Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Title: Exactly As Planned
Romance: Yami no Bakura x Shaadi
Word Count: 10,025
Genre: Crime, Drama||Rated: R
Challenge: Yu-gi-Oh Pairings: Season Eight: Round Fifteen
Notes: This takes place in the same AU that my Seto x Kisara fic Risks does. You don't have to read Risks to understand this fic, though. They're just in the same world/setting. Also, Shaadi's characterization here, while obviously altered to fit the AU, is based on his characterization in the manga, not the anime.
Warnings: Implied unwilling drug use, quasi-consensual sex, drugged sex referred to, questionable police practices, attempted murder, and murder.
Feedback: All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Summary: Drugs, sex, drugged sex, a new gang on the streets, and a connection weaving them all together that Shaadi doesn't yet understand. All in a day's work for one of Domino City's detectives.
Half a dozen pictures scattered across Shaadi's desk as he shook out the brown envelope he'd found there. His eyes narrowed as he realized just what they were pictures of. Before anyone else could get a look, he scooped them all up and stuffed them back into the envelope. I'll shred them when I get home.
He started to put the envelope in his jacket pocket, then stopped and looked at it more carefully. No address. Fear laid its cold hand on his spine and he fought to maintain his calm.
"Has someone been here?" He raised his voice a little to ask the question, not caring who answered him. One of the other officers leaned into his cubicle.
"What, detective?" Of course, he didn't expect any of them to have noticed anything. Especially if it had been…no, probably not him. He'd wanted to forget that as much as Shaadi did.
Or so he'd said. He shook his head for a moment before he looked at the blond staring at him. "I found this on my desk. Did you see who left it here? There's no return address."
"Just some kid who came in a little while ago." The other shrugged. "He said his big brother wanted you to have these vacation shots." His lips twisted some into an amused grin. "I didn't know you took any vacations recently. Or at all. Something we don't know about, detective?"
"I haven't." He didn't bother answering the rest of the questions, just shoved the envelope into his jacket and tossed it over the hook behind his chair. He'd have to make sure no one else saw those. They'd forget all about it if they didn't see them.
He leaned back in his chair, dismissing the images from his mind with all due speed. Or tried to; seeing them called up memories he'd worked to put aside for almost a year. Until he'd seen them, he'd thought that he had forgotten it entirely. A simple accident, nothing that was actually wrong, but nothing that he wanted his fellow officers to know about either.
Again he pushed the thoughts away. He had a more important case to work on now anyway. What he needed to do was get more information, which wasn't easy to come by. Not for these people.
Some kid. His big brother. Images ran through his mind and once again he tried not to think about them too closely. Probably someone had paid a kid to do it. He'd have to track them down if this got any worse and find out what he could. But for now, investigating the Ghouls was much more important.
His phone rang. He shot a quick, annoyed glance at it before he picked it up; always someone wanted to intrude on his thoughts when he had work to do. But he put his professional voice on. For now.
"Detective Thammuz speaking, how can I help you?" He tried to look on the bright side, such as it was. Maybe it would be someone who could actually help with his current case.
"So formal, Shaadi?" Shaadi froze. That voice. This person. His gaze fell to the pictures again. Their arrival suddenly made much more sense.
"Bakura." He was tempted just to hang up right away but a tinge of curiosity whispered to wait and see. "What do you want?"
"What makes you think I want anything?" Bakura's voice, as always, hinted of amusement, as if he knew far more about anything and everything that was going on than anyone else. Shaadi ached for the day when he would be able to surprise Bakura and prove all of his so-called superiority false.
"You called me, didn't you?" Shaadi hissed the words out. He didn't want anyone else hearing who he was talking to. Speaking to one of the most notorious thieves in the city without arresting him wasn't exactly against the rules, but anyone who did it was going to get side-eyed for days.
Bakura's chuckle made Shaadi want to strangle someone. Preferably Bakura. "Get anything interesting in your mail today?"
Oh. Yes. It made sense indeed. "Why?" The question held two layers to it, and Shaadi knew that Bakura would understand both of them. For all of his faults, being stupid wasn't one of them.
"Stay out of the Ghouls." Bakura dropped that amusement, replacing it with forged steel. "Keep away from them, don't try to find out about them and don't look into anything they're doing. They're too much for you."
Shaadi's eyes narrowed. "Why do you care?" He knew Bakura didn't. At least not in the usual sense that people 'cared'. His case had just taken on another level all its own.
"You know better than to think that I do." Bakura bore up Shaadi's opinion of him. Shaadi wasn't sure if that was so good or not. Getting that close to Bakura without being able to pin anything on him irritated him. "But back off. You get too close and you'll pay for it."
"Give me a better reason than that." Shaadi knew Bakura wasn't going to give him one. If he were going to, he would have already. He glanced at the photographs again. "Where did you get those, anyway?"
"I have my connections. I have more. I also have a very good video of what happened there. If I were in that kind of market, I could make quite a lot of money selling it." The smile in Bakura's voice sent fury surging through Shaadi's veins and he fought to keep his own voice under control. His cubicle walls weren't that thick and there wasn't any door. He did not want people asking questions about why he was suddenly screaming at the top of his lungs.
Instead, he drew in a deep breath and focused on soothing mental images. Bakura drowning in a deep pool of water came to mind.
"That's disgusting. Even by your standards." He tried to get the conversation a little more on track, though Shaadi couldn't say he knew just what the track was in the first place. "If you're not going to give me any more information, then why did you even bother to call?"
"I told you already. That's all you need to know. Stay out or you'll regret it."
Shaadi wished he were the type of person to snort or roll his eyes. No other reaction felt right to Bakura's non-answers. "If you can't do better, then you know I won't listen." Not that he would have listened if Bakura hadprovided something better.
"I told you, I have more pictures and a very steamy video. If you push in too far, then I know some people who are going to get a few interesting packages of their own." Danger now laced Bakura's steely tones and Shaadi ground his teeth. Blackmail.
Bakura chuckled at his silence. "I see you understand. Take care of yourself, Shaadi." Click and a dial tone followed. Shaadi hung up as if it had been a normal call, his usually calm mind seething.
That… Words failed him. He closed his eyes for a second and tried to remember what it was like to becalm. He fought his way through to something that resembled not being in the mood to strangle that white-haired scrap of scum.
There was no question at all about listening to Bakura's demands. If he doesn't want me finding out about them, then it's all the more reason to do it. Perhaps he could even find something he could pin on Bakura himself if he looked hard enough. He wouldn't be the first person to try, he knew, but if he could be the first person to succeed, then that would be perfect.
To do that meant a lot more work than he had yet accomplished, though. The Ghouls had a leader, one that he'd never heard mentioned by name. Find the leader, prove what he's doing, and they'll be gone. Or at least heavily crippled. Organizations like the Ghouls could survive the loss of a leader. There was always someone waiting in the background to take over.
But it would also be a good place to begin. He got up and pulled his jacket on. He wouldn't get anything done sitting around here. Time to go talk to some people.
Bakura hung the phone up and leaned back in the chair, a satisfied smirk gracing his lips. Shaadi wouldn't listen to him. He would push his way into finding out as much about the Ghouls as he could, even to who the leader was.
Just as planned.
"Well?" He glanced up to see a dark-skinned blond leaning in the window, twirling a knife between his fingers. "Did you call him?"
"Of course." Bakura eyed Ishtar with care, taking in the somewhat tame hair and the almost sane look to his eyes. "Did you think I wouldn't, Malik?" It was always best to know which of the two he was dealing with.
The other shrugged, not moving from his lazy position. "Do you think he's going to listen?"
"Of course not. Shaadi's honor wouldn't let him even if I didn't have those photographs." Bakura picked up a stack of said photographs from his desk and paged through them. Getting them from the security cameras hadn't been easy, but it was well worth it.
Malik's eyes narrowed. "How did that happen, anyway?" For all that he, on paper, owned the warehouse in question, he had never asked too many questions about what was going on in there. Bakura had his theories on why.
"You remember that new drug that hit the streets about a year or so ago? Delight?" Bakura knew Malik would. Everyoneknew about Delight. So he wasn't surprised when Malik nodded, his lips thinning at the same time.
"I didn't know you were involved in that." There was a definite hint of dislike in his tone as well. Bakura didn't find that surprising either.
"I wasn't. Not like that." Bakura set the photographs down. No one needed to know his actual reason for doing what he'd done there. "But Shaadi and I ended up in that warehouse at the same time. We tussled around and found out the hard way that Delight works just as well airborne as it does mixed in with a drink or injected in you." Bakura licked his lips; while Shaadi wasn't anywhere near his type, the look of consternation in his eyes as the effect kicked in had been delicious.
Malik's lips twisted in disgust. "So you screwed him."
"I think the proper term is 'we fucked like bunnies for half the night'." Bakura liked seeing Malik turn ever such a light green. "Really, Malik, you'd think you grew up underground. Stop looking like you're going to throw up every time I mention sex."
"When are you going to contact him again?" Malik changed the subject, his knife spinning faster between his fingers. Bakura held back a chuckle. Malik was too easy to manipulate like this.
"That depends on what he does and how fast he makes any progress." He set the photographs into a drawer in the desk and locked it. He would need them later. Shaadi would be sodisappointed if he didn't follow through on his threats, and one had a reputation to maintain as well.
He settled himself back in his chair, thinking of what the detective was most likely to do and if he had everything in place to take care of it. Which he did; he'd planned it all before he'd sent his little messenger over to the police station.
"I don't want any mistakes, Bakura." Malik set one hand on his hip and stared at his fellow thief. "You promised you'd take care of him for me. You could just go kill him."
"That wouldn't be any fun." Bakura replied at once. He'd planned for everything: including this. "I have this on him and if he ends up dead after I make it public, then no one on the force is going to do anything besides put him in the ground." Every word he said was true, of course. Lying was for amateurs.
Malik glared for another moment, then turned and stalked away. Bakura smiled even more. Everything was going just the way he'd planned it.
Shaadi tilted his head back and stared at the tall building rising above him. It didn't look like the kind of place one would imagine a group of international thieves would make their base, but he'd come across stranger events in his life. Truth to be told, his informant hadn't even properly said that the Ghouls werelaired up here.
He said some of them came by here now and then. It wasn't much, but it was what he had to go on for now. There was no way he could just walk inside and ask for the room where the Ghouls were. If any of them who came by here had the slightest bit of sense, then they would pretend they'd never heard of such an organization.
He wasn't certain if most thieves had sense, but the odds of being able to track them down like that were against him.
He ran a hand over his head and breathed outward, focusing his thoughts. He would have to ask some very probing questions to get what he wanted out of whoever was in here. The sooner he got started, the better.
The minute he crossed the threshold, he shivered. You'd think they were trying to put me off on purpose. Everything in there was the most modern and up to date furnishings that one could imagine. Nothing old-fashioned, nothing homey. The temperature was at least fifteen degrees lower than it was outside, and since Domino City currently enjoyed a summer heat wave, the air conditioners had to be going full blast.
Shaadi refused to shudder in the cold. He'd been born and grown up in Egypt and the heat outside sent memories of home dancing through him. This sudden chill was not to his taste at all. But he tried not to let it get to him. Instead, he stepped over to the registration desk, where a perky woman in a perkier uniform sat.
"Good afternoon, Detective!" She declared as soon as he was close enough and he'd flashed his badge at her. "How can I help you? I do hope there's no trouble."
"So do I, ma'am." He could be polite. She hadn't committed any crimes that he knew about. She'd just had the bad luck to get a job in a possible thief hangout. "I just have a few questions for the moment."
Now the hard part. His research had turned up a few pictures of some of the Ghouls' higher-ups, but nothing on the one said to actually lead them. He dug into his pocket and pulled out what he had. "Are any of these faces familiar to you?"
She pulled them over and examined them, brow furrowing. "Not this one. Or this one." She stopped on one of the last ones. "I think I've seen him before, though. He usually rents a room at least once a month."
Shaadi glanced to see which one it was. Rishid. No family name could be associated with the tattooed bald man. Everyone who he'd spoken to told Shaadi that Rishid was all but a brother to the one who actually led the gang. Shaadi fought back a surge of triumph. "When was he last here?"
She closed her eyes and tapped her fingers on her chin in thought. "Almost a month ago. In fact, I'd say that he should probably be around any day now, him and his brother both."
Again he fought back triumph. Just finding them didn't mean he could prove anything. Yet. It wasn't against the law to rent a hotel room. What mattered was what one did while one was in the hotel room.
"Do they have any specific room they prefer?"
She nodded at once. "Room 799." Her eyes darkened in concern. "Are you going to need to check it out for anything? It was cleaned after the last guest; that's standard policy."
He knew that already. And he couldn't be perfectly certain if they would even be the next visitors there. Plus, he didn't have a warrant. "Yes, please." None of which made a difference to him, if he could get a way to get more information. If that 'brother' was indeed the leader, he was certain the chief and the mayor would overlook a few not quite orthodox investigation methods.
She handed him the key and gestured to the elevator. "Seventh floor. You can follow the signs to get to the room once you're up there."
Shaadi wasted no time. The sooner he got a few bugs planted, the better. It would be better if I could get some kind of video surveillance in there that's not attached to the hotel's. Rishid and his boss-brother would probably have a way to bypass hotel security to discuss whatever it was they discussed here. But if he had something they didn't know about, then they could quite easily convict themselves out of their own mouths. Shaadi liked that idea.
The elevator and the seventh floor continued the high-tech theme started in the lobby. Artificial plants decorated every few feet, along with paintings of rigid designs instead of pastorals or portraits of the hotel founders, like in so many other rich hotels he'd been in. The entire setup sent raw chills down his spine.
When he reached the correct door, he opened it with a small scrap of hope that this place would be unlike everything else he'd seen so far. That hope quickly died. Not only was this room just as 'modern' as all the rest, it gave off the impression of being more so. This hotel didn't have a penthouse, but room 799 was the next thing to it.
He didn't waste his time staring at the expensive baubles that filled the area. So what if the white carpeting was thick and soft unlike anything he'd ever felt before or if the flat screen television probably had more channels than all of the ones in his low-rent apartment building did combined? He had a job to do. He could be envious of what crime rented later.
In the four days since he'd received Bakura's blackmail attempt, he'd spent as much of his time as he could searching out anyone who had the slightest bit of information on who the Ghouls were and what they did. He'd uncovered they were mostly card thieves, and with Duel Monsters being the most popular game worldwide, stealing rare cards was profitable, as was copying them illegally.
Ever since he'd found that out, he'd carried a good dozen little bugs on his person, ready in case he found somewhere he could set them out. He was careful to put each one where he was certain no one would uncover them. Or he had to hope they wouldn't. More than one cop had lost a good bust because their quarry had searched a little more thoroughly than the cop had thought they would.
Once he set the last of them in place in the bathroom (which was twice the size of his bedroom at home, he started out the door. Or toward it, since as soon as he entered the living room again, he saw something he very much didn't want to see.
Not something, in truth. Someone.
Bakura leaned against the door, one foot pressed against it, arms folded over his chest, watching Shaadi as if they'd come there together. "I thought I told you to back off the Ghouls."
Shaadi planted his feet and met his eyes. "You did. I don't remember saying I was going to listen to you." He didn't think Bakura had even been serious about that. Revealing those pictures, or even that videotape, would tell as much about Bakura as it did of Shaadi himself.
"You should. I've told you once already, you don't want to find out more than you have. You're too close." Bakura shook his head, then pulled a remote control from his pocket. "Keep going and this turns up at the police chief's desk."
Shaadi didn't want to look, but eyes weren't necessary, not when he heard his own voice coming from the speakers hung on the wall, in clear and perfect reproduction. Though he wasn't certain if 'voice' was quite what he'd use to describe it. It wasn't as if he were actually speaking, after all.
"How'd you get in here?" Shaadi pretended that he wasn't hearing that and that memories of what it felt like to have Bakura pressed against him weren't surging through his mind. If the desk girl had just let him in, or if he'd rented the room somehow, then his bugs were probably going to go to waste.
"I don't think that's any concern of yours." Bakura pushed himself away from the door and stalked closer. Shaadi refused to move. "Take my advice, Shaadi. Back. Off."
"Or you'll ruin my career. Yes. I understand what you're saying." Shaadi shook his head. "I've never taken advice from a criminal before and you have nothing that's going to make me start now."
Quick as a weasel, Bakura stood behind Shaadi, his arms around him, one dropping down to his waist while the other twisted the detective to look at the television. "Don't I?" His fingers worked at Shaadi's zipper. "Watch this and tell me I couldn't destroy you in a heartbeat, Shaadi." His breath ghosted across the back of Shaadi's neck. "Tell me you didn't enjoy every single moment of that night."
Shaadi knew on some level he could probably get out of Bakura's grip. It wasn't that strong, especially since most of it was one-handed. But with that other hand being where it was, Bakura's breath on his neck, that video bringing back every memory he'd fought to forget for a year, his arms and legs didn't seem to want to obey him enough to do so.
"You want this…" Bakura purred in his ear, sounding just as he had that night. Shaadi ground his teeth together as Bakura's hand closed around his flesh. Yes, just like that night, his hand had touched there, and there…
No! He shoved himself forward, slamming an elbow into Bakura's stomach as he did, and pulled himself together. "No. No, I don't. I never did." He didn't want to say the last words, that it was the drug that made him, that made them do it. It would sound like too much of an excuse, even with it being the absolute truth. He shook his head and straightened himself up. "Besides, don't try to tell me that you're attracted to me."
Bakura chuckled, apparently not even out of breath from Shaadi's strike. "I could, but not even I can lie that well." Shaadi did not intend to complain about that. The thought of Bakura being even remotely attracted to him made him wonder if he was going to see his last meal one more time.
"Then what are you doing all of this for?" He gestured at the screen, which continued to play out in all of its pornographic glory, and would for hours if no one turned it off. "Why would you care if the Ghouls killed me?"
Bakura's lips twitched for a moment. "Who said I did care if they killed you?"
"You're trying to stop me from investigating. I think that says something."
"What is says is that I might find it useful to have someone I can trust on the force." Bakura replied, that half-smirk glowing in sincerity.
Shaadi wasn't certain what held him back from punching the thief in the face. Perhaps it was already having a bit of a record for unnecessary violence and not wanting to get suspended. "You can't trust me, Bakura."
"Really?" Bakura chuckled. "I think we'll just have to see about that." He settled down on the couch where he had a good view of the screen. "Oh, remember this part here? You're a screamer."
Shaadi stalked out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. If Bakura had gotten himself in there, he could get himself out. There wasn't anything in there in particular to steal and he doubted Bakura was going to bother with taking hotel towels or soap. He preferred larger crimes.
He has a reason for this. Bakura never did anything without a reason. Well, almost anything. The question remained, just what was the reason this time?
No sooner had Shaadi left the room than Bakura hit the power button, cutting off an especially passionate cry. He tossed the remote down onto the couch and followed it himself, a sneer rippling across his lips.
Idiot.It really would be so much easier to find someone else on the force he could corrupt. There were several options. Shaadi was just the easiest at the moment because of that one incident.
Granted, this was also amusing. Poking and prodding at the detective, urging him to do one thing while wanting something entirely different and seeing Shaadi fall for it with his eyes open…
He licked his lips, the sneer transmuting into a smirk. As much as it would be easier, it would truly not be as much fun to try with anyone else. No one else would fight him like this. Using Shaadi's own desires against him provided an extra fillip of pleasure.
And after him…Oh, he had goals far, far beyond the twisting of a simple detective to his will. This was just step one. In time would come step two. But he refused to rush himself.
The screen flared back to life and he looked up to see Malik stretched across the other couch, the remote somehow in his hands, and a smirk the equal of Bakura's own on his lips.
No, not Malik. Not with that hair. This was the otherone.
Why do I always find myself working with crazy people? He didn't think his own sanity was anything to boast about, but at least he was the only person in his own mind.
"Did you enjoy your little visit with the detective?" The purr was darkness incarnate, or so this one liked to believe, Bakura knew. The thief knew better. Much better.
"It was productive." Bakura shrugged, shifting so he could keep an eye on the other. A stupid thief was one who let others roam free in his personal space. Bakura wasn't a stupid thief. "What are you doing around, anyway? I thought with Rishid around, you were locked away."
A smirk slid around his twisted features. "You don't know everything about me." He tilted his head back to watch the show playing out on the screen. "I didn't know people could be that flexible. Especially not you."
"You don't know everything about me." Bakura enjoyed throwing those words back at him. "Are you really so bored that you want to watch police porn?"
"You think I should entertain myself, then?" He rose to his feet and strolled over to where Bakura sat, leaning over to place both hands on either side of Bakura's shoulders. "You know how I do that."
"Yes, and you're not going to find any with me." Bakura stifled a yawn. "Go find someone else to play with. You're not what I want."
One dark finger ran down the side of Bakura's cheek. "No, I'm not a police detective who doesn't want you and doesn't want to want you." "He's not what I want either." Bakura rolled his eyes. Just because he had sex with someone didn't mean he wanted them. It always amazed him how either Malik could be so childish at times. "There's a perfectly decent receptionist downstairs who you can scare the hell out of."
"And if I don't want to scare her?" His breath brushed against Bakura's lips. Bakura didn't even bother to twitch; he'd had to deal with this too many times already. "If I want to scare you?"
"You're going to have to do better than that. You're not that impressive." Not to him, anyway. Bakura had seen and done far worse things than this piece of a person had ever imagined. He pushed the other out of the way and got to his own feet. "Keep the tape if you want it that badly. I have more." And he had work to do. Corruption didn't happen by itself.
I should've done this to begin with. Shaadi steered himself to the chief's office, cursing himself with every step he took. If he had, then perhaps Bakura wouldn't even bother trying anything with him now. He could be investigating the Ghouls without worrying about the white-haired thief's machinations.
At least he'd made some progress. He would check the bugs later to see what happened in the room after he'd left. With any luck, Bakura had left after he had and he wouldn't actually see or hear anything. He didn't want to think right now about what the other options were.
He knocked on the glass door, waiting just long enough for Chief Mahaado to wave him in. If Mahaado had a family name, no one around here said it or knew it. He was just Mahaado or the chief.
"Chief. I need to talk to you." Shaadi didn't sit down, not just yet. He wanted to get this off his chest first.
"How's your investigation going?" Mahaado, seldom ruffled about anything, lifted one eyebrow. Shaadi composed himself as best that he could.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I've made some progress, but I've had something come up." He didn't think about the different meanings those words had. Not after his encounter with Bakura.
Mahaado leaned back in his chair and waited. Shaadi struggled only for a few moments to find the words. "You remember last year when I told you I was locked in that warehouse for most of the night?" Mahaado's reply was a silent nod. "I wasn't in there alone and it wasn't just because the door was too strong to kick down." Again, just silence. "Bakura turned up while I was there and we fought. We ended up getting Delight all over us." He didn't think he needed to explain more, not with how Mahaado's eyebrows rose even more and not in the usual expression of curiosity.
"I think I see." He wasn't smiling, though Shaadi couldn't say he would have been surprised if he had. Looking at it from the outside, it was like something from a bad porn movie: a cop and a crook dusted with the most powerful aphrodisiac known to mankind and spent most of the remaining night having sex with one another. "But what does that have to do with what you're doing now?"
"Bakura's acquired a videotape of what we did together that night." Shaadi bit those words out. Raw anger seethed through his stomach the more he considered that. "I don't know how; I checked to be sure if there was any the next day and I couldn't find anything." He'd looked before he'd even went in there too; there was no need for a cop to get busted for breaking and entering, or even accused of it. "But I'm certain he has it." He refused to flush for as much as a moment. "He showed me part of it."
Mahaado tapped one finger on his desk. "What's he doing?"
"Trying to get me to stop investigating the Ghouls." Shaadi refused also to acknowledge the sense of relief that wiped away the anger. Mahaado wasn't going to scream at him for being stupid enough to get involved with drugged sex. "He won't specify why, only that I'm 'going in too deep' and 'won't like what I find'." He snorted a little; as if he'd gotten into police work to like what he found.
The chief nodded. "Blackmail. Is there any other evidence?"
"Pictures. I burned the batch he sent me but he's threatened to send more to 'important people' if I don't do what he said. He said you in particular, but he wouldn't stop there." He sat down at Mahaado's gesture, somewhat more comfortable now, and went over everything he'd been doing in the last week, leaving out only exactly what he'd done while in the hotel room. Mahaado didn't yet need to know about the bugs. He passed it off only as investigating to see if any evidence from their last visit remained.
For several minutes Mahaado sat silent, save for the tapping of one finger on his desk. Finally he nodded. "Thanks for letting me know, Shaadi. If there's any other trouble, keep me informed."
That was about what he could've expected. This was going to be his problem to deal with for the most part. He got to his feet. "I doubt there will be." Once Bakura knew he wasn't going to be his 'friend', no matter what Bakura did, he'd have the common sense to back off. Even if he didn't, Shaadi wasn't going to listen to him. The Ghouls were going to go down.
His thoughts returned to his case as he left the chief's office. Finding Rishid would be the key; he was certain of that. The hotel was a good lead but not the only one. You wouldn't think that someone tattooed and bald could be so hard to find in this city. Of course, Domino City hosted some of the strangest people in the world, not the least of which was a mayor with three different colors of hair, all three natural. Rishid probably looked normal next to the average person.
Still, that did mean finding him wasn't going to be that easy. If things were easy, they wouldn't be worth doing. He'd have to ask a few more people if they could remember seeing him around and hope that they didn't suffer spontaneous amnesia. That happened with some of those connected to the Ghouls.
First things first, though. His bugs needed checking. Wish I'd gotten some video cameras. Those would be able to help even more. All he could gather with the bugs would be voices and he could just pray what they said would be enough to lend him some aid somehow. Names would be enough. He could write off how he found them by claiming he was 'protecting his sources'. Which he was, in all truth.
The bugs sent their signal back to the small set up he had in his car, which he parked in the lot across the street from the hotel. He settled the headset on and started the playback.
At first there was nothing but silence, and it took him a moment to realize why that shouldn't be. He turned it off? Well, with no one else there to hear it, Bakura probably didn't want to bother. He had his own live-action memories if he wanted to relive it anyway. Shaadi put that thought out of his head with all due speed. He hadn't eaten yet.
That voice. He didn't know it, yet it was oddly familiar all the same, as if he should have known it. He tried not to pay attention to the fact that tape played once again in the background.
The conversation made very little sense to him. Why would the stranger, whoever he was, not be there if Rishid was? Did he have something to do with the mysterious Ghoul leader?
He expected the stranger, who obviously got a kick out of needling Bakura, to turn the tape off once Bakura left. Instead, it kept on playing until the end. Shaadi kept himself as steeled as he could, listening for any kind of sound that might give away whoever this was. The tape paused for a few moments, then a hissing sound told Shaadi it was being rewound.
This isn't from a video rental place. You don't have to be kind. Shaadi wanted whoever it was to either confess to something useful or at least interesting or leave. He didn't want to waste his valuable listening time.
He was about to disconnect when he heard a door being opened. A quick, sharp gasp echoed through the bugs, and something clattered onto the floor.
"Master Malik?" He didn't recognize that voice or the name, only that this was not the one who had spoken to Bakura nor was it Bakura himself.
"Rishid…" At that, Shaadi froze where he sat. How in the world had Rishid even arrived there? Sure, he hadn't been stalking the place constantly, but couldn't there have been some sign?
No matter. He was there. Now that gave him another name to work with: Malik. Malik who? Was this the leader? He didn't sound like one. Shaadi turned his attention to the bug again.
"It happened again." Malik's voice trembled only for a few moments, then firmed up. "We have to speed things up."
"I know, master." Rishid comforted the other. "I'll see to it. You need to rest."
Shaadi almost laughed. I didn't think being put to bed like a child was one of the job requirements of leading the Ghouls. He kept himself as quiet as he could, cocking his head back so he could see the lights in the room. Seventh floor, on the end. He was just lucky it was on the same side of the street as this parking lot was. Otherwise, he would've had to haul his equipment over to where he could get better reception and a better look at that floor.
He could hear little else of use; only sounds of movement as the two people he now had identified as Rishid and Malik moved around. Water splashed in the bathroom for several minutes, then silence. Not even a 'good night'. Such a loving family.
When the silence continued for five minutes, he put the headset down and leaned back, closing his eyes. His stomach rumbled at him; he hadn't eaten nearly enough today. There hadn't been time, not with everything going on.
Fast food again. Not that he was surprised by this. His cooking ability involved whatever he could shove into an oven and set for a precise amount of time. If he tried to do anything else, it burned. Or worse.
He headed off to the nearest burger joint, his thoughts still wrapped far more around the case than anything else. Why did Bakura want him away from this? It made no sense, and yet it felt as if it tied into it somehow. why did that voice sound familiar, and yet he was certain he'd never met or heard Malik before in his life?
Now that I know his name, I can track him down. Or try to at least. Finding out his family name could bring a few answers, if nothing else. That feeling itched at him like an ingrown nail.
Tomorrow. He'd look into it tomorrow. Right now, not only was he going off the clock, but he needed to get some sleep or he'd never be able to make any proper headway.
Bakura lounged against the wall, putting together what he needed to do next. Shaadi was still doing exactly what Bakura had suspected he would do, working on the case and having told his chief everything. So he thinks that I can't use him now. That was enough to make him laugh all by itself. Really. As if he ever had just one plan to deal with anyone.
In all truth, he didn't need to do that much else. It all depended on how fast Shaadi himself worked. Find out that one little secret and you'll do everything I want you to. He couldn't help but smirk at that. Who could have?
As tempting as it was to just tell Shaadi, Bakura knew he wouldn't do it. Shaadi wouldn't believe a single word that he said, not even if Bakura said the sun rose in the east. The detective would be far more likely to look outside before he believed that.
He should figure it out soon. All the evidence waited to be uncovered. Then Bakura would sit back and let the police do his work for him.
He continued to laze where he was, waiting and watching. If he hadn't known that the people he waited for were coming, he might well have given up and went home. Then two shadows slipped through the darkness cast by the building, and he knew just where they were going. Idiot.
He waited until the two figures passed him, heading toward the apartment building. How stupid are they?His opinion on that was a simple 'extremely'. Malik really needed to get better people in the Ghouls if he expected to do anything constructive here in Domino.
Not that Bakura intended to let him do anything constructive here in Domino. Or anywhere else. This was his territory.
He slipped up behind the two, moving more like a breath of shadow than a human being, his favorite knife ready in his hands. Where the darkness was deepest he struck, burying the blade first between the shoulders of one of them, then wrenching it out to slam between the other's. Then just to be certain, he cut their throats. Bakura never failed when he chose to kill someone.
Once done, he cleaned off his knife and slipped it away. He liked killing with his knife, no matter how old-fashioned it made him or how it could mark him as the killer. I want Malik knowing I did this. He didn't care about the cops and once they knew who these two were, or had been, they wouldn't care either. Killing by the blade was so much more immediate than an impersonal bullet from across the street.
Some of the blood had splashed onto his hands, he noticed. He smiled as he brought them up to his lips and licked himself clean. Delicious.
Some treats were even better than sex.
"You killed my people." Malik stared at Bakura as the other lounged across from him. "I told you that I wanted him dead, you haven't killed him yet, and now you're killing my people."
"You're amazingly perceptive today." Bakura noticed. "I told you to leave him alone. I'll take care of the detective in my own time and my own way. He isn't necessary for what you want anyway."
Malik held his own knife in his hands and from the way he turned it, he was considering using it on Bakura. "I don't care. I want him dead. I want them all dead."
"I know." There was a faint hint of boredom in Bakura's tone. He'd heard this all before. All of them, especially the mayor, were responsible for everything that had ever gone wrong in Malik Ishtar's life, and he was going to make them pay. Bakura had grown tired of the spiel the first time he'd heard it. "But I know what I told you as well. You don't kill in Domino. Not without going through me first and I already told you that he's off limits."
"Why?" Malik watched the light flicker off the blade. From the look in his eyes, Bakura couldn't be certain whichof them it was there anymore. He mentally shrugged; it didn't matter either way.
"He's useful to me. That's all that's necessary." Bakura chose his words with care. Neither Malik needed to know everything. They needed to believe they did, though. "I have certain plans that will make having someone with a certain amount of loyalty to me-whether he is aware of it or not-invaluable to have in the police department."
Malik snorted. "You can't even blackmail him and have it stick. How is he 'loyal' to you?"
"You wouldn't understand." And it was vital that Malik not understand. "Trust that I know what I'm doing."
Malik slammed his knife down into the table in front of Bakura. "Domino City is going to belong to me and the Ghouls, Bakura. I don't care what you want." His eyes gleamed with shadows of insanity and Bakura saw the traces of his other personality in there. "Touch another of my people again and I'll not only have Shaadi Thammuz killed, I'll make certain you take the blame for it." His smile was a twisted ripple across his face. "You know I can do it."
He yanked the knife up and stalked out of the room. Bakura watched him go, then chuckled to himself. If I wasn't already going to kill him, I'd want to now.
Another day on the streets, searching for anything that could be a clue. Shaadi wondered sometimes if he'd made the right career choice. Talking to people wasn't something he favored, even when it got the results that he wanted. Right now, it wasn't even getting that much.
No one wants to talk about him. It was like pulling teeth to get people to so much as mention the Ghouls, much less Malik's name. Maybe I'd have better luck if I knew his family name. It could possibly be more well-known than his given one. It might even provide a link to one or more of the major crime families.
He hadn't heard from Bakura since that last encounter, and that was just the way Shaadi liked it as well. The thief could at least be useful, but since he didn't want to be, Shaadi wanted nothing else to do with him.
I think he's been around, though. Two bodies had been found less than a block away from Shaadi's own apartment building just a few days earlier, killed with one skillful thrust of a knife to the back each. No evidence existed beyond that, but Shaadi knew Bakura's style. The investigation, such as it could be with so little to go on, turned up only that the two victims were members of the Ghouls. Exactly what they were doing in the area Shaadi didn't know and so far as he knew, no one else did either.
Nevertheless, that wasn't making Shaadi's own case any easier to solve. On the brighter side, it wasn't any harder, either.
"You sure there's nothing you can tell me?" He stared down into the nervous eyes of one of his best informants. The man shifted a little, not wanting to meet Shaadi's eyes, and shook his head. "You'd better not be lying."
"I'm not!" The other shook his head fit to fall off his neck. "You don't get it, do you? The Ghouls are bad news! People who get involved with them can die. Especially if Ishtar gets mad at them."
Ishtar. That name clicked somewhere in the deep recesses of Shaadi's mind. "Ishtar?" He should know that name. He knew he should know it.
"Malik Ishtar! You should know, he's the head of the Ghouls!" His informant twitched even more, eyes darting back and forth as if expecting someone to rise up out of the shadows and kill him just for uttering the name. "Look, just let me go! If you want to get involved in them, it's your funeral, cop!"
Shaadi waved the other away, that name ringing around in his thoughts harder and harder. Ishtar. Where had he heard it before? He knew he had, though it hadn't been for quite some time. Years. Long before he'd come here and joined the force.
In the space of a heartbeat, it clicked in his mind, two pieces coming together. His heart first froze in his chest, then raced, a light sheen of sweat springing up all down his arms.
He didn't bother to think about anything else. He had to know and there was only one way to find out. If he was right…then it meant very little. But he had to know, nevertheless.
As soon as he arrived at the hotel, the receptionist smiled at him. "Can I help you, detective?"
"I need to see Malik Ishtar, room 799." He hoped the other was still there. Shaadi didn't want to think about what he might do if he weren't.
She glanced down at something out of his sight and nodded. "Yes, he's expecting you." Shaadi also didn't want to think about the touch of cold on his neck at those words.
As he headed upstairs, Shaadi worked to get himself under control. The more he thought about it, the more he remembered, and the less he liked the entire situation. By the time he stood outside the door, he was ready for this. He was Detective Thammuz of Domino City's finest. He was not going to let this get to him.
"Welcome." A bald tattooed man opened the door before he knocked on it. Shaadi mentally pegged him as Rishid without a second thought. Rishid gestured him inside and Shaadi entered without a sound.
Malik Ishtar relaxed on the couch, arms spread across the back. He tilted his head to look at Shaadi as the detective entered. "So much better than waiting for a family reunion, isn't this, cousin?"
"Second cousins. Or is it third?" Shaadi kept his voice under control. Just because he shared some portion of his blood with this man didn't make him a crook or Malik innocent.
Malik shrugged. "I don't think it matters. You're part of the clan, which means you're going to die." He said it in the same manner that some people might have said they were having steak for dinner. "You're not the only one, so don't think it's all about you."
"I didn't intend to." Shaadi replied. He hadn't moved far from the door, nor had Rishid. "What makes you think you're going to kill anyone?"
"Because it needs to happen." Malik's voice held the faintest of trembles in it. "As long as all of you are around, then he'll be around. I kill you, then he goes away."
"He?" Shaadi wondered just what kind of insanity ran around in Malik's head. It might be better for him not to ask. Let someone trained to handle that do it. "Who are you talking about?"
"Him!" Malik was on his feet, a knife in his hand that hadn't been there a moment earlier. "Him! I can hear him. He wants to take over, but I won't let him. We won't let him."
Rishid moved past Shaadi to lay a hand on Malik's shoulder. "Master. Calm down." Shaadi would not have expected those simple words to do anything, but Malik drew in a breath and quieted.
Shaadi knew damned well he couldn't arrest Malik just yet. He didn't have any actual evidence of any other crimes the other had done. He needed more than he had to make any charges stick.
But that didn't mean he was going to walk out of there empty-handed that night.
"I know that you're the leader of the Ghouls. I can't prove it yet, but we all know it's true." He stared down at the other without a hint of emotion in his eyes. Family ties meant nothing where this was concerned.
Malik still had his knife in his hand, though a predatory calm now replaced his earlier ravings. "So what if I am? That's another benefit getting rid of all of you will give me. My Ghouls will rule Domino City." He smiled, a smile that Shaadi knew held nothing of sanity in it. "You're just the first. I would've preferred to start with the mayor, but we don't always get what we want."
Attempted death threat on the mayor. Shaadi filed that away in his head. "You do know that attempted murder is a crime."
"I'm not going to attempt anything. I'm going to succeed." Shaadi almost didn't have time to react to it before Malik lunged at him, knife held low, the edge toward him. He dodged to the side at the last second, the blade just missing his skin, though his shirt wasn't so lucky. He went for his gun, only to have Rishid's powerful blow strike it out of his hand, sending it skittering across the floor. How the big man had made it over to him without him seeing him was beyond Shaadi.
Shaadi backed up a step or two, keeping his attention split between the two of them. Rishid didn't appear inclined to do anything more, not once he picked up Shaadi's gun and tucked it away. Apparently he wasn't going to get to be armed in this fight.
When he caught full sight of Malik again, he froze for a breath before moving out of range of the knife again. What happened to him? Somehow, his hair was different, wilder, spikier, and the look in his eyes glowed with sheer madness.
"He thinks killing you will get rid of me." His voice was even different, darker and huskier. Shaadi's eyes narrowed as he crouched, ready to defend himself. "The fool doesn't know what he's doing. But he never did." Whoever this was, his smirk held shadows of insanity that Malik had never yet dreamed of. "The more he kills, the stronger I grow."
"Who are you?" Shaadi shot a quick look at Rishid as he spoke, and wasn't surprised at all to see the other paling. From what he'd learned, Rishid was insanely devoted to Malik. Whatever was going on, this wasn't part of their plan.
"Don't you know me, cousin?" Dark laughter echoed around the room. "I am Malik. The true Malik Ishtar."
"You're only his shadow!" Rishid declared, circling around on the other side. "You're nothing more than that!"
"You wish that were true." The one who called himself Malik purred. "But I don't think what you wish matters anymore. Tonight I will finish him and you both. That's what you want, isn't it? To serve him forever, even if it costs you your life. And it will."
"No one's going to die tonight!" Shaadi grabbed hold of the table in front of the couch and threw it up on one end toward Malik. Malik's head snapped around just in time to throw up his hand to try to knock it aside, but that was all the distraction Shaadi needed. He plowed in, knocking the knife blade to one side, and tackled Malik to the floor. The other grunted, his head slamming harder against the floor than Shaadi had estimated he would, then slumped, eyes glazed over just before they closed.
For a moment, Shaadi remained still. Everything had happened in a few scant instances of time. Then solid footsteps came closer and he looked up to see Rishid standing over them. Is he going to try something?
Rishid said nothing at first. When he did, it wasn't what Shaadi expected. "He needs help. More than I can give him." Shaadi wasn't going to protest that. "Let him get that help, detective."
Shaadi pulled his handcuffs from his inner pocket. "I will." It would all depend on if Malik wanted to get that help, but he could at least try. Taking Malik in would also force the Ghouls to dry up, putting an end toward his other plan of 'taking over Domino City'. If Rishid would give evidence, then they would have all the proof they needed to keep Malik off the streets for a long time to come.
Now if I can just find something to put Bakura away for. Maybe he could talk Rishid into spilling his guts about Bakura as well. It could be worth trying.
Some time later, Shaadi walked out of the hotel, more tired than he'd thought he would've been for all that had happened. Malik was gone, so was Rishid, and he'd thoughtfully removed his own bugs from the room before his fellow officers had turned up. Some matters didn't need to be complicated.
His drive home was quiet and still; he treasured it. Tomorrow, when he faced the chief, he'd have to explain everything. Mostly everything. For now, he was going to be glad just to get home and get things all stitched together in his head. The last few hours had been more than a little shocking.
One shower and a cup of coffee later, he lounged on his couch, eyes half-closed. A second cup of coffee sat on the table near him, from which he took the occasional sip as he relaxed. Somehow, he wasn't surprised at all when a voice spoke from far too near him.
"Well done, detective. I couldn't have done it better myself." Bakura sat in Shaadi's other chair, amusement dripping off his every word. "Might I extend my thanks for getting rid of the Ghouls?"
"No." Shaadi tilted his head up and stared at the thief. "You knew. That was why you 'warned' me." He didn't wiggle his fingers at 'warned', but the thought was there.
"Of course I knew. But you wouldn't have believed me if I'd told you." Bakura shrugged as he got to his feet. The shadow of his dark coat fell on Shaadi and the table as he walked by. "I don't think we need to argue about this, detective. There's so much else we could argue about instead."
Shaadi sat up and snatched his cup from the table. He eyed it for a moment, not sure if he should trust it after Bakura passing so near it, then took a sip anyway. He doubted Bakura could've put poison in it in the few seconds it was there.
He glanced up to see a hint of a smile flashing across Bakura's features, one that sent heat flushing all through him. "What do you want?" He sipped again, wanting to finish the cup and get Bakura out of there before he went to bed.
"Just what I did. Congratulate you on a job well done. Getting rid of Malik and his Ghouls would've been quite annoying for me." He moved closer to Shaadi, who stayed where he was. "But you handled it just as I knew you would."
His hands came down on Shaadi's shoulders, pushing him back onto the couch. Warmth flushed through the detective at that as he stared into Bakura's eyes, seeing that amused smirk. "That coffee you just drank?" Bakura murmured, lowering himself closer to Shaadi. "There's a new version of Delight that works twice as well as the old formula. Especially when mixed into liquid." He smiled slowly as he brought his lips down on Shaadi's. "Guess what you just drank."
Shaadi knew that he should get out of there and go down to the hospital. Get it pumped out of his system. The thought of Bakura having more to blackmail him with only drifted past his mind, not getting any grip. He'd already told the chief. He could just confess again. He'd have something to charge Bakura with this time. It was for the greater good.
Ring! Shaadi glowered at the phone on his desk. Four days had passed since he'd arrested Malik. Someone had already posted bond for him, which annoyed Shaadi to no end. It wasn't Rishid, he knew that much. He'd have to keep an eye out for him. In the meantime, he wasn't much in the mood for anything. Especially not after what happened with Bakura. The thief was right; this batch of Delight was far more intense than the previous one. By the time he'd stopped thinking with his hormones, Bakura had vanished without a trace. I'll get him. Drugging a police officer on purpose was a serious crime.
The phone rang again and he snatched it up. Before he could give his name, he recognized Bakura's satisfied chuckle. "What do you want?"
"Remember what I said about that coffee a few days ago?" Shaadi said nothing. How could he forget? "I lied."
The End