I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and Happy New Years! Here's another installment of our little mystery. This one should be a bit longer, a lot more action-packed, and hopefully ups the ante a bit. So, let's-a-go!

Disclaimer: Don't own Nanoha, as always.

Chapter 7: Hostage

(3 days later...)

"Just sign right here, Mr. Scyra, and you're clear to go," the nurse said, handing Yuuno a clipboard.

"Ah, thank you," he replied, and hastily scribbled his name down. As he thanked the nurse and resumed packing his clothes, he couldn't help but think about how lucky he was. It was just as good that Atenza hadn't shot him in the leg, or worse, any one-hit kill spots. As he had told Joseph on the phone, he really didn't need to die and have his friends out looking for blood.

Speaking of his friends, it seemed as though they were all over his case ever since the shooting. Vita had threatened him into staying in his house until he was better. Nanoha practically came everyday, and had been more persistent about this matter than Chrono had been. When he had accidentally slipped that he had been threatened by Mariel, it took a whirlwind of excuses to stop her from heading out to Starlight Breaker the two assassins.

Not that he would really mind, but he really didn't want to be sued by the city for the damages.

As he walked down the hall, he was greeted by the girl in question. "Come on, Yuuno-kun! Everyone's waiting for you at home," Nanoha said, skipping alongside him.

Yuuno blinked. "Everyone's out there, waiting for me?"

"Of course, silly! You're one of our friends, and we decided to celebrate your release with a party!" she replied. "Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, that's pretty cool!" Yuuno replied. "Did the police mention anything about my house being-"

"Yep. Everything's been cleaned top to bottom," Nanoha replied.

"I see..." Yuuno's expression darkened as he remembered the last time he had been there. "It'll be so weird going back there..."

"I know, especially since you ended up seeing a murder scene," she replied. "But don't worry, Yuuno-kun. Those psychos won't be getting to you, not if I have anything to say about it."

"I'm pretty sure Raising Heart will do all the talking in that situation," he said. "We all know how you get when you're serious."

"Mou, Yuuno-kun," Nanoha pouted, "why do you have to keep saying that?"

"I wonder why there were pictures for an opera theater here..." Joseph paused to take a sip of his coffee, and immediately grimaced. He had let it go too cool. If there was one thing he hated the most, other than assassins who worked for a terrorist organization, it was cold coffee.

However, the coffee was soon the last thing on his mind. Yuuno's call from three days ago had sent him rifling through Mrs. Froy's email again, hoping to catch any small details he might have missed. He finally found the piece of information he was looking for; as it turned out, he was so busy looking for the target, he had completely neglected the rest of the email.

He was quite surprised to find a pamphlet for the famous opera, Il sole penetra le illusioni. As a patron of the arts, he knew that that particular opera was considered one of the best in Midchilda. Of course, seats went quickly, and most people were advised to make reservations months in advance.

Joseph would have loved to go, but he would have to cash in his wallet to pay for such an experience, which he couldn't afford to do at the moment. He had a wife and two kids to feed and take care of, and he had promised that he wouldn't get himself killed on his mission.

He pulled out a small picture from his coat pocket, eyes blurring as he looked at his family. He hadn't seen them in over five months, and every time he'd finish a case, he'd be called right back out to the line of duty. He had sent phone messages and emails, but it wasn't the same as actually seeing them, laughing with them...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Joseph was snapped out of his thoughts by a banging on the door. He sighed as he shut the email down, getting up to answer whoever it was at the door. He hoped it wasn't one of the hotel staff reminding him that checkout was in fifteen minutes again. He unlocked the door, and let it swing wide open.

As it turned out, it wasn't the staff.

"Hello, Mr. Today. I was wondering whether you were ready to head to the Hotel Augusta tonight. We do have to set up the show, you know."

Atenza was standing there at the door, along with Jasper. The former had a look of fake sincerity on his face.

"We'll just take that bag for you, Mr. Today, and we'll be right on our way to the hotel," Jasper said.

"Like I'll be going anywhere with you!" Joseph snapped. In one rapid motion, he literally slammed the door in Jasper's face, the doorknob hitting him in the forehead and causing him to yowl with pain. Joseph rushed over to the desk and grabbed the computer, yanked the wires out, and stuffed into his suitcase. The door shook as Atenza started beating it with his fists.

"Open up, Today, or we're gonna blow this thing off!" Atenza yelled, and gave the door a rough kick. Joseph paid no attention as he unhooked the window and started to pull it upwards, grunting under the weight.

POW!

Joseph ducked as a bullet came flying through the hotel door, smashing through the window. Another bullet stuck into the wall behind him, and soon the beating on the door continued. Outside, he could hear some commotion.

I can't wait for them to get in. I have to jump out now. With a deep breath, he charged through the window. Glass flying, arms flailing and suitcase whirling, Joseph landed on the ground with a thump. Horrified shouts came from the people around him.

Groaning, he pushed himself to a standing position and used whatever energy he had in him to bolt for his car. He yanked open the doors to his sedan, jumped in, and started the ignition. The engine sputtered for a moment, and then roared to life. Not bothering to close the door, Joseph shifted into reverse. In his rear-view mirror, he saw the baffled looks of the people...

...and he saw Jasper and Atenza shove open the lobby doors, guns drawn. He could hear the gun load over the roar of the engine, and saw many people jump down for their lives

Jasper didn't wait until he was out the door. Holding it with one hand, he opened fire on the moving car, causing everyone in the parking lot to scream. Joseph ducked as bullets shattered the windows and indenting the car doors. When Jasper stopped to reload, Joseph whipped out his gun and fired two shots a few feet from Atenza. The bigger man leaped jumped backwards at the shots, nearly falling.

Reaching over and slamming the door shut, Joseph shifted into drive, and squealed away from the parking lot, nearly running a woman over. In the rear-view, Atenza came into view, and Joseph ducked as he opened fire, shattering the windshield. Smashing the pedal down, Joseph lurched out into heavy traffic, keeping his head low as he careened into place. The remaining shots hit his bumper, and unfortunately, a few more innocent bystanders.

Gasping, he slowly raised his head up, glass raining from his head as he made his way towards downtown Cranagan. He looked over to his left and right, and saw more than a few eyes drift over to him. Putting on his best 'casual' smile, he waved off the damage as best as he could. His heart hammered and his body was alive with adrenaline.

"It's like I always say," he chuckled in spite of himself, "you never feel more alive than when you're almost dead."

When Yuuno and Nanoha walked in the door of his apartment, they were met with a stream of confetti and cheers. His normally dull room was now vividly decorated with banners of yellow and green. A huge banner hung up on the wall with the words 'Welcome home, Yuuno!' in purple letters. On the table, there was a delicious feast on the table, complete with champagne and sparkling cider.

His friends were standing there, clapping and cheering for him as he made his way to the center of the room. It was so weird to be in the center of attention, he noted, as he tended to shy away from it most of the time. He never really considered himself to be all that important, especially since his childhood friend was the legendary Ace of Aces. He always figured that everyone would forget him with all the work they had to do.

But when he saw them, he soon realized that he hadn't been forgotten by everybody, that he still had some place in their lives, that he mattered to them.

And that made him happiest most of all.

"Yuuno-kun, we decided you needed one thing to make you happy through all this," Hayate said.

"And what's better than having a celebration party with all of your friends?" Arf replied.

"Wow...I-I can't believe you did this all for me..."

"Despite what Chrono says, you are an important friend of ours, Scrya," Signum said. A chuckle hit the air at the joke.

"Speaking of which, where is Chrono?" Yuuno asked. "I needed to tell him something."

"Oh, he won't be able to make it," Nanoha said, smiling sadly. "He got caught up in a meeting at the last minute."

"Oh." Yuuno did his best not to let worry seep into his voice. "Well, I guess he wouldn't really mind if we made jokes at his expense, right?"

Hayate laughed. "Nope, I guess not."

"Can we get on with the party?" Vita asked. Her blue eyes were fixated on the cake in front of her. "The suspense is really annoying!"

"Okay, okay," Yuuno laughed. "Might as well dig in. No one can resist Hayate's cooking for long."

Food was consumed, cider and champagne was drained, and the party continued long into the late afternoon. It wasn't until a phone call from Nanoha's home brought the party to an end, as Nanoha had forgotten that Vivio had come home early from school. With that, she and Fate rushed off, giving quick goodbyes and hugs to Yuuno as they left.

Hayate and the others were the last to leave, as the Wolkenritter, particularly Vita, were too interested in carrying leftovers home. Although Hayate scolded them for taking so much, Yuuno didn't really mind at all, graciously allowing them to take the leftovers. After all he had eaten, he didn't need too many things in his fridge. Soon, Hayate and her Knights left, with Yuuno thanking her for throwing the party.

Closing the door, Yuuno took a moment to take in his apartment. It had a totally different feel since his friends had been in it. It had certainly been better than coming home to a murder scene...

As he stumbled over to the couch, ready to rest off all that food, something else came to his attention: when he had gone through that email, he was curious to see opera tickets and a playbill on it. Of course, that had mattered little when he had finally discovered who their target was...

No. He wasn't going to think about any of the stuff that had happened last week. Today was his day to relax, and he was going to spend it gloriously.

Just as he was about to pick up the remote, someone knocked on the door. Yuuno groaned as he got up, his stomach heavy from eating to his heart's content. He hoped that it wasn't Vita looking for any missing trays.

He opened the door...and stared at his guest in utter shock.

Joseph Today was standing in the doorway, looking like someone had sprinkled glass on him. His jacket was glittering with it, as was his hair and face. But what startled Yuuno most of all were his eyes; in them was a sense of urgency he had never seen before.

"Joseph, are you okay?" he asked.

The detective put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "You need to let me inside."

Yuuno frowned. "Need I remind you the last time I let someone in here, my house became a murder scene?"

"I know that, but right now's not the time to open up old wounds." The humor was gone from Joseph's voice. "What I know could be a difference between life and death for Chrono Harlaown."

Yuuno froze and stared at him. At once, a feeling of dread crept over him, and threatened to empty his lunch on the floor. Swallowing a growing amount of bile in his throat, he stumbled aside to let the detective in.

Joseph took note of the decorations and empty plates on the table. "Did you just come back from a party or something?" he asked.

"Yeah, more or less," he said. "My friends decided to celebrate my return home with a party."

"I see." Joseph threw his suitcase on the small couch in the corner of the room, sat on the other side, and looked at him. "Yuuno, have you discovered anything else about that email Mrs. Froy sent you?"

"Yeah. There was a playbill for an opera in there. It even had tickets," Yuuno replied.

"You wanna know why those were in there? It's because soon, that opera will be playing at the Cranagan Opera House," Joseph replied. "The names on those tickets are for the Harlaown family, and-"

Yuuno interrupted, already figuring out the answer. "The Polonez siblings are going to be there to assassinate him!" he said.

"You catch on pretty quick," Joseph noted.

"I was going to warn Chrono about that, since his mother roped him into going to the opera, but he didn't show up to the party..." Yuuno sunk into the couch, his head buried in his hands. "What am I going to do?"

A pounding on the door stopped Joseph from answering. Jumping off the couch, he walked over to the door uttering a stream of curses directed at the person banging on it. He flung open the door, and the swearing stopped.

The next thing Yuuno knew, Joseph flew backwards and slammed into the table, sending food and plates crashing to the floor. Yuuno leaped off the couch and ran towards the door, only for blue hoops to snap around his legs midrun. He yelled as he crashed to the floor, his nose smashing into the wood.

Clacking was heard in front of him, and he pulled himself up to see stilettos in front of him. Then someone dragged him upwards by his hair, nearly snapping his neck off with the force. Yuuno once again found himself staring into the eyes of the beautiful, dangerous Mariel Polonez, whose hands were glowing a bright blue.

"Wh...what are you..." He could barely get his sentence out before a big hand clamped around his throat.

"Sorry to barge in on you, Mr. Scrya," Mariel stated coolly, "but we're here to pick up Mr. Today. He's coming with us."

"Says who?" Joseph yelled. It soon turned into a scream as blue hoops linked around him as well.

"Says us." Atenza's voice was practically roaring in Yuuno's ears. "That was a really clever identity you pulled on us, Joe. But even you can't keep ahead of us for long."

Jasper walked past Mariel and dragged the detective to his feet. Despite his small size, he was incredibly strong, and he pushed Joseph next to Yuuno. The librarian could see that he was very afraid of these three, if the sweat on his face was of any indication.

"We'll be taking you and Scrya to an undisclosed location," Atenza said. He let go of Yuuno's throat, allowing him to get some much needed air.

"Why am I going?" he asked.

"It's because you know too much, bookworm," Jasper snapped. "Also, we know that if Mr. Artsy disappears, you're gonna squeal."

"And in order to prevent that, we're going to take you with us," Mariel said.

"Terrific," Yuuno deadpanned.

"Come on. We don't have much time before someone sees us," Jasper said.

With a rough shove, Yuuno marched ahead of the three assassins, Joseph in front of him. He was preparing calculations for a transport spell, and did his best to keep the energy minimum.

Cold steel pressed against his neck. "Keep walking, blondie," Jasper snapped, "we don't have all day."

"I could walk faster if you'd take these chains off my legs," Yuuno retorted.

"Oh for-" Mariel sighed as she pointed her hands at Yuuno. "You'd better not try anything funny, Scrya. Jasper isn't the sharp shooter of our group for nothing."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of doing that," Yuuno replied.

The binds disappeared, and he obediently walked down the steps leading outside. A blast of cold air climbed over his body, and Yuuno immediately remembered that he hadn't brought his jacket. He found himself walking towards the large parking lot across the street, where a long, black van sat idly by. Jasper walked ahead and opened the first two doors. Once they reached the doors, Atenza rudely shoved them inside, nearly causing Yuuno to crash into the floor. Jasper laughed, and Atenza scoffed.

"Quit playing around, and get in," he growled, and stalked off to the front of the van. Yuuno got up and sat on the very end, while Joseph sat next to him. His face was chalk white with nervousness.

The doors slammed as all three assassins got into the car. The driver slammed on the pedal, lurching out into the street and nearly taking off the fronts of three cars. After that, they slowed down, but not by much, and since they were still in the neighborhood, they were flying up and down speed bumps. Yuuno hit his head three times on the roof, and barely managed to get his seatbelt on before he could flew forwards into the first passenger row.

"Hey, keep still back there!" Mariel snapped, and turned around.

As Yuuno finally managed to get his seatbelt on, he happened to steal a look over at Joseph. The detective seemed calmer, but the creases in his brow let Yuuno know that the detective was deep in thought, possibly preparing a battle plan in his head. Yuuno was also thinking of other plans as well, especially how he would make it out of this alive.

Somewhere along the line, the rhythmic moving of the car made him drowsy. He decided to lay his head against the window for comfort, the sounds of the conversations fading away. He heard Joseph snap something at the siblings, but he barely heard it as he drifted off...

Just when he fell asleep, the car screeched to a stop, nearly throwing him into the seat. He jerked awake, wiped saliva from his mouth, and looked around hurriedly. The engine cut off, and then lights went on in the car as Mariel and Jasper got out of the car. Atenza pulled out one pair of handcuffs, and linked each one to the men's wrists.

"What in the world is this-"

"It helps if we keep you and the detective together. You stay, he stays. We're going to check out this location, and then we'll drop you off here," Atenza said. He then got out of the car and slammed the door. The lights went off, leaving Yuuno and Joseph in the car.

"And if I go, you go," Yuuno muttered. He turned to the other detective. "Come on. We're getting out of here."

"I can see their silhouettes," Joseph said. "They're at most thirty feet away. Wish we could teleport out of here."

A bright green orb of light appeared in Yuuno's palm. "Your wish has been granted."

"Is this the right place?" Jasper peered into the darkness at the small shed in front of him. "It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be..."

"Who cares, as long as we've got a place to dispose of them," Atenza muttered. He turned towards his sister. "I honestly don't see what you like in that bookworm, Mariel. He's obviously a few years your junior."

"I know that. It's his intelligence that draws me to him. He has all the knowledge of the world at his fingertips. Plus, he is rather handsome, don't you think?"

"Even so..."

"I really would hate to get rid of him. He would make an excellent addition to our group," Mariel said.

"What makes you say that?"

"His skills with binds and shields would be put to good use in our operations. Plus, he's a librarian. He could do all the research for us," she continued.

Atenza seemed to take a vague interest. "I'll think about it, Mariel. Come on, I need to open this thing before we can throw those two inside."

The minute they started walking towards the shed, a bright green glow cast over them. They turned around, startled, to find the inside of their van glowing. Atenza squinted, trying to see what was going on. When he saw the outlines of two bodies in the light, his eyes widened in shock.

"Crap! JASPER!" he yelled, turning towards the sharpshooter. Jasper dropped his crowbar and took off running for his boss, and all three rushed across the field. They were halfway towards the van when the ground beneath them suddenly disappeared.

It had occurred to Atenza that there had been a small incline they'd had to climb up earlier. It was pretty steep, and slippery from the rain that had come a few hours before. The next thing he knew, he was sliding down the incline, his feet sliding as they struggled to find good ground. He heard a small scream from his sister, and a full on one from Jasper, who was rolling down the hill like a tumbleweed.

When they reached the bottom, the glow had stopped. After helping Jasper up, they raced towards the van, threw the doors open...

...and found that both Yuuno and Joseph were gone.

Atenza began to swear profusely, while Jasper merely reached into the glove compartment. He tossed two flashlights to the siblings and pulled out his gun.

"Aren't you going to get a flashlight?" Mariel asked.

"Got one on my gun," Jasper replied. "They couldn't have gotten far."

"I can't believe that he used a teleportation spell," Atenza muttered. "I underestimated his skills..."

"Well, there'll be no more of that," Jasper muttered. "The minute I find that man, I'm gonna kill him."

"Not until my brother has made his decision," Mariel snapped.

Jasper looked confused. "What decision?"

"I'll tell you later. Now, let's move!"

The forest was cold and dark, save for a small Mid-Childan circle that rotated on the ground. A bright green flash enveloped the area as two figures appeared in the middle of the forest.

Yuuno stood in the middle of the circle, panting heavily from the effort. Joseph pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket, shining a beacon of light through the forest.

He then looked down at the archaeologist. "You okay, Scrya?"

"Yeah. I didn't think I would have to get through a defense grid that covered the car..."

"That must've been their way of making sure that we don't make any sudden escapes," Joseph said. "You can still use your magic, right?"

"Yeah. Hopefully, I won't have to get into a fight with those three..."

"We'll deal with that later. Right now, we need to get as far away from them as possible, and get these cuffs off us," Joseph said. "Follow me."

Standing up and brushing himself off, Yuuno followed the detective through the dark forest. "I hope that we'll make it out of this alive..."

"I hope so, too, Scrya. I have a family waiting for me back home, and I promised that I wouldn't get myself killed on the job. I have to solve this case as fast as possible...for their sake," he said.

"I may not have a family like you do, Joseph, but I understand what you mean. I don't want my friends to be put in danger, and I certainly don't want them thinking I've been kidnapped," Yuuno replied. "That's why I'm helping you out on this; to protect the people most important to me."

Joseph's mouth twitched into the faint ghost of a smile. "Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to protect those you care about. Some are small, others are huge. We may not like making them, but we'll do them anyway, in order to protect those we care about."

Yuuno stared at him. "Where did you hear that?"

"Oh, I got it a book somewhere," he said. "Can't remember which one, though. I don't think I even finished it..."

"Maybe after this case is over, you can finish it," Yuuno encouraged.

Joseph laughed, and then grew quite as he stared at the sky. "Maybe, Scyra. Maybe I will."

That was the last thing he said as they continued their journey through the dark, cold forest.

Due to Christmas and New Years, I wasn't able to get the next chapter done until now. I decided to add a few more things to this chapter, including some character development for Joseph and the Polonez siblings, particularly Mariel. I also wanted to show why there were opera tickets in that email that Mrs. Froy sent Yuuno. Next chapter, I think we might take a little break from Yuuno and focus on Chrono, Nanoha and the others. Imagine their reaction when they find out that ferret boy's missing...

Chapter 8 will be a little shorter, but as for how short, I don't know. I never set limits for my chapters, usually writing until I feel that it's a good place to stop.

Hope this chapter satisfied you guys, and please review! Again, Happy New Year!

God Bless, iheartgod175