Captured Heart (Yossarian & darkangel76)

Natalia DelFino lightly bounced down the marble staircase of the DelFino family’s vacation home. Her father, Vincent DelFino, renowned politician, had bought the place when she was just a little girl so that during his breaks with campaigns and other such duties, they had a place in which to retreat. Over the years, as she grew from a child to a woman, their trips to the vacation home had decreased. Her life became full of her own obligations, things to help her obtain her own goals in life. And her father’s campaign quests became more abundant, more heavily involved, causing him to have less and less time to indulge in getting away from everything.

It had saddened Natalia’s father that the vacation home was getting such little use. Especially since the place was full of love and laughter and many happy memories. So, as a present for his only daughter’s 25th birthday, he gave it to her, telling her it was to be her home so long as she wanted it.

Natalia was ecstatic to receive such an amazing and generous gift. She loved the home. It was full of anything and everything the heart could ever desire on top of the wonderful memories she had of staying there when she was little. Being given such a place, she’d literally want for nothing and she most definitely knew it. The girl was also grateful, however. Sure, she lived the good life, a true blue silver spoon, but she wasn’t stupid and was far from being an egotistical snob. She knew she was fortunate to come from money and she knew that having it didn’t automatically make you anything special. It was the person you were, the sorts of things you did with your time and the luxuries you had. And all too often, she found herself volunteering her time or donating to those in need. Such traits made her unique compared to several of the others she and her family were around most of the time. Most of them put on a façade of compassion when underneath they were totally self-serving.

Vincent DelFino couldn’t have been more proud of his daughter and the way she’d turned out. Natalia was truly his life, especially once his wife passed away. She was all he had left. So seeing her happy and striving to do good was really all he could ask for.

“Morning, daddy,” Natalia said happily as she reached the bottom of the staircase and wrapped her arms about her father. Vincent DelFino had managed to swing a short visit with his daughter while on a campaign tour.

“Hiya, princess. You’re up early. I didn’t expect to see you until after I got back late tonight,” Vincent said matter-of-factly, though his lips turned up into a smile. He was clearly happy to have gotten the chance to see his daughter before heading out.

“I know. Which is why I got myself up,” Natalia laughed.

“You never were a morning person, Tali,” Vincent joked, making Natalia blush a little from embarrassment.

“Well, I am today,” Natalia scowled playfully. “But really, I just wanted to wish you luck today. I know this tour means a lot to you.”

Vincent frowned a little as he brought a hand up to touch Natalia’s face. “It does. But…” his voice trailed, a hint of worry resounding in it. “Just be careful, all right sweetie? Just don’t do anything stupid.”

Natalia tilted her head, her eyebrows slightly furrowed in confusion. “I won’t, dad.”

“I know you won’t, Tali,” Vincent said almost automatically.

Vincent was clearly worried, but Natalia couldn’t quite understand why. She’d lived the life of a politician’s daughter since the day of her birth. Her father was well respected and his main platform typically revolved around immigration and trade laws, nothing overly touchy considering. So why he was getting a bit emotional took her slightly off guard, making her worry a little.

Trying her best to push thoughts of worry aside, Natalia smiled. “I’ll be fine. You’ll see.” She paused a moment. “So go do your thing and I’ll see you late tonight.”

Simon was a killer, you couldn't sugarcoat the fact. He had murdered men, woman, and children all so some stranger he never met could sleep better at night. It definitely wasn't the most glorious of professions, but then again it paid particularly well...and it wasn't as though he had much of a choice either. His 'benefactors' had gone ahead and made sure of that. He had no family, no friends, and most of all no hope for a future. Killing had become almost a drug, and the threat of withdrawal had always sent a shiver down his spine. He had those who had become victim to said withdrawal and could recall that empty look in their eyes with shocking clarity. Killing was what prevented him from becoming like this. It made him...made him feel as though he were on a separate level than the others, like he was watching a movie. At times, it didn't even fell like he was killing people. They were just targets.

And this girl was no different.

It had been early in the morning when he had first gotten the call from his boss. The knocking at the door had nearly given him a heart attack. Simon had finished up a contract a few days ago, and it hadn't been the cleanest of kills. The threat of being discovered had been weighing on his shoulders, and already he had been preparing to make his leave and switch up locations. So of course when he had heard the knocking, the worst came to mind. Trying his best to keep quiet, the young man pulled himself out of the bed, and silently made his way towards the door. Yeah, he realized that if it really was a friend of his former target they probably wouldn't be knocking, but it'd pay to be careful, right? Hell, it was probably the only reason why he was still alive.

His fears were put to rest as he slid the door open, and the only thing to be seen was a small, brown package sitting in front of the door. It had no address, nor no name. It was another contract, sent by the boss. Having given a quick glance about, he quickly brought the package inside, and took a look. It was like all the others one had received. A slip of paper lay on top of the contents, giving him an address and a name.

"Natalia DelFino..." He muttered himself, placing the slip down on the bed. The name was a familiar one. Beneath the piece of paper was a set of photographs as well, depicting a woman in her mid twenties. She certainly didn't look like the sort of person who'd have someone gunning after her. But then again, he didn't become good at his job by questioning someone's motives.

He slipped the piece of paper and one of the clearer photographs into his pocket, before grabbing the final bit of information. It was the floor pan of her dwellings. The house was a big one, and she definitely wasn't poor. It'd make things all the more difficult for Simon, but, well, he'd seen worse. And he had a feeling that the target wouldn't put up much of a fight. He rolled up the floor plan, and slid the empty box beneath the bed. It was time to get to work.

((Alright, hopefully this is works!))

Natalia heaved a soft sigh as she sat down on the plush sofa. It was comfy and cozy, just as she liked it. She was definitely one for the nicer things in life, not a fan of the outdoors or getting dirty. No. She liked being comfortable. And that didn’t always mean living a life of luxury. Yes, she’d been fortunate enough to come from money, but to her it wasn’t everything. Far from. She’d be perfectly content living in a small apartment so long as she had those few little things in life that made her smile. All of the wonderful things her family had been able to provide her were nice, but she knew she didn’t need them to be truly happy. The one thing she knew she wanted, however, she still didn’t have yet. And that was someone she could wake up next to in the mornings, could smile at, touch, be held by.

The days were getting cooler, so Natalia grabbed the throw blanket and snuggled deeply beneath it. Smiling, she picked up her tea cup that she’d set down on the end table and sipped at it. It tasted heavenly. She’d always had a thing for raspberry tea and with the weather changing, it was the perfect thing to be drinking. Or so she thought.

Grabbing the TV remote, Natalia wondered how her father’s campaign speeches were going. He always got busier with things around this time of year, so she was glad when his tour took him to where she lived for a few days. Though, she didn’t quite understand why he seemed so worried earlier that morning. It was almost as if he was expecting something strange or bad to happen. It was odd and it didn’t set well with her. But, she didn’t have much choice but to let it go for the time being. She’d have plenty of opportunity to talk about her father’s worries when he got back later that night anyway. Besides, her father, as far as she knew, had very little enemies most of which were benign enough. Life in the political arena could sometimes prove hostile, but not typically to a point where you needed to seriously fear the smallest of things, despite what the media would try to hype up in order to increase both their ratings and viewings.

Heaving a sigh, Natalia ran her hands through her long, dark hair. Flipping through channels, she was finding that there was very little on TV at that moment. As a result, she found herself getting rather sleepy, her chocolatey eyes having all they could do to stay open. Finally, she decided to fight it would be useless, so she let her eyes close and succumbed to the prospect of taking a glorious afternoon nap.

Simon grumbled to himself as he drove down the empty highway, one hand on the wheel. It wasn't like he hated doing missions, hell they were probably the only thing that kept him alive, but the boss was really beginning pile on the work. Two missions in a single week? Was this girl really all that big of a deal...? He always hated getting involved in all these political schemes. It was so much easier when killing someone wasn't some step in a long-winded scheme. Sighing, he turned his attention away from the road and reached into the glove box, pulling out a crumpled old map. He was already pretty close, about another mile or so and then he'd be coming to a stop...perhaps he'd even get the chance to catch a quick nap before night fell. Even a cold-hearted killer needed their beauty sleep.

And though he wasn't all that happy about going on yet another mission, even Simon couldn't help but admit that it was a pretty simple one. The house was lightly guarded for one, and not to mention there were plenty of openings as well. He had also gone ahead and had done a bit of research on his target. Her father, a Mr. Vincent DelFino, was currently out winning over the public so he wouldn't be home to watch over his little princess. Not like it mattered anyways, the man didn't seem to be the sort who'd put up a fight, but still, it meant that there'd be less people looking over the house. And the woman? Hell, a quick pull of the trigger and she'd be history.

It would be all too easy.

--

It was time.

The night was cool as Simon made his way down the road, having left his car parked on the side. It was far enough that hopefully he wouldn't go and attract any attention, though still it'd probably be best to wrap things up as quickly as he could. He'd gone ahead and dressed rather casually; a buttoned up shirt, a pair of slacks, and a set of tennis shoes as well, all of which were as black as the night. It'd make hiding a bit easier, and not to mention it'd let him move about with relative ease. Sure, said clothes probably wouldn't work out in a gunfight, but if things went as planned then one wouldn't even happen.

He had packed the essentials . A pair of binoculars that he'd ditch as soon as he was done checking out the house, a knife that was strapped to his belt, and most importantly a pistol with a single clip, a silencer attached. Once more, if things went as planned, he wouldn't need anything else.

The road soon sloped downwards, and it was then that Simon caught sight of his target's home. To be honest, he was pretty jealous. Even in the darkness, he could see that the house was definitely the sort of place the daughter of a politician would live in. Huge, opulent, probably had a dozen or so servants lurking within, and hell...it even bordered the...huh. Something struck the young man as his eyes settled upon the dark waters behind house. Grabbing hold of his binoculars, he focused on the waves crashing onto the beach, zooming in ever so slightly. 22 years of living...and this was his first time seeing the ocean. It was almost mesmerizing, to be honest. It always seemed so small in the...huh?

He quickly looked away from the waters, letting the house take up the view. What the hell was that...? He couldn't let himself...couldn't...ugh, dammit. He was going to end up like Gregor if things continued...

Trying to ignore the ocean's melody, he went back to looking over the house. It was roughly midnight...so chances were that his target would be in bed. That was on the second floor, if the floorplans were right. Hopefully she wasn't a night owl...

Natalia woke up from her nap and was surprised to see that the sky had already begun to darken. She’d slept longer than she’d meant to and knew that as a result she wouldn’t be able to go to bed at her usual hour. Sitting up and stretching, she reached for her empty tea cup and heaved a sigh. She stood up and padded into the kitchen to place the cup into the sink.

Once the cup was washed and set on the drying rack, Natalia made her way upstairs and into her room. Though she wasn’t tired and knew she wouldn’t be going to bed for quite a while, she decided that she wanted to get more comfortable and change into something she could lounge and relax in.

Natalia’s room was rather cozy despite how spacious it was. She loved dark, rich colors and had a tendency to hold onto anything that conjured up happy memories. So, her room was filled with books, pictures and knick-knacks she’d collected over the years. She entered her little haven and moved toward her dresser, pulling out her favorite pair of sweats, a tank top, some warm socks and a comfy cardigan sweater. She placed the clothes on her bed and then went back to her dresser and grabbed some underwear before heading into the adjoining bathroom.

Walking over to the shower, Natalia turned the water on, waiting for it to get nice and warm. She slipped off her clothes, letting them crumple into a heap on the floor. When the water was at the right temperature, steam just beginning to fog up the mirrors and windows, she stepped inside the shower stall. She took her time under the heavenly spray of water, letting it blanket her naked body in warmth, causing her skin to turn a wonderful shade of pink. She washed her hair first, followed by her body and then proceeded to groom herself.

When Natalia was finished with her shower, she turned off the water and reached for a towel. She dried herself off and then wrapped her hair up in towel to help it dry. She put on her underwear and then padded into her room. The air was significantly cooler in her room compared to her warm bathroom. The temperature change immediately had an affect on her body. Her skin breaking out into goose bumps, her nipples suddenly getting hard. Ignoring these things, she picked up her sweats and tank top and put them on, followed by her socks. She then grabbed her cardigan sweater and removed the towel from her hair.

Going back into the bathroom, Natalia hung up her wet towel and picked up her clothes. She tossed them onto her bed and picked up her brush to brush out her long, dark hair. Finally, she headed back downstairs, knowing that she’d be up for quite a while since she’d taken such a long nap earlier that afternoon.

Natalia headed into the den and picked out a movie to watch. She was preparing herself for a relaxing night of DVD-watching while waiting for her father to return from his speech. Her father. She suddenly wondered how late he’d actually be before getting in.

They hadn't even seem him coming.

The guard only had the chance to let out a single, pained cry before crumpling into a heap, the crashing waves doing an admirable job at drowning out the noise. Reaching down, the young assassin raised two his fingers and placed them upon the man's neck. Good, very good. The blow hadn't been a fatal one, and within a couple of hours the man would up once more, though with a crushing headache...and probably without a job as well. But, what could he do? Slipping the silenced pistol back into his belt, Simon turned his attention to the target...well, the target's home.

He had managed to make his way towards the back of the house, with hardly any trouble. It seemed to have that most of the guards were situated near the front, understandable, to ward away any potential troublemakers. And while there were a couple in the back as well their formations were loose, and...

He glanced towards the fallen guard.

...they weren't the most observant fellows either. Well, at least there was on good thing coming out of this for the poor girl's father. He'd know to be more picky next time it came to picking out bodyguards. But he was digressing, it was already midnight and the woman wasn't in a pool of her own blood yet. Looking up towards the house, his attention was stolen by one of the windows...if the floorplan had been correct, that would lead towards Ms. DelFino's room. The windows weren't exactly modern, he'd be able to pull one open with a bit of a muscle. Odd, really...he would've imagined that they would have shelled out out a bit of money in order to keep some creep from sneaking in through one. But then again, that was probably why they placed a couple of guards out back.

Slowly, he began to pulling himself up the side, trying to make as little noise as he could. He grabbed hold of anything he could; bent boards, window sills, to the point of where his hands were pretty much covered in splinters by the time he reached his destination. Grabbing hold of the window, he slowly, very slowly, began to pull it open...praying that it wouldn't creak. The blinds were in the way, and he didn't exactly want to wake Ms. DelFino up.

Luck was apparently on his side, as the window was as silent as could be. Opening up the blinds, Simon looked right into DelFino's bedroom. Her...empty bedroom. Well, crap. Quickly scooting through the window, and trying to keep low, the young man glanced about the area. There was nothing of note, to be honest. Books, pictures...a bunch of junk. But what really caught his eye were the clothes laid out upon the bed. Then did that mean...?

Sure enough, the sound of footsteps quickly reached his ears, and muttering a swear beneath his breath Simon quickly looked about. He could hide under the bed, but...the window, ah geez. Quickly making his way towards it, and reaching through the blinds, the man grabbed and began to pull. But yet it wouldn't budge. Oh dang...why now? He continued to pull for a few more seconds, though when he saw that his efforts weren't having any effect Simon did the next best thing. Closing the blinds, and hoping that she wouldn't notice the breeze, he got down onto his stomach and made his way beneath the bed.

His timing was impeccable, for as soon as Simon hid himself a pair of feet entered the room. He could only assume that they were belonged to DelFino. He listened as she began to get dressed, and waited for her to close the door and turn off the lights. Yet the moment never came enough, and a small scowl appeared on his face as he watched her leave the room once more. What in the hell was she doing...?

Waiting for a couple of minutes, the man soon pulled himself out from beneath the bed, rolling his shoulders. Moving forward, he glanced out the door, though there was no one in sight. In fact, aside from the drone of the TV coming from downstairs Simon didn't hear a thing. Was the house empty, aside from her? Tip-toeing, he made his way down the hall, and then down the stairs. Giving a quick look about, and making sure that once again there no guards about, Simon finally made his way towards the den.

And there she was.

She was sitting upon the couch, her back to him. On the TV, a movie was running...and she was completely focused upon it, at least from what he could see. He would've preferred to have killed in the bedroom, it would've taken longer for the guards to find the body. But, if the two of them were the only ones here...

Brushing a strand of blond hair from his eyes, Simon raised his pistol, and aimed it towards the back of her head. "Mr. Travers sends his regards," And with that, he pulled the trigger.

Natalia felt rather relaxed as her movie played. It was one of her favorites, ‘Pride and Prejudice’. She could watch the film over and over and never once become bored of it. She knew all the lines word for word and adored the music. Every time she watched it, she couldn’t help but swoon over how first impressions could sometimes be so very wrong, that sometimes, one had to take a second look at someone to truly see who they were and what they were about. Smiling, she wondered if she’d ever meet her Mr. Darcy.

As the movie wore on, the time getting later and later into the night, Natalia reached for her teacup. She shifted her position ever so slightly in order to wrap her delicate fingers about the handle. Happily anticipating the taste of some peppermint tea, her thoughts were interrupted by a shattering sound. Immediately, she sat up, her eyes moving to the sound of glass and plastic falling to the floor in broken slivers and pieces.

Natalia gasped, her mind reeling, wondering how her television broke like that. In an instant, her head turned to look behind her and she felt her heart literally stop, her breath catch in her throat. Pale eyes wide, she caught the sight of a silhouette of what appeared to be a man. A man lurking in the shadows of her home. A man with a gun! Who he was or why he was there, she had no idea. She was too frightened to think on such things, not even how he’d managed to get inside in the first place.

Blood running cold, teeth chattering uncontrollably, Natalia let out a blood-curdling scream. One of sheer terror as she dropped her teacup to the floor, the ceramic mug shattering as it hit the floor, tea spilling everywhere.

“Oh god!” Natalia screamed as she got up from the couch, her entire body and mind panicking, fight or flight kicking it into high gear. Flight winning.

Without thinking, Natalia screamed again and began to run away from the ominous silhouette that seemed to want her dead.