Caught

Grimmjow lifted his foot up and gave the door a solid kick, and then another. The door cracked and splintered. He burst into the room, but no one was there. However, Ichigo's computer was gone and his keys were laying on the ground.

"Shit," Grimmjow breathed.

"Gee, if I didn't know any better, I'd say ya were concerned," Nnoitra said with a grin.

Grimmjow wrapped his hand around Nnoitra's neck and pushed him into the wall. "I'm not in the mood," Grimmjow growled, holding him there. Nnoitra just laughed.

Grimmjow cursed and let Nnoitra go. He picked up his cell phone and went through his call history.

"Why hello!" Kisuke answered. "I don't suppose you've found my wayward employee, have you?"

"No. He's gone. His stuff is gone," Grimmjow said. "This is all your fucking fault, isn't it?"

"Oh why blame me?" Kisuke replied. "Ichigo is quite able to get into trouble on his own. However, if you do want to find him, why don't you meet me in the back of the pet shop? I have something that will aid you."

"Alright," Grimmjow agreed.

"Where are we going?" Nnoitra asked.

"We're meeting with Kisuke Urahara."

"I really hope yer joking," Nnoitra said.

"Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure?"

"So yer telling me this weirdo invented Hogyoku Encryption?" Nnoitra asked with disbelief.

"Don't hurt my feelings or anything," Kisuke replied.

"What did you get Ichigo into?" Grimmjow questioned.

"Nothing," Kisuke putting his hands up in a show of innocence.

"And how is it that you think you can help us?" Grimmjow asked.

"Me," Nnoitra corrected.

"What?"

"'How is it that you think you can help me', don't include me in whatever insanity ya have planned," Nnoitra said.

"Well you see," Kisuke answered, "I really don't like for my employees to wander off or get lost or anything. So I implanted a small chip in Ichigo's heel, you know, just to keep track of him."

Grimmjow blinked. "What the hell? I'm supposed to believe that you just happened to hire him and happened to put a tracker in him, but weren't using him for anything?"

"Do you want this or not?" Kisuke asked, holding out a device.

"Yer not really going in, are ya?" Nnoitra asked.

"Look, if they had wanted Ichigo, they would have asked me, right? It's not like I've been discrete. Maybe Szayel isn't acting on orders," Grimmjow offered by way of explanation.

"Szayel is a little shit who does lot of stuff he's not supposed to, but he wouldn't touch this kid with a ten foot pole. He's too much of a coward to face...," Nnoitra stopped when he realized that he was still in front of Kisuke.

"Oh please, don't hold back on my account. I can read whatever I want at any time anyways," Kisuke waved a hand.

"Seems kinda dangerous for ya to have access to all that information," Nnoitra told him.

"Why do you think I dropped off the map? Do you think I'm stupid enough to hang around for people to kill me?" Kisuke answered. "Not that people didn't try anyways."

"What about now? Isn't revealing yourself to us crazy?" Grimmjow asked.

"Why, are you planning on running home to Aizen and telling him about me?"

Nnoitra and Grimmjow stiffened.

"Besides, most likely you'd both be killed for even talking to me," Kisuke pointed out.

"What the fuck, Grimmjow!" Nnoitra jumped up. "Stop trying to get me killed!"

"You already knew who it was when you walked in the door," Grimmjow mentioned. His eyes narrowed. "Look, you ain't on my list and I'm not going to go out of my way to volunteer any info," he told Kisuke.

"Oh why thank you!" Kisuke said with a wide grin, his eyes hidden behind his ridiculous green and white striped bucket hat.

"Great, he's poisoned us or something," Nnoitra replied, looking around nervously. "He's being way too cool with the two of us here."

"What if Szayel is getting orders but you are just being set up?" Kisuke asked. "The police are watching you like a hawk, and if Ichigo disappears, they're going to blame you."

The thought hadn't occurred to Grimmjow yet. He cursed. He remembered how insistent Officer Ochi had been over the phone about wanting to talk to Ichigo at the hotel.

"Here's the thing, isn't it weird that even though the police are highly suspicious of you you're put to work in a college classroom? A college classroom that has someone who looks almost exactly like the man who put you away?" Kisuke's face was hidden behind a fan as he spoke.

"Ya weren't sleeping with Kaien, were ya?" Nnoitra asked curiously.

"No," Grimmjow said. "Besides, he was married."

"So, Kaien Shiba manages to bust you and get you put away, and then he and his wife are shot," Kisuke goes on.

"What?" Grimmjow looked up. "How?"

"You didn't know that?" Kisuke asked. "It was very clumsily disguised as an armed robbery. No one investigating it would think it was a real accident though."

"No wonder they hate me so much," Grimmjow said.

"So the police think you set up a hit on the guy that put you away, but still put you in a classroom with a bunch of kids, one of whom looks curiously like Kaien. Then you get extra incentive because your own boss sends you a work order that will require you to do things you can't do with cops dogging your step," Kisuke said. "Something they know you'll have to use outside sources to do."

"Wait, who is setting Grimmjow up again, the cops or our boss?" Nnoitra asked.

"I think both," Kisuke said.

"Working with each other? I find that hard to believe," Grimmjow answered.

"Either separately or together, does it matter? It's easy enough to have some "random" snitch show up and spill all about your organization, at least enough to get the police after you," Kisuke went on.

"You know what, I don't even care," Grimmjow said. "It ain't possible for me to hate my own boss anymore and I already would punch a cop in the face without even thinking, so let's concentrate on the most immediate thing. We need to get Ichigo."

"You don't even want to know who's trap you're walking into?" Kisuke asked curiously.

"I thought you said Ichigo gets into his trouble. He didn't have to borrow mine. He already told us he broke your encryption," Grimmjow stated.

"Well, that was stupid of him," Kisuke mentioned.

"He was drugged at the time."

"That's hardly a nice thing to do," Kisuke said, his voice getting more serious and a little deeper.

"We didn't do it. Did he really not tell you about Szayel drugging him?"

"No, he seemed to have forgotten to mention it," Kisuke replied dryly.

"So whether or not Szayel grabbed him because he wants to know the secret of Hogyoku Encryption, or whether he was ordered to bring the kid in because he knew too much, or whether he's been used to lure me out for the police, or whatever is going on, it doesn't matter," Grimmjow said.

"Yer outta yer mind," Nnoitra laughed.

"Shut up, you're going to help me," Grimmjow replied.

"Like hell I am. This is complicated and I don't care about the kid enough to want to get involved."

"You are helping."

"What if ya find the kid and find out that the whole thing is totally legit?"

"It's...not right," Grimmjow said.

"What?" Nnoitra said in surprised.

"If it's really an order to bring him in, then fine. But...you know if he's there he's being tortured. You know they wouldn't let him leave alive. It's not right," said Grimmjow.

"Since when did ya think so much?" Nnoitra laughed.

"Since I freaking sat doing nothing but thinking for two years, asshole!" Grimmjow said.

"Ya went soft in lock up? Poor baby. I guess they were right to try and kill ya off."

"You been around me a lot. What makes you think they wouldn't kill you too?"

Nnoitra frowned.

"Even if it's just the cops, you know they'll bring you in for questioning. You know that they'll find something to lock you up for," Grimmjow pressed.

"I hate ya so damn much sometimes," Nnoitra said.

"Well, all the time," Grimmjow corrected.

"Ya," Nnoitra agreed. "I'm still not going."

There was a knock on the door. Grimmjow and Nnoitra tensed.

"Don't worry, I know who it is," Kisuke said. He came back with someone with a familiar face.

"Shiro? What the hell?" Nnoitra asked.

"What's up?" Shiro asked the group.

"Someone has kidnapped Ichigo," Kisuke told him.

"Damn it," Shiro clenched his fist. "Was it the same people that got me?"

"Uh, no. These people are a lot more dangerous," Kisuke answered.

"Look, no offense, but I hardly know ya and ya give off kinda a freaky vibe," Shiro said. "I know Ichigo runs with weirdos, and I'm not gonna lie, I know he's involved with some crazy government or yakuza shit or something. So, Nnoitra, tell me, is Ichigo really in trouble?"

"Yeah," Nnoitra said.

"And you and Grimmjow are going to help him?"

Nnoitra jaw went a little slack and Grimmjow was grinning. He knew that no matter what he claimed, Nnoitra was quite taken with the albino. Considering how rare it was for Nnoitra to care about anyone, it was quite a feat.

"Of course we're going to get him," Grimmjow said. "We're not cowards."

Nnoitra was glaring at him.

"They actually work for the government," Kisuke explained to Shiro. "They won't leave Ichigo in the hands of bad guys."

"What, yer a spook or something?" Shiro asked Nnoitra.

"Uh...yeah..." Nnoitra replied.

"That's pretty awesome. Do ya get to carry around guys and shoot people when they piss ya off?"

"Ha, actually ya," Nnoitra grinned.

"Well, let's get going," Shiro replied.

"What?"

"We're wasting time, we need to..." Shiro continued.

"Ya aren't going anywhere," Nnoitra said.

"Of course I am. Ichigo came for me."

"Look, the situation is different. It's dangerous," Nnoitra explained.

"So what?" Shiro said defiantly. "Like hell are ya leaving me here!"

"Shiro...I don't want ya to get hurt," Nnoitra told him.

"Well then..." Shiro's eyes went wide. "What the fuck!" he yelled at Kisuke, who was removing a needle from Shiro's arm.

"What the hell did ya just give him!" Nnoitra said, rushing to Shiro, who was beginning to lean.

"Just something to make him sleep. He seems like he might be stubborn and we don't need him getting in the way," Kisuke answered with a shrug.

Shiro's eyes were unfocused as they scanned Nnoitra's face. "Don't get come back fulla holes because I ain't gonna take care of ya," he said to Nnoitra.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure to dodge," Nnoitra replied.

Shiro closed his eyes and went unconscious, his body going slack in Nnoitra's arms.

"If you don't go now, he'll never forgive you," Grimmjow pointed out.

"Fuck you! I already know that," Nnoitra replied, gnawing on his lip. He looked over at Kisuke. "You are just evil!" he pointed.

"I don't know, I think it worked out nicely," Kisuke smiled. He handed Grimmjow the device he had been holding earlier. "Do you know how to use this?"

"Yeah," Grimmjow replied.

"Just a hint," Kisuke said. "But...not everyone in your little group of Espada is who they claim to be..."

"What?" Nnoitra asked.

"Ichigo knows that, and it might be why he was taken. I'm not sure if you'll find out whether or not he was taken under orders or not, but no matter who is helping you and who is shooting at you, don't trust a single one of them unless Ichigo tells you that you can."

"I guess I have a lot of questions for Ichigo when I find him then," Grimmjow said.

"Hurry up, let's go back and grab our guns, I wanna have time to grab some drive through. I'm starving," Nnoitra whined.

"I can't believe you are bitching about food," Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"I'm a better shot with a full belly."

A/N: Yeah I know, Ichigo doesn't even show up in this chapter! Don't worry, I'll make it up to you next chapter with an old fashioned shoot out (because when have Grimmjow and Nnoitra ever been subtle?)