Chapter 6: Kidnapped

Roger dropped his book as the feminine cry invaded the library. He ran out of the room and took the stairs two at a time until he slammed into Amelia's doors, throwing them open, one flying off the hinges with his effort. A giant of a man was hovering over her form on the bed in a grotesque parody of a romantic rendezvous. Her body was motionless and the stranger was removing his hands from her throat, pushing a strand of hair away from her face.

Anger and fear swelled inside Roger until he was ready to resort to physical violence against the lummox that had turned his head to see who had burst into the room.

"Mr. Smith, I was assuming you would join us once Miss Julaine felt the need to vocalize her fear. If you stay out of my way I promise that you won't die tonight."

"A tempting offer but I can't let you hurt her."

"She won't be hurt; I just needed to incapacitate her for the moment while I transport her somewhere else. Now please leave."

"Get off of her now."

Amarav sighed and got off the bed with an amazing amount of grace for someone so large. He removed his long coat and draped it over Amelia, who remained unconscious on the bed. Under the coat his chest was bare, showing the line down the center where he had been put back together with half an android body. He stalked forward in an amazingly relaxed way.

"My name is Amarav, and I applaud your foolish bravery Mr. Smith. If I wasn't under previous orders I would let you live out of respect."

Roger picked up the chair that sat in front of an old fashioned cherry vanity, swinging it without warning. Amarav chuckled in his throat again as the chair splintered against his chest, sending fragments of wood around the room. The negotiator pushed back his sleeve and opened his mouth to call for the aid of his Mega Deus and was cut short by Amarav.

The giant man hand made his right hand into a fist and used it to send Roger flying across the room with a fist in his stomach. He came crashing down into the old vanity, sending even more splinters and pieces of wood flying around the room. When the dust settled Amarav waited for some kind of movement from Roger. When the negotiator didn't move, he turned back to Amelia, who was still on the bed.

He scooped her up, coat and all into his arms and walked out onto the balcony. He found a slice of wood from the chair lying on the stone balcony floor and scraped a couple of words into the piece of rubble. If the negotiator woke up in time he would have a chance to stop Rosewater, Amarav owed him that much. The fight had not been fair, but time was of the essence, and he had a deadline to keep.

With Amelia tucked securely into his arms, he tossed the wood onto the bed, the leapt from between the pillars of the balcony, landing easily on his feet on the sidewalk.

There was a van waiting in the street for him, the windows painted over so nobody could see inside. He laid Amelia in the back, her head pillowed by a blanket and got in the driver's seat. He pulled away from the house, checking over his shoulder constantly to make sure she was still asleep.

* * * * * *

Amelia rubbed her eyes as she woke up, her throat painfully raw. She moved to reach for the glass of water she always kept next to her bed and the memories of what had happened returned to her. Her eyes flew open and she gazed up, finding Amarav looking down at her.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." He said, offering her a glass of water.

She refused to take it from his massive hands. He shrugged and set it down on the ground next to her. Amelia realized that she had been sleeping on a pile of blankets, one of which had been drawn over her. As she drank she looked around where she was, recognizing the gear works of the Paradigm clock tower. The sun was shining in through the clock face, shrouding a man in shadows. Alex Rosewater turned around and smiled at her like a benevolent god in the presence of his beloved people.

"Miss Julaine, I'm glad to see that Amarav's method, though crude and efficient, did not harm you in any permanent way."

She put a hand to her bruised throat, "Why am I here?"

"Do guess..."

"The memory fragments."

Rosewater nodded, "I would appreciate hearing all you know."

Amelia shook her head, "I won't."

Rosewater sighed and turned away. "Amarav.."

The giant man reached down and lifted Amelia from the pile of blankets and tossed her to the floor, her head hitting the ground. He loomed over her as she blinked furiously, trying to clear the fuzziness from her vision, and reached for her again.