Hope you all had a good week. This chapter carries a bit of a warning. There is some pretty strong language, threats of extreme violence and some words that are very insulting. Someone is also fatally shot, and, I hope no one is squeamish, but there is blood.

Chapter 5.

Threatened.

After several seconds of staring at her phone, Anzu swiped venomously at the little red icon and rejected the call. She already had enough problems to sort out between herself and Yugi, without Tony giving her even more grief.

"Anzu, is everything alright?" Yugi asked, tentatively touching her arm.

She dismissed him with a wave of the hand. "Yeah... I'm fine. Tony can wait until tomorrow. I'm sure he's only ringing to tell me I'm sacked, and anyway, right now I don't care." Despite putting up a tough front, she was worried at the prospect of losing her income from the club, or that Tony would withdraw his promise to help her find a part in a Broadway show –not that she believed he was making much effort anyway.

"Well, if you say so.." Yugi narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "But I don't like the sound of this guy. If you're going to have to see him, then I'm coming with you."

"No! You can't!" She gasped. "If he finds out it was you who interrupted the show..." She shook her head. "I don't want you near him Yugi. He's not the sort you mess with. He makes Hirutani look like a kitten." And when Yugi and Jonouchi faced Hirutani and his gang Yugi had the Millennium Puzzle to protect him.

"Then I don't want you near him either, got that?" His assertive tone meant that it was pointless for her to keep arguing.

"Yeah, I get it," she pouted. Sighing, she changed the topic of conversation. "We should drink our tea. It's probably nearly cold by now." But before she could reach for her now tepid brew, her phone started ringing again.

"Looks like he's not giving up," Yugi said, as Anzu grimaced and looked at her phone.

However, her eyebrows raised when she looked back up at Yugi. "It's not Tony, it's Abigail, one of the other dancers." Intrigued, she accepted the call.

Abigail had been on the receiving end of an abusive relationship and struggled with her drug addiction. Anzu found that sad, because underneath it all she was a nice person and was a good friend; helping Anzu get through that first, terrifying performance.

Anzu's relief that it was Abigail calling her was short lived. According to Abigail, Tony had been in the middle of a game of poker in the adjoining casino, when someone informed him that one of his dancers had run out in the middle of a performance. He was not best pleased, and was even less pleased when he found out it was his chick, and latest rising star, Bambi – aka Anzu.

Although full of dread, Anzu tried to keep her voice strong. "Did Tony say what he's planning to do? Is he firing me? Well, tell him I quit anyway," she retorted defiantly.

Abigail let out a hollow laugh, that sent shivers up Anzu's spine. "Worse than that honey. Ray told Tony you ran off with the Japanese guy who jumped the stage to cause trouble and had to be forcefully ejected from the club. Tony's drunk and I think he's done a few lines of coke as well. To add fuel to the fire, you rejected his call so he's coming round to see you right now. If that guy is with you, you best get him the hell outta there."

Upon hearing that news, Anzu's legs almost buckled under the weight of her fear. "Shit! Thanks Abi."

"Good luck sweetie, you're gonna need it." The two women hung up and Anzu turned to Yugi with a grave expression. If Tony found him here he would beat him, maim him, cripple him for life, or maybe even kill him. "You have to leave Yugi. Now!"

"Why? What's going on Anzu?" She was shaking with fear and he was worried about leaving her like this.

"Go!" She blurted. "Tony is coming here. If he finds you, he will mess you up badly, possibly even kill you, so go!"

"But what about you? I'm not going anywhere without you."

The stubborn determination being displayed by Yugi made Anzu's heart pound in her throat and her stomach churn."I'm not joking Yugi! He's dangerous."

"Even more reason for me not to leave you here." His stance was set firm. If he ran away and left her at the mercy of this dangerous man and she got hurt, he would never forgive himself for being cowardly.

If Anzu was not already panicking, she was now. What was it with men and their misplaced macho posturing?

"He won't hurt me Yugi," she tried to emphasise. "I'll tell him I ran out because I was upset about what happened. He'll believe me. Now go! Use the fire escape so you don't meet him on the way out. I'll call you later, okay?" She shoved his jacket and shoes at him.

"You're coming too," he protested, as she tried to bundle him towards the door.

::::::::::::

Meanwhile, a black Mustang skidded to a halt on the street below, and a tall, sinewy man, with short dark wavy hair and rugged features -that were still somehow finely sculpted, despite being hardened by years of crime- stepped out of the car. His clothing was expensive, and not wishing to ruin his Italian leather shoes, he stepped around the oily looking puddle.

He paused and looked around, rubbing his thumb and forefinger over his neatly trimmed beard. He then adjusted the body holster containing the pistol hidden underneath his black Armani blazer.

The trio of drug dealers opposite shrunk back into the dark cover of the alleyway, fearful that it was one of them he had come to sort out: Tony Moretti was well known around here and it would not be the first time he had punished a small time dealer for double dealing on his patch.

But he ignored them, and with some relief they realised that he must be here to see that Japanese chick they had sometimes seen him with.

Tony was disappointed with Anzu. Of all the chicks he had been with, she was one of his favourites; he had even thought about moving her in with him. But this little stunt she had pulled had blown her chances. Which was a shame, because she was a talented little bitch.

Quite what he was going to do with her now, he had not decided, but despite his anger he did not want to rough her up too much.

Same could not be said for the guy she had chased after. Ray said they seemed to know each other and the dude seemed pretty upset about her working as a stripper. The other bouncer, Marco, said he recognised the guy as a famous duelist called Yugi Mutou. Apparently Marco was in to the same card game, and said Mutou was also known as The King of Games.

Well fuck him. King or no King, Tony had never heard of Yugi Mutou. So what if the dude was a famous Gaming sensation. No one came into his club, assaulted one of his girls on stage and then had the nerve to argue with his bouncers while they threw him out, only to then go home with the girl in question –probably to fuck her.

His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fist. If the little bastard was fucking her right now, he would shove the guys dick down his own throat.

Tony punched in the key code. He figured she had probably forgotten –or had no memory– of giving him the door code last week, when he had brought her home and she was too smashed to be able to input the code herself. This was now to his benefit because it meant that she and that dude would not have the opportunity to make a run for it.

Having let himself in, he grinned menacingly and made his way up the stairs.

::::::::::::

Yugi and Anzu looked at each other when the door bell rang.

Someone started thumping on the door. "Anzu! It's me, Tony. Open the door."

Their blood ran cold; it was too late for them to escape now.

Anzu's hand flew to her mouth to try and suppress a whimper. How did Tony get into the building? Either someone had let him in, or... That night last week, when he brought her home. She must have told him the door code.

"What do we do now?" Yugi whispered.

"Pretend we're not here," she suggested weakly. She jumped when Tony hammered on the door again.

"Anzu! I know you're in there. C'mon, I only wanna talk, love." He appeared to be trying a slightly friendlier approach.

However, Anzu doubted he was being sincere and mouthed to Yugi to go and hide in the wardrobe. He shook his head. "We face this together."

She grimaced at him in frustration. Why wouldn't he do as she asked? "Window," she suddenly thought, running over to pull the curtains open, in a vague hope that there might be a drainpipe or a service ladder within reach for them to climb down. Grime and soot coated the outside of the window and it was hard to see much, but she could see enough to know that there was no way they could reach the fire escape from here without falling to their probable deaths.

She sighed in defeat.

Tony continued to bang on the door. Now he was starting to swear and make loud angry threats. There was only one thing for it.

Deciding to try and charm her way out, she called out. "Sorry Tony! I didn't hear you. I just got out of the shower." But she didn't open the door.

"You don't run out in the middle of a show. And you don't pick punters up and bring them home, you bitch. You belong to me. Now, open the door."

"Not until you calm down and listen. You know I would never pick up a punter. The guy I ran after is my brother. He was really upset when he saw it was me on stage. I need to sort things out before he tells our parents. So, can you please leave and let me deal with this. I will talk to you tomorrow, I promise."

Brother?! Yugi was impressed by her fast thinking.

"You lying whore," he hissed menacingly. "Open the door before I kick it down," he ordered.

"No!" She said firmly. "I'm tired and you're too angry to deal with this rationally right now. I will talk to you tomorrow."

"I know that guy ain't your brother. Marco said he's Yugi Mutou, the fucking Duel Monsters King. But I don't give a shit who he is, I'll still kill the bastard!"

"No! You're wrong." She was trying desperately not to let on how afraid she was right now.

"You belong to me! Fucking whore. If you don't open up, I'm gonna fucking kick the door down, you little slut!"

Hurt by all those hateful insults, Anzu jumped back and put her hands over her face in distress.

Yugi put his arms around her protectively. "How dare he call you those things," he snarled.

"Please don't say anything Yugi. You'll make it worse than it already is."

Yugi did not think it could not get much worse.

Tony was now trying to kick the door down, in what could probably be described as a drug fuelled rage, while continuing to make nasty threats.

Thankfully, the door was pretty solid and it was holding firm, for now.

It took courage to get close to the door, but Anzu somehow managed to put the bolt and chain across for added precaution, but there was no certainty that it would hold before help arrived.

"If you don't leave, I'm calling the police!" Her jaw was starting to tremble so much she could hardly speak. Her hands were also trembling and she was fumbling to even get the key pad up on her phone..

Used to facing threats of death during past duels, and not to mention while being bullied, Yugi was much calmer. He already had his own phone out ready.

But before either of them had chance to ring 911, another voice joined the shouting. "Some people are trying to sleep jerk wad! So take your fucking domestic elsewhere."

Anzu thought she recognised the voice as her neighbour from the apartment opposite. He was polite enough towards her, but she was pretty sure he had served time for burglary and assault. He had also been involved in an argument with a couple from the apartment next door and by their accounts he was a nasty piece of work.

"Fuck off prick! Mind your own business," they heard Tony say to the neighbour.

"What did you just say, ass-hole?"

"I told you to fuck off and mind your own business, dick head."

"Oh, god! They're gonna kill each other." Anzu somehow pulled herself together enough to call the police.

Before the operator even answered, a fight was already starting in the corridor outside.

A woman started screaming at the men to stop fighting, and then there was a single gunshot. The woman screamed again, this time in terror.

They heard a body thud against Anzu's front door, along with a pained groan, as whoever had been shot slid down the door to her apartment. Yugi and Anzu looked at each other, their expressions grim as the colour drained from their faces.

"Oh! My, god Drew... What the fuck have you done?!" The woman in the corridor yelled hysterically.

"It ain't my fault!" The man yelled back, his voice desperate. "He pulled a fucking gun! I was tryin' ta get it off him before he shot me!"

"Yeah, but you're already on bail. They'll send you back to prison, for sure."

"It was self defence! It went off! That could be me laying on the floor with a fucking bullet in my guts."

"Is he dead?" They heard the woman in the corridor ask.

"I ain't stickin' round ta find out," Drew snapped.

"You can't run or they will think you murdered him!"

Anzu tried not to panic as she explained to the operator that a man had just been shot. "I don't know," she said when the operator asked her if the man was still alive. She turned to Yugi. "What do we do? She wants to know where he's been shot and if he's alive. "

"You give them the address, I'll go and check." Without hesitation, Yugi opened the door.

A man and a woman were standing there arguing about who's fault it was and what they were going to do about it, while at his feet another man lay curled in a ball on the floor, bleeding from an entry wound in his stomach and a larger exit wound in his back.

The arguing couple turned and glared at Yugi as if he was a space alien, while another apartment door cracked open and someone peered out anxiously.

"Who are you?" Drew snapped at Yugi nastily. He was a big man with a shaved head and lots of tattoos on his bare chest, arms and knuckles. In Japan, tattoos were more likely to mean someone was a Yakuza gang member, so Yugi found it a little unnerving.

"It's okay, I'm not here to accuse you of anything," he said, holding his hands up. "I just came out to see if there's anything I can do to help, that's all."

The couple grunted at him but did not make any move towards him, so Yugi assessed the situation further. He was relieved to see the gun had landed a couple of feet away from Tony, and that he looked in no condition to try and reach for it.

Even though Tony had made nasty threats, Yugi could not stand there and do nothing so he crouched down to see if there was anything he could do to help. "Can you hear me? I'm.. erm.. I'm gonna check your wound, okay?" Tony was shuddering, but there was no real reaction to Yugi's presence.

However, he jumped back when Tony started writhing in agony and making pitiful groaning sounds. Yugi even thought he heard Tony telling him to 'go fuck himself.'

Meanwhile, Anzu peered out. "How bad is it Yugi?"

He looked at her and shrugged. "I dunno. He won't let me near, but it looks bad. The bullet went right through."

Anzu relayed the information to the operator. "An ambulance and the police are on their way," she said, finishing the call.

Someone else came out of their apartment with an old, threadbare towel, and offered it to Yugi. Thanking them, he tried again to help. This time, Tony was too far gone to try and protest, so Yugi pressed the towel over the wound in his back, as firmly as he dare, in an effort to help stem the worst of the bleeding.

Meanwhile, the neighbour involved in the fight had run back into his apartment to pack some belongings so that he could make a run for it. His girlfriend continued to try and convince him that running was a stupid thing to do, because he had nowhere to run too.

They heard sirens approaching.

The neighbour came running back out of his apartment with a carrier bag full of clothes in his hand.

"Shit! I don't want the cops!" He rounded on Anzu, pointing a finger at her. "This is your fault! He was hammering on your door. I don't wanna go back to jail. You tell em I was trying to protect you. He pulled a gun but when I tried to disarm him it went off by mistake."

"I didn't see what happened." Anzu looked at him. "But I do know that Tony carries a gun like that one." She pointed to the gun still laying on the floor. "I can only guess that it went off in the scuffle. Did you touch the gun?"

"I don't fucking know! I don't think so. It was in his hand. I grabbed his wrist. He was twisting about." Snarling, he went for the fire escape, only to find it was locked. He cursed. So much for meeting fire safety regulations!

Horrified at the knowledge that the fire door had been locked all along, Anzu went to meet the paramedics and police. Quite a few people had heard the commotion and had out of their apartments to see what was happening and someone had already let them in.

The landlord staggered out, beer bottle in hand, demanding to know who had called the police. Anzu ignored him and told the Paramedics and four armed police officers where the injured man was.

The police went first. Anzu and the medics followed.

Before she could explain the events leading up to the shooting, the police officers handcuffed Anzu's neighbour. He was known to them for previous violent offences and they were taking no chances. As far as they were concerned he was their number one suspect.

He was dragged away, all the time protesting his innocence.

Meanwhile, Yugi moved away from the so called 'victim' on the floor to let the medics do their work. The few inquisitive people who had gathered in the hallway watched on as they tried to stabilise the casualty before rushing him off to hospital.

"Show is over people," one of the police officers said, ushering the other residents back into their homes. None of them wanted trouble and scurried back to their apartments.

Yugi and Anzu looked at each other. "You okay?" He asked, solemnly.

Anzu shuddered. "I can't believe it has ended like this, Yugi. I know he threatened us, but still... I hope they can save him." Just because he had been threatening, she could not bring herself to wish death on him.

Yugi was not too sure what to make of Anzu's involvement with her boss. The vicious, personal insults and the way he aimed them at her; he might be wrong, but he was under the impression Tony was more than just her boss.

He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Let's wait and see, huh? Sure the police will tell us." He was no expert, but he had seen enough violent movies to know that the bullet wound was bad, and judging by the look on the paramedics faces, he was certain Tony's odds were not good. "Let's get back inside. I need to wash this blood off my hands." He was not the squeamish type, it still made him feel gross.

"Oh, Yugi.. Your shirt is ruined." She had done a fair bit of damage by smearing make-up and tear stains on his nice silk shirt, but the addition of blood on the sleeve had completely ruined it.

Just as they were going back inside, a police officer called out to them. "Hey! You two are key witnesses. We're gonna need to take statements from you."

"Oh! Yes. Okay officer," Anzu replied, trying not to sound sheepish and guilty. "We didn't really see much until after the gun went off. But we'll tell you what we can." It appeared they had no idea she was the reason Tony had come here in the first place. However, they would find out eventually and she wondered if she should say anything.

No. She would keep quiet for now; the last thing she wanted was for them to drag her and Yugi off to the police station for questioning.

"Good. Forensics will be here soon, in the meantime me and my colleague have to secure this area since it's now a crime scene. So I suggest the pair of you stay put in your apartment and wait. They'll probably send a detective over to talk to you in the morning, after they've interviewed your neighbour."

"Are they charging him with murder?" Anzu wondered whether she should speak up for Drew.

"Can't say Miss. Investigation is still ongoing. In the meantime, I suggest you both try and get some sleep." He turned away to talk to his colleague.

She chewed her lip. "Erm.. Excuse me?" She interrupted. "Do you know if..." She stopped her self just in time from saying Tony. "It's scary someone getting shot outside my apartment. Will he be okay?"

The officer's face twitched, possibly with suspicion – Anzu couldn't tell exactly – but he did not question her. "Hard to tell. But having seen people shot in the guts at close range, I doubt it."

His words made her shudder and Yugi decided to usher her inside quick. "Thank you officer. Good night," he said, glancing back over his shoulder.

He followed Anzu inside. Not wanting to put his bloodied hands on the door, he pushed it closed with his elbow. "I need to wash this off," he said, going straight for the kitchen sink.

"Oh, god, Yugi. What have I done?" She slumped against the kitchen counter. He paused scrubbing his hands and twisted slightly to look at her.

"You haven't done anything wrong Anzu. You mustn't blame yourself. It's not your fault he came here to start trouble."

"How can you be so calm? You're always calm."

"I've had a lot of practice," he snorted lightly, remembering all the things that could have driven him insane if it were not for Atem and the support of his friends.

"So have I," she said bitterly. "But even being used as a mind puppet hasn't prepared me for this!"

He took his shirt off, revealing a white muscle shirt underneath, covering his slim, nicely toned body. "What should I do with this?" He held his ruined shirt up.

"I'll put it into soak in some detergent. You never know, it might get the stains out." Her gaze lingered on his nice physique. "Will you be warm enough? I have an oversized hooded top that might fit you."

"Thanks," he said, drying his hands. They were sore from scrubbing, so Anzu gave him some lotion to put on.

"I don't know if I can sleep," she said, sighing. "I might make some hot chocolate. Do you want some?"

"No. I think I'll try and sleep. I'm supposed to be at work by ten tomorrow." He checked the time, It was nearly one o'clock in the morning already. He looked around awkwardly. "I guess I'll sleep on the sofa then." He rubbed his hands on his thighs.

"Don't be daft. You'll end up with a stiff neck if you try and sleep on that. You can sleep in my bed."

"Right.. Thanks.. Where will you sleep?" He shifted his feet awkwardly.

"It's a double so it's plenty big enough for both of us. Be like old times but without the..." She cringed and shut her mouth when a hopeful look appeared on his face.

"I wasn't thinking..." he blushed. "I'll use the bathroom first then, and.. I don't suppose you have a spare toothbrush I could use, do you?"

"Oh! Yes, I think there's a pack of cheap ones in the bathroom cabinet. There's some mouthwash and floss too if you need it."

Thanking her, he padded to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Anzu decided she could not be bothered to make hit chocolate and had a glass of milk instead, which she gulped straight down before going into the bedroom to remove her make-up.

She nearly shrieked at her reflection. She looked awful; with puffy red eyes, mascara and eye-shadow smeared into her thick foundation and blusher. And one of her false eyelashes was coming off – she thought it had felt strange. She decided to remove them both.

Yugi returned, having washed and brushed his teeth. He grimaced when he saw the eyelashes in her hand. "I'm glad you've taken those things off, you look much prettier without them. They looked like giant spiders on your eyes," he said in a way that was half joking and half serious, but in truth, he hated them.

"Yeah, well the spiders are going in the bin," she said, ceremoniously discarding them. "Good riddance spiders. Did you find a toothbrush Yugi?"

He nodded. "I did, thanks." He made a gesture towards the bed. "Which side do you want me to take?"

"That side," she said, pointing to the left hand side. "But I tend to sprawl myself out, so be warned, I might end up on top of you." Even before she finished saying it, she realised how that sounded. Her face flushed, but luckily it was already pink from rubbing her make-up off so she hoped he would not notice. He did.

He was blushing, but also had a naughty smirk on his face. "I look forward to it," he said, cheekily.

"I didn't mean.. Doh," she tutted, "you're worse than Jonouchi." She grabbed one of the pillows and threw it at him. "Here, you use this one. I'm just going to do my teeth and wash the rest of this make-up off."

Smiling, he caught the pillow and hugged it against his chest as he watched her leave the room. They still had some things to sort out, and he was sure the police interview in the morning might be rough for her, but in the little exchanges between them just now he saw some of the feisty girl he once knew.

He would play it safe tonight, but was hopeful that there might still be some hope for them to re-kindle their romance in the near future.

Well, that's Tony dealt with. Hopefully Yugi and Anzu can now resolve their differences.

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