I own no rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! 'cause I'm poor :P
Set after season one of the anime series.
This one-shot came about from several ideas that wouldn't leave my mind alone for a prequel type story so I just had to write it.
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Waiting in darkness
It was night time as the four men waited in the darkness of the abandoned warehouse. The moonlight pouring in through the decaying roof was their only source of light, causing everything in sight to be half cast in shadows. Footsteps faintly echoed in the huge area they occupied as one of them impatiently paced back and forth.
"Stop that ridiculous pacing!" The tallest commanded and the other abided.
"Come now Lector, can't you see that Nesbitt is clearly troubled by the situation?" The shortest, almost bald member of the group chuckled.
"Are you telling me that none of you are feeling the same way?" Nesbitt snapped impatiently as he rejoined the group he had moved away from in order to carry out his nervous gesture. He stared down at the one who had just spoken. "Well Gansley?" He received only silence from the man.
"I think that you're just worrying about nothing." Piped up the stout member whose moustache wriggle side to side as he spoke. "Mister Kaiba can be cruel, but he wouldn't go as far to ….."
"I don't know what kind of ludicrous world you're living in Crump, but this is Gozaburo's heir we're talking about here." Lector glared down with a disgusted look on his face. "He will go to great lengths to make sure that we are not heard from again."
"Especially after the double betrayal we carried out towards him." Gansley added nodding his head in agreement to what Lector had said. "If you need more proof then just look at what he did to Gozaburo himself."
"B-but those were just rumours." Crump stuttered. "Weren't they?"
The men were silent as they each remembered their previous ex-boss' death. It had been almost four years now since it happened. Each of them had played a role in helping the eldest of the two boys who Gozaburo had adopted a couple of years previous to that overthrow him and take control of the company. Just a few days later the man's body was found at the bottom of his company's building after he had plummeted to his death from the office he owned up on the top floor. His death had been declared a suicide brought on by the devastating loss of his corporation, although there had been many rumours that suggested it had been the stepson who had pushed him, as he had been the last person to see the man alive in his office a short while earlier.
"If you ask me, that boy deserves everything that's coming his way." A voice sneered from the doorway as another man wearing spectacles appeared there.
"You're late Johnson." Lector smirked, now that the five men were reunited together again.
"Yes, well some of us still have to seek out work in order to provide for our families." Johnson replied as he pushed his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose.
"Not me." Nesbitt sighed sadly at the statement. "Stella left me last week and took both the kids with her. She said I was a no-good loser."
"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that." Crump placed a hand on his associate's shoulder. "Julia practically walked out on me the moment I told her we'd been fired so I know the kind of pain you must be going through."
"Will y'all just listen to yourselves?!" Lector roared angrily causing the other four to stare at him. "Grown men moping around like children!"
"I'd have thought you of all people would have sympathised with them Lector." Gansley crossed his arms as he stared up at the taller man. "After all you too have experienced the pain of losing your better half."
"All the more reason for me to know what I'm talking about." Lector hissed as he continued to stare out the shorter and older accomplice.
"You mean Anathema right?" Nesbitt thought out loud the name of the woman Lector had lost his heart to and received a cold stare from the man himself warning him to not speak another word regarding his past.
Johnson cleared his throat to break up the situation. "I think we should get back to business and discuss our plans for the boy's downfall." He made his way over to join the group.
"We can't yet, Kemo isn't here." Crump pointed out that they were still waiting for one more person to arrive.
"I don't see why we had to include him in our plans, he chose to jump ship ages ago." Gansley shook his head expressing his disapproval of the man who was holding them up. "Now that Pegasus is currently out of action he comes crawling back to us and just expects things to be back to how they used to be?"
"Like it or not, we need him." Lector reminded them all. "Seto will be prepared for a move from us, but Kemo he will be practically oblivious to. Plus the man is a vital part of our back up plan, should things go wrong before we have chance to carry out our revenge."
Not another word was said as the men fell into silence again before Nesbitt broke it with a change of subject; "I wonder what the other kid would have been like had he taken over the company?"
"A lot nicer than his brother that's for sure." Crump tried to suppress a laugh but failed. "I'd probably have half a dozen of my penguin parks by now. Mokuba loved my ideas for them; in fact I'd say he was the only one who did."
"I wasn't talking about that kid." Nesbitt replied sarcastically. "I was talking about the other one."
"We'll never know now though will we?" Gansley chuckled as the boy in question had been dead for the past six years. "It's Lector's fault for mowing him down."
"Oh come now gentlemen, we all know that Lector wasn't responsible for the poor boy's 'accident'." Johnson spoke up as the other three turned to face the tallest member there hoping for answers on the situation and he too looked up towards the darker man of the group. "Isn't that right?"
Lector's lips curled up in amusement of the almost forgotten memory of when he had hit the child with the hired car. "Proven innocent by the courts all thanks to you Johnson." The two men both exchanged devious looks.
"I bet he'd have liked my penguins too."
"Crump, no one gives a damn about those dumb birds of yours." Nesbitt snapped. "Did you ever think that they may be the reason why Julia left you?"
"That's the last time that I ever show you sympathy!" Crump's moustache wriggled furiously.
"Silence!" Once again all eyes fell on Lector who was now starting to become annoyed with his associates. Maybe it would have been better if he had planned his revenge by leaving them out of the picture, but his old ties to the men acted as the foundation of his foolish loyalty towards them which was why he tolerated their presence. "Not another word until Kemo gets here." He warned before breaking from the group to be on his own.
Crump continued to grumble under his breath as Nesbitt walked away to continue his pacing, whilst Johnson set himself down on a nearby crate as he checked his cell phone for messages in regards to the string of job interviews he had been attending for the past month since Kaiba had fired them. Like the other four of his comrades he too hadn't had any luck with being able to find work since all of the companies in Domino and the surrounding cities had been supplied with 'mostly false' evidence on their background checks, no doubt due to their ex-boss' own doing.
Gansley remained where he stood as he glanced from each of the men before his vision remained coldly fixed on Lector who lurked in the shadows. He hated the way that the younger man seem to think that he was the one in control and always took charge over them, when it was he himself who had the most experience in the business world with being the eldest of the group. "Why'd you do it?" he asked knowing that he was about to stir up a bee's nest.
"Do what?" Lector bluntly replied as his narrowed gaze met with the short balding man's.
"Noah." Gansley smirked and caught the attention of the three other men by mentioning the dead boy's name. "After all he was half Anathema."
Lector's eyes filled with anger at hearing the name mentioned for the second time that night. He had killed the boy out of pure spite in order to get his delayed revenge on the two people he had shown nothing but devoted loyalty towards only for them to reject him in everyway possible. Anathema had been his sweetheart ever since high school only for her to leave him in favour of his best friend, and as if that wasn't enough Gozaburo had then turned around and conned him out of his half of the company that they had started together, the company which had now become known as Kaiba Corp.
"I had my reasons!" Lector roared as he strode towards Gansley who was unaware of all the facts of his past. "And nobody is owed an explanation of them, let alone you!" He reached inside his jacket but found his arm stopped by one of the other men.
"Let's not turn on each other now; let this feud die until another time." Johnson held his friend back and spoke in a lowered voice so that the other three weren't able to hear.
Slowly Lector's arm reversed back out from underneath his jacket and returned to his side. Out of the other four members of the Big Five, Johnson was the only one who came anywhere close to resembling his friend. "I suggest that you keep your nose out of matters that don't concern you." He warned Gansley before backing down like the lawyer had asked.
The short balding man sniggered to himself at how easily the other had been wound up, which was shortly followed by the silence once more as they continued their wait for the sixth man. Nesbitt returned to his pacing but then decided against it as he received another disapproving look from Lector who had returned to the shadows.
Moonlight shone through the warehouse door that Johnson had left slightly ajar and the five men began to stir as a shadow came into view. "It's about time you showed." Crump shouted with an annoyed tone. "We've been here waiting ages for you."
"I highly doubt that I am the one you are waiting for." Came an amused reply as the door was opened wider for the voice's owner to enter.
"Kaiba!" Nesbitt exclaimed in a fearful gasp as the CEO strode closer and stopped around ten feet from them. Kaiba's dark purple coat flowing behind and huge shirt collar raised to partially cover the sides of his face.
"What are you doing here?" Lector sneered as he left the cover of his shadows and stood forward of the other men who had all taken several steps backwards. He wasn't the least bit intimidated by the boy standing several metres in front of him.
"I think the question should be; what are you five doing here?" Kaiba crossed his arms smugly. "But I already know the answer to that as I was informed about your 'little gathering' here tonight."
"I knew we couldn't trust him and that he'd betray us." Gansley hissed his feelings about Kemo at Lector who didn't seem to be paying attention to anything else other that the young CEO.
"Who tipped you off?" Johnson demanded to know as he was pretty sure that the non-attendee wouldn't do such a thing.
"I don't think that is any of your business." Kaiba stated. He had found the phone call to him earlier that day extremely strange as it had been brief and abrupt, and though it could have quite easily been a prank, something in the caller's voice prompted his curiosity to seek out the truth behind the child's words of warning. "So just what did you have in mind for your plot of revenge against me?"
"Now, that's none of your business." Lector shot back smugly. "You'll just have to wait until the time comes, Seto."
"You five know that I don't have much patience." Kaiba laughed at the thought of the idiots seeking revenge before turning his tone back to serious and stared at the men. "I give you all until the end of the week to pack up and leave this city if you value your lives."
"What happens at the end of the week?" Nesbitt asked fearfully.
"Then I'll hunt you down like the dogs you are." Kaiba's eyes narrowed coldly on the Big Five. The fact that they had been the ones to help him gain the advantage over his stepfather's company was the sole reason he had given them a chance to escape punishment, and now that chance was almost at an end.
"Y-you're not going to have us k-killed are you?" Crump stuttered.
If that's what it comes down to, then yes. Kaiba's mind answered as his glare remained harsh and intimidating.
"He won't get the chance!" Lector barked in response to his colleague's question as his hand dived back under his jacket, drew out the gun he had been concealing there, and held it raised in front of him for all to see.
"You had a gun?!" Gansley exclaimed in surprise and realised just how lucky he had been a few moments earlier when Lector had attempted to pull it on himself.
Kaiba's eyebrows rose in surprise; though he was not completely surprised, at the sight of the firearm. "If you intend to use that on myself then you will all suffer for your action." He warned.
"Daimon, lower the gun." Johnson addressed Lector by his first name, hoping that their close friendliness would help calm the man. They all knew that Kaiba was never one to bluff about anything, and he feared for the safety of the five of them.
"This isn't what I had planned but we would all have to be fools not to take advantage of this situation!" Lector began to justify himself and what he was about to do. "Look at him, alone and unprepared, I can shoot him right now and there'd be no witnesses to his death." He lowered his gun so that it aimed directly at the calm smug looking teenager.
BANG!
A bullet ripped through Lector's upper body and set him tumbling to the ground.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
The other four men soon joined the first as they each lay slowly dying in the pools forming from their own blood.
I warned you. Kaiba glanced down at the five men and saw Lector struggling to retrieve the gun as he reached out for it where it laid on the ground nearby. Taking several steps closer to the wounded man, he placed his foot on Lector's wrist to stop him from seizing the firearm. "I don't think so."
Lector's lips curled upwards in a grin of having the perfect chance to make sure that he got what he wanted. He swiftly moved his other arm, grabbed Kaiba's ankle and pulled to make the CEO fall to the ground from the surprise attack. Not a moment was wasted as Lector then quickly used all the energy he could muster to scramble on top of the Kaiba after having reclaimed his weapon, blood pouring from the wound on his right shoulder.
With eyes shut Kaiba groaned from the pain of hitting his head hard on the concrete floor. How could he have been so stupid to fall for such a trick? There was now a weight pinning him down where he lay and opened his eyes to see the barrel of a gun held just centimetres from his face, its owner laughing hysterically.
"I've changed my mind Seto; maybe I will let you live after all as a gesture of good will for eliminating those four fools." Lector's stare fixed on the blue orbs glaring back at him. He always was rather fond of the boy and admired the ruthlessness Kaiba had learnt from his vigorous upbringing. "Just hand Kaiba Corp over to me."
"That's never going to happen." Kaiba smirked, the fact that a gun was pointing in his face didn't faze him the slightest.
"Look kid, you were dragged into a feud, through no fault of your own, when Gozaburo adopted you, don't make this anymore difficult than what it has to be." Lector growled with frustration. "Give me what is rightfully mine!"
What the heck is this deluded idiot talking about? Kaiba wondered to himself as Lector push the gun down so that it now rest against his head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man's finger begin to tighten on the trigger.
"I'll just take it back myself shall I?!"
BANG!
Blood splattered everywhere as the bullet tore through the man's neck and Lector's now lifeless body flopped down like a lead weight on top of Kaiba, who was struggling to get free as he kicked frantically and pushed himself backwards.
A hand appeared from above offering Kaiba the help needed for him to get back up onto his feet. Normally he would have ignored such a gesture but the panic gripping him from having just seen a man killed inches from his face made Kaiba grab hold tightly to the hand of the person he trusted with his life.
Both Kaiba's head and stomach whirled as he now stood back upright staring down to allow his view to pan across the five dead men. It wasn't the way that he had imagined seeing them for the last time, but at least they were out of his life for good now.
"I apologise mister Kaiba sir, my first aim was completely off target and then I had to change cartridges that jammed which caused the delay …."
"Its fine Roland, you managed to redeem yourself, so just forget it!" Kaiba snapped at his bodyguard, trying - and failing - to remain calm as he wiped Lector's blood from his face with his hands and then wiped them lower down on his purple coat which was also covered with the man's blood. I'm burning these clothes as soon as I get the chance. Kaiba told himself, it wasn't like he couldn't replace them and he needed a new look anyway.
Taking a deep breath as he mentally pushed aside the night's disturbing event Kaiba turned to leave. "So how was your vacation?" He made small talk with the man striding next to him.
"Wonderful mister Kaiba sir, thanks for asking." Roland replied as he answered his boss' peculiar and out of place question on their way out of the decaying building, closing the door and leaving the lifeless bodies of the Big Five behind them.
The night remained still and eerie inside the moonlight warehouse. It had been almost a quarter hour since the shootings had taken place when the door opened once again. "Sorry I'm late but …." The pointy haired man began to apologise for his lateness as he entered the building and then stopped as he saw his five dead associates on the ground. He removed his shades to check for signs of life amongst the five men but found none.
Time for plan B. Kemo took the cell phone he had been entrusted with from his pocket, flipped it open and speed dialled the number that Lector had ordered him to call if the five of them happened to have died before they had seen their revenge against the young CEO of Kaiba Corp.
The other end of the line rang only twice before it was quickly answered. "Guten Tag."
"Mister Siegfried sir, I'm calling on behalf of the Big Five." Kemo explained. "Lector assured me that you'd know what it was all about and to await orders from yourself."
"Ah, Kemo, I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon but I guess Lector was right; Kaiba really doesn't waste time eliminating those whom he sees as a threat." The German chuckled to himself. "I'll track down your location using the tracer placed in the cell phone you're calling from, and then send some of my people to retrieve the bodies to be able to digitize their minds before the timeframe has passed for being able to do so. Don't move from wherever you are right now, you got that?"
"Yes sir, understood."
"By the way, you do have their payment for this task at hand don't you?"
"Yes sir, it's right here." Kemo pulled out a pouch from his jacket pocket which contained several various forms of computer data back up devices, a small white sticker labelled it as 'Kaiba Corp system data'.
"Good, hand it to my men once they arrive at the scene."
"Not until all five members of the Big Five have been digitized." Kemo argued like he had been instructed to do so as not to be swindled by the German.
"Fine!" Siegfried sighed and then heard the sound of the phone line clicking as someone had been tapping in on their conversation. "You must excuse me, my brother has been listening in on my calls again and I should really go and teach him a lesson for doing so." He sneered. "Please give my regards to Pegasus when you next see him." The call ended as the German hung up.
Kemo flipped the cell phone shut before placing it back into his pocket and stared down at the five bodies sprawled on the floor before he carefully stepped over them to seat himself on one of the nearby crates. He let out a huge sigh at the thought of not being able to hold a job for very long. "I miss Gozaburo."