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Lara Croft, the daughter of Lord Henshingly Croft, was raised
to be an aristocrat from birth. After attending finishing school at
the age of 21, Lara's marriage into wealth had seemed assured, but on
her way home from a skiing trip her chartered plane had crashed deep
in the heart of the Himalayas. The only survivor, Lara learned how to
depend on her wits to stay alive in hostile conditions a world away
from her sheltered upbringing. Two weeks later when she walked into
the village of Tokakeriby her experiences had had a profound effect on
her. Unable to stand the claustrophobic suffocating atmosphere of
upper-class British society, she realised that she was only truly
alive when she was travelling alone.
Over the eight following years she acquired an intimate knowledge of
ancient civilisations across the globe. Her family soon disowned their
prodigal daughter, and she turned to writing to fund her trips. Famed
for discovering several ancient sites of profound archaeological
interest she made a name for herself by publishing travel books and
detailed journals of her exploits.
Among her discoveries, the most famous include the Ark of the
Covenant and the fabled Yeti of the Himalayas.
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Modern day |
Calcutta
We find Lara siting in a hotel lobby reading from a magazine about
her capture of the legendary Yeti. An unshaven man, wearing a red
flannel shirt and faded blue jeans approaches her and asks in a Texas
drawl, "Whatsa man got to do to get that kinna attention
from ya?"
"It's hard to say, exactly, but you seem to be doing fine", she
replies in her prim British accent.
He smirks and adds, "Well, great! But truth is that it's not
me that wants ya", and winks at her.
"No?" Lara raises an eyebrow, intrigued as the man places a
laptop computer on the table before her. He opens it and turns it
on. A woman appears on the screen.
"Nooo. Ms. Jacqueline Natla does. From Natla
Technologies. Y'know, creator of all things bright and
beautiful", he says, laughing. His words dripping with sarcasm. The
woman on the screen of the computer is clearly not amused.
"Seal it, Larson", she cuts in.
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"Ma'am", Larson yelps like a bad dog with its tail between his
legs.
"Feast your eys on this, Lara", says Natla as she throws a
handfull of Ben Franklins into the air and pauses to watch the bills
drift down like autumn leaves, "How does that make your wallet
rumble?"
Unimpressed, Lara replies, "I'm sorry. I only play for
sport."
"Then you'll like a big park: Peru. Vast montain ranges to cover,
sheer walls of ice, rocky crags, savage winds... and there's this
little trinket: an age-old artifact of mystical powers buried in the
unfound tomb of Qualopec", Natla replies in a slippery temping voice.
"That's my interest. You could leave tomorrow", Natla adds and then
asks teasingly, "Are you busy... tomorrow?" Lara stands and
smiles.
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