Face Value

Prologue- Alice..

There is virtually nothing in my life that is more satisfying than waking up to her..

Memory 1..

I rolled over in bed to face my wife. She looked absolutely adorable curled up and clutching the satin sheets to her chest. Reaching under the cloth, I wrapped both arms around her tiny waist and pulled her naked frame to me so that I could hover over her. Burying my face against her neck, I inhaled the lavender scent of her silken locks and felt her stir beneath me.

"Damian?" she called, still half asleep and I raised my head just in time to see her eyes flutter open. Alice was beautiful in absolutely everyway; bright blond hair lay scattered across the pillows and long dark lashes framed piercing blue eyes that still managed to hold the innocence that I had fallen in love with nearly seven years ago. She didn't flinch under my heated gaze. Instead, her plump pink lips stretched into a lazy smile. " Good morning, Mr. Crusoe," she whispered.

"Good morning, Mrs. Crusoe," I grinned and bent to place a tender kiss on her lips. My hands wandered along her skin: over her shoulders, along the curve of her breasts and across her stomach and down to her smooth thighs.

"Damian.." Her voice was low and breathy when I began parting her thighs. "No," she protested weakly although she wasn't really making a move to stop me. "You'll be late for work."

"I think we have time," I whispered against her skin and began peppering a trail of kisses along her throat.

"But-- Oh god.." The words fell from her lips in a moan as I slipped one finger inside of her. With my other hand, I untangled the sheets from the rest of my body and kissed every inch of exposed flesh. My blond beauty had her eyes shut tightly, mouth forming a silent 'o' and fisting the sheets. I quickened my pace, watching the looks pleasure flash across her face until she climaxed, screaming my name and arching her back off the bed.

Her complete submission to me was a heady thing and for a moment she lay there with her eyes closed, boneless and motionless. I just watched her; took in all of her. I admit that I was satisfied with myself; having been the one to leave her so spent but I admired her for a different reason. Even when she was caught in the troughs of passion, she still was the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen, on every level.

When she finally seemed to have found the strength to move, she reached up to take my face between her delicate hands and I could see a thousand different emotions playing like a symphony behind her eyes. That's one of the things I loved most about her: the honesty her eyes held.

"I love you, Damian.." she whispered, her eyes glowing with her sincerity. Hearing her say that and seeing the love she had for me on her face stirred something inside me; a need that she alone could sate.

In one fluid motion, I scooped her up in my arms and headed for the bathroom. " It's at least 8:30 and I know this isn't the best idea but I need you, Alice." I stepped into the shower with her still hoisted up in my arms and her legs wrapped around my waist. "For the sake of time, I think this is a more suitable venue." The shower head drenched us in water that was nearly freezing cold and she squealed, clutching me closer to her so that our bare chests were touching with her back pressed against the tiled wall.

Running hands through her wet hair and down the small of her back, we shared another kiss but one that seemed more desperate. There was more intensity to it and I felt her reciprocate the need I felt in the movement of her lips against mine. Alice pulled away and turned those lust filled eyes on me. "Please," she breathed, grabbing a fistful of my hair and tugging lightly; a gesture that made me shut my eyes tight. I wanted her and she knew it, she could feel me pressed against her thigh. Her tongue teased just below my ear and along my neck. "Please." she repeated against my skin.

With calculated precision, I entered her in one swift motion and she gasped, fingernails grazing along my back. I stared into her eyes as I continued a steady rhythm, listening to her moans and when she shut her eyes, I kissed along her neck. It didn't take her very long to find the edge and we fell over it together.

Satisfied and virtually exhausted, I slid down into a seated position with her seated on my lap, whispering sweet nothings and my love for her in her ear as I drew patterns across her bare skin. After what seemed like an eternity of reveling in each others nearness and listening to the sound of each other's pounding hearts, I asked " Have you seen my blue silk tie?"

Her vibrant laughter reverberated off the marble tiled walls.

__________

There is virtually nothing in my life that is more satisfying than waking up to her but since she disappeared there is nothing but emptiness. I'm sitting in a coffee shop despite the fact that my stomach is too uneasy for coffee, and contemplating the solution to a problem that I've already made so much worse.

Mentally I was scolding myself.

'You should know better than this Damian. All those years on the force should have taught you this much.

Rule #2 of Hostage Situations- Don't maim, antagonize or kill the messenger; it gives the perp the wrong impression. If they think you're too radical, the hostage is less likely to survive.

The hostage could die.... They had my Alice and they could kill her.'

The thought crushed something inside me; like the violent clenching of a hand around my soul. I have 72 hours to find her, or at least what's left for her. My mind flashed back to the sight of her two manicured extremities which had been delivered to me and I cringed. I knew that I shouldn't be sitting here squandering any of my time but I had no idea what to do next.

In a fit of carnal rage, I battered the one person that could lead me to her. Had he still been alive, it would have been easy to get him on my side, with a little unconventional persuasion of course. All I had now was blood on my hands; literally. I resisted the urge to remove my stained hands from my pockets and brushed the hair out of my face. Alice normally cut my hair. In fact, she had promised to be waiting for me with her clippers when I came home from work tonight.. I guess by now you can see why that never happened.

I had two choices at this moment but I knew I had already made my decision. Perhaps that's why I chose to endure the scent of burnt coffee beans and an over zealous waitress.

Choice 1: I could go to my precinct, report my wife's kidnapping and the murder I had committed and leave it in the hands of the sluggish yet praised law system. From there, I can only hope that they save her before there is nothing left to save and that somehow, I receive the minimum sentence for Murder 2 at worst, Manslaughter 1 at best. Maybe my partner and the other officers in my precinct would give the case involving the spouse of one of their own, the highest priority.

Choice 2: Take matters into my own hands. I had been a cop for a total of 10 years; the last 8 of those years I spent as a detective and hostage negotiator. I had enough experience to do this on my own. It was probably the most efficient of the two choices but given my emotional state, it was the choice that would lead to the most bloodshed.

In the end, I had chosen the latter because it was the most practical; not because it was right. No waiting on warrants or tips and questioning suspects for hours. Having spent so many years of my life enforcing the law, I didn't like the idea of choosing to break it. Maybe I was sitting here trying to convince myself that what I was about to do isn't as terrible as it sounds.

Nothing I could do, no amount of practical reasoning would make this an easier pill to swallow but I would do anything for Alice. The best thing for me to do at this point would be to go back to our home, a building on the corner of 14th and Elm Street in upscale Manhattan, New York and hope that I find another lead there.

I would retrace my footsteps, no matter how bloody they might be.