R_M : Dedicated to Whisper Reilman ( who is just the BEST ) and NagiNaoeShwarzProdigy (for kicking that heartless son of a donkey's ass – well of course a donkey is kinda like an ass , so  for kicking that ass's ass !) *LOL*

*cowers under the shower of boos and rotten tomatoes , holds up her hands in surrender* Sorry ! I know that was lame ! *LOL and runs away with Ken's mittens*

† † †

Crawford drove on , once in a while glancing at the rearview mirror for any sign that he was being followed . He had thought that if the man trailing them was a professional , he wouldn't allow himself to be sighted by his prey , but Crawford was too disciplined to allow that kind of reasoning to influence his actions . He had to , after all , check if his imbecile SS troop had survived the Invisible One's attack .

Fuck him . Nobody fucks with Brad Crawford and gets away with it . The bastard had ruined his plans just by interfering with the setup of the Blitzkrieg device ; and yet , despite the maddening thought , he wasn't completely dissatisfied with the day's events .

He had , after all , found a new plaything - one that couldn't compare to those expensive gadgets and fragile toys that his parents had given him in his youth ; those of which he had discarded without a second glance the moment that he had grown tired of them .

He glimpsed the unconscious boy slumped on the passenger seat wince in pain and felt a very rare twitch of pity ; the first one in perhaps twenty years .

Surely , he had watched thousands upon thousands of innocent human beings being shoved naked into gas pits and dying while they stood stock still in the all-too cramped space ; he had observed entire queues of men and women lining up alongside a deep pit of earth waiting to be shot by the soldiers ; he had witnessed the piling of all the tangled bodies and the burning of limbs attached to dead corpses into massive mountains of rotting corpses and smelled the acrid smell of burning flesh without ever feeling pity or compassion . And here he was , well into the center of the bloody fray feeling a pang of emotion , even a tiny one , for a mere boy he had seen fall in disgrace on his lap .

The slight twinge of pity suddenly dissipated as quickly as it had come and Crawford returned his steely eyes back to the slick , snow-covered road .

Perhaps he needed to tend the wound when they reach the nearest town . He didn't want the boy to be dead by the time they arrived at his office and he certainly had no mind to dispose of a dead body from his car even if he could order an SS elite soldier to do the task for him .

For a second , he wondered if the blood could be washed off his immaculate white upholstery and then dismissed the thought with a small frown . He could buy another Cadillac at any time with no semblance of trouble ; after all , he had twenty-five million marks at his disposal , didn't he ?

The road narrowed and grew slicker as his impatience grew with the increasingly challenging road and it required his most of his concentration to avoid veering off the difficult dirt track and smashing into the erratic row of trees lining alongside it .

The sky above grew darker , warning him of the possible onslaught of a blizzard or snowstorm ; the wind howled incredibly , deafeningly and the Panama hat that he had clipped to the door flapped in a frenzy with the invisible torrent .

The car sped up as safely as possible in the dangerous and slippery terrain , and Crawford noted with impatience the thundering  overhead . He had to get to town soon or the boy would die of his bullet wound and if not , he would die of hypothermia given the cruel weather and the bitter cold .

He sighted the town ahead just as the snow started to fall , tine flecks of ice kissing every available surface . He cursed and pulled the stick shift ; the muffled groans from his unconscious captive reaching his ears .

It would be a shame if the boy died on him .

A great shame .

† † †

Aya crouched low behind the underbrush and clutched the bottle in his hand and gritted his teeth .

He couldn't believe that he had allowed the bastard to get away with Ken in tow , he hadn't even been able to do anything to keep the son of a bitch from shooting the kid .

He resisted the urge to follow the car .

The soldiers were finishing their jobs loading the trucks and it was obvious from their darting eyes that they were distinctly aware of the presence of a trained marksman waiting to kill them all .

Aya smirked . They must be dying to get away from there .

With a shrill whistle , he tossed the bottle towards the group of men and machinery and whipped out his rifle .

The soldiers whipped their head towards the direction of the sound , their eyes widening in horror at the realization ; and yet their reflexes far too slow to save their lives .

The men barely knew what happened . The last thing they ever saw was a black bottle shattering into a million pieces of crystal in midair and a large explosion rattled the white-washed earth , engulfing ten men with swirling orange flames .

Aya didn't even stay to make sure that no one had survived the brilliant fireworks , he was too occupied with running towards his cabin to retrieve his motorcycle .

With any luck , he'd be able to find the Nazi bastard before he does anything to the kid ; and hopefully , he'd get a perfect shot at that smug asshole and leave his corpse with a seamless little hole in the forehead  .

† † †

The Cadillac glided smoothly into a rolling halt in front of an inn in the little town ; and an imperious Brad Crawford stepped out of the car with an unconscious boy in his arms .

A nervous innkeeper greeted them at the door . The sight of the tall man with a soiled young boy hoisted on his arms was enough to fray a gentle old man's nerves , but the small emblem of intersecting lightning bolts was enough to send him into a fit .

He didn't dare refuse the man of course , for that would mean future , if not immediate execution .

" Guten aven sir ."

The man shot him an emotionless look and swept into the cozy inn without a word .

The hapless innkeeper hurried after him , shutting the door against the deluge of snow raging outside .

" Is there anything you need sir ? A room perhaps ? Some dinner ?" The old man was fidgeting with his hands ; obviously distressed .

" Ja , a room , and some medical supplies . My son is in need of attention ."

He knew he couldn't fool anyone with his charade ; after all , he didn't look old enough to be a father of a boy that age . Still , he couldn't arouse the feeling of impending doom upon the old innkeeper lest he should try to raise an alarm on the town before Crawford could escape to his headquarters .

" Yes , sir ." With that , the old man rushed off to do his bidding ; as if knowing that his life depended on the performance of his task .

Crawford did not kill for amusement – he did not order someone shot just for the enjoyment of it – but he was quite ruthless when someone failed to do the commission he orders upon him .

Besides , he had to kill the old man anyway . He couldn't risk the knowledge that he had been anywhere near the town ; any other witness had  to be dealt with in the same manner .

With any fortune , some of the SS soldiers he had with him would survive and clear the equipment before the Fuhrer's men get wind of the operation – if not , then the next best thing would be that the invisible sniper would have done the work for him ; setting the whole troop and the equipment on fire ; which he probably did , considering that he couldn't just shoot every one of those soldiers and manage to chase after Crawford in time .

Anyway , his connection with dead troop could not be discovered without any witnesses if he managed to leave the town as soon as possible .

A slight shuffling at the desk relieved him of his reflections and he was soon glaring at the old man whom had procured a box of bandages , medicine and other equipment . " Sir , your room is ready ." The old man fumbled with the keys , dropping it once or twice before being able to clutch it thoroughly in his sweating hands . " If you would follow me , sir , I shall bring you to your room ."

The nervous host shambled through the small corridor past three closed doors towards a large one , white paint peeling off its surface . " Here sir ." The old man gestured , opened the battered wood door and hobbled into the room . He carefully placed the kit on the faded bedspread and the keys on the bedside table . " If you need anything sir , please don't hesitate to call me ." With a highly reverent nod , the innkeeper closed the door behind him .

Crawford waited momentarily , and placed his captive facedown on the soft bed . He supported the brown head with a small pillow as he turned the worn-down heater up to the maximum .

He was quick to act ; the kit's contents were placed neatly on the table , the materials he needed were arranged and ready . For an instant , he watched the unconscious boy , undecided until he finally once more moved softly , the mechanisms in his head instructing him what to do .

He knew that there was nothing he could do to remove the bullet , to do so would just aggravate the injury because of his lack of professional training . Slowly , he peeled away layers upon layers of the boy's stained clothing , his face impassive .

Soon , the boy was clad only in his boxer shorts , the blood dripping constantly on the carpet .

His hands worked deftly to repair his patient . Time was against him ; he couldn't afford to be slow about it .

† † †

Aya sped through the rough terrain , bouncing on his motorcycle .

The snow was working vehemently against him , lashing at his face with cold sheets until he almost couldn't see . That wouldn't be such a difficult problem , he knew the territory well and could navigate through it with blindfolds if he had to , what faintly nagged at the back of his mind was that his bike , stored carelessly outside the cabin and under the harsh weather for a while , would cause it to sputter and die . He knew he couldn't afford a  delay . As it was , the Nazi bastard was probably way ahead of him and he had no clue as to where they were heading – the driving snow had already erased the tracks of the Cadillac's wheels .

He had to hope that they were still in town , the man should try to fix the brunette boy after all , or he wouldn't have bothered to bring the kid along with him if he wanted the boy to die .

Briefly , his mind rested on the question of why the American man had abducted Ken Germennschaft .

The boy was indeed witness to their operations , but so was the blond kid and they had only tried to dot the boy with their bullets ; and yet , he had bothered to avoid killing the brunette by shooting him in the leg instead of the vulnerable target that could have killed him instantly – no problems , no reservations ... of course , the boy could be dead already , given the fact that if his abductor had not tried to stem the bleeding , he could hemorrhage to his demise ... but still , if the American had wanted that , he wouldn't have brought the boy along to add to his headaches , would he ?

The memory of the American hoisting Ken over his wide shoulders mad Aya shudder in disgust and revulsion . Damn that bastard .

The light of his motorcycle dimmed , providing feeble assistance for him to see through the torrent of snow . The sky had grown so dark that one could almost mistake it for midnight instead of early afternoon ; has it been hours already ?

At this rate , with his bike slowing down , he'd have a slim chance to reach the town before the smug bastard could get away , but he just couldn't stop trying .

He cursed as the bike sputtered and died , leading him to a bumpy halt on the downward slope  . He kicked the vehicle heatedly in his annoyance , and grabbed his equipment hanging on the handlebars .

For the first time since the firefight , he noticed that his jacket was barely enough protection against the bitter cold and he almost wished that he had brought a thicker coat aside from his leather bomber jacket .

Damn .

Muttering , he groped his way carefully down the mountainous area , sliding and trudging his way down to safety . He could obviously have made better time with the bike , but since the damned contraption couldn't be trusted , he just had to rely on his own abilities to survive the biting frost with his trigger finger working . He almost wished he had gloves on .

The memory of Ken's favorite mittens flashed in his mind . Blue rabbit mittens . Ken always wore those mittens .

Aya's concentration lapsed as he remembered the boy trying to chop wood behind his cabin , his mittened hands gripping the heavy ax . Aya smiled faintly and shook his head .

Ken was waiting .

The wind whipped his frost-covered hair , he could feel the cold masticating his ears and was dead sure that in no time , he would be obliged to cut it off provided that he wouldn't be able to reach the town quickly .

That renewed his resolve .

The moment he reached the plain , he broke into a run , hoping that the American , with his captive had not yet left town .

† † †

Crawford stood back and viewed his handiwork with cold satisfaction .

The wound had been expertly swathed with bandages and had stopped the flow of blood .

Within minutes , the boy would probably awaken , and Crawford dared not to take the risk to remain where the boy , though injured , could have a chance to liberate himself and flee . Besides , the sniper was probably on their tail , and although the snow had probably detained him , Crawford could not – should not rely on good fortune for long .

Taking a pillow , he ripped the pillowcase into long shreds and knotted them together ; with that he used the long strip of connected cloth to secure the brunette's wrists and legs , making sure that the boy's bindings were tight and impossible to undo by himself .

Taking another pillow for the boy's comfort , ( he briefly pondered why he cared for the boy's well-being ) he once more swept the unconscious brunette in his arms and strode to the lobby . He rang the bell briefly , waiting for the old man to reappear . " Herr innkeeper ." He said , when the old man nervously presented himself . " Please procure some food for the boy . We'd soon be on our way ."

The old man sighed in relief at that ,  but his apprehension was once more regained when he saw the boy's bindings and got a clear view of the lad in his arms . " But sir ... that's Ken Germennschaft !" He protested , unable to restrain his words . " Ken Germennschaft , eh ?" Crawford mused . " Very good ."

Now he knew the boy's name ; food could come later . After all , he wasn't at all hungry and the boy could very well survive a few hours without it .

" Your dues ." He tossed a thick wad of hundred-dollar marks on the desk , much to the old man's dismay .

" Sir ,  please . Everything is on the house ." He pleaded , his aged eyes bright with fear .

" I insist ." With that , Crawford unsheathed his gun , holding the boy close against his chest with the other arm and shot the old man on the head .

The innkeeper was dead before his body even reached the wooden floor .

With his gun back in its sheath , Crawford placed his arm under the boy's knees and continued his way to the waiting Cadillac .

† † †

Aya squinted through the pelting ice and saw the distant lights of the town .

His pace quickened at every yard as he neared the village , his rifles barely weighing him down .

He couldn't tell how much time he had lost making his way down the rough mountain , but he hoped that he was just in time to reach Ken before his captor decided to make a run for it .

The inn came to view , and with a burst of energy , Aya sprinted to the open door , his rifle unslung and cocked .

The inn was empty .

Save for the dead innkeeper wallowing in his own crimson blood on the floor and the stack of German bills scattered like confetti all over the lobby , the inn was totally empty .

His eyes darted to the road snaking towards Berlin , and just managed to glimpse a pair of faint taillights as it disappeared around the bend .

Aya betrayed habit , and let out a loud curse .

† † †

R_M : AAAAAAAAHHHHH ... *sighs* there's nothing I love more than getting a lot of reviews !!! ^_^ *bounces happily*

Kaen-chan : Thanks for the lesson . O_O;;; *fidgets* that makes sense ... although I wouldn't want to think of it as ... as ... *sweats* never mind . Hope the chappie didn't disappoint . I myself can't wait till the next exciting thing happens . Hope to see you until then ! ^.~

Li the lewd : Thanks for the heads up . I don't know any German save for the common Guten blah blah phrases . I just looked it up in my English-German dictionary . *LOL* Sorry .

NagiNaoeSchwarzsProdigy : *LOL* You really cracked me up there ! You go and beat Crawfie up girl ! HE could be such an ass , I know . *winks* but of course , the fact that Ken is really kinky , I know better . *wonders why she let that little tidbit slip out* Yes , the KenxNagi (ish making use of the uke and seme information) is in the works ! Dontcha worry ! ^^;

Shime : O_O;;; Yes ... *is definitely wondering why she asked* Be a pervert ? But ... but *sputters* it's ot in my nature to be a perv !!! *protests* Unless it involves Ken and chocolate syrup , that is !

Jenken : *LOL* WE'll definitely find out ne ? I guess you'll get a bit of both , though I must warn you that there are quite a few violent BradxKen scenes up ahead ... meep ! *runs away and zips her lips* darn that old blabbermouth-ness .

Mariki : *LOL* It's hard to imagine a NagixKen ... thankfully you didn't put OmixKen . No effence meant to the fans of that pairing but the truth is , that's one pairing I can't stand ... even if the story's an awaful good one . ^^. Thankies !

Anime Usagi : *Laughs* He deserves it ! *roots for her beloved Kenken* go bite Crawfie some more darling !

Veronika : Thanks so much for the offer ! ^__^ I really appreciate the fact that you care ! I just might take you up on that proposition . I hope you don't mind if I'd e-mail you about stuff I don't understand . German is quite a difficult language especially since I know nothing about it ! ^^;

Whisper Reilman : *imagines Aya in fatigues and face paint*  ... whoa ! *falls to the floor and hits her head* Don't scare me like that ! *LOL* ^__^ Ken is a kiddie kind of man ! Or teen , in this case ! *LOL at the mittens* I dunno why I wrote that , but I thought I couldn't use kittens , it's getting a little cliché so I chose rabbits instead . Betcha you'll see those mittens around more . *rubs Whisper Reilman's head* Awww... did'ja hit your head when you fell ? ^__~

I'm really sorry to all the readers of Devil's Deceit ! I know I've been taking a loooong while to write it , but rest assured , a chappie's gonna be out within about a week .

BTW , I'm posting the preview of 'Reflections through raindrops' with this chappie .

It's a SchuxKen thingy , hope you like it ! (Just wrote it yesterday , so I'm hoping it doesn't suck that much)