Title: The Hollow Place
Fandom: Beyblade
Pairing: Tyson/Kai
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: shounen-ai, violence, blah. the usual.
Disclaimer: Beyblade and all associated terms, characters, etc. are not mine. lyrics are from Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel. no money is being made off this fic.
Length: 6 800
Note: woo this was written like six months ago but not posted due to internet trauma woo. sorry for the wait. and, um, if i sound like i have no experience at all with snow, it's probably because i have no experience at all with snow. also: I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO RUSSIA. I AM TOO LAZY EVEN TO GOOGLE A MAP OF MOSCOW. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT CRIME RINGS, EMBASSIES, PRESS CONFERENCES AND/OR HOW ONE HANDLES KIDNAPPING CASES. in short? i am making it all up. yay.
They began the day with complaints about the cold. Hilary woke up early on purpose, because she had experience with how to survive spending extended periods of time with a bunch of sports-mad teenage boys. She was already sitting on the sofa towelling her hair dry and yawning from jet-lag when the boys woke up and the battle for the en-suite bathroom began.
"Oh, my Lord, I think I have frostbite."
"H-h-hurry up in there, you g-g-guys, I'm f-f-freezing!"
"Even my tongue is cold. That cannot be normal."
"No! I am staying in this shower and I am never coming out! Never! Never!"
"If you don't get out then we're coming in with you!"
"Gaack! No! Hey, get out of here!"
"Warm water! Oh, hallelujah! Warmth! My source of power!"
"Woooooooohooooooooo!"
"I'M TRYING TO SHOWER, YOU PERVERTS!"
"It's barely even winter yet, you guys," Kenny said, nervously. He was ensconced in a corner of the bathroom and already had a chilblain on his nose, but was ignoring it valiantly. "It's gonna get a lot colder, I'm afraid."
"Well, since my baby left me, I've found a new place to dwell –"
"Quit singing, you idiot! And what do you're think you're DOING with that? THAT'S MY LOOFAH!"
Kai had commandeered Kenny's laptop, and was e-mailing everyone he knew in Russia. Most of them were people he hated vehemently and never wanted to see again, including his father's old lawyers and several businessmen who had invested in BioVolt. That was the first step in his plan. His second step was basically to hit every location in the city that could yield any information at all. His third step involved private detectives; his fourth step involved the Mafia. He really hoped that things wouldn't have to go that far.
At eight o' clock they left the hotel. Ray was taking charge, aided by input from Kenny and occasionally stopping to consult with Kai, who answered as shortly and clearly as possible. "We split up," Ray said, as they stood around shivering underneath a lamppost, watching the traffic roar by. It was snowing lightly, the flakes scattering over the pavements, piling up grey in the gutters. "Max and Hilary take everything in that direction. Daichi and me head the opposite way. Kenny and Kai, speak to the local police, then hit the Japanese embassy and see what they can do to help. Meet back here at twelve."
"What are we looking for?" Max asked.
"Anything," Ray said, glancing briefly at Kenny to confirm. "Look, best-case scenario? If we tell the Russian police what we know and get them involved – that's assuming they aren't already – then they'll be able to handle it. Mentioning the name BioVolt should help speed things up, because I'm pretty sure no one wants them back. But we're looking, too. Just – anything."
They split up as directed. Kai was still very tired, and the old familiar coldness of the grey streets only made things worse. In spring and summer Moscow was very beautiful, full of trees and colour and sunlight, but even in early winter it was deadly and frightening. He and Kenny did not speak as they walked through the morning city. The smell of snow and rust was on the air, and pigeons passed flurrying overhead, their wings smudging ragged against the empty white sky.
They headed for the closest police station, which Kenny had located via the Internet, and informed the officers there of the situation. Kai would dearly liked to have let Kenny do the talking, but Kenny didn't speak Russian; and besides, he still felt as though this were his responsibility, that he had to do whatever he could to get Tyson back, even if it was only telling a tired sergeant at the end of his shift something that, it turned out, he already knew.
"A missing persons report on Mr Granger has been filed, and I think Interpol's handling it now," he said, when he had listened to what Kai had to say. "We were informed of it two days ago, and told that he might be in Moscow. Thanks for notifying us, yeah, but we already knew. It's kind of high-profile. You're the Beyblading kids, right? I'm sorry Granger got taken. My step-son's crazy mad on Beyblading, won't shut up about Granger this and Sumeragi that." He gave them a smile and rubbed his face; he looked as worn out as Kai felt.
"Thanks," Kai said, and they left.
They found their way to the Japanese embassy next, and waited for almost three quarters of an hour before a representative was free. Here, Kenny took over, for which Kai was grateful. He leaned back in the fancy leather armchair in front of the desk and pressed his hands into his eyes, not particularly caring anymore about decorum, while bits and pieces of Kenny's conversation made their way through to him: "He's a Japanese citizen, has been since birth…probably aware by now of the possible connection with BioVolt…yes, we're his friends and we're here in case there are any leads…thank you, yes, please keep us informed, thank you…"
They ended up having an early, silent lunch together at the restaurant of their hotel while they waited for the others to head back. Kai ordered the first thing he saw on the menu and then sat staring at his plate mutely while his food went cold; Kenny ordered only a cup of tea, and took tight little sips from it while he typed away furiously at his laptop, his eyes never leaving the screen.
After a while, Kai said, "Has anyone replied to the e-mails I sent this morning?"
"Yes," Kenny sighed, still not looking away from his computer.
"Let me read them." He frowned when Kenny didn't answer. "Please," he tried, the word almost unfamiliar. "They'll be in Russian," he added.
"Yes, and I'm running them through an online translator," Kenny informed him. "Five replies. Four of them say nothing we don't already know. The fifth is from someone called Mikhael Sevorosk – he says he was involved with BioVolt."
"He was one of my father's lawyers."
"Yes, he says that, too. Ah, he's not very polite. He says he has more information, but he wants –"
"If he's after money, then he can have it, but I'm really not interested in blackmail or con men. I remember him, and we're not trusting him."
"I agree," Kenny said. "I don't think he knows as much as he says he does. But he does mention that the old Abbey location was being refurbished at the beginning of the year, and that he worked with someone called Balthazar Ulyanovich to help straighten out the fees for some contractors –"
"That's one of Boris' aliases," Kai said.
"Ah, good. That's something to go on, then, anyway. I'm going to hack the contractors' database, see if I can pull records of any transactions – they might still have details on Ulyanovich listed, which would help."
Kai nodded. It was a start. He put his face in his hands for a moment, and let out a great shaking sigh; then hoped that Kenny wouldn't hear, wouldn't notice this weakness. He had never in his life felt as weak as this, and he didn't exactly want to advertise that fact. He had always had Tyson before now, always – Tyson had always kept him strong. Sometimes he felt as though he had spent his entire life waiting to meet Tyson, as though the first fifteen years hadn't really counted, had been full of nothing but anger and selfishness and pride, a hollow grey blur. That wasn't true, of course. He hadn't been entirely empty. He remembered his mother more clearly than his father, because she had been friendly and warm and had gotten very sad and lonely sometimes, and had loved Kai very much; he remembered with almost disturbing clarity the thrill he had felt on first seeing Black Dranzer in action.
Even so, everything had changed after Tyson.
One thing, the one person you can never defeat…a wall that high, a place that far…one thing…
You don't ever get, like, nightmares, do you?
He said, breaking the silence that had fallen between Kenny and himself, "I think we should go back to the Abbey. When the others get here. Just in case."
Kenny nodded, still not looking away; the glare of the screen bleached his face. "Definitely," he said. "It looks as though considerable sums of money were invested by this Ulyanovich person into refurbishing the old Abbey site – there's millions of roubles going into steel, concrete…the deeds to the land are in his name as well, according to the Moscow City administrative site. Supposedly he bought it from Boris a few years back, just after the fall of BioVolt."
"He probably just transferred money from one of his bank accounts to another," Kai said, dully. "He had several aliases, all of them complete with passports, bank accounts, histories – everyone high up at BioVolt was paranoid like that. Good security, too: I only found out about the Ulyanovich alias by accident, while I was with BEGA. He bought the Abbey from himself."
"That's what it looks like," Kenny agreed. "We'll tell the others." Then, surprisingly, he closed the lid of his laptop, and looked across at Kai. "You should eat," he said. "Or else get some rest."
Kai breathed out through his nose in a strange mixture of irritation and wry amusement. "You're hardly one to be lecturing me," he said.
Kenny smiled a sad little smile, and the rings under his eyes seemed for a brief moment less pronounced. "That's better," he said, softly. "Now you're sounding more like your old self."
Kai frowned, looked away across the wide dining hall. A few patrons of the hotel were scattered among the tables, talking or reading the newspaper over a light lunch. The ornate golden hands of the clock over the doorway said that it was close on twelve. "The others should be back by now," he remarked.
"He wouldn't want to see you like this," Kenny pressed. "You know he wouldn't. You need to look after yourself."
"So do you," Kai shot back. It wasn't the sort of thing he would normally have said, but he was tired, and he wanted Kenny to stop being so gentle and understanding and selfless. It made him feel like a greedy, attention-seeking toddler by comparison. "You haven't slept any more than I have, and you're no use to us if you're so out of it you can't even think straight. You're the brains of this ridiculously moronic outfit."
It came out sounding a lot meaner than he had intended, but Kenny seemed to understand that there was concern in there somewhere. He smiled again, and said, "We'll find him soon, and then everything will be better."
"No, everything will louder," Kai corrected him, under his breath and without malice.
"I miss him," Kenny continued. "He's my best friend and I love him. And I know we'll find him. He'll be safe, because even Boris won't hurt his own Beybladers; and he'll be strong, because he's Tyson."
Kai nodded, staring down at his plate of untouched food. He clenched his hands into fists on the table until his nails dug into his palms, until his knuckles started out yellow-red from his pale skin. "I never told him," he began, blind: "I never told anyone. He was – is, is…I just…" He stopped, swallowed; looked away.
"He told me once," Kenny said, with great kindness, "that you're his hero. I believe that. To him – you're everything." He laughed. "I used to be quite jealous. All he ever thought about was you."
Kai didn't know what to say to that. Pain was sharp-edged as glass inside him, turning and turning in his chest until he thought he would bleed to death with it. "He will be safe," he said, at last. "He will be. They don't – Boris won't hurt Tyson. If he does, I will kill him. But he won't."
Kenny opened his mouth to say something, probably something sensible about how they weren't here for revenge or personal vendettas, but at that point Ray and Daichi arrived, and Kenny fell silent, and gave them a wave.
"We go nothing," Ray said, sitting down and reaching for the menu. "Daichi spent most of his time beating up innocent street bladers, but still: nothing."
"Bunch of punks thought they could take me on," Daichi muttered, gnawing on a breadstick. "And they wouldn't tell us anything about that Boris creepo, either. So I had to teach 'em a lesson."
"Yeah, a lesson in how to run away screaming after two rounds," Ray sighed. "Shut up, Daichi. Are Max and Hil back yet?"
Kenny shook his head, and then said, "We've got something that might help, though. I'll wait till everyone's here to tell you."
"Good man," Ray said, laying a hand on his shoulder briefly.
"It's not much," Kenny warned him.
"Every little helps. Daichi, leave the breadsticks alone."
One failed attempt at converting breadsticks into light-sabres later, Hilary and Max entered the dining-hall, looking very cold and irritable. Hilary had snow melting in her hair; Max had, it appeared, loaned her his jacket in a fit of gallantry, and was shivering. They sat down, and Kenny opened his laptop again and explained to them what he and Kai had theorised. "We think we should go to the Abbey as soon as possible," he finished. "This afternoon, I think. About a third of the old building was demolished, but the rest of it still stands, and is entirely the property of Ulyanovich, a.k.a. Boris. That, when added to the fact that a lot of money has supposedly just been spent on developing the area, is reason enough for suspicion."
"Alright," Max said. "Nice work, Chief. So, for this afternoon's entertainment: the lairs of the rich and super-villainous! Should be fun."
"It's not fun," Kenny pointed out, nervously. "This is serious business, Max."
"Relax, Chief," Ray said, as he must have said several times already that day, and more times than bore counting over the past week. "As long as we don't act stupid and let our guard down while we're there, there's not much that can happen." A thought appeared to strike him. "Uh, I don't suppose we could get arrested for trespassing, could we?"
"Ahhh, why'd you have to say that?" Kenny wailed, putting his head down on the table. "Now we're doomed."
"More likely to get arrested for disturbing the peace with this bunch," Max snorted. "But be not worried, my friends! We have the invincible charm of the great Hiwatari on our side! One look from those smouldering ruby eyes and any bodacious police officer worth her badge will be as putty in our hands."
"Oh, EW! Where did that come from?" Hilary yelped. "Keep your little perversions to yourself, please."
"Yeah, and if they involve Kai's ruby eyes then I really don't want to know," Ray agreed. "Then again, if that's what floats your boat…"
"You guys are being dirty again, aren't you?" Daichi enquired, eyes moving suspiciously from Max to Ray. "Girls. Yuck."
"Ah, just you wait, my young friend," Ray said, smirking. "One of these days, you will understand."
"I'm sure Mariah wouldn't be pleased if I told her that you and Max spend your time cooking up obscenities about Russian policewomen," Hilary sniffed.
"Ah, Mariah knows that I'm a free spirit," Ray cackled, and pressed a hand to his heart. "I can't be tied down to just one woman."
"I could make bondage jokes, but I won't, because then Hilary will hit me," Max put in.
"It's a terrible fate to be such a henpecked husband," Ray remarked. "Then again, seeing as it's Hilary, I really can't blame you."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Hilary screeched.
"Well, let's just say that I don't think that Max has the testosterone market cornered in your relationship," Ray smirked.
Daichi guffawed; Hilary slapped him on the shoulder, and then gave Max similar treatment. "And I'd kick your ass too, if I could reach you," she informed Ray. "Kenny, please discipline Ray for me."
Kenny quailed.
"Gimme your best shot, Chief," Ray said. "C'mon, hit me."
"I'm not cut out for this kind of thing," Kenny sighed.
"Coward," Hilary sniffed, and poked him disapprovingly in the shoulder.
They went back up to their hotel rooms shortly after lunch. Kenny, Hilary and Daichi shared one; Max, Ray and Kai the other. Ray had bought a map of Moscow during the morning's reconnaissance, and spread it out over the bed as soon as they entered their room, and began poring over it. "Daichi and me didn't get much information," he said to Max, who still trying brush the melting snow out of his hair. "I forgot to ask; did you two find anything?"
"Nope," Max said. "Probably to do with the fact that I know about four words of Russian."
"And that you pronounce all of them wrong," Kai agreed, from where he was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and trying not to drift off. Jet-lag was not helping the fact that he had spent twelve hours at most out of the past sixty asleep.
"Wow, look at the ego inflating," Max grumped, sitting down on the floor with a thud and starting to pull off his heavy outdoor boots. "I tried English and we got somewhere with that, but still, no one knew anything."
"I doubt that you'll get anything much out of street bladers," Kai said. "If going to the Abbey this afternoon doesn't help then I suggest we either contact a private investigator or start making use of my Mafia connections."
Max laughed; Ray grinned, but did not look up from his map.
"I was being serious about that. Voltaire knew a lot of people. Killed a lot of them, and ripped a lot of the rest of them off. But you don't put together an operation like BioVolt without government assistance and help from the Mafia."
"Geez," Ray said. "That's kind of…creepy. If it's all the same to you, I think we'll stick with the private investigator option."
"Ah, no fair!" Max whined. "The Mafia's cool."
"Yeah, kidnapping, extortion and murder," Kai commented, tiredly. "Like, wow! So awesome!"
"Spoilsport," Max said, and threw a boot at Kai. Kai caught it easily, but declined retaliation. He put it down on the carpeted floor and folded his arms behind his head.
"Aw, don't mind him, Maxie," Ray teased. "He's trying to be sociable, that's all."
"Better late than never," Max said
Kai was already closing his eyes.
"You don't ever get, like, nightmares, do you?" Tyson said. His voice was light and casual. His eyes were wary.
"Why would I have nightmares?" Kai asked, rolling his eyes.
"I dunno, maybe about that time when Hilary painted your nails." Tyson gave him a lopsided grin, but he was still casual, still cautious. "Ah, that was the best. Truth or dare, baby: it's a man's game!"
"You hid the nail polish remover afterwards," Kai said, and glared at Tyson. "Apparently honour isn't your forte."
"Why would we provide you with the means of destroying art?"
"It wasn't art."
"You gotta admit it was good, though, dude. With the little flower stickers and everything." He batted his eyelashes. "Matched those big beautiful eyes of yours. And that darling cashmere scarf."
"You're a freak."
"And yet! Adored by millions." The shifty look came back into his eyes. "But, just checking: no nightmares, right? Noooo scary nightmares for poor innocent little Kai?"
Kai yawned. "Why would I have nightmares?" he said again. "Keep your mouth shut unless you can say something worth my time, you moron."
And that was when Tyson said, his eyes low, his shoulders hunched almost defensively, "You don't ever dream about – back there?"
That was always how Tyson referred to the Abbey: back there. Kai didn't know why. He didn't mind Tyson saying it. "No," he said. "I don't dream much at all." He hadn't intended to say anything else, but before he could stop himself, he added, curtly, "Don't act like it's a crime to talk about it."
Tyson said, very quietly, "I don't like thinking about it. About you there. That's all."
Perfectly calm, not looking Tyson in the eye: "It happened. But it's not happening now. And it won't happen ever again."
In a hurry: "Those were my nightmares. That you guys were going away. That you were all leaving me 'cause I wasn't good enough for you." He swallowed, laughed. "Kinda over it now. Haven't had dreams like that in ages. But, that time on the ice, that – that was kinda bad. Sorta. You know." He laughed again, louder, and got to his feet, reaching down to pull Kai up. "Ooookay! Enough touchy-feely stuff, bro. We should get back to training."
Kai gripped Tyson's hand, stood up. For one moment their eyes met, and then Tyson looked away, clearly embarrassed. He didn't like big emotional revelations anymore than Kai did. He was very red in the face. Kai strode past him, picked up Dranzer from where he had left it lying next to Dragoon and Driger. "I'm not," he said, steadily, as he loaded the ripcord, "going anywhere. I'm not walking out on you ever again."
"Yeah, I know," Tyson said, sounding a little relieved. "Um. Come on, then. Let's. You know. Let it rip."
"You'd think he'd get bored after a while, wouldn't you? Sheesh, doesn't he guy ever quit?"
"You haven't won the final boss battle till you've beaten him twice and the lair has caved in," Max's voice said, sagely. "Well-known fact. If the place doesn't come crashing down or explode then he's not dead. And sometimes not even then, if a sequel is needed."
"Boris is desperate, probably," Kenny said. "This is probably his last chance. He put everything into BEGA; I don't know where he got the funds for this new project. Embezzlement of some BEGA's profits before its fall, maybe, but that's just speculation. I don't actually know."
Kai sat up, blearily. He glanced at the bedside table before remembering that he was in a hotel, not at the dojo or in his lonely little apartment. "What's the time?" he asked, pressing the heel of his palm to his forehead, stretching his shoulders until they clicked.
"Half-past four," Hilary called. "Kai, come see this, it just got announced."
He rolled off the bed and almost squashed Daichi, who was sitting on the floor fiddling with Strata Dragoon. "Get off me, you weirdo!" Daichi yelled. "Just 'cause you're always stalking Tyson doesn't mean you have to start stalking me, too!"
"Oi! Respect your elders, you juvenile delinquent!" Hilary snapped at him. "Kai, come see!"
They were all crowded on Ray's bed, peering at Kenny's laptop. "It's a recording of a webcast, a press statement," Kenny said, rewinding the footage. "It was released about an hour ago in Japan."
The video was a recording of a press conference. Tyson's elder brother Hiro, flanked by Mr Dickinson and two other BBA officials that Kai recognised vaguely, was speaking into a microphone, face bathed in the light from constant camera flashes. He looked pale, and there were deep circles under his eyes. Seemed that everyone was feeling the pressure these days. "I regret to announce the abduction, yesterday afternoon, of Garland Siebold. I would like to emphasise that this is only the latest in a chain of abductions, including those of my brother, Tyson Granger, and my student Brooklyn."
"Do we have any exact figures as to how many bladers have allegedly been abducted?" asked a reporter from the audience.
"At least seven in Japan, both well-established bladers and lesser-known newcomers. Reports from across the globe suggest that the total could be anywhere between twenty and thirty," Hiro answered.
"Speculation is rife that this marks the return of BioVolt, possibly spearheaded by Balkovich; is this true?"
"Ahem," Mr Dickinson said, taking over from Hiro. He wiped his forehead nervously, blinking in the glare of the camera flashes. "I would like to state that the BBA is doing everything in its power to deduce the whereabouts of these young bladers, who are all valuable members of the international beyblading community, and to ensure their safe return. We are working together with Interpol and welcome any information that can be given us. Also, I must stress that there is no evidence at all that points to the involvement of Boris Balkovich, and that BioVolt has been out of business for years."
"And Kai Hiwatari? How is he involved with this?"
Onscreen, Mr Dickinson frowned. "Kai, along with several other members, past and present, of Japan's current title-holding team the Bladebreakers, is currently in Russia, or so we believe."
"Yes, but wasn't he one of BioVolt's top students during its heyday? And he remains the sole heir to the Hiwatari fortune, large portions of which were invested in BioVolt by his grandfather?"
"Voltaire Hiwatari was the founder of BioVolt, yes," Mr Dickinson said, looking rather affronted. "However, Kai also suffered at the hands of BioVolt. He is not in any way involved with the current kidnappings. He is a very close personal friend of Tyson Granger, and would never ally himself with any enterprise that would bring harm to Tyson or any of his fellow Beybladers."
"That's enough," Ray said, sharply, and leaned over to close the window. "So, they're moving fast. Twenty or thirty, they said. That's bad."
"I think we should go," Kai said, moving to the door to the room. He didn't care what anyone thought. "Let's go. Now."
Thankfully, the snow had tailed off. They took a taxi downtown, and got out a few blocks before the Abbey. That was Ray's idea. "So paranoid," Max snorted.
The late afternoon would have been lighter had the sun not already disappeared behind the city buildings and begun to sink into a deep bank of cloud on the horizon. Every now and then a car would whoosh past, throwing snow and freezing grey mud up over the pavement and invariably drenching Max and Daichi, who were walking closest to the road. Other than that the place was largely silent. The distant roar of the busy city centre was muted by the snow, and most people were indoors or at work, apart from a few children running about in the snow on the steps of an apartment building across the road.
The six of them trudged along, making occasional remarks about the cold, or trying to crack jokes. They had begun the day as cheerfully as possible, but reality seemed to be setting in now. Hilary had fallen silent; Kenny had fallen silent. Daichi looked a lot smaller than usual, and scowled down at the icy pavement, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. Kai fretted.
And then they were there. A contractor's billboard was hung on the wall, and the old rusty gates were padlocked with a thick new chain, but other than that there was no sign of any renovations at all. The grounds were bleak, covered with hard-packed snow that must have been days old, and the buildings rose iron-dark against the white air.
"Caaaaw, caaaw," Max croaked, in a very desperate attempt at humour. "Hello, we need some creepy ravens! Where are the creepy ravens?"
"There's a starling's nest up there," Kenny supplied, without much enthusiasm.
Ray and Kai shared a glance, and then Ray knelt down and locked his hands together. "You first," he said to Kai. "Maxie, you help Kenny up. Hilary and Daichi, you get Max over, but then you stay behind."
"Hey, no fair!" Daichi protested.
"I'm coming too," Hilary said, angrily. "I am."
"You're not," Kai told her. "You don't have a blade for protection, and Daichi is too young."
"I am not!" Daichi snapped immediately. "Say that to my face, you jerk!"
Kai had already put his boot in Ray's gloved hands and was swinging himself over the gate. He balanced at the top for a moment and then turned around and dropped straight down. He landed badly, turning his ankle, but had to hobble out of the way as soon as he could, for Ray had followed close behind him. Kenny came third, stumbling as he tried to leap down; Ray caught him. Max came last.
Then they turned and faced the two left outside.
"You bunch of creeps," Daichi was muttering sullenly. "Get all the fun. It's not right."
"And what are we supposed to do, anyway?" Hilary demanded. "Stand around attracting attention? Yeah, great plan, you guys. Really excellent."
"Aw, c'mon, Hil, lighten up," Max said. "You guys are on stake-out! You have to stand guard in case anyone shows up!"
"And then what, get kidnapped? 'Cause apparently we can't look after ourselves just 'cause we aren't Beyblading superheroes?"
"No, you're supposed to stay out of sight and phone us if you see anyone acting suspicious. Maxie and me have got our phones. So you call us and then call the police. And then –"
"Get out of the way, yeah, we got it," Hilary snapped. "Sure. Fine. Whatever." She grabbed Daichi's arm and dragged him away. He pulled a face at Max as he went.
"It doesn't look like there's any security," Kenny said, as they crossed the snowy yard to the main doors. "I can't do a sweep without more equipment, but I don't see anything. There're no visible electricity supply to the building: look, the power cables just go right by. And we'd definitely hear a generator."
"So, no electricity, no security," Ray said. "That's good."
"Uh, no electricity, no people," Max corrected him. He looked up at the doors, and shuddered visibly. "Gah, mega-creepy. Remember the last time we were here?"
"Back when I skipped out on you," Kai supplied, neutrally. It was better if he said it; everyone was thinking it.
"Yeah, way back," Ray agreed, pointedly. "First time we bladed against Tala, wasn't it?"
It was creepy. Kai had forgotten it once, but had, unfortunately, been unable to do so a second time. Frowning, he stepped forward and gave the doors a push; they swung inward easily, opening into darkness with barely a complaint from the hinges. "No rust," he remarked, his voice perfectly steady. "The building isn't actually in such bad shape. It hasn't been neglected."
"I don't see any signs of construction, though," Max said. "There isn't even any scaffolding or anything. Yo, Chief, did you manage to pull dates on how long this construction has been going on?"
"It's only due to start next week, actually," Kenny said. His glasses were fogged up with cold, and he had a thick warm hat pulled down close over his ears, but he was still bright pink, and his teeth chattered loudly. "According to the dates in their database."
"We've only got circumstantial evidence at best," Ray sighed. "We're pretty sure Boris is in possession of the place, but other than that everything's fine. Nothing wrong with the guy owning property and doing a bit of renovation."
"We go in," Kai said, flatly. He wasn't using half-measures with anything now; and once here, once standing on the threshold, he wasn't turning back. Tyson had gotten him out of this place before, and he needed to return the favour. There was a hot, dark daring in his throat, a knowledge that this had to be done.
The second he stepped inside, he almost regretted it. The darkness was almost absolute, as the old stone walls were close and cold, with few windows. "Hang on a sec, you guys," Kenny piped up, and a thin filmy beam of light spread out in front of them, ghosting over the paved floor.
"Attaboy, Chief," Ray grinned, clapping him on the back. "Right." Then his voice marginally more cautious: "Hey, uh – so, Kai, do you know where we're heading?"
Kai actually had to swallow before answering, and was unpleasantly surprised at himself. Stronger than this. "Into the main quad," he said. "That's the best place to look around. And from there we can check the cellars."
With light it wasn't so bad, but even the smell was enough to unsettle him. He still hated closed-in places, hated not being able to see the grass and the sun, and it was a hatred that had been born here, in this dank horrible place under the low grey Moscow sky. It was the noise of the wind streaming down the passageways that was the worst: a thin blue sound in the blackness, poisonous and rustling. Dry eyes dead and aching with exhaustion in the unearthly hours of early morning; cold that seeped right down, right down into your bones and made you into black glass.
"This place freaks me out," Max said, unhappily.
"Tell me about it," Ray agreed. "Hey, Kai, you sure you know where we're going?"
Kai nodded, realised that Ray wouldn't be able to see in the semi-dark, and cleared his throat to speak. "Yes," he said. "There's a door coming up on the right. I know where we are."
"Good, 'cause I really don't want to get lost in here," Max said.
"Weird how the last time we came here it was with Tyson, and we were rescuing Kai."
"Not weird. They take one of us, we go in and we get our buddy back. That's how it works."
They were moving together in a tight-knit group now, almost huddling close. Kai, on realising this, immediately quickened his pace – he didn't want to have to depend on anyone for comfort, had to be able to face this on his own. Stupid egotistical show-off, the Tyson in his head said, except that Tyson wouldn't have said egotistical. He would have said selfish instead.
Do you want power, boy?
Power enough to defeat every single person who stands in your way? Power enough to take him down: the one person you can never reach, the one who is always too far away? You could have the power to show him the truth, to prove yourself to him – the power to make him see you, to make him feel how you have always felt –
You are only a boy. You are not a man, and you have no power of your own. He is too far beyond you – he will never look back at you, will not bother with you –
They found the door easily enough, but when Kai turned the handle it was locked. Kenny shone the torch on it, revealing a heavy combination lock that looked very new. "Stand back," Ray said, grimly, pulling Driger from his pocket. There came a whirr as he loaded it onto the ripcord, and then sparks jumped in the darkness and the padlock fell to the ground with a clank! that echoed in the darkness.
"That was also new," Kenny commented, as they tramped out into the courtyard. "Strange."
At this point, a short burst of synthesised music rang out, echoing sharply in the frosty air. Ray swore, and clapped his hand to the pocket of his anorak, struggling with his gloved fingers. "Forgot – to put it on silent – damn it –" he muttered, finally managing to fish out his phone. He flipped it open, said, "Hello? Hilary?"
Her voice could easily be heard. "Someone went in! Get out of there! A car drew up and four guys went inside –"
At almost exactly the same time, muffled voices could be heard from across the courtyard, speaking in Russian. Kai heard them. They said: "Who broke the lock?"
tbc, tee hee. thanks for reading, my pretties.
