Chapter Ten: Coming For You

Meanwhile, back at the Kaiba Estate, everything was just like it had been when Yugi, Mokuba and Brianna left for the park earlier that day. Seto was still hacking mercilessly away on his poor, defenseless little keyboard, eager to finish a highly crucial safety report for his company. Joey, on the other hand was still dozing peacefully on the sofa downstairs, his dreams filled with what was probably chocolate, candy and other tasty treats. If there was one thing that the blonde loved more than Seto it was most definitely food…food of any kind, food that tasted good, food that…well, you get the picture.

Suddenly, he was awakened from his slumber by the phone ringing almost directly into his ear. He grumbled inaudibly as he pushed himself into a sitting position, wondering just who had the bright idea of placing the phone on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Don't they know that people actually sleep here?" Joey muttered while reaching over to pick up the phone. When he positioned it close enough to his ear, he pressed 'Talk' and spoke into the mouthpiece. "Hello?" When no answer came, he spoke again. "Hello? Who's there?" Finally, a faint yet audible could be heard coming from the other end of line. It sounded rather muffled yet Joey could just barely make out the words.

"Is this the Kaiba residence?"

"Yes but…who is this?" Joey's first thoughts were that this was some kind of telemarketer out to persuade him to buy something completely and utterly useless. The blonde, however, was not going to be tricked into buying a product that he would most likely never end up using. If this person really were trying to sell him a product of some sort, he would simply tell them that he was not interested and hang up. If not, well, he would contemplate a new idea when the time arose.

"Look, if you're selling something…" Before he could finish his statement, he was interrupted by the gruff-sounding voice on the other end.

"Have you noticed that you're missing a few of your friends?" This confused Joey; why would this person be asking if he knew if any of his friends were missing? Tea, Tristan and Ryou were all out on their own, he knew that much and Yugi, Mokuba and Brianna were…well, he didn't know where they were…

After what seemed like a full minute of two, the blonde answered the apparent male's question with another question. "What are you talking about? Do you know anything about where my friends are?" To this question he meant Yugi, Mokuba and Brianna. He wanted to know where they were, seeing as how he was never told by anyone that they were going anywhere. If they were in trouble, he needed to know…

"As a matter of fact, I do…"

"You do? Tell me, where are they?" He tried to make his voice sound as calm as possible, although it was rather difficult regarding the present circumstances.

"Heh, you'd like to know, wouldn't you?" There was a brief moment of silence before one last word rang through the blonde's ears. "Joey…" His eyes than shot open with a terrible sense of shock running through his veins.

"How do you…how do you know my name?" he inquired cautiously.

"Oh, I know more than just your name…"

"Okay, 'dis is startin' to freak me out. Tell me who you are!" he practically demanded of the mysterious voice; it only than began to laugh maniacally. "Stop laughing! Who are you?"

The laughter than officially ceased before the man spoke up again. "I can't tell you who I am, but what I can tell you is that I work for someone you are all too familiar with…" This wasn't helping Joey at all. If he was going to find out who this guy was, he needed more information then what he was given; he needed answers and that was what he was going to get.

"Look, I don't have time to be playing guessing games! Tell me who you're working for so that we can end this little conversation!"

"Getting frustrated little Joey?" That did it; the blonde was finally on the verge of unleashing his anger upon the man.

"What did you just call me?" he demanded fiercely, fire building in his once calm, chocolate brown orbs.

"You heard me…" Obviously this man did not know how hot the blonde's temper could get. Oh well, he'll find out sooner rather than later…

"You just called me little, didn't you?"

"What if I did? You can't do anything to stop me; you don't even know where I am…"

"I can find out! Ever heard of tracing phone calls, buddy?" This was one of those times that Joey Wheeler was glad that he was dating the rich and famous CEO of Kaiba Corp.; he could easily trace the phone call with Seto's high-tech phone system and find out just where this man was hiding.

The man simply chuckled at this. "You really think you're smart enough to figure that out, dog boy?" Okay, now if you thought that Joey's temper was hot enough, that comment just set it to over boiling. Everyone knew that the blonde hated it when others referred to him as a dog; the only exception was when Seto called him puppy, but that was only because the two were dating.

"Okay, you've pushed me too far…" Joey said through clenched teeth, yet the words still rung through the man's ears clear as a bell.

The male on the other end pretended to act dumbfounded, almost as if he had no idea what the blonde was talking about. "Why is that?"

"You know why…" The act, which was put on by the older male was not playing over too well.

"You know what you said, so that is why I'm not going to repeat it…" His temper was rising dramatically by the minute; if you were at all smart, you would head for the hills right about now.

"What, dog boy?" After those two dreadful words were repeated a second time, the only sound that could be heard on Joey's end was the sound of teeth grinding against each other.

"Listen…" drawled the blonde's voice; it sounded almost as if it was dripping with venom. "You tell me where you're keeping my friends and I won't have to do anything drastic…" Using the tone of voice that he was, that statement could scare almost anyone half to death.

"And what if I don't?" He was definitely pushing too many buttons and soon he wouldn't have any buttons left to push.

No voice came from the blonde's end; there was no noise at all, except for some very faint breathing sounds. Soon enough, however, words were spoken.

"I'll kill you…" This was an awfully big threat coming from our favorite, blonde-haired puppy, but his anger had reached its peak and he was willing to do anything to get his friends back home, safe and sound.

"Heh, you don't have the guts." According to Mr. Wheeler, Joey was not capable of committing murder or he would have done it a long time ago…to kill his own father… However, no one knew the blonde that well, except for his lover, Seto Kaiba and his younger brother Mokuba. There was also Brianna who had known the blonde for a wide span of many years. They grew up together, shared many secrets and, in short, had an unbreakable friendship. Yugi Motou also shared a special bond with the blonde, ever since they first become friends in their freshman year at Domino High School. This man knew nothing of the blonde's life so he had no right to talk about such matters.

"You think I don't? Well, I can prove you wrong…" Normally, this man was not afraid of idle threats, yet this situation seemed different. For some reason, he thought that Joey was actually going to go through with what he was saying. He stood silent for a moment, not knowing what to say in response.

"I…" he stuttered, trying to find the right words, which were unfortunately being too stubborn. However, in about a minute's time, he was finally able to speak properly. "I…I'll tell you…"

"Tell me what?" The blonde's tone of voice than began to lower to that of his normal one, keeping his guard up just a little, in case the man decided to say anything that would work to his disadvantage.

"I'll…I'll tell you where you're friends are…" he managed at last.

Joey cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "And how do I know that you'll tell the truth?"

The man opened his mouth only to close it again. "I give you my word…I will tell the truth…"

"But I don't even know you, so how do I know that you're word will be the whole truth?"

"You'll just know. But listen, I'll tell you this. If you find out that I have not told you the whole truth, I will release your friends without any hesitation, deal?"

The blonde didn't know whether to trust the man or not. He liked the idea of having his friends set free, but would the kidnapper really go through on his word if he didn't tell the truth? There was no way that Joey could find out if the male was truthful or not; he would just have to go with the flow and see where that would take him…

"Okay, I trust you, but just remember, if you don't tell the truth, you'll be in for a world of hurt…" the blonde threatened somewhat menacingly, which was not common for the young teen. However, due to the present circumstance, who could blame him?

"Don't worry, I will keep my word."

"You better…" Joey narrowed his eyes, almost as if he hoped that his gaze would burn right through the phone and into the other male's eyes.

"Again, don't worry. Now, allow me to fill you in…" The man paused for a moment or two before he prepared himself to tell the blonde exactly where he was keeping Brianna, Yugi and Mokuba. "We're keeping your friends at…" He braced himself before saying the last part of his sentence. "…your house…" These words literally sent a cold chill down the blonde's spine. He couldn't believe it; all this time he kept pondering to himself where his friends could be and they were at his house…his old house all along? He heaved a long and heavy sigh, mentally slapping himself in the forehead for being so blind. Why hadn't he thought of it before? It was so obvious and yet he had never thought of it…

"I…" Words failed him; they had failed to escape his mouth when he wanted to speak. What was he to say in this situation? When he thought about it, nothing came to mind. It was almost as if he didn't want to say anything, almost as if he couldn't say anything.

"Yes?" The voice sounded impatient, waiting for the blonde's response.

"I…" This time, he thought, he would not fail to speak. "I…okay. I'll come there as soon as I can. Don't do anything to harm my friends because if you do, I'll know and you'll regret ever laying a finger on them. Understand?"

The older male nodded physically and then replied, "Absolutely. I won't touch a hair on your friends' heads." It sounded sarcastic yet Joey took no notice of it.

"You better not…" and with that, Joey pressed 'End' on the phone and hung up. The other male did the same, only to be greeted by smirking faces all around him.

"You convince him?" one of the other males asked.

"Yep. He'll be here soon, don't you worry. Heh, he's such a sucker. He doesn't even realize that there's more than one of us." Everyone than began snickering to themselves, finding it hilarious that the blonde was so, quote on quote, dense.

"He actually fell for everything that you told him?" one of the seemingly older men questioned, glancing over towards the three teens that were currently sitting in the corner, hands tied behind their backs and mouths gagged. He then looked back to the one that he was talking to and smirked.

"Yep, every bit of information I told him, he swallowed in a single gulp."

"What a loser…" the one named Benny remarked. Brianna, Yugi and Mokuba gave each other a look of sheer helplessness and then looked back at their kidnappers; they were all joking and ridiculing Joey…and they couldn't do a single thing to stop them…

Meanwhile at the Kaiba Estate, Joey had made a mad dash up the stairs and was now standing in front of Seto's bedroom door. He hesitantly knocked and when he heard his lover voice the words "Come in", he quietly pushed the door open and stepped inside the room. Seto had barely taken his eyes off the computer screen sitting in front of him when he greeted his boyfriend with a curt, yet pleasant smile.

"What is it, puppy? I hate to rush you but I need to finish these reports for Kaiba Corp. by tomorrow and I have only just managed to pass the half-way point."

"Yes, I know how much your work means to you Seto but there's something that I really need to tell you…" The urgency in Joey's voice told the brunette that whatever he needed to say was most definitely worth listening to. He stood up from his chair and slowly made his way over to his boyfriend. When standing face-to-face with one another, the CEO wrapped his arms around the blonde and pulled him into a tight embrace. As soon as they broke apart, Joey looked up into the dragon's glass-like, cerulean blue orbs, hoping with all his might that he would be able to tell him just what was on his mind.

"What's wrong? You seem distressed…" The tone of Seto's voice was unusually caring and warm, yet to the blonde it was all too familiar. Ever since the two had started going steady, the blonde was able to penetrate the brunette's solid barrier and melt his heart of ice. It was then that Joey began to become familiar with Seto's occasional caring moments.

"Yah, I am…" the blonde-haired puppy admitted, moving his head onto that of his boyfriend's shoulder, afraid to show the tears that were now beginning to well up in his eyes.

"About what? You can tell me, you know you can."

"That's the thing, I'm not sure if I can…"

"What do you mean?" This got Seto thinking; what could be so important that the blonde couldn't even tell his own boyfriend?

Joey removed his head from his lover's shoulder. "I mean…" Could he tell him? Could he tell Seto that Brianna, Mokuba and Yugi had been kidnapped and were now forced into hiding in the house that he had once occupied? What would the CEO say when he found out? He could only hope that things took a turn for the better and not for the worst…

"You mean what?"

"Well…" The blonde took a deep breath as he prepared to say just what was on his mind. "They've been kidnapped."

"What? Whose been kidnapped?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Joey worked up the courage to tell the brunette the truth. "Brianna, Yugi…" He hesitated before saying the last name. "Mokuba…" Upon hearing that name, it was as though Seto had frozen in place; he didn't believe it, he couldn't believe it.

"Mokuba? He…" Before being able to continue, Joey interrupted the CEO with a quick nod of his head. It was then that, for the first time in what seemed like forever, the brunette looked like he was going to cry. Saddened tears began to slowly well up in his eyes and it took everything that he had to hold them back. He didn't want Joey to think that he was weak; Seto had always seen crying as a sign of weakness and it would totally contradict himself if he showed even a single tear.

"Yes, but don't worry, I know where they are."

"Where?" This question sounded almost like that of a demand, yet not even a few seconds later the brunette recoiled and changed his tone of voice. "I mean, where are they being kept?"

It was this question that the teen despised the most out of everything that was asked of him. He referred back to the questions that he had asked himself a few minutes before, contemplating on what to do. Should he just come right out and tell him or would it be easier to just beat around the bush for awhile? The answer was obvious, yet seemed the most difficult.

"They're at…"

"Yes?"

"They're at…" Joey repeated, hoping to be able to complete his sentence. "They're at…my house…"

Seto's eyes widened in both shock and horror, which was not typical of the usual expression of seriousness he normally had plastered across the whole of his face. "Your house?"

"Well, my old house to be exact…" However, without further discussion, Seto stood back from his lover and sauntered over towards the door that was currently wide open.

"Coming?"

"Huh?" It seemed as though Joey had entered a trance-like state for the few seconds that Seto had used to make his way over the doorway because the look he gave the brunette told Seto that he had had no idea what he was talking about.

"To your house, of course. We need to rescue Brianna, Mokuba and Yugi, don't we?"

"Well yes, but…" In the course of their conversation, Joey had completely forgotten to mention the fact that he wanted to go alone. He soon decided that it would be best not to say anything, for the CEO looked stressed out enough as it was. First, he had been stuck trying to meet many deadlines for his company and now this. If there was any a time that Joey could tell him, this was definitely not it…

"But what?"

Yet another moment of silence arose before a reply was heard coming from the New Yorker's mouth. "Okay, let's go." With that finally said, the couple made their way out the room, Seto shutting the door behind them. They then made their way down the stairs, through the living room and into the entrance hall. Upon putting on their shoes and jackets, the room was filled with an eerie silence as no teen wished to discuss anything with each other at that particular moment. This was a very serious matter and it had to be dealt with the utmost of caution.

When they had exited the mansion, they both made their way over to Seto's limo and climbed inside, Joey entering first on the brunette's insistence. As soon as the duo were comfortably inside, Seto ordered the driver to take them to Joey's house, telling him that he would provide the directions on the way. During the drive, which seemed to take longer than expected due to Joey's house being on the other side of town, all the couple could think about was if their friends (and brother, in Seto's case) were all right. Neither teen would ever forgive themselves if anything had happened to them…