Notes: Be prepared with Kleenex.
Joey positioned himself at the door into the storage room, ready for action. "Who wants a beatin'?!" he yelled, bursting in and looking around.
Suddenly he was tackled from behind and thrown to the floor. "Hey!!" the boy screamed indignantly.
"Joey's in trouble!" Tristan exclaimed.
"As always," Tea added with a sigh as they all ran into the backroom.
Joey was sprawled flat on the floor while a figure in a ski mask stood over him, their foot on his back. "Hey, let me up!!" the boy cried in frustration.
Slowly his attacker backed off and helped him stand up.
"Who are you?" Yugi demanded, stepping forward. "Reveal yourself!"
The mystery person pulled the mask off and black curls flew every which way.
"Maureen!" Tea cried in disbelief.
"It's me," the woman sighed in resignation.
"Where the heck do you get off tossin' people all around?!" Joey demanded. "And why are you wearin' a ski mask?!"
"You're one of the jewel smugglers, aren't you?" Yugi said evenly, the third eye glowing on his forehead. "You came here now to get some more jewels and you disguised yourself."
Maureen looked shocked. "Well . . . yes," she admitted finally.
"And I suppose you're mixed up in the kidnappings too, huh?" Joey said suspiciously, glaring at her.
Maureen glared back. "Of course not! I'm not some kind of a monster! The only thing I did was steal the stuffed animals with the diamond eyes before anyone could buy them and then I pretended that there was shoplifting going on." She paused. "And I rigged up those animals so they'd attack and fixed those other 'accidents' . . . but I made sure that no one got hurt!" she added quickly. "I never did anything to hurt anyone!"
"I'm so sure," Joey said, rolling his eyes. "I bet you chloroformed Bakura 'cause he was gettin' too close to the truth!"
"No, I didn't," Maureen insisted. "And I didn't have anything to do with that guy who threw your friend off the balcony!" she added fiercely.
"Yug, do you believe her?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.
Yugi was silent. "I have no reason not to," he said at last. "We cannot prove that Maureen hurt anyone, so she deserves the benefit of the doubt."
Maureen smiled, then grew serious. "I'm not involved, but I *can* tell you some of what's been going on," she said. She went to confirm that, yes, Byrnes had been blackmailing Thorton because the guy had stumbled onto too many secrets and that Thorton had now gone into hiding to get away. "I know where he is, but I can't tell you," she said.
"Do you know where Mokuba is?" Tea asked hopefully.
Maureen blinked. "Mokuba?" she repeated.
"Kaiba's younger brother," Bakura prompted. "He was abducted earlier by wicked men and we're afraid he's in grave danger."
Maureen shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know where he is." She paused. "But I can tell you that Byrnes is awfully ticked at Kaiba. He found out about Mara and doesn't want Kaiba to find the girl's parents."
"How do you know all this?" Tristan asked, intrigued.
Maureen shook her head. "You don't need to know that, but I can assure you that I'm not the bad guy here." She paused. "Okay, so I was smuggling jewels," she grumped. "But I think that's the least of our worries right now."
Yugi had to admit that she was right. Maureen was a criminal, but they needed her help.
"I don't know the whole story," Maureen admitted, "but I know that Byrnes is dangerous. He probably knows where Mokuba is." Here she paused. "But frankly, I wouldn't hold out much hope to find the kid alive."
The teens gasped.
"But Mokuba *has* to be alive!" Tea wailed.
At that moment Gabrielle, who had been out front collecting all the suspicious plushies, came back to see what the commotion was. She didn't seem surprised to see Maureen, but she was disturbed to learn that the other woman was one of the jewel smugglers.
"We'll deal with you later," the policewoman said sternly. "Right now, if you can tell us anything that might help us find Mokuba, and also Mara's parents, I'll see what I can do about getting your sentence reduced."
Maureen nodded and paused, thinking. "Well, I don't think Byrnes is the only one," she said finally. "I think he's working with a partner."
"Does the name Del Vinci mean anything to you?" Gabrielle demanded.
Maureen looked puzzled. "No. I've never heard of the guy!" she exclaimed.
"Del Vinci?" Joey gasped. "Ain't he some local crime boss?"
"That's right," Gabrielle agreed. "We sent some officers out to his house earlier, but they couldn't find anything. The man had completely cleared out." She paused. "I believe your friend was going out there to see if he could find any clues that we might have missed."
"Kaiba went out to Del Vinci's place?!" Yugi gasped.
"Well, what're we waitin' for?!" Joey cried, punching the air. "Let's all head out there!!"
"What about Byrnes?" Tea asked as they walked out of the store. "Shouldn't someone be investigating his house?"
Gabrielle nodded. "Unfortunately, we're having difficulties finding out where he lives," she reported. "The address he's giving out is that of a vacant lot."
Tea shook her head in disbelief. This was terrible! It was all such a nightmare. Please, she prayed, help us find Mokuba! Of course she wanted to find Mara's parents too, but Mokuba was just a little kid and there was no telling what those terrible men might have done to him.
****
Seto found Del Vinci's house and discovered that the police were still milling around. He went up to the nearest officer frantically. "Have you found anything?" he asked pleadingly.
"I'm sorry, sir," the officer replied, shaking his head.
Seto paused. He had to ask this next question, but he dreaded it. "Is . . . is there a vault in there?" he asked.
The officer gave him a long look. "I believe so, Mr. Kaiba," he said finally.
"Has anyone looked in it yet?" Seto demanded.
"I'm sure we have, sir," the officer said, but Seto disappeared into the house and went looking for the vault anyway. When he found it, the door was already open and nothing was inside . . . at least, nothing that wasn't supposed to be in there. Seto turned away. In one way he was relieved, but he knew he couldn't relax. Mokuba was still trapped somewhere else, and every second counted.
Feeling desperate, Seto searched through everything on the desk and in the filing cabinet. Nothing. Del Vinci had taken great pains to ensure that there wouldn't be any interference.
Seto sank to the floor, feelings of hopelessness threatening to overtake him. He couldn't fail! His brother was counting on him! He had always been there for Mokuba in the past, but . . . but what if now he couldn't save him?
The boy looked up, determined, trying to push those thoughts out of his mind. He couldn't allow himself to think such things.
Suddenly he noticed a slip of paper on the floor and reached to take it.
"Vinci—
They brought the kid, but it's the wrong one.
He's carrying some info, but it's probably fake.
Come immediately to Bayville Falls.
—Byrnes"
Bayville Falls! That was a ritzy town about twenty-five miles away. And Byrnes! Seto had always suspected the man of being involved somehow, and then of course that hitman today had said he was working for him. This note made Seto wonder if the man had really been telling the truth about not knowing where Mokuba was. He would go to the jail and confront him. He couldn't just go to Bayville Falls without some idea of where Byrnes lived, not when Mokuba might be dying. He couldn't afford to go on a wild goose chase.
Note in hand, Seto went out and found the nearest officer. "Were you investigating the den?" he demanded.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," the officer confirmed. "We didn't find a thing."
"You didn't, huh?" Seto waved the note in the policeman's face. "Would you like to explain how you missed this?"
The officer stared at the note in disbelief. "That wasn't there before, sir," he declared. "I would have seen it!"
Seto didn't have time to argue. He went to his limo, preparing to drive to the police station, when several more police cars drove up. Yugi and the others got out of one of them and ran over. "Kaiba!" Yugi called.
"Have you had any luck?" Tea asked.
Seto nodded. "A new lead. I have to go follow it."
"We're comin' too!" Joey said boldly. "We've been workin' on this mystery and we don't intend to give it up!"
Again Seto didn't bother to argue. He climbed into the driver's seat and then the others climbed in the back and they rode off.
****
"You wanna know where Byrnes lives?"
Seto gave the convicted hitman a Look. "I do. And think about this—if you don't tell me, I'll consider you an accessory to murder!" he said forcefully. "My brother will die if I don't find him immediately!"
The hitman shrugged. "You'll find Byrnes' place under the silent watcher and around the incessant babbler," he said cryptically.
Seto was not amused. "What?? I don't have time for this nonsense!!" He got up next to the glass, fuming.
"It's a riddle. Figure it out." The hitman grinned, enjoying Seto's frustration.
Seto couldn't believe this. Quickly he ran the riddle through his mind. He had only been to Bayville Falls a couple of times, but he remembered a mountain overlooking some of the homes and a river that wound around some of them. Could those be the "silent watcher" and the "incessant babbler"? There was nothing he could do but go see. It was obvious this man had said all he was going to.
****
Mokuba lay in the girl's arms, gasping. He couldn't breathe anymore. There was no air left. He knew he couldn't last any longer, but he didn't blame Seto at all. He knew his brother had tried his best. If . . . if either of us has to die, Mokuba thought, I'm . . . I'm glad it's me, and . . . and not you, Seto. He clutched the locket with his brother's picture tightly. I . . . I love you, Seto! He felt his eyelids close.
Kasumi was horrified. "No! No, little Mokuba!" She held the boy's innocent little body in her arms, feeling him going limp. "No!" Tears sprang to her eyes.
Joey positioned himself at the door into the storage room, ready for action. "Who wants a beatin'?!" he yelled, bursting in and looking around.
Suddenly he was tackled from behind and thrown to the floor. "Hey!!" the boy screamed indignantly.
"Joey's in trouble!" Tristan exclaimed.
"As always," Tea added with a sigh as they all ran into the backroom.
Joey was sprawled flat on the floor while a figure in a ski mask stood over him, their foot on his back. "Hey, let me up!!" the boy cried in frustration.
Slowly his attacker backed off and helped him stand up.
"Who are you?" Yugi demanded, stepping forward. "Reveal yourself!"
The mystery person pulled the mask off and black curls flew every which way.
"Maureen!" Tea cried in disbelief.
"It's me," the woman sighed in resignation.
"Where the heck do you get off tossin' people all around?!" Joey demanded. "And why are you wearin' a ski mask?!"
"You're one of the jewel smugglers, aren't you?" Yugi said evenly, the third eye glowing on his forehead. "You came here now to get some more jewels and you disguised yourself."
Maureen looked shocked. "Well . . . yes," she admitted finally.
"And I suppose you're mixed up in the kidnappings too, huh?" Joey said suspiciously, glaring at her.
Maureen glared back. "Of course not! I'm not some kind of a monster! The only thing I did was steal the stuffed animals with the diamond eyes before anyone could buy them and then I pretended that there was shoplifting going on." She paused. "And I rigged up those animals so they'd attack and fixed those other 'accidents' . . . but I made sure that no one got hurt!" she added quickly. "I never did anything to hurt anyone!"
"I'm so sure," Joey said, rolling his eyes. "I bet you chloroformed Bakura 'cause he was gettin' too close to the truth!"
"No, I didn't," Maureen insisted. "And I didn't have anything to do with that guy who threw your friend off the balcony!" she added fiercely.
"Yug, do you believe her?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.
Yugi was silent. "I have no reason not to," he said at last. "We cannot prove that Maureen hurt anyone, so she deserves the benefit of the doubt."
Maureen smiled, then grew serious. "I'm not involved, but I *can* tell you some of what's been going on," she said. She went to confirm that, yes, Byrnes had been blackmailing Thorton because the guy had stumbled onto too many secrets and that Thorton had now gone into hiding to get away. "I know where he is, but I can't tell you," she said.
"Do you know where Mokuba is?" Tea asked hopefully.
Maureen blinked. "Mokuba?" she repeated.
"Kaiba's younger brother," Bakura prompted. "He was abducted earlier by wicked men and we're afraid he's in grave danger."
Maureen shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know where he is." She paused. "But I can tell you that Byrnes is awfully ticked at Kaiba. He found out about Mara and doesn't want Kaiba to find the girl's parents."
"How do you know all this?" Tristan asked, intrigued.
Maureen shook her head. "You don't need to know that, but I can assure you that I'm not the bad guy here." She paused. "Okay, so I was smuggling jewels," she grumped. "But I think that's the least of our worries right now."
Yugi had to admit that she was right. Maureen was a criminal, but they needed her help.
"I don't know the whole story," Maureen admitted, "but I know that Byrnes is dangerous. He probably knows where Mokuba is." Here she paused. "But frankly, I wouldn't hold out much hope to find the kid alive."
The teens gasped.
"But Mokuba *has* to be alive!" Tea wailed.
At that moment Gabrielle, who had been out front collecting all the suspicious plushies, came back to see what the commotion was. She didn't seem surprised to see Maureen, but she was disturbed to learn that the other woman was one of the jewel smugglers.
"We'll deal with you later," the policewoman said sternly. "Right now, if you can tell us anything that might help us find Mokuba, and also Mara's parents, I'll see what I can do about getting your sentence reduced."
Maureen nodded and paused, thinking. "Well, I don't think Byrnes is the only one," she said finally. "I think he's working with a partner."
"Does the name Del Vinci mean anything to you?" Gabrielle demanded.
Maureen looked puzzled. "No. I've never heard of the guy!" she exclaimed.
"Del Vinci?" Joey gasped. "Ain't he some local crime boss?"
"That's right," Gabrielle agreed. "We sent some officers out to his house earlier, but they couldn't find anything. The man had completely cleared out." She paused. "I believe your friend was going out there to see if he could find any clues that we might have missed."
"Kaiba went out to Del Vinci's place?!" Yugi gasped.
"Well, what're we waitin' for?!" Joey cried, punching the air. "Let's all head out there!!"
"What about Byrnes?" Tea asked as they walked out of the store. "Shouldn't someone be investigating his house?"
Gabrielle nodded. "Unfortunately, we're having difficulties finding out where he lives," she reported. "The address he's giving out is that of a vacant lot."
Tea shook her head in disbelief. This was terrible! It was all such a nightmare. Please, she prayed, help us find Mokuba! Of course she wanted to find Mara's parents too, but Mokuba was just a little kid and there was no telling what those terrible men might have done to him.
****
Seto found Del Vinci's house and discovered that the police were still milling around. He went up to the nearest officer frantically. "Have you found anything?" he asked pleadingly.
"I'm sorry, sir," the officer replied, shaking his head.
Seto paused. He had to ask this next question, but he dreaded it. "Is . . . is there a vault in there?" he asked.
The officer gave him a long look. "I believe so, Mr. Kaiba," he said finally.
"Has anyone looked in it yet?" Seto demanded.
"I'm sure we have, sir," the officer said, but Seto disappeared into the house and went looking for the vault anyway. When he found it, the door was already open and nothing was inside . . . at least, nothing that wasn't supposed to be in there. Seto turned away. In one way he was relieved, but he knew he couldn't relax. Mokuba was still trapped somewhere else, and every second counted.
Feeling desperate, Seto searched through everything on the desk and in the filing cabinet. Nothing. Del Vinci had taken great pains to ensure that there wouldn't be any interference.
Seto sank to the floor, feelings of hopelessness threatening to overtake him. He couldn't fail! His brother was counting on him! He had always been there for Mokuba in the past, but . . . but what if now he couldn't save him?
The boy looked up, determined, trying to push those thoughts out of his mind. He couldn't allow himself to think such things.
Suddenly he noticed a slip of paper on the floor and reached to take it.
"Vinci—
They brought the kid, but it's the wrong one.
He's carrying some info, but it's probably fake.
Come immediately to Bayville Falls.
—Byrnes"
Bayville Falls! That was a ritzy town about twenty-five miles away. And Byrnes! Seto had always suspected the man of being involved somehow, and then of course that hitman today had said he was working for him. This note made Seto wonder if the man had really been telling the truth about not knowing where Mokuba was. He would go to the jail and confront him. He couldn't just go to Bayville Falls without some idea of where Byrnes lived, not when Mokuba might be dying. He couldn't afford to go on a wild goose chase.
Note in hand, Seto went out and found the nearest officer. "Were you investigating the den?" he demanded.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," the officer confirmed. "We didn't find a thing."
"You didn't, huh?" Seto waved the note in the policeman's face. "Would you like to explain how you missed this?"
The officer stared at the note in disbelief. "That wasn't there before, sir," he declared. "I would have seen it!"
Seto didn't have time to argue. He went to his limo, preparing to drive to the police station, when several more police cars drove up. Yugi and the others got out of one of them and ran over. "Kaiba!" Yugi called.
"Have you had any luck?" Tea asked.
Seto nodded. "A new lead. I have to go follow it."
"We're comin' too!" Joey said boldly. "We've been workin' on this mystery and we don't intend to give it up!"
Again Seto didn't bother to argue. He climbed into the driver's seat and then the others climbed in the back and they rode off.
****
"You wanna know where Byrnes lives?"
Seto gave the convicted hitman a Look. "I do. And think about this—if you don't tell me, I'll consider you an accessory to murder!" he said forcefully. "My brother will die if I don't find him immediately!"
The hitman shrugged. "You'll find Byrnes' place under the silent watcher and around the incessant babbler," he said cryptically.
Seto was not amused. "What?? I don't have time for this nonsense!!" He got up next to the glass, fuming.
"It's a riddle. Figure it out." The hitman grinned, enjoying Seto's frustration.
Seto couldn't believe this. Quickly he ran the riddle through his mind. He had only been to Bayville Falls a couple of times, but he remembered a mountain overlooking some of the homes and a river that wound around some of them. Could those be the "silent watcher" and the "incessant babbler"? There was nothing he could do but go see. It was obvious this man had said all he was going to.
****
Mokuba lay in the girl's arms, gasping. He couldn't breathe anymore. There was no air left. He knew he couldn't last any longer, but he didn't blame Seto at all. He knew his brother had tried his best. If . . . if either of us has to die, Mokuba thought, I'm . . . I'm glad it's me, and . . . and not you, Seto. He clutched the locket with his brother's picture tightly. I . . . I love you, Seto! He felt his eyelids close.
Kasumi was horrified. "No! No, little Mokuba!" She held the boy's innocent little body in her arms, feeling him going limp. "No!" Tears sprang to her eyes.