Taken

[Anastasia Matthias]

Anastasia shuffled through the back streets of London, near a group of lonely looking warehouses and far away from a single sign of human life anywhere to be seen for miles. Right now she actually preferred not to be around people so she could prevent herself from spilling blood of someone who was only trying to help her get better from the unstable mindset she had found herself being always trapped in for the longest time now. 'Why do I keep letting myself fall into this...I need to get out, get away, they just need to let me go.' She thought as one of her shaky tan hands went up to brush some of her brown hair away from her face and her ice blue eyes checked the area carefully to see if anyone had stumbled into the area and disturbed her trying to get some peace for just a minute or two. If heard so much as a breath of air coming from someone's mouth she mouth whip out her wand and destroy them with every spell possible, they would have deserved it for bothering her when she was in this state. Anastasia saw no one and released her wavy brown hair from her hands to sigh under her breath and begin to mutter curses to herself for being this foolish and letting the family get into her head like they always have, she needed to just learn to block off their words and her temper.

Rumor was that she was always wanted by some higher up man in France, she had ended up killing his only son and walking away with his fortune and he was unhappy about it. It actually wasn't her intention to kill the man's son, but he was of course sticking his nose where it didn't belong and she had to do something about it. On top of that he had money with him and she wasn't just going to let it sit there, thanks to that nosy little brat he family had become even richer than they already were. Well now that the man knew his son was dead and his money was missing he threatened that he was going to come after and destroy her too, but of course she wasn't afraid of him one bit. Chances were he wasn't very good at magic anyways and she was full on ready to blast his head off if he got anywhere near her. 'He's seems to fat and stupid to keep up with me anyways' Anastasia thought to herself with a sly but beautiful smirking crossing onto her features. It wasn't long before she sat herself down on one of the crates and allowed herself to relax a little, she was feeling better now that she had gotten a break away from them.

After they had sent her away to an Asylum where she was allowed no magic, no humanity, and no love she had completely lost it. She had wanted someone to care for her and to care for in return but after nine months in that hell she could honestly care less about ever being cared about. Closing her ice blue eyes for a moment she faintly heard the noises of someone, and bolted them open again. Someone was here.

 

[Allen Driver]

Fortunately for Anastasia, the pissed-off businessman had decided not to go after her for revenge. Most unfortunately instead, he had sent Brande and Allen. If someone had a grudge against you and were willing to pay to have it settled, the last pair you'd want on your tail was the two bounty hunters with well over ten years of experience each. The way things usually worked, either Brande or Allen would catch up to their target, secure them and wait for the other partner to come so that they could assassinate the victim together. That way they split a larger prize pool rather than taking two separate and smaller sums of galleons. The fat old man whose dead-beat son was the cause of this visit was willing to pay double if Anastasia was confirmed dead. Alive, she was only worth half the bounty. So when Allen finally sighted the female target after a week of tracking her movements, he wasted no time in owling Brande immediately. He had no doubt that he'd secure the woman before Brande arrived; the sooner Murphy arrived, the better. The target turned into a side street some one hundred meters from where he stood, and Allen followed at a leisurely pace. She did not know she was being followed, he was certain of it. She was a solitary creature, so this was probably her way of 'getting some air'. It took him five minutes longer, but he entered the street from the opposite end and came to a halt just at the corner of the warehouse. He could see her there, slumped on an upturned crate and looking just as arrogant and self-assured as she should be, if it was anyone else who was hunting her.

Noiselessly, Allen swept an invisibility cloak from his rucksack and over his head. It was a fairly cheap disposable, but he was silent for a big man and it was all he needed for the precious seconds between contact. Five more steps ... three more ... one ... Allen watched with eyes like a werewolf as the skin prickled on the back of her neck. Just as well, for Allen was hovering over it. He felt rather than saw her jump upon feeling a presence, but by then it was too late as his hand slithered over her mouth. "Up we get," he muttered, pressing his wand into the small of her back as he helped her rise. "Nice and steady...". Without another word, black coils of rope crept from the tip of the wood and down the backs of her thighs, around her arms and across her shoulders, binding the woman tight. No one had seen or heard a thing. Reaching behind, he tapped the rolling metal door behind him which slid up in an instant. Just like that, he dragged her into the darkness. To him, it was already over.

 

[Anastasia Matthias]

Before Anastasia could get even the slightest idea of what was going on a hand slithered over her mouth and someone pressed their wand into the small of her back as they helped her rise onto her feet. Then black coils of rope began to bind her together, preventing her from moving anywhere as she tried to comprehend what was going on. Soon Anastasia was being into a rolling metal door behind them and was engulfed in darkness and the coolness of the building, and that was when the panic began. The voice that spoke to her didn't belong to any man that she knew but instead to a complete stranger, where was she being taken and why was this person even taking her to begin with?!

As soon as she was pulled inside by the man she began to struggle as best she could while being bound, attempting to get away from the man and maybe even save herself from whatever fate was coming her way. Biting his hand, or at least trying her best to bite him she got her mouth away from his hand and began to scream and growl in frustration as she continued to try and wriggle out of his grasp. "Who the hell are you?!" Anastasia managed out, she couldn't even reach her wand before he arms were bound so tightly to her sides and she really needed it if she ever expected to get free. Even if she could some some wandless magic it wasn't always reliable and she preferred to have her wand with her. Ana continued to struggle and attempt to get the ropes undone a little, she felt like she was being squeezed and she just had to get free. "Why am I tied up? Where the f*ck are you taking me?" When one of her hands was able to reached down to what she thought was the man's leg she used her nails and tried with every fiber in her to dig her nails into his leg, and claw at him as if she were a cat.

"LET ME GO!" Ana began to struggle even more despite her being tired from trying to claw his leg off, it didn't feel like the rope was budging at all, and now she was beginning to become frustrated.

 

[Allen Driver]

Thankfully, the woman was fairly stunned for a good thirty seconds as he maneuvered them both into the small warehouse. In front of them, the door slid shut with unnatural silence and they were plunged into the gloom of her solitary confinement. Where the hell was Brande? The target had been spotted in many areas all over the country and it wasn't a simple matter of just apparating right to the spot since neither of them were fool enough to put their exact location in a message. His partner would have the name of the city and the streets around the area and nothing else. If he was occupied, tough cookies for Allen. He'd have to wrestle this broad all by himself - and wrestle they did. He hissed as he felt her canines sink into the meat of of his palm, but he didn't oblige her with a roar of anger or pain. It was important to keep the area fairly quiet in case anyone came sniffing around. Allen ignored her masterfully and continued towards the metal chair bolted to the floor of the warehouse. The moment she began to tear at his thighs with her nails, the chair seemed so very far away.

The target was writhing like an eel in his grip. He staggered at one point and the two of them nearly went down, and he almost sighed with relief when she did fall onto the chair, albeit sideways. You would have thought that with arms like two hanks of ham and magically enhanced rope, one could keep a girl quiet, but it wasn't so. Allen wasted no time in wrapping her just as tightly to the chair and ignoring her shouts and curses. She'd shut up soon enough. He shook his hand out every now and then, not noticing the little speckles of blood from his mauled hand. He'd had worse done to him. It was all part of the job. Probably the most invasive thing he had to do was digging his hands into every nook and cranny he now had access to since the woman was quite incapacitated. He found no devices, no panic trinkets; nothing but a wand and a pocket full of change. Allen pocketed her wand, dragged another chair over, seated himself in front of her and that was that. Part two, complete. "Girl, what do you think this is?" said Allen eventually, throwing up his hands in an almost mocking welcome. "I bet you knew someone was coming for you. Me and my mate were hired to take you down. Soon as he gets here, it's lights out." he said simply in his thick English accent. Ninety-nine percent of the time, this was all the sort of explanation the targets got.

 

[Anastasia Matthias]

Anastasia did not like it that she wasn't able to overpower this man so easily, it made her feel almost as weak as when she had been locked in an Asylum and was restrained on various occasions for her violent and frightening behavior towards the people who worked there. He didn't even acknowledge her attempts to harm him and her wriggling around, was this really going to become her prison for reasons that were unknown to her? Soon Ana felt herself being placed in a cold metal chair bolted to the floor of the warehouse where she was once again being bound tightly to ensure that she didn't escape. 'I don't like this, what the hell is this guys problem?' Anastasia let her ice blue eyes glare at the man in discontent, she wasn't all that used to such horrible conditions and on top of this he actually had the guts to go around and kidnap her as if she was nothing but a ragdoll. Then her wand was taken from her and Anastasia cried out in frustration knowing that she would have absolutely no chance in getting away from him and this forsaken warehouse now. "Give me my wand back, you have no right to touch it!" She hissed as she fidgeted in the chair attempting to try and loosen the ropes that were on her and holding her quite tightly against the chair. After a moment of violently thrashing around around she grew tired and breathed out heavily as she continued to stare at the man, he was fairly attractive but maybe if she had met him on different circumstances she'd want to rip his head off less. When the man dragged another chair over, and seated himself in front of her she was so tempted to spit on his face just out of spite, but then he spoke to her and she lost her whole train of thought about it.

"Excuse me? I have a name and your going to f*ucking use it. Call me Miss Snow or you'll be more than just bitten or scratched at." Anastasia interrupted not very fond of being called girl as if she were some commoner, if she was going to be kidnapped or taken out she would at least like to die with some dignity left in her. Then the man told her why she was here and that he guessed she probably knew why she was here and that someone was coming after her, when actually she didn't have a single clue. "No I didn't know, most of my enemies look a little too fat and stupid to come after someone like me. H-hired...to kill me? WHAT THE HELL?! Who the hell do you think you are? I demand you let me go, I don't even deserve this!" Anastasia snarled as she tried to get out of the chair again but the binds were just too strong for her to get out of even the slightest bit. Her forehead was beginning to sweat a little and she felt a headache coming, she was losing her energy quick and she needed to hurry before it was all out and she was trapped here to die.

 

[Allen Driver]

"Wow, you're chatty," said Allen boredly through the woman's tirade. This was exactly the sort of thing that he'd been dreading- a vocal target. Brande usually handled those sorts a lot better than he did, and if this situation was any at all cliched, he'd be the 'bad cop'. Brande got chatty with their victims most of the time. It was something that Allen secretly envied since he was rarely able to speak to a person without sympathising with them in some way and eventually liking him. Fortunately he spoke very little and hadn't had that problem in a very long time. While the woman thrashed, shouted and complained, Brande would have been joking and laughing, having a grand old time despite the fact that he was going to kill the person in a mildly nasty way when Allen arrived. He began to get irritated with the swearing as well, something very unorthodox for a man of his profession but something he tended to frown upon. Allen quelled his irritation by pointing out to 'Miss Snow' that "I doubt there'll be any more biting and scratching since you yourself just pointed out that you've been disarmed." Allen's hand began to throb on cue and it was then that he properly noticed the open red wound on his hand. He closed his enormous palm slowly and looked at the woman again. There'd be no respect for this one, he decided.

"Girl, three things," said Allen slowly as he raised his other hand to massage his temple. 'Miss Snow's voice echoed intolerably in the metal-walled warehouse, and every reverberating wave seemed directed right to the center of his head. "One; you'll never hear me use your name because I don't care, nor is it safe or prudent to do so. If you're confused about which *rsehole you've pissed off this time, it was a tall bloke with a thick neck whose son you'd apparently killed. More than that, I can't say. And lastly, I can tell you that your death will be significantly more painful if you keep this bollocks up. I don't know you and I don't care if you deserve it or not. Got it?". Now he could officially say he was p*ssed off. Talking in long tirades made him sound like his father, whom Allen would like nothing more than to stopper with one of his wine corks.

 

[Anastasia Matthias]

Anastasia was appalled at this man's behavior towards, the tanned Pure blood was often used to being treated like a little princess by everyone. But apparently it wasn't going to be like that for her right now, because this man didn't seem to have an ounce of respect inside of him as he spoke to her like she was common filth. What he said though now only confused her but angered her even more if that was possible. "How can it possibly be unsafe or prudent to use someone's name? It's common courtesy." Anastasia bit out as her ice blue eyes stared dangerously at the man that had kidnapped her and trapped her in this damned warehouse. She was working out a plan but she wasn't sure it it would work with her being tied up so tightly but she could always try and get free so she could take him out before his partner got here. However while she was working on that she had to admit that some of the things that came out of this mans mouth was absolutely ridiculous, maybe he just had a strong thing against being polite and calling people by their names or something, but there was no reason to call it dangerous. Then he dared to mention the man that had done this to her, she should have figured that the fat sod would have done something when he discovered who it was that had murdered his son. "Okay well if his son wasn't trying to force me to marry him I wouldn't have had to kill him, really this is all unneeded." Her voice was a bit softer since she felt it was a bit of a touchy subject for her because she did not like the fact that someone had taken advantage of her to that extent. On top of it because she had decided to take action against him before he caused her harm she was now being punished for it. Were the gods and ancestors of her pas really that cruel and heartless? Anastasia shifted her thin body a little before she sighed and tried to struggle a bit more, but it was just so use. This place was going to be the last place she would see, and this man was going to be her last contact with human life, how pitiful.

"I could care less if my death is painful or not, I'm not afraid of you. How much were you even paid for this?" Even though she used a softer tone it was still full of sharpness and hatred for this man who kidnapped her and forced her to remain here. She wasn't afraid to die but it didn't mean she was looking for death to come and take her, she still had so much to do and see before she left the world completely.

 

[Allen Driver]

Allen could only raise an eyebrow at the women's first angry statement. "Apparently courtesy ain't that common coming from you," he retorted smoothly, wondering why he hadn't just snapped already and broken her neck. He avoided the question artfully, preferring not to get into a debate. But when his dark blue eyes met her crystal orbs, he deigned not to kill her yet but waited to see where her fury took them both in conversation. Perhaps conversing wasn't a prudent idea but though he used the word often, what did Allen know about being prudent? He was a goddamn bounty hunter and really it was safety he was concerned with, not a word his English school marm would use. Contrary to the general description of his profession, being non-conversational and untouchable was paramount. Physically, Allen had it made. If someone was to supply his likeness to the aurors or muggle policemen, the only description they were likely to come up with was 'big'. Big, bald and scary. Allen had heard before. His hair colour was almost indiscernible, neither blonde or brown or black. His eyes were merely 'deep'. What colour they were could be anyone's guess. People said that his height was anywhere from six to seven foot, depending on where you where standing. 'Thin build?' the authoritarian would ask, 'Or muscular, heavy set?'. 'Big,' they would reply. 'Enormous.' Hence Brande's nickname for him- The Bulldozer. His face and body was actually a rather helpful disguise. Physically, he was safe. But by this woman, Allen felt even now he could be quite undone mentally.

He smirked when the woman revealed the cause for her kidnapping. It sounded dramatic and entertaining to Allen, who rarely heard such a story since most of the ones he offed usually owed money or had stolen some property. So this woman was dangerous, was she? "You should have tried to explain that to the guy's grieving father that revenge is 'unneeded' before you did a runner." Allen told her, folding his arms across his chest and remaining in his rigid seating position. "Then again, maybe he didn't need to be told that. He certainly didn't bother offering a lot for your death. I wouldn't have bothered, only Brande was behind on his rent check and wanted some easy cash." he explained so blandly that it seemed like if it began to rain pepper imps he wouldn't have even looked up. "Don't take that personally," added Allen. "S'more of a reflection on us rather than you. We're just some palace courtesan going for half price 'cause the noble's got a tiny knob." A crude analogy, but an effective one.

 

[Anastasia Matthias]

Anastasia rolled her eyes when he told her that courtesy must not have been a common thing coming from her, especially when he wasn't the one tied up or about to be killed for such a ridiculous reason. Even if she had spoken to that fat excuse of a man she was pretty sure he wouldn't listen to her or be at any ease because she pretty much handed his son and the ring he tried to force onto her in pieces to him before she booked it out of there and had every intention of never coming back. "Glad to know he thinks I'm cheap. Brande...is he your partner?" Anastasia asked after a moment, her voice still held a sense of coldness to it but at the same time she was much calmer now that she had been earlier and that was only because all the struggling had done eventually loosened the ropes a little, it wasn't as tight as before but nowhere being loose enough for her to escape. She also was a bit curious about the other man that seemed to be this guys' partner, what was he like and why wasn't he here right now either, there was a part of her also curious to see if this guy would be more amusing than his partner was as well. Anastasia figured that since she was about to die a little 'fun' could never hurt, especially with these losers.

"Well to bad for you I am taking it personally. It's bad enough that I have to spend the last few hours of my life with you, but on top of that I feel worthless as hell because of that cheap a** bastard!" Anastasia muttered, making the ropes become a bit more loose as her temper once again soared to a dangerous level , at the same time she had no energy to try and have a massive flip out again so halfway through she let herself sigh and listen to whatever he was saying to her next. The last thing he said made her crack a true smile, one that was pretty and a little bit sly but still showed that she was easily amused by it. "Your funny, too bad I still wanna rip your head off." Her smile was short lasting and within seconds shifted to something that showed she wasn't amused anymore, yes she did find him to be funny but then she remembered what he's done to her and suddenly wanted to hit him all over again.

 

[Allen Driver]

Allen wasn't keen on the fact that she was now asking questions about his work partner, but it couldn't hurt to answer since she'd meet him soon enough. The woman wasn't pissing him off half as much as she had before, though he couldn't say what had swung his mood one hundred and eighty degrees, but he took it as a plus since it meant he'd not kill her any earlier. Brande would kick his *rse if he arrived and she was already dead, since it meant that he wouldn't get his cut of the booty. Also, once he saw her face, he'd also miss her conversation. Brande always liked to chat up the pretty ones before killing them with a kiss- sometimes literally. Allen furrowed his brow and decided to make sure that his partner wouldn't touch this one. "Yeah, Brande's my buddy. We do most of these jobs together when we can, but private business can cause time separations like this, so I hope you'll accept my apology for the wait." said Allen. Surprisingly his apology was genuine, though since he did everything (including cracking jokes) with a straight face, one could never be certain.

"Consider this," he continued after her outburst at the fat businessman who organised her death. "Lots of guys would have just put up a bounty instead of coming straight to us. While Brande just wanted the dough, I only took it because we got called personally. If this was a free-for-all, you could have had one of the bad hunters." Allen smiled slightly. "I don't deny that we're all pretty rotten, seeing as we kill people for a living. But there are some who'd take the time to destroy you." What Allen said was quite true. Bounty hunters did not socialise with one another as a rule, but they were very aware of each other's habits since they often met infrequently to take jobs or turn in connecting cases to the one person. In other words, they made it their business to know each other inside and out, and some weren't even worth knowing at face value let alone personally. Frederick Rengion, Allen knew, would have violated her, tortured her to death and sent her hair to the family as a parting gift. Allen related this to the woman, whom he insisted on calling 'the target', 'the woman' and 'her' in his head (and Girl out loud). He paused to consider, then said "Guess I'm not that funny, after all." Foul news indeed to deliver to someone who was probably already contemplating their impeding demise. He didn't even seem to have noticed her smile; if that was what Anastasia thought, she was wrong. The moment she curled her lips just for one moment, Allen lost his breath slightly and his heart skipped a stereotypical beat. Thank God, he thought. Thank God she didn't notice ... he hoped.

 

[Anastasia Matthias]

Anastasia listened closely to what little Allen had said about his partner, but since he really didn't say all that much about him the dark haired woman was unsure what to think about the man just yet. Still he made it sound like they were good friends and she couldn't help but find that to be just slightly adorable, even if it seemed like their was to kill people together and split the money they earned from it. "Whatever, it just gives me longer to plan my escape. Is your partner cute?" She asked after a moment as she continued to fiddle around with the ropes a little, sure Allen himself was pretty attractive but he was absolutely no fun to flirt with and that took away heavily from her lost remaining hours on earth, she wasn't afraid to die but gosh she was bored and agitated that she was still here. It wouldn't be long before she was free either. Apparently there was more people involved in bounty hunting then Anastasia had really given it credit for, and there was even different types of them too. The female Death Eater shifted her body a little bit, her hands were close to being out of their restrained but the last thing he said to her about some people who would take their time to destroy her, it made her let out sickening laugh that almost made her sound as if she were not only happy but a little insane too. "Oh hunny, you can't destroy someone who's already been destroyed for a long time. I'm not afraid of what's going to be done to me or being killed. The only thing I am afraid of is losing my dignity and what I'll miss after I'm gone." The answer was a bit deeper into the type of person she was but it was also the most truthful she had ever said to some random stranger that she wasn't so fond of yet. There was a lot of things she still wanted to do like have a family, kill a few more muggle-borns, read every book in her brothers library and so many more things that could never be done if she was dead and no longer walking the earth.

"What's the matter with you?" She asked him with a cock of her head and an annoyed stare, she wasn't sure what was up with him but he didn't look all that comfortable for a moment. Perhaps she had done something he didn't like or something but he didn't seem to react to it all that well, looked almost like the wind was knocked out of him. "Your amusing enough, I'd probably hate you less if you hadn't kidnapped me but oh well thats your problem. So..how do you two plan to kill me?" Her icy blue eyes stared directly into Allen's for a moment before she decided to turn away and slump a little, she was not getting cold in the warehouse and her shivering didn't bother to hide it one bit. She hated this so much.

 

[Allen Driver]

Allen didn't know which to scoff at- the woman declaring her determination to escape or the strangest question anyone had ever asked him about Brande before. Usually captives, if they were even able to speak through fear and anxiety, only asked when he was coming or occasionally if he was fearsome. But cute? How could he possibly answer that question? "How do I know what you find attractive?" asked Allen in annoyed bemusement. A better question was why she thought it was important if he was cute or not. Despite being perplexed, he felt obliged to answer and took a moment to think long and hard before attempting an answer. "I've got no frakking idea. He's ... black and ... bald, like me. A little shorter. Brown eyes, slimmer build." said Allen. She could decide on her own whether he was cute or not; but even to him, the description sounded unhelpful. Working on impulse, he removed his wand from his belt and conjured a small revolving image of his partner-in-crime. He figured Brande wouldn't mind. He and the target would be meeting soon enough, and if she really wanted to know then it would be no skin off his back. Somehow the subject began to irritate him and Allen moved on swiftly. "Nothing's the matter with me. So ... what'll you miss when you're gone? You got a boyfriend? Any kids out there, brothers and sisters?". He'd heard a bit about the Snow's, Allen had. They were a big lot; no doubt she'd have plenty of siblings to miss, though with her attitude he wondered in faint jest whether they would miss her.

Then the woman asked him how she was to die, and Allen became slightly melancholy with the thought. What kind of person would want to know how they would die? Then again, Allen would have asked as well. He smiled wryly and replied, "If it's Brande, he'll be breaking your neck. If it's me then it'll be Avada Kedavra. Either one shouldn't be too hard to handle, hm? There are worse ways of going out. Glad you approve of me, anyway." he added in response to her other comment. Approval was a bit of an overstatement but he appeared not to notice.

 

[Anastasia Matthias]

When Allen conjured a revolving image of his partner-in-crime Anastasia made sure to take in the man's appearance carefully, he was attractive of course but it was hardly looks that made her attracted to a man these days. She usually went for their personality and how much they managed to interest her and keep her attention onto them, which was something probably far more tricky than it sounded it. However she did promise herself that if there ever was a man that managed to keep her interested long enough, he would be hers and hers alone whether he intended to get her attention or not. "He's pretty cute, I would you if he was good in bed but I figured you wouldn't know." She winked at him before she let out a soft laugh, of course she was kidding but she wasn't going to let him know that, she wasn't one to sleep around and everything but of course having fun every once and awhile didn't hurt. Though she didn't plan to do anything now, except either escape or die trying. When he asked what she had to miss when she was gone she cocked a smile; there was much more than he would probably ever understand. "My parents are dead, but I have plenty of siblings I'll miss. But I'll also miss things like being at the ocean, drinking, the men, so many little things that have keep me going these past few years." The brunette woman started speaking as if she was almost in some sort of trance or something but really she was working on the last bit of the binds that held her tight and with one last movement she felt them begin to unloosen themselves and it was then that she knew she would easily be able to get up and leave at anytime, But she needed to abide her time and wait for the perfect moment so she would wait just a little longer.

"I'm not married, no kids, and no boyfriend since I doubt there is a single man out there that could ever handle me. Usually it's just random hookups that never go anywhere." Her voice did hold a tone of sadness to it since she of course had always wanted children of her own and maybe a man but like she said it just wasn't in her cards because of type of person she was and how much she didn't like it when people hung around her without her wanting them to be around all the time. Anastasia was told how she was going to die and her heart broke a little inside her, she didn't want to die but guessed it couldn't be helped unless she escaped. "I'm surprised you haven't attempted some form of a bloody tirade to take me out, either way at least your being considerate. But I have one question for you first, what would happen if I escaped?" She made sure that she sat completely still and looked as if she was still bound by the ropes completely, she prayed he wouldn't that she could escape because this was her only chance unless she got her wand or was able to fight him off with just her bare fists.