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Lara stood behind a curtain of hanging vines and watched, a few sun rays illuminating the space through cracks in the ceiling, as two figures hastily entered a gaping opening near the end of the overgrown passage. Then she pushed aside the foliage and walked slowly after them, careful to avoid stepping on pieces of mortar and stone that would give away her position.
As irritating as it was to have the coveted artefact snatched from under her nose, she was quite enjoying the hunt for the thieves. It wouldn’t last much longer though, if she recognized just where they had rushed in – she had explored that chamber earlier that day, when she had been still orienting herself in the vast complex of the ruins.
She stopped next to the crumbled door frame, just out of sight, and listened.
“-might be right behind us!”
“I know, Larson, I know. Now let me focus, s’il te plaît. There must be a way forward.”
Lara smirked and stepped onto the dried threshold, making it creak mournfully. “There is no way forward here, Pierre,” she informed the French treasure hunter. Both him and his American partner were turned to her in surprise, Larson hugging the golden headpiece protectively before he remembered himself and started fumbling for his revolver with one hand. Pierre was faster in that regard, brandishing his magnums, but Lara was even quicker.
It didn’t matter much in the end, when all weapons were drawn and no-one was shooting anyway. Standing at the impasse, Pierre did what he did best – he started talking.
“Why, Lara, I would rather find for myself if that is true, no offence.”
“Futile endeavours,” Lara commented conversationally. “You two are quite the experts at them, to be sure.”
“How funny of you to say,” Pierre gave her a polite smile, “after all the effort you have made today only to leave here without a prize.”
“I am not leaving yet,” Lara glanced at Larson, and the artefact in his hand. “And neither are you. This is the only exit,” she swung her head lightly in the direction behind her and made a step further into the room. “Now, will you hand over the headpiece?”
“Uh, no!” Larson scowled, but there was nervousness in his eyes when he looked at Pierre. “What now?”
“No matter what Miss Croft claims, there must be another way here,” Pierre said with utmost confidence and shuffled to the side, closer to a wall, tapping it with his knuckles while still aiming at Lara with his other hand.
Lara couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Oh, Pierre, you have no idea what this chamber is, do you?”
That gave Pierre a pause and he looked around. Of course he hadn’t even wondered about that.
Larson twisted his neck to also get a better look, a confused look on his face.
Lara sighed. “It is a bathroom.”
“A bathroom?” Pierre repeated, looking down at a row of holes carved into an elevated platform running along the whole right wall, and moved slightly away from them.
“Uh, if this is a bathroom, what are these for?” Larson nodded at other, much smaller holes high in the left wall.
Lara made one more step closer to them, still firmly between the door and the two treasure hunters, to take a better look. If it was what she thought – and yes indeed. She smiled.
“An ancient shower of sorts. There would be a mechanism somewhere that would let the water from an external container pour through these holes right here into the designated washing area.”
“I have heard they had rather sophisticated plumbing,” Pierre mused, “I haven’t expected quite as much.”
“Yes, it’s rather impressive,” Lara turned to Pierre, when-
Shocking cold, blinded by the stream. Lara felt disoriented for a moment, only to hear Larson through the rush: “Whoa, it works!” “Good job, mon cher, let’s get out of here!” “Pierre, I pushed that lever and the water really-” “Yes, yes, later, now run!”
Hasty steps past Lara was the last thing she heard before she managed to wipe her eyes, finally away from the cold torrent. Soaking wet, she looked up at the holes, water rushing out of all of them, and then it took her only a moment to locate the small lever Larson must have moved.
That… that was impressive indeed, that despite the disrepair of the ruin, the plumbing was still in working condition. She went and pushed the lever, causing the stream to dwindle until it stopped mere seconds later, not even a drop escaping anymore. Fascinating.
It was quiet now, Larson and Pierre were gone, so the chase would continue. Lara’s soaked boots squelched when she moved, and droplets were falling from heir hair and rolling down her face and arms. But she couldn’t bring herself to be annoyed, not after this display. The ancient architects deserved the recognition for their work.
Hopefully the plumbing worked just as impeccably in the rest of the complex.
Because what Larson and Pierre deserved, was payback.