coughs nervously Um, hi... I haven't been around for a long time, I was finishing my final year at uni, so please forgive my absence. Anyway, for anyone that remembers it, 'Salvation' is back from the dead, with a shiny new chapter :)

Chapter 5: Old Friends

I couldn't have had more than two hours sleep before I was woken by a loud knock on the door. I sat up immediately, head spinning slightly from sleep and disorientation. The room had grown gloomy since I fell asleep, and glancing at the window I saw that the sky had darkened to a thunderous grey outside. I got to my feet as the door was pushed open.

"Ready for your next meeting, Croft?" Kurtis asked, leaning in the doorway with a cigarette.

I glared at him and then shrugged. "I don't suppose I have time for a shower first?"

He shook his head. "You'll have plenty of time later. Business first."

Resigning myself to the present situation, I smoothed down my crumpled shirt and followed him out into the hall. He led me into another room furnished with a large mahogany desk and leather chairs, and reproduction Gainsboroughs on the walls. A laptop computer and some maps and other papers were arranged on the desktop. There was no one else inside. While Kurtis went over to the window and finished smoking his cigarette, I stood facing the desk with my arms folded, and listened as the sound of voices approached from the corridor outside. I had a combined feeling of dread and curiosity. Whatever purpose I was here for, it certainly wasn't going to be a holiday; even so, I hated being left in the dark and the sooner I found out who was behind all this, the better. A moment later three men entered the room, speaking Russian in low, serious tones. I recognised two of them as the heavies from the warehouse, but my view of the other man was obstructed until he walked around the desk and stood facing me. I looked back at the large man with his short grey beard and cold eyes, and let out a gasp of shock.

"Gunderson?"

I stared at the man in astonishment. I had first glimpsed him a year ago in Paris, as bullets and broken glass had flown at me across a room in the Louvre. The same room where I had first encountered Kurtis mere moments before. Later I had learned Gunderson's name from Luddick in Prague, and seen him one final time as he threw Kurtis into the pit where we faced Eckhardt's monstrous creation. I had assumed Gunderson had died in the rubble along with his master and fellow Cabal members, and yet here he stood before me. But what shocked me the most was the fact that Kurtis was working for his enemy's former henchman.

"You worked for Eckhardt," I said to Gunderson, looking from him to Kurtis as I spoke.

"Not intentionally, I assure you," Gunderson replied coldly. He pulled out the green leather chair and sat down, placing his huge square hands in front of him on the desk. I looked back, unenlightened.

Kurtis spoke up on his colleague's behalf. "Eckhardt didn't have many true allies," he began. "But he was able to gain control over people with that glove of his, and by manipulating Gunderson he was able to build himself a nice little army. An army I used to belong to, in fact."

"What?"

"Mr. Trent used to work for my organisation, before Eckhardt killed his father and took mental control of me and my other men."

"What kind of organisation?"

"None that you will have heard of. Military, you could say. Trent was always one of my best men."

Kurtis smiled dryly. "Why thank you, sir." I got the feeling that Gunderson's 'organisation' was probably some kind of mercenary team who did the sort of work no-one else wanted, or dared, to do. A perfect career choice for a moral-free bastard like Kurtis, then.

"But that's not important," Gunderson continued. "I take orders also, and our current operation is to retrieve something of great value from a tomb complex near El Kes, Egypt. That's where you come in, Croft." He spoke matter-of-factly, as if I had gladly signed up for this delightful mission.

"Is that so?" I snapped. "And what if I just tell you to go fuck yourself?"

Gunderson turned his flat grey eyes on mine. He hadn't really looked at me until this point.

"If you were to do that, Croft, I would have to take extreme measures to convince you otherwise."

My eyes narrowed. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of asking him what he meant, but I had to know what they were up to. I glanced over at Kurtis, but he was facing away from me, looking out of the window at the sea.

"Why do you need me anyway?" I asked instead. I gestured towards Kurtis. "Why not just use your golden boy here? I'm sure he'd willingly do whatever dirty work you have planned."

"Oh, Trent will be integral to this operation. But having worked with you before, he assured me that you have certain talents that will also be crucial to us."

Anger pulsed inside me like hot lava. "I don't do that any more. I retired after the business with Eckhardt. I'm probably not even capable of it any more."

"Is that so?" Gunderson seemed unconvinced. "Trent informs me that you still possess your old reflexes." I imagined Kurtis reporting back to his boss how I had fought with him in the warehouse the night before, how he would have interpreted it as some kind of a fitness test. I felt sick.

"I won't work for you," I said levelly, a trace of menace in my voice. "And I certainly won't work with him," I added looking again at Kurtis.

"We are not stupid, Miss Croft," Gunderson replied. "We didn't expect you to be easily persuaded. That is why I have sent some of my men to your home, where they are currently holding two of your friends. One is an employee of yours, James Winston. The other is a personal friend, Daniel..."

"Cavendish," Kurtis said, finishing off for him. "A very personal friend." I felt suddenly cold, my shock and fear for Winston and Daniel taking over from anger. But then Kurtis turned back from the window to look at me, and his expression, cool and distant yet amused, caused my rage to return at full force. I leapt towards him, blood pumping furiously, ready to gouge out his eyes with my fingers. Before I could cover half of the distance between us I was grabbed by the two men behind me and shoved into a chair by the desk. A gun clicked and was raised to my head. I sat facing Gunderson across the dark, polished wood, unable to look at Kurtis again in case my anger got too much for me again. I didn't want my head blown off just yet.

Gunderson continued in his gruff Germanic voice. "These two men will be held until you have carried out the duties given to you. If you refuse or fail, they will be killed."

"How do I know you're not bluffing?" I replied, glaring.

Gunderson motioned to one of the guards, who opened up the laptop computer sitting on the desk and turned it towards me. He tapped in a command that opened up a video file. As I watched, the entrance hall of Croft Manor appeared on the screen, the picture shaking as a camera was carried unsteadily across the room.

"I received this footage by e-mail earlier this morning," Gunderson said as I followed the cameraman's progress across the hallway and, to my horror, through the secret door hidden in the panelling underneath the stairs. They had clearly done their research. "It confirms that your friends are alive, but held securely." Sure enough, at the bottom of the gloomy staircase that led down to my secret room, the dim light revealed a group of figures on the screen. Two were armed and dressed in black combat gear, faces hidden by balaclavas. The other two were sitting slumped on the stone floor, wrists and ankles in bag-ties. Winston was as white as a sheet, and looked terrified and ill. Daniel's head was hanging down but I recognised his tousled, sandy hair. One of the armed men yanked his head up for the benefit of the camera. I held back a sob as I saw the blood on his face, still pouring from a deep cut under his right eye. He seemed barely conscious.

I closed my eyes and tried to suppress the anguished shudder that was building in me. Not just my own life, but the lives of two people very dear to me, depended on my compliance with this criminal and his gang of thieves. But even then, I thought grimly, I had no reassurance that we wouldn't be killed anyway once I had played my part. I would have to tread very carefully.

I opened my eyes again and stared back at Gunderson, who was watching me expectantly.

"I'll do what you want me to. But if they get hurt, I will destroy whatever it is that you want me to collect for you. Understood?" Gunderson nodded, although he didn't appear to be concerned. "And I work alone. I don't want him anywhere near me," I went on, pointing at Kurtis.

"You will have to collaborate at times, but no more than necessary," Gunderson replied. I frowned. Kurtis managed to give me a look that was at once smug and passionless.

I exhaled slowly. "Fine. So what happens when I'm finished running errands for you?"

Gunderson managed to sound convincing even though I was sure his response was a lie. "You will be returned to your home. Your friends will be released, and you can continue life as normal. We will contine to monitor you for our own security, but we will not contact you again."

He stood up and gestured that I should do the same. The Russian's gun edged away from my temple enough for me to get to my feet.

"You will be returned to your quarters now. Trent will inform you when you are needed."

There was still so much that I needed to know. What was expected of me; who Gunderson was working for; what would happen if I did retrieve this mysterious artifact for them. Whatever it was, I doubted that it was wanted for its ornamental value. I had put powerful weapons into the hands of one crazed megalomaniac too many, and I didn't relish the thought of doing it again. But I didn't want to risk trying Gunderson's patience by asking all this now. Perhaps I could get some more information from Kurtis. No doubt I would be stuck with his company for most of this awful trip.

Well, if anyone's still reading this, please review! I have a lot of chapter 6 written as well so I should be able to post that quite soon. Later, bunnies! :D