"I'm interested in anything that deals with danger. Not just the gunshots and the fast cars. I'm not that kinda guy. I like to think that there's more to danger than just a little physical trauma. I'm interested in the tension you get when you're seconds away from blowing everything.

I'm interested in those moments where the danger is subtle, and long-term. I want to feel that tingling on the back of your neck when you're inches away from failure. Am I making myself clear? I think I'm rambling. I like to learn, but I'm not one of those people who gets all his joy from learning something new - I want to put it to the test. Now stay here."

The slamming of the car door made no echo. The walls and frame absorbed every sound that came from inside and out, heavily insulating the bustle of the city from the passenger. Likewise, it insulated the city streets from the constant moans and the unending sound of stretching straps that echoed from the passenger's form.

Short, blue-dyed hair poked out between heavy straps; each strap was made of leather, tanned, cured, and oiled to perfection. The straps had clearly been attached and buckled with care. Nothing overlapped and they all formed a lattice around the rider's head. A panel of padded metal was flush against the female's jaw, sealing any sound behind tightly-packed lips. Two more cables lead from the gag around her nose and over the back of her head, harnessing it flush against her face. A similar panel held around her eyes, its cushioned padding forced against her closed eyelids. Nothing passed from the exterior of the car to the interior, just as nothing passed to the senses of the passenger.

Only her futile struggles gave her any information; tactile knowledge about her surroundings. She knew  she was in a car; she knew that the car had driven for about fifteen minutes before stopping, and she knew that her captor had throughly strapped her into the corner seat. She also knew that there was room for at least one more passenger.

***

"I would like to order the swordfish."

Phantom's eyes never strayed from the menu. The waiter stared at her, tapping his pen against his pad.

"I am sorry, madame, but we are not currently serving the swordfish at this time."

"I understand that it is not on the menu, but I am ordering it a la carte. I have no doubts you could serve it to me if properly motivated. Please serve me."
The menu obscured her face. She barely moved as she spoke.

"Of course, ma'am."

The waiter was long gone by the time Phantom finally dropped the menu. Dark, short hair in a bun contrasted against skin so pale as to be called white. Her common attire, gaudy by most standards, was comfy - and she always appreciated wearing only black and white.

***

"Excuse me, miss."

Phantom had been sitting almost motionless save blinking. She demonstrated a pose of rehearsed relaxation to give off a lackadaisical appearance. Knees crossed, one arm slung casually behind her chair. Not entirely correct; she still stood out. Appearing casual was still out of her reach. Appearing surprised was not; her face exhibited an earnest smile and widened eyes as a man unceremoniously plopped into the seat across from her.

"This is not a cafe. This is a respected eating establishment. You are not allowed to join me without permission."

He grinned. "Then do I have permission?"

"No."

"That's a shame. Listen, you shouldn't be here, Ms. Phantom."

"Nor should you."

"Please, call me Karyu. It's a codename."

"Really?"

"Doesn't matter. Anyway, miss, you really should leave. This place is not safe."

"Really? I own more land and have more employees than some small governments. My augmented body can go weeks without sustenance or oxygen. My bodyguards are intimately loyal."

Karyu shifted his weight towards the table. He wore a business suit, and his red tie popped out from his coat to rest on the table. One gloved hand ran through his brown hair.

"Right. And it's a public place, too."

"Yes, exactly, Karyu."

"So you're not worried at all about being attacked?"

Phantom smiled. "No."

Karyu grinned in kind. "Think about a few things, Miss Phantom. If you were safe, how could I have sat down here?"

Phantom's grin flattened and she pursed her lips.

"Second of all... how long ago did you order your fish?"

Her grin turned to a frown.

"What do you want from me?'

"I was hoping for someone cute to ride shotgun with me."

Phantom's frown curled to a scowl.

"I think I will be fine. Begone."

A kitchen door swung open. Taser electrodes flew at Phantom from one of the waiters. In her mind's eye, she turned her senses up to their maximum power, expended exceptional energy on complicated computerized calculations, and predicted the path of the projectiles. She grabbed a teacup and threw it in the air, tangling the two electrodes and deflecting them.

Phantom turned to quip, but another door - this one leading to the patio - burst open. Another waiter, holding a menacing-looking firearm, pulled the trigger and peppered the room with adhesive, sticky ammunition.

Karyu was already on it. As the second intruder advanced, he dove from table to table until he was just a few feet behind the 'waiter.' With a strong kick to the knee, the assailant dropped to the ground. Another chop to the back of his neck sent him into a moaning, unconscious tizzy.

"Can I get a ride?" Another door burst open. Phantom ran for the exit.

Karyu smiled and sprinted out of the cafe alongside her.

More adhesive gel peppered the door as the two exploded from the cafe. Phantom's eyes looked left and right ; she had already expended gratuitous amounts of energy calculating earlier. Locals were sprinting away from the fight.

A red, vintage sports car sat idling, and Karyu ran towards it. Phantom would have known it was his even without his action - it was blindingly obvious. Almost as obvious as the loud, pressurized shots of adhesive that nearly glued Phantom in helpless place. She hopped into the car without further question, and in a moment, they had left the scene. The screeching of tires echoing across buildings was the only sign they were ever there.

A few minutes of silent driving later, Karyu brought the car to an idle in a car park. The slow, thrumming engine made up for the silence between them.

"Thank you for the ride, Karyu."

"It was my pleasure , milady." His tone was as cocksure as it could be.

"Where to now?"

"Oh, I dunno, Miss Phantom... I'm thinking I'll head back to my hideout. You oughta come with. Lay low for a while."

"I think not. My own quarters and safe-houses are far more secure."

"Really? But they're probably public places - incognito in plain sight, right, Phanny?"

Phantom said nothing.

"Nope, my place is in a nice old building - the sort with all the boarded up doors, the sort that nobody'll ever find. The kind with fancy soundproofing. You get the idea. You sure you don't want to come?"

Phantom's hand tugged on the door-handle. She was already tired from all this activity.

"Something wrong?"

Phantom's green eyes pierced Karyu and he gulped.

"Karyu, this car model features electronic locks, but pulling the door handle should override that. You do not have child-locks engaged."

"Very perceptive."

"Please unlock the door, Karyu."

The agent's hand moved imperceptibly lower on the steering wheel. Phantom's hand lashed out, going directly for the neck of her savior-turned captor.. only to be stopped in place a few inches hence.

Phantom stared down. Her seatbelt had done more than secure her in place. It had morphed. In an instant, her body had been latticed with thick, brown leather straps.

Not just one or two, though, that she might easily tear. They were cleverly distributed from her body, and they had, all at once, formed to snake over her - like a spring-loaded trap - at the push of a button.

The straps were multifaceted; two thick, brown straps of luscious leather ran down her flanks, from around her chest to her feet. Every few inches, a thick, buckled belt ran along the circumference of her body - creating a sort of web. These belts were tight, and as she strained against them the musical squeaks of leather stretching reached her and Karyu's ears.

Leather carefully segmented her body out, dividing it up and enclosing it on a great many places. The pressure was great, and she couldn't put enough force to any one area to tear it. These 'seat belts' cupped around her biceps multiple times and in multiple areas. Her forearms were free of her inescapable bondage, but that was all; thick straps held her in a tight hug. More pressed themselves in tightly enclosing layers around her breasts, leaving only a rectangular window through which Phantom's generous bust was prominently, pointedly displayed.



Implacable and unforgiving straps kept her legs bound , as well. Thick leather curved around her bottom, squishing it and folding tight against her compressed skin; more at her knees, thighs, and ankles. Each created its own curves, and each one helped web her in place against the passenger seat.

For a long while, Phantom remain quiet. She scarcely resist as Karyu proceeded to lace her own arms behind her in a box-tie; each hand was gently placed across the small of her back. Each hand was enclosed in a simple, but effective, leather bondage mitt, and each was then thoroughly covered in electrical tape to keep her from having any hope of removing them.

Phantom remain quiet after. She stared at her captor, and Karyu stared back.

"And in case you're wondering - yup, everyone in that restaurant was on my dime. I had to pay extra, too, to let me knock them around."

"What are you going to do to me?" Phantom's voice wavered slightly.

"Oh, gee, I don't quite know! See, there are some serious bounties out for you right now - groups that don't like it when hot little numbers like yourself parade around and messing with their business!"

"Oh, but don't you worry, milady, I don't think I'm going to turn you over. Not yet, at least; see, if you stay gone, your own company will probably put out a pretty serious reward for any rumors of your return. Pretty swank, pretty swank! Lots of cash flowing in... but then there's another issue."

"My company will pay you tremendous amounts." Phantom's voice had no emotion; it was a matter-of-fact.

"Uh... hm..."

"What do you want, Karyu? Money? Women? Slaves? Equipment?"

Karyu grinned and reclined his seat. He placed a hand on his newest acquisition. "Hmm... no, I think you're a pretty number. Don't know if I'd be willing to trade you for much anything! Eh-heh. We'll see, though - maybe if the prices get high enough, I'll turn you over. Maybe."

"Maybe?" Phantom recoiled slightly; her eyes went wide with surprise as Karyu moved his finger and thumb against her chin. It was almost sweet; her disposition matched her piercing eyes.

"Maybe...." his voice trailed off as he moved his fingers through his charge's hair.

The drive to Karyu's hideout was silent on the outside - his car's tinted windows saw to that. Phantom alternated tactics; threats, violence, physical escape attempts, and sweet-talk to secure her release. None were effective.

"Now, you're a little heavy - oh, no offense, just a fact - for me to carry, milady. I'm gonna have to find some other way to move you."

Karyu hopped out of his car and knocked on his trunk twice.

"Easy there, kiddo, it's only been a half-hour!"

He chuckled as he 'helped' Phantom out of his car. "Got a waitress in the back. She's fine, but we needed her outfit for our little operation earlier. Chatty little lady... kinda like you."

"I generally prefer to talk to friends and colleagues. Not kidnappers."

"Hmm... that's true, but, Phanny, you spent the past 10 minutes beggin' and pleading with me. So what does that make me?"

With a heave, he brought out a hand-car, and with another, he placed her on it. Like a piece of luggage, he lashed her in place, adding to her prison with a few more straps. It just added to her squirms - which he was beginning to appreciate more and more. Especially when her dainty little body struggled against the straps - or the way her curves popped out, or...

He took his time, enjoying her gaze and struggle, before grabbing out his gear.

"Well, Milady, I'm sorry to say it - but I've got one or two other visitors, and I don't want you disturbing them. So I'll need you to stay quiet and calm."

'Quiet and calm' meant 'gagged, blindfolded, and deafened.' A massive and heavily padded panel gag turned Phantom from a loquacious captive into one possessing only mewls and coos. He saw her body flinching under the heavy gag... and he was no stranger to the slight blush that highlighted her otherwise pale skin.

Gag-speak was music, and this number was a real virtuoso! It was only increased as he strapped on a heavy blindfold. He took in one last look of her sterling gaze, now turned to pleading, before buckling it shut. For good measure, he ran another few leather straps over the blindfold and gag; both for security, and also for fun.

"Now, don't you look the captive! You're a versatile player if I do say so myself!"

"Mmphhh... hnggggh! Mmph-ggghhn!" Rapid, short struggles punctuated her trip through Karyu's safehouse. Writhing, sending her buxom body hard against her heavy straps, and constant mewls for release had no effect. She was heeled along, helpless against Karyu's heavy hand.

"Now you just stay here for a while. I was thinking about how much I might accept for your ransom or reward money..."

"Mmmppgh?"

"But I came to the conclusion, that, well, you're the vengeful sort. I saw it in that lovely emerald gaze of yours. So instead of just selling you off or letting you go... I guess I'm keeping you."

Karyu reached the central area of his hideout; the remains of a tall belltower, now surrounded by larger buildings. The winch still worked, though, and the rafters were made to hoist ancient bells of iron and brass. It was the perfect spot to store a villainess. Huge metal cuffs locked around Phantom's ankles; she was helpless and oblivious to what was happening until she felt herself being raised - by her ankles - up and up.

"Mmm... yes indeed, I'd feel terrible letting go a cute little thing like yourself." As she was raised, she felt a strong, firm hand running up - down? - her booted foot, then thigh, then inner thigh... she blushed as the hand moved over her stomach.

The winch halted with a start, and she was left hanging and wriggling. She didn't need to see to know what was happening, and she moaned - now low, husky, and frustrated - as Karyu's fingers danced across her chest. His palms vigorously molested her bosom, while his thumbs teased at her nipples beneath her clothing. She grew red beneath her panel gag and blindfold, and Karyu took it as a sign to finish. The winch resumed, and Phantom was drawn up into the dark rafters.

He smiled. She'd be fine until morning, but he had work to do; a whole bedroom to renovate, a waitress to return, and many shopping trips. He shut off the winch as she neared the apex of the dark tower and returned to his safehouse.

Phantom's moans and struggles rattled the chains, echoing throughout the tower. As far as a half-mile away, residents claimed to hear the sounds of a chained ghost, moaning for release.