Three Days Later
"Wakey wakey," a sly voice sounded as Lara's vision came back to her. Her head was forced upwards and she stared into the face of Jankovic. "Good morning Lara, I see that you slept well." He motions at her restraints to the chair she sat in. "Trust me, you have not been violated. We made sure that you have been fed, clothed and kept warm. See look, I am not the kind of man who takes pleasure in torture. I understand that it is wrong, but at the same time a necessary method."
Lara spat in his face. "So you're going to torture me? That sounds blasphemy if you ask me."
"Jesus was tortured when he was crucifixed. He had nails drilled into his wrists, a crown of thorns placed on his head, and a lance stab him in the side just to ensure that he was dead," Jankovic justified. "Him and two other thieves if you read the bible. See, what Trinity does is for the greater good and you purposely blind yourself to the well-known fact. Public knowledge of Trinity does not exist and if you haven't noticed, only seventy-two out of 7.4 billion people in the world do no work for Trinity and know of our existence. You are one of them, along with Ben, Nadia and all the Remnants that are currently still alive. Lara, if you join Trinity, you will never be expendable. I promise to take care of you. I'll make sure no harm comes to you. Once we find the Crown of Immortality, then you and your boyfriend Ben can live together. Yeah, I know you and Ben are together, the signs are obvious. But once you join Trinity and we find the crown, the two of you can both be immortal and start a family together. Don't you want a family with Ben?"
If I answer, then I'll have to hit up upside the head with a baseball bat, she though as she gave Jankovic a blank stare. This was however, all he needed for an answer.
"You do," he smiled widely. "Look Lara, let's not bring any harm upon you. If you refuse this offer, then I won't harm you, but I will hurt you. That can all be avoided if you just join up with Trinity. All you have to do is pledge your allegiance, it is literally that easy. Well, not for mercenaries because the most anyone has worked for Trinity was ten years as a mercenary before they became fully initiated. If you remember Ana and Konstantine and I know you do, Trinity brainwashed them. Trust me when I say this, we have captured eleven people in the past and their brainwash was a total success. A...total...success. Whatever decision you make will be parallel, so I recommend the painless option over the painful option. I'll leave you alone to think about. And don't try to break out, it will only exhaust you. These restraints and this entire room was designed just for you Lara." He backs away from her slowly and walks out of sight.
Lara was finally given a chance to see the room around her. It was a small room with only one door that had no handle from the inside and it made her wonder how Jankovic even got out. She could not wriggle out of the chair because it was nailed to the ground as much as Grim's hat was nailed to his head. The restrains on her wrists and ankles were custom made, almost impossible to break out and there was no kind of keyhole for the locks. It was a newly designed restraint that can only be unlocked electronically and tampering with it would activate a fail-safe where it would actually tighten around the wristen enough to cut of the circulation to the brain.
"How do I get out of here?" She tried squeezing her hands through the restraints, but she only caused herself a great deal of pain. She spent the last seventeen minutes trying to free herself but it was pointless. These restraints were designed for her like Jankovic said. The cold blooded truth was she was not getting out anytime soon and Trinity knew it. She spent the last hour wondering where Nadia and Ben were and even if they were alive or dead. The last thing she remembers before being knocked out cold was Nadia solving a puzzle, then the ground shaking and then Jankovic's boot in her teeth.
The door opened from the outside and Jankovic walked in with a tray, the door sliding closed behind him. He make a beeline towards Lara with the tray and a smile on his face. "Hello Lara, have you reached a decision? You know what, let's settle over some cheese and crackers I brought. If I were you, I would not pass the opportunity to eat. Trust me, got it?"
"Where's Ben and Nadia?"
Jankovic shook his head. "I can neither confirm nor deny their fate." He picks up a cheese and cracker from the tray and put it to Lara's mouth. "Like I said, I would not pass the opportunity to eat. Actually, one way or another, prisoner never pass the opportunity. They either eat it, or we get a crowbar and force their mouths open which allows us to force feed them. Trust me, take the easy way."
Lara caved and took the food from Jankovic's hand and chewed thoroughly before swallowing. "How about this, if you answer my question, then I will eat the food you give me? You obviously seem to care for my well-being as much as I care for Ben and Nadia's well being."
This time, Jankovic caved. "Alright then. Ben and Nadia are alive, but I don't know if I would consider them well. Now you must eat another cracker." He feeds her another cracker and she asks another question.
"Where am I?"
"Let's just say underground."
Lara's hands turned into fists. She could see the whites of her knuckles. She wanted nothing more than to kill Jankovic right there. If Ben and Nadia are near-death, then so help me Jankovic…
The killer side within her was emerging.
"My turn to ask a question?" Jankovic said. "Why do you oppose Trinity so much? What have we done to you Crofts in the first place? When Trinity made their first appearance to Richard Croft, they actually offered him a job. This may contradict whatever you heard, but Trinity is doing things for the greater good. We don't want a global genocide, we want to make the world a better place. A world with no sin, no blasphemy, no pain, no fear...no more losing time with your parents. When I become immortal, I promise to bring back your dad, your mom. I promise to bring back Roth, Grim, Alex, everyone who was a direct or indirect causality of Trinity. We'll bring back all those Remnants in Siberia. Nadia can be with her parents and Ben can see his brother again. You, can start your own family with Ben. Have two or three strapping kids who would love to become like their mother."
Lara relaxed her hands. What Jankovic said actually got Lara thinking. Maybe, what Trinity is doing is for the greater good. Jankovic had so far never outright told a lie to her and he seemed to be sincere in everything that he was saying. Jankovic may be working for Trinity, but his intentions on making the world a better place seemed to be true. He never said that he wanted to take away death because he was a person who understood that death was a part of life. Maybe he wanted the Crown of Immortality so Trinity could use it bring people back from the dead and cure the world if diseases. His intentions were altruism, unlike Ana's. Maybe Trinity did kill her father, but Jankovic could bring him back. She was having a hard time accepting what Jankovic said though, but she could always tell when someone's intentions were pure thought and his intentions were pure. In every way possible, Jankovic stood in direct contrast from Kennard Montez, Cruz, Auger Ramille, Ana and Konstantine because he was actually a good man underneath his Trinity uniform.
"Trust me, it will not be something right out of Pet Sematary."
Lara had no idea what Pet Sematary was. The chance of her accepting Trinity's offer was fifty percent. Jankovic must have recognized that she was making a decision because he scooted backwards with the empty tray in hand and pressed his back to the nearest wall.
'Miss Croft, you have all the time in the world to make a choice. No one is here but me and I got nothing but time. So even if it takes you twenty-four hours, I will not hold it against you for making a decision at such a long time."
"Can I have some water?" Lara asked, hoping that water will reduce the stress that is building up inside her.
Jankovic took out a water bottle from inside his Trinity jacket and gave Lara a drink. "Remember, take as much time as you need. I'm sorry I have to leave you, but I was told by the Boss not to stay for too long, so I will be back in one hour. That should give you more than plenty of time to come up with a straight answer." Jankovic took his water bottle and exited the room. He opened the handle-less door from the inside by pressing something on his wrist watch.
Now that Lara was left all by herself, she looked down at herself and began contemplating. The other thing she had been thinking was something that had been nagging her since that romantic night in Paris. Was she pregnant? So far, Lara and Ben did it three times and they lacked any kind of contraceptives. That was completely irresponsible of them. If only her father or Roth was alive, she would give them a lecture on using protection and the importance of not getting pregnant. Joining Trinity and being pregnant were now Lara's two biggest subjects for debate.
So far, she had made up her mind for her pregnancy thing. If she was indeed pregnant, then she would keep the child. Her Trinity decision is still up to debate. If I do this, then I would be betraying my father for everything he has worked so hard to do. She knew what and how Trinity operated and she remembered how she firmly told Ana that the answer to joining Trinity was 'no fucking way'.
She may actually change her mind though. One thing was official though, she was not going to be joining Trinity. If you are indeed pregnant, then you do not want your child to grow up to be a killer. She has made up her mind and Trinity was still going to be her enemy. She was actually hoping that she could change Jankovic's mind. He was never truly evil and his intentions were good so maybe there is still a bit of his humanity inside him that is just banging on the closet to get out.
An hour has passed and Jankovic came back in the room. He had no sort of equipment on him and his facial expression was neutral, making it very hard for Lara to read his thoughts. "So, Lara, how you come to a conclusion? A verdict of some kind because I am not getting impatient, the Boss is?"
Lara took her chance and decided to play along with him. She told Jankovic on how she came up with a decision and he seemed to change from neutral to excited.
"Well Lara, what is your decision?" Jankovic asked eagerly.
Okay this is it, the moment of truth. Lie and play along with him. "Jankovic, I Lara, have decided to join the Trinity."