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The smell of mold lingered in the back of Annabelle's nose and she sniffled once before lightly opening her eyes. Sitting in front of her was the Count with his foot tapping repeatedly on the concrete floor below him. Once he saw his hostage was awake, he brightly smiled and leaned forward on his knees. "Good morning," he happily said. His loud voice brought a sting to Anna's headache caused by the many drugs her captor tried on her and she shut her eyes and dropped her head. "Did you know we've been together for two weeks?" he asked to try and get attention from the girl. "Should I feel honored to be your longest relationship?" Anna asked with a strained voice and a groan once she tried once more to tug on her restraints.
"I've had girlfriends," the man said angrily. Anna allowed her head to roll back and stared helplessly at the ceiling. "Imagination does not count," she whispered. Once the words left her mouth, her hair was grabbed and she was forced upright. A cry left her lips and she found herself staring into the bloodshot eyes of the Count. "Go to hell," Anna spat.
Anger filled the man's eyes and he pulled yet another vile of drugs from his inside pocket of his coat, "I all want right now, Ms. Carter, he hissed in the woman's ear, "is your pathetic boyfriend."
As his words slithered through Anna's ear, the needle pierced into her neck and pain filled her body. She lurched back in her chair and her hands pulled tirelessly at her cuffs as her screams filled the entire warehouse and the Count sat watching with a smirk.
•••
"What do we got, Dig?" Oliver asked as he bounced down the steps of the basement of the club while buttoning his coat. "Nothing on the Count. How's Thea?"
"She's fine now. Used to court. Felicity get anywhere with the Vertigo?"
Diggle sighed, "Not anywhere new. The meeting with the Count just made matters worse."
Oliver tossed his keys on the table, "Once Felicity comes through we can take him down. I crossed a name off the list yesterday, in cuffs today," Oliver said with a small smile at his accomplishment. Diggle narrowed his eyes and lifted a picture of Anna from Oliver's desk, "What about Anna?"
Oliver glanced over at the man and took the picture from his hand and placed it carefully back on the desk as if it were going to break and her picture was his last keepsake, "She left a note, Dig."
"A note that didn't make sense. She said she would be back at the hospital with Thea's pajamas within the hour and then she just vanishes? What really gets me is that you haven't even questioned it."
Oliver shrugged and sat in his chair while spinning around once, "I talked to her assistant and he said she was at a conference in Central City. She'll be home soon and can help with Thea's trial. Jordan says it was only two weeks so I bet we'll see her in a day or two."
