Notes: For any newcomers, Marik and Mokuba are very close friends in my verse. I once read a story where they became friends, and I loved it so much that the concept has been a staple of my works ever since.

Chapter Two

No matter how the Big Four desperately scoured the city, there was no trace of Lector. The police had an all-points bulletin out for Martin Cove, but no one had reported seeing him yet. Hours later, in nearly complete despair, the friends regrouped and returned to Gansley's house. It was an unspoken agreement that they would all stay together that night. None of them wanted to be alone, and if there was any news, it would come to Gansley's house.

All of them were stunned when they arrived and found Seto Kaiba pacing the large porch in agitation. "What on Earth . . . ?" Gansley muttered. He could hardly believe Seto would be that upset after hearing of Lector's abduction. Mokuba certainly would be, but he wasn't there. Actually, that was strange. . . .

Seto looked up with a jerk as Gansley exited the vehicle. "What's going on?!" he demanded. "What's this about Martin Cove kidnapping Lector?!"

"He wants revenge on me for firing him," Gansley said, his voice clipped and cold. "Did the press get hold of the other unique aspect of this case?"

"The severed arm? Oh yeah, you bet they did!" Seto's eyes flashed. "And Martin Cove got hold of Mokuba!"

"What?!" Gansley stared at him.

"How did that happen?!" Crump exclaimed.

". . . It's not that hard to kidnap a kid," Nesbitt grunted. "Especially a small one like that."

Seto nodded. "He didn't come home from school today. Then I got a note at the office. Cove was crowing about kidnapping Mokuba!"

"Why would he take Mokuba?" Johnson frowned.

"Because Cove came to me after Gansley fired him," Seto replied. "I upheld Gansley's decision. Therefore, he decided I deserved to be punished too!"

Johnson looked ill. "Has he sent you any . . ."

"No," Seto snarled, "but obviously he's capable of it! And even if he doesn't do that to Mokuba, can you imagine how traumatized Mokuba is going to be if that slime is doing it to Lector and Mokuba has to watch?!" He stormed towards his limousine. "I'm sparing no expense looking for Cove."

"Neither are we," Gansley growled. "We're going to find him, and his captives."

"Yeah. . . . But will it be in time?" Crump couldn't help worrying.

No one wanted to answer him.

xxxx

When Seto left Gansley's house, he immediately went to the Ishtars'. Marik would absolutely want to know, and to be involved in any searching, and Seto wanted all the help he could get. He didn't want to leave Mokuba trapped with Martin Cove for one moment longer than was necessary.

It was Rishid who answered the door when Seto banged on it. "Kaiba," he greeted in surprise. "What's happening?"

"Is Marik here?" Seto demanded.

Marik appeared from behind Rishid. "What's wrong?" he gasped.

Seto stepped past Rishid into the foyer. "Mokuba's been kidnapped," he said grimly.

Marik went stiff. "Who did it?!"

"Have you seen the news tonight?" Seto asked.

"Yes," Ishizu said grimly as she walked over to the gathering. "We know about poor Lector being taken . . . and about what that madman is doing to his poor friends." She sighed sadly. "At times like this, I wish I still had my Millennium Item. I might have been able to see something that could help find him."

Marik looked to Ishizu, then back to Seto with a jerk. "Did the same person take Mokuba?!"

"Yes, because he wanted to punish me too," Seto said darkly. "The Big Five can't find him. I can't find him. Until we can turn up some more information about the man, all that's left is to tear this city apart looking for them."

"We'll do it," Marik promised. "I'll leave right now." He ran to the door, his hand shaking as he gripped the knob. The thought of Mokuba in the grasp of a sick mind like the person who had taken Lector was too horrible to bear. He could only imagine what Seto was thinking.

"We'll all help," Ishizu said.

Rishid nodded. "We'll spread out and search everywhere."

"Thank you." Seto turned to leave as well.

"Kaiba?" Ishizu called after him. "Are you going to tell Téa and the others about this?"

Seto froze. "Why Téa, specifically?" he retorted.

"She and Mokuba are good friends," Ishizu calmly replied. "And she considers you a friend also."

Seto clenched a fist. "You know, I used to think that there couldn't be anything more dangerous than magical enemies. They have so many powers that are hard to understand or fight against. But now that I've seen what Cove is capable of . . . it's a whole different ball game. He doesn't use magic, but he has something just as dangerous, if not worse—a demented outlook and a thirst for blood. I don't want Téa and Yugi and all of them mixed up with someone like that. Only . . . maybe the Pharaoh's and Yami Bakura's magic can be some kind of a help in saving Mokuba . . . and Lector too, if it's possible. So yes, I guess I'll have to contact them."

"They will want to know," Ishizu said. "And to help."

Seto knew she was right. He took out his phone as he hurried out the door.

xxxx

None of the Big Four felt like eating. But, knowing they had to keep their strength up in order to properly search, they struggled through a meal.

Gansley excused himself as quickly as possible. The others, worried for him, headed down the hall once they were done eating. While Johnson sometimes retreated to a balcony to be alone, Gansley would barricade himself in his study.

"Gansley?" Crump called, knocking on the door.

"It's not locked," Gansley grunted.

Crump pushed it open. Gansley had swung the chair behind his desk to the side and was staring off at the wall without seeing it.

"Gansley," Johnson started to say but couldn't continue. He couldn't promise they would find Lector. He wasn't even sure he wanted to find Lector. Part of him was tempted to pray Lector was dead, if he truly was being mutilated.

"Do you remember when we met him, Johnson?" Gansley still wasn't facing him.

"Of course I do." Johnson took off his glasses. "Gozaburo had heard about that bizarre court case that I won for you and he wanted the both of us to join KaibaCorp. Lector greeted us at the door with a bow and said he hoped we would seriously consider the offer . . . that there'd never be another like it. . . ." His voice caught in his throat. "Of course, there never could have been. No other offer would have brought us together with him . . . and Nesbitt and Crump as well. . . . They were already working there."

"Yeah, Lector was the first of us there," Crump said. "For me and Nesbitt both, he was there to greet us when we joined."

"I immediately knew I wasn't going to get along with him," Nesbitt said gruffly. He shook his head. "But he got under my skin anyway. . . ." He turned away. "He's my best friend. . . ." His voice cracked.

"You mean the world to him too," Gansley said.

"We're gonna get him back!" Crump insisted.

"In what condition?" Johnson said sadly.

"We won't know that until we find him!" Crump boomed.

Nesbitt gripped his arms. The last thing he wanted was for all of them to fight. He turned back and uncharacteristically said, "What was that bizarre case about again?"

Everyone looked to him in stunned surprise. It was more like Crump to try to diffuse a tense situation, as long as he wasn't already fully into it himself. When he was, Gansley or Johnson would try to calm it. Or Lector. . . . Nesbitt was usually a large part of the problem, not the solution.

Gansley was in no mood to talk about the case, either. He just looked away, back to the wall.

Johnson folded his arms and looked to Nesbitt. "Gansley had fired an immature fool who repeatedly sat on the Xerox machine and Xeroxed his backside, minus his pants. Then he posted the pictures all over the building. When Gansley finally caught him, he said, 'Since you find your posterior so fascinating to look at, I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding a new job . . . as a male stripper,' and gave him his walking papers. He decided to turn around and sue Gansley for firing him. I had just joined Gansley's company and agreed to represent him." He smirked. "My skillful planning of our case led us to victory, especially the medical experts I brought in to testify to how unsanitary that fool's actions were. I didn't even have to resort to anything underhanded on that occasion. Gozaburo liked how no-nonsense Gansley was and how legally skillful I was and insisted on having us both join KaibaCorp."

Crump laughed. "I can't believe that jerk just kept on doing that with the Xerox machine until he was caught! And then being so stupid as to feel like he'd been wronged and had to sue!"

"People have sued with flimsier cases than that, and unfortunately, they've won," Johnson said. "I've represented some of them." He sobered. "But I'm glad that in this case I was on the opposite side. I met Gansley and then we met the rest of our board of directors."

Suddenly Gansley slammed his hand on the desk, startling everyone. "Lector's missing and you're all laughing about a fool who was acting like his job was nothing more than a junior high school prank!"

Crump sobered. "Hey, I didn't mean any disrespect to Lector or this mess," he said. "I just . . . wanted to think about something else, since there's nothing we can do. . . ."

Ignoring him, Gansley barreled on. "I've fired so many people through the years, usually because their work wasn't good enough or because they were acting like fools. Only once did I have to fire someone for being irrationally violent, and now that's the case that's come back to haunt all of us!" He propped himself up on an elbow as he covered his face with his hand. "He's taken Lector. We never will get him back. . . ."

The others looked to each other in dismay.

"Of course we'll get him back," Crump said at last. He went to stand behind Gansley's chair, gripping the top of it with both hands. "We really will! And he'll be alive, and okay . . ."

"And I will kill Martin Cove with my bare hands," Gansley snarled.

No one offered a protest.

"And hey, Mokuba's with him," Crump continued after a moment. "Kaiba doesn't have anything to worry about."

"But we do, and Lector does," Nesbitt growled. "Having to worry about the boy's fate is going to put a lot of stress on him."

"I just hope . . ." Johnson looked away. ". . . That he's alive to be worried."

"Everyone hopes that," Nesbitt said, but he wouldn't face anyone either. "No matter how much any of us hope, none of us really believe Lector is still alive."

"Hey, speak for yourself!" Crump snapped.

". . . If he's being tortured so much, I can't say I wouldn't wish he was dead so he wouldn't have to suffer," Johnson rasped. "I suppose . . . until we hear back from the lab . . . there's always a chance. . . ."

"Of course there is!" Crump insisted. "And I'm gonna cling to that chance!"

Gansley didn't speak. He knew Martin Cove better than the rest of them. He had thought he knew what the man was capable of. Now, he was terrified of what he didn't know.

xxxx

At the Game Shop, Yugi and some of the others were gathered in the living room, watching the late news with Solomon. When the story about Lector's kidnapping came on, they all stared in disbelieving horror.

"Oh my goodness," Solomon exclaimed.

"No," Yugi gasped.

"What kind of sick jerk does something like that?!" Joey boomed.

"And what if that arm is really . . ." Téa looked ill. "Oh my gosh. . . ."

Tristan scowled. "I hope they catch him real soon."

"Someone like that won't be caught unless he wants to be," Yami Bakura grunted. "Or unless someone smarter than he is can pick up his trail."

Bakura shuddered and hugged Oreo the cat, who was on his lap. "His poor friends. . . . I can't imagine how devastated they must be. . . . Although I do have some idea. . . ." A cloud passed through his eyes at the memory of those terrible days when Yami Marik had abducted Yami Bakura and tortured him while Bakura desperately searched for his dear friend.

Atem shook his head. "We should really help look."

"We should!" Yugi leaped up. "I'm going to call them right now."

But Seto's call came in before he could. He pressed the button on his phone, but before he could speak, Seto barreled right in. "Yugi, Mokuba's been kidnapped."

"What?!" Yugi cried. "We're just hearing about Lector being kidnapped on the news!"

"It's the same nutcase," Seto said. "I can't find his trail, so all I can do right now is comb the town."

"We'll help!" Yugi declared. "We were just about to volunteer to look for Lector. We'll look for them both!"

Téa, who was standing close enough to hear, was in horror. "Mokuba's gone too?! And the same creep has him?!"

"Okay, that's it!" Joey leaped to his feet. "We're going and looking everywhere! We can't give that crumb the chance to do to Mokuba what he might be doing to Lector!" His eyes darkened. "But I am not telling Serenity about this."

"She might hear about it anyway," Atem said. "I'm sure she'll know by tomorrow."

"Yeah, and tonight she's on a date with Duke," Joey scowled. "I'll just have to hope he doesn't turn on the radio."

"Listening to news on a date?" Téa made a face. "How unromantic."

"It's definitely not Duke's style," Tristan had to agree, although he was still smarting about the date.

"We'll spread out all over town and look, Kaiba," Yugi promised Seto. "Don't worry; we're going to find them!"

"We'd better," Seto growled.

xxxx

Cove didn't return to taunt either of his prisoners that night, much to their relief, but they were sure he was nearby, perhaps in the town hotel. And as the night dragged on, the cursed nature of Cooperstown became more apparent. Sometimes it sounded like music or the school bell ringing. Once or twice it sounded like laughter.

With only the one bed in the cell, it was difficult to manage to settle down to sleep. Lector was a big man and took up most of the bed, but Mokuba didn't want him to sleep on the floor as he had offered, so they were trying their best to share the space. Lector was laying on his side and had draped what was left of his purple trenchcoat over them both as a makeshift quilt. When Mokuba was suddenly awakened by a scream outside, he had to admit he was glad someone he trusted was right next to him.

The scream had startled Lector awake as well. "Are you alright, Mokuba?" he demanded.

"Yeah," Mokuba quavered. "That wasn't me. . . ."

"I was afraid of as much," Lector sighed. "When the hour gets late, it seems that screams fill the air. Then everything gets quiet, but the lights all stay on."

"I hate this place," Mokuba whispered.

Lector kept his arm around Mokuba. "I'll make sure nothing happens to you," he promised.

"Most visitors do get out okay, I guess so they can go back and tell about the town really being cursed," Mokuba said quietly, "but I've heard about horrible things happening to visitors sometimes. . . ." He looked towards the rest of the cell and suddenly screamed for real.

Lector started. As he looked over, the silhouette of a man hanging from the ceiling caught his gaze. There was no actual body, only a shadow—one that swung slowly back and forth from the weight.

"Don't look at it, Mokuba," he said. "It's only a phantom."

"But I bet it was real sometime." Mokuba tightly shut his eyes and turned away, burrowing against Lector. "Probably some crook who didn't wanna be a public showcase, so he hanged himself before it could happen outside, with everybody watching."

Lector sighed sadly to himself. Mokuba was young and innocent, but he had seen so much that he shouldn't have, and these comments were a reflection of his understanding of the adult world and the sadistic cruelty of people. He felt badly again for any part he had played in introducing Mokuba to such things.

After a moment he became aware that the boy was whispering under his breath, not talking to him or himself, but desperately praying that they would be kept safe and their loved ones would find them.

It wasn't a bad idea. Surely God would protect this child, even if Lector wasn't deserving of help. But Lector wanted to be kept safe as well. It would traumatize Mokuba if anything happened to him, and he couldn't stand to think of how his friends would suffer, after what had happened in New Orleans some weeks back.

He prayed for their safety and rescue as well, holding Mokuba close. Somehow he doubted either of them would sleep any more tonight.

xxxx

The Big Four had little choice but to attempt sleep that night. But none of them slept well; even Nesbitt's attempt at taking sleeping pills couldn't mask his agony this time. By the time it was morning, they all felt like ragged zombies as they stumbled downstairs.

"I guess it's ridiculous to ask if anybody slept well," Crump mumbled. "It's obvious nobody did."

"That's a total understatement," Nesbitt grunted, rubbing his eyes.

When the doorbell rang, they all looked up with a collective jerk. Was it the police? Although if it was, it was unlikely it was good news.

This time they waited for the maid to answer the door. But when she came away from the door holding a box just like yesterday's, their hearts sank in horror.

"What is this?!" Gansley boomed.

"I . . . I don't know, Sir," the maid stammered. From her eyes, she was afraid of the same thing they were. "Should I open it?"

"I'll open it." Gansley took it and lifted the flaps. He dropped it to the floor when the severed foot came into view.

"Again?!" Johnson screamed. "So soon?!"

"What is he gonna do, keep sending pieces every few hours?!" Crump cried.

Gansley stood staring at it, trembling with rage. Then he turned, grabbing for the telephone.

"What are you doing?" Johnson asked.

"I'm calling the police," Gansley snarled. "And then I'm going to the security room."

"It probably won't be any different than yesterday," Johnson said weakly. "We only saw Cove or someone working for him leaving the box and slipping off the property. We don't know where he went from there; none of the neighbors paid any attention. . . ."

"Well, maybe this time there'll be some kind of clue!" Gansley retorted. "We have to find him! We can't let this keep going on! . . . Hello?! This is Charles Gansley. There's just been a second delivery from Martin Cove."

Johnson slumped against the door at those words, his hands badly trembling. Crump laid a hand on his shoulder, his eyes filled with anguish.

xxxx

Lector was surprised when he opened his eyes and started to realize he had been asleep. He had hardly thought he would be able to fall asleep with all the sounds and sights of the cursed town afoot. He remembered Mokuba finally dozing; he himself had apparently fallen asleep sometime after that.

The boy stirred. "Lector . . . ?"

"I'm here," Lector told him. "It's morning."

"Mmm. . . ." Mokuba pushed himself up, gently brushing the trenchcoat off of him. "Weird things happen here in the daytime too. . . ." He looked around with nervousness, but the shadow hanging in the cell was gone.

"Unfortunately, yes," Lector agreed.

Mokuba looked around uncertainly. "Cove isn't back yet. . . . Maybe we can try figuring out how to get out of here now that it's light."

Lector sat up and looked around. "I'm sure he's removed anything we could use to get out of here."

"Even everything in our pockets?" Mokuba stood and dug his hands into his pockets. "Aww, man, he really did!"

Lector scowled as he checked his own pockets. "I wonder if he's going to deliver the contents of our pockets to our loved ones as further proof that he has us captive."

Mokuba blinked in surprise. "I guess he might. . . ." He crossed his arms with a scowl of his own. "Too bad we don't have a lot of hidden gadgets and gizmos like that guy on The Wild Wild West."

Lector quirked an eyebrow. "You still watch that?"

"I remember the reruns," Mokuba said. "James West was cool." He grinned. "He reminded me of Seto, pulling out all this awesome stuff to save the day."

"Of course, he wouldn't have had all that 'awesome stuff' if Artemus Gordon hadn't invented it," Lector remarked.

"That's true. Artemus inventing stuff was like Seto too," Mokuba said.

"You probably saw your brother in every exciting character, didn't you," Lector mused.

"Well . . . a lot of them, yeah," Mokuba said.

"I used to think you were just blindly idolizing someone who didn't deserve it," Lector said, "but I've seen by now that you have a knack for seeing the good in people, even very unlikable sorts."

Mokuba looked back at him. From his tone of voice, he didn't mean Seto so much as he meant himself. "You're not unlikable," he protested. "And neither is Seto. . . . Hey, what do you think about Seto by now?"

"I can't say I appreciate every decision he makes; I don't by far," Lector said. "I still don't agree with some of the things he's done. But I can see he loves you, Mokuba, and I'm glad of that."

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah . . . he sure does," he said softly. He paused. "Lector . . . do you believe in God?"

Lector looked at him in surprise. "Yes," he said slowly, "I suppose I do."

"Do you think God will help us get out of here?"

"Well, they say God helps those who help themselves," Lector said, "so if we do all that we can to get out of here, He'll make up the difference if He sees fit to help us." He looked around the cell. "Unfortunately, I still doubt that we can do anything."

"How right you are," came Cove's giggling voice as he entered the room.

Lector stood, getting in front of Mokuba to protect him. "You can't keep us here forever," he insisted.

"I can give it my best shot," Cove grinned. "All of your loved ones are suffering so much because of what I've done."

Mokuba came out from behind Lector. "You creep! You'll be sorry when Seto catches up to you! And Lector's friends too! You've bit off more than you can chew!"

Cove just laughed. "You really call him 'Lector'? I'm surprised he doesn't scold you for being so informal, even, shall we say, disrespectful?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "That's none of your business." It was strange, though, how he never had thought anything of it. Bakura preferred being called by his last name. And the Big Five all called each other by their last names, and they couldn't be closer. Gozaburo had always done likewise, and Lector had never corrected the Kaibas when they called him by his last name and didn't even add "Mister," so it was how Mokuba thought of him despite being a child while Lector was an adult.

"Hmm, you are disrespectful, aren't you," Cove remarked.

"I don't owe you any respect," Mokuba spat.

"Are you just here to gloat?" Lector said coldly.

"No, actually," Cove said. "I'm going to do more than that. But I can't have you both in the same cell when I do it."

Mokuba stiffened. "Just leave us alone!" he cried.

"If he opens the door, be ready to run," Lector said low to him.

Cove sneered. He walked over, unlocking the door in one swift motion.

Immediately Lector knocked him down. "Run, Mokuba!" he ordered.

Mokuba tore out of the cell, dashing towards the open door.

A second man grabbed him up just as he reached it.

"Hey!" Mokuba screamed, desperately struggling against him. "Put me down, you big creep!"

His attention was swiftly diverted as Lector collapsed to the floor. Cove cackled, leaping to his feet and grabbing Lector's arms to drag him back into the cell.

"What did you do?!" Mokuba yelled.

"I stuck him with this drug." Cove held up his hand. Between his fingers he held a flat disc with a tiny pin sticking out of it. "I never leave home without one."

The second man threw Mokuba into the adjoining cell and locked the door. "Do you still want me here?" He sounded nervous.

"Yes," Cove insisted. "I might need some brute strength if Mr. Lector proves unruly." He sneered.

Mokuba ran to the bars at the front of the cell and gripped them in desperation. "What are you going to do?!" he shrieked.

"Mr. Lector's a big man. Only now he'll find out that he isn't so big after all," Cove mocked.

Lector stirred. The drug had only rendered him semi-conscious, but he wasn't awake enough to really process what was going on until he felt the manacles snap around his wrists and ankles. "What are you doing?" he mumbled. "Let me go. . . ."

Cove responded by striking him hard in the ribs. "Not until I've properly cut you down to size."

"Lector!" Mokuba screamed. He couldn't see what was happening in the other cell, but he could hear plenty. Lector desperately struggled and tried to kick out, but he was held down too tightly. Over and over, Cove struck and kicked him and then whispered terrible things about what his friends were going through. Lector fought not to cry out in pain when he was being beaten, but when he was tortured with tales of his loved ones' suffering, he screamed in outrage and strained in desperation against the bonds. Mokuba yelled and rattled the bars and begged for Cove to stop, all to no avail. He finally sank to his knees, sobbing, the sound of the beating ringing through his ears.

"Please make it stop," he whispered in a shaky prayer. "Please don't let him keep hurting Lector. . . ."

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when it finally stopped. Cove undid the manacles and stepped out of the cell, sneering in satisfaction. As he crossed to the other cell, he looked down at Mokuba with the same cruel expression. "Well, if I open this door now, will you still try to run for it?" he asked in what was clearly a mocking tone.

Mokuba glowered. Lector would probably want him to, but he couldn't, not when Lector was lying who knew how badly hurt in the next cell. "No," he spat. "Just let me go back to him."

"I thought you might feel that way, you little bleeding heart." Cove unlocked the door and stepped back.

Mokuba gave him a wary look as he slipped out. The second man, he noted, was long gone in spite of Cove's instructions. Right now, however, he didn't care. He hurried into the other cell and ground to a halt, gasping in horror at the sight of Lector lying lifeless on the bed. "No! Lector . . . !" He ran over, his hand shaking as he checked for a pulse. To his relief, it was there.

"Have fun," Cove jeered, slamming the door shut as he walked out.

Tears filled Mokuba's eyes. "Lector . . . please wake up. . . ." He rocked back, surveying the damage. Lector didn't seem to be bleeding anywhere, and nothing looked broken, but clearly he was badly hurt or he wouldn't be unconscious. Mokuba cried, gently hugging Lector around the neck as he prayed for his friend to wake up.