This is based off a tumblr prompt thing. A kidnapping/ransom AU. So yeah, this was the first thing that popped into my head. I hope you enjoy because I pretty much pulled this out of my ass. I haven't written anything in a while so I decided to try this out before writing my multi-chaptered ideas (kind of like a warm up).
"Goodnight!" His mother's cheery voice rang through the room, her smiling face peeking through the door. Len looked up from his book, obviously surprised to see her standing there. He pulled his ear buds out, glancing at the clock.
"You're turning in early? It's only ten. Is something going on tomorrow?"
"There's a town hall meeting tomorrow morning, and you know how your father is about 'being prepared and well rested.'" She sighed, tucking a stray blonde lock behind her ear. Len gave an understanding nod.
"Oh yeah! I completely forgot about it…I'm not quite ready to go to sleep yet, so I guess I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay! Sweet dreams!"
"You too."
She gingerly pulled the door back, and Len could hear her footsteps pattering down the wooden floor of the hallway, down the stairs, and into her room. The silence was deafening, the only noise was of the autumn wind howling outside his window. He stuck the ear buds back into his ear, filling the silence as he continued reading.
All seemed well on this Friday night, but Len wasn't aware of the danger lingering right outside his home.
Kaito dug in his duffel bag, counting off items.
"And I think…that's…everything."
He was ready.
He took out the bottle of chloroform and the rag, sticking both in his jacket pocket. He stepped out of the truck, and walked to the other side of the street. He checked his watch: it was almost eleven, right on schedule. He approached a large house; it was white in color, pillars holding up the porch roof, which prize-winning flowers in the yard. Up on the second floor was the only light in the entire house. He was awake, just like Kaito had predicted. A toothy grin etched its way on to his face, which had otherwise been a determined frown.
Kaito slipped into the first floor window (it was foolish of them to leave it unlocked), pushing the drapes out of his pathway, before finally planting his feet firmly on the carpeted ground of the living room. He had been in the house before, and he walked in with a sense of familiarity. He scoffed at the paintings on the walls; portraits of each member of the family, each one looking grim. He eyed the family photos on the mantle, and chuckled; every picture was of the three of them at some political thing, whether it was a speech or the opening of some building, never at some mundane location like a park. "Normal family man" my ass.
Kaito walked through the kitchen, making his way to the back door. He unlocked it, and pushed it open, a small breeze tickling his cheeks as the cool air passed through the home. Kaito walked through the living room again, rounding the corner to walk the flight of stairs. He tiptoed, as he knew the steps were creaky in their old age. His heart pumped with adrenaline and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He reached the top of the stairs, and slowly made his way down the hall, to the last door. Kaito pulled the chloroform and rag from his pocket, opening the bottle and dabbing a couple drops on the rag. He put the bottle back in his pocket, taking a deep breath before he pushed open the door.
Kaito could see Len. He was sitting in his office chair, back turned and face down, and from what Kaito could hear, blasting music from his headphones; life didn't get more convenient than this. Kaito slowly creeped up behind Len, careful not to trip on the various clothes and items littering the floor. As soon as Kaito made it directly behind Len, he hooked his arm around his neck, pulled him back, and forced the boy to stand up, abandoning the (now spinning) chair. Len was now sputtering and clawing at Kaito's arm, and Kaito brought the rag up to Len's mouth before Len could say anything. All he needed were six deep breaths to knock Len out, and within ten seconds he could feel the boy's body go limp.
Kaito slugged Len over his shoulder, clicking off the lights and shutting the door. He left the house, dumping Len on the back seat of the truck. He searched through his duffel bag to find two plastic zip ties and duct tape. He tied Len's hands behind his back, and tied his ankles together, and put a strip of the tape over his mouth, before climbing into the front seat and driving away.
Kaito grinned as he made his way down the street, and out of the neighborhood, then out of town onto the highway. He had done it.
He had successfully kidnapped the governor's son.
When Len woke up, he was on a couch. That was all he could make out. His vision was blurry, and he had a pounding headache. He groaned and tried to sit up, but realized he couldn't: His hands and feet were tied, and suddenly he remembered he wasn't at home.
Len tried to make sense of what had happened right before he had passed out.
Someone suddenly pulled him up by his neck, jamming their forearm into his neck, and making him cough. He was pulled just high enough that he couldn't plant his feet on the ground, and so they jerked wildly around. He tried prying off their arm, but they were obviously stronger than him. The stranger quickly slapped a rag over his mouth, and whatever cries he tried to make were muffled. The rag smelled sickeningly sweet, enough to make him nauseous, but instead he found it harder to stay awake. His resolve grew weaker, his yelling grew quieter, and he became too tired to move. He could feel himself being carried out of his room, before he passed out.
Had he been kidnapped? It seemed like the most likely possibility, but it didn't make sense. Why him? Len tried sitting up again and groaned in pain. There was tape on his mouth. As he gained his eyesight, he looked around. A low ceiling with dingy lighting towered over him, and he could make out more pieces of furniture across whatever room he was in. It looked like he was in an apartment. "They took me to their house?" Where exactly was he? How long had he been knocked out? Questions flooded his head, and he didn't know the answers. He couldn't exactly "call out" to his captor, so instead he yelled into the tape until he heard footsteps.
"Ah, so you've finally woken up?" Len could've guessed that his kidnapper was male, as he was fairly strong, but he expected him to sound…buffer. The stranger's voice sounded slick and light. Len looked up to see crisp blue eyes staring into his own. He widened his eyes as he tried to take in every detail: Dark blue eyes, pale skin, Short blue hair, a tiny mole of the side of his mouth.
"You look scared…Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you, at least, not too bad." The man laughed, and Len shivered. "I can explain." He said, seating himself on the loveseat adjacent to where Len lay. "You see, I kidnapped you for ransom, $50,000 exactly. You are the governor's son, aren't you? I'm sure he can come up with the money fairly quickly, that is, if he wants you alive."
But why? Why do you need that much money? Len wished he could respond, but the tape prevented him from asking his question. Instead, he made noise into the tape, signaling that he had something to say.
The man looked amused, "I'm assuming you have something to say. But ooh, sorry, no-can-do, it's too risky to take the tape off. You might make too much noise and attract attention, and we wouldn't want that, would we?"
"I promise, I won't yell for help!" Len didn't even believe he could understand him, but pleaded anyway.
"So, any questions?" He chuckled to himself, and the man got up, patting Len's head before he went to exit the room. Len began to grow frustrated; he wanted answers, and he wanted answers now. Len yelled into the tape again, even fidgeting as best he could without hurting himself.
"Hey! Get back here! We're not finished yet! I still don't know what the fuck is going on!"
Kaito rubbed his temples, What the hell does this kid want?
He walked over to the couch again, reaching over the top and grabbing Len by his hair. He pulled Len so he was eye level with him, pulling up a knife from the pocket of his dark green jacket, and holding it to the blonde's neck. The two were in a deadlock staring contest, neither seeming to back off.
"Listen, kid: I don't really think I'm in the best mood to put up with this shit, and since I'm not the one currently being held hostage, I make the decisions, so shut the hell up." This kid had a death wish, challenging me. He'd been awake for no longer than five minutes and he was already pissing him off. He threw Len back on the couch, hearing a small "umph!" as the boy fell down.
"If you don't cause any more trouble, I might let you eat soon." That's when Len realized he probably hadn't eaten in hours. Why did he have to mention food… Len wished he could hold his stomach, but the ties didn't allow him to move them. He would have to wait for answers, his first priority was food.