Mixed Messages
Chapter 18
With family like this...

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Kidnapping carries such an unfortunate connotation. The ghost of a smile fluttered across the princess' ruby red lips as she stared out the window of the white Mercedes Geldewagon into the sleeting Austrian sky. I prefer to think of it as an opportunity to repurpose an underutilized resource.

The blonde haired man, in a gray suit, glanced at his phone, said, "The airplane is ready, your highness." He stretched blue rubber gloves over his hands, pulled out a silenced pistol, and hunched against the sleet as he ambled into the airplane hanger.

Two white faced pilots piled out of the airplane, had a few words with him, glanced at the SUV, and hurried away, leaving a trail of red footprints.

He stepped into the airplane, then returned, quickly passing through the sleet and glancing at the the sky darkening from the coming dusk. His breath hung like cotton in the air, leaving a white trail behind him. He pulled red, sticky gloves and boot covers off with a handkerchief before pulling the handle with a loud crunch.

She glanced at his icy hair with a self assured smirk, and said, "Well?"

He rubbed his red hands together and listened to the clatter of ice against the windows. He gazed out the window, leaned forward and rummaged in his pocket. He laid a crumpled twenty-euro note into her hand, and said, "Yes. All of them."

A smile passed her red lips. "Mmmm, Grimms are notoriously difficult to take by force. Those contractors were money well spent. I'm glad you weren't on the plane with them."

He grumbled under his breath, then said, "And you really think it's a good idea to bring this inside the castle?"

Her steel blue eyes twinkled, a smirk crossed her face, and she said, "She's barely fourteen. What are you worried about?"

The big SUV lurched out of the parking lot. He nodded towards the hanger drifting back behind them and said, "That."

"Well, for starters, we're inviting her into our castle as a guest. Do you have children, Lukas?"

"No, your highness. Not yet."

She patted his knee, chuckled, and said, "Well, then, you may want to have a talk with Franco. I have complete confidence in your ability to appropriately manage a teenage girl. So you left the door of the airplane open?"

"Yes, your highness."

"And you have the local police keeping an eye out? It's five below tonight, and sleeting. We don't want her freezing to death..." She paused, smirked, then said, "All the way."

"Of course."

"And the cleaning company for the airplane?"

"Already on the way. They will take care of the mess once we receive confirmation that she is out of the airport."

She drummed red fingernails on the wood paneling, stared out at the icy streetlights starting to flicker against the darkness, and said, "Excellent. Thank you."

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She stood up from her desk and stared out, towards the merest crack of orange rising above the leafless trees, and marveled at the beauty of the ice shrouded countryside. She let the crackling fireplace warm her back, and raised a steaming cup of tea to her lips. She took a quick sip, glanced at the morning's briefing, and flicked her fingernails towards the rap on her door.

Lukas stood before her, dressed in a black suit. "Good morning, your highness."

"Good morning, Lukas. Any word?"

"Yes. She came into the police department five minutes ago. Your car is ready."

"Excellent. Oh, and Lukas..."

"Yes, your highness."

"Keep her cold."

He nodded, following her out of the office.

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Lukas opened the door to the modest canton police office. She walked past him in a light gray Armani suit, matching woolen overcoat, a bright red hat, and bright red high heels. She stopped, towering over the 1950's birch desk, and stared past the sergeant. Lukas nodded at the sergeant, who walked through a metal door towards the back.

The police officer escorted a shaking girl, dressed in dirty clothing which crunched and stuck to her body as she shuffled. Black, matted hair sheeted her face as if glued to her cheeks. Her face bore a dark purple bruise under her eye, and swollen, scabbed lips. He stood the waif next to a steel folding chair, motioned towards the woman, and said, "Her highness, the princess," in broken english.

The princess peered at the tiny elf of a girl, whose head barely came halfway between her elbow and shoulder. She quirked her brow at Lukas, who shrugged and snickered. She looked the girl over, and thought, This has to be some sort of mistake. There's no possible way that this child is dangerous. She doesn't look like she could barely hurt a fly, much less maul eight professional Verrat. Well, I'll soon know if this is some sort of trick.

She scowled at the sergeant, who shrugged and motioned towards Amanda. She walked over, smiled, and with a decidedly nondescript British boarding school accent, said, "Amanda? Amanda Prentice?"

"Yes," slowly dribbled out of Amanda's blue lips as she hunched and stared at the shoes which squished when she walked.

The princess gently touched the petite girl's back, and said, "Amanda, the police called us this morning and told us about your situation. We will be working to get you reunited with your parents. Do you have any place to stay?"

Amanda's teeth chattered as she stared at the floor. She finally mumbled, "No..."

"You look dreadfully cold. Here,and feel free to take a seat." The princess removed her overcoat, wrapped it over Amanda's shoulders, gently sat her down, and said, "Sergeant, Can we get her a cup of something warm? Amanda? Would you like something? Tea? Cocoa?"

Amanda's legs drew up into her chest and she huddled under the warm woolen overcoat. She raised her head up and stared towards the wall. Her teeth chattered and her pale body shook. Her blue eyes slowly brightened, and she said, "Cocoa, please."

The princess nodded at the sergeant, who soon put a steaming hot cup of cocoa into Amanda's hands. The girl cradled it, took a quick sip, winced, and rubbed her lips.

"They don't have much space here, except for jail cells. You are welcome to come and stay with us until we can get you back to your parents, unless you would rather stay here."

Amanda turned and looked towards the back, shivered, and hunched her shoulders, while the princess silently tilted her head and nodded at Lukas.

The princess continued, "So, are you going to stay here then?"

Amanda stared at the police officer, shivered, and frowned, as Lukas sent a text message, and nodded back at the princess.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, we haven't been introduced. Amelie Renard-Kronenberg."

Amanda stared into oblivion with a blank look.

"Prentice, that name is familiar. You said you are from the states?"

Amanda stared at the wall, glassy eyed, and finally said, "Yes, Seattle, Washington."

"Amanda Prentice, from Seattle. Hmm, yes? Do you know my sister, Diana Renard-Schade?"

Amanda's eyes slowly brightened, she sat up, leaned forward, and said, "You're Diana's sister?"

"Yes. She is my father's youngest daughter. I knew your name was familiar. I understand you are her step sister. Any sister of Diana's is a sister of mine." She paused and said, "It's wonderful to finally meet you, Amanda. You are welcome to stay with me if you like. We've got plenty of room. I'm sure you are ready for a nice hot bath, some food, and a warm bed. I would hate to see you locked into a cold cell."

Amanda nodded. She grimaced as she slowly straightened her legs and pushed herself up. She shuffled out of the police office, following the princess, Lukas, and her three man security team down the street and around the corner.

They passed an alley and a man jumped out behind them. He wogued into a muscular trollish sort with greenish skin and an angry, sharp toothed face. He whipped a wooden staff, and a curved antique blade snapped in place across it's top. The Hassliche snarled and slashed his scythe, catching the princess' security flatfooted. Before they could respond, he was already slumped on his knees with Amanda's furry hands grasping the back of his head and her knee driving his own ancient blade through his chest. She retracted bloody claws out of the back of his skull, and a slow wheeze exhaled out of his open mouth as his body slid to the sidewalk, tipped, and flopped into the bushes while the three security men in black suits fumbled to retrieve the submachine guns under their coats. They stared, open mouthed.

"Oh my God!" The Princess exclaimed, "Amanda, are you OK?" She turned towards her security men and said, "Quick, get the police, this man just tried to murder me. Lukas, get Amanda into the car before anyone else tries anything."

Lukas pushed Amanda and the princess into their waiting vehicle, had a few words with the three men dressed in black suits, then got in and motioned the driver.

The big white SUV lurched out onto the road, passing icy shops and houses on it's way to the countryside. Amanda grumbled, folded and pulled on the sleeves and lapels of the gray overcoat, and said, "Princess Amelie, I'm sorry about your coat. I didn't mean to get cocoa on it."

The princess paused, disappointed that she had somehow, completely missed seeing Amanda fight a Reaper, and wondered what sort of credentials these so called reapers actually possessed if they couldn't even properly deal with a teenage girl. She pondered the girl's response, and asked, "Amanda, have you ever seen one of those men before?"

"A reaper? Yes."

"What happened?"

Amanda shrugged as her eyes drifted closed. She snuggled into the black heated seats, and said, "I killed him."

Amelie asked, "So how did you end up here, of all places? The police indicated you were separated from your parents and were lost. Were you on vacation? If you can tell us the hotel you stayed at, we can get you back there."

Amanda sat silently, color slowly returning to her skin, huddled under the gray overcoat and finally said, "I was kidnapped. Where are we?"

"Oh, dear, kidnapped? While on vacation, here?"

"No. In Seattle."

"You were kidnapped in the United States?"

"Yes."

"We're in Austria, near Vienna. How did you end up here?"

"An airplane."

"Like a regular airplane full of people? Did you tell a stewardess or another passenger?"

"No, it was a small airplane. The only people on it were guards."

"Oh! Do you know anything about the people who kidnapped you?"

"They said he was a prince. His name was very long. Maximillian something."

"But you didn't tell the police any of this?"

"I saw his name on a large picture in the police office."

Amelie waited for Amanda to look down, then gave Lukas a ghost of a smile.

She wrinkled her brow, paused, and said, "Well, that does complicate things, it was probably better you didn't tell the police his name, or they would have called him to take you. He is quite powerful and runs most things in the region. I suppose, welcome to Austria. How long have you been here?"

"Since last night, I think."

"You must be so worried, then, about him coming after you. I think we can keep things quiet and get you back to your parents." She watched Amanda's head nodding and her eyes closing. She said, "You must be exhausted after your ordeal. Have you eaten anything?"

"No. I think it has been four or five days. I'm not sure."

"Lukas, can you call back and have our kitchen prepare some breakfast and see if we can find her some clothing."

"Yes, your highness."

She glanced over at Amanda, slumped over on Lukas, sleeping under her overcoat like nothing happened. She motioned and he passed his cellphone. She watched the video several times, and thought, If you blink, you miss it. He was clumsy and she got a lucky shot, but he clearly didn't expect to be the one being attacked.

She smiled, and stared out at the icy countyside.

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Meanwhile, in Seattle, Wook looked out over the Thursday night MMA practice and noted Sandra and Amanda's absence. He sighed and made a mental note to check on them.

Saturday afternoon, a white fullsize pickup truck parked on the street in front of The Prentice's yellow Suburban Seattle house. He noted Sandra and Misty's cars parked out in front. He braced himself against the endless cold rain, and got out. He ambled to the door, reached towards the doorbell, and noticed it cracked open.

He poked the door with his foot and it swung open, revealing splintered fragments of wood hanging off the inside of the door jamb. He slowly crept in, calling out, "Sandra? Misty? Amanda? You guys in here? It's me, Wook."

He walked through the house, walking into each room, smelling, and carefully checking, but found it empty. He grimaced, pulled his phone out, and made a call.

An hour later, Jeremy, a tall, blonde fighter from the gym met Wook, and they walked through the house. Jeremy transformed himself into a Bludbaden werewolf, and sniffed through each room. They stopped at the dried blood in Amanda's room. He smelled, and said, "That's Sandra's."

"What are you picking up? I got Hundjager and Lowen, besides their family."

"Yep, except there were two different crews of Hundjager and only one of Lowen."

"How so?"

Jeremy paused, thought, and said, "The first group was nine Hundjager and four Lowen. They took Amanda, Sandra, and Misty. The more recent was eleven Hundjager and one Kehrsite."

"Hmmm. That many Hundjager? That's got to be Verrat."

"Oh, yeah, the Hundjager are all German and Austrian. The Lowen are American. They smell like, not from around here... I'm pretty sure they're from the midwest."

"Two teams a couple days apart? Are we dealing with some sort of war between Royals?"

"Maybe. Probably. You know how they are, always going at each other."

"True. Hey, I'm calling the cops. You want to hang around and make a statement about coming here to check on them and finding the place broken into and them missing?

Wook walked out front. He slid his phone out and dialed.

A few hours later, Wook and Jeremy stood in the oak trimmed kitchen with a police officer while six others checked through the house. The officer fist bumped them, leaned in close, and whispered, "Hey, what did you guys find?"

"Hundjagers."

"I got that too."

"Probably Verrat, and you know what that means."

"Royals?"

"Most likely."

"Do we need to bring HW in on this?"

"I don't think we have a choice. I just hope they're still alive."

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