Chapter 12- Recuperation
Heba and the others were all in the meeting room after their long day.
"Geez. Talk about a shootout. Haven't had something like that happen in a long time." Joey said as he leaned back in his chair.
"We were lucky. I have a feeling that they were waiting for Pegasus to arrive before they killed us. If you hadn't shown up when you did, we would have been dead." Atemu said.
"Well, we put a major dent in Pegasus's operations. We blew up that underground hanger under Industrial Illusions. Everything he had was destroyed." Malik said.
"So, does that mean we can leave?" Mariku asked.
"No. Not yet." Heba answered. An ice pack pressed against his head where he had been injured.
"WHAT?! WHY THE HELL NOT?! YOU'VE BEAT THEM ALL READY!" Akefia shouted.
Heba cringed when Akefia shouted, his head hurting.
Seth grabbed Akefia and pulled him down. "Akefia, stop yelling. Heba's head hurts bad enough without you yelling." Seth growled.
"Heba. Maybe you should go and lay down." Ryou suggested.
"Not a good idea. As a doctor, I would advise against it. He had a head injury. Granted, it wasn't serious, but it was bad enough that he could still get a concussion if he falls asleep. I would prefer it if he stayed awake for several more hours." Seth said.
"Don't worry. I'm not planning to go to sleep." Heba said.
"Well, why can't we leave here yet?" Seto asked, asking it more calmly than Akefia.
"Because Pegasus is still out there and alive. As long as he is alive, you are all still in danger." Heba explained.
"Meaning you have to kill Pegasus first." Marik said.
"Yeah. Once he sees that you're gone, he's going to be pissed." Joey said.
"What do we do?" Yami asked.
"You're leaving this to us. We're going to figure this out." Malik said.
"Heba, you have any ideas?" Ryou asked.
"Ryou, I am in no condition to try and figure out a plan of action right now. I'll work with that tomorrow." Heba said.
"I do have a question. How the hell did they capture you guys?" Joey asked.
"Our own stupidity." Amara said.
"What happened?" Heba asked.
"Well, after you left, that Fire guy came in here and said that you had told him to take us somewhere. We knew that you had told us to stay put, but we thought that he was on the level since he was one of the ones that was always with you, so we went with him." Atemu said.
"He took us out and said that there were vehicles waiting outside to take us where we would be going." Bakura added in.
"By the time we started questioning it, those guys that worked for Pegasus jumped us and restrained us. They then tied us up and put us in vans. You know the rest." Yami said.
"Well, we figured that Fire was the traitor. It didn't take much to figure that out." Joey said.
"Where is he, anyway?" Akefia asked.
"He's being guarded constantly. We'll have to deal with him later." Ryou said.
"If you don't mind my asking. How did you find us quickly?" Amara asked.
"Well, you know those necklaces that we asked you to wear?" Malik asked.
"Yeah." Marik said.
"They're actually tracking devices. It didn't take long for Ryou to track you down. After Iron rod, another agent, had to deal with Fire trying to get away, he said that there was an underground level of Industrial Illusions." Joey said.
"How could you get in? I thought that you said that with security the way it was you couldn't get in." Amara said.
"Again, we have Ryou to thank for that." Heba said.
"What did you do?" Bakura asked.
"I was able to use a satellite to disable the security system in Industrial Illusions for ten minutes, giving us time to get in, hack into Pegasus's computer to find the underground level, and get in to find you." Ryou explained.
"Are you some kind of computer genius?" Akefia asked.
"Something like that." Ryou said.
"Without Ryou, we wouldn't have been able to pull it off." Heba said.
The door to the meeting room opened, and Ice walked in.
"What is it, Ice?" Heba asked.
"These are files that you wanted. Something to do with Maxamillion Pegasus and a woman named Vivian Wong." Ice said.
"Thank you, Ice." Heba said, taking the files.
"Also, Iron rod and the others are getting a little antsy about guarding Fire. They're itching to shoot." Ice said.
"Thanks. We'll deal with that soon." Heba said.
"Yes, sir." Ice said and left the room.
"Heba, we had better get Fire out of the way soon. You know that Iron rod and the rest of his team wouldn't feel a thing about killing him." Joey said.
"Yeah. We might as well do that." Heba agreed before he opened the files to look at them.
"What will you do?" Atemu asked.
"He knows everything about our organization. How we work, what we do, the whole she-bang. We have to kill him." Joey said.
"Well, Pegasus is starting to try and cover his tracks." Heba said.
"What do you mean?" Ryou asked.
"Vivian Wong was found murdered in her home yesterday. Apparently, people next door heard arguing and called the police. Police found her body. She'd been shot twice in the chest." Heba said.
"Why wouldn't there have been reports of gunshots?" Aknankanon asked.
"A silencer?" Bakura asked.
"Most likely. I would say that Pegasus sent someone to kill her to keep her quiet." Heba said.
"She didn't know anything, though." Marik said.
"True, but he's running scared. He knows that we're on to him, and he doesn't want to take any chances with us." Heba said.
"Plus, there's a chance that he was one of her many customers. He could have been traced to her. He could have gotten in trouble just for that, and that might have led to the truth about everything." Ryou said.
Heba looked at the other folder. "Pegasus has also proven himself to be a coward." Heba said.
"How so?" Malik asked.
"According to this, Pegasus flew out on his private plane to an unknown destination. He's probably trying to hide, hoping that this while thing will blows over." Heba said.
"Think we can find out where we went?" Ryou asked.
"I'm sure that we can." Heba replied.
"Can I assume you'll start on that tomorrow?" Yami asked.
"Yeah. For now, we're going to deal with Fire." Heba said as all four stood up and headed for the door. Heba stopped and turned to face them. "And if someone comes in here saying we said that they were to take you somewhere, don't go." Heba said before they left.
"I guess we deserved that." Seto said.
"I just hope that they can end this soon." Yami said.
"I agree. I am sick and tired of being cooped up like a bird." Akefia said.
Pegasus was sitting in his luxurious mansion on his island. He was sipping a glass of wine as he waited.
The doors to the room opened, and Croquet walked into the room.
"Mr. Pegasus, the job is done." Croquet said.
"Then Vivian Wong is dead?" Pegasus asked.
"Yes. She did not know what hit her. I made sure to leave no evidence behind." Croquet said.
"Good. I can't afford to have anyone alive that could give me away to the authorities." Pegasus said.
"The girl knew nothing about you and your operations. Why did you want her dead?" Croquet asked.
"She may not have known anything, but she was a liability. I couldn't take the risk that she might have led police to her clients, which would have led back to me. Besides, she was nothing but a worthless whore who wanted the good life. She lived it, but it always comes with consequences." Pegasus said.
"Yes, sir. Is there anything else that you need?" Croquet asked.
"At this time, no. I can think of nothing that I need. You may go." Pegasus said.
Croquet nodded before he left the room, shutting the doors behind him.
Pegasus swirled his glass slightly, making the wine slosh around in the glass. "I don't know who foiled my plans, but they will pay dearly when I find out who they are. Once everything dies down and those idiots come out of hiding, I will make sure to end their miserable lives. I will also find out who these assassins are that managed to save them and end their lives as well. No one makes a fool out of Maxamillion Pegasus." Pegasus said before he took another sip of the wine.
Heba, Ryou, Malik, and Joey walked to the room where Fire was being held.
"Anything to report?" Heba asked one of the guards.
"No, Leader. The traitor has done nothing since Iron rod had to shoot him before you left." one of the agents said.
"Good. He's about to learn what happens to those who betray the Guild." Heba said.
Heba, Ryou, Malik, and Joey walked into the room.
"Oh. Leader. You're back." Iron rod said.
"Yes. I am. Wait outside." Heba said.
"I was hoping to get the chance to shoot him." Iron rod said.
"You will. Just not yet." Heba said.
"Yes, Leader." Iron rod said. He left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Fire glared at Heba. "If you think that I'm going to tell you anything, then you're mistaken." Fire spat.
Heba walked forward and put his hands flat on the table and leaned forward so that his face was only a few inches from Fire.
The intensity of the glare that Heba had on his face had Fire flinching.
"I don't need to know anything that you know. We already saved them all." Heba said.
Fire's eyes widened in shock.
"That's right. We got into the underground hanger at the Industrial Illusions building, we rescued them all, we killed all of those assassins that you handed them over to, and we blew up the underground hanger." Heba said.
"No. That's impossible." Fire said.
"Really?" Ryou asked before he slammed Fire's head down into the table.
Fire screamed in pain.
"You see, I'm a computer genius. I hacked into a satellite, disabled the security system, hacked into Pegasus's computer, found the underground hanger, and even found the place they were being held. It wasn't a very efficient operation. It was too easy to hack into everything." Ryou said.
"No. Falcon assured me that they would be able to take care of them all." Fire said.
"Well, Falcon was wrong. We are here, the protectorates are all safe, the assassins are dead, Pegasus has run to hide, and you're left holding the bag." Heba said.
"What are you going to do?" Fire asked, fearful.
"Simple. You know too much about our organization and what we have done, so we have to kill you." Heba said.
Malik smirked. "That is going to be so much fun." Malik said.
"No! I can help. I can tell you where Pegasus us." Fire said quickly.
"No, you can't. I can see the lie in your eyes. You know absolutely nothing." Heba said.
Fire gulped.
Joey grabbed Fire by the back of his collar and jerked him up. "You made a mistake by betraying us." Joey hissed.
"How long were you working for Pegasus, or have you been working for him from the start?" Heba asked.
"I'll never tell you the answer to that." Fire retorted.
Malik took out a dagger. "You know, I love doing this." Malik said.
Before Fire could react, Malik rammed the blade of the dagger into Fire's arm.
Fire screamed from the intense pain and continued screaming when the dagger was pulled out.
"So, want to start talking?" Malik asked with a sadistic grin on his face.
"Never!" Fire spat.
Joey slammed dagger into the wall so that Fire's injured arm hit the wall.
Fire screamed again at the intense pain.
"Want to rethink that?" Malik asked, tossing the dagger up and catching it.
"I was working for him for the last two years!" Fire said quickly.
"So, you weren't a spy the entire time." Ryou said.
"No. I was recruited because the pay was good, and I knew that I would be protected if anything went south." Fire said.
"Really? So, where is that protection now?" Heba asked.
Fire said nothing.
"I guess you really were left to hang out to dry." Heba said.
"What should we do with him?" Malik asked.
"Well, I Iron rod seems to have wanted to deal with him himself." Heba said.
"Oh, can't I torture him some more. You know that I enjoy that." Malik said.
"All right, Malik. Just don't kill him. I'm letting Iron rod do that." Heba said.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Fire screamed.
"Fire, you betrayed the organization and put the lives of our protectorates on the line. You know too much about us. You have to die." Heba said.
Malik smirked before he plunged his dagger into Fire's leg and dragged the blade down a few inches before pulling the blade out.
Fire screamed the entire time from the immense pain.
"You see what happens to those who decide to betray us?" Malik asked.
Fire was in too much pain to answer.
"Iron rod! Come in here!" Heba called.
The door opened, and Iron rod walked into the room.
"You called?" Iron Rod asked.
"Yes. We're done here. Do what you want with him. Just make sure that he is dead and burn the body." Heba said.
"Yes, sir." Iron rod said.
Heba, Ryou, Malik, and Joey left the room.
Iron rod looked at Fire with a wicked smile.
"No. Please, don't." Fire begged.
"You brought this on yourself when you decided to betray us all." Iron rod said as he walked forward.
Malik was pouting. "I wanted to get rid of him." Malik said.
"Malik, Iron rod will handle it. You know that he enjoys doing this. Besides, it's not going to kill you." Heba said.
"I'm with Malik on this one, Heba. I kind of wanted to kill him myself." Joey said.
"So did I." Ryou said.
"You did?" Heba, Joey, and Malik asked as they stopped and turned to look at Ryou.
"Well, yeah. His actions could have killed Bakura and Akefia." Ryou said.
"I know what you mean. Seth and Seto could have been killed." Joey agreed.
"They all could have been killed, but they weren't. They are fine. We have nothing to worry about." Heba said.
"Yeah. I guess we should focus on getting rid of Pegasus." Ryou said.
"Tomorrow. Today, we need to just relax. Besides, the day is almost over. We'll start on finding Pegasus first thing in the morning." Heba said.
The other three nodded their understanding.
"Croquet, have you tried contacting Hawk like I asked?" Pegasus asked from where he sat in the dining room.
"I tried, but I have been unable to raise contact with him. I fear that leading our targets out into the trap blew his cover." Croquet said.
"If that is the case, then I am certain that he is dead. There is no chance that this group of assassins would allow him to live if they know he is a traitor." Pegasus said.
"There was only one name that he could give us. It was the name of the leader of organization he was working with." Croquet said.
"Have you looked into him?" Pegasus asked.
"Yes, but I have uncovered little. His name is Heba Morin. The only records he has are from high school, and only his senior year." Croquet said.
"That's it?" Pegasus asked.
"Yes. It was during the time that the assassins were sent after Aknankanon and Amara Akana. He must have been sent there to protect them." Croquet said.
"Someone was careless. It must have gotten out about the hit on them." Pegasus said.
"We only know a little about the organization. They're not killers for hire, but they do kill people. We're not sure what that's all about." Croquet said.
"Any idea what they are called?" Pegasus asked.
"The only name that we have heard is the Guild." Croquet said.
"The Guild? I have never heard of such an organization." Pegasus said.
"No one has, sir. They're a secret organization, and there are no people that have heard of it." Croquet said.
"Then there is no way to learn who we are up against." Pegasus said.
"No, sir." Croquet said.
"It doesn't matter. They can't possibly have the resources to learn where we are, so there is no reason for me to fear." Pegasus said.
Croquet said nothing, but he was worried about the fact that his boss seemed to be overconfident in his safety. 'I hope that this doesn't end up biting us in the ass.' Croquet thought.
"Damn it!" Bakura and Akefia both exclaimed.
Heba, Bakura, Akefia, Ryou, and Yami were playing a game of poker, and Heba had just won again.
"How can one person be that good?" Akefia asked.
"Simple. I'm very good at bluffing." Heba said.
"How many hands has he won?" Ryou asked.
"That win made it where Heba has won six of the eight hands. Yami won the other two." Joey said.
"I think that you all might want to quit while you're ahead." Amara suggested.
"I think that she's right." Atemu agreed.
"Not a chance. We're playing until we win." Bakura said stubbornly.
"It's going to be a long night." Malik muttered.
At that time, Iron rod entered the room.
Heba knew that there was only one reason that Iron rod would have come. "Is it done?" Heba asked.
"Yes. Fire's been disposed of." Iron rod replied.
"Good. Go back to your duties." Heba said.
Iron rod nodded and left.
"So, you had him killed?" Amara asked.
"No choice. If we had let him go, he could have led Pegasus right back to us if he managed to find Pegasus." Joey said.
"Besides, he knows too much about what is done here." Ryou added in.
"In any case, that is one less problem that we have to deal with." Heba said.
"Speaking of dealing, deal." Akefia said.
"All right." Heba said.
~Three Hours Later~
"Damn it all!" Bakura exclaimed.
"I don't believe it!" Akefia shouted.
"Wow. Heba had nothing and still won." Yami said.
"I'm good at bluffing." Heba said.
"All right. Deal." Akefia said.
"We have been at this for four hours." Heba said.
"We're not stopping until you are beaten." Akefia said.
"All right. I think that that's enough. We've all had a rough day. I think that we should go and get in bed. There's not one of us that isn't tired." Ryou said.
"He's right. Marik, Mariku, Malik, Seth, Seto, Joey, Amara, and Aknankanon have already gone to bed, and I think that we should do the same. We are all exhausted." Atemu said.
"If you want, we can play again tomorrow. I need to get some sleep." Heba said.
"Fine. We are going to play again though." Bakura said.
The remaining six left the room.
Heba grabbed Ryou and pulled him aside. "See if you can't do something about your lovers. I really don't like the idea of playing poker all day tomorrow." Heba said quietly.
"Sure thing, Heba. I'll see what I can do." Ryou agreed before he headed off to his room with his lovers.
Heba then headed to his own room while Atemu and Yami headed to their room.
Heba walked into his room and lay down on the bed. He released a tired sigh.
Heba was dead tired. He had had a really rough night/day. It seemed like he had been up for almost twenty-four hours. Then again, he had been up for twenty-four hours.
As tired as he was, Heba couldn't fall asleep. He had been through this before. When he had been up for too long and wanted to sleep was when his body wouldn't let him sleep.
"Great. It's going to take me forever to fall asleep." Heba muttered.
Since he was unable to sleep, Heba began to think about what he could do to find Pegasus. He knew that Pegasus was hiding somewhere. He wouldn't hide somewhere that was too obvious. He would try to hide himself if at all possible.
'Where would he go? The flight plans didn't say where he was going, but he wasn't leaving Japanese airspace, which means that he is still in this country. The only problem is figuring out where that is?' Heba thought.
Heba tried to concentrate on the problem with Pegasus, but his mind wouldn't let him focus on that problem. Instead, he started to think about the other major problem in his life.
Atemu and Yami.
Heba knew in his heart that he loved them both. He also knew that they loved him. He just wasn't sure that them being together was such a good idea.
'There's too much risk involved. I don't want to risk their lives.' Heba thought.
Deep down, Heba knew that he was just making excuses.
Heba was afraid of what Yami and Atemu really thought of him. He was an assassin. He had killed people in the past, even if they were vile, disgusting people. He had lied to them a great deal. They didn't even know his real name. They knew nothing of who he really was.
Heba sat up and turned so that his legs were hanging off the bed. 'What do I do? I want to be with them, but I can't. This is he only life that I knew. This is the only thing that I can do. I don't know how to do anything else. ' Heba thought.
As much as Heba wanted to be with them, he wasn't sure that he could. He wasn't sure that he could fit in with the real world given that the only world he ever knew was the world of assassins.
'Although I did enjoy being normal for that short time.' Heba thought, remembering when he had been undercover in Domino.
Heba wasn't sure what he would do.
Yami and Atemu walked into their room.
Atemu immediately pushed Yami up against the door and kissed him fiercely.
Yami was caught off guard by this, but soon started to kiss back.
Atemu broke the kiss and started to kiss down Yami's neck.
"Hmm. Atemu, what's gotten into you?" Yami asked as he brought his hands up to tangle in Atemu's hair.
"We could have been killed today. The only thing I want is to feel you." Atemu said.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Yami asked.
Atemu picked Yami up and threw him on the bed before joining him.
~Two Hours Later~
Yami and Atemu lay in bed under the sheets together. Both were naked and sweaty from their lovemaking.
"I love you, Yami." Atemu said.
"I know, Atemu. I love you, too." Yami replied.
"I don't remember the last time we had a night like this." Atemu said.
"Maybe we should nearly be killed every night. We haven't had that much passion in a long time." Yami said.
"You know, there is only one thing that would have made this better." Atemu said.
"Heba being with us?" Yami asked.
Atemu nodded.
Yami cuddled up against Atemu. "I hope that we can convince Heba to be with us. I would love for all of us to be in a relationship together." Yami said.
"I hope so. I can tell that he loves us, but I just don't know why he won't be with us." Atemu said.
"Well, we need to talk to him about this soon." Yami said.
"We will. Right now, I think that I have other ideas." Atemu said.
Before Yami could react, Atemu had him pinned to the bed again and was kissing him. Yami forgot everything as they started to make love again.
Hope you liked it.
Next: Heba, Yami, and Atemu talk about themselves and the future.
R&R.