Who: Luke, Wren and the Marquise What: Day 1 Where: Eventually, a warehouse When: Tuesday morning Warnings: This entire string of docs includes unpleasantness, kidnapping, violence and general not good.
When Tuesday came, Wren was thankful she had Luke and the shopping excursion to look forward to. It hadn’t been a particularly terrible week, not really, but with Cassidy gone, she’d had trouble adjusting to things again. It was strange, she thought, how having someone around who cared made a difference, even if they did nothing but fight. She had Hal and Charlie, of course, but she hadn’t spoken to Charlie, not since he’d found out he was her uncle, and even her attempts at brokering a peace there had failed. And Hal, Hal liked her well enough, but he didn’t want to be involved in her problems. Even with Tristan, who she was fairly certain had sent her the necklace and charm that were tucked into her sweater, she felt alone. She blamed the winter, the cold snow and the biting chill and the fact that she’d given most of the 4,000 dollars Cassidy had left her to a group of girls on the street the night before, used it to rent them a room for months, for six of them, and to get them an account at a local store. She had money for December, some money for the holidays, but nothing beyond that.
Even still, it was the holidays, and she very much wanted a tree and presents. And being around Luke always made her feel better. She had dressed warmly in leggings, a denim mini-skirt and a thick rose sweater, and she’d walked to the mid-way point between Hamartia and Aubade without even realizing that the distance had passed. It was early in the morning, and their meeting point was quiet, mostly deserted, commercial land. She was oblivious to the white van parked across the street, oblivious to the eyes watching. She had no communicator on her, no blade, no whip. This was about buying things, not about marking johns. And it was daylight and snowing; safe.
She rocked on her heels, and she tugged on her mittens, trying to keep the cold from seeping its way into the knitting, and she considered Christmas presents as she waited.
Luke was glad that Wren had suggested they go Christmas shopping, since he felt like his life had been nothing but complicated lately and any progress he made didn’t seem to actually make much of a difference. There was too much to think about, too many people to worry about and problems to dwell on - he still didn’t know where things stood with Bunny or Quinn, while Thomas and Max clearly had their own problems that he couldn’t do much about; and he still had everyday things like exams to deal with. Being alone only gave him more time to think, but he was fully prepared to push all that aside for a few hours to focus on the fast-approaching holidays. Wren was a good friend, one who understood a lot of things that most people didn’t, and he thought it would be nice to actually do something with her that didn’t involve vigilantes or awkward Thanksgivings.
He was almost positive that he’d mentioned to Thomas that he was going out at some point or another, but he didn’t think much of it even if he hadn’t. It was daytime and they were going to be in a public place, so why worry? Since his nights consisted of scouring the roughest parts of the city and taking on criminals, walking the distance from Aubade to their meeting point didn’t concern him in the slightest. Communicators and weapons were meant for after the sun went down, and he had his own combat skills to rely on if anyone tried anything.
He wore jeans and a hooded sweatshirt beneath his jacket, keeping his hands in his pockets since he’d forgotten gloves.The white van was just another vehicle on the street, nothing to be worried about, and he didn’t pay it much attention once he caught sight of Wren. “Hey,” he said in greeting, slowing to a stop and grinning.
Wren smiled when he came into sight. Luke, she understood. Boys her age generally confused her. She didn’t know how to act like a teenager, how to not touch in a way that was too old for her years, how to act like she knew about modern teenage things. But Luke was different. He didn’t mind if she didn’t know about this video game or that band, and he talked about deep things, which even older men didn’t do sometimes.
She gave him a quick hug when he got close enough, and then she nodded in the direction of the shopping center a block away. It was one of the less crowded ones in the city, and it wasn’t luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but it also wasn’t a dangerous choice. She threaded her arm with his, a comfortable gesture that had nothing to do with winning his attention and everything to do with simply enjoying his company. “Tell me everything,” she said, smiling at him and motioning toward the crossing.
In the van, four men waited, two of them poised by the door and ready to grab Luke when he passed close to them. They’d thought they would have to chase the boy, corner him somewhere, but their positioning ended up being perfect, and Luke was going to make this all very easy for them. They hadn’t even known he was going out that morning, definitely hadn’t known he was meeting someone. No, they’d simply set up shop there to wait, while another man, one that was currently trailing behind Luke, followed him, looking for a good spot to call for the van and take him. Luke had just made it very, very easy.
The girl was inconsequential, but they would grab her if they had no choice in the matter. They had been paid to grab the new Brandon billionaire and take him to a warehouse in Rainier, paid well and by someone they were loyal to.
He returned the hug without a hint of awkwardness, secure in the knowledge that they were strictly friends and nothing more. The choice in shopping center was fine by him, and it wasn’t like he had any real idea of what he was going to get anyone in the first place - another reason why he was grateful for Wren’s presence. “Everything?” Luke pulled a face as they walked arm-in-arm towards the crossing. The man trailing behind them didn’t even register on his radar, because there was (in his mind) no need to worry. It never even occurred to him that his new status as Thomas Brandon’s heir would make him a target, not when his life during the daylight hours had always been considered safe. “Well, I’m almost finished my exams, which means soon I’ll have a couple weeks free from that particular worry.” School was normal, and he didn’t particularly want to burden Wren with any of his problems. Not today, when it was snowing and the holiday spirit was just beginning to settle in.
Maybe the white van should have raised some kind of alarm as they passed the vehicle, but it didn’t. He barely even glanced in its direction before turning his attention back to where they were headed.
School and exams sounded so normal that Wren had to smile. “Are we pretending we’re completely unexceptional today?” she ask candidly, her smile one that said she was perfectly willing to pretend for this outing that they were simply what they appeared to be - two friends out shopping, without any cares or worries between them beyond school and friends and crushes. “Tell me about Bunny,” she invited, her attention fully focused on him and not on their surroundings. She didn’t know much about Luke’s friend, nothing more than she’d managed to pick up at Thanksgiving.
The van doors opened so quickly that there was no avoiding them. The men waited until Luke was close enough that grabbing him was simply a matter of opening the two doors and reaching for him, a hand over his mouth and a quick yank inside as the engine started. The other man, the one who grabbed Wren, was smart enough to realize the girl might make for good leverage, and he put a blade to her throat and barked at Luke, once the van doors closed. “Sit your ass down,” he said, the blade at Wren’s throat drawing blood in obvious warning.
Wren’s eyes went wide, and she glanced at the door, trying to let Luke to know to run.
Wren had seen right through his attempts, but it didn’t bother Luke in the slightest because he knew she understood. “Just for today, I swear.” He was still trying to get used to his abrupt shift from normal college kid to billionaire’s newly announced heir, but abandoning that for a day couldn’t hurt. Bunny was a topic he wasn’t sure how to approach, and he was searching for the right words to explain that he liked her but wasn’t sure if she liked him (or even if a relationship could work due to his vigilante activities and role as Thomas’ heir) when the van doors opened without warning.
Luke’s first instinct was to struggle even before he processed what was happening, but it didn’t do much good - being caught off guard was an immediate strike against him, especially by men who appeared to have been prepared. Why they were even bothering with two teenagers was pushed aside in favor of the single goal to get both himself and Wren away before it was too late. Despite being pulled into the van he twisted around in the man’s grasp, lashing out with one fist while trying to bite down on his hand at the same time. He was released and shoved back with a hissed curse, and while he was fully prepared to fight his way out he froze when he saw the other man pres a knife against Wren’s throat. There was a brief moment of hesitation in which he weighed their chances of escape without the blade doing any serious damage. It just wasn’t possible to take out the man who’d grabbed him before the knife could slice all the way through, and going for the man who held the blade was just as risky with Wren in the way.
He knew he could have gotten out alone if he wanted to, but that would mean leaving Wren behind and that wasn’t an option. Luke met her gaze and shook his head lightly before glaring furiously at the men, but relented and lowered himself onto one of the seats. “I’m sitting down,” he snapped at the man holding the knife. “Now let her go.” The driver didn’t waste any time in pulling away from the curb, and as the adrenaline ebbed away he felt the first sharp pang of alarm.
The man who Luke had bitten was not at all pleased. As soon as Luke sat down, he moved forward and let his fist fall, fast and heavy, against Luke’s temple with enough force to daze him and send him to the floor of the van. Wren screamed, and she sent her elbow back against the man who was holding her, the connect between elbow and the soft flesh of the man’s stomach gratifying in a way it normally would not have been for her. She had only managed to get to her feet, the knife lost somewhere as the man grabbed for his gut, when the man who had been holding Luke grabbed her by the hair and smashed she side of her head against the inside of the van, sending everything into blackness for her.
In the front of the van, the man who had been in the passenger’s seat cursed loudly. “Can’t you two take care of some fucking kids? Shit, man,” he demanded, and he approached Luke, grabbing a length of rope from the van floor as he moved. “Tie her up and move her up front. Me and boyo, we’re going to have us a talk,” he said, approaching Luke with a grin that said he liked his job way too much.
The man took full advantage of the fact that Luke was dazed, and he managed to tie the rope around the boy’s wrist with painful tightness before Luke’s eyes cleared. He grinned then, the man, and he crouched in front of Luke. “Think you’re better than all of us, do ya?” he asked, following the question up by spitting in Luke’s face.
Luke was too concerned with the knife against Wren’s throat to notice the other man’s displeasure, and by the time he realized there was something in his peripheral vision there was barely enough of a chance for him to turn before the fist slammed against his temple. Pain exploded behind his eyes and everything went fuzzy as he hit the floor. He was supposed to be able to stop these kinds of things from happening, but Wren was screaming and he couldn’t do anything but watch as they smashed her head against the side of the van and she went limp. “No...” He tried to push himself up as anger quickly overpowered his dread, but it was a weak attempt that slipped into failure once the rope was around his wrist.
What the man said didn’t make sense, but nevertheless it was hard to keep from reacting when he spit in his face. Was this about vigilantes? Did these men somehow know that he was Robin, and they were extracting revenge for whatever he or one of the others might have done to their fellow criminals? “I don’t--” He stopped abruptly when it suddenly fell into place. This wasn’t about the vigilantes. It was about money and the fact that he was the heir of a billionaire. It had to be.
“It doesn’t matter what I say,” he said evenly. “Why don’t you just tell me what you want?” If they were only interested in him and not Wren, maybe he could figure out a way to ensure that they let her go before they got to wherever the driver was headed.
The man laughed, and it was a cruel laugh, hard in all the wrong places. He sat back, and he grinned as he looked at Luke’s temple. “That’s gonna bruise some,” he said. He was out of reach, but only barely. “He ain’t gonna give us a lick of trouble,” he told the man at Luke’s shoulder. “This one’s gonna roll over and bark if we ask him, just so we don’t hurt the bitch, ain’t ya?” he asked, and he sounded like they’d done something pretty fucking stupendous by grabbing the unimportant girl. “The likes of us, we get spit on by the likes of you. Well, you’re gonna make us all rich,” he said, leaning forward and patting Luke’s cheek once with annoying familiarity. “Or your little friend, we’re gonna make you watch while we hurt her real good. Now, how about you let us know how well you’re gonna behave?” he asked, and he spoke to the man in the passenger’s seat, the one holding Wren’s unconscious body on his lap. “Keep a good hold on that piece of meat, son,” he told him, and he looked back at Luke. “We’re waiting, boy,” he said, and he nodded at the man at Luke’s shoulder, who responded by shoving Luke to his knees and pulling his head back by his hair. “M’s gonna love how well behaved your ass is gonna be by the time we get where we’re going. You think Old Man Brandon’s gonna hand the funds right over? Pretty thing like you, I’m guessing he will,” he said, cupping Luke’s chin between bruising fingers.
Luke’s jaw tightened but he said nothing, because everyone in the damn van knew that he’d do whatever necessary to ensure Wren wasn’t hurt. There were some men who were all talk and some who meant what they said, and he’d seen enough to know that these were the latter type; the kind he’d take pleasure in knocking out if the circumstances were different. This shouldn’t have even been happening, not to him - he stopped stuff like this on a nightly basis, but because he’d been stupid and careless Wren had been dragged into something that never should have involved her in the first place. Luke heard everything the man said but showed no outward sign of response, instead keeping his gaze fixed on Wren even when he was forced to his knees and his head was yanked back. It was the way the man cupped his chin, however, earned him a scathing look. He might be forced to comply for now, but that didn’t mean he had to completely submit. “I’m going to behave very well,” he said, forcing the words out through gritted teeth. He had no idea who this ‘M’ was, but the bottom line was that they wanted money. This was all about blackmailing Thomas into handing over whatever amount they asked for, and the thought only added to his growing sense of guilt.
“What if he doesn’t?” Luke met the man’s gaze steadily, even though a small voice was warning him that keeping his attitude in check might be a good idea.
The man laughed, and it was a loud laugh, not exactly sane in its cruelty. “This one thinks he’s smart,” he told his friend. “If he don’t give over the cash, we’re going to make you watch while your little friend wishes she were dead, and once she is we’re gonna send pieces of you to Old Man Brandon, make him pay up before there’s not enough left of you to matter.”
“Mike, shut the fuck up,” the man driving called back, and it seemed to be enough to silence the man in front of Luke. He jerked his head at the man at Luke’s shoulder, and Luke was hauled back to a sitting position again a moment later.
The car began to slow, though there was no indication of where they were, not with the lack of windows in the rear and the limited view out the front. “Should we knock him out?” the man at Luke’s shoulder asked, and Mike shook his head. “He ain’t going nowheres, not this one,” he said, and he patted Luke’s cheek as the van stopped. “Not with a gun to that little bitch’s temple like it is. She don’t matter to us, and he knows it,” he said, smiling toothily at Luke as he spoke.
The man at Luke’s shoulder held him still as the front doors opened and as Wren was carried out and out of sight. “He’s gonna walk right inside, ain’t ya?” Mike asked, but he didn’t risk as much as he implied he was going to. He slipped a black, fabric bag over Luke’s head, and he closed a rope-noose, thick and rough, around Luke’s neck. He yanked on it as he opened the rear doors, pulling Luke from the van to the ground, gravel scratching up the fabric of his knees as he landed on cold snow.
Mike sounded like he would enjoy what would happen if Thomas didn’t hand over the money, which was enough to make it painfully obvious what kind of person he and the others were. This was the wrong time to play hero, so Luke bit down on his tongue to keep from saying anything that would only end up aggravating the situation. He sat because he was forced to, hating himself for his own obedience even if he didn’t have any other choice. There was no way to tell where they were as the van slowed to a stop, but it was likely somewhere that no one would be stumbling upon anytime soon. Luke swallowed heavily and looked away from the sight of Mike’s smile, watching as Wren was carried out instead. “I’ll do whatever you want as long as you leave her alone,” he burst out suddenly, glaring up at the man. If they hurt her in any way then all bets were off, and somehow he’d find a way to make every single one of them sorry that they’d chosen to be involved in this at all.
Then the bag was pulled over his head and his vision was obscured by black, followed by the painful sensation of rope being tugged against his neck and momentarily threatening to cut off his air supply. He’d been taught how to fall properly but let go of all his training for the moment as he was yanked from the van, barely wincing when he made contact with the ground. Luke had every intention of pretending to be a harmless teenager, because once he had even a split-second chance to get both himself and Wren out then he was going to take it - and it would be easier if they weren’t expecting it. After a moment’s struggle he got to his feet, having no other option than to follow wherever he was led.
Despite the dark, there were indications of where they were. It was cold, and their feet echoed along a corridor of concrete. The echo indicated an emptiness, so not a house or commercial building that was filled with things. There was the sound of two doors, and then silence again and the sound of buttons being pushed. Stairs followed, steep and hard to manage in the dark with a hand pushing as it led the way. By the time the landing came, it was colder still, and when a door opened it was loud, heavy.
“A little girl? How perfectly useful.” The woman’s voice, when it came was elegantly upper class, distinctive and unworried about anything and everything. It was evident, even before they yanked Luke’s hood off, that she didn’t need Thomas Brandon’s money. Oh, no. This was not about that. Not really. “Take her clothes off,” the woman ordered one of the men. “Luke can take care of removing his own,” she told him, as the hood came off his head. She was dressed in Dior, and she nodded just past him, to the walk-in freezer Wren was in with one of the men, and she smiled a Cheshire cat smile. “Sending your clothes, it will help convince Thomas Brandon that we have you,” she explained, even as she lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “And the cold will keep you both well behaved during your stay with us. If you do anything at all to displease me, they’ll do more than remove her clothing,” she assured, and there was a challenge there, oh, yes. Who the girl was didn’t matter, no, Luke mattered.
Luke was being held far enough back that he could not touch her, the noose at his neck pulling tight if he tried to move, cutting off air, and the rope at his wrists cutting into his skin. “Well, darling, I apologize in advance if the accommodations aren’t up to your standards,” she said, and it was obvious she was not sorry, not at all. She was enjoying this, and it was written all over her face. “You are a sweet little thing in person, aren’t you?” she asked. “Is that why he keeps you around? Because you’re a sweet little thing?” she asked.
Luke kept as quiet as possible on his blind walk, trying to make up for his lack of vision by listening instead. There was an echo that was familiar in large, wide spaces that were either empty or close to it. The cold and the concrete were further hints of what kind of building they were in, and he kept count of the number of doors they passed through and even how many stairs he went down, although it was difficult to count and keep from stumbling at the same time. He barely managed to stay upright by the time they reached the landing, but any sense of relief was stamped out by the further drop in temperature combined with the sound of a woman’s voice. It was the last thing he was expecting, especially based on his impression of Mike and the other men, and he was even more surprised by her appearance. This woman, who looked as though she was the last person in the world who needed money, was the mysterious ‘M.’ who’d ordered him to be kidnapped?
When she instructed one of the men to remove Wren’s clothing he tried to take a step forward, but like a dog on a leash he only ended up gasping for air and had to back up again. She was enjoying this, that much was certain, and it gave him extra motivation to keep his expression unreadable even though he was inwardly horrified. “Not her,” he said abruptly, taking another involuntary half-step and wincing at the pressure around his neck. Every part of him wanted to resist, but Luke knew he couldn’t avoid what they had in store for him. He could handle it if it was just him, but not Wren too - she didn’t deserve this. All she’d done was make the mistake of being with him at the wrong time. “Please... I won’t do anything.” It sickened him to beg like that, but even as he made a last-ditch attempt for Wren’s freedom he knew it was in vain. She was a way to keep him in check, and they weren’t going to let her go. All he could do now was make sure he didn’t give this psychopath any reason to hurt her.
He looked at Wren inside the walk-in freezer, then at the woman just out of reach. “I don’t know,” he said tonelessly, not making any move to remove his clothes yet. Thomas wouldn’t do nothing, he knew that much; but would he hand over however much they wanted or try something drastic to find him instead? Either way it would be his fault for not being careful enough, for not stopping this before it could get so far.
The woman could tell when the realization settled in his eyes, when he realized there was no out, and she smiled very, very slowly. “Come,” she told him, but it was a mere formality, because Mike grabbed the end of the rope and pulled Luke along as she turned and walked away from the freezer. He pulled quickly, jerkily, intentionally trying to make Luke loose his footing and fall to his knees, and as they moved away from the freezer the sound of Wren arguing with the man inside could be heard. “They won’t hurt her, as long as you behave,” the woman reminded him, tracing one fingernail beneath his chin.
Without the hood on, it was obvious that they had gone underground somewhere. This level of the location was empty, cold concrete walls and floors, and it wasn’t until she led him into the adjoining room that there was even a hint of furniture. She nodded to a desk there, one with pen and paper and nothing else, and she smiled at him. “You’ve given me more pieces on the board,” she told him, as she waited for him to sit. “You may call me M.,” she said, “and I think we’re going to change things just a touch. Your little friend makes for even more fun,” she said, looking over her shoulder at the freezer, “if Thomas Brandon provides the money, as you’re going to instruct him to do, one of you may walk away from this, entirely unharmed.” She smiled, a cold, calculating smile. “But only one of you. And if Thomas doesn’t do what he’s told, then he’s going to be very, very sorry.” She nodded toward the pen and paper. “Three letters, darling,” she told him. “One to that lovely little blonde from Thanksgiving, one from the dark-haired child who you viciously ignored, and one to Thomas Brandon himself. I want goodbyes in the letters, Luke, confessions and things that will make their hearts ache. You can do that for me, can’t you?”
She came nearer, taking the rope from Mike’s hand and giving it a hard, satisfying pull herself, hard enough for him to see stars at the corners of his eyes and feel darkness almost overtake him. “And nothing about the location. That would be very, very bad,” she said, undoing the ropes at his wrists.
“Wren--” He couldn’t even manage a glance in her direction, not with Mike tugging at the rope like he was some kind of pet and intentionally trying to get him to stumble - which he did, numerous times, but he only fell to his knees once. Panic was starting to set in now, and all his attempts at calming himself down worked minimally at best. “I’ll behave,” he repeated as he had before, practically spitting the words out. Of course he’d do whatever the hell they wanted him to, because the one thing that was very clear was that there was no escape from this place unless they allowed it. Luke eyed the pen and paper with apprehension, and it was with evident reluctance that he sat behind the desk. He intentionally stared downward as she spoke, because he could feel his composure slipping despite his attempts to keep it together a little while longer - at least until M. had left.
He knew which one of them would be walking away. It wasn’t even something he had to consider, despite what Thomas would want - Wren never should have been here in the first place. He’d have to understand that, even if it took a while. Inhaling deeply, he let out a long breath and nodded. “Okay,” he said quietly. “Three--” The rope was pulled before he could finish, and for a moment he thought the darkness would take him - he hoped it would, but he remained conscious. There was no point in trying to include a location, not when she’d obviously read the letters. “Okay,” he said again, his voice hoarse and breathless from the rope. “I’ll do it. I won’t say anything about the location. Just goodbyes and... things that will make their hearts ache.” Luke closed his eyes briefly, trying and failing to imagine what their reactions would be - Thomas, Bunny, and Quinn - when they got the letters. It was better not to think about it.
Was he even going to get out of this alive? Maybe, he thought, making an actual effort with the letters instead of just writing to appease her was a good idea - just in case.