Protector. Ch. 5

A/N: Check it out yo~! I got a new story idea so I'm gonna quickly wrap this one up and post a few chapters of Lost so I can get caught up. It's another GerIta but I'm gonna start writing some others like PruHun and Spamano and some America stuff. Still taking requests and fanart! Ok, byezzzz!

Disclaimer: Hikari does not own or claim to own Hetalia.

Ludwig personally selected Feliciano's guards himself.

He didn't want to take any chances of his little Italian getting hurt. He didn't trust anyone else to pick them out for him; he had to do it.

It still didn't comfort him.

He knew the killer was sneaky. He left a clean crime, only leaving behind the clues he wanted to be known. He was strong and stealthy, probably having a smaller body frame but strong muscles judging by the size of the print.

Ludwig's biggest fear was that the person would return to finish the job if he saw that Feliciano had seen what he had done. Ludwig began wondering who it could be that would target the mysterious Frenchman, Bella and Romano. If the Frenchman hadn't been been killed, Ludwig would have thought that it was to get to Romano or Bella but the fact that Francis was dead made him rethink.

What if it had been Antonio that had killed Francis and Bella and now kidnapped Romano? Ludwig doubted it. Antonio adored Romano; he could never hurt his fiery lover, even if Romano cheated on him. Besides that, Antonio lived in Italy. It would cost a lot of time and money to come to America just to kill a few people.

So, not completely ruled put, Ludwig didn't know what to do. He hadn't yet searched his apartment for clues so something might come up. He just hoped that something helpful might be found to help him develop a suspect. At this point, no one was innocent.

Ludwig sat Feliciano down in the kitchen and gave him a snack (The Italian whined that it wasn't pasta) before going to search the apartment, mainly his room where Romano had been sleeping. Some other detectives, including Kiku, were searching the room still. It bothered Ludwig slightly that they were going through his and Feliciano's personal life. He didn't like being so open.

"Ludwig-san," Kiku called. He handed a clear bag to Ludwig. When the German saw it, his heart beat accelerated. Inside was a simple card with the numbers '31223114' printed on it. Ludwig stared at the paper for a while, his brain churning ideas over in his head.

"Anything else found?" Ludwig asked, not looking up from the paper. He had grown to hate it. Just looking at it reminded him of the death he hadn't yet avenged and the death that might possibly occur if he isn't able to stop it.

He knew the numbers must mean something. The killer was leaving them purposely. The more that Ludwig stared at them, the harder it became. The numbers drifted out of place, bouncing in his vision and twisting and turning like a wild horse a rancher was trying to back (alternative term used for 'breaking' or as some prefer, 'gentling' of a horse.)

"Nothing else has been found." Kiki reported, "No body, no blood. Nothing."

"So Romano isn't dead?" Ludwig double checked hopefully. He tore his eyes away from the bouncing numbers, his heart starting to pound with a head ache.

"Most likely not unless he was strangled. Judging on this person's pattern, he seems to prefer using a knife. I think strangling is something he wouldn't do." Kiki said.

"And kidnapping wouldn't?" Ludwig asked.

Kiki sighed in response, "Honestly, I don't know Ludwig. Our only hope is possibly to figure out what this card means or to catch him, hopefully before anyone else is harmed." Kiki said.

Ludwig sighed, "Do you think he'd go after Feliciano?" He asked.

Kiki looked sympathetic. "I cannot lie to you to make you feel better. Yes, I believe if he saw Feliciano-chan while he was dragging Romano-san out the window then I do believe he will come back. I think it is wise of you to have guards assigned to him."

"I hope they're enough. This killer needs to get caught as soon as possible and Romano needs to be found." Ludwig said, his deep voice monotone with worry.

Kiku smiled sympathetically, "Worrying will get you nowhere. Just concentrate like you always do. You can't rush some things so just be patient. Everything will work out fine."

Ludwig couldn't force himself to smile but he did appreciate the kind words of advice, "Danke, Kiku." he said quietly.

~*~*~

(Time skip)

After everyone finished investigating, Ludwig stayed behind with Kiku and the men he had chosen to be Feliciano's guards. He crouched in front of Feliciano who was sitting on a chair. For a few moments, they just stared into each other's eyes.

It was not a romantic gesture though. Ludwig was worried for Feliciano and Feliciano was scared for his brother. Ludwig took one of Feliciano's hands in his and squeezed it lightly.

"Feli, you'll be safe here. I'll find who took Romano and everything will go back to normal. No one else will be hurt besides the killer. Do not be afraid, mein liebe." Ludwig whispered softly. He was acutely aware of Kiku and the guards watching him. He needed to say it though. He couldn't stand to see Feliciano scared or sad.

Feliciano smiled though it didn't reach his brown eyes which hadn't closed since Romano had been kidnapped (obviously besides blinking). He squeezed Ludwig's hand in return. "I'll be fine; just, please, come home." he whispered.

Ludwig smiled softly, "I will always come home to you. No matter what happens, where ever you are, I will did you and come home to you." Ludwig said tenderly.

Feliciano's smile softened, his eyes softening. "I love you, Luddy." he whispered, almost asking Ludwig to tell him that he loved him.

Ludwig, not caring if the guards heard him or not, whispered back tenderly, "I love you too, my little Feli."

He quickly placed a tender kiss on Feliciano's soft, pink lips and stood up. He gave him one last affectionate look, his heart thumping loudly to see the look mirrored back at him. He forced himself to let go of Feliciano's hand. The Italian seemed to know he didn't want to leave for he smiled.

Ludwig thought about staying a little longer considering Feliciano was shaken up. He cared a lot for his older brother and he was constantly worried about him. Romano's kidnapping had shaken the ground beneath Feliciano's feet. If Ludwig left before he was ready, he might only make things worse.

Being so frightened, what Feliciano really needed was Ludwig to comfort him rather than leave. Though the only way he would really be calmed was if Romano was found and his kidnapper brought to justice. Unfortunately, only Ludwig could do both and he couldn't be in two places at once. He would have to go and hope that Feliciano can cope the best he could.

He bent down one last time and kissed his forehead, "I'll be back and I promise I will bring Romano back soon." he tenderly whispered.

Feliciano's eyes flickered up at him affectionately. Not trusting his voice to speak he just nodded. Ludwig turned away and left quickly. If he stayed any longer and saw how frightened and pitiful Feliciano looked he would probably change his mind and stay home.

Kiki joined up with Ludwig and the two partners hurried to the car. The sky was getting darker and a gentle breeze blew, whispering in the two men's ears.

As they drove down to the station, Ludwig examined the card, "Some of the numbers are the same and some change. Maybe it's a pattern!" Ludwig exclaimed. Kiki, not taking his eyes off the road, allowed a small smile.

"I think you might be right, Ludwig-san. Maybe we can crack it together. Whoever is leaving these clues must want us to know or figure out something." Kiki said.

Hope caused Ludwig's heart to thump against his rib cage. "Ja, I hope so. This guy seems pretty smart though. I don't think he'd make it too easy for us." Ludwig sighed. Nothing seemed to fit. The man left virtually no clues behind except for the one he purposely left behind. He must have had a motive to go to such extremes unless he was planning to become the next Jack the Ripper.

Now renewed with more determination they searched and retrieved the prior two cards and laid all three of them out on the table lining them up so they could compare the numbers. Careful eyes scanned over the white paper and neatly printed numbers.

11222114, the first card found at the scene with Francis Bonnefoy.

21223114, the second card from the murder of Bella.

31224114, the newest card left when Romano was kidnapped.

Blond eyebrows furrowed. A thick thumb pointed at the first numbers of each card. "Look, each of the cards first number increases with one and corresponds with the order of the crimes." Ludwig pointed out.

"Hai, you are correct, Ludwig-san." Kiku agreed. "Only two numbers change; the first number and the fifth number."

Ludwig narrowed his eyes and compared the difference between the two. "What could this guy be trying to tell us?" he thought aloud.

"What if it was telling us how many people he was planning to kill? Look at the beginning and ending numbers." Kiku pointed at both numbers of all the cards. "The first number might just be how many persons he's killed or kidnapped and the end number could be how many he is planning to kill."

"Ok. If that is it, then who would the last number be and why would it only be four. Obviously, this isn't random. Bella and Romano are connected too much but Francis throws in a wildcard." Ludwig wondered. He narrowed his eyes more in thought trying to think of what it could be.

"Is there anything Romano-san or Bella-san could have done to upset someone?" Kiku asked.

"Um." Ludwig thought, "Well Romano dumped his boyfriend to get together with Bella. I don't know anything about Bella…" Ludwig's voice drifted off. Both of them thought over the last sentence, wondering if the reason for all the death and kidnapping could be because of Romano breaking up with Antonio. Ludwig met Antonio though. He was head over heels in love with Romano but he wasn't a killer, or at least in Ludwig's eyes he wasn't.

"Could we get some information on Romano-san's old boyfriend?" Kiku asked curiously. He hadn't met Antonio and didn't know much about him so he wasn't biased about him.

Ludwig nodded, "He wouldn't be on the files here since he lives in Spain and Italy so the only thing we'd have on him is the information he has on his Facebook." Ludwig said regretfully. He could hear a clock ticking in his mind, counting down until the next murder might it be Romano's or someone else. Ludwig still found little comfort that Feliciano had a body guard. If the killer is as clean as he portrayed himself to be, he might be able to take down a few body guards and get to the Italian if he really wanted to.

"Hai, it's better than nothing." Kiku commented. Ludwig stood up as Kiku continued to analyze the cards. Ludwig went to the computer and logged onto his Facebook account. He did a quick search on Antonio. He had friended him after the Spaniard had sent him a request. Ludwig didn't get on his account much but when he did, his alerts were littered with posts of Antonio talking about his life with Romano.

Searching Antonio's account, Ludwig noticed that his last Wall post was on the day Romano dumped him. It read; "Never before have I felt so lonely and used. I hope you have a happy life with that whore, Lovi." No one had replied to it, too afraid of what the Spaniard might say. Ludwig did feel bad. If Feliciano had broken up with him the way Romano broke up with Antonio, he would hope that his few other friends and family would be there to comfort him.

The German searched through his pictures. Most of the older ones were of him with an irritated looking Romano. The newer pictures were of Antonio with no shirt, taking a picture of himself in front of a mirror. His facial expression clearly said 'I'm better off without you.' Ludwig however, could easily see how in pain he was. Ludwig couldn't even imagine how much pain he must be feeling to be dumped by the person he loved the most.

He didn't have enough substantial evidence to support that he would kill anyone or hurt Romano. He went back through his profile. He hadn't posted any new posts but a few of his friends commented, asking when he was getting out of America. Why would he be in America? That was the only post that would raise Ludwig's eyebrows.

"Hey Kiku?" he called. The Japanese man got up and joined him by the computer. He read over the post and narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Why would he be in America?" Kiku thought.

"I was wondering the same thing." Ludwig said, "Maybe he is responsible for this."

"I don't know. Do you really he could be responsible for killing Francis and Bella and kidnapping Romano?"

"He seems to really like Romano-san, maybe he could do it." Kiku commented. "We might be able to find out where he's staying and track him down."

"Bring him in for questioning…" Ludwig nodded.

"You want to call around hotels?" Kiku asked. Ludwig shrugged.

"Sure." Ludwig agreed. He started going through a list of hotel names for numbers. Just when he was about to pull out his cell phone to call the hotel numbers his phone started ringing. He sighed and answered, putting the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Ludwig? Oh please tell me this is Ludwig?" Ludwig was very surprised to hear a hysterical Antonio on the other end. He motioned to Kiku and put the phone on speaker.

"Yes Antonio, this is Ludwig. What's wrong?" he asked. He was so confused at all that was going on.

"I-I need your help! I came to New York to get Romano back but on the newspapers they were showing the two murders and now Romano's kidnapping." He cried. "I-I went to Feliciano's apartment and the door was open. Oh God, Ludwig, oh God!"

Ludwig's heart skipped a beat and his blood ran cold, "Antonio, go on." He told him, trying to keep his cool.

Antonio sucked in air, trying to calm himself down. "T-there were two police officers that were dead on the floor! Feliciano was gone but there was a card with a bunch of numbers as well as a note. Y-you've been the first person I've called." Antonio sobbed.

Ludwig's knees went weak. His stomach churned, threatening to spill his last meal on the ground. Kiku firmly put his hand on his shoulder, anchoring him to the floor. Kiku started speaking now.

"Antonio, this is Detective Kiku Honda. I am Ludwig's partner. Are you still in the apartment?" he asked.

"Y-yes!" Antonio exclaimed. "W-what's going to happen? Are they going to kill them?"

"I don't know. We're doing everything we can to stop them. What did the note say?" Kiku asked. Ludwig listened intently. His heart was thumping wildly in his chest. He couldn't believe something had happened to his Feli. He didn't know what he would do if he lost him. He felt so helpless. He couldn't protect him, he didn't know where he was, and he couldn't protect him. What if he really was killed? He couldn't lose Feliciano. He would take a bullet for him and do anything to save him if it meant he was ok.

"I-it said that if I didn't meet them in a warehouse then they would kill Lovi and Feli. I-It said not to tell the police or they would torture them." Antonio sobbed. "I don't want to be blamed for this. I love Lovi; I don't want him to hate me."

"Just calm down. Nothing's going to happen to them. We're going to get them out of there as soon as we can. Stay in the apartment; we'll be over there soon." Kiku calmly instructed him.

"O-ok." Antonio breathed. Kiku hung up and turned around.

"Let's go, Ludwig. We have a killer to catch." He said. "And you need to rescue Feliciano."

Ludwig's eyes narrowed in anger. How dare those people use his boyfriend to get to Antonio? How dare he kill all those innocent people and ruin those lives? His helplessness morphed to anger. It boiled deep within his stomach and making him restless. The anger flared in his eyes, his fingers tightening into a fist.

"Let's go get 'em." He growled.

A/N: CLIFF HANGER! One MAYBE two chapters left. Hope you like the plot twist. Please read and review!