Falling Petals of a Blue Rose

Chapter 23

Several hours later, Marisa finally started to come around. Her head was spinning like a top and her vision was just a blur of color. Her body felt so heavy she could hardly left her head.
“What? Where am I? What happened to me?” Even though she couldn’t see anything, she could hear a bunch of voices around her.
“Hey, check it out. She’s finally waking up.”
“It’s about time. I was starting to think we were gonna be here all night.”
“Can’t really blame her. We drugged her up pretty good. I’d be surprised if she could actually see us now.” Marisa struggled to raise her head. Even though her eyes were open, she could hardly see a thing.
“Who’s there? What’s going on?”
“See what I mean? She’s so out of it she can’t even see herself.”
“Probably cause it’s too dark in here. Hey, somebody hit the lights!” Just then, a whole bunch of lights turned on. Marisa snapped her eyes shut.
“Ah!” Little by little, Marisa slowly adjusted to the light. When she was able to see clearly, she realized there were a bunch of shady looking men around her. They all had smug looks on their faces. Marisa tried to stand but found she wasn’t able to. She realized her hands were tied tightly behind her back. She tried to free herself but the ropes were too tight. Marisa formed an angry look on her face.
“What is this?! Who are all of you?! Where have you taken me?!”
“My, you certainly are a brave one. Surrounded by so many shady characters and yet you still have the nerve to speak out like that. It’s no wonder the W.O.O.H.P. agents think so highly of you.” A voice from behind the men spoke out. The men all stepped to the side as a young woman with long black hair stepped out. She was wearing a tight sleeveless red jumpsuit with red boots. Marisa felt a chill run down her spine but refused to allow her fears to get the better of her.
“Who are you?! What do you want with me?!” The woman smirked.
“You are a brave one indeed. To think that such a young defenseless woman such as yourself would talk tough to me of all people.” While she spoke, Marisa realized she had a bit of an accent to her voice.
“She must be a foreigner. What could she possibly...” Just then, Marisa looked at her arms. On her right arm, she had a red tattoo which looked like claw marks. Marisa swallowed hard.
“You’re...Red Claw?!” The woman smirked.
“Ah, I see you’ve heard of me. You are correct. I am the one known as Red Claw.” Marisa’s eyes widened.
“But, that’s impossible! First of all, Red Claw is supposed to be a man that came to America from England 30 years ago! And second, I heard that he disappeared into the river over the town’s bridge 5 years ago and that no one has seen him since!” Red Claw chuckled.
“My my, you apparently know more about me than I would have imagined.” Red Claw walked over to a chair that was sitting on the side. After she snapped her fingers, a couple of the men grabbed hold of Marisa and dragged her in front of her feet. Marisa struggled to sit up.
“Why?! Why are you doing this?! Tell me what this is all about!” Red Claw let out a chuckle.
“Oh alright, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to let you know 1 or 2 things. Truth be told, the original Red Claw was my father.” Marisa gasped.
“Your...father?!”
“Yes, I was merely a yearling at the time, but when he escaped to America he brought me with him. While I grew, I watched as my father built his empire while letting nothing stand in his way. I longed for the time when I would be like that, strong, cunning, letting no one push me around, the power, the glory, I wanted it all. Of course, I had no intention of taking over my father’s position. I merely had to be patient and wait for the time when I would take over my father’s empire through inheritance. Of course, I didn’t expect it to be so soon. You were correct when you stated that my father hasn’t been seen since the incident at the bridge. Even so, things gradually began to fall apart after his passing. It took me some time to get things back together again under my leadership. Now, after many years of careful planning and cunning organization, I have succeeded in creating an empire that is even stronger than that of my father’s.” On hearing that, everyone in the room threw their hands up and cheered. Marisa formed an angry look on her face.
“You won’t sound so confident when W.O.O.H.P. manages to track you down and come after you! They’ll bring you down just like they did your father!” She shouted. On hearing her say that, a couple of the men took out knives and held them in front of her. Marisa struggled not to let her fear overcome her.
“It’s alright, boys. Her words are meaningless. After all, W.O.O.H.P. wouldn’t dare attack us as long as they know we have her as our hostage.” The men put their knives away.
“That’s why you brought me here?! You hope that by holding me captive you’ll be able to get W.O.O.H.P. to abide by your rulings?! Well, sorry to tell you, it won’t work! They’re way too smart to fall for something like that!” Red Claw smirked.
“That may be true. Although, I’m certain a young blond headed agent will be able to convince them otherwise.” Marisa’s face brightened.
“What?! What do you mean?!”
“Oh come now, surely you know who I am referring to. I believe he goes by the name Thomas. And your name is Marisa. Am I correct?” Marisa’s eyes widened.
“How...how did you...?”
“Simple, you could say we’ve been keeping an eye on you lately. My men have reported to me about how you’ve been getting rather close to several of W.O.O.H.P.’s top agents these past few months. They also noted how you’ve been getting especially close with one in particular. And considering the actions he took during the fire at the school, I’d say he’s grown quite fond of you as well.” Marisa’s head dropped as her face remained in shock.
“You...you’ve been watching...all this time...?!” Everyone just snickered as Marisa couldn’t bring herself to speak for a while. Silently, she ground her teeth.
“It doesn’t matter.” Red Claw looked at her.
“What was that?”
“I said it doesn’t matter. Even if you are holding me captive, that won’t stop him or any of the others. I know they will do whatever it takes to bring you down. Whether they save me or not is not important. What matters is that they don’t give up. They will do whatever it takes, to bring you down. I believe in them. I know they will succeed.” Marisa raised her head and gave Red Claw an angry look.
“In the end, it doesn’t matter what you do to me! They will stop you!” At first, Red Claw just stood there. Then, she let out a laugh.
“Stop me you say? And just how are they going to do that if they can’t even find me? They couldn’t even prevent me from bringing you here against your will. They couldn’t even manage to do something as simple as that, yet you believe they will be able to stop me? You are a brave one indeed.” At that, all the men threw their heads back and laughed. Marisa tried to block their laughter out of her ears, but it was no use. Tears started to form in her eyes.
“Thomas, it doesn’t matter to me what they do or say. You will succeed. I know you will!”