Chapter 5

"There you are Lucy! I was wondering where you had got to, you've been a long time." Hadrian stated, pouring a glass of red wine from a decanter. "Thought you may have left".

"No of course not, I am much too interested in the sample," Lara responded, sitting down at a dining table and gracefully crossing her legs.

Turing his head slightly, Hadrian gave a little grin before walking towards Lara. Placing the glass carefully on the smooth rosewood table, Hadrian reached backwards to pick up a large file from the top of a drawer unit. Everything in the room looked expensive as though he were creating a museum of his own nauseating personality. Staying steadfast, Lara ignored the expensive tat, believing that anything of any value would surely be hidden away.

"Not drinking tonight?" Hardrian asked as he picked up his own glass to take a sip of the wine.

"I tend not to mix drinking with business," Lara stated, pushing the wine glass slightly across the table.

"Oh this isn't business Lucy, it is just a meeting of great minds," Hadrian said as he started to dig inside the file.

"I thought you said you had samples?" Lara asked intrigued by the file that Hadrian held.

"I do, well they are very small. Rare mineral we are dealing with here". Hadrian plucked a small self sealing bag from a plastic wallet. Inside the bag was approximately a tablespoon of bright golden granules mixed with what looked like ordinary sandy soil.

"What do you think?" Hadrian asked as he passed Lara the bag. Holding it between her fingers, Lara lifted it up to the light, the bag sparkled as the golden flecks in the soil turned slightly purple due to the light from the table lamp.

"Fascinating," Lara murmured. She wasn't lying for once trying to pretend that a bag of dirt was interesting. The way the light hit the bag made the fragments create a greater sense of awe than they did in a dimmer light. However, she had no idea what the fragments were. "Have you had these tested?"

"Yes, they have thrown up very interesting results," Hadrian took out a wad of printed results and began to lay them out on the table. "It matches no chemical element known to man. I'm hoping with a little help we can exploit this little beauty for what it is worth. Even if it doesn't offer the next big step in medical engineering, I'm sure if we melted it, it would make a lovely necklace...or ring don't you think?"

Lara looked up from the results to see that Hadrian was showing yet again an unnerving smile.

"Something you are not telling me, Mr. Wright?"

"Well, you see at the site we had some archeology students," Hadrian began leaning back on his chair.

"Really?" Lara raised her eyebrow. "I thought you didn't like archeologists".

"I don't! Horrible, self-satisfied individuals who don't want a proper job. If I could get away without hiring any, I would. Admittedly some of the things they talk about are fascinating, but there is just too much time faffing around with surveys and brushes. The only good to come out of their involvement is to put me in a good standing with the university," Hadrian stated firmly.

"Has it?"

"Has it what? Put me in a good standing? To a degree but the archeology lecturers at the university are completely useless. It seems as though they want to be a plague over the whole site."

Lara smiled. Thinking of Earl, it made sense that he would want to restrict information from Hadrian. She was sure that Hadrian would have no qualms about exploiting the area for what it may be potentially worth. What was that phrase Earl said? Lara thought 'no appreciation for repercussions of the historical kind'.

"Have you found anything then?" Lara asked quizzically.

"Actually, yes we have."

Too easy.

"And what have you found if you don't mind me asking?"

"Why do you want to know? You are not a secret archeologist are you?" Hadrian questioned cheekily.

"Just interested, that's all. You were just about to tell me before about the students, did they find something?" Lara replied.

"Hmm." Hadrian dove back into the file, pausing for a moment before retrieving a tatty brown map and two photographs. Leaning forward, Lara could see that the map contained plots of the Plain Jars with additional circles added in a green pen. The images showed the harimau ring.

"That's a beautiful ring," Lara declared as she peered down, trying to compare the images that Hadrian was holding to the ones that Earl had shown her a few weeks ago.

"It is, isn't it?" Hadrian paused for a second. "Would you excuse me? I need to make a quick call."

"Sure, go ahead," Lara replied as she watched Hadrian exit the room, leaving the map and the images on the table. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to grab some evidence and get out of Hadrian's suffocating personality; Lara swiftly picked up the map and the pictures stuffing them in her bag as she headed towards the door.

"And where do you think you are going, Croft?" Hadrian asked, leaning nonchalantly on the door frame. Lara was tired with the charades, there was no way that she was putting up with Hadrian any longer than she had to. Taking her pistols from the holsters on her skirt, she pointed them at Hadrian as she backed up towards the door.

"That was a quick call," Lara stated venomously.

"Do you really think it took me that long to know who you were? I realised who you were this afternoon. I must say you have kept me entertained all day; you should be an actress".

"I'd rather be an archeologist. Thanks for the suggestion anyway." Lara turned to open the door, preparing herself to run until she could get to the airport for Laos. Hadrian pulled a tranquilizer gun from his jacket pocket and aimed it at Lara who was exiting the suite. It was a direct hit. Shocked by the sudden sting in her back, Lara reached around whilst running to find a feathery dart lodged in her shoulder. Groaning as she pulled the dart out, she felt another sting on her thigh. By now Lara had begun to feel disoriented as she fell into the corridor wall. Trying to fight the rapidly approaching darkness, she attempted to continue running. It was a futile effort as the corridor disappeared into Lara's mind.

ooOOoo

Lara slowly began to lift her head with Hadrian's suite swaying in and out of a beige tinged focus. Instantly regretting that decision, Lara tried to rapidly blink the explosions occurring in her head away, only vaguely remembering how she had ended up back in Hadrian's suite. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see that she was sitting in a chair similar to one she had sat in previously during the sample unveiling. The map, Lara thought suddenly as she turned to the table at the side of her. Twisting her torso, Lara became aware that she could not move her hands as she tugged her arms tied to the chair.

"Rise and shine, Croft, time for a nightcap," Hadrian said suggestively from the mini bar as he sipped a glass of whiskey.

"What time is it?" Lara asked groggily.

"Eleven forty-five," Hadrian murmured uninterested. Lara thought of her promise to meet Kurtis earlier in the evening.

"Problem?"

"No, not at all," Lara smiled, her mind was a lot clearer now as the room returned to its normal saturation. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed that her pistols were lying on top of the mini bar with Hadrian making his way across the room. Vigorously he pulled her head up so Lara's eyes met his. Nothing was said as Hadrian sneered down annoyed, not because Lara was showing fear. No, Hadrian could contend with that. Instead Lara showed a degree of self importance through a small crooked smile that lit up her eyes.

"I have no idea what you are smiling about Lara. You're defenseless, you have no weapons, you can't hurt me," whispered Hadrian, his face only millimeters away from hers. Lara sneered.

"If we are going to carry on with this meeting, I'd appreciate it if you kept your saliva in your own mouth."

Standing back, Hadrian glared at Lara, he had never met anyone so conceited moments from death. He wasn't having his pride taunted by this harlot who happens to be nifty with a 9 mm he thought.

"See, it is easy, isn't it," smiled Lara as she cocked her head so Hadrian could get a better view of the smile that wound him up too easily. He had to laugh in response, she was unbelievable. Walking back towards her slowly, he held his head in his hands as he started to giggle to himself. His drastic change of emotion made Lara uneasy as he stood in front of her again giggling through his fingers. Suddenly he stopped, faux lighthearted emotion switched to pure rage as he hit her across the face, knocking her head to the side. Lara felt blood begin to pool around her mouth as her head tried to steady itself from the impact.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but trust me I don't need you creating problems when all I am trying to do is my job," Hadrian snapped as he pulled her head upwards and dropping it as if he was disgusted by the mere presence of her. Thinking he had finally shut her up, Hadrian kicked back on a nearby sofa, picking up a glossy magazine to flick through while he waited for Lara to become unconscious. Lara on the other hand was not as weakened as she made out to be, tilting her head upwards she spat a puddle of blood on the Bayside hotel's finest cream carpet. Much to surprise of Hadrian.

"I do apologise," Lara groaned. "Just send me the bill when the cleaners have sorted it."

That was it for Hadrian. He was no longer putting up with the insolent Lara Croft who not only refused to give up, but also ruined his carpet; for a house proud man it was perhaps the most insulting thing anyone could have done to him.

"Don't worry, I will. I hope your estate can pay out after your death because in a few minutes time that carpet will be wearing you."

"Oh, what a fabulous carpet it would be then; definite improvement to now," Lara sneered.

"Shut up, Lara!"

"If you are going to kill me, at least let me tell you a story."

"A what? You are getting delirious, lady," Hadrian said as he picked up his gun shaking his head.

"No wait. If you kill me now, then you'll always be wondering what I could have said."

"Trust me, I won't." Hadrian pointed the gun at her temples.

"Not even if it makes it all the more fulfilling dispatching me?" A slight pause filled the air before Hadrian lifted his gun. Playing to his sadistic side was far too easy, Lara thought.

"Go on, you have three minutes before the carpet has a mate." Hadrian reluctantly agreed slumping back on the nearby sofa.

"Thank you," Lara sighed, pretending to be a lot more nervous than she was. "Right, well once there was a little girl..."

"Called Lara..." Hadrian tiredly filled in.

"No, she was Ashley actually, this story isn't about me."

"Now there's a surprise, I thought the whole world revolved around you," Hadrian sarcastically chipped in.

"Now, now Hadrian even I'm not that self important," Lara cocked her head to the side. Her head still felt a little fuzzy and the taste of blood still lingered around her mouth. She had to push through.

"Go on".

"She was a lot like you," Lara began starting to loosen the knots that tied her hands to the chair. "She was very confident that she was the best around and hated it when people told her off." The string loosened slightly, but not as much as Lara hoped.

"And?" Hadrian was growing tired of this charade, he just wanted Lara out of the way so he could abandon the messed up suite and fly back to Laos.

"And one day everything went wrong for poor Ashley, she fell off her horse and injured nearly every part of her body." The string dropped to the floor as Lara's hands became free as she cracked her wrists and slowly leant forward.

"But do you know which part of her body was okay?" Lara asked Hadrian with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Enlighten me," Hadrian replied unenthusiastically.

Bringing both her hands to the front of her body with the palms facing Hadrian, she grinned once more, "her hands".

Suddenly Lara flipped forwards into a handstand, twisting her torso so the chair swung around and hit Hadrian who had barely moved off the sofa due to shock. The chair landed back on floor, which unfortunately did not break the front legs as Lara had hoped. Thinking quickly, she rolled sideways, hitting Hadrian again as he continued to shoot at her. This time the impact made Hadrian fall to the floor, losing control of his gun as it brushed against the stained carpet. Lara swiftly pushed the chair into Hadrian as she tried to untie the knots at her ankles.

"You are not getting away, Croft," Hadrian shouted pushing the chair off him which helped with the disattachment of the ties so Lara could roll towards the abandoned gun. Picking it up, she brought herself into a crouch; slowly rising to full height as Hadrian remained on the floor, staring upwards into his own gun.

"Really now?" Lara asked, she was starting bruise and a pain shot through her back. Yet she had felt and seen worst injuries and situations than this. "Where is the ring, Hadrian?" There was little point in stretching the night out further.

"I don't have it," Hadrian muttered as he remained on the ground.

"That wasn't my question," Lara spoke slowly trying to contain her anger, "I asked you where it was".

"I don't know".

"Yes you do." Lara voice became slightly louder. "You flaunted those images and that map before, so you know damn well were the harimau ring is!"

"So what if I did, why exactly do you want it?" Hadrian shouted back at Lara.

"The same reason as you".

"I doubt that very much".

"You doubt me too much," Hadrian's gun clicked in Lara's hand.

A single gunshot rang out in suite 842.

Thanks go to Gyikhu for beta reading this chapter.