Chapter One(s) [COMPLETED]

In Plain Sight (Action)

The smell of beer, stale air and sweat tumbled out the open doorway as Cameron stepped from the confines of the bar. The noise of voices and laughter, under cut by the whiny of an old jut box, followed her exit. She turned back and waved to the bar man.

"Night Andy," Cameron said.

The burlly man lifted a half cleaned glass in salute. The door swung shut, cutting off the ruckus sound of half drunk men spilling their life stories. Cameron turned up her collar and stuffed her hands into her jacket as she made her way home. Street lights dotted the sidewalk along with the splattering of late night travelers. The blackened night sky was speckled with stars, the rest of the constellation hidden behind looming clouds.

Cars rushed by, their tires splashing through puddles and sending sprays of murky water into the air. Cameron glanced about, the quietness of the city unnerving.

She quickened her pace.

She was passing a dark alley when rough hands reached out and grabbed her. She let out a scream of surprise, the sound ringing into the silent street. Callus hands covered her mouth. Cameron bite down hard, eliciting a yelp of pain from her attacker. For a split second she was released.

She raced for the alley's entrance, her heart pounding in her ears. Another man grabbed her. She spun around, punching the man in the head. The man cursed and Cameron kicked his knee, sending him stumbling to the ground. Before she had the chance to turn towards freedom two more men were before her.

Cameron jumped out of the way as one the them reached for her, but was too slow. A vice like grip clamped onto her arms.

"Help!" she screamed. "Help!"

She opened her mouth to yell one more cry for help but a meaty hand slapped her mouth closed, his fingers squeezing her jaw. Another man pulled her arms behind her. Cameron struggled, kicked and flailed as panic coursed through her. The two men she had managed to fend off first came forward, their sneers cast in shadow from the moonlight.

"You kid have something that doesn't belong to you," one of them said, his voice raspy.

Cameron struggled harder, fear seizing her, pressing against her lungs making her short of breath. The man stopped inches from Cameron's face, his rank breath choking her.

He flicked a knife open, the blade catching the light. Cameron looked at it, her stomach turning as years of taking pictures of manipulated bodies flashed through her mind.

"Pity to mess up a pretty face, but that can't be helped."

Cameron squirmed, her muscles aching from strain. The sound of her frantic heartbeat seemed to be the only sound left in the world.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a cold, steady voice said.

The man with the knife turned back towards the entrance to the alley. Standing, outlined by the street lights, was a tall, lean man wearing a coat, the hood pulled down low. He moved forward, his heavy black boots thundering in the surprised stillness. The man raised the knife so it was inches from Cameron's eye. She jerked back, pressing her head against barrel size chest of her attacker.

The hooded man stopped.

"You have two options," he said. "Release her and go to prison or die here in this alley."

The man with the knife growled.

"I'll take my option. Kill you then kill her."

The hooded man nodded.

"So be it."

Cameron's attacker nodded his head to his companion and the mountain of a man lumbered forward. The hooded man stepped forward with a grace of a dancer, swung his foot around and smashed the side of the man's head with his boot. Before the man even crashed to the ground the hooded man was upon the group.