Perils

It was in the dead of winter and the ski resorts around Colorado were bustling with business, but that didn’t stop a certain villain from his dastardly ways. He was setting the traps of two special Colorado Avalanche players. For this first peril and the next rescue mission on the list on Evelyna and Christina’s list.

Sidney Crosby stormed out of the mechanism building where the controls for the gondola were. He cracked his neck, like he’d just done some kind of dirty business. He walked back to the parking lot and opened the back door of his vehicle. He reached in and yanked out an unconscious man from the depths.

He dragged a lifeless and limp Gabriel Landeskog into the next available Gondola at a popular ski resort in Aspen, Colorado. He had handcuffed the Avalanche captain with a pair of cop-style cuffs. The doors slid closed on them and they began the journey up the slope. Sidney set to work on getting Gabriel set up in his perilous circumstance.

He unclasped one of the cuffs and stood the hockey player up against the pole. Then he pulled the guys arms backward and re-clasped the cuff back over Gabe’s wrist. Sidney stepped back and shook his head. He released Gabriel once again and flipped him around. He pulled out another pair of handcuffs and attached one of the cuffs around the connection chain of Gabriel’s. Then with the other, he clasped it around the pole in the small gondola car.

He stepped back once more and envisioned Gabriel awaking and jerking against the restraint. But again the evil Penguin shook his head. “He could manage to snap the chain and get free!”

He undid that look now and started to tuck the second handcuffs into the waistline of his pants. Then he stopped mid-way through and got a clever idea. He dropped down rolled the cuffs of Gabriel’s jeans up his leg and clamped each circular cuff around his ankles.

“Perfect!” the Penguin snickered, standing back up.

He made the Colorado Avalanche centerman hug the pole, putting his arms around either side and brought them forward. He clasped the loose cuff once more over the man’s wrist and nodded.

Just as he locked both handcuffs with a small key he had, Gabriel blinked awake. He moaned, before finding out what was going on and he jerked awake at once. He pulled at the handcuffs around his wrists, trying to pull free of the pole.

“Are you done? You can’t break free like that, Gabe!”

The forward snapped his head around the pole to the other side and stared at the amused villain.

“Sidney Crosby!” Gabriel growled, trying to use the pole to break the chain.

The Pittsburgh captain grinned at him and did a royal hand gesture at himself, bowing forward. “It is I…”

Gabriel Landeskog jerked backward again, his eyes wide with trepidation. “W-what...w-w-what are y-you d-doing? Let m-m-me go!!”

Sidney stepped forward rocking the car. They were about halfway up the mountain now. The Penguin combed his fingers through the blond man’s hair. “Not a chance, Landy. She’s just so irritating to me. I must destroy her happiness.

The Avalanche captain stared at him. “Who is she?”

“Evelyna Toews.”

“Jonathan’s sister?”

Sidney winked. “I’m not telling you anymore, Landy. I have to finish you up!” He removed Gabriel’s necktie and wrapped it tightly around the man’s head, blindfolding him.

“Come on, Sid, this isn’t necessary!”

“It is completely necessary Gabe.” Sidney brushed his hostage’s blond hair away and situated the blindfold material in place, to his sick and twisted pleasure.

“Sidney, you aren’t a murder or a villain! You are a good guy. Stop this, please!”

“Don’t tell me what I am Landeskog! I have all the power here and I can hurt you, if I please.”

“You won’t! I know you are good Sid!”

“YOU DON’T KNOW ME, LANDESKOG!!” Sidney backhanded Gabriel across the face, nearly knocking the blindfold off of the man. (Cue the dramatic instrumental music)

The Avalanche forward snapped back up and spat out blood in the direction of the Penguin, who snorted, “You’re pathetic Landeskog!”

“Look who’s talking! Who fucking ties up and beats another NHL captain?”

Sidney backhanded him again. “I FUCKING DO!! Go ahead and test me, Landy baby! I will make you suffer!”

“You’re despicable, Sid!”

“And you are a weak hockey captain! Do you know how easy it was to kidnap you? Gosh, even a little girl fan could kidnap you without much of an effort!”

“You know that isn’t true! I put up a fight, but you fucking drugged me into unconsciousness! You didn’t play fair, man!”

“I’m Sidney Fucking Crosby, I don’t need to play fair, Gabriel Ingemar John Landeskog! What a stupid middle name!!”

In a few minutes they would reach the top and begin the descent back down to the ground. Sidney knew he had to be done by the time they reached the ground once more. He smacked Gabriel across the face again, bloodying his nose.

“Oh good sportsmanship, Sid. Sure, leave me defenseless so it is easier for you to beat me. Real badass there, Penguin!”

“Shut up!” Sidney snapped and rammed his knee into the stomach of the Avalanche captain, as they hit the top and the doors briefly opened. He whipped around, his eyes blazing with a furious fire.

“Look mommy it’s Gabriel Landeskog and…!”

“Catch the next gondola!” Sidney blocked the entrance. He sounded pissed off and of course he was, the Avalanche captain was the one pissing him off, talking back to him. “I’m talking him for a little ride here, since he can’t behave himself!”

As the transporter whipped around the ski wheel mechanism at the top back of the lift and away from the group of people. They gazed awkwardly and also a little bit skeptically at the scene they’d witnessed. Gabriel painfully clutched the pole, bleeding from his face, as he saw the people wearing concerned expressions on their faces.

The little girl and boy turned to their parents and the hockey player could hear one of them ask, “Mommy, why was Landy tied up and bleeding?” Then the doors shut once more and Sidney whirled around.

“I’m not listening to you anymore! I’m sick you back-talking me!” Sidney snarled. He reached into his bag and whipped out a roll of tape. He quickly tore off a long rectangle of the adhesive.

“Great, what are you gonna--oh no!” Gabriel tried to dive to the side and duck, as Sidney seized him by the collar of his white dress shirt, yanking him back up. “DON’T YOU DA--!” The Avalanche player was cut off as the Penguin slapped the tape over his mouth, silencing him. He pressed the edges of the black to his cheeks, making sure it remained in place.

“Dare? I dared and it’s much better!” Sidney hissed and lightly patted the cheek of his captive.

Gabriel wasn’t happy and he tried to lift his hand to reach his face, but couldn’t reach the tape. The Penguin looked out of the plastic glass to see that they were almost to the bottom once more.

“Love you stay and listen to your glorious muffled screams of distress, Gabe, but I need to go see your little teammate, Kinny. And when Evelyna and Christina find you, let Kaner’s precious sister know that Sid says she had best hurry and rescue her favorite Av of them all!”

Gabriel gave another fierce jerk against the pole, but the chains wouldn’t break and he remained in place, hugging the pole like some crazy person.

Sidney gathered up his things and when the gondola reached the point at the bottom, the doors swung open and he hopped off the car. He spun around and spat, “Have a fun ride, Landy!” Then the doors shut and Sidney furiously jammed the door opener, trapping him in, so the doors wouldn’t reopen and he would be rescued anytime soon.

Sidney cackled, stepping backward and watched the small car round the wheel mechanism and shoot back up the cables, with the struggling Colorado Captain inside.

****

Gabriel continued to yank against the pole. He managed to remove the blindfold in his fierce fight with the pole and the handcuffs. He continued his fight, but suddenly a bright flash of white light followed immediately by a loud crack of thunder halted him. He stared, wide-eyed ahead of him, as dark storm clouds hovered low and heavy rain seemed to come from it with fierce lightning strikes.

The Colorado Captain was stunned. Shouldn’t the gondola have stopped moving and shut down? It didn’t. Instead it kept pulling him up toward the treacherous sky. He screamed into the tape.

His heart beat frantically in his chest as he got closer and closer. A bolt shot out and hit the cable in front of him. Sparks shot into the air and that didn’t look good, still he moved forward, up, up, up…..

Notes

For the little kid in this one....I keep imagining him with a thick Chicago accent. He sounds exactly like the little guy who asked Tazer if Kaner ever got on his nerves. In case you haven't seen that video or know what I'm talking about, here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCMaOKr7bPs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC8YffeJXpY (and just to avoid confusion, this was the goal he talks about if anyone was wondering)
Still a classic video and the first one I saw that made me fall in love with Johnny (and Kaner) :D

Next up: Well it's time to venture to Colorado and rescue an Avalanche player named Gabriel "Gabe" Landeskog!