Chapter Text
As Victor Sutton locked the door to his office, he let out a heavy sigh. He was tired straight down to his bones, it was well after midnight and this was the fourth night in a row he gave up sleep working well into the night. As a private investigator missing person cases were nothing new but this one seemed to eat at him. Casey Johnson was the third missing girl this month. All disappearing in the same 3 block radius, the police were well and truly stumped and brought him in to consult. Which meant they were desperate. He knew there had to be a connection but no matter how hard he looked he couldn't find it, they were simply gone.
As he walked, he turned the collar of his old overcoat up against the chill. The December wind was biting and his ragged coat wasn't much protection from it. He had lived a hard life in his thirty years and it showed in his clothes and in his features. His chocolate brown hair graying at the temples, his green eyes were rimmed by fatigue and stress. He dressed sensibly for a PI but definitely wore things until they fell apart. He did his best to look presentable but cases were few and far between, his only saving grace what when the police department called him in to consult. His old partner detective, Jackson throwing him a bone on occasion was the only thing keeping the lights on.
The cold made him walk slower, his limp more pronounced than usual. His right leg always had a tendency to stiffen up in the cold. He leaned heavily on his cane as he walked, all he could think about was getting home and taking a hot shower hoping it would help him sleep. Maybe if his mind hadn't been elsewhere, he would have heard the man coming up close behind him. Before he could react, a rough hand grabbed him by his collar and forced him into the alleyway to his right. He stumbled and lost his grip on his cane, cursing as he was pushed up against the wall in front of him. He felt a sharp point press into his back and froze. The man behind him leaned over his shoulder and growled in his ear, the stink of booze and cigarettes on his breath.
“Do as you're told and you'll walk away from this. Got it?” The man snarled in his ear.
Victor simply nodded, not wanting to provoke the man. He felt him rifling through his pockets. Than apparently not satisfied with their contents, took his overcoat off all together and searched through it. Before he could come up with any way of getting out of this alive, Victor felt himself being spun around by his shoulder and slammed hard into the wall behind him he grunted from the impact and was now face to face with his attacker.
The man was well dressed for a mugger, suit and tie and patten leather shoes, but the look on his face was a mix of fear and confusion. He held the knife in a shaky hand and seemed as if he was listening to something Victor couldn't hear. Then, the man met his eyes with a determined look.
“Where is it? Where did you hide the necklace?”
Victor only stared at him in confusion for a moment. Necklace? What necklace? What the hell is this guy talking about? He shook his head and replied, trying to keep his voice calm.
“I don't have any necklace. I swear I don't know what you're talking about.” The man did not seem to like that answer one bit. He pulled Victor forward and slammed him into the wall again with such force it made his head spin and his ears ring. There was a growing pain radiating from the back of his head. This was going downhill fast and Victor knew it. The man began to panic and talk, looking around as if he was speaking to someone unseen.
“No no no! He has to have it, he has to! Master said he would have it! Master wouldn't lie!” The man turned back to Victor and pressed the tip of the knife against his cheek, drawing a bit of blood as it cut his face. “Master said you have the necklace so you have it! If you don't tell me where it is I will gut you like a pig and find it myself!” He laughs almost hysterically. “Master must be pleased! He will reward me!” Victor's blood ran cold as the panic began to set in. Oh fuck, he thought this dude is nuts! He tried to stall, so he could think.
“ Listen guy I don't know who your Master is or what necklace you are talking about. Believe me if I had it I'd hand it over but I don't-” Before he could finish his sentence, a cat jumped out of a nearby trash can knocking it over and starting Victor's attacker. Seeing his opportunity, Victor went for the knife.
Victor wrapped his hand around the man's wrist and pushed hard, successfully getting the blade away from his face then in one swift motion threw his shoulder into him. Once the man was off of him, Victor went for his cane, but his leg was still too stiff and painful to move very quickly. Just before he could reach the cane, he felt the man collide hard into his back sending him sprawling. Victor rolled to his back to try to defend himself and almost inhumanly quickly the man was on him again, slashing wildly at him with the knife. Victor threw up his arms to defend himself, feeling the blade cut his sleeves to shreds and leave red ribbons across his skin. He turned his face away to avoid the attack and to his relief saw his cane within reach. He grabbed for it quickly and swung hard, hearing the sickly crack as the cane broke against the man's skull Victor rolled away and stumbled to his feet.
Using the wall for support as he stumbled towards the entrance to the alley trying to put as much distance between himself, and his attacker with the broken handle of the cane still clutched in his hand. Victor was merely feet from the street when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and what felt like claws pierce his skin. He was pulled backwards with such force it lifted him from the ground. As he was thrown into the wall, he felt the pop of ribs breaking and the air was forced from his lungs. Before he could crumple to the ground, he was on him again. A cold clammy hand wrapped around his throat and held him firm and cut off his air. As he looked into his attacker's face, he noticed a disturbing change. His face was as white as death and nearly translucent, his teeth were sharp and jagged, but the most disturbing change was his eyes. No iris or pupil remained, they were pure red as blood. Victor struggled against the hand that held him. He kicked and clawed at him, but the man held him fast, he swung the broken piece of his cane handle, embedding the end of it in the man's arm. It had no effect at all, as if it wasn't even there. Just as his lungs began to burn from lack of air and his vision began to blur, he felt a sharp pain explode in his stomach. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. The pain doubled as the man pulled the knife from him, then he let him fall. Victor gasped for air raggedly as he clamped his hand over the blooming red on his shirt. He leaned against the alley wall behind him as he watched the crazed man pull the chunk of wood from his arm and walk away muttering to himself.
Victor tried to move, but his strength was flowing out of him with his blood, he felt cold right down to his bones and began to shiver. Great, he thought, going into shock in a dark alley with no phone and no means of help. The pain in his stomach began to dull as he felt his body going numb. This is not where he thought he was going to die but he guessed it was as good a place as any. At least, he was close to the street so, he'd be found relatively quickly in the morning. His eyes were so heavy, he couldn't keep them open though he did try. Through the haze, he heard a voice, or at least he thought he did. Then, he heard it again.
“Oh my sweet little sparrow, what has he done to you” the voice was soft and deep and as smooth as velvet, Victor knew that voice, that rich accent but it was so hard to think and he was so tired. He felt a hand on his head, gently stroking his hair. He tried his best to open his eyes but all he could see were eyes, golden and familiar eyes. Then, he felt something touch his lips and mostly on instinct he opened his mouth. Something thick and sweet like chocolate and wine touched his tongue, and he wanted more. "That's it, sparrow, drink, it will make you feel better." Said the voice. It was such a familiar taste, like a distant memory he had forgotten. Suddenly Victor felt warmer, he wasn't in pain anymore and he almost felt like he was floating. But he was still so tired and his eyes were still so heavy. As the darkness of sleep took him the last thing he felt was someone lifting him gently and effortlessly off the cold ground and heard the familiar voice say. “Don't worry my sparrow, I'm here now.” And Victor knew he was safe.