Wendy leaned on the bar at the Evergreen Bistro, examining every facet of the presentation before they opened for business for the evening. It was immaculate, she had to admit. Her staff was well trained and knew exactly how she wanted things done. She nodded to the maître and she unlocked the door, swinging it open to the cooling night air. Then it was just a matter of waiting and serving, the hardest part of the night was over, for her anyway.
The woman from the armour competition sashayed in. She smiled at Wendy, "Do you mind if we have a chat?" She asked, surprisingly polite.
Wendy studied her; "Sure," she led the woman out the back, into one of the small private dining rooms. "What can I do for you?" She turned to face the other woman. The bat connected with the side of her cheek, sending her spinning out, her head hitting the edge of the table as she collapsed. Her vision blurred and she lost consciousness.
Van sat on Wendy's front veranda, waiting for her to get home. It had been three days since the competition, and he had finally put him money in the bank earlier that day. Wendy had been too uncomfortable having large sums of money in her house, especially since everyone knew Van was staying with her, and that he had won the armour competition. He had to admit that she might have a point. He really didn't want to bring any trouble down on her.
A figure raced towards Wendy's veranda. It was a slim girl in a black dress. "Van?" She asked desperately.
"What is it?"
"Wendy's gone." Van straightened suddenly, leaning threateningly towards the small woman. "We'd just opened for the evening and this woman came in-"
"What did she look like?" Van's voice was sharp.
The girl flinched, "She was tall, in a really little dress, and she had blue hair. I didn't really get a look at her, I was busy." She swallowed, "Anyway, she wanted to speak to Wendy and they went out the back. When we went in to make sure everything was alright, they were gone, and there was blood on one of the tables."
Van froze. It was the woman from the armour tournament. What had her name been? He frowned. He'd have to find her. The armour circuit was probably the best place to start. "You go back to work," he told the girl, "I'll handle this." The girl nodded and fled back in the direction of Evergreen.
Wendy woke slowly, everything was stiff. She lifted her head and looked around, struggling to remember what happened. She wasn't at home.
"Oh," a voice, saccharine enough to rot Wendy's teeth, spoke, "You're awake, how nice."
They were in what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. There was nothing but a table and a chair, and the spike in the ground that Wendy was currently chained to.
"Valerie." Wendy spat, livid. "What exactly do you want?"
"You mean it isn't obvious?" She tittered, "Van destroyed my armour, now he owes me a new one. And I want his."
Wendy laughed, she couldn't help herself. "And you think that taking me is going to somehow make Van give you Dann?" Her voice was incredulous. Valerie paused, staring down at Wendy. She leaned forwards in the chair. "And I thought you were unintelligent the first time I saw you." Wendy couldn't help herself. The woman was an idiot. Van probably wouldn't even come looking for her anymore, and there was absolutely no way that he'd give Dann of Thursday up, and she told the other woman so.
Valerie was livid. She'd gone to all the effort of finding out where the girl worked and actually travelling to the dump, only to find out she didn't even matter to Van? "But he's staying with you," She protested, "Aren't you two together?"
Wendy laughed, "Oh god no, Van thinks I'm a child, he's only staying with me because there's nowhere else he can think of that he particularly wants to be." Wendy was amused. She couldn't believe someone thought Van was attached enough to anyone to even look for them, let alone contemplate giving Dann even temporarily.
A bar connected with Wendy's hand where it rested on the floor. Her vision greyed and she swallowed convulsively, trying desperately not to throw up. "Then I just have to get rid of you," Valerie sneered furiously. She turned, slipping out the door.
Wendy heard it lock behind the other woman. Tears slid down her cheeks as she nursed her hand against her chest. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this. She tugged at the chains securing her to the floor and sighed. They were sturdy, from what she could see in the darkness of the warehouse. She sighed, rearranging herself to be as comfortable as possibly on the hard floor, deciding the best thing for the moment was to try and rest, and recover.
Van stood at the arena for the armour fighting, his hand on his sword. He was surrounded by other armour riders. "Why are you looking for Valerie?" One of them, a short, barrel chested man demanded.
"She made an offer to me, and I'd like to discuss it with her further." Van was relaxed. He knew he was faster than any of the men surrounding him.
"Well, really?" A voice behind Van crooned. "And what offer was that?"
Van turned to her, "I think you know what I'm talking about." Van remained calm, although inside he was enraged.
She smiled at him coyly. "I think I may. Come with me and we can talk."