Next destination: Fongafale, Tuvalu.
Lara exhaled in a fit of boredom and flipped through the pages of an airline magazine absently. Her long, brown hair that had once been so smoothly done, now escaped from its trap and appeared as if she had just come from an expedition in some jungle. She was way past aggravated, but she kept her cool and closed her eyes.
Bryce smacked his computer. "Work, you bloody contraption! Oh no! I'm sorry, precious! Come on..." The tech added the last bit when the computer screen threatened to turn off by flashing numerous lines, which hinted toward 'malfunction', across it. Bryce, ever being the sucker for his little gadgets, stopped yelling at his laptop and stroked it lovingly. The computer owned him, and he knew it.
Lazily, he raised himself off of his seat and scratched his underside. "Ugh, sittin' here so long makes me bum go to sleep."
Alex looked at him in amused disgust and rolled his eyes. "Well, at least you're having fun. Look at poor Lara!" Both men turned toward the Tomb Raider and stifled their laughter. Lara was asleep, her glasses shading her beautiful eyes and the magazine that she had once been "reading" was cast onto the floor. Alex shook his head as Bryce continued to stare.
"Bryce, no."
"Oh, but she's asleep! I've got to get her back for..."
"No, Bryce."
"Why? Oh, fine."
The rejected tech crossed his arms and huffed loudly. Alex only smiled. "As long as I'm around, you can't play any pranks on her."
Bryce turned to him and gave him a questionable look. "What's that supposed to mean, West?"
Alex grinned. "Because she'll blame it on me when you're the one to get in trouble!" Also grinning now, Bryce rolled his eyes.
"Yes, well we wouldn't want that now would we? You just watch... I'll get her good." Now it was Alex's turn to roll his eyes.
Bryce has it in for her. Lara better watch herself.
"Finally! Bloody hell, I thought we'd never get here! Me bum is still numb!" Lara put one hand on her tech's shoulder.
"Bryce, calm down. The important thing is, we're here. Now, where is baggage claim?" Bryce mumbled something. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Lara narrowed her eyes playfully.
"Oh, nothing." Bryce feigned innocence. "Just can't wait to get those bags!" And he went skipping away.
"Please stand away from the baggage belt. Machine is starting. Please stand away from the baggage belt Machine is starting. Please-"
Lara tensed at the mechanical voice and reached for a pistol. It was a good thing she had so much restraint or she would have whipped out her guns and taken out anything that even looked like it was emitting that terrible voice. Suddenly, a different voice began to speak:
"Everyone, we are sorry for the delay, but there is a baggage jam inside of the machine, we are searching the problem out right now. It shouldn't be long. Please stay calm and we'll be finished as soon as possible. Thank you."
Numerous groans filled the airport and many people complained and cussed. Lara simply eyed the machine and studied it carefully. Deciding, she turned toward Alex and handed him her single carry-on. Without words, he knew what she was about to do.
"Lara," she turned to look at him, "be careful." She smiled and saluted him shortly. Then with one graceful leap, she was on the elevated part of the machine and headed toward the opening.
Lara crawled up the rubber mobile-belt and into the large silver chute that was supposed to emit the baggage. Behind her, she could hear people gasping and whispering about how crazy she was. But Lara knew inside, that everyone would be praising her when she found the problem. Swiftly, she made her way through the chute and was met with a sea of various colored baggage.
"All right... where is the problem."
Her words were more statement or threat than a question as her sharp eyes scanned the area. In no time, she spotted the conflict. Leaping onto different luggage, Lara directed herself toward a single bag that prohibited any further movement.
One swift kick collided with the brown suitcase and sent it flying in another direction; the belt began to move. Lara cringed as she heard the distinct sound of shattering glass. Shrugging, she lifted herself back onto the silver chute and slid down the mobile-belt.
Applause greeted the Tomb Raider as Alex reached for her hand. Lara simply smiled, grabbed Alex's hand and waited for her respective luggage. In no time at all, Bryce was encumbered with the bags.
"Blimey! Why am I always the one to carry the bloody bags?"
Lara grinned. "Because you're so strong, Bryce. All that finger-pecking on your laptop pays off!" She watched as her tech gave her a murderous glare. Ruffling his already messy hair, Lara walked away.
Bryce shook his head and scoffed, "Lara's gonna get it good." Without another word, he grabbed a cart, loaded the luggage onto it, and hastily followed the tomb raiders.
Two hours later, the three adventurers found their hotel and all but one fell onto their respective beds in exhaustion. Lara just shook her head in disapproval at the two men in front of her.
"We just spent hours upon hours sitting in horrid airline seats, and you want to sleep? Didn't you get enough rest on the craft?"
Alex looked at her through weary eyes. "Come on, Lara. Give us a break! Why don't you go take a shower or something and let us sleep?" He put on a puppy-dog face, "Pwease, Wara?"
Croft threw her hands into the air and walked toward the bathroom. Alex noticed that she muttered something about them being "impossible". To that, he only smiled. She knew that she couldn't get along without them.
Some time later, Bryce turned over to look at West.
"Good, he's asleep."
Quietly lifting himself off of his bed, he dove into one of his bags and produced a single Polaroid camera.
"For instant viewing," he chuckled mischievously and walked toward the bathroom. Silently turning the knob, he wasn't surprised to find that it was locked. But being the crafty tech that he was, Bryce pulled out a small box from his back pocket and opened it up.
He lifted a single black metal object and stuck it into the tiny hole on the knob. Bryce turned his tool and listened for the distinct click of the lock. There it was. Carefully, Bryce turned the handle so slowly he felt like it took forever until the door finally opened just a crack.
Steam came toward him from the minute opening of the door as he waited for the exact moment. Finally, his patience paid off. Lara pushed the glass door of the shower open and...
"Got ya!" Bryce thrust open the door and leapt into the room, simultaneously clicking the button on his camera. Not bothering to stick around, the tech immediately wheeled around and ran out of the room.
All the frantic criminal could hear behind him was: "I'm gonna kill you, Bryce!"
He believed her! Quickly, he darted into the connecting room of their hotel and locked the door. For the moment, he was safe.
Alex awoke from all of the commotion and looked bleary-eyed around the room. His mouth immediately fell open at the sight in front of him. Lara was dressed only in a short white towel and she was still dripping with water. Her long brown hair appeared to be black and tiny beads of water clung to her face, legs, and shoulders. If it weren't for her yelling and banging on the door to the other room, Alex would have thought she was an angel.
Grabbing his forehead, Alex spoke:
"Lara, it's not my birthday, why are you dressed in a towel?" He watched as the Tomb Raider stopped attacking the door and fixed him with a steely glare.
"This is no time to crack jokes, West. Bryce took a picture and he won't give it back!" Alex suddenly raised his eyes and Lara glared at his dumbfounded face.
"You mean, Bryce took a picture of you when you were coming out of the shower?" Lara nodded.
Not being able to control himself, Alex roared with laughter, oblivious to the deadly stare that Lara was sending his way. West rolled on his bed in a fit of hysterics. Tears came to his eyes.
"You know, you have to admit, Bryce got you good." Croft sighed and removed her murderous look from her face. Then she smiled.
"Yes, I suppose so." Then she turned back to the door. "But Bryce WILL be giving back that photograph!"
Behind the oak door, Bryce only snickered and placed the photograph into his pocket. He was planning to give it to her anyway; he had just wanted to pay her back.