The Adventures of Lara Croft & David Connors

by C. Mage

Lara Croft continues her adventures, with an unlikely partner...with unexpected results.

5. The Eyes Of Shiva, Part Two: Planes, Pai

The Eyes Of Shiva, Part II:

Planes, Pains and Automobiles

By C. Mage and Sarah Crisman

Lara felt much better once they got out on the open road. As she watched the night sky through the window, she asked no one at all, "How do we get into these messes?"

"Beats me, Lara. I'm beginning to think we violated the Laws of Circumstance somehow when we got together." David checked the rearview mirror again, but there were no cars behind them with any particularly suspicious quirks...like, for instance, driving at fifty mph over the speed limit. "But you'll have to admit, Lara...you wouldn't like it if life we're so boring."

Lara's eyes moved up slightly. "I certainly hope you enjoy that sort of thing as well, Dave."

"Well..." He stopped. "Why do you say that?"

"Because unless I miss my guess, any chances of the two of us having a boring trip to the airport just took flight." She pointed and David looked up to see a Bell 500 helicopter coming towards them.

"Please tell me that's a traffic report chopper," David said in a glum voice.

Lara looked closer. "Not unless competition for the news has gotten more blatant. That helicopter has a pair of machine-guns mounted on its sides." She reached into the back seat and came out with her trademark .45s. "I don't suppose you have a plan?"

"Yeah."

"Well?"

"We're going to go really fast!" he yelped as he saw the helicopter open fire.

"There they are!" Durant lowered the Starlight scope and turned to the pilot. "Mr. Daglione wants those two stopped, no matter what."

"They're gonna be police all over us if we start shooting now," the pilot warned.

Durant drew a pistol and shoved it into the pilot's neck. "Mr. Daglione's orders. Start the shooting out there, or there's gonna be some shooting in here."

The pilot nodded, then dove, closing in on the car. He squeezed off a long round and the twin .50 caliber machine-guns made the helicopter shudder.

David slammed on the gas and the car shot under the sprays of lead. Lara pulled back the hammers of the .45s and rolled down the passenger window. She popped off a series of rounds and was rewarded with flashes of contact off the helicopter's chassis. "Damn! Our adversary's moving too fast and it's too dark! I can't get a fix on him!"

David saw a lighted sign and smiled. "Lara, can you keep them busy for a while?"

"Can do! Why??" she yelled back over the roar of the car's engine.

"I've got a plan!" David yelled in return. "Get in here!"

Lara faced forward and her eyes widened as she saw a series of signs coming up. She pulled herself back inside as the temporary signs whipped along side both sides of the car, causing sparks to fly as the edges scraped along the car's finish. David turned to his left.

The sideview mirror showed the helicopter closing in on him, guns blazing away, just over the etched legend, "OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR." He swerved as best he could, feeling loud THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPs as the bullets connected. "Lara!"

"I'm alright, none of the bullets came through." She looked at the windows, searching along the bottom until she found the words she was looking for. "According to this, the car's chassis and windows are bullet-resistant."

"Bullet-resistant? Whatever happened to bulletproof?"

Lara looked ahead as he saw the DETOUR sign and the TUNNEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION sign. "Hard right coming up, David!"

"I know."

Lara's eyes turned to focus on him. The look on his face brought a tinge of fear to Lara's mind. "David...please, in God's name, TELL me you're not thinking what I hope you're not thinking!"

"Hang on to your lunchpails, Lara, this is going to get a little risky." David started to take the offramp.

"What are you waiting for?? KILL this asshole!"

"Hey, hey!" the pilot retorted, too angry to consider Durant's threat. "You wanna drive? I'll get him just as soon as he hits the traffic at the end of the offramp. He's got nowhere to go!"

Durant looked and swore as the car drove THROUGH the sawhorses blocking the entrance to the tunnel. "SONUVA...!!"

"Now what?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?!" Durant yelled back. "AFTER HIM!"

"The helicopter won't fit in there!!!"

Durant pulled the hammer back on his pistol. I am NOT going to go back to Mr. Daglione empty-handed!! "MAKE it fit!!"

The pilot started to sweat as he dove for the opening, fighting the crosswinds at low altitude and barreled through the mouth of the tunnel!

Lara hung on as the car roared through the tunnel, the echoes coming off the concrete walls threatening to deafen her. She looked behind her. "I don't believe it! He's following us into the tunnel!"

"Good."

Lara felt the car shudder again under the machine-gun fire and ignored the sight of the small bulges in the ceiling. "Say that again?!"

"He doesn't have as much room to maneuver now. I was hoping that they'd be driven enough to follow us in."

"Aren't you forgetting that WE don't have much more room than they...." Her voice trailed off as she saw the other end of the tunnel, wide open...except for the construction vehicle passing in front of it. Her heart flew up into her throat. "David...!"

"Come on, come on....!!" David said in a low voice. "Show me how desperate you are..."

"SHOOT HIM!! SHOOT HIM!!" Durant yelled in the pilot's ear, an almost hysterical joy audible as the pilot scanned from side to side, fighting to keep himself from scraping the sides while going even faster than before. His finger was white as it held the trigger down, the guns starting to overheat from the overuse. The pilot edged the throttle forward a hair...

"David! You'll never make it!" Lara screeched.

"Too late now!!" he answered, sweat beading on his forehead. He felt the hammering of the bullets again, then felt a bright flare in his back. His teeth clenched as he fought back the pain. Don't you fucking pass...out NOW, Dave...!!

Lara turned and her eyes got even wider as she saw the spread of red on his shirt. "DAVID!!" she yelled, but there was no time. The end of the tunnel was only sixty feet away now.

David's mind began to swim. He saw the yellow of the vehicles blur as he got closer, time slowing...slowing... Lara... he thought, wishing he could turn his head to look at her. ...die by fire...

Ten feet away.

...if I am weak...

The car shot through the tunnel , missing the edge of the caterpillar by only four inches. The helicopter pilot looked up just in time to see the driver leap clear of the vehicle and think, Lucky bastard...that fucker is SAFE...

Then everything went white...then dark.

The construction crew dove for cover as the helicopter blew into a million shards, the caterpillar suddenly on fire. The car SCREEEEEEEEEECCCCHHHH!!!!ed to a stop, spinning around as Lara jammed her foot on David's own foot and hauled up on the emergency brake. When the car came to a final stop, she leaned back, sighed in relief, then turned to David.

One of the bullets had chewed through the overtaxed roof, entering the back of David's seat and ripping a hole in his abdomen. Lara felt lightheaded as she saw the extent of the damage. "David...?" she asked haltingly. "Da...?"

David coughed spasmodically, inhaling in a deep rasp. His eyes flew open in pain and Lara winced. "Lara?"

"David!" she said, overwhelmed, then remembered the Eye. She pulled it out and shoved it into David's hands. "Dave, listen to me. You must repeat the words I say. You must!"

"Lara...just let it...go..." His hands relaxed on the Eye.

"No! No, NO!" Lara took David's face in her hands. "You listen to me, you disagreeable, obnoxious Yank! Don't you DARE die on me!" She blinked the tears from her eyes. "Not again, I swear it, NOT AGAIN! Take the Eye and say the words!!"

"...Lara...I'm..."

"David!" She closed his hands around the Eye and her heart missed a beat as she felt how cold his hands were. "PLEASE!!!!!" His eyes opened and he turned to look at her. Lara saw something in David's eyes that chilled her. "NO! God-DAMN you, David, FIGHT!! FIGHT!!!"

David floated there, alone in the dark...the pain was gone. Everything was gone. Wait...not everything. He could still hear Lara's voice. She was begging him, pleading with him not to go. Let me go, he wanted to say, can't I just go and stop the pain? I'm too tired...too tired...

Then he saw her. Far away, as if she was at the end of the tunnel he had raced through. She was crying, her soul laid bare...the same way David's wife had before he'd left her deathbed. Pleading with her not to go...

Then something in his dying mind clicked. It was different, now...

He turned and saw his wife and daughter. They were smiling at him. He wanted to ask them not to despise him anymore, but he couldn't make himself speak. Then David felt them and he heard them telling him that no, he was not to blame, that it wasn't his fault...and that it wasn't David's time. Not yet. His family reached out to him, and David heard them say, We have a gift for you...

Then he remembered, with crystal clarity, the words...and though he had no voice, he spoke them aloud.

Lara felt him twitch and looked down at the Eye. It was glowing faintly, not as strong as it had in the hotel room, but strong enough. Daring to hope, she ripped open his mangled shirt to watch as the flesh and bone re-knitted and regenerated, the damage disappearing before her eyes. The effect was much slower, though, and Lara guessed that the Eye would need considerable time to recharge its mystical energies.

But it had enough to help David.

David's eyes focused and he sat up slowly. Lara flung her arms around him and held him close. "I thought I'd lost you....!!!" she whispered hoarsely into his ear.

David embraced her, smiling slightly. "Lara...I'll never leave you."

It was a special, wonderful moment...until the knock on the window shattered it. Lara and David looked out to see a construction worker with a look of utter disbelief. David tried to roll down the window. It wouldn't budge. He tried again and the window shattered, overstressed by the punishment it had endured. He shrugged and looked up at the worker as Lara settled back into her seat, extremely thankful for the second chance.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" asked the stunned worker.

David tried the motor. Amazingly, it still worked, turning over roughly. He turned to his left and said blandly, "I guess he was in the wrong lane." With that said, David limped the car away.

Lara and David sat back in their seats, airborne and on a transatlantic flight towards Nepal. Lara had managed to procure a new set of clothes for David from a gift shop in the airport, tossing the bloody clothes David wore before into a trashcan. After coming out from his hiding place in the car, they had bought two tickets to Nepal, with connecting flights in Madrid, Spain and Athens, Greece.

Now they were in first class, none the worse for their escape from Walt Disney World, except for their general appearances. Thanks to their tousled appearances, a steward had been on the verge of trying to move them bodily to the coach section before Lara produced the tickets as proof that they were, in fact, supposed to be there.

Lara ran her hands through her hair. "Goodness...I must look like Elsa Lanchester."

"Yeah, but you can pull that look off." David sighed. "Lara...we've gotta talk."

She laid back in the seat. "What's on your mind, Dave?"

"Well...I want to tell you something. It's been something that I've been holding on to for years, something I've kept to myself for a very long time. And now...well, I have to tell you something about me."

Lara turned her head to look at him. "I'm listening."

"Lara, I was once married to a wonderful woman named Kathy. This was way back when I was still on the force. I was trying to nail a piece of pond scum named...well, his name's not important. The point was, he was a very powerful person and he didn't like the way I was interrupting his enterprises. One day, I come home to find that Kathy went out to get some milk. She was pregnant at the time and I was a little worried, but not too much so. But the day got late and hours passed, and she didn't show up. Five hours later, I got the call from my precinct. They wanted me to come down and identify my wife's body." David looked down. "Somebody had come along and ran her down in the parking lot. Whoever it was not only knocked her down, but backed up to roll over her to finish the job."

"Good Lord....!" Lara reached out and touched his arm.

"It was a message, to tell me that as long as I was a witness against this piece of crap, I was in danger and so was everyone connected to me. I still kept after him, but by the end of the trial, I was the only one who wanted to prosecute. Everyone else had either been bought off or scared off. In the end, he walked away and I was kicked off the force. You know what hurt the most, Lara? Not my job and not this guy getting off scot-free...my wife and unborn daughter were dead and I let them die because I wasn't there to protect them."

"David...how could you have known?" Lara said gently.

"I couldn't have...but I couldn't get away from it and I thought that they had died because of me and they wouldn't forgive me for letting them down. But tonight..." He turned to look at Lara. "This is going to seem wild and incredible, but...I saw them. When everything was so dark and cold, I felt them close to me...and I realized that they didn't hate me. They still loved me and told me that it wasn't my fault." He shook his head. "The memory is fading. I don't even know if I'll remember it tomorrow. All I know is that, now...now maybe I can let them go. The important thing is, I discovered something else." He took Lara's hand and looked into her eyes unwaveringly. "I love you, Lara. I think maybe I always have. I've never felt this way about anyone since Kathy died...and I don't think I ever will. I know I'm not exactly the best catch, but...I can't hide how I feel anymore. I learned that tonight as I lay dying. I would've died if it wasn't for you, Lara...and I would've died with a greater pain in my heart than the pain I felt when I lost Kathy. I don't know what our future holds, if we'll live to a ripe old age or die tomorrow." His voice was solemn. "But I couldn't go another hour without telling you how I felt. Even if you don't feel the same way..."

Lara took his hand. "David...I have a small confession to make. I used to know a wonderful young man named Michael. David, wait, hear me out." She took a deep breath. "I loved him very much. He wasn't like you, David, but he had his own strengths, his own principles, and once he made a promise, he stuck by his word. He remained true to himself, unlike so many others, and I loved him for it. Even though he was not a physical type like you, he was the strongest man I'd ever met before. He never failed me." Lara sighed. "But it wasn't meant to be. Michael and I parted ways and I felt the first real hurt of my life. It hurt worse than any gunshot wound or knife slash I'd ever felt. I made my peace with Michael and myself, and..."

"Whatever happened to him? Did he die?"

Lara smiled. "Someday, when I feel the time's right, I'll tell you all about it. But suffice it to say that I never made my peace, not really. I was always afraid that I might fall in love again, and then I'd lose that love again. I was really afraid...especially when you came into my life, David. You were impressive, strong, capable, but you never let that give you an ego problem. The more I came to know you, the more I loved you for your heart and your dedication to help people, even at your own expense. I don't love you the same way I loved Michael, but in its own way, what I feel for you is just as strong...maybe stronger." Lara took both his hands in hers. "I almost lost you, David. I don't want to lose you."

Lara leaned forward and buried her face in David's chest as he embraced her, bowing his head on hers. They stayed like that for a long time, neither speaking. Then, as the silence threatened to envelop all, David opened his mouth. "You're not going to lose me, Lara. I'm not going anywhere and I won't leave you. I swear that I won't leave you."

"But how do I know that, David? I almost lost you already! I never want to feel like that again. How can you say for sure what will happen tomorrow?"

"I...I can't." David held Lara close. "You'll just have to have faith."

"Faith...I don't know if I've got that much faith in anything anymore. I've always relied upon myself, for a long time. I just don't know, David. I just don't know."

David and Lara held each other in silence all the way to Athens.

Sobered by the events of the night before, David and Lara didn't talk much on the way to the hotel. Finally, in an attempt to break the tension, he asked, "So, Lara...what are we going to have to do once we get to Nepal?"

That broke Lara out of her trance. "Well..." she said as she scanned through her notes, "...ah, here we are. We get to Nepal and meet up with a guide who'll take us into the Himalayas, up to a certain point. From there, we have to navigate through the ice and rock until we find a temple...the Temple of the Destroyer."

"Sounds like a party place, all right. Do you wanna bring the chips and dip, or would you like me to bring them?"

Lara quirked a smile. "You bring the chips, David."

"And you'll bring the dip?"

"Certainly. You'll be coming along, of course..." Lara grinned.

"All right, all right, I get the joke, hardee-har-har." He didn't lay the sarcasm on TOO thick; it was worth it to see a smile on Lara's face again. "How long until we get there?"

"Just another day...we'll only be stopping in Athens long enough to get a night's sleep and contact our guide in Nepal. After that, it'll be a quick plane ride to the Himalayas and then we'll be on our way to the Temple."

"Good. I wouldn't mind getting a little peace and quiet and some sleep in a soft bed."

"Speak of the devil." Lara saw their hotel come into view, a small, quaint place loaded with local flavor. "After we settle in, how about we go to this nice Greek place I know? It's got some GREAT dishes."

"How many times have you been to Athens?" David asked curiously.

"Enough to know a few things about some cuscus dishes and some REAL gyros, not that wretched stuff they sell back in the States. Come on." The carriage stopped and the two adventurers unloaded their gear.

Once inside, David was overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the place. Years of spending time in fast-food joints and greasy diners had ill-prepared him for the subtle charm of a meal cooked without the benefit of electricity. The only electrical power in the place took care of the lights and climate control; the food was prepared in stoves and ovens that had been made generations ago, as well as the recipes. Sharp, spicy smells came from the kitchen and David found his mouth watering. Lara ordered a pair of simple dishes, vegetable gyros and some lamb meat on the side, with hot cider to wash it all down. The meal went slowly as Lara and David savored the taste of the food.

"Now THIS...is what I call...a MEAL," David said between bites.

"That's good. That what I call it, too. That must make this place a restaurant." Lara leaned back in her chair. "So what do you think, Dave? What do you think of the life of an archaeologist?"

"Pretty good." He smiled. "A change of scenery isn't too bad, after all. I still have trouble getting past the fact that there are no skyscrapers around here. I think I may have a slight phobia about wide-open spaces."

"Don't worry...we'll be checking out caves soon enough," Lara chuckled. "Ready to get back to our rooms?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I've got to make some calls before I go to bed tonight." Lara raised her hand and called the waiter over. "Check, please."

Lara and David enjoyed a quiet moonlit ride home. David put his arm around Lara and she smiled slightly, closing her eyes and snuggling into him. He sighed. "Now THIS I can handle. No..."

"Hush, Dave. Wouldn't want to tempt Fate now, would we?"

"No, I guess not." David tightened his embrace ever so slightly. "What do you want to do tonight?"

"Go to bed."

"Oh." David wasn't quite sure how to proceed from there; Lara's comment hadn't left any room for elaboration. "Well...I think I'll go to bed, too."

"Good idea," Lara said contentedly. I can't wait to see what happens when he finds out that there's only one bed...

David looked up as the cab stopped in front of the hotel. "We're here."

"So soon?" Lara looked up lazily and smiled. "I guess so."

"Come on, sleepyhead, let's go." David eased Lara up the stairs and opened the door, bringing her to the bed and letting her fall onto the mattress.

"Oooh, this feels nice," Lara purred. "I don't want to move."

"You'll have to, unless you want to sleep in your clothes."

"I'll sleep in my clothes, then," Lara said stubbornly.

"So, uh, Lara..."

"Yes?"

"Where do I sleep?"

"Where do you think, silly?" She gave him an impish grin. "Right here."

"Uh, Lara..."

"Don't be that way, Dave, I'm too tired to try and molest you tonight anyways," said Lara playfully. "Besides, all I'd like tonight is to feel you next to me. That's all."

"That's it?"

"That's it." For now, she added mentally.

"Okay..." David removed his shoes and socks, then started to remove Lara's.

"Oooooh...thank you, David. Now, be a good lad and make sure they're shined for tomorrow."

"Bite me."

"Is that an invitation?"

"No. One more word, young lady, and I'll wake up in the middle of the night just to make sure that your shoelaces are a Boy Scout's nightmare in the morning."

"You are no fun, David Connors."

"Thank you." He removed the other shoe and sock, then scooted back on the bed to lie down next to Lara. "Anything else you'd like me to do, Ms. Croft? Reload your pistols? Clean and press your shorts?"

"Just come over here, you troublesome man, you." Lara snuggled into David and closed her eyes, feeling his broad chest under her arm. "Now, go to sleep."

"Yes, sir," David said sardonically.

"You must need the sleep more than I do if you have trouble identifying my gender," she yawned.

"Ha ha ha ha," he answered with a yawn of his own punctuating the last "ha". By that time, Lara was already asleep. Satisfied that he'd gotten the last word, David went to sleep as well.

David woke up alone in bed with the barrel of a gun up against his nose. Gee...THIS looks familiar... he thought calmly. He'd woken up the same way too many times to be shocked by it anymore. "What is it this time? Did I forget to eat the mint on my pillow or something?"

"Shut up, asshole. Where's the bitch?" said a coarse voice at the other end of the arm with the gun in its hand.

"Sorry, pal...if you're talking about Lara, she's in the room next door."

"Bullshit, pal. This room is registered to 'Mr. and Mrs. Connors,' so she's got to be here."

"Are you kidding? Do you know how many times this past year I've woken up with a gun barrel up against this part of my anatomy? She got tired of it and decided to sleep in another room because she knew it would happen again sooner or later." Keep this guy stalled...Lara must've heard him coming, or else had an errand to run or something. "She registered under another name."

"What name?" asked the thug.

"Smith."

"Oh, you're REALLY funny."

"Okay, pal, the name is Jones. She likes that name, go figure." David's eyes flicked over to the left. "Why DO you like that name, Lara?"

The thug turned his head to the left and saw no one there. Then he felt a dull pain in his arm, a sharp pain in his jaw and then saw nothing at all.

The thug woke up blind and hearing voices. Something wasn't right; his head felt funny and he couldn't move.

"You picked a FINE time to go out and grab some supplies. I woke up and this guy had a gun to my nose!"

"I had to pick up some special supplies, David, the kind you find on the black market. They don't keep banker's hours, you know."

"What kind of supplies?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's deal with our mystery guest first. By the way, nice job."

"Thanks. Wish I could say it was original, but I got the idea from a movie."

"I'll have to see that movie." Lara's voice walked over and pulled something off his face.

The thug's mouth was uncovered and he let out with an "OUCH!!" when the duct tape was removed. "You BITCH!!!"

"Believe me, I bear no resemblance at all to a female dog. You, however, look remarkably like a silver mummy. The same sticky stuff I ripped from your face, sorry about your mustache, by the by, is now covering your entire body...including your eyes."

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!"

"Not quite the answer I was looking for...David, would you care to take over?"

"GLADLY. Alright, meat puppet, here's the Law of the Jungle. You start talking to me about the person you work for, or you're going to be the star of your very own Greek tragedy. A name would do for starters."

"PISS OFF! I AIN'T SAYING SHIT!!"

"My, what a mouth he has on him," Lara said disapprovingly, "Excuse me, sir, but do you actually put food in the same vicinity?"

"Lady, when I get through with you, you're gonna beg me to kill you!"

"Don't start giving me clichés, butt-boy," David warned, "I can't STAND anyone who uses clichés all the time."

"You're DEAD MEAT!!"

"Another cliché," Lara tsked.

"I haven't heard a name yet, so it's obvious that you aren't completely able to comprehend your current situation. Let me help."

The thug felt another ripping sensation and yelled even louder, then looked around. Comprehension dawned as he found himself bound by several yards of duct tape, hanging upside down from the roof of the Parthenon.

As the thug responded to this realization, David remarked, "Now, Lara, didn't I tell you that the scream alone would be worth the trouble of carrying his fat carcass up here and bribing the guards?"

"I must agree with you on that, David."

After the thug's scream died down to a whimper, David walked to the edge of the roof, where a rope suspended the thug by his ankles. "NOW, then...are you going to give me a name?"

"I can't! He'll kill me!"

David took out a knife and started drawing it across the rope. Fibers parted. "You tried to open another nostril in my head, pal. I don't like that very much. In fact, when people try to do that, I get downright..." More fibers parted and the thug felt himself drop an inch. "...SADISTIC."

"Now, David...I agreed to letting you get him up here, but is this really necessary?? I mean, we ARE talking cold-blooded murder, here!"

"Back off, Lara. You DON'T want to go there." David turned his head back to the thug. "Now, start talking...and maybe, just MAYBE, I'll let you live."

"Now SEE HERE, David!" Lara strode forward. "You can't do this! This is inhuman!"

"What's your point?"

"I'm not going to be a party to this, David! I won't let you kill him!!!" Lara strode forward and came face-to-barrel with the thug's gun in David's hand.

"Don't you push me, Lara," David said in a cold voice.

Lara stared at David and slowly backed away. "You're utterly insane, David...I swear it, you've gone too far this time!! I'm leaving. I don't care what you do from here on out, you sick bastard, but you're doing it alone!!"

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," David said warningly, watching Lara go to the ladder and climb down, shock, anger and sorrow on her face. He turned back to the sweating thug. "Now, then...where were we?"

"Look...if I tell ya....will you let me go?"

"If you give me what I want to know, I'll let you live. If not, well, we'll find out whether all that duct tape will hold your insides inside when you hit the stone..."

"ALRIGHT!!!" the thug shrieked. "I'll tell you. His name's Leo Daglione."

"The gangster from Detroit??"

"He's a don, now..."

"I'm not surprised. He always WAS good with the shoe polish and tommygun. What's he want from me?"

"He wants the gem back."

"The Eye of Shiva. Figures. Does he want to awaken Shiva, too?"

"That's all I know!"

"Really?" David stood up and ran the knife blade over the rope.

"Alright, alright!! He's got this guy, says he knows where you two are going and he plans to try and follow you from there. That's all I know, I swear!"

"You know something? I believe you."

"Now cut me down, okay, man?"

"Sure." David raised the blade high and the thug's eyes widened as he saw it slash down towards the rope, parting it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the thug screamed as he fell towards the stone, then felt a yank around his stomach and he slowed, then rose up again for a few feet, then dropped again. David climbed down the ladder, meeting Lara outside where she was watching the thug bouncing up and down at the end of the bungee cord secured around his waist.

"Now THAT'S comedy," David quipped as he walked over to Lara. "By the way, if you ever decide to quit tomb raiding, Lara, I highly recommend show biz. That was a helluva performance...I was in on it and you almost had ME going."

"Well, I don't know...did you really think I was that good?"

The thug watched them go with murder in his heart as the duo drove away in their car and the armed guards came over to him to cut him loose.

"So who is Leo Daglione?" Lara asked as they drove to the airport.

"One connected, megalomaniacal, thoroughgoing bastard. He's known for being extremely calm, but he can be equally ruthless and murderous. There's a rumor that when he first started out, he murdered his entire family to prove his devotion to the mob. Wife, daughters, father, mother. Dead."

"The mob asked him to do that?"

"No...he VOLUNTEERED."

"My God..."

"Guess again. The mob was so impressed that he became a 'made man' for what he did. It used to be that the mob frowned upon killing family, but nowadays..." David shook his head. "Nobody respects the important traditions anymore."

"I'll take your word for it. I know as much about the Mafia as you do about 4th Century China."

"Thanks...I think. In any case, he's obsessed with power. One or two of his men were associated with Jacqueline Natla for a while, before she found them out and used them to feed the fish in the Hudson River. I think Daglione believes that he can get even more power from Shiva."

"That's crazy."

"You got it." David shook his head. "But he's got a LOT of muscle working for him. We've got to come up with a way to shake him."

"Well, David, taking the earlier flight to Nepal may throw him off the track for a while. After that...we'll just have to take it as we go."

"Speak of the devil. We're here." David looked around the airfield as the cab drove to the depot. "I guess I'm still used to busy city airports...considering how many planes are out there on the field, if I needed to guess which one we'd be taking, I could flip a coin."

"Not every airport is Heathrow or O'Hare. Besides, Athens airport is probably being watched, so a small airport like this won't be noticed." Lara went up to the main desk and spoke to the officer there while David looked around. It was a sunny day, with clouds to the east.

"Figures...and I left Disney World for this. I've GOT to get a better travel agent," he joked.

"Dave, come on! The plane's leaving in seven minutes!!" Lara yelled as she hotfooted it to the cargo plane on her left. David grabbed his gear and ran for the plane, catching up to Lara as she got to the door.

"THIS is our ride?"

"Only one I could get on short notice," Lara said as she and Dave walked up the stairs. "Don't worry, the officer said that the plane would be empty except for some freight."

"Freight??"

"Don't worry, there are jump seats inside...hope you don't mind the noise," Lara said cheerfully as she walked inside and stowed her gear under a fold-down seat.

Dave walked in, felt the plane start to move and was about to put his gear away when he saw something that made him drop his pack where it was. "Uh, Lara?"

"Yes?" Lara yelled back.

"It's not the noise that bothers me...it's the company."

"What?!" Lara asked, then saw the gunmen stepping out from behind the boxes.

One of them, a tall, familiar lug, grinned when he saw Lara and David. "Hi there...remember me?" he asked, rubbing the top of his head, then snarled, "Don't even THINK about it," as Lara moved a hand down to her pack.

David turned around, feeling the plane leave the ground, and saw a well-dressed gentleman step out from the pilot's compartment. "Son of a BITCH..."

"I can prove my lineage beyond a shadow of a doubt," Leo Daglione said blithely, "which is more than I can say for you, David Connors. I'm starting to lose faith in you, Lara Croft," he said as the plane's engines cycled down to a lower decibel level. "I knew you'd try to leave early when I sent Bruce over to chat with David."

"HOW?" David asked. "He couldn't have told you that he had failed in time for you to arrange this. Nobody's that powerful."

"Where power fails, intelligence prevails. I never expected Bruce to succeed in getting you to talk...he's far too brutish and stupid for that. So I sent him to flush you out, providing you with just enough knowledge to scare you into taking an earlier flight, then deducing that you'd avoid public transportation in order to save time. And I was right." He smiled in a fashion that made Lara want to punch that smile right off his face. "You know, David, Lara Croft is quite predictable, once one takes the time to observe her carefully. Of all people, I expected you to catch a clue or two on what I was planning...but I suppose that your reputation is less substance and more public relations than anything else. A pity. I was looking forward to pitting my superior intelligence against two such worthy adversaries, but it seems that my wishes came up one mind short in that department."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Daglione," Lara said hotly.

"Well, I suppose it's only right, then, that I only get rid of one of you. After all, I only need Lara Croft to get me to Shiva's temple. As for you, David...I can only say that you have been riding on luck for far too long. Today, your supply of luck runs out. Now take a seat, both of you." Leo smiled. "The 'FASTEN SEAT BELTS' light is on. And please, no heroics. I may not want to kill you yet, Ms. Croft, but I have no compunctions about making the rest of your life quite painful. Besides, I'd hate for you to have David leave you without saying your good-byes."

David and Lara sat down next to each other. "Lara..."

"No good-byes, Dave," she said softly, "not now. I don't know about you, but I do know that I'm not ready to say good-bye to you yet."

David looked around. "We may not be getting a choice."

"Calm down, Dave...we've been in worse spots."

"When?"

"Come on, Dave...remember that situation with Natla? Things were kind of tight then, weren't they? And we got out all right." Lara, to her credit, managed to keep her voice steady and her tears inside.

"Yeah..." David looked at Daglione. The gangster looked completely cool, as if he was attending a piano recital. "...maybe."

They had only been in the air a few hours when Leo came back down from the pilot's compartment. "Alright, everyone, suit up. The plane will be landing soon, after all. I'll keep them covered," he said while pulling out a Walther PPK and holding it on David and Lara. The thugs nodded and opened up one of the crates, revealing nine backpacks. As the thugs put them on, David and Lara recognized them to be parachutes. "Make sure they're nice and snug, boys. After all, all there needs to be is one mistake and you're a mess on some mountain goat's woolen hide." He turned to Lara Croft. "You, too, Lara. I suppose you already know how to use one of those. Get up and put one on."

Lara slowly got up and walked to the crate.

"And if you've got any ideas in your head about trying to jump me, Lara, I've got your lover covered...and I'm a good shot." He smiled. "Just ask my wife and kids. Oh wait, that's right, you can't."

"You're a sick man, do you realize that?" Lara put on the parachute.

"So I've heard." He smiled wider. "But David is sane, isn't he? He's going to hold onto that sanity for the rest of his life...every last minute of it. Now then, I do believe you know what to do, gentlemen. Lara and I are going to have a little talk up front. Are you all going to have trouble with him?"

"Not a bit, boss." Johnny Laylor cracked his knuckles. "You embarrassed me back at the dino building, Connors. NOT smart." He reached up and slammed his fist against a large button. At the rear of the plane, the loading ramp opened up and the air rushed in, replacing the stale air inside the cargo area with fresh air from 14,000 feet. "Now you're gonna take the long fall," Laylor said as he walked towards David, drawing his pistol.

"Oh yeah, asshole. That's SO easy. Go ahead, shoot. I know what you really want to do, Johnny. But you and I both know that you're nothing but a two-bit, monkey-suited LOSER and you don't have the balls to try and take me on man-to-man! Go ahead," David yelled, "pull the trigger! It's the only safe way you can take me out and you know it!!"

As David taunted the man, Laylor's face began to twist in rage. He also knew that the others were watching him carefully and he'd already taken enough heat from them thanks to what happened the last time he tried to get David. He tossed the gun to one side and walked towards David, fingers curling into fists. "Buddy, when I get through with you, you're gonna WISH that I'd shot you!"

Up in the pilot's compartment, Leo and Lara were having a chat. Well, not really, unless "having a chat" involved interrogation.

"I went through your pack and found the map, Lara. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, Ms. Croft. Now, the easy way involves you getting out of this alive and unhurt. Who knows? You may even profit from what you've learned, write it up in some paper."

"Get stuffed," Lara said coldly.

"Which brings us to the HARD way." He pulled out a slim dagger. "I know some rather rough types in Nepal, young lady. They would pay a high price for you, even if you were somewhat damaged at the time. Of course, I don't think they'll MIND that your eyes and tongue were cut out of your head; they won't want you for small talk and they aren't very nice to look at, either. You might even live long enough to get used to the idea of being their slave. But be sure of one thing, Lara...I do not make threats. I make promises. And I will do my best to keep this promise."

Lara glared at him.

"Now, of course, if you're cooperative, we won't have a problem. That, too, I can promise you. You can either be someone else's slave or a full partner in this. Your choice."

David fell back against the side of the plane, blood spurting from his nose. DON'T...BLACK OUT... he thought as he got to his feet just before Laylor hit him in the gut, doubling him over. Laylor stepped back.

"I thought you were tough, Connors. Guess you can't believe everything you WHOOF!!!" he said as David sprang forward and shoved a fist into his stomach. Laylor tried to back away, but David was recovering far too fast, delivering a fast one-two punch that snapped Laylor's face back and up. Laylor grinned through his smashed nose. "Good one, David...this might be fun after all." He jabbed left and right, David blocking and moving to keep from getting punched again. "Come on, Davey...show me just how much you can take."

The two men pounded each other, David sending short, hard jabs into Laylor's body and Laylor returning with powerful, full rights and lefts. David was enduring it well, but he knew that he was on borrowed time, now. If he won, the others would shoot him. If he lost...

David bore another hit to the side of his head and his world went black for a moment. He stumbled back towards the open door...

Laylor grabbed him and pulled him back from the edge. "I ain't through with you yet, asshole." He threw David over his head onto his back. That woke David up and he crawled a few paces away before Laylor picked him up, pulling him to his feet. "You're a mess, David. You were a worthless mess long before I came along and finished the job. And now you're going to be a mess all over the Himalayas." Laylor grinned. "Any last words?"

"Yeah...you talk too damn much."

Laylor frowned right before David's knee came up between the leg straps of his parachute. His eyes rolled up in his head and he staggered back, David coming after him with both fists flying. David hit him as fast and as hard as he could and Laylor was tossed about, lefts and rights coming at him too fast for him to block, much less get away.

Leo turned back to look through the pilot's door and saw what was going on. He frowned and opened the door. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE??" he yelled and everything stopped. David looked up to see Leo holding a gun on him and he backed off warily.

Laylor looked up at his employer. "Boss...!"

"I TOLD you to KILL him! Not fight, kill!"

"But, Boss...I thought...!"

"You THOUGHT? I don't pay you to THINK, Laylor, I pay you to follow orders! Boys, I want you to watch this carefully," he yelled and fired into Laylor's head, sending the chunk of lead ricocheting around inside Laylor's skull. As Laylor fell, Leo said in a strong voice, "You follow orders, you get to profit from them. If you follow orders, you end up like that sorry piece of..."

Then the plane pitched skywards.

The thugs dropped their guns and flailed to grab at supports or the floor as the plane's nose rose. Leo nearly fell out of the cockpit. David grabbed hold of one of the secured crates and watched as Laylor's body slid out the back of the plane.

Leo turned back to see Lara wrestling with the pilots, one hand firm on the control stick and pulling back. Leo reached up and yanked Lara free from the stick, shoving her into a seat and putting the barrel of his gun under her chin. "Very noble, Ms. Croft. Stupid, but noble."

Lara spit into his face.

Leo calmly pulled out a handkerchief, wiped his face, then backhanded her with the pistol, sending her into unconsciousness. He turned back, a touch of true anger touching his face. "As for YOU, Mr. Connors...as they say, it isn't the FALL..." Leo fired and David spun backwards towards the edge of the abyss...and fell out of the plane. "...it's the sudden stop at the bottom," Leo finished with a satisfied smile. "Now get this plane back on course, pilot, and this time TRY and keep the plane level."