"Ow! Bugger!" Bryce had yet again been shocked by one of his feisty robots. "Blimey, why can't you just behave?"

It was now ten o'clock in the morning, and he couldn't believe that he was up. It wasn't as if Lara had instructed him to wake up so early, it was mostly that he just wanted to help. Bryce felt like he needed to prove himself, and he had no notion of how. He didn't even know why he wanted to!

Carefully, he reached for his tinker-toy again, avoiding the sharp pincers that gave him quite a shock every time he touched them (no pun intended). Slowly, he placed his hand right above the robot, preparing for an aerial attack. Hovering for only a moment, he quickly thrust his hand downward onto the little demon.

"Ha! I've got you now!" The robot struggled to get away, or to electrocute the hand on top of him, but all it could do was cooperate. Bryce beamed triumphantly as he felt the tiny robot give up. He showed him who was Master-Tinkerer around here! Soon, Bryce got bored with this particular 'bot, and with a slam of his trailer door, he headed up to the manor.

Alex smoothed the button-up shirt that he put on and looked in the mirror. It fit him nicely, really; the material was white linen and it flattered his physical form. For pants, a pair of casual black slacks was all he needed. He found that these fit remarkably well.

"Scary," he whispered as he donned some socks and spare boots he found.

"What is?"

"Ah!" Alex jumped as he heard another voice. "Holy... You know, you really scared me." He watched as Lara curled her full lips into a crooked mischievous smile.

"I live to strike fear in the hearts of many..."

Alex sneered, "Not if you give them a heart attack first!" Another smile from her. Damn she was beautiful... that was all that Alex could think.

Lara couldn't help but laugh as Alex jumped nearly out of his skin as she spoke to him.

"And I suppose you came here for a specific reason? Or did you just want to give me a heart attack?" Lara walked closer to him, raising her head and looking him straight in the eyes.

"I would prefer if you died later, actually." He gave her a short smirk and that 'God-Lara-you-have-such-a-dry-sense-of-humor' look. Naturally, she was used to that, so all she could do was simply smile right back.

"I came to tell you that I know where to go. I found the location in an Atlas... with my father's help."

West didn't dare interfere with this statement. If Lara Croft tells you that her dead father came to her and pinpointed the exact location of where to take an ancient artifact, you believe her! There was no doubt in his mind that Lara was just leading him on. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"So... where are you off to this time?" His gaze stayed glued to her eyes, any lower, and he knew there would be trouble.

"Tuvalu. It's an island in the Pacific Ocean, near Australia. And, I'm not the only one who will be going."

Alex looked at her. She couldn't mean me could she?

"Bryce will be going as well. It's about time he's went somewhere. Imagine- staying inside this mansion for so long... people would think you have agoraphobia!"

West's eyes dropped a little, but not to cleavage. He really wanted to go on this mission with her, but it seemed as if she didn't want him to go.

"Alex?" He looked up into her beautiful eyes and waited. "Alex," she repeated. "I want you to go as well. I didn't really thank you for your help after the invasion...

Alex sensed that this was hard for her, "Lara, you don't have to..." But oh, did she ever.

"No. I'm apologizing; don't screw this up! You're lucky to be getting one." She took a breath, "I'm sorry for shooting you as well. Can you forgive me?"

Alex could have sworn that his mouth was on the floor. He had just received an actual, truthful apology from Lara Croft. He was dumbfounded, but then regained composure.

"Lara, I could forgive you for anything." His eyes searched in hers, trying to guess what she was feeling. Suddenly, he felt her hand on his waist. It moved down lower, toward his crotch.

Pinch me, I'm dreaming! West thought as the hand moved slightly lower. Then, a zip sound could be heard and Alex just realized what she had done. He felt so embarrassed.

"Uh, thanks." He received a playful smile and a quick wink, then she turned and exited the room.

"Smooth, West. Real smooth."

Lara chuckled to herself as she entered her own room and began chucking bags out of her door.

"This, and this... oh, and this one..." After she was done, a large heap of luggage was stacked outside of her door, waiting to be carried downstairs. Hillary, who had heard all of the commotion, immediately had ran upstairs to see what was the matter.

"Lara? Lara are you in there?" Lara heard her butler calling to her and she bounded toward the door.

"Yes, Hillary, I'm in here!" She couldn't help but laugh at his reply:

"Oh, that's good, I just couldn't see over this Great Wall of Luggage! Honestly, I thought they left that in China!" Lara rolled her eyes and pushed away one of the bags so that she could see her butler more clearly.

"Honestly, Hillary," she mocked him, "don't you think you have some uh... dancing to do?"

Hillary's mouth was instantly agape and Lara accidentally laughed in his face.

"Hillary, I'm sorry, but that was funny! Ask Bryce!" The butler became serious looking, but Lara knew that he was only fooling.

"Lady Croft, I have known Master Bryce long enough to know that anything will amuse him." Lara began to laugh.

"Yes, Hillary, that is true; sadly, that is true."

Twenty minutes later, when all of the baggage had been set by the front door, Bryce barged through the doors. Almost immediately, he stumbled over the abundance of luggage, tangling himself in some spare rope that linked several of them.

"Help!" He screamed. "Somethin's got me!" Lara, Hillary, and Alex all appeared from different areas of the room and looked at him in amusement.

Bryce begged, "Is someone going to get me out of here or what?" Lara moved first and crouched beside him.

She purred, "You know, some serious revenge could be placed right now..."

The tech's eyes became wide, "Lara, Please! You can't take advantage of me like that! I'm..." he considered "...just an innocent young boy!" Everyone besides him laughed heartily, but it was Alex who spoke.

"You look pathetic, Bryce." The entangled man stuck out his tongue.

"Oh, can it, West, you great love spud!"

"Bryce!" Lara yelled at him, as she took a small switchblade out of her boot.

"Now, I'll only let you go if you promise to be a good boy." She watched him nod his head fiercely. "Okay, you're free." Bryce flailed his arms about making sure the rope was no longer inhibiting him.

"So, do you just leave rope lying around all the time, or was this just an intricate Bryce-trap that you've set?" Hillary couldn't resist the chance to retaliate:

"Master Bryce, it wouldn't take something as intricate as rope to capture you."

Bryce considered for a moment and decided that that remark was an insult. "Hey! Mr. 'Sinatra', I've got a bone to pick with you..."

Lara had to interject. "Bryce! Calm down now... it's okay. Now, just go into the tech room, fiddle with some robots, do whatever it is you do, okay?" She watched Bryce nod his head solemnly. "Oh, and by the way, you're coming to Tuvalu with us!"

Before Bryce could get a word in, Lara disappeared into a hallway. He smirked at her trickery.

Well, at least I'm not stuck here today...

___________________________________

love spud: n. testicle.