Revenge, Best Served Cold

Revenge, Part I: Best Served Cold

By C. Mage and Sarah Crisman

"Mail call!" David yelled as he closed the door.

Lara moved down the stairs, stopped halfway and vaulted sideways, landing on one of the boxes in the main foyer. As soon as she touched down, she vaulted forward, then right, then forward, then left and then forward to the floor below. David walked in and checked his watch. "Six seconds flat. Looks like the ankle is fully back to normal."

Lara wiped her brow; she had been going through her gymnastics routine in the Music Room and was still cooling down. "Thanks. Keeping the boxes in the hall wasn't a bad idea, David. I don't have too many visitors and the training does come in handy. What's in the mail?"

"Let's see...." David shuffled through the stack of magazines. "Archaeological Quarterly, The Historical Herald, Smithsonian, Guns & Ammo, American Handgunner..." He handed them over to Lara, who took them with great interest. "...bill, bill..."

"Anything else?"

David pulled out some junk mail and two envelopes. "Looks like an invitation."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense, David. Who's it for?"

"You. Says here, 'Lara Croft and Friend, you are cordially invited to view the recent discoveries of the Scions of Atlantis."

"WHAT??" Lara dropped the magazines and nearly yanked the invitation out of David's hands.
"That's what it says. According to this, someone found the original Scion, as well as several other artifacts from the ruins of the Atlantean pyramid...careful, Lara, you'll rip it!"

She read further. "Damien Powers?!? Why, that wretch...!"

"You know the guy?"

"Another competitor...he knows little to NOTHING about archaeology, but he's an ongoing student of Money-Grubbing 101. His only interest in artifacts is what they will bring on the open market or the black market. The fact that HE, of all people, found them....!!" Lara shook the thought off as too intolerable to complete. "He probably wants to rub my nose in it, the swine."

"Then don't go."

"I HAVE to go. I can't sit here, wondering if that opportunist has the actual Scion. I thought I'd destroyed it, but then, I thought I'd destroyed Natla soon after and SHE survived." Lara sat down on one of the boxes. "When and where is the showing?"

"It's up in the Ural Mountains, in Russia, at some place called Dosknaya..."

"Sounds like his style...he likes remote places."

"And the showing is in two days...at midnight."

"That's Powers, all right. He has this annoying sense of drama." Lara got up. "All right, David, get packed. We're going to Russia. Pack warmly. At this time of year, dawn won't be showing up in Russia for another four months, and it's going to be cold."

"Russia..." David stared off into space.

"Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh...well, let's just say that I had a few bad experiences with the Russian Mafia."

"For a 'scumbag detective,' you certainly get around. How did you get involved with them?"

"I was tracking down what I thought was a drug smuggling operation, but as it turned out, drugs were only a small part of the operation."

"What was the main part?"

"Biological weapons." David noted Lara's surprised look. "Yeah, they're not too fond of me right now."

"I can imagine. Alright, I'll make the arrangements and make sure to keep your name out of it. But we're going to have to make separate arrangements."

"What for?"

"Dave...we have to be discreet about our relationship. We don't want people trying to get to one of us through the other. We seem to have amassed some bitter enemies the last couple of years, you know."

"Yeah...makes sense. But I don't have to like it."

"Let me put it to you this way. We can always keep the cold away at Dosknaya by snuggling close to each other..." Lara smiled seductively.

"Right, I'll go pack now," David said quickly and walked to the stairs.

Lara called up to David as he climbed the stairs to the second floor, "Just to make sure there's no problems, David, I'll set up a fake ID for you so we won't attract any unwanted guests at Dosknaya."

"Got it." David went to his room and Lara began preparations for her flight and David's flight.

Lara sat back in her seat and smiled. Now this is how I like to get to Russia. The plan was bypassing Moscow and heading for the city of Nizniy Novgorod. It was an industrial city, known for automotive and shipbuilding, so Lara knew that there was going to be at least ONE flight into there nonstop. When she got off the plane, Natalya was waiting for her.

Unlike a lot of Lara's friends, Natalya was not interested in archaeology in the least. Her forte was computers, mainly getting them into Russia and to most of the common folk. She was responsible for bringing IBMs to many of the schools in Western Russia, in a small way. After all, since capitalism had won over Communism by default, developers were moving into Russia by the trainload. Natalya was a smuggler before the wall went down, and had gotten involved with Lara when the young archaeologist was trapped behind the Berlin Wall. Natalya had gotten her out and they kept in touch ever since. By the time the Wall was remade into souvenirs, Natalya had amassed enough money to hire a few ex-KGB operatives and keep her business going on a legitimate level. For a time, Lara had had to fend off Natalya romantically; traumatic experiences with her father had made Natalya scared to death of being vulnerable to a man, and so had adopted her new lifestyle easily as she surrounded herself with capable, as well as attractive, female operatives.

"Lara! Over here!"

Lara smiled as she saw her old friend. "Natalya! It is good to see you! I thought you were in Smolensk."

"Well, I received an invitation to a party and I was told that you would be there. Do you know who's throwing this little bash?" Natalya said in her thick accent.

"Not a clue...how are you involved with Damien Powers?"

"I did some work for him a few years ago. I liberated some artifacts from disposal by a museum in Leningrad...I mean, St. Petersburg. Sorry, Lara...I can never seem to make the change. To me, my hometown will always be Leningrad."

"You mean, you stole some goods and smuggled them out of the country."

"To-MA-to, to-MAH-to..." Natalya shrugged. "What brings you here alone?"

"Powers claims he has the Scion of Atlantis, as well as some other artifacts. That Scion is dangerous, believe me...the thought of that bloody amateur monkeying with it...!" Lara shivered, and not from the intense cold. She looked up into the darkness. "Looks like foul weather...will we make it before the storm gets worse?"

"Yes...we have a long way to drive, but we should get there by tomorrow. A friend of mine has a truck waiting for us in Pechora, equipped with treads. They'll get us up the pass to Dosknaya."

Tomorrow... "Can't we get there sooner?"

"What's the rush?"

"Nothing...it's just that I'm meeting someone there."

Natalya smiled. "Is he nice?"

"You have no idea...I'll tell you all about him on the way up," she added as she climbed into the car.

David looked around the airport in Moscow. "Damn damn damn. The plane's going to be late."

"Rogers!"

David remembered to turn at the mention of his alias. "Yeah?"

"Got plane for you. Runway Six. You coming?"

"Music to my ears. Let's go." He grabbed his suitcase and walked with the short pilot to a beat-up plane that looked like it had been made in the fifties and hadn't been serviced since the seventies. The music turned to a funeral march. "You're SHITTING me....!"

"No, I am not shitting on you. Come, we go now. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

David sighed. "NEXT TIME, Lara, I make the travel arrangements."

"Really? You had Krokov fly him??" Natalya began to laugh merrily, joining Lara in mirth.

"I wish I could see the look on his face when he sees Krokov's plane!" Lara laughed, tears making her eyes blink. "He'll never forgive me, I can tell."

"Don't worry, Lara. Krokov is an excellent pilot and his plane is sturdier than Russian bear. David will be fine."

"I know that, and you know that...but if I know Krokov, he's giving David quite a ride!!" Lara collapsed in laughter.

I'm going to KILL her.... David groused as the plane rattled and dipped around in the sky. Even though it had risen above the storm clouds, the plane just never seemed to give up and fly straight. I know she did this to me on purpose...she's just doing this to get to me.

"HOW YOU DOING?" Krokov yelled back, playing his "dumb Russian with small grasp of English" part to the hilt.

"I'M GOING TO THROW UP!!!" David yelled back over the noise.

"GOOD!! EAT HEARTY!!" Krokov replied and turned his attentions back to the flight.

"Do you see him?" Lara asked Natalya as they waited at Pechora.

"No...this infernal storm is picking up. I hope they make it in...wait!" Natalya lowered her binoculars. "I see him!"

"Where?"

"Three-thirty," she said, pointing to her right. Lara looked and saw the plane touching down...or, more appropriately, slamming down. "He's okay. Now remember, you know nothing about any of this."

"You think I am a fool, darlink?" Lara said, imitating a Russian conspiratorial accent, then made her face deadpan as the plane braked, then spun around and traveled the rest of the way down the runway...BACKWARDS.

Inside the plane, David ran up to the pilot's seat, worried that something had happened to him. "Hey, pal, you okay?"

Krokov looked up and grinned. "Of course! I always land plane this way!"

Lara and Natalya got up to the plane as David opened the door and ran down the steps, nearly crashing into the two ladies at the bottom. David's face was frozen in panic. Lara couldn't resist. "David, I'm so sorry," she said, not meaning a word, "I heard too late that the pilot I had requested had gotten injured and sent his brother in his place, I'm so sorry...are you alright?"

In the face of such concern, David's rage dissipated. "Let's just get out of here."

"Certainly. David, this is Natalya. Natalya, this is David."

The Russian woman took one look at David and immediately wondered if she should re-think her position on men. She shook herself and said, "Welcome to Russia, David Connors."

"Oh, I feel so welcome." He grabbed his suitcase, his impatient breath showing in the cold. "Let's get moving."

"David!"

"Sorry, Lara...nice to meet you, Natalya." David managed a smile and headed for cover. When they got inside the depot, Natalya led them to a treaded truck and smiled.

"This should get us to Dosknaya, storm or no storm. Everyone in!"

Lara and David stowed their luggage and got in, finding the cab to be nice and warm. As Lara snuggled up to David, she decided that she wasn't going to pull a trick like that on David again...unless he deserved it.

With that to comfort her, she slept all the way up to the house.

"This is IT??"

Lara awoke at the sound of David's disbelief and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Are we there yet?"

"You tell me."

Lara awoke to see a blizzard-swept lake, with a long bridge leading from the edge of the lake all the way to an island in the middle of the lake. On that lonely island sat a mansion, barely big enough to fit on the island...and it was a rather big island. Even so, the wrought-iron fence ran all the way around the edge of the island, ending only at the gates just on the other side of the bridge.

"This guy must enjoy his privacy...." David looked at the bridge. "I don't think the truck will make it across this bridge. We'll have to walk in."

"More likely we'll have to run in," Lara added.

"Da." Natalya put on her coat and looked at her watch. "We've still got a few hours until the showing. Let's get into the house before we freeze. And let's hurry."

Lara and David nodded, bundling themselves into their cold-weather gear and grabbing their suitcases. David hissed as the frigid air hit his face and he squinted. "GEEZ!!"

"COME ON!" Natalya yelled over the howling wind and moved off across the snow. Luckily, the snow wasn't too deep and they made it across the mile-long bridge quickly. With the run keeping them warm, they got through the gates and into the courtyard.

They moved through the wide courtyard and stopped on the steps going up to the mansion. Lara looked around at the cars parked on the far side of the courtyard, five of them total. There was even a pair of helicopters on a twin helipad beyond the cars. "Looks like we're not the only ones here! Damien Powers must be really ready to gloat tonight!"

"Forget about that! Let's just get inside! Jeez...it must be ninety below out!!!" David yelled back. They went up to the double doors and opened them, moving inside rapidly and shoving the doors closed, fighting the wind every inch of the way. When the doors were closed, David relaxed a bit, feeling the heat of the house warm him. "Aaaaahh...now THAT'S how I spell relief."

As they savored the warmth, they heard a small, feminine voice behind them. "Mama...?"

Natalya suddenly spun around, her eyes going wide as she saw the young girl. "Ludmilla???" She ran to pick her up, holding her close, then moved her hands over her. "Ludmilla, what are you doing here?? I thought you were in school!"

"Who's Ludmilla?" David asked as he shuffled off his parka.

"That's Natalya's daughter!!"

"Mama..." She spoke in Russian, tears falling down her cheeks, then embraced Natalya strongly. She held her daughter close, then turned to Lara. "What's going on here?"

"What happened? I don't know Russian," David asked Lara.

"Ludmilla was taken from her school by two men who said they were taking her to see her mother." Lara looked around. "Something is very wrong here."

"I'm hip. Maybe some of the other guests have some idea what's going on." David looked deeper into the mansion. "I hear noise coming from that way. Let's go." David, Lara and Natalya walked towards the noise, Ludmilla carried in her mother's arms.

They walked to a set of doors with a great many loud voices shouting in Russian, American and other languages. "Sounds like the U.N. in there," David remarked as he opened the door.

Beyond the doors was a ballroom, complete with a long buffet table and a piano in a far corner. The ballroom was occupied by ten people, all shouting at each other. The shouting stopped when the doors opened and David entered.

One of them, a well-built man with a very superior air about him, strode over to David. "Are YOU our mystery host??"

"ME? No, I just got here myself. What is...?" His voice stopped as he locked eyes with a man to his right. "Lara, Natalya, take Ludmilla out of here NOW!"

"What?" Natalya asked as the man David had seen walked over to him.

"Well, well...David Connors," said the man, dressed in an expensive suit and sporting a gold Rolex. "Man, it's been a long time since I've seen you. How's the wife and kid??"

David roared and flung himself at the man like a mad panther, bearing him to the floor. Lara and another man struggled to break them apart. "David!! David, stop it this instant!!"

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!!" David screamed as Lara and Natalya both kept him from going through with his words. Ludmilla began to cry.

"What has come over you, David!? Who is this man?"

"Allow me to introduce myself," said the stranger, straightening his suit. "I am Nicholas Maas. I'm a businessman in New York..."

"You're a LYING, MURDERING, CHILD-RAPING MONSTER!!" David spat.

"Sorry, Davey, but I was found innocent by a jury of my peers, remember? I was acquitted." Nicholas smiled. "I used to work for some interesting people."

"As did I." Another man stepped forward, a black man wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. "Hello, Lara."

"Georges? What are you doing here?"
"I was invited. Someone sent me an invitation, a Mr. Damien Powers. Said he had something of interest to me concerning my parents. But I have not seen him."

"I received an invitation, too," Nicholas said angrily. "Powers told me he had evidence proving my guilt in that case and threatened to re-open it. I've had enough problems trying to clear my name without some loser trying to throw me back into the clink."

"Hold it, hold it. David, are you going to control yourself?" Lara asked.

David growled agreement and stopped straining against the grips on his arms.

"Good. Alright...let's try to sort this out. Each of you in turn tell me who you are and what your business is with Mr. Powers...and please, no falsehoods. There are no police here and no one will try to arrest you." She turned to the woman on her left. "You first."

"My name is Camilla Richards," said the redhead, a willowy figure wearing a stark black evening gown. "Some very valuable items were stolen from me a long time ago in New York and Damien Powers told me that if he would meet with me, he would tell me where they were."

"What was the nature of these items?" Lara asked.

"They were diamonds...rare, precious stones that had been in my family for years."

Lara nodded, turning to the man next to her, a Japanese gentleman wearing a modest suit with a red tie. "And you, sir?"

"I am Renegaru Shike. I work for the Yakuza in Los Angeles, as an assassin, a ninja. I came here because Damien Powers told me that he had a job for me, the nature of which I have yet to know. He sent enough money to cover the cost of the travel here and a down payment of one million dollars. I took his offer as serious, but I have yet to meet him."

David narrowed his eyes, but Lara continued on to the old woman wearing a shawl and a simple thick dress. "And you, Madame?"

"I am Lucinda of the Morah clan. My clan's most valued treasure, the Morah Scimitar, was stolen centuries ago by bandits. Powers has told me that he has found the sword. I am here to retrieve my clan's property."

"The Morah clan...I have heard of you. Gypsies," Natalya said in recognition.

"Yes."

"Curiouser and curiouser..." Lara went to the next, a young man in his early twenties, well dressed and confident. "And you?"

"I came here to get my property back, too," he said brashly. "I'm Jason Witherton the Third, and I came here to get something...personal...from Damien Powers. And no, I'm not going to tell you what it is. That is between me and Powers."

Lara said, "Under the circumstances, Mr. Witherton, you don't have much of a choice. You don't want to look suspicious, do you?"

Jason paled, then said in a lower voice, "Powers is blackmailing me. I suppose you want me to tell you what I'm being blackmailed for, do you?"

"You don't need to." David was much calmer now. "You're under investigation by Interpol regarding your connections with the Colombians. Powers must have something on you."

Jason Witherton III was silent.

Lara decided it was time to move on. "And you, miss?" she asked a stunning brunette. "Wait, I know you." Her voice grew harsh. "You commissioned the Anderson dig in the Valley of the Kings."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a supermodel; I'm only interested in young things." She smiled winningly at David.

"Nikki Therese...yes, I know you now. Your cutthroat dealings cost the lives of the entire archaeological crew there. You killed them all and stole the treasures for yourself."

"I was never connected with that disastrous project."

"Oh? I'll bet the mansion and the lake that Powers has info connecting you to that. You'll have a lot of money to pay, a lot of families to apologize to and a great many questions that the authorities will want to ask you." Lara's voice was colder than the weather outside.

"Don't be absurd," Nikki said, but her voice was smaller.

"We'll see." She turned to the next gentleman, a marginally overweight Russian in a cheap suit and black boots. "And you are...?"

"Dmitri Orumov."

Both Dmitri and Lara looked at David, who had spoken the name. "You know me?" Dmitri asked with great interest.

"Yeah. Remember three years ago? You tried to pick up some merchandise from the U. S. government that you weren't supposed to?"

Dmitri's eyes narrowed. "so you're the one...well, it seems that I would like to speak to you later about that matter."

"Using what? Your Makarov?"

"No gunplay, I assure you. After all, it was a business venture, like any other." Dmitri was apparently unruffled by the idea of spending some time with the person who cost him thirty million dollars, American.

"Business, maybe, but not like any other. The Russian Mafia is hardly part of the American business community."

"You'd be surprised. In any case, we won't quibble. I was brought here under the impression that this Powers person could help me recover the money I lost in that operation. Needless to say, I was interested."

"I'll bet."

"David, can we get on with this?" Lara asked pleasantly. She turned to the next individual...or rather, individuals. They were a set of twin Norwegian females, both incredibly beautiful...but they had one slight defect. They each bore scars running down their faces, starting just above the eye and going down through the eye and ending an inch or two below the eye. One had the scar over the left eye, the other, the right, like mirror images. "And who might you two be?"

"We're Doria and Darlene Falkner. We were asked here by someone claiming to know the identities of our parents. We recently discovered each other in Saudi Arabia after we had been bought," said the twin on the left.

"White slavery. How nice." Lara looked disgusted.

"It's alright. The experiences weren't that bad...but according to the man who purchased us years ago, he said that our parents had sold us to him, for reasons he never divulged," continued the woman on the right. "He gave us these scars as a way of marking us, to be certain which was which." The right twin discussed this with a pleasant air and Lara got the uncomfortable feeling that these two enjoyed their servitude.

"So whom is whom?"

"I'm Doria," said the one with the scar over her left eye.

"I'm Darlene," said the one with the scar over her right eye.

"Right." Lara looked around the room. "All of us have apparently been given an offer impossible to refuse and brought here to a remote area. Lovely." She checked her watch. "Well, whoever wants to leave, you'd better do it soon...the weather around here promises to be rather harsh. Otherwise, we'll just have to wait and see if Damien Powers actually drops in to explain himself."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea." Georges looked around. "Besides, I'm starting to doubt that Powers really can come through on his promise. With such a variety of stories going around, I think we were brought here for some other purpose."

Suddenly, they heard explosions outside. Jason ran to the window and looked out through the snow. "Well, don't look now, but that option ain't available any more! Somebody dynamited the bridge!!"

"What??" David ran to the window and peered out. Sure enough, the bridge had been reduced to two stumps of burning wood at the banks of the lake and the island. "Son of a...!"

"Now what? Doria asked. "Can't we go across the ice?"

"I DON'T RECOMMEND IT." Everyone looked around as a synthesized voice boomed through the room.

"Who is this??" Nicholas demanded.

"PLEASE PROCEED TO THE DINING ROOM."

"And if we don't?" Nicholas asked.

"THEN YOU'LL NEVER FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON."

The room was silent. Dmitri considered. "Whoever it is, he's got a point."

The others nodded, walking out, moving respectable distances away from each other. What were once guests were now prisoners, not to mention prisoners with checkered pasts. There was a hint of fear in the air as everyone wordlessly went to the dining room.

The dining room was huge, able to seat an army. However, there were only fourteen places set, each with it's own platter, silverware and placard. David's seat was at the head of the table, with Lara and Natalya's seat close by. Even Ludmilla had her own seat, placard and all.

The voice boomed again. "WHEN EVERYONE IS SEATED, I SHALL EXPLAIN WHY I BROUGHT YOU ALL HERE."

David and Lara sat down, checking their chairs first. When the others saw that the chairs weren't booby-trapped, they also sat down.

"NOW THEN...FIRST, DAMIEN POWERS DID INVITE YOU ALL HERE, BUT AT MY BEHEST."

"Where IS our host?" Darlene asked.

"HE'LL BE JOINING YOU SOON." The voice paused. "NOW, TO BUSINESS. AS YOU'VE ALL FIGURED OUT, OR WILL FIGURE OUT SOON, ALL OF YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON...AN ASSOCIATION, HOWEVER INDIRECT, WITH EITHER LARA CROFT OR DAVID CONNORS. THE DIRECT ASSOCIATIONS ARE ALREADY CLEAR, BUT THE INDIRECT ONES ARE NOT. FOR INSTANCE, THE TWINS. THEY MIGHT BE INTERESTED TO KNOW THAT THEIR PARENTS WERE ONCE ASSOCIATES OF LARA'S FATHER...AND SUBSEQUENTLY, LARA AS WELL. THEY WERE INFORMATION BROKERS WHO OFTEN SUPPLIED LARA WITH INFORMATION ON PLACES SHE WOULD ENDEAVOR TO EXPLORE...AND PROVIDED SOME OF HER ENEMIES WITH THE INFORMATION AS WELL. HOWEVER, THE MAIN HOOK, AS IT WERE, IS THAT LARA AND THE TWINS DO HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON. THEIR GENETIC STRUCTURE."

Lara blinked. "What? How is that possible?"

"A LONG TIME AGO, LARA, WHEN YOU WERE BORN, A SUBSTANTIAL SUPPLY OF YOUR GENETIC MATERIAL WAS SPIRITED AWAY FROM THE HOSPITAL WHERE YOU WERE BORN. THE THIEVES WERE THE TWINS' PARENTS, WHO'D SEEN YOU AS AN INTERESTING GUINEA PIG. THEY TOOK YOUR BLOOD SAMPLES AND WENT TO AN OLD FRIEND OF THEIRS...JACQUELINE NATLA." Lara's eyes widened. "I DON'T THINK NATLA EVER KNEW THE TRUE IDENTITY OF THE GENETIC SAMPLES' OWNER, ALTHOUGH I'M SURE SHE WOULD'VE BEEN INTERESTED. NATLA, IN EXCHANGE FOR SOME NEEDED INFORMATION FROM THE PARENTS, TOOK THE SAMPLES AND CREATED TWINS FROM THE CODE, BUT NOT UNTIL AFTER SHE'D MADE SOME DISTINCT CHANGES. YOU SEE, NATLA HAD HER OWN AGENDA AND SAW THE TWINS AS A MEANS TO MAKE SOME CHANGES OF HER OWN. SHE INSTILLED IN THEM CERTAIN...BIOLOGICAL QUIRKS. PSYCHOLOGICAL ONES, I BELIEVE. CERTAIN AFFECTATIONS TOWARD MASOCHISM AND SADISM, PARTICULARLY MASOCHISM. WHEN THE TWINS' PARENTS FOUND OUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED, THE HEARTLESS CREATURES STOPPED THINKING OF THEM AS THEIR CHILDREN (AN IDEA, I HEAR, THAT WASN'T TOO FIRM TO BEGIN WITH) AND SOLD THEM OFF TO ONE OF THEIR ARABIAN CONTACTS IN PAYMENT FOR SOME VALUABLE INFORMATION. ALL THAT NATLA HAD PLANNED IN ADVANCE. PITY SHE NEVER SAW THE RESULTS OF HER EXPERIMENTATION."

Doria and Darlene remained quite calm, even smiling at some points in the conversation, making some of the other guests feel decidedly on edge.

"AS FOR JAMES WITHERTON THE THIRD. REMEMBER THAT INVESTIGATION IN PROGRESS? GUESS WHO WAS THE STELLAR DETECTIVE THAT FIGURED IT ALL OUT?" James looked hollowly at David. "YES. DAVID CONNORS WAS THE ONE WHO BROKE YOUR COVER DURING ONE OF HIS CASES AS A PRIVATE DETECTIVE. ALMOST. HE NEVER KNEW WHO THE TRUE IDENTITY OF THE JACKAL WAS, ONLY THAT HE WAS THE ONE IN CHARGE."

David looked back at James. "So YOU'RE the Jackal." Jason glared at David.

"MY, HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN. WOULDN'T YOU AGREE, MR. RENEGARU?"

"I might...if I knew what you were talking about," Shike answered dryly in English.

"YOURS IS A MORE SIMPLE ASSOCIATION. YOU WERE ASKED BY LUCINDA TO COME HERE BECAUSE I TIPPED HER OFF THAT LARA CROFT HAD THE SCIMITAR AND HAD STOLEN IT FROM THE GRAVESITE OF THE BANDITS THAT HAD TAKEN THE BLADE. DESPITE YOUR OLD-WORLD DEMEANOR AND DRESS, YOU'RE QUITE A POWERFUL WOMAN...SINCE YOU PRESIDE OVER A CLAN OF SMUGGLERS."

"That is a LIE!" Lucinda bellowed. "I am humble..."

"SAVE IT FOR SOMEONE WHO TAKES YOUR 'HUMBLE TRADITIONAL GYPSY BULL SERIOUSLY. LARA DOES NOT HAVE THE SCIMITAR. A LITTLE FABRICATION ON MY PART. SHE DOES, HOWEVER, HOLD THE DIAMONDS THAT CAMILLA RICHARDS PRIZE SO HIGHLY. THEY WEREN'T YOURS, CAMILLA, NOR WERE THEY YOUR FAMILY'S. THEY WERE BURIED IN AN AFRICAN TOMB IN ZAIRE, BUT LARA CROFT GOT TO THEM BEFORE YOU COULD. YOU DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL NOW THAT LARA WAS THE CULPRIT, ONLY THAT YOU HAD BEEN DENIED OF YOUR PRIZE...SOMETHING THAT YOUR MONSTROUS EGO COULDN'T ACCEPT."

Camilla silently fumed.

"NICHOLAS, YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS WITH THE SEVENTEEN YOUNG GIRLS YOU KIDNAPPED, RAPED AND THEN SOLD. FEAR NOT. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO CONVICT YOU; YOU MADE SURE OF THAT. SO DAVID'S HOPE THAT YOU WILL FINALLY BE SENT TO JAIL OR THE GAS CHAMBER IS FUTILE...BUT IT WAS A GOOD ENOUGH BIT OF INCENTIVE, WASN'T IT?"

"Get to the point, Mr. Mystery Man."

"BELIEVE ME, I AM. LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, LUDMILLA. YOU WERE A LITTLE EXTRA, JUST THAT LITTLE PIECE OF LAGNIAPPE THAT WOULD WORK TO KEEP NATALYA HERE."

Ludmilla started to cry and Natalya held her close.

"NOW THEN...ON TO THE REASON WHY I BROUGHT YOU ALL HERE. IT'S QUITE SIMPLE, REALLY. ALL OF YOU ARE GOING TO DIE HERE."

The murmuring of some of the other guests ceased.

"IT'S QUITE SIMPLE, REALLY. ALL OF YOU HERE HAVE EMBARRASSED OR THWARTED ME AT SOME TIME OR ANOTHER. THE ICE OUTSIDE IS MINED; THEIR PROXIMITY FUSES HAVE JUST BEEN ACTIVATED. ANYONE TRYING TO CROSS THE ICE WILL BE LUCKY IF THEY ARE MERELY BLOWN APART BY THE MINES...PREFERABLE TO A SLOW, LINGERING DEATH IN THE ICY WATER BELOW. THANKS TO THE BLIZZARD, A NICE TOUCH OF DELIGHTFUL HAPPENSTANCE, ALL ATTEMPTS TO USE RADIOS OR CELLULAR PHONES WILL MEET WITH NOTHING BUT STATIC. THE BRIDGE IS COMPLETELY GONE, AS YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY SEEN. WE SHALL PLAY A LITTLE GAME, YOU AND I. WE SHALL SEE IF YOU MANAGE TO KILL EACH OTHER BEFORE I CAN GET TO YOU. AND, TO MAKE THINGS INTERESTING, IT'S HIGH TIME YOU MET YOUR 'HOST'."

A motorized cart wheeled into the room, bearing several covered dishes. It stopped next to David.

"YOUR HOST HAS NOW JOINED YOU FOR DINNER. AND FOR NOW, ADIEU. ENJOY YOUR MEAL, AND REMEMBER...WATCH THE STARS."

Time slowed as everyone looked at the covered dishes and platters. David took a deep breath, then slowly reached out, picking up one of the dishes and picking it up, bringing it close to his face. He opened the lid just enough so he could look inside.

David's face turned bone white and he slammed the lid down again, pushing the platter back onto the cart and backing out of his chair. He had seen death before, but this was something so brutal, so alien in its presentation...

"Dave...?!" Lara stood up.

"Don't open those lids...for God's sake, don't even touch them!!" he said in a horror-stricken voice. "It's...."

"It's what?" Nicholas asked, his voice wavering.

"...it's him..."

"WHO??" Lara asked.

"DAMIEN, IT'S DAMIEN....!!"

Everyone got out of their seats and backed out of the room, their eyes fixed on the calm, proper cart with its innocent-looking dishes and platters...

David finished pushing the sofa against the door. Lucinda was holding onto her mother with a death-grip, shocked beyond tears, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.

"There!" David sat down on the sofa.

"So what do we do now?" asked Natalya, scared for herself and her daughter beyond words. Her voice was shaking.

"Right. Everyone calm down," Lara said soothingly.

"Calm down?? Yeah, RIGHT!" James said sarcastically. "Some maniac is trying to cut us up into little pieces and all you can say is 'calm down'???"

"If you want to panic, Mr. Witherton," Nicholas said bitterly, "go do it outside. She's right. If we panic, we're dead for sure. Alive and calm, we might be able to find this guy and take HIM out before he takes US out. First thing we gotta do is accept the fact that we've gotta stick together...yes, David, that means you, too."

"We'll settle our business later, Nicholas," David gritted.

"Count on it, shamus," Nicholas retorted. "With that in mind, I say we get some sleep."

"Sleep?? Have you lost your mind? With...!" said Camilla.

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right," David said. "but we all don't go to sleep...we post guards and work in shifts. I can go for another few hours. Four hour shifts, six people for each shift. I'll take the first watch."

Nicholas nodded. "I'll take the next watch. Who's with me?"

James Witherton III shrugged. "I can't sleep right now, anyways."

"And I'll take the fourth watch," said Lara.

David leaned close to Lara. "I'd feel much better if you were watching my back while I was asleep," he whispered.

Lara nodded. "Make that the second watch."

"Getting nervous, Davey?" Nicholas said with a sneer.

"No, I'm scared shitless."

Darlene raised a hand. "I'll stay up." Her sister nodded assent.

"That makes five. I'll join," said Georges. "Now let's find the bedrooms," he added with finality. "Let's check upstairs."

David looked around. "Nice bedroom...for a prison."

Lara looked at the furnishings. Not too old, not too modern, the furnishings looked like Victorian English, but were quite solid. "If these are replicas, they're very good ones. This feels very wrong, David. We're being set up. After all, all these people are connected with us...someone went to a great deal of trouble to find these people and bring them here from the four corners of the planet." She put her suitcases on the dresser and opened the wardrobe.

"Tell me about it. But why??"

"I don't know, and I'm not in any hurry to find out. What was that again, something that voice said...'watch the stars'? What was that all about?"

"I don't know." David reached inside his suitcase and stopped. "Oh, SHIT."

"What?"

"My gun's gone."

Lara opened her suitcase and found that her pistols were missing, too. "More of our host's trickery. We're unarmed...and I'll wager that the others, if they were armed before, they aren't anymore. Blast!!" She thumped her suitcase, denting the leather.

"Well, I guess that means that none of the other guests are armed."

"Yes...but our host IS."

"No...I don't think so. Someone who could arrange something like this doesn't care about the weapons. He can always get his own. No, whoever our guest is, he's got something to prove. What it is, I don't know." He put on his jacket. "I'm going on watch. See you in four."

"David?"

"Yeah?"

Lara went up to him and held him close. "Don't you dare die on me....!"

David smiled. "I'll do my best. After all, I've managed to stick with you for this long."

"Take care, David. There's a lunatic out there somewhere."

"I know." David smiled and kissed her warmly. Lara melted into that kiss, feeling a delightful shiver all over her body. When they parted, she smiled.

"That was nice."

"Thanks...maybe someday I'll do more than just kiss you..." With that cryptic remark, David left the room. Lara watched him go, then went to bed, where she fell into a fitful sleep.

...she was running...lost in a gigantic house with serpentine hallways...a door appeared and she entered. She was in the dining room again, alone...she sees the cart with its covered platters. Against her will, she walks towards the cart, her mind is screaming at her, NO, NO, DON'T TOUCH IT but she can't stop, she reaches for the lid of the nearest covered platter and lifts it...it is agonizingly heavy, but she lifts it to see a blood-soaked matting of hair but the head isn't Damien's IT'S DAVID'S IT'S DAVID'S IT'S DAVID'S HEAD AND HIS FACE IS FROZEN IN A SCREAM...

Lara woke up, biting back the scream that threatened to break free. The sheets clung to her sweating body and she shuddered as she told herself, It was just a dream...just a dream...

Then she heard the scream.

Lara bolted out of bed, still wearing the black bodysuit, shorts and hiking shoes she had worn to bed. As she left the room, she could hear another scream from down the hallway. Lara sprinted around the first turn, then the second, to find almost all the guests crowding around a male body on the floor. Panic rose in her as Lara recalled the last vestiges of her dream and she ran even faster.

She got to the group and pushed aside to see Nicholas one the floor, rigid as a board. His tongue was purple and he was pointing at David. Nicholas' eyes were bulging from his sockets.

"What's going on??" she asked.

"...you....POISONED...me..." Nicholas rattled, his breaths coming in halted gasps. "...murderer....!!!!" he said one last time, then went silent.

Georges bent down to look at him, then checked his pulse. After a moment, he looked up at the others. "He's dead."

Everyone looked to David, who was looking stunned. "I didn't...I didn't kill him!"

"Don't give me that," James said accusingly. "If you hadn't been pulled from his neck, you would've killed him when you first saw him!" The others murmured agreement, looking at David coldly.

"WELL, WELL...YOU JUST COULDN'T WAIT FOR ME, COULD YOU? WELL, ONE LESS VICTIM IS ONE LESS PROBLEM FOR ME. YOU'VE BEEN A NAUGHTY BOY, DAVID. YOU COULDN'T WAIT, COULD YOU??" The Voice sighed. "I'M SURPRISED. I REMOVED YOUR WEAPONS, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOU TRAVELED WITH CURARE, DAVID. I WILL NOT UNDERESTIMATE YOU AGAIN."

Lara looked at David as if seeing him for the first time. Would he do it? After all, David was no saint and Nicholas WAS a child-molester...no! I don't believe that David is capable of cold-blooded murder! But Lara was suddenly unsure.

"What have you got to say for yourself, David?" Dmitri demanded.

"I just came along and heard him choking. He was drinking from a pitcher of water here..." David pointed to a fallen pitcher. "And then he just went stiff and fell. But I didn't kill him! Lara, you've got to tell them that I didn't kill him!"

"David..." Lara said, but David could read her unasked question in her eyes. He slumped to his knees. "Look, there has to be some explanation!"

"Yeah, there is." Nikki's eyes blazed. "We've got enough problems with ONE psycho without worrying about TWO. But what do we do with him?"

Dmitri smiled. "Lock him in one of the rooms and chain him up. If I know David, he's got a set of handcuffs. We chain him up and lock him away until we can get some sleep and decide in the morning what to do with him. Come on!"

Lara and Georges stood there as they dragged David away. She looked up at Georges. "David didn't do it, Georges. I'm sure he didn't."

"Are you sure? How long have you known him, after all? Under pressure, a person could do anything. Even you. Even me." He shook his head. "All we can do is be glad that they're not going to lynch him and that they will have cooler heads in the morning. He'll be alright for now."

"I hope so..." Lara felt very small. "I just can't believe it..."