Chapter 20

Mission: Impossible Rescue

The beaming, blindingly white smile of the fitness instructor flashed as he flung his arms around like a loon on the TV. He proceeded to do a jump and twirl, then bent the knees and did the boogie, all the while squealing in what the producers obviously thought was an 'encouraging'—but only served to deafen sane beings—tone, "and to the left! And right! And left then twwwirrrlll! Yes! Do the boogie! Uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh! Do this everyday and in no time you'll get the hottest body alive! And GO! Ratata bomp bomp bomp and bend the knees and JUMP!"

But, honestly, at least said fitness instructor had six-pack abs and buff arms, whereas the person who bought the exercise video was a… uhm… fat… overweight… 1200 lbs. man in his middle thirties with a tummy big enough that a midget, when thrust under its unfortunate shade, would think there was an eclipse of the sun.

Eggy danced and danced inside his unit at the posh five-star hotel where he was currently staying, sweat beading down his forehead and his ill-fitting 'work-out' clothes squeezing his body into a sausage. Twirl! Boogie! Yeah, baby! My humps, my humps, my lovely little lumps…

It wasn't that Eggy thinks he was fat. Its just that his body mass had been exceeding that of an ordinary human being with an ordinary height and booming into that which a 10 ft. giant should have. (i.e, he was getting fat, but refused to admit it).

And besides, 2 more years to go and he, Eggy thought smugly, would be a helluva lot sexier than Brad Pitt.

He braced himself for another jump-kick when a loud knocking—no, banging jerked him out of his concentration.

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG! BANG! BANG! BANGBANG--!

"WHAT!" Eggy growled irritably when he yanked the door open.

At first glance, he thought he saw Wolverine. Upon looking closer, he was shocked to see Li Xiao Lang, hair disheveled, eyes wide with panic then narrowed when he saw Eggy. After a sweeping glance around the unit, he barged right in and started practically dismantling the place in an effort to find… something.

Eggy pursued his lips in annoyance, turning off the DVD and following Li to the bedroom. "Really, what did you do to your poor mother this time? Turned Ms. Okinawa into a poodle and gave your mother a heart attack?"

Li ignored him and started raiding the closet. " Sakura, are you in here?" he suddenly yelled. "OI, CHIPMUNK!"

Huffing, Eggy tapped him on the shoulder. When Li turned to face him, he snapped, "Oh, for heaven's sake, Xiao-Lang, what do you think? That I kidnapped Ms. Kinomoto in an effort to force her into a propriety lesson?"

The younger boy tensed when he saw the sincere puzzlement on the man's face.

When Eggy saw the change and felt the temperature dropping, a wave of dread engulfed him. "Xiao-Lang, is something wrong?"

The heir gave a mirthless snort. "Oh, hell, everything is wrong!" He glared at the ceiling. "She was supposed to be home about 6 hours ago and it's already 9 bloody pm! So I went back to school about 2 hours ago and started checking every nook and cranny. Even the FOOTBALL FIELD! I checked the gym, the shooting range, everywhere! This is where I'm suppose to find her!" he hollered to no one. "I was supposed to find her in you clutches with you probably with your assistants and doing a forced makeover on her and ignoring her shouts of 'bloody murder'! Then, I'll do a Hercules and rescue her from your clutches and have dinner at the nearest Italianni's I can find!"

Li took a deep breath as silence loomed over them.

Eggy finally had the courage to speak. "You don't think--?"

Li looked at him grimly, his face visibly paling.

But even with the absence of communication, they knew.

Eggy tried to prove his thoughts wrong. "Are you certain you've looked everywhere? Even the girls' locker room? The side pathway leading to the school's exit found near the fountain?"

"Yes, I've braved The Forbidden Room and… and… wait, oh crap."

Eggy gave him a stern glare. "Look for her, Li Xiao-Lang." With that, he left the room.

Li stood there 5 seconds after Eggy left and, with a jerk back to reality (from assassination attempts to a certain greasy-haired pig), he tore out of the room, grabbing his cell and jamming the numbers.

OoOoO

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad…" Eriol chanted over and over again, as he tromped inside the school grounds in search of where Li said he was.

The clock tower showed 9:30 pm. Tick Tock…

"Can you shut it?" Tomoyo snapped irritably at him through the phone. "Why do you even insist that I keep a phone conversation with you, anyway?"

Eriol huffed as he cradled the cellphone with his hands while searching for Li, "because I happen to WANT to talk to somebody instead of being all alone in here! Do you realize that this place is rather freaky, what with the 10 or so statues and fountains?"

"I could be doing something more productive!" Tomoyo ranted, but cannot put the phone down because Eriol blackmailed her. "I could be calling anyone who was with Sakura then or calling up the faculty or—"

"That's right, Tomoyo dearest. Keep talking. It's nice to hear your dulcet tones in the middle of a dark pa—oohh, LI! There you are!"

Tomoyo perked up. "He's there?"

"Well, duh, why'd I say 'Li! There you are!' if he wasn't? Hello? HELLO? Damn, she hung up on me!" Eriol muttered as he jogged to where Li was, waving at him with a serious expression on his face.

"Hey," he said once he reached the heir. "What have you got?"

Li turned to him and asked, "Eriol, have you tried calling Sakura up on her cell?"

He blinked at him. "Tomoyo was the one who did. She must've called her about 20 times before giving up. Why?"

He sat on the bench beside a large tree and said in a queasy voice,

"can you—can you call up Sakura on her cellphone one more time?"

"Well, sure… I guess… but why—?"

"Please," Li repeated firmly.

Eriol complied and called. At first there was no sound, but 15 seconds later a loud hiphop song echoed around the surroundings. Eriol blinked and tried to find where it came from. Li was quiet, then tugged on his friend's shirt sleeve. "It came from this," he said quietly.

His blue eyes widened when Li pulled out a sleek black phone from his pocket, and he cursed when he saw what was on the screen: Calling… Eriol Hiri-whatsits…

As the screen lit up, it spread around the surface of the phone, and they clearly saw the dried spots of blood that coated the numbers 5, 6 and 7.

OoOoO

"Hello, Tomoyo, dear? Is that you?"

"Oh, hi, Michael! How's life? Any problems?"

"Oh, nothing at all. I was just wondering, have you perchance seen Sakura Kinomoto? The girl failed to show up for her noon lessons."

"Well… to tell you the truth, Michael, we don't know where she is! Li is positively panicked. Eriol and he went out to where they suspect she was last."

"Do you—all of you—think that something may have happened?"

"We're holding out on something like getting drunk and going over to Yamazaki's house but—oh no."

"Tomoyo?"

"Darn it."

"Is something wrong?"

"Aw, bummer."

"Dear, are you all right?"

"SHIT!"

"Ms. Daidouji!"

"The two just returned. They found Sakura's cell… stained with blood."

"Aw, bugger."

"Yeah."

OoOo

Meiling Li was straightening her red dress as she sat on the living room of the Chien household. Outwardly, she was the perfect epitome of coolness, her posture straight, ebony hair swept to a bun and keeping eye contact with the one she was speaking with, namely, Tomas Chien, the master of the house.

Inside, she was downright nervous and even a little freaked.

Her mother, being CEO of a big business, have dealings with almost every company that she was interested in. The Chien Corp. was part of it. It was pretty cool when her mother approached her and asked if she can pick up a few documents at Tomas Chien's house and receive it directly from the master himself. Meiling, who would someday surely take over the company, was excited since she'd be talking with one of The Big Ones.

But upon meeting said hotshot, all she wanted to do was get away,

There was just something about the guy that made her recoil in both disgust and… well… uneasiness. Maybe it was the way his hair was so greasy it could give anyone a heart attack, or maybe it was because he had an ego the size of Jupiter, or maybe it was the way his eyes wander all over her, or maybe it was just because his whole persona was downright distasteful. Right.

Clearing her thoughts, she said formally, a fake smile on her face, "Well, it was nice meeting you and I would like to thank in behalf of my mother for giving us the documents she needed."

Tomas' thin lips curled. "It was a pleasure." In the middle of ordering a maid to escort her out, Meiling heard his cellphone rang, and she watched with curiousity the way his face turned into gloating pleasure then to a cautious expression. She didn't have time to think about that though, because all she wanted was to get out… by herself.

Just as she found an exit on the side and was finally out of house through the sidedoor, she caught a glimpse of the massive driveway leading to the front entrance. Stopping behind a clump of bushes and two apple trees, she watched as the luxury car she saw upon entering the house was led away… and under it was a very familiar, very dirty black Nike cap… with the unmistakable 'S.K.' stitched using thick and glaring white threads on the side.

Her heart started speeding up. She ran towards the gate, out of the property and into her car. After she was a good distance away from the house, she picked up her cellphone and with her chest clenching with dread, she dialed Li's phone.

OoOo

"Okay, so we are all 100 percent sure that her sleazebag brother abducted her to either get revenge or to… yeah, you know what I mean," Eriol recited, pacing the room with his hands clasped behind his back. "Which means that it has been approximately 9 and a half hours since he did, drove away in a luxury car and headed to god-knows-where."

"Yes!" Li snarled. "With that, let us now march over to the bastard's nest and throw him into the ocean!" He was also pacing around the room, only in a more agitated and furious manner, cracking his knuckled threateningly.

"But where exactly?" Tomoyo argued. "This is not a spy movie, Li where each character has a tracking device shoved up his ass!" Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked at her two friends and asked, "does anyone know where they live?"

Silence.

Li groaned and collapsed on the floor. "Aw, heck."

Eriol snatched a blue folder from the desk and skimmed it. "Can't we just consult the directory or something? Then, we can call the police and ask them to follow us so they can arres—"

"They can't," Li said, his voice muffled by his hands. "The family's really secretive, addresses and phone numbers unlisted and everything. Paranoid wankers… and NO involving the police!"

His bespectacled friend asked, dreading the answer, "why not?"

"Because Chien has a few close connections with people at high positions. I can't risk him knowing the, say, Chief of Police here and getting away again. We have to do this alone."

Tomoyo sighed. "This is not good," she muttered, just as the phone started ringing. Grumbling, she picked it up, avoiding Li's sprawled form on the carpet. "Hello?" she asked politely.

Eriol watched Tomoyo converse on the phone. With growing interest, he sat down on the floor and bonked Li on the head. Cutting of his friend's death threats as he sat up, Eriol pointed at Tomoyo's face, which was now depicting a fast-changing series of emotions.

It first became pleasant, then worried, then surprised, then joyful, then excited. Finally, after whispering a cheerfully whispered good-bye to the caller (the 2 didn't understand Girl Language) and putting the phone down, she turned to the boys with a now smug expression on her face.

"What?" Li asked, blinking.

"Who says we don't know where Chien lives?" Tomoyo asked, smirking.

Eriol brightened. "We do?"

"We do now."

"FROM WHO?"

"Meiling," Tomoyo said simply. Seeing Li's expression, she elaborated. "She was there five minutes ago, running an errand for her mum. And guess what?" she said, her smirk turning into a frown. "She saw Sakura's Nike cap."

Li's head whipped up from its bowed position. "Was she absolutely sure?"

Tomoyo nodded. "Positive."

Eriol stared at her intently, his face turning into grim determination. "You know what this means, right? Tomoyo, you memorized the address?"

"Yep. I can give it to you word for word."

Li stood up and cracked his knuckles, a truly feral grin on his face. "Oh, yeah. Guys, I think it's time we pay ol' daddy dearest a visit."

OOOOOo

After landing on 5 different condominiums, 3 hotels and a granny's house, Eggy barged into the room of his twin brother at the SAME HOTEL where he was staying (only 3 floors below, much to his irritation) and into the bedroom where his evil counterpart was currently snoring his head off.

"RISE AND SHINE BROTHER DEAR!" he said loudly, hoisting up the pan and wooden spoon he got from the kitchen and banging it together as loud as he could, torn between smugness and irritation.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BOOOM BOOM BOOM!

Unsurprisingly, Fatty's answer was merely putting his pillow over his head, burrowing under the covers even more and flipping him the bird.

Eggy's eye twitched and he banged even louder. "RAPHAEL CORDOVA, GET YOUR GLUTEAUS MAXIMUS OUT OF THAT BED OR I'LL—!"

"Go to hell," was the only grunted reply he got.

Rubbing his hands together, he threw the covers off his brother, grabbed both his ankles, braced himself ("Suit yourself," he muttered) and pulled. Immediately, as though expecting it, Fatty's hands shot out and clasped firmly on the bed posts, causing his body to lift and hover 5 inches above the bed (though his gut was still on the bed). Fatty growled, his eyes still shut, "no freaking way, egghead, I am dead wasted and have absolutely no capacity to have a pedicure from your ungodly—"

"Sakura is in trouble, you imbecile!" Eggy puffed, digging his heels on the carpet, his face reddening as he kept on pulling his brother, who stubbornly held on the bed for dear life.

The Tug of War of the Century continued.

"Sachuya what? Aw crap, you came to wake me up from my manly sleep to tell me that someone was blind enough to go out with you—"

"No, you—agh! Sakura Kinomoto! MY CLIENT! THE MANLY GIRL FROM SOMEWHERE AND HOPEFULLY-WIFE OF XI-!"

BOOM! (sound of butt meeting floor with terrifying impact)

He was cut off from his rants when Fatty suddenly let go, causing the balance to break and him landing on the floor butt first, the floor shuddering. When he finally cleared his vision, Fatty was peering intently at him from the bed and asked, "Sakura Kinomoto? In trouble? How so?"

Standing up and gathering up what was left of his grace, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared. "Yes, as in the auburn-haired senior who is my latest client! She… disappeared."

Fatty looked at him and asked suspiciously, "how would you know?"

Eggy rolled his eyes, hands on his hips. "Because, you dunderheaded dufus, Xiao-Lang came barging into my aerobics session and attempted to destroy my abode, claiming that Sakura disappeared 9 HOURS AGO. I waited for confirmation and I got one, from Tomoyo. I repeat, 9 HOURS AGO, Sakura disappeared. That, brother, is simply too wrong to consider normal."

"Eh?"

"BECAUSE," Eggy said loudly. "Sakura Kinomoto is a bottomless pit! She cannot go on for 9 hours with absolutely no Hershey bar or hamburger at her side. She has no money, see, so can't go buy food. It must mean that she disappeared! I am now asking your—where are you going?" he abruptly demanded when he saw Fatty running around the room, haphazardly getting himself dressed into sweatpants and a shirt.

Fatty paused and rolled his eyes. "To help you, idiot."

"Really, now. I was only asking if I may borrow your car—"

Fatty shook his head. "And leave the saving thing to you? NO WAY! I am not letting the life of the woman who is a potential wife of the Li heir, who was the first to ever make you prematurely age and who will bear 10 children for me to influence and sic on you in your hands! Now, COME ON!"

With that, a shouting and indignant protesting Eggy was half-dragged, half-pulled unceremoniously towards the door and out of the condo by his twin brother.