The evening air had grown surprisingly cold. The Mission of San Juan wasn't clustered with as many trees as Paititi, allowing the air to carry freely through the market. Lara found herself welcoming the change. She took off her Remnant Jacket and tucked it away, leaving her in just a tank top. The cold didn't really bother her anymore, not after Siberia. The jungle was just so sticky and confining. It made her think of Yamati…
Lara had never told anyone, but sometimes she saw flashbacks of what happened there. More so the island than Siberia. In Soviet Installation she had been somewhat prepared. And at the time she had a purpose, to help the Remnant at all cost. But the island… it had been a pure nightmare. She had been taken so off guard and had gone through so much.
It would be the little things that set her off. Like the way a tree looked or a sound that made her think of the Stormguard… or the Deathless. She would find herself frozen for a moment when it happened. Most of the time it quickly passed.
She would never tell Jonah about it. He would just worry for her more than he already did. She didn't need to put that on him. Especially after she thought she had lost him last night. What Rourke had said on the radio had terrified her. She couldn't do any of this without Jonah. And she couldn't handle any more losses after Unaratu.
Even though Jonah was, thankfully, fine. She still thought about getting revenge Rourke. That sick man had killed Unaratu and threatened to kill Jonah. He needed to be stopped at all cost. But now, she needed a chance to breathe for a moment.
Jonah and Abby were off having dinner at the local restaurant. They had been insistent that she joined them, but she had refused. It was good that they got to spend time together alone. And besides, she wasn't that hungry. She never really was. Jonah could concur with that. Instead she had opted for a beer as she rested along the mission gate. She watched the sun slowly set in the distance.
As soon as the sun dipped below the horizon, she threw the bottle away and left the confines of the mission. Lara needed to do something, explore, hunt, anything to get her mind off what had happened last night. She took her bow off her shoulders and checked her sidearm. Both were ready to go. She didn't know what she was going to find out here.
The trees grew denser with each step she took. There wasn't anything in particular she was looking for, just simply exploring. The silver box of Ix Chel could wait until the morning. Trinity wouldn't be showing up anytime soon. Commander Rourke was probably still licking his wounds from the destruction of the oil fields. And Dominguez was most likely grieving the death of his sister-in-law.
That meant she was safe, at least for the night. Not that she was ever truly safe… but the threat of Trinity was put on hold.
A strong wind rushed through the jungle. Her bangs flapped in her face. She really needed a haircut when this was all over. Her hair was always in her face when she was trying to shoot. She tried tucking her bangs behind her ears, but they immediately fell in her face again.
'Typical' She thought.
Despite the chill of the wind, the jungle was peaceful. Condor birds flew overhead. Their wings cast shadows on the jungle floor.
A noise came out of the bush beside her. On instinct, she notched an arrow, ready to kill anything that crossed her. Two more rustles came from the bush before an adorable primate jumped out. It had brown fur and a long tail. It was almost smiling at her.
Lara found herself smiling back. "Hey little guy."
The primate slowly inched forwards to her. Lara reached into her satchel and pulled out a protein bar. She broke a piece off and handed it over. The primate immediately took it from her and nibbled on it.
"You like that huh?" She laughed. This was the first good moment she had in a long time. It had been so long… she hadn't truly known peace since before Yamati and maybe not even then.
Lara's smile faded when she realized that the primate had backed away from her. Its eyes had grown wide. "Hey it's okay…" She chimed. It sprinted off into the darkness, without looking back. Lara stood.
'I wonder what scared it off.' She thought.
Another rustle in the bushes caught her attention. Lara turned to meet the noise and the butt of a rifle slammed into her face. She collapsed onto the jungle floor unconscious.
…
Lara's head throbbed. Something… or someone had knocked her out. It wasn't often that anything got the drop on her. She had been sloppy and distracted. Now she might pay the price for it.
Her eyes fluttered open and she realized she wasn't outside anymore, but in a small shack. A small lantern sat across the room, giving off a dim yellow light. One of her arms was handcuffed to a chair. She immediately tried to stand with the chair but to no avail. It was bolted to the floor.
Her free hand went to her hair to search for bobby pins. They had helped her escape the Gulag back in Siberia, but there were none in her hair. Once again, she was out of luck.
"There's no point in that. I've already searched you." A voice said. A chill went down her spine. Lara knew that voice. All too well. It was attached to the last person she wanted to see right now.
Commander Rourke stepped out from behind her and walked to the other side of the room. He looked more 'put together' than he did in Paititi. Gone was his Trinity uniform and in its place was a black suit, much like the one he wore in Cozumel.
Lara stood in the chair as high as she could, trying to grab hold of him. The restraint on her arm prevented her from getting very far. She clawed like a wild animal at nothing but air. There was no point.
"Bastard!" She screamed. Her free hand slammed onto the table.
Rourke simply took a step backwards and smiled. It was the most wicked smile she had ever seen. She would love nothing more than to wipe it off his face. Preferably, done with a climbing axe lodged in his temple.
"No need to be like that, Lara. I'm not here to fight you this time." He said.
Lara settled back into the chair. While she was cuffed, she might as well save her energy. "I don't care why you're here! When I get out of this, I'm going to fucking kill you for what you did to Unaratu…"
"What the Queen? I was on orders from Dominguez. So, you'll have to take that up with him. I hadn't planned on getting involved with the Paititians at all. But he has other ideas."
She scoffed. Did he really expect her to believe this? Lara had taken out enough Trinity cells over the past year to know exactly how they worked and why. Rourke wasn't going to fool her. She was too smart for that.
"Bullshit Rourke! I know you're not Dominguez's lapdog. You killed Unaratu of your own volition, and you had Ana killed! You're a coward. You couldn't even face me yourself last night because you know you would have lost."
Rourke pulled the other chair out from under the table and sat down across from her. His head titled to check her out further. He ignored her taunts.
"It must hurt, doesn't it Lara? To watch everyone you care about die because of your mistakes? First it was Conrad Roth, your friend Sam shunned you, then it was that Prophet, and now Unaratu. It seems anyone caught with you ends up dead."
All at once every one of those faces flashed through her mind. Jacob's was the one that stayed there. That's why she brought the jacket he gave her everywhere. She thought it might ease her guilt. Everyone else had died inadvertently from her actions. Jacob had died because she destroyed the Divine Source. She had made that choice. If she had just left well enough alone Jacob would be alive right now.
'No, you can't think like that Lara.'
Thinking like that caused all this apocalypse mess. She had taken that dagger because she had felt responsible for leading Trinity there. It had been an 'emergency'. Feeling guilty wouldn't help her right now. Reyes had once said something similar to her on Yamati though. Maybe they were both onto something.
She gritted her teeth and snatched her arm at the cuff. "Don't you dare say their names! You don't know what happened there."
Rourke crossed his arms. His smile faded for some reason.
"Actually, I do. I've been studying you for a while now, Lara. Ever since you left the island. Ana and Dominguez had wanted to recruit you from the start. If it had been up to me, you'd have been dead a long time ago. But the more I've studied you, the more I've come to respect you. That first time I saw you in Cozumel, I hadn't expected you to be so pretty."
A small chill went down Lara's spine. It was strange to hear something like that from her enemy. Especially, someone as disgusting as Rourke.
He continued. "Dominguez said Richard Croft was bookish, I thought his daughter would be the same. I was expecting some rich sniveling brat with glasses just like her father. Instead you turned out to be more ruthless than some of my best men."
"Well, I'm sorry that I disappoint." She hummed.
What was she doing? It had come out more flirtatious than she meant for them to be. That's why she usually didn't stick to sarcasm. It never came out quite right. Besides, there was always a bigger problem coming and she didn't have time to make jokes. There was just something about Rourke though that brought out the worst in her.
"On the contrary. I was more impressed than anything. I understand Dominguez's obsession with you. Even if your methods are a little, unorthodox."
Lara scoffed. "So, is that why I'm handcuffed to this table? Trinity wants to recruit me yet again… Well you can go fuck yourself Rourke! I'll never join Trinity. You'll have to try to kill me first."
"Try to kill you? Oh Lara." Rourke laughed. That sick smile came back. "I've tailed you for the entire day, all around this mission, and you and Maiava were completely clueless. If I wanted you dead, you would be. And I never said I wanted to recruit you. I need your help with something."
Lara didn't know if she should laugh at him or cuss him out again. The last thing she was going to do is help Rourke. He was a sick man with probably an even worse agenda. She didn't want to know what that agenda was, especially since he'd called her pretty.
"I'm never going to help you." She hissed.
"Not even if I wanted your help to stop Dominguez?"
Her eyes grew wide. He couldn't mean that. It was just another trick to recruit her into Trintiy, despite what he said. "I'm not falling for that. You would never betray Dominguez…"
"You're wrong, Lara. I know all about you, but you know nothing about me. My loyalty lies in Trinity not Dominguez. He wants to use the box and knife to protect Paititi. Imagine what happens in this new world he makes with the box. What will happen to everyone like you and me?" He said.
Lara knew the answer: they wouldn't exist. Anyone that wasn't Paititian, or part of the Cult wouldn't be around anymore. So many people would die if Dominguez wasn't stopped, rebel Paitians and outsiders alike.
"Like you would do any different!"
Rourke shook his head. "Even though Trinity had plans to evacuate Cozumel, I was still against taking the dagger. I recommend blowing the temple straight to hell. For the power to be buried once and for all. The Divine Source was one thing, but the apocalypse is something different."
Lara couldn't believe what she was hearing. Trinity actually had a plan to save that village? She had fucked up even more than she thought.
"So, you want to restore the sun, not remake the world?" She asked.
"I want to stop Dominguez from turning this world into Paititi. If that means restoring the sun, then yes."
Lara searched his eyes for any signs of a lie, but there were none. It seemed that Rourke truly meant what he said. He was slightly right though. The world would kind of suck if it was all Paititi.
"How do I know that if I help you, you won't try to remake the world to your liking anyways?"
"You don't. But if you want to defeat Dominguez, I'm your only option." He said.
She rolled her eyes. "That won't happen. Even if I did help you, you're a coward who will cut and run the moment things get tough. What's the sudden change of heart anyways? I thought you believed in the 'oath' of Trinity?"
"Between you and me Lara, I don't care about 'the oath' or believe in God or any of that bullshit. I'm in Trinity because I like to shoot people, simple as that. U.S. Special Forces had grown too easy for me. I needed a new challenge. Trinity provided that. And you have been my greatest challenge so far."
"Why the hell are you telling me all this?" She asked.
"Because I need you to trust me. And from what I know about you, the more information you know about something, the more confident you feel in a decision."
Rourke was right. He really had been studying her all this time. She couldn't help but wonder what else he knew and to what extent.
"Save your breath, Rourke. You can give me your whole life story and I still won't work with you. Let alone trust you."
He sighed. "When you find the box, Dominguez and I will be waiting. I'll give you one last chance to help when that time comes. I hope you make the right decision."
He stood and buttoned his jacket. He pulled a key from his pocket and dropped it on the floor beside him. It hit the wood boards with a clank.
"Your gear is stashed outside. Oh, and I assume you'll be able to get out of the cuffs by the time I'm gone." He gestured to the key. "Goodbye, Lara. I'll see you soon."
Rourke strode by her and out the door, disappearing into the night. She hadn't even tried to attack him. She was still left speechless by his offer. She couldn't trust Rourke. But if there was a chance that they could stop Dominguez, shouldn't she take that chance?
Lara took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. This was going to be a lot more complicated than she thought.