Tomb Raider: The Ten Thousand Immortals by Dan Abnett, Nik Vincent Page B

driver.
    “Thank you,” said Lara. “The Gare du Nord? How far?”
    “Fifteen minutes,” said the driver, “twenty. The vehicles, so many of them.”
    “Thank you,” said Lara.
    “The subject is moving southeast on Friedland,” said Hydarnes. “Fast.”
    “She’s on a moped,” said Lydia, breathing hard as she landed on the pavement on Friedland close to the café where Lara had picked up the taxi.
    “You’re coming in, Lydia,” said Hydarnes. “Darius is taking over.”
    “Shit!” said Lydia.
    “Ares will see you on your return.”
    Lydia’s face grew firm, her jaw clenched. She breathed in hard and out slowly.
    “Copy that,” she said. She turned to walk back to the Champs-Élysées.
    “What’s your position, Darius?” asked Hydarnes.
    “Square Louis XVI,” said Darius.
    “Take a left,” said Hydarnes. “You got ahead of her. She’s heading northeast on La Pépinière.”
    “I didn’t pass her,” said Darius.
    Hydarnes shot a glance at the tech as they studied the screen together.
    “May I?” asked the tech, leaning in to tap an instruction on the keyboard.
    “There,” she said. “I should have seen it. She stopped for, maybe ninety seconds.”
    “There was movement,” said Hydarnes.
    “The tracker’s sensitive,” said the tech. “She might have been pacing. The rucksack might have been swinging. There’s no forward trajectory. She definitely stopped.”
    “Is she still on the moped?” asked Hydarnes.
    The tech shrugged.
    “She stole it or jumped a ride. I’m guessing not,” she said.
    Hydarnes thought for a moment.
    “She’s in a taxi,” he said. “Darius, Croft is in a taxi.”
    Lara looked around at every stoplight, at every junction. She never stopped scanning the road, and every time she saw a seven series, black BMW, she went to alert. She was surprised at just how many there were.
    “He must have been a very bad boyfriend,” said the driver at one point.
    “Very,” said Lara, turning to check the view from the rear window.
    As they pulled away from the intersection with the Rue de Rome, Lara looked right to see the traffic waiting to pull out behind them. They were traveling at no more than walking speed, and the first car was already turning out of the junction. She was looking right at Windcheater.
    She hadn’t been expecting to see him there. She didn’t know why, but she expected the BMW to come up behind her. Of course she’d checked all the turnings, but that was because of the anxiety, that was belt and braces. She gasped.
    “Madamoiselle?” asked the driver.
    “It’s him,” said Lara.
    “Nous allons le faire,” said the driver.
    Before Lara knew what was happening, the cabbie had swung into the right-hand lane and turned right down Rue de
    Rome before switching back left, crossing Rue Saint-Lazare and cutting down Cour de Rome.
    “I’ve got her,” said Darius.
    “Stay with her,” said Hydarnes. “Don’t lose her again. Ares wants to know exactly where she is at all times.”
    The tech grinned and put her hand up for a high five. Hydarnes looked at her coldly and turned back to the screen. The tech blushed.
    The cabbie had put several cars between them and the BMW. He’d also caused some confusion, and a flurry of car horns sounded all around them. He beamed in his rearview mirror at Lara.
    “Gare du Nord,” he said. “The scenic route. It will be...”
    “I have money,” said Lara.
    “I would say fun,” said the cabbie.
    Sorry , thought Lara. You can do your best, but I know something that you don’t. You can try as hard as you want, but you can’t lose that BMW. She gripped the paper parcel in her hand a little tighter.
    Then she checked the view through the rear window. She was rocked onto her side when the cabbie took a sudden right turn without indicating. He was throwing the car all over the place, and when Lara was able to sit up again, she could see why.
    Rue de Caumartin was narrow, and the shops and business