Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FF8 characters. They all belong to Squaresoft.
But if I did…
Quistis opened her eyes slowly. The pounding in her head was keeping time with the throbbing in her arms. She could feel the bite of hard metal digging into her wrists.
'Handcuffs?' She tried moving her hands, straining against the metal. 'Yes, definitely handcuffs.'
Quistis looked around trying to find some clue as to where she was. It was so dark all she could make out were vague shapes scattered around the room.
"Where am I?" she muttered softly to herself as she wriggled around on the uncomfortably hard chair she was sitting on.
She closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly shut, trying to remember what happened to land her here. '…In the club…talking to the bartender' she thought, 'the…bartender, he smiled at someone behind me…turning around…then nothing…' She sighed, frustrated. 'Whoever was behind me must have hit me on the head…but who? Why?'
Quistis knew why. She thought back, memories falling in place. An image of Cid and Squall sitting in Cid's office, talking to her popped into her mind.
Cid: "Quistis, so good of you to come…We have a mission for you…you'll have to go alone…organized crime has moved into the area…this will be very dangerous if they find out who you are… we've already lost 2 men…The crime lord's name is Franco Lladro…"
Squall had sat there throughout Cid's briefing with a slight frown on his face, saying nothing until Quistis was about to leave. He looked up, meeting her eyes for the first time, "Quistis, as much as I'm against sending you out alone on such a dangerous mission, I know you can do this."
Squall got up out of his chair and stepped up to her. Taking Quistis' hand in his he leaned forward and spoke softly "Good luck, Quis. No matter how bad it gets out there, don't forget, you have friends."
Now, here she was months later, handcuffed to a chair, waiting. 'What went wrong? How did my cover get blown?' Quistis thought as she struggled against the cuffs again, without doing anything except scrapping her wrists. 'Ok, don't panic. That'll only make things worse. Maybe my cover isn't blown. There could be lots of reasons why I'm being held, here. Yeah right, Quis, think up another one,' she argued with herself.
Quistis heard the pop of the lock, then the door being pushed open. Her heart started to pound as she heard footsteps coming her way in the dark. Suddenly the lights were snapped on, blinding her.
"Well lookie, lookie. What have we got here?" Quistis heard a raspy voice say.
She blinked several times, trying to see who it was, then wished she hadn't. The man standing in front of her made her skin crawl. He was short and skinny with long greasy black hair and a scraggly goatee. When he grinned at her she saw that he had several teeth missing.
"Ya sure are a pretty one. Too bad the boss said to leave you alone." He walked around behind her, where she couldn't see him. Which made her even more nervous. "Pity though" he continued leaning closer to her "maybe you and me could' a been friends. Real good friends." He laughed then and walked back around, in front of her.
Quistis shuddered at the thought of what his words implied, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Why…" she started to ask, faintly. Clearing her throat, Quistis began again, louder "Why am I here? Tied up to this chair? Who are you and what right do you have abducting me like this?"
The man looked at her with an amused smile. "Well, ain't you an uppity one. You'll find out soon enough, girl, when the boss gets here." He leaned back against a large crate and folded his arms, "You're in big trouble, that's for sure. The boss don't come down to this part of town for just anything."
'This part of town?' she thought. 'I must have been moved after I was knocked out. But to where?' Quistis strained to listen to the sounds beyond the room she was being held. She was having a hard time concentrating, with her head pounding and the man in front of her chattering on about 'Hyne only knows what.'
"You hear what I said" The man asked, looking at her.
"I-I'm sorry. I seem to have a headache. Do you think you could get me an aspirin or something?" Quistis said trying to get the men to leave, if even for a few minutes.
He seemed to think what she had just said was funny because he started to laugh. "Yeah, I bet you do have a headache. It probably goes with that lump on the back of your head. And no I can't get you an aspirin or something."
"Can you at least get me some water?" She asked in a slightly pleading tone. "Please."
"Fine. If it'll get you to stop you're moaning and groaning." He stomped out of the room and closed the door loudly.
Quistis listened to his footsteps recede, then sighed. 'Good, it worked,' she thought.
Quistis looked around desperately for any way to free herself. She was beginning to panic. There didn't seem to be anything around the room but big wooden crates. 'Ok nothing to get these handcuffs off but maybe…' she thought to herself. She worked her way to her feet and was able to lift her arms high enough to get them over the back of the chair. She could run but it would be awkward with her arms still cuffed behind her back.
When she heard footsteps coming back in her direction, Quistis decided it was her only option. She ran in the opposite direction of the man that was returning. The room was much larger then she had thought. This must be some kind of warehouse.
Quistis ran as far back as she could get then ducked behind a row of stacked crates, trying to make herself as small as possible. She could hear the man swearing when he got back and found her gone.
"Come on out, girl" The man called to her. "You're only going to make this harder on yourself." She could hear him moving around and shrank back as far as she could into the shadows.
"I know your still there. I can hear you breathing." He sounded closer this time. Quistis' heart was pounding as she put her hand over her mouth trying to quiet her breathing.
She hadn't heard the man for a few minutes and was straining to hear where he was when suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her.
Quistis screamed as the man pulled her roughly out of her hiding place. She tried to fight him but was no match with her hands immobilized behind her.
"You little bitch," he snarled, slapping her hard across the face. She landed on the cement floor, dazed. Then he bent down and grabbed her around the upper arm and jerking her up, pulled her back to the chair.
'Ok' Quistis thought as he pulled her across the room 'he's not as stupid as he looks. But it was worth a try.' She winced as he pushed her roughly back into the chair.
They glared at one another for a minute before he looked towards the door, listening. Then she heard it as well. Someone was coming.
"You'll get yours now," he sneered down at her.
"MOLE!" They both heard a yell come from the entrance. The man gave her a last glance. "You'd better not move if you want to see another day," he said and then hurried out. "Yes, Boss, coming!"
Quistis felt the fear creeping over her as she sat, waiting to meet her fate. She kept her eyes on the spot where the man named Mole had disappeared. Her heart gave a jump when she saw the short man re-emerge with a tall man following behind.
Quistis looked away trying to calm herself. She refused to show this man the fear that was shooting through her. She heard him stop in front of her and looked up into his face. "Oh, Hyne," she gasped.
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A/N: Please leave me a review and I'll love you forever. =0.0=
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FF8 characters. They all belong to Squaresoft.
But if I did…
Quistis opened her eyes slowly. The pounding in her head was keeping time with the throbbing in her arms. She could feel the bite of hard metal digging into her wrists.
'Handcuffs?' She tried moving her hands, straining against the metal. 'Yes, definitely handcuffs.'
Quistis looked around trying to find some clue as to where she was. It was so dark all she could make out were vague shapes scattered around the room.
"Where am I?" she muttered softly to herself as she wriggled around on the uncomfortably hard chair she was sitting on.
She closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly shut, trying to remember what happened to land her here. '…In the club…talking to the bartender' she thought, 'the…bartender, he smiled at someone behind me…turning around…then nothing…' She sighed, frustrated. 'Whoever was behind me must have hit me on the head…but who? Why?'
Quistis knew why. She thought back, memories falling in place. An image of Cid and Squall sitting in Cid's office, talking to her popped into her mind.
Cid: "Quistis, so good of you to come…We have a mission for you…you'll have to go alone…organized crime has moved into the area…this will be very dangerous if they find out who you are… we've already lost 2 men…The crime lord's name is Franco Lladro…"
Squall had sat there throughout Cid's briefing with a slight frown on his face, saying nothing until Quistis was about to leave. He looked up, meeting her eyes for the first time, "Quistis, as much as I'm against sending you out alone on such a dangerous mission, I know you can do this."
Squall got up out of his chair and stepped up to her. Taking Quistis' hand in his he leaned forward and spoke softly "Good luck, Quis. No matter how bad it gets out there, don't forget, you have friends."
Now, here she was months later, handcuffed to a chair, waiting. 'What went wrong? How did my cover get blown?' Quistis thought as she struggled against the cuffs again, without doing anything except scrapping her wrists. 'Ok, don't panic. That'll only make things worse. Maybe my cover isn't blown. There could be lots of reasons why I'm being held, here. Yeah right, Quis, think up another one,' she argued with herself.
Quistis heard the pop of the lock, then the door being pushed open. Her heart started to pound as she heard footsteps coming her way in the dark. Suddenly the lights were snapped on, blinding her.
"Well lookie, lookie. What have we got here?" Quistis heard a raspy voice say.
She blinked several times, trying to see who it was, then wished she hadn't. The man standing in front of her made her skin crawl. He was short and skinny with long greasy black hair and a scraggly goatee. When he grinned at her she saw that he had several teeth missing.
"Ya sure are a pretty one. Too bad the boss said to leave you alone." He walked around behind her, where she couldn't see him. Which made her even more nervous. "Pity though" he continued leaning closer to her "maybe you and me could' a been friends. Real good friends." He laughed then and walked back around, in front of her.
Quistis shuddered at the thought of what his words implied, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Why…" she started to ask, faintly. Clearing her throat, Quistis began again, louder "Why am I here? Tied up to this chair? Who are you and what right do you have abducting me like this?"
The man looked at her with an amused smile. "Well, ain't you an uppity one. You'll find out soon enough, girl, when the boss gets here." He leaned back against a large crate and folded his arms, "You're in big trouble, that's for sure. The boss don't come down to this part of town for just anything."
'This part of town?' she thought. 'I must have been moved after I was knocked out. But to where?' Quistis strained to listen to the sounds beyond the room she was being held. She was having a hard time concentrating, with her head pounding and the man in front of her chattering on about 'Hyne only knows what.'
"You hear what I said" The man asked, looking at her.
"I-I'm sorry. I seem to have a headache. Do you think you could get me an aspirin or something?" Quistis said trying to get the men to leave, if even for a few minutes.
He seemed to think what she had just said was funny because he started to laugh. "Yeah, I bet you do have a headache. It probably goes with that lump on the back of your head. And no I can't get you an aspirin or something."
"Can you at least get me some water?" She asked in a slightly pleading tone. "Please."
"Fine. If it'll get you to stop you're moaning and groaning." He stomped out of the room and closed the door loudly.
Quistis listened to his footsteps recede, then sighed. 'Good, it worked,' she thought.
Quistis looked around desperately for any way to free herself. She was beginning to panic. There didn't seem to be anything around the room but big wooden crates. 'Ok nothing to get these handcuffs off but maybe…' she thought to herself. She worked her way to her feet and was able to lift her arms high enough to get them over the back of the chair. She could run but it would be awkward with her arms still cuffed behind her back.
When she heard footsteps coming back in her direction, Quistis decided it was her only option. She ran in the opposite direction of the man that was returning. The room was much larger then she had thought. This must be some kind of warehouse.
Quistis ran as far back as she could get then ducked behind a row of stacked crates, trying to make herself as small as possible. She could hear the man swearing when he got back and found her gone.
"Come on out, girl" The man called to her. "You're only going to make this harder on yourself." She could hear him moving around and shrank back as far as she could into the shadows.
"I know your still there. I can hear you breathing." He sounded closer this time. Quistis' heart was pounding as she put her hand over her mouth trying to quiet her breathing.
She hadn't heard the man for a few minutes and was straining to hear where he was when suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her.
Quistis screamed as the man pulled her roughly out of her hiding place. She tried to fight him but was no match with her hands immobilized behind her.
"You little bitch," he snarled, slapping her hard across the face. She landed on the cement floor, dazed. Then he bent down and grabbed her around the upper arm and jerking her up, pulled her back to the chair.
'Ok' Quistis thought as he pulled her across the room 'he's not as stupid as he looks. But it was worth a try.' She winced as he pushed her roughly back into the chair.
They glared at one another for a minute before he looked towards the door, listening. Then she heard it as well. Someone was coming.
"You'll get yours now," he sneered down at her.
"MOLE!" They both heard a yell come from the entrance. The man gave her a last glance. "You'd better not move if you want to see another day," he said and then hurried out. "Yes, Boss, coming!"
Quistis felt the fear creeping over her as she sat, waiting to meet her fate. She kept her eyes on the spot where the man named Mole had disappeared. Her heart gave a jump when she saw the short man re-emerge with a tall man following behind.
Quistis looked away trying to calm herself. She refused to show this man the fear that was shooting through her. She heard him stop in front of her and looked up into his face. "Oh, Hyne," she gasped.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
A/N: Please leave me a review and I'll love you forever. =0.0=
………………………………………………………………………………………………