"Fuck!" Yohji snapped.
He slammed the phone handset down and sighed irritably as he checked his watch. 11:30 A.M. --- almost three hours since Ken had seen Aya disappear into that black sedan with the two Kritiker agents. He ran his hand through his messy, tangled hair and struggled to come fully awake. After seeing Aya leave, Ken had immediately burst into his room screaming that the redhead was gone. After he had gotten the ex-goalie calmed down enough to explain what had happened, Yohji had stumbled downstairs, falling about half-way in his sleep-fogged stupor, and immediately punched in Manx's cell phone number. Unfortunately, the red-haired Kritiker agent hadn't seen fit to answer the call. Manx's conspicuous absence and her silent treatment left Yohji with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. But, for now, he couldn't do anything else. Yohji sighed in frustration and, for about the hundredth time that morning, dialed in Manx's cell.
"Any luck?" Ken asked as he came into the kitchen.
Yohji clicked the handset off and held it against his forehead, trying to contain his anger, frustration, and fear. Failing, he turned, and, with one smooth motion, threw it against the opposite wall with enough force to shatter it. Bubba had been lying under the table, silently watching Yohji, and the big dog jerked in surprise and growled at the loud noise the handset made as it broke.
"That fucking bitch," he hissed through clenched teeth.
His voice had the cold, dangerous tone it normally took on while they were in the middle of a kill. Ken inched slowly into the room, giving the older man a wide berth, and stooped to pick up the broken phone. When he looked up, he saw that Yohji's hands were shaking with rage, and the tall blonde's eyes were glittering with a level of anger and hatred Ken had rarely seen. The ex-goalie couldn't ever remember seeing his older teammate this upset, except for his encounter with Hank after Aya had returned from the emergency room. Yohji was the one member of their team who never seemed to take anything seriously. Ken had seen the tall blonde joke his way through every kind of personal and professional crisis imaginable, from dates with various women, to disputes with his teammates, to unexpected and dangerous accidents during missions. Now, though, he could see almost uncontrolled rage and, maybe, even fear, on Yohji's face, and it scared him more than he would have cared to admit. Ken was no dummy. He could put two and two together just as well as the next guy, and, right now, it was all adding up to indicate Aya was in serious trouble.
Although Yohji hadn't openly shared his theories about how Schuldich had managed to breach their security so easily, Ken's deductive reasoning had led him to believe Hank had probably had something to do with it. If that was the case, it meant Aya had, most likely, called Manx to take the blame for the security breach, and, if that was true, it meant their chances of seeing the redhead alive again were growing slimmer with each passing moment Aya remained absent. If they didn't get Aya back, Ken figured it would push Yohji over the edge completely. Yohji was closer to Aya than anyone else in Weiss, and his overprotective streak and fondness for the quiet man were well known to the rest of the team. The truth was, though, no matter what he personally thought about Aya, Ken knew the redhead was the one who kept Weiss together and motivated them to work as a seamless, effective team; he was their leader.
'No,' Ken thought as he watched Yohji, 'we just have to get him back. If something happens to him, it won't just be the end of Yohji. It'll be the end of Weiss.'
"That fucking bitch," Yohji snapped again. He sighed and sank heavily into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He leaned his elbows on the table top and rested his hands in his cupped palms. Bubba whined and moved forward to rest his head in Yohji's lap, just as Ken had often seen the dog do with Aya.
"She she isn't answering my calls," Yohji continued as he absently reached down to scratch behind the big dog's ears.
Suddenly, Yohji realized how exhausted he was; it felt as if someone had just flipped a switch that would turn him off. He looked up as Ken moved to sit down across the table from him. The chair made a wooden squeaking sound as it slid across the floor. He struggled to keep his voice from shaking, but he knew Ken could read the fear in his tone as easily as if he was reading an open book. "Ken, this is bad. I I'm scared. I don't know what to do. I don't think I've ever been this afraid before, and I don't I don't know what to do."
Ken stared at Yohji. It was obvious the tall blonde was at the end of his rope, mentally and physically. Yohji looked like he hadn't slept in a week, and he looked much older than his twenty-two years --- a young old man who had run out of options. As the older man again sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair, Ken leaned forward to place a companionable hand on his arm.
He tried to smile reassuringly as he said, "It'll be OK. I just know it. Aya Aya is one tough bastard. It takes a lot to take him out, right?" Ken jumped involuntarily as he felt a large, square head slide into his lap, and he looked down into Bubba's small, deep-set, yellow eyes. Instead of the hateful, malevolent expression the dog normally wore, Bubba looked almost sad. "What the hell's wrong with this dog?" Ken asked, never taking his eyes off of the beast. "I think I liked it better when he was trying to kill all of us. This just makes me nervous."
Yohji stared at Ken for several moments before he sighed and said, shrugging "I don't know. Damn dog's been that way ever since Aya left. He just keeps following me around, whining, and looking all sad and pathetic like that. I think he misses Aya. I have to admit, though, I liked the evil Bubba better, too; somehow, it seemed more normal."
He ran his fingers through his hair again, shaking out his loose ponytail and refastening the elastic hair tie before he stood and stretched. "Yeah yeah. Aya's one tough bastard one lucky bastard, too. I guess we'll just have to hope that his luck holds out. But, I can promise this if anything and I mean anything happens to him, I'm going to kill that fucking bitch and then, I'm going to go after Persia." Ken stared at him, dumfounded, which prompted Yohji to say, "I mean it. I'm going upstairs to pace around and chain smoke in my room. If Manx calls, you'd better come get me, if you know what's good for you. And, if Aya does come home, let me know."
Ken nodded dumbly and watched as Yohji retreated to his room.