With just three months until the wedding, Peter and Claire were both getting nervous.
Most of the big things had been taken care of. The church, the reception hall, the catering, the bridesmaids' dresses, the invitations, the rings.
All that was left for Claire to do was pick her wedding dress.
At times like these, her heart ached that her mother couldn't be there.
She had decided not to invite her family. As horrible as she felt about it, she didn't want anything to ruin her wedding, and that included family drama.
Nikki had graciously agreed to help her find a dress, and so the two set out to find the perfect wedding gown.
Claire emerged from the dressing room, dreading turning to face the mirror. "Oh my God, Nikki! I look like bridezilla! Look at all the lace and frills!"
Nikki was laughing uncontrollably, and tried to calm herself down. "Oh, come on Claire. It's not that bad…" She burst out laughing again.
Claire crossed her arms over her chest, and had to laugh at her reflection. She did indeed look silly.
Nikki snapped a picture with the digital camera they were using to remember all the different dress choices.
Claire raised an eyebrow. "You honestly think I'm even going to consider this one?"
Nikki shook her head with a smirk. "No, but I thought you might want to freak Angela out. 'Look Mama Petrelli, isn't it beautiful?!' "
Claire gaped at her. "Mama Petrelli? GOD no! She'll always be Angela. And that's a fantastic idea."
Nikki laughed.
Claire sighed. "Well, one more dress to try, and then we can go home."
Claire re-entered the dressing room, and Nikki busied herself by clicking through the dozens of dress photos they had taken. When she heard Claire clear her throat, she looked up, and her mouth fell open. "Oh, Claire…"
The dress was beautiful. It was floor length and strapless. The bodice was embroidered with crystals, leaving the plain white skirt to float gently to the floor. The train was long, but not so long that it would get in the way. A beautiful veil was draped carefully over her head, and her eyes sparkled.
Nikki smiled, her eyes tearing up. "This is the one, isn't it?"
Claire nodded. "This is the one."
As Claire and Nikki chatted in the cab on the way back to Peter and Claire's loft, Claire became increasingly aware that the cab driver had no idea where he was going. "Excuse me, driver? My loft is six blocks east of here. I can give you directions if you want."
The driver pulled onto a rather dirty-looking, relatively deserted street. He turned around in his seat, pointing a gun at them. "Get out, Sanders. Claire, you stay right where you are."
Nikki's eyes blazed. "No chance in hell. You'd better drop that gun if you know what's good for you, buddy."
The man smirked, and the expression gave Claire chills. "Ms. Sanders, I will kill you if I have to. But honestly, I'd like to return this cab to its owner without any blood stains on the upholstery."
Nikki never wavered. "Drop the gun."
He sighed, leveled the gun at Nikki's stomach, and fired.
The earsplitting noise of a gunshot filled the car, and Claire screamed as Nikki slumped over.
The man got out of the driver's seat, pulled open the back door, yanked Nikki out, and dropped her body in the street. He got back in the cab, and closed the door. "Ms. Bennet, if you don't want the same thing to happen to you, you'd better keep your mouth shut and come willingly."
Claire shook her head. "Are you kidding? You may have just killed my friend! Please, let me make sure she's okay!" Her eyes were filled with tears, and a few spilled down her cheeks.
The man sneered. "I told Nikki to get out. I never wanted to have to hurt her."
Claire lowered her head. "Please, what do you want?"
The man started the car, and drove quickly away. He talked to her over his shoulder. "You're about to marry into a very wealthy, very influential family, Ms. Bennet. Do you remember that night about five months ago? The night someone broke into yours' and Mr. Petrelli's loft? That was me. I had planned on getting you then, but you two slipped away from me somehow."
Claire's eyes widened. "Oh, God…"
He smirked at her in the rearview mirror. "You're about to become Mrs. Peter Petrelli, am I right?"
Claire swiped furiously at the tears trickling down her cheeks. "Yes."
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I want money, and a lot of it."
Claire stealthily reached for the door handle. "Peter isn't that rich."
The man snorted. "He's got enough to never have to work a day in his life. Don't understand why he insists on working for his brother. Plus, Nathan and Heidi are loaded, and Angela Petrelli is one of the wealthiest women in the country. I'm sure they'd all pay a good bit of money to get you back."
He turned a corner sharply, and Claire knew this was her chance.
She threw the door open, and jumped out, hitting the pavement with a thud and a cracking of bones. The car screeched to a halt, and the man jumped out.
Claire picked herself up off the ground, and began to run. She made it a few blocks before the much bigger man caught up to her.
Claire let out the loudest scream she could manage, and a man passing by stopped. "Are you okay Miss?"
Her kidnapper leaned down and whispered in her ear. "You say anything, and Peter dies."
Claire's eyes filled with tears, and she managed to speak in a choked whisper. "Yeah, everything's fine."
The man gave her a look of uncertainty. "Are you…"
Her kidnapper swung back, and knocked the man to the ground, unconscious.
Claire gasped. "He wasn't doing anything wrong!"
Her kidnapper shook his head as he jerked her by the arm back towards the cab. "Couldn't risk it. We need to get you someplace where you can't make anyone else suspicious."
His grip on her arm was painful, and Claire was sure that if she could be hurt, there would've been a large bruise there.
He opened the passenger seat, and pulled out some ropes. He tied her arms behind her back, and tied her ankles together before tossing her like a sack of potatoes into the back seat.
He slammed the door, and Claire closed her eyes, tears trickling down again. She bit her lip until it bled, and sniffled. Peter, if you can hear me, I need your help. I don't know where I am, but someone kidnapped me, and Nikki is hurt. The guy wants money… Please…I love you.
Peter was in the middle of helping Nathan write a speech when Claire's voice entered his head. He dropped his pen, and his entire body began to shake.
When her message was finished, he leapt to his feet. "Claire's in trouble. Someone kidnapped her, and Nikki might be hurt."
Nathan's mouth fell open. "What? How do you…"
At that moment, Nathan's phone rang. "Hello? Yes, he's right here."
He held the phone out to Peter. Peter was trembling violently as he took the phone from Nathan. "Hello?"
There was silence for a moment. "Peter, it's Nikki…"
His eyes widened. "Are you okay? Claire sent me a telepathic message. Do you know where she is?"
Nikki was breathing heavily. "I'm fine. I was able to call my husband to come help me. Listen, I dropped my cell phone in the cab, it has a GPS locator in it. I'll give you the GPS number; the police should be able to trace it."
Peter grabbed a pen and paper. "I've got paper. Please, hurry."
Claire was shaking as the cab pulled up in front of an abandoned building.
Her captor parked, and then walked around to get her out of the car. He untied her ankles, but left her wrists tied behind her back.
She didn't recognize the neighborhood, but then again, she and Peter mostly stayed in the area surrounding his loft.
He ushered her up the stairs, and into the dirty, smelly building. It reeked of garbage and urine, and she thought many a homeless person must've used it as a shelter.
He pushed her roughly down in a corner, and she pulled her knees up to her chest, trembling. "What now? How are you going to contact Peter?"
The man pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. "Bought it this morning. Untraceable, pay-as-you-go, perfect for making one call to your fiancé."
Claire nodded numbly. "You're not going to…hurt me?"
The man's face twisted into a smirk. "Don't worry, sweetheart. You're not my type."
Claire swallowed in relief, and pulled her knees closer to her chest. It was warm in the building. All the windows were boarded up, and the summer heat was creating an unpleasant environment.
He untied her arms, and held the phone out to Claire. "Now listen close, Claire. You're going to call Peter. You're going to tell him that unless four million dollars is in locker 345 at Penn Station tomorrow morning at eight thirty; your pretty face isn't going to be so pretty anymore."
Claire fought the urge to laugh bitterly at the thought of her being hurt.
"If you dare tell him anything about where we are, what I look like, anything, I'll kill him. Do you understand me? I will kill your fiancé."
Claire nodded, taking the phone and dialing Peter's cell phone number. She held the phone to her ear, and prayed that Peter would answer.
After several rings, Peter's familiar voice came over the line. "Hello?"
Her breath caught in her throat. "Peter? It's…it's me."
She heard a gasp and when he spoke again, she could hear tears in his voice. "Claire? Are you okay? I got your message, and Nikki called me. Listen, we're going to find you, I promise. Nikki dropped her phone in the car; the police are tracing the GPS signal right now."
Claire cleared her throat, looking up at her impatient kidnapper. "Peter, he said to tell you that if four million dollars isn't in locker 345 at Penn Station by eight thirty tomorrow morning, he's going to kill me."
Peter's voice was breaking as he answered her. "Claire, is he hurting you?"
She swallowed, and her captor bent down towards her. "End the call, now."
She felt a tear drop onto her cheek. "Peter, I have to go. I love you." She ended the call, and handed the phone back to the burly man standing over her.
He nodded. "Good job. If Peter comes through, you can go back to your perfect life, and no one will get hurt."
Claire nodded. The man walked into another room, leaving Claire to sit alone in the dark room, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Peter slammed his phone down on the desk, and the cop next to him jumped. "Try to relax, Mr. Petrelli. We're doing everything we can."
Peter turned to the policeman, livid. "Shut up. This is my fiancée we're talking about, not some lost dog."
The policeman held up his hands. "I apologize, sir. I'm not trying to downplay the importance of finding Ms. Bennet, I'm simply asking you to try and retain your composure."
Peter sank down into a chair, head in hands. "I know, I'm sorry."
The policeman was paged over the loudspeaker, and hurried off, as Nathan reentered the room.
He hadn't left Peter's side since he'd gotten Nikki's call, except to call Heidi and let her know what was going on.
Nathan rested his hand lightly on his brother's shoulder.
Peter looked up, tears in his eyes. "I promised her, Nathan. I promised I would always protect her, and I let this happen. I knew she could be in danger, I should have gone with her."
Nathan sighed. "Peter, you couldn't have known some maniac would kidnap her. Stop blaming yourself. The cops are doing all they can, try and relax."
Peter stood up, his eyes blazing. "Would everyone stop telling me to fucking relax?! This is the one person I love most in the world, and she's in danger. She was kidnapped by God-knows-who, and taken God-knows-where, so he can do God-knows-what to her. So stop telling me to relax when the woman I love was just kidnapped!"
Nathan's eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Pete. I…"
Just then, a policeman burst into the room where they'd been sitting for over an hour now.
"They traced the signal. We know where your fiancée is!"
Okay, so an unexpected turn of events, huh? Not to worry, I haven't left you hanging. Go read the next chapter!!!!