ON MY BIO: I have decided to start listing my stories and then do a brief summary of where I am with the next chapter, and when I plan to have it up. So if I ever take a long time, or you want to know about the progress of a story of mine, check there.
Special thanks to my awesome beta, Thought.
Four pages, whoo! (I'm working on making my chapters longer).

Obsession

A man sat behind a desk, his eyes scanning over documents and certificates all pertaining to one woman. It had taken months of careful planning, countless amounts of money, and patience, but she was in his possession.

He had known he wanted her ever since he first laid eyes on her. They were in a bar on some dingy little drift and there she was, laughing at the bar with her eyes sparkling and head thrown back. He sat and talked with her for a while, and knew she was the one. Unfortunately, just as they were about to leave for some "activities", this uber comes out of nowhere and glares at him, his eyes distinctly screaming "mine!"

But he found he could not get her off of his mind. He ran into her a few more times, but they never stayed alone for long. That uber always showed up, and guided her away. He did note with some satisfaction, however, that the two did not seem to be involved. In fact, she did not even seem to take notice of the uber's infatuation.

And so this man's hunt began.

Using his money he tracked her down, and watched her. He had cameras installed at the drifts, which she tended to gravitate to. Bartenders were paid off, old friends hunted down, and soon he knew everything he could possibly know about the woman.

He did have to suffer from a distance when he discovered her sudden romantic involvement with the uber. But he knew she would be his soon enough. And eventually she was. He could have cried from joy when she and that uber got into a fight and he stormed off. She was alone at last and he had his men go in to retrieve her, he should have known she would fight. That was one of the things that he loved about her; she had a fire inside.

When she was brought to him she looked so tiny, her body was bruised and bleeding. The men were immediately fired, paid, and sent away. She was brought into a hospital and cured fairly quickly, nanobots to thank for that. He promptly had her moved from the hospital when she awoke and created a disturbance after realizing she had been kidnapped.

Didn't she know it was for her own good? So they could be together at last?

He placed her in an asylum, heavily sedated, and well guarded. After he forked over even more money, she was awarded a personal guard. No questions were asked, not after he paid for a new wing to be built.

And so his second wait began, a wait for this woman to become his. His patience was astounding, even to himself. Almost three years gone by and just now his rewards were coming in. She would finally be his. The woman of his dreams.

Captain Rebecca Valentine.

Of course, he had changed her last name quickly after he acquired her. It wouldn't do to have her friends come blazing in and 'save' her so quickly, not after all he had done to get her.

He did let her keep 'Beka', though.

He told himself, just as he had done countless times before, that it was because he was being generous and allowing her to keep something of herself, and that he liked calling her by the name by which he fell for the feisty vixen. In reality, it was merely because his doctors could not rid the name from her mind. Try as they might, it remained and she would answer to nothing else. She had clung to her name when they "questioned" and "cured" her.

It was one of a few things she had left.

Those memories that her mind refused to purge itself of worried the man, more than he would ever admit. But, the woman had been medicated and "questioned" into such submission that she would believe any lies which those under his pay fed to her. And she had a desperate need to please him. No doubt her subconscious remembering some need to prove herself loyal from a fractured past.

Yes, Beka could keep that name. It was only fair. He, after all, had taken virtually everything else.

And in just a few more days her body would be his as well.

XXX

"His name is Nick," reported Andromeda as a visual of three men appeared both on the screen and in hologram form. "He is our main suspect. An informant, this man," suddenly a man to the right of Nick had a red circle around him, "has given us some information."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. People are always giving us information. But is it good?" complained Harper from one of the seats at the table. They were in one of the conference rooms. Across from Harper sat Dylan. And further down the table Rhade had thrown himself into a chair. "I mean, how do we know he's not lying?"

"We don't, Harper," said a very exasperated Dylan, "we just have to take the chance that he's not."

They both turned to Rhade to see if he had any problem so far but he merely waved his hand in a bored manner for the presentation to continue. Harper mimicked the action and Rhade gave a light growl. Dylan sighed. He could tell this was going to be another long day.

"What does Nick do, exactly? And how can we get a meeting?"

"To answer the second question you already have one. In two hours Nick is expecting you to be in his office. With the time it will take to get to the planet you have to leave almost immediately after this meeting is over. To the first question, Nick is in politics."

"Hah! To serve the people my ass."

"Harper!" Dylan scolded as Rhade looked on amused.

"Aw, come on Dylan. The guy's a crook!"

"Based off of what, that he works in the government?"

"Politics, Dylan, politics. 'Poly' means many, 'tics' means blood sucking creatures. You do the math!"

Rhade laughed as Dylan stared at the engineer with his mouth open. The hologram of Andromeda arched her brow and then when no one else said anything she continued on. "Nick has a vast wealth and several connections. Both within his own government, those of nations and planets surrounding him, and even a few less reputable ones."

"Meaning?" asked Dylan.

"Meaning," replied Andromeda, "drug dealers, mafia, and other lawbreakers. Though none of these connections can be proved. One reporter came close but was found floating in a river with gunshots in his chest a week later."

"Who's that guy?" asked Harper pointing to the man on the left.

"That would be Jonah."

"I'm assuming since you didn't point him out he's not a suspect?"

"You are assuming correct, Captain. Jonah has little power with any system. He inherited a small fortune from his parents after they died in an accident when he was 19, enlarging it by making friends with a few wealthy families. He then made a couple of computer programs and sold them, after two years alone his fortune had nearly tripled. He has the money, but no real connections that I could find."

"Gets invited to the party but is asked to leave before business starts."

"Exactly."

"Well then boys, let's go find Nick and politely ask him a few questions."

As Dylan and Harper walked out of the room however, Rhade stayed behind and continued to stare at the pictures of the men from his seat. He committed every detail of every fact and person to his memory. And reminded himself to do his own digging later on. If one of these men had taken Beka then he would learn every strength and weakness. Every friend and family member that could be used against him. This way, he could cause the man as much suffering as possible before slitting his throat with his bone blades.

With one last look, and a thought nagging in the back of his mind, Rhade rose from his seat and left to catch up with the other men.

Back in the room the hologram of one man still grinned.

XXX