Perfect timing and stealth were the keys to slipping into J Tech's main office and hacking into their computers. Every step I took seemed too loud. Every corner I turned seemed like a trap. Every person I passed seemed to look at me suspiciously. Breath catching every heartbeat, I made my way through the building. I walked like every intern I passed and followed the map in my head. A ridiculously soft carpet cushioned my every step. The whole building was plush. Not a single thing was out of place. After what felt like a lifetime, I reached the main office. I told the secretary something which, for the life of me, I will never remember, and he ran off. Quick, silent, and unseen, I slipped into the office. Five minutes of wiring and button pressing later, my work was done and all that was left was to leave. Just feet from the elevator, it dinged. Crap. What greeted me what the doors open were the most beautiful blue eyes I'd ever seen.

"I asked you what you're doing."

I blinked. He'd said something? "Oh, uh. I had some paperwork for the secretary."

He glanced over my shoulder and raised his eyebrow. "He's not here."

"Yeah. I uh..." His perfectly combed raven hair and jawbone sharp enough to kill someone were incredibly distracting. "I just left it one his desk for him."

He looked me over. "I suppose you're done here then."

"Oh, yes. I was just leaving." I passed him and stepped into the elevator. My mouth, of course, wasn't done. "You seem suspicious of me." I almost shrank from his withering look.

"My sister was just kidnapped. I'm suspicious of everyone."

The doors slid closed on these words and I pressed my lips together. That was... awkward.

8:00 pm. Exactly twenty-four hours since I'd kidnapped the girl, I turned on a camera in the tunnel and connected it to every screen in J Tech's main building, inside and out. My own screen showed shots from the security cameras as people turned to see me towering above them. The main office held the most important view, compliments of my own camera. Three very important figures held the stage on my screen. Mr. Ross Gray sat behind his desk while his pretty-boy son and Detective Mathew Corum stood before him. A cocky smile stretched my lips wide.

"For those of you who don't recognize me, I am the Phantom Banshee." I bowed like a performer on stage. "And this cutie behind me is Miss Anna Gray." I danced backwards so I stood behind the girl whom I had put in a chair to hide the stake. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I kept her from struggling. "Now, as you can see, I haven't hurt a single hair an her little head... yet." I stroked her hair. "Isn't that right sweetie?"

The child cried out, calling for her father. "Daddy, I'm sacred!" On my screen I could see the younger Gray clench his fists and step forward as if he was ready to run out and search the whole city himself.

"Now, if I were you, I would try to find me," I pulled a gun from my pocket, "Something bad might happen."

The girl whimpered and leaned away.

"Stay tuned. When I ask for what I want, you better get it to me quick." With my final words, the screens went black.