Tomb Raider: The Golden Seal

Chapter 20: Luther Rouzic

"I knew it," Kurtis sighed, rolling his eyes. "She simply can't be still."

Giselle cried in horror at seeing Friedrich on the floor, next to the empty bed. "He's dead!" She whimpered. "She broke his neck!"

"Looks like it," Kurtis agreed, pushing her forwards, "and I don't even want to think what she's up to right now. Breaking something or cutting off power for sure."

Boaz reacted swiftly, hitting Kurtis in the face hard enough to stun him. She slipped into the hallway and punched an alarm button. Instantly, a loud siren started blaring violent echoes all across the bright surfaces of the enclosure.

She screamed when he pulled her hair. "Well, Dr. Boaz, you've exhausted my patience. Enjoy your stay with your friend," Kurtis hissed before throwing her into the room and locking the heavy door. Now she'd yell if she wanted to. Those gates were identical to the Sanitarium's: no sound escaped through them.

The alarm kept ringing. In a few moments the place would be full of mercenaries.

He walked quickly down the hall. On the verge of turning a corner, a slender figure fell upon him, brandishing a scalpel straight to his heart. Kurtis made a quick retreat and blocked his attacker, who turned out to be Lara. "Hey, calm down, beastie!" He shouted.

She looked at him with wide open eyes and dropped her arm. "What are you doing here?" She gasped.

Kurtis snorted. "What am I doing here? Hanging out, of course. I've just arrived from Egypt, looking for you nonstop for days without sleep, and the only thing you can think to do is to stab me and ask what am I doing here."

She smiled, embarrassed. "Well, I didn't expect to find you here. I'm used to taking care of myself."

"I'm sure of that," he said, looking her up and down. "You okay?"

Lara's looks were really unfortunate. Her green hospital robe was torn and splattered with blood, her wrists and ankles skinned, her cheekbone swollen and her hair really matted. Not to mention the dark circles around her eyes, her gray, clammy skin and her blue lips. And that smell of formaldehyde. "I'm perfect," she replied proudly, raising her chin.

"I see," Kurtis said, unconvinced. "We better move quickly. That crazy Barbie-looking scientist has activated an alarm, as you can hear. We'll have Gunderson and his fellas soon running around here."

Lara grabbed his arm. "The Periapt! We can't leave without it!"

"You think there's time for that? We'd be lucky if we manage to get outta here!"

"With or without you, I'm going to get the Periapt," she insisted. "If we lose it we lose everything." She turned and walked down the aisle with a determined step, or at least that was her intention. Instead, after a few steps her strength failed and she clung to the wall to avoid falling on the ground.

"You're so stubborn, Miss Croft," Kurtis sighed, and gallantly offered his arm. "C'mon, lean on me. We'll do this together, since I'm not gonna lose you again."

(...)

Gunderson jumped from the couch when he heard the alarm and left the hall, trying to ignore the pain in his stitched hand. He met Karel, who came very calmly along the corridor, apparently not caring about his clothes that were splattered with his white blood, though no wound was visible on him. "It's a signal from Boaz," he said to the mercenary. "As expected, the Lux Veritatis has come for Lara Croft."

"I'll gather my men."

"Too late. He called the police. They're coming now."

Trent...you fucking bastard! "What should we do?"