Tomb Raider: The Awakening

Chapter 2: The Teardrop of Brahma

"Ha!" Kurtis exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Choke on that, Kendrick!"

Not that he was there to see it, but no matter. It felt so good after all.

He'd just landed an attack helicopter on a narrow clearing surrounded by trees whose branches intertwined with each other, forming a dense network of thick foliage. No sane pilot would have tested that several tons of machinery by making it descend in such a place.

But Kurtis hadn't reached his forties guided by sanity. Rather the opposite.

Now, however, he had to shelve the war hero bravado and move quickly and quietly. He'd already taken his chances with the engine roar. He jumped off the machine, rifle on his shoulder, and quickly went into the jungle, in the direction marked by the GPS, toward the temples forecourt. After a while, the vegetation became thicker, so he pulled out a machete and started to hack through his path while running, though sweating profusely beneath the camouflage suit.

Suddenly, a shot stopped him. Almost instantly he threw himself to the ground, disappearing beneath the thick foliage.

Then he heard her voice.

"Who's there? Come out immediately, I heard you long ago!"

Kurtis was not stupid enough to move yet. He knew she would no doubt shoot.

He smiled, his face still stuck to the floor.

"It's me, M'lady."

He heard a gasp of surprise, and then he rose.

He may have been wearing a camouflage suit, but after seeing Lara come out from behind a tree, still holding the rifle aloft, he had to admit he could have passed next to her and still not have seen her. Lara was wearing brown shorts, green top, and was slightly covered with a dark substance that looked like soot, perfectly camouflaged.

"What are you doing here?" She said, lowering her rifle. She was so surprised that she barely reacted when he put his arm around her to kiss her.

"Nice to see you too." He said mockingly. "Just crossing the world to look for you, remember? It's what I do to hang out."

"Weren't you in Crimea?" She frowned, ignoring the tongue-in-cheek allusion to Munich.

"That was a month ago." He gently pushed her forward and started walking. "This time it was Israel."

"What the hell is going on out there?" Lara put the rifle on her shoulder. "This country was safe a few hours ago."

"Nope. It was safe a week ago, then communications with the outside were cut." She raised her eyebrows. "Don't worry, easy not to know if one's involved in tombs. Dead people tell no tales."

"Rebels were supposed to be calm for a while." Lara swatted branches away as they moved. "For years they'd been taking bribes from the government."

"Not anymore. And this will only worsen. Even the Legion is leaving the place. Where's Anna?

"By the temples, breaking down the camp."

He frowned.

"You left her alone?"

Lara stopped short and put her arms akimbo.

"Behold the dad of the year. She's not a child anymore. Besides, what did you expect from me by having a military helicopter land here? Waiting for some lunatic to fall upon us?

"We're in a war zone now, we shouldn't lose sight of her." He said, resuming the march. She was grateful he used the plural.

"There's also this guy, quite a slinky one. I thought it was you..."