The Bird in a Cage

Summary: Howl, a wealthy CEO of a multi-billion dollar company, is threatened by anonymous letters. Bodyguards are all the rage and Howl hires only the best… ending up saddled with the infamous Mad Hatter. Sophie and Howl, AU.

A new story! Wow, and this one is NOT a one-shot! Is anyone else surprised? I am! It's an Alternate Universe, of course, but I'll stick to most of the details within the books and the movie. For the most part, I'll stay faithful to the characters, but there will be notable changes is Calcifer, Sophie and Michael given that they do not live in a magical sovereign kingdom.

I hope everyone enjoys the ride along with me! Also, I'd like to note that you should expect short chapters. I'll stay within the limits of under 3,000 words, though some will not even go over 500 at times. REMEMBER, this will be LONG.

Also, I'd like to note that the story is basically COMPLETE. All it needs it a few careful passes with the editing comb, and it's basically done. Since its set in March, I decided to publish it. I AM A GENIUS!

Prologue

Footsteps echoed fleetingly down the hall and Lizzy looked up from her monitor, pushing her fashionable spectacles higher up on her nose. She batted long lashes, but for naught. Blonde hair and colorful tailored suit trailing past as her boss rushed by in a flash of long limbs and ocean eyes. In a matter of seconds, even his footsteps were gone, leaving faint echoes of a 100-meter-dash tattoo. In the office across the hall, same distance from the elevator, dark eyes came up at the sound of running.

"Brace yourself," the man at the desk warned in a voice that drawled and not a moment too soon. The door thundered open with a bang and a swirl of musky cologne, the flutter of sleeves pattering along the resulting slam when the tall bodyguard caught the door with a single hand.

Annoyed black eyes landed on his dramatic partner, a disgusted curl of lips heralding a thorough scolding. The COE rushed in like a damsel in distress, tears trailing down his expressive face.

"Calcifer! Oh, Calcifer!" The Vice-CEO looked on, unmoved, for he was used to Howl's unchanging tendency to blow everything totally out of proportion. His bodyguard closed the door to give a semblance of privacy and Calcifer sent him a grateful look. "Calcifer, it's horrible!"

Knowing Howl since boyhood did not make dealing with his theatrics any easier, but it certainly served to make him rather predictable. Calcifer merely raised a scarlet eyebrow, aware the faux blonde would get to the point soon enough. A few seconds of false starts and babbling went by as Howl floundered for words, but he finally managed enough coherence to make himself understood between soulful pants.

"This," said he amid sobs, raising an envelope to his best friend. "On my desk, since I arrived…" Patiently, Calcifer allowed him to fumble before the blonde man's usual eloquence failed him completely. Miserable, he simply offered the red haired male the missive, ducking his head and sniffling piteously.

Michael, previously ignored after shutting the door, stepped forward to take the envelope with a gloved hand. Ever the professional, he studied it closely and opened it carefully. Calcifer watched with keen interest and his eyes narrowed shrewdly when Michael flinched away from what he found inside.

"Show me," he ordered imperiously and Michael outstretched his hand his way. Calcifer withdrew a box of latex gloves from his top right drawer and slipped on two before handling the plain white enveloped and examining the Polaroid inside, gently extracting it to get a better look. He snorted openly at what he saw, eyes flashing dangerously. "If this is a joke, it's very poorly done."

Howl's chin came up then, and despite the tears, Calcifer could see the warring halves of anger and fear in his face. "It's hardly a jest, Calcifer."

A dry look was sent Howl's way, but the red-head refrained from commenting anything sardonic when his friend had every right to be snippy and melodramatic. As rare as this was, it worried Calcifer deeply that someone would send a threat this serious. Howl, as a wealthy leader of a company that dared to invent many a wonderful and innovative machines (among other things), was threatened on a regular basis. More so when the damnable man was an active and flighty philanthropist of the worst kind. Angry husbands and ex-lovers were a common sight haunting the main building or calling in hopes of venting their grievances to anyone willing to listen. Letters came in droves in the bottommost levels, but they were always handed directly to the police and carefully filed and reported to avoid tiresome lawsuits and expenses. It troubled the Vice-CEO that this threat had not gone through the channels at all, but had been dropped directly on Howl's desk.

Sharing a glance with his body guard, Michael came forward and took the Polaroid away, tucking it back into the envelope. "I'll make some inquiries and ask for security footage of the office, corridor and elevators for the last forty-eight hours," he said, fiddling thoughtfully with the missive, nodding primly to his boss and heading for the door. Already, he was pulling out his phone, ready to dial the department downstairs to ready the tapes for him.

Calcifer stopped him short, calling him back to the desk. "Before that," once he gestured toward the chair, Michael sat down in a way that reminded Howl this man was a professional fighter. "We'll also have to contact the police. Use our labs first, of course, and compile a file for them, but we must let them know at once. As for security footage, go further back, for comparison's sake on anomalies. Three weeks, if you please, so we may make note of all routine movements. Bring back your notes, so we may compare between our appointments and make sound judgments on who was not meant to be here and when."

Howl sat looking immersed in his thoughts. He'd always left the administrative smarts to his more logical counterpart, believing the area tedious and a total bore. He specialized in creating, engineering and moving to new heights. He could usually be found in his office only in the evening, drawing away new and radical inventions to mass produce. The sunlit time of day he spent gliding between labs, construction sites and side-by-side with his workers, elbow deep in grease and/or some other gunk Calcifer would wrinkle his nose at. Howl had always been extremely self-aware and vain, but once his head started spinning and whirring, the man tended to forget himself and whatever unfortunate set of elegant designer clothes he happened to be wearing. (After many ruined, expensive silk chemise, suits and pants, Calcifer had a uniform made for the working section of Pendragon and Co. to avoid further infractions against beautiful clothes made just for Howl.)

Turning to face the rather young bodyguard in his chair, Howl hummed. Cocking his head just-so to the side and lowering it a bit, eyeing the other man through black lashes, Howl paused contemplatively. Michael opened his mouth to speak but Howl shushed him by merely raising a slim, artful hand. Piercing blue eyes with a hint of devilish green swirled and froze him in place, reminding Michael that this man was currently one of the most powerful men on Earth.

"As a professional bodyguard, what course of action would you suggest I take in regards to my safety?" Howl questioned, his entire body frighteningly still. Had Michael not witnessed the man's earlier fit, the younger male would have felt the oppression of Howl's gaze to be entirely suffocating. As it was, the brunette found it incredibly hard to breathe as his entire body reacted to the feeling of being hunted by a large, ominous predator.

"Prevention is key when it comes to serious threats like this one," young Michael enunciated with care. "More than just an investigation, you need protection. Not the undercover kind, not when it comes to something of this magnitude, but someone with a fearsome reputation and power to move in the darkest places."

Seeming to come to a decision, Michael nodded to himself and glanced between his boss and Howl, trying to stress the importance of his words as he spoke slowly.

"You need the Mad Hatter."

To be Continued…

Is anyone else as excited as I am? Probably not, only in my mind would a butt-kicking Sophie exist, but I think she was plenty badass in the books and the movie. Basically, it's almost the same story-line. A threat to Howl, Sophie barging into his life and turning it upside down, and querulous struggle between two very powerful figures…

Probably, I don't know. Let us see, shall we?

Michael is referred to as Michael instead of Markl because I want to mark the difference between the boy in the movie and the young man in the book. Unlike in my previous One-Shot, I'm going to glean most of the references from the books. Some facts shall stay within the bounds of the film, but for the most part, it'll be the book. The difference in how I call Michael is among the most noticeable changes. If you pay close attention, you may catch even more!

Words: 1,220

Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Critiques are welcome, flames will be fed to Calcifer and praise will make my head large enough to have its own moons.