Present
Ben pressed a warm washcloth to Lara's forehead just as she woke up. "Why hello there Miss Croft." He says.
Lara sputtered as her vision returned to her. She felt as if a bucket of water was being poured onto her face. When her vision set into focus, she realized where she was: home, something she did not expect, not even at the very least. She was lying on her bed and who stood above her was a total stranger. She instantly sits up and asks who this mysterious man was.
"My name is Ben. Ben Wheldon. I believe you are Lara Croft."
"How do you know my name?" She demands. Ben reached into his back pocket and yanked out a wallet and handed it to her. She opens it to find her ID. It was her wallet. "What the hell were you doing with my wallet?"
"I used your wallet to find out where you lived. I promise you I stole no money, I swear." Ben explains. "You see, you were at a bar and this crazy bartender and some dancer comes carrying you out and through an alley. I knew something was up so I followed and it turns out that the people who drugged you were agents of Trinity."
Lara's eyes blinked rapidly upon hearing the name of her old enemies. She had no idea what to make of this guy. He could be one of the Trinity's assassins, like Auger Ramille was. "What did Trinity drug me with?"
Ben shrugged. "Some kind of non-depolarizing drug. A drug with a name I cannot pronounce." He then began asking questions like some kind of interrogator. "What were you doing in a bar, drinking yourself to death?"
Lara, although reluctant, had told him about her adventure in the Yucatan Peninsula, where she was almost sexually assaulted by Trinity soldiers and she was forced to shoot one of her guides. An image she could not shake out her brain. Ben had had the good grace of comforting her whenever she cried, as if he were an old friend. She also told him about Yamatai and Kitezh, leaving no detail at all out.
"It's all right Lara. What matters now is that you are here." Ben puts a hand on her shoulder and she makes no effort to pull it away. "I feel bad to tell you this, but I don't think either one of us can stay in London. Trinity is hunting you and considering that they know where you live, it would be better to relocate. Trinity knows nothing about me, but they will most likely come after me considering I hospitalized two of their presumably best agents."
Lara gets off her bed and walks to the nearest window with her hands in her jacket. "It's raining." If Trinity was going to put up another fight, she will most certainly give them a fight. "Listen Ben, I have dealt with Trinity more times than you know. They are as predictable as the ticks on a clock. They will most likely come here to my manor and abduct me and do whatever to me, and considering how good they are, they could be be here in less than thirty minutes." She turns to face him. "If we both want to evade Trinity, then I suggest we head to Paris. I have an apartment there, where we can lay low from the psychos."
Ben took a keen interest. Paris was the city of love and he was most certainly infatuated with the legendary Lara Croft. The thought of spending a romantic night with her made him excited just thinking about it.
"How do you know about Trinity?" She asks, wondering how this guy knew about an organization that was all but nonexistent to public.
He did not answer at all. He stares down at the floor before looking back at he. "My brother, used to be a mercenary working for Trinity. He worked with them for three years and when he was finally an initiated member, the last I heard of him was he was a casualty in an assassination that gone horribly wrong. It's not my brother's fault, it's Trinity. They killed my brother."
Lara felt great sympathy for him. She knew what it was like to a have a family member killed by Trinity. In her case, it was her father. "You okay Ben?" She then saw him reach for the bottle of water on her dresser.
"I'm alright." He then took a huge gulp of water.
If there was one thing that Lara was willing to admit, it was that she found Ben to be very attracting. "Do you have an occupation?"
Ben answered quickly. "I'm an archaeologist, like you. You see, I am actually looking for the Crown of Immortality."
"The Crown of Immortality, from Laurel wreath art? Why would you search for a nearly divine object like that?"
"My mother and father have been searching for the Crown of Immortality their entire lives. Me, I wanted to set out an make my own destiny, but there was a voice in my head telling to start with looking for the Crown of Immortality."
Lara took a keen interest in Ben all of a sudden. "What are you going to do with the Crown of Immortality once you find it."
Ben's mouth was left hanging open and Lara could see him moving his tongue endlessly. He didn't have an answer to that question and she knew it.
"The voices in my heading are talking to me." Ben says.
In that instant, she knew that was Ben was a schizophrenic. "What are the voices telling you?"
He began stuttering as if something grabbed his tongue. "You don't want to know."
"I don't want to know what the voices are saying or I don't want to know what you are going to do with the Crown of Immortality?"
"The first." He answered quickly. "I actually have an answer for your question, once I find the crown, then I will put it in a museum, have it be studied so we can learn of its origin. If you think I am in it for the powers of living forever, then you are wrong." He stepped closer. "Plus, if Trinity is on my tail, then they could discover my Crown of Immortality research."
"They are after you and one of them drugged me, I say we are both in some deep waters." She says. "We are both in Trinity's crosshairs."
"We might as well be in bed together with an ocean of zombies surrounding us in all direction." He emphasized on 'in bed together'.
"That's some analogy Ben." When he was within reach, she felt a sudden urge to reach out and caress his smooth skin. Her urge was so powerful, she actually had to hold her own hand. But it appeared as if Ben had gotten the impression because he looked down and saw her containing her hand.
He puts a hand on her shoulder and she feels a surge of energy course through her. Letting herself go, she reaches up and caress him lovingly.
"We just met and already you can't keep your hands to yourself Miss Croft."
"I was told to trust my instincts and my instincts are telling me that you are no threat." She answers. "By the way, what were the voices telling you?"
Ben did not hesitate to answer. "They are telling me to make love to you."
Lara chuckled uncontrollably at this point. "Sounds good. By the way, I just wanted to thank you, for saving me for Trinity." She said sincerely.
"Well, it was the least I could do, I could have let you go, then I realized, what kind of people Trinity are. Since we are in the same boat, might as well help you." Ben leaned.
Lara leaned.
They both kissed. The other's lips tasted like cherry, but for Lara's case, cherry and gin. But Ben liked Gin, but not as much as vodka.
"I will make love to you if you answer this question." Ben said. "What was the name of the ancient city from the Bronze age that was completely destroyed by the eruption of Thera? And where is it located?"
"Technically, that's two questions, but alright. The name of the place is called Akrotiri and it is located in Santorini. I have been there before. Evidence found suggests that humans could have inhabited the city at least fifth millennium BC. I know my archaeology, I went to school. Now you answer a question."
Ben eagerly participated. "Shoot away."
"What kind of ancient language does not use vowels?"
"That's it? I can't believe it, the Ogham alphabet, they never use vowels. I can not believe that question. Then again, I can't believe your beauty."
Lara buried her face into Ben's chest. She was laughing, never before has she felt such love before.
"You still want me, even after I told you that I am hearing voices in my head?" Ben asked, making sure that her love for him was genuine.
"Yes." She answers, no sound of regret in her voice.
Neither Ben nor Lara could believe what was happening right now. They had just spent the last five minutes talking to each other and now their friendship turns into love, that fast?
I must be one lucky guy to end up with Lara Croft. Damn, life is good.
"How about this, since we are going to my apartment in Paris, why don't we save this craving love for when we get there?"
Ben was disappointed, only for a second. "Well, I guess we should at least learn more about each other before things do get deep. How about we start this off by going on a date?"
"Does this date involve looking for the Crown of Immortality?" Lara asked, wrapping her hands around his neck tightly.
"Well, I guess it can be, and when/if we do find the Crown of Immortality, like I said, we could put it in a museum." He suggests.
"Sounds good." Lara says, diving in for another kiss. "But, in our search for the crown, where do we start?"
Ben sighed longingly. "How about we save that research for when we get to Paris? Cause I am actually getting a feeling that we are being stalked right now. By Trinity. And I assume since you have good, pretty good instincts, since you fell for me, then I assume you are also getting that tingling feeling in the back of your skull."
Ben was right, she felt as if something was trying to drill into the back of her skull. In all of her adventures, she knew to always trust her instincts, at least that is what one of her currently deceased friends told her.
"You're right." She looked out the window. Even though she saw nothing but rain outside, she could sense something of a sniper's scope being aimed at her back. "Pack up, we gotta go."
Lara let go of Ben and walked over to her dresser and started packing clothes. "I'll call Glenn, he's my travel agent for going off the grid."
"Good for us." Ben said sarcastically. "We do need to go off the grid. If we're lucky, then Trinity's got as much intelligence as a man who's had a disease for seven years and isolated from the world since 1959."
"I love your analogies Ben Wheldon."
Jankovic Jurisa
Born: February 5, 1971 (45), Novosibirsk, Siberia
Alias: Tango 1-1
Hair: Black
Eye: Hazel
Height: Six-foot-three
Weight: One-eighty
Nationality: Siberian
Relatives: Dalbar Jurisa (Father), Duon Jurisa (Mother)
Biography: Jankovic was raised by very abusive, yet very generous parents. Even though his parents beat him on a regular basis, they rewarded him with all kinds of bribes and even took him to a prep school. The condition they suffered from was bipolar. In all the years growing up, Jankovic had learned that violence is a tortuous, but a helpful tool. After serving twelve years in the Spetsnaz, he slowly turned into a psychopath due to his violent childhood and the killing that surrounded him on a daily basis. The leader of Trinity saw Jankovic as a promise for Trinity's future. After serving seven years as a mercenary for Trinity, he finally became an initiated member of Trinity and is one of the best commanders in the organization. He made someone like Ana and even Konstantin envy because of the special treatment he received from the Trinity leader himself.