Tiny beads of sweat formed on Lara's forehead as her eyes opened a little wider at Zetti's description of a young man. Her seat felt unusually uncomfortable all of a sudden and it started to feel a lot warmer in the room than it really was. She must have made too much of an erratic movement because Zetti smiled at her as if he knew she did know something. Lara, however, quickly regained any composure she had lost and stared Zetti in his thoughtful green eyes. He flicked his ashes all over the place and the smoke was irritating Lara's throat, which is considerable since they were in a confined, unventilated space.
"Lady Croft...do you have information for me or not?" Zetti spoke with such an informal voice that a third party might think it wasn't important information at all. Lara recognized exactly what he was doing. He was trying to make any information she had seem inconsequential so she would feel more at ease to describe it in detail. No one's going to give up vital information, right? She'd seen it thousands of times in her adventures. She cocked half a smile and drummed her fingertips on the tabletop in front of her.
"Not at all. All I know is that John Wayne typically rode horses, not motorcycles," Lara responded coolly. Zetti raised his eyebrows at her.
"Have you never seen his movies? He'd wear one of those cowboy hats and carry a gun..." Lara continued.
"Yes, yes, yes Lady Croft. I am well aware of the movie star John Wayne, but it is not him I have any interest in," Zetti replied impatiently to Lara's feigned naïveté.
"Then perhaps you should make it clear just what sort of information you're after, and on whom," Lara told him. She could see he was beginning to tire of her company. Zetti drew in a deep breath of polluted air and put his cigarette out on the table. He rubbed sweat off his forehead and stood up so that he towered over Lara.
"Let me put things another way for you...perhaps to, uh...jog your memory?" Zetti began, "A hospital in Prague recently admitted a man in his late twenties, early thirties with a severe wound."
"That's awful news," Lara played along, but in a rather disinterested state.
"Yes, so it is. But he was not alone in arriving," Zetti continued.
"Oh no? Well, it's nice that he had a companion," Lara told him with a sophisticated air.
"The companion was you," Zetti blurted out. Lara raised her eyes to him in a state of artificial shock.
"Monsieur Zetti, I have no words to describe my feelings. I was certainly not there, how could I be? And why would I be? I was looking out for myself, not for anyone else," Lara spoke rather convincingly.
"Maybe so, and this wouldn't be such an issue..." Zetti started.
'Yes, no issue at all. That's why I've been held in captivity...because it's not a big issue,' Lara thought while listening to Zetti's speech.
"...but the man has already been released from the hospital. Well, not so much released as he just got up and walked away," Zetti said. Lara's interest returned.
'He's escaped from the hospital? Already? But...I don't understand...how could he?' Lara's thoughts raced through her mind.
"Now, Lady Croft, I ask again, what do you know?'
Lara knew that if she didn't give him any information on Kurtis they would still let her go – but they'd hound her for months to follow. She drew in a deep breath and Zetti anticipated a favorable response. He leaned forward and put his hands on the table.
"Do you have any aspirin?" Lara finally asked. Zetti's face dropped and he knew that Lara would be a tough one to crack.
"Just a minute..." Zetti told her unenthusiastically. Lara never took painkillers, but she figured she'd just jerk him around for a while until he got the message she wasn't going to give up any information. Zetti left the dimly lit room and Lara relaxed by putting her feet up. Zetti returned a minute later with a clenched fist and slammed two pills on the table by Lara's feet. He then stared at her waiting for information. Lara's eyes moved from the pills to Zetti's anxious face and back to the pills.
"Monsieur, I need water," Lara told him. Aggravated, Zetti let out a hefty sigh and left the room again. This time Lara leaned forward to inspect the medication. They didn't look like aspirin, and indeed they were not. She pocketed the pills. Zetti returned with a glass of water and looked to see that the pills were gone. He looked at Lara suspiciously.
"Turns out I didn't need water after all," Lara said leaning back in her chair. Zetti bent down close to Lara's face – a little close for comfort, but Lara didn't flinch.
"What do you know Croft?" he practically whispered. Zetti's breath smelled of tobacco and peppermint – a combination Lara would not soon forget. She knew she had to say something.
"All right Zetti, I'll tell you what I know," Lara whispered back. Zetti removed himself from Lara's face but still stood over her.
"I know that you are not really French and you don't work for the Parisian police," Lara stated. Zetti took a step back.
"Indeed Lady Croft, I am not French by birthright. I am from America and I have lived in France for the past ten years, that is why I have the accent, but am fluent in English," Zetti spoke unaffectedly.
"And do you really work for the Parisian police?" Lara inquired. Zetti looked at her and smiled.
"Something like that," he responded.
"You're being vague," Lara stated teasingly. Zetti put his hands behind his back and paced the room. Lara noticed a scar on the palm of his right hand.
"You should know all about being vague Mademoiselle – you practically set the standard," Zetti said while looking at Lara from the corner of his eye, "Now, if you please, tell me about Mr. Anonymity?"
Lara smirked in a style reminiscent of Kurtis and knew exactly what she'd tell him.
"I know nothing of your phantom, so sorry to disappoint you. Can I go now?" Lara said flatly and quickly. Zetti gazed at Lara for a moment and nodded slightly.
"I suppose, but we'll be in touch Lady Croft – believe me, we'll be in touch, I promise you that" Zetti said as he opened the door for Lara to leave. Lara got out of her chair and walked out the door into the main station.
"I'm going to hold you to that Maurice," Lara told him without looking back.
"I always keep my promises Lara," Zetti said back. She stopped and turned around to face him in the bustling station.
"I'm only a phone call away," Lara replied and suddenly the young, clean-shaven, American born Frenchman seemed handsome to her. She whipped around and sauntered out of the police station a free woman– if only temporarily.
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The rain came down as Lara looked solemnly at the bleak gray stone that lay before her. She was back in St. Aicard's graveyard now looking intently upon the headstone that would forever mark her mentor's final resting place. The funeral had happened during her expedition and so she was the lone figure cloaked in black that day. She crouched whilst she laid some white lilies on the ground before it and ran her fingers over the engraved words: Werner Von Croy, Beloved Archaeologist and Professor.
"I'm sorry old friend – I'm sorry that your last moments were full of fear. Rest easy now," Lara whispered tenderly. The rain ran down her cheeks and caught in her eyelashes. And little would anyone have known had they been there that day that hidden amongst the droplets was a solitary tear. It was one of those rare, mystical occurrences that no one would ever really see.
Lara stood up proudly and departed the cemetery in silence with her braid swaying behind her – she never looked back.
Hope you enjoyed it! I figured the last one was too short, so I wanted to give another chapter as soon as I could. Please review, I love to read what you have to say! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far– you know who you are!
