"I'm sorry, what did you just say to me?" Vincent Pierce-Montgomery asks, his ice-blue eyes narrowed dangerously.
"The captive escaped?" Jackal offers hopefully, his heart beating like a jackhammer.
"Yes, that. That thing you just said to me - how, exactly, did that happen?" The American asks, moving towards the other man in a way that could only be described as threatening.
"He tricked me?"
"And how, exactly, did he do that?"
The nervous hacker gulps, trying to think of a scenario in his head that sounds less pathetic than the one that actually happened. In reality, he doesn't really have an excuse - the captive getting away was entirely his fault, he's just too afraid to admit it. "I mean, he, uh… he promised some things."
"Like?"
"Well, uh…" He tries to ignore the pain in his groin.
That's when Vincent realizes what the other man is trying to say, letting out one of the most obnoxious cackles Jackal has ever heard. "Oh God… don't tell me you thought he wanted to fuck you?"
"He was very convincing!"
"Of course he was, he got into your head! And you let him!"
"I don't see how it's that funny!"
"It's funny, because from what I've seen of him so far, he probably hated every minute of it… and you still bought it! Though, the way he acted when you were telling me about the texts you'd sent him - that is the Izaya Orihara I want to see more of." Vincent says, his expression changing from one of annoyance to one of glee. The informant was good at hiding his emotions most of the time, but he's learned that there are certain… buttons... that, if pressed, seem able to set him off in ways nothing else could - and those were, of course, the exact buttons Vincent wanted to press the most. "I wonder what it is about Heiwajima that excites him so much?"
"I mean, if he's a masochist, I imagine that Heiwajima's monstrous, inhuman strength might contribute to it." Jackal remarks, almost sarcastically.
"I met Heiwajima. I was not impressed." Vincent replies, inspecting his perfectly manicured nails. "He's strong physically, yes… but mentally? He has the self-control of a rabid wolverine."
"You know, most people would find that metaphor terrifying."
"I am not most people." Vincent responds haughtily.
"Yeah, I'm starting to realize that." The Japanese man states flatly. He'd been expecting Vincent to be just another easy mark, a spoiled rich kid biting off more than he could chew… but it's becoming more and more obvious to him that his employer is on a whole other level. He'd probably be impressed, if he wasn't so terrified of him.
"Walk me through what happened, Jackal." The CEO orders. "Paint this picture for me. I want to understand exactly how our captive managed to get away, no details spared."
"Okay. So. What happened was…"
"Are you done relaxing yet?" Shizuo calls through his bathroom door, never having been good at dealing with impatience. He can hear an exasperated sigh from the other side, but chooses to ignore it - he'd actually felt scared for the little shit, and for what? For him to just saunter back, none the worse for wear?
Except he is the worse for wear. The bloody footprints on your floor are proof enough of that.
"Could you perhaps give me one, maybe two more minutes, Shizu-chan?" The other man calls back, something in the brunette's voice nagging at the restless blonde.
He's hiding something.
A tug on one of his belt-loops draws his attention, Magnolia looking up at him with an expression that he hopes means not to worry. Sighing, he goes back over to the futon and plops down on it.
Why am I getting so worked up, anyway? It's not like I actually like the little bastard, or anything…
That's what he tells himself, at least, but even he knows it's bullshit. He just doesn't want to admit it.
When the informant does finally come back out, Shizuo is secretly disappointed to discover that he's put back on his normal clothes. Not sure what else he should have expected when there's three other people in the room (one of them being a literal child), he swallows back the intense urge to reach out and touch him.
I shouldn't have gone into the bathroom last night. Now that I've had a taste of him…
...he doesn't think he'll be able to go back to living without him.
Which just makes it even more important for me to not fucking mess up again!
"Alright, so. I was going to tell you how I managed to escape, wasn't I?"
"Yes, you were." Shinra responds, feeling almost as impatient as Shizuo. He'd come over because he'd thought a friend was in trouble (and also because Shizuo is not the type of person you say no to), but then that friend turned out to be just fine on his own and the fact that he could be spending this time dreaming of an exotic, sensual getaway with Celty instead of sharing a cheap and extremely uncomfortable futon (seriously, remind him to buy Shizuo a new one for his birthday/Christmas/a peace offering/whichever comes first) with a mysterious yet fascinating - and if he's being honest, a tad terrifying - little psychic girl.
"Alright. So. My escape."
"Yes."
"It, uh…."
It's obvious to everyone in the room that the informant seems hesitant to continue, but only one person has any clue as to why. Slowly getting up from her seat on the futon, Magnolia walks over to Izaya and tugs on his sleeve to get his attention. 'It's okay. They won't judge you for it.'
'Please stop reading my mind, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable.'
'I'm sorry… I can't help it.'
'Why not?'
'I don't know. You're the only one I have this problem with.'
'Wait, really?'
'Yes. Mind-reading is something even he isn't good at.'
Izaya thinks back to when he'd been trying to listen to Sumiye's phone call and had ended up hearing more than he'd been meant to. He hadn't been trying to read anyone's mind, but… how else had he been able to listen in like that?
When you say 'him', I assume you mean Vincent?
Yes... I hate him.
Honestly? Me too.
"Um… Izaya?"
"Hmm?"
"You were about to start talking about your escape?"
Realizing that no one else is even aware of the conversation he's been having with his young friend, Izaya takes a breath and pushes all of his unwanted thoughts as far back as he can. "Ah, yes. My escape." He echoes, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "That. Let's see, here. Where shall I begin…"
And how do I explain it without telling them more than I'm comfortable with them knowing?
"So is this an expression of your twisted psyche, or can you not get off any other way?"
"What answer would get you hotter?"
"Neither. In fact, I think I just felt my testicles retract." Izaya responds. He's not normally the vulgar type, but vulgarity seems to be Jackal's weapon of choice and he does not like appearing unarmed.
"Oh, come on. Don't pretend you're not into this degradation shit - I heard the way you let that freak talk to you."
Izaya's not sure why the other man's words upset him that much, but they do. "That freak is more of a man than you'll ever be." He spits, his eyes narrowing.
Men like this always care more about their masculinity than they do their common sense. It won't take much to get him to make a mistake.
"Excuse me?" Jackal scoffs, his tone betraying how insulted he's currently feeling.
Called it.
"Oh, I'm sorry… did I hurt your feelings~?" Izaya asks, his voice dripping with false innocence.
Good! Go to hell, you disgusting piece of shit!
"Hahaha, no. I'm not sure I have any feelings left to hurt."
"Oh. That's unfortunate."
"Oh?"
"If you heard me with the beast, than you'd know that I'm not exactly opposed to the idea of a little… rough-housing... and I'd be lying if I said this situation wasn't making me a bit… excited." The informant says, trying not to grit his teeth too hard. "But if you don't have feelings, than I'd assume you wouldn't be interested..."
"Are you flirting with me, Orihara?" Jackal asks, grinning,
"I will neither confirm nor deny that allegation." Izaya responds.
Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it…
"Well, in that case…" Jackal leers and saunters over to the smaller man, his libido beating out his common sense. "How about you show me just what you-"
WHAM!
The moment his captor gets within range, Izaya headbutts him as hard as he can, letting out a sigh of relief when he crumples to the ground. He has no idea how long it will be before Vincent comes back, or what he plans to do with him… but he does know that it's nothing good, and he is far too stubborn to give up without a fight.
Come on, come on, come on, please work…
He concentrates on his wrist bindings with all his might, bringing all of his feelings of humiliation and rage to the forefront of his mind. He has no idea if what he's trying is even possible, especially considering he still hasn't fully processed the fact that he's apparently fucking psychic... but he can't afford to not try.
"Nng…" Jackal groans and stirs, prompting his heart to start beating triple-time.
Please, please, please, please…
And then the rope tied around his wrists drops to the ground, telling the informant that his desperate attempt to blindly use his newfound abilities to somehow psychically untie his bindings had actually managed to work.
I take it back. I now absolutely believe in miracles.
He unties his ankles, then goes over to his captor's immobile body. Jackal doesn't look like he's going to get up anytime soon, but everything that's happened over the past few days has shown Izaya that even he is capable of being proven wrong... so instead of taking his chances, he instead decides to remove Jackal's belt from his pants and use it to bind his wrists together.
It won't stop him forever, but it will at least slow him down… I hope.
He takes a few minutes to remove Jackal's steel-toed combat boots and try them on, nervously glancing back at him every time he hears so much as a rustle. He has no desire to travel who knows how far on his bare feet alone - but, unfortunately for him, the unconscious man's shoes are way too big for him to even consider trying to wear them. He sighs and pauses for a moment, about to drop the pair of heavy shoes on the ground before a sudden burst of anger causes him to change his mind.
I hope you're sore for weeks after this. He thinks to himself, right before letting the (still heavy) pair of steel-toed combat boots fall directly onto his passed out kidnapper's lap. Taking a second to relish in the grunt of pain Jackal lets out, he steps over his body and heads out the door.