Chapter 33: Kidnapped

When Alyssa was brought out to the limousine, the man holding her pushed a damp cloth to her face. The smell emanating from the cloth was sickening, and it pulled her into a deep, dreamless sleep. She awoke some time afterwards in a strange room. It was small and homely, as though she were in a small cottage. Alyssa had never seen a traditional Japanese cottage before though, so she felt very uneasy in the small room.

It was a perfect square she decided, with a small wooden chair beside a small wooden table. The bed that she lay upon was thin with a simple mattress and thin blanket. She stood up quickly and closed her eyes, focusing on the people outside the room, trying to decipher where she was. But to her complete surprise, she couldn't find anybody around. She dashed to the door and gripped the handle, shaking it roughly in an attempt to open the door.

"Locked." She hissed. She was helpless and alone, missing Kaiba already. When she thought of him, she began to cry quietly, wondering if Victoria had actually pulled the trigger after all.

"Seto!" Mokuba's voice dragged Kaiba from his sleep, an irratic shaking of his arm accompanying the concerned voice. He sat up and answered him groggily, barely asking him about Alyssa.

"Where... Is Alyssa?" His left temple was pounding with pain and he clutched his hand to his head.

"I can't find her..." Mokuba replied remorsefully. Kaiba dropped his hand and cursed, trying to stand with Mokuba's help. He made it to the front door and squinted at the midday sun.

"How long have I been out?" Kaiba rubbed his head in frustration and sighed, knowing Victoria had successfully kidnapped Alyssa. Mokuba frowned and looked at his watch.

"Well, I don't know what happened last night, but it's a little before noon now so..." Kaiba groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

"Over twelve hours, she's been gone for over twelve hours..." He looked up abruptly. "Mokuba, we need to find her. How? How do we track someone outside of the system?" His look of helplessness scared Mokuba. He had never seen his older brother look so lost.

"We can't Seto..." Mokuba's whisper worsened the despair that Kaiba felt and he suddenly thought of Mike. Wasn't Victoria supposed to be in Shanghai with him? Kaiba pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Mike's number.

The chair in the room was in the centre of the floor, pointed at the door and Alyssa sat upon it with her arms crossed. She was waiting for someone to come in and explain what was happening. It had been several hours since she had woken up, but there was no sign of life in the vicinity.

"Come on..." She muttered, crossing her legs and shifting in her seat slightly. With a small gasp, she heard a faint mumbling somewhere outside the room. She closed her eyes and focused, suddenly afraid when she realised it was Victoria.

"I have her in there. She's probably due some food now, do you want to bring it in or shall I?" A man's voice replied, gruffly, that he did not wish to see her yet. Victoria nodded, and Alyssa focused more. She saw the layout of the small cottage, which room was where and where she was. She was surprised with the openness of the cottage, and decided that it wouldn't be difficult to run if she could make her way out of the room.

There was a click as the door unlocked and Victoria waltzed in, wearing a casual pair of dress pants and a blue ruffled blouse.

"Oh good, you're awake." Normal. Casual. Like Alyssa wasn't trapped in a small room. Like she hadn't kidnapped her. Alyssa shivered before narrowing her eyes and addressing Victoria.

"Let me go." Victoria smiled a sad smile and shook her head.

"I can't do that Ally." Alyssa stiffened at the familiar nickname. Nobody called her that, only Kaiba did. She frowned with anger and stood swiftly.

"You can't call me that! Bring me home!"

"But where is your home? Your room? Seto's mansion? No, Thirteen, your home is wherever we say your home is." Victoria placed a plate of food on the wooden table and turned back to a confused Alyssa. "You belong to my father, Gozaburo. Seto had no right to take you from the institution, even if he has control over the corporation."

"I'm my own person! I have a right to go wherever I want!" Alyssa all but shrieked at her. Victoria shook her head again.

"Seto's teaching you some bad habits... Thirteen, I can't help you. I can bring you food and make sure you're clean, but I can't help anymore than that." And having said that, she left the room, locking the door as she did.

Alyssa stared at the locked door for a long time after Victoria left. She thought about what Victoria had said and dropped her head into her hands. 'She's right, isn't she? Seto should never have helped me, and I should never have complicated his life...' The tears crept into her eyes and spilled over, flowing down her face in streams. She tasted the salty water and she gasped, beginning to hiccup. Creeping over to the bed, she curled up as small as she could and sobbed loudly, clutching the thin pillow and thinking of Kaiba.

Kaiba worried when Mike failed to answer his phone. He ended the failed attempt of a phone call and instead connected to the hotel where he was supposed to be staying. Mokuba stood nearby, watching over Kaiba carefully. He knew his brother had hit his head pretty hard off the floor when he collapsed and he now held a bag of ice against his left temple.

A strange woman with a high pitched voice answered the phone, greeting Kaiba in Chinese. He sighed and asked for someone who spoke Japanese. The woman stuttered something in Japanese and strange music began to play. Kaiba growled at being put on hold.

Mokuba suddenly thought of something and took his phone from his pocket. Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he dialed Roland's number and began to speak quickly.

"Roland, I need you to find Victoria Simm." A muffled response had Mokuba frown with frustration and he replied in a rushed tone. "Roland, she was here. She held Seto at gunpoint and took Alyssa. We need to find her!" Kaiba realised Mokuba's plan and agreed whole heartedly.

"Of course! If we find her, then we find Alyssa!" He cried out. Another lady on his phone greeted him in broken, but determined Japanese and Kaiba requested that they check the room that Mike was supposedly staying in.

"I apologise Mister Kaiba, but no one has checked into that room. We expected him yesterday, but he never arrived." Undiluted fear flooded Kaiba's body and he cancelled the call.

"Mike's missing..." He told Mokuba, watching him with a wary expression. "Mike never made it to Shanghai. He didn't even leave the fucking country..." He dropped the bag of ice to the floor and paced, back and forth. Mokuba had never heard Kaiba swear before, and this made him nervous.

"Seto, we need to find Victoria. She has Alyssa..." He began, but Kaiba shook his head.

"Mokie, we haven't told you everything..." Mokuba's face paled considerably and he nodded his head weakly. "Victoria knows Gozaburo... And he isn't dead. I think Doctor Wasaki, Victoria and Gozaburo planned this kidnapping. That's why I need to find her..."

Mokuba's jaw dropped and he stammered, scared by the mention of Gozaburo. "As... Seto, we have... T.. To get her back..."

Kaiba nodded once again. "Trust me, I know." It was silent in the mansion for the following few hours, with the exception of Kaiba typing on his laptop and Mokuba making various phone calls in an attempt to find any of the missing people.

It was silent in the small dwelling where Alyssa was being held, save for her sobbing and random outbursts. Gozaburo and Victoria had left the building, probably to find a better place to stay for the evening. Alyssa tried to block everything out, but Victoria's thoughts had her insides twist with fear.