The group of kids left the police station shortly after Gabrielle's declaration to put out an APB on Mr. Thorton. It was snowing again, and it would have been the picture-perfect Christmas scene if everyone wasn't so worried about Mokuba and the entire mystery.
"Eh, I guess you're goin' back to talk to Mara now, huh?" Joey asked Seto as they got into the limo.
"That's right," Seto nodded.
"The police station was cool," Bobby said, and Annie nodded in agreement. "But I sure hope you find your brother, Mr. Kaiba," he added.
"I will," Seto replied determinedly. He only prayed it wouldn't be too late when he did.
Soon the others had been dropped off at Bobby's house and Seto was preparing to leave for his own home. The others could take Joey's car from there, he decided. Of course there were only four seats in the car and five teens who would try to ride in it. And it was snowing. What if they were cramped so tightly in the car that they got into an accident? Seto sighed. "Come with me, Tea," he said finally.
Tea looked up, blinking in surprise. "Huh?"
"I'll take you home. Come on." Seto regarded her with his usual emotionless expression.
Tea hesitated for only a moment. She didn't especially want to take another ride in that crowded car of Joey's, nor did she want to wind up in a car crash. After saying goodbye to Yugi and the others, she climbed into the limo. "I should probably go back to the store actually," she said slowly. "I shouldn't just leave Mai there all day."
Seto grunted. "Very well."
Tea paused, thinking. "Of course with Mr. Thorton gone, I don't really know what I should do," she said at last. "Maybe I should just close the store until I know more what's going on." She didn't really expect Seto to answer that and so when he was silent, she wasn't surprised.
Now Tea stole a glance at the boy, who was staring out of the tinted window, a faraway look in his blue eyes. She knew he was thinking about Mokuba and wondering if he was okay. She wished she knew how to help find him. "Kaiba?" she said softly, laying a hand on Seto's shoulder.
Seto turned to look at her. "What?"
"I . . . I don't think I've had a chance to thank you for warning me about that stalker," Tea said softly. "You put yourself in a lot of danger to do that, and . . . I just wanted you to know how grateful I am."
Seto again didn't answer, but he nodded in acknowledgment.
"And . . ." Tea paused. "You'll find Mokuba," she declared finally, "and he'll be okay—I know it!"
Seto gave her a long look. She had never seen him look so lost. "Thank you," he said at last, and turned away again.
****
Yugi, meanwhile, decided that maybe they should investigate Thorton's house. "I hate breaking in like that," he said, shaking his head, "but maybe there's something the police overlooked. We have to do everything possible to wrap this case up, especially now that Mokuba's missing."
The other three boys agreed.
"I suppose we should go over before it gets any later," Bakura said slowly.
"You guys go on," Joey told them, "and I'll catch up to ya shortly."
"Okay, Joey," Yugi agreed, and he, Tristan, and Bakura crossed the street.
"Can I come too?" Bobby asked hopefully.
Joey laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, kid. Not this time. We probably shouldn't be goin' in there and I don't wanna drag you into our 'illegal activities.' Your mom would kick me into next week!"
Bobby grinned at that thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he sighed.
Joey paused. "So Bobby, are you excited for Christmas?" he asked finally.
Now Bobby paused. "We probably won't really have one this year," he shrugged, trying to look cheerful. "But I'm sure it'll still be a fun day! I can play in the snow and make a fort!" Joey could see that his younger friend looked sad and he decided to drop the subject, but he was determined to make sure that somehow Bobby and his family would have a Christmas this year.
The blonde boy glanced across the street. "Well, I'd better get over there with the others," he said, "but I'll come back and see you again before we leave," he promised.
Bobby brightened. "Okay! I'll just stay out here and watch you guys through Mr. Thorton's window," he announced.
Joey mocked falling over in fright. "Just don't report us to anyone!" he said, wagging his forefinger at Bobby.
"I won't!" Bobby promised as Joey waved and ran across the street.
****
When Seto drove up to the Kaiba Manor, he had the feeling that there was no time to be wasted in finding Mokuba. He knew that his little brother was in grave danger.
Quickly he strode up to the porch and purposefully opened the front door. "Anna?" he called.
The stern-faced maid appeared at the top of the stairs. "Yes, sir?"
"How's Mara doing?" Seto asked.
"She woke up a while ago," Anna replied, "and the poor child's a basket case. She's convinced that Mokuba will die and that everything is her fault."
Seto shook his head and started upstairs. "I'll talk to her. Meanwhile, Anna, you call the neighbors and find out if any of them saw anything."
Anna nodded. "Will do, sir."
Seto knocked softly on Mara's door. "Who's there?" the girl called from inside, sniffling.
"It's me, kid," Seto replied. "Can I come in?"
"Uh huh." Mara's voice was barely audible.
Seto opened the door and walked in. Mara was curled up on her bed, clutching a pillow tightly. "Are you alright, Mara?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"No!" Mara wailed. "I should've stopped Mokuba. I can't protect anyone I care about!!" She looked up, her face tear-streaked. "I couldn't stop my daddy from disappearing, and I couldn't save my mommy either!! . . . And now I couldn't save Mokuba!"
Seto's heart melted. Gently he took the girl into his arms. "It's alright, kid," he said softly. "It's not your fault. None of this was your fault. When your parents disappeared, you were an innocent bystander. You couldn't help what happened to them. And with Mokuba, he wanted to help you escape. He was willing to go in your place. And once he'd made up his mind, there is nothing you could have done to stop him."
Mara looked up at him. "But what if we can't find them? Or . . . or worse, what if we do and . . . and it's too late?" she cried.
"It won't be too late, kid, I promise you," Seto told her firmly. Some of those fears were crowding into his own mind, but he had to stay strong for Mara. But even as he thought this, horrible images sprang to his mind, almost as if someone else had just planted them there. The men who'd taken Mokuba were evil. Once they realized he didn't have what they wanted, there was nothing to stop them from torturing Mokuba or even . . .
No!! Seto cried. I'll rescue Mokuba! I have to! But still those horrible images plagued him.
He tried to return to the present. "Mara," he said softly, "earlier you seemed very upset when I mentioned calling the police. Can you tell me why?"
Mara shook her head.
Seto looked into her eyes. "Please, Mara. It might help us find your parents and Mokuba." He paused. "Was a police officer involved in their disappearance?"
Mara blinked in surprise and slowly nodded.
"Can you tell me about it?" Seto asked.
Mara hesitated for another moment, but finally agreed, and then Seto heard the heart-breaking story of what exactly had happened to the little girl during the time she was wandering the streets.
"I was all alone and cold," she told him shakily, "and I didn't know how I was going to find Mommy and Daddy. Then this policeman came and found me on the street. I told him what had happened and he took me back to his home with him. He said that he would help me find my parents, but nothing ever seemed to happen. I kept asking him when we'd find them and he said he was working on it.
"He often had these secret meetings with people," she went on, "and he always said it was secret police business. I was never allowed to listen in on them, but . . . but one day I was walking past his closed office and I couldn't help but hear. . . ." Mara paused, shuddering.
"What did you hear, kid?" Seto prompted gently.
Mara gulped. "I . . . I heard the man talking to the police officer say, 'So the kid doesn't even suspect a thing?' And then the policeman laughed all mean-like and said, 'No, she would never dream that I'd be involved in the kidnapping of her parents, but they were just getting too nosy.' Then he went on to say . . ." Mara paused again, obviously finding these memories frightening and painful. "'I have that girl wrapped around my little finger. Soon she'll give me the code, thinking she's helping her parents, but she'll really be helping me!'
"They didn't know I'd overheard," the child quavered, "at least not at first. But then I was so scared that I was trying to run away, and . . . I . . . I accidentally broke something."
"And they realized you'd heard," Seto stated quietly.
Mara nodded. "Uh huh. Then the policeman came after me and he chased me down the hall calling me all kinds of awful names! He said if I didn't give him the code right then and there, he'd . . . he'd . . ." She trailed off, sobbing again, but Seto got the general idea. The snake had probably threatened to kill Mara's parents if she didn't comply with his wishes, the boy decided angrily.
"That's when I ran off," Mara said shakily. "I snuck on a bus and rode to Domino City, but as soon as I got off, those awful men started chasing me and . . . and that's when I found you," she finished softly.
Seto held her silently for a long time, outraged thoughts swirling through his mind. How could someone treat an innocent child like that? But of course he knew they could. He himself had been innocent and naive once, but that seemed like an lifetime ago. His innocence had been stolen, but he wasn't going to let the same thing happen to this little girl.
"Mara," he said softly, after another silence, "you know, all police officers aren't bad like that one."
Mara nodded slowly; she understood that. "But . . ." she said finally, struggling to collect her words, "but . . . how do I know which ones are?"
A perplexing question, Seto thought dejectedly. How did one know who they could trust? They couldn't, really. Anyone could turn on them at any time, as Seto had found out many times during his own life. "You can't, kid," he told her sadly, then paused. "But sometimes you just have to have faith."
A strange thought struck him suddenly. After what Mara had gone through with the police officer, how had she felt so completely willing to trust Seto? For all she'd know, he might turn on her as well.
Mara voiced the answer as she looked up at him with her trusting blue eyes. "I think you're right, Mr. Kaiba," she said softly. "When I met you, I didn't know if I could trust you, but I had to hope that you weren't working with those awful men. And then you saved me and were carrying me away, and . . ." She paused. "I felt safe, Mr. Kaiba," she told him. "With that officer, I always had a weird feeling that something wasn't right, but with you I haven't ever felt that. I know you're different than him!" she declared.
Seto was touched by this show of trust from Mara and he vowed not to let her down.
A sharp pain suddenly stabbed the boy in his heart and it was all he could do not to double over. "Seto," he heard a voice say distinctly, "you must find your brother immediately." Seto had known that, of course—but this voice made it all the more urgent.
"Kid, did you hear that?" he demanded.
Mara blinked. "What?"
Seto shook his head. "Never mind." He paused. "Mara, can you tell me anything more about these criminals? Anything, even the most trivial thing could be a vital clue."
Mara paused, thinking hard. "One of the guys started laughing and he said, 'Mr. Del Vinci will be happy about this!' Then the other one called him a moron and said that 'the boss didn't want his name mentioned.'"
Seto started. "Del Vinci?" he repeated. Del Vinci was a Mafia don! This was bad, very bad. And now things were starting to fall into place.
****
Mokuba lay on the floor of the walk-in safe, sobbing uncontrollably. The man had whispered dire threats to the boy, detailing exactly what would happen now to Seto and to Mara. "And there is nothing you can do to stop me," he had hissed, again locking Mokuba in the stuffy walk-in safe. "No one will find you in here until it's too late. The air won't last very long, you know."
And so the boy had lain there, trying hard not to breathe very much so he could conserve the air as long as he possibly could, but worrying more about his brother and Mara than himself. He wanted more than anything to warn them of the danger, but he didn't know how.
He felt his eyelids grow heavy and he knew he was running out of air. He coughed and struggled to hold on. "Please, God, please send someone to watch out for Seto and Mara!" he prayed, feeling the blanket of oblivion trying to settle over him. He fought it with all the strength he had left. I can't go to sleep, he told himself. If I do, I'll never wake up!
"Eh, I guess you're goin' back to talk to Mara now, huh?" Joey asked Seto as they got into the limo.
"That's right," Seto nodded.
"The police station was cool," Bobby said, and Annie nodded in agreement. "But I sure hope you find your brother, Mr. Kaiba," he added.
"I will," Seto replied determinedly. He only prayed it wouldn't be too late when he did.
Soon the others had been dropped off at Bobby's house and Seto was preparing to leave for his own home. The others could take Joey's car from there, he decided. Of course there were only four seats in the car and five teens who would try to ride in it. And it was snowing. What if they were cramped so tightly in the car that they got into an accident? Seto sighed. "Come with me, Tea," he said finally.
Tea looked up, blinking in surprise. "Huh?"
"I'll take you home. Come on." Seto regarded her with his usual emotionless expression.
Tea hesitated for only a moment. She didn't especially want to take another ride in that crowded car of Joey's, nor did she want to wind up in a car crash. After saying goodbye to Yugi and the others, she climbed into the limo. "I should probably go back to the store actually," she said slowly. "I shouldn't just leave Mai there all day."
Seto grunted. "Very well."
Tea paused, thinking. "Of course with Mr. Thorton gone, I don't really know what I should do," she said at last. "Maybe I should just close the store until I know more what's going on." She didn't really expect Seto to answer that and so when he was silent, she wasn't surprised.
Now Tea stole a glance at the boy, who was staring out of the tinted window, a faraway look in his blue eyes. She knew he was thinking about Mokuba and wondering if he was okay. She wished she knew how to help find him. "Kaiba?" she said softly, laying a hand on Seto's shoulder.
Seto turned to look at her. "What?"
"I . . . I don't think I've had a chance to thank you for warning me about that stalker," Tea said softly. "You put yourself in a lot of danger to do that, and . . . I just wanted you to know how grateful I am."
Seto again didn't answer, but he nodded in acknowledgment.
"And . . ." Tea paused. "You'll find Mokuba," she declared finally, "and he'll be okay—I know it!"
Seto gave her a long look. She had never seen him look so lost. "Thank you," he said at last, and turned away again.
****
Yugi, meanwhile, decided that maybe they should investigate Thorton's house. "I hate breaking in like that," he said, shaking his head, "but maybe there's something the police overlooked. We have to do everything possible to wrap this case up, especially now that Mokuba's missing."
The other three boys agreed.
"I suppose we should go over before it gets any later," Bakura said slowly.
"You guys go on," Joey told them, "and I'll catch up to ya shortly."
"Okay, Joey," Yugi agreed, and he, Tristan, and Bakura crossed the street.
"Can I come too?" Bobby asked hopefully.
Joey laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, kid. Not this time. We probably shouldn't be goin' in there and I don't wanna drag you into our 'illegal activities.' Your mom would kick me into next week!"
Bobby grinned at that thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he sighed.
Joey paused. "So Bobby, are you excited for Christmas?" he asked finally.
Now Bobby paused. "We probably won't really have one this year," he shrugged, trying to look cheerful. "But I'm sure it'll still be a fun day! I can play in the snow and make a fort!" Joey could see that his younger friend looked sad and he decided to drop the subject, but he was determined to make sure that somehow Bobby and his family would have a Christmas this year.
The blonde boy glanced across the street. "Well, I'd better get over there with the others," he said, "but I'll come back and see you again before we leave," he promised.
Bobby brightened. "Okay! I'll just stay out here and watch you guys through Mr. Thorton's window," he announced.
Joey mocked falling over in fright. "Just don't report us to anyone!" he said, wagging his forefinger at Bobby.
"I won't!" Bobby promised as Joey waved and ran across the street.
****
When Seto drove up to the Kaiba Manor, he had the feeling that there was no time to be wasted in finding Mokuba. He knew that his little brother was in grave danger.
Quickly he strode up to the porch and purposefully opened the front door. "Anna?" he called.
The stern-faced maid appeared at the top of the stairs. "Yes, sir?"
"How's Mara doing?" Seto asked.
"She woke up a while ago," Anna replied, "and the poor child's a basket case. She's convinced that Mokuba will die and that everything is her fault."
Seto shook his head and started upstairs. "I'll talk to her. Meanwhile, Anna, you call the neighbors and find out if any of them saw anything."
Anna nodded. "Will do, sir."
Seto knocked softly on Mara's door. "Who's there?" the girl called from inside, sniffling.
"It's me, kid," Seto replied. "Can I come in?"
"Uh huh." Mara's voice was barely audible.
Seto opened the door and walked in. Mara was curled up on her bed, clutching a pillow tightly. "Are you alright, Mara?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"No!" Mara wailed. "I should've stopped Mokuba. I can't protect anyone I care about!!" She looked up, her face tear-streaked. "I couldn't stop my daddy from disappearing, and I couldn't save my mommy either!! . . . And now I couldn't save Mokuba!"
Seto's heart melted. Gently he took the girl into his arms. "It's alright, kid," he said softly. "It's not your fault. None of this was your fault. When your parents disappeared, you were an innocent bystander. You couldn't help what happened to them. And with Mokuba, he wanted to help you escape. He was willing to go in your place. And once he'd made up his mind, there is nothing you could have done to stop him."
Mara looked up at him. "But what if we can't find them? Or . . . or worse, what if we do and . . . and it's too late?" she cried.
"It won't be too late, kid, I promise you," Seto told her firmly. Some of those fears were crowding into his own mind, but he had to stay strong for Mara. But even as he thought this, horrible images sprang to his mind, almost as if someone else had just planted them there. The men who'd taken Mokuba were evil. Once they realized he didn't have what they wanted, there was nothing to stop them from torturing Mokuba or even . . .
No!! Seto cried. I'll rescue Mokuba! I have to! But still those horrible images plagued him.
He tried to return to the present. "Mara," he said softly, "earlier you seemed very upset when I mentioned calling the police. Can you tell me why?"
Mara shook her head.
Seto looked into her eyes. "Please, Mara. It might help us find your parents and Mokuba." He paused. "Was a police officer involved in their disappearance?"
Mara blinked in surprise and slowly nodded.
"Can you tell me about it?" Seto asked.
Mara hesitated for another moment, but finally agreed, and then Seto heard the heart-breaking story of what exactly had happened to the little girl during the time she was wandering the streets.
"I was all alone and cold," she told him shakily, "and I didn't know how I was going to find Mommy and Daddy. Then this policeman came and found me on the street. I told him what had happened and he took me back to his home with him. He said that he would help me find my parents, but nothing ever seemed to happen. I kept asking him when we'd find them and he said he was working on it.
"He often had these secret meetings with people," she went on, "and he always said it was secret police business. I was never allowed to listen in on them, but . . . but one day I was walking past his closed office and I couldn't help but hear. . . ." Mara paused, shuddering.
"What did you hear, kid?" Seto prompted gently.
Mara gulped. "I . . . I heard the man talking to the police officer say, 'So the kid doesn't even suspect a thing?' And then the policeman laughed all mean-like and said, 'No, she would never dream that I'd be involved in the kidnapping of her parents, but they were just getting too nosy.' Then he went on to say . . ." Mara paused again, obviously finding these memories frightening and painful. "'I have that girl wrapped around my little finger. Soon she'll give me the code, thinking she's helping her parents, but she'll really be helping me!'
"They didn't know I'd overheard," the child quavered, "at least not at first. But then I was so scared that I was trying to run away, and . . . I . . . I accidentally broke something."
"And they realized you'd heard," Seto stated quietly.
Mara nodded. "Uh huh. Then the policeman came after me and he chased me down the hall calling me all kinds of awful names! He said if I didn't give him the code right then and there, he'd . . . he'd . . ." She trailed off, sobbing again, but Seto got the general idea. The snake had probably threatened to kill Mara's parents if she didn't comply with his wishes, the boy decided angrily.
"That's when I ran off," Mara said shakily. "I snuck on a bus and rode to Domino City, but as soon as I got off, those awful men started chasing me and . . . and that's when I found you," she finished softly.
Seto held her silently for a long time, outraged thoughts swirling through his mind. How could someone treat an innocent child like that? But of course he knew they could. He himself had been innocent and naive once, but that seemed like an lifetime ago. His innocence had been stolen, but he wasn't going to let the same thing happen to this little girl.
"Mara," he said softly, after another silence, "you know, all police officers aren't bad like that one."
Mara nodded slowly; she understood that. "But . . ." she said finally, struggling to collect her words, "but . . . how do I know which ones are?"
A perplexing question, Seto thought dejectedly. How did one know who they could trust? They couldn't, really. Anyone could turn on them at any time, as Seto had found out many times during his own life. "You can't, kid," he told her sadly, then paused. "But sometimes you just have to have faith."
A strange thought struck him suddenly. After what Mara had gone through with the police officer, how had she felt so completely willing to trust Seto? For all she'd know, he might turn on her as well.
Mara voiced the answer as she looked up at him with her trusting blue eyes. "I think you're right, Mr. Kaiba," she said softly. "When I met you, I didn't know if I could trust you, but I had to hope that you weren't working with those awful men. And then you saved me and were carrying me away, and . . ." She paused. "I felt safe, Mr. Kaiba," she told him. "With that officer, I always had a weird feeling that something wasn't right, but with you I haven't ever felt that. I know you're different than him!" she declared.
Seto was touched by this show of trust from Mara and he vowed not to let her down.
A sharp pain suddenly stabbed the boy in his heart and it was all he could do not to double over. "Seto," he heard a voice say distinctly, "you must find your brother immediately." Seto had known that, of course—but this voice made it all the more urgent.
"Kid, did you hear that?" he demanded.
Mara blinked. "What?"
Seto shook his head. "Never mind." He paused. "Mara, can you tell me anything more about these criminals? Anything, even the most trivial thing could be a vital clue."
Mara paused, thinking hard. "One of the guys started laughing and he said, 'Mr. Del Vinci will be happy about this!' Then the other one called him a moron and said that 'the boss didn't want his name mentioned.'"
Seto started. "Del Vinci?" he repeated. Del Vinci was a Mafia don! This was bad, very bad. And now things were starting to fall into place.
****
Mokuba lay on the floor of the walk-in safe, sobbing uncontrollably. The man had whispered dire threats to the boy, detailing exactly what would happen now to Seto and to Mara. "And there is nothing you can do to stop me," he had hissed, again locking Mokuba in the stuffy walk-in safe. "No one will find you in here until it's too late. The air won't last very long, you know."
And so the boy had lain there, trying hard not to breathe very much so he could conserve the air as long as he possibly could, but worrying more about his brother and Mara than himself. He wanted more than anything to warn them of the danger, but he didn't know how.
He felt his eyelids grow heavy and he knew he was running out of air. He coughed and struggled to hold on. "Please, God, please send someone to watch out for Seto and Mara!" he prayed, feeling the blanket of oblivion trying to settle over him. He fought it with all the strength he had left. I can't go to sleep, he told himself. If I do, I'll never wake up!