<Chris' POV>

The pier.

The very deserted pier I am standing on now, looking down at the water, in the dead of the night. Well not the dead of the night, more like early night, or maybe even evening.

I sigh.

"Sure does feel like night...", I mutter throwing a stone at the dark waters.

It sinks, forming a few ripples at the edge of the lake. I look up at the clear starry night sky and smile. A full moon. I forget the last time I had seen one of those. Maybe in 2006 or something. Doesn't matter. I decide to take it all in. The beauty of nature at night. The dark skies lit by billions of shining stars, the full moon, and the reflection of it all in the lake. It reminds me of a Van Gogh painting of saw in an exhibit in Paris last year. I chuckle.

The moon reminds me of my very first date with my ex. Most people would look upon it as a sour little memory, which they'd very much like to forget, but I don't. It was a really nice date I recall. Her beautiful flowing blonde hair was tied in a very neat, very inconspicuous bun. She wore a black figure hugging dress along with a gold necklace that her father had gifted her, and I remember marveling at how beautiful all of it made her look. She was an actress for Christ's sake. I never thought I had a chance with her.

The memory makes me smile.

My thoughts shift towards the lake again. I walk over to the very edge and lean on the bars. I see the reflection of the stars on the water, and for some reason I start mumbling "With or Without You", by U2. The cool wind blows past making the whole place feel even more romantic. I sigh.

I wish I was in love with someone. Just so I could bring them here to show them how beautiful the night is. I imagine what it would feel like to actually propose to one's significant other on such a lovely night like this. If someone did that to me I'd probably never leave them for the rest of my life. The idea is surely very appealing. I could even end up asking a random passerby to marry me just for the sake of the night. I'm not sure why but I feel as if I am letting this night go to waste. As if this night is forcing me to do something romantic for my other half.

But I've got no one.

Well sure I have Ann, but if I ask her to marry me, she'd go mad. Or maybe she'd think that I am mad. She won't be wrong though. I am quite crazy. But, jokes apart, we are not in love. We are close, yes, we kiss publicly, yes, we are having sex, of course, but the damn paparazzi makes it look as if she's ready to elope and make nine hundred kids with me. They don't get it. She's just a casual fling. Nothing more.

Realising that I have spent an eternity here, thinking bizarre thoughts, I look at my watch.

"Quarter to eight", I mumble to myself.

Hardly eight minutes. Time seems to have slowed down. I look down.

Amsterdam is always a very beautiful place to be. Calm and cool, this city is my favourite in Europe, barring London of course. And this particular pier is my little escape from the world. I never leave Amsterdam without visiting this lake at least once. It has this weird but welcoming effect of calming my senses. I know I will sleep much longer and better for a few days after this visit.

The first time I saw this little lake was over ten years ago. I remember instantly falling in love with the place. Strangely enough, I never saw people here. Every time I came, I was alone. No one else. It surely did give me space and solitude to get my head straight, but I've always found it weird that no one ever visited this beautiful haven.

My thoughts are interrupted by a strange noise coming from behind. Instinctively I turn around to see a girl walking towards me. I don't give it much thought before realizing that she left a trail of liquid behind her as she walked. I assume that she must have just got out from the lake, although I don't understand why she would have got into the water in the first place. But in a moment all my playful ideas and thoughts disappear into thin air as I realize what the liquid actually is.

Blood.

The girl's bleeding. Before she could take another step I run toward her. She mumbles something. I don't understand what it is.

"Vi... Star..."

"What? Star? Oh my God, stay still I am gonna call an ambulance", I gasp and grope for my phone in my pocket. To my utter shock I find out that it isn't there.

What do I do?

Before I could think of anything else, the girl stumbles and I hold her just in time to save her from falling. By now I could see her face under the faint moonlight.

"Vi... Star...", she repeats the same words.

"Stay still, okay... I need to get you to a hospital", I gasp again, my heart pounding inside my chest.

"No... No...", she mumbles, "No... Hos...pital"

What?

My head starts throbbing in confusion. She surely needs help and I don't understand as to why she does not want to go to the hospital. I notice her clothing was tattered. And her entire left leg was covered in blood. It doesn't take me long to realize the source of the blood.

Her heart.

I see her clutching her chest, writhing in pain. In an instant my muscles freeze. Even if I take her to a hospital, she won't survive.

She opens her eyes and looks up at me, as if trying to tell me something. Something very important. Her eyes lock with mine and a chill runs down my spine leaving me shaken. She is no more than sixteen. And she here she is already facing death.

"Don't... Call... Hospital. Call... Police... Anonymous...", she gasps, " I will... die...", she clutches my shirt.

"No, no... I don't understand", I mumble, "I can't..."

"They... find me, Violet... Star...", she speaks again, wincing with every word.

"Violet star? Please... You need help", I speak again, in vain.

Suddenly I hear the sound of cars approaching and I feel relieved. Maybe they would help me take this girl to a hospital. But much to my surprise, I see the girl frightened.

"You... must leave. They... Kill you...", she shudders.

"But..."

"No... leave... Take this...", she places her fist upon my palm, leaving a crumpled paper on it.

"But you need help...", I mumble again.

The sounds of the cars intensify and I realize they must be around the corner.

"LEAVE...LEAVE...", She screams and instantly winces in pain.

Though quite reluctantly, I oblige, leaving her on the pier and making my way towards an alleyway. She was right. Being who I am, a moderately famous man one could say, the paparazzi would have a field day if they discover I took an assaulted girl to the hospital. My only hope remained that the car coming this way would help her. I hide in the dark not having the slightest idea of what is happening. I look down at my clothes which are now smeared in the girl's blood. I couldn't just walk around the city like this. I hear the sound of the cars again and I risk a little peek at the pier. I see the girl, lying almost lifeless on the ground.

Soon I see a black Audi, coming from the other side of the lake. I remain hopeful that the car would stop and would carry her to a hospital.

The car stops just two feet away from her and I see two men climb out from each side. One of the men paces towards the girl, while the other opens the door of the backseat. A tall silhouette of a woman comes out, slender and graceful. She seemed to be dressed in a tight fitting knee length dress and stilettos, most of her body showing. Her hair seemed to be the darkest shade of black I had ever seen. She walks towards the girl followed by her male subordinate. The girl by this time sits up and looks at the trio. Even from a distance this long I could see burning hatred in her eyes. I comprehend they are not here to help her.

The woman leans down to the girl and whispers something, followed by the girl spitting blood at her face. The woman takes a step back, rubbing the blood and the spit off her face using a handkerchief before slapping the girl so hard she falls face down on the ground. I flinch, hiding behind the ivy covered walls, clutching tightly onto the piece of paper she had given me. I remain frozen for God knows how long before risking another peek.

This time I see the men holding up the girl as the women walks in circles around her saying something. I barely make out two words.

Violet Star...

Soon the woman stops looking the girl dead in the eye. She says something that vaguely sounds like 'Murder'. The girl responds by laughing before saying something that leaves the woman shaken.

Then in a flash she screams.

"THE STAR IS MINE, YOU LITTLE BITCH"

I recoil hearing her particular choice of words. I feel my heart thumping faster than a racecar before looking at the scene again. I see the men drop the girl on the ground without warning. In a moment the woman pulls out a knife out of her purse. She advances towards the girl lying on the ground in fierce determination. The men seem intimidated by her behavior. She pulls the girl up by her hair and in a lethal strike, she slits her throat spilling blood all over the pier.

I quail, barely able to breathe. The muscles in my chest tighten and I retreat into the alley. The thought of my peaceful haven, smeared with the blood of some innocent teenager doesn't help. I run deep into the alleyway, without knowing where I am headed.

Just as I think that I have escaped it all and emerged free I make a mistake. I accidentally slip and stumble, leaning against the wall to prevent falling. In the process I kick something which makes a huge rattling noise. In a moment I realize what I have done.

They know I'm here.

In a second I hear their footsteps. I rush and hide in a narrow space beside a garbage dump. Even though the stench seems unbearable, for the life of me I couldn't move.

The footsteps come closer until they are just on the opposite side. If they take a step closer they would find me. Just as I clutch on to the cross my mum had given me and start praying, almost magically a black cat jumps out from behind me startles my pursuer.

"Cat...", I hear a male voice whisper.

The man walks away, but I stay still for almost another fifteen minutes before daring to move. With a thumping heart, I stand up and walk past the dump, softly without making a sound. Reluctantly I walk towards the alley opening and take a peek. My heart stops on seeing the girl lying in a pool of blood. The Audi was nowhere to be seen.

Even though my conscience urges me to call the authorities, I know I can't get entangled up in this mess. Slowly I walk away into the alley again shocked and shaken. I look down at my clothes. My jacket was fully covered in dried blood. Knowing better than to dump my clothing I took it off and wrapped in around in a ball, so that no one could see the red marks. My shirt seemed mostly intact, while my pants, being black, would hide any stain of blood on it.

I walk till I reach a broad street. I glance at my watch.

Eight forty five...

I see a phone booth on the other side of the street. Even though the girl asked me to refrain from calling the police, I decide to do the opposite. It would help my conscience in the long run. As I walk up to the phone booth, I take out the crumpled piece of paper she had given me. I feel astonished to find a phone number written on the paper with the words 'Chamberlain and Mathias'. I turn the paper over to see another name.

'Violet Star'

I gasp. Whatever this Violet Star is, it seemed to have raised a lot of chaos. I glance down and find few words written.

"Catarina is immobile. Violet is safe. Lake Orion is where she is"

I shrug on reading the strange sentence and peek into the booth. I see no one. I look around the deserted street as if to let no one notice me and enter the booth. I shove a quarter in and dial the number written on the paper. The line starts ringing and I wait.

In a minute a woman speaks up.

"Hunter Industries, how may I assist you?", she says.

Being a bit unnerved at the moment, I squeak, but shortly I regain full composure and read out the sentence.

"Uh... Catarina is immobile. Violet is safe. Lake Orion is where she is", I speak.

A long silence prevails at the end of the line, before a man speaks.

"This is a secured phone line. How did you get across it?", he asked.

"What? I don't...", I mumble.

"Sir, this is a secure phone line... How did you get across it?", he says again a bit firm this time.

Not knowing what to say I repeat the two names I written on the paper.

"Chamberlain and Mathias..."

Another long silence at the end of the phone line, before I hear the man say, "Your complaint has been registered"

And then nothing. I realize that they must have disconnected the line. I keep the phone back in its place and walk out of the phone booth. I try to shrug off the thoughts of the girl and the eerie phone call.

I wait for a cab and soon I find one. The cab driver didn't seem to know me. I felt relieved. Quickly I give him the directions to my hotel. He nods his head and I lean back.

As I recollect the events of tonight, it seems I have just been through a veritable nightmare. I don't know my next move. I decide to pretend as if nothing ever happened. Soon I reach my destination and walk into the dimly lit hotel. I try to avoid as many people as I can and sprint up the stairs.

I unlock the door and step into my room. Without a thought I close the door as hard as I can and make my way into the bathroom. I drop my jacket and my bloodied pants on the floor before washing my face.

I am working on autopilot.

I wash the blood off the clothes, till they are completely clean. Then I turn on the shower and take a much needed bath. I still can't believe what I just witnessed.

Finishing the shower, I dry myself and wear whatever I find. A flimsy t shirt and black boxers seemed to be all okay for me.

Without thinking I drop onto the bed and turn off the lights. I lay still wondering whether the authorities found the girl or not. My conscience bothers me. But I tell myself that I couldn't have done anything more. Lying in the dark I look up and suddenly the reality of the situation weighs upon me. I shudder as I grasp hold of what happened in the past few hours of my life.

I just witnessed a cold blooded murder.

....................

A/N: Sort of a kidnap story. I hope you enjoy it.