Yay, another chapter of my translation of Cible! It's fun and I know I did a small goof-up in the last chapter, but the gist of it was essentially the same, so according to supersophieuh I'm still okay. Good *wipes sweat away*
AN: I don't own this chapter or this fic or the series which this fic concerns. I own nothing but the ability to post fanfiction and translate it, and maybe write something that'll be as popular as this is someday. (Seriously, everyone reads this even though I didn't write this! The popularity of Puppyshipping is frightening.)
4. Goodbyes
Saturday night at the Kaibas', everything was calm. It was relatively late when the CEO of KaibaCorp decided to retire to his bedroom. His brother had gone to bed a while beforehand and
he himself was preparing to have a good night's rest.
He entered the room and was beginning to undress when a noise from behind caught his attention. He whirled around to see-
"Wheeler?"
"Hey, Kaiba. Surprised to see me?"
Yes, Kaiba was surprised. He had thought he might have had a heart attack… if there was one thing he wasn't expecting, it was to discover Joey Wheeler in his sleeping quarters, never
mind that he hadn't heard him come in and he didn't have any idea how he could have entered his house when it was so well protected. But of course, he did all that he could to keep his
countenance. It was out of the question to let him realize how troubled he was.
"May I know what you're doing here, exactly? There's places far more suitable for you. A kennel, for example."
"I doubt you're too happy to see me, but try to hide your joy." Joey felt anger broiling in his veins, but now wasn't really the time to start a confrontation. "I came to talk to you about
something serious. You have to leave. As quickly as possible!"
"You've left your head in the microwave too long, Wheeler, because it's screwed with what's left of your brain! If you believe you can get rid of me that easily-"
"This isn't some sort of joke, Kaiba! You have to leave if you want to stay alive. Someone wants your dead body and they know how to get it!"
"Tons of people want me dead. That never stopped me from going to bed."
"But not all of them call up a killing agency to make their plans happen." As he spoke, Joey opened the small briefcase he had carried with him and took from it a bundle of documents that
he then threw on the bed, next to Kaiba. "See for yourself."
They had to do with the airport job. Normally once a mission was over, Joey would give the documents back to his employers so they could busy themselves with destroying them. But not
having quite done exactly that last Thursday, Joey had kept them.
Kaiba looked at the first page for a few moments – the one where his photo could be seen – before looking up with a smug smile.
"Sorry, no can do."
"…What?"
"Actually, I'm flattered you have to have gone through hell and back to get this to look legitimate. But you don't seriously believe that you were going to get through to me, do you?"
"Kaiba, this isn't a joke! They really want to kill you! They've already tried. I know what happened at the airport-"
"Yeah, like everyone else who reads a newspaper or watches the news."
Joey began to become very, very pissed.
"You fucking idiot! Do you actually think I'm the kind of guy to joke around with something like this? You think I don't have anything better to do?"
As Kaiba stayed silent, he decided it was time to get serious. He took a revolver from out of his jacket and pointed it directly at the CEO. He fired three times, hitting the screen of his alarm
clock, a glass of water, and the lighbulb in the lamp on his nightstand. Finally, he shifted his attention back to Kaiba, who was looking at him now with wide eyes.
"You believe me now?"
"You…you're…"
"Yeah."
"That was you, the other night, wasn't it?"
"Look in the folder, you'll find all the details. Confidential information that I never could have had access to if this were all some idiotic joke."
Kaiba flipped through the pages, then closed the folder again.
"I don't see what this changes. They want me dead? They can try, but I won't let this go and I'm not running away!"
"So you're ready to risk your brother's life?"
"What…"
"You don't know who you're dealing with, Kaiba. This is a powerful organization with a faultless reputation. Everybody that they've targeted is dead. Nobody has ever escaped them.
Never! And they won't hold back. As long as you're here, you risk not only your own life but your brother's, too."
Joey paused to give Kaiba time to digest what he had said before continuing.
"If you want to keep yourselves alive, there's only one thing you can do: get the fuck out. Take your brother, some cash, and get on the first plane out of the country. Don't use your real
name, and don't use it ever again. They have contacts all over the world and they're always up to date on everything. You have to disappear. You have to find yourself some false papers
and start your life completely over. I'm not worried about you, I know what you can handle."
Kaiba took several seconds to weigh the pros and cons. Yes, he loathed the idea of having to slink away from those bastards, but no, he had no right to keep Mokuba in any danger. And
apparently, this organization represented a realistic menace.
"Fine. We're leaving tonight."
His decision made, he went to his brother's room to announce their departure and to ask him to pack his bags. He didn't need to wake him; the gunshots had already done that. (Mokuba
had already imagined that thieves were in the middle of ransacking the house and was asking himself what to do when his brother arrived.) Then, Kaiba went back to his own bedroom and began to bury some
things into a small suitcase. He was almost done when Mokuba knocked on the door.
"Seto? I'm ready…"
"Good, wait for me downstairs, I'll be there shortly."
He put two or three more pieces of clothing in his suitcase and shut it. He then turned towards Joey, who hadn't moved from the room.
"Consider us gone. I guess it's now that I leave you."
"Wait a minute," Joey interrupted him. "I… I have a favor to ask of you…"
"And why should I say yes?"
"I know that it hasn't always been sunshine and daisies between us, but for the last time you see someone you can do something. It'll be the only thing I will have ever asked of you."
"Fine. What?"
"It's…. my sister. You know her, right?"
"Not really, but I'd recognize her if I saw her."
"I'd like you…." Joey didn't really know how to phrase it. "I'd like you to take her with you."
Kaiba froze, feeling a heavy weight begin to press down on his chest.
"…Why?"
"I… ya know, I wanna make sure that… she doesn't run into trouble…"
Dead silence.
"And…and you?" Kaiba managed.
"Are you worried about me or something now, Kaiba? There's no reason, really. There's a rule in the organization that prevents blaming another member without solid proof, and I want to
take some precautions. They won't ever be able to prove that it was me. Anyway, they don't have any reason to think I'd have anything to do with your disappearance. I'm a good
groupie, they trust me and need me. Too important to try and mess with."
"So… why your sister?"
"It's…. it's stupid, really, but even if I don't have anything to fear, I… I'd feel better once she's far away. She doesn't know anything about any of this and I don't want her to... I know it's
useless and I'm making too big a deal out of this but I can't help it. You have a brother… you have to understand a little…"
"…I guess, yeah. I'll go get her." Kaiba snapped his suitcase shut and made for the door.
"Thanks. One more thing…"
"What now? You want me to take your goldfish?"
"No, it's just there's something I want you to give something to Serenity," Joey said as he shuffled through his briefcase. He soon found and took two envelopes out of it. "Ah, here they
are! Here, I want you to give her this one. Give it to her as soon as you see her, so she knows what to do. For this second one, you can't tell her about it. Not right away. She can't read it
before you guys are on the plane. It's very important, promise me!"
"Fine, I promise," Kaiba growled as he took the envelopes and shoved them directly into his baggage before opening the door.
He took a step into the hallway, but suddenly stopped, seemingly hesitant.
"Wheeler, why are you doing all this?"
"I… I don't know."
Kaiba began towards the stairs to join his brother who was waiting for him below, leaving Joey alone in the large room.
"Bye, Kaiba!" he yelled before Kaiba could leave earshot.
"Bye, Joey."