Brood: Waaaii! Chapter three! We love you readers, please review for us!

Zutsokaki: ..........I myself am amazed at the lack of response, since both of you are good writers and usually get good feedback.....

Brood: *falls over and twitches in shock as well*

Zutsokaki: Was it something I said?

WSJ: *also twitching slightly* Must... Get... More... Reviews...!!

Disclaimer: We don't own any of it. Just our OC's, though I don't think they're even in this chapter. :p

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CHAPTER 3

Jounouchi spun the steering wheel of his car, causing it to swerve around the corner so fiercly that Heero Yuy had to hold onto the dashboard and armrest for support.

"Think you could go a little SLOWER!?"

Jou's brow furrowed at Heero's slighty ticked tone of voice. "I think you, in your previous and present line of work would understand why we need to get over to the Merquize buildin' NOW!! They're gonna kill the president of Winner Corp if we don't get a move on!"

Heero looked at Jou for a split second with his hard cobalt eyes and then gave a sharp nod. "Just try to drive with a little less spin to it, or we'll both be greasy smears on the windshield and no help to Mr. Winner at all!"

Jou gave a smirk and kept his eyes on the road. "We are almost there! Get ready, we don't know what they have in store for us, because by now, they more than likely know we're on to them!"

"Why's that, detective?"

"Because while me an' my rookie were up there earlier, the vice president, Duo Maxwell, accidentally called Milliardo Peacecraft "Zechs." He wouldn't let that fact slip his mind, or the fact that he more than likely knows who I am. He's either kickin' himself in the fanny, or he's settin' somthin' up for us....."

Heero once again responded by nodding, his dark brown bangs bobbing. The car screeched to a messy halt in front of the building and the two men dashed out of the car and into the building.

The front lobby was fairly normal, with people coming and going, and a receptionist behind the desk. Jou and Heero hadn't taken out their guns when they got out of the car, to avoid alerting and scaring civilians.

The receptionist looked up and saw them, and wordlessly pressed a button. Jou had caught this motion at the same time Heero did, and the both looked at each other, wondering what to do next.

But before they could even open their mouths, a guard walked up behind them and said quietly into their ears, "Please come this way gentlemen, our Vice President would like a word with you."

They had no other course of action at this point, due to the civilians in the lobby. So they merely followed the guard into an elevator, one chancing looks at the other now and again, seeming to say, "keep on your toes."

After a moment, the elevator stopped and the guard tapped a place on the wall. A panel slid up and a fingerprint indicator was revealed. The guard placed his thumb on it, and after a second, a low "Ping" noise was heard. The back of the elevator slid open, a door that hadn't even been noticed by Heero or Jou, and they were led through it.

They were now standing in a very posh office, with black leather furniture that Jou quickly identified as Italian import, (most probably gotten by dubious means) and a large mahogany desk with an expensive looking finish. There were a few lamps illuminating the room, the flourescent lighting on the ceilings left off.

"Take a seat gentlemen, the Vice President will be with you shortly...." and with that, the guard disappeared.

"....So what do you think, Detective?" Heero turned his head to face Jou.

"I think it's a setup. They're tryin' to keep us away from Winner so they can make a clean cut of 'em. I say we try to find a way out besides that elevator."

"I don't think there is." Heero walked over to windows, which had large black shadings over them. "There's a twenty story or so drop from there, and there seems to be video cameras in here as well. There's no way they'd leave us completely unguarded."

"If there are cameras in here, then it may be like they WANT us to look for a way out...." Joey shifted his feet and looked in the direction of the large desk.

"Yeah."

As an afterthought, Jou walked over to the elevator again and hit the button. The light came on and he could hear the elevator coming. Well at least that's still an option.

"......Good afternoon gentlemen....welcome to my private office." And Duo Maxwell stepped in from an unseen entrance in the shadows.

~*~

Ryou, still inside of Heero's office with Heero's partner, Trowa, was contemplating what could have made Jou get up and run off so fast. He stood up and leaned on the wall by the window, looking seventeen stories down. Trowa leaned back in Heero's chair and looked out into the hallway.

Good. Nobody's around.

Trowa stood up and walked behind Ryou. "Steep fall, huh?"

Ryou nodded without turning his head away from the window. "Hey, do you have any idea why Jou ran out like that?"

"I may have an idea."

"Really?" Ryou still didn't move his head away from the windows, his eyes falling on a passing limosine. There seemed to be something on the roof of the limo. Merquize Inc. A company limo? Jou and Mrs. Winner said that they had to do with President Winner's abduction....

Since the door was situated close to the desk and the window, it was a simple matter for Trowa to lean backwards, and shut the door. Ryou's head snapped up at the sound of the door shutting and turned his head in time to see Trowa holding the .9mm pistol he had previously had on Heero's desk.

"What are you doing!?"

Trowa's face was an emotionless mask as he leveled the gun to Ryou's chest.

"Because he knew who was to be trusted." Trowa took two steps forward and now the muzzle of the gun was an inch away from Ryou's heart. "Do you know what happens when a gun is discharged at this close range?" His visible eye narrowed.

All the colour had drained from Ryou's face, his brown eyes wide. "Wh-why are you doing this?"

There wasn't any way to deny that Ryou was scared. He was scared shitless. He was about two heartbeats away from fainting.

"Your boss shouldn't have gotten himself involved." Trowa said, cocking the gun. "We weren't going to kill anyone, but now it's a necessity."

"Wh-what are you talking ab-bout?" Ryou's eyes darted around the room, looking for a way out of this. He couldn't see any. Unless you counted jumping out of the window, and that didn't seem better than being shot at.

What a great first "real" case.....

Trowa's mouth moved into a thin-lipped smile. "Oh no you don't, I've been around long enough to know how stupid it is to tell anyone your plans, even if you plan to kill them." His finger slowly tightened on the trigger.

~*~

Jou and Heero tensed as soon as they heard Duo's mocking and lilting voice. "So, you caught on, Detective, what was going on. Too bad you don't know the whole story quite yet....and I see that you brought one of Quatre Winner's body guards. Hmm....is your rookie very....trained?"

"What's that got to do with anythin'!?" Jou reddened in anger.

"Oh....just a simple question really...." Duo flipped his long braid over his shoulder and stroked the end of it. "But I'm sure he's not very safe." Duo Maxwell made a tsk tsk noise. "Shame shame, detective. Leaving your new untrained rookie in such danger...."

"What are you talking about!!!!!???" Jou clenched his fists and Heero drew his gun, levelling it on Duo's head.

"Ahh ahh, Mr. Yuy. I wouldn't be so rash. I can give the signal for Quatre Winner's execution before you could pull the trigger." He revealed a small control in his hand, a green button situated on it's center. "When I press this, that gives the signal for the gunmen in the room with our friend to open fire. It wouldn't be pretty if they ever found his body...."

Heero's face didn't lose any of it's hardened and battle-trained expression, but he lowered the gun.

Duo took a few steps towards the elevator, adjusting the tie on his black Armani suit, and lowering the control in his hands. "So men, you wanted to leave so soon? Calling the elevator..."

Heero raised the gun with great speed, Jou drawing his to level it on Duo as well. But as soon as Duo saw the movements begin, he raised the control again. "Ah! I wouldn't......" He , Jou, and Heero all lowered their items at the same time, slowly, with Jou and Heero's eyes never leaving Duo's amused and smirking expression.

Duo let out a small chuckle. "And what did you boys hope to possibly do? We have Winner, we have his company in a bind...."

"Wait. How?" Jou's eyes clouded with confusion.

"Are you so blind? With Winner out of the way, his wife being the heiress to the millions of dollars, it will be a simple matter to discuss....a merger...if you will....of the two companies. Merquize Inc. will be the monopolizer of Asian industry!"

"Is this what this is all about? Just the money and knocking off one man?" Heero's face showed surprisingly little emotion, but his voice was laced with anger.

"Making millions more than you already do was never more simple!" Duo's face cracked into a huge grin and then he threw his head back and laughed. The two saw their opportunity. Jou ran up and grabbed Duo's hand that was holding the controller, and Heero grabbed the other hand just as the elevator came up to their floor and stopped. Duo's laughing had ceased immediately when Jou had grabbed him, and he was now struggling.

"Hey! Let me go! You WILL release me at ONCE!!"

"Not a chance, laughin' boy! Get in the elevator, we're goin' for a ride!" Jou kept a strong hold on Duo's arm and he and Heero led him inside. Once the doors were shut, Duo relaxed in their holds. Then he closed his eyes and smirked, lifting one of his legs and softly tapping a secret "emergency" button on the lower part of the wall.

Good! Now Zechs and the others know that I'm with them...it worked perfectly.....they're about to walk into a lovely trap made just for them!" Duo smirked again and waited for a few moments for the elevator to stop. By this time, they should have the lobby just about evacuated for the "fire drill." Just another moment...and they'll have the "anti-fire" shutters down as well. Nobody'll see, and we'll have no witnesses!

~*~

I wasn't quite sure what this mug was up to here in the elevator, since he just relaxed and stopped complainin' just as soon as we got the elevator movin'. Maybe he figured that there was nothin' he could do while he was in there in the elevator with us. I wonder how the people in the lobby would take seein' the vice president of the company bein' led out of the buildin' by a couple of strangers. The last thing I want is to be convicted of kidnappin' here, when he's the real kidnapper.

That Yuy guy is lookin' cold as ice. He musta been really well trained. Suddenly I think about his partner, that Barton guy. Wait a sec. Maxwell said something about Ryou bein' in danger.....

"Yuy! What do you know about your partner!?" Heero's head comes up, and I can feel Duo shift a little under me.

"Not much really. He's ex-CIA, and around my age. Hired specially by Mr. Winner's wife."

Great. That's all the information!? And since Mrs. Winner herself is up on my list of suspects...

"Maxwell!! Barton's workin' for ya, isn't he!?"

He starts chucklin'.....he's laughin'!!

"Took you long enough....Detective." Ouch. He really spat that last part out. "It doesn't matter anyway, your partner's dead already!"

Heero's lookin' really mad now....this is gettin' tougher and tougher. What if Barton really did kill the kid!? I'd be responsible, just because I got stupid and left him alone, runnin' on some old hunch! My stomach's churnin' now.....I feel really bad. I dunno what's takin' me over, but I start seein' red. I realize I'm goin' for my gun....

"DETECTIVE JOUNOUCHI!! Don't do that!" Heero's voice cuts at me, stoppin' me. "We don't know for certain if he's got your partner or not! He might have gotten away!"

"Not likely!!! Trowa's well trained....never let a target get away....." That Duo jerk is still snickerin'! That lowly...no good.....bastard!

Ping.

~*~

Jou was about to strike at Duo out of his anger, but the doors of the elevator slid open, and they all looked out. What had previously been the lobby was now a dark and very abandoned room. The desks and chairs were still there, with many tables and information desks, but it was dead and dark. There were shutters over the windows and everything was silent.

"What the...." Jou's voice was lost in the silent echo of the room.

"And this gentlemen," Duo began, wrenching his arms free of the two, taking advantage of their surprise, "is where you get off!" He ran out into the room, pulling something out of his coat jacket. A gun.

Just as he was about to fire though, Heero and Jou jumped in opposite directions and the shot went inside the elevator. They each had their guns out in a flash, and they dove behind desks or chairs.

"Yuy! We gotta find a way out of here!" Jou ducked behind the desk as a few bullets hit the frame by his head.

"There isn't a way out that we can't get shot heading towards!" Heero called back, crouching behind a chair.

Jou was the first to return fire. When Duo was concentrating on aiming at Heero, Jou aimed his gun above the desk and fired a round towards Duo, but he moved at the last second, inching closer to Heero's side of the room. Jou swore as Duo heard the bullet whiz past him, and he had to kneel behind the desk again as Duo opened fire.

"Shimatta....this going back and forth isn't gonna work, Yuy! We gotta find some other way of doin' this!"

Heero turned to respond, but suddenly Duo took advantage of the lack of attention on his part and took off, taking a walkie talkie off of his belt. He had a couple of calls to make.

Jou and Heero shot up and immedately took off after him.

~*~

Just as Trowa was pulling the trigger on the frightened Ryou, a radio crackled from somewhere. Trowa sighed and pulled a walky-talky off his belt, the gun still trained on Ryou. "Talk to me."

A voice came over the radio, distorted but identifyable as that of Duo Maxwell. "We're in trouble Barton." the braided one said without any preamble. "Yuy and that Katsuya guy are after us."

"Us?" Trowa asked.

"Zechs and I."

"Where are you?" Trowa snapped, his face tightening.

"Don't worry, we're not stupid enough to head for Quatre. We're leading them right into headquarters, then we'll ambush them. I've already informed Zechs of what's going on. He's setting it up in the parking lot as we speak" There was a sound rather like gunfire, and Duo yelped. "Gotta run Tro', we'll be in touch."

The radio died, and Trowa cursed, tossing it over his shoulder. When he turned back to face Ryou, he found the white-haired man gone. "Shi-"

He heard a sound behind him and whirled around, sending of a breif burst of shots. Ryou yelped and ducked away from the door, diving toward Trowa's legs. He brought the bigger man down on top of him, Trowa still cursing and trying to bring the gun around to bear on his attacker.

Ryou tried to hang onto him, but was inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat (or any form of combat save the martial arts), and with a sharp jolt Trowa sent him flying across the room and into the wall. The collision knocked all the breath Ryou had out of him, and he stood half-leaning spread eagled against the wall, panting.

Trowa got to his feet with a grunt, wiping some blood away from the corner of his mouth where a lucky punch of Ryou's had gotten through. "Kissima, you'll pay for that." He brought the gun to bear on the rookie again, and Ryou had no strength left to doge the bullets.

The first one caught him in the right shoulder, the second in the right side of the stomach. He fell forward with a sort of startled gasp and narrowly missed receiving a third bullet in the neck. He hit the floor with a thud and a cry of pain, and Trowa smirked down at him before bending to retreive his radio, which he clicked on.

"Hey Maxwell, I have a bit of good news for you. Of course, that would make it bad news to the blondie chasing after you."

Ryou lay on the floor barely concious, his blood leaking onto the expensive beige carpeting of Heero's office. As he drifted in and out of awareness, something Jou had once said drifted through his mind.

"Always remember Ryou, a good cop, even a retired one, keeps a spare gun in his desk. He'd be sunk if he didn't."

Somehow Ryou gathered his strength and pulled open the lower-most drawer of Heero's desk. Sure enough, there was a smaller .9mm pistol in there. He pulled it out and managed to get it cocked, aiming it toward Trowa who was standing with his back to Ryou, talking to Duo over the radio. Ryou closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, heard the shot and Trowa's cry of surprise and pain, and then nothing more as he slumped over.

~*~

Relena Peacecraft, younger sister of Milliardo "Zechs" Peacecraft, walked through the halls of Winner Corp. slowly.

Now I know Heero told me his office was here somewhere! If I could just remember which floor.....I'm sure it's this floor!

BANG BANG BANG!!!..............................................................BANG!

"Oh my goodness!" Relena turned her head, looking at the door beside her, reading the name. Heero Yuy....this is his office! Oh no! What if he's hurt!?

She tried opening the door, but it was locked. Setting her face in determination, she stepped back a few paces and ran at the door, ramming it open with her shoulder.

She stared in horror as Trowa Barton fell, clutching at a wound in his chest. Nearby lay another man, with long white hair, who had Heero's back-up pistol in one hand.

The white-haired man looked up at her with woozie eyes. "Sh-shizuka?"

"No," Relena said trying to keep the tremor out of her voice. "What happened?"

"He tried to kill me," Ryou said, trying to raise himself onto his hands and knees. "Got to... Got to warn Jounouchi..."

Relena dropped to her knees beside him, trying to to retch at the scent and sight of fresh blood. "You're hurt, just lay still!"

"Can't." Ryou wheezed, finally suceeding in getting to his feet, though he was leaning heavily against Heero's desk. "Jou and Mr. Yuy are in trouble." He saw Trowa suddenly, and his brown eyes widened in horror. "Oh god... I killed him..."

Relena shook her head, having just taken his pulse. "He's alive. Now sit down before you fall down!" She was beginning to get hysterical, and ran into the hallway. She spotted Heero's secretary and screamed at her to call an ambulance before running back into the office.

"Jou..." Ryou murmered, only half-concious and now sitting back on the floor, leaning against the wall. "Jou, he's... It's a trap..."

And then he slipped mercifully unconcious.

~*~

"Nii-sama!!" Seto Kaiba, detective, looked up from his desk to his little brother, who was standing in the doorway.

"What is it Mokuba?"

"Are you watching the news?" Mokuba asked, coming into his brother's office.

"Someone got shot over at Winner Corp!" Seto's head shot up.

"Shot?" Kaiba frowned. "Are you sure Mokuba?"

"Positive. The police are trying to keep it quiet, but there's a huge crowd over there."

Seto sighed and stood up, pulling his trench coat on over his suit. "Come on then Mokuba, this sounds like something for us to handle. It's more than likely linked to that other case we got the other day."

When the Kaiba's arrived at Winner Corp and pushed through the gathering crowd of people, Ryou was just being wheeled out of the building on a stretcher. Mokuba and Seto exchanged shocked looks and ran forward.

Before they could reach the white-haired man, another man stepped into their path. He was wearing the blue uniform of a policeman, and the pistol at his belt meant business. Intrestingly, he looked rather like Ryou.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Seto sighed again. "Okay, I'll admit, I look different in a suit, Bakura. Is that any reason not to recognise me?"

Bakura Tamiya gave Seto a once over and nodded. "Just making sure Kaiba. This kid, Ryou, he's Jou's new rookie, isn't he?"

Kaiba nodded. "I think so. I've never actually met him though."

At just that moment Ryou awoke and tried to sit up. He let out a cry of pain and dropped back, panting slightly. "Jou! H-he's in trouble!"

Bakura and Kaiba were instantly at his side. "What do you mean kid?"

"It's a trap!" Ryou's eyes were surprisingly awake and wild with fear.

Bakura and the Kaiba brothers exchanged glances, and Bakura voiced what all three were thinking.

"This can't be good."

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Brood: Bwahahaha! Only the third chapter, and we've already shot someone!

Zutsokaki: Yeesh, you could have the same sort of initiative with YOUR stories.....

WSJ: :p Yeah Brood! Shooting people is fun. Even if it is sweet little Ryou. ^^v In stories, of course. Not real life... *sweatdrops and whistles innocently*

God bless minna-san!