Action Comics Inc.... [for nerdherdchuck]

[psychette]

Things were buzzing at Comic Con. People milling here and there, some in costume, some without. Somewhere near the entrance...

"Com'n, we're gonna miss it!" Jackie urged, absentmindedly tugging on her arm bands. She was loving her Kira costume this year, getting quite a few thumbs up from passers-by...ignoring the fact most of them were thirty-ish guys who probably still lived with their mom.

"Chuck, I thought you wanted to be at this auction thing too. What's taking so long?"

Comments

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

Chuck gave a little shrug. "Maybe? But he sure does seem to be getting into it," he whispered back, noticing how animated the auctioneer looked at times.

"That does look pretty cool," he replied. "Are you gonna bid on it?"

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

The bidding started at 5 bucks. "Maybe..."

Nobody was starting, probably wanting them to get to the authentic prop lightsabers that were next. On a whim, Jackie put her hand up for 5. "Eh, why not?"

Almost immediately after her, a man across the room bid 10. Jackie sighed, "Rats...maybe I should have waited." She put in a bid for 12.
The man went up to 20. "Awful eager, isn't he?"

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

Chuck thought for a moment. "Well, for something like that, he'd maybe go up to $35 and quit. Sometimes people try to drive up the price a little...you know, not wanting someone to get away with something for nothing. Go up a couple more bucks, and I think you can get it."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

"Going once, going twice..."

Jackie popped her hand up for 25.

A different man on the other side of the room bid 30.

"Good thing I got paid this week..." Jackie said, bidding up to 50 bucks in the end. The two other men looked uncomfortable but didn't dispute it.
Jackie grinned as she came back to her seat with the small painting. It was of a small mining colony on an ice planet. "Cool, I like it even better in person. Totally worth it."

She checked one of the men who lost the bid. "He doesn't seem too happy though." She scrunched down in her chair as he glared over at her. "Dude, I thought this was a friendly auction." The second man was nowhere to be seen, must have left.

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

"Some fans are a little more...uptight than others. He's probably the type of guy that hates to lose, you know?" Chuck then joked, "And also debates that all of the changes Peter Jackson made to The Lord of the Rings movies were crimes against the greatest work ever written and whatnot." He snickered, but then got a bit more serious. "Honestly, there sadly are people like that!"

The auctioneer brought out a limited edition model of a TIE Fighter which seemed to perk the crowd up and start a bidding war that quickly skyrocketed from $200 up to $500.

Chuck winced. "A little too rich for my blood."

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

"Oh I believe it. I'm just not sure how I feel stealing stuff from them."

She grinned at Chuck's trepidation. "Maybe if it was lifesized and actually flew..."

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

"You didn't steal it. You bought it," Chuck replied with a grin.

"If it did, people would still be bidding on it, trust me." He then laughed.

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

"...pretty sure he feels differently." Jackie snuck a peek around Chucks head towards the guy. "Whew, he's leaving. I hate when people glare...so painful."

The rest of the auction was uneventful. Jackie busied herself reading the program for the rest of the convention and tapped Chuck's arm, pointing to one event, talking in a stage whisper. "Dude, autograph signing...we should leave early so we miss the rush. They got that guy from Andromeda!"

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

"He'll live," Chuck assured her.

"Yeah, we'd better got there asap. I've been to some signings at previous Cons. Sometimes if there's a crowd that is there early, you may not even get in! They only let so many people inside," Chuck whispered back.

He ducked down a bit, ready for Jackie to follow. But as he ducked down, he could have sworn he saw a glimpse of that unhappy man that Jackie outbid.

this is so they don't find it on them when they grab them :)

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie kept down so as to not disturb the rest of the auction and snuck out with Chuck following behind. "Hold on, I want to stick this painting somewhere safe so I don't have to carry it while we're getting autographs."

She wound her way through the booths till she found her friend Ricky's. He was a small time comic book artist helping out with selling stuff. After promising him an autograph as well, he took possession of the painting, hiding it under the table.

While walking back towards the main section of the convention, Jackie got the strangest feeling they were being watched...

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

"That was nice of your friend," Chuck said. "And his booth was on the way to the signing so we didn't lose much time."

He followed Jackie but could notice she looked a bit troubled all of a sudden. Concerned, he asked, "What's wrong?"

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

"Ricky's nice like that."

"Hm?" she looked up at him. "Oh, nothing..." It's a silly idea anyway, with all these people here. They were walking through the lobby of the main building, crossing to the other side, people milling around them.

As they neared the escalator going up, Jackie pointed. "Hey, isn't that...?" On the one coming down was the first guy from the auction, and he was staring right at them as the stairs brought him down to their level.

Before Jackie could say something like "We should probably leave..." there were two guys behind them, something cold and hard poking at their backs, and a terse whisper.
"Move and you're dead."

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

"N-not moving then," Chuck timidly answered. He was hoping someone would see the weapons and alert security but there was no guarantee of that. "What...do you want from us anyway?"

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Sad part being they're at a Comic Convention...and the guys holding them up happen to be dressed like agents from the Matrix...or it's possible they could be their normal clothes, who can tell?

The man from the auction coming towards them gives a nod and the two of them are urged towards the service exit...decidedly less people near them now. Jackie gives Chuck a confused/worried look, hoping this is some sort of elaborate prank.

Outside the door is an unmarked van which the two of them are unceremoniously shoved into, another guy driving the van. Jackie and Chuck get their hands and ankles duct taped rather quickly. "Wow...did you major in duct tape in college? This is some professional handywork." She gets nothing but unamused stares at that quip so she shuts up after that.

Auction guy relieves one of the gunmen of his weapon, sitting down near Jackie. "I want to know where the painting is."

"....seriously??"
He levels the gun at her. "Yes."
Jackie glares at Chuck. "He'll get over it??? This doesn't look like getting over it to me."

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

"Look, um," Chuck began, looking around a bit, hoping to see some way out of this. C'mon...flash. Do...something. Disarm bad guy skill...thing? Please?

When nothing happened, he continued, "I-I'm sure there's others out there. Maybe tr-try eBay?"

Their captor looked less than amused at Chuck's suggestion. "I need that one," he grunted. Chuck looked at Jackie and then back to their captor. "We...don't have it with us."

That provoked the obvious follow up question, "Then where is it?!"

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Chuck's really gonna regret getting kidnapped with a Spencer...cause instead of answering the question the right way, she found the need to ask, "Why? You have a Jayne shrine at home that needs it?"

The bad guy backhands her across the face with his free hand. Jackie comes back up looking a bit chastised, saying pointedly, "Ow."

"I'm going to make this simple," he said, readjusting where he was sitting so he had a clear shot of both of them. "You two aren't going anywhere till you tell me where you hid that painting."

Jackie whispers at Chuck, even though it's obvious everyone's gonna hear "I don't think they're comic book fans..."

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

And sure enough, the whisper was heard by their kidnapper. "No. And I don't understand your crazy...whatever this thing is." There was a grunt, showing the dissatisfaction at being sent to a convention of science fiction and fantasy fans.

"Well...we don't exactly know where it is now," Chuck somewhat lied. "A friend took it back to store it."

"And what does this friend look like?" the kidnapper demanded.

Chuck decided to give a fictional description of their friend that was quite vague. "Well, he's dressed as the most recent incarnation of Doctor Who."

Not only would that description have matched several hundred patrons, but also it confused their kidnapper. "What are you talking about?"

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie takes the cue from Chuck and runs with it. "Y'know, The Doctor? Timetraveling british show? Striped suit, trainers, really messy hair...Man, you'd think even kidnappers had a working knowledge of mainstream television..."

Her voice trails off, finding herself staring down the barrel of the gun. "I think either one or both of you is lying. So this is your last chance." He looks at Chuck meaningfully, since he's the more nervous looking between the two of them. "Either you tell me where it is now or..." he cocks the gun still in Jackie's face. "things get unpleasant."

ooc: p.s. he's not gonna shoot, I figure if this doesn't work, they'll just clunk them both on the head and work them over at their hideout. whaddya think?

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

"No really!" Chuck insists. "Look...we didn't have it on us, right? I mean, you could tell we weren't lying about that! We did give it to someone like that, honest."

ooc: That works. You can have their kidnapper get fed up and knock them out then.

lol! Chuck looks so nervous in that icon!

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie doesn't realize she's holding her breath...till the kidnapper uncocks the hammer on his gun and she lets it out. "Perhaps..."

His cellphone suddenly rings, making Jackie jump without leaving her seat. He answers in short sentences, "Yes, sir......yes....understood." He snaps his phone shut and makes a sign towards his henchmen as he moves up to the passenger seat to the van. Before Jackie knows what's going on, the two Matrix agents are grabbing her and Chuck, hitting them on the back of the head with the butt of their handguns.....and everything goes black.

ooc: your turn! you decide how they wake up :)

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

ooc: I know. It's one of my favorites. I forgot where I found the still though.

The darkness slowly started to fade and Chuck could feel a sharp pain on the back of his head. He groaned as his eyes adjusted to the light and tried to figure out where they were now. He saw a few crates stacked in rows and figured their kidnapper must have taken them to some sort of warehouse.

He glanced behind him, seeing a large metal shelf where some of the crates were stacked. And his hands were bound by ropes, weaved around some of the metal bars that held the shelf in place. And next to him was Jackie. Upon seeing her, Chuck asked her if she was all right.

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

Jackie's answer is a groan, still coming around. "....ow...."

It takes her a minute or two to figure out the whole hands-tied-behind-her bit, blinking to clear her head and focus on Chuck. "Rats, I thought we were doing so well for awhile there..."

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

Chuck sighs. "Yeah, I know. I thought maybe that would buy us some time while they searched the place too but I guess they saw right through everything."

He looks around, trying to think of a way out but poses a question to Jackie first. "Any idea of what to do now?"

[psychette10.livejournal.com]

She turns her head gingerly side to side. "Ughh...don't suppose I could answer that tomorrow when my head stops throbbing..."

Jackie looked up and around. "Where do you suppose we are? They could have driven us anywhere." She tests the ropes on her wrists. "Must be boy scouts, these knots are top notch."

[nerdherdchuck.livejournal.com]

"Hang in there, Jackie," Chuck sympathetically replied.

"As to where we are," he began, "No idea. Probably not too far from Comic Con though. I kinda doubt our captor would drive too far in case we were telling the truth about giving the painting to a friend. Which we did so...yeah."

He wiggled his wrists and realized Jackie was right about the knots. "You're right about these knots though. No way to get out of 'em..."