LEVEL 8: BOUCHARD'S HIDEOUT | Updated: 1/11/07(†) |
Items: 1 health item, wad of passports, Rennes' wallet, explosives and 2 maps
Weapons & Ammo: Dart SS, K2 Impactor and 5 ammo items
Enemies: rats
Upgrades: none
NOTE: The ABANDONED METRO TUNNELS, which can be reached through the manholes in the streets of the Parisian Ghetto level, are technically part of Bouchard's Hideout. They are covered at the end of the Serpent Rouge walkthrough for logistical reasons: One of the manholes is right outside the Serpent Rouge exit, and you'll need the strength upgrade obtained inside the nightclub to open one of the doors in the tunnels.
TUNNELS: This is where you enter Bouchard's Hideout after pushing over the angel statue in St. Aicard's Graveyard and dropping into the crypt. You'll encounter several rats in these tunnels. Most don't bother Lara much, so save your ammo and just continue on your way. You begin in a tunnel that is blocked by a heap of rubble. Follow the tunnel in the other direction, past a door that doesn't open. Walk at the corner because the floor collapses just ahead. Drop down into the pit and climb out on the other side using the vine-covered wall. Use the pipe on the right wall to traverse across the second pit.
Alternatively, when the first section of floor collapses, drop down into the pit and crawl through the low, rat-infested tunnel to the second pit. At the far end, find a small rock for a boost so you can jump up to grab the ledge above. You'll need to turn Lara to the right to get the correct angle to grab the ledge above. Climb out and go on.
When you reach the third pit, the floor collapses. There's a crevice on the wall to the right, but it doesn't go all the way to the other side, so don't bother with it. Just drop into the nasty water, swim down under the obstacle and continue swimming to the far side of the pool. Lara can climb out using the vine-covered wall on the right. Climb all the way up to the crack in the wall. When you've climbed up as far as you can, Lara will change position so her legs are dangling and you can traverse to the left and drop onto the ledge.
Continue along the passage to a cave-in. Pull on the boulder to shift the pile of rubble. You still can't get through there, but it unblocks the passage on the other side. Open the grating on the right. Shoot this rat because otherwise it will gnaw on Lara as she crawls through the opening. (Strange how Lara can subdue a big burly dude but won't step on a tiny rodent.) Pick up Vector ammo in the next room. Go through the door, then another door to return to where you started. To the left is the same pile of rubble, only now you can get past it. Swim across the next pool and climb out (Action).
STORAGE CELLS: Enter a room with a bright light and some pipes. Exit through the hole in the wall to a storage area with barred cells and a few coffins. In the next room to the left you'll find a hideously deformed man squirming on a cot. Next to him is a small medipack. Exit through the other open door and go left. Open the metal door with the rivets. (You might want to save your game before going inside.)
BOUCHARD'S OFFICE: At last your hard work has paid off...an audience with the kingpin himself.
Dialogue - Louis Bouchard: When choosing the first dialogue option, go for polite ("Easy, Bouchard..."). If you tell him not to jerk you around, he gets angry and it's lights out for our heroine. He refuses to say what happened to Arnaud, the guy in the next room. He claims not to know Eckhardt or Von Croy, but if you tell him you lost your friend yesterday and are now wanted for his murder, he'll be more forthcoming. You can go either way for the other dialogue choices, but you'll get a bit more info if you choose "A front, obviously" and "Passports?" The upshot is that Von Croy wanted weapons, maps and information on an archaeological dig beneath the Louvre. When Lara asks for the same, Bouchard says he can't help but he proposes a deal. If you carry a bunch of Czech passports to the pawnbroker, Daniel Rennes, he will know you've come from Bouchard and will sell you the stuff you need.
After this conversation your notebook is updated and you have a wad of passports in your inventory. Pull the lever in the corner to open one of the cell doors outside. Exit the office and search the cells. The first one on the left has Desert Ranger ammo on the floor behind a coffin. The second cell has a Vector clip and a movable box. Move the box directly in front of the open door and use it to jump up and grab the ledge above (as shown in this screenshot). Pull up. Use the lever there to open the exit in Bouchard's office. Return to the office and exit up the stairs.
You emerge in St. Aicard's Church. If you haven't been here already, see the section about it in the Parisian Ghetto walkthrough.
NOTE: After you complete Bouchard's Hideout and return to St. Aicard's Church and the Parisian Ghetto areas, all of the items respawn so you can pick them up again. You won't need things like the diamond rings, since you can no longer pawn them, and you probably already have enough Euros, but the health and ammo will certainly be useful. These pickups include the items on the pillars in the church and all of the items in the Abandoned Metro Tunnels.
Leave the church through the front door, which is in the black-and-white tiled room just across from the door where you exited Bouchard's Hideout. Follow any of the streets or alleys leading downhill to the Cours la Seine. (If you like, take a detour down one of the manholes to pick up the duplicated items in the tunnels.) Then follow the Cours la Seine, past Janice, nearly to the end and you'll find Rennes' pawnshop on the right.
Cut scene: Lara encounters Eckhardt coming out of the shop, though she doesn't know him yet. She places the passports on the counter, yet somehow still manages to keep them after the cut scene finishes.
RENNES' PAWNSHOP: Go into the back room to find Daniel Rennes. A strange symbol is scrawled in blood on the floor near his body. Pick up Rennes' wallet and examine it (go to Inventory, then Items, select the wallet and use it) to see a scrap of paper with a code: 14529. Use this code to open the door with the keypad at the back of the room. Inside is load of stuff intended for Von Croy: a map of the archaeological dig, a map of the sewers around the Louvre, two guns—the DART SS and K2 IMPACTOR—and ammo for both, plus some explosives. The last pickup will trigger sensors that arm the bomb in the next room, so take care how you collect the items.
I recommend making the explosives the last pickup. Before you take them, position Lara above them facing the button on the wall and save your game. Then if you flub the timed run, you can reload and try again. Pick up the explosives and quickly sidestep to the right twice before the cut scene starts. This shows the detonation countdown starting. When the cut scene finishes, you'll already be in position to press the button, which will save a little time.
TIMED RUN: Press the button to open the door. Run out and swerve to the right toward the trapdoor. As soon as you see the hand icon, press Action to open the trapdoor. Then jump forward into the hole, rather than safety dropping, which wastes time. (Alternatively, press Forward + Roll at the edge of the opening to somersault into hallway below.) Take running jumps down the hall to cover more distance. Then jump into the hole at the end of the hall. Immediately run to the left along the pipe to escape the billowing flames. Or, to get away from the flames faster, jump forward and then start running. (When Lara drops into the pipe and you lose control of the camera, try not to think about what you're seeing and just press Forward and Left to start Lara running in the right direction.)
Cut scene: Kurtis enjoys a smoke as he watches Lara explode from the burning building.
Second Cut Scene: Eckhardt addresses the Cabal. He informs his fellow bad guys that they are now in possession of three of the Obscura paintings. According to Eckhardt, Von Croy located the fourth in Paris. Once they have it, they will gather in Prague, obtain the fifth painting and awaken the Sleeper...whatever that means. He then calls in a hulking man named Gunderson and tells him to mobilize his team to get the fourth painting.
†UPDATE HISTORY: 7/26/03 - Section on escaping Rennes' Pawnshop updated. Thanks to Catherine for the tip.
1/16/07 - Added missed pickups in crypt and courtyard, as well as additional screenshots. Made a few minor changes for clarity.
2/11/07 - Added roll technique for escaping the bomb in the pawnshop, thanks to Rayne.
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