Otaku's Note: Wow! Two new series in one day! I'm gonna get myself killed or something. Hahaha.

Warning(s): Violence, and dark secrets. Character deaths later on~


Gunned Down
A series by Otakusama Rengette


His patrol was over, and he was finally free to leave the station.

Arthur undid his tie quickly, sighing in relief as he felt the refreshing cool air circulate around his neck. It had been alright to wear his uniform in England's much colder climate, but he was now in America, on an 'exchange program' to improve national security between the two nations.

"Arthur. General Beilschmidt wants to see you in his office. He says it's pretty important."

Turning to look at Madam Elizaveta – his superior officer – Arthur nodded and changed course for the General's office. What could Ludwig Beilschmidt possibly want to talk about?

The elevator doors opened and Arthur got out on the thirtieth floor to the building. He knocked on the oak doors three times and waited for a confirmation to enter.

"Come in, Kirkland."

And there was his cue. Arthur pushed open the right door and walked into the office, shutting it again behind him. Surprised, Arthur saw that there were two other men in the room besides himself and General Ludwig Weilschmidt.

"Take a seat, Arthur. Let me introduce you - this is Roderich Edelstein, head of the Department of Communications," Ludwig pointed to a stern looking man with a pair of frameless glasses and a small mole on his face. "And this is Wang Yao. He's another exchange officer like you, and he is also in charge of International Security relations between China and Europe."

Arthur nodded, still not understanding why he was meeting these important men.

"It involves your brother, Scott Kirkland. You are aware that he was sent on an undercover mission a few months ago to catch a group of Mafia Gang members, ja?"

Sitting upright, Arthur began to feel a cold fear settle in his chest. It couldn't possibly be bad news, could it? Scott was only twenty-nine. Three years older than him.

"We suspect that he has been in cahoots with the Mafia- that he betrayed us. Roderich has showed me the last phone call between Scott and the Mafia leader. We have reason to not doubt that he is guilty. He had been giving out top secret information about the force. And we need your help in locating him."

The Briton gripped the edge of his chair tightly.

What the bloody hell was Ludwig going on about? Scott would never do something like that… not without good reason anyway.

He was a good person; always looking out for Arthur and his other brothers no matter how much he teased him, and helping people in need, even if they were total strangers.

Scott and Arthur both joined the Royal Police force in London to help make the city a safer place for future generations- and also Scott's child that was on the way. He and Lydia were expecting a beautiful baby boy, and Arthur couldn't be happier for the both of them.

So, why? Why would Scott give out top-secret information? He knew how serious this was, from the way Ludwig had said it.

"… Kirkland? Arthur?" Ludwig snapped his fingers in Arthur's face, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Do you have any idea on where your brother might be?"

No, Arthur sincerely did not.

... Did he? He couldn't think straight. And right then- he remembered his brother saying something about going to New Jersey to 'meet a friend' during their last phone call about two weeks ago.

But no. He wouldn't help them. Criminal or not, Scott was his brother. And Arthur had never betrayed any one of his brothers or his by telling on them; even that time Ian (the second oldest) threw a party during the weekend and forced Arthur and Peter (the youngest) to clean up the remains of the mess.

"… I don't have any idea where he is, sir." Arthur said resolutely, looking Ludwig straight in the eye.

But his hands were gripping the chair so tight- his knuckles made cracking noises even when he adjusted himself in the slightest. The General and his companions were not convinced.

"Aiya, why are you lying to us? Even if he is your Ge, you should know that your loyalty is always first to the Police, aru! You are a police officer yourself! They taught you that in training camp, dui bu dui? To never lie to your superiors!" Yao said, pointing a finger in Arthur's face.

"I'm not lying! I'm really not." Arthur said, trying desperately to soothe his nerves.

Roderich's eyebrow twitched and he abruptly stood up from his seat, the chair he was sitting on falling over onto the floor.

"I will give you three days to think about this, Mr Kirkland. You will be off duty during this period. But if you fail to demonstrate to us where your loyalties should lie by the end of those three days, then you will be dismissed as an officer effective immediately."

And then they left, leaving Arthur alone in the big, cold room. He suddenly felt suffocated, and he licked his lips to prevent them from drying any further.

"Scott… where are you?"

oOo

Ignoring the whispers and glares he was given by the other members of the force (damn Yanks, those Americans were), the blonde fastened the zipper of his jacket and slung his backpack over his shoulder, walking out of the station quickly.

And before he could blink, a tall man got into his path and stopped him from moving.

"Tell me where Scott Kirkland is." He stated.

Arthur scrutinized the man. He had brown hair, a Spanish looking face and accent, and a shaggy aura about him, like he was tired. This must be the famous Antonio Fernandez. Bah, Arthur needn't bother with a loser like him.

Brushing the Spaniard aside, Arthur continued his way home (Antonio was still following him though). Just as Arthur was about to turn around and yell at the git, another figure popped up from behind him and captured his shoulder in a stern grip.

"You will tell me where your brother is, da?"

Arthur could have peed his pants at the sound of that creepy voice; the voice that everyone feared. Even the higher ups, who were known- ... supposed to be fearless individuals.

That voice belonged to Ivan Braginski.

"… E-Excuse me." Arthur brushed past the tall Russian immigrant, and quickened his pace. He probably shouldn't risk going home for the moment- he didn't want these two men to find out where he actually lived. Because Scott lived with him too, up until the undercover mission he received forced him away from home.

And he didn't want the two of them messing with his brother's personal belongings.

Making a sharp turn right, Arthur turned into a street and down some stairs to an entrance of a restaurant. It was named 'Trés Bien'. Good god. Of all the restaurants to randomly walk into; it just HAD to be a French one.

Sighing, Arthur thanked a waitress that had seated him… and the two other men following him at a table near the window.

"I did not know that you liked French food, Arthur. I thought that all the British hated French food, da?" Ivan said, browsing through the menu, and yet observing Arthur over the rim of the it at the same time.

"… Please leave me alone." The latter replied.

Antonio frowned and squinted at the menu, not understanding a word of it (it was in French), while Ivan laughed at nothing. Arthur then knew he was being ignored, and they weren't going to leave until he told them of his brother's whereabouts.

Maybe he had to use a different tactic. It would be risky, but still better than having them follow him around forever.

"I know who the two of you are," Arthur began, capturing the attention of the two other officers at the table. "You are Antonio Fernandez. You failed your mission to capture a bunch of bank-robbers three years ago and got five innocent people killed, including your now dead lover. You want revenge from the Mafia who did it, which is the same one my brother was supposed to infiltrate." Arthur said, looking Antonio straight in the eye.

The Spaniard appeared angry at first, but then his body released all tension, and he slumped back in his seat, admitting defeat.

"And you," Arthur directed his glance onto the Russian's cheerful and innocently childish face, hesitating a little before he continued- but with new determination. "You are Ivan Braginski; the Forensic Scientist who killed your superior for saying you couldn't wear a scarf during work. They couldn't arrest you because you were a representative of the Russian National Security force, but you were still removed from the Forensics department and you became a normal patrol officer."

Ivan was not affected by Arthur's speech. Instead, he started to laugh again, this time with a darker feel to it.

"You are very well informed, da? I think I made the right choice in looking for you. Now you will tell me everything you know." It was a command, not a request from the way Ivan said it.

"Hey, I got to him first! That gives me the right to question him!" Antonio protested. Ivan smiled creepily again but before he could say anything else, a crash came from the glass balcony just next to their place on the ground level of the restaurant.

"Oh, s'il vous plait! Take your fight outside, oui? Not in my magnifique restaurant!" A French-accented voice cried. Arthur's huge eyebrows furrowed together in reflex.

The next thing Arthur saw was glass- and a blonde man fell through the once clear glass lining the balcony and landed smack on the officers' table.

"Ugh… Merci for the catch…" And the Frenchman mumbled, (presumably the owner of the restaurant) and passed out. His staff came and carried him out of the restaurant, crying "Francis! Francis, wake up!" in French over and over again.

Arthur hoped the Frog would be fine. Maybe a few bruises would do him some good. But fine, all the same. Then he looked up to the balconey. An arrogant looking gangster stood overlooking the restaurant, a woman with huge... assets, stood next to him.

The man had raven black hair and some stubble, while the woman had on a skimpy dress and long red hair.

"Mind your own business, fucker! Stay outta my way!" The man yelled in the direction of where the owner had disappeared with his staff, while his men cheered.

Arthur growled, and stood up, heading for the stairs. Antonio and Ivan made no move to help, and remained seated, eyes on the Brit. The gang members stared at him, chuckling and nudging one another.

Arthur wasn't fazed- he marched right up to the leader.

"Excuse me," Arthur held out his ID right in the man's face. "Police. You're coming down to the precinct with me." He said firmly. A moment of silence, then the whole gang burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! You wanna take me to where? You're funny!" The gang leader said, wiping tears from his eyes. "You're funny, now get outta my sight before I hurt ya, kid."

Arthur bristled. "I'm not going anywhere until you come with me! I'm arresting you for assault and disobedience to a police officer's orders."

The gang leader grunted, and snapped his fingers. Three men went up to Arthur, and raised their fists, posed to strike. Arthur knocked the three of them back with one clean arch of the leg.

They fell back- but the others came back for more.

Now, the Brit and his brother had taken several martial arts classes when they were young- an early preparation for joining the police force. Arthur beat them off easily, their moves sloppy and ungraceful.

The problem though, was the number of people; Arthur was running out of energy fast.

And the one man caught him off guard, smashing a bottle on Arthur's head. In reflex, Arthur clutched his head in pain, and got a mighty blow to the chest, causing him to slam into the wall.

"Thought you could win, eh? Well, I'm about to teach you a lesson, bitch-"

"That's enough." A soft, but dangerous voice reached the gang leader's ears, cutting him off. He turned around, and gasped- he was less than an inch close to a fury-filled face, brown eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ah~ This is so pointless, da? But looks like we will be taking part in this for a little while." Ivan said, cheerfully, walking up towards them. Antonio raised a fist and smashed it directly into the leader's.

He was touched by the drive Arthur had- so he'd help the boy. Ivan was joining in because he had been missing out on some action lately. Ah, reasons, such pointless things.

"GET THEM!" The woman hollered, mashing her boobs on the front of the gang leader's chest as she dragged him back. Was that supposed to make him feel better...?

And Ivan brandished a water tap- or a pipe, as he preferred to call it. Antonio preferred to use his fists, much like Arthur. The Russian smashed his weapon brutally against head after head, ignoring the cries of pain and the red that dirtied his once clean pipe.

Antonio punched faces, stomachs and even threw one gang member over the rail, causing him to land on the table, much like the French man had done so earlier. However, Arthur could hardly keep up; his forehead still throbbing from the blow earlier. He could already feel the warm trickle of blood down his temple.

Ivan sighed. This was getting boring.

"THE COPS ARE COMIN'!" A lookout ran into the restaurant, waving his arms frantically. The whole room froze for a moment.

Then, the gang members started to panic, and dashed out of the back entrance, leader and his woman forgotten. Arthur, Ivan and Antonio followed them, not wanting to be caught up and taken in for questioning.

Stopping at a deserted alleyway, Arthur leaned against a wall for support, but then felt someone lift him gently, into a pair of muscular arms. He looked up into the eyes of Ivan, which were surprisingly calm.

"Just rest, Arthur. Tell us where you live, so we will take you there."

Ah, so that was it. Ivan just wanted to know where his brother and himself resided. Giving in, Arthur finally told them the address.

oOo

Arthur fumbled with the keys to the apartment, but finally managed to open the door.

He was half-tempted to slam the door behind the two other officers; but since they had saved his sorry ass, he had no choice. He was a gentleman, after all, despite what people said otherwise.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Arthur offered hesitatingly.

This earned him a shove from Antonio, who looked annoyed. "No, we need to get a first-aid kit. Honestly amigo, being polite while bleeding all over the floor is not something you should do."

Ivan then yanked the doors of the medical cabinet open, taking both the hinges off it with a loud crack.

"I found it~ Yay!" The Russian cheered for himself, brushing off Arthur and Antonio's incredulous look. After Arthur got his head bandaged by a very huffy Spaniard, he decided it was time to tell them to leave.

"Look, I'm extremely grateful for all your help- but I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about my brother. He never told me a single thing." Arthur stated, leaning back into the sofa.

"Oh? Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind if we searched through his room, eh?" Antonio challenged. Ivan merely smiled- but that smile clearly showed that he wasn't about to take 'no' for an answer after all the trouble he went through.

The Brit stayed silent, contemplating.

...

"... Fine. But only under my supervision. If you open or take anything without my consent, then it's a crime; breaking and entering!" Arthur snapped.

This seemed to be a good enough answer for the officers.

Arthur opened the door to his brother's room. It was clean, bed made, desk tidy and the shelves filled with books. Antonio began to search under the bed while Ivan opened the closet, and began to dig around Scott's clothes.

The younger Kirkland brother sat on a chair at the edge of the room, quietly observing the two.

And then; Ivan found something.

"Looks like your brother isn't as innocent as you think, da?" The Russian said, shoving a coat into Arthur's hands.

But it wasn't any old coat.

This coat was soaked in blood.