Author's Note: I was so inspired by such kind and enthusiastic reviews I felt inspired to write the next part straight away. Once again, thank you to you all.



Part Two – The Collector


Croft Manor, Buckinghamshire, England:


Lara sat at the large desk in her observatory, pouring over newspapers and articles, the computer in front of her searching the Internet for anything hidden in the realms of cyberspace. It was frustrating and time consuming work but she had to know. At least the perfectly starry sky above served to keep her calm. Whenever she felt herself getting tense or angry, she would look up for a few moments. It was so peaceful and serene up there it was hard not to feel its cathartic effect.


One thing was constantly irritating her though. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hillary and Bryce muttering urgently to one another, stopping any time that they thought she was looking at them and burying their heads back into the papers spread in front of them.


Eventually her a mixture of her curiosity and annoyance got the better of her and she stood up, crossing over to them with the pretense of going to the bookshelf behind. She picked up one of the large, heavy volumes there, turned and quickly slammed it down on the desk between the two causing them to both jump half a foot.


They looked up at her guiltily, like two boys caught with their hands in the biscuit jar. She raised a perfect eyebrow questioningly at them.


"Yes?" she asked, in clipped tones.


The pair of them exchanged a look.


"Nothing," they said in unison.


She tilted her head to the left, looking at them as if she was expecting an answer and wasn't going to leave until she got one.


"What is wrong?" she asked pointedly.


Hillary decided to take the lead, knowing that his slightly more diplomatic approach would probably be more conducive to them staying out of trouble with their employer.


"It's nothing really," he said in as offhand manner as he could muster.


"But?" she prompted.


"But when you've had a....faliure – that was in no way, at all your fault of course," he said, carefully choosing his words so as not to antagonise her further, "Well you tend to be a little....tetchy."


"Tetchy?" she asked, surprisingly calm.


"Easily irritated," Hillary confirmed.


"A tad moody," Bryce added helpfully.


"Understandably tense."


"A little bit nuts."


"Really," Lara replied flatly.


They both nodded.


There was a long moment of silence.


The sound of the doorbell suddenly reverberated through the house. Hillary shot out of his chair.


"Oh, the door," he said hurriedly, "I really should answer that."


He began to edge towards the door, Bryce standing a following him.


"Why don't I give 'im a hand with that," he said with the sort of reassuring smile you'd give a lunatic as you inched towards the panic button.


The pair of them tried to the leave the room with some dignity but that proved to be hard when the were walking as fast as they could without actually running.


She smiled to herself and returned to her desk, the smile fading slightly as she saw the spread of papers over her desk. Since her return this morning she had had a few hours sleep on Hillary's insistence and then set to work trying to find out what was in that temple. And perhaps who had gotten there first.


She had just settled down to what she thought would be a long night when Hillary returned, much more composed this time.


"Lara, there's a gentleman here to see you."


She frowned as she looked up. It was a little late for visitors.


Her frowned turned angry when she saw who it was. Sir Nathan Kennedy – the man who had hired her.


Sir Nathan was a tall, grey man, with an air of aristocratic charm. A retired archaeologist who had once worked for the British Museum, he now did his own private research and collecting. When he had approached her originally it was with evidence highlighting the existence of a yet undiscovered temple in the Himalayas, no doubt home to a number of priceless artifacts. There was said to be one main artifact in the heart of the place that was never described except as one of the most valued treasures man could own. He had hired Lara to find it for him.


"Mr Kennedy is no gentleman, Hillary," Lara answered tersely, making her feelings quite clear. Knowing that to not use his proper title would be an affront to him. He was that sort of man.


"Now, Lady Croft," Kennedy said soothingly, removing his hat as protocol would demand, "There is no need to be like that."


She glared at him intensely.


"Er, should I make tea?" Hillary asked, glad it wasn't him she was looking at in such a dangerous manner.


"No," Lara interjected, "He won't be staying long."


Hillary nodded and left them to it, rather relieved to be out of there.


There were a few moments of silence as Lara chose to ignore her 'guest' and instead continue with her research.


"I understand that you're angry," Kennedy began, inevitably breaking the silence.


"You hired someone else to go after the artifact," she said bluntly, avoiding looking at him as she crossed to shelf to replace one of the useless books and retrieve a hopefully more helpful one, "Why would I possibly be angry?"


"Actually," he said in a matter of fact manner, "It was another four people. But you did get there second, so bravo."


She paused in her tracks, taking a deep, calming breath.


"Look, no hard feelings, hmm?" he said brightly, "And since you did so well last time I'd like to retain your services for another retrieval job."


She smiled as turned to look at him, speaking softly, "I don't think so."


"It's in Egypt," he said, as though trying to persuade a small child, "Somewhere in the Valley of the Kings – my people are still working on the exact location but we'll have it in a few days. And Egypt is your forte I understand. I'm sure you'd have no problem winning this time. Of course you'd be handsomely paid either way."


She shook her head, "I only play for fun, Mr Kennedy. Not sport. And I don't need the money."


The look on her face was adamant and he seemed to be aware of this.


"Very well then, Lady Croft," he said amicably, twirling his hat in his hands before replacing it on his head with a little flair, "I shall consider it my loss."


"Good luck, Mr Kennedy," she replied and turned back to her research, signaling that their meeting was over.


By the time Hillary and Bryce returned, Kennedy was long since gone and Lara had continued on with her work.


"Well what did that git want?" Bryce asked in his usual blunt manner.


"That's Sir Git to you," Hillary corrected. Dislike was no reason for bad etiquette.


"He wanted me to go after another piece. In Egypt this time."


Hillary raised an eyebrow in surprise.


"I trust you turned him down," he said disdainfully. Just because the man had been knighted, didn't mean he had to like him. As soon as he had oozed his way into the house, Hillary had taken a dislike to Sir Nathan for no apparent reason. There w just an air of mistrust that seemed to hang around the man like mist.


"Of course," Lara replied.


"But you're going to look for it yourself?" Hillary countered, nothng that she had not given up on her research despite being officially off the case, so to speak.


"Of course," she said again.


"But you don't know what it is?"


"No."


"Why didn't you just ask him?" Bryce chipped in with a frown. It would certainly beat looking through all these books.


"Because he wouldn't have told me," Lara explained simply, "And if he had, it would have been a lie."


"Why do you want to get this so much anyway?" Bryce continued, sitting opposite her – despite Hillary's disapproving tut – and sticking his feet up on the desk.


Lara promptly pushed them off again and they hit the floor with a thud.


"Because I don't come cheap," she reasoned, "And neither does anyone who could possibly beat me. To be throwing this much money and effort into a project, Kennedy has to be after more than a trinket for his mantelpiece. And we're going to find out what."


Lara tossed a book at Bryce which he just about managed to hold on to.


"You can start with that one," she said before returning to her work.


Bryce sighed as he stood up and headed back to the table with Hillary.


"I wish I hadn't bloody asked now," he muttered.