Chapter 27
He was only five minutes late. He knocked at the door and Lara opened.
"Hi. Come in." she said. "This is Bryce, a good friend of mine. Ehm, he doesn't speak Japanese."
Bryce looked up from his computer.
"Nice to meet you." Kazuya said in English.
"Likewise." Bryce replied. He closed his computer. "Ok, Lara. I guess I will go to my room. See you tomorrow. Have fun."
Bryce grabbed his computer and went out through the door.
"So how was your day?" Lara asked Kazuya.
"Annoying. Lee got on my nerves the whole time, till I gave him some work. How was your day?" he asked in return.
"Successful." Lara said before she could think.
"I see. So you have done it already?" he said.
"Done what?" Lara asked confused.
"Don't play with me." he said with a serious voice. "You know what I'm talking about. The stone!"
"You know?" Lara asked shocked.
"Of course I know. I am not stupid."
Lara didn't know how to react or what to say so she stayed quiet. 'He knew.' She was feeling very uneasy now. Her heart was racing. She was afraid to lose him or that he would harm her. She wasn't sure how to understand his reaction.
"But I am not the only one who knows." he continued. "It took him a while but eventually my father found out as well. That's why I have those idiots following me. Meeting with me is dangerous."
"I knew that..." Lara said quietly.
She scanned the room looking for her guns. She wanted to be prepared for anything. But Kazuya was too clever, he realised it.
"You won't need your weapons. Not against me anyway." he said.
Lara was shocked, had it been that obvious, she was looking for her guns? She narrowed her eyes and looked at him to see if he was telling the truth.
"I have known for a long time. If I cared you would be long dead...."
That thought scared Lara. Had she really been that careless? She had flirted with the son of her biggest enemy. He was right; if he cared she would probably be dead. She felt that he was able to do that.
Kazuya moved closer towards her but she took one step back. Again he moved closer and she moved away. She quickly turned around and grabbed one of her guns. She aimed it at him. Again he approached her, apparently not afraid of the gun. He looked her right in the eyes. But she just aimed her gun at his chest. Unimpressed he slowly pushed her arm that was holding the gun aside. He pulled her towards him and hugged her. Lara dropped the gun and pressed her head against his chest.
"I'm sorry." she whispered. "I am so confused."
"I can see that. I told you, you wouldn't need your weapons." he moved one step back and took her chin between his hands.
"That's a nasty scratch..." he commented the wound on her face, which she had gotten while crawling through the undergrowth.
Lara pulled her head back and tried to move away. But Kazuya wouldn't let her go.
"You better start trusting me right now. My father will send his killers after you when he finds out that the stone is missing. They don't need me to find out where you are staying. You will have to move to another hotel as soon as possible. And don't give them your real name; use Bryce's name or whatever..."
"How did Heihachi know about me?" Lara said raising her head.
"Chaolan. When Heihachi questions him he will eventually talk."
"So he is loyal to him?"
"Loyal? He is afraid. Chaolan is weak."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't."
"It's not easy to understand you." Lara said.
"And that from you."
"But apparently you could see right through me. You know much more than I liked you to know. I should have been more careful."
"You should have been. That's right. That was a huge mistake for someone as professional as you."
"Well right and before you get the wrong idea: Normally I don't get involved with my enemies."
"I am not your enemy."
"How should I have known that you and your father don't get along?"
"I thought everybody knew. Everything I do is wrong, how could I get along with someone like that?" he said with anger in his voice.
"Besides, that's not really what I meant." Lara said quietly.
"Oh, I'm sorry... Don't worry about that." he paused for a moment, then he spoke again. "I don't think you are that kind of girl."
"Thank you."
For about a minute Lara didn't say anything. Then she continued: "Ok, so what about dinner? That's why you came here right?"
"Certainly, so where do you want to go?"
"I am a bit lazy right now, so why don't we just go down to the hotel restaurant?"
"Alright."
And so they did. Lara was still a bit confused, she hadn't expected that Kazuya knew about her plans, and she certainly hadn't expected that he was on her side. She still waited for something to happen but nothing did.
"So tell me, Lara. How have you done it?"
After a bit of hesitation Lara told him the whole story. There was no point in not telling him. She told him how she had sent the guard at the gate to sleep.
"I knew he was behaving strangely... Like he had been caught doing something wrong." Kazuya commented.
Lara continued her story and finally came to the part with Heihachi's door.
"What do you mean, you had trouble opening it?" Kazuya asked. "The damned thing is broken. All you need to open it is a credit card or a piece of paper. You have to push that through the gap at the door near the lock and move it up and down. Then the sensor gets confused and the door opens, just like that."
"You are joking."
"No. How do you think I get in there?"
"I wasted 45 minutes on that door."
"You should have asked me." he said grinning.
"You are a bastard. That's easy for you to say now."
They finished dinner and went back to Lara's hotel room.
"I guess you have to go soon?" Lara asked.
"I have to be home at 10." he said ironically and looked at his watch. "Since that was five minutes ago, I better stay here." he added grinning.
"But I can't expect you to do that; you will get in more trouble with your father."
"There is no such thing as 'more trouble' with my father. By now he will have found out that the stone is missing and he will blame it on me, no doubt."
"I am sorry, that you are in trouble because of me."
"Hey, that was my choice."
He was only five minutes late. He knocked at the door and Lara opened.
"Hi. Come in." she said. "This is Bryce, a good friend of mine. Ehm, he doesn't speak Japanese."
Bryce looked up from his computer.
"Nice to meet you." Kazuya said in English.
"Likewise." Bryce replied. He closed his computer. "Ok, Lara. I guess I will go to my room. See you tomorrow. Have fun."
Bryce grabbed his computer and went out through the door.
"So how was your day?" Lara asked Kazuya.
"Annoying. Lee got on my nerves the whole time, till I gave him some work. How was your day?" he asked in return.
"Successful." Lara said before she could think.
"I see. So you have done it already?" he said.
"Done what?" Lara asked confused.
"Don't play with me." he said with a serious voice. "You know what I'm talking about. The stone!"
"You know?" Lara asked shocked.
"Of course I know. I am not stupid."
Lara didn't know how to react or what to say so she stayed quiet. 'He knew.' She was feeling very uneasy now. Her heart was racing. She was afraid to lose him or that he would harm her. She wasn't sure how to understand his reaction.
"But I am not the only one who knows." he continued. "It took him a while but eventually my father found out as well. That's why I have those idiots following me. Meeting with me is dangerous."
"I knew that..." Lara said quietly.
She scanned the room looking for her guns. She wanted to be prepared for anything. But Kazuya was too clever, he realised it.
"You won't need your weapons. Not against me anyway." he said.
Lara was shocked, had it been that obvious, she was looking for her guns? She narrowed her eyes and looked at him to see if he was telling the truth.
"I have known for a long time. If I cared you would be long dead...."
That thought scared Lara. Had she really been that careless? She had flirted with the son of her biggest enemy. He was right; if he cared she would probably be dead. She felt that he was able to do that.
Kazuya moved closer towards her but she took one step back. Again he moved closer and she moved away. She quickly turned around and grabbed one of her guns. She aimed it at him. Again he approached her, apparently not afraid of the gun. He looked her right in the eyes. But she just aimed her gun at his chest. Unimpressed he slowly pushed her arm that was holding the gun aside. He pulled her towards him and hugged her. Lara dropped the gun and pressed her head against his chest.
"I'm sorry." she whispered. "I am so confused."
"I can see that. I told you, you wouldn't need your weapons." he moved one step back and took her chin between his hands.
"That's a nasty scratch..." he commented the wound on her face, which she had gotten while crawling through the undergrowth.
Lara pulled her head back and tried to move away. But Kazuya wouldn't let her go.
"You better start trusting me right now. My father will send his killers after you when he finds out that the stone is missing. They don't need me to find out where you are staying. You will have to move to another hotel as soon as possible. And don't give them your real name; use Bryce's name or whatever..."
"How did Heihachi know about me?" Lara said raising her head.
"Chaolan. When Heihachi questions him he will eventually talk."
"So he is loyal to him?"
"Loyal? He is afraid. Chaolan is weak."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't."
"It's not easy to understand you." Lara said.
"And that from you."
"But apparently you could see right through me. You know much more than I liked you to know. I should have been more careful."
"You should have been. That's right. That was a huge mistake for someone as professional as you."
"Well right and before you get the wrong idea: Normally I don't get involved with my enemies."
"I am not your enemy."
"How should I have known that you and your father don't get along?"
"I thought everybody knew. Everything I do is wrong, how could I get along with someone like that?" he said with anger in his voice.
"Besides, that's not really what I meant." Lara said quietly.
"Oh, I'm sorry... Don't worry about that." he paused for a moment, then he spoke again. "I don't think you are that kind of girl."
"Thank you."
For about a minute Lara didn't say anything. Then she continued: "Ok, so what about dinner? That's why you came here right?"
"Certainly, so where do you want to go?"
"I am a bit lazy right now, so why don't we just go down to the hotel restaurant?"
"Alright."
And so they did. Lara was still a bit confused, she hadn't expected that Kazuya knew about her plans, and she certainly hadn't expected that he was on her side. She still waited for something to happen but nothing did.
"So tell me, Lara. How have you done it?"
After a bit of hesitation Lara told him the whole story. There was no point in not telling him. She told him how she had sent the guard at the gate to sleep.
"I knew he was behaving strangely... Like he had been caught doing something wrong." Kazuya commented.
Lara continued her story and finally came to the part with Heihachi's door.
"What do you mean, you had trouble opening it?" Kazuya asked. "The damned thing is broken. All you need to open it is a credit card or a piece of paper. You have to push that through the gap at the door near the lock and move it up and down. Then the sensor gets confused and the door opens, just like that."
"You are joking."
"No. How do you think I get in there?"
"I wasted 45 minutes on that door."
"You should have asked me." he said grinning.
"You are a bastard. That's easy for you to say now."
They finished dinner and went back to Lara's hotel room.
"I guess you have to go soon?" Lara asked.
"I have to be home at 10." he said ironically and looked at his watch. "Since that was five minutes ago, I better stay here." he added grinning.
"But I can't expect you to do that; you will get in more trouble with your father."
"There is no such thing as 'more trouble' with my father. By now he will have found out that the stone is missing and he will blame it on me, no doubt."
"I am sorry, that you are in trouble because of me."
"Hey, that was my choice."
