The bitter wind penetrated through Jo's thick coat as she set off up Parliament Hill. She was evidently the only one mad enough to be out for a stroll in such weather, as she hadn't come across a single person for the last 20 minutes or so. Usually by now she would have passed quite a few people walking their dogs or taking a jog or out for a leisurely walk, but as she had already noticed, the place was desolate.
As she climbed further up the hill, Jo remembered how she used to come here frequently as a child to have picnics. She remembered the games she used to play with her friends, the warm summer evenings seeing how high they could get up the trees. It all seemed like a pleasant dream, now she resided to the park solely to unwind after a stressful week at work.
She carried on walking for about a hundred yards or so until she reached a bench, her bench. Jo called it 'her' bench as she had claimed it as her own due to the fact that her visits were so frequent and this particular one had the best view. It overlooked the whole London, which usually appeared strangely beautiful, but with the last drops of daylight long gone the city was illuminated by a vast array of lights making it particularly bewitching. She gazed down on it reflecting on the events that had occurred that day and soon got lost in her thoughts.
Suddenly a rustling came from the bushes behind Jo. Although it distracted her from her thoughts, she dismissed it immediately as a small creature such as a hedgehog or rabbit foraging for food. Before she could resume what she had been doing, the bushes rustled again and a cold arm slithered round her neck, the hand on the end of the arm clasping over my mouth tightly. From behind her a male voice with a northern accent growled "Scream and I plunge this knife into your neck." She tried to stay calm. Nothing would happen to her. The next thing Jo knew was that the arm that had gripped her neck had been removed and her hands were being bound to the bench. She knew she mustn't, but she couldn't help it, but fear started to sweep across her like a wave. She remembered that in her training for work they were taught to try and stay calm in all situations like this.
Her captor walked around the bench to face her. From what she could make out from the dim moonlight he was a dark haired man, clean-shaven with a pale complexion. He worn a dark jacket, with the sleeves rolled up, and dark jeans. The man pulled something out of his pocket; cupped her chin in his spare hand and shone a torch on her face examining it carefully. Eventually he lowered it, his mouth curling into a sly grin as he did so. Jo sat there and watched as he keyed in a number on his phone and started talking. "I've got the girl!" he announced triumphantly, "I'll bring here along right away!" As he started to untie her from the bench the words of her boss resounded in her head 'Don't worry about this one Jo, you'll be fine.' She was concentrating so hard she didn't realise two other men had appeared and her hands had been bound tightly behind her back. "Follow me." the first man instructed. Jo refused. The last thing she remembered was a numbing pain and then sudden darkness…