Abduction

[Demeter]

[Reserved]

The sharp sound of high heels clicking on concrete could be heard for at least a block.  In hindsight, it had not been the best idea to wear them on her quick jaunt to the convenience store for cat food and a cheap caffeine boost.  Not because it alerted potential thieves within hearing distance of her whereabouts (though that was a distinct possibility), but because one of her toes was jammed painfully against the inside of her shoe and it was causing her to hobble slightly.  This did not bode well for the cup of hot chocolate she had in one hand and the bag of canned cat food in a plastic bag precariously swinging in the other.  She gritted her teeth and continued walking.  There were only a few blocks to go.  She would make it.

And she did.  At least to the crosswalk two blocks away from her loft apartment.  She stabbed at the button that would signal whatever computer was stuffed into the crossing signal that she needed to get across without jaywalking.  

"Wait!"  It announced imperiously, a recent addition she assumed was for blind individuals not able to see the intricate symbols that spelled out stop and go.  

Miranda yawned and leaned against the pole.  Even with one foot lifted to ease the throbbing of her toe, she looked stately.  She had managed to sneak away from her late night photo-shoot with an ornate diamond encrusted hair clip that kept her dark ringlets from sliding into her eyes.  The rest of the model\'s outfit, however, was her own.  From her dark blue jeans that flared slightly, to the tight fitting maroon camisole covered by a black blazer - she had purchased it all.  Even the shoes.  She scowled at her foot and the toe of her black high heel peeking out from the hem of her jeans.  

"Tennis shoes next time," she muttered to no one in particular as she continued waiting for the light to turn for her to cross the street.

[Malkavian Riddler]

She was a creature of heaven that glided through a place of sin, leaving a glowing trail of floral scent in her wake. His eyes were half-lidded in bliss as his nostrils flared to take in more of her smell. Her smell, beneath the spray of expensive perfume and manufactured materials of her clothing. That and the cup of liquified and powdery chocolate mingling with a pet food of some description was enough to intoxicate him. The reality of her washed over him so that he was numbed by her proximity. Oh, he was close to her in the mutedly lit alley, he could almost feel her pinching pain by watching her carefully crisp stroll. He could barely contain his standing position as she moved not a foot away, unaware of his presence as he used his abilities as a sneak to obfuscate himself from her.

He\'d followed the path of her rising success (and now gradual decline) through the internet; finding catalogues of clothing she appeared in, wearing this necklace or sitting upon the bonnet of that car, going to this island location or wearing that dress. She\'d appeared on television where he\'d recorded her advertisements, loving her voice, her face, touching the screen and finding it unsatisfying as his cold fingers met static glass instead of the warmth of her skin.

He was ready to invite her to his home. He\'d been ready for so long that he\'d procrastinated, waiting for the right moment to extend himself to her, frightened that she wouldn\'t understand, wouldn\'t feel appreciated or loved. Following her fame was no longer fulfilling, he\'d begun to follow her. He knew enough about her to have slipped into her home undetected, to plant secret and miniscule cameras into her bedroom, living and dining areas and bathroom. He had a trace on her computer so that he could watch the same things she watched whenever she turned it on, a little disappointed to find it wasn\'t often. At least she owned one, they could connect on some kind of level. They would connect, he was adament.

Dressed in black jeans and a navy turtleneck sweater, wearing black chucks on his feet, he held in his hands two items - both of which were designed to interact with the other. In his left hand a small brown glass bottle. In his right hand a hankerchief. Without analysing his next actions (for he\'d been over and over them in his mind) he moved deftly forward, out of the haven of the shadowy alley and into the streetlight at her back. Approaching her back was like approaching a goddess and he prayed she would not turn to look at him for he would be frozen forever in that moment of time as their eyes locked, doubting she would be so entranced with him - not unless she was prepared in any case.

She didn\'t turn, he reached her easily, though she must\'ve sensed something for she spoke softly beneath her breath. It was so startling that he faltered for not quite a second, thinking she was speaking to him. Had she seen him? Was she mocking her kidnapper even as he moved to deliver her to her haven, where no harm would befall her and he could realise his dream with her - to find love? Surely not, she would turn around, yes? In the instant that took up the rest of the second and caused him not to falter idly, he realised she was talking to herself - of course! The shoes, those shoes that had given her walk a pinched outcome, the kind that pressed her thin lips together a little more closely. He had time to notice something bright and pretty in her hair before a sinewy arm wove around her frame and a long-nailed taupe coloured hand with distinct blue veins pressed a square folded piece of cloth drenched with chloroform against her nose and mouth.

He dropped the small bottle into her bag and caught it by the handles just as she let go, as though she\'d handed it politely to him. In his mind\'s eye he could see her pretty blue eyes widen before they rolled up to the sky as she breathed in deeply in panic and succumbed to the intensity of the drug against her face. It was very fast, she would barely have time to think much less act. So easy, it was obviously meant to be. Taking the bag of petfood and letting her fall back into his arms so he could pick her up like his bride, he disappeared into the shadows.

continued in Abduction: Part II