"Kill me and you lose all your ways out," Anzu replied calmly, her voice not shaking but her shoulders trembled visibly. "Do it. I'd like to see you try and get out of this one. We're all more useful alive, and you know it."
Yami, where are you?! Anzu gnashed her teeth furiously, knowing this was false bravado for sure, but it was all she had. Even Seto Kaiba had been caught, sitting handcuffed at the table, ready to be executed.
It didn't fill her up with confidence.
And her confidence in Yami was waning by the millisecond.
That spiky-haired monster was a known double-crosser. Did Seto Kaiba know that?
"Fine. You have ten minutes," Marik sniffed, raising the pad to read another name. "Matsuda Kenji. Your wife and mistress put this on you. How does it feel?"
The man beside Kaiba stiffened and then began shaking his head furiously while trembling. "M-My w-wife? ...I-I don't have a mistress…." The businessman lied through his chattering teeth, and Kaiba racked his brain for where he'd seen this man before.
This guy was someone's accountant.
"Yes, your wife who was recently…" Marik titled his and head a squinted comically at the electronic pad, "given access to your accounts, assets…. Pulled together money for your demise with your mistress. They got you for your money and you died tragically. Sad. Hunter 18, please take care of him for 600 million. It was 300 from each woman. That paid for 3 bullets, make them fatal."
Kaiba inhaled lightly through his nose and braced himself when he saw a dark, cloaked arm reach across his cheek, and an elbow almost grazed his neck when the man holding the gun didn't hesitate to press the barrel downwards into the unfortunate man's neck, sending him crumpling forward in his seat, bleeding, twitching, and leaving an unpleasant scent lingering in the air.
Horrified, Kaiba glanced down and noticed the blood had splattered onto the shoulder of his suit sleeve. He couldn't move.
A thin trail of red was trickling down the man's arm, landing in a small puddle forming on the ground by the wheels of their chair, and Kaiba couldn't move.
He couldn't do anything.
He was really next.
And Yami was nowhere to be seen—!
"Atem is coming for you," Anzu said confidently from the ground in her corner, and Kaiba flinched for real.
Yeah, don't start with that, holy shit.
Even Mai shifted and looked uncomfortable.
"Ah…A-tem?!" Marik threw his head back and cackled furiously while the men behind their chairs followed suit with their laughter. "You mean the gracious angel who told me of your arrival a week before? Atem, the notorious reaper of souls, Atem?! HA! He doesn't give a shit about anyone in this room. Otherwise, he'd be here to watch the fun, right?"
Kaiba blinked and his blood ran cold. W-What!?
"Agent, I'm sure you know, Atem only acts in his own best interests," Marik said casually, swiping up and down the pad, trying to decide who to hit next. "But I don't mind if you want him to be here to watch the fun, call him. I know you two are in contact. He told me."
WHAT?! Kaiba swayed in his seat, feeling faint. No… Yami wouldn't let information go unless it was beneficial tothem, as a couple, right?!
"Fine. Get me a phone," Anzu shot back with cold confidence, making Kaiba appreciate her slightly more. "Give me my stuff back, you cowards."
Marik nodded gleefully and waved at one of the men flanking him. The dark, hooded figure strode around the table with the sound of heavy, weighted boots thumping on carpet as he pulled out a silver-foiled bag and emptied the sack of phones at Anzu's knees.
The devices clattered around her folded legs while the man tossed the bag at her and walked back to his post beside Marik, and Anzu bared her teeth, flexing her elbows, "uncuff me. How am I supposed to do anything?!"
"Ugh," Marik said dramatically, waving his hand again, and the man nearest to her bent to uncuff her. Kaiba felt a brief spark of hope, but then saw the man aim the barrel at her and say in accented Japanese, "no sudden moving. Or death."
Yeah, yeah, Anzu growled as she sifted frantically through the pile of phones, wondering why Marik was being so kind as to let her call Atem, and the sinking pit in her stomach told her that it was because Atem wouldn't answer. He'd ditched them to fend for themselves, and this slaughter-meeting was making that abundantly clear.
He'd even abandoned his lover, Kaiba here, without a look backwards. Monsters.
She spotted the white backing of the KC phone gleaming at her from the ground, she snatched it up, powered it on breathlessly, feeling her team shifting anxiously beside her, clearly uncomfortable with a gun being aimed so closely at them, but Anzu tried to hang onto hope.
Atem had promised nothing would happen to her, her team, or Kaiba, as per their last-minute agreement. She'd begged him to take the other VIPs under his protection while she'd been held hostage in the elevator, and her earbud had been ripped out after Atem said, 'fuck, fine', not sounding happy about it.
Holding the button down on the side with a shaking thumb, Anzu glumly watched the KC logo flash on and then disappear once the default lock screen popped up, and she unlocked the phone to call the only number in the contacts list.
"Speakerphone," the grunt above her poked her shoulder with the gun, and Anzu grit her teeth, hitting the speakerphone button and holding the phone above her head to show Marik the call was being made.
"Good, good, have your hope, little agent," Marik said as he watched the call screen flash on while it dialed out. "Atem knows better than to stick his nose into my business. Last time he did, he almost—"
A phone rang audibly with a merry jingle, directly behind Kaiba's chair, and Kaiba froze, a cold wave of relief trickling over him as he dimly realized what this meant…
"Seto Kaiba!" Marik shouted, but froze when he saw the man behind Kaiba's seat reach a gloved hand into his pants pocket, fish out the ringing phone, and toss it into the middle of the table, still vibrating and singing audibly.
Kaiba blinked and stared at it so hard, his eyes watered.
It was one of his phones. One he recognized. It had a dent on the lower corner from a time when Mokuba had dropped it at school, said he didn't want it anymore, so he'd taken it and used it for a couple months before tossing it into the 'used' bin at home. And here it was again, trilling and ringing in front of him while everyone in the room was deathly silent.
Yami had been behind him the entire time.
Literally having his back.
He'd stood there, biding his time, waiting…for this moment.
Anzu stared at the ringing phone on the table with shock and saw Joey's face emerge from underneath a mask at Marik's right-hand side, and Joey looked more serious than she'd ever seen him.
"Put yer' hands on the table and come quietly," Joey said, pushing the cloak aside from his chest to show him the badge he wore around his neck. "I got ya on two counts of murder, in front of many witnesses. Not includin' all the other stuff you're wanted for internationally, so…hands up, bud. Please don't make me hurt ya."
Marik's eyes widened so much, a vein pulsed in his temple, and his eyes darted from the silent phone in the middle of the table, and then to Anzu on the floor, then to Joey with the gun pointed at his chest beside him.
None of his own men were reacting to this obvious betrayal, meaning they'd all been bought out…by Atem!
Atem had betrayed their oath!
He was working with police—
"And before ya say stuff about that guy Atem being two-faced," Joey said heatedly, because had instructed him to include this in his script. "You're right about him only caring 'bout himself. He got a high payin' client in this room, more money that you can ever imagine, and he told me he's gone retire with it. So…hands down, bud. Last chance."
High paying client! It could be anyone here! Marik's eyes narrowed, and he was quick to snap back, "is it Seto Kaiba? ….Yamamoto Aiji? ...Sato Haurki?"
"How'm I s'pposed ta know? He's on my to-get list too. You're first. Hands down," Joey said finally, lifting the gun up higher and planting his feet apart wider. Atem had warned him Marik might come charging at him, so he had to be careful.
Anzu dared to stand slowly, and to her amazement, her own gun still in its holster was handed back to her by the hooded man who had been threatening her, so she took it up gratefully and watched him back away respectfully and stand with a protective, wide-legged stance by the door, facing the door instead of facing the crowd inside. W-Wow.
That had to be one of Atem's guys.
Nice of him to have such firm control.
"Do as he says. Hands flat on the table, cheek down, and you'll be lucky not to be healing from bullet holes while you sit in a cell," Anzu growled, feeling much better about having a gun back in her hand as she stepped closer to the edge of the table and kept her weapon pointed up at the criminal. "Now."
"Get her!" Marik cried as he pointed a shaking finger at the goon standing right beside her, his gun lowered at the ground and his stance relaxed. "Hunter 15, I know that's you under there. Obey me!"
The man beside Anzu shook his head and walked away to stand by the door, giving Anzu the entire other side of the table all to herself, and Marik could only gape.
Hostile take-over, Yami-style, Kaiba thought plainly as he tried not to feel too relaxed. Yami had it all under control after all. The two deaths were for Joey to pin something definite onto this guy, with everyone else witnessing it, this guy was rotting in a cell for good.
Joey stepped forward and hung the handcuffs from the tips of his fingers, trying another phrase Atem suggested would be helpful.
"I'll even let ya cuff yerself?" He offered, and Marik let out a growl, spinning around in his seat to lunge at Joey, who appeared to be completely ready for it.
The agent raised a leg to kick out, shoving Marik back-first back into the swiveling chair, and a resounding thunk vibrated the table when Joey pinned Marik's face down to the table by the back of his neck and hissed through gritted teeth, "Stay down and know when you've lost, man!"
Anzu rushed around the table to help apprehend Marik who was still struggling weakly, snarling like a wild animal while he tried to spit at Anzu but received a cold slap across the face that made him go silent long enough for them to bind his arms behind his back.
Kaiba winced, remembering how that slap had felt.
While they were struggling at the head of the table, Kaiba felt warm hands come trailing down his stiff elbows to uncuff him, and then press the keys into his palm, making him curl his long fingers over the cold metal. Aw…
Yami had him in cuffs for appearances.
Aside from being splattered a little with blood and being chased down the hall by two goons carrying semis with the safety still on, he was quite happy with how the night ended.
The gloved hand then reached over his shoulder to pick up the phone from the middle of the table. He twisted around to see the masked men filing silently out of the room, with some of the agents shouting after them, "Hey! Come back here! …Miss Mazaki! They're escaping!"
"Busy!" Anzu shouted back, giving Marik a rough kick to the shins to make him stop struggling, wishing she had a sedative, but Joey was way ahead of her, pressing a medicated patch onto Marik's neck while the man hissed and shouted insults at them.
"Traitors! I'll kill you all! ….Atem will betray you!" Marik sputtered as he felt himself growing lightheaded, and he fumed silently when he saw Seto Kaiba give him a cold smirk. Just his imagination or was that CEO acting way too comfortable for someone who had just brushed death?!
"Nah, he's on an island somewhere kickin' it," Joey replied vaguely, grabbing Marik by the arm and pulling him to his feet. "Uppity up. Car and station for you. Gonna read your rights—you okay, Anzu?"
"Yes…" Anzu breathed, feeling herself sweat through her vest as she patted her brow, extremely relieved. That had gone…smoothly, aside from the two deaths, but she silently thanked Atem for giving them solid grounds to lock this man away.
And Joey had been immensely reliable. Aside from feeling shaken and a bit conflicted, no one on her team had gotten hurt, and Marik was in cuffs.
Atem had delivered on his promise in full.
Speechless, she watched Kaiba stand up from his seat, shake off the cuffs and begin uncuffing the man directly beside him.
"T-Thank you, Mr. Kaiba," the man bowed his head and rubbed his wrists while Kaiba went down the row of chairs, gleefully uncuffing every important representative, knowing they would remember him for this and owe him…forever.
Yami was seriously the best thing to happen to him since baked bread.
"M-Mr. Kaiba, was that your security?" One of his board members mumbled as he rubbed the red marks in his wrist as Kaiba bent forward to uncuff the next person with a nonchalant air.
"Don't know them," Kaiba replied calmly with a confident smirk, and he thought he heard Anzu make a huffing noise from the head of the table, but he ignored her. All he wanted to do now was establish his rank as the most protected and proactive member amongst this group of VIPs and then go home to lay in bed with Yami.
Deciding not to implicate himself with the police, he tossed the keys at Mai on the ground after he finished uncuffing the last man and watched her glare haughtily at him.
"Excuse me, do I look like an escape artist to you? Uncuff me!" She cried, and Kaiba let out a huff, kneeling and helping her undo her wrists, seeing her stand, brush her dress off and march out the doors without anyone stopping her.
Anzu was about to follow when she heard Yami's voice in her ear, "my favor is this—let Mai Valentine leave, and I'm cashing in on it now. Let her go."
"Really? You wanna use your favor for that? …Okay," Anzu replied quietly, and Kaiba listened to all of this silently, not ready for Mai's voice to come dripping sweetly into his earbud too.
"Aw, babe. I owe you one now. Love ya!"
"No. You don't," came Yami's cold reply, but Mai had already destroyed her connection with a quiet plop! And Kaiba winced when he heard it being flushed.
Nice to know the earbuds could withstand water.
Yami was raging into the connection, sounding angrier than Kaiba had ever heard him in their two years together, "she didn't need to flush it! It's now floating somewhere in sewage! It can withstand water pressure up to 30 meters and 3 atmospheric pressures! I spent months making these! They don't grow on trees—"
"'Kay buddy, I'm just gonna leave this at the front desk for ya then…" Joey's voice sounded in the connection too, and Kaiba froze in mid-twist of the key while uncuffing another female agent on the ground. She gave him a relieved grimace, so he gave her the key and stood up to make himself scarce too, not wanting to be apprehended for questioning at the station.
Predictably, Anzu called out to him the second his foot stepped out into the hallway.
"Where are you going?!" Anzu asked shrilly, wanting to question every VIP at the table, because all the men were still sitting shell-shocked in their seats, but of course, Seto Kaiba behaved like this was a regular Tuesday afternoon for him.
"Home, I have a kid to watch," Kaiba replied, giving her a scowl. "And I don't ever want to see you again. Good riddance."
He hurried down the hall and noticed his security team waiting for him, all dressed in the black hoodies from Marik's rare hunter team and realized that was where they'd gone.
Yami had somehow coordinated his team to take over members of Marik's group while he was being chased down the hall. That explained…a lot.
"Master Kaiba, this way. Valet lot is secure, and a vehicle is waiting for you," a man held his arm out and Kaiba gratefully followed him into the elevator, trying not to wince at the carnage inside. Shattered glass from the ceiling and walls were littered around his shoes, with a large, smeared blood stain on the buttons. Thankfully, he didn't have to touch it.
One of his men grimaced and tapped it with his elbow, and they rode to the lowest floor, the doors opening to reveal one of his black limos shining under the strip lights. Relief.
The door was opened for him, and he sank into the soft leather seats, shocked to see Yami sitting quietly at the end, with a laptop on one knee, an electronic pad in the other, and a heavy headset on. W-Whoa….
This was what he looked like when he 'worked' for real.
Was he even in the building then?!
"Glad you're okay," Yami said shortly as the doors were closed and the security men stayed standing outside to watch them drive away. "Earbud please. And Anzu, don't worry. I have the streets secure from here to the station, and someone is perched on the roof across the way in case Marik tries anything when stepping out of the car."
Kaiba slipped the earbud out the moment he heard Anzu sigh and say, "thank you…"
And he dropped the earbud into Yami's waiting open palm.
"Any reason why your earbud can only withstand 3 atmospheric levels?" Kaiba asked conversationally as the car rolled out of the parking structure and they traveled down the main road, the streetlights flashing across his thighs when they beamed in through the tinted windows.
Yami's eyes flashed handsomely at him in the dark as he replied simply, "never had a need. But if you want to develop it further, I'd love you all the more for it—yes, just leave it there. Good night, Anzu. … No. He'll kill you and I won't stop him."
Who? Did it matter? Kaiba felt a chill go down his spine at Yami's tone, and Yami let out a sigh, lifting the headset off his ears and shaking his spiky bangs with an air of relief.
"Done," Yami announced with a bright smile, and Kaiba smiled weakly in return.
What a mood change. S-Scary…
But he'd take Smiling Yami back any day without question over Diet Yami or Statue-Robot Yami
The car stopped at a light, and Yami shuffled around, putting everything back into metal briefcases, and Kaiba's skin crawled when he saw a giant rifle leaned against Yami's elbow in the dark. He wondered why he was so blind anytime Yami was around.
It really solidified the reality that he was so in love with Yami that Yami could kill him anytime, and he wouldn't resist.
"Take off your outer blazer," Yami instructed, also shrugging off his blazer and undoing his tie. "Yours is stained with blood. Don't let Mokuba see that."
R-Right… Kaiba thought heavily as he slowly unbuttoned it with trembling fingers, seeing his car rolling safely in through the black gates of the mansion, and the car parked by the fountain. Immediately, the heavy mansion gates swung open and Mokuba came running down the steps, looking anxious but relieved while Isono was close at his heels.
Kaiba got out of the car and noticed medics vans parked in the grass beyond, and several people on stretchers, and he was about to question it when Yami surveyed the scene in the distance and said, "they'll leave soon. They fought well for your safety."
"SETO!" Mokuba clung to his thigh in a death grip and shook him so hard, he almost lost his balance. "I saw the Ace Leader on the news! He was being dragged away by police! Are you guys okay?! I love you—YAMI!"
Mokuba let go of him and ran to give Yami a hug, but Yami dodged him while balancing three heavy metal briefcases on his arms, handing one off to Isono and keeping Mokuba at an arm's length while he held one case protectively against his knees.
"Hey Mokuba, good job staying at home, don't touch me," Yami said automatically, knowing he was covered head to toe in dirt from climbing up the crane and subsequently any gunpowder residue. "We can hug after I've showered."
"Why?! You look clean!" Mokuba whined while Seto came up to hold his hand in a cold iron grip to keep him from hugging Yami.
"I'm not clean even if I may look like it," Yami replied shortly, and Mokuba swallowed nervously, nodding with a serious expression on his face.
"The news said there wasa sniper on the construction site across the street from the hotel!" Mokuba continued, gazing up at Seto with glistening eyes. "That's so cool! Did you guys see a police sniper?"
"Nope," Kaiba lied evenly, just as Yami ducked back into the car to pull out his long-range rifle still in the case, and he bit the inside of his cheek. R-REALLY?! Come on.
Mokuba's mouth dropped open at the huge gun case, and watched Isono and Yami walk silently into the house laden with all the metal briefcases, and he felt Seto's hand grow colder in his.
Oh…wow.
Yami was not a secret agent like he'd originally thought. That's why Seto always said, "I don't know and that's the truth, kid," whenever he asked what Yami worked as. It was because Yami killed people for a living.
Wow… SUPER COOL and scary.
"Okay, back inside," Kaiba said as he led his brother up the steps into their home, and he froze when he saw Yami paused on the third-floor stairway window, inspecting the medic teams on the grass beyond, still giving orders through his earbud.
"Yes, keep him under observation if needed. No, no hospitals. … Yes, set up the tent if you need."
And Yami turned to gaze down at them with unblinking, dark, angular eyes. "Can they set up a medic tent on your field out there, Seto?"
"Yeah. Whatever. You already approved it and I thought you were done working," Kaiba muttered in reply, shaking Mokuba off him to march up the stairs, but feeling the kid stick behind him loyally.
Yami gave him a half-smile and turned back around to observe the activity on the grass below.
Mokuba paused at his side, also looking out the window and asking him quietly, "do you kill people, Yami?"
"MOKUBA! Go play a game!" Kaiba shouted from the top of the stairs, and Mokuba clenched his fists at his sides, "I'M WAITING FOR YOU GUYS TO PLAY WITH ME! Take your stupid shower, Seto!"
He turned his gaze back up to Yami's sharp jawline and noticed Yami's eyes narrowing before they softened and Yami gently knelt before him to grip him by the shoulders, giving him a sad but stiff smile while his arms were squeezed tightly. W-What?! It was weird, seeing Yami so close, and he had dark shadows under his eyes, his cheekbones more hollow than usual since he'd lost some weight…
And his eyes were very deep and dark….
"Would you hate me if I said 'yes'?" Yami asked gently, knowing Kaiba didn't want him to tell Mokuba, but the child wasn't stupid, and he was a tiny VIP in the making. Knowledge of this would protect him in the future.
"No, but…just wanted to know," Mokuba mumbled, his ears growing hot as he suddenly regretted asking. "Never mind—"
"The answer is yes," Yami said quietly as he gave Mokuba's tiny shoulders another squeeze. "And the people I protect are VIPs like your brother and the people who work with him. As I'm sure you know, that Match The Face mugshot game was the criminal organization planning a hit on the entire building. You had to stay home because what if a stray bullet grazed you?"
"It would hurt?" Mokuba offered lamely, now extremely regretting the conversation. "Got it. Thanks for telling me…"
Yami nodded and stood up, walking away while talking into his earpiece again, reminding Mokuba of Seto when he worked non-stop in the days before they'd met Yami.
"Yes… Good... Status update in 12 hours…" Yami's voice faded up the stairs, and Isono came bustling up behind him with a tray of coffee and fruit.
Mokuba stared glumly at the tray and talked to him, "did you know Yami kills people?"
Isono set his jaw and walked up a few steps, hesitating before he nodded and answered, "yes, young master. He is highly trained and has drastically improved the security of our home. You may ask your brother about what specific changes were made."
Mokaba stared at Ison's tall figure disappearing up the stairs and realized…he'd been the last person to know about this! Everyone in the house knew Yami was a secret sniper!
Unfair, Mokuba grumbled, but a voice in the back of his mind was telling him that this news wasn't a surprise.
Yami was weirdly squirrely and distrustful sometimes, with super-fast lightning reflexes, making him hard to beat when playing video games and fun to play against.
Shaking his head to himself, he headed back into his room, annoyed that when he passed Seto's closed door, he could hear them kissing loudly. Whatever. That explained their arguing too. Yami was now head of their family security and Seto was obviously in love with him.
Author's note:
Woooo and onto the next one!