Chapter 6 – Best Be Prepared…

Suffolk Country, Surrey, England

But Daddy! I want to go with you! You can't just leave me here!

Lara, I would take you. Truly, my girl. But I can't have anything happening to you so far from home.

I'll be good! I promise! No asking for souvenirs or anything! Quiet as a mouse!

You'll be with Hilary, love. He'll make sure I get your letters, and that you get mine. I'll write to you and tell you all about India. I promise.

But Daddy!

….. And then a shot, in the distance. Now he is gone…..

Lara woke with a scream, cold sweat beading on her skin like tiny drops of ice. She breathed heavily, her eyes darting back and forth across the room. She gasped, took a deep breath. She shimmied out from underneath her satin blankets, huffing in frustration. She sat on the edge of her bed, her heart pounding. She stared into the darkness, a slight tear slipping down her pale cheek.

She had dreamt of her father. More than that, she had dreamt of his death. She had watched him die. Watched as his murderer waltzed away into the darkness. And there was nothing she could do about it.

"Lara?" came Hilary's voice from her open door. She turned around, managing a weary smile.

"Yes Hilary?" He came quietly into the room, taking a seat beside her on the bed.

"Another dream?"

"Yeah. I swear to God, I'm never going to get a full night's sleep again."

"Oh, I doubt it love. Want something to eat?"

"No. No, I'm fine. Go on back to bed Hilary. Heaven knows you need the sleep more than I do." He nodded, giving her hand a squeeze.

"You know, Lara… He would be so proud of you." She rubbed the back of her neck.

"Do you think?"

"No question! He was always proud of you, Lara. Even when you weren't very proud of yourself. He was your father. Of course he'd be proud of you." Lara grinned, giving Hilary a quick hug.

"Thank you, Hilary. Now go on, get back to bed." Hilary got up and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Lara flopped back against the bed, sighing into her pillows. She thought of her father. She conjured an image of him dressed in field khaki's, petting her head as she watched him research ancient civilizations. He smelled of parchment and mint leaves. His glasses were crooked.

Lara pulled her covers around her shoulders, tears falling heavily now. She fell asleep to the sound of her own grief.

"Well, that's not good." Bryce muttered as a large chunk of the training room ceiling collapsed in with a heaving groan. He swiveled in his chair back to his laptop, punching in some random code. The ceiling groaned louder, and dust began to sift to the floor. "That's really not good."

"Bryce, what exactly are you doing?" Lara asked, holding an energy drink in one hand. "We need to leave in a few hours."

"Right, I know. That's why this new simulation upgrade has to be done now," he replied, getting up to take another look at the collapsed area.

"Again, what exactly are you doing?" She watched as he pulled a casement off the wall, exposing a circuit breaker. He pulled a screwdriver from his back pocket, and began tinkering with the wires.

"Your simulation equipment is too heavy and complex. I just ordered a new system, nice and light. You see that part of the ceiling that's collapsing?" Lara glanced up with a grimace, wondering how she couldn't. "It's the simulation system. It's too heavy, what with all the extras we've added over the years. So, I'm replacing it with some lightweight, user-friendly materials."

"Just make sure you're ready to go to London by this afternoon," she replied, smacking him on the back. He grunted, nearly tumbling over himself.

"Yeah, London… right."

Lara walked into her library. She loved the smell of books. Especially hers. They reminded her of… well, everything. Her father, her childhood, her past adventures throughout the world… She went to her desk and pulled open her file cabinets. M. For Mason. She opened the file and glanced over her available information. Best to be prepared before going into unknown territory.

Mason, Edmond Valcan

Re: Mason Acquisitions, International

DOB: Unknown

Heritage: Presumably Dutch-English, perhaps even Eastern European

Hire Enquiry: Interested in acquiring the Eye of Horus for wealthy customer in Lincolnshire, contacted through a Mr. Nicholas Howard, personal assistant.

First Contacted: Close to five years ago, exact date unknown; documentation missing

From there it continued into Lara's scribbling and personal notes about acquisitions she had made for the company over the past few years. All in all, she had collected several million in commissions from the quests Mr. Mason's company had sent her on. And of course, they had always offered to pay any expenses or fees she incurred while traveling and conducting research. She, however, believed in taking care of herself. You never want to be in debt to a company that shady.

And she had no doubt that whatever Edmond Mason wanted her to hunt down for him this time, she would inevitably have to wade through a great deal of shadiness.

"Is that everything?" Hilary asked as Lara loaded up the last of her gear into the back of the black Toyota SUV.

"I'm pretty sure. If we need anything, we'll just get it there." Hilary handed her a bundle of maps, phone numbers, contact lists, and inner-city transit schedules.

"This should tide you over till I uplink the London files to the network tonight."

"Hilary! I'm surprised! I had no idea you knew how to handle that sort of thing." He smiled slightly, sighing.

"Bryce showed me this morning. He said he didn't want anything disastrous happening while he was away."

"Go figure," Lara nodded. As she finished, Bryce pulled around from the rear garages in the Aston Martin. He honked, smiling.

"You're not honestly going to let him take that thing to London, are you?" Hilary whined. "Think of the insurance!"

"Don't fret, Hilary. I'm taking the Aston Martin. He's driving the SUV." Bryce got out and handed her the keys, looking back at the silver car.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" he suggested with raised brows.

"Not on your life. I'll take those!"

"But Lara! I can handle that car just as well as anyone else!"

"I doubt it, love. You haven't had nearly enough speeding tickets." Bryce and Hilary looked at each other in bemusement.

"Did you say not enough?" Bryce asked as he took the SUV's key ring from his pocket.

"Of course. I would never let anyone drive this car who didn't know how to properly abuse the law with it. Now come on. We have an appointment to make with Mr. Mason."

As the two sped off down the expansive driveway that led out of Croft Manor, Hilary waved to them. He shook his head, turning to go back inside.

"It's so magnificently quiet when the two of them are gone…"