Quatre was walking along the street with some shopping for his sisters when an arm reached out from an alley and grabbed him, dragging him in He struggled and dropped the bags, but the arms- there was more than one now- were far too strong. The first thing he knew was a hand over his mouth to choke back his yell, which was quickly replaced with a cloth forced down over his mouth and nose, a chemical smell, and then oblivion.
^^^
"Adia, is Quatre with you?" Jamy sounded worried; she'd called just before Adia went out for school.
"No, he's not. Is he missing?"
"He didn't come home last night, and we wondered if you'd seen him…"
Adia blushed with a sudden idea of what they might have thought. "He's just my friend, you know, Jamy…"
"Sorry, I didn't mean that…we're just so worried…this sort of thing has never happened before!"
"Don't panic, and I'll find him. Don't worry. My father…my father trained me for this kind of thing. Just…leave it to me." Adia hung up. Damn it. She hated to admit it, but her father was right. He'd said she'd need to do this some day, and she had. She ran back to her room to change into more suitable clothes.
^^^
All Quatre knew was the darkness of his cell. Those keeping him hadn't spoken, and he hadn't seen their faces. The total of what he knew of them amounted to the sound of their movement and the smell of their unwashed bodies. Now he knew how Adia felt- spending a day in this darkness, surrounded by things he could not visualise would drive him crazy, and she'd lived in it for eight long years. However, she hadn't been tied hand and foot to a chair, and left for God knew how long. For all he knew it could be days since his capture- there was no way to tell in this black hellhole of a prison.
^^^
Grimly, she pulled on her second boot and stood up, then grabbed her bag and strapped it on. She had no way of knowing if she'd need this stuff, or if Quatre had just gone out and gotten lost. But she had to find out.
She walked quietly down the stairs and out of the back door, then over the wall into an alley. She'd check the corrupt places first- the places where the 'bad crowd' hung out, people who would kidnap people for ransom. She smiled, and it was a smile like that of a predator.
^^^
Creeping in through the open door, Adia sniffed quietly. This was it- the 'lair' of one of the worst gangs of thugs in town. They did nothing as serious as kidnap themselves, but they often sheltered murderers and other vermin in the dank rooms of their hideout, for the image it gave them.
Softly, she crept from door to door, listening for movement. Finally, she found a door with a familiar voice sounding behind it. She smiled, and left her bag by the door as she threw it back against its hinges.
^^^
"Excuse me, but do you know the way to hell?"
Quatre looked away from his tormentor and gasped as he recognised the girl outlined in the doorway. What was Adia doing here, and in a floral-printed dress?
"Who are you?" his captor sneered, pulling a gun from his pocket.
"I'm just a poor little blind girl who has lost her way," Adia replied in a voice that made Quatre's spine shiver. Where did she learn to talk like *that*? God, he expected to hear that kind of voice from a bimbo, or a movie, but not from Adia!
"Oh yeah?"
"Yep. And look what I found!" she cooed, pulling her hand from behind her back. "Isn't it pretty?"
Quatre gulped at the sight of the gun. "Adia, get out of here!" he yelled, and watched as her blind eyes darted towards where he sat.
Good. She knew where Quatre was, now, and thanks to the voice of the other guy, she knew where he was, too.
"I wonder what it does?" she managed, trying to keep her face smooth, rather than humiliated from sounding like such a…such a…oh, she didn't have a word for it. She pulled the trigger, carefully keeping it just to the right of the villain's voice. A loud bang, and a yell.
Quatre looked up, to see the man holding the ragged remains of his ear. It bled sluggishly, but he could see from the small smile on Adia's face that it was no accident. She'd actually known where to shoot. But how?
"Oh dear, did I hurt you?" she asked, sounding mock-concerned in that breathy, ever-so-attractive tone.
"Damn you, you f***ing b*tch!" he yelled, fumbling for the trigger.
"Thanks. You just made my job a whole lot easier," she said calmly. "I'm just a poor little blind girl…WITH DAMN SHARP HEARING!" she yelled, eyelids flaring, and pulled the trigger. The slug hit Quatre's tormentor between the eyes, and he slumped to the floor, the gun dropping from limp fingers. Quatre's eyes were open wide; that had been too close for comfort. Adia shoved the gun into the waistband of her dress, and dragged a large rucksack into the room, closing the door behind her and flicking on the light.
Quatre squinted in the sudden brightness, but watched as she came up next to him, with a knife ready for cutting the ropes.
She could feel his breath warm on her shoulder as she sawed through the ropes around his torso; goosebumps appeared on her skin, and she shivered for no reason at all.
"Where did you learn that?" Quatre asked, rubbing his wrists as she dealt with his ankles.
"My father's a Preventor," she told him, face concentrated as the bonds came loose and she stood. "He taught me that, mostly in self-defence."
"Well, I'm glad he did," he told her warmly, and hugged her.
"So am I," she whispered, and buried her face in his shoulder. "Jamy called me and said you hadn't come home. What did they want?"
"Money," he told her, trying to ignore how close she was, and the perfect way her head fitted in the curve of his shoulder. "They were going to ransom me. How did you know where to find me?"
"Well, where's the only place you can buy the kind of green tea you like?" she asked, laughing, as she pulled away, cheeks lightly flushed. "Where else would you go shopping?"
He laughed too, but stopped abruptly when she handed him a gun from her bag. "Do I need this? You know all weapons are supposed to have been destroyed-"
"So?" she asked, hands on hips and head tilted, a serious expression on her face. "Everybody knows they weren't all destroyed, and you can't fight guns with flower petals."
She was right, and he knew it. "Let's just…get out of here, alright?" he asked, and she nodded, leading back into the sunshine.
^^^
"Adia, is Quatre with you?" Jamy sounded worried; she'd called just before Adia went out for school.
"No, he's not. Is he missing?"
"He didn't come home last night, and we wondered if you'd seen him…"
Adia blushed with a sudden idea of what they might have thought. "He's just my friend, you know, Jamy…"
"Sorry, I didn't mean that…we're just so worried…this sort of thing has never happened before!"
"Don't panic, and I'll find him. Don't worry. My father…my father trained me for this kind of thing. Just…leave it to me." Adia hung up. Damn it. She hated to admit it, but her father was right. He'd said she'd need to do this some day, and she had. She ran back to her room to change into more suitable clothes.
^^^
All Quatre knew was the darkness of his cell. Those keeping him hadn't spoken, and he hadn't seen their faces. The total of what he knew of them amounted to the sound of their movement and the smell of their unwashed bodies. Now he knew how Adia felt- spending a day in this darkness, surrounded by things he could not visualise would drive him crazy, and she'd lived in it for eight long years. However, she hadn't been tied hand and foot to a chair, and left for God knew how long. For all he knew it could be days since his capture- there was no way to tell in this black hellhole of a prison.
^^^
Grimly, she pulled on her second boot and stood up, then grabbed her bag and strapped it on. She had no way of knowing if she'd need this stuff, or if Quatre had just gone out and gotten lost. But she had to find out.
She walked quietly down the stairs and out of the back door, then over the wall into an alley. She'd check the corrupt places first- the places where the 'bad crowd' hung out, people who would kidnap people for ransom. She smiled, and it was a smile like that of a predator.
^^^
Creeping in through the open door, Adia sniffed quietly. This was it- the 'lair' of one of the worst gangs of thugs in town. They did nothing as serious as kidnap themselves, but they often sheltered murderers and other vermin in the dank rooms of their hideout, for the image it gave them.
Softly, she crept from door to door, listening for movement. Finally, she found a door with a familiar voice sounding behind it. She smiled, and left her bag by the door as she threw it back against its hinges.
^^^
"Excuse me, but do you know the way to hell?"
Quatre looked away from his tormentor and gasped as he recognised the girl outlined in the doorway. What was Adia doing here, and in a floral-printed dress?
"Who are you?" his captor sneered, pulling a gun from his pocket.
"I'm just a poor little blind girl who has lost her way," Adia replied in a voice that made Quatre's spine shiver. Where did she learn to talk like *that*? God, he expected to hear that kind of voice from a bimbo, or a movie, but not from Adia!
"Oh yeah?"
"Yep. And look what I found!" she cooed, pulling her hand from behind her back. "Isn't it pretty?"
Quatre gulped at the sight of the gun. "Adia, get out of here!" he yelled, and watched as her blind eyes darted towards where he sat.
Good. She knew where Quatre was, now, and thanks to the voice of the other guy, she knew where he was, too.
"I wonder what it does?" she managed, trying to keep her face smooth, rather than humiliated from sounding like such a…such a…oh, she didn't have a word for it. She pulled the trigger, carefully keeping it just to the right of the villain's voice. A loud bang, and a yell.
Quatre looked up, to see the man holding the ragged remains of his ear. It bled sluggishly, but he could see from the small smile on Adia's face that it was no accident. She'd actually known where to shoot. But how?
"Oh dear, did I hurt you?" she asked, sounding mock-concerned in that breathy, ever-so-attractive tone.
"Damn you, you f***ing b*tch!" he yelled, fumbling for the trigger.
"Thanks. You just made my job a whole lot easier," she said calmly. "I'm just a poor little blind girl…WITH DAMN SHARP HEARING!" she yelled, eyelids flaring, and pulled the trigger. The slug hit Quatre's tormentor between the eyes, and he slumped to the floor, the gun dropping from limp fingers. Quatre's eyes were open wide; that had been too close for comfort. Adia shoved the gun into the waistband of her dress, and dragged a large rucksack into the room, closing the door behind her and flicking on the light.
Quatre squinted in the sudden brightness, but watched as she came up next to him, with a knife ready for cutting the ropes.
She could feel his breath warm on her shoulder as she sawed through the ropes around his torso; goosebumps appeared on her skin, and she shivered for no reason at all.
"Where did you learn that?" Quatre asked, rubbing his wrists as she dealt with his ankles.
"My father's a Preventor," she told him, face concentrated as the bonds came loose and she stood. "He taught me that, mostly in self-defence."
"Well, I'm glad he did," he told her warmly, and hugged her.
"So am I," she whispered, and buried her face in his shoulder. "Jamy called me and said you hadn't come home. What did they want?"
"Money," he told her, trying to ignore how close she was, and the perfect way her head fitted in the curve of his shoulder. "They were going to ransom me. How did you know where to find me?"
"Well, where's the only place you can buy the kind of green tea you like?" she asked, laughing, as she pulled away, cheeks lightly flushed. "Where else would you go shopping?"
He laughed too, but stopped abruptly when she handed him a gun from her bag. "Do I need this? You know all weapons are supposed to have been destroyed-"
"So?" she asked, hands on hips and head tilted, a serious expression on her face. "Everybody knows they weren't all destroyed, and you can't fight guns with flower petals."
She was right, and he knew it. "Let's just…get out of here, alright?" he asked, and she nodded, leading back into the sunshine.