"Ah, well, that's the difficult thing," he said. "You see, you interrupted my brother and me in our work for the evening, and when my brother insisted you’d seen his face. So we couldn’t just let you go."
"What do you mean?" I asked, a thin line of chill penetrating the spell his voice and looks were weaving around me. "Why not?"
"This is new for me, but I guess you could say that you’re a guest for the time being, but one that isn’t free to leave. May I sit down? You're not tied up or anything, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
If he was a kidnapper, he was certainly the most polite kidnapper I'd ever heard of. I gestured with my hand, waving like I was saying, Of course, go ahead. I frequently discuss my involuntary detainment with gorgeously handsome men who take me to log cabins. The man smiled again and grabbed a chair by the door and sat down, making sure to keep himself between me and the door. “Your pulling the fire alarm ruined a very finely-tuned plan on our part. We only got a fraction of what we wanted, and didn't get either of our top two prizes."
"You're thieves," I replied, putting two and two together. "You were trying to steal the Muramasa and Masamune swords."
He nodded, not even wasting the effort to deny it. "Among others. But yes, the crown jewels were the Muramasa and Masamune blades. We had offers for over twenty million dollars each for them," he said. "As it is, we'll make our investment in equipment back on the seven blades we obtained, but not much else. C'est la vie, non?"
"And kidnapping me?" I asked, curious. "What role does that play?"
I couldn't help it, my mind casually flashed to a few fantasies I'd read in various novels, of the innocent maiden taken and taught the ways of the world by her handsome captor. The man laughed and looked at me with knowing eyes. I blushed, and pulled the blanket that was covering me up higher, almost all the way to my chin. "Don’t worry, Jordan. My brother and I aren’t that sort of violent men. We won’t hold you down and ravish you or anything. Unless you want us to, that is,” he said, grinning.
“Actually, it was my brother who insisted that you be taken with us. He says that when the two of you tumbled to the floor, you got a good look at his face. Now, we were wearing covers over our mouths and noses, but you never know, you may have gotten a good enough look to give the police a description. We can’t have that for at least the next few days."
"And after that?"
"Hopefully it won’t matter, Miss Banks. My brother and I intend on leaving the United States at that point, and where we’re going, well, disappearing is rather easy."
Something he said pricked at my brain, and finally, it came to me. I would have gotten it sooner, but I must have really been hit in the head hard. "Wait a second. How is it you know my name?"
The man laughed and tapped his forehead. "I have mystic powers. Actually, it's because you were carrying your wallet in your jeans pocket. Your wallet, keys, and money are sitting on the dresser to your right. I was surprised, though, no cell phone? I thought everyone had them nowadays."
"It's in my locker at work," I said honestly. "The wallet was just because it's a habit."
He stood up, and again I was taken aback by just how smooth everything this man did was. Talking, sitting, standing, everything looked like it was just one harmonious never-ending dance. I swear he was the sort of man who'd make picking his nose look sexy. “Be careful. You never know when you might run into a criminal, after all. In the meantime, I suggest you rest, Miss Banks. It’s still early. When you wake up, we can talk about your freedom, and breakfast."
"Wait," I said as he reached the door. He paused, turning his head back towards me. "Uhm, I don't expect the real thing, but what can I call you? I don't want to keep yelling hey you or hello when I need something."
He nodded his head again, smiling softly. "You may call me Francois. And please, not Frank. Francois."
Chapter 4
Francois
I felt bad locking the door behind me. She hadn't chosen to come with us, and I’d be the first to admit that I was a rookie at kidnapping people. Our plan should have been perfect, designed to avoid the very problem that we encountered. Unfortunately for us, we hadn't planned on the janitorial staff being there. We certainly hadn't planned on any of the rest of the staff wearing gas masks. The mist we'd deployed was specifically designed to prevent that sort of problem, containing a fast-acting sleeping agent that would have incapacitated anyone breathing it in within five or six seconds.