Chapter 1: By Day
6:37 AM
23rd Precinct Station, NYPD
Manhattan, New York
Maria Chavez had just swallowed a mouthful of already cold coffee when her phone rang. Putting down the mug, she picked up the receiver and crisply answered, "Captain Chavez, 23rd Precinct."
There was a hiss of static on the line, before a man's voice came on the line. "Captain Chavez, hello. My name is Shen Bakura, I left a message with one of your officers last week ?"
Maria searched her memory and vaguely recalled seeing an orange sticky note taped to her computer screen one afternoon when she came back from lunch. Something about the museum ?
"Could you refresh my memory ?" She questioned. As usual, she made no social pretenses of remembering things she did not. It wasn't efficient.
"Of course. I'm overseeing one of the new exhibits being put into your Museum of Natural History, and I had some concerns about security there ?"
"And you don't think that the museum's staff security is sufficient ?" It was beginning to come back to her. The memo had questions about previous break-in's (which, despite the NYPD's best attempts, had emblazoned themselves across the newspapers for several days following each incident) and what measures had been put in place to prevent them. "Mr. Bakura, break-in's are extremely rare. I think that –"
"You must pardon me, Captain, but as some would say, 'fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me'. Do you recall the vandalized South American exhibit ? One of the pieces -- a large, golden disk -- was stolen, and as far as I am aware, has not been recovered."
Maria felt annoyance begin to mount at the man's patronizing tone. "It's technically still an open case, and I assigned –"
"Because the piece in question came from one of my Guatemalan excavations. Many of the items, including that disk, were the property of my archeological team."
The police captain frowned. Certainly, the man had a point. Neither the stolen property nor the thieves had ever been caught in that case, though she'd assigned Detectives Maza and Bluestone after the former expressed some interest in it. But that had been over a year, and not a single lead had been discovered. Another one of New York's rash of unexplained crimes… the number had been mounting in the last few years.
"And what exactly are you asking of the NYPD, Mr. Bakura ?"
"An officer of rank to keep an eye on the location would greatly put my apprehensions to rest, Captain."
Maria mentally ran over her roster of available detectives to see who wasn't currently bogged down with cases this week. "I'll see what I can do for you."
"Very good," Mr. Bakura said, and she could almost hear him smiling over the phone. "I'm afraid I've been delayed by an extra day or so, but my son should have arrived sometime last night, and he'll be overseeing part of the exhibition's setup. I do appreciate your assistance in this."
"Is there anything else, Mr. Bakura ?"
"No, but thank you, Captain. Good day."
The crackle of static clicked off, followed by the dial tone. Maria hung up the phone and stood. Leaning out her doorway, she hailed Officer Morgan. "Morgan ! Is Maza here ?"
Morgan scratched the back his head, then frowned, "You just missed her, Captain. I'll see if I can catch her before she gets out of the station, though."
He hurried down the stone steps of the stationhouse to where Elisa was just getting into her car. He had to admire the tenacity of the Fairlane, which had been through more than most squad cars and still managed to look polished despite its age. "Maza ! Captain wants to see you."
The raven-haired detective groaned. "I just finished my shift, I did my paperwork, what more does she want ?"
Morgan smiled at the playful grumbling. "The sooner you find out, the sooner you can go home and sleep."
Elisa sighed and closed the Fairlane's door with a not-quite slam, and trudged back into the station.
"Morgan said you wanted to see me, Captain ?" Elisa said, leaning into the open doorway.
"Yes, please, Detective. Come in and sit down. Hopefully this won't take too long."
Anything that involves sitting down after my shift is done promises to take too long, Elisa thought, but sat as requested. "Hopefully what won't take too long ?"
"I want you to take on a little community service before your next shift," Chavez answered dryly, "All you have to do is stand around and look good." Off Elisa's incredulous look, the captain almost laughed. "No, not Sally again. We've had a request for a plainclothes officer at the MNH. A few hours, just to ease a few minds, and that's all. A couple hours before your shift starts, and it's time and a half pay."
Elisa groaned mentally, but time and half pay was hard to turn down, especially on her salary, and with her… expenses. "For how long ?"
"Probably just a few days," Chavez said reassuringly.
11:53 AM
Regency Hotel
Manhattan, New York
The bedside clock read 11:53 when Ryou opened his eyes. It took him a moment to remember where he was, and when he did, he sat up, feeling groggy. Hotel. New York. Father's exhibit.
He got off the bed and headed for the bathroom, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.
Twenty minutes later, showered and much more awake, Ryou exited the bathroom, still toweling his hair dry. His mind more amenable to processing ordered thought, he lifted the phone and dialed the hotel desk.
"May I have the number of the Museum of Natural History, please ?"
Jazz music filled the line as he was put on hold, and the teen cradled the cordless phone between his shoulder and cheek as he fished around in his suitcase for a clean pair of socks. After several moments, the operator picked up again and provided the number. Ryou thanked her and hung up.
"I fail to see why this city is named after food."
Ryou half-turned in surprise; Bakura was looking out the parted curtains. Through them, Ryou could see the prestigious Park Avenue, overlooking the Upper East Side. "It's just a nickname," he answered, reaching for the phone again. "Lots of cities have pointless ones." He dialed the number he'd scribbled down and waited.
"Museum of Natural History, how may I direct your call ?"
"Curator's department, please."
"One moment, please hold."
Tinny-sounding opera filled the line, and he grimaced. He glanced over at Bakura, who hadn't moved from his position by the window, arms still folded across his chest. "It doesn't rain as often here as in England," Ryou offered.
"Hn."
The phone beeped in his ear, the opera music disappeared, and then a man's voice came on the line. "Sir, you have an international call. May I put it through ?"
International ? Maybe Father's calling from the plane ? Ryou thought hopefully, and aloud replied, "Yes, put it through."
"Ryou ?"
The teen sighed inwardly as his father's assistant Hamarin's voice came on the line, distorted by the poor connection and by distance. "I'm here. Is Father there ?"
"No, he's gone back to the site, there's been some trouble with the exporting license and since --" static swallowed the voice, but returned it a minute later, surprisingly clearer. "–sked you to go ahead to the museum and he'll see you in a couple of days."
It's the same story, told over and over and over again, he thought. "That's fine. Tell him I'll see him in a couple of days."
"Good boy ! Talk to you again soon." And then the line switched back to opera – apparently, he was still on hold for the museum.
//You shouldn't get your hopes up like that, hikari. You're disappointed more often when you do.//
The hold clicked off, and a harried sounding woman answered the phone before Ryou could respond. "Curator's office, Rosemary Ross speaking."
The teen sighed and turned his attentions to the phone call.
3:21 PM
Manhattan, New York
I hope Owen is taking notes, David Xanatos thought as his attention began to wander again. He had given up trying to focus on the various speakers at the pulpit. The current spokesperson was a jittery young man who was constantly repeating himself and apologizing for it every time. Xanatos caught his assistant's eye and shook his head slightly. Owen had already delivered Xanatos Enterprises' presentation flawlessly -- not that I've known Owen to be capable of doing it any other way, he chuckled to himself.
The intended audience sat at the back of the room, out of the light cast by the wall-sized LCD panels on which blueprints and charts were displayed. When the overhead lights had come on between presentations, Xanatos was able to see that they clearly weren't used to a board room. Their suits were stiff; he was willing to bet that this morning had been their first time off the hanger, and when they had left the boardroom and filed out to their own private luncheon, they had fallen into an almost perfect single file.
"Military men," he'd said to Owen, as they waited for lunch to be brought out by servers.
"Unsurprising," Owen had responded, "since I highly doubt that the government wishes to get these negotiations interrupted by…" he paused, and then decided, "unnecessary paperwork."
"Unnecessary legalities, as well," Xanatos answered.
"You'd do well to direct any pertinent information to the man in the navy Koss suit, sir."
"Oh ?"
"His name is Walter Harding."
"The Under Secretary of Defense Intelligence's aide ?"
"Yes, sir."
"Now that is interesting. Makes me wonder who else knows who they're talking to in there."
"I would venture to say none of them, Mr. Xanatos."
"Very good, Owen."
The food had arrived, a dish Xanatos had already forgotten the name of (he could have asked Owen, but frankly, he didn't care; the $300 per plate was the part he remembered) and he said discretely to his assistant, "I wish this meeting had taken place next week. I would have loved to spring the information of a venture with KaibaCorp."
"Respectfully, sir, it is at this point still a possible venture with KaibaCorp. With no current intelligence on the status of their weapons contracts for almost five years, it may not be wise to invest in their assets. You don't want to tip your hand early," Owen added with a small touch of dry humour.
"You're right as usual," Xanatos agreed offhandedly. "Still, I'm eager to meet with the CEO. Call the hotel when we get back and confirm tomorrow's meeting."
"Yes, sir."
4:04PM
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West and 79th Street
Manhattan, New York
Ryou had decided to walk to the museum rather than take another taxi, but regretted it soon after as he found himself swept along in the press of the noon hour crowd. Once he'd managed to extricate himself from the swarm, he'd hastily decided that expensive or not, taxis were a better way to go. Crowds made him nervous and uncomfortable.
The curator didn't sound as stressed in person as she had over the phone, though she gave Ryou a once-over look as she shook his hand that made him feel defensive. She probably wasn't expecting someone my age, he told himself, since she'd been in contact with Father about this.
"Well, I'm glad someone's here to take care of this," she sighed. "I'd do it myself but I need to babysit the scaffolding crew on the fourth floor. You'll be setting up on the second floor, east wing. Understand ?"
"Yes, ma'am," Ryou replied, slightly taken aback.
She pursed her lips, then stood. "I've already got a crew upstairs waiting… you were expected several hours ago. Also, the NYPD has called to inform me that they'll be sending over a plainclothes officer to oversee setup. Apparently your father called ahead and insisted on additional security." Her expression revealed how displeased with that she was, and she continued, "So try to keep things running smoothly."
Ryou nodded, feeling Bakura's ire rising at the condescending tone in the curator's voice. Quickly he stood up as well. "I'll go and get started right away," he said, excused himself, and hurried down the halls.
//How dare she speak to you as though you were a child !// Bakura snarled. //And how dare you let her !//
/Yami, she's in charge here,/ Ryou protested, although he felt stung by the woman's attitude as well.
//You've let people push you around your whole life,// Bakura retorted, but then was quiet again.
As promised, a half dozen people were lazing around the still empty exhibit, dressed in blue workman's overalls and caps. They stood up when he entered and one of them came forward. "Jeff Dailey, I'm the foreman here. You're in charge ?"
Ryou straightened. "Yes, I am. Have all the pieces arrived ?"
"Yeah," Dailey answered, "Some really big ones, too."
"Those are the totems," the teen answered, "and they need to be brought in first."
"You heard him, guys," Dailey said loudly, and the others got to their feet. "Let's get to work !"
5:28PM
Kame Game Shop
Domino City, Japan
/Yami,/ Yugi thought impishly, /How long are you going to pout over this ? I already said I was sorry for making the camel remark./
//It was extremely dishonorable.//
/Ok./
//And a "cheap shot", aibou.//
/I agree./
//You know how much I hate camels.//
/Yes, Yami./
//And I thought you agreed you wouldn't bring up the loathsome beasts.//
/It just slipped out. Are you going to help me pack ? I might leave all the leather behind if you don't come out here./
//… I was not pouting.// Yami faded into view on the bed, and though he maintained a childish pout, his crimson eyes were warm with amusement. "And you were wearing leather long before we came together, aibou."
"Yes," Yugi conceded, folding a pair of jeans and putting them in the suitcase, "But everyone agrees that you are the reason for so many new buckles and chains."
"But they look good," Yami protested. "And I know you think so too."
Yugi just chuckled and gave his Dark a wide grin. "Can you see if our dark blue jacket in the closet ?"
"I believe you left it downstairs, after you came back from the arcade with Joey."
"Oh, right," Yugi said. "I'll get it after, then." He turned around just in time to be hit with a pillow in the head. "Hey !"
Yami laughed. As often happened, feathers did not long stay in pillows, and already one decorated Yugi's tri-coloured hair. Yugi grabbed the other pillow and swung at Yami, who ducked but got clobbered when his Light reversed the swing into a downward strike. The battle was soon in full, ahem, swing.
"Boys !" Grandpa shouted from down the hall, "Pack first, pillow fight later !"
Both paused, though Yami's weapon of choice – now a stuffed Kuriboh cushion, remained raised. Just one more clout…
"That means both of you !" Solomon added loudly.
"Yes, Ji-chan !" Yugi laughed, seeing the look of consternation cross Yami's face at having been caught without even being seen. "He knows us too well."
"Too true," Yami said ruefully.
5:53PM
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West and 79th Street
Manhattan, New York
Elisa walked up behind the white-haired figure, who seemed to be preoccupied in a conversation with thin air. She slowed her steps as the conversation came into earshot. "... may not steal anything from the exhibit."
The detective frowned in confusion; from the figure, there was a pause, and then, "Because it's Father's property !" A longer pause, and then an exasperated sigh, "No, the other exhibits aren't ours, but you still can't -- "
"Excuse me," Elisa said, causing the person to whirl around in surprise. Guilt flashed lightning quick across his pale features before disappearing. He was quite a bit younger than she'd expected, appearing only to be in his late teens, but she covered her surprise and extended her hand, "I'm Detective Maza, 23rd Precinct. Is everything all right here ?"
"Yes," he answered hastily, shaking her hand politely. Instinctively she crossed his British accent with the few others she'd heard, and decided it was a fairly soft one. "My name is Ryou Bakura. I'm…" he blushed a little, looking around the expansive room, "…in charge here."
He looks like he'd rather be somewhere else, Elisa thought, and I want to know what he was talking about when he said stealing. For that matter, I want to know who he was talking to. That didn't sound like a conversation with himself.
"Setup is going well ?" She prompted, seeing several men in blue coveralls straining to maneuver a large stone column through the doorway. Ryou lifted a hand to get their attention and pointed to one of the raised sections of floor, before turning his attention back to Elisa.
"Everything's going fine," he answered simply.
There was an awkward pause, and then Elisa said, "If there's anything I could be doing…"
"No, not really. I'm sorry about this," Ryou shook his head, "This must be a terrible inconvenience for you, this isn't your job."
Elisa shrugged. "This falls under the 'serve' part of "Protect and Serve". We go where people feel we're needed. How about I walk around and check in with the guards ?" She already knew them from her undercover work here a few years ago, during the fiasco with Demona and Titania's Mirror. Last she'd checked, Denby was still wearing a neck brace after Demona had thrown him into a wall.
"That sounds like a good idea," Ryou agreed, and watched her walk out, before turning his attention back to the work crew. There was a shift within his mind, and trying to hold back a chuckle at the radiating displeasure, asked, /Now what ?/
He felt Bakura frown, //… I don't like her.//
This time, the hikari did not suppress his wry laugh. /You don't like the police detective. I hardly saw that one coming./
7:04 PM
The Ritz-Carlton New York (on Central Park)
Manhattan, New York
"Mokuba," Seto said, a light note of warning in his voice as he watched his brother jump up and down enthusiastically on the king-sized bed, the Frette linens doing little to disguise the protesting mattress beneath.
The black haired boy stopped immediately, looking down at the duvet cover. "Sorry, Seto," he said, chagrined.
I didn't mean it harshly, the older Kaiba thought, kicking himself at his brother's ashamed look. Aloud, he added casually, "Change into your pajamas, otouto, so when you tire yourself out playing around, you can go straight to sleep."
Mokuba threw his arms around Seto's waist. "You're the best, 'nii-sama," he said, and scampered over to his suitcase.
The telephone on the desk rang, and Seto pressed the speaker button. "What ?"
"Excuse me, sir, but you have a call. Would you like to take it now ?"
"From whom ?" Seto questioned.
"Xanatos Enterprises."
"Put it through," Seto said crisply. There was a short pause.
"Good evening, Mr. Kaiba. This is Owen Burnett, Mr. Xanatos' personal assistant. I'm calling to confirm your meeting tomorrow with Mr. Xanatos, 9 AM at the Aerie Building ?"
"That's correct," Seto answered.
"Excellent. I shall have a car sent to the hotel for quarter past eight. Will there be anything else you require ?"
"No, that will be fine, Mr. Burnett."
"Good evening, Mr. Kaiba."
Seto hung up the phone, feeling distinctly unsettled, though he couldn't understand why.
"That was Xanatos' second in command, right 'nii-sama ? I remember him from the news conference on TV. He gives me the creeps." Amused, Seto raised an eyebrow, inviting his brother to continue, but Mokuba shrugged. "I can't explain it, Seto. But I watched the press conference, and he's just... weird."
"He's also efficient, from what I understand, and that's valuable. What were you doing watching a press conference, anyway ? You always told me you found them boring."
"It was a few weeks ago. I was watching the TV while I was eating breakfast and you came downstairs and changed the channel."
Damn, Seto thought, frowning inwardly, I'm usually more attentive than that. And now that Mokuba mentioned it, he did remember the broadcast.
"It's no big deal, 'nii-sama," Mokuba continued earnestly. He paused for a moment, and then asked, "Do you want me to stay in the hotel tomorrow ?"
Seto blinked. "You've been looking forward to seeing this building since I told you I was going to New York," he said.
"I know, but I don't want to get in your way, or bother --" he broke off when he saw his brother's expression.
"You are never 'in the way'. You are never a 'bother'. Never think otherwise, Mokuba."
"Ok," the youth answered, "sorry. You don't think Xanatos will mind ?"
"Xanatos is buying a KaibaCorp contract, not the other way around. He can afford me some of my eccentricities," Seto said dryly.
7:06 PM
Aerie Building
Manhattan, New York
Owen hung up the phone, disconnecting the speaker. On the other side of the desk, David Xanatos steepled his hands together and half-turned to regard the view out the ceiling to floor window. "Well, that's set then," he said, pleased. "Have the kitchen staff make up a brunch for... oh, 12:30 should be fine. And have them set four places, unless Fox has something planned that you know about and I don't ?"
Owen shook his head. "You're expecting him to bring the younger brother," the aide stated, unsurprised.
"Of course. You don't haul someone halfway around the world to have them sit in a hotel room. Besides, Kaiba is a known name here, he's probably worried about a kidnap risk. I think he'd enjoy a tour of the castle while his brother's busy, don't you ? Middle of the day, I don't see any harm in it."
"Of course, sir. I take it there's no need to organize the board of directors for tomorrow's meeting ?"
Xanatos waved a hand dismissively. "And trust them with something this delicate ? Certainly not."
The sun slipped below the horizon and he canted a head to one side. Sometimes, Goliath's wakening roar managed to penetrate the supposedly soundproof plate glass -- and sure enough, he distinguished it from the hum of the building's generators. "Right on time," he noted.
"Daddy ! Hi Owen !" Alex peeked into the office, then beamed and ran over to give his father a hug. "Mommy wants to know if you're going to have supper now or later."
"Well then," Xanatos said, picking up his son – whose speech had always been better than a four-year-old's should be – and settling him onto one shoulder. "Let's go and tell Mommy that we're hungry now. Sound good ?"
"Ok," the boy chirped, "and you know what ? We're having s'ghetti !"
"We are ?" Xanatos repeated, in feigned amazement, voice fading down the hall.
Thanks to: Matt-chan, who dedicated 6 hours of his time to translating my ramblings into a coherent timeline, and is probably the sole reason this chapter got posted sooner than 6 months from now.
Reviewers:
Aura Black Chan - Oh, Gargoyles isn't a dead fandom by a long ways, it's just slowed way down, that's all.
Mercedes no Inuarai - Gargoyles was your first fandom too ? Small world of genres. Vathara and C. Morgan are both huge inspirations to me, and I hope I can do their influence justice !
RogueMoon - Camels make for great, great dialogue.
Amarin Rose - As far as I know, this is the only YGO/Gargoyles crossover there is. Scary, huh ? The fic may be AU but I try and keep the characters as close to their personalities as possible.
06-12-04