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"That is proposterous! I will not allow it!"
The G-Revolutions, commonly called Team BBA, sat in Mr. Dickenson's office. There was an akward silence in which the tone from the man's previous statement echoed like the crack of a whip. He sighed, not regretting the outburst, but he was none to happy about it either.
"Mr. Dickenson," Hilary said quiety, knowing Tyson's outburst a moment before was anything but helpful. "We're going to go to the Miami headquarters, whether you like it or not. We'll be leaving within the next few weeks, and it isn't like we don't have the money."
He sighed. "I can't possibly approve of you snooping around. I've met Mr. Morrison before, if that's what you're getting at. He's a very nice man, and he's given generous amounts of money to many beyblading organizations."
From the far side of the room, Ray shrugged. "That has nothing to do with it, Mr. D. Whether he's a nice guy or completely nasty, that has nothing to do with it. Hilary said that her aunt and uncle never wanted to get their business intertwined with beyblade. They explained to her that it was like business and pleasure, and they never wanted to get bit beasts involved. Do you have any idea what they've got brewing?"
"Genetically enhanced bit beasts, Ray. They're using them to help therapy patients, and if Rose and Matthew were here right now, I'm sure they'd already be working together."
Tyson rolled his eyes and plunked a file on the CEO's desk. It was a color copy of the B.I.O.V.O.L.T. file, in a manilla envelope in stead of the corresponding file.
"How- how did you get this?" Dickenson asked, frightened by the company letterhead.
Hilary shrugged. "Kenny's gifted with computers. He hacked the Hiwatari Mainframe."
"That- that's absurd!" The man dropped the papers. "I understand that you're all hurting because of the Carsons and Kai. I feel the same way you do, but pointing the blame will not allow answers to fall from the sky."
"Why the hell do you think AJ resigned?"
All eyes went straight to Hilary. "E-excuse me?" Dickenson asked, fully overwhelmed by the propositions being made in his office.
"I said: Why the hell do you think AJ resigned?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"AJ severed all ties with the BBA before she committed suicide." The subject was anything but a light matter to them, especially since they had to play the part of depressed friends for at least another week or so. "Do you think that maybe she did that for a reason?"
"Where are you going with this, Hil?" Tyson asked, fully confused.
"I think I know why she killed herself, and I think this Morrison guy can give me the answers."
"I can just ask him-"
"No."
"Max?" The chaiman asked.
The blonde stood up, his eyes hardened. "I think we should take a page out of her book. Until we find Kai, and until we prove that we're right, we're done."
"Agreed," the rest of the group said simply.
It was after they left that the chairman realized what exactly had gone down in his office. Now he had a total of zero champions. How much worse could it possibly get?
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She answered her cell phone almost instantly, having paced by it for the past half an hour.
"How'd it go?"
There was a laugh. "Perfect," The Neko-Jin responded through the phone's speaker. "He had no idea what hit him."
"Good. I'll buy plane tickets, you'll leave a little after me. You guys explain to Hil's mom and Grandpa what's going on, keep the story the same. Just whatever you do, do not let anyone know I'm alive. If this Morrison guy finds out..."
"Don't worry, we'll leave Daichi in the car."
"Good call and we'll rendezvous later to sort out the final details."
She hung up, smirking. So far, everything was working perfectly. If the adults all thought they were going to Miami, that word would be relayed to Morrison, who would hopefully be there to try and meet them. That way, they could find out just what was going on in London.
Maybe they could find everyone and get them out before he arrived. It would be much easier to have him arrested on the spot, as he showed up, although she figured those genetically enhanced bit beasts would probably be a ton of fun.
Of course, a sinking feeling arose in her stomach. That would not work. If she was dead, how the heck was she supposed to get out of the country? She needed fake ID, a fake Passport, oh God, she needed a whole different identity. The G-Revs planned to leave in a week, but she had no idea if she could get there within a week or not.
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"Happy two months," One said menacingly. Rose looked over at the man fleetingly, not bothering to aknowledge the statement.
Her husband clenched his fists, though his will to fight was not exactly overwhelming. He too remained silent. Both looked to Kai.
Kai's hopeless look had become one of indifference, the facade in place being collasal. No one questioned it though, for he was suddenly the Kai Hiwatari that the rest of the world saw.
"What?" One questioned, "No celebrations?" The man pulled out a key. "Fine, I suppose I'll have to force you." He immediately went to Kai's cell, unlocking the lock and pulling out a stun gun. "Let's go."
Kai smirked immediately, finding it interesting that they still pulled a stun gun on him. He wasn't planning on going anywhere, seeing as they held his late girlfriend's parents captive as well. If he left, they would surely be killed, and vice wersa. With AJ dead - he shuddered - why the hell were they still captive? To be quite honest, he just wanted to go home or die.
Even though he had no idea where that would be, currently.
One led him to a room he had seen multiple times before. His statement, weeks ago, had been extended into a contract. So that they were not harmed, Kai would take any and all punishments given. Most of the time, these punishments were doubled, making them much more difficult for him to handle.
He liked the pain though, so he kept his mouth shut. At least he felt that. The usual numbness was beginning to take over, and he felt like he was losing himself.
The room was grey in color, everything from the floor to the walls, even the ceiling was grey. In the corner of the left side of the room was a desk. There was papers scattered on top of it, and while he was getting punished, he often wondered about their contact.
As One was second in command only to the emerald-haired demon, he was permitted to punsh as he saw fit. Especially as of late, he had saw to most of the beatings handed to Kai. Not to mention the fact that his boss would never dirty his hands with such jobs.
The man smirked at Kai, as if surveying his pray. Like a snake he would lash out, typically with a whip.
"How many lashes do you think will do you justice today?"
Kai said nothing. In response, he received a lashing.
"Answer when you're spoken to."
"How many do you think it'll take to kill me?"
One's smile widened while his eyes narrowed. "Where are you going with this?"
"One less than that," The champion said, stripping himself of his tattered shirt.
There was nothing short of malicious, insane happiness dripping from his voice as he spoke.
"As you wish, Hiwatari."
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Rex, as a human being, was no longer happy with the requirements of his job. To be quite honest, he longed for a pencil-pushing office job for a London newspaper of some sort, complete with cubicle and all. His current task was less than pleasant.
At first, it had seemed like fun to watch some punk-ass kid get the snot beat out of him by someone else, especially in knowing that he was gathering evidence - and hordes of it - to arrest the blokes with. Rex had never been aware that their intent was to drive the Audrey Carson to suicide. He was a father himself, with a broken family in a small appartment in the downtown area. If his daughter - who was currently a sophomore in high school - saw what he had to deal with because of his job, well, it would kill her.
He had never felt like a heartless person, but now, staring at the body of Kai Hiwatari - a boy who was known for overcoming intense hardships - he couldn't resist the feeling. The boy had loved AJ Carson, according to Voltaire Hiwatari's phone call to his boss from prison. That was how they figured out the plan. The Boss got the information he needed to gain not only Carson Enterprises(a secret that the Carsons were not to know about), but to get Audrey out of the way. The only thing his boss lacked was Viatsu, of whom he was probably searching for, at this very second.
Kai shifted on the table Rex was told to place him upon.
"Don't move or you'll hurt yourself more," The dark-skinned man said to Kai, who made no effort to respond.
Rex walked to the far side of the room, opening a cupboard to pull out gauze and antiseptic. When he turned around, Kai had very shakily proped himself upright, using his hands to keep himself in a sitting position.
"Lay back down," the henchman said, in a rather authoritive tone. Kai did as told, knowing that he stood no chance against the man in this state.
The suited man set to work on the boy's bare back, pouring antiseptic into the large gashes before dabbing the rest of the blood from them.
"How many did you have?" Rex asked.
Kai remained silent for a moment, seeing how his current oppressor would respond. When the man made no move to force him, Kai responded. "Eighty-seven."
"That's fucking absurd."
Kai looked at the man, surprise clashing with his facade. "You fucking condone it."
"And if I didn't need the money to send my daughter to college, I wouldn't."
The champion eyed the man wearily. "If it weren't for her parents, I'd slit my throat."
Rex stared at the boy again. He was obviously hurting, whether he showed it or not. The muscles in his back seemed to have small spazms as he treated the wounds of the champ's flogging. While he worked, Rex pondered what was going on. Kai Hiwatari was not known for emotions. How had he, of all people, suddenly developed such feelings for a woman that he would give up his life? Rex knew the love of a daughter and his wife.
It just seemed so difficult to understand that such a cold and seemingly ruthless kid - a punk-ass rich boy, if you will, could fall in love that hard.
"Your friends are scowering the globe," Rex said, throwing a newspaper before the boy. "They told Stanley Dickenson to go to hell and said they were taking off. There is also word of a letter, one Miss Carson wrote before her accident. She renounced her title, but the letter's contents have yet to be published, because Dickenson is afraid for the world to see it."
"Typical Dickenson," Kai said, as the man finished his work.
Rex handed Kai a different shirt, one of the same navy color, as well as his vest. "I know it doesn't mean much from me," He said with a sigh, "But I'm sorry about your girlfriend."
Kai nodded, and the man felt oddly forgiven. As the boy was led back to his cell, he also felt a renewed warmth.
Dranzer, he thought, chalking it up to the usual-
His eyes widened, and his breathing became shallow. "Holy fuck, where the hell is Dranzer?!"
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There was a loud vibrating sound upon the counter of the Hiwatari Manson's kitchen. AJ dove for the phone, the loud noise catching her off guard. Shock set in.
It couldn't be... her mind nearly froze, but she hesitantly flipped open the contraption.
"Hello?"
There was a touch of static on the other end. "My name is Rex Banner," The person on the phone said. "I don't know who you are, but I want to help you get Kai and the Carsons back." He paused. "Who is this, anyway?"
"How should I trust you?" She retorted, her voice a bit deeper than usual in a lame attempt to conceal her identity.
"My boss's name is Gregory Morrison. He's the temporary CEO of Carson Enterprises."
"Alright, Rex," She began, "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
"There's a trap set up in Miami for team BBA. Wait - are you Hilary?"
"Close." AJ shrugged and decided to drop the lowsy deep voice.
"I would like to ask you though, if you were there when the abduction occurred."
AJ laughed bitterly. "Now I know who you are. You're the big black guy who beat up my boy-" She stopped, immediately regretting her choice of words. Yet, now that she knew who she was talking to, she was ready to walk to London and take him out herself. "Aww, hell with it. This is my cell phone, as it would be.
A gasp was noted from the other end of the conversation. "My God. You're alive. You're fucking alive. That had to have been one hell of a tight getaway."
"Yes, as a matter of fact it was. And if you tell anyone, next time you see me, will be the last time you see anything but a hospital for the next six months." Her voice had intent, and he knew she was serious.
"I have to tell Kai."
His tone of voice was still incredulous, and she knew that from her first time seeing the man, he could not possibly be faking his emotions. So he was the real deal. Well, she'd have to test it out, but she'd have to figure something out eventually. It was early fall, and she wanted Kai - and her parents - back before first snowfall.
"He knows - did Morrison tell them?"
"Yes, and they took it very hard."
She sighed. "Alright." A deep breath, obviously one used to calm oneself was heard from AJ's end of the conversation. "Now that I think about it, can you help me out?"
The man sounded a bit relieved. "What is it that you need?"
"I need a passport and ID to get me to London."
"How - how do you -"
"I know I can trust you." She paused. "You sound an aweful lot like a cop." She broke from the subject immediately when he said nothing to deny it. "Now then, can you get me a passport? It doesn't have to look much like me, just a white brunette picture would work."
"I can get you one."
AJ smirked. "Good. Now, one other thing. What the hell does Morrison want from me?"
"It's not you," The man said thoughtfully. "He's after your bit beast."
"Why?"
She heard a sound in the background that sounded like another being. "I'll tell you later from a more secluded area. I'm taking this number to my house, and I will call you from there."
"Alright, Rex Banner. Thank you."
"Now go do the profile search I'm sure your desperate to do, Miss Carson. I'll be sure to send your best regards to your family."
"And again I thank you. You should be an undercover cop."
"That will be covered later, as well."
She sighed exasperatedly. "Great, now I'm working with the feds."
AJ hung up her cell phone, with almost an elated feeling. This felt right; she knew it. She had made exponential progress in faking her death. Morrison would pay for hurting her family. And well, if he wanted Viatsu, she'd be sure to give him a chance to have his ass kicked by her.
Speaking of Viatsu, as of late, the bit beast suddenly reacted differently to daily occurrances. Although AJ had hightened senses - as one who controls a bit beast usually does, she felt especially sensitive to presences around her, like those she could trust and those she could not. She could tell that Banner had potential, and that told no lies.
They trained in the darkest hours of night, alone, in the basement gym. It was practically the size of a bey stadium, it merely lacked bleachers for the spectators. In the course of the last few weeks she had been living there, she found it different. Their training was very much paying off, though she felt that Viatsu's potential had also increased exponentially. The green and black beast's attacks were executed flawlessly, but with much more energy left to spare. Perhaps it was time to revamp her style.
From around her neck, she felt a warm pulsing sensation. So, Dranzer agreed, eh? Well, then that was like having Kai's approval. She'd have to hurry, since she would be flying out soon, but if Viatsu was up for it, what was formulating a few new tricks to keep up their sleeves?
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Rex paced around before the two cells. He had little time before his shift was up to speak. Another guard had just approached him, with a bored expression. Nothing happened at night, and since no one had any means to escape, two guards sat in the control room and watched television. Still, he couldn't hardly let anyone catch on.
Well, he realized, there was one way to get the information across...
"Hiwatari."
Kai glared at Rex.
"Let's go."
The guard looked hesitantly at Rex. "Hey, Banner, don't ruin him, One's gonna be back from Miami tomorrow, and I'm sure he'll want a piece of 'em," He said with a slurred laugh.
"Yeah, yeah. Hiwatari, get up." Rex's tone was anything but nice, instead, he swung open the cell's door impatiently, shoving the Russian forcefully in front of him, the stun gun against his back.
Kai allowed Rex to escort him down a different hallway, toward the room he had been in only once before - when the man had bandaged him up days prior.
"Do you need any of the dressings changed?" The guard asked him, his warmer side shining through.
The champ shrugged, removing his shirt. "My back probably could use it," He said simply. Though he was not keen on accepting help from his captors, perhaps he could eventually gain an edge on their captor.
Rex set to work cleaning out the laceration wounds and re-bandaging them. "His name is Gregory Morrison."
"Who?"
"That emerald-haired guy. The one who's in charge of this entire event. The Carsons probably know who he is. Hell, I'm surprised you don't. Even your grandfather thought he was insane."
"Are you an undercover cop?"
"You know, I was asked the same damn thing a few hours ago when I used your cell phone to make a call."
Kai gritted his fists as the man finished taking care of Kai's back. "If you're on my side, why the fuck can't you give me my phone?"
"Because, it's locked up in the safe of One's office. I got lucky when I went in there. Had I been caught - well, I'm sure you've seen worse, but it would be pretty bad."
"Who did you call?"
"I dialed your girlfriend's cell phone."
Kai seemed a bit surprised. Why would Rex call a dead girl's cell phone? It was too wierd, and he had no real desire to think about it.
"Did you talk to Hilary?" Kai asked, after the inital thoughts wore themselves out.
Rex shook his head. The man leaned against one of the sterilized metal counters. "They wanted to kill me for what I did to you. I know I wailed you a bit too hard in the head, now that I think about it..." Kai seemed to think this less than funny.
"Who the hell did you talk to?"
Rex smirked. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"What do you - wait. Do not tell me that," Kai said in pure rage. He could not take that.
"It was a set up."
"What?"
"She planned it."
"Who planned what?"
"AJ Carson is very much alive. As soon as I get her some fake ID, she'll be in London, coming for you. The rescue workers found her keys, ID, and a few of her credit cards, but it sounds like she's making out okay."
"Great." Kai paused, his emotions changing. Suddenly, he seemed to explode. "She- she's alive." He looked as if he was about to cry, before his very authoritive persona took over. "Ask her about Dranzer, tell her I'm going to kill her, and tell her to take the Lambo. It's in the furthest garage back. I can't believe this. I should have thought of it before-"
There was a shaking of Rex's head. "Do you have any idea how much it will cost to get that thing to England?"
Kai smirked. This was the best news he had ever felt. He just prayed it wasn't too good to be true. "I do and I'm paying for it and probably everything else she's needed since she 'died.'" Kai sobered up immensely. "And if you're lying to me-"
"The next time I see you, will be the last time I see anything but a hospital for the next six months."
Kai felt sudden hope. She said things like that all the time. "She said that to you, didn't she?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact she did."
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Notes: Wow, chapter seven! This rocks! And I did it again: that whole Rex thing started out as a tiny seedling.. I guess I should thank the Dukes of Hazzard(don't own) for that small smackerel of inspiration.
Review!
Please and thanks, and love to all!
Distant Stormx3
ps: the next chapter will be up within the next few days.