Hey, i promised you another part of chapter one, enjoy!
It had grown dark and no-one but a flock of nosey sparrows noticed or heard the body of James Teal slump to the floor and get dragged into an alleyway. James awoke, instinctively defending himself. His shoulders sagged slightly when he saw a young girl’s inquisitive face, pressed closely to his. Of course these feelings changed when a man, probably her father stepped out from behind a crate. The man’s muscles rippled below his shirt, and when he flexed an ominous vein bulged in his neck. They were wearing short-cutoff pants, their shirt cuffs turned up and their boots supported by an inch of leather.
She cocked her head to one side, like an interested puppy. For a long while James sat on the cold, hard ground while she perched over him, her hands locked behind her back. Always the man hovered slightly behind, never a word passing between them. After a while the stiffness started up. And for the first time James realized he was indeed tied, a short loop of rope cutting off his circulation to both his arms and legs.
With James’s body returning to normal so did his mind; his first though was that he was about to be mugged or attacked but by the look of the girls posture James doubted that very much.
James fumbled and attempted to rock back onto his hands, succeeding, He scooped up a clump of dirt, and closing his fingers around it he squeezed his hand. Finally the young girl moved, snapping he fingers as she stepped back. The older man stepped forwards and leaned in towards James, towering over him. He cut James’s bonds, gripped his right hand in a vice like hold and snapped a small collar just above James wrist.
When the man spoke his voice was cracked and hoarse, “Now this band….” He began, but before he could continue he was interrupted. The young girl raised a finger to her lips and pointed to a corner, the man skulked away.
James was amazed at the level of control this young girl had over a man nearly twice her superior. He was even more amazed at her voice, when she spoke, part of him was compelled to listen and obey nearly everything she was saying.
“James teal…” the young girl said his name with such passion and vibrancy.
“Yes?” he responded earnestly, hearkening to her voice.
“Good, good,” she whispered, “James raise your right hand to your face and brush the hair from your eyes…”
James found himself obeying her word for word, and even questioning his sanity for even thinking she could be a threat.
“Who, who are you?” he managed to say, “Where am I?” James said this more to himself than her but the effects of his words were explosive.
“That is none of your business!” And in that second her façade slipped and suddenly she didn’t seem so persuasive. She must have noted it too; she stepped back and sat on a box behind her staring deeply into James eyes.
“You work at the precinct don’t you?”She said, a bit harshly
“If I did, and I’m not saying I do, do you think I would actually answer the questions of someone who has tied me up and tossed me in an alley? Jeez!” James felt his old resolve and fire flooding his veins; it felt good to be in charge once again.
She scowled darkly, “I don’t think you’re in any position to say whether or not you will answer my questions. That bracelet on your hand will literally take it off in a few minutes; it will contract slowly, oh so agonizingly slowly. Until all the remains of your hand, remains on the floor.”
James looked at his hand and could already see red marks from where the metal was biting into his skin, making it raw and chaffed. But he knew enough about hostage taking to know that you never let the threats get to you, if you did you were consumed and you would never be the same person again. “So that’s why I have two hands love.” James felt thrilled by his response.
She leant forward, resting her hand on her chin. She smirked slightly, “You know, I actually knew you would say that so I took the liberty of strapping one to your daughters neck, you know for collateral.”
He swallowed back the venom in his throat, he must remain civilized, he must not fall for the bait. “Collateral would suggest a trade of sorts, what is your proposal? Is it money?
She rolled her eyes, “please you insult me, money may be a perk but it’s not my long term goal, no.”
“What I want is for you to now think back to your patrol and tell me the easiest way to get in and out of the castle.” The words rolled off her tongue.
James was stunned, what had he got himself into? “Even if I knew, what makes you think I would tell you? What stops you from leaving me here to lose my hand and a daughter tonight? I doubt it would be a conscience.”
She responded almost immediately, “The very fact that I have the key to both bracers should be enough… but then again I doubt it is,” she reached into her coat and pulled out two small keys. She held them aloof in her clenched fist. “Well I don’t know maybe we should leave him.” Both the young girl and the man began to walk away. James rose, as he sprung up, he tossed the clump of mud into the man’s face. Ignoring the coils of hate, James wrapped his arm around the young girls throat and pressed the back of her neck with his free hand, Turning to the old man he shouted “Come any closer and she dies, I swear it now look. I have no idea how to get into the palace and I don’t care what rebel groups you belong to you do not assault a copper got it?” He pressed down a little harder, hating the feeling of her empty retches.
The man looked stunned for a bit, not knowing what to do. James took that as a sign and continued on. “Good night, love” He whispered into the young girl’s air, blowing slightly on her air lobe. Her eyebrows arched, her eyelids flickered rapidly. James knew that if he kept this up she would indeed die, even though part of him loathed her for threatening his daughter he still couldn’t bring himself to kill her.
Thinking fast he let her go, as she gasped for air he kneed her in the back of the leg, grabbing the keys from her hand he snapped off the bracer. She fell flat on her face and didn’t stir again. The man’s eyes were red and he was screaming and clawing at his face. James turned and ran, he ran until he cleared the alley. He ran until he cleared the street. He ran up the stairs, kissed his wife and ran to his bedroom. He fell asleep still running, in and out of his dreams.
He snapped awake realizing he hadn’t checked on his daughter, rolling over; still more asleep than awake he turned to his wife.
“Where, where’s Cindy?” he managed, “I didn’t get a chance to tell her goodnight.”
His wife yawned sleepily, pretending to ignore him so that he would fall back to sleep. He repeated what he had said, his voice rising slightly. “She wanted to stay at your sister’s house tonight, with Benjamin and Sarah… now relax and go to sleep.”
This settled his conscience for a little while, if she was indeed at his sisters, James would have been notified if anything was wrong, maybe the girl was bluffing. Wrapping his arm around his wife he fell asleep, a little while later his wife awoke retracted his arm and pushed him away.
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