-Arriving at the airport
"Today is the day you set off on your exhibition to India, isn't it Lara?" Winston announced from the main hall as Lara was walking up the staircase.
"It is indeed Winston. I'll be collected from here about lunchtime by their company car" Lara answered her faithful butler, looking towards his direction, and noticing him not being his usual self before Lara would set off in her previous adventures. He seemed to act a bit...different...more concerned...
"You seem tense, Winston, what's wrong?" Lara worryingly quizzed her long serving friendly butler.
"Please Lara, come back in one piece, I would hate the thought of losing you" Winston gave his reasoning, looking at Lara to see what she would say in reaction to his warning.
"Don't worry about me Winston. I make my own luck getting out of tough situations, and I have dealt with past experiences and adversaries. If these people even try and betray me, they'll get another thing coming at them. Thanks for your concern, and I will take care of myself" Lara reassured Winston, as he nodded in agreement with her statement.
"Okay Lara, have you got everything ready and sorted for your journey?"
Lara had doubled checked that she had got everything required for another daring adventure. This included:
Her 9mm dual gun metal pistols with holsters and clips.
Her backpack with the essentials including 2 Small Medi-Packs and 1 large one.
Wearing her favourite jungle outfit, this comprised of a green tank top, her long serving light brown backpack, khaki shorts, boots and a buckled belt.
Lunchtime came around and right on schedule, somebody rung the doorbell beside the door at Lara's home. Just as Lara was finishing off packing for what she would need, Winston answered the door. However, it was no taxi driver that had rung the doorbell. Instead Winston had to look up to the face of the person to recognise who it was.
"Hang on one second. You're Mr Eric Copper, aren't you?" Winston said in complete awe shock.
"...Why Yes, how did you recognise me with these sunglasses on?" Eric Copper responded with a gleaming smile on his face.
"You've been on the news recently, and I saw your picture for one of the richest business owners in the world, even with your sunglasses on, you're instantly recognisable" Winston explained to him.
"I see...Is Ms. Croft present? We are here to pick her up" Eric Copper questioned the proud butler.
"Yes, please come on in, she won't be long" Winston welcomed in the gracious business guest into Lara's home.
Eric Copper took his first step into Lara's home, and waited for her arrival down the stairs. He did certainly admire the cleanliness of her home, and all the artwork hung up on the walls. In his area of interest, he was particularly interested in human characteristics, and in a way, he was looking forward to meeting Lara Croft. Seeing what kind of person she was like, definitely intrigued him the first time he researched her, and he knew he had to take an immediate opportunity to meet her in person.
Ensured that she had everything needed for her little adventure, Lara made her way to the stairs, expecting to see a taxi driver waiting in the hallway. Instead, Lara saw a large built up man wearing a white tuxedo coat, with matching trousers, wearing smart sunglasses and a cane. He proudly wore a top hat also, taking it off with the sunglasses as Lara entered her large hall. Lara was instantly taken off-guard by the sudden unexpected appearance.
"Ms. Croft I Presume" Eric Copper started, with his hand out ready to greet Lara with a handshake.
"Yes, you must be Mr Copper" Lara shook his hand, still surprised that he had taken the time to meet her in person.
"Indeed Ms Croft, a pleasure to finally meet you"
"Likewise"
"Have you got your gear and equipment ready for the trip?"
"Certainly do, I'm ready when you are!"
"Excellent, right this way, you'll be travelling in luxury to the destination. First we will drive to the closet airport in the area, and then our plane will take us to India, to where our unfortunate accidents have taken place."
Eric Copper allowed Lara to step forward ahead of him, as she exited her home, she was greeted by a limousine driver whom parked the car just outside in the garden grounds, and opened the vehicle door for her.
"Hello Ms. Croft, please hop in" The driver signalled to Lara.
"Thanks"
Lara along with Eric Copper hopped inside the limousine, and with one last glance at her home, Winston was standing outside waving them off as the limousine sprung into life and drove away from Lara's house. The car began to speed up once it got out of the grounds and onto the roads, heading for the closet airport housing Mr. Copper's private aeroplane. Lara was treated to some champagne during the journey alongside
"Do you like the Champagne Ms Croft? It's of a rare variety that only a few can buy for its exquisite taste, I thought I might bring it for this special occasion".
"Yes I am certainly enjoying it. By the way call me Lara for this trip, Mr Copper"
"Very well, Lara, I've gotten too used to formalities over the years as a business man, therefore you can call me Eric if you'd like"
"Okay...Eric, do you have any more information that I may need to know?"
"Well, we know Martin has debriefed most of the relevant information to you, currently we're right on track to arrive in India around 5.00PM in the afternoon. We will begin our expedition into the mine shaft and its ancient active puzzling booby traps tomorrow. Nearby the site, there is a hotel to which most of the members of this small project excavation are staying. We too will be staying there, and you will be teamed up with a partner once we reach our destination. Your partner will be the one travelling with you down to the mine shaft, and they would be your support and backup while you are down there". Eric Copper explained to her in a calm tone.
"Who's going to be my partner, what's their name?"
"That information I do not know yet, but we'll see when we arrive...ah there's the airport..."
The limousine went straight through security as the driver notified the patrol of the airport that his special passenger was the rich business man, Mr. Eric Copper and they were going to drive to the airport hanger, so they could directly head for Mr. Copper's private jet. The driver then gave the standing guard some identification, verifying that he was indeed transporting Mr Copper to his private jet, the guard allowed the driver to precede forward. The limousine drove to outside the airport hanger to where Mr. Copper's private airplane was stored. The driver then parked up, exited the car and opened the car door for his passengers. Both Lara and Eric stepped out, and immediately Eric led the way to the hanger.
Lara took a good look around the field especially over to the terminals, where she had expected it to be busy as it usually would be, but today that wasn't the case. Through the pane glass windows, Lara only saw one or two people standing across there, over viewing the scenery of the airport field. She soon turned her attention away from the terminals, to a newly opened up hanger, revealing a luxury private jet, exclusively used by Eric Copper for business arrangements.
"So Lara, what do you think of my private jet, magnificent isn't she?"
"Yes, she looks fabulous, how long have you had this for?"
"Realistically, this will be the first time I've used this airplane, so without further ado, shall we be getting ready for take-off?"
"Ready when you are!" Lara declared, raring to go for her new adventure.
"Excellent, hop on aboard Lara!" Eric gestured towards his private jet.