Hey everyone! Here's a new one for you, I hope you enjoy! ^-^

Author's note: I am actually working on a few Miraculous stories right now. Some are companion pieces that go with ones I've already written, and this one isn't going to be too long. So, while I work on those, *frantic typing to finish those up starts in the background* here's something to tide you over!

Okay enough of that, let the story begin!

Also, I do not own the characters. (Unfortunately, *sighs heavily.) Just the plot! ^-^

The Game Begins

His vision was starting to blur as the numbers just ran together. He hated looking over the monthly statements. He knew what they were going to say. They said the same thing every, single, time. Agreste was making stupid amounts of money. Period.

He smirked to himself as he saw the Net Gain for the month out of everything. They were up yet again by at least another two percent. Given how that number was nearing the millions, two percent was a relatively nice increase. Not that he was surprised at this point. His lead designer's showcase two months ago for the Spring Fashion Show in Spain was a big factor for the increase in profits.

Agreste had submitted twenty-two of the one-hundred and twelve designs, and every last one of those designs had been used by someone for gala's, movie premiers, and the like. It had been another good year.

He stared softly at the wedding picture sitting on the corner of his desk, bringing a bright smile to his face.

Marrying his one and only had been the single, most amazing day of his entire life. And yes, he's not ashamed to admit it, he had cried seeing her walk down the aisle.

But she had looked, pawsitively radiant, brighter than a full moon on a clear night. This beautiful, selfless, courageous, kind, most amazing woman had walked up to him with the softest, loving smile he had ever seen, and said 'I do'.

He still couldn't believe it sometimes. She had actually said yes. After being together for seven years, and after they had both finished university, early mind you, he had finally found the courage to ask her.

He smiled down at his black wedding band, seeing the bright green stones glinting up at him. He smiled a little wider. Engraved on the inside of his band was a little ladybug with five spots.

It had already been three years that they had been married, but he knew he would never get over the feeling of that first day.

Though, it had been a couple of days since he had actually seen his wife. It wasn't unusual for the end of the month. She was wrapping things up on the designer's end of things, while he took care of the business half. After his father disappeared five years ago, he wouldn't know what he would have done if Marinette hadn't been with him. He knew he would have been able to handle the business half at that point. Even being thrown into the front lines the way he had been at eighteen.

But from a designer's point of view, his father had been the one designing their major lines. That day at the board meeting, everyone was on edge. No one was seeing eye to eye, everyone had something to say, and no one wanted to take responsibility for anything.

He had nearly fired the entire room, and seconds from doing it she had stood from the side and walked over to the table to stand next to him. She had yelled in a strong stern tone for everyone to stop being selfish and thinking only about themselves. She had silenced them all in that instance. No one had the guts to say a word against the merciless deep ocean eyes staring back at them.

He remembered the shock he had felt at her anger before he leaned back in his chair with one of the biggest Chat grins he had ever had. Falling in love with his lady all over again.

Flawlessly, she took over the meeting on the production half, dictating the designers work and offering ideas for collaborations and shared workloads. She managed to find that middle ground that had eluded all of them for hours, so even the marketing teams, accountants, and investors were happy with the outcome.

She had saved his company that day without realizing it. After that incident, even seasoned designers wanted her opinion on what to do and what to focus on.

The day he had made her his equal partner in the company, they had decide to change the companies name from Gabriel, to Agreste, to represent the united team that was calling the shots.

The reveal had happened at a Winter Showcase, along with the announcement that the reason for the change was not just because of the new partnership in the company, but because of their engagement.

He sighed content. His life was more than he could have ever hoped for. He wished his father and mother both could be here to see what they had done together, but that was a wish he knew even the Miraculous would never be able to fulfill.

He looked at the stack of papers on the other side of his desk and frowned. If he finished today, the way he hoped, then he may have a chance of pulling her away in secret.

It was still early, ish. If he left now and pulled her away from her work too, they could make it to their favorite restaurant just after the lunch rush. They might even have a chance to eat in private, without camera's watching their every move.

…To hell with work.

He opened the drawer to his left and pulled out his phone, Plagg telling him grumpily as he grazed the black pillow he was curled up on, "Hey be careful Adrien! Some of us are trying to cat-nap!"

He told his kwami sternly, "Oh hush, you've been sleeping all night and for most of the morning while I've been trapped here. I haven't seen my wife in two days. I need to hear her voice."

Plagg huffed, "Marinette is probably downstairs where she always is at the end of the month, finishing up the last of whatever needs to be ready. Just go down there and get her." Plagg mumbled it, but his hearing had improved tremendously with his prolonged use of the Black Cat Miraculous so it was clear, "Instead of staring like a lovesick teenager at her picture."

"I love her Plagg, I'm always going to look at her that way." He said instantly, his eyes widening in shock as he noticed the missed call from last night. "Why didn't you tell me she called last night!"

He called her instantly as Plagg told him, "It rang once and then hung up! It was probably an accident."

"This is Marinette Agreste, leave a message!" Her voice said happily.

He would never get tired of hearing that. Smiling he left the message, "Hey Bug, I'm sorry I missed your call last night. I must have fallen asleep. I'm still at the office so if you are still here, I'd love for you to come up and see me if you have a minute. Maybe we can go grab lunch? I feel like I haven't seen you in days. I love you Mrs. Agreste."

Plagg gagged as he hung up, "Ugh, how did I end up with such an overly romantic Kitten?"

"As if your one to talk." He said with a smirk, "The second you see Tikki,"

"All right enough of that!" Plagg said instantly, scowling at him as he smirked wider.

"ADRIEN! ADRIEN!"

He stood from his desk at the familiar voice. Very rarely had he ever heard her so panicked. He was barely a few steps from the desk when she came bounding though the door out of breath, "Alya, what's the matter?"

She had her hands on her knees as she tried to get it out, "Check, check your email. I got, I got a picture sent anonymously, to the station."

He frowned, "Okay, but why are you so freaked out?"

She stood tall and pulled up the image on her phone, his eyes widening in shock as she turned it to him.

The edges of the picture were black, but a light was shining down on the woman tied to the chair. A red blind-fold was over her eyes, and another was wrapped over her mouth.

"Marinette." He whispered.

"Tell me this photo is fake. Tell me you've talked to her today. Tell me you've seen her and that she is fine." Alya begged.

"No, no I haven't." He said, trying not to panic.

He instantly went over to his computer, pulling up his private email and seeing the unopened mail from a blocked account. He opened the email and saw the video attachment.

Alya was next to him instantly as he pushed play. The screen started off as black but words in white appeared, 'If you want your wife back unharmed, the price is five-hundred million dollars.' He glared at the screen as the words disappeared.

An image took its place, and his stomach did a small flip. It was a white-gold band encrusted with little red stones in the center of each detailed rose. It was the small engraving of a cat paw on the inside that flared his anger. That was his lady's wedding ring without a doubt.

The image disappeared back to the black screen, but new words appeared, 'At two pm sharp, you will receive a call. Answer, or she dies.'

The words faded and a light beamed over her head, illuminating just her in a dark room. A gloved hand removed her gag and the raspy, distorted voice told her hard, "State your name."

Her voice was calm, "Marinette Agreste."

"Oh my god." Alya whispered in horror as her hands flew to cover her mouth.

"Has anyone harmed you?" The same voice asked.

"You chloroformed me on my way home and dragged me to wherever in the hell here is. Now you have me tied to a chair and blind folded." They saw her frown, "But no, I'm not actually hurt. Just uncomfortable and annoyed to no end."

"Why don't you give your husband a little message while you have the chance? If he doesn't come through, you'll never see him again." The voice said.

Marinette actually sat up a little as she turned her head back and forth slowly. He asked as she stayed silent, "Come on Bug, give me something."

"You're recording this?" She asked.

"Yes." The raspy voice told her.

Her voice was slightly stern, "Adrien. Five years we've been together. Five. You know I always have a Sugarcube on me, so you don't give these idiots anything do you hear me? No matter what they threaten." She had a small smirk on her face, "Also, you better answer the next time I call you, or you'll be sleeping in the dog-house with your Stinky Socks. I love you."

The screen went dark. They heard muffled sounds before the raspy voice told him, "We'll take good care of your wife until its time. You'll only get one chance Mister Agreste, and one only."

The video ended and he stared at the screen for a few more seconds until he realized what she was trying to say.

He let out a loud laugh and grabbed at his stomach. Tears of laughter started to form, even as Alya yelled at him, "You are laughing! Adrien have you lost your mind! Marinette has been kidnapped!"

He covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter, managing to get it down to short snickers, "Yes, I see that Alya. What exactly would you like me to do?"

Alya's eyes widened, "Y-you, don't even care."

He couldn't get the smile of his face even as he corrected her, "Of course I care. You heard Marinette, don't give those idiots anything."

"You are going to sit here and do nothing while those terrorists have her as a hostage!" Alya screamed at him angrily.

He told her calmly, "No, I'm not going to sit here and do nothing." He glanced at the clock, "Actually, I should be getting a phone call any second."

His cell rang right on cue and he answered politely, "Adrien Agreste speaking."

He heard the raspy voice from the video, "So, you are taking this seriously."

"Put my wife on the phone, or I will hang up." He said firmly.

"You aren't in a position to negotiate."

"Well then, whoever you are, say goodbye to your money." He threatened lightly.

"WAIT!" The voice said, making him smirk.

"That's what I thought. Now, my wife." He ordered.

Her voice came through the phone, "Mister Agreste."

He chuckled, "Mrs. Agreste. Are you behaving?"

"For the moment. You saw the video?" She asked curious.

"I did. The dog-house comment. I about lost it, but to correct you, I'm pretty sure its been ten years mon amour." He said easily, asking in the most least obvious way he could.

"No, I'm pretty sure its only five." She said confidently.

That was a relief at least. There were only five captors involved. This would be easy, "So, does this count as you calling me?" He asked slyly.

She huffed, "No."

He asked her a little more seriously, "Are you really okay?"

Her voice softened, "I'm fine. Nothing serious."

The raspy voice came back, "You spoke to her. Now, you'll bring the money to,"

"I'll do no such thing. You won't see a penny from me." He interrupted. "I'd call the cops if I were you, and ask for a couple of ambulances, seeing that there are five of you after all. You're going to need them."

The phone clicked off and he smiled, stretching as he stood. Alya was watching him strangely.

"I don't understand how you can be this calm. The last time Marinette fell and needed a few stitches you were a wreck. She has literally been kidnapped and you aren't even a little affected." Alya said worried, trying to understand.

"I think you forget that we are talking about Marinette here." He told her, grabbing his coat and seeing Plagg slip into it discreetly. He started putting on his coat and she screamed at him, "ADRIEN YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU AREN'T WORRIED ABOUT HER! YOU ARE A TERRIBLE HUSBAND!"

He sighed, "Alya, I know you love her, but that's going too far even for you. You know how much Marinette means to me."

"You sure the hell aren't acting like it." She snapped.

He tried to explain, "A few years ago, something similar to this happened, almost right after we got married. We were meeting up and someone tried to grab her from behind. I heard her fighting on the phone and ran to find her," he smiled slightly, "I found the guy face down on the ground, her scarf wrapped around his neck to his hands, while she had her knee on his back to keep him down."

Alya's eyes widened, "W-why didn't either of you ever say anything?"

He smiled at her, "We took care of it, and being that we had just come out together with the company on top of being married, we kept it quiet. She wasn't hurt, and despite my initial extremely bad panic attack, we talked about what we would do if it happened again, to either of us."

He explained easily, "Sugarcube and Stinky Socks are code words. When we are talking about our time together, she's telling me how many people are around. She said that she would call, that means she is confident that she can get out of her bindings on her own. Her dog-house comment was her way of telling me not to panic because she would be okay."

Alya was frowning, but had definitely calmed down, "So then, what do we do? What happens if she can't get out on her own?"

He jingled his car keys at her, "Where do you think we are going?"

Alya smirked, but it only lasted a second, "How exactly do you plan on finding her?"

If Alya hadn't been here, he would have transformed and waited for his ladybug icon to pop up on his baton to show him her location. Instead, he was going to have to hope that the idiots who took her kept her phone.

He opened the locator app and typed in her cell number. Instantly an icon appeared, showing that she was on the opposite side of town. He showed Alya the location, "Here she is."

Alya shook her head, "You bugged her phone after the last incident. Of course you did." She looked up at him and smirked, "Way to go Sunshine. Let's go get her."

He chuckled, "Well, you know how much she means to me. I know she can take care of herself, but again,"

Alya said it knowingly, "This IS Marinette we are talking about."

He nodded and his phone started to ring, showing a blocked number. He frowned but answered it, "Adrien Agreste speaking."

"In more than one color they come, but mostly red. Good luck they bring, or so it's said." A gentle deep voice said.

Adrien held up his hand to Alya, stopping her form moving as he asked hard, "Who is this?"

"Spots adorn and give a signature look. Take a guess Kitty, can you guess what I took?" The voice asked.

He asked harder, his heart thundering in his chest, "Who the hell is this?"

"Born without wings, she'll never take flight. Pushed from the tower, falling will be a wonderous sight."

His stomach turned and he said it louder, "If you hurt her,"

"Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, the black Chat stalks. Hurry now, you're already on the clock."

Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be out soon so don't fret!

As always, feel free to review or comment if you want. Feedback is blood that runs through my veins!

Au Revoir for now!