Ok, here's chapter 2! Sorry for the wait, i'm trying to do these characters justice. anyway, R&R and enjoy! *EDIT* ok, so i'm in the process of playing TR underworld, and I just found out Alister died, so, I've taken him out, in order to appease the hardcore TR fans reading this to keep with the canon.
The boat ride from Panama was dull and uneventful, save for a close call with the US Port authorities. Drake stretched out his arms and massaged the kink in his neck from sleeping with a coiled rope as a pillow.
"We here already?" He asked with a groan as Sully eased them into the dock.
"Yep, last stop: St. Augustine."
Drake helped Sully tether the boat to the dock before disembarking.
The sky was only slightly overcast such that the sun was covered only a part of the time and a light breeze shook the trees. Even from the dock, Drake could tell that the town was a small one.
"Mr. Drake?" a female voice called out to him. Drake turned as a woman in her mid-twenties strolled down the dock towards them. She was fairly pretty; her blonde hair was tied up in a tight bun, her brown eyes covered by a pair of small, feminine-looking glasses. She was dressed in a grey suit, the skirt of which ended at her knees, and in her hand she carried a small briefcase.
She stopped rigidly before the duo and held out her hand, "My name is Suzanne Sommers, and I will be your guide during your stay in St. Augustine." Drake shook her hand, a smirk on his face.
"I-" he began to speak, but Sully nudged him aside and kissed the woman's hand, "Victor Sullivan, at your service." Suzanne seemed slightly repulsed. "Yes, well, if you will follow me, I have a car waiting to take you to your hotel. Although, I'm afraid my associate misspoke when he hired you," she said as she turned to walk back up the dock, Drake and Sully falling in step; the latter of whom eagerly watching her skirt mold around her as she walked, "You will be staying at the Casa Monica Hotel, the finest, and oldest, hotel in all of St. Augustine."
"Uh-huh."
Drake leaned over and whispered in his friend's ear, "You're a dirty man, Sully." Sully responded with "Damn right!"
They reached the car, a jet-black limo, and Drake's eyes lit up, "A limo? Are you serious?" he laughed as he climbed into the back seat, Sully just as impressed, especially with the mini bar.
"Now, Mr. Drake, the Fountain attraction opens at nine a.m. tomorrow morning," Suzanne spoke as the driver started the engine to take them to the hotel, "My employer assumed you wished to remain in town for an extra day or two, so your rooms are paid for until Friday, so you have four days to enjoy the sights; after the job is done, of course."
"Great, I could use a vacation."
xxxxx
Lady Lara Croft yawned and stretched out her arms as her private plane pulled into the small airport of St. Augustine. The flight from London seemed short, with the occasional airsickness from Winston, her butler. She didn't think she would find anything at the Fountain, but each time she thought that, she began to think about her discovery of King Arthur's tomb in London, so she wasn't going to rule anything out. Though, she was still a little skeptical.
She unfastened her seatbelt once the light was off and started to gather her luggage together as Zip and Winston got theirs.
"Lara?" Zip spoke as they disembarked from the plane, "Tell me again, exactly why do you need us? I mean, if this is such an easy thing, then why not just leave us back at the manor?"
"Well, Zip, I thought it would do you some good to get out for a little bit of sun. After all, you've been sitting in the command center for weeks." Lara stated casually as she straightened out the white fabric of her pantsuit and descended the gangplank onto the tarmac where a car was waiting for her.
Standing next to the car was a woman in a black semi-casual suit, her brown hair tied up in a tight bun, and a pair of feminine-looking glassed covering her dark eyes. "Ms. Croft?" The woman held out her hand as she approached the tomb raider.
Lara shook her hand in greeting. "My name is Suzanne Sommers, and I will be your guide during your stay in St. Augustine. Your reservations at the Casa Monica Hotel have been set, so if you and your companions will step into the car, we will be on our way."
"Very well."
The bags were loaded into the car, Winston loading all of luggage into the trunk of the limo, despite Zip telling him that he was on vacation.
"Now then, Ms. Croft, the Fountain opens to the public at nine tomorrow morning, and I do suggest you get there early. Also, we have reserved the presidential suite for yourself, and one of the larger suites for your associates. We have also had the room outfitted the room with a gun locker for your… accessories."
"Thank you, is there anything else that we need to know?" Lara asked. "Nothing imperative to complete the job. Though, I'm sure that you've already been told that the rest of your payment will be transferred to your account upon completion of the job." Suzanne replied.
They soon pulled up the long driveway to the hotel. It was a large red brick building several stories high, with a tower-like wing at each of the four corners, and a large rotunda covering the bulk of the main structure (1).
The group climbed out of the car. Zip was in awe once they entered the lobby; it was massive, original Spanish art hung from the walls, bronze statues stood poised in small alcoves, and the strings of classical music flooded the space. Suzanne led the group to the front desk and checked them in, before leading them to their rooms.
Zip and Winston got off on the fourth floor and quickly found their room.
Lara's suite was on the highest floor, the view facing towards the docks. "I trust everything is to your satisfaction?" Suzanne asked as a bellboy entered with Lara's luggage. "Yes, thank you, is there anything else I need to know?" she asked as she walked away from the window whilst Suzanne handed the bellboy his tip.
"No. I'll leave you to your privacy." The woman placed a card on the counter, "My card, in case you need anything."
After Suzanne had left, Lara began to think. Something was wrong about all of this; an unknown benefactor, being paid to locate a myth that's been located. It had all the makings of a bad movie.
The brunette shrugged it off for now and took her luggage into the rather large bedroom and began to unpack. Lara had packed light this trip, only a few changes of clothes, a swimsuit, and of course her custom pistols. Not that she thought she'd need them. When she finished putting away her things she toured the rest of the suite.
It had a full kitchen, a living room with a flat-screen TV, as well as one in the bedroom and a full bathroom with both a shower and a tub and an array of scented oils and bubble baths.
She examined each of the bottles individually before turning on the water for the tub and adding the vanilla scented oil and a cherry scented bubble bath. Lara was about to strip off her suit when the phone rang. She groaned inwardly as she grabbed the device, "Yes?" she answered. "Hey, Lara," it was Zip, "Me and Winston are going to grab some food at that restaurant downstairs, they said it was included in the rooms. Wanna come?"
"Not right now, perhaps later." She replied and hung up. Lara returned to the bath and removed her clothes and let her hair out of its ponytail before sliding her lithe form into the steaming, bubbly water. It felt good to relax once in a while, and to just feel like a woman, dammit.
Lara awoke an hour later, not realizing she had fallen asleep. The water in the bath had gotten cold, and her skin had pruned. "Damn.' She cursed under her breath and hoisted herself out of the tub and wrapped herself in one of the fluffy white robes that hung on the wall and her hair in a small towel.
She glanced out the window, the telltale pink hue of the sky signaling late afternoon. The aristocrat grabbed her cell phone as she laid down on her bed and checked the screen, there was an unread text message from Zip; 'going 2 pool, wanna go?' it was timed ten minutes ago. She considered it for a moment before sending her reply; 'omw'.
xxxxx
The indoor pool was massive. The water was heated to just the right temperature, was relatively free of people, and, the best part according to Sully, a free bar. The suite they were staying in was a far cry above what Drake and Sully were used to, what with the hostels, run-down motels and makeshift campsites.
Drake reclined comfortably in the poolside chair closest to the fifteen-foot diving board, a small glass of whisky in his hand. This was going to be the easiest job ever. In the morning, he and Sully would go to the fountain, find nothing, and spend the week living the high life.
He glanced over to the bar, where Sully was shamelessly flirting with a twenty-something hotel patron. He was either very drunk, or perfectly sober. Sadly, the girl was falling for whatever angle Sully was playing, and soon enough, the two of them stood up, Sully wrapped his arm around her waist and they exited. Drake was now very afraid to return to the room.
"Sully, you're a dirty, dirty man." He chuckled under his breath as he took another sip of his whisky, finishing it off. As he set it down on the small round table by the bench he caught sight of a sight that made his jaw drop. A brunette waltzed into the pool area with the body of a goddess, her little black bikini hugging her lithe frame and accentuating her ample bust nicely.
"Son…of…a…bitch." He muttered as he watched her. His hand then shot up to the two rings hanging on a chain around his neck, one being the ring of his ancestor, Sir Frances Drake, the other the engagement ring he had offered Elena. The woman approached two other men, a black guy with his dreadlocks tied back in a type of ponytail, and a wrinkled prune of a man in Hawaiian shorts and a wide-beater.
They conversed for a moment whilst the woman set down her things, before she walked over to the ladder for the diving board and climbed up. Once at the top, she made her way to the edge and stood for a moment with perfect poise, before performing a perfect swan dive into the pool.
"Goddamn…"
(1) I don't know the exact layout of the hotel, so i'm taking a few guesses and liberties.
ok! Next chapter Lara and Nate start working! And just who is this mystery employer? And why are there two Suzanne Sommers? Review! I thrive off of feedback