A/N: Hi everyone. A new year and a new story to go with it. I own none
of the angels, Charlie, Bosley, or the Thin Man aka Anthony. Please read
and review. That will determine if I write more or not. Thanks!
*-*-*-*-*
The perpetrator was on the ground his hands on his head just as Natalie had commanded. "Are you okay, Dylan?" she asked her friend who was gently rubbing the purple bruises the man's thumbs left on her throat. She nodded in affirmative to the question. He turned his head and looked up at Dylan and gave her a knowing smile. He had seen her dreams as he stared into her eyes hypnotizing her. "Face the pavement," commanded Alex. When he didn't respond quick enough to her command she placed her foot on the back of his head and nudge it towards the ground.
"Police brutality," he cried.
"Prove it." said Dylan. "Plus we aren't police."
The moments before Natalie and Alex arrived on the scene would be burnt into her minds eye forever. They had all dressed as decoys in hopes of luring the killer, a wannabe Jack the Ripper out into the open and Dylan was the one who succeeded. She wasn't sure how he got the jump on her. She stood on the bridge near the Victoria Tower Gardens watching the water of the Thames flow silver and silent in the winter grayness of dusk. For once her mind hadn't been on the rooftop of the theater but on the case as it should have been. After seeing the limp, lifeless bodies of his previous victims she was determined that no other woman would end up like they did.
She felt the breeze blow past her whipping her fiery hair around her face. At first she thought that the wind had caught her scarf as well but when she put her hands up to pull it away from her throat she felt the hands, thick and strong close around her neck. She broke free from his hold just as they had practiced thousands of times in the office gym and attacked him back but he was an excellent fighter. She managed to call for Natalie before she heard the molar mike give out in a sizzle of static.
Crouched on the ground he swung his leg out hitting the backs of her knees and causing her to fall. He was on her like a tiger pinning her to the ground. At six foot six and over two hundred pounds he was much bigger than she was. She shoved and struggled to sit up but when she tried he slammed her down on the ground causing her to hit her head. It was then that she decided to be passive and hope that he relaxed enough that she could catch him off guard. He looked intently into her eyes. There had been something about his eyes that she couldn't look away from. He had caused her to forget for a moment what she was fighting for. "Its good isn't it?" he asked her his voice pleasant and lilting. She nodded meekly as she watched the scene in his black dilated pupils unfold before her. "Your unfulfilled fantasies. Your hopes. Your desires. What do you see Dylan?"
She wanted to ask him how he knew her name but she couldn't. His hands were pressing so intently on her windpipe but she couldn't struggle, she could only watch what was in his eyes. It was her dream. The same dream she had almost every night for the past year and a half. She stood on the rooftop with Seamus holding her over the ledge, choking her the way the man sitting on her, pinning her to the icy pavement was now doing. She watched as the Thin Man pulled her away from the edge his eyes blazing with adrenalized anger then an expression that softened as he pulled her to him and kissed her. The man was amazed. He knew he had picked the right one of the three. He knew that the redhead would be the one to fill him up. The others didn't have the same spark that he had seen in her and now this. He wondered who the man was as he watched the same scene being played out in Dylan's own slowly dying eyes. He released the pressure, not yet; it was too soon for her light to go out plus this was just too good .The other had all had bland hopes and dreams, a new car, a house in the suburbs, a nice husband, two point three kids and a dog. Not this one she wanted.no name only "Creepy Thin Man" was coming to him. There had to be a name, she was just blocking it but she couldn't block him for long.
Dylan gasped as he released a bit of the pressure on her throat as air she didn't even realize she was lacking rushed in to her lungs filling the alveoli and the simultaneous vision of Seamus running the silent assassin through with his own sword. The man gasped as well, it was incredible what the young women felt for this man. The intensity of this one kill would be enough to keep him satisfied for months if not another year. It would give him enough time to cover his tracks and move on to another area. He was half tempted to take her some place and do this over and over too bad he knew that the hopes and fantasies only worked one time once they were released. He watched as the man fell over the rooftop plummeting ten stories below. Then it hit him, she didn't want to believe he was dead, she lived with the hope that his man, a killer like he was, was alive. He was learning everything about this woman and her friends. He could knew that Alex, the dark haired one had a boyfriend named Jason, that the blonde, Natalie had a dog named Spike, and he knew that none of Dylan's friends knew that she wore the dead assassins medallion. She was afraid of what they would say if they knew.
Slowly Dylan's eyes closed. "No," he whispered. "It was too good it couldn't be over so quickly. Carefully he released her thin neck from his hands and went to carry her to the water. "No Creepy Thin Man this time, Dylan." He said as he held her in his arms and carried her to the concrete railing of Lambeth Bridge. Before he could throw her in she opened her eyes and using the rail as a brace pushed backwards with all her might. They fell together on the blacktop in a heap. She coughed trying to catch her breath.
"Dylan?! Dylan!?" She could hear her friends rounding the corner calling her name. The man struggled to get up but she jumped on his back and he stumbled trying to extricate himself from her grip and away from the other two angels. Flipping Dylan off his back he turned to run only to be faced by Alex and Natalie. He looked over his shoulder at the redhead struggling to pick herself up off the ground.
"On the ground," said Natalie calmly. Slowly the man lowered himself to his hands and knees. "Put your hands on your head and lay on your stomach.
Without emotion he looked at the slender blonde and wondered what her hopes and fears were. "The ground is cold."
"So. Get down. Alex," she started.
"Already called the police. Inspector Morrison and Bosley are on their way," replied the dark haired angel out of breath.
He looked up at Dylan, "He's alive." His smile caused her to turn away from him. She wasn't sure how but he knew what was in her soul and it frightened her yet she couldn't help but wonder if the man was right, if Anthony really was alive. "No," she told herself, "you saw him die. He fell with his sword through his chest and Seamus followed by the letter landed on him. He couldn't have survived."
"Dylan?" Alex's voice startled her causing her to jump. "He's cuffed are you okay?" It was the second time she had been asked that within the last five minutes and she was sure it wouldn't be the last.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My throat's a little sore."
"Let me take a look." Carefully Alex helped her remove the scarf. By the look in the Asian angel's eyes Dylan could see that it had to be bad.
"So?"
"It's not pretty," was all she said before Bosley and the inspector arrived on the scene. She and Natalie went over to join them leaving her alone with the man who attacked her.
"You want to know don't you? You are curious?" he asked turning his head and straining his neck to see her. "I know you think about his kiss, wonder about his hands on you at night, what would have been." It was all she could do not to cover her ears; not wanting to hear it but never the less she did.
He could feel everything she was feeling, her confusion, hatred of her self- betrayal, her desire to know if he was alive. Never before had he been so linked to his victim it was a new experience for him.
Finally her curiosity took over. "Where is he?" He had to tell her. Despite the dreams she had stopped thinking about him constantly and the ache in her heart had faded within the past six months to an occasional twinge. The man smiled at her, a knowing smile and nodded towards the Inspector and two lesser officers who had accompanied him.
"Miss Sanders, do you need to go to the hospital?" the inspector inquired looking at the bruises on her neck.
Shaking her head she replied, "No, thanks. I'll be fine."
"Did he say anything? Confess? It looked as though he was speaking to you." He pulled his coat tighter around himself to block the wind blowing in from the river. Dylan just shook her head. "Well if nothing else we have the attack on you and I'm sure he left enough DNA evidence behind on the others to put him away for ages." Signaling to the two officers they helped the big man get to his knees and to the patrol car that they had parked on one of the garden's service paths.
*-*-*-*-*
They were worried about Dylan. She didn't speak in the cab from the Chelsea Embankment to the hotel, just stared out the window at the passing scenery. Natalie and Bosley must have asked her a dozen times if she was okay and every time she nodded silently without turning from the window.
"I know lets get some dinner," said Natalie trying to bring some life to the vehicle they were in. "Sir?" she tapped the driver on the shoulder.
"Aye, Miss?" he said in his east London accent.
"What is a good place for dinner?"
"The missus and me like an Indian place in Bloomsbury. What is the name?" he drummed his finger tips on the steering wheel as he tried to think of it.
"Indian?" asked Natlaie turning to her friends. Alex readily agreed as did Bosley, his stomach growling in anticipation. "Dylan?"
"Whatever you want," she mumbled softly. Her lack of enthusiasm worried them. It wasn't like Dylan to be so upset or withdrawn after a case. They exchanged looks amongst themselves and it was agreed that something wasn't quite right with their friend.
"Indian will be fine," Natalie told the drive.
"Figured it would be, Miss. We're on the way now."
When the cab pulled in front of the small but cozy restaurant the all got out except for Dylan she stayed within looking out the window, her steady breathing causing small blossoms of condensation to form on the glass. "Are you coming?" asked Alex leaning back in the car.
Dylan jumped and shook her head. "No, I think I am going to go back to the hotel. I'm sort of tired its been a long day."
"Why don't I come with you?" asked Alex about to get back into the cab.
"No, no go have dinner and bring me back some tandoori chicken and papadams." It was difficult but she smiled a large smile hoping that it would convince them that she was okay.
"Are you sure?" asked Natalie poking her head in.
Dylan rolled her eyes she loved the three of them but she could take care of herself. "Yeah Im sure mom," she said hoping that the playful tone she intended came through. Before heading into the restaurant they told her good night and they wouldn't be out too long. Smiling she kissed their cheeks and closed the cab door.
"So, Miss, what hotel can I take you to?"
"Actually I forgot something at the police station earlier can you take me to the one on Charing Cross?"
"Will do m'dear." He said and turned around to head towards the station. In the back seat Dylan leaned back and started formulating a plan in her mind. She had to know more about the man who attacked her and what he knew about the Thin Man.
*-*-*-*-*
The perpetrator was on the ground his hands on his head just as Natalie had commanded. "Are you okay, Dylan?" she asked her friend who was gently rubbing the purple bruises the man's thumbs left on her throat. She nodded in affirmative to the question. He turned his head and looked up at Dylan and gave her a knowing smile. He had seen her dreams as he stared into her eyes hypnotizing her. "Face the pavement," commanded Alex. When he didn't respond quick enough to her command she placed her foot on the back of his head and nudge it towards the ground.
"Police brutality," he cried.
"Prove it." said Dylan. "Plus we aren't police."
The moments before Natalie and Alex arrived on the scene would be burnt into her minds eye forever. They had all dressed as decoys in hopes of luring the killer, a wannabe Jack the Ripper out into the open and Dylan was the one who succeeded. She wasn't sure how he got the jump on her. She stood on the bridge near the Victoria Tower Gardens watching the water of the Thames flow silver and silent in the winter grayness of dusk. For once her mind hadn't been on the rooftop of the theater but on the case as it should have been. After seeing the limp, lifeless bodies of his previous victims she was determined that no other woman would end up like they did.
She felt the breeze blow past her whipping her fiery hair around her face. At first she thought that the wind had caught her scarf as well but when she put her hands up to pull it away from her throat she felt the hands, thick and strong close around her neck. She broke free from his hold just as they had practiced thousands of times in the office gym and attacked him back but he was an excellent fighter. She managed to call for Natalie before she heard the molar mike give out in a sizzle of static.
Crouched on the ground he swung his leg out hitting the backs of her knees and causing her to fall. He was on her like a tiger pinning her to the ground. At six foot six and over two hundred pounds he was much bigger than she was. She shoved and struggled to sit up but when she tried he slammed her down on the ground causing her to hit her head. It was then that she decided to be passive and hope that he relaxed enough that she could catch him off guard. He looked intently into her eyes. There had been something about his eyes that she couldn't look away from. He had caused her to forget for a moment what she was fighting for. "Its good isn't it?" he asked her his voice pleasant and lilting. She nodded meekly as she watched the scene in his black dilated pupils unfold before her. "Your unfulfilled fantasies. Your hopes. Your desires. What do you see Dylan?"
She wanted to ask him how he knew her name but she couldn't. His hands were pressing so intently on her windpipe but she couldn't struggle, she could only watch what was in his eyes. It was her dream. The same dream she had almost every night for the past year and a half. She stood on the rooftop with Seamus holding her over the ledge, choking her the way the man sitting on her, pinning her to the icy pavement was now doing. She watched as the Thin Man pulled her away from the edge his eyes blazing with adrenalized anger then an expression that softened as he pulled her to him and kissed her. The man was amazed. He knew he had picked the right one of the three. He knew that the redhead would be the one to fill him up. The others didn't have the same spark that he had seen in her and now this. He wondered who the man was as he watched the same scene being played out in Dylan's own slowly dying eyes. He released the pressure, not yet; it was too soon for her light to go out plus this was just too good .The other had all had bland hopes and dreams, a new car, a house in the suburbs, a nice husband, two point three kids and a dog. Not this one she wanted.no name only "Creepy Thin Man" was coming to him. There had to be a name, she was just blocking it but she couldn't block him for long.
Dylan gasped as he released a bit of the pressure on her throat as air she didn't even realize she was lacking rushed in to her lungs filling the alveoli and the simultaneous vision of Seamus running the silent assassin through with his own sword. The man gasped as well, it was incredible what the young women felt for this man. The intensity of this one kill would be enough to keep him satisfied for months if not another year. It would give him enough time to cover his tracks and move on to another area. He was half tempted to take her some place and do this over and over too bad he knew that the hopes and fantasies only worked one time once they were released. He watched as the man fell over the rooftop plummeting ten stories below. Then it hit him, she didn't want to believe he was dead, she lived with the hope that his man, a killer like he was, was alive. He was learning everything about this woman and her friends. He could knew that Alex, the dark haired one had a boyfriend named Jason, that the blonde, Natalie had a dog named Spike, and he knew that none of Dylan's friends knew that she wore the dead assassins medallion. She was afraid of what they would say if they knew.
Slowly Dylan's eyes closed. "No," he whispered. "It was too good it couldn't be over so quickly. Carefully he released her thin neck from his hands and went to carry her to the water. "No Creepy Thin Man this time, Dylan." He said as he held her in his arms and carried her to the concrete railing of Lambeth Bridge. Before he could throw her in she opened her eyes and using the rail as a brace pushed backwards with all her might. They fell together on the blacktop in a heap. She coughed trying to catch her breath.
"Dylan?! Dylan!?" She could hear her friends rounding the corner calling her name. The man struggled to get up but she jumped on his back and he stumbled trying to extricate himself from her grip and away from the other two angels. Flipping Dylan off his back he turned to run only to be faced by Alex and Natalie. He looked over his shoulder at the redhead struggling to pick herself up off the ground.
"On the ground," said Natalie calmly. Slowly the man lowered himself to his hands and knees. "Put your hands on your head and lay on your stomach.
Without emotion he looked at the slender blonde and wondered what her hopes and fears were. "The ground is cold."
"So. Get down. Alex," she started.
"Already called the police. Inspector Morrison and Bosley are on their way," replied the dark haired angel out of breath.
He looked up at Dylan, "He's alive." His smile caused her to turn away from him. She wasn't sure how but he knew what was in her soul and it frightened her yet she couldn't help but wonder if the man was right, if Anthony really was alive. "No," she told herself, "you saw him die. He fell with his sword through his chest and Seamus followed by the letter landed on him. He couldn't have survived."
"Dylan?" Alex's voice startled her causing her to jump. "He's cuffed are you okay?" It was the second time she had been asked that within the last five minutes and she was sure it wouldn't be the last.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My throat's a little sore."
"Let me take a look." Carefully Alex helped her remove the scarf. By the look in the Asian angel's eyes Dylan could see that it had to be bad.
"So?"
"It's not pretty," was all she said before Bosley and the inspector arrived on the scene. She and Natalie went over to join them leaving her alone with the man who attacked her.
"You want to know don't you? You are curious?" he asked turning his head and straining his neck to see her. "I know you think about his kiss, wonder about his hands on you at night, what would have been." It was all she could do not to cover her ears; not wanting to hear it but never the less she did.
He could feel everything she was feeling, her confusion, hatred of her self- betrayal, her desire to know if he was alive. Never before had he been so linked to his victim it was a new experience for him.
Finally her curiosity took over. "Where is he?" He had to tell her. Despite the dreams she had stopped thinking about him constantly and the ache in her heart had faded within the past six months to an occasional twinge. The man smiled at her, a knowing smile and nodded towards the Inspector and two lesser officers who had accompanied him.
"Miss Sanders, do you need to go to the hospital?" the inspector inquired looking at the bruises on her neck.
Shaking her head she replied, "No, thanks. I'll be fine."
"Did he say anything? Confess? It looked as though he was speaking to you." He pulled his coat tighter around himself to block the wind blowing in from the river. Dylan just shook her head. "Well if nothing else we have the attack on you and I'm sure he left enough DNA evidence behind on the others to put him away for ages." Signaling to the two officers they helped the big man get to his knees and to the patrol car that they had parked on one of the garden's service paths.
*-*-*-*-*
They were worried about Dylan. She didn't speak in the cab from the Chelsea Embankment to the hotel, just stared out the window at the passing scenery. Natalie and Bosley must have asked her a dozen times if she was okay and every time she nodded silently without turning from the window.
"I know lets get some dinner," said Natalie trying to bring some life to the vehicle they were in. "Sir?" she tapped the driver on the shoulder.
"Aye, Miss?" he said in his east London accent.
"What is a good place for dinner?"
"The missus and me like an Indian place in Bloomsbury. What is the name?" he drummed his finger tips on the steering wheel as he tried to think of it.
"Indian?" asked Natlaie turning to her friends. Alex readily agreed as did Bosley, his stomach growling in anticipation. "Dylan?"
"Whatever you want," she mumbled softly. Her lack of enthusiasm worried them. It wasn't like Dylan to be so upset or withdrawn after a case. They exchanged looks amongst themselves and it was agreed that something wasn't quite right with their friend.
"Indian will be fine," Natalie told the drive.
"Figured it would be, Miss. We're on the way now."
When the cab pulled in front of the small but cozy restaurant the all got out except for Dylan she stayed within looking out the window, her steady breathing causing small blossoms of condensation to form on the glass. "Are you coming?" asked Alex leaning back in the car.
Dylan jumped and shook her head. "No, I think I am going to go back to the hotel. I'm sort of tired its been a long day."
"Why don't I come with you?" asked Alex about to get back into the cab.
"No, no go have dinner and bring me back some tandoori chicken and papadams." It was difficult but she smiled a large smile hoping that it would convince them that she was okay.
"Are you sure?" asked Natalie poking her head in.
Dylan rolled her eyes she loved the three of them but she could take care of herself. "Yeah Im sure mom," she said hoping that the playful tone she intended came through. Before heading into the restaurant they told her good night and they wouldn't be out too long. Smiling she kissed their cheeks and closed the cab door.
"So, Miss, what hotel can I take you to?"
"Actually I forgot something at the police station earlier can you take me to the one on Charing Cross?"
"Will do m'dear." He said and turned around to head towards the station. In the back seat Dylan leaned back and started formulating a plan in her mind. She had to know more about the man who attacked her and what he knew about the Thin Man.