Dancing In The Dark

Masks

Sarah felt like she was caught in some kind of Genjutsu as "Michael" danced with her.  His look was one that she had never seen before and it was sending a strange sensation through her.  She didn't even notice when he moved her off the dance floor and into a quiet corner.  He lowered his mask and the sight of his naked face stunned her.  He was absolutely gorgeous and... familiar.  Very familiar.  Her mind which was muddled by alcohol and the feel of his arms around her was slow to piece together what she was seeing.  He gave her a smile, as if realizing she was starting to understand.  She felt a tug on her mask before he suddenly was kissing her. 

Her mind went blank as his lips moved against hers, his arms crushing her against his hard body.  She parted her lips and then he was inside her mouth, exploring deeply.  She tightened her grip on his muscular arm and she felt herself being sandwiched between his body and the wall.  She felt as if the world was spinning and if she was hot before she was now roasting.  He was doing things with his mouth that she had never experienced in her life and she felt an ache she could not define.

He abruptly pulled away from her and she weaved, thankful for the wall behind her back because she might have fallen over at the sudden release.  She noticed "Isaac" then and felt her face flame with color as she realized she had just been thoroughly kissed in a public place in front of who knows how many witnesses.  "Michael" looked at her with some regret before saying, "We need to talk.  I'll be back in a little bit.  Stay close to Melissa."

Sarah watched as he disappeared into the crowd and she had to force her legs to move.  Her mind was whirling and the thought that was coming to her was more than enough to make her think she was way too drunk to make any good decisions.  She was obviously out of her mind to even think for a second... She shook her head and started back towards the table.  She then saw Melissa at the bar and a tall blond man standing very close to her.  The expression on her friends face gave her some pause.  When he leaned close to her ear, alarms went off in Sarah's mind.  She then noticed a small flash of silver pressed against Melissa's side.

"Fuck," Sarah said and quickly looked around for Isaac and Michael.

Damn men are never around when you need them.  Perhaps it was because she was drunk or just a flaw in her own nature, but she was not about to watch her friend become a statistic.  She cut through the dancers as the blond headed man started pulling Melissa towards the exit.  She bumped into someone but didn't even slow down to apologize, receiving a "bitch" hissed in her wake.  She somehow managed to get ahead of them and cut them off before he could get her out the exit.

Sarah didn't even think about it as they broke through the crowd in front of her.  Melissa's blue-green eyes widened as she saw her and gave her a warning look.  Sarah gave a flash of a smile before she jumped up as she clinched her fist and punched him as hard as she could in the nose.  He stepped back in reaction as blood suddenly spurted out of his nose.  Melissa used the opportunity to get away from him and grabbed Sarah's arm before he could process just what had happened.

Melissa pulled her out the front door and they both started running.  "You crazy bitch!" Melissa howled in laughter.  "I can't believe you did that!"

Sarah was shaking her hand as they ran, her knuckles now throbbing.  "I can't either.  Damn tequila got me feeling bold."

Melissa gave a startled shriek as she looked over her shoulder and saw the man was not far behind them.  "Oh shit, he's coming."  She pulled off one heel then the second, turning to throw them at him before running faster now that she didn't have heels slowing her down.

Sarah cried out as she was suddenly grabbed from behind and lifted up into the air.  She reared her head back and winced as it made contact with what she could only assume was his nose again.  If it wasn't broken before, it was now.  Melissa stopped as she heard her cry and ran back at them, jumping on his back as he wrestled to gain control of Sarah.  She was kicking wildly in the air, trying to throw him off balance and Melissa was hitting his head with her elbow.

He managed to toss Melissa off his back and she froze as the blade he was using earlier on her side was now pressed into Sarah's neck.  Sarah was wise enough to stop moving and flinched as she felt the blade cut her neck a little.  "That's quite enough," he growled.  "Get up and start walking."

"Melissa..." Sarah said with a serious look in her eyes.  "Run.  Forget about me and run.  If he gets us alone we're both fucked."

"Shut up," he snarled.

"Go, damn it!" she yelled.

Melissa couldn't make herself move.  She couldn't abandon her friend but at the same time she knew what Sarah was thinking.  If one of them escaped, they could identify the man to the authorities.  If they both were lost, no one would ever know what happened.  Her eyes burned as she was torn with what to do.

Sarah winced as he grabbed her hair tight and pulled her head back, digging the knife into her neck.  "I said shut the fuck up!"  She almost laughed when Melissa finally got to her feet and ran.  She knew she was fucked but at least they both weren't.

"You're going to regret that," he growled.

"Doubtful," she chuckled.  "If she gets away, then my death was worth it."

"Are you fucking crazy or something?" he said as he forced her down the street.  "I can cut your throat before you can do anything else."

"Obviously you need me for some reason or you would have already done it," she winced when he tightened his grip in her hair, feeling some of it get pulled out.

The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance and Sarah almost laughed.  Here come my boys.  Someone had obviously seen the struggle and had called 9-1-1.  He forced her into a dark alley as he moved quickly.  She wondered how long she had before her status of hostage was no longer needed.

"Why?  Why did you choose her?"

"It wasn't her but rather who she was with," he growled.  "Those fuckers found me.  I don't know how but they found me.  Since she was all cozy with Iruka, I thought she was a good hostage."

Sarah felt a chill go down her spine.  "Iruka?" she whispered. "I thought his name was Isaac."

The man laughed softly, "As I thought, using an alias.  He even went so far as to change his hair, cutting it short, but that scar of his gave him away.  I wouldn't have even noticed it except he pulled his mask down when he was kissing up on your friend."

"Who are you?"

"Shut up," he growled at her.  "I'm done talking with you."

Sarah was nervous then.  In her trainings at work, they had taught when in a hostage situation the best thing to do was try to create a "friendship" with the one taking you as it will force them to see you as a person rather than a hostage.  However, he was obviously not going to allow that to happen.  He continued to snake through the alleys and with each turn, she knew her position was losing ground.  If she was going to get loose, she had to do so soon.  Fuck.  She wasn't fast enough to get away from him.  He had already caught her once when she was running from him.  Damn this fat body of mine.

She then remembered something and slowly lowered her hand into her right pocket.  She curled her hand around the small taser she kept on her person when they went out.  She couldn't believe she had forgotten about it before and she almost smiled as she pulled it out, flipping off the safety with her thumb.

"Let her go now or you're dead where you stand," a voice came out of the darkness in front of them.

She winced as the blade dug into her neck and she felt a trickle of blood roll down her neck.  The darkness suddenly flared with blue light and she saw "Michael" standing in a defensive position.  Blue lightning cracked in his hand and as she looked at him, she suddenly realized with full clarity what her brain had been trying to tell her all along.  She did not know how it was possible but it was really him.

"Kakashi..." she whispered.