My Kidnapper's Mistake

Chapter 16: Party Pooper

Anya's P.O.V.

I stood admiring myself in the mirror. I had left my hair to dry in their natural wave and pinned it up in a messy bun, my make up was simple and accentuated my evergreen eyes along with the red dress.
"We're leaving." Clive hollered from downstairs.
I stepped back from the mirror and slid on my sparkly heels. I glided down the stairs to where Clive was checking his watch in front of the open front door. The entire situation felt a bit like senior prom save a few key elements. One being that I was being driven to the venue by my date and not meeting him there. I had expected to be more nervous, but maybe my lack of nerves were due to the lack of knowing what to expect.

The car doors were held open for us when we arrived at the venue and the car was taken away by a chauffer. I linked my arm through Clive's as we walked the short stretch to the open doors' all the while wishing that it was Julian accompanying me in this potentially life threatening situation. Immediately when entering the ballroom I started scanning the room for Nicolette Freeman. I spotted her, your typical blonde bombshell, surrounded by a group of girls and shadowed by a group of lovesick boys. I also spotted Richard Freeman not so far away from her. He seemed unaccompanied, but the man refusing every flute of champagne offered to him and the one glancing around the room with uncovered boredom were definitely not part of the high society filling the rest of the room.

Speeches were given and polite applause followed each speaker. A few people slipped away to the rooms upstairs and others had more than their share of champagne. The music started and Nicolette accepted the outstretched hand of a guy built like a varsity football player, to the great disappointment of the lovesick group. Clive and I stayed on the sidelines. Biding our time. The song ended. Polite applause. Our chance. I nudged Clive toward Nicolette, grabbing the guy she had been dancing with. The song started and we waltzed, with me leading subtly enough so that the poor guy didn't even notice that he wasn't the one in control and that we were staying close to Nicolette and Clive. It took three more dances of me intercepting guys that wanted to ask Nicolette to dance, before Clive finally gave me the signal that he would be taking Nicolette upstairs after that song. I abruptly loosened myself from my dance partner and took off. Through the side door without any resistance. I'd have to come back when Clive has led Nicolette away, to disable any guard that might have been ordered to keep an eye on her. At the end of the hallway stood a buff man. I walked up to him with unsure footing, when I reached him I faked a trip and hung on his am to get my balance all the while giggling.
"Sorry about that... I might just have had a glass to many."
I injected him with a knockout drug, that took effect mere minutes after he had helped me back to my feet. With no time to think of stashing him anywhere I moved on to clear the rest of the way. I repeated the process five times, before returning to the first hallway. I found Clive and Nicolette entering the third door on the right, both with a glass of champagne. Not soon after followed them through, satisfied that nobody had followed them.

I found Nicolette clawing at an unresponsive Clive.
"Took you long enough." Clive stated, causing Nicolette to whip around.
"What are you doing here? Get out!"
"Why haven't you injected her yet?" I asked, ignoring Nicolette altogether.
"I forgot the vial at home." Clive muttered defensively.
I rolled my eyes, again wishing that it was Julian that was here with me. I injected Nicolette before her alcohol affected brain could process much more of what was going on.
"There you go, I think you'd be able to carry her on your own, seeing as I did all the hard work already."
"Hard work! I was the one unfortunate enough to get the job of flirting with this brainless bimbo."
His statement infuriated me. No man should ever talk about a girl that way, no matter how much she deserved it. I wanted to punch him, but I couldn't. The job was not done yet.

Clive threw Nicolette over his shoulder and we stole out of the room and down the hallway. However before we could disappear through the door that hid the fire escape, we heard a man shouting behind us. I spun around and recognized the man who had refused the champagne. He was barreling our way and he had his hand up to his ear, probably calling for back up through coms.
"Follow the plan. Get her to the line and to the next building. I'll follow, but if I'd not there after 5 minutes retract the line and leave." I rambled off instructions to Clive. He nodded without argument and left. In any other situation I would have looked upon his willingness to abandon a fellow teammate to save his own skin with disgust, but at that moment it was a blessing.

I had hardly engaged in a fight with the first man when three more entered the hallway. I injected the man with the drug and no sooner did he hit the floor than the others were upon me and I realized that I had used my last injection.

***

Julian's P.O.V.

I caught a barely conscious Nicolette and untied her from the zip line. Next followed a winded Clive, but no Anya.
"Where is Anya?" I asked.
"She got hold up and told me that we should leave if she doesn't follow within 5 minutes."
"You left her there?!" I shouted, I wanted to break him for leaving her alone in that situation.
"What else was I supposed to do?"
That was the question, wasn't it. I wished that we had coms units, then they could have asked for back up.
"You should have made a plan!" I yelled. I knew it won't make her come back, but it helped me feel better for sending her into the situation in the first time. The entire plan was foul from the beginning. We shouldn't have sent in only two of our people, we shouldn't have sent them in without communication.
"It has been 5 minutes, we should leave." Clive commented.
"No! We can't leave, maybe she's on her way." I knew that it was a weak defense.
"Clive take Nicolette to the car Dexter is driving I'll meet you there. Jason. You and Julian will wait another 10 minutes for Anya, but only ten minutes and don't even think about going in after her. One missing member is enough." Brian took the lead, seeing as I was temporarily out of it.

"We have to go." I heard Jason's voice as if he was standing at the other end of tunnel.
"Julian, it's been 10 minutes we have to go now."
'No, she isn't back yet." Every minute made the realization sink in deeper and leaving, getting in the car and driving off, would be a death blow.
"She isn't coming."
"She'll come. Just a few more minutes. She has to come." I whispered to myself.
"We're not doing her any good by just standing here. We should start looking for her and we can only do that from the house." Jason started leading me out of the building and I let him,

I knew that she had stirred up feelings deep inside me, otherwise I wouldn't have asked her on a date but I could never have imagined that she had crawled in so deep under my skin that I'd loose myself when she got ripped away. The house felt colder, more quiet.
"You have to snap out of it." Brian ordered when we were standing alone in the kitchen.
"She's gone!" My brain seemed to have gotten stuck on that single phrase.
"Yes, she is. But we have to get her back. You have to get her back. We need to find her."
"If she's not dead."
"She isn't. Now start doing what you were put in this team to do. Lead."
"How do you know she isn't dead?"
"I just know."
"That isn't a satisfactory answer. How do you know for sure?"
"I just hope and believe that she isn't. Now get that brain of yours restarted and let's bring Anya back in no time."
I nodded, a little life returning to me. I had to find her. Against all odds. I just had to.