Grrr! Fight time! The filthier bunnies among you should like this chapter :)
Chapter 9: Ready to Rumble
The rain continued all the way home, and although we arrived back at the Manor by early evening, the gloom made it seem later. With the bikes parked up again in the garage, we went into the house leaving a trail of soggy footprints. Winston was standing in the hall, still in his raincoat with his bag at his side, looking around at the mess from the previous night with a most mournful expression. He looked up as he heard us approach, and relief flooded his elderly features.
"Miss Croft! You're alright! I didn't know where you were," he said, and I rushed over and hugged him.
"Winston, I'm so sorry, what must you have thought." Despite the urgency of our business in London, I felt terrible that I'd left the house in such an awful state for my friend to come home to. But why was he home today?
"You seemed unsettled on the telephone before, my dear. I thought perhaps something was wrong." He looked around again at the devastation. "I thought I should come home early."
"Darling Winston," I said, hugging him tight again. "Don't worry, everything's fine. Now come and sit down and I'll explain." I led him off to the kitchen where I sat him down at the table and insisted on making him a cup of tea. By this point Winston had gathered himself enough to notice that I had company.
"This is Kurtis Trent, Winston. You remember, I told you about how we met in Prague." He nodded.
"Yes, yes, of course. It's delightful to meet you Mr. Trent. I've heard a lot about you." He tried to get up to shake Kurtis' hand but I put a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Stay there," I ordered. "Tea."
Kurtis smiled warmly at Winston, and shook his hand. "The pleasure's all mine. I'm sorry you had to come home to such a mess, I'm afraid most of it's my fault."
"Oh, don't be silly," I said. "Things would be a lot worse if you hadn't been here." Winston looked startled. I sighed, and told him the story of the last 24 hours, including the banquet, the intruder, and where we had been this afternoon, but I left out most of the more gory and dangerous details. Winston knew I led an unconventional life, but I didn't want to give him a heart attack. When I was convinced that he was okay, I told him to have a relaxing evening in his quarters, and then went to get changed.
Kurtis and I met back in the library upstairs after changing into dry clothes. I had another computer there, which I switched on and started to download the photographs of Nikolajev's study from my digital camera. Kurtis fetched the CDs with the data he had pirated from my laptop, and set them on the desk beside me. He also brought a small package which we examined together.
"This was the only thing of Nikolajev's left in Caffrey's office," he explained. "I didn't have chance to look at it properly before I was attacked." He unwrapped the paper gently, and I leaned close to see what was inside. It was a palm-sized metal disc, possibly gold, that was deeply marked on either side with a winged figure surrounded by unfamiliar symbols. Kurtis frowned, and picked up the crumpled paper it had been wrapped in. I noticed that there were several sheets covered in handwriting – the notes Kurtis had picked up in Nikolajev's office. He scanned over them, then stopped and read me a few lines.
"'Gold medallion found in concealed chamber behind altar in east church, level three of Derinkuyu. Remarkably well preserved, medallion was held in hands of stone angel. Similar angels in each of the other churches had no such ornamentation, probably stolen many years ago when city was raided. Symbols on medallion bear no relation to missionary artifacts found in recent years; probably much older. Paintings found in other, deeper chambers have similar symbols – will have better idea of origin when paintings have been carbon dated.'" He squinted at the disc in his hand again. "I think – no, but that can't be right."
"What is it?" I asked urgently.
"They look like Lux Veritatis symbols," he replied, puzzled. "But I never heard of any of the Order living in Cappadocia." He shook his head. "With the rest of the Order gone, and all their records destroyed, I don't see how I can find out."
"Do you understand the symbols?"
He shrugged. "Some of them. Only the elders knew all the ancient symbols. Translations were sent to people like my dad. I wonder what happened to the other medallions…" he trailed off. I looked up at him, and realised how close together our faces were. Feeling awkward, I sat back in my chair.
"So what now?" I asked. Despite the new discovery, I wasn't in the mood for work. I had to work off some adrenalin before my brain could be of much use, so I suggested that after downloading the remaining pictures we should go down to the gym. Kurtis had plainly been desperate to get back in a gym after his stint in hospital, and I needed a workout to vent some frustration. He seemed pleased with the idea.
Back downstairs, I gave him a tour of my facilities. I had converted half of the ground floor rooms into gym space, as I prioritised working out over socialising. Some elderly family friends had been appalled at my renovations, saying that I was destroying my heritage with every antique column and carpet I removed. But I've never been much of a traditionalist, and at least it got the message across to the old dears that I was never going to be a socialite.
I led him past the large tiled pool, probably my favourite feature of the whole house, and into the workout area next door that was kitted out with all kinds of athletic equipment. I turned to watch him running a hand idly along the top of a vaulting horse, looking around the vast room.
"I'm impressed," he said.
"There's also an assault course in the grounds, but –" I gestured towards the rain-streaked windows. "- it's probably not the best day for that."
He looked around, clearly not sure what to try first. Then he looked back at me.
"This is all very nice," he said, "but I think I want to fight."
I was confused. "Fight?"
"Yeah. I want to fight. With you." He said it very matter-of-factly, but I suspected an ulterior motive, and must have looked unsure.
"Come on, I need the practice," he urged. I could see he was itching for a well-pitched battle. "It's either that, or I'll have to ask Winston."
I stared back at him levelly. "Okay then. Lets see how rusty you really are."
We cleared some space in the middle of the room and then stood, sizing each other up while we stretched.
"I'll try not to hurt you too much," he said, smiling irresistibly.
"Oh, I won't give you the chance. Even out of pity," I replied. We began, slowly at first, enjoying the feel of each carefully executed movement. I noted with interest the difference in our styles; I had trained in karate and some kung fu, but he moved more like a kickboxer. His balance and control were excellent; I was impressed. Maybe not so rusty after all. We continued to trade blows, getting into a faster rhythm. After a while I noticed that his hands kept ending up on my waist, brushing against the exposed skin there.
"Funny, I don't recognise that move," I said, taking hold of his hands and removing them from my waist, letting my thumbs stroke against his wrists as I let go. The tingling thrill of the unexpected contact combined with the energy pumping around my body was a heady mixture, and Kurtis felt it too. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes now, and I thought this might be a good moment to take a break.
I walked over to the edge of the room to take a drink from the water fountain. I wiped my face with a towel, and as I was bending down to replace it on the floor, Kurtis sneaked up behind me and slapped me on the behind. I whirled around and grabbed him by the throat. He was clearly taken aback at my speed.
"That's cheating," I said coolly, keeping my grip on his neck. I wasn't letting him get away with such a dirty trick.
"Hey, just testing your reflexes," he replied innocently.
"Well you can keep your hands to yourself." I let him go, assuming that he'd got the point. I started to walk away towards the door. Perhaps things had gone far enough for one day. I didn't want him getting too cocky. I had needed a good workout to clear my head, not an excuse get even more hot and bothered.
"Can't blame a man for trying," I heard him mutter behind me. I turned around again.
"No. But I can break both his arms. And legs, if necessary." I headed back towards the door, but it suddenly slammed in my face. I looked at Kurtis, who was still standing a few metres away, right arm outstretched towards the door.
"Now that is definitely cheating."
"I never claimed to be a good sport." He had that expression again, the one he had had in the Louvre, cold and appraising but hot and penetrating at the same time. I hated it when he looked at me like that, when I couldn't tell if he was deciding whether to kiss me or cut me open. We stared each other down for a few minutes.
"What do you want?" I asked him at last. I felt wary, unsure of my footing. He didn't answer, just kept boring into me with his eyes.
I stepped closer to him, and slowly began pacing around him. He mirrored me, and I was reminded of how we had prowled around each other in the airlock at the Strahov. But now it felt even more dangerous. I wondered if he'd try using telekinesis against me.
We were fighting again, but he wasn't playing as fair this time. His punches kept turning into grabs, his kicks trying to knock me off my feet. I evaded him, but he just fought harder and suddenly we were locked together like wrestlers, shaking and sweaty. I couldn't move my arms.
"Not bad, Trent," I said coolly. I stamped on his foot with mine, then threaded my leg through his and kicked it out from under him. I threw him to the floor where he fell face down, and before he could get up I reached out my right leg, pushing the sole of my boot firmly against his neck.
"If you're not going to play by the rules, neither will I. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't snap your neck." I pushed a little harder with my foot to show that I was serious. Suddenly he rolled over, grabbing my leg as he did so and spinning me to the ground. I was winded, flat on my back, and he took advantage of the moment to roll on top of me, snatching my arms and pinning me down.
"I think you like my neck too much for that," he said slowly. I struggled hard but gravity was against me. How had I managed to walk into another of his traps? I couldn't let him kiss me now, no matter how much the thought appealed to my baser instincts, or how fast my pulse was racing. I'd already let two men get past my defences in the last 48 hours, and wasn't ready to do it again. I glared at him as if to say 'don't even try it'. He got to his feet, and held out a hand to help me up. I didn't take it. Without another word, I walked towards the door.
Kurtis circled around in front of me, blocking my path.
"You want me as badly as I want you," he said simply.
I was furious, as much with myself as with Kurtis, but I wanted to take it out on him.
"Stop it," I snapped.
"Stop what?" he shot back, raising his own voice now.
"Stop pushing me. From the minute we met you've been trying to get the better of me. If you're not holding a gun to my head, you're insulting me in my own house or stealing files from my computer. But this is going too far. What are you trying to prove?"
"What am I trying to prove?" He jabbed a finger at my chest. "What are you trying to prove? That you're too good for me? You might want me to think that, but here –" he laid the tip of his finger on my chest, gently, over where my heart was thumping angrily - "here, you feel something."
I shoved his hand away. "I wouldn't sleep with you if you were the last man alive," I spat.
His eyes narrowed. Suddenly he grabbed me and hauled me over his shoulder, marching across the room before I could even compose myself enough to protest. He shouldered open the door to the pool room, and ignoring my pounding fists, launched me into the water. I shrieked as the cold water engulfed me, and fought my way back up to the surface. He stood by the door, head cocked to one side slightly, eyeing me in amusement.
"Its just as well I'm not the last man alive, then, isn't it?" he said, and walked out.
I was going to kill him.
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:o Will Kurtis live to see another day? You'll find out very soon, I promise. Please keep reviewing, I want to know I'm not just writing this for my own perverted entertainment!