Well here we are again...I was real quick this time. yay

I'll be ever quicker if I get more reviews, hint hint!

As with all of it, my work is copyright. I don't own any of the characters.

Once Lara had thrown on some fresh clothes, she made her way downstairs to find the inescapable Trent. It had taken far longer than necessary to choose said fresh clothes – in the end she'd opted for a plain black, strappy tank top and fitted black shorts.

You're turning into a silly teenager, Croft. Who honestly cares if you choose the grey top or the black one??

However, she knew it had been worth it when she found Trent at the bottom of the staircase. Once he'd looked up he didn't seem to be able to take his eyes off her, and she felt a curious satisfaction at that. After all, he'd only seen her in her torn combat gear so far.

"Catching flies?" She asked, reaching out a hand to close his somewhat drooping jaw. He caught her fingers in his before they could act, and held her hand in that position before them. At the sudden and almost intimate contact Lara froze with the heat that rose up into her cheeks. It took a second for her to remember what she'd been about to say.

"We'll go and get your little trinket, then?" She said abruptly, removing her hand roughly. Kurtis smiled at her in that one sided way again, and stepped back to allow her past.

"My chirugai." Kurtis said. "Yeah. That." Lara looked back at him from her position in the foyer.

"This way." She said, waving in the direction, but he still hesitated. "The sooner you get it, the sooner you can get back to whatever lone Lux Veritatis warriors occupy themselves with." She couldn't quite manage to disguise the harshness in her voice that stemmed from being sure he was going to leave her stewing for another year or two. She also was beginning to rethink her trust idea, as he had made no move to explain himself properly as of yet.

And she was enjoying watching him squirm over having to ask her if he could stay a while. She shook out her still wet hair a little.

"I was kinda hoping I might…" He waved a hand. "Stop by for, um, a day, or…something." Lara bit back the smile she felt creeping up on her as she watched his discomfort.

Stop it, Croft. You're just doing it to hide how you really felt about him leaving you.

"Oh?" She prompted.

"I won't get in the way…I just…I don't really have anywhere else to go." He laughed emptily after his admittance, shifting his weight and looking uneasy. Lara felt her heart strings pull a little.

"I think we can probably fit you up with something." She paused. "Temporarily." Trent caught the warning in her voice, but ignored it, straightening up and grinning at her. The chirugai could wait.

"I don't suppose there's any chance of a Chinese then?" He said, relaxing once again and shedding the vulnerability Lara was convinced she'd glimpsed.

After dinner, which to Kurtis' dismay had not involved Chinese, he found himself wandering about the manor. Lara had such a sense of direction about the place, like she always had something to be doing. It made him feel like a spare part.

And he needed to focus. Focus on getting everything right, focus on remaining in situ, and focus most importantly, on fulfilling his promise. Just the thought of it sent a chill of fear down his spine.

It was becoming increasingly difficult. Lara was distracting – her paradoxically feminine smell, her provocative outfits, her milky skin, her long, sexy, wet hair hanging down her back…even her attitude was drawing him in. And she treated him so coolly, almost as though she didn't have a care for him in the world.

Dammit! Control yourself. You're not fifteen anymore.

Shaking his head, he turned and peered into what appeared to be Zip's office. Bits and pieces of technology were cast about the room, all emitting whirrs and bleeps and faint electric light. Casually he strolled in, not particularly paying any attention. He really needed to get his testosterone in check. Raking his hair back with one hand, he stopped before a computer screen and stared carelessly at the glass above it.

He analysed his reflection in the glass. His hair had grown – some loose strands brushed the back of his neck, and the bits at the front where hanging down into his eyes. The rest of it just flicked up at odd angles.

His shoulders still looked strong and broad, and his stomach taut beneath his shirt. The dark brooding eyes that looked back at him felt haunted, and he had to turn away to quash the rising tide of his own fear and guilt.

What are you doing here, Trent? Are you prepared to do this to her?

He was prevented from thinking on the subject anymore by the tinny ringing of a mobile phone. It took him a second to register that the annoying jingling was coming from his pocket. Slightly frustrated with the invasiveness of modern technology, he fished it out of his pocket and looked at the screen.

Dread, cool and frightening, rushed through his veins, and with resignation he pressed the answer button.

"Yes." He frowned as he listened to the sharp voice on the other end.

"Well?" It demanded.

"It's what you wanted." Kurtis managed, with some difficulty.

"You are sure?"

"Lets hope so." He said, resigned.

"Good. Continue." And the caller hung up, leaving Trent ready to swallow back his trepidation. He nearly jumped a mile when he heard a voice just behind him.

"Just your Mammy, loner boy?" Zip said, his voice laced with sarcasm. He stood up from where he had been crouched, fixing a computer. Kurtis had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't thought Zip might have been buried in all the equipment. He quickly gathered his attitude, and tried to match Zip's sarcasm with his own.

"No, it was my gun toting Gran from Texas." And he made a swift exit from the room, before Zip could realise he'd been mocked.

Later that evening, Lara determinedly led Trent the longest way around her maze like mansion on purpose, just to make sure he couldn't burst in on her in the night and compromise her dignity.

Not that you'd protest if he did.

"Your buddies, downstairs…they don't take kindly to strangers." Trent said, interestedly peering at every crevice of the mansion as they went.

"My boys, you mean? They don't mean anything. They simply like to look out for me." She was reminded suddenly of her argument with Alister earlier and she felt hideously guilty.

Shaking her head to expel the thoughts, she turned a final corner and flung open a door to reveal the room Winston had made up earlier. It was grander than Trent was used to, with a double bed complete with hangings, an ensuite bathroom and a plush beige carpet. It was small, yet cosy.

"There." Said Lara, and made to leave him to it, but he stopped her.

"Where's your room?" He asked, bluntly.

"Elsewhere." She answered, carefully keeping a blank face. She turned to go again.

"But what if I…need something? Or, or have a bad dream?" Trent called at her now retreating back. Without stopping, Lara called back to him over her shoulder.

"I'll send Winston to tuck you in." She grinned. This game between them was becoming quite fun. Especially considering that she felt she had the upper hand.

A few minutes later, Lara flopped down on her bed, feeling the weight of the day hang heavily on her. She let drowsiness wash over her, images of Trent flickering on the back of her eyelids.

If only he could be trusted…

Lara was awoken sharply by an ominous thump from downstairs, sometime in the early hours of the morning. Her eyes shot open, noticing that the moonlight was still slanting through the windows into her room. She carefully sat up, shaking an ache from the awkward sleeping position out of her leg. She was still dressed, though her shoes were discarded somewhere by the wardrobe.

A second thump, this time louder, sounded downstairs. Reaching under her pillow, Lara retrieved her Desert Eagle. She grabbed some clips from the drawer, and padded across to the door, loading them as she went. The resulting click filled her with adrenaline. It wouldn't be the first time someone had infiltrated her manor – she would have to chide Zip later. If indeed someone had got in.

She flung open her door and turned into the corridor, brandishing her gun at every corner.

Come on, you bastards…I'm in no mood for hide and seek.

Advancing, Lara found nothing in the corridors. When she eventually reached the door to the landing above the hall foyer, she waited, and listened.

Sure enough, another thump, this one more distinct reached her ears. She turned the handle as slowly as she could, wincing at the creak it emitted. Slipping through the gap, she hung back in the shadows, hugging the wall.

A flash of light distracted her for a millisecond, and she dropped her weight and raised her Eagle to the opposite landing. A split second of scrutiny caught Trent, in a similar stance, the shafts of moonlight shifting across his face as he moved. He had no shirt on, just his pants, and he was also shoeless. His hair stuck up at the back, where he'd slept on it. If the situation hadn't been quite so dire, Lara might have been amused. As it was, she felt far from amused.

Catching the other's attention, the pair acknowledged each other. Lara held up a hand, signalling him to wait. She inched forward, so that she could peer down into the foyer.
As she did so, she distinctly heard voices, just out of the window that she'd been sure hadn't been open that evening. She paused, lowering her gun.

That's funny. Winston always cl-

She was cut off abruptly by a blast that shook the entire mansion. Lara was thrown back against the panelling, landing in a heap on the floor. Her Eagle skidded away from her along the corridor. Peering through the banisters, she saw that the explosion had taken out one of her front doors and a large section of wall, not to mention the floor tiles and probably half the windows. In the eerie silence that followed the detonation, she fumed silently.

Come out, come out, wherever you are…

Sure enough, the first unwelcome visitor stepped over the debris and onto her premises.

Lara froze.

The intruder was equipped with gas mask and blue overalls, and was toting a tear gas bomb.

Now where have I seen you before? Oh yes. In the employment of a crazed nephilim in search of an Obscura painting. What a coincidence.

In the next second, Lara pulled herself up, rolled and retrieved her gun. As soon as it was in her hand, she leapt up onto the balustrade and leapt expertly, firing off as she went. The intruder hit the ground just as she did, having barely even registered her presence.

Lara landed hard, absorbing the impact with a crouch. Glancing up, she caught Trent's eye, and jerked her head towards the entrance. She backed up against the main staircase, carefully edging around it to peer through the hole. They'd manage to cause reckonable damage, and Lara did not take kindly to tear gas toting intruders who blew her house apart.

Catching sight of another hint of blue, she dashed out from behind the staircase, firing as she went. This time, there were two more in range, and she caught sight of a jeep parked outside through the hole.

Her first shots missed, and they didn't hesitate to pump a semi-automatic round into the fireplace beyond her. By that time, she'd thrown herself behind a column, and before they could turn around, she'd taken them both out.

Again, everything went silent. Looking up, Lara saw Kurtis sidle down the stairs, familiar mismatched gun in his hand. She was so busy admiring his sculpted chest and what she could see of the tattoo she'd noticed before that a bullet grazed her column, making her jump in surprise. Frowning at her stupidity, she stepped out and picked off the assailant.

"I'll go out to the back. You stay here and clear up any…visitors." Lara hissed to Kurtis, and without waiting for an answer, she darted away, determined not to have to divert herself from staring at his muscles anymore.

Kurtis nodded more to himself than to her. He was not going to be popular later – she would blame him because these guys were inextricably linked to him and the Louvre. Nevertheless, he had no more idea what they wanted than she did.

He crept around the corner, and peered into Zip's office. He almost walked away, but had to double take when he caught sight of Zip crouched in the corner, holding an unloaded gun and actually physically shaking. He slipped in, raising his hands in silence when Zip started and waved the gun at him. Delving in the pocket of the trousers he'd managed to throw on, she fished out some ammo.

"You ok?" He asked, offering Zip the bullets. Zip eyed him warily.

"I din' ask for nothing, man. I din' ask to be part o' Lara's damn game neither, and now I'm waving a fucking gun!" He hissed, his voice getting higher and higher.

"Calm down. Take these. Stay there and you should be ok." Kurtis placed the ammo on the nearest counter, where Zip eyed it fearfully.

"Is' alrigh' for you. I'm just a sittin' duck." Trent opened his mouth to answer, but his otherworldly sense spotted a presence in the hall.

"Just stay there." He said, turning, and returning carefully to the hall.

However, when he got there, he found nothing. Lowering his weapon, and frowning, he turned a full circle.

I know you're here somewhere, son of a bitch…

But he found nothing. Dropping his stance, he looked up at the staircase.

A split second later, something shifted behind him, and he just had time to turn and face his attacker as they attempted to whack him across the face with the butt of their gun.

The blow glanced off his shoulder, a sharp edge catching the skin and opening a wide gash. The shock of impact knocked him back and he reeled from the sudden pain, staggering back. He had enough presence of mind to fling his hand and power at the assailant, sending them flying back, and their gun flying from their hand.

As soon as they landed, he fired and finished it.

He grasped his shoulder, circling it and rubbing it to ease the bruise he knew must be forming. He also remembered a similar wound he'd nursed in a similar location…he'd received it not long before he'd come here – indeed, it indirectly had something to do with what he was doing now…but it was definitely something he didn't want to relive.

He made his way to the front to check for any more intruders, but before he'd so much as set foot outside, the jeep parked before him fired up and with a squeal, performed a hasty u turn. It gained quickly, heading for the exit.

Without thinking twice, Trent shot out the tires, feeling a sinister satisfaction when the vehicle swerved and skidded. Reacting instinctively, he shot at the back as it got doggedly further down Lara's huge drive, realising his mistake only at the last moment.

"Shit!" He yelled, throwing himself down just as the fuel in the jeep caught, and the entire thing exploded with a massive rush of gasoline and heat.

Some action, as promised. If you review, I'll come review your fics. Puuuurrlease??