Chapter 22: Vindictive

She hummed to herself as she sat in the chair. She had never been one to show fear and even though she was currently tied to a chair in the middle of a darkened room, she could not find it in her being to be afraid. If anything, she was pissed. She was pissed that she had been knocked out and kidnapped on the way out to her car. She was pissed that she was being used as ransom against her husband. Most of all, she was pissed that it was Eustace Strych who had kidnapped her. Perhaps that was why she was not at all scared. Just pissed. And annoyed. And bored.

"It's been awhile Cynthia." The man himself said as he emerged from the shadows.

"It has. What have you been up to?"

"Just planning my revenge against Jimmy Neutron. It's working out quite well, as you can see."

"Ah." She looked around at the grey walls with all the typical abandoned warehouse feelings. The floor was a cold metal that clearly had not been washed in a while and it matched the layer of dust that covered everything in sight. "So where are we? Somewhere upstate?"

He snorted. "Like I'd tell you. But perhaps you'd like to hang out while we call your husband."

"Yeah, sure."

He turned to face the giant screen that was to her left. Almost immediately, her husband's face came into view and she was caught racking her brain for a time when she had seen him so angry.

"Eustace!" Jimmy snarled. "Let my wife go!"

"Now, now James. I didn't kidnap her just to simply let her go. How about a trade instead?"

"What do you want?"

"The new atom blaster you invented."

"Like hell." Jimmy responded flatly.

"Well then," Eustace sauntered over to where she was sitting and ran the back of his hand along her cheek, causing her to shiver. "Perhaps, your beautiful wife and I will have some fun-"

"Eustace!" Her husband boomed, his voice echoing throughout the room, his face red and his pupils dilated. "Get your hands off her! Do NOT touch her! I will kill you!"

"I'm tempted to do that myself." Cindy muttered.

"So what do you say Neutron?"

"Don't do it." Cindy told Jimmy. "I'm fine."

"You have 1 hour Neutron."

"Don't touch her."

"If he does, I promise to kick him." She managed to catch her husband's eye before the screen went black.

Eustace chuckled. "Excellent."

…

Alone again, she started humming Foreigner's Cold As Ice. Her notes echoed in the space and she stopped to sigh and rest her head on her shoulder. An hour sure was taking along time. She started up again only to stop at the sound of footsteps. "Please tell me it's been almost an hour." She told her captor.

"You haven't enjoyed your stay?"

"Being tied to a char isn't all that fun. Why don't you give it a try?"

He chuckled. "I think not. When your husband finally gets me the atom blaster-"

Eustace went off on his tangent that she had already heard about 10 times over the course of the 4 hours she had been there. She kicked her legs as she sat in the chair until a shadow caught her eye. Eustace was too involved with his speech to give her much as a glance, she looked closer and bit her lip to keep from cheering as she recognized Jimmy immediately. Her husband caught her eye and motioned for her to keep talking. She brought her gaze back over to Eustace. "You know Eustace, this internal rage you have against Jimmy isn't healthy. Have you ever thought about doing something else instead?"

That god-awful laugh echoed through the room. "Something else? My dear Cynthia, you were there when I pledged an everlasting hatred and revenge against your husband. What type of man would I be if I went back on my word?"

"A sane one."

"Ah Cynthia. You are far too sarcastic for my taste. I'm glad I got over you."

"Me to." She clicked her tongue a couple times before she kept going. "Do you honestly think that Jimmy's going to go with this?"

"The love of his life is at stake. What do you think?"

Before she could respond, the room went pitch black and Eustace screamed. Suddenly, all the lights went back on, and Jimmy was standing over Eustace's body, backed by several FBI agents. Jimmy stepped aside and Cindy could see a tranquilizer sticking out of his arm. Two agents reached down to take his unconscious body. Jimmy watched them go before rushing over to his wife. "How are you doing?" He asked as he cut through the rope to set her free.

"Minus the fact that I was supposed to be in court over three hours ago? Fine."

Letting the length of rope fall to the floor, Jimmy pulled her into his arms. "Any cuts? Bruises? Pain?"

"I'm a little woozy from the chloroform but-"She paused as her husband picked her up and carried her bridal style through the factory. "Jimmy, I'm not-"

"You were kidnapped."

"By Eustace Strych. Hardly cause for concern."

"Either way." He took her out of the building and out to the street where there was nothing but commotion going on. Before she could ask her husband what was going on, to EMT's came rushing up. "She was knocked out." Jimmy explained. "I just need to have her checked out." Which is how she found herself sitting in the back of an ambulance being poked and prodded. When they finally declared her okay, she heard a familiar voice.

"How are you feeling?"

She looked up to see Detective Mann, one of her favorites from the NYPD, standing over her. "I'm fine. Did you have to bring in the cavalry?"

He chuckled at that. "May I remind you my dear that you are not only the wife of the richest man in the world but also the District Attorney of the city? When you go missing, it's kind of a big deal."

Cindy nodded. "I suppose."

"I can tell you're tired. We have enough to hold him, so just have Jimmy bring you down to the precinct tomorrow."

"Sounds good," her husband interjected as he appeared. "Let's get you home Cindy."

"Eustace Strytch is a dumbass."

Jimmy chuckled. "Couldn't agree more. He didn't even encrypt his telecast so it was simple to track."

She laughed as she shook her head. "What an idiot."

"I was fully prepared to take him on myself, but right as I was leaving to get to you, the FBI showed up on my door. Once I explained the situation, they tagged along."

She yawned. "Figured."

"You weren't scared."

"No."

"At all."

She rolled over on the bed so she was on her stomach, and propping her head up on her hands, she looked at him. "No. Should I have been?"

"You were kidnapped."

"Once again, by Eustace Strych. It wasn't all that terrifying."

"Drugged. And kidnapped. And tied to a chair."

"Which wasn't all that comfy might I add."

"Can we please talk about the subject at hand?"

"I wasn't scared."

"Why?"

"Why would I be? You've beaten him every other time in the past. I just had to hold out until you got there. Simple enough."

He leaned against the far wall, arms crossed against his chest. "Sometimes, I can't help but think that you have far too much faith in me."

"Disagree." When he said nothing, she knew exactly what he was going for and sighed. "Jimmy, quit worrying about what could have been. I'm safe. I'm fine."

"I know." He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "And trust me, when I saw that you were unharmed and still able to provide sarcasm, I felt a lot better. I just wish I knew how he slipped through my Enemy Tracker Program."

His wife shrugged. "Well, we know where he is now."

Jimmy laughed as he flopped back-first onto the bed. "Fair enough." He stretched and then sighed. "Just glad it's over."

She crawled over to him and curled up against him, resting her head on his chest. "Promise not to punch Eustace's face in, when you go to the precinct tomorrow?"

He laughed at that. "None whatsoever." He told her as he kissed her.

A/N: I can blame the lack of updates on a lot of things. Writers block, lack of plot bunnies, being busy, and my depression having a mini spiral. Kinda all those things combined. But its done and here you go! You guys are all wonderful!