"Oh, Al…he's…he's beautiful!"
The high-pitched voice definitely didn't match his mental image of a female serial killer.
Opening his eyes back up, Steve saw a dainty woman in her mid-fifties stroll through the kitchen, wearing a red and orange flowery dress that reached past her knees and a big leather purse, looking as thought she'd just come home from work.
On the other side of the room, Albert panted in nervous excitement, a hand rubbing over his sweat soaked shirt as he smiled at his would-be girlfriend in unmasked pride.
"I found him for you, Susan. I knew you'd like him the first time I saw him."
Steve watched the bizarre exchange with growing interest, noting that the lady stared at him like a puppy under a Christmas tree. The commotion had woken Randy back up, who struggled to sit up straight against the radiator, undoubtedly sore and hurting from countless hours of captivity and restraint.
Setting her purse onto the small dining room table across from them, Susan walked over to hug Al, an act that seemed to vitalize the man's senses like no other. Huffing in exhilaration, he wrapped his strong arms around his girlfriend's lean body and gently kissed her forehead.
"Don't let that fool you. I've seen her snap and kill the other guy just because he raised his voice to her."
Behind him, Randy was quite aware of his growing confusion, as the pair hugged and shared kisses like love-drunk teenagers, seemingly oblivious to their onlookers.
"I've seen him strip you of your revolver and badge. I take it you're a cop?"
Glancing over at the man in his mid-thirties, whose crew cut brown hair was caked with dry blood from a freshly scabbed-over head wound, Steve nodded carefully.
"Yes. We were investigating your…disappearance when he caught up with me."
"I'd heard about this on the radio earlier this week. We're what? Number five and six now? How close are you guys to solving this case? We're all going to die, won't we?"
"Well…", Steve mumbled, buying himself time on how to answer the question, "We were making headway until this…ehm…this unexpected twist of events. You've got any idea where we are?"
When Randy didn't reply, Steve glanced over only to find the other man weeping uncontrollably. Wondering what he could have said to cause the emotional outbreak, he quickly remembered the CPZ Lenny had talked about, likely altering the other man's thinking and causing irrational mood swings.
Focusing his attention back to the strange couple ahead, Steve swallowed hard when he watched them release the hug, before the lady walked up to him hesitantly, taking one step at a time, as if to approach a frightened animal.
"You're a pretty one, aren't you, puppet?"
"And you're committing a class one felony…", Steve countered, surprised when she didn't react. Instead, she knelt down and began to play with his tie, before reaching up to caress his cheek.
"Mhm…you smell good."
The answer burning on his tongue quickly became silenced by the threatening glare Albert threw him from a few feet away. Heeding Randy's warning vigilantly, Steve decided to remain quiet, as the lady ran her fingers across the rows of buttons on his dress shirt, before resting her flat hand on his stomach.
"Shhh. Just relax. There's no need to be nervous around me. I am here to protect you."
Slowing his breathing to appease the lady, Steve scrambled through various case studies of psychological diseases causing the level of delusional behavior Susan clearly displayed. And yet, whether it was the seven-some years since he'd been to college and took those Psych courses, or the concussion from meeting the doorframe of the Galaxy, his mind remained blank. Deciding to dig deeper in hopes of getting a better angle on the situation, he rattled on the handcuffs.
"Protect me from what? I am a cop. It's my job to protect you. But I can't do that with my hands tied up like this."
Behind them, Al grunted in dissatisfaction but was quickly silenced when Susan threw him a warm smile.
"It's alright hun, don't worry.", turning back around to face him, the lady ran a nervous hand through her shoulder length red hair, before shaking her head, "You don't understand, puppet. You're not aware of the dangers awaiting you out there. We're here to keep you safe. And we need to make sure you don't foolishly try to run away."
"What if I promise that I won't?"
Giving her his best feign smile, Steve batted his eyelashes, hoping to make it through the lady's complete and utter distorted view of reality. Unfortunately for him, her features turned grim as she leaned back, before glancing over at Al.
"I think this one is too wild yet. Let's get him settled down."
Fearing what their idea of settling down entailed, Steve inched his way up the radiator, as far as the handcuffs allowed. Next to him, Randy began to cry out in a sheer panic, and the young Inspector was troubled to see Al walk into the kitchen and return with a syringe full of clear liquid.
Setting up for a fight he knew he wouldn't win, he watched the burly man hand the syringe over to Susan, before getting down on his knees and using his full weight to pin him with against the cold fins of the radiator. Steve released an involuntary gasp when the heavy man wrapped his massive arms around his upper body, squeezing all the air out of his lungs and forcing him to inhale the strong odor of sweat and human filth emitting from Al's shirt.
"That ought to teach ya to open ya mouth!", he growled in his ear, as Steve felt Susan's hand run along the outside of his thigh. Fearing that she was looking for an injection site, he pulled his legs closer, before trying to push himself farther away, only to feel his cowboy boots slide on the dusty floor.
Al's grasp on his upper body tightened, his arms acting like metal wrenches threatening to squeeze the life out of him if he dared to move any further. Barely able to inhale, Steve tried to pull away one last time, only to feel his boots slide yet again.
Ceasing the opportunity, Susan grabbed his right knee and pinned it to the floor with surprising aptitude, before shoving the needle into his thigh muscle, causing a wave of agony to run through his leg as the cold liquid began to spread through his system.
"You can let him go.", came her dry remark as she pulled the needle back out of his leg and stood up, eyeing him suspiciously.
Feeling the two hundred-some pounds of muscle and determination lift off his body, Steve took a deep breath, trying to move to a more comfortable position under the prying eyes of his captivators.
"I told you to be careful what you're saying, cop!", Randy yelled next to him, his voice having taken on a manic tone, "Now you're going to start seeing things too. Welcome to the insane asylum!"