Chapter Text
JFK Airport
Roth was driven to the airport by Grim on this night. Grim wasn’t used to the city life compared to many of the others, but he had to be there for his friend. “You sure about this, laddie? Ya sure about chancing it?”
“My old friend, this is the fastest way in saving our girl. Doing our usual seaside isn’t feasible. Gladov only gave me two weeks to find this damn necklace,” Roth sighed heavily, knowing if Grim had it his way they’d travel across the Atlantic per usual, through the Mediterranean and past Greece into the Black Sea before having to travel the last day or so through Georgia into Azerbaijan.
“I just worry about ya when you’re on your own, that’s all,”
“Grim, I assure you that I’ll be fine. This is for Lara,” Roth got out with his bags and Grim followed into the busy airport.
“What can I do while ya on this trip?” Grim thought.
Roth put his hand on Grim’s shoulder. “Keep an eye on Reyes and the crew. Keep them strong and well-minded. This is hard on all of us, but we will get Lara home safe. And I will find this necklace, no matter the cost.”
“I’ll keep good watch on Joslin and ‘em, ole pal. But I beg to party once this is all over,” Grim chuckled.
“And we will like no tomorrow once we get our Little Bird back. Take care of yourself, laddie,” Roth gave one last hug to his friend.
“Aye,”
And with the announcement of his flight, Roth took off for the lobby. But Grim couldn’t help but worry for his old pal of 30 plus years. What would await Roth in the often-told dangerous Caucasus region known for strife and wars going back to millennia? Would Roth truly be able to find this loaf jewel of the last Tsarina or would it be a lost cause for both Lara and themselves?
But across the bridges in Alderney, Lara’s Hell of Captivity continued.
Gladov’s Apartment- Acter, Alderney
Lara had again cried herself into sleep, still hoping this was all a nightmare.
But the unlocking of the door woke her from the slumber along with the booming laughter of Gladov’s voice speaking Russian.
She shook but stayed still on the cold floor, her body aching from the struggles before.
Lara anxiously waited for Gladov to unlock the bathroom door.
But now she heard a second voice, a female voice also in Russian. Who was she and what did she have to do with her captor?
Lara out of desperation wiggled to the door and screamed with a kick. “Help! This guy’s holding me in his bathroom! Please, get me outta here!!!”
The female voice then began to seemingly yell at Gladov to Lara’s hope and she seemingly was about to get the help with the door now unlocking. “Yes! In here, thank God you found me!!!”
Lara scooted back so the door could open more, but this wasn’t the rescue she was hoping for.
When the door opened and the lightswitch was flipped on, a prostitute awaited!
The long loose haired redhead with a black leather jacket covering her leather bra and panties plus knee high heeled boots scuffed at the muffling Lara and turned to English with the Russian accent. “Is this the goddamn surprise you hyped me for this morning, Boris?!”
“She’s our guest, Validia. You wanted someone to watch us in the fun tonight and you got one. What seems to be the issue?” Gladov gruffed.
Validia meanwhile sat Lara back up off the floor. “Oh there’s no issue, Boris. Just that when you said we’d have company, I didn’t expect it to be-“
“Be what?!”
“Just get the bed ready!” she spat at him.
Gladov relented and got out of Lara’s view as Validia then crouched down on her knees at Lara.
“Listen, Ledi Croft…I or my client don’t want any issues out of you while we have our fun. Ponimat?” she stared into the terrified Lara who could only yelp lightly a ‘yes’ with another frantic shake of her head.
But before Validia would seemingly let her off the hook, she too was attracted to Lara and rubbed her red-painted fingers onto Lara’s body, stomach on up. “No wonder Boris decided to keep you around…they did say Roth’s wannabe daughter dressed like a shlyukha. And you claimed to not be a partier, but we can see through you-“
“Validia, bed’s ready!” Gladov spooked.
“Right. Boris, what you want me to do with Croft?” she replied.
“Isn’t it obvious? Drag her in front of the bed!”
Lara shook her head again in terror. What evil plans did this sick and twisted couple they have in mind? How could a seemingly innocent prostitute roll with her client’s plan of keeping her hostage?
She was about to find out…
They had dragged her in front of the makeshift mattress left on the floor. Their plan: force Lara to watch them have their fun.
Lara tried to black out what was happening. This wasn’t it for her, she had always been scared by the prospect of sex. Every dirty talk Sam had with her about ‘the birds and bees’ was too much, but this hell was on another frightening level.
She froze in horror watching the prostitute bounce up and down on her captor’s cock with likely dirty talk and gasps of pleasure in Russian.
“Oh God…this can’t be happening, make it stop make it stop!” she yelped with more tears down her face and another frantic struggle to get loose from the chair.
But this was instantly met by Validia reaching back to slap Lara in the cheek.
“Boris, your dick gives me so much pleasure…but your friend is ruining all the fun,” she complained.
“She’s tied up and properly gagged, Validia. What else could you want?” Gladov complained.
Validia glared at Gladov before grasping onto Lara’s throat. “Listen, Croft…this session isn’t gonna be interrupted by some little girl not wanting to experience the action. In fact, we’ll aid you in helping us have our fun, won’t we Boris?”
“But how is she gonna help us?”
Validia began pulling her panties down and Lara could only gulp at what would come next…meanwhile, Roth was off to Azerbaijan.
16 hours later (8 pm local time)-Baku, Azerbaijan
Roth was now in Azerbaijan. He had initially been intimidated thanks to locals giving him looks and an awkward moment or two at the airport, but this was par for the course unfortunately yet again.
Now he was at a local tea house with glasses of tea served known as Armudu.
“Why thank you,” he told the woman serving the tea in the black pear-shaped glass.
“You’re not from around here,” she replied.
“No, I am not,”
“What is it you seek, Englishman?”
“The St. Petersburg Pearl,”
There was a moment of silence between both Roth and the woman. Then she ushered him. “Come with me.”
Roth followed the woman, now loosening her veil down a flight of stairs at the back of the tea house.
What he saw at the bottom amazed him: a library of endless books!
“It’s beautiful…how long have you had these?”
“What do you seek? This is over 40 years worth of work in preserving studies of our region’s history, even amidst the rivalry with Armenia,”
“Yes, I am very much aware of Azerbaijan and Armenia. For almost a century, they’ve tussled in numerous wars, most notably the war that ended in ‘94. My condolences…”
“My husband is Azeri, I’m from Armenia. You seek the St. Petersburg Pearl, yes?” she revealed, to Roth’s shock.
Another moment of silence hit before Roth reluctantly had to ask. “What happened during the war?”
“I will politely refuse comment about the war, Mr-“
“Roth. Conrad Roth…I should’ve not asked that question, my humble apologies. But yes, I seek the Pearl brought here by the last of the Tsar’s forces against the Bolsheviks and the Ottomans. A friend of mine has sent me on this quest to find it,”
“You mean a necklace worn by the last Tsarina given by Rasputin. Clearly you haven’t done all your research,” the woman thought with a stern nod to Roth.
“Why yes, that’s what I’m here for,” Roth replied.
“With that do you wish to do once you get this artifact, Mr Roth?”
“Well, I wish to bask in retirement glory once I give this necklace to my employers,”
“Your employers can’t be typical if they specifically know about let alone want this artifact. There’s got to be more to this quest than you’ve told me-“
“It’s for Lara,” Roth quickly confessed, taking out a photo of him and Lara on deck of The Endurance.
The woman pondered at the photograph. “She looks beautiful, I can sense- adventure with the both of you.”
“The adventurous spirit comes from her late father. An archeologist-Dr. Richard Croft…he and I traveled the seas together, looking to reconstruct history and its secrets. Her mother, the most wonderful woman in the world, was killed in a plane crash and he was never the same afterwards. Lara was only 2 and a half when her mother perished…and I swore on both Amelia and Richard’s graves that I would do everything in my damn power to protect her,”
“What happened to your friend-her father?”
“Richard was a stubborn man…always wanted to be proven right, be remembered as the greatest historian on this planet. Some people didn’t like that, his spirit,”
“People like?”
“Trinity,” Roth said somberly.
The woman’s eyes perked again when she heard that name. “You would know of those zealots who kill in the name of divinity?”
“You know Trinity?” Roth asked in astonishments.
“During the war, there were many factions on both sides seeking their own goals and reasonings for wanting Artsakh, both Armenian and Azerbaijani. Would you happen to be familiar with this insignia?” the woman pulled out a worn Trinity badge, its red and yellow outer edges as well as its black and gold spiked Divine Cross spooking Roth.
“By God, that’s Trinity…but what were they doing here?” Roth asked in puzzlement, refusing to believe that they too participated in the 1991-94 war for Nagorno-Karabakh.
“At first, they came in as a few hundred fighters for us Armenians fighting for and in Artsakh. But in early 1992, the Armenian command in Yerevan discovered this cult was using both us and Azerbaijan for their own ends, hoping for both of us to wipe each other out as well as in the other Caucasus wars of the post-Soviet regimes. But what I know is only second hand information from informants within Armenia’s ranks-of course the few that survived Azerbaijan’s wrath. They then switched sides, now sending 300 to 400 men of Turkish origin to the Azeris, but of course Azerbaijan was too happy to take their money and arms in their wanted extermination of all us Armenians,”
Roth could not believe what he had just further heard. He had read up further on Trinity, but he had done his best in the years after they had staged his best friend and Lara’s father’s murder as a suicide to stay away from them, no matter the consequences. Were they still here somewhere in Azerbaijan or even in Armenia and if so, what were they looking for? Could this Pearl he was initially looking be yet another artifact they had sought throughout the centuries for their religious warfare and global domination?
“I cannot believe what you’ve just told me, Madam. But unfortunately, they’ve done this time and time again since the days of Jesus Christ. They seek religious warfare and artifacts of any and all groups of people worldwide that they think can help them exterminate ‘non-believers’. Again, I give my condolences to you and your people for all you’ve suffered over the centuries,” Roth replied, finishing up his tea.
“Likewise with your friend. But you still haven’t answered my question about your employers or your surrogate daughter. How is finding the necklace of the last Tsarina going to save Miss Croft?” she insisted.
“Well, they’re demanding I find it in about 3 weeks or…” Roth sighed again with the throat cutting gesture.
“So these men, they are not your employers. They’ve kidnapped her, and they want the necklace as a ransom?”
“Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. It’s because I owe them a debt. Some Russian mobsters from America in Liberty City, guessing they somehow got wind of this necklace and Lara’s collateral to ‘em,”
“And you think the necklace is somewhere here in Azerbaijan?”
“Well, I initially thought that, yes. But with some more research, I’ve learned that the Pearl somehow slipped out of Baku. Where to though…that’s the million dollar question,”
“But the Tsarina died with her husband and family in Yekaterinburg deeper inside Russia, how is it the White Army possessed the jewel let alone brought it here?”
“I’ve also wondered the same question, sadly I don’t think we’ll ever fully answer that question. See, General Georgy Dokuchaev was one of the last loyalists to the old regime of the Russian Tsar and he sought to somehow preserve the royal legacy. It’s likely he had high friends still deeper in Russia who had slipped away from Lenin and his Bolsheviks, likely how he got the necklace and perhaps other royal artifacts. But this front is often untalked about as part of World War I’s ending.
The British were so desperate to end Ottoman rule in the Middle East that they played a desperate game siding with these last White Army holdouts, but they vastly underestimated this Islamic Army of the Caucasus. And yes, while the Ottomans initially beat the Bolsheviks, the chaos that would come both during and after the war would prove too much and both Armenia and Azerbaijan would come under Soviet rule…is that a good but brief summary?”
“Yes, I think that describes it in a decent way. But unfortunately…you might as well pack up and find another way to appease your surrogate’s captors. I’ve seen a lot in my 75 years on this earth, but it’ll take a miracle for that necklace to come up to this earth let alone in sellable condition. But are you really that desperate for yet another blood money artifact or will you finally realize that you have to beat them the hard way, you are messing with the Russian Bratva after all,” the woman gruffed with a low anger at Roth.
“Alright, you win. I’m desperate enough. Is the treasure here or not?!” Roth snapped, tired of the woman’s questions.
The woman couldn’t help but chuckle. “Your quest is really just beginning…and of course not, why would it be? My only way to help you is to show you your next destination…”
Roth took a breath and gave into the old woman. “Where?”
As Roth was about to be given the location of the first clue, across the way in America Lara’s Hell continued into the next morning.
The next morning, 8 am local time-Alderney
Lara had fallen unconscious to that horror of watching her captors bang their brains out.
But as she again came to, she was surprised to find out that she was no longer gagged.
Yet before she could yell for help, that creepy hand silenced her and she shook. “Morning, Little Lara. You liked me and Valida’s fun last night? Sorry if her passion freaked you out, it does that to everyone. Now listen…I took that gag out your pretty mouth because I felt compassionate for a moment, you’ll get a drink of water and you will get nothing further, you understand?”
As Gladov looked down on his precious prey, she had no choice but to obey with the muffled ‘okay, okay…’.
He slowly let go off her mouth and she took a breath, watching him reach for a bottle of water.
He opened it and put the tip to her lips. “Drink…”
She hoped this wasn’t a trick, but she hadn’t drank anything for almost two days. She couldn’t resist this lowering of frightening captivity.
“Why are you doing this, Mr Gladov? What is it that you want?” she asked, trying to collect herself.
“What I want is for your new Daddy to come up with what he is owed, that stupid Pearl,” Gladov replied.
“But you’ll never find it, the Pearl along with many other artifacts was destroyed and the Ottomans laid waste to Baku in the final assault. Plus even if it was still out there, the Azerbaijan government won’t let you anywhere near it, they’re a dictatorship-“
“Silence! Conrad Roth will do as he is told or else both he and you will die. But luckily for you, he’s got 12 more days to find the two million dollars and in the meantime, our fun shall continue and I don’t want you to ruin that fun with your yelping, is that clear?” he stared down Lara and she could again only shake her head with the frightful ‘yes’.
Then his phone rang and he gave the shush to Lara as he picked it up. “Boran Gladovich, we meet again.”
That pesky cop from when he first entered Liberty City was on the line.
An hour later
When Gladov opened the door, it was his old thorn in the side from 4 years ago: Joslin Reyes and alongside her was her ‘private investigator’ Jonah. “Mr Gladov, we got to stop meeting like this.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. What is it you want this time, Reyes girl?” he complained.
“You of all people should know, Boris. We’ve gotten word that Miss Lara Croft has been kidnapped by the Russian Mob and I’d personally hope you yourself aren’t involved, knowing your history in our fine country,” Reyes questioned.
Little did Reyes or Jonah realize that in the basement below, Lara could hear their voices and shuddered with a soft cry through her gag. How much longer would this keep up and were the rest of the gang in danger?