

"Of course!" bellowed the smiling Hurt, turning and moving rapidly towards her.

Coming for another stroke? thought Lara who jumped out of the armchair and strode over to the enormous window behind the desk. Biting her thumbnail she surveyed the sluggish Thames; its colour matched the rain-laden sky above. Hurt was instantly at her shoulder, his dry voice whispering in her ear: "My dear Lara. My trust in you is total." He gently placed one of his immaculately manicured hands on her shoulder: tantamount to patting a wild tiger under the circumstances. One of them was saved by the telephone buzzer that suddenly shrieked from the desk. Hurt answered with annoyance: "Send him in."

The bulky Reed stepped into the elegant office. Seeming all the more uncomfortable in his finely tailored suit he approached the desk and said: "China." Hurt cocked a questioning eyebrow but Lara had understood and now faced him, her sunglasses concealing the desperation in her eyes. "Where in China?" she asked urgently. Reed ignored her and continued to stare at his master as if Hurt had been the one to ask. "Beijing. They were spotted two days ago. Buying equipment, provisions. Weapons."

"Angela. What about the girl?" cut in Lara.

Reed continued to stare past her and went on: "They were last seen heading west." He cast his eyes down reluctantly at Lara. "The girl was with them."

Lara wheeled round to look at Hurt. "I go tonight," she almost shouted.

"Yes, I think you ought to," said Hurt. "Although they could be anywhere by now."

"No. I know where they are."

"Of course, Beijing. The great Kublai Khan, 'The Sun of Heaven', the fourth son of the fourth son of the warrior king Genghis Khan, host to Marco Polo...," Hurt began to pace the office again, waving his hands pompously, "...completed the Mongol conquest of China that his illustrious grandfather had begun and made his capital, Ta-tu, north-east of the Chin city, Chung-tu now known as Beijing." Lara sighed and looked at her feet while Reed continued to stare straight ahead. "Ta-tu is Coleridge's Xanadu and there, if I am not mistaken, lies the Pleasure Dome." Hurt held out his hands and shrugged his shoulders as if to say: 'It's as simple as that!'

"Stow the history lesson, Hurt." Lara shook her head slightly as she let herself flop into the armchair once more. "Didn't you hear him? He said they went west."

Hurt looked thoughtful for a moment before snapping his fingers and exclaiming: "Mongolia!"

Lara gave a dull laugh. "Well done. You keep this up and you might just pass your exams. But Mongolia's a big place."

Hurt's face took on an intrigued expression. Smiling he asked: "Where then?"

"You said yourself that Cotting wasn't that good an archaeologist." Lara slung a leg over the arm of the chair. "He had a vague idea of what was going on, but most of the documents you passed on to me were confused. I'd even say they'd been tampered with."

"But no-one except the Police had been in that room where the poor man was found," protested Hurt.

"No-one but the murderer," added Lara.

Hurt seemed shocked: "Surely you don't think Mr. Smiley..."

"You know very well that Smiley would do anything to get his grubby paws on an artefact like the Orb," interrupted Lara. "It doesn't really matter anyway: the fact is he knows the location of the Dome and he has Angela."

"Ah, the key." Hurt nodded in thought before adding dramatically: "Poor, poor girl. My heart goes out to her." Like hell! thought Lara but restrained herself. She still knew Hurt had more to do with Cotting's death than he was letting on and she rejected his good guy act. "Enlighten us, my dear." Hurt made a sweeping gesture that included the unflinching Reed. "Where in Mongolia is the Pleasure Dome?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

Hurt leapt angrily to his feet but regaining his composure asked smoothly: "How do you know all this, Lara?"

For the first time in days Lara smiled. It was an icy smile that complemented the cold glint of her sunglasses. "I'm the best. And don't you remember? You only ever have the best."