Communication Is Key (Lara Croft x Teen Guy Commission) (Excerpt - Opening Scene)

Lara Croft enjoyed the sweet taste of success as she vaulted her way through the window, escaping from the British Museum with a precious artifact in hand. The Idol of Chichen Itza had been her target artifact for months now, and when she’d heard that it had been moved to the museum in her very own London, the opportunity to sneak in and grab it was too tempting to resist. Sure, what she was doing was technically criminal, but when had that ever stopped her in the past? Better she be the one to have the idol and safeguard its secrets than let it fall to two rival mercenary groups who had been seeking it out as well. 

With her tech man, Zip, hacking security and feeding her intel from Croft Manor, she’d easily counteracted the museum security, snuck in, incapacitated a couple guards of the night shift, and swapped the idol out for a false one without a single security camera to catch her in the act. Then it was just a matter of scaling a wall and vaulting through an ajar window to freedom. 

She effortlessly landed on her feet outside the window, still feeling the adrenaline and rush that always came with a heist - the same thrill she felt when exploring an ancient tomb. The wiped a single bead of sweat from her brow, swinging the sack with her stolen haul over her shoulder, and that’s when she froze, seeing someone standing across from her. 

There, standing about thirty feet from her, was a teen boy. He had dirty blond hair and piercing green eyes, eyes that were currently looking at her through a cell phone camera. When the young man realized she was staring back at him, he shakily lowered the phone down. 

“Uhh, h- hi,” he stammered. His eyes suddenly widened. “Oh my god, you’re Lara Croft!” 

“Well hello there,” Lara returned, cocking her head at him upon hearing that he had an American accent. She suddenly realized how delicately she needed to handle this, realizing the boy had been filming her and obviously knew who she was. “Listen, why don’t we talk about this, alright?” She stepped toward him with purpose. 

Seeming to realize his position, the young man fearfully looked to the trademark dual desert eagle pistols holstered at her hips. “I’m s- sorry, Ms. Croft! I didn’t see anything, I swear! I’ll…I’ll go!”

He turned on his heel and ran into a full sprint across the empty museum parking lot. “Hold on now! I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to talk!” Lara cursed under her breath and dashed after him. She was just gaining on him when she heard Zip buzzing in her earpiece. 

“Lara, heads up! Cop car rounding the corner toward the museum. Get out of there and get back to the manor.”

“Shit!” Lara swore. Leaving the kid where she was, the athletic British adventurer spun around and made for her escape vehicle to return with her stolen artifact back to Croft Manor.  

+++

“Alright, let me hear it,” Lara said with a huff.

Her tech expert pinched the bridge of his nose. “Like I just said. You’re burned. That boy who spotted you with the camera could be a real problem for us if he goes to the police.”

“I thought we had all our bases covered,” the renowned archeologist groaned, throwing aside the sack containing the precious golden idol she’d stolen onto the nearby couch. She turned to look back at Zip who was standing in the doorway of her lounge. 

“So did I,” Zip replied. “I cased all the security for the museum itself, but I wasn’t anticipating someone with a camera walking around outside the museum, especially at such a late hour.”

“Well bloody hell, who was he, Zip?” Lara asked, exasperated. 

He peered down at a tablet in hand. “I looked into him. His name is Ryan Murphy. American. He seems to be in the U.K. staying with extended family for the summer."

“Let me see,” she said, hopping up from the sofa. She took the tablet from Zip’s hands. She found herself looking at an older school photograph of the teen boy, and sure enough, it was the same one she’d bumped into outside the museum. He had auburn hair, green eyes and a few freckles. A handsome young man, she had to admit. 

“What kind of profile can we summarize about this guy?” Lara asked Zip, still looking at the tablet. 

“You mean, what are the chances of him running to the police? Well, from what I can gather, he’s a good egg and doesn’t have any sort of history with law enforcement. Doesn’t seem like much of a troublemaker,” Zip replied. 

“So a model citizen? Not sure if that’ll make him more inclined to tattle or less. Hmm.” 

“Even if he doesn’t, he did take a picture. He may simply post the picture on the net to show his friends or family.” 

“Also possible,” Lara sighed. Looking back at the young man's picture, a nugget of an idea began to form in her head. This boy was at that age. The age where all he could think about was one thing. And it was no secret that Lara was a very attractive woman; it was something she took pride in and even used to her advantage more than once to get out of a jam. Why should this time be no different? 

“Well, I’m not about to leave this up to chance. Best nip this in the bud sooner rather than later. Do you have a way of getting in touch with this fellow?” 

Zip nodded. “We have an email address.” 

“Splendid. Offer him an invitation to Croft Manor two days from now.”

“Invite him here? You sure?”

“Mhm,” Lara answered, sauntering to the doorway.

“You aren’t planning to hurt this poor guy, are you? You’re in enough trouble as it is, Lara.” 

“Not at all. The opposite in fact.” She smiled to herself. She had a bit of prep work to do, but she was confident her plan would work.