Chapter 2- Darts and Blood

Read earlier editions first…: P and to answer many ppl's question…I just like to publish my stories in small, digestible parts .

They were cuffed and unarmed immediately. The burly guards bound their hands behind them and checked their bodies for weapons. They removed both of Alliya's throwing knives, her automatic pistol and her curved samurai sword. They also disposed of Numair's big, clunky guns and the rest of his miniature bombs.

"Not so cocky now are we?" asked the leader of the guards, a black mountain of a man with a mean grin and one eyebrow. He was bulging with muscles and had numerous tattoos on his arms. He was obviously still an amateur though as he did not check in Alliya's mouth for weapons. She smiled to herself as she spat out a thin, plastic tube containing 6 small tranquiliser darts behind her onto her hands when all the guards had their backs to her. The tube would be used to fire the darts. One of these could knock out a horse for 12 hours.

"Now, do you know where we take silly little criminals like you?" asked the guard in a voice full of sarcasm, as an adult would tell off a toddler. "We take them to Mr. Hoff himself, and they normally don't ever turn up again." He let his head fall back and laughed insanely. Then he turned to another guard, a white male with bleached hair and an extremely large golden ring on his middle finger. "Take 'em away," he grunted.

The bleached male nodded and drove his fist into Alliya's back…forcing her forward. The same treatment was given to Numair. Both were silent and went without complaint.

They were taken up a flight of metallic stairs that led upwards from the cellar. After that, they were painfully shoved into a glass lift which led them up to the highest floor. Alliya caught Numair's eye and saw that he was a little edgy. She smiled to reassure him. She had been in the business too long and knew every single outcome that may occur. The ferocious guards seemed totally at home and liked to pass frequent, sarcastic comments amongst each other in raised voices about how unsubtle and stupid Alliya and Numair were. Alliya remained in her silent state, letting these snide remarks flow over her. She was already too busy composing the various stages of her and Numair's escape.

A large 'Oi!' courtesy of the bleached male bought Alliya back down to Earth. Several guards and Numair were looking at her curiously from outside of the lift.

"Keep movin'! Mister Hoff is waiting!" shouted the guard. This comment was followed by a punch in the back. The wind was driven out of Alliya and she lunged forwards onto the floor. These guys were powerful. Had she expected the punch then she may have had a chance of blocking it. She tasted blood in her mouth and bitterly moved onwards.

They eventually came to a grand doorway. Alliya noticed angels engraved into it and looked away with disgust. Hoff really thought that he was God.

"Mister Hoff likes to show off I see," mocked Alliya. This snide remark made the guards beside her react instantly. Both simultaneously drove their fists onto Alliya's stomach. Luckily, her muscles were relaxed so she would receive nothing more than a large black bruise. But the force of both men combined knocked Alliya into the air and she flew back at least five meters. She saw stars on the perfectly white ceiling and the world around her spiralled out of control. Alliya fought to stay conscious but already, her brain was preparing to shut down. She tried valiantly to keep her mind in order but did not succeed.

"No! Alliya!" screeched Numair as his friend and companion lay still.

"Ha! It seems to me as the tough guy has feelings for this girl. What a loser!" hissed the guards in return, simultaneously shoving him crashing into the door of Hoff's office. Alliya was picked up and flung unceremoniously over the broad shoulder of the bleached guard. Numair tumbled into Hoff's room, and his breath caught in his throat with surprise.

The room was one of the grandest that Numair had ever seen, and he had been lucky enough to visit places such as the Golden Temple and the Forbidden City in China. The room was roughly the size of your average school hockey pitch and pure diamond chandeliers hung from the roof at 5m intervals. The walls were gold plated and famous renaissance paintings such as Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' and Verrocchio's 'Madonna and Child' draped them with colour. Various Michelangelo statues dotted the corners of the room and when Numair looked up at the ceiling, he could not help gasping with wonder.

Hoff had obviously hired a master painter and craftsman during the building process of his room, as the whole of the ceiling was covered by a master copy of the paintings that Michelangelo did for the Sistine Chapel. Numair noticed that all important figures had faces surprisingly similar to Hoff's own, something that was definitely not evident on the original. He was about to spit out an insult to Hoff but then he caught sight of Alliya's collapsed form, and instantly swallowed his words. A chair swivelled to face the company. A fur-clad one made of money and greed.

"Welcome to my rooms guest, and let me tell you how and when you are going to die."