Bakura was horrified. "What happened?!" he exclaimed, kneeling on the floor next to the mysterious woman.
The woman groaned. "I . . . I was just in the storage room, looking for some old records. . . . And . . . someone was in there with me. . . ."
"Who?" Bruce demanded, seeming to be more concerned about that than the fact that the woman was hurt. Bakura gave him an angry look before turning back to gently examine the woman's wound.
"I . . . I don't know," the woman replied, grimacing as she let Bakura survey the extent of the damage. "They were in the shadows. . . . I couldn't see them very well. . . . They just stabbed me and ran out the back way!"
"This is outrageous!!" Bruce screamed in frustration. "They were probably trying to steal some of the rare LP records!"
Bakura couldn't control his outrage. "Mr. Von Wilkenson, this woman has been injured! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"
Bruce was heading for the door. "Of course it does!" he snapped. "It means she won't be able to work for a few days!"
Bakura looked at him in disgust, then smiled reassuringly at the woman. "It's alright," he said softly. "This wound doesn't look too bad." Dealing with blood always made him feel dizzy and light-headed, but he did have an extensive knowledge of medicine and was always ready to help someone in need in spite of his uneasiness about blood. Gently he pressed a handkerchief over the wound as he continued to talk quietly to the woman, who was beginning to relax. "May I ask your name?" he queried now.
"Sure," the woman replied amiably, smiling at him. "I'm Delores, an all-around gofer."
Bakura blinked in confusion. "Come again?"
The woman laughed. "I get that a lot. Basically what I do is 'go for' stuff that the deejays or anyone else wants."
Bakura nodded, understanding now. "I see." He checked the wound. "Well, the bleeding has stopped," he announced, smiling at her again.
"That's a relief," Delores said, shuddering. "When that person stabbed me, I just saw all this blood everywhere and . . ." She trailed off.
"Oftentimes it looks worse than it really is," Bakura said comfortingly. "Can you stand? We should probably have that looked at by a doctor."
Delores blinked. "Oh, I thought you were a doctor," she said as Bakura helped her to her feet.
Bakura blushed deeply.
[She likes you,] Yami Bakura observed from inside the Ring, and Bakura could just see him smirking.
"I am not a professional," Bakura hurried to explain, trying to ignore the tomb raider's voice.
"You're better than most of the doctors I've met," Delores replied.
Bakura scratched his cheek, trying to think of how to change the subject. "I've heard that many strange things have been happening here," he said at last.
"That's true," Delores sighed. "It all started about a month ago."
Before she could elaborate, Joey came running down the hall, looking worried. "Hey! What the heck happened?!"
"This young lady here was hurt," Bakura replied, blinking at Joey. "And where have you been?!" he demanded. "We were looking for you!"
"Eh, I've been around," Joey said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Are you okay, miss?" he asked Delores.
"I'm fine now," she replied, and Bakura turned pink again when she looked at him.
"Where's Vivalene?" Joey worried now. "Is she okay?"
"I believe she left," Bakura replied slowly.
Delores blinked. "You know Vivalene?" she asked Joey pointedly.
Joey grinned. "I sure do! She's the sweetest girl I've ever met!" he declared as they resumed walking.
****
A third bullet broke through the back window and exited through the windshield, shattering more glass. Tea still stayed in her bent-over position, shaking as she heard the whistle of the fourth bullet crash through the rear right side window. "Kaiba, are you hurt?" she cried, trying to look over at him.
Before Seto could answer her, another bullet ripped through one of the tires, sending them spinning out of control. Tea let out a shriek, and the chauffer tried frantically to stop their wild flight, but the limo tore through a Road Closed sign and nearly pitched into a deep hole in the middle of the path. Just in time, the chauffeur swerved the automobile sharply to the right, where it came to rest against a tree.
Tea sat shaking, feeling blood trickle down her wrist from a cut on the back of her hand, and then cautiously looked up. "Kaiba?" she said quaveringly, seeing the boy slumped against the inside of the door.
"Is he hurt, miss?" the chauffeur asked worriedly, trying to turn around.
Tea leaned over frantically and saw blood dripping from under the boy's long bangs. "I . . . I think he might've been shot!" she cried in utter horror, undoing her seatbelt and moving closer to him. "Kaiba, please say something!" she begged, feeling close to tears.
To her immense relief, Seto stirred then and his blue eyes fluttered open. He blinked, trying to focus. "What happened?" he asked, and his voice sounded clear and distinct.
"Oh Kaiba, you're hurt!" Tea exclaimed, trying to smooth his bangs back.
Seto gently brushed her hand away and investigated the cut with his fingers. "I'm fine," he replied, feeling frustrated. "It's just a scratch." He remembered being cut by a piece of flying glass just before the limo had slammed into the tree.
The chauffeur looked at him, nodding in relief. "Should I go replace the tire now, sir?" he asked.
Seto nodded. "And do it quickly," he added.
"I was afraid you'd been shot," Tea said to him when they were alone.
Seto leaned back, looking exhausted. "I wasn't." He glanced at Tea's hand. "Apparently you've been injured yourself."
Tea had forgotten about the cut on her hand amidst worrying about Seto. She blinked, staring at it now.
Seto sighed and reached into his pocket. "Here," he said, handing her a handkerchief.
"Don't you need it?" Tea asked hesitantly.
Seto grunted. "I told you, I'm fine. Just take it." He looked back, apparently trying to see if that other car was still around, its occupants watching them.
Tea nodded her thanks and accepted the cloth, pressing it against the injury. "Are they gone?" she asked nervously.
"I don't see them," Seto replied, narrowing his eyes. "But that doesn't mean they aren't there."
Tea shuddered. They had only barely started with this mystery, and already people were being hurt more times than she could count. What could JP have known that was so deadly?! She knew they had to find out—and fast, before anyone was hurt seriously . . . or worse.
****
In the meantime, Bakura and Joey brought Delores to the rest of the group, who gasped in astonished horror.
"This is terrible!" Yugi cried after explanations had been made and Delores had again insisted that Bakura was the best doctor she could find. "If four or five people are being injured here every day, the station should be shut down!"
"That's probably exactly why Bruce didn't report any of it," Marik said grimly.
Bakura shook his head sadly. "I hate to speak harsh of anyone, but I'm afraid that really could be true."
"Someone must really want to shut the station down," Tristan remarked now. "That must be why they're doing all this."
"Well, we're not gonna let them!" Joey cried, slamming his fist into his palm. "We're gonna make sure that no one else gets hurt and that Vivalene keeps her job!"
"Again with that Vivalene stuff?" Tristan sighed.
"Hey, I don't wanna hear any more of your nutty comments about her!" Joey said defensively.
Marik didn't back down. "That woman betrayed me once," he said firmly, crossing his arms. His gold jewelry clinked softly.
Joey gave him an accusing look. "Man, everyone's against her!" he cried.
"You hardly even know her," Marik objected.
"And yet you're sticking up for her," Tristan added, narrowing his hazel eyes. "Is she more important to you than the friends you've known for years?!"
"Hold on, Tristan," Bakura spoke up suddenly. "That's quite harsh."
"Yeah!" Joey agreed. "What kinda question is that, anyway?!"
Tristan crossed his arms. "Well, you're certainly not listening to us," he said.
Joey glowered at them all, but especially at Tristan. "Man, don't you guys trust me to make any good decisions by myself?!" he cried.
"It's not that, Joey," Yugi said now. "Of course we trust you! But . . . we just don't want you to get hurt," he finished finally.
"Well, I ain't gonna get hurt," Joey snapped. "Vivalene wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"She hurt me," Marik told him.
Joey raised an eyebrow at him. "Wouldn't that have been during the time when you were being an all-around jerk?"
Marik looked taken aback.
Joey shook his head. "You probably deserved to get dumped by her," he said scathingly.
"Now just a minute, Joey," Yugi tried to speak up, but the Brooklyn boy rushed right on.
"You didn't deserve someone as sweet and kind as Vivalene," Joey said now.
Marik clenched his fists. "I might agree with you, if she had truly been sweet and kind," he told him. "But she wasn't." The Egyptian boy turned away. "She is even worse than I was."
Joey blinked. "If that's true, then there's no way that Vivalene could've been your girlfriend," he shot back. "Maybe you were datin' her twin sister or somethin'! After all, Bakura told me that Vivalene said she didn't even know you!"
Marik shook his head. "I can see you are a lost cause. Vivalene definitely did remember me—she only wanted me to think she was not the same person. You will have to discover her treachery on your own. I only hope you do not find out too late." He walked off down the hall and out through the door.
"Well, that was a cryptic statement," Delores commented, and all eyes turned to her. Amidst the confrontation between Joey and Marik, everyone had forgotten that the injured woman was still there.
"I'm sorry you had to hear all that," Bakura apologized.
"Oh no, it's quite alright," Delores replied, smiling at him.
****
Once they were back on the road again, Tea looked at Seto worriedly. "You are going to tell the police about this, aren't you?" she demanded.
Seto grunted. "I suppose I'll have to." If he had been the only one involved, he wouldn't bother—but since Tea had been with him—and of course since he was frantic about his brother's safety—he would enlist all the extra help he could.
"Kaiba," Tea scolded, hearing his annoyed-sounding tone. He could see that she was frustrated. "You're not all-powerful."
Seto didn't answer that. Instead he crossed his arms in irritation.
"Your problem," Tea said now in a much softer tone, "is that you're too independent for your own good."
Seto turned to look at her, but still didn't answer. He had been betrayed and hurt so much in his life by those who should have been there for him, and finally he had just about given up on humanity completely. It was only recently that he had again begun to decide that not everyone was like that, but in spite of that he didn't think his independent attitude would ever change. He liked to take care of things himself. He always had.
The chauffeur stopped the car. "Here's the police station, sir," he announced.
Seto nodded in acknowledgement. "Let's get this over with," he grumbled.
He and Tea reported everything they could about the incident to Gabrielle, who had returned to the station by now. She was very concerned about this turn of events and stressed that they should both be extremely careful.
"I would tell you to stay out of police business, but I know by now that I would have better luck teaching a pig to fly," she said with a grim smile.
Tea shook her head. "You've got that right," she said with a sigh, shooting a glance at Seto.
****
After Seto dropped Tea off at her house—almost two hours after they had originally tried to head there—he wondered if it was too late to try speaking with JP's sister. He glanced at the clock. It was nearly eleven at night. Of course, he had heard that this sister was a night owl. Perhaps she would still be awake.
"Head for Summit Hills," he directed the chauffeur. It couldn't hurt to try. He was determined to solve this mystery as quickly as he could and get these latest criminals behind bars where they belonged.
"Sir?" the chauffeur said doubtfully.
"Don't question me," Seto told him. Disturbed thoughts swirled through his mind and he quickly withdrew his cell phone again. Anything could have happened in two hours. What if someone had hurt Mokuba in some way? He had to make sure his brother was alright.
He dialed his home number and the phone began to ring. Was anyone going to answer? Seto wondered in frustration. The phone rang some more. What if . . . what if no one was able to answer it?
The woman groaned. "I . . . I was just in the storage room, looking for some old records. . . . And . . . someone was in there with me. . . ."
"Who?" Bruce demanded, seeming to be more concerned about that than the fact that the woman was hurt. Bakura gave him an angry look before turning back to gently examine the woman's wound.
"I . . . I don't know," the woman replied, grimacing as she let Bakura survey the extent of the damage. "They were in the shadows. . . . I couldn't see them very well. . . . They just stabbed me and ran out the back way!"
"This is outrageous!!" Bruce screamed in frustration. "They were probably trying to steal some of the rare LP records!"
Bakura couldn't control his outrage. "Mr. Von Wilkenson, this woman has been injured! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"
Bruce was heading for the door. "Of course it does!" he snapped. "It means she won't be able to work for a few days!"
Bakura looked at him in disgust, then smiled reassuringly at the woman. "It's alright," he said softly. "This wound doesn't look too bad." Dealing with blood always made him feel dizzy and light-headed, but he did have an extensive knowledge of medicine and was always ready to help someone in need in spite of his uneasiness about blood. Gently he pressed a handkerchief over the wound as he continued to talk quietly to the woman, who was beginning to relax. "May I ask your name?" he queried now.
"Sure," the woman replied amiably, smiling at him. "I'm Delores, an all-around gofer."
Bakura blinked in confusion. "Come again?"
The woman laughed. "I get that a lot. Basically what I do is 'go for' stuff that the deejays or anyone else wants."
Bakura nodded, understanding now. "I see." He checked the wound. "Well, the bleeding has stopped," he announced, smiling at her again.
"That's a relief," Delores said, shuddering. "When that person stabbed me, I just saw all this blood everywhere and . . ." She trailed off.
"Oftentimes it looks worse than it really is," Bakura said comfortingly. "Can you stand? We should probably have that looked at by a doctor."
Delores blinked. "Oh, I thought you were a doctor," she said as Bakura helped her to her feet.
Bakura blushed deeply.
[She likes you,] Yami Bakura observed from inside the Ring, and Bakura could just see him smirking.
"I am not a professional," Bakura hurried to explain, trying to ignore the tomb raider's voice.
"You're better than most of the doctors I've met," Delores replied.
Bakura scratched his cheek, trying to think of how to change the subject. "I've heard that many strange things have been happening here," he said at last.
"That's true," Delores sighed. "It all started about a month ago."
Before she could elaborate, Joey came running down the hall, looking worried. "Hey! What the heck happened?!"
"This young lady here was hurt," Bakura replied, blinking at Joey. "And where have you been?!" he demanded. "We were looking for you!"
"Eh, I've been around," Joey said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Are you okay, miss?" he asked Delores.
"I'm fine now," she replied, and Bakura turned pink again when she looked at him.
"Where's Vivalene?" Joey worried now. "Is she okay?"
"I believe she left," Bakura replied slowly.
Delores blinked. "You know Vivalene?" she asked Joey pointedly.
Joey grinned. "I sure do! She's the sweetest girl I've ever met!" he declared as they resumed walking.
****
A third bullet broke through the back window and exited through the windshield, shattering more glass. Tea still stayed in her bent-over position, shaking as she heard the whistle of the fourth bullet crash through the rear right side window. "Kaiba, are you hurt?" she cried, trying to look over at him.
Before Seto could answer her, another bullet ripped through one of the tires, sending them spinning out of control. Tea let out a shriek, and the chauffer tried frantically to stop their wild flight, but the limo tore through a Road Closed sign and nearly pitched into a deep hole in the middle of the path. Just in time, the chauffeur swerved the automobile sharply to the right, where it came to rest against a tree.
Tea sat shaking, feeling blood trickle down her wrist from a cut on the back of her hand, and then cautiously looked up. "Kaiba?" she said quaveringly, seeing the boy slumped against the inside of the door.
"Is he hurt, miss?" the chauffeur asked worriedly, trying to turn around.
Tea leaned over frantically and saw blood dripping from under the boy's long bangs. "I . . . I think he might've been shot!" she cried in utter horror, undoing her seatbelt and moving closer to him. "Kaiba, please say something!" she begged, feeling close to tears.
To her immense relief, Seto stirred then and his blue eyes fluttered open. He blinked, trying to focus. "What happened?" he asked, and his voice sounded clear and distinct.
"Oh Kaiba, you're hurt!" Tea exclaimed, trying to smooth his bangs back.
Seto gently brushed her hand away and investigated the cut with his fingers. "I'm fine," he replied, feeling frustrated. "It's just a scratch." He remembered being cut by a piece of flying glass just before the limo had slammed into the tree.
The chauffeur looked at him, nodding in relief. "Should I go replace the tire now, sir?" he asked.
Seto nodded. "And do it quickly," he added.
"I was afraid you'd been shot," Tea said to him when they were alone.
Seto leaned back, looking exhausted. "I wasn't." He glanced at Tea's hand. "Apparently you've been injured yourself."
Tea had forgotten about the cut on her hand amidst worrying about Seto. She blinked, staring at it now.
Seto sighed and reached into his pocket. "Here," he said, handing her a handkerchief.
"Don't you need it?" Tea asked hesitantly.
Seto grunted. "I told you, I'm fine. Just take it." He looked back, apparently trying to see if that other car was still around, its occupants watching them.
Tea nodded her thanks and accepted the cloth, pressing it against the injury. "Are they gone?" she asked nervously.
"I don't see them," Seto replied, narrowing his eyes. "But that doesn't mean they aren't there."
Tea shuddered. They had only barely started with this mystery, and already people were being hurt more times than she could count. What could JP have known that was so deadly?! She knew they had to find out—and fast, before anyone was hurt seriously . . . or worse.
****
In the meantime, Bakura and Joey brought Delores to the rest of the group, who gasped in astonished horror.
"This is terrible!" Yugi cried after explanations had been made and Delores had again insisted that Bakura was the best doctor she could find. "If four or five people are being injured here every day, the station should be shut down!"
"That's probably exactly why Bruce didn't report any of it," Marik said grimly.
Bakura shook his head sadly. "I hate to speak harsh of anyone, but I'm afraid that really could be true."
"Someone must really want to shut the station down," Tristan remarked now. "That must be why they're doing all this."
"Well, we're not gonna let them!" Joey cried, slamming his fist into his palm. "We're gonna make sure that no one else gets hurt and that Vivalene keeps her job!"
"Again with that Vivalene stuff?" Tristan sighed.
"Hey, I don't wanna hear any more of your nutty comments about her!" Joey said defensively.
Marik didn't back down. "That woman betrayed me once," he said firmly, crossing his arms. His gold jewelry clinked softly.
Joey gave him an accusing look. "Man, everyone's against her!" he cried.
"You hardly even know her," Marik objected.
"And yet you're sticking up for her," Tristan added, narrowing his hazel eyes. "Is she more important to you than the friends you've known for years?!"
"Hold on, Tristan," Bakura spoke up suddenly. "That's quite harsh."
"Yeah!" Joey agreed. "What kinda question is that, anyway?!"
Tristan crossed his arms. "Well, you're certainly not listening to us," he said.
Joey glowered at them all, but especially at Tristan. "Man, don't you guys trust me to make any good decisions by myself?!" he cried.
"It's not that, Joey," Yugi said now. "Of course we trust you! But . . . we just don't want you to get hurt," he finished finally.
"Well, I ain't gonna get hurt," Joey snapped. "Vivalene wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"She hurt me," Marik told him.
Joey raised an eyebrow at him. "Wouldn't that have been during the time when you were being an all-around jerk?"
Marik looked taken aback.
Joey shook his head. "You probably deserved to get dumped by her," he said scathingly.
"Now just a minute, Joey," Yugi tried to speak up, but the Brooklyn boy rushed right on.
"You didn't deserve someone as sweet and kind as Vivalene," Joey said now.
Marik clenched his fists. "I might agree with you, if she had truly been sweet and kind," he told him. "But she wasn't." The Egyptian boy turned away. "She is even worse than I was."
Joey blinked. "If that's true, then there's no way that Vivalene could've been your girlfriend," he shot back. "Maybe you were datin' her twin sister or somethin'! After all, Bakura told me that Vivalene said she didn't even know you!"
Marik shook his head. "I can see you are a lost cause. Vivalene definitely did remember me—she only wanted me to think she was not the same person. You will have to discover her treachery on your own. I only hope you do not find out too late." He walked off down the hall and out through the door.
"Well, that was a cryptic statement," Delores commented, and all eyes turned to her. Amidst the confrontation between Joey and Marik, everyone had forgotten that the injured woman was still there.
"I'm sorry you had to hear all that," Bakura apologized.
"Oh no, it's quite alright," Delores replied, smiling at him.
****
Once they were back on the road again, Tea looked at Seto worriedly. "You are going to tell the police about this, aren't you?" she demanded.
Seto grunted. "I suppose I'll have to." If he had been the only one involved, he wouldn't bother—but since Tea had been with him—and of course since he was frantic about his brother's safety—he would enlist all the extra help he could.
"Kaiba," Tea scolded, hearing his annoyed-sounding tone. He could see that she was frustrated. "You're not all-powerful."
Seto didn't answer that. Instead he crossed his arms in irritation.
"Your problem," Tea said now in a much softer tone, "is that you're too independent for your own good."
Seto turned to look at her, but still didn't answer. He had been betrayed and hurt so much in his life by those who should have been there for him, and finally he had just about given up on humanity completely. It was only recently that he had again begun to decide that not everyone was like that, but in spite of that he didn't think his independent attitude would ever change. He liked to take care of things himself. He always had.
The chauffeur stopped the car. "Here's the police station, sir," he announced.
Seto nodded in acknowledgement. "Let's get this over with," he grumbled.
He and Tea reported everything they could about the incident to Gabrielle, who had returned to the station by now. She was very concerned about this turn of events and stressed that they should both be extremely careful.
"I would tell you to stay out of police business, but I know by now that I would have better luck teaching a pig to fly," she said with a grim smile.
Tea shook her head. "You've got that right," she said with a sigh, shooting a glance at Seto.
****
After Seto dropped Tea off at her house—almost two hours after they had originally tried to head there—he wondered if it was too late to try speaking with JP's sister. He glanced at the clock. It was nearly eleven at night. Of course, he had heard that this sister was a night owl. Perhaps she would still be awake.
"Head for Summit Hills," he directed the chauffeur. It couldn't hurt to try. He was determined to solve this mystery as quickly as he could and get these latest criminals behind bars where they belonged.
"Sir?" the chauffeur said doubtfully.
"Don't question me," Seto told him. Disturbed thoughts swirled through his mind and he quickly withdrew his cell phone again. Anything could have happened in two hours. What if someone had hurt Mokuba in some way? He had to make sure his brother was alright.
He dialed his home number and the phone began to ring. Was anyone going to answer? Seto wondered in frustration. The phone rang some more. What if . . . what if no one was able to answer it?