It was beautiful to watch each ragged breath. The way his chest heaved, up and down, up and down. Perhaps there was something gratifying in knowing he could end it at any moment. The small noises his newest bird made.

Ivan hovered over the man. Placed ear to chest and counted every beat. The thump-thump sound was contagious. He could feel his heart palpitate just as quickly. No way would he snuff his hot breath.

Suddenly, his bird stirred. His fingers painfully twitched, eyes fluttered open. Ivan gradually lifted his head off of Alfred's chest. Fingers clasped the man's throat. A horrified expression started to animate itself across his delicate features. Ivan didn't like the look he was being given. Although fear was a great way to condition his pet, he wanted a more warm welcome. Firmly, he pressed his fingers against the man's peach colored skin.

"Confused?" Ivan playfully asked. His smile dotted those venomous eyes. Alfred couldn't speak and carefully nodded. Ivan gently let go of the man's throat. He waited for the frantic response he was used too. Instead, Alfred peered at him vacantly. This was certainly curious. It wasn't until Alfred began to realize he couldn't move at all did the fear begin to take over. Without his glasses, the dark was nothing more but a clever disguise for the villain. He could merely see two purple eyes that gleamed something sinister.

Then it hit him.

"What did you do to Kiku?!" Alfred demanded. His captor didn't appear to like this tone very much. The two purple eyes rose above Alfred. They consumed him violently in their ugly gaze. Without hesitation, Ivan kicked Alfred in the ribs. The man doubled over in pain, remembering the blows he was dealt earlier.

"Dead," Ivan hissed.

Alfred shook his head furiously. "No, no no! You didn't-"

"Oh, I did." He grinned. Alfred laid still for a moment. But before the man could react to the horrible news, Ivan grabbed him by the hair and pushed him against the wall. "I didn't ask you to speak comrade."

Alfred was silent. In a blur, everything he knew that mattered was gone. Kiku was dead. The thought bubbled and burned inside his head. He held his breath, the sobs slowly leaking from his mouth. Ivan slammed him against the wall.

"Did I say you could speak?" He asked cruelly. Alfred lifted his pathetic face. The tears mixing with the blood.

"Fuck you! Let go of me!" The man struggled against his captor. This wasn't a smart move, for it only made Ivan angrier. He threw Alfred on the mattress on the floor. Alfred curled up in a ball as the searing pain started to spread throughout his chest. Ivan stepped off the mattress and walked into a dark corner.

Terrified, Alfred moved hysterically, trying to un-do the ropes that dug into his wrists. It was of no use though; his body was far too weak to do anything. He waited until he could hear the steps return to him. He buried his face into the mattress, not ready to face death.

With one giant swing, Ivan hit him with his pipe. It made a sickeningly thwack noise as he did so. Alfred howled like an abused dog. Ivan towered over the man with a placid expression. "Look at me!" He demanded. Alfred shook violently, scared shitless. "Do it, or I will hit you again."

Alfred carefully lifted his head from the mattress. His blue eyes darted nervously towards their violet counterpart. Ivan then put his pipe down and sat on his knees to face the man. Alfred, instinctively scooted back to avoid the gloved hand that was headed his way. Ivan growled, and grabbed Alfred by the throat and placed him on his lap. He then as gently as he could muster, patted the man's head in a calming manner. Alfred jerked away from every touch, feeling the anxiety overtake him. Ivan then yanked a handful of his blond locks.

"Now," He harshly whispered into Alfred's ear. "Should I hit you again?" Alfred profusely shook his head. "What is that?"

"No, no!" Alfred's mind reeled. He had to get out of here and soon. Ivan let go of his hair and started to pet it again.

"Good," He smirked. "I saved you Alfred. Remember that." Alfred's eyes welled up again and the tears came too quick. He choked out a strained sob that caused Ivan to cradle him. "Go ahead, cry it out." He rocked Alfred's body. "You're safe now."

It was the crazed sound in the man's voice that made Alfred cringe. Bleary blurry eyes gazed up at its captor, and all he could think of was Kiku dead somewhere in a ditch and the last words he said to Arthur. The cry grew more insufferable, as he watched the small smirk spread on the Russian's lips.

"It's okay my bird, you're with me now." Alfred couldn't even possibly begin to fathom what those words meant to his captor.

XXX

Arthur and Francis flew into the hospital lobby. Frantically, Arthur went to the secretary asking a million questions at once. Francis pushed aside the disheveled Brit, to get a better handle on the situation.

"Excuse me, but we are looking for friend who was hurt in a car accident. His name is Kiku Honda, I was contacted to come here." The secretary pulled out some papers and nodded.

"Family?" She critically inquired.

"No, his family lives out of country. I'm a friend." Francis clarified. She nodded as she stared down at her clipboard.

"Hold on," She then reached for a white phone on the wall next to her and dialed a few numbers. "Yes, there are two men here to see, hold on," she looked at the clipboard. "Kiku Honda. Yes, yes, okay I will tell them." She hung up the phone and turned to the two men. "Mr. Bonnefoy?"

"Oui?"

"Your friend Kiku is in intensive care right now. You will have to wait here until we call you." She plainly stated. Arthur was about to blow up at the woman but Francis stopped him.

"Thank you! We will do that!" He then whispered into Arthur's ear. "She can't help it calm down." The Brit pushed the Frenchmen off and plopped into one of the lobby chairs. His head fell into his hands as he imagined the worse. Francis turned to Arthur and grabbed his hand. The Brit then found that Francis gave Arthur his McDonald's TY. "I found this on the register; I thought you could squeeze it if you got too stressed."

Arthur nodded appreciatively and took the red rooster. He held it gently in his hands, remembering the last words he said to Alfred. God, he hoped he was okay.

"We should call Matthew, his brother. He was wondering why Alfred didn't show up to his art show." He breathed. Francis nodded.

"Let's wait first," Francis reasoned. "We should see what the police say; I believe they're still looking for another person."

Arthur tugged Strut's tag. The words he said to Alfred burning in his head. What if the twit wasn't okay? What if Kiku was dead? How did his whole world change in a matter of a few hours? The man leaned his head against the wall. His eyes peered up to the television mounted up there. The sound was off, but from the pictures and captions he knew it was more re-hashed information about the Gilbert Belishmidt murder case. Irritated and worried, he closed his eyes and allowed the stress to envelop him.

When Arthur flickered his eyes open, he wasn't in the hospital lobby anymore. Instead, it was an old dingy basement he somewhat recognized. The scent of moth-bitten musty clothes penetrated his nostrils causing him to cough. He could hear droplets of water somewhere in the back, and feel a cold chill rise up in his body.

It was when he took a step forward did he feel a stab of pain in his foot. He cursed, and looked down to see it was shattered glass. Cringing, he pulled the piece of glass out of his foot. He wiped the blood off of it and realized it was a chunk of mirror. When he gazed into the reflection, he suddenly saw two angry red eyes behind him.

Arthur jolted out of his seat. He was back in the hospital lobby, the sweat sticking to his pits and slowly dripping down his face. His breath was heavy as he wasn't sure what he just experienced. He turned to Francis who eyed him carefully.

"How long was I out?" The Brit finally questioned. Francis continued to quirk a brow but decided to not ask.

"About a half an hour." He huffed. Arthur scowled. It didn't feel that long. But before he could complain about how long it was taking, a woman in a white lab coat with long sandy brown hair pulled back in a bun walked out of the double doors. She held a clip board to her chest and had a very serious air about her.

"Francis Bonnefoy?" She called out in a heavy accent. Francis and Arthur got out of their seats and walked up to her.

"That's me." Francis seemed a little shaken. Though the worse wasn't said yet, Arthur knew that the man was bothered by the woman's demeanor. The Brit was surprised he broke down crying earlier, but it was that impending feeling of doom that has just been scratching at his surface that pushed him. However, seeing that even Francis was stirred up by all of this scared Arthur more. Certainly the man was known to be a drama queen, and openly expressed his emotions at inappropriate moments, but this side of the Frenchmen was different. It was almost too surreal, as though this was the end of everything he knew.

"I'm Dr. Hedervary," she shook Francis's and Arthur's hands. "Follow me." She opened the double doors and led them inside. Both men trailed behind the woman as she took a quick right and headed inside a room. They both stopped and gaped at what they saw before them.

Kiku was lying in his bed with a respirator attached. He was covered in bruises head to toe, and a white blanket wrapped around his small body. Arthur's heart jumped at every beep the machine made. Dr. Hedervary bit her lip and sighed. "We did everything we could," she started quietly. "But your friend Kiku is in a coma." There was a long silence that followed her statement. Francis finally spoke up.

"Is he always going to be in one?" Dr. Hedervary shrugged.

"It really depends, this man was brutally beaten. A lot of damages were done to his cranium; it will be a miracle if he does wake up that he will be capable of basic functions." She gently explained. Arthur's ears perked.

"Beaten?"

"Yes," Dr. Hedervary then referenced her clip board. "According to the police report filed, Kiku was found a mile away from his vehicle on the side of the road." Arthur held in the hysterics. She turned to look at both men. "The police want to talk to you both since Mr. Bonnefoy mentioned another passenger being with Mr. Honda. I know this is a lot to take in right now, but with the way that snow is falling I am very concerned for your friend."

Francis faced Arthur. All the while Arthur was staring intensely at his friend. He tightened his fist. "Yes, where are they?" The Brit managed to choke out. Dr. Hedervary told them to wait a second and fetched the police officer she was talking to earlier. The two men glumly exchanged looks.

"This is very serious," Francis finally managed to cough out. The statement was of course completely obvious, but he needed to say something. He held in the wild burst of emotion that shifted through his throat. Kiku always held a fragile appearance, but was capable of a lot. To see him covered in tubes and wires, was utterly unbearable. Francis wanted to say so much more, but before he could Dr. Hedervery and a Hispanic male with rich brown hair and green eyes walked inside the room.

"Hello gentlemen, I am officer Carriedo. I would like to ask some questions." The man seemed to be a little timid for a police officer but Arthur could care less. Francis urged the Brit to talk to him first because he would have more information. In a daze, Arthur walked out of the room with officer Carriedo and into an empty one.

Officer Carriedo gently shut the door behind them and told Arthur to take a seat on the bed. Arthur did so and waited for the questions. Officer Carriedo tried to look as professional as possible as he leaned against the wall. He pulled out a notebook and pencil.

"Name?" He first inquired.

"Arthur Kirkland."

"Mmhm," he scribbled it down in his notebook. "How do you know Kiku Honda?"

"He works a few stores down from our café."

The officer coughed. "And the partner to your store was with him?"

"Yes, they left this morning." Arthur clarified. Officer Carriedo stopped writing and dabbed his pen on his tongue. He then flipped to another page and returned his gaze to Arthur.

"Mr. Kirkland," He began. "Your friend was not found at the scene. I have four officers out there looking for another body, is there any specific details about this man besides the fact he has blond hair and blue eyes?" Arthur's face paled at the use of the word body.

"Well," The Brit twisted a button on his coat and swallowed nervously. "He is tan, but not too much so, umm wears glasses…A little taller than me, well considerably taller than me." Arthur's chest fluttered as he imagined Alfred somewhere in the snow. His lips blue, skin grey, and eyes dead.

"What was he wearing?" Officer Carriedo pressed.

"My black sweater and a pair of old faded jeans. He also had brown work boots on." Arthur mindlessly described. Officer Carriedo nodded.

"Anything else?"

"Oh! He has long cowlick that sticks out of his hair." Arthur added. Officer Carriedo closed his notebook.

"Gracias Mr. Kirkland," Officer Carriedo placed his pen into his pocket.

"Is that all?" Arthur was surprised. Didn't they need more information than that? Officer Carriedo meekly smiled.

"Since it hasn't been 48 hours we can't file a missing person's report yet. All we can do in the mean time is search in the area your other friend was found." The man tried to be stoic as possible. But it was the look in the Brit's eyes that made him quickly look away.

"The doctor says Kiku was beaten, this could be the case of a car jacker or, or, worse! My friend is out there somewhere, cold, possibly clinging to life, can't we do more? My description isn't enough! We need to investigate! We need more than four police officers looking in such a large area!" Officer Carriedo slowly shrunk down.

"Mr. Kirkland, your friend's safety is of high priority. But like I said before, until it has been 48 hours, an investigation cannot be launched. As for Mr. Honda's case, we cannot jump to any form of conclusion. Kiku is the only witness to what happened. We do not even know what to look for if it was an attack of some sort." Officer Carriedo wiped the sweat off his brow as Arthur's glare grew. He folded his arms and tapped his foot. The man was furious. As per usual, the police were of no help.

"Fine, then I will go look for him!" Arthur leapt off the hospital bed and stormed out the door. Officer Carriedo trailed behind him. He grabbed Arthur by the arm.

"You do not even know where to go!" The man reasoned. Arthur scoffed.

"I will figure it out!"

"Mr. Kirkland, you are being unreasonable!" Officer Carriedo avoided the stares the two were receiving from patients and doctors alike. It was then when Francis and Dr. Hedervery came out of Kiku's room. "Mr. Bonnefoy, can you please calm down your friend?"

"I do not need anybody to calm me down. I need someone to care! Alfred is missing goddammit! I need to go find him." The desperation bloomed in Arthur's eyes. Francis placed a hand on officer Carriedo's shoulder.

"Please, take him to go look. He will not stop until Alfred is found." Francis pleaded. The Spaniard was conflicted. He was merely a transfer from Las Cruces, and quite fresh to the force. He understood that it would be violating the rules if he had accepted Francis's request. But something inside him burned. Arthur seemed so determined to find his friend, and it spoke to his passionate side. Most officers would flat out say no, but Antonio was weak when it came to his emotions.

"Fine, we will go into my squad car." The man sighed defeated. Arthur thanked him and hurriedly shrugged on his coat. He turned to Francis and gave him Matthew's number.

"Tell him not to worry, we will find Alfred." And with much determination, the two disappeared from Francis's and Dr. Hedervery's vision.

XXX

Arthur watched as the snow came down in flurries. Officer Carriedo said something about it being awfully early for snow in New Mexico but Arthur paid no mind. There were only two things on his mind, locating Alfred and Kiku's condition. The Spaniard studied the Brit from the corner of his eye. The man was a true friend, and it inspired him a little bit. Before officer Carriedo could stop at the scene, Arthur perked up.

"Stop here! Stop here!" The Brit ordered.

"What? We we're not even near the scene yet."

"Just do it!" Not knowing what to do, officer Carriedo pulled into a gas station that was nearby. Before he could even question Arthur as to why, the man ripped off his seat belt and opened the door.

"Wait we need to stick-" Arthur ignored the officer and ran past the gas station into a ditch. "Together.." Officer Carriedo grabbed his keys and locked his door.

Arthur saw something in the snow. Something he couldn't quite explain. He shivered in the bitter cold. As a strong gust of wind hit him from his right, he saw it again. A figure with two red eyes peering at him, urging him to come forward. Arthur swallowed thickly and ran to it ignoring officer Carriedo's calls. Arthur kept running until he realized the figure was gone.

"Where…?" But before the Brit could finish his sentence, he felt something crunch under his feet. Arthur got on his knees and dug into the snow.

"Mr. Kirkland we need to stick together! You can't just run off like that! Are you listening?" He saw how Arthur just remained on the ground hunched. He shook as he held something closely to his chest. "Mr. Kirkland?" The Spaniard drew nearer to Arthur and noticed the tears trickling down his face. The officer then pried his hands away from his chest. There was a pair of broken glasses clasped in his red fingers.

"Those can be anybody's." The man justified. Arthur shook his head.

"I know it's his," he said between broken breaths. "Their ever so slightly crooked, something that used to drive me mad every time I looked at his face."

It was then when officer Carriedo heard a strange howl in the wind. One that almost sounded like a cruel shrill laugh.

AN: I'm stopping here. What do you think? Cliché? Strange? Too unrealistic? I dunno, I'm actually not too unhappy with this chapter. I had been hatching this idea in my head since day 1 of this story, never realizing I was finally going to write it…I was initially planning on making Spain a PI but changed my mind. I feel like he wouldn't make a great cop because he's a tad…easily swayed? Well at least that's what I gather from the chibi Romano stories. Who is also going to be in this story! Not chibi form though.

I'm not sure if the first meeting between Ivan and Alfred was successful or not. I wanted it to be creepy, but not horribly so that the rest of the details got lost. Now that I can take a break from shoving information about who, what, where, why, and when down your throat…I can finally focus on them. Something I've also envisioned writing since day 1.

Thankies for all of the reviews! Each little bit helps! I will update…soon…I'm not exactly sure when.

As for the technical police stuff, well….I'm sure a lot of it wouldn't go down this way. BUT YOU KNOW! R&R!