Soft music flowed out of the ballroom onto the balcony as David Spector stared out into the night. Delicate clouds framed the moon, reflecting its light as well as that of the city below. The evergreen trees rustled slightly as the wind caught their needles, seeming to beckon him into the forest's maze. The air was cool but not cold, with just enough of a nip to make you want to curl up next to that someone special and enjoy the briskness.

All of which was not lost on David as his face twisted unnoticably. His attention turned away from the scene to the drink in his hand and then to General Anthony Mills as the old man recounted his opinions on the importance of proper marching in the army for the fourth time in as many hours. All of which David had been effectively forced to sit through.

Not exactly the best of parties to be attending on Christmas Eve.

Actually, the party itself wasn't all that bad. Most of the Asian Rim nations had sent representatives, and for once they were all just politely making conversation as opposed to hollering at each other through interpreters like they did all day at the U.N. Some of the conversation was actually entertaining, and there were certainly plenty of attractive women to look at when that fell off.

"Hey David, how's the evening going?" came the grating voice of Undersecretary Tudbury. Tudbury was the man who had come up with this party, and he had to agree that the job done was marvellous. Still, Tudbury was also the one who had rather deliberately saddled him with the General earlier in the evening as opposed to allowing him to mingle as he would have preferred. Sure enough, the Undersecretary's grin was bright and with just the hint of an edge. "Don't suppose you've seen the Japanese Foreign Minister's daughter yet, have you? I know if anyone has it would be you."

David's eyes cast about the balcony as he looked for a means of escaping the continued droning of the General's impassioned speech, which had once again reached the seventeen consecutive titles his personal unit had won. "Not... too bad. And I haven't." he offered quietly as he guided the Undersecretary off to the side for a moment, "I need to check on the security arrangements for a moment though. Be right back."

"David don't you..." but Tudbury was already talking to his back. He snarled in irritation. That little whipper-snapper was always causing trouble, and if he didn't watch that eye of his he'd undoubtedly annoy some of the more conservative people in the room. And on top of that, he had left the General staring after him as well. That rudeness would probably cost the rascal come promotion time, though, which thought brought a smile to his face. It soon vanished, however, as the General turned to him and began the speech from the beginning once more, trapping him into the conversation.

Inside, the ballroom was both much warmer and much noisier with waiters and partygoers mixing helter-skelter in a tangle of bodies, tuxedos, and evening gowns. David exchanged pleasantries with several acquaintances as he made a quick tour of the room, checking with the silent and unobtrusive security agents posted at each of the doors into the room before heading out into the main hall. Setting his now emptied glass on a convenient tray he continued on with the inspection, being told at each station that no, nothing untoward had happened.

His eyes quickly flicked back into the party. No, he couldn't stand the thought of another three and a half hours of marching orders, it was better to do an absolutely thorough job of the inspection. Then at least there would be an excuse for his absence. He hustled up the stairs two at a time to check on the rooms that had been set aside for the convenience of the dignitaries in getting prepared for the evenings gala.

A vague sense of incorrectness crept into his head as he arrived at the upstairs corridor and took a quick look around. The only other person there was the heavyset guard in the uniform tuxedo down by the ladies' quarters, and everything seemed in perfect place. But still... "Everything going well up here?"

"Just fine, Mister Spector. Is there anything I can do for you?" rumbled the burly guard in a deep voice as he reached up to scratch behind his ear. His other hand rested in the pocket of his jacket, David noted with a slight frown, and his posture was rather sloppy. Not exactly up to Undersecretary Tudbury's specifications, but perhaps that's why he was assigned to this post.

Or, just maybe... he closed his eyes for a moment and went over the arrangements for the party that evening. No, there wasn't supposed to be a guard here... and the post was out of the line of sight of those below. "Just checking on things." David responded with deliberate casualness, turning and walking into the men's changing room. Empty, of course. This late into the party everyone had already gone downstairs. Yet another reason to wonder at the presence of security guards upstairs.

It was a matter of moments to remove his attache's second-best tuxedo - government issue to reveal the deep black jumpsuit with starburst that he had only recently taken to wearing evenings as one of New York's newest so-called superheroes - Watchman, as he had been dubbed by the Times. A deft pull and twist and his hair was back underneath a mask, concealing his features from casual inspections. The window was easily unlocked and he slipped out onto the ledge and then to the roof, padding his way across to check the other side of the building.

And not a moment too soon, he noted as he came to a quick halt at the gutters. Looking down, he could see a thin rope descending into the garden from the window immediately below him. The window itself was locked open to prevent if from banging against the wall and making noise. Whoever was in there hadn't wanted to be noticed, and if they didn't want to be noticed it was probably best that they were.

Taking a firm grip on the edge of the roof, David slowly lowered himself until he could peer into the dimly lit room. A fan whirred within, muffling most of the soft sounds of the scuffle within. The elegantly dressed woman wouldn't have stood much of a chance even if she had not been hindered by her skirts, but with them she was almost helpless against the two large brutes who were attempting to bind her arms and quiet her attempted screams at the same time. "Don't hurt her," came the silent hiss of one of them as a yelp of pain sounded from their captive, "Remember the ransom and our instructions."

"All I needed to hear," David thought to himself as he swung down through the window, his gymnastic training carrying him smoothly into the room and behind the first of the thugs. A gurgle of surprise sprung from the kidnapper's throat as he felt the arm across his throat, the chokehold putting him out mere seconds later. David let the ruffian fall to the ground with a thud and deftly turned to face the onrush of the second, who made a very satisfying bang against the door after ricocheting off of the martial artist's foot.

"Psssst! Hey, you guys, keep it down, willya? They might hear you - there's someone just down the hall!" Security goon stuck his head in through the door to deliver his reminder, an action he soon regretted as the black-garbed vigilante smiled back into his face on the other side. His breath shot out of him with a whoosh as a blow landed on his ample stomach, the last thing he would remember for a few hours as the chokehold came into play once more, putting him out for the evening.

By this time, the young lady had finally recovered her breath and was staring open-mouthed at the three bodies lying about her. "Damatte iru," David whispered quietly as he made certain she hadn't been hurt. Finding that to be the case, he helped her to her feet while still keeping a finger across her lips to indicate his desire for silence. With a 'Why not?' shrug of his shoulders he stole a quick kiss from her lips, then quietly slid over to the window with his eyes following her even as he did so. His legs propelled him upwards to the roof and he was gone, leaving her to gape in astonishment as the downstairs security came storming in in response to the noise of the fight.

Across the roof and back into the changing room - all the noise across the hall kept everyone nicely distracted long enough for David to change back into his tuxedo. Just long enough as two members of the security detail and the Undersecretary came bursting in just as he was adjusting his bow tie. "What..." he burst out before being rudely interrupted.

"DAVID! There you are! And not even doing your proper job, I see. Despite your claims to have been checking the security of this building - and leaving me to deal with a very upset military man at your sudden departure I might add - I find you lolligagging in the changing room while not fifty feet from here one of the guests is nearly being kidnapped! I might have known. This will not go unnoticed, I assure you." Undersecretary Tudbury sputtered out his rage and embarassment in David's direction while twisting the cuffs of his finely edged shirt into a worried mess.

"Is that what all this is about?" David replied in a curious tone and walked out into the hallway, leaving the bureaucrat to gape after him once more. He quickly elbowed his way through the talkative throng to the center of attention, a young Japanese woman in an evening dress. "Back off gentlemen. I think the young lady needs some air... Hello Miss, I'm David Spector, the cultural attache here. Would you like to go someplace a bit quieter to get ahold of yourself before answering all of these questions?" At her nod and smile he took her arm and guided her towards the stairs leading to the third floor apartments and offices.

"DAVID! Don't you dare..."