Originally posted: 12/17/05

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Meh heh heh… "If I can post two chapters a month, I'll be done by September." Obviously that didn't happen. Obviously I'm the slowest updater in the world. I thought I would get so much done this summer, but I completed a grand total of TWO chapters, one for each of my stories. What the heck did I do all summer?

Well, the good news is that chapter 16 is all written, waiting to be proofread and edited. But since it's 90 percent complete, expect an update soon, within the next two weeks! I want to get it up before the new year: my holiday present to you all.

My loving gratitude to all the people who reviewed chapter 14! I was thrilled to see that some of the old crowd had returned after all that downtime. You all, old and new alike, make me feel so special!

Warning: Plotholes ahead, navigate with caution… Ugh, I planned this out years ago, and my grasp of plot was lacking. If I ever get around to overhauling this, I need to change it so it makes more sense. The long and short of it is, please take this chapter with a grain of salt.

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island of red flowers

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by sir mocha

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chapter 15: c l a n d e s t i n e

Serenity woke to the sounds of happy giggling coming from the kitchen. She blinked and looked over at the crib in the corner of the room, containing nothing now but a pile of neatly folded blankets.

She then glanced over at her alarm and decided that it was WAY too early in the morning for anyone to be so cheerful. She had been up late working, faced two daunting tests during school today, and was expected to help host a fancy birthday party for some obnoxious teenager or another at the restaurant tonight. She wasn't looking forward to her day, and she grumbled at the thought of getting up twenty minutes earlier than necessary.

But the giggling continued from the kitchen, and she could smell an appetizing scent wafting from that area. Mouth watering, she decided to get up and see what was going on. At least she could have a big, tasty breakfast to start the dismal day.

She slouched into the kitchen/dining area and watched as Rei threw her toys on the floor while Kaiba bent down to retrieve them. Rei gurgled happily, satisfied to have the tall man at her beck and call. Serenity could relate.

"Good morning," she said, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What smells so good? After yesterday's breakfast performance, I'm guessing you didn't prepare a gourmet meal?"

Kaiba smiled, but to Serenity, the smile was a little off-kilter. It wasn't his usual arrogant smirk, and it wasn't the tender smile he reserved for Rei or Mokuba… it was somewhere between the two, but there was an additional quality that she couldn't name, and overall it had an odd effect. She didn't even realize that she had been staring until Kaiba held up a mug of aromatic tea and offered it to her.

"I didn't feel like eating sawdust cereal again. I went out and got breakfast from a kindly but senile old woman who owns a café a few blocks away. She gave me quite a discount; apparently, my recent negative bad press has done nothing to tarnish my reputation in her eyes."

Serenity shook her head. "Kaiba, please don't take advantage of old people. That's cruel."

Kaiba raised one dark-brown eyebrow. "You think a little old woman can survive on the income from a small café? I've arranged to give her some of the same medical and social security benefits Kaiba Corp employees receive. It's only fair that she gives me a discount on croissants."

He took a sip of coffee, and Serenity mimicked with her tea, feeling ashamed. Who knew Seto Kaiba, cold-hearted CEO, had a soft spot for the elderly? He managed to surprise her every day, and yet she still didn't come close to understanding him. How could someone be such a jerk and be so compassionate at the same time? Well, one thing was for sure: she would try to rein in her unfair assumptions.

As Serenity helped herself to the food, Kaiba read the news (Criminal CEO: Where is he now?) and continued retrieving Rei's toys. As he straightened up for the umpteenth time, he suddenly turned to Serenity, watching her intently. Her face heated slightly at the abrupt attention, and after swallowing a mouthful of egg she asked, "What?" tersely.

"What time are you getting home tonight?" asked Kaiba.

It was her turn to raise one eyebrow. "Late… probably after midnight. Why?"

He hesitated, then said seriously, "I have something to discuss with you, and it's important that we discuss it as soon as possible."

"What?" she pressed. Surely it couldn't be anything TOO outlandish… She quickly thought back to the previous night, and the way something had passed between the two of them, if only for a second. It had been weird, but not unpleasant… could it possibly be that Kaiba wanted to discuss, maybe, that there might be something going on between them…?

"Uh…" she stuttered, "well, I'll be pretty tired, but I guess, if you want to talk, that's fine."

He nodded once, then returned to the newspaper, signifying that the discussion was over. She sighed, then resumed eating. It was clear that Kaiba would divulge no more details at the moment, so she was going to be distracted and curious the rest of the day, wondering what could possibly be so important.

-V-

"Frustrated?" asked Kaiba lightly, having just witnessed Serenity's stormy entrance into the apartment.

"Thirteen-year-olds think they're SO mature!" she spat, yanking off her tie. "You wouldn't believe how many little couples I had to pry apart tonight. And the ones that weren't making out were destroying stuff! I swear, if the parents weren't there they would have just started swinging from the lamps and dancing on the tables. But worst of all, they're so RUDE!" She fumed, thinking that even the hefty tip wasn't worth all the agony.

Kaiba smiled wryly. "Weren't you thirteen during Battle City? Somehow you didn't manage to bring the whole airship crashing down around our ears."

"That's because I was an intelligent thirteen-year-old!" she spat, kicking her shoes off and plunking down into a chair. "I don't suppose there's any tea, is there?"

"Sorry. There are some sodas," he said distastefully, scorning the unhealthy beverages.

"Hmm… caffeine rush at midnight… well, it's a Friday, it doesn't matter," she said, popping the top on an overly-sugary brand. She took a sip, which seemed to calm her frustration, then said, "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes," he replied, folding his hands on the table in front of him as he had at countless business meetings before. Serenity recognized at once the shift to serious topics and steeled herself for whatever might come next.

"Our present situation," he began, gesturing aroung the small apartment, "functions for the time being but is impractical for any long-range plans, and I refuse to freeload off you and your brother for much longer. Harrison committed heinous acts to steal my company from me, and I refuse to hand it over passively. I mean to take Kaiba Corp back.

"I have been working on a plan for a few days now. I completed it last night, and I feel that it is adequate to regain control of my company and bring Harrison to justice. When I designed my gaming technology, I added a special feature to ensure that, if the need arose, I would be able to shut down all the technology worldwide. I kept this secret from my developers so only I know that each Duel Disk, each video game console, each Capmon board, is equipped with a micro-receiver that picks up signals beamed from an orbiting satellite. These signals run the GPS system, but more importantly they regulate the functioning of my products. If the satellite stops beaming, the technology fails.

"Obviously I need to stop the satellite transmissions. If I can turn them off, you'll find that few days later, most of the gaming world will be without functioning hardware. People will be mad, and Harrison will not know how to fix the malfunctioning technology."

"Yeah, that'll hurt Kaiba Corp's profit margins, maybe," said Serenity skeptically, "but how do you plan to get the company back? People still believe you're an abusive, ruthless criminal."

Kaiba nodded. "After the debacle with Pegasus during Duelist Kingdom, the hidden room in my yard was no longer a secret, so I had to move my emergency control room. The main controls are in my office, but I realized the necessity of having a remote control station where I could access company and personal data, which includes controls to the satellite. I put it in Kaiba Land, hidden behind some of the attractions—"

"So just go to Kaiba Land," interrupted Serenity. "What's the big deal?"

Kaiba grimaced, reluctant to share details of his carelessness. "Unfortunately, when I visited Kaiba Land a few days ago I found the machines and attractions rearranged, unintentionally blocking the entrance to the room, a situation I had not anticipated." He huffed, then said, "I have no way to move the equipment, so the remote control station remains useless to me. I must get into my office to deactivate the satellite." He shook his head. "All the planning, all the foresight, and I still end up breaking into Kaiba Corp," he muttered.

"Well, that's great," started Serenity, "but why do you think your plan will get YOU your company back? Couldn't they just fix the technology and then go along on their merry way?"

Kaiba's trademark smirk flashed across his face. "It would be easy enough for them to find the little transponders in the Duel Disks, and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out about the satellite. But that satellite was my personal project, and no one else knows how to rewrite the programming I'll destroy. They'll take me back, or they'll lose their worldwide gaming network."

Well, let it never be said the great Seto Kaiba is above using threats and blackmail, though Serenity wryly, grinning at his audacity. "Kaiba, that's quite ambitious. And it seems complicated. Can I see your plans?"

"Will you help?" He glanced at her quizzically.

She returned the expression. "I'd like to know what I'm getting into first."

Kaiba placed the sheaf of plans on the table, and Serenity studied them intently. He was surprised she hadn't inquired further about his motives. Yes, breaking into his office was important to shut down the satellite… but he had a more important reason for getting to his computer.

Numerous hostile takeover attempts had made Kaiba cautious, bordering on paranoid, and he had taken to recording conversations he had with his various business partners, to be used in the event that one foolishly decided to double-cross him. Somewhere amid the multitude of business files was the recording in which Harrison, like so many arrogant villains before him, had gloated over a successful murder attempt.

Kaiba knew that if he could get that recording, if he could give it to the police, it would be adequate evidence for a large and scandalous trial of the CEO of N-Tech. As disgraced as Kaiba was, he still had connections in the police department and in the criminal justice system. He knew the best lawyers, and he had the dirt on the best lawyers; they would help him or he would tell things about them that would ensure they never had another client again. They would win the trial, and Harrison would get his just desserts, exactly as Kaiba had once promised.

"Hey, Kaiba," said Serenity, "this plan of yours…"

"Yes?" he said.

She grinned. "Sounds like fun. I always wanted to get in touch with my destructive side."

-V-

"Good morning, Mister Harrison!" chirped the very blonde, very ditzy secretary sitting at her desk outside the office.

"Good morning Cindy," replied Harrison. "Any new calls?" He flashed a winning smile at her, and with a grin she replied, "There was one, Mister H, but it was in Japanese and I didn't know what the man was saying…"

"Understandable," said Harrison amiably. He strolled casually into his office, while Cindy watched in wonder. As of late, her boss had been unusually nice. Ever since he had acquired Kaiba Corp — ever since she'd come to this funny land with these funny people! — he had been really forgiving and easygoing. A girl could get used to that kind of boss!

And thanks to Mister H's newfound relaxation, Cindy could take her job a little easier. She no longer had to hide her glossy glamour magazines under stacks of boring reports, and when she received personal overseas calls from her boyfriend, she was free to gab for an hour about absolutely nothing. Yes, life was good at N-Tech Japan.

At around three, while discussing movies with the new intern at the office, the phone rang. Cindy sighed, spoke a world of pardon to the intern, and picked up the phone. "Hello, N-Tech Japan, Mister Harrison's office. How can I help you?"

She had to jerk the phone away from her ear, because the person at the end was shouting too loudly, in rapid-fire Japanese.

"Um, one mo- no, I'm sorry, I don't under- one min- HEY, just SHUT UP ALREADY!" Cindy was getting annoyed; whoever the girl on the other end was, it was obvious that she was crazy! Even Cindy could tell discern the insane and rambling shouts.

The secretary switched to the other line, and Harrison picked up. "Uh, Mister H, there's a crazy person on line one! And I don't know what she's saying…"

Harrison hung up on his secretary — why had he brought her to Japan when she didn't know Japanese? — and switched to line one. Immediately he could hear angry shouts on the other end.

"…Your technology corrupts, I tell you, it corrupts! It's all a conspiracy, isn't it? You're creating another mindless race of clones, addicted to your holograms instead of drugs. Holographic drugs! You kill the kids, you make them boring and fat with their stupid dueling, and then when the time's right you'll begin broadcasting them your propaganda, your subliminal messages, your— "

"Madam!" interrupted Harrison irately, "N-Technologies is providing quality visual stimulus for popular recreational pastimes. I can assure you we have no ulterior—"

"Oh yea? Well if you won't listen to me on the phone, I'm coming down there to tell you to your fat face! It's time the corporations stay out of my business! I'm sick of you fat cats and your—"

Why bother reasoning with a madwoman? Harrison hung up. The dialogue didn't discourage him; as a high-powered businessman, he had to deal with crazy threats everyday.

He wasn't even phased when he got a phone call a few minutes later from his chief of security. "Sir... Mr. Harrison… there's some crazy girl outside who's threatening destruction of property! We've tried to escort her off the premises, but she's evading capture. She's causing a nuisance, sir, and we're requesting permission to use force to bring her down."

"Are you joking?" asked Harrison, no longer feeling jovial. "Can't you catch her without shooting her? I'm paying you to be efficient, but I'm not paying you to plaster N-Tech across the papers with libelous articles and pictures of bodies!"

"But sir, she—"

"Just do your job, Officer," replied Harrison curtly. He hung up, but no sooner had he done so than his phone rang again. Frowning, he picked it up and heard his secretary, somewhat frazzled, say, "Mister H, we just got a call from building services; they say the gardens are on fire out front, and the dragon statue out front has spray-paint on it. And they said there's this crazy girl—"

He slammed the phone down, stalked over to the tall windows, and surveyed the chaos below. Indeed, the gardens were on fire — they didn't pose a huge threat, but they'd be expensive to replace — and the Blue Eyes was sporting some ugly red graffiti. Oh well, Harrison hated that statue anyway, so it would be a god excuse to get rid of it.

He peered closer at the grounds, and watched the action unfold. He could see a lone figure running ahead of a huge crowd of slow, bumbling security guards. The fools were all clumped together, following brainlessly when they could have been spreading out to corner the girl! He watched in consternation as the girl ran into the parking lot and withdrew… what was that, a pipe? A baseball bat?… and started attacking… HIS CAR? The guards were still waddling along, unable to prevent the thousands of dollars of dents, scrapes, and broken glass being inflicted on his expensive Italian import. Fools!

Perhaps the old adage was true: If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. He ran out of his office to put a stop the pandemonium.

-V-

As soon as Harrison disappeared into the elevator, Kaiba slipped out of the shadowed alcove beside the vending machines. He glanced down the hall, checking to see whether it was empty, then pulled back swiftly to avoid detection by the blonde secretary.

He had to admit, he hadn't anticipated the secretary, who could prove to be an annoying obstacle to getting into the office. However, Kaiba didn't think she would be too hard to get past. He had been listening to her for the last half-hour as she chatted away with her boyfriend. From what he had heard, she was a complete idiot. And after a few minutes, Kaiba had a solid plan for getting past her. He was about to call on skills he had never before channeled, skills he wasn't sure how to use. But if past encounters were any indication, he would be able to slip past the secretary with little effort, albeit mild irritation, on his part.

Seto Kaiba was going to flirt his way into that office.

Silently bemoaning his embarrassing situation, he emerged from behind the vending machine as nonchalantly as possible and attempted to walk languidly down the long stretch of hall. As he neared her desk, he realized that if she recognized him, she would immediately alert Harrison to his presence. He hoped she was as clueless as she seemed.

"Hello…" she said slowly, glancing up admiringly. "May I help you, sir?" She gave him a quick once-over, ignoring his incongruously casual clothes in favor of blatantly ogling his physique.

Kaiba smiled what he hoped was a seductive smile. "Good afternoon, Miss—" he checked her nameplate "—Miss Winthrop. Or may I call you Cindy?" His low, accented English dripped with sex appeal, irresistible to the young woman before him.

She blushed, and replied in low tones, "Cindy is fine. And, um, what's your name?"

"Joseph," replied Kaiba without thinking.

Joseph? That does it. I'm getting away from Wheeler as SOON as I can.

"Well Joseph," she said teasingly, "what business do you have with Mister Harrison?"

"I have a delivery for him," replied Kaiba smoothly, holding up his duffel bag.

"Oh, you can leave that here with me," she replied, batting her eyelashes as if inviting Kaiba to stay with her as well.

He flashed her an apologetic grin. "It's of a sensitive nature, and I'd feel much more comfortable delivering it straight to his desk. Believe me, I'd much rather stay and talk to you—" he nearly retched "—but I'm on a tight schedule. Perhaps we could meet sometime for drinks?"

Her face flamed red, and she handed him one of her business cards. "That would be great! Please call me sometime." She was close to swooning, the silly thing, and Kaiba took the opportunity to slip into the office with a quiet, "Yes, that would be great."

His first impulse was to bang his head repeatedly against the nearest solid object. If he lived for eighty more years, he swore to himself that he would never again sink so low as to shamelessly flirt with insufferable females. He glanced down at the business card in his hand, moving to tear it into small pieces. But then he paused, and slipped it into his duffel. He could bestow it on one of Serenity's dateless loser friends later.

He glanced around the room. It was basically the same, save for one or two small differences. He'd have no trouble restoring it when he regained control of the company. He walked over to the large desk with the familiar computer and booted it up.

After successfully entering his username and password, he searched his files for the conversation. After that, it was easy; a few clicks allowed him to burn the conversation file onto a CD, then a few more clicks and another password enabled him to launch the Satellite-Fail routine. Simple as that.

Kaiba shut off the computer and exited the office. As he strode down the hall, he could hear snatches of the secretary's telephone conversation, in which she was informing her friends about her prospects with the "blue-eyed hottie" she had just met. Under Kaiba's triumphant relief, he felt the meanest twinge of guilt. How fair was it for him to manipulate her emotions like that? Oh well, he'd make it up to her. He was sure she'd appreciate meeting Wheeler, with his goofy looks and attitude.

Kaiba sniggered.

-V-

Serenity had always been good at gym, but this was ridiculous! She had been causing havoc and destruction for a good twenty minutes now, and though the guards were slow and out-of-shape, she was definitely beginning to feel winded. She had stopped shouting, and ceased flinging back at the guards her rude gestures. It had been tough work destroying that car, though Harrison's enraged-bull expression had been well worth it.

Serneity stopped for a rest, watching the bumbling security and the furious CEO of N-Tech chasing after her. Under the direction of their boss, the guards were finally using strategy to catch her. They were beginning to fan out in arcs, hoping to cut her off. She had to be careful not to be cornered by the—

At that moment her earpiece crackled to life, and she heard a gruff voice say, "I've completed my tasks. It's time to go."

"How… do I… get away?" she gasped, starting to run once more.

"Hang on…" There was a pause, and then came, "I'm watching someone in a garish outfit run from a badly-organized security force. I assume that person is you?"

"YES," she yelled, impatient with Kaiba's sarcasm.

"Coming up on your left is one of the employee lunch courtyards. Climb over the low wall and enter the building through the door in front of you. I'll be wai—"

The earpiece went suddenly silent, and though Serenity said his name a few times, there was no response. She hoped nothing bad had happened to Kaiba, and wondered if she should still follow his directions… but the guards were gaining on her, and the last thing she wanted was to be caught.

She scrambled over the low wall, whipped off her sunglasses and hat that just screamed of bank robberies and jewel heists, and tried to enter as calmly as possible through he door. She walked down the corridor, attempting to be inconspicuous despite her eccentric outfit - a costume for the diversion - and reflected on the plan. She knew that she had to find the custodial closet on the first floor… but Kaiba Corp was a big building, and though she was reluctant to admit it, she was completely lost.

Well, there were a bunch of doors around her, so it could be one of those, right? She walked down the hall but was unable to see any signs, like mops or buckets or sponges, that would clue her in as to the location of the closet.

She turned the corner and continued searching, to no avail. She couldn't keep this up; what if someone saw her, and realized that she wasn't a Kaiba Corp employee? Worse, what if they identified her as the psycho who had started the fires?

Her fears were intensified when the loudspeaker suddenly blared, "Attention employees, we have an intruder in the building. If anyone sees her, they are to apprehend her and report her to security. Suspect is a young woman, wearing brightly colored—"

And then, as if this were not enough, Serenity could hear footsteps echoing around the corner from her. Panicking, her fight-or-flight response kicked into gear, and she began to sprint away from the footsteps. But the whole building was alert, and very soon she would be caught. She had set fires, destroyed property, and smashed Harrison's car. She didn't even want to think about the punishment that awaited her.

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