Puppet

Tom walked in and pulled the thin sheet off of Riley. The cold rush of air that whirled past her woke her up almost immediately. At first she had thought she was back at home and her mom was trying to wake her up for work.

“I can’t be late again. Mr. Swansen will fire me for sure if I am.” Riley mumbled, sounding almost inaudible. She jumped out of the bed and but stopped short as she looked around.

She wasn’t at home and she sure as hell wasn’t going to make it in for work today.

She took one look at Tom, screamed, and then ran. She didn’t get very far before she tripped and fell, hitting her knee hard on the wood floor. She looked up at Tom who was eyeing her curiously as he towered over her. She tried to scramble to the door or any hiding place to get away. She wanted to be anywhere but with him right now.

“And where do you think you’re going, Buttercup?” Tom ran up and caught Riley by the leg, dragging her out of her useless hiding place. Her skin skid against the floor as he pulled her back which caused some burns to form on her leg and part of her arm. She winced in pain. “We have somewhere to go and you’re definitely not staying here by yourself.”

“Why can’t you just leave me alone!?” She jerked her leg from his grip (which took a lot of effort on her part) and got up, looking him straight in the eyes. Tom was definitely intimidating. He was at least six or seven inches taller than her. His dark brown eyes almost looked black as he stared at her with little emotion.

“Now what fun would that be?” He winked at her before grabbing her arm and dragging her out into the hall. He was already dressed in similar clothes he was in yesterday only it was a blue plaid shirt this time. “We have to go pay a visit to someone and, like I said, I can’t be leaving you here alone.”

“I don’t want to go with you! I want to go home!” Tom ignored her which upset Riley even more. She hated being ignored almost as much as Tom did. She was used to being listened to and being in charge. Tom had totally switched the roles for her and now she was the one that was forced to listen whether she liked it or not.

Riley glared at him and tried tugging her arm away. It was no use, though. He was much stronger than she was and her tugs did nothing but turn her arm red under his hand.

They walked outside; the black Escalade was parked right out front. This was Tom’s signature car. Everyone knew it was him when he (or one of his men) drove by in it. There were already three men in the car as Tom forced Riley into the back seat with him. She recognized the other man in the back next to her. He was the guy that had held onto her when Tom slapped her yesterday. She remembered him being named Mark. The guy driving the car was Gunther. She recognized him immediately. He always seemed to be with Tom for everything. There was a new guy in the front seat that Riley had never seen before though.

“Mark, you have the rope?”

He nodded and pulled it out of the small bag that had been under the seat in front of him.

“Tie her up and tape her mouth shut.”

Riley stared at him, eyes wide and mouth gapped. They were not tying her up.

“Fuck you! You’ve already forced me in this car. I’m not being tied up!”

“Bet me.” Tom backhanded her because of her defiance. As she cupped her cheek, he ripped her hand away, stared her down and grabbed both her wrists and held them still so Mark could tie her up without any problems.

She could feel the blood oozing from the cut Tom had made on her lower lip. It just added to the swollenness from his hit the day before.

“Still fighting you?” Gunther snickered from the driver’s seat and the rest of them laughed.

Gunther was right; not many people fought Tom or even tried to defy him in any way. Most people were smart enough not to. Riley was different though. She had spirit and was tough. Tom loved the intensity this girl had to offer.

“Turn here, Gunther.” The Escalade pulled to a smooth stop in front of an old looking warehouse type building. “I think it’s time to pay an old… friend a visit. Gunther, Mark, you’re coming with me.”

“Tom, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Riley stared blankly at the man that asked the question. Her eyes trailed to Tom to see his reaction; he appeared not to have heard him though.

“Are you questioning my judgment, Klaus?” Tom stared at the man with dark, cold eyes while he expertly cocked a gun Riley didn’t even know he had.

The man known as Klaus suddenly looked pale and almost scared. “N-n-no, sir. I just thought that two guys wouldn’t be enough. It could get ugly in there, you know?” he tried justifying himself but Tom wasn’t having any of it.

“That’s why you leave the thinking to me. Gustav may have the man power in his building, but he’s nowhere near as cunning or as smart as I am. Besides, he knows better than to try anything with me,” Tom said with a smirk.

Riley couldn’t understand how he could be so cocky and confident all the time. If she wasn’t under the circumstances she was in, she might’ve found it slightly attractive. However, Tom took it too far sometimes and Riley just saw him as a know-it-all jerk.

“Yeah, boss. Sorry.” Klaus avoided making any eye contact with them. It was clear how embarrassed he had become after Tom called him out on his statement.

“Good. Now keep an eye on my Puppet and make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.” Tom stroked Riley’s hair, causing her to pull away sharply.

She hated being treated like some pet.

Tom ignored her shift and looked at his minions. Gunther and Mark nodded to him; none of them exchanged any words as they loaded up their guns and stepped quietly outside of the car.

Riley watched as the two men followed Tom in perfect order, concealing their weapons, and burst through the door of the building.

She turned her head when they were no longer visible and looked at the ground instead. Within a few short moments, her skin began to crawl with the uncomfortable feeling of someone watching her. She tried keeping her eyes on the ground but the feeling had taken the best of her.

Sure enough, Klaus had been glaring at her through the review mirror the whole time. She tried getting out of his line of vision but it didn’t help. Anywhere she tried moving, he was still able to see her.

Klaus was pissed off that Tom chose him to be the babysitter of his new bitch. He was just as good –if not better in his eyes- of a man for the job they were on right now as Gunther and Mark. Even if Gunther was Tom’s right hand man, Mark had only been in association with Tom for a little over a year; that was three months less than Klaus. So why the hell wasn’t he told to go inside as well? He found it unfair that he got stuck waiting in the car like some little kid that wasn’t allowed into the place his parents went. It was bullshit.

Klaus knew better than to complain about what he was told to do though. Tom would kill him on the spot if he thought for even a second that Klaus was defying his orders.

All eyes were on Tom and his men as they entered the building. Tom didn’t look at any of them, though. Neither did Gunther or Mark. Their eyes were focused straight ahead.
Tom’s determined look frightened the guys watching them. Some put their hands to their waist, most likely where they were hiding weapons of their own, and others just stared at the intense aura he had about him.

Not fazed at all, Tom walked straight up to the desk where his “associate” was sitting. The man’s men watched the three of them closely. They weren’t sure if they should shoot all three of them now or wait until they made the first move. Like Tom’s men, though, they knew better than to do anything that wasn’t under direct orders from their lead man; Wolfgang.

“Well, well, Mr. Kaulitz. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” the man turned in his chair and smiled at Tom. It was no where near a friendly smile. It was similar to a forced smile someone uses when they know they’re about to be in deep shit.

“Too long I’ll say.” Tom didn’t return a smile. This encounter was strictly business, not talking and catching up. He had come for something and he intended to get it back today.

“I have a feeling I know why you’re here and---“

“We had a deal, Wolfgang, did we not?” Tom cut him off. He wasn’t in the mood for any bullshit.

“Yeah, we did.” Wolfgang tried not to show any fear as Tom stood in front of him. “It’s just… I don’t exactly have your money right now, Tom.”

“Ah, Wolfgang. I gave you a month. How can you not have it?”

“Things came up, and—“

“I don’t want excuses!” Tom roared and everyone, including Mark, froze. “We had a deal and I expect you to hold up on your end of the bargain.”

“I know. But, please, Tom. I need a few more days. I’ll have it to you, I swear.”

“Three days, Wolfgang. If you don’t have it when I return, there will be hell to pay.”

Riley was still sitting in the back seat. She let’s out a long, stifled sigh. She had grown bored sitting and waiting. She noticed Klaus was feeling the same way. He had his head propped up against his arm while he stared blankly out the window. She was a bit surprised the man hadn’t tried talking to her at all while they were stuck there. She figured it was because it was against one of Tom’s rules or something so she didn’t think about it too much. It wasn’t as if the tape over her mouth would have allowed her to reply to him anyway.

Riley sat there thinking about what she could possibly do to make the time pass by faster. She mentally slapped herself in the face. This was her chance to get away! She would finally be rid of these guys if she managed to pull the seemingly impossible task off.

Quietly, Riley took her tied hands and pulled the door handle, careful not to take her eyes off of Klaus who was now smoking a cigarette still waiting for his comrades to appear from the door.

She almost jumped when the door clicked open. She hadn’t expected them to leave it unlocked. Although, it was a smart idea if they needed to make a quick get away. What wasn’t smart was the fact they left it unlocked with a hostage in the back seat.

Riley didn’t push it open all the way, though, in fear Klaus would turn around any second and catch her. Instead, she left the door alone for a moment so that if he had heard it, he would just think he imagined the sound.

‘Stupid asses,’ Riley smirked to herself. This was it; she was finally going to be free.

She took in a deep breath, took one last glance at Klaus then the closed door of the building. Nothing happened. Riley made her move. She lay on her back and kicked the door open, jumping out of the car as fast as she could and ran. Briefly she thanked God that Tom decided not to tie her legs up as well.

Not having the slightest clue as to where she was going, Riley just ran. She wasn’t about to slow down and risk being caught to find out exactly where she was. She ran straight for the first place she could find that looked like they would have trouble finding her. A little alley was the closest thing she saw so she took off in the direction of it.