Not In Love
Okay, I am SO sorry about the delay. I've had so much trouble with this chapter. I just couldn't seem to get it right. I think this is like my fifth draft. But, I think I've finally got it sorted. Some of the ideas are based on the Italian Job because I really needed inspiration.
Disclaimer: If I owned Beyblade Kai and Rei would never be wearing shirts, Tyson wouldn't be so arrogant and Mariah wouldn't exist. So, I obviously don't.
Chapter 8
He's sleeping. Perfect. This is all too easy! The figure crept silently towards the bed, his gun in his hand ready. He took a deep breath and pulled back the drapes. What?! Where is he?
"Looking for me?" At the sound of the voice he spun around only to find the man he was supposed to be killing leaning casually against the door.
"Y… you!"
"You really didn't think it would be that easy, did you? Killing the legendary Kai Hiwatari takes more than a few quiet steps and a nine inch pistol," Kai stated spinning his own gun idly on his finger as he began to walk slowly around the room. The now rather scared looking intruder looked around for a way out. "Don't worry; the door's the only way out and if you do decide to make a run for it, I'll just have to shoot you." Kai laughed slightly at the look of pure terror on the poor guy's face. "So, I take it Petrovsky sent you?" He nodded. "What a surprise." Kai looked up at the young man and thought for a moment. "Look kid, if you do me a favour or two I'll think about not killing you." He nodded again. "Right, first of all I need to know where he and Le Bian are hiding, any ideas?"
"They're… they're in China. A small village called Sunjiaba I think."
"Good. Now, I need you to contact Petrovsky and tell him I'm dead." The black haired youth looked at him, confusion written on his face. "Just do it." He paused for a moment before pulling out a radio.
"Sir I… I got him." He looked nervously up at Kai, who watched the radio silently, waiting for a reply.
"Good, he finally got what was coming to him." Kai smirked slightly at Petrovsky's stupidity. However his heart stopped at what he heard next. "I'll take extreme pleasure in informing his precious little friend."
"He's alive." Tyson, Max and Kenny stared at Kai in disbelief.
"You're sure?"
"I'm positive; they've taken him to China." Tyson and Max glanced at each other.
"But that kid could have been lying," Max said softly.
"Yeah, Kai we can't really risk everything just because some guy with a lousy pistol seems to think they're in Sunjibo… ba or whatever it was," Tyson stated. Kai rested his head in his hands and sighed.
"You guys don't seem to understand how important this is to me," he said looking up at them. "I've been sat here doing nothing for six days whilst…" He paused and looked across the room out of the window where rain fell heavily onto the ground. "Whilst the person I love has been taken from me all because of my past with the bastard that took him." Max and Tyson looked at each other both feeling terribly guilty. After a while Kenny's voice broke the tense silence.
"Err guys, you might want to look at this." Max and Tyson walked over to Kenny's desk and watched the screen. Kai got up and leant against the window. "It took a while but the tracking system's running again. When you pulled it from plug it must have lost its signal with the satellite," he said looking up at Kai.
"And?"
"Well, it seems to agree with you. Sunjiaba is a remote mountain village in China and the chip says Rei is there." This succeeded in making Max and Tyson feel even worse. They made their way over to Kai followed by Kenny.
"We're sorry we doubted you Kai, we know how hard things must be for you right now," Max apologised.
"Yeah. And we'll do anything it takes to help you get Rei back, you can count on that," Tyson confirmed. Kai looked at the three of them and smirked.
"Then you'd better pack for China."
Kai's helicopter landed softly in Xujaiba, next to a Honda Interceptor and a couple of cars MI5 had brought over for them. The four of them climbed out of the helicopter and made their way over to the vehicles.
"Whoa, whose is the Jeep?" Tyson asked looking pretty impressed.
"I bought it a few days ago," Kai stated. "And Kenny you might want to take a look in the back." The Chief did as Kai said and walked over to the back door, followed by Max and Tyson. He opened the door to find the back seats had been replaced with computers, cameras, advanced binoculars and every gadget Kenny could have ever wished for.
"Kai this is amazing!" he cried getting into the back of the Jeep and studying the technology inside. "It's absolutely fantastic."
"Right, let's leave Kenny alone to get to know the computers a little better," Tyson said, shutting the door on Chief. "So, who's taking what?"
"I'll take the bike, Max you can take the Audi," Kai ordered throwing Max a set of keys, "And Tyson you can go with Kenny in the Jeep."
"He better not get too bloody close to those computers then," he mumbled catching his set of keys. Kai rolled his eyes and got onto his bike. The others got in their cars and opened their windows to listen to Kai's instructions.
"We're heading west on a road that should lead us straight to Sunjiaba," he told them putting on his sunglasses before smirking at them. "You ladies want a head start? I'm pretty hard to keep up with."
"Whoa Kai, is that a challenge?!" Tyson shouted.
"You bet." Tyson grinned at him and sped out of the clearing, closely followed by Max.
After a while of driving patiently behind Max, Kai checked the road behind before accelerating past him and coming up next to the Jeep.
"Is that the best you can do?!" He shouted. Tyson glanced at him and laughed.
"No way man!" He cried after checking the road ahead. However, when he looked back Kai had gone and was now in front looking over his shoulder. He smirked at the bluenett and continued to speed along the road. Tyson hit his horn a few times and stuck his head out of the window, shouting after him. "Show off!"
Half an hour later Kai skidded to halt at the side of a road on the face of a small mountain overlooking Sunjiaba. As he jumped off the bike Tyson and Max appeared in their cars and parked next to him.
"About time," he stated pulling a pair of binoculars from out of his bag.
"Don't start," Tyson said, taking the binoculars from him.
"One good guess as to which hut they're stopping in," Kai proposed before taking a sip of water from the bottle he'd removed from his bag.
"Hmm, let me see it's about ten times bigger than any of the others, electricity and guards all around the door. Couldn't be that one, could it?" Tyson said sarcastically, handing Max, who had just appeared beside him, the binoculars.
"Le Bian can't be thinking of bringing the hostages here can he?" Max asked. "I mean, some of the villagers are bound to notice."
"Not if he gets rid of them all," Kai answered, nodding at a group of Chinese peasants who were being led forcefully out of the village.
"What a complete bastard! He can't just kick them out of their homes!"
"Apparently that doesn't bother him," Kai sighed as he made his way to the edge of the road.
"Where are you going?" Tyson called after him.
"We need to go and talk to those villagers, find out what's going on. Kenny can stop with the cars," he replied.
"Oh and exactly how were you thinking of getting down." He and Max got up and followed Kai to the edge.
"We jump," he stated simply.
"WHAT?!"
"Just follow my lead," Kai ordered before leaping over the barrier and sliding down the mountain face. After landing gracefully at the bottom he looked up at Max and Tyson, who were still peering over the edge. (A:N any guesses as to where I got this from?)
"Come on then!"
"Umm… you first mate," Tyson laughed nervously.
"No… it's okay. You go ahead."
"Together?" Max glanced at him and then nodded.
"Right, after three then. One… two… three!" They both jumped and skidded down the slope, screaming all the way down and eventually landed in a pile at Kai's feet.
"Well done ladies. Now, follow me." They pair brushed themselves off and walked behind Kai until they reached a clearing where the villagers were now sitting. Some of them were looking very upset, others just down-right furious.
"I think it's best if you two stay here," Kai told them. "I'll be back in a bit." Max and Tyson watched him walk up to an older member of the group and bow his head respectfully.
"Laojia," they heard him say in Chinese. (Excuse me)
"God is there any language under the sun that Kai doesn't speak?" Tyson asked no one in particular.
"I think Rei taught him. Actually I think that's how they met," Max answered him.
"What?"
"Well, when Kai ran away from home he had some money on him and the first flight he could get was to China. But he didn't really speak that much Chinese. He came across Rei who was also on the run at the time. Luckily they both spoke English so they were able to understand each other. So they stopped together for a while, Rei showed Kai the way around and Kai lent Rei money. And I don't think they've ever parted since."
"How do you know all this?" Tyson asked Max in amazement.
"I asked them," he replied simply. "Look I think Kai's done."
"Xie xie, zai jian." (Thank you, good bye) They watched him walk back towards them with what looked like a pile of silk over his arm.
"What are they?"
"Traditional Chinese outfits. They'll help us blend in a little," Kai said throwing them both a gold suit each, leaving him a slightly bigger black outfit with a red trim.
"Nice," Tyson stated examining his garments.
"Right, we need to get back to Kenny."
After a rather eventful climb, the three of them eventually made it back to the cars. They opened the back door of the Jeep to find Kenny frantically tapping away on his laptop.
"Oh, good you're back. I have a few things to show you." They sat down on the small seats that had been placed around the slightly bigger than normal car and watched Kenny type in a few more codes.
"Right, first of all I've managed to break a few codes and with this program here we can now listen to any conversation that takes place on any phone within that house."
"Did you get into their frequencies?" Kai asked.
"That's right. It was pretty easy actually as not many people around here have phones."
"So it was easier to pinpoint the right frequency?"
"Exactly."
"Okay, I did not get a word of what either of you just said," Tyson said looking at Kai and Chief who were the only two in the group that really understood modern technology. "But, I'll just agree with you and ask Kenny what else he wanted to show us."
"Well, I set up the zoom feature on that camera over there," he told them nodding at the tripod next to the back window. "And I came across a satellite dish at the back of the house. I did a little research and after listening in on a few phone calls I've found out that there's a little more to Le Bian's plans than we thought." Kai ran his hand through his sliver hair, already having an idea as to what Kenny was talking about. The others however, did not appear to have worked it out.
"They're going to broadcast the execution?" Kai checked.
"Yes, all over the world."
"What?!"
"He is one sick freak!" Tyson cried. Nevertheless, Kai seemed to have other things on his mind.
"What about Rei?" Kenny shook his head.
"All I know is that they've got something different planned for him. But that leads me to the last thing I wanted to show you." Once again he nodded at the camera with the large lens attached. Kai gave him a puzzled look, before looking at the digital screen on the back of the camera. He gasped slightly at the sight that met his eyes. Rei. There he was dressed in pure black silk gazing through steel bars that had replaced the traditional bamboo canes that usually occupied the space between the wall and the roof. He didn't look hurt, just tired.
"He's been like that for a while now… Kai?"
"Kai!" Kai snapped out of his daze at looked at the rest of the group. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, thinking for a moment.
"If he's going to broadcast it there should be a few TVs inside right?" He asked Kenny.
"Well yeah, why?"
"Because that's our way in."
"Right, they've just left," Kenny stated, as he and Kai watched Petrovsky and Le Bian pull out of the driveway in an Aston Martin Vanquish. "Tyson you're good to go."
As soon as Tyson heard this through his earpiece, he climbed out of the Audi and walked up to a fuse box at the side of the road. Like Kenny had told him to, he pulled out the blue wire in the top right hand corner.
"Done."
Back in the Jeep, Kenny turned to his laptop and opened a file.
"Right, hopefully one of the guards should call our cable centre any minute now." Sure enough, after a while of waiting, they heard a dialling tone from the speakers. They listened carefully as a Chinese male began to speak. As the phone call progressed Kai made a mental note of all the information. Once the conversation had come to an end Kenny gave Kai a blank look.
"Okay pass me my phone." Kenny picked up Kai's mobile from the table and handed it to him. "Is that the number?" Kai asked nodding at the monitor.
"Yeah." He dialled the number and waited for an answer. (A:N Okay I really do not speak much Chinese at all so you'll have to use your imaginations here.)
"Hello."
"Hi, this is China Cable Services. I believe you've just booked an appointment with us for tomorrow morning at ten a.m."
"That's right."
"Well we have a volunteer worker in the area that has finished a previous appointment earlier than expected. He should be able to get to you in around half an hour, would that be okay?"
"That'd be great."
"Okay, I'll send him right away." Kai hung up and turned back to Kenny. "I've got to be there in half an hour," he explained, knowing that the Chief would not have understood either of the phone calls.
"Right, I've got your camera here," he held out a small Yin and Yang badge that looked completely innocent. However, attached to the back was a tiny video camera. "Try not to move too fast or you'll blur the image." Kai pinned the badge onto his black shirt as Kenny continued. "Max has got all the paper work you'll need in the van. Now, I think you're good to go."
"Okay, thanks," Kai said picking up a small piece of paper. He opened the back door and climbed out to find Max stood next to a white van with the words 'China Cable Services' painted on the sides.
"Where'd you get it?" Kai asked. Max grinned and opened the door for him.
"If I told you that I'd have to kill you." Kai shook his head and got in the van. "Here's the forms you need to get him to sign, I.D's on the dashboard and the tools and stuff are in the back. According to Chief, Petrovsky and Le Bian have gone to the airport so you've got at least two hours to get in and out again."
"Right, thanks." He shut the door and put on his sunglasses.
"Oh and good luck." Kai sighed.
"I think this time I might just need it."
Kai parked the van just outside the door. He grabbed what he needed and made his way over to the guards at the door.
"Can I see some I.D please?" Kai handed him the requested I.D and the man studied it carefully. "Right, if you'd follow me." He turned to the door and stood in front of a retinal scanner. The door slid open and Kai followed the guard inside.
"I'll need to take a look at the cable modem first," he lied, to give himself a reason to look around. The man nodded and led him down a hallway to the left. When they reached the end of the corridor Kai was led into a small room.
"There you go."
"Thanks." He walked up to the small box and pretended to reset the system.
"You're not Chinese then?" The guard stated nodding at Kai's pale arms.
"No, I'm English," he lied again so as not to create any suspicion as he adjusted his badge, signalling Tyson to put back the cable he'd removed earlier.
"You know your face seems familiar, have I met you before?" At this Kai nearly dropped his bag.
"I doubt it; I've only been in China a few months. Right that should do it," he said, trying to change the subject.
"It's fixed? Just like that?"
"Let's see." He picked up the remote and switched on the large screen TV on the wall opposite. Sure enough, it was working fine.
"Right, I suppose I need to fill in some forms?" He said, shutting the door behind them as they walked back into the corridor. Kai nodded and handed him the paper work Max had given him earlier. As the guard busied himself with filling them in, Kai counted the doors in the hallway. If he'd worked it out right, Rei should have been right behind the door a mere ten inches to his right. Making sure the guard was still filling in the forms Kai turned the camera towards the keypad next to the door. He then discreetly pulled out the piece of paper he'd picked up earlier. Pretending to tie his shoelaces, he slid the paper under the door, just as the guard finished filling in the papers.
"Well, thank you for coming so soon. If you'd follow me I'll show you out." After taking a final glance at the door Kai turned and followed the man down the hallway.
Inside his cell, Rei sat silently on the floor and rested his head in his hands. He listened carefully to one of the guards outside the room. To his surprise a small piece of paper appeared underneath the door. He quickly checked that no one was watching from outside before picking up the folded sheet and turning it over. Rei. He instantly recognised the handwriting and rushed over to the bars so he could see outside. Sure enough, he saw Kai walking down the drive towards a van. As he watched him drive away, Rei realised he hadn't read the note yet. He opened it to find only three words. One more day.
I finally finished it! It's a little longer than I planned, but think of it as my treat for not updating in so long. I've spent hours on it over the last few days so I could get it up before we go on holiday.
Thanks again for the reviews and I'll try to get the next chapter up a little sooner.
Anyway, I must go now to watch the Big Brother finals! (Nadia to win!)
Oh and P.S. The end is coming!