"Not safe?" Yugi repeated, surprised. "Why, Mr. Brown?! What's going on?!"
Oliver shook his head firmly. "No . . . no. . . . You all must leave! . . . Art Carmichael was just here and he said you'd been by to talk to him. . . . You kids shouldn't be getting involved in this!"
"Unfortunately, we're already involved in it, Mr. Brown," Tea said.
"We got involved when the first UFO flew over Domino City," Joey added.
Oliver leaned against the door frame. "It's too dangerous for young kids like you!" He paused. "For that matter, it's even too dangerous for old fogies like me!"
"Man, you know somethin' you ain't tellin'," Joey declared.
"Do you know how I got injured?" Seto demanded.
Oliver's eyes widened. "It was you?!"
"Yes, it was me." Seto's eyes narrowed. "And what do you know about it? Tell me!"
Oliver looked around furtively. "Come inside, all of you," he said, holding the door open wide.
****
When everyone was safely in Oliver's living room and introductions had been made, Seto again insisted on hearing what the man knew about the strange goings-on.
"Well, I can't claim to know everything, because I don't," Oliver began, "but I've been suspecting for a long time that Art Carmichael has been involved in underhanded deeds and recently found it out to be true. I'm sure he didn't tell you kids, but I'm not really a real estate agent anymore. I'm Carmichael's silent business partner!"
The teens stared at him in shock.
"Oh man . . . why did he lie to us?!" Joey spoke up finally, messing up his hair. "And if he was lyin', then what was that guard talkin' about?!"
"This is a very complex plot," Oliver said grimly. "When Carmichael first realized that I knew the truth—which was only a few days ago—he tried to convince me to join forces with him, but I refused. That's when he set about trying to discredit me by inventing the whole phony story about how I, a real estate agent, tried to insist that he not rent the KaibaCorp-owned property for his movie. Then he set up those 'accidents' today and blamed them on me. That guard must be working with him, helping to spread the falsehoods." He started to pace the floor nervously. "Since I am his silent business partner and no one knows who I am, everyone has just believed the false stories. And if I try to go to the police, Carmichael says he'll hurt my family." He stopped pacing and shook his head sadly. "And I don't doubt for a minute that he would."
"That's awful!" Yugi declared. "But what truth do you know?" he asked. "What kinds of underhanded things is Carmichael involved with?"
Oliver shook his head. "I really shouldn't say anything. Knowing too much is what got Seto Kaiba here beaten to a pulp. He would have been killed if Carmichael had had his way, and I don't doubt that Carmichael will try again if he thinks you're all being too nosy."
"Well, we're not giving up until Carmichael and all the criminals working with him are caught!" Yugi said determinedly.
Oliver paused, apparently remembering something unpleasant. "Several days ago, Carmichael told me that a teenage boy was getting too nosy and that he was going to have to do something about it, but I didn't take him seriously." He shook his head sadly. "I just didn't see how he could possibly hurt a boy. But then a couple of days later, I accidentally overheard a conversation between two of Carmichael's goons. They were talking about how they'd captured and beaten the elder Kaiba boy, just as Carmichael had wanted."
Everyone gasped and Tea looked horrified. Seto's eyes narrowed angrily.
"They went on to say that Carmichael had tried to kill him, but that the boy had escaped," Oliver continued. "They didn't think he would get very far with his injuries, and they also didn't seem worried that he would tell someone what had happened to him. They said he likely wouldn't remember much about the experience—or about his previous knowledge of Carmichael's criminal acts—but they didn't say why." He paused. "I quickly found Carmichael and confronted him with what I'd heard. He didn't deny it."
"That slimeball!" Joey declared hotly.
"Tell me, Seto Kaiba," Oliver said now, turning to the blue-eyed boy, "do you remember anything about your experience?"
Seto clenched his fists angrily. "Why should I tell you?" he growled. He actually had had more flashes of memory about Carmichael's henchmen beating him, but he wasn't about to say anything. He had the sinking feeling that Oliver couldn't be trusted any more than Carmichael.
"Hey, take it easy, man," Joey said irritably. "He's only worried about you."
Oliver finally sat down and leaned forward, staring intently into Seto's ice-blue eyes. "Joseph is right, Seto Kaiba—I am."
"I doubt that highly," Seto retorted.
"Oh Kaiba!" Tea cuffed him on the arm, looking angry.
"It's alright," Oliver reassured them quickly.
"Mr. Brown, I can appreciate you wanting to keep us all safe, but we need to get these criminals behind bars, where they won't be able to hurt anyone anymore," Yugi spoke up solemnly, summoning his Yami. "Please, you must tell us what you know."
Oliver paused, considering this for a moment. Then he sighed, nodding. "I suppose you're right. Carmichael is running a very profitable jewel smuggling ring and secretly conspiring with some strange people—whom I suspect are extra-terrestrials—to rule the world," he said dramatically. "All the proof is hidden at the studio, if you're all brave enough to go back there."
"Hey, of course we're brave enough!" Joey declared. "We wanna catch these crumbs!"
"But please . . ." Oliver begged, "don't tell the police about any of this. I don't want my family to be hurt." He stood up shakily. "And now, I must ask you all to leave. If Carmichael finds out you were here, there's no telling what he might do!"
****
"Now that was a weird experience!" Tristan remarked as they walked back to Seto's limo.
"Why were you so rude to Mr. Brown, Kaiba?" Tea demanded.
"I don't trust him," Seto said darkly.
"Hey, what's not to trust?" Joey said airily. "Sure, he's kinda eccentric and everything, but he seemed genuine enough to me."
"Actually, I think Kaiba might be right about this one," Yugi said grimly. "There was something not quite right about Mr. Brown. Why did he suddenly agree to tell us about Carmichael's criminal acts when at first he'd been so adament about keeping the knowledge away from us?"
"That was definitely odd," Cindy piped up with a nod of agreement.
"Hey, he finally came around to our way of thinkin'," Joey shrugged.
Yugi shook his head. "No . . . no, I'm afraid he was trying to lead us into a trap."
"Man, we can't trust anybody!" Joey cried in frustration, messing up his hair.
"So what should we do, Yugi?" Tea asked worriedly.
Yugi sighed. "Well, I must admit, I'm afraid that if we want to solve this, we will have to return to the studio."
"But what if it is a trap?" Tea gasped.
"We'll just have to take that chance," Seto said grimly. "I'm not about to let Carmichael get away with what he's doing, especially after what he did to me!"
Yugi nodded. "Of course we will have to be on our guard at all times. There is no telling what dastardly surprises they might have waiting for us."
"Maybe a couple of people should hang out here and kinda spy on Mr. Brown," Joey suggested.
"Not a bad idea," Yugi agreed. "Do you and Tristan want to do it?"
"Sure, why not?" Joey grinned.
"And I'll help," Cindy smiled.
"The rest of us will go back to the game shop and check on Bakura and his Yami, then plan our next move," Yugi decided.
****
When they arrived back at Yugi's place, they were surprised to find Yami Bakura flipping through the channels on TV, looking extremely bored. He was wearing a green shirt and a pair of jeans, and he didn't look up when they came in, tho Yugi was certain he had heard them do so.
Bakura, hearing the door open, came out of the kitchen looking happy. "Hello!" he greeted Yugi and the others. "As you can see, my Yami is feeling better." He asked if they had had any luck at the movie studio and was shocked and horrifed when they told him of their experiences.
"I feel that in order to solve this mystery once and for all, we must return to the studio," Yugi announced.
"Oh my," Bakura exclaimed, wide-eyed. He paused. "Well, I'm certainly coming with you," he declared.
"You dolt! There's no telling what you might get yourself into!" Yami Bakura growled.
"Oh, I'm not worried about that, Yami," Bakura replied. "I want to help you solve this mystery," he said to Yugi and the others.
Yugi smiled and nodded. "And we're more than happy to have you come with us," he said.
"Hey, I just thought of something," Tea spoke up suddenly. "Weren't we always going to go back to Summit Hills?"
"That's right!" Bakura exclaimed, blinking. "We were planning to investigate that odd house out there!"
Yugi looked around at the others. "Well, perhaps we should all split up again and some of us will go to Summit Hills while the rest of us investigate the studio," he suggested.
"That's not a bad idea," Mai mused.
In the end, they agreed that Mai would go with Bakura to Summit Hills while Yugi, Tea, and Seto would go back to the studio. If nothing went amiss, they would try to contact each other within two hours. Yami Bakura was still weak from his battle with the Shadow Poison, and therefore would remain in the Millennium Ring unless he was needed.
As they set out for the studio, Tea couldn't shake the feeling that something awful was very likely to happen. When she glanced at Yugi and Seto, she could tell that the boys were thinking the same thing.
****
"Man, this is a drag," Tristan sighed.
"You said it!" Joey grumbled. "We've been cramped under this window for hours just watchin' that Oliver Brown guy, and he just keeps sittin' in his chair watchin' TV!" He glanced over at Cindy, who was looking through a window on the other side of the house. "See anything interesting over there?" he asked.
"Nothing at all," Cindy sighed.
In the house, the phone rang and Oliver hurried to answer it.
"Finally, some action," Joey remarked.
"Man, we must be bored if we can accept a phone call as 'action,'" Tristan sighed.
"Can you hear what he's sayin'?" Joey asked as they moved up closer to the window.
"Nope," Tristan replied.
"C'mon, let's get closer," Joey said, pushing himself against the glass.
"Get down, Joey!" Cindy, still on the other side of the house, hissed. "You're going to be seen!"
"Hey, relax! I'll be fine!" Joey assured her with a typical grin and then promptly clanked into the window—hard. "Ow!" he yelled loudly.
In the house, Oliver lowered the phone suspiciously and turned to look. "What was that?!" he exclaimed, getting up. Joey ducked down just as the man walked over to the window and peered out. Not being able to see anything, Oliver turned back to the telephone.
"Man, Joey, that was a close one," Tristan said, shaking his head.
At that moment, the window opened and Oliver looked down at them. "I knew I heard something," he said in an angry voice much different from the nervous tone the teens had heard him use earlier. "And now you two Peeping Toms are going to pay!"
Joey and Tristan stared at him, then at each other. "Uh oh," they said in unison.
****
Meanwhile, Mai and Bakura had wandered into the abandoned mansion at Summit Hills.
"So I guess we're looking for any clues as to how those aliens—or whatever they were—disappeared from the roof so fast," Mai said.
"That's right," Bakura nodded.
"Well, let's get it over with as soon as possible. This place gives me the creeps!" Mai declared.
They walked on ahead in the near-dark, with only the light from the moon outside to light their way, which proved to not be much of a help. With a scream of terror, Bakura suddenly plunged through a gaping hole in the floor and disappeared from sight!
Oliver shook his head firmly. "No . . . no. . . . You all must leave! . . . Art Carmichael was just here and he said you'd been by to talk to him. . . . You kids shouldn't be getting involved in this!"
"Unfortunately, we're already involved in it, Mr. Brown," Tea said.
"We got involved when the first UFO flew over Domino City," Joey added.
Oliver leaned against the door frame. "It's too dangerous for young kids like you!" He paused. "For that matter, it's even too dangerous for old fogies like me!"
"Man, you know somethin' you ain't tellin'," Joey declared.
"Do you know how I got injured?" Seto demanded.
Oliver's eyes widened. "It was you?!"
"Yes, it was me." Seto's eyes narrowed. "And what do you know about it? Tell me!"
Oliver looked around furtively. "Come inside, all of you," he said, holding the door open wide.
****
When everyone was safely in Oliver's living room and introductions had been made, Seto again insisted on hearing what the man knew about the strange goings-on.
"Well, I can't claim to know everything, because I don't," Oliver began, "but I've been suspecting for a long time that Art Carmichael has been involved in underhanded deeds and recently found it out to be true. I'm sure he didn't tell you kids, but I'm not really a real estate agent anymore. I'm Carmichael's silent business partner!"
The teens stared at him in shock.
"Oh man . . . why did he lie to us?!" Joey spoke up finally, messing up his hair. "And if he was lyin', then what was that guard talkin' about?!"
"This is a very complex plot," Oliver said grimly. "When Carmichael first realized that I knew the truth—which was only a few days ago—he tried to convince me to join forces with him, but I refused. That's when he set about trying to discredit me by inventing the whole phony story about how I, a real estate agent, tried to insist that he not rent the KaibaCorp-owned property for his movie. Then he set up those 'accidents' today and blamed them on me. That guard must be working with him, helping to spread the falsehoods." He started to pace the floor nervously. "Since I am his silent business partner and no one knows who I am, everyone has just believed the false stories. And if I try to go to the police, Carmichael says he'll hurt my family." He stopped pacing and shook his head sadly. "And I don't doubt for a minute that he would."
"That's awful!" Yugi declared. "But what truth do you know?" he asked. "What kinds of underhanded things is Carmichael involved with?"
Oliver shook his head. "I really shouldn't say anything. Knowing too much is what got Seto Kaiba here beaten to a pulp. He would have been killed if Carmichael had had his way, and I don't doubt that Carmichael will try again if he thinks you're all being too nosy."
"Well, we're not giving up until Carmichael and all the criminals working with him are caught!" Yugi said determinedly.
Oliver paused, apparently remembering something unpleasant. "Several days ago, Carmichael told me that a teenage boy was getting too nosy and that he was going to have to do something about it, but I didn't take him seriously." He shook his head sadly. "I just didn't see how he could possibly hurt a boy. But then a couple of days later, I accidentally overheard a conversation between two of Carmichael's goons. They were talking about how they'd captured and beaten the elder Kaiba boy, just as Carmichael had wanted."
Everyone gasped and Tea looked horrified. Seto's eyes narrowed angrily.
"They went on to say that Carmichael had tried to kill him, but that the boy had escaped," Oliver continued. "They didn't think he would get very far with his injuries, and they also didn't seem worried that he would tell someone what had happened to him. They said he likely wouldn't remember much about the experience—or about his previous knowledge of Carmichael's criminal acts—but they didn't say why." He paused. "I quickly found Carmichael and confronted him with what I'd heard. He didn't deny it."
"That slimeball!" Joey declared hotly.
"Tell me, Seto Kaiba," Oliver said now, turning to the blue-eyed boy, "do you remember anything about your experience?"
Seto clenched his fists angrily. "Why should I tell you?" he growled. He actually had had more flashes of memory about Carmichael's henchmen beating him, but he wasn't about to say anything. He had the sinking feeling that Oliver couldn't be trusted any more than Carmichael.
"Hey, take it easy, man," Joey said irritably. "He's only worried about you."
Oliver finally sat down and leaned forward, staring intently into Seto's ice-blue eyes. "Joseph is right, Seto Kaiba—I am."
"I doubt that highly," Seto retorted.
"Oh Kaiba!" Tea cuffed him on the arm, looking angry.
"It's alright," Oliver reassured them quickly.
"Mr. Brown, I can appreciate you wanting to keep us all safe, but we need to get these criminals behind bars, where they won't be able to hurt anyone anymore," Yugi spoke up solemnly, summoning his Yami. "Please, you must tell us what you know."
Oliver paused, considering this for a moment. Then he sighed, nodding. "I suppose you're right. Carmichael is running a very profitable jewel smuggling ring and secretly conspiring with some strange people—whom I suspect are extra-terrestrials—to rule the world," he said dramatically. "All the proof is hidden at the studio, if you're all brave enough to go back there."
"Hey, of course we're brave enough!" Joey declared. "We wanna catch these crumbs!"
"But please . . ." Oliver begged, "don't tell the police about any of this. I don't want my family to be hurt." He stood up shakily. "And now, I must ask you all to leave. If Carmichael finds out you were here, there's no telling what he might do!"
****
"Now that was a weird experience!" Tristan remarked as they walked back to Seto's limo.
"Why were you so rude to Mr. Brown, Kaiba?" Tea demanded.
"I don't trust him," Seto said darkly.
"Hey, what's not to trust?" Joey said airily. "Sure, he's kinda eccentric and everything, but he seemed genuine enough to me."
"Actually, I think Kaiba might be right about this one," Yugi said grimly. "There was something not quite right about Mr. Brown. Why did he suddenly agree to tell us about Carmichael's criminal acts when at first he'd been so adament about keeping the knowledge away from us?"
"That was definitely odd," Cindy piped up with a nod of agreement.
"Hey, he finally came around to our way of thinkin'," Joey shrugged.
Yugi shook his head. "No . . . no, I'm afraid he was trying to lead us into a trap."
"Man, we can't trust anybody!" Joey cried in frustration, messing up his hair.
"So what should we do, Yugi?" Tea asked worriedly.
Yugi sighed. "Well, I must admit, I'm afraid that if we want to solve this, we will have to return to the studio."
"But what if it is a trap?" Tea gasped.
"We'll just have to take that chance," Seto said grimly. "I'm not about to let Carmichael get away with what he's doing, especially after what he did to me!"
Yugi nodded. "Of course we will have to be on our guard at all times. There is no telling what dastardly surprises they might have waiting for us."
"Maybe a couple of people should hang out here and kinda spy on Mr. Brown," Joey suggested.
"Not a bad idea," Yugi agreed. "Do you and Tristan want to do it?"
"Sure, why not?" Joey grinned.
"And I'll help," Cindy smiled.
"The rest of us will go back to the game shop and check on Bakura and his Yami, then plan our next move," Yugi decided.
****
When they arrived back at Yugi's place, they were surprised to find Yami Bakura flipping through the channels on TV, looking extremely bored. He was wearing a green shirt and a pair of jeans, and he didn't look up when they came in, tho Yugi was certain he had heard them do so.
Bakura, hearing the door open, came out of the kitchen looking happy. "Hello!" he greeted Yugi and the others. "As you can see, my Yami is feeling better." He asked if they had had any luck at the movie studio and was shocked and horrifed when they told him of their experiences.
"I feel that in order to solve this mystery once and for all, we must return to the studio," Yugi announced.
"Oh my," Bakura exclaimed, wide-eyed. He paused. "Well, I'm certainly coming with you," he declared.
"You dolt! There's no telling what you might get yourself into!" Yami Bakura growled.
"Oh, I'm not worried about that, Yami," Bakura replied. "I want to help you solve this mystery," he said to Yugi and the others.
Yugi smiled and nodded. "And we're more than happy to have you come with us," he said.
"Hey, I just thought of something," Tea spoke up suddenly. "Weren't we always going to go back to Summit Hills?"
"That's right!" Bakura exclaimed, blinking. "We were planning to investigate that odd house out there!"
Yugi looked around at the others. "Well, perhaps we should all split up again and some of us will go to Summit Hills while the rest of us investigate the studio," he suggested.
"That's not a bad idea," Mai mused.
In the end, they agreed that Mai would go with Bakura to Summit Hills while Yugi, Tea, and Seto would go back to the studio. If nothing went amiss, they would try to contact each other within two hours. Yami Bakura was still weak from his battle with the Shadow Poison, and therefore would remain in the Millennium Ring unless he was needed.
As they set out for the studio, Tea couldn't shake the feeling that something awful was very likely to happen. When she glanced at Yugi and Seto, she could tell that the boys were thinking the same thing.
****
"Man, this is a drag," Tristan sighed.
"You said it!" Joey grumbled. "We've been cramped under this window for hours just watchin' that Oliver Brown guy, and he just keeps sittin' in his chair watchin' TV!" He glanced over at Cindy, who was looking through a window on the other side of the house. "See anything interesting over there?" he asked.
"Nothing at all," Cindy sighed.
In the house, the phone rang and Oliver hurried to answer it.
"Finally, some action," Joey remarked.
"Man, we must be bored if we can accept a phone call as 'action,'" Tristan sighed.
"Can you hear what he's sayin'?" Joey asked as they moved up closer to the window.
"Nope," Tristan replied.
"C'mon, let's get closer," Joey said, pushing himself against the glass.
"Get down, Joey!" Cindy, still on the other side of the house, hissed. "You're going to be seen!"
"Hey, relax! I'll be fine!" Joey assured her with a typical grin and then promptly clanked into the window—hard. "Ow!" he yelled loudly.
In the house, Oliver lowered the phone suspiciously and turned to look. "What was that?!" he exclaimed, getting up. Joey ducked down just as the man walked over to the window and peered out. Not being able to see anything, Oliver turned back to the telephone.
"Man, Joey, that was a close one," Tristan said, shaking his head.
At that moment, the window opened and Oliver looked down at them. "I knew I heard something," he said in an angry voice much different from the nervous tone the teens had heard him use earlier. "And now you two Peeping Toms are going to pay!"
Joey and Tristan stared at him, then at each other. "Uh oh," they said in unison.
****
Meanwhile, Mai and Bakura had wandered into the abandoned mansion at Summit Hills.
"So I guess we're looking for any clues as to how those aliens—or whatever they were—disappeared from the roof so fast," Mai said.
"That's right," Bakura nodded.
"Well, let's get it over with as soon as possible. This place gives me the creeps!" Mai declared.
They walked on ahead in the near-dark, with only the light from the moon outside to light their way, which proved to not be much of a help. With a scream of terror, Bakura suddenly plunged through a gaping hole in the floor and disappeared from sight!