Anna gasped as the bag was lifted off her head. She was firmly tied to a chair and no amount of wriggling had loosened the metal chains. In fact, the more she moved, the more the metal cut into her wrists and torsos, inflicting sharp, stinging pain on her.
"Why hello Anna," came a gruff voice from in front of her. Anna looked up and saw the two men watching her intently. The taller of the two men was powerfully built with blonde hair styled in an austere crew cut. The shorter of the two was slender and had kind blue eyes, which was rather disconcerting for a killer. Both men were handsome in different ways. The taller of the two resembled a Nordic god while the other was more like Prince Charming from Cinderella.
"What do you want,' she quavered, begging for any deity who might be listening to save her. The more realistic side of her dismissed this as a possibility, citing that God rarely helped those in need.
Thor began to speak but he was interrupted as the door of the basement swung open and in strolled a man who sent shivers down my spine.
"Hello sweetheart," he sing-songed as he squatted down in front of me. "Your stupid father traded you for my help. Such a foolish man indeed as no amount of advice is going to help him decimate his business rivals. In fact it's quite like Rumpelsiltskin. " he finished with a malicious smirk.
Anna considered sobbing and begging for her freedom but a calm, rational part of her refuted this possibility as unlikely to work and could potentially irritate her captor. She inwardly cursed her father for his foolhardiness, only a man as dim-witted as he was would agree to sacrifice his first-born child for the sake of business. With a great deal of intrigue she studied the new-arrival in front of her the man they called 'Moriarty'.
He was medium height for a man, no more then 5'8 or 5'9. He was good-looking in an elfin sort of way with his pale skin, dark hair and luminous Bambi eyes. The most interesting thing about his appearance was his finely tailored navy-blue suit that emphasized his slim build perfectly. Even though he was holding her captive Anna could appreciate a man wearing a suit.
"What do you want to do with me?" she asked "I don't want to be a killer, I won't do it!"
Moriarty chuckled. "No I have a much more interesting job for you. Follow me."
The two other men unchained her and half-pulled, half-carried her as they followed Moriarty. Anna let her eyes adjust to the light after the gloominess of the basement, and reveled in the opulence and luxury of the mansion. Red carpets lined the corridors and expensive painting cloistered for attention as they hung on the gleaming marble walls.
Moriarty grasped the handle of a wood paneled door and flung it open to reveal a feminine sitting room. The walls were painted china blue with matching velvet curtains. Persian carpets covered the floor and a massive bookcase was spread across one of the walls. On one of the cream sofas sat a petite Japanese woman. As soon as Anna lay eyes on her she gasped because she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.
Moriarty grinned and proudly announced with a flourish "Anna Cherzig, meet my wife Princess Akado of Japan." I curtsied as the woman gave a regal nod of her head.