The date was June 12th, they were a few miles outside of Kalingrad in Russia and the mission was simple; Infiltrate Chovkin-Lanovia Base and find the Golden Eye of Etunamara.
She'd conducted infiltrations and dealt with guards before, but this one was different. Famous archeologist Lara Croft had not only been recruited by MI6, she'd teamed up with the agency's top agent with a license to kill; James Bond, also known as 007.
Lara had heard of Mr. Bond's reputation as well as his popularity with the women he'd met over the years. But right now, they were just acquaintances, mission associates. Even then, as they carefully observed the facility from a distance, Lara couldn't help but see how handsome 007 looked, from his clean suit to his trimmed hair and shaven face.
But then again, she was equally gorgeous; Lara sported a revealing black cat-suit that accentuated her attractive body with her dark-brown hair flowing gracefully down her curved back.
"According to a trustworthy contact, the treasure is located in the secondary storage room." 007 said, "...and it's near the main office. All we have to do is sneak our way inside, find a card and that treasure will be in our hands."
"I'll take the treasure." Lara suggested.
Bond smiled. "Well, you're the Tomb Raider." He remarked, "I'm not stopping you from taking it for yourself, why would I get in the way?"
He pulled out his gun and Lara drew hers, the agent winked at her and the Tomb Raider nodded politely. They slowly crept their way towards the facility, hiding behind crates and rocks to avoid detection. Masked soldiers patrolled the vicinity, machine guns clicking every couple of seconds whenever a guard came by as he inspected his weapon.
Lara crawled behind a truck and rolled between a pile of crates, keeping her head down as a bearded soldier walked past, muttering in Russian. Close by, 007 climbed a nearby ladder up to one of the watch towers and bonked a guard on the head with the butt of his gun. The guard collapsed and went limp on the ground.
007 leaned over the side of the tower and flashed his signal to Lara, telling her that one guard was out. Lara emerged from behind a crate and walked towards the facility, ducking beneath a truck whenever a patrol came by.
'One wrong move and it's over.' Lara thought, 'There's hundreds of them. Not to mention they could sell the treasure to someone.'
She emerged from under the truck and moved to the side of the nearby building. 007 made his way down from the watch tower and caught up to Lara, making sure to conceal himself along with her before the guards came their way. They looked up at the wall, seeing the loose steel grate, all aware of how they were going to make their way inside.
"After you?" Bond asked.
"Well, women first." Lara nodded.
She stepped onto a pipe and 007 grasped her hips, lifting Lara up gently. She grabbed the grate and pulled it up just enough to enter the vent. She felt the hands of her partner loosen, allowing her to make it inside the tight space of the air shaft.
Lara crawled through the vent, carefully and quietly, even as she heard her own thumps and her own breathing. The English action-archeologist made sure her movements were slow, just in case the guards had installed motion sensors somewhere. One wrong move and the alarm would sound. She heard a thump behind herself, indicating 007 was crawling in after her.
Carefully, she moved towards a junction that she could barely see in the darkness, feeling warm air blowing her way from an active fan. Thankfully, the fan was behind a tightly-sealed grate. Lara decided to move right, following one side of the shaft.
Perhaps she and Bond could split up for a time. She was proven wrong when she heard 007 whisper, "Don't go too fast, Lara."
He'd soon caught up.
Then again, it wasn't necessary to complain. Lara looked back and nodded, thankful that the spy hadn't made a remark about her rump. Lara and 007 crawled through the shaft and turned a corner, finding another grate. And, just on the other side, they could see a metal hallway. Luckily, there weren't any guards in the vicinity, giving 007 and Lara all the time and space to exit the vent.
Lara went first, slowly pushing at the grate. The hinges creaked and Lara leaned over the edge, then she adjusted her position so her feet would touch the floor. Lara crawled out of the shaft and stood up straight, then she stepped aside, allowing 007 to get out as well.
"Stay alert, move slowly, no sounds." Lara reminded 007.
"We may never know if there are security cameras too." 007 nodded.
They turned to the right, moving slowly down the hall. They stopped and stepped back quickly when they saw an armed guard standing firmly on an adjacent corridor. Lara looked at 007 and nodded, they would move as fast as they could.
Lara went first, running past the guarded hall and all the way to the other side. She stopped next to a crate and gestured for Bond to follow.
Despite the sounds of running feet hitting metal, 007 ran to Lara's side, all without the guard noticing. They snuck their way through the hall, ducking behind crates full of machine guns, and 007 gestured to a door labeled with Russian words that were translated as; "Access Cards."
Without a guard to give them a bother, 007 and Lara moved to the door and twisted the knob, entering a room that was similar to a security office. And yet, the officer in charge was nowhere in sight.
He was likely off duty, but Lara could see a portrait of him on the wall. The man was tough with a thick beard, wearing a uniform of dark-ish colors. The archeologist took her eye off the picture and turned to the desk with the stack of access cards sitting there, Lara stepped over the red rug and skimmed through the cards until she picked one out.
"Storage #2." The card read, she'd gotten the right one.
007 then picked out another card from the rack and nodded. Lara and 007 turned to leave the room, then they heard footsteps coming. Thinking fast, they hid behind a closet door and watched as a guard and the room's officer entered, talking in Russian.
Moving slowly, Lara and 007 snuck towards the door and the archeologist gripped the knob, quietly turning it as she and Mr. Bond exited the room while the two Russians had their backs turned.
Lara closed the door, then she and Bond ran down the hall towards a nearby junction. They stopped at the intersection, inspected their cards, and then looked at one another.
"I'll take the left... you take the right." 007 told Lara, "You know where to go."
"Be careful..." Lara told the agent with slight worry, "...and don't be long."
"I will."
007 shook Lara's hand, even though the handshake lasted a little longer than a second, then the agent hurried off. Lara watched him go, even as she thought of his handsome face and the way he looked at her.
'No, no, Lara. No naughty thoughts. You two aren't THAT close.' Lara told herself, 'Focus.'
She prepped her gun, then the British tomb raider walked down the left corridor and took a right. Lara placed the card in the pocket of her bodysuit, prepared to use it when she found the storage room. The archeologist concealed herself behind a wall when she heard footsteps and briefly glimpsed a pair of soldiers passing by as they conversed in Russian.
"Did you see the cover for the new magazine?" One soldier asked.
"You bet your ass I did." The second replied, "That chick is damn hot."
"No shit. I bet she reminds you of that girl you've been flirting with at the bar."
Lara stepped out from behind the wall and walked past a door, keeping an eye out for security cameras. She heard footsteps and gripped her pistol, there weren't many spaces to hide behind now, meaning she would have to face the next guard and risk more guards coming for her.
A second later, a brown-haired man with a thin mustache in a gray suit and black tie holding a machine gun appeared from around the next corridor. Lara halted, nearly taken by surprise with the way the guard had just appeared. The guard spotted her and held up the machine gun, stared at her in a very fierce manner.
"No intruders in the hall, even if you're a very pretty woman...!" The guard said in a thick Russian accent, "I suggest you leave before I sound the alarm. I am not the kind of guy who hits women, so don't provoke me."
Lara was quick. She threw herself at the guard and knocked the gun from his hand with a punch, then she struck him across the neck with a judo chop, dazing her opponent. Lara kicked the guard in the shin and he fell over, groaning with surprise.
"Ow, my ass." The guard groaned, "You busty b^%$#..."
The archeologist walked away, leaving the guard to lay there in dazed defeat, and she didn't have to fire a shot. Lara stepped through a doorway leading into a larger hall and knocked out a couple guards close by before they could react. She looked around, seeing several crates next to a couple doors.
Finally, she saw a door with the label that read; "Storage #2."
Lara pulled out her stolen card and walked towards the door, seeing the access panel next to it. She slid the card in and a green light blinked, followed by a voice that said "access granted" in Russian. The door opened, allowing Lara to enter the room and see what was inside.
And there, sitting on a crate, was a golden statue with a large eye; the Golden Eye of Etunamara. Lara grabbed it and held the artifact up triumphantly.
With the treasure in her hand, all that was left was getting out of this place, and fast.
She darted out of the room, holding the treasure tightly. Lara raced down the hall right before a pair of guards came marching in her direction. Lara raised her gun, ready to fight, and the guards shouted in Russian before taking aim at her.
It was the Tomb Raider who shot first and the hall was filled with loud gunshots and screams as the guards were taken out of commission.
So much for stealth at this point. Meanwhile, Bond had made his way to the main office of the base and was confronting the commandant; a stout uniformed man with a thin mustache and sunglasses.
"I am surprised by your efforts, Mr. Bond." The commandant said, "But your escapades end here."
"In all fairness, I was going to say the same." The British agent replied.
BLAM! 007 shot at the uniformed man, the bullet piercing his ribcage, and the rogue Russian fell over as blood leaked from his mouth. 007 ducked as a guard entered and opened fire with a machine gun. 007 fired back, taking out the guard in seconds. He ran from the room, right as an alarm sounded and the commandant cried, "THERE'S NO PROVING THAT YOU CAN ONLY LIVE TWICE, BOND!"
007 caught up to Lara in the corridors right as she was knocking out a guard clad in a green uniform. He saw the artifact in her hand and nodded, giving the archeologist a pat on the back, then he shot another guard coming in their direction.
Red lights flashed and guards shouted in Russian. Guns fired and bullets bounced off the walls, both Lara and 007 ducked behind crates and shelves for cover from gunfire, then they found an air duct and ripped open the grate. Lara crawled inside with 007 right behind her, they crawled as fast as they could, even as they heard faint shouts in Russian.
Lara gripped the Golden Eye of Etunamara with one hand, making sure she didn't lose it, even as she held her gun with the other hand. She pushed through a loose grate and exited the compound, right next to a truck. She climbed inside the vehicle, grabbed the keys, and started the engine right as 007 exited the shaft.
"We're taking this truck." Lara told the agent.
"No problems with that." 007 climbed inside, sitting right next to Lara just before a pair of guards came around the corner with guns aimed at them.
Lara hit the gas and drove towards them at terminal velocity, making sure her treasure didn't fall out of her lap as she did so. The guards yelled in Russian and scattered before they could open fire. Alarms wailed, lights flashed and guards scrambled, opening fire at Lara and 007 all the way until they drove out of the gates.
The archeologist and the secret agent drove across the Russian countryside until the base was well behind them. Both Lara and 007 were lucky the radio didn't report the police or the military were hunting them down, especially since they weren't fugitives.
And those guards back there, they, they were part of a terrorist organization that was working to infiltrate every level of Russia's army and government as part of a plot by a madman to destabilize the current Russian government and bring about the revival of an old regime.
The main terrorist leader, who hadn't been there, was a man named Soltovetsky Romanov, who was on MI6's watchlist and someone Lara had encountered in the past.
Lara parked the truck near a hillside and stepped out while 007 called for a pick-up. The archeologist held the Golden Eye of Etunamara, seeing how well-polished it was. She smiled, knowing the British Museum would be paying good money for it.
"Tell me, Ms. Croft..." 007 asked as he came to her side, "...Will you invite me to the museum when the Golden Eye of Etunamara goes up on display?"
"It depends on how nicely you ask, Mr. Bond." Lara replied with a smile.
"Lara, please." The agent took her hand, "Call me 'James'."
Her heart was fluttering as she locked eyes with 007, no, James. Lara could not resist her feelings. She set the artifact aside and leaned forward, kissing the handsome James Bond on the lips while his hand gently grasped her hip as he returned the kiss.
Before Lara knew it, she'd achieved another treasure she didn't think she'd find; the heart of a handsome secret agent...
The End