oOo

Christmas eve was a time that most people would want to spend with their loved ones at home, or- if they were privileged enough- surrounded by great friends and family. It's unusual for a person not to want to spend the holidays with people who mean something to them. Unless someone doesn't have anyone significant to spend the holidays with.

This was why Charlotte Durant found herself working on Christmas eve while everyone else in her office was at the party. Usually her job only consisted of typing up reports, filing paychecks for everyone in the building and possibly even running a few faxes to the overseas offices but whenever there was something wrong with one of the computers, they came to her to fix it.

She had just finished typing her last document of the night, clicked save and powered down the computer. With a heavy sigh she leaned back against the chair and stretched her spine, rolling her shoulders while the joints popped. Her boss, Mr. Takagi, hadn't wanted her to be working on a holiday- especially on Christmas eve!- but she had insisted that she didn't mind. It wasn't like she had anywhere important to be. As a matter of fact, this little office party would be the closest thing to a holiday dinner she would get. She wasn't in a hurry to get back to her dingy one bedroom apartment. It was empty. No significant other was waiting up for her. Not even a pet.

"I hope you're not working hard." A soft voice called from the door to her small office. She looked up to see Ms. Gennero,- her other boss- leaning in to check on her. Behind the woman, Charlie could see Carol and Andrew pass by, hand in hand as they very obviously searched for an empty room to have a quick shag.

"Just finished actually." Charlie replied as she stood up and walked toward the door. Hopefully she still had time for a drink and some food before she left.

"Well good. I don't want you spending all night in here. People will think I'm Ebenezer Scrooge." Ms. Gennero joked.

"Never." Charlie replied with a grin. "You're pretty top brass around here but everyone loves you."

"Well thank you for telling me so."

"Holly," someone else walked up behind her. "Your husband is here. He's waiting in your office." Ms. Gennero wished Charlie a happy Christmas and wandered off to take care of that. Charlie wandered around the room, not really mingling with the other partygoers- she wasn't very sociable- but still chatting up with a few people while she made up a plate and snacked, avoiding the champaign in favor of just water. She also made a point to avoid one person in particular. Harry Ellis, who was well known around the office for his bad habits, and less known- but still known- for his conquests in the bedroom. When one worked in a place like this, it was normal to find that almost everyone has slept with everyone, however, she took some pride in knowing that she and Ellis had never and would never happen. Not that it kept him from trying though. He was always coming up with excuses to drop by her office or to invite her over to his apartment. She would politely decline and wait for him to move on, but he never gave up.

He was alright in small doses, but if he'd been drinking- and she already knew he was- it only made him more persistent. When she finally made her way to the elevators to leave, and saw him all but blocking her escape, she decided that the stairs were faster anyway. Her heels echoed loudly on each step all the way up and down the thirty plus floors of the Nakatomi building. Halfway down after a close call where she almost twisted her ankle, she slipped out of her heels, carrying them as she walked barefoot the rest of the way. Coat draped over one arm, and shoes in the other hand, she pushed through the doors onto the first floor.

Few people get to experience the rare unsettling feeling of their life taking a drastic turn. The one moment where everything changes forever is not one that people are trained to recognize when it passes, and so it often goes by unnoticed. For Charlotte, that moment lasted the entire trek down the stairs, but she would never have known until the moment she stepped into the lobby. Her life would never be the same after tonight, and the only thing that was on her mind as she descended the thirty floors was the files and paperwork back upstairs.

When she stepped out of the stairway and into the lobby, nothing was noticeably out of the ordinary, at least not immediately. There were a few other people there besides her, but they all had their backs to her, and couldn't hear her bare footfalls on the marble floor as she approached. They were talking to each other quietly, and it was someone on the other side- who was facing her- who saw her first. At the exact moment that all voices stopped and they sharply turned to face the newcomer, she happened to notice that someone was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. She didn't immediately recognize that it was the security guard, she was more focused on the body. The blood. She was about to ask what had happened- and if whoever it was, was okay- when the face registered in her memory. The security guard. The night watchman. Six o' clock to two AM. He'd started working there just a few weeks after herself. Ronald something. She thought as she recalled his file. He has one dependent and is married. Then it dawned on her. Was married. He's dead. When she cast her worried glance back up to the group of men, they were all either staring at her or looking between themselves as if they were considering what they should do.

One of the men- a light brunette in a long coat- said tentatively "…Hello."

She opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out, so she shut it again, glancing back down at the dead body. One of the intruders was wearing the dead man's security coat. Posing as a security guard. She noted absently. But why?

Movement brought her attention back to the group. One of the men- a tall one with lengthy blonde hair- had moved, started walking toward her. She didn't remember making the decision to run, only that one second the man was coming at her, and the next she was sprinting back down the hallway in the opposite direction, her coat and shoes clattered to the floor behind her where they'd been discarded, and she heard the man's loud footfalls as he gave chase. She didn't have time to realize that it was a bad idea to run back up the stairs, but by the time she did she had already crossed the small hallway back to the door. But it didn't matter anyway, because as soon as she touched the door she was slammed into it. Her face bounced against metal and stone with a sickening crack that rattled her teeth and yellow and black stars exploded across her vision. She was vaguely aware of the pain in her shoulder as her arm was wrenched around and twisted behind her, and she was thrown down onto the floor. A knee pressed heavily into her back making it hard to breathe. Someone said something, but she couldn't understand what it was. Her ears were ringing.

Was that German?

She barely heard someone say "Bring her here, Karl." before she was pulled up from the floor and dragged back to where more had all gathered at the elevators with duffel bags, all watching her curiously. One of them- the one in the long coat- approached her, and she took a wobbly step back. She could already tell that he was the one in charge. Something about his posture and the way the other men flanked him like they were his bodyguards.

"Are you alright?" He asked, and it took her a second to focus her gaze on him, the world swam in her vision. "I must apologize for my associate- you simply caught us by surprise, we weren't expecting you!" he chuckled. Now that the stars had faded and she could see clearly, she could see the gun in his hand and stiffened. She could taste blood, and was certain that her nose was bleeding but her entire face was still numb from the shock of the initial crash against the door. She could feel something dripping onto her chest every few seconds though, but then she realized it was her lip. It had split when she hit the door. The blood almost matched the hue of the fabric on her dress. One of the other taller men pushed the button to call the elevator. The feeling was slowly returning now and with it, a deep throbbing pain.

"You are going to have to make an important decision right now." He continued, drawing her attention back to his face as he leaned closer, towering over her smaller frame. "You can either promise to behave and you'll live, or I can kill you now. I assure you, it makes no difference to us."

Her eyes widened a fraction as she realized just how serious this was, and she stared at him. Blood ran down her chin and dripped onto the floor. What bothered her more than his threat was the look on his face when he said it. So casual, like he was simply asking her for the time. His eyes, almost joking. But she knew this was no laughing matter. "I-I will behave." She said in a quiet but sturdy voice. The movement of those few words made her lip hurt worse.

He grinned at this. "Very good!" Behind them the elevator doors slid open with a ding. They all filed into the tiny box- her being shoved roughly by the large blonde- and crowded around her on all sides. She was taller than average at just under five feet and nine inches, but every single one of them stood at least a head over her. The little numbers above the doors blinked on and off as they passed floor after floor.

She gingerly touched her lip- it felt fat and kind of numb, but raw flesh still stung under her touch- and when she pulled her hand away her fingers were sticky with blood. Her tongue reflexively darted out to taste and explore the wound.

"Here." She looked to see the leader holding a handkerchief out for her. She spent a moment staring at him, unsure. Was this a joke? "Go on." He said, waving the cloth slightly. "It won't bite… but I might." A few of the others chuckled at this.

She managed not to roll her eyes- the guy still had a gun- and took the cloth, wiping her chin and pressing it carefully to her bleeding lip. She realized it was his pocket square.

"So..?" He ventured. "What is your name?" He had an accent that was definitely German, and they all had faces that looked somewhat European.

Hesitantly she replied. "Charlie."

"Hmm." He grunted, and then murmured. "Unusual name for a girl."

She didn't explain that it was a nickname, only gave him a quick glare before returning her attention to the numbers above the door. He saw the glare and smirked.

"My name is Hans." He said, and she resisted the urge to let him know that she hadn't asked. Instead she stared forward, trying to ignore him. Her heart racing in her chest as she thought of the gun in his hand.

They were almost all the way to the top now. She heard the bags rustling and zippers being ripped down their track. She glanced around at the chorus of mechanical clicking as assault rifles and machine guns appeared and were put together. Her stomach seemed to flip-flop, and she tried to shrink away- just the sight of the weapons was terrifying- but there was nowhere to shrink to. They were all around her. Air! I need air!

When Hans noticed her nervous fidgeting he smiled warmly. "Don't worry. You are going to behave, remember?" Two of the others chuckled again at this, but she could only stare at their leader. What the fuck have I stumbled into? The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slid smoothly open with another faint 'ding'. She jolted when a hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her. But it was only Hans again, escorting her into the room. One hand resting on her upper arm and the other holding his gun against her spine. "Quiet please." He whispered to her as his men got into position, sealing off the exits. Even as they all filed out with guns and heavy bags slung over their shoulders, dressed in dark clothing, nobody seemed to notice them. Either everyone was too drunk or too immersed in the party atmosphere to notice the approaching danger.

It wasn't until one of them fired a few shots into the ceiling that the panic started. After the first few bullets hit the ceiling and plaster started raining down, everyone started running and screaming all at once. The partygoers were being herded into a group and when she tried to join them, the grip on her arm tightened, yanking her back. "Nein! You will stay here." He said quickly. Only when all of the people were corralled into the center next to the pond, did he finally release his grip on her and ushered her into the crowd. Immediately she made her way over to her boss, Mr. Takagi. Ms. Gennero was there too and asked her as she approached "Charlie!- My god your lip- what's going on?" While Holly inspected her busted lip, she glanced over to the elevator to find that Hans was looking right at her in a way that was unsettling. The blonde with the long hair walked over to whisper something in his ear and he nodded in response but his eyes remained on hers. They held each other's gaze until she had to shy away.

"I don't know." She answered truthfully. "I was trying to go home and when I got to the lobby these guys were waiting." This statement was punctuated by one of the men- Karl- unloaded more of his bullets into the ceiling again. Everyone screamed and ducked low to the ground.

And then their leader began to speak.