When the Bait is Prey
Chapter 1
By Carl M.
She could deflect bullets, break chains and lift a seemingly unlimited amount of weight--all without sweating. Despite her strikingly unusual attire no one ever spotted her unless she chose to appear. It was impossible to find her. She found you. There was no discernible pattern or purpose to her utterly random apparitions. He did not know where she lived, if she even had a residence in a formal sense. She might as well have been a ghost. But for one million dollars he had agreed to capture her.
The offer was absurd. Ten million to flap your arms and fly seemed as likely. But the offer came in a form that could not easily be refused. Accept it, succeed and make a fortune. Refuse or fail and die. The one constant was that she always was on the side of the law. She employed her superpowers to solve crime, stop terror and to incarcerate its those who break the law. The crimes she solved and the persons she chooses to pursue had no discernible pattern--except one. That was, he knew, the key to any vulnerability she may have. Around every case she chose to enter was a young very attractive Detective by the name of Diana Prince.
It had taken him months of research before he saw this pattern. The cases that Wonder Woman had, for whatever reason decided to help with, were all either investigated by Ms. Prince. WW was Diana's private superheroine. If Diana needed help, WW accommodated. He did not how Diana communicated with WW, but it was clear that if anyone could reach WW it was Diana.
He watched Diana return to her modest apartment. She was, as always, modestly dressed. She wore a fashionable black pants suit with a grey silk blouse. The blouse and jacket were just tight enough so one could imagine her figure, but not tight enough to reveal anything more. It was a third floor walk up in a fashionable section of Metropolis. He had been in it several times, without her knowing of course. He knew where she kept things...her files, her computer, her telephone. Most importantly her gun was in the top left drawer of her beauty stand and she kept handcuffs and the key in the right drawer. At least that is where she thought they were. He had removed them just before she arrived home tonight. He knew her regular schedule and thanks to a carefully placed bug, he knew she planned a weekend with a friend in a quiet cottage in the New England hills. The friend, also attractive and young, was a prosecutor named Barbara Gordon.
He had the perfect opportunity. Her friend was disposed of. She had been kidnapped the night before and delivered to the cottage the two had rented. He had two associates watching her. She would be held until he had completed his work. No one would be looking for Diana Prince for at least 3 days. And no one ever expected to see WW.
Now he set about to catch the bait with which to lure his prey. He had long ago copied her key. The trick would be get in to her apartment without alerting her until he was in.
He waited until he saw the light in the closet next to the bedroom went on. Then he moved quickly through the front door up the stairs and quietly into her apartment. Perfect. She was getting changed three rooms away and with the music playing she never heard him enter. He checked one more time for his handcuffs; rope and duct tape and then took out his gun. From behind the wall to her living room he grabbed her mouth with one hand, shoved the gun against her head with the other and with his knee forced her to the floor. Diana was at first stunned, but did not react. She could feel the gun and knew thought better of trying to fight her attacker while he held the gun to her head.
"Do you want to live or die?" he whispered.
She struggled but did not panic and mumbled through his hand, "Live."
"Good choice. Now lie face down, don't make a sound and put your hands behind you."
She obeyed and he quickly cuffed her wrists together. He ordered her to stay still and pulled a desk chair into the middle of her bedroom. He helped her off the floor and escorted her to the chair; all the while he kept the gun at the base of her skull. He pulled out a what seemed liked yards of rope from a bag he had. Diana thought this was a robbery, and began to speak to her assailant. “I don’t have any money or anything of value”
He immediately grabbed her by the back of her hair and pulled. “I am not a thief. Just keep quite, do as I say, and you won’t be hurt.
In minutes he had her securely tied to a chair. She had not finished changing and was dressed only in her black pumps and matching stockings, panties and bra. Her arms were behind the chair, her body was tied with ropes just above and below her breast to the chair and her legs were tied at the ankles and thighs. A rope ran from her wrists to her ankles, preventing her from kicking her feet out and from moving her arms very much.
"What do you want?" She asked in a surprisingly calm tone. One would have thought that being attacked and tied up in your own apartment would cause panic. But she seemed not to be nervous at all. She gently struggled against her bounds, not to escape so much as to simply be more comfortable.
He walked around and stared straight down at her. She was a beautiful woman, large firm breasts, long and obviously strong legs. Her blue eyes were piercing and contrasted perfectly with her long black hair, tanned skin and red lips. He waited a moment before he spoke and then said
What I want is for you to call your friend WW. Get her over here NOW."
Diana winced a bit, just enough for him to notice. She was becoming a bit more concerned. This was not some fool who wondered into the wrong apartment. He had a plan and she knew WW was not going to appear and being tied to the chair made her escape impossible.
"How do you expect me to do that? She comes and goes as she pleases. I have no idea how to reach her."
"I hope that is not true. Because if she is not here by midnight, neither will you and I will look for another way to lure her out to surrender.”
“Surrender?” Diana asked. “Even if she was here, do you think she would just give up? To you?”
“Yes.” The simplicity of his answer and the certainty in his voice raised Diana’s fear. She had a real problem. She had to keep him talking and find out why he was so confident. She glanced over at her beauty stand. It was only four feet away. But reaching it was not going to be easy.
"Here is what is going to happen. I want WW. You are going bring her here. Once I have her, you will be released."
“But what if I can’t?” Diana pleaded, “Even if she should show up, how are you going to make her surrender?”
He could here the desperation in her voice and began to wonder of she was telling the truth. "DO IT OR DIE! You have until midnight."
“But, how….” Her voiced trialed off as she noticed that he had picked up a large white cloth and a black scarf. “You don’t need that. I won’t scream.. MPPHHFF.”
With that, he shoved the cloth in her mouth and tied the scarf around her head to hold the first in place. He then sealed her lips with tape. "MpphhMpphh"
"Think about whether you are ready to have it all end here tonight."
He then walked away. He knew that the gag would increase her feelings of isolation, desperation and fear. He went to the living room and began watching TV. A James Bond movie was on. She tried to stay calm but she needed a plan to gain time.