As the city stilled in the early hours of morning, Yao finally stumbled into the alley, glancing up to see a small door at the end. He half-smiled in relief, leaning against a wall for support, then turned to fully lean against the cold brick, panting lightly. He had been out here all night, combing the city for those two. Over and under and around every street corner, he had been watching. Following. Waiting and wondering just what they were doing. And now, finally, he had made it. This was the place that tall one went all the time. They had to be running something here, something dangerous and illegal-and it was his job to stop it.

He congratulated himself silently, still smiling. He had to get a promotion for this. He had gone above and beyond the call of duty, tracking down international criminals-murderers, even. To see the look on Soon's face as he dragged in the perpetrators…it would all be worth it. Yao lost himself in daydreams, leaning his head back against the wall, and didn't even notice the man who ducked out of the door. Carrying a small folder, the shorter man looked to Yao in confusion, hesitating momentarily, then passed him with a shake of the head and made his way out into the street. Yao ignored him in turn-he wasn't really that important, after all. His prey would return here tomorrow, if all went well, and then he could catch them. Quick, easy, and simple.

He could already see the new badge on his chest.

O

Ivan shook his head as he led Alfred back along the streets, having to forcefully pull the other man along at multiple occasions. Far from the apparent apathy Alfred had adopted for their first few days in the city, he was now over-excite. Whether by the fact that they were leaving Vladivostok, or simply by the intrigue of it all, Ivan couldn't tell, but he was forced to tolerate the American like he would a large, persistent puppy.

"So, Ivan, you think this Honda guy can do what he said?"

"I would not have hired him otherwise."

"But if it all works out, we'll be fine!"

"That is rather the point, yes."

"We'll be doing something, instead of sitting here on our asses, getting closer to-"

"You are…" Ivan shook his head again, tugging him into the alley from before. "You never act this way. We are simply getting new identification."

"But we'll be free! Things can go back to normal-well, as normal as possible, and we'll go back to-"

"This is about the hunt? You are so obsessed with that that you must…" Ivan sighed, opening the door to shove Alfred inside. "Shut up and stop fidgeting. We will leave in five minutes if you are lucky."

True to his word, five minutes later the door opened to let Alfred and Ivan stumble out again, Alfred grinning.

"So. That was fun."

"You made yourself look like an idiot."

"You didn't pay him that much."

"I have said-it will be taken care of. Leave it alone."

"Both of you! Stay where you are!" Blocking their exit from the alley, Yao stood with his gun pointed at the two men, expression grim. "You are under arrest for the murder and desecration of numerous victims, and for fleeing the law!"

Ivan and Alfred glanced at each other. Alfred shrugged, then whispered. "Is this guy serious?"

"He looks serious. He has a gun."

"True." Raising his voice, Alfred slowly raised his hands, nodding to the policeman. "So. The boys in blue finally caught up with us, yeah?"

"It would seem so, pal." Ivan put an unnatural emphasis on the word, copying Alfred as the other man began to edge forward.

"Don't move! Any sign of resistance will be taken as an attempt to escape. Your crimes will go unpunished no longer."

Alfred chuckled, stopping short. "Get a load of this guy, Ivan! He's seriously been watching too many crime shows. Listen, buddy, life ain't as easy as you think it is. There's two of us. And one of you."

A flicker of fear crossed Yao's expression, and he moved to aim at Alfred. "But I have the gun. Both of you are unarmed."

"We have arms. I do not see your point." Ivan shrugged, making Yao turn sharply to face him again.

"No, I mean-I could kill you!"

"And we could kill you."

"You are the criminals, the scum of the earth, and I have been sent to hunt you down-"

"Sent? Scum? Alfred was right, you watch too much television. We are no more scum than you are. Besides, if you kill us in cold blood then you are no better than we, in your strange sense of morality. Tell me, policeman-do you believe in morals?" With his hands still in the air, Ivan studied the officer, tilting his head in an expression of innocence.

"I-of course I do, everyone believes in morals. Except for people like you."

"People like us? What are people like us?"

"Murderers! Killers, criminals, sociopaths! You endanger all of us!"

"Do we, now?"

"Yes! And it's my job to wipe you out."

"Not today, man." Suddenly, having edged around Yao while Ivan spoke, Alfred wrapped his arm around the shorter man's neck, making him choke. A quick jab with his knee trapped Yao in his grasp, and Alfred grinned as he pried the gun from the policeman's hand. "For an officer of the law, you are actually pretty shit at your job."

"But-"

"It was easy! Pathetically easy. You just kept talking…" Alfred shook his head, glancing down the man's trembling body. "Tell me, mister-do you want to live?"

"What? Yes, I want to live, please don't-"

"Ivan, the guy wants to live. But he was just threatening us with a gun. What should we do?"

Ivan raised one eyebrow, approaching the pair. "That answer is simple."

"You think?"

"You still have the gun."

"No, please-I want to live! I won't tell anyone about you, I swear, no one will know you're even here, or in Russia, no one has to know-"

"Wait. Alfred." Ivan held up a hand, studying the smaller man. "What do they know now?"

"Now? They know you're gone, and they know you were Russian-I put the pieces together, and I was already here, so-"

"You speak English."

"W-Well, yes, we have to for the job-I just assumed the both of you would know it-"

"Good assumption. Does anyone know you are here?"

The man hesitated, but a movement from Alfred made him wince before exhaling shakily. "Y-Yes. The unit knows."

"You do not lie well." Straightening, Ivan looked to his hand, then caught Yao off guard with a quick right hook. "Do they know?"

"No! I went independent for this job-I didn't tell anyone." Yao let his head sag, relaxing as he finally stopped struggling. Alfred shifted to keep a hold on him, then glanced to his hand.

"Can I kill him now?"

"Go ahead."

At their words, Yao suddenly glanced up again, eyes wide, but before he could protest the gun was pressed against his temple.

"Last words, little guy?"

"Please don't, please don't do this, you can't-"

The sharp sound of the bang resounded around the alley.

A few moments later, Ivan and Alfred stepped back onto the main street, Alfred angrily scrubbing at a stain in his jacket. "How did you say you got this stuff out?"

"Hydrogen peroxide."

"I see why we get 'em while they're sleeping, now."

"Exactly. Far too much noise otherwise."

From behind them, Kiku ran up, tapping Ivan's shoulder. "You just dumped a-" His voice lowered, and he pulled Ivan and Alfred aside. "body on my doorstep? What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"

"You have a friendly neighborhood, Kiku. You should have your methods." Ivan shrugged, gesturing around them. "He could not have picked a better place to corner us."

Kiku scowled, but shook his head, releasing Ivan. "Just don't forget to drop off what I gave you. You need to-"

"I know. I am not one to forget, malyutka."

"Again with this cloak-and-dagger stuff! Thanks, Kiku, for the help, but we're booking it out of here. It's just one body, you can handle it-" He ignored the shorter man's pointed glare, shrugging. "And we're on our way. C'mon, Ivan, let's go." Pulling at Ivan's sleeve, Alfred set off along the streets again, Ivan glancing back with a shrug as he bade farewell to Kiku.

As they walked, Alfred slowly wrapped his arm around Ivan's, humming faintly. "You think he was telling the truth?"

"At the end? Yes. No one else knows we even left the country."

"Yet."

"Of course. Yet. As he said, they will put the pieces together. But he most likely used our passports as a method of tracking us down. With new ones, we are safe."

"Mine's American, right?"

"Of course. It would be hard to get you through otherwise." Ivan sighed, glancing up at the dusky, clouded sky, hazy with smog. "I switched back to the Russian version. There is little difference, but…" He finished with a shrug. Alfred nodded in acceptance, quieting, then finally let go of Ivan as they returned to the hotel. Ivan moved to begin packing their things, scanning the small room, but Alfred's hand in his hair made him pause.

"Alfred?"

"Ivan…." Alfred smiled slowly, leaning against the Russian. "We don't have to go right now."

"Yes we do. You were the one who wanted to leave-"

"Yeah, but-we got a few minutes." Moving to trail a finger along Ivan's jaw, Alfred shifted to face him. "C'mon, Ivan."

Ivan glanced at him for a long moment, slowly processing, then shook his head in disbelief. "Honestly. You have no brain."

"Don't say that!"

"Fine. But I refuse."

"Ivan!" Alfred whined, leaning back against the dresser. "Please!" Ivan simply sighed, making Alfred pout. "Fine, I'll say it. I'm horny. Is it so much just to ask you to fuck me?"

"This is ridiculous. This is because of the policeman, isn't it? That small taste of blood was enough to get you started?"

"You know how it is. For me, at least. And it's been so long, Ivan, I'm begging you here-"

"No."

"But-"

"Alfred, if you turn all our hunts into your petty sexual…fetishes, I-" Ivan shook his head, folding his arms. "I thought it was more than that! You enjoyed the kill."

"I do, but I also like the sex afterward. C'mon, Ivan, it's not that hard-"

"Yes it is." Eyeing the shorter man, Ivan resisted the urge to smile. "Unless you managed to smuggle a container larger than three ounces containing gel on that airplane, both of us are stuck."

Alfred paused, disgruntled. "But there's-"

"This hotel does not carry shampoo, lotion, or liquid soap. Besides, I would not use them."

"You just do this to aggravate me, don't you."

"It makes you go all sputtery and pathetic, malyutka." Ivan grinned, patting Alfred on the head, then moved to begin packing their clothes again. Alfred watched him for a moment, annoyed by his lack of options, then moved to collect their items from the other room, resigning himself to yet another few days of travelling. And sitting.

He really hated sitting.