Subterfugio

Their lungs were burning by the time they reached the surface of the water. The swim had been an arduous task, for no matter how close they seemed to get to air, the water level rose cutting off any hope. It wasn't until they had risen to a certain level that the water stopped pouring in. The end was near a small platform; the mouth being a small square just large enough for the two of them to find the air they so desperately needed at the same time.

Near to where the surfaced lay a small platform, their only means of escape. They pulled themselves slowly on to it, their weakened bodies still recovering from a lack of oxygen.

"That was fun." Lara said once she'd regained her breath. Kurtis looked over to her, expecting a sarcastic expression, surprised at, but by now accustomed to, the genuine smile across her face. Man, she's some what of a whack job, he thought to himself, smiling; her infectious grin making him realize the exhilaration of being that close to not having made it out. His smile continued as he realized that he didn't need to have seen her smile to enjoy it—there was something in the danger that he too liked.

Still, after regaining their breath and with that their strength, Lara and Kurtis began to glance around the small platform, looking for a way to escape from the watery tomb. There weren't many places to look; the platform was only slightly larger than the surface of the water, bordered on three sides by the cold gray stone that laced the church and catacombs. They glanced at each other with the realization that the only way to go was up. Fortunately, there were footholds in the floor, making their onerous trial perhaps somewhat easier.

Lara led the way, scaling the dark stone with a flare clenched between her teeth. Despite her impeccable skill, she was still feeling the effects of a long climb. She knew Kurtis was behind her, and wondered how he was faring. That's why I usually work alone, she thought, pushing her body upwards. It's no fun playing a babysitter. Have to give him credit, though, he's been holding his own rather nicely. Her thoughts caused a distraction from the pain rippling through her body, but she knew that she would fall if she didn't stop soon. Luckily, just as her feet began to slip, her hands found a small ledge in the surface: a crawlspace that she pulled herself up on, her grunt mirrored by Kurtis's as he did likewise behind her.

"And not a moment too soon." He said, assuring her that he was indeed behind her. She felt the exact same way, but was too proud to admit a possible defeat.

"Right." She settled on, a perfectly ambiguous answer that both agreed with and disregarded him. The crawlspace was small, and it wasn't long before they had reached the end, with a heightened ceiling where they could stand. Kurtis was just doing such as Lara jumped up to pull the grating in the ceiling that separated them from their exit, and in a mere moment the two of them were out from under the church. They found themselves hidden in an alcove behind a large statue in one of the chapels. They soon recognized their foreign environment to be identical to the one they had departed from. Kurtis's shrug told Lara it was the one chapel he had left unexplored.

Something wasn't right. She could feel it. She was used to that feeling; her time on the run in Paris had vastly improved this sixth sense of hers. She couldn't place what was the cause of her upset, and a quick glance at Kurtis told her that he felt nothing was amiss. And yet, as he started to move out from behind the statue, she snatched his arm and pulled him back, silencing him with a finger to her lips. Her only explanation to his confused look was that of her arms reaching down to withdraw the Vector R-35's from her holsters.

Kurtis looked on as Lara peeked around the corner, hugging the wall and remaining invisible to any potentially unwanted gaze. As soon as he saw her cock her pistols, he released the Chirugai from his belt, letting it hover in the air beside him, and withdrew his own firearm.

Dammit, it just can't be easy, Lara thought to herself, staring out of the chapel into the church. She could see the commandos occupying the main room, attention focused on the one across the way; the one that was their entrance into the catacombs. She could tell that there were at least 5 with their guns trained inside the small chapel. And she knew that there was more—there were always more.

She turned back to Kurtis, glad to see that he too had seen the commandos, with his Boran X handy and his glaive levitating precociously by his side. She caught his eyes, and in his deep blue, she could sense that he was ready for whatever was about to go down. At least we have the element of surprise.

And she made certain to deliver a grand one. In a second she had kicked herself out from behind the statue, picking off her would be assailants one by one. In a moment, the first few bullets found their mark in the first guards head, and the second guard fell in the same way. By the time she'd trained on the third guard, her hits were sloppier, finding a target in his stomach as she ran from the returning fire from the other two trained operatives. Her eyes scanned the room quickly as she fired in the direction of her enemy, locating the door where she'd entered and choosing that as her destination. But the bullets from the sentinels rained into the stone walls above her, shattering the engravings and raining her with debris. Without hesitation, she dived under the wooden pew and started crawling towards the exit. The guns stopped.

Suddenly she remembered Kurtis.

Shit! She thought, realizing that amidst all the action she'd forgotten about him. And she forgot about him again as something grabbed her leg from behind.

She rapidly forced her hands down and to the side, spinning herself over, ready to kick whoever her unseen aggressor was with her free leg. But the flash of gold by her eye told her not to. It was fortunate that she didn't, as it was none other than her companion behind her.

Crawling next to her, he whispered in her ear. "The guys by the chapel are gone. There's a couple more by the door. Some outside probably. Our best bet is the bishop's entrance. It should be in the back, near the altar. We only have a minute, maybe two, before more come in. C'mon!"

In unison, they jumped up from their hiding location behind the pews. The began shooting behind them at the two guards, who were caught unawares, as they ran to their exit. They wasted no time in finding it, the front door bursting open from the force of the mercenaries behind it, just as the back door closed behind them.

The bishop's entrance may have been intended to give him superiority over the worshipers, but in practicality it had little function. The door opened to a small alleyway; a dead end which only led back to the front of the church.

"Shit!" Lara exclaimed behind Kurtis, who shook his head in reply, gesturing to one of the few doors on the building opposite. He didn't skip a beat as he raised his hands and used his telekinesis to throw the door open, allowing them to run through.

It was the exit door to a small apartment building, derelict but reminiscent of better days. Lara, confident that she had more, although not sure how much more, experience running through populated cities whilst being chased by armed opposition, took the lead, throwing open the door to an apartment on the far side of the hall from the entrance to the street the church was one. Kurtis followed her, taking care to shut the door behind him.

"Scuzi!" Lara called to the elderly couple sitting in their family room, he watching an Italian television program and she dutifully darning a pair of socks. She could only imagine their reaction to seeing her and Kurtis running through her room, although she left that thought to be mused at a later time. She ran to the back wall, finding a window and tearing it open before throwing herself out and onto the street below. Kurtis grunted as he landed beside her.

She exhaled. They were now on a more crowded street filled with pedestrians. In the brief moment she took to scan the environment, Kurtis had commandeered a vespa. She jumped on behind him, glancing over her shoulder to make sure that they weren't being followed as they sped through Florence, over the crowded Ponte Vecchio, taking a long, circuitous route to get to their hotel.

Kurtis jumped off the scooter once they had reached their destination, still cautious that they may have been followed. "I'll grab our bags. You analyze the painting—we'll need to know where we have to go next." He called over his shoulder, running into the building to grab the bags. Lara didn't waste time protesting. She fished the painting out of her pack, curious as to how, exactly, she would know where it pointed them. She gasped at what she saw. The first thing to catch her eye was painted into the background of the map; rising from suburban streets like a rising sun, were the distinct Muslim minarets of a formerly Christian church.

Kurtis hoped on the scooter, throwing the bag into the hatch at the rear of the bike. "So where are we going?" he asked, revving the bike. Lara smiled.

"Istanbul."

"Master, we were unable to detain Croft and Trent."

"Do they have the painting?"

"Yes. They are headed to Istanbul. Our men are trailing them."

"Very good. Have your men follow them, but be careful not to arouse suspicion. They will get us the key then, too. And then take them. But remember. I want them alive."

"Yes, Master."

"You have done well, Gunderson."

A/N: Just an FYI, subterfugio in Latin means "to escape", but also realize the english meaning of the word 'Subterfuge' meaning the equivalent of a pretense or facade, a misrepresentation. It's not really vital butI thought it was pretty cool.

Also special thanks to NFI for beta reading this chapter! thanks also to Akkon for reviewing!

Please, let me know what you think about this-- i don't care if you absolutely hate it (although i hope you don't), please review! criticism, constructive or otherwise, is always welcome! even if you simply enjoy reading it, let me know!