Seeing Red

Chapter 8 - Captive

Katarina looked up at Alan’s smile, his cold brown-almost black eyes boring into her, his yellow teeth and the smell of his breath making her gag- the only thing she could think about now was how wrong she had been.

If only she had waited- then Sandy or Joe could have come up with something, but here she was now, in the hands of a criminal. She was an animal- just waiting to be tested on, waiting to be used. There was no chance to escape now, not with Alan this close, the unfair advantage in people- they even had Joe and Sandy at gun point.

She had to face it now- this was the end for her.

A hand on being placed on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts. She glanced over, expecting the large, sweaty meaty hand of Alan or one of his hit men, but instead found the other guard’s- Cass’. He smiled, steering her towards one of the automobiles Alan was pointing towards and opened the door for her.

“After you.” He smiled, a boyish grin, and gestured for her to enter. She did, glancing back at him cautiously. She wasn’t going to trust him- even if he was the only non-threatening thing in this whole place. With a sigh, she clipped the safety belt in and leaned to the side, using the window as her support.

Cass got in next to her, and soon after, Alan. She could hear the man talking with someone on the phone- someone who sounded like he had power over Alan.

“Yes, I know, I know. I could be arrested on grounds for kidnapping, but the cops would spring at a chance like this!” Katarina frowned at his excited tone, and closed her eyes, feigning sleep. She would listen in for a bit loner, see where this was going and then spring into action- if there was going to be any.

She was trapped- the automobile was an in closed space, it didn’t really warrant moving around too much. If she was going to fight, she needed enough room to get out of the way, to hit, dodge, parry- basically to do everything the vehicle did not allow.

“Alright- just take the Matthews downtown, and we’ll go from there.” Katarina’s eyes flew open, her talons already flying out in her rage. He was going to kill them after all, she should have known.

Just as she was about to fly over to Alan’s side and rip the trachea out of his throat, she was stopped. She looked up at Cass and glared, pushing towards him a bit.

“Let me kill him, “She muttered, shrugging his hand off of her. “I thought you wanted this.”

He motioned for her to quiet down, and stopped, soon realising that Alan and the driver weren’t getting anything. Leaning in close, he put his mouth close to her ear and whispered his rebuttal.

“No, I don’t want any more bloodshed. All I want is to get out of this hell hole and start a new life. But I can’t do that without your cooperation, and possibly a strike team.” He sat back, expression emotionless. She glared at him, before turning to stare out the window, watching the blurred landscape.

Closing her eyes, she imagined what would have happened if Joe’s plans had gone out well. She could be off in some far corner of the world, enjoying life to its fullest. She could be anywhere- though, probably not Vegas. Joe had warned her not to go there.

She could be normal, maybe even start and raise a family. A small smile played on her lips as she thought about it, but was soon replaced by the image of a bloody, battered Joe. Sandy in pain. Bill dead on the road.

Shivering, she opened her eyes, frowning at Cass’s face. Whatever he wanted, she didn’t want to hear it.

She heard him sigh, and then mutter something under his breath. She strained to hear it, but was only greeted with silence.

“By the way, my name is actually Casimir.” She saw him smile out of the corner of her eye and sighed; he just wasn’t going to let her be.

Katarina looked over at him, fighting the urge to smile at his ridiculous expression and nodded. After that, she resumed her former activity of staring out the window, imagining what her life could have been.

“You don’t talk much, do you?” Silence.

“You know, you’d be able to make friends if you opened up a little.” More silence.

“I’m just like you, you know. I don’t have a choice in the matter either.” This sparked Katarina’s interest, but unfortunately, it also alerted Alan of their one-sided conversation.

“Cas, remember what I said? About how I have the power to get rid of you?” Alan hung his phone up, now sporting his signature glare. “I will not hesitate to replace you, there’s plenty of other people who would love to have your job.”

“Yes sir.” Casimir lowered his head, looking over at Katarina from the corner of his eyes. “It won’t happen again, sir.”

“That’s more like it.” Alan leaned closer to the driver, whispering something to him. After a while, the driver nodded and Alan leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.

Katarina raised her eyebrows, at how laid back he was. Here he was, closing his eyes, forgetting about the world when he had a killer in the car. She could just lean over, rake her talons across his throat and jump out of the car in all the fuss. She would be free.

She smiled, nails already growing and started inching her way towards his peaceful form. If she could just lean across Casimir without alerting the driver-

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

She rolled her eyes, glaring a Casimir. She heard him sigh and put a hand on her shoulder, leaning in closer than was necessary. Cringing, she leaned back until her back was pressed up against the door, the safety belt rubbing against her skin.

“Remember what I said about being just like you? It’s because you and I are the same species.” Katarina’s eyes widened and her breath caught. This boy was a Veela. He was just like her. She shook her head slightly when he pulled away, trying to clear her head.

It explained so much. That was why she was drawn to him that was why he was trying to become closer to her. She looked back at him, ready to begin a barrage of questions when he caught her again.

“We’re captives, we’re abominations.” Katarina stopped, the reality of what he said weighing her down. They were not here to make friends; they were here to kill for their boss. Whether she liked it or not, because if she didn’t obey her superiors, there were consequences.

Alan might kill off Sandy and Joe- or worse, he might hold them captive and torture them, tape it and show here. It was be captive, or hurt her friends.

“And worst of all, we’re monsters.”