Notes: LOL to the person who wanted the translation of Yami B's cursing! ::giggle.:: I imagine it was something like the curse word that means "female dog," you know?
The next morning passed more or less uneventfully, save for Ishizu's meeting with Mr. Ryou and Seto Kaiba spending hours trying to find Noa in his computer system. Everyone else tried to spend the time recovering from the events of Cooperstown. A lot more snow had been dumped on Domino overnight and now the new coating of white stuff glistened and sparkled on lawns, roofs, and in the streets, prompting the snowplows to continue their busy job. The snow didn't deter last-minute Christmas shoppers, but it did indeed cause several of our friends to prefer remaining inside.
Later in the day, Duke decided to confront Gabrielle. He took the information of the cocaine that was given to Serenity and to Marik and went down to the station. It just so happened that Gabrielle was walking out the door as Duke arrived.
"Hey!" he called then, seeing her and running over. "I want to talk to you." The crystal pendant he wore jangled faintly and Gabrielle looked up.
"Yes," the woman said at last, "I am certain you do, Mr. Devlin." She regarded him calmly, but abruptly grabbed his wrists. "Get in the squad car. Now." She had unfinished business with Duke Devlin. It would be good, she reflected, to take care of it now.
Duke was not happy at this turn of events—or Gabrielle's audacity. "What's your problem, lady?!" he cried, trying to pull free. Usually, if someone was going to attempt a flirtatious move, it was Duke and not the girl. Of course, he seriously doubted that Gabrielle wanted to flirt.
Gabrielle pulled him down the steps and then shoved him into the back of her squad car before getting in the front. She almost had seemed to have an iron grip on the boy. But she was a strong woman and often had those sorts of commanding abilities—and secret agendas as well, which Duke would soon learn of. "Now it appears as though you are my prisoner," she stated flatly. "And we can have a nice little conversation."
Duke growled, still not pleased with the whole situation—or by being so abruptly shoved into this mess. If he hadn't been taken by surprise he could have easily fought Gabrielle off. "Oh, but wait," he said sardonically, "if I'm your prisoner, shouldn't I be handcuffed?" He held his hands out in emphasis.
Gabrielle smirked. "Don't push it," she retorted.
Duke didn't look any happier. "Well, get on with it," he snapped in irritation. "You almost arrested me the other day. Why did you let me go?" He looked around the interior of the squad car suspiciously. Nothing seemed out of place. It all looked like a completely normal automobile that was being used for police services.
Gabrielle sighed. "Because there was no evidence to hold you. At least, that was what I said officially. Unofficially I knew you were innocent. The other officers did as well, but they were willing to let you go to prison anyway." She paused thoughtfully. "Do you remember when all those notables in the city were discovered to be involved in the cult?"
Duke grunted. "Yeah, I remember, and I remember just recently when some more were involved in the drug ring and not all of them were caught. I know what you're getting at. I already gathered that there's crooked police. In fact, I still think you're one of them." He wasn't willing to suddenly believe the story she was feeding him, though he wondered if Yugi and some of the others would. He had noticed something that Gabrielle was obviously trying to hide from him—she was drawing a gun. And he was certain it was going to be used on him.
Gabrielle started to smirk. Duke could see it in the rear-view mirror. "You're a smart kid, Duke Devlin." Her gun clicked as she loaded it with bullets. "Do you remember when you asked why I didn't hand-cuff you? I did have a reason. It would look more suspicious that way. This way, I can say I found new evidence to arrest you on and that while you were resisting capture, you grabbed a gun and we struggled. Then the gun went off, killing you instantly. They will believe me." She whirled around, pointing the gun at him. "After all, you will struggle, I'm certain. Unless, of course, you have no time in which to do so." She fired.
Seto ran a hand through his hair in disgust. He had been up all night, trying to find Noa in the KaibaCorp computer network. But he wasn't succeeding. He had looked in every computer, every system, and every server, without a single trace of the crafty youngster. If Noa was in there, he was hiding very well.
The super-computer thought so too. And she was getting just as frustrated. "Are you sure about this?" she sighed. "We haven't found any trace of him, and that was the last possible place! Maybe Marik heard someone else." There was a clicking sound of finality.
A familiar laugh echoed around the walls. "Or maybe he didn't," Noa's distinctive voice retorted.
Seto gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing in anger. "What do you want, Noa?" he demanded. Part of him had been hoping it really had been someone else Marik had heard. But he had known it wasn't likely.
"Now is that the only kind of welcome I get from my step-brother?" Noa pretended to pout. He was rather enjoying this, actually. He may have repented, but taunting Seto would probably forever be a favorite pastime. Because Seto despised him so, it was very easy to get his goat. And it was so fun hiding deep within the systems where he could never be found, not even by Seto's super-computer. After living in a virtual world for so many years, Noa knew all the most secretive places to hang out.
"I don't need to give you any other kind of welcome," Seto snapped. "Tell me what you're doing in my computer system and why you've come!" And how, he silently added. It was an odd puzzle, considering the events that had happened the last time he had been involved with Noa and his antics. Noa's spirit shouldn't still be wandering cyberspace. It made no sense.
If Seto could have seen him, Noa was shrugging nonchalantly. "You should know by now, Seto, that I have so many tricks up my sleeves," the mint-haired boy proclaimed. "And anyway, I'm sure Mokuba will be glad to know I'm back. As for why I'm here. . . ." He paused, keeping Seto in suspense for another moment. "I know where Del Vinci is."
Seto sprang right up out of his chair. "You what?!" he demanded. Was this a trick? How would Noa know about Del Vinci? And why would Noa tell him? Was there something the boy wanted from him? Or was Noa toying with him again, enjoying watching Seto's range of emotions?
Noa merely laughed. "Patience, dear step-brother," he replied. "Yes, I know where Del Vinci is. Right now he's having a quaint little time on a private cruise ship of his in Hawaii." He relaxed into his favorite chair, the same one from which he watched all the goings-on in his own virtual world. Well, of course this was actually a duplication of that chair, but that was another story.
Seto growled low. "And what exactly is he doing there, Noa? Besides hiding from the police and an attempted murder charge, of course." He felt hatred burning within him again. He hated Del Vinci above all else. And he had a feeling this hatred wasn't going to die down anytime soon. Not until the man was safely locked behind bars on death row.
Noa glanced idly at the screen, watching Del Vinci through the security camera he had hacked into. "Completely stuffing himself," he announced, watching the Mafia don shovel food into his mouth. "And he's not alone in the room. I do believe he's having some kind of meeting."
"About what?!" Seto snapped, his patience just about ready to tear loose. What was Del Vinci up to? Was he going to plot some new way to be rid of Mokuba? Or was Noa making all of this up to rattle his nerves? Maybe he didn't really know where Del Vinci was at all. Seto wouldn't be surprised.
Noa paused again, turning to glance at the events onscreen. "Mafia business, most likely," he said at last. "They don't seem to be talking about your brother, anyway."
Seto frowned, suddenly remembering something. He glanced over at the note Téa had found back at the Cooperstown mansion concerning Del Vinci. "He was involved with last night's events, somehow," he muttered.
"Well, I don't know anything about that," Noa replied honestly. He paused again. "But tell me, Seto, how is Mokuba?" He didn't really expect to get a straight answer. He knew very well how much Seto despised him. And he didn't blame him in the least. But sometimes he missed Mokuba, the one person who had been accepting of him in spite of everything. Mokuba had taught him more than anything he had ever learned from the endless school books and lessons. He had learned how to be a real person again, one who honestly loved and cried, felt happy and sad, and who knew how to live. Perhaps he could only forever be a wandering spirit in cyberspace, but that didn't mean he couldn't go about, "visiting" people in his way and helping them if he could. And he wanted to see Del Vinci go to prison as well, after what he'd done to Mokuba.
Indeed, as Noa had thought, Seto merely grunted. "If you're so all-knowing, go find out yourself," he retorted. He wasn't about to tell Noa about Mokuba.
Bakura watched as Rhea gobbled down the lunch of ham and eggs, blinking in surprise. She seemed to have as big an appetite as Joey! At breakfast she had eaten six waffles, as well as two glasses of Yami Bakura's chocolate milk. Now, as Christmas carols played on the radio, the strange girl paused to listen. Silent Night had just concluded and No More Blue Christmases was beginning. Rhea looked wistful, almost, as she listened to the lyrics of how the woman had found her special someone. She chewed the ham slowly and glanced over at Yami Bakura, who looked bored.
"So," she asked abruptly, "do you have a cat?" She was still looking at Yami Bakura, serious now. Her eyes, Bakura saw, were filled with a longing.
Yami Bakura growled. "Somewhere," he said coldly.
"Oh yeah," Rhea said then with a sigh, "she disappeared or something. But you're worried about her, aren't you?"
The thief slammed his hand on the table. "Blast it, woman!" he boomed, rattling the dishes and silverware. "Why are you so curious?!" Of course he was worried! Oreo was his cat, curse it all! And he wanted her back!
Rhea smiled. "Same old Yami B," she said fondly. "Always trying to hide your feelings. But I can see from your eyes that you're worried. You love your cat, don't you?"
Yami Bakura stood up. "I don't have to endure this interrogation! What I do and feel is my business." He half-expected to find Oreo underfoot, but of course she was not. With an angry growl he stormed out of the room. He'd lost one cat in Egypt. Now it seemed that he'd lost another, and in place of Oreo he'd gained a nosy girl who had a crush on him. Not a fair trade, he thought to himself. Not at all!
Bakura watched sadly. "Yami," he called in vain before looking back at Rhea in confusion. What was her purpose in these lines of questioning? If she wasn't Oreo, why would she care? Why couldn't Bakura make sense of it?
Rhea only played with a spoon. "You know, sometimes I wonder if he's actually as sensitive as you," she said finally before standing up herself.
Bakura blinked at her in stunned shock. "What?!" he exclaimed.
Rhea smiled. "Well, just look at him. He's always all gruff and mean, especially if you ask him about his cat . . . or you. But notice something, Bakura—he never denies that he cares. He gets angry and yells if you ask, but he doesn't say that what's being spoken isn't the truth." She licked the honey off the spoon before setting it on her plate. "I think," she said finally, "he probably has a deeper soul than anyone realizes. And also. . . ." She paused, staring into the distance and thinking about how to phrase her next sentence. "Also," she continued finally, "one of the most beautiful. He's probably what you call a . . . diamond in the rough? Is that it?" She sat on the counter now, thumping her legs against it lightly. "Someone who's all cross on the outside but warm and loving on the inside?"
Bakura scratched his cheek, completely baffled by everything. "Well, yes," he replied finally. "I . . . I suppose Yami is like that. . . ." He couldn't help remembering the various time when the thief had actually tried to help him. Even during Battle City he had shown a bit of honor. He had taken the possibly fatal blast from Slifer so Bakura wouldn't have to. And he had came to prevent Yami Marik from killing Rishid. Bakura supposed that his actions might have been simply because he wanted to gain his part of the bargain he had made with Marik—namely, to receive all the Millennium Items—but another part of him said No, that wasn't entirely it. Bakura liked to think that his Yami wasn't heartless. Indeed, he had shown it many times subsequently.
Rhea got a faroff look in her eyes. "That's why I love him," she said in a voice so quiet that Bakura could barely hear her. But it was obvious what she had said.
Bakura shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to continue the conversation. "Um . . . will you ever tell me who you truly are?" he said at last. "You say you're not Oreo. But if that's not true, why . . . why are you still staying here? You said you had a home here in Domino." He felt strange asking these things, but surely he had a right to know! The girl had pretty much invited herself along with Bakura and his Yami the previous night and then had asked if she could sleep in the basement since it had started snowing heavily and she didn't want to go out walking in it, nor have someone driving through it. Mr. Ryou had agreed, but he, Bakura, and Yami Bakura were all absolutely flabbergasted.
"I do," Rhea smiled, coming back to the present. "And well . . . I think I'll be going back there soon." She hopped down onto the floor. "I mean . . . there's not a lot of point for me to be hanging around." This was also spoken in a very low tone, perhaps not meant for Bakura's ears. But he heard anyway. And he was baffled all the more.
"As for who I really am. . . ." Rhea spoke again, twirling a bit of her curly hair. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Bakura." She ruffled his hair in a friendly way and then left the kitchen.
Bakura stared after her. Only even more questions. That was all he ever gained after talking with Rhea. It was so frustrating . . . and so confusing as well. With a sigh, he went to find his Yami.
Khu was standing outside the police station when Gabrielle shot her gun. The Egyptian growled, clutching his staff tightly. Seth was doing the same thing he'd done the last time he'd run wild in Domino City—recruiting various people throughout the city who had notable, respectable positions to be his loyal minions. Khu was sick of this. His brother had completely lost his mind from Akunadin's continuing influence. Khu didn't know where the treacherous spirit had resurrected from, but it was obvious that he was back again. Perhaps he had even actually taken over Seth's mind once more. Anything seemed possible.
He looked in the direction of the squad car again. Now he couldn't hear anything—or see anything, either. Gabrielle might have killed the nosy teenager, for all Khu would know or care. Or they could be struggling within the car, wrestling about on the floor. All seemed silent and cold.
His straight raven hair blew slightly in a breeze as another light snow began to fall. If this keeps up, the city will be completely snowbound, Khu thought to himself with a frown. But it wasn't as if that would make any difference to him. In fact, it might actually be better that way. If hardly anyone was going to venture out of their houses, maybe he could confront Seth without any meddlers' interference.
Suddenly one of the windows of the automobile shattered as the gun went off again. Khu snapped to attention. Heh. The teen wasn't dead yet. But he would let him deal with his own problem. Khu had one as well.
And there it was. He caught sight of Seth disappearing around a nearby corner, laughing, Naru in tow. With an angry growl Khu chased after them both. He couldn't lose track of Seth again. With all the insane things he was trying to do, he would destroy himself before long. Khu had to stop him before it got to that point. And he had the feeling that tonight was his last chance. Seth was going o try reviving everyone in the cemetery after midnight.