Okay, so I have to confess that I know very little about how computers work (That's my husband and son's area of expertise) so if what I have written about them trying to infect Kaiba's computers with a virus is utter rubbish, please don't point that out to me. And let's face it, much of Kaiba's technology is pretty much ridiculous and impossible anyway.

Warning: This chapter has yet more cruelty to Yugi. It also mentions death, guns and a knife.

Chapter 14.

Virus.

Since his watch and possessions had been taken away by his captors, Yugi had no idea how long he had been in the room. He had lost track of the time and only realised that he had dozed off when he was woken up again by the sound of the door being opened.

Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of tattoo man standing over him.

"Here. Food!" The man barked gruffly. He placed a cup of water, a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread down on the dresser, before turning and walking out.

Yugi had not thought himself hungry, but suddenly realised, that despite his fear, he was starving.

::::::::::::

Yugi's disappearance was now becoming a serious concern. He had been missing for nearly twenty four hours and Seto had a bad feeling in his gut.

He was too stubborn to admit that he was worried, but he could not sleep.

Telling himself that it was merely out of curiosity, he got out of bed at two in the morning, and decided to track Yugi's whereabouts by tracing his mobile phone activity. It only took him five minutes to pinpoint that his phone had been in the same place since nine fifteen yesterday evening, European time. His concern grew when that place revealed itself to be on a riverbank, underneath a bridge on the autobahn.

Using his ultra hi-tech, state of the art satellite imaging system, he zoomed in close enough to be able to pinpoint the phone, and was able to see that it was resting on the mud, in front of a rainwater outlet. Unfortunately, he could not see inside the outlet, but it was large enough to conceal a body. "Shit!" He hissed through his teeth, grimacing.

Grabbing his phone, he immediately contacted Des, his chief technician in Germany, who had been the one to first notify him that Yugi was missing.

Despite the hard time he had given poor Des yesterday, Seto offered no apology for his abruptness and ordered him to search the area and report back the moment he had done so, with any developments.

Des was unsure exactly what Seto meant by developments but had a bad feeling about it.

He had come to know and like Yugi in the very short time they had been working together and was terrified he might find the young man's body. But he was too afraid of his boss to refuse the order to search the river bank.

Matters of security were also not something he was familiar with and in the absence of any of Kaiba's security team, he was forced to do the search himself.

Too afraid to go alone, he took an equally nervous colleague with him.

Seto waited for what seemed like forever for them to inform him of their findings and he was feeling far more anxious than he would care to admit. There was no way he wanted to entertain the possibility that his rival, colleague and dare he say 'friend' would be found face down inside a rat infested drainage outlet.

When his phone finally did ring, Seto noticed how his hand was trembling when he picked it up.

The technician had found Yugi's phone, but there was no sign of Yugi.

"Did you search the drainage outlet?"

"Yes Sir!"

"And the water?"

"We couldn't check properly as it's fast flowing and deep. But there was no sign that anyone had been on the river bank. We also walked a couple of hundred metres up and down, just to make sure."

"And you found nothing?"

"No," Des replied, anxiously. "Nothing."

Seto let out an audible sigh. He did not know whether to be relieved that Yugi had not been murdered and dumped in a concrete tube full of dirty water and rats, or disappointed because they had not found him.

Chewing on his knuckle thoughtfully, Seto quickly put started to put two and two together. It was glaringly obvious that the idiot had managed to get himself kidnapped. But why? It wasn't like Yugi was particularly important. Not as important as himself or Mokuba, in his opinion.

So if they had kidnapped him thinking Seto would pay a ransom demand for his safe return, they were going to be disappointed, because Seto Kaiba did not pay ransoms. And he doubted Yugi's family could afford to pay a ransom.

Talking of family... He should probably tell the Mazaki girl that her boyfriend had vanished.

Cursing at her for not picking up, he left a message telling her that Yugi's phone had been found under a bridge over the Rhine, but no Yugi.

He then instructed Isono to take a discreet security detail to Germany, just in case damage limitation an a clean-up operation was required.

::::::::::::

Anzu was in rehearsals and was only able to listen to Seto's message after retrieving her bag and phone from her locker during the lunch break.

Not caring about the consequences, she ran out and took the subway home in a daze. How she had kept it together in front of her colleagues or did not break down on the subway train, she had no idea. But the moment she was inside her apartment, the tears started to flow.

Yesterday, she had been a little perturbed when Yugi did not not call her. But now, with the news she had received from Seto, her worst fears were starting to grow. Yugi was always so friendly and trusting towards his fans and she worried that a disturbed fan might have tricked him and lured him into a trap.

When she returned the call and Seto Kaiba informed her that kidnap was definitely the most likely explanation for him going missing, she let out a pitiful gasp and almost collapsed.

Seto warned her not to tell anyone that Yugi was missing. He wanted it kept hushed from the authorities and the media. His own security team was already being dispatched to Germany and they would deal with the clean up operation.

What he meant by 'clean up' she had no idea, but it terrified her and she wished she could confide in her friends or her parents. But since she had to follow Kaiba's orders she had no choice. And anyway, she did kind of get his reasoning. If the media did get hold of this, then Yugi's life would be in even more danger.

But she wanted Yugi Back, safe and sound, and after agonising over it for a few minutes, she decided that for her own sanity, she needed to speak to someone. And the only person she could think of calling right now, was Jonouchi. So what if people thought he was a blabbermouth. She knew him well enough to know that he could keep quiet when he really needed to. And she had already spoken to him yesterday to see if Yugi had been in touch with him at all, and they had agreed to keep each other informed. Besides, Jonouchi was Yugi's best friend and would want to know that his buddy was missing.

Her call went straight to voicemail and she suddenly remembered that it was only around three thirty in the morning in Japan, so his phone was probably switched off.

Leaving a rather garbled message, punctuated with desperate attempts to stop her voice from cracking up, she cut off the call and sent a message apologising for sounding so stressed, but she needed him to call her urgently. Yugi was in trouble.

Dropping her phone on a cushion, she looked towards her door, willing the door buzzer to ring, in the hope she would hear Yugi's cheery voice over the intercom. She would let him in and they would rush into one another's arms and make mad passionate love. Never, ever again, would they decide that it was probably best if they split up and just remain friends.

She had lost Atem forever, she couldn't lose Yugi as well.

A fresh round of tears erupted at the possibility of that happening.

::::::::::::

A tense night followed. Fearing he had little chance of survival, Yugi tried to prise open the bathroom window, but it was no use. He thought about smashing the bedroom window, then kicking out the remaining glass and jumping to freedom. But they would probably hear him.

And even if he was successful in breaking the glass and escaping, he had nothing but his blanket to protect his bare skin. He would most likely be badly lacerated on the way out and then break a few bones when he landed on the patio below.

But what were his options? Jump out of the window, break both legs and bleed to death, or stay here and wait until they put a bullet in his head.

He did not like his odds.

Chewing his lip, he made a decision. He would rather die trying to escape, than sit around waiting to be executed.

Wrapping his blanket around his arm, he punched the window to test it's strength. It made a hollow thud but did not break. He was too afraid to hit it any harder. What he really needed was a heavy object, like a mallet, to stand any chance of breaking it.

The lampshade! He picked it up but it was only made of light weight, hollow stainless steel. He threw it at the window in a temper as hard as he could but it just made a loud clang, bounced off and broke in half.

Next, he tried the unit next to the bed! But it was too bulky for one person to lift up and swing at a window.

Realising that it was pointless, he gave a despondent sigh and flopped down on the bed to try and think of another way he might escape.

Getting up, he walked over to the door and gripped the handle. He knew the door would still be locked, but out of frustration and desperation he twisted the handle and pulled. No amount of pushing and pulling would make it budge. Trying the Jonouchi/Honda approach, he took a step back and kicked it with the heel of his foot, with all of his might. The door made a lot of noise but failed to break.

All Yugi had for his effort was a painfully bruised heel.

In the room along the landing, his captives heard him hammering against the door. Dimitri swore and stood up. Davina grabbed his wrist to stop him but he pushed her away.

"This was all your stupid idea, woman!" He should never have let her talk him into it. He was ex-military; weapons and violence were his speciality, not using an innocent Japanese celebrity to hack into one of the most famous companies in the world. But Davina (or rather Vasilisa – Davina was just an alias) had taken that damn job and wheedled her way in with that effeminate Siegfried Von Schroeder, because he was wealthy businessman and a potential target for blackmail.

And now they had ended up in this fix, while Von Schroeder sat in his mansion pretending not to know anything about an attempted computer hacking.

"What are you going to do?" Davina (Vasilisa) pleaded.

"What needs to be done. You told us we would be kidnapping an ordinary employee. You said nothing about it being the King of Games. He's a fucking Japanese celebrity!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know who he was?! Siegfried didn't tell me! He just said it would be an employee!" She shouted.

"Who gives a fuck who he is?" Tattoo man yelled. "You heard what the guy said! The moment he signs into Kaiba's network, we're as good as dead anyway."

"Not if they are concentrating on stopping the virus!" Davina (Vasilisa) argued. "Even if they find our location, it will take them time to get here. And when they do we will be long gone. All we need to do is pack up our stuff and clear out as soon as it's done."

"And what about the king of Games?" Dimitri gestured at the room they were keeping Yugi in. "We can't take him with us and we can't leave him here alive. He's seen our faces."

Sitting on the bed rubbing his foot and feeling despondent, Yugi startled when he heard the raised voices. They were arguing, but not understanding their language, he had no idea what they were saying. But he was willing to bet it was over what he had said about Kaiba finding them.

He listened in the hope of picking up the odd word but understood none of what was being said.

"We take him with us and..." Davina began, but was interrupted by Dimitri.

"What? Don't be so stupid Vasilisa." Realising that he had just used her real name by mistake, instead of her alias, he clamped his mouth shut.

"You idiot! What if Mutou is listening...?" Would he have understood anyway? He might certainly have picked up on the name. There was only one way of finding out, she hastened towards Yugi's prison room.

Yugi had heard the man shouting but had not understood a word of it and if he had heard her name, he did not recognise it as a name.

Hearing the footsteps on the wooden floor and the voices coming closer, Yugi gasped. They must have heard him kicking the door and were coming for him. He quickly threw himself on the bed and pulled the comforter over himself, pretending to be asleep.

The door flew open and a torch was shone at him. He sat up and yawned, while shading his eyes from the bright beam. "Huh?"

Davina shone the beam of the torch at the broken lamp on the floor and huffed. "What did you hear?" She demanded, pointing the beam back at Yugi.

He shielded his eyes from the brightness. "Nothing," he lied. "I was asleep. Why?"

"You lie! Get up!" Doing as he was told before one of the men rough-handled him again, he got up and followed her back into the room where they had his laptop set up.

"Here," she handed him his clothes. "Put them on." Relieved to have his clothes back, he quickly dressed.

As soon as he was dressed, he was pushed back into the seat in front of his lap top. "Sign in." He noticed they were all wearing gloves. They must have wiped their finger prints from the furniture.

"You do know what will happen when I turn it on and sign in?"

"Yes, we do. But you see, we are still owed fifty thousand Euros. In order to get our money, all we need is for you to input the virus. It does not matter if it fails, we will have done our part. Even if Seto Kaiba pinpoints our location, it will take an hour to get here by road, by which time we will be long gone."

They obviously didn't know that Kaiba would most likely use an aeroplane or helicopter and Yugi was not about to let on.

"What if I still refuse to co-operate?" He shakily asked.

Cruel eyed man stepped towards him. "That is not an option. You will do as we say." He pointed a knife, dangerously close to Yugi's face. "You have a pretty girlfriend in New York." He smirked nastily, causing Yugi to fill with dread. "I have a brother in New York. It would be such a shame if she were to meet with a nasty accident."

How did they know about Anzu?! He did not know that they had seen her name when when she tried to ring him. And it would be easy enough for them to search the internet for Yugi and people close to him.

"No!" He pleaded, desperately. "Hurt me all you like, but please don't hurt Anzu!" He was almost sobbing.

"Then sign in!" Cruel eyed man yelled, slamming his hand on the desk, causing Yugi to flinch.

Tentatively, he reached out and hovered his hands over the keyboard. "I can't do this," he whimpered. "I can't break Kaiba's trust." What if the virus did succeed? Or partially succeeded. Kaiba would be damaged and would see Yugi's game as a liability. He would remove it from his servers and it would be withdrawn from sale. Yugi would bring shame on his family.

He had been backed into a corner. His life, his reputation and family name, for Anzu's safety.

"Will you promise not to hurt Anzu if I do this?"

"We don't make promises. Do as we tell you or she will not dance again."

Yugi shivered in fear. He was dammed no matter what, but if there was a chance that Anzu might be spared. "What will you do with me once I have done what you want?" He needed to know, but was unsure if he wanted the answer.

"You will come with us while we decide what to do with you," Davina (Vasilisa) answered.

Yugi noticed how cruel eyes man shot her an angry look. "He has seen our faces. He must die." Yugi did not understand what he said, but had a bad feeling about it.

"But not here you idiot. We don't have time. We will leave his laptop here to finish running the virus program." She turned to Yugi and spoke in English. "If you wish your girlfriend to be safe, then you will do as I tell you. My friend here does not make threats and not carry them through."

Yugi felt the sharp tip of the knife snick the top of his ear. "I will torture you as well."

"No!" Davina/Vasilisa stopped him from cutting Yugi. "If we spill his blood, they will know he was tortured. I did some research online and he has a history with Kaiba. I want to make this look like he did it because of his long running grudge. When he dies, it will look like suicide." Again, Yugi could not understand them but somehow knew they were discussing what they might do with him.

"She wants to spare you, but I will have no problem watching you die in agony. Now turn on your laptop and enter the virus." He was handed a USB device, which contained the virus.

"I don't know what to do with this?" He looked at them in confusion. "I don't have access to Kaiba's data banks or anything."

"Your game runs on Kaiba's server, which links the game players using the KC satellites, does it not?"

"Y...yeah," Yugi nodded slowly.

"Good. Then I'm assuming you wrote the specification for your game and have the files stored on your laptop?" Yugi did not answer. Kaiba had told him not to leave any files where they might be easily stolen, but he had forgotten about it. "Then you will know how to make changes to the code."

He bit his lip. Now he was beginning to understand. He had access to the server that ran his game and could implement bug fixes and updates to the software if he needed to. They wanted him to upload a line of virus infected code into his game and send it to the game server. He did not know what sort of damage the line of code might do, but it was probably designed to go undetected and would only run once players around the world began to link up and play, it would transfer itself into the mainframe and take down Kaiba's network of satellites, and possibly even the space station if it managed to reach there.

But Kaiba's security was good. He knew for a fact that Seto had got Mokuba and Rebecca to design a new anti virus and malware program, that would detect every potential attack. And those two were experts – the best there was. He had faith that the moment he fired up his laptop, its location would be detectable. But would they be able to track it quickly enough to send someone here? Would they be able to see what he was doing? Were they even bothered about him going missing enough to be looking?!

He could only hope.

Grimacing, he reluctantly turned on his laptop. "Sorry Kaiba." His hands were shaking as he plugged in the USB stick and then opened his files. He found the line of code they wanted altered and hesitated.

"Hurry up!" Davina hissed. She sounded tense. "This is taking too long." Ten minutes had already passed.

"It's takes time and my hands are shaking. I can hardly type," Yugi stammered.

::::::::::::

Meanwhile, Seto was trying to decide on his best course of action.

"What do you want me to do Seto?" Mokuba was watching as Seto sat drumming his fingers on his desk. There must be some way they could locate Mutou. Maybe it was time to start inserting GPS trackers into the armpits of his employees.

"I don't know. He can't have just vanished into thin air. I'm certain Siegfried has got something to do with it." He had done a bit of digging and had discovered that the man Yugi had left the venue with was indeed Siegfried Von Schroeder. But why? "Mokuba! What would you do if you were Von Schroeder?" He already knew the answer to that but wanted Mokuba to come to the same conclusion.

"That's easy! I would use Yugi to try and hack into our computers."

"Exactly! But our firewall is far too sophisticated and would be impossible to get through... unless.. That's it! Mokuba! I want you to monitor the servers running Yugi's game for anything strange."

"Like what?"

"Anything. A virus."

"Did Yugi have his laptop with him? I made sure that no third party servers can gain access, so don't see how they would be able to access our systems and make changes without it. They would be denied access and their own server would be destroyed by a counter virus." He was proud of his anti attack system.

"I don't know. But Siegfried is a computer expert, so we have to assume the people involved know what they are doing."

"Okay, well I am monitoring Yugi's devices and his password but he's not logged on."

Seto ordered Mokuba not to take his eyes off the screen, while he went into the kitchen to get coffee.

The sound of tyres scrunching to an erratic halt on gravel, followed by a car door slamming, made him look up from his espresso machine. The sight of an irate Jonouchi running towards the front door made him groan. "Who the hell opened the gates and let him in?" He snapped at the maid, who was busy mopping the floor.

"I.. I don't know Sir," she stammered.

Seto huffed when the doorbell started to chime, relentlessly. Of all people, the damn Mazaki girl had to go and tell him!

Outside, Jonouchi was cursing under his breath for Kaiba to hurry up and open the door.

The butler was just about to open it when Seto appeared, mug of coffee (with a double shot) in hand. "It's okay, I'll get it." The butler bowed and stepped aside. "In the meantime, tell them to prepare my Blue Eyes White Jet. I'm going to Germany."

Seto yanked the door open just as Jonouchi launched himself forward to pummel the door again. The blonde toppled forward and nearly fell into Seto's arms. Seto jumped aside just in time, but still managed to slop some of his coffee on the floor. "What do you want, you idiot?"

"Quit callin me an idiot, Moneybags! What's happened to my buddy? If he's been kidnapped cuz a you... I'm gonna..."

"You're gonna what?" Seto retorted angrily. God! This moron never changed. He always reacted aggressively, without thinking, or gaining the facts. "I am the one person pulling out all stops to find Yugi. But if you get on my nerves, I might leave him to die."

"You Wha...?! What do ya mean.. die?" Did that mean Kaiba knew where Yugi was and who had him?

Seto snorted at the worried look of horror on the Mutt's face. "Relax. I have no intention of letting criminal scumbags get away with kidnapping a colleague in order to get at me."

Jonouchi growled under his breath but relaxed his aggressive stance slightly. "Why do you always assume it's about you Kaiba?"

"Because it usually is," he stated, bluntly.

Jonouchi flexed his fists angrily at the arrogance. "Tell me what's happened?"

Seto relaxed his own stance. If they both kept up their aggression then they would never find Yugi. "If you calm down and follow me, I will tell you what I know."

He took Jonouchi into the office, where Mokuba was sitting in front of a row of monitors. There was a panel, flashing with lines of code and a bunch of electronic equipment that Jonouchi did not understand.

He opened his mouth to speak but didn't know what to say. Thanking Kaiba for looking for Yugi was beyond his capability.

Mokuba turned and glanced at him with a small, worried smile. "Oh! Hey Jonouchi." He turned back to his tracking equipment.

"Hey Mokuba," Jonouchi managed to respond. "Any luck finding Yugi?"

Mokuba shook his head. "Not yet." His eyes narrowed slightly in concern. Needle in a haystack sprang to mind.

"What can I do?" He hated just being a bystander. He needed to do something or he would go crazy.

Seto bristled slightly. "If you want to help Yugi, then I suggest you keep out of the way and let us deal with it."

"Why? What makes you think..." Jonouchi started to argue, but Seto did not let him finish his sentence.

"This is between me and Siegfried Von Schroeder. I am going to Germany to find Yugi." He spun on his heel to leave.

"Wait up Kaiba... I'm coming with you." Jonouchi fixed his retreating back with a defiant look. "If that creep is involved, I wanna beat the crap out of him personally!"

Seto spun on him. "Then you will have to beat me to it!" He said bluntly and walked out, leaving an irate, worried Jonouchi standing there.

Jonouchi felt helpless. He wanted to find Yugi, not idle away his time here – he had made a promise to Anzu.

What was a guy who liked to beat things up going to do with a bunch of computer screens?

Mokuba suddenly gasped. He hit a button and zoomed in on the screen. "Seto!" He called, using his communicator. "I think I've found him. His password has just been entered into his laptop. I will send you its location."

Seto's voice came back over the speaker "Good work Mokuba. Keep monitoring it. If Siegfried is involved, then it is likely to be a very clever virus."

"Don't worry big bro. Nothing will get through me!"

::::::::::::

The moment Yugi had finished typing, he sat back. The word execute popped up but he could not do it. Davina (Vasilisa) reached over and hit enter for him. Pink rose petals filled the screen – a gift from Siegfried.

"Is that it?!" The cruel eyed man snarled.

As soon as Davina confirmed that it was, Yugi was yanked to his feet. He tried to grab his laptop but was stopped. "Leave it. We do not want them tracking you."

"But all my files..." he started to protest, but was shoved roughly forward.

"You won't need those where you're going," tattoo man sneered.

Yugi's heart lurched – they were taking him to a place where they could dispose of him so that his body would never be found.

It was still dark when they went outside. Yugi was bundled into the back of the Audi and pushed into the rear foot-well. He was held there by cruel eyed man's boot.

He could hardly move and was getting cramped. He had no idea where they were going but they were travelling for ages. Eventually, the vehicle stopped in the small clifftop car parking area of a local beauty spot and Yugi was dragged out of the vehicle. His hips, legs and back hurt from being crushed in an uncomfortable position for so long.

The sky was still dark but the dawn felt imminent. Yugi guessed it to be between four thirty and five in the morning.

Looking around, all he could see was forest to one side and a huge valley on the other. The view would be stunning once the sun started to come up, but he doubted he would live to see it.

A notepad and a pen was shoved into his hands. "Write a note." Davina sounded afraid and almost upset as she gave him the order.

"What sort of note?" He innocently asked, although he had some idea of what she had implied.

Cruel eyed man snarled at him. "A suicide note. And hurry, we don't have long." Even he sounded tense.

Yugi's hands were shaking too much to write anything. "I..I can't. I don't know what to put."

"Just say you're sorry for what you've done and you can't live with the consequences, or something," said Davina.

As he scribbled his note in Kanji: 'Sorry for what I've done' he was trying not to fall to his knees and cry. He had been in life or death situations before, but had held his fate – his cards – in his own hands. This time he had no cards left to to play. This time Atem would not come to his rescue.

He was trying to think but had no idea how he could get out of this fix.

He waved the notepad at Davina, who took it and scowled. She tore the page off and shoved the notepad back at him. "In English! And sign it," she ordered. As soon as he had complied, she tore off the page and told him to put it in his pocket.

Both of her male colleagues pointed guns at him. "Now walk to the edge."

Yugi looked over his shoulder at the three foot tall concrete wall that had been built to prevent cars going too close to the edge of the cliff. He was too frightened to peer over it but tattoo man shoved him backwards towards it. Leaning against it, he looked over and was slightly relieved that the sheer drop was not immediately on the other side of the wall, but rather five or six feet away, over rocks and some scant shrubs.

"I refuse to jump," he stated, defiantly. "You will have to shoot me and then it won't look like suicide."

Tattoo man snarled and hit him, knocking him to his knees.

Yugi crouched there, holding the side of his face.

Suddenly, Davina started to panic as guilt gripped her. "Please! Stop this! Can't we just drive away and leave him here instead?" She sounded almost tearful and Yugi felt a glimmer of hope.

"Shut up woman!" Cruel eyed man grabbed her and shook her. "Pull yourself together! He can't live, he's seen our faces!"

Tattoo man pulled him to his feet and forced him over the wall.

As Yugi stood on the edge of the rocky cliff, he squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his tears starting to fall.

Over his shoulder, the first rays of sun were beginning to peer over the treetops, causing long shadows to crawl along the valley as they basked in its deep orange glow. Shadows, Yugi thought to himself.

"Jump or I will push you," he heard tattoo man snarl.

Yugi opened his eyes to look the man in the face. He fixed the man with a defiant glare, one that Atem would be proud of. "Sorry Anzu, Grandpa, Mum, Jonouchi, Honda, Kaiba." He muttered and looked over his shoulder at the rising sun. "Atem!" He called out to his friend, brother and soul mate. "Looks like I'm gonna see you again my friend; a whole lot sooner than we planned."

His kidnappers puzzled at his outburst.

A sudden calmness swept through him as he prepared himself. He was no longer afraid of death. Death was just the transition into another realm.

His kidnappers looked somewhat confused when he fixed them with a trademark smirk. "This game is far from over." He spread his arms, closed his eyes and looked skyward.

Sorry for leaving you all with a cliff hanger (Just realised that cliff-hanger is a pretty poor pun as well).

Thank you for reading. I love reviews, so please, please leave one.