Pretty Baby, Why Can't You See?
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004
Chapter 13: Investigations and Some Action
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Eriol laid on the couch.
He felt his forehead, but his hand was too sweaty to see if he had a fever or not.
"I better get myself a drink," he murmured to himself.
After he had stumbled out of Tomoyo's apartment, he went straight home and had a drink (a bottle of vodka), and hid the disc.
He had wandered into Syaoran's room and shoved the disc in a desk drawer. It'd be safe there for now.
After that, he went straight to sleep.
Now he was awake and feeling horrible.
He got up, and lurched forward from the head rush, and put his hand down on the couch to stabilize himself.
The leather on the couch seemed freezing cold to him, so Eriol grabbed a blanket on his way to the mini-bar.
He very tiredly sat down on the barstool and rested his head on the cool marble, and got himself a beer.
Eriol guzzled it down and crushed the metal can in his hand, and started thinking.
Did Tomoyo know that Eriol was working for Tsukiro?
Did Tomoyo know that Mr. X, or Yuki, was part of the Noshiko gang?
What if Tomoyo knew all of that and was part of a Noshiko conspiracy to get rid of the Tsukiro gang?
Eriol groaned.
He stood up and took out a their largest bottle of tequila and got out a mug.
He filled it up to the top and drank it down, wincing from the strong bitter taste.
Maybe Tomoyo was trying to lure him in and kill him.
What about Sakura and Meiling? But Meiling was Syaoran's cousin. Or was she?
Or what if there was no conspiracy, and this was just a huge coincidence?
Or could Syaoran and Touya be in on the conspiracy!
Wait, there was no conspiracy!
Or was there?
Maybe the whole world was out to get him.
"Ugh….." Eriol moaned.
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"We need to call the police," Sakura said unsteadily.
"No!" Tomoyo cried out, "My mom bribed the police. If they see me, they're going to alert her, and it'll give them a sure head on where I live."
"Fine, then. Check if anything's missing," Syaoran said.
He stepped closer in, gingerly stepping over the shards of broken glass and items on the floor.
"What do you think they were looking for?" Syaoran asked.
"What makes you think that the person was looking for anything? We have nothing valuable in our house, and I'm sure Yuki didn't have anything worth someone breaking in," Sakura said.
"Maybe they were just ransacking the place," Tomoyo said.
"I don't think so…damn it, Toby warned me last time that I should lock the window where the fire escape was," Sakura moaned.
"Should've taken his advice," Tomoyo sighed, "Now we have a huge mess to clean up."
Syaoran wandered over to the bedroom, where he spotted a piece of cloth lying on the ground.
He picked it up and sniffed it.
Turning it over and looking at the pattern of the cloth, he instantly recognized it as Eriol's.
"Shit," Syaoran cursed.
Sakura had said something about Yuki…and damn it, Yuki lived here. Or Mr. X.
Eriol had probably broken in here, looking for the disc, and found out that Yuki was actually Mr. X.
Which reminded Syaoran, should he tell the three girls that Yuki was in fact a computer genius working for a drug ring?
"Nah," Syaoran said aloud.
"Nah what?" Sakura asked.
Syaoran quickly pocketed the cloth and spun around, "Nothing's missing, I don't think."
"Like you'd know," Sakura said sharply.
She softened and said, "Sorry. Just feeling a bit pissed off."
"Yeah…we should clean up," Syaoran said.
"You can sweep up the glass. You wouldn't want us girls to hurt ourselves on the sharp glass, now would you?" Sakura teased.
Syaoran half grinned and headed out.
Tomoyo had picked up the picture frame and the picture.
"That's Yuki," Tomoyo said, pointing to a man in the picture.
No doubt about it, that was Mr. X.
Now, Mr. X was holed up in a cell in a warehouse…and pretty much worrying Sakura and Tomoyo.
"Is he missing?" Syaoran asked casually, getting out a broom and trash can.
Tomoyo nodded, "Sakura told you, didn't she?"
Syaoran shrugged as he swept up the glittery shards.
"Oh," Tomoyo sighed, "I'm tired. I think I'm going to take a nap."
"I'll stay here and clean up."
Syaoran continued to clean up the apartment, and heard Tomoyo and Sakura organizing the bedroom.
Syaoran was in deep thought as he put back the cushion seats on the couch.
What should he do?
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Touya walked into the cell, purposing jangling the keys loudly.
He sat down on the chair Syaoran had used, and nodded to Mr. X.
He took out a worn book and flipped to his page, and began to read.
Three words later, he burst out, "I can't take it anymore. We have to talk. What's the deal?"
Mr. X shrugged, with an innocent carefree look that read, "What deal?"
"You know what I mean. The fact that you've taken in my sister and her two friends for thirteen years. And you're involved in this. What a horrible influence you've been. And the fact that they haven't even found out yet," Touya said.
He continued on, "I'm burdened with guilt. Part of me wants to run away, let you go, and take Sakura with me. But part of me is bound to a certain man named Tsukiro Akatchi, and if I betray him, god knows what he'll do to me."
Mr. X nodded, but slyly grinned.
Touya stopped cold, staring at Mr. X's face.
Mr. X stopped smiling and resumed his neutral look.
"Do that again," Touya ordered.
Mr. X complied, and Touya let out a soft sigh, "You look just like Yukito. Add a pair of glasses, some blondish hair and a permanent smile, you'd be just him."
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The hours quickly passed that day.
The girls cleaned up the apartment, with Syaoran helping them.
Syaoran called Touya and asked him to stay the night in the cell, since he had some work to do.
And as usual, Meiling was at work, and she called once more to say that she wouldn't be coming home that night.
"Well, come home tomorrow morning," Sakura ordered.
"All right," Meiling hung up.
Sakura turned to Syaoran, who was about to say something.
"I think I'll sleep here tonight," Syaoran said awkwardly, "Never know what might happen."
"You can sleep on the couch or the hallway. I'd offer you the bed, but that'd be rather uncomfortable," Sakura said.
Syaoran whole-heartedly agreed, "Definitely."
"Okay. I'll get you some blankets and pillows," Sakura said.
Syaoran nodded and raked a hand through his hair as he waited.
Sakura soon returned with several blankets and cushions, and quickly made him a makeshift bed on the couch.
"Sorry," Sakura apologized.
"No need. I'll be comfortable enough," Syaoran said.
"Okay. If you get hungry during the night, feel free to dig through the fridge," Sakura said.
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When Syaoran woke up in the morning, it took him a moment to quickly wonder why he was sleeping on a couch.
"Mrgh," Syaoran mumbled as he stretched.
The past events quickly flashed back to him, and what stood out the most was how to tell Sakura and Tomoyo that their dear Yuki was locked up with Touya guarding them.
He didn't have to tell them, did he?
Well…
Syaoran then decided to keep his mouth shut.
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Around ten o' clock that day, Meiling breezily walked through the door, "Hello! Hi, Syaoran!"
"Mmm," Syaoran nodded at his cousin and took a bite out of his bagel.
"Finally you're home!" Tomoyo frowned at Meiling.
She blushed and grabbed a piece of bagel from Syaoran's plate, "Sorry. I lost track of time. At least I called!"
"Psh," Sakura said, "What did you DO with him?"
Meiling feigned innocence, "With who?"
"Shut up. You know what I mean," Tomoyo said.
"I swear, I didn't do ANYTHING with him that is against the code of the Yuki sisters. I just spent the night at his house, and we snuggled and watched movies. I told him how I felt, and he understood. There!" Meiling said.
"Oh, all right. But isn't it against some rule at your workplace, people dating each other?" Sakura asked.
"Nope," Meiling said, "Thank God."
She turned to Syaoran, "Why are you here?"
Sakura quickly explained what had happened, and that Syaoran was acting as their bodyguard.
"Oh gosh," Meiling whispered, "Someone broke in? And ransacked the place? Did they steal anything?"
"No. And my mom hasn't tried anything yet. But I have a feeling it was her bodyguards to mess up the place like this," Tomoyo said.
Syaoran practically snickered as he knew how wrong they were.
"So you're basically saying that you're hiding from your mom?" Meiling asked.
Tomoyo nodded unhappily.
"Why don't you give Syaoran a break and go over to Eriol's? I'm sure he'll be happy to see you," Meiling suggested.
"Good idea," Tomoyo said.
She took the phone and quickly punched in their apartment's phone number.
"Hello?" Eriol asked groggily.
"Eriol? Did I wake you?" Tomoyo asked.
"Huh? Oh, Tomoooyo," Eriol slurred.
"Are you okay?" Tomoyo asked, concerned.
He laughed drunkenly on the other end, "No. I'm not. I just…"
Syaoran mentally smacked himself as he heard Eriol's voice over the phone.
Of course, Eriol would get all crazy over that.
He was in love with Tomoyo, and finding out that Yuki was Mr. X would definitely question everyone he trusted.
And he couldn't let that happen to his best friend.
Syaoran grabbed Tomoyo, a little too roughly in her opinion, and said, "Go over there and help him. He's probably drunk as hell, and don't pay any attention to him if he starts talking about drugs or Mr. X or gangs or discs, okay?"
Tomoyo raised her eyes skeptically, "Why?"
Syaoran faltered for a moment, but quickly said, "Bad dream he had a couple days ago. I don't want you to believe what he says and freak out."
Tomoyo seemed to buy the explanation and nodded, "Okay."
She turned back to the phone and said, "I'll be right over there in a moment, all right?"
"Uuuuhhh…okay," Eriol said, "Bye bye!"
"I'll come home tonight," Tomoyo said, as she began to put some stuff into her purse, "Don't worry about me. I have my cell phone, so I'll be fine on the way over."
"No, I'll escort you. I don't want anything to happen to you," Syaoran said.
Tomoyo nodded, "All right."
Sakura felt a slight twinge in her heart when she heard Syaoran telling Tomoyo he didn't want anything to happen to her.
Was it jealousy?
No…it couldn't be. Syaoran and her were just friends.
But Sakura couldn't deny the attraction she felt for him.
"Sakura?" Meiling waved her hand over her best friend's face, "They're gone."
"Oh," Sakura quickly snapped out of it, "All right. Um, what should we do?"
"I think we need to find Yuki," Meiling declared.
"You're right. Let's go," Sakura said, pulling together some stuff into her purse.
"Go where?" Meiling asked, "I just got home."
Sakura took a deep breath and said, "I think Yuki's involved in something dangerous. A long time ago, maybe a couple of months, I saw him walking somewhere and I followed him to this old warehouse. There were these men and they were talking about drugs and money."
Meiling's jaw dropped open, forming an O.
She recovered quickly and said, "Where's the warehouse?"
"We're going there right now," Sakura said grimly.
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Syaoran made sure Tomoyo got safely into their apartment, but didn't drop in to say hi to Eriol, who seemed to be wailing oldies songs in his drunken state of mind.
He hoped Tomoyo would be fine there, and even more hoped that Eriol wouldn't say anything that would make Tomoyo suspicious.
Syaoran took his Lexus and drove over to the headquarters.
"Come in," Tsukiro boomed.
Syaoran entered the door, and closed the door.
He had a split second to duck from a dart hurled at the target behind him, and Tsukiro laughed, "Good boy."
Syaoran grimaced inwardly, but smiled fakely and said, "We've gotten Mr. X, and sent out the ransom note. However, there's been no reply."
"How long has it been?" Tsukiro wanted to know.
"I'm not sure. Definitely over forty eight hours, however," Syaoran said.
Tsukiro nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin in the way only evil men could, "Send out another note. Maybe they didn't receive it."
"I'll do that as soon as possible," Syaoran nodded.
"Good," Tsukiro smiled evilly, "Perfect. And remember, we want the disc."
"Yes, sir," Syaoran bowed stiffly in respect, and turned to walk out.
He quickly ducked again as another dart came his way, and it landed on the bull's eye of the target.
"Sharp," Tsukiro complimented.
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"Are you sure this is safe?" Meiling asked nervously as they crept around the boxes and crates inside the abandoned factory, lit by the sunlight from the hole in the roof.
"What happened to the fearless Meiling?" Sakura teased softly.
"She ran away, much like I want to right now," Meiling said.
She switched the subject, "Where do we go now?"
"Where the leader is," Sakura said.
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Sakura nervously looked at the huge man that was standing there with his arms crossed, "What do you want?"
"We want to see your leader," Meiling said.
She smirked at the gigantic tub of testosterone, her confidence back.
"And who might you be?" he shot back.
"This is concerning someone who we think works for you. His name is Yuki. He's tall, pale, about twenty eight-ish, doesn't speak, bald, wears black a lot, etc?" Sakura asked impatiently.
"Oh, Mr. X," the man nodded, "What about him? And who might you be? Never knew he'd have such hot chicks with him. Tell me, sweetie--"
Meiling cut him off, knowing where the conversation was directing, "Not that way. We're his sisters. He's our legal guardian."
"Hot sisters," the man smirked.
"Shut up," Sakura retorted, "Just tell us where we can find him. He's missing."
The guy nodded again, "Fine. I'll take you to our leader."
The two women followed the bulky man through a maze of halls and staircases that was below the warehouse, sort of like an underground headquarters.
Come to think about it, it actually was an underground headquarter.
They were finally at a large door, where the man knocked, "Mr. Noshiko? There are two women here wanting to talk to you."
"Let them in!" Noshiko boomed.
Sakura and Meiling exchanged looks but walked into the door.
They saw a hugely fat man sitting on a leather executive chair, smoking a huge cigar which was spewing out bits of black particles onto the carpet.
"Who are you?" Noshiko demanded.
Meiling said boldly, "We want to know where Yuki--"
"Mr. X," the bodyguard interrupted to clarify.
"--Mr. X," Meiling corrected, "Is. He's been missing, and Sakura," Meiling gestured at her, "said that she saw him here once."
Noshiko smirked at them, "He was here. But he's gone now."
"Where?" Sakura asked.
Noshiko doused his cigar in a cup of murky water and opened one of the drawers.
Sakura and Meiling exchanged nervous glances as he took out several handguns and laid them on the table.
Then, he took out a slip of paper.
"This is the ransom note we found," Noshiko said.
Sakura stepped forward to get it and unfolded the sheet.
"We have your man in our possession. Give us the disc. Meeting place to be announced."
Meiling snorted, "What a dorky ransom note."
Sakura shot her a look, but turned back to Noshiko, "What disc?"
"Special one Mr. X created. Listen, little girl, you don't want to hang around here. So let us do our business, and you go home and play with your Barbies," Noshiko said.
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Barbies suck. You listen, mister, Yuki's like our brother to us."
"I thought he was your brother," the bodyguard said.
"Shut up," Meiling said to him, then turned back, "Closer than a brother. And when he's missing and worrying us, then it's our responsibility to help him. So tell us what's going on, and maybe we can help."
Noshiko cleared his throat and smiled, "Feisty, aren't we? Well, well, well. Mr. X has been working with us ever since he was about 14, which would make it about fifteen years. He just appeared one day at our door. We were about to kick him out, but I thought he'd be pretty good as a trainee. He had a good kick and punch, and he didn't speak or anything. Plus, he freaked some of us out with that skin and head of his. Anyways, we discovered he had great computer and science brain. I gave him an assignment to somehow boost our sales--"
"What sales?" Sakura asked.
"Drugs. Cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, all that shit," Noshiko said.
"Oh," Sakura said.
It had finally registered in her brain that what they were dealing with was truly dangerous.
"And he got started on it. He only finished it a couple of months ago. Worked practically thirteen years on it. He had developed a formula to create an artificial drug replacement for cocaine. Drugs are mainly plants, you know? And he somehow figured out how to multiply the molecules. Kind of like cloning particles," Noshiko said.
Sakura and Meiling nodded.
"Anyways, I gave him the disc several weeks ago, for him to keep. We don't need it anymore now that our workers have memorized the formula. But we need to keep the disc safe just in case our rival gang wants it. So they probably kidnapped him, and they're demanding the disc in exchange for him."
"So you guys are going to give them the disc, right?" Sakura asked.
"No. I don't know where the hell it is," Noshiko shrugged.
"But…"
"Doesn't matter if the Tsukiro gang gets the disc. Or if they dispose of Mr. X. We've gotten a faithful group of dealers who rely on us. They won't go to any other places. So my business is finished," Noshiko said.
"But---" Sakura sputtered indignantly, "What about the life of Yuki?"
Noshiko laughed, "Like I care."
"But he's done so much for you guys and you just let him---die?" Meiling asked.
"I've paid him. More than enough. It's his fault for letting himself get kidnapped."
Sakura said angrily, "If you're not going to help us, we're going to have to take the matters into our own hands."
"Sure," Noshiko waved them off.
Sakura pocked the ransom note and they turned to leave, but they paused.
Meiling darted forward and grabbed three handguns, "We'll be needing this."
Before Noshiko could protest, Sakura quickly added, "Tell us where the Tsukiro headquarters are."
Noshiko named an old warehouse in the city, and Sakura nodded, "Thanks. And goodbye."
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Syaoran headed towards a 24-hour gym nearby.
He was stressed, and working out would be a good way to unleash some energy bottled up in him.
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When Syaoran had taken Tomoyo to his apartment, she immediately sat next to him while he was drowsily singing off-key to an oldies song.
"Eriol?" Tomoyo waved her hand over his face, but his eyelids were slowly drooping.
"Come on. I'm going to get you to bed," Tomoyo said.
She pulled on his arm until he stood up, and together they lurched towards Eriol's bedroom.
Tomoyo made sure he was safely lying on the bed, then covered his body up with a blanket.
"I'm going to get you something to drink for you. And something for your hangover that's going to happen soon enough," Tomoyo said aloud.
Eriol nodded, eyes closed.
"At least he's quiet now," Tomoyo murmured to herself.
She went to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
There was a half empty carton of milk, so she took that out.
"Now, how did that recipe for honey milk go…" Tomoyo thought aloud, "Oh! I know!"
She poured the milk into a large mug and set a plastic yogurt cover over it.
She put it into the microwave and set it for thirty seconds, then let it heat.
Meanwhile, she took searched for the honey and found it exactly when the microwave's timer beeped.
Tomoyo took out the milk and stuck her finger in it to measure it's warmth, then picked up the bottle of honey and squirted several teaspoons into it.
She stirred it with a chopstick she found in a drawer, then carried it over to Eriol's bedroom.
"Eriol?" Tomoyo asked before going in.
She smiled at his drowsy figure, who said, "I'm sorry."
"Are you okay? I don't want to pry, but you did drink a lot," Tomoyo asked.
"Do you love me?" Eriol asked instead.
Tomoyo paused before responding, "Yes."
Eriol nodded thoughtfully, "Good."
"Here, drink this, okay?" Tomoyo handed him the mug.
"Thank you," Eriol took a deep breath and sighed.
Tomoyo watched him gurgle down the warm concoction and hand her the empty cup.
"Sleep tight," Tomoyo said.
She went back to the kitchen and did the dishes, before glancing at the clock.
It was already night-time, eight o clock.
Tomoyo felt her self yawning, and glanced at the two empty bedrooms.
"Well, maybe just a short nap," Tomoyo smiled tiredly, and trudged over to Touya's bedroom, but first making sure that everything was off.
The whole apartment was darkened and quiet, while Tomoyo climbed under the comforter and immediately fell asleep.
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Meiling and Sakura were in the car.
They nervously glanced at the glove compartment, where they had stored the three guns.
"We're going to be dead meat if any law officials find these. They're illegal, we don't have a license and the guns are probably unregistered," Sakura said.
"Well, we did practice at the shooting range a couple of times. I guess that'll improve our aims," Meiling said.
"If we ever have to use these. Which I hope not," Sakura said.
Meiling changed the subject, "Aren't you going to get fired for taking so much time off work?"
Sakura shook her head, "No. We've already taken all the shoots for the spring wardrobe, and I did some extra modeling for some other companies, so I'm fine. Besides, I'm sure Mr. Sukutchi will understand. What about you?"
"I'm okay. I've been doing a lot of extra hours," Meiling smiled cockily.
"That's good. You know, things with Hanako and everything. So when do I officially get to meet him? Besides running into him at the Garden Café and all, you know," Sakura grinned.
"I'll talk to him about it. We're getting pretty serious now," Meiling sighed happily.
She glanced at the glove compartment and her brow furrowed, "So what do we do now?"
"The only thing we have to do. Go to the Tsukiro headquarters," Sakura said.
Meiling closed her eyes briefly, then opened them.
"Let's go."
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"Are you sure this is the right place?" Sakura asked Meiling nervously, looking at the rundown warehouse in the dark.
It was eight thirty, and most of the streets were filtered out of people, and there was no one hanging around the ware house.
The engine of the car was running, and Sakura had parked the car in the side parking lot of the place.
"I'm positive," Meiling showed Sakura the scrap of paper for confirmation.
"All right. Then I guess all we have to do is go in," Sakura said.
She turned off the ignition of the car and took the key out.
"Get the guns," Sakura said.
Meiling slowly took out two handguns and checked to see that they were loaded.
"The safety lock's on, right?" Sakura asked.
Meiling nodded.
Sakura put the gun in her purse, squeezing her wallet and keys, while Meiling simply stuffed the handgun into her pocket.
Luckily, they weren't that bulky and didn't take up much room.
"Let's go."
For some reason, Sakura felt like she had been here before…
Ten minutes later, they were climbing the stairs of the office part of the warehouse, with hallways and staircases that seemed like a maze.
They got to the top floor and saw a prominent office door.
"That's probably it," Sakura whispered.
They weren't sure whether to knock or not, but Meiling saw several men rounding the corner which paper cups of coffee from Starbucks, and her instincts immediately grabbed Sakura and they ducked into the nearest door, which just so happened to be a janitor's closet.
Panting from the adrenaline that was racing through their bodies, Sakura closed her eyes.
She whispered, "Get out of there, daddy. Hurry."
Meiling looked at her quizzically.
Sakura touched her lips.
The words had just come out, and they seemed so familiar.
Meiling raised a finger to her own lips in the quiet sign and took out her gun from the pocket.
Sakura followed, by taking hers out of her purse.
Together, they silently got it ready, remembering Syaoran's directions at the shooting ranges.
Meiling heard the voices of the men fading away slowly, and she opened the door a crack.
Sakura shook her head, and motioned to close the door.
She gestured towards the wall, and leaned her ear against it.
Meiling did the same, and both of them could hear nothing.
"I think it's clear," Meiling whispered.
Sakura agreed, and they left the closet, guns at their sides.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura grasped the handle of the door and turned it, swinging the door open.
They pretty much expected someone to be there, much like Noshiko, and there was.
This man was lean, with sharp features on his face and tanned, leathery skin.
But what stood out the most was his intense, black eyes that seemed to penetrate through Sakura and Meiling.
They were practically permanently narrowed, with a matching smirk that made Sakura shrivel up in fear.
This was one man who she would not, if she could choose to, not mess with.
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"Who are you and what do you want?" the man asked evenly.
Two bodyguards tensed up at the sight of the gun Meiling was swinging around on her finger.
"Are you Tsukiro Akatchi?" Sakura asked softly.
"Maybe. Maybe not," he smirked at her.
"You have a 'Mr. X' in hostage, don't you, Mr. Akatchi?" Sakura asked.
Tsukiro's expression didn't change as he answered, "Yes. I've made my men do that, yes."
Meiling breezily said, "You sent a ransom note to the Noshiko gang, wanting the disc. We have it."
Sakura looked at Meiling in surprise, that hadn't planned on that.
"Oh," Tsukiro said, obviously not believing them, "I'm sure the Noshiko gang would send two little girls like you to give me the disc. Where is it?"
"In a secure location," Sakura said, playing along.
"And we're not so little. Oops," Meiling dropped her gun and slowly bended over, giving Tsukiro a nice view.
Sakura inwardly groaned.
Tsukiro chucked, enjoying the little show Meiling was giving him.
On the way up, Meiling shot Sakura a look that read, 'I'm not doing this alone--do something!"
Sakura rolled her eyes and remembered that she was doing it for Yuki.
She plastered on her fake, adoring smile and said in a more high-pitched dumb blond's voice, "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?"
Tsukiro laughed, "Fine, fine. Give us the disc."
"No, I think you should let us know where Mr. X is first," Sakura said.
"And why should I do that?" Tsukiro asked.
"Because I think I'm more trustworthy than you are," Sakura said.
She put on her fake voice again, "No offense or anything."
"How about I just give you the address of the people who are handling this case? I'm sure they'd love to meet young women like you. Meanwhile, Mr. X is in the basement cells, just to let you know." Tsukiro said.
Meiling and Sakura exchanged glances, "Okay."
Tsukiro's bodyguard handed him a piece of paper and pen, and he quickly scribbled down an address.
"Good luck. And I'll be waiting for the disc," Tsukiro.
He waved them off with mock blown kiss, and Sakura and Meiling left, to find who the hell had Yuki hostage.
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End of chapter 13. Next chapter, "Exposed Identities"
A/N: Weird, I know. Tsukiro doesn't seem as menacing as he should be, and he's stupid to just let them go. But oh well. He has to be that way for the plot to go on…besides, I'm not that good at action/scary sequences. Harhar. Next chappy will be up on the 28th….so until then, REVIEW!
By SwEeT AnGeL 1004
Chapter 13: Investigations and Some Action
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Eriol laid on the couch.
He felt his forehead, but his hand was too sweaty to see if he had a fever or not.
"I better get myself a drink," he murmured to himself.
After he had stumbled out of Tomoyo's apartment, he went straight home and had a drink (a bottle of vodka), and hid the disc.
He had wandered into Syaoran's room and shoved the disc in a desk drawer. It'd be safe there for now.
After that, he went straight to sleep.
Now he was awake and feeling horrible.
He got up, and lurched forward from the head rush, and put his hand down on the couch to stabilize himself.
The leather on the couch seemed freezing cold to him, so Eriol grabbed a blanket on his way to the mini-bar.
He very tiredly sat down on the barstool and rested his head on the cool marble, and got himself a beer.
Eriol guzzled it down and crushed the metal can in his hand, and started thinking.
Did Tomoyo know that Eriol was working for Tsukiro?
Did Tomoyo know that Mr. X, or Yuki, was part of the Noshiko gang?
What if Tomoyo knew all of that and was part of a Noshiko conspiracy to get rid of the Tsukiro gang?
Eriol groaned.
He stood up and took out a their largest bottle of tequila and got out a mug.
He filled it up to the top and drank it down, wincing from the strong bitter taste.
Maybe Tomoyo was trying to lure him in and kill him.
What about Sakura and Meiling? But Meiling was Syaoran's cousin. Or was she?
Or what if there was no conspiracy, and this was just a huge coincidence?
Or could Syaoran and Touya be in on the conspiracy!
Wait, there was no conspiracy!
Or was there?
Maybe the whole world was out to get him.
"Ugh….." Eriol moaned.
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"We need to call the police," Sakura said unsteadily.
"No!" Tomoyo cried out, "My mom bribed the police. If they see me, they're going to alert her, and it'll give them a sure head on where I live."
"Fine, then. Check if anything's missing," Syaoran said.
He stepped closer in, gingerly stepping over the shards of broken glass and items on the floor.
"What do you think they were looking for?" Syaoran asked.
"What makes you think that the person was looking for anything? We have nothing valuable in our house, and I'm sure Yuki didn't have anything worth someone breaking in," Sakura said.
"Maybe they were just ransacking the place," Tomoyo said.
"I don't think so…damn it, Toby warned me last time that I should lock the window where the fire escape was," Sakura moaned.
"Should've taken his advice," Tomoyo sighed, "Now we have a huge mess to clean up."
Syaoran wandered over to the bedroom, where he spotted a piece of cloth lying on the ground.
He picked it up and sniffed it.
Turning it over and looking at the pattern of the cloth, he instantly recognized it as Eriol's.
"Shit," Syaoran cursed.
Sakura had said something about Yuki…and damn it, Yuki lived here. Or Mr. X.
Eriol had probably broken in here, looking for the disc, and found out that Yuki was actually Mr. X.
Which reminded Syaoran, should he tell the three girls that Yuki was in fact a computer genius working for a drug ring?
"Nah," Syaoran said aloud.
"Nah what?" Sakura asked.
Syaoran quickly pocketed the cloth and spun around, "Nothing's missing, I don't think."
"Like you'd know," Sakura said sharply.
She softened and said, "Sorry. Just feeling a bit pissed off."
"Yeah…we should clean up," Syaoran said.
"You can sweep up the glass. You wouldn't want us girls to hurt ourselves on the sharp glass, now would you?" Sakura teased.
Syaoran half grinned and headed out.
Tomoyo had picked up the picture frame and the picture.
"That's Yuki," Tomoyo said, pointing to a man in the picture.
No doubt about it, that was Mr. X.
Now, Mr. X was holed up in a cell in a warehouse…and pretty much worrying Sakura and Tomoyo.
"Is he missing?" Syaoran asked casually, getting out a broom and trash can.
Tomoyo nodded, "Sakura told you, didn't she?"
Syaoran shrugged as he swept up the glittery shards.
"Oh," Tomoyo sighed, "I'm tired. I think I'm going to take a nap."
"I'll stay here and clean up."
Syaoran continued to clean up the apartment, and heard Tomoyo and Sakura organizing the bedroom.
Syaoran was in deep thought as he put back the cushion seats on the couch.
What should he do?
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Touya walked into the cell, purposing jangling the keys loudly.
He sat down on the chair Syaoran had used, and nodded to Mr. X.
He took out a worn book and flipped to his page, and began to read.
Three words later, he burst out, "I can't take it anymore. We have to talk. What's the deal?"
Mr. X shrugged, with an innocent carefree look that read, "What deal?"
"You know what I mean. The fact that you've taken in my sister and her two friends for thirteen years. And you're involved in this. What a horrible influence you've been. And the fact that they haven't even found out yet," Touya said.
He continued on, "I'm burdened with guilt. Part of me wants to run away, let you go, and take Sakura with me. But part of me is bound to a certain man named Tsukiro Akatchi, and if I betray him, god knows what he'll do to me."
Mr. X nodded, but slyly grinned.
Touya stopped cold, staring at Mr. X's face.
Mr. X stopped smiling and resumed his neutral look.
"Do that again," Touya ordered.
Mr. X complied, and Touya let out a soft sigh, "You look just like Yukito. Add a pair of glasses, some blondish hair and a permanent smile, you'd be just him."
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The hours quickly passed that day.
The girls cleaned up the apartment, with Syaoran helping them.
Syaoran called Touya and asked him to stay the night in the cell, since he had some work to do.
And as usual, Meiling was at work, and she called once more to say that she wouldn't be coming home that night.
"Well, come home tomorrow morning," Sakura ordered.
"All right," Meiling hung up.
Sakura turned to Syaoran, who was about to say something.
"I think I'll sleep here tonight," Syaoran said awkwardly, "Never know what might happen."
"You can sleep on the couch or the hallway. I'd offer you the bed, but that'd be rather uncomfortable," Sakura said.
Syaoran whole-heartedly agreed, "Definitely."
"Okay. I'll get you some blankets and pillows," Sakura said.
Syaoran nodded and raked a hand through his hair as he waited.
Sakura soon returned with several blankets and cushions, and quickly made him a makeshift bed on the couch.
"Sorry," Sakura apologized.
"No need. I'll be comfortable enough," Syaoran said.
"Okay. If you get hungry during the night, feel free to dig through the fridge," Sakura said.
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When Syaoran woke up in the morning, it took him a moment to quickly wonder why he was sleeping on a couch.
"Mrgh," Syaoran mumbled as he stretched.
The past events quickly flashed back to him, and what stood out the most was how to tell Sakura and Tomoyo that their dear Yuki was locked up with Touya guarding them.
He didn't have to tell them, did he?
Well…
Syaoran then decided to keep his mouth shut.
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Around ten o' clock that day, Meiling breezily walked through the door, "Hello! Hi, Syaoran!"
"Mmm," Syaoran nodded at his cousin and took a bite out of his bagel.
"Finally you're home!" Tomoyo frowned at Meiling.
She blushed and grabbed a piece of bagel from Syaoran's plate, "Sorry. I lost track of time. At least I called!"
"Psh," Sakura said, "What did you DO with him?"
Meiling feigned innocence, "With who?"
"Shut up. You know what I mean," Tomoyo said.
"I swear, I didn't do ANYTHING with him that is against the code of the Yuki sisters. I just spent the night at his house, and we snuggled and watched movies. I told him how I felt, and he understood. There!" Meiling said.
"Oh, all right. But isn't it against some rule at your workplace, people dating each other?" Sakura asked.
"Nope," Meiling said, "Thank God."
She turned to Syaoran, "Why are you here?"
Sakura quickly explained what had happened, and that Syaoran was acting as their bodyguard.
"Oh gosh," Meiling whispered, "Someone broke in? And ransacked the place? Did they steal anything?"
"No. And my mom hasn't tried anything yet. But I have a feeling it was her bodyguards to mess up the place like this," Tomoyo said.
Syaoran practically snickered as he knew how wrong they were.
"So you're basically saying that you're hiding from your mom?" Meiling asked.
Tomoyo nodded unhappily.
"Why don't you give Syaoran a break and go over to Eriol's? I'm sure he'll be happy to see you," Meiling suggested.
"Good idea," Tomoyo said.
She took the phone and quickly punched in their apartment's phone number.
"Hello?" Eriol asked groggily.
"Eriol? Did I wake you?" Tomoyo asked.
"Huh? Oh, Tomoooyo," Eriol slurred.
"Are you okay?" Tomoyo asked, concerned.
He laughed drunkenly on the other end, "No. I'm not. I just…"
Syaoran mentally smacked himself as he heard Eriol's voice over the phone.
Of course, Eriol would get all crazy over that.
He was in love with Tomoyo, and finding out that Yuki was Mr. X would definitely question everyone he trusted.
And he couldn't let that happen to his best friend.
Syaoran grabbed Tomoyo, a little too roughly in her opinion, and said, "Go over there and help him. He's probably drunk as hell, and don't pay any attention to him if he starts talking about drugs or Mr. X or gangs or discs, okay?"
Tomoyo raised her eyes skeptically, "Why?"
Syaoran faltered for a moment, but quickly said, "Bad dream he had a couple days ago. I don't want you to believe what he says and freak out."
Tomoyo seemed to buy the explanation and nodded, "Okay."
She turned back to the phone and said, "I'll be right over there in a moment, all right?"
"Uuuuhhh…okay," Eriol said, "Bye bye!"
"I'll come home tonight," Tomoyo said, as she began to put some stuff into her purse, "Don't worry about me. I have my cell phone, so I'll be fine on the way over."
"No, I'll escort you. I don't want anything to happen to you," Syaoran said.
Tomoyo nodded, "All right."
Sakura felt a slight twinge in her heart when she heard Syaoran telling Tomoyo he didn't want anything to happen to her.
Was it jealousy?
No…it couldn't be. Syaoran and her were just friends.
But Sakura couldn't deny the attraction she felt for him.
"Sakura?" Meiling waved her hand over her best friend's face, "They're gone."
"Oh," Sakura quickly snapped out of it, "All right. Um, what should we do?"
"I think we need to find Yuki," Meiling declared.
"You're right. Let's go," Sakura said, pulling together some stuff into her purse.
"Go where?" Meiling asked, "I just got home."
Sakura took a deep breath and said, "I think Yuki's involved in something dangerous. A long time ago, maybe a couple of months, I saw him walking somewhere and I followed him to this old warehouse. There were these men and they were talking about drugs and money."
Meiling's jaw dropped open, forming an O.
She recovered quickly and said, "Where's the warehouse?"
"We're going there right now," Sakura said grimly.
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Syaoran made sure Tomoyo got safely into their apartment, but didn't drop in to say hi to Eriol, who seemed to be wailing oldies songs in his drunken state of mind.
He hoped Tomoyo would be fine there, and even more hoped that Eriol wouldn't say anything that would make Tomoyo suspicious.
Syaoran took his Lexus and drove over to the headquarters.
"Come in," Tsukiro boomed.
Syaoran entered the door, and closed the door.
He had a split second to duck from a dart hurled at the target behind him, and Tsukiro laughed, "Good boy."
Syaoran grimaced inwardly, but smiled fakely and said, "We've gotten Mr. X, and sent out the ransom note. However, there's been no reply."
"How long has it been?" Tsukiro wanted to know.
"I'm not sure. Definitely over forty eight hours, however," Syaoran said.
Tsukiro nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin in the way only evil men could, "Send out another note. Maybe they didn't receive it."
"I'll do that as soon as possible," Syaoran nodded.
"Good," Tsukiro smiled evilly, "Perfect. And remember, we want the disc."
"Yes, sir," Syaoran bowed stiffly in respect, and turned to walk out.
He quickly ducked again as another dart came his way, and it landed on the bull's eye of the target.
"Sharp," Tsukiro complimented.
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"Are you sure this is safe?" Meiling asked nervously as they crept around the boxes and crates inside the abandoned factory, lit by the sunlight from the hole in the roof.
"What happened to the fearless Meiling?" Sakura teased softly.
"She ran away, much like I want to right now," Meiling said.
She switched the subject, "Where do we go now?"
"Where the leader is," Sakura said.
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Sakura nervously looked at the huge man that was standing there with his arms crossed, "What do you want?"
"We want to see your leader," Meiling said.
She smirked at the gigantic tub of testosterone, her confidence back.
"And who might you be?" he shot back.
"This is concerning someone who we think works for you. His name is Yuki. He's tall, pale, about twenty eight-ish, doesn't speak, bald, wears black a lot, etc?" Sakura asked impatiently.
"Oh, Mr. X," the man nodded, "What about him? And who might you be? Never knew he'd have such hot chicks with him. Tell me, sweetie--"
Meiling cut him off, knowing where the conversation was directing, "Not that way. We're his sisters. He's our legal guardian."
"Hot sisters," the man smirked.
"Shut up," Sakura retorted, "Just tell us where we can find him. He's missing."
The guy nodded again, "Fine. I'll take you to our leader."
The two women followed the bulky man through a maze of halls and staircases that was below the warehouse, sort of like an underground headquarters.
Come to think about it, it actually was an underground headquarter.
They were finally at a large door, where the man knocked, "Mr. Noshiko? There are two women here wanting to talk to you."
"Let them in!" Noshiko boomed.
Sakura and Meiling exchanged looks but walked into the door.
They saw a hugely fat man sitting on a leather executive chair, smoking a huge cigar which was spewing out bits of black particles onto the carpet.
"Who are you?" Noshiko demanded.
Meiling said boldly, "We want to know where Yuki--"
"Mr. X," the bodyguard interrupted to clarify.
"--Mr. X," Meiling corrected, "Is. He's been missing, and Sakura," Meiling gestured at her, "said that she saw him here once."
Noshiko smirked at them, "He was here. But he's gone now."
"Where?" Sakura asked.
Noshiko doused his cigar in a cup of murky water and opened one of the drawers.
Sakura and Meiling exchanged nervous glances as he took out several handguns and laid them on the table.
Then, he took out a slip of paper.
"This is the ransom note we found," Noshiko said.
Sakura stepped forward to get it and unfolded the sheet.
"We have your man in our possession. Give us the disc. Meeting place to be announced."
Meiling snorted, "What a dorky ransom note."
Sakura shot her a look, but turned back to Noshiko, "What disc?"
"Special one Mr. X created. Listen, little girl, you don't want to hang around here. So let us do our business, and you go home and play with your Barbies," Noshiko said.
Meiling rolled her eyes, "Barbies suck. You listen, mister, Yuki's like our brother to us."
"I thought he was your brother," the bodyguard said.
"Shut up," Meiling said to him, then turned back, "Closer than a brother. And when he's missing and worrying us, then it's our responsibility to help him. So tell us what's going on, and maybe we can help."
Noshiko cleared his throat and smiled, "Feisty, aren't we? Well, well, well. Mr. X has been working with us ever since he was about 14, which would make it about fifteen years. He just appeared one day at our door. We were about to kick him out, but I thought he'd be pretty good as a trainee. He had a good kick and punch, and he didn't speak or anything. Plus, he freaked some of us out with that skin and head of his. Anyways, we discovered he had great computer and science brain. I gave him an assignment to somehow boost our sales--"
"What sales?" Sakura asked.
"Drugs. Cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, all that shit," Noshiko said.
"Oh," Sakura said.
It had finally registered in her brain that what they were dealing with was truly dangerous.
"And he got started on it. He only finished it a couple of months ago. Worked practically thirteen years on it. He had developed a formula to create an artificial drug replacement for cocaine. Drugs are mainly plants, you know? And he somehow figured out how to multiply the molecules. Kind of like cloning particles," Noshiko said.
Sakura and Meiling nodded.
"Anyways, I gave him the disc several weeks ago, for him to keep. We don't need it anymore now that our workers have memorized the formula. But we need to keep the disc safe just in case our rival gang wants it. So they probably kidnapped him, and they're demanding the disc in exchange for him."
"So you guys are going to give them the disc, right?" Sakura asked.
"No. I don't know where the hell it is," Noshiko shrugged.
"But…"
"Doesn't matter if the Tsukiro gang gets the disc. Or if they dispose of Mr. X. We've gotten a faithful group of dealers who rely on us. They won't go to any other places. So my business is finished," Noshiko said.
"But---" Sakura sputtered indignantly, "What about the life of Yuki?"
Noshiko laughed, "Like I care."
"But he's done so much for you guys and you just let him---die?" Meiling asked.
"I've paid him. More than enough. It's his fault for letting himself get kidnapped."
Sakura said angrily, "If you're not going to help us, we're going to have to take the matters into our own hands."
"Sure," Noshiko waved them off.
Sakura pocked the ransom note and they turned to leave, but they paused.
Meiling darted forward and grabbed three handguns, "We'll be needing this."
Before Noshiko could protest, Sakura quickly added, "Tell us where the Tsukiro headquarters are."
Noshiko named an old warehouse in the city, and Sakura nodded, "Thanks. And goodbye."
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Syaoran headed towards a 24-hour gym nearby.
He was stressed, and working out would be a good way to unleash some energy bottled up in him.
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When Syaoran had taken Tomoyo to his apartment, she immediately sat next to him while he was drowsily singing off-key to an oldies song.
"Eriol?" Tomoyo waved her hand over his face, but his eyelids were slowly drooping.
"Come on. I'm going to get you to bed," Tomoyo said.
She pulled on his arm until he stood up, and together they lurched towards Eriol's bedroom.
Tomoyo made sure he was safely lying on the bed, then covered his body up with a blanket.
"I'm going to get you something to drink for you. And something for your hangover that's going to happen soon enough," Tomoyo said aloud.
Eriol nodded, eyes closed.
"At least he's quiet now," Tomoyo murmured to herself.
She went to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
There was a half empty carton of milk, so she took that out.
"Now, how did that recipe for honey milk go…" Tomoyo thought aloud, "Oh! I know!"
She poured the milk into a large mug and set a plastic yogurt cover over it.
She put it into the microwave and set it for thirty seconds, then let it heat.
Meanwhile, she took searched for the honey and found it exactly when the microwave's timer beeped.
Tomoyo took out the milk and stuck her finger in it to measure it's warmth, then picked up the bottle of honey and squirted several teaspoons into it.
She stirred it with a chopstick she found in a drawer, then carried it over to Eriol's bedroom.
"Eriol?" Tomoyo asked before going in.
She smiled at his drowsy figure, who said, "I'm sorry."
"Are you okay? I don't want to pry, but you did drink a lot," Tomoyo asked.
"Do you love me?" Eriol asked instead.
Tomoyo paused before responding, "Yes."
Eriol nodded thoughtfully, "Good."
"Here, drink this, okay?" Tomoyo handed him the mug.
"Thank you," Eriol took a deep breath and sighed.
Tomoyo watched him gurgle down the warm concoction and hand her the empty cup.
"Sleep tight," Tomoyo said.
She went back to the kitchen and did the dishes, before glancing at the clock.
It was already night-time, eight o clock.
Tomoyo felt her self yawning, and glanced at the two empty bedrooms.
"Well, maybe just a short nap," Tomoyo smiled tiredly, and trudged over to Touya's bedroom, but first making sure that everything was off.
The whole apartment was darkened and quiet, while Tomoyo climbed under the comforter and immediately fell asleep.
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Meiling and Sakura were in the car.
They nervously glanced at the glove compartment, where they had stored the three guns.
"We're going to be dead meat if any law officials find these. They're illegal, we don't have a license and the guns are probably unregistered," Sakura said.
"Well, we did practice at the shooting range a couple of times. I guess that'll improve our aims," Meiling said.
"If we ever have to use these. Which I hope not," Sakura said.
Meiling changed the subject, "Aren't you going to get fired for taking so much time off work?"
Sakura shook her head, "No. We've already taken all the shoots for the spring wardrobe, and I did some extra modeling for some other companies, so I'm fine. Besides, I'm sure Mr. Sukutchi will understand. What about you?"
"I'm okay. I've been doing a lot of extra hours," Meiling smiled cockily.
"That's good. You know, things with Hanako and everything. So when do I officially get to meet him? Besides running into him at the Garden Café and all, you know," Sakura grinned.
"I'll talk to him about it. We're getting pretty serious now," Meiling sighed happily.
She glanced at the glove compartment and her brow furrowed, "So what do we do now?"
"The only thing we have to do. Go to the Tsukiro headquarters," Sakura said.
Meiling closed her eyes briefly, then opened them.
"Let's go."
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"Are you sure this is the right place?" Sakura asked Meiling nervously, looking at the rundown warehouse in the dark.
It was eight thirty, and most of the streets were filtered out of people, and there was no one hanging around the ware house.
The engine of the car was running, and Sakura had parked the car in the side parking lot of the place.
"I'm positive," Meiling showed Sakura the scrap of paper for confirmation.
"All right. Then I guess all we have to do is go in," Sakura said.
She turned off the ignition of the car and took the key out.
"Get the guns," Sakura said.
Meiling slowly took out two handguns and checked to see that they were loaded.
"The safety lock's on, right?" Sakura asked.
Meiling nodded.
Sakura put the gun in her purse, squeezing her wallet and keys, while Meiling simply stuffed the handgun into her pocket.
Luckily, they weren't that bulky and didn't take up much room.
"Let's go."
For some reason, Sakura felt like she had been here before…
Ten minutes later, they were climbing the stairs of the office part of the warehouse, with hallways and staircases that seemed like a maze.
They got to the top floor and saw a prominent office door.
"That's probably it," Sakura whispered.
They weren't sure whether to knock or not, but Meiling saw several men rounding the corner which paper cups of coffee from Starbucks, and her instincts immediately grabbed Sakura and they ducked into the nearest door, which just so happened to be a janitor's closet.
Panting from the adrenaline that was racing through their bodies, Sakura closed her eyes.
She whispered, "Get out of there, daddy. Hurry."
Meiling looked at her quizzically.
Sakura touched her lips.
The words had just come out, and they seemed so familiar.
Meiling raised a finger to her own lips in the quiet sign and took out her gun from the pocket.
Sakura followed, by taking hers out of her purse.
Together, they silently got it ready, remembering Syaoran's directions at the shooting ranges.
Meiling heard the voices of the men fading away slowly, and she opened the door a crack.
Sakura shook her head, and motioned to close the door.
She gestured towards the wall, and leaned her ear against it.
Meiling did the same, and both of them could hear nothing.
"I think it's clear," Meiling whispered.
Sakura agreed, and they left the closet, guns at their sides.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura grasped the handle of the door and turned it, swinging the door open.
They pretty much expected someone to be there, much like Noshiko, and there was.
This man was lean, with sharp features on his face and tanned, leathery skin.
But what stood out the most was his intense, black eyes that seemed to penetrate through Sakura and Meiling.
They were practically permanently narrowed, with a matching smirk that made Sakura shrivel up in fear.
This was one man who she would not, if she could choose to, not mess with.
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"Who are you and what do you want?" the man asked evenly.
Two bodyguards tensed up at the sight of the gun Meiling was swinging around on her finger.
"Are you Tsukiro Akatchi?" Sakura asked softly.
"Maybe. Maybe not," he smirked at her.
"You have a 'Mr. X' in hostage, don't you, Mr. Akatchi?" Sakura asked.
Tsukiro's expression didn't change as he answered, "Yes. I've made my men do that, yes."
Meiling breezily said, "You sent a ransom note to the Noshiko gang, wanting the disc. We have it."
Sakura looked at Meiling in surprise, that hadn't planned on that.
"Oh," Tsukiro said, obviously not believing them, "I'm sure the Noshiko gang would send two little girls like you to give me the disc. Where is it?"
"In a secure location," Sakura said, playing along.
"And we're not so little. Oops," Meiling dropped her gun and slowly bended over, giving Tsukiro a nice view.
Sakura inwardly groaned.
Tsukiro chucked, enjoying the little show Meiling was giving him.
On the way up, Meiling shot Sakura a look that read, 'I'm not doing this alone--do something!"
Sakura rolled her eyes and remembered that she was doing it for Yuki.
She plastered on her fake, adoring smile and said in a more high-pitched dumb blond's voice, "Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?"
Tsukiro laughed, "Fine, fine. Give us the disc."
"No, I think you should let us know where Mr. X is first," Sakura said.
"And why should I do that?" Tsukiro asked.
"Because I think I'm more trustworthy than you are," Sakura said.
She put on her fake voice again, "No offense or anything."
"How about I just give you the address of the people who are handling this case? I'm sure they'd love to meet young women like you. Meanwhile, Mr. X is in the basement cells, just to let you know." Tsukiro said.
Meiling and Sakura exchanged glances, "Okay."
Tsukiro's bodyguard handed him a piece of paper and pen, and he quickly scribbled down an address.
"Good luck. And I'll be waiting for the disc," Tsukiro.
He waved them off with mock blown kiss, and Sakura and Meiling left, to find who the hell had Yuki hostage.
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End of chapter 13. Next chapter, "Exposed Identities"
A/N: Weird, I know. Tsukiro doesn't seem as menacing as he should be, and he's stupid to just let them go. But oh well. He has to be that way for the plot to go on…besides, I'm not that good at action/scary sequences. Harhar. Next chappy will be up on the 28th….so until then, REVIEW!
