Chapter 15: Touchy Feely Crap

Ben slowly and painfully came to his senses. He never really lost consciousness, but he'd been in so much pain that for the longest time it was all he could concentrate on. Only now that people had stopped beating him, racking him and tearing him apart with motorbikes—again—did he slowly regain his powers of thought.

"Ben?" It was Lady Grace. Ben didn't bother answering, just groaned and opened his eyes. He was laying on the ground chained to a bar by his wrists. His whole body hurt. "Ben, are you all right?" He looked over with bleary eyes to see Lara chained up just like he was about three feet away. She had a shiner and looked like she'd been in a scrap. "Ben, how do you feel?"

"Taller." He replied sourly. He sat up painfully and leaned back against the forest of pipes. His joints ached from being spread eagled like that and his arm hurt like a son of a bitch from being shot. He flexed his hand experimentally. He had full strength and mobility; must have been a clean shot, right through the meat. Clenching his teeth against the pain, he glanced around and took in the scene. They were in some sort of room made for servicing the pipes that they were currently chained to. "Looks like we're pretty screwed."

"Perhaps."

Ben turned to face her and glared. "What do you know that I don't?

She gave him a Mona Lisa smile. "A great deal, really," her voice was mischievous, "but most of it deals with ancient cultures, global affairs, or etiquette."

"Cute." Ben rolled his eyes. "What do you know about our situation?" he clarified.

She pointed with her eyes and head towards the closed door. "I'd rather not say. We may have eavesdroppers."

He grunted. She knew something, that was for sure. If only she could tell him what it was. "Great. So we just sit here and wait for some Leatherneck to come kill us?"

She gave her head a slight shake. "Not a Leatherneck. The Leatherneck." Her lips tightened. "I overheard someone say that Gunny was on his way here with Mr. Williams."

"Oh, perfect." Just when you think things can't get any worse...

"Don't worry, Ben." Lara reassured him. "We'll be fine."

He shot her a look that said 'don't feed me any bullshit'. "While you're living in your private little world," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "do me a favour and get me a cheeseburger." He settled against the post and closed his eyes.

They were quiet for a moment, listening to the sounds of various bikers and truckers going about their business outside. After a while Lara spoke up, her voice quiet.

"I have no regrets, you know."

Ben didn't even open his eyes. "Hmm?"

"Coming here. Being with you." Ben opened his eyes and looked at Lara. She was gazing at him with a mixture of sadness and sincerity. Like always, he was lost the moment he met her eyes. "I have no regrets."

"What are you, on crack?" As soon as he said it he regretted it.

"Don't be vulgar." She flared with hurt anger. "Here I am, pouring out my heart to you. The least you could do is listen."

"Sorry." He said gruffly. "I'm not into all this touchy feely crap."

That made her smile. "I've noticed." She looked at him fondly for a moment. "Do you?"

Huh? She was changing tracks in this conversation faster than he could keep up. "Do I what?"

"Have any regrets? About me? Or what's happened."

Ben deliberately misunderstood. "Do I have any complaints about what's happened here?" He snorted. "Don't get me started."

She wasn't letting him off that easily. "That's not what I meant."

He sighed. "I know." He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Dammit, didn't she know how hard it was for him to talk about things like this? It had been hard enough for him to thank Mo for getting him into Fulsome. When he tried to speak the second time, it was harder, but he did it. "Lara, meeting you is the best thing that's happened to me in years." He looked away. "I only..."

She smiled encouragingly. "You only what?"

Ben let out a pent up breath. "I wish I'd met you before all this happened." He tried to gesture with his hand, but the chains got in his way. "Every time I look back at how we met I'm gonna think about Gunny, Torque and the Polecats." He gave a sad smile and a shrug. " I can't think about you without thinking about them."

Her eyes were filled with sympathy. "Ben, I'm sorry."

He snorted, trying to change the mood. "Don't get your panty hose in a knot," he growled.

She didn't rise to the bait. "Ben, I know its hard to say but I..."... love you. It was written in her face and she didn't even have to say the words. It was just as well, because at that moment the door slammed open, startling them both.

The incredibly large and imposing form of Gunny burst into the room. He was monstrously huge, wearing a olive green T-shirt that was too small for his frame. It only made Gunny's massive strength even more evident. He wore a set of desert camo fatigue pants and combat boots. A knife that was more of a short sword was on his belt, as well as the largest handgun Ben had ever seen. Behind him, almost totally eclipsed by Gunny's bulk and presence, was the man Ben recognised from the Rebar. Williams.

"Well ain't this a pretty sight." Gunny said in a voice like shredded steel. "Am I interrupting you two love-birds?" he asked with a leer. "Can I get you two a room?"

With Ben chained to the floor, Gunny looming over him seemed even larger then he had before. Ben glared at the large biker and was filled with sudden rage, the pain in his body forgotten. This is the bastard who killed Father Torque. "Gunny, this is your last chance," he said in a voice thick with hatred. "Free us or die."

Ben's tone almost gave him pause. Almost. Instead, he gave out a sharp laugh. "Ha! Not in this lifetime."

Ben's eyes bored through his thick crew cutted skull. "You know I'm gonna kill you."

Gunny just put his arms across his massive chest and looked down at Ben. "Not chained to that wall you aren't."

He sounded so smug, and Ben wanted to kill him all the more.

Ben jerked against his bonds, trying to stand, to get his fingers on even one part of the bastard. "So unchain me." He taunted. "We'll see who's the tougher biker."

Gunny didn't fall for it. "I don't think so."

Lara interrupted then, her cool voice cutting through the tension. "What's all this about? What is the Pipeline?"

The ex-gunnery sergeant looked at Lara and cackled. "Oh, I forgot. This is the part where I reveal my sinister plot, right?" He wagged a massive finger at her and chuckled. "Then I leave you two in some weird fucked up death trap, and wait for you to escape." His face turned red with anger. He drew the gun, which had the distinctive triangular barrel of an IMI Desert Eagle Magnum. "Well, you can forget it." He yelled. The room shook with the power of his bellowing voice. "I ain't gonna tell you shit, and in about five seconds I'm gonna blow both your fucking heads off." He pointed the gun right at Lara's head.

Ben jerked towards Gunny, trying to stop him or do anything but was caught by his chains. Ben was both furious and frantic. He couldn't imagine a worse fate then having to sit here helpless and watch Lady Grace be killed.

Lara, with a calmness that amazed Ben, just shrugged. "You can't blame a girl for trying." She said it as if she were ordering a soda.

Forgotten behind Gunny, Williams spoke up. "What about the bomb?" He sounded nervous.

For five seconds Gunny stood there, the barrel of his gun aimed al Lara's forehead. Veins were popping out of his forearm he was gripping the gun so hard. His eyes were wild and Ben was sure that he was going to pull the trigger. He wanted to look away, but was unable. Lara looked calmly into the man's eyes. "Fuck." Gunny turned away abruptly and lowered his gun. Ben was too stunned to do anything. It had come so close... "The bomb." The head of the Leathernecks thought for a moment, then whirled back to Lara. "OK, Croft. Here's what's happening." He brought the pistol back up to bear, but this time on Ben. Ben just stared up the gun's barrel, entranced, following the rifling patterns with his eyes. "You tell me where the bomb is or I give your boy toy here a third eye. How's that sound?"

"If you shoot Ben then I tell you nothing." Her voice was cold. "And in one hour we all die."

Gunny just snorted and kept the gun trained on Ben's head. "You're full of shit, lady." There was maybe a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Perhaps." Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw Lara give a small shrug and a tight smile. "Can you take that chance?"

Gunny grinned wolfishly. "You bet."

Ben watched with infinite slowness as Gunny's finger tightened on the trigger. Like Lady Grace said. No regrets. He waited quietly to die.

"NO!" Williams stepped in front of Gunny and tried to force his weapon arm down. The smaller man could have jumped up and down on the ex-marine's arm for all the good he did. "Gunny!" He stared the big man in the face. "We can't kill either of them until this bomb is found."

Gunny didn't move the gun, but looked at Williams standing before him. "There is no fucking bomb." He growled. "She's yanking our chains."

Williams shook his head emphatically. "I can't take that chance. I've invested far to much in this to blow it now."

Gunny shoved the smaller man aside like a rag doll. "You put me in charge of this, Williams," he accused. His free hand wagged a finger in Williams' face. "Trust me. There's no fucking bomb."

Williams remained unconvinced. "She said we have one hour. Keep her alive until then and start to look for it."

Lara chose that moment to add her own two cents to the conversation. "Even if you'll find it." She said coolly, "You'll need me to defuse it."

Gunny snorted and gave Lara a condescending look. "I can undo any bomb a limey bitch like you comes up with."

She kept her cool. "Really?" She met Gunny's wild gaze with her own. The big man stared back in a contest of wills. Ben knew Lara was the most stubborn woman on the planet, but she was trying to stare down the man who had murdered Torque and slit Big Willie's throat in cold blood.

I give Lady Grace 3/2 odds.

Williams stepped between the two of them, cutting off their visual duel. "Why are we sitting here arguing about this, Jordan?" He asked.

Gunny grew incensed at the mention of what Ben assumed was his real name. The huge biker whirled on his employer. "Gunny!" He shouted in the man's face. "Its Gunny!"

Williams just stood there for a moment, obviously shaken and stunned by the sudden confrontation. "You are still my employee." His voice was thin and shaky, but he did stand up to the big biker. Ben had to reluctantly admire the guy. He seemed to have some balls. "Gunny." Williams's voice strengthened. "We keep them alive."

Gunny seemed taken aback for a moment, then grinned. "You're just to much of a fucking wimp to take 'em out yourself."

Williams blinked at the change of subject. "No, I'm just protecting all of our interests." He glanced quickly at his watch. "Our blackout window from here to the border is in two hours." He looked Gunny briefly in the eyes before looking away. "We can't afford any delays."

Gunny reached out and grabbed the guy's wrist. He pressed the Desert Eagle into William's hand. "Here's my gun." He pulled the dark haired man's arm and aimed towards Lara. "Do it right now. Put it right up to her fucking head and pull the trigger." Just like before, Lara stared down the barrel of the weapon like she was waiting for tea and crumpets.

Williams tried to jerk his arm away but couldn't escape Gunny's grip. "What? I-What are you doing?" It came out as a squeak.

"She' can't dodge. Gunny growled quietly. Quietly for Gunny, anyway. "Do it. Blow her head off. Do it. It's better than sex."

Ben looked at Gunny with revulsion. Just when you thought you couldn't hate a man any more...

The Vice President and Heir Apparent of Williams Consolidated Chemical braced with his whole body and managed to get his hand out of Gunny's vice-like grip. "You are insane." He looked aghast at the huge man. "We need her to tell us where the bomb is."

"There is no fucking bomb!" Gunny yelled. He turned his back on Williams in disgust. "And you're a god damned wimp."

Williams face turned purple in embarrassment and rage. "That's enough!" He turned to Lara and tried to speak in a calmer tone of voice. "Miss, would you be so kind as to tell me where you planted the bomb."

She responded with a cold voice. "Not until you release both of us and escort us to the compound's edge."

With a roar of frustration, Gunny smashed his massive fist into the wall. It went straight through. "That's fucking it!" He yelled. "We keep them alive just in case, and in the mean time we'll find out if this fucking bomb exists."

"It does," Lara informed him.

He whirled to face her. "Shut up!" He bent down and crouched in front of Lara. Their faces were maybe three inches apart. "You've got one more hour to fuck like bunnies and then I'm gonna come in here and personally shoot your fucking head off." Ben could see flecks of spittle spraying onto her face. Gunny got to his feet explosively and turned to leave.

"It's a date then." Lara said calmly as she wiped her face. "I'll mark it in my calendar."

"Fucking slut." Gunny muttered as he and Williams walked out the door.

"Charmed as always." Lara said to his retreating back. The door slammed shut so hard it nearly jumped off its hinges.

After the two of them left the silence was deafening. Ben let out a rattling breath. He had really thought that Lady Grace had bought it. After a few minutes, he had collected himself enough to speak.

He looked over at Lara. She was sitting cross legged on the floor, her back to the pipes. "I still don't know if you're lucky or insane." He said to her.