12- Faux Pas
Her footsteps crunched in the freshly fallen snow on the building's roof. Without a word, she followed the silhouette of the mercenary who was advancing a few metres in front of her, barely distinguishable in the dark night. Hidden under her cap, jumper and black latticework, only the flakes that were falling in large quantities and clinging to her betrayed her.
With a distracted gesture, she pushed back a lock of hair that was bothering her under her own bonnet. In her black suit, her 9mm hanging on to their holsters, she crouched down and cast a suspicious glance around her: through the thick curtain of snow, she first made out, on her right, the great square of the palace and its Alexander column, bathed in orange lights, typical of the late hours of the night. To her left, the Neva was wriggling endlessly in the darkness of the night. At that hour, the streets were deserted of all life, she imagines without difficulty that people were discouraged from going out in this weather and cold.
She took a deep breath to concentrate, which left a white trail in the icy night air. A faint metallic rattle, followed by a soft noise, told her that Kurtis had succeeded in unhooking one of the many Plexiglas sheets that littered the roof of the palace, and which were opening into the interior air ducts.
"Is everything alright?", she heard in her ear.
She readjusted the small device in her ear. In front of her, Kurtis grasped the ventilation grille with both hands and placing it on the floor. He nodded his head and the adventuress came closer.
"We're about to enter the north duct," she finally answered in a low voice.
"Perfect. I'll let you progress to the next duct, you should soon find it, in about thirty feet. From there, you will arrive in a maintenance room."
"Understood."
She came up to Kurtis, who pushed back some flakes that were bothering him on his face. She observed the gaping hole at their feet, which seemed to plunge directly into the most total infinite darkness. The adventuress grasped the rope the American had firmly attached to a stainless steel foot. He was about to pass in front of her when she stopped him with a mouvement of the hand.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you the ladies go first?"
"I was ready to sacrifice myself at the slightest imminent danger, but I'll keep that in mind," Kurtis replied ironically. "Hope I won't hear you complain that I'm not gallant enough."
The young woman slipped into the opening, clinging firmly to the edge of the pipe. Leaning on her legs, she grabbed the thick rope with both hands to abseil down. Before going down, she raised her head towards her companion.
"Don't blame me. I've had a few bad experiences before."
"Looks like you've been doing this your whole life," the mercenary said with a mischievous smile.
"These are my speciality, Mister Trent."
She gave him a wink and let herself slide gently down the shaft.
—
Kurtis let himself fall gently beside her. The roof opening wasn't far above their heads, but it was pitch black down there. Lara quickly rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small torch, whose icy white halo revealed an intersection of pipes.
"Straight ahead," they both heard in their earpieces.
They looked at each other and nodded. The duct was relatively narrow, not to say tiny. Lara laid face down on the ground and began to crawl into it, closely followed by the mercenary.
They progressed quickly, more easily than they thought they would. As Roman had told them, after a few metres a gate appeared on their way. Taking a quick glance through the metal slats, the adventuress discovered a relatively small room, whose wall shelves were filled with various jerry cans of products and cloths.
Lara twisted and turned to Kurtis.
"Come and help me," she said in a whisper.
The young woman then leaned as hard as she could against the wall to give Kurtis enough space to come to her and reach the grid. The mercenary crawled up to her, trapped between the young woman and the wall. They found themselves shoulder against shoulder and began to unscrew the large screws that framed and blocked the trapdoor, starting with the furthest ones. The bolt on which Kurtis was working quickly jumped out, he then continued his work, this time concentrating on the nearest bolt. The one the adventuress had just undone suddenly slipped out of her fingers, and bounced a little further in a metallic snap that echoed throughout the conduit. As a reflex, she blocked it with her hand. Suddenly she turned towards Kurtis, who was also holding his breath. A mocking smile appeared on his face.
Whenever it comes to discretion...
The young woman answered with a murderous look, clearly vexed by this reflection but also by the fact she still did not understand how this kind of telekinesis worked. After the stress of this blunder, she easily unscrewed the last big screw holding the grille. In the same movement, they grabbed the wire mesh and started pulling to lift it up. There was a small metallic squeaking sound and the grille came out of its frame.
"Stop! Stop everything!", Roman suddenly shouted.
The two adventurers stopped dead in their tracks, their hands still clinging to the gate.
"There are two agents coming at you!"
Lara and Kurtis stared at each other without a word, holding their breath. Lara could feel the blood buzzing in her temples. Kurtis could feel his heart beating against his ribs. He took several breaths to stay focused and not to move the metal plate.
Suddenly he raised his head, holding his ear. In the distance, they heard the echo of several footsteps. Muffled, confused voices came up. They stopped not far from there, just behind the door below. They heard a laugh, and then the footsteps went on their way again, this time moving away.
The adventurers resumed their normal breathing. They waited a few more seconds to make sure the agents weren't coming back, and waited for Roman to give them the green light.
As gently as possible, they slid the grille over the other side of the duct to clear the opening. Leaning slightly forward above the void, Kurtis took a quick look to take stock of the situation. When he stood up, he crossed the adventuress' hazel eyes that were fixed on him, just a few centimetres away from him.
"Let's go."
The young woman grabbed the edge of the opening, slid forward headfirst, and pulled her legs out of the conduit in a kind of roll, before letting herself fall gently onto the carpet. Kurtis, on the other hand, passed his legs first and descended, holding on with the strength of his arms, before landing with agility.
"Ok," Roman's voice resounded in their ears. "Now you have to get to the service staircase's door, which is at the other end of the corridor."
The two adventurers nodded. They straightened up, and, approaching the door at wolf's pace, positioned themselves strategically behind it. Kurtis delicately operated the handle, Lara slipped quietly into the huge corridor plunged into darkness. Closely followed by the mercenary, they progressed along the wall, guided by the small green light a few metres away, which indicated the service exit.
They slipped stealthily down the stairs and quickly descended to the lower levels. As the day before, they found themselves face to face with the porthole door. Kurtis took out of his trousers pockets a new pass that Roman had given to them before leaving. He slipped the plastic card into the case that served as the lock. There again, the door opened with a dry slam, and without a hitch. As hoped, the place was deserted.
"Clear, you can go."
The two adventurers went in without hesitation. They went straight to the last chests that Kurtis had not had time to probe, running up the corridor.
They quickly reached the other end of the tunnel. As the day before, the mercenary approached the heavy reinforced doors and crouched down, one knee on the ground. He closed his eyes and stretched his hand out in front of him towards the last box. After a few breaths, his breathing slowed down. His mind emptied of all sensations around him.
He then began his ritual, whispering his incantations in Latin at high speed. He went through the last rooms where the works were stored in more detail: there again, he went through a whole pile of various objects, from paintings to antique style sculptures.
After several minutes, which seemed interminable to the young woman in the background, the murmuring stopped and Kurtis suddenly seemed to collapse under his own weight. He swung forward, stunned. Lara rushed to catch him before he collapsed to the ground. The young man, however, seemed to come back to him much faster than the day before. He got up quite quickly, but looked vaguely lost.
"There's nothing there," he simply said in a whisper.
The young woman felt her heart liquefy in her own chest. A wave of stress suddenly overwhelmed her. She looked for the mercenary's gaze.
"Are you sure you've looked correctly?"
Kurtis replied with a reproachful look.
"Just take a look at it yourself, if you don't trust me."
The adventuress remained silent, preferring not to reply. Kurtis rose abruptly, almost pushing the young woman away. Perplexed, she followed the young man as he turned his back on her and walked away in the direction of the service staircase.
"Where are you going?"
He didn't bother to turn around.
"I'm going up to the royal flats, we've wasted enough time here."
Lara watched him move a little further away, then, after a last glance at the armoured doors in front of her, resigned, she set off to join the mercenary. On her way, her earpiece squeaked.
"What's going on, Lara?"
She barely passed through the opening of the door the mercenary had left open for her.
"We didn't find anything in the basement," she replied between two breaths.
"Ok..."
She sensed disappointment in the young man's voice.
"Now you're going up to the royal flats I suppose?"
Lara didn't bother to answer. She climbed the steps four by four to catch up with Kurtis who seemed to be digging the distance with her. At the third level she followed the shadow of the young man who had just slipped into another corridor.
"Kurtis!"
The young man continued on his way, walking with great strides several metres in front of her. She didn't pay attention immediately, but they found themselves in the corridors they had walked the day before, where the reception had taken place. As they approached a crossroads, the earpiece crackled again.
"Watch out, agent approaching on your right."
The moment Lara was finally catching up with Kurtis, they moved against a wall between two marble columns. A few feet away, they saw the flashes of a torch and heard the crackle of a walkie-talkie. A male voice answered with brief words before finally cutting off the communication.
For long minutes, the security guard did not move. Backs to the wall, as if they wanted to merge and blend in, the adventurers stood motionless, watching for the slightest movement on his part. They exchanged a questioning glance.
Then, after a long time, the footsteps slowly began again. The man cleared his throat and finally walked away in the other direction, going up the opposite corridor. The torch's light gradually faded away and the shadows fell on them and the empty corridor.
"The way is clear," Roman told them. "Sasha is telling me this is madness, really. And the more I think about it, the more I agree with her, guys."
They got away from the wall. Furious because of his attitude towards her, Lara grabbed Kurtis by the arm in the hope of having an explanation with him.
"What's gotten into you? What's wrong?"
The mercenary looked at the young woman with a cold, distant look.
"We need to keep moving, time is running out."
Lara let the young man free, suspicious.
"What's your plan?"
"I think the Imperial Family left the sword hidden somewhere close to them, so that they could pick it up quickly and escape the palace in case of emergency, there must surely be a hiding place somewhere in the State rooms..."
Unable to restrain herself, Lara shook her head to show her disagreement, her lips pursed.
"After the October Revolution and World War Two the palace was seriously damaged and was not really safe anymore... Unfortunately, a huge part of the collections got destroyed but I guess the Lux Veritatis and the Imperial family would have put the weapon in a safer and special place after the building was rebuilt, somewhere the sword wouldn't get discovered that easily if it happened again... It would have been downright clever from them to hide the sword among other works stored in boxes... I'm pretty sure it was moved to the basement with all the other works."
Kurtis gave her a uncertain look.
"Trust me, I am kind of used to secret hiding places."
"I've seen nothing in those safes, Lara."
She turned her back on him, sighing.
"I think we should move to the upper floors", said Kurtis. "Or we can go away before we get trapped. We check the plans and we come back tomorrow night."
"You know we can't do that, Trent. We need to get out of here with the sword tonight."
Lara looked up at the ceiling, as if a clue would suddenly appear from nowhere to show them the way.
The sword can't be nowhere but here... we should check again the safes
"We should keep moving," said Kurtis as he turned his head to the opposite side of the corridor.
For God's sake what is wrong with him?
"Nothing's wrong with me, however I guess I should ask you what the fuck is wrong with you, Croft?", he suddenly asked, visibly fed up.
She turned back at him, stunned.
What the...?
"The sword is not in the basements. If you not sure about what I discovered in those safes, please feel free to go back down and open them one by one to check by yourself."
"Since when do you allow yourself to use your abilities against me, without my permission?"
"Only if necessary", Kurtis answered dryly.
"…'if necessary'?"
"Now at least I know for sure you won't listen to me anyway and you will just stick to your fucking ideas."
"What is wrong with you, Trent?"
Their gazes locked. Kurtis crystal eyes were as cold as the ice blue they were made of. Lara stared at him for a few seconds, his voice echoing in her head.
I already told you about my mental abilities
"You told me you couldn't read minds, you lied to me", she spat.
You're a clever girl, you know this is not only about that. I can feel things differently, and I understand, I decipher all other people's emotions in a different way, but sometimes I just can't control it
"This is certainly not an excuse", she answered dryly.
Indeed, but it seems my powers are evolving. Using my own mind to speak to someone, or feeling someone's thoughts is quite new for me. And it seems you can also hear me whenever I decide to, and feel things I can feel...
"... It's like there was a kind of connexion, somehow", he concluded in a breath.
Lara let out a bitter laugh.
"A connexion, you say...", she repeated with sarcasm. "So, to sum it all up, you have free access to my head and all my thoughts as you wish, and there's nothing I can do against that?"
"This is not the way it works, Lara."
"Of course it is!", she replied angrily. "You lied to me. You told me you couldn't read minds. What if you're just manipulating me, or make me see nor believe whatever you want me to believe... or maybe you're just using me to get information?"
"So that I can give it to Karel and Gunderson? Are you fucking serious? After all we've been through? And what for exactly?"
"Sorry for not being smart enough to understand that part, indeed. Maybe you're just keeping your cards close to your chest."
Kurtis shook his head in irritation.
"I think there are much more important things to care about rather than simple mental abilities that go beyond your understanding."
"I think I have the right to ask myself questions about the nature of your skills, given what we are playing for!"
"For God's sake Croft, I really don't understand why you just persist to convince yourself the whole world is against you! My mental abilities don't seem normal to you, and so what? What d'you want me to tell you? For someone who spends her time travelling the world, raiding and plundering tombs full of dinosaurs, dragons, mythological monsters or any other fucking God... Maybe it's just time for you to admit some things in this fucking world are just the way they are and that you can't have all the answers sometimes."
"I would accept it if you just didn't manipulate me as you wish."
The mercenary sighed loudly.
"You're so stubborn..."
"I'm sorry if I just don't give my trust to someone who can't give it to nobody."
"This is obviously not a matter of trust, this is a matter of ego."
A wave of anger crept on up on the adventuress. She held her fists tight in her gloves. Kurtis made a step forward and grabbed her arm. His voice was cold and distant.
"The sword is not in the basement, Lara, why don't you just accept the fact that you might be wrong for once in your life?"
"I've studied all the plans and all the notes! I'm not wrong, we just-"
"Whatever I tell you, you will stick to your plan, won't you?"
They paused, holding each other's gaze through the half light.
"Whether you agree or not, I'm going back to the lower floors to keep on looking for that sword, because I'm sure it is somewhere down there. I'm going back down, with or without you."
Kurtis took the hit.
"Sorry for standing in your way, your Majesty..."
Lara freed herself from his grip in a sudden move of the shoulder. She refrained herself from slapping him, her eyes full of the deepest anger.
"Screw you, Trent."
Without adding a word, she turned her back on him and walked away firmly and determined. Kurtis watched her disappear into the darkness of the huge corridor and finally turned away with a sigh.
—
Silence fell again around him. He remained for a short moment alone, pensive in the middle of the immense corridor. Lara had now completely disappeared, and the surrounding silence that had fell around him was icy. He took a deep breath, looking up at the extravagantly gilded ceilings, before finally leaving in the opposite direction the young woman had taken.
"Kurtis? What's going on? Where's Lara?"
He did not answer Roman immediately. He didn't want to be unpleasant to the young man, he needed some time to release the pressure from what had just happened some minutes before.
"I'll find her later."
"I don't think-"
"I go up to the upper floors," Kurtis cut him off sharply.
The American hurriedly made his way up the corridor before finding himself in the elegant area in which they had moved the day before with Lara. He climbed up the large marble staircase with his menacing horseman, and stopped for a moment on the landing, thinking.
"Roman?", he whispered.
"You can start in the corridor on the left, it leads directly to the private rooms. Do you think it can be there?"
The American sighed.
"Fingers crossed."
—
He took a step back, hands on his hips. Disillusioned, his gaze wandered through the magnificent stately room in which he was standing. He turned around and slalomed through the fragile furniture to get out of the area.
He escaped a noisy sigh. He had now been walking around the flats for nearly an hour, searching from top to bottom, looking in every nook and cranny for a hidden room, or perhaps a trap door that might have served as a hiding place. He had to face the fact: there was nothing here.
Absolutely nothing...
He passed an overgrown hand over his tense face. Lara may have been right on this one, and he couldn't help but feel deeply guilty. He scanned the room once more, demotivated.
I was wrong
He took the direction of the stairs, distraught. After some long minutes walking silently, he quickly retraced his footsteps to the corridors and the marble staircase.
He looked around him. Here the silence was heavy, almost overwhelming. For a moment he heard only the beating of his own heart.
As he was about to go down the stair, his gaze got suddenly caught by a glitter on his right side. He stopped dead in his tracks. He looked all around him, to one side and then to the other. He looked up at the enormous statue overhanging him. The marble horse stood on its two hind legs, threatening. He and his rider seemed to be hurtling towards the void, an imposive sword brandished in the air above them both.
Kurtis's gaze lingered on the weapon the rider wielded a few metres above him: relatively long, slightly curved with a thick handle carved out of what looked like ivory, it seemed out of step with the basic sculpture.
"In everybody's plain view...", he said in a whisper.
His chirugai suddenly came to life, unhooking forcefully from his belt. The flying dagger twirled accurately in the air, making a wide curve around the statue before suddenly crashing into the rider's helmet. Kurtis cast a disillusioned glance at his weapon.
"Better late than never...", he whispered bitterly.
He sighed noisily, took a last look around him and finally approached the statue's base. He grasped the edge on which the legs of the great horse were resting and climbed onto the platform as best as he could.
He set out to climb the statue. He grabbed one of the animal's legs and pulled himself up by the strength of his arms to the animal's head. He found himself face to face with the rider's face. His chirugai was stuck across his helmet, as if it had wanted to counter this threatening enemy. The mercenary grasped the weapon and pulled it out of the marble with a sharp blow, before hanging it up back to his belt.
He then turned his attention the weapon the horseman held: it was much more impressive than from below. Its thick handle was elegantly detailed. The young man was surprised, however, at the colour of the blade, which was as white as the ivory the rest of the statue was carved from. He frowned.
If this is the one, its blade should be black
The mercenary got his gaze a little closer. With his fingertips he softly stroked the blade, admiring its clean lines. However, he soon felt a certain roughness, as well as reliefs quite unusual for a sword of this type. He felt a strange sensation under his fingers. When he withdrew his hand by reflex and observed it, he realised he had a kind of white powder on it. His heart jumped.
Paint!
He then took a little knife from out of his pocket and carefully scraped the blade. After a few insistent rubbings, the paint crumbled, and revealed a notch as black as ink.
Bingo
A smile appeared on his face. Without wasting any time, he put away his knife and set about freeing the sword from the statue's hand. Kurtis pulled and pushed with all his might to give the weapon some play, but after several tries, nothing moved.
He concentrated: slowly he took several deep breaths and closed his eyes. He focused his mind on the cold stone under his hands, and after a few moments the blade finally moved, pushed by the force of his mind while he exerted a final pressure with his hands. The sword suddenly released itself from its rider, not without tearing off a few fingers in the process.
Sorry man, this is for the greater good
It was heavy, and much more imposing than he had thought. In a last effort, he lifted it up to him. Kurtis admired it for a short moment, then, relieved, strapped it on as he could in his back. He quickly descended from the statue, then, considering the distance that separated him from the ground, he let himself fall, and landed softly on the marble parving stones. He stood up, looking around again. He stopped breathing, trying to listen up, his heart beating fast against his rib cage.
I have to find Croft now
He entered the staircase.
"Roman?"
The Russian didn't answer.
"I have the sword, I'm getting back to Lara."
No answer. The mercenary frowned, but yet he tried to put himself together. He walked down the main staircase and silently returned to the lower floors, once again sinking into the darkness and silence of the old building's maze.
When he came back down to the first floor, he recognized the corridor in which the museum's agents had chased them, shooting them at close range. Some marble columns still bore the impacts of the bullets.
As he was about to enter the staircase that would take him back to the basement, he heard something somewhere behind his back. Instinctively, Kurtis turned around, pulling his Boran X out and aiming at ramdom in the dark.
All of a sudden, several metres away from him, as if coming out of the darkness, a silhouette appeared. At first glance he thought it was a security guard. But when his eyes looked in more detail, he realised that it was much too small and tiny, and that it didn't look like a security guard. But he noticed above all the long-shaped weapon held by the figure, which glowed in the dark night.
His brain suddenly seemed to freeze and obstruct all sensation in his body, preparing him for battle. The figure took a step forward, out of the half light. The mercenary's gaze crossed the almost transparent eyes of his enemy.
"Won't tell you I'm happy to see you again, Trent."
Morgau took some steps towards him, her long spear dragging across the marbled ground in an almost shrilling squeal.
"I don't give a single fuck."
Vasiley started to run towards him, gaining momentum. Kurtis pulled the trigger without thinking. His magazine emptied in seconds, but the bullets did not seem to hit their target. He didn't have time to grab his clip. The sentinel jumped forward, her spear brandished above her head, ready to shoot him down. The American rolled to one side to escape the blow. The sharp blade fell with a metallic noise against the floor. Before she could get up, Kurtis gave her a side kick, which knocked her to the ground.
The mercenary's chirugai suddenly came to life and whistled straight at the sentinel at full speed. The young woman dodged it at the last moment, as it hit the ground, where she had been standing a few fractions of a second earlier. The flying object suddenly rose into the air, describing a wide arc circle, before going back in her direction. Like an arrow, it struck the young woman again, who brandished her spear to protect herself. The metal disc ricocheted off it and rose again into the air.
"I see you're still carrying around this crap?", she said ironically.
"You mean the one you've never been able to master?", the demon hunter replied in the same voice.
The chirugai twirled again in the air before suddenly descending towards the young woman. This time, she didn't have time to turn around, and the blades made serious cuts in her arm. She escaped a cry of pain when the blood splashed out in a large spurt on the opposite wall. The spear fell from her hands and slid a little further, out of reach.
"Given the weakness of your mind, I am not surprised you never managed to control it."
"Fuck you."
Kurtis charged at her. He hit her head on, and they fell to the ground. The sword that had been hanging on his back fell off in the shock and slid to the ground in a resounding din. He dodged the first punches that the young woman threw at him, but could not counter the knee blow that struck his ribs.
Morgau took advantage of the mercenary's moment of weakness to give a powerful impulse, which made them both swivel. Kurtis found himself trapped under the young woman, who stared at him with her crazy gaze, before throwing down her fists. The young man dodged them one by one and blocked the young woman by her wrists. With the help of his foot, pressing down with all his might, he propelled her and swung her over him. He saw her float for a very short moment in the air, as if suspended, before landing heavily on the ground a little further away. She escaped a grunt, halfway between rage and pain. As he swivelled and stood up, Vasiley was already coming back to him, kicking him hard in the face. The mercenary managed to block the other foot that was coming towards him, and threw his fist forward, which hit Morgau in the face. As she was about to retaliate, she suddenly swung back, dodging the chirugai which was coming back at her.
The mercenary took advantage of this moment of confusion to give her a powerful kick in the stomach, which once again caused her to take several steps backwards. She collapsed to the ground, out of breath. Her head hit the marble floor.
Panting, stunned, she tried to get up, but she staggered, and fell back to the ground, one hand clutching her belly. Kurtis caught up his chirugai, which was coming back towards him, retracted instantly, and slipped it to his belt. Breathing heavily, he approached his enemy still on the ground. She was squirming in all directions, and the mercenary noticed the black liquid flowing from her wounded shoulder and mouth.
"You know things could have been different, Morgau."
She escaped an ironic laugh. She stared at him with her big glassy eyes, her mouth formed a twisted smile.
'And for whom? The lone wolf and tortured mind you are? For your fucking fanatical father and all the Order's bastards who abandoned me to Eckhardt and Karel?'
As he was about to retort, Kurtis suddenly felt a movement in his back. As he turned around, he was suddenly struck in the torso. The young man bent in half. He didn't have time to react as an electric shock suddenly burned his stomach and paralysed his whole body. His muscles became tetanized and a sharp burn went through him from head to toe. The mercenary collapsed to the ground, unable to support his own body. The pain was sharp, his jaw was so tight and tense he thought his teeth were going to burst. His breathing was uncontrollable. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw five or six men surrounding him, all dressed in black military jumpsuits with guns in their hands. Helmets concealed their faces. In one of the soldiers' hand, he saw the taser with which he had been hit. He also heard Morgau growling, probably in an effort to get up. Ranger boots approached him with a heavy step. He looked up at his assailant and was overcome by an uncontrollable burst of rage.
"Good to see you again, Trent."
Gunderson's cavernous voice echoed around him. He saw Morgau join him, her face full of black blood. She look down on him with contempt. Kurtis could not help but grunt in pain as the young woman held the tip of her boot to his throat. She escaped a sadistic laugh.
"Lux Veritatis, my ass."
She raised her boot and knocked him down with force. Everything turned black.
—
She walked with a quick step, sinking a little deeper into the dark corridor. The various galleries filled with works of art paraded at high speed before her eyes. She was furious. Despite the help of Roman and Sasha to go faster and guide her, her research in the archives had come to nothing.
"Roman?"
No answer. The earpiece sizzled, but Roman didn't respond. She had the idea of going upstairs to the royal flats, where Kurtis should logically be.
She slowed down when she arrived at a crossroads of galleries. Lying in a corner, she checked that the way was clear on one side and then on the other before continuing. She went into yet another corridor.
To save time, she branched off into the gallery that opened up to her left. This one, just like all the other ones, was full of paintings, and if she had calculated correctly, it would take her to the Pavilion Room and then to the stairs.
A flash of light at the other end of the corridor suddenly made her stop suddenly. She rushed to hide behind an imposing wooden piece of furniture, kneeling down. She lurked as much as possible in the dark corner so as not to be spotted. After a few moments, the reflections of light disappeared. Lara came out of her hiding place at wolf's pace, glimpsing around her. She stood up slowly.
A metallic clacking sound resonated behind her. Lara recognised without hesitation the noise of a weapon someone loads. When she turned to the sound, she saw three men in uniforms waiting for her at the other end of the gallery. She wanted to turn around and go in the other direction, but she stopped dead in her tracks: other men were also standing at the other side of the gallery, their weapons aiming at her.
She understood right away they were not museum security guards. In one movement, the men came closer with a steady step, gradually surrounding her. For a split second, she felt like simply running into the heap to find a way out. After taking a look at each side, she realised she would not have a chance.
Soldiers were coming at her with their guns pointed at her. Furious, but resigned, she raised her hands in a sign of submission.
The armed group stopped a few metres away from her. After a moment when nothing happened, some of the men stepped aside, leaving the way open for a man who came between them. Taller, but also with more stature, he walked towards the young woman, a triumphant gleam in his black eyes devoid of all compassion. The young woman's blood froze in her veins.
"Gunderson... it's been a long time since we've seen you around."
He observed the young woman impassively.
"Lots of business to do, but I guess you know what it is. Glad to see that you are doing quite well since we met in Prague."
"Sorry, the pleasure is not really shared," replied the adventuress as she pulled out her guns and aimed at him.
"You should not spoil me for a fight, Miss Croft."
"Oh, why not? Are you going to send your big guns after me to slap my fingers?"
Gunderson exuded a wicked smile. With a nod, the soldiers surrounded her a little closer, and two more soldiers emerged from the darkness, dragging a shapeless mass with them. Her heart liquefied when the young woman recognized Kurtis. Gagged, his arms tied behind his back, his head leaned forward, he seemed unconscious. When Gunderson intercepted the adventuress' gaze, his smile only grew larger. The guards tightened around her, pinning her against the wall.
"Bring me that slut!"
Lara didn't have time to react. Three men rushed at her. She opened fire on the first one coming at her; he collapsed at her feet, dead. She managed to wound the second, but the other two men were on her in a faction of seconds. She tried to push them away with her fists, but after a short fight, one of them had neutralized her with his arms, and the second one punched her in the face. Another punch, this time in the abdomen, made her bend in half. She let out a cry of pain. The third guard then stepped forward and punched her in the face. She fainted.
