Thanks for the reviews/follows everyone!
Some of your guesses are pretty good as well. It's been a pleasure reading them.
ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE. DON'T OWN! DON'T SUE!
Snatch
The inside of the closet was womb like. Warm and pitch black, Myka's only reliable sense was her hearing.
In the extraordinary absence of light, the most miniscule of sounds were unbearably loud. She could hear the sound of her own palpitating heartbeat along with her breathing amplified tenfold in her ears. Thanks to the gag shoved in her mouth each breath was ragged, and just barely suffocating.
Just beyond the door, she fixated her ears on the sound of her captors. Their voices were as loud as if they were standing beside her in the closet.
"Can we talk about this first?" The red-haired captor's voice was nervous. From the way her pitch carried, it seemed she was coming closer.
"Darling, you have the most peculiar sense of humor." Despite the words, the British lithe lacked any sign of amusement.
"Well, can we at least bring her out here first?"
There was a pointed moment of pause just outside the door. Myka swore she could hear the sound of their soft breaths.
"Why ever would we do that?"
"Mess?"
The knob jiggled and the door flew backwards. Once again Myka had to squint her eyes to adjust to the change of light. After a few seconds, the black silhouette came into focus revealing it to be the woman, HG.
She was holding a knife.
At the sight of the sharp blade, Myka's stomach dropped. When she pulled her "little stunt" (as the woman called it) earlier, she knew without a doubt that she was going to have hell to play as a repercussion. But never had she imagined something this sadistic.
When HG had first entered the closet to stop her screaming, the dark woman closed the door and switched on the light overhead. It only took one look into her captor's dark eyes for Myka to shut up permanently. The darker woman's intense gaze was chilling.
Those near black orbs held a force so dark, so angry, so deadly- Myka literally feared she was gazing into the eyes of the devil herself.
Without speaking a word, HG commanded her entire being. When the darker woman bent to pick the slob covered ball gag off the floor, Myka didn't even have to be told to open her trap. Eyes wide in submission, the brunette dropped her mouth open and in a reverence akin to receiving the holy sacrament, she took the gag.
Just like then, this time around HG said nothing to her. She simply came to a stop by her side. Myka shivered as she ran the knife along the strip of leather just over her chest, right above her heart.
"It was foolish of us to use this material. It worked wonderfully for the purpose, but I lack the patience for all these buckles."
In the doorway, a breathless Claudia stuck her head in. She had one hand drawn over mouth and her eyes were saucer round. It was not the most assuring expression to see on the accomplice. Immediately, Myka's heartbeat raised several notches.
Dropping so their faces were leveled, HG held the knife over Myka's wrist. Myka could just barely feel the blade teasing the top of her skin. When the dark woman finally spoke, it was in a coldly calm voice.
"Hold still."
No one needed to tell her twice. Myka obeyed.
Ignoring the squeak of her nervous cohort, HG set about a very dangerous task of using the knife to aid her in the unbuckling process. Either the blade was incredibly sharp or her level of force was pristine, either way the captor skillfully sliced through the tough leather as if it were butter.
Once it was realized the darker woman knew what she was doing, Claudia eased against the door frame and casually folded her hands under her armpits. Locking her eyes onto Myka's face, she scornfully shook her head and commented.
"You look a hot mess."
The captive blinked.
After a few more minutes, the last of the restraints were severed and HG stood to a hover above her. The dark woman's hair had fallen into her face shadowing her eyes. But that made no difference to the captive.
Myka couldn't take her eyes off of the blade.
Taking a moment to pop the gag from Myka's mouth, HG turned her attention to her accomplice at the door.
"Claudia dear, please take our guest to the bath."
The redhead's eyes flickered over the unbound and un-gagged hostage. Her brow crinkled in confusion but she gave a quick nod. As quietly as if she were a ghost, the darker woman strode out the closet and from view.
Left alone with the younger captor, Myka cautiously eyed her. The redhead didn't seem to be of any obvious harm.
"Are you coming or what?" There was a hint of humor in the girl's voice as she gestured out the doorway with a jerk of her head.
Myka shakily stood.
All of the hours of sitting had made her legs weak and her balance unstable. Just when she felt herself pitching forward, the feel of strong slim hands caught around her middle and back holding her in place.
"Gotcha!"
The redhead's lips brushed the side of her cheek as she spoke. Myka flinched on contact, but the other woman's hold was tightly keeping her in check.
"A lil slower now, Ok?"
Hearing the concern in the snarky captor's voice was strangely comforting. Myka leaned against her smaller frame for a moment to gather her bearings. After peering into the depths of hell, she now found the snarky captor a little less annoying.
Quietly, Claudia led Myka out of the closet back into the living room. As she was steered towards the bathroom, another door just on the far left, Myka's searching eyes caught onto the boxes of pizza stacked on the edge of the table.
So that's who rang the bell.
The redhead pushed Myka into the bathroom and closed the door behind them. Taking up a position with her back against the wall by the tub, she gestured with her eyes to the toilet. It was then that Myka realized she was not having any privacy.
Too numb to feel embarrassed, the heiress gingerly pulled down her panties and dropped onto the bowl. The much needed release came out in a noisy gushing flow. Myka winced in humiliation whereas on the other side of the room, Claudia casually picked her nails.
Flushing the toilet, Myka turned to the sink to begin washing her hands. Her eyes caught onto the mirror hanging over the sink. For the first time in over twenty-four hours, she saw herself through her captor's eyes.
There were dried flecks of blood on the right side of her face and her hair was tangled as if several kittens had used it as a yarn. Even her dress was spotted with blood and it was also torn on the left side. Worst of all was her eyes.
Her own eyes were foreign to her. The usually grassy green orbs were glossy with unshed tears and darkened with fear.
"Take off your clothes."
Myka startled as the redhead appeared at her side in the mirror. "Pardon?"
If she heard correctly, Myka knew there was only one reason why they would want her to remove her clothing. Myka's entire body tensed. Because her captors were women, never once did her mind entertain the theory of rape.
How would that even occur?
Petrified, Myka clenched her body inwards.
Instead of repeating the command, Claudia exasperatedly rolled her eyes and brushed past the captive to turn on the shower. In jaw gaped relief, Myka watched as the redhead tested the warmth of the water then wiped her hands dry on her pants leg.
"You get five." The redhead held up five fingers. "I know you Disney princesses get their kicks with hour long showers, but you're on our time now."
Feeling as if she was reprimanded by a prison warden, Myka removed her clothes and stepped into the shower. The moment the warm water touched her skin, she groaned. Never had she welcomed being able to bathe this much before in her entire life. Remembering the time constraint, Myka quickly lathered her body and hair with a coarse bar of soap.
With careful hands, she cleaned the blood from the sore wound on her head and tried her damnedest to somehow wash her hair. As she rinsed the suds from her flesh, the layers of abuse literally seemed to melt away from her body. The feeling was so refreshing; she closed her eyes to further enjoy it.
Just when she begun to feel her muscles relax, a foreign hand shot into the shower and shut the water off.
"Times up!"
The annoying girl's voice was a little too perky as she handed a towel into the shower for Myka to use. Grudgingly, Myka accepted the cloth and wrapped it around her skin. The cheap cotton scratched against her skin like nails.
Behind the curtain, the redheads voice sounded."I'm stepping out for a minute, m'kay? Clothes are on the toilet, put them on."
Waiting until she heard the door close completely, Myka pulled the shower curtain over to the side and stepped out onto the floor. Immediately her eyes fell onto the pair of dark jeans and white button down shirt sitting on top of the toilet lid.
It was obvious who they belonged to.
Uncertain if the redhead meant an actual minute to dress, Myka quickly pulled on the clothes although her body was still damp. Leaving the last few buttons of her shirt undone, she roughly dragged her fingers through her hair, and silently cursed the girl for not leaving a comb.
A little over a minute, the door snapped open as the redhead peeked in. Claudia gave Myka an approving once over and then stepped aside for the captive to exit. As Myka exited the bath, her eyes curiously roved over the room stopping only after locating the darker woman. HG was standing in the kitchen hunched over the sink. Her shoulders were tensed and she seemed to be fuming.
Claudia led Myka to an armchair and directed her to sit, she complied.
The redhead then walked over to the edge of the table and flicked open one of the boxes of pizza. It was still warm and covered in sausage and peppers. Giving Myka a pointed look as she pushed the box closer, the redhead sat a cup filled with ice cold water next to it.
For the hungry captive, the image was taunting.
"Assuming that you are a smart girl, you do want to go home again, right?"
The hostage startled at the sudden closeness of the darker woman's voice. Turning her head, she discovered HG was standing at the edge of her shoulder watching her with folded arms and a calculating expression.
Myka's gaze flickered over her body. She no longer had the knife but Myka could see the bulge of her gun just under her shirt.
The captive slowly nodded her head.
"Good, but first there are some rules we must apply."
There was a low hissing noise as Claudia opened a can of Mountain Dew and dropped onto the opposing couch with a plate of pizza. The redhead made herself comfy on the chair as if she was about to enjoy dinner and a movie.
"First off—
HG cut as she pulled up a wooden chair and sat on it backwards. Her elbows hung over the edge as she leaned on the top with her folded arms.
"Do you have any idea why you're here?"
The hostage blinked her eyes. She didn't know what type of game this woman was trying to play and it made her feel all the more uneasy. Voice a little cracked from dehydration, Myka responded.
"You want my money."
Across from her, the darker woman nodded her head. "Hmm, close, that's a start. But the words aren't quite right."
The hostage was confused now. What more could the two maniacs want from her? And what did she mean by the words not being right?
An acidic smile came onto the darker woman's face. Staring into those pools of black, Myka found herself feeling a bizarre jumble of emotions. She wasn't sure if her heart was pounding in her chest out of fear, or worse, arousal.
The darker woman continued in a drawl, "See the thing is, you're not giving me your money."
Myka gulped as the woman dropped her eyes and slowly traced a finger over a rough corner on the chair. The captive felt herself flush as her eyes followed the delicate circular motion. Drawing her finger to an abrupt halt, the darker woman's gaze flickered back up to the captives. There was undeniable truth in those dark eyes.
"You're giving me, my money."
Complete silence followed as the captive gaped at the captor. On the opposing side of the room, Claudia was so entranced by the scene playing before her, her slice of pizza missed her mouth as she bought it to her face.
HG ran a hand through her hair then broke the silence. "Ms. Bering, exactly how well do you know your family history? Do you genuinely believe it was earned completely from oil?"
Myka's dumb expression was all the answer she needed to continue. Quirking a brow and cocking her head, the captor leaned in closer.
"Ever heard of the Millennium Project?"
The captive's brows furrowed in thought. Whatever it was, it sounded official enough to have been a part of history. Myka knew her history.
Growing up in a house with not one, not two, but three separate libraries filled with books, she spent her days sprawled across the couch learning about Alexander the Greats Conquest and the many scandals of the Royal Family. Her father had a thing for war stories, so a vast majority of the libraries were dedicated to the science and art of war throughout the world's history.
Coming up with nothing, Myka shook her head.
The response made the darker woman's eyes flutter. Leaning away from Myka, the woman softly sighed.
"Of course not."
HG pushed off from the chair and retrieved the glass of cold water from the table. Instead of drawing it to her own lips, she handed the cup towards the heiress. Surprised, Myka graciously accepted the offering but wariness stalled it upon her lips.
With the redhead drinking a soda, and her accomplice not drinking anything- Myka owned right to suspicion.
"Nothings in it, I swear."
Claudia's voice rang from the opposing chair. Myka drew her eyes towards her to see her waving her hands. Seeing her words held little to no merit, the redhead looked over to her accomplice.
"Tell her HG."
HG frowned. "If she's fool enough to think we're going to drug her after all of this, then that's her problem."
Scowling, the captive took her first sip of the drink. The cool water was like an elixir as it went down her parched throat and quenched her drought like thirst. Once again, Myka found herself thanking the heavens for life's simpler pleasures.
After she finished the drink, HG began to speak.
"Many years ago, I once worked for your father in a laboratory as an inventor and researcher."
The memory of HG showing Claudia the bizarre device came to mind. From the way the two cooed over it, it was like watching two parents standing over a baby in a bassinet. Myka unintentionally smiled.
"Though I was a part of a group, D5-67, I single-handedly designed, coded, and test trialed Millennium from start to finish. Because of its delicate subject matter, all of the members were sworn to secrecy. We were never to share the nature of our work with anyone out of the field, not even those holding similar occupations within the federal government.
It was warned that if we did, dire repercussions would be exacted." HG paused, her emphasis leaving room for imagination.
"A week after it was unveiled, your father and his benefactor friends held a little soiree at the lab. I was not invited. Instead, while I was at home fast asleep, an assassin broke into my apartment and set to kill me."
It was then that Myka noticed there was in fact a faint scar on the side of the woman's forehead leading into her scalp. Unbuttoning her shirt, the dark woman pulled the left side over and Myka was able to see the scar of a bullet.
"Two bullets to the chest, and one to the side of the head."
The hostage opened her mouth in awe. Helena closed and buttoned her shirt, "If it wasn't for a family friend dropping by that evening, I honestly would've bled out. Doctors said it was a miracle that I'm even still here."
Dark eyes went cold. "I however did die."
"Your father's sloppy assassin reported me dead, and thanks to my coma induced disappearance- I was dead to the world. Everyone believed his word for it and paid him a hefty sum in exchange. It wasn't till some time later did I learn all of my coworkers met the same unfortunate ending."
HG went silent.
From the way a shadow played about her face, Myka could tell she was dwelling on bad memories. The hostage felt a dull ache of compassion within her chest. How could her father do that to her? How could any of those men agree to do that? They literally traded innocent souls for obnoxious amounts of money and clandestine research.
Myka felt herself go sick. To think her family wealth was earned by blood didn't sit right with her at all. For the first time in her life, she wanted nothing more than to be far and away from both the name and the fortune.
The dark captor softly whispered, "It's not a bad thing to be wealthy. It's just a bad thing to use that privilege to tear down the world and put down the less prosperous."
Shaking her head slowly, Myka met the dark woman's gaze.
"What do you want from me?"
HG took in the brunette, "I don't want anything from you. I want to use you."
The heiress winced at the brutal choice of words. HG's eyes never left hers as she continued. "You will be our leverage to get back my invention."
The exchange seemed feasible enough. Myka thought. Everyone thinks she's dead, she can't just waltz in there and demand it back. Perhaps the woman using her as leverage, would guaranteed she would get back what was owed.
Still in thought, the heiress nibbled on her bottom lip. After a few seconds, a realization sparked.
"Wait…What exactly is your invention?"
A tense silence hung in the air. For a moment, Myka was once again held privy to the demon just beyond the darker one's eyes. In a voice as cold as her expressionless face, HG cryptically responded to her question.
"You really don't want to know."
At that the darker woman turned heel and stalked off to the other side of the room. She silently began moving suitcases about the floor and dumping contents into them, her motions cold and methodical. On the opposite end of the room, her young accomplice seemed oblivious to the change in the air as she happily munched on pizza.
Throughout all of this, Myka was stunned silent.
Not only had she been kidnapped, she just learned she was living a billion dollar lie. It didn't feel good to know her family was involved in shady projects. Especially projects involving assassin plots and stolen intel.
"Hey, did you want some of this pizza?"
Myka jumped as the redhead shoved a box under her nose. Less than half of the pizza was left.
"It's really freakishly good." The redhead added this as if the amount of slices already missing wasn't an obvious clue. Before Myka could respond, on the other side of the room the other woman called.
"Claudia darling, please come over here. We've got a little packing to do."
"Oook…" Unwillingly, the redhead sat down the box and made her way over to the suitcases. Her absence provided the heiress more time to ponder the bizarre equation placed before her.
Just what kind of work did her father do?
Myka was so trapped inside her thoughts she didn't realize her own truths.
There were no restraints around her limbs and no gag shoved in her mouth. The exiting door was just a few foot springs behind her chair and a window was just before her. With both captors preoccupied on the opposite end of the room, she could run away if she wanted to. And if she wanted to scream, it was still daylight and people were outside walking up and down the strip.
Once added together, these truths only pointed to one obvious conclusion:
The captive was no longer held against her will.