"So, you said that you had a plan thanks to Travis' help. But what exactly is it?" Kelda asked curiously as she followed Marik down the sidewalk path of downtown Domino City. Daytime had proved to be their safest bet of not running into the soul hunters if they were in more populated areas like this. And Kelda knew that Marik would want to take advantage of that now if he wanted any hope of implementing his plan any faster.
"You'll see. But for it to work, I need to find a pay phone. Would you happen to know where we might find the closest one?" Marik asked.
"Um, Marik. Nobody uses pay phones anymore…" Kelda said, unable to keep a trace of amusement out of her voice.
"And that is precisely why we need one!" Marik said triumphantly.
Kelda realized that Marik had a point. They had long since ditched their cell phones and wiped all the memory from them since being on the run. The soul hunters most likely had ways of tracking them and listening in on their phone conversations, so the devices would only serve as a hindrance to their safety.
"If I remember correctly, there should be one near the bus stop about a block from here." Kelda said.
"Okay, good." Marik said confidently.
"I'm guessing that this has something to do with what you and Travis were talking about?" Kelda asked.
"Yes. You see, to run an organization like the Rare Hunters, I needed a lot more than just ways to steal cards. There's so much involved with things like counterfeiting and archiving and whatnot to successfully operate on the black market. A lot of online transactions and sales took place as well. Needless to say, I ended becoming a lot more well-versed when it came to the subject of technology than I was before." Marik explained, chuckling slightly at the last part.
"So, where did Travis come into all of it? He doesn't seem like someone who would be a Rare Hunter." Kelda asked. Although after finding out about Marik, maybe nothing should surprise her anymore.
"More people than you think who were in it didn't fit the typical criminal stereotype. Some were just desperate for a way to support their families or get out of debt faster. But Travis technically wasn't a part of the Rare Hunters, so your assumption was correct there. It was useful to have at least one person on the outside who wasn't bound by our rules and could operate smoothly without tracing back to us. Travis doesn't care about the specifics of his customers as long as he gets paid. That worked in our favor." Marik explained.
"My head is starting to hurt just from trying to process it all…" Kelda said with a wry smile.
Xxx
Once they reached the booth containing a pay phone, Marik took out one of the devices that Travis had given him earlier. Then, after paying for the call, he proceeded to dial the number of the one other place outside of the police station that could at least distract the soul hunters a little for them while they were in the city.
"Hello? Is this the Kaiba Corp. hotline for reporting stolen cases of stolen cards and duel disks?" Marik asked. The device he was using must have been some sort of voice synthesizer, because his voice sounded very low and distorted like those kidnappers in movies who always call to demand a ransom.
As the call went on, Marik proceeded to give out numerous duel disk registered ID numbers and different card names, with detailed accounts on where and when these "robberies" had taken place. He also gave descriptions and details of the soul hunters and how they operated. Kelda was surprised that the Kaiba Corp. employee didn't sound very suspicious about the voice-over. But maybe that was because Marik had requested that he "wished to remain anonymous".
After Marik hung up the phone, he turned to Kelda. "Those were all reports from old Rare Hunter theft cases that I have still been trying to solve on my own to recover what I had stolen from those duelists before. Of course, it isn't exactly easy to track down everything, so I've also been replacing the contents using my own money when I can, anonymously, of course. But I still have a long way to go. Thankfully, I can kill two birds with one stone by hopefully having Kaiba Corp. be able to find some of them and keep our "friends" attention off us for at least a little while. Travis was able to pull those stolen item accounts easily enough for me as well as ensure that the call could not be traced. It's exceedingly helpful as we're not in a position to perform such activities safely online ourselves right now." He explained carefully.
"But what if people at Kaiba Corp. end up getting hurt over this?" Kelda asked seriously.
"Unfortunately, it's a risk we must take. I'm hoping that both the presence of them and the police around the city will be enough to cause our pursuers to hesitate to want to bring too much attention to themselves since they've already pulled back a bit against us. At least for now, that is. I needed to buy us some time so that we can try to figure out who is behind this more easily. I have a feeling that there's a connection that I'm missing somewhere…" Marik answered.
"I'm wondering if Grandma knew anything more that could help us. She's the one who would be most likely to know just how a person could go about getting their soul sucked out, after all." Kelda commented thoughtfully.
"If she was with us, then maybe she could have asked the lost souls more about what happened to them or anything other clues they may have heard before they were taken! They may not be dead, so theoretically, it would be the same as the ones who just don't want to move on." Marik exclaimed.
"But we still don't know where she is…" Kelda trailed off helplessly. She didn't want to consider the very real possibility that Marissa's kidnapping had something to do with her own father.
Marik frowned, suddenly brought back to the reality of the impossibility of their task.
"Wait. Even if she's not there now, maybe there's some clues back at the house. Grandma always makes a lot of notes about all her "cases", after all." Kelda brainstormed.
"That's not a bad idea. But it could be dangerous to go back. Whoever kidnapped her could be waiting for either you or me to come back." Marik cautioned.
"I still think it's worth the risk. I'll go in by myself to look and you could wait somewhere and keep watch just in case. I'm the one who knows where everything is since I live there, so it will be quicker if I look. And we're especially going to need it to be quicker with going through that mess in the basement." Kelda reasoned.
"Alright. But I think it would be best if we waited until tomorrow when it's earlier in the day. It will also give time for things to blow up a little with Kaiba Corp." Marik agreed.
Kelda nodded silently in agreement. She didn't want to admit it to Marik or even herself, but a part almost seemed to hope that the intruder would return. If it was really her father, she wanted to confront him, to find out just what had been so much more important than her for all those years. Deep down, she knew that it was foolish of her. But the importance of having her questions answered weighed out against the shield of rationality that she usually tried to keep around herself. Perhaps it had something to with being around Marik so much. Ever since he had entered her life, it seemed as things that had seemed impossible before were becoming the opposite to prove her wrong now.
Xxx
A couple hours later, Kelda and Marik were back in the cheap motel room they were renting for a couple days before they switched to another place. They tried to not stay in one place for too long, but with the soul hunters taking a break, it hardly seemed to matter. Money was tight and Marik knew that he could only charge off his credit card for so long, so they were getting the cheapest places they could find.
"We've made some good progress today, I'd say. Cheers to us." Marik said as he casually tossed a bakery bag to Kelda. Day-old or longer items were the cheapest, so they frequently purchased things from that section.
"Yeah, it feels good to actually be doing something instead of just hiding!" Kelda agreed as she took a slightly stale glazed donut out of the bag.
For a moment, they both ate in silence. Then, Kelda spoke up again. "Also… I just wanted to say that I was really happy to hear that you have been taking the time to compensate everyone who got their cards stolen by the Rare Hunters. Since almost no one knew that you were the leader, it would have been easy to just pretend it never happened and go on with life. But you're doing everything you can to make amends for it. That's really decent of you, Marik…" She said quietly.
"It's not as great as it sounds. A lot of the victims could have suffered from psychological trauma and physical violence as well. It's an experience that can make a person feel powerless and afraid, and that's not something that will always just go away for them. This is the least I can do…" Marik said somewhat somberly.
"But it's still a good thing." Kelda insisted.
"I guess so. Thanks. Anyway, let's see what's on TV." Marik said, rather hastily changing the subject out of embarrassment from Kelda's words.
Marik turned on the motel's old square-shaped television set. It was small and the colors on-screen were a bit grainy looking. But it was better than having no television at all. When he had been a child, he remembered asking Ishizu just what kind of magic had been used to make the people fit inside of it. Back then, TV had fascinated him greatly. But as he got older and became more knowledgeable about the world outside and its technology, he believed that nothing on TV was worth watching anyway. He enjoyed educational programs such as nature shows every so often. However, there was one show he enjoyed that broke this rule.
"Big Money! Game de Get Show!" A game show host wearing a tacky bow tie with a ridiculous smile plastered on his face announced loudly to the crowd. An upbeat jingle-like medley played in the background as the audience clapped and cheered excitedly.
"Oh, no… This again?" Kelda groaned.
"There's nothing else really until the news. Come on, you know you like it." Marik teased.
"It's illogical. Just why do these people waste their time and money to get on this show when the odds are clearly rigged against them in these games? I mean, come on. Just what are the chances that wheel is going to hit higher than the number the other guy just got? It's all a gamble. Heck, I bet it's not even that. They probably rig it somehow with the computer programming or whatever to make whoever they want win or lose." Kelda complained.
"But that's what makes this fun. They persist against the odds just to have a chance to win, however fleeting it may be. Is that not human nature to an extent?" Marik insisted.
"And they make a joke out of the concept. That announcer sure sounds like he's having the time of his life whenever he does this, though." Kelda said.
Kelda and Marik watched as the roulette wheel slowed down and finally came to a stop. It landed on a one.
"A one! Oh, this was the worst possible outcome! Guess the goddess of luck wasn't on the challenger's side today!" The announcer exclaimed in a dramatic fashion. The losing contestant looked like he wanted to disappear under his seat.
"Oh, not today…" Marik joked with a devious grin, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
Kelda rolled her eyes good-naturedly at Marik's reaction. If they could just relax like this, she supposed that bad game shows were the last thing she should complain about. But unfortunately, they would have to face what was waiting for them sooner or later.
AN: Sorry this is so late! Yeah, I know I suck. XD I added the game show from Yugioh season zero here because I saw the episode with it recently and it's one of my favorites. Anyways, get ready. Because next chapter, all hell is going to break loose.