Lesson

I looked down at him with a sigh of exasperation.

"You just can't stay out of trouble, can you Henry?" A low growl was hidden in my voice, as it was tend to when I spoke to him.

The younger man twitched when he heard my voice, but had no strength for anything else. He breathing was harsh, tinged with panic and exhaustion as the blood leaked from his ruined eyes. His hands lay next to his head, laying soaked in the pool of blood.

I could tell that this was the first time Henry had had his eyes slashed, or at least the first time he had not immediately died from it. His eyes were just as important to him as his hands are. I doubt the criminal Henry had been chasing with that detective had even realized how important Henry's eyes were. He had simply taken Henry's sight and left him to bleed out in an unfamiliar location.

Henry's panic was not of death, it was of never seeing again.

Which meant he didn't know. It was time he learned that lesson.

I knelt next to him, pulling bandages out of my pocket, and lifted his head. He flinched at my touch, giving a weak attempt at pushing me away. His hand slipped against my chest leaving red streaks on the fabric, his hand covered in blood from his earlier attempts at staunching the blood flow. I tightly wrapped the bandages around his eyes, staunching the flow of blood for the moment.

A confused sound escapes Henry. He thought I had come to speed his death along again.

I can't help but smirk slightly. "Don't worry. I won't let Detective Martinez see you like this."

Another confused sound, this one tinged with worry as I slide my arms under his knees and shoulders. I lever him up and into the wheelchair I had brought with me, carefully and gently tying his wrists to the armrests as he begins to struggle as best he can. After securing his ankles in the same fashion I drape a thick blanket over him and lean down to whisper in his ear.

"Hush now. Let's get you out of here before that nice Detective returns."

Henry tenses for a moment, clearly worried about his dear friend, before the pain and blood loss finally drag him to the land of the unconsciousness and his head lolls backwards. I gently shift his head so that it was resting more against one of his shoulders and began to push him out of the building to the vehicle I had…borrowed in order to retrieve him.

Now it was time to teach him a lesson. And to see just how much that Detective Jo Martinez had grown to care for Henry.

I will have to deliver Abraham a message to let him know his father was not with someone who was going to experiment on him. No need to make the poor boy worry about that.

XxXxX Abraham / Detective Jo Martinez XxXxX

"What do you mean Henry was kidnapped?" Abe knew he was shouting but he couldn't help it. The detective had just informed him that his father had been injured, but he had sent her after the criminal instead of helping him. When she had gone back to find him, all she could find was a pool of blood, with tracks of something that had been rolled through the edge of it, something like a wheelchair.

Someone had taken his father, and there was nothing he could do.

Detective Martinez rested a hand on his arm in comfort and Abe fought the childish urge to shrug her off.

"We will find him. I promise you that Abe."

Abe sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I'm just worried about what will happen to him until then." He gave the detective a tense smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Go do your job Detective."

She nodded tersely. "Let me know if anyone contacts you."

A small snort escaped Abe as he turned to busy his hands with rearranging some of his antiques. "I doubt anyone would think he was worth ransoming, he doesn't exactly have much money."

"There's always the chance, and is there really any other reason for someone to kidnap Henry?"

Abe was glad he had turned, or he knew the detective would have seen how the blood drained from his face. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "Not that I can think of."

Detective Martinez looked at the man, her expression sad. "I'll keep you updated on how the search goes, I promise."

"Thank you."

Abe listened as the detective left without another word. He jumped when the phone began to ring as soon as the door clicked closed. Frowning, he answered the phone, not all that interested in speaking with anyone at the moment.

"Hello?"

"Hello Abraham. I was just calling to inform you that your father is safe."

Chills danced along Abe's spine. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Calm down. My name is Adam. I simply called to inform you that your father has not been captured by people who wish to experiment on him. I saw no reason for you to worry yourself sick. I will call you again when it's time for you to retrieve him."

"Wait!" Abe shouted into the phone as he heard the man hang up, the dial tone echoing in his ear.

Abe stared at the phone, the man's words slowly sinking in.

"Adam? Why did he take him?" Abe vigorously scrubbed his hands over his face for a moment. "And what am I supposed to tell the detective?" He glared at the phone still in his hand. "I'm making Henry get one of these when he gets back."

XxXxX Adam XxXxX

I watched as Henry began to stir, his mind finally shaking off the effects of the sedatives I had given him while I had treated his eyes. When he started to struggle up right, I placed a hand on his chest and forced him still.

"You are just barely beginning to heal Henry. You should stay still." I kept my hand on his chest as he stilled.

"Why—" His voice was a hoarse rasp and he swallowed in attempt to draw more moisture into his mouth. I lifted a glass to his lips and carefully helped him drink some water. He swallowed again before he continued. "Why didn't you just kill me like you did before, Adam?"

I looked at my hand where it rested on his chest while I considered his question. My eyes wandered up until I saw his face. He was stark white, sweat trickling down his forehead to soak into the bandages covering his eyes. I lifted my hand and placed it on his face, my thumb just brushing the bandage covering his left temple. He flinched at the sudden touch. "It bothers you greatly, being without sight."

I saw the muscles in his jaw tighten for a moment as he swallowed again. "Why am I here? Wherever here is."

"You're in a safe location. That's all you need to know." I drew my hand away and watched him swallow once more. There was no way for him to tell what I was going to do next, and that scared him. I sat still for a moment, watching him silently. I stand and lean over him, bracing my hand against the wall over Henry's head. I slowly lean further down, my eyes never leaving his face, until my lips are next to his ear. I hold this position for a moment without breathing, watching the muscles in his face clench tensely.

"Rest well Henry."

Henry jerks away from the sudden proximity, and I placed my hand on his chest once more to still him. I straighten up, drawing away from him and watch for a moment longer before I turn and leave without another word.

XxXxX Henry XxXxX

I listen as Adam's footsteps get farther away from where I lay. I hear a door open and close, the sound of a lock sliding into position seeming all too final.

The darkness is oppressive, pushing in from all sides. My hands clench the sheets that cover me, an unfamiliar terror overwhelming me.

I never realized just how terrifying being blind is. I had not been able to tell what Adam was going to do. I was helpless, still weak from the injuries I had received.

Why had Adam…kidnapped me? Why had he not simply sliced my throat the way he had before? Nothing in his tone had given any indications, and his actions…

My breathing and pulse have sped up, the uncontrollable panic of being blind slowly overwhelming me. I try to push myself up, to do something, but unconsciousness claims me once again.

xXxXx

Author's Note: I have found only one other person who has done anything with the mysterious character Adam. I really wanted to write something with him. Since we have absolutely no information about his appearance, and since I did not feel like making one up, this is my solution! Make Henry blind! I'm off to work on the second chapter now, hope you enjoy.

Lady of the Shards