Chapter 2
"I feel like a tourist." I tugged at a cord that hung off my backpack, trying to make it stay put. I hadn't worn a backpack since high school and had forgotten how cumbersome they were. Lara was lucky she could get away with such a small bag, though how she fit anything in it was beyond my comprehension.
What Lara did have that outsized anything I was carrying was a large nylon duffle bag. When I asked her what she carried, all I got was an amused wink. Well, that was a new look to give Brad Crawford. The only winks I was used to getting were sarcastic ones from Schuldich.
"He's late," I commented after checking my watch for the umpteenth time. We were waiting for Fujimiya, an experience I was not expecting I would enjoy. How does one deal rationally with the thorn in his side? He pulls it out and throws it away, of course. As much as I wished I could simply kill Fujimiya, Lara forbade me to harm the man, and him, me, if that was even possible. Every time I even thought of him, my stomach twisted.
At first I had flat out refused to Lara's demand that Fujimiya be included in our expedition. It seemed she didn't trust me in the slightest, even with all the safeguards she already had against me. After learning of Schwarz and our sometimes less-than-kosher actions, she wanted information about us from the best source possible. How she had come up with Fujimiya was beyond me. Weiss was an even better kept secret than Schwarz.
"When we have the power," Lara had said, "I need to know if what you are using it for isn't evil. Aya is coming along to safeguard that. He'll know what will benefit Schwarz, and what is acceptable."
Naturally I had complained. Why did I get a decision babysitter while she remained scot-free?
"You're here under my good graces, if you will do well to remember, Mr. Crawford. Also, have you ever seen my name in the newspapers for anything resembling being an assassin?"
She had a point. I had accepted her terms and words - how could anyone turn down the possibility of that much power? I would just find a way to help Schwarz without being obvious. Ran Fujimiya would just be a flea in my collar. Or that's what I had hoped.
We now stood in gate 42 of the London International Airport, waiting for Fujimiya's arrival. He was coming in on a connection flight from Japan. After that, Egypt.
"Your watch is just fast," Lara said. She adjusted her sunglasses on her nose.
"My watch is synchronized to be exactly right. It has to be on time. That means he's late."
"No, I'm not." The two of us whirled around to find Ran Fujimiya standing behind us, looking for all the world like he wanted to rip my face off. I was annoyed I hadn't been reading the future to watch for his arrival. What good were powers a man forgot to use?
If Fujimiya were an animal, he would be a tiger. He was a man who silently stalked his prey, the predatory glare never once leaving his violet eyes. His fighting style was unpredictable and wild, yet carefully executed. I hated to admit that despite my hate of him, Weiss' leader completely fascinated me. He was utterly unaware of the effect he had on others.
Even if we returned from our hunt in Egypt empty-handed, one good factor would remain. I would have a chance to study my enemy. How does one tame a wild tiger? I was going to learn. Some part of Fujimiya just beckoned me to dip my fingers into his burning anger and learn about him. I was made of deadly seriousness. Passionate souls like Aya and Schuldich, no matter how they tried to cover it, were so very tempting to hold and possess.
Aya also fascinated me because he was beautiful enough to give a man heartache. His flame red hair and delicate white skin were a tantalizing combination. Mixed with his purple eyes, he was a genetic freak of nature-a startlingly alluring one.
Aside from his passion, he reminded me of Schuldich in other ways too. I wasn't sure I liked how, either. Tantalizing in a completely untouchable way-they were both like this. I had never won Schuldich, though there was no lack of trying on my part. We were both too dominant to be bottom to the other. The farthest we'd gotten together was some very heavy petting and sweaty making out sessions. That relationship would never go anywhere. I had a feeling something with Fujimiya would be the same way.
Fujimiya's similarity to Schuldich at the moment was immense because of the death glare he was giving me. Schuldich's, however, didn't have quite so much venom.
"Nice to see you show up," I said. "Shall we get going?"
"One moment," Lara commanded. She stuck her hand out to Aya. "A pleasure to meet you. Lara Croft."
"Hi." And that was all he said. Compared to him even I was verbose. I wished she had recruited Kudoh. He, at least, had a personality.
Lara assessed Fujimiya momentarily. He was dressed well for the trip. Long khaki pants, a red baseball jersey that was obviously second-hand, and a blue baseball cap that mashed his hair against his head. Color matching had never been his forte, I assumed. The outfit would never win a fashion award, but it would be suitable for mucking about.
Fujimiya carried a backpack about the size of mine. Enough for a spare pair of underwear and a week's worth of supplies.
"How is your sister doing?" I asked just to needle him. Now that she was awake and aging she was of no use to Schwarz, but he didn't know that. Preying upon others' fears was always more fun than coming clean with the truth.
I found myself for a lack of oxygen as Fujimiya dropped his bags and rushed at me, one hand clutching my collar, his other hand wrapping around my neck in fury. Airport goers gasped as he took me down until one of his knees dug painfully into my solar plexus and the other pinned my legs. I coughed, feeling light headed. He was going to kill me! Why wasn't I seeing it? The question fled my mind as he tightened his hold, completely depriving me of air. No!
"If you say one more thing about my sister, I will kill you!" he hissed, fury flashing through his eyes. "Do you hear me?" He slammed my head into the floor, dizzying me. I coughed, grasping at whatever oxygen I could find. I tried to fight back, but he had me well pinned. Fuzziness floated at the edges of my vision. Either he let go, or I was on my way to la la land.
Lara settled it in the end. She pulled Aya off of me, whispering in a not-so-quiet-voice, "Not in an airport!"
I sat up, hand clutching my throat gingerly. My vision cleared, but a fierce ache had rented a spot at the back of my skull, and it looked like the ache had pre-paid for a long stay. There were times when being Farfarello wouldn't be so bad.
Lara helped me to my feet, a surprising amount of strength behind her petite frame. Her mouth was twisted in a disapproving frown. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," I admitted. I had taken worse beatings in the past, though what hurt me the most about this one was the shame of being taken down.
"Good." She asked Fujimiya the same. He gave the affirmative.
"Now we board before you two break into more childish fights." We followed, somewhat meekly. This woman was powerful. Pussy-whipping both Bradley Crawford and Fujimiya Ran in one minute. Quite impressive. She probably could have trained even Farfarello to behave like a good dog. If I weren't gay I would have pursued her immediately.
Luckily for us, the airport was mostly empty at this time of night. No one had bothered to report our scuffle to security. We were taking 3 am flight.
"I guess this means I get the middle seat," Lara grumped. "After all, who's going to keep you two from fighting?"
The plane flight was uneventful, except for once when I was going to the restroom and had to pass by Fujimiya from my seat at the window. He had kicked my shin, earning a reproving look from Lara.
"Remember, I'm paying you," she had told him. He had subsided in his childish attack. I couldn't blame him. I would have done the same thing. She had him on a payroll, a fact I was intrigued to hear. How much money had it taken to buy the stone-faced Fujimiya Ran?
I had smirked at myself in the airplane's miniscule bathroom mirror. So he had a price. If I had been Schuldich I would have tried to find out how much it was, and then broken it.
We arrived in Cairo worn out and more than a little stinky. One layover of a long enough time to drive us all into a game of cards (Fujimiya and I had played nicely) and a very serious critique of passerby's clothing, plus the innumerable hours en-flight was enough for Lara to consent to rent a hotel room before we set out the next day. Now we stood, travel weary, in that self-same hotel lobby, waiting for the bellboy to lead us to our rooms.
The young boy asked Lara something in Egyptian. She answered fluently. What language didn't this woman know?
When we reached our rooms, Lara took one key and tossed me the other.
"What about me?" Fujimiya asked.
Lara raised an eyebrow. "You're sharing with Crawford. I know you would stay up all night if you didn't know what the other one was doing, so now you can keep an eye on one another."
"No." Fujimiya was barely containing his anger.
"I hold the only money, sirs," she said sweetly, "as one of the deals of our arrangement. You share or you don't sleep." With that she unlocked her door and swept into her room. Fujimiya and I were left in the hallway staring at one another like a hunter and his game. Only I wasn't sure who the hunter was. The thought frightened me. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. How do you consent staying the night in the same room as your greatest enemy?
"Open it," Aya ordered. He was quite cross. At least his demand had cleared the silence. I shrugged.
"Fine." We stepped inside. Happily, there were two big beds, air conditioning, and enough room for us to avoid one another without doing the tippy-toe ballet dance of standoffishness.
I dropped my backpack on the floor near the bed closest to the door. It gave Fujimiya the most easily defensible position - the bed by the far wall - but I wanted the surprise attack position. The divider wall between the bathroom and the first bed allowed me time to kill an attacker who stepped past, unaware I was there. Aya and I were now alone. There was no telling if we would both be among the living in the morning.
I drifted into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I didn't trust Fujimiya not to rifle through my bag, so I made the trip a quick one. Brush teeth, wash face, do all the before bed chores mom had taught, and I was done. My vision wasn't too horrid sans contacts - I had left the glasses at home because they weren't prudent for tomb raiding and I had taken the contacts off moments before - so when I stepped from the bathroom I still was able to enjoy the sight that met me.
Aya was facing away from the bathroom entrance, unaware I had re-entered the main room. He was in the process of removing his baseball jersey via the route of pulling it over his head, all the while revealing a very nicely muscled back indeed. And all of him was that delicious white color.
His muscles rode his back like familiar lovers, no excess fat hiding anything. They flexed gently until he was shirtless and tossing the garment on the bed.
I wondered what he would look like with a little blood on him. That was almost as delicious a thought. Fujimiya Ran naked or dead. I couldn't decide which I would appreciate more.
He turned around, finally registering my presence. I admitted to the guilty pleasure of letting my eyes momentarily roam his front.
Sharp collarbones that indicated exactly how skinny he was. Pale nipples that were like an open invitation for biting or sucking or any number of fun acts. A small trail of hair leading from his bellybutton to more mysterious regions. If I'd had a sword I would have shoved it through his stomach. I wanted him dead so much it hurt. Or did I just want him?
"You realize I'm going to kill you the minute this is over, don't you?" He was seething.
"So confident, aren't you. Don't you remember that you've never defeated me? How do you think this will work? After we combine the artifacts, I'll be near god."
"Is all you think about power?"
I smirked. "No. Schwarz wants to change the world. I think about change quite a bit."
"Change is just an avenue to power."
"If you want to play word games like that, then yes, I do always think about power." He was grinding his teeth, an action I didn't understand. The whole world was based on power. Schwarz simply saw that and sought to optimize on it. Survival of the fittest, wasn't it? "Do you always think so seriously about vengeance?" I meant it as another barb.
"Always." He caught my eyes. "Always." The threat dripped from his lips like acid.
I found again I couldn't anticipate what was going to occur. Had Lara brought her little device on the trip? How far did the damn thing's range extend? I vowed to speak with her about it tomorrow. I would be no good as a precog if at the moment I needed my powers they were blocked by an artifact!
"Good to know some things never change," I muttered. He just grunted back. We were really too tired to start an all out war.
I turned away. I wasn't about to lose sleep wondering if he would strangle me during the night. Lara was paying him. I slid between the sheets, reveling in the feel of a clean bed. Tomorrow I would shower and be all set for a few weeks of hiking around Egypt.
Aya, too, climbed into bed. He clicked out the light by his bed, the only light left in the room. After a minute or two, I spoke. I couldn't resist.
"Sweet dreams. I hope you dream of your sister." I put in all the threat I could.
He answered me with a snore. He was already asleep with an enemy in the room. He felt that safe?
I closed my eyes, feeling strangely ashamed and shallow for my comment. The darkness was a much harsher judge than the pure light of day.
****
The alarm rang annoyingly at eight the next morning. I had already been up for two hours enjoying a nice breakfast downstairs (on Lara's tab), exercising in the small weight room provided by the hotel, and showering. Fujimiya slept through all the commotion I made, dead to the world. And this man thought he was an assassin?
I was arranging the supplies in my pack as the redhead in question smacked the alarm and rolled out of bed. He sneered when our eyes met. Again I was met with the impression of a deadly tiger.
"And here I was hoping you had died in your sleep," he muttered.
"Childish, aren't you?" I asked.
He grunted, passing by me to enter the bathroom, his hair all twisted up from sleep. "Gotta get my kicks somehow. After all, killing doesn't do it for me like it does for some people."
"Is that supposed to be an insult?"
"Yes." He slammed the door behind him. I wished briefly I were Nagi. Wouldn't it be nice to send his comb flying into the toilet? Maybe knock him around with his own toothbrush? I knew I spent too much time with Schuldich when I had thoughts like that.
What bothered me about his words was that he was absolutely right. In the acquisition of power, I didn't mind leaving a body behind. I didn't get off on killing, as much as he was suggesting the possibility. That was Farfarello. Did I hate my morals? No. I let my tension fade away. Part of being an effective leader was having the ability to let frustrations go.
Fujimiya shuffled out of the bathroom, towel around his lanky hips, wet hair plastered to his skull. Droplets of water streaked down his perfect skin.
"Feeling awfully safe, are you?" Something about him just begged for insults! I remembered my feelings of childishness the night previous. Truly, they weren't as bad in the light of day.
"If I need to I'll pull the stick out of my ass and beat you with it." He re-shut the bathroom door, clothing in hand. I knelt, gaping. A joke? I found myself at a loss for words. Again I wished I were one of my teammates, but this time, Schuldich. What had Fujimiya been thinking when he said that?
A knock came at our front door. Lara, perhaps. I pulled my gun anyway. I still wasn't able to see what was going to happen. "Enter," I called. It was Lara who stepped in. The gun went back into its holster.
"We're leaving in twenty. Are you ready?" This morning she wore the same outfit as yesterday, except the shirt was more teal than last night's and slightly tighter. Maybe the mummies would be impressed. I'd rather see Fujimiya Ran naked any day.
"Yes." I considered Fujimiya's joke. Strangely.... "He," I thumbed the bathroom, "hasn't eaten."
"I see." She tightened the Velcro on her fingerless gloves. "How considerate of you."
"Must be the flu." We shared a smile, but I was wondering about my nicety too. What had compelled me to help a member of Weiss? Maybe I truly was ill.
Fujimiya emerged, dressed in his khakis and baseball jersey. His expression was dour, as usual.
"Listen, I got a call this morning. We aren't the only ones searching for this artifact. My old associate, Larsen, had a company, and now they've apparently taken up where he left off--annoying me. They took a contract last night to locate the rod, and I imagine they are quite well funded. We probably only have a day on them, maybe less. We must move quickly if the rod is to stay with us."
"What about the prophet clause?" Ran was all business.
"They feasibly could have one." But not likely. The words went unsaid.
"We have the seal."
"It doesn't stop them from having one wish." That was the crux. We needed it for the ultimate purpose, but if the normal Tom, Dick, or Harry found it, the rod would work for them just the same.
"Let's move, then," I urged. We did, only stopping to make sure Fujimiya ate. It was time for some serious tomb raiding.