My Boss The Genius
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INTERLUDE FOURTEEN
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INTERLUDE FOURTEEN
Kankurou wasn't in the mood to be fucking around.
"Listen you shithead―let us in, or I'm tearing through you. Take your pick."
If this skinny-ass punk in a fancy suit thought Kankurou was going to obediently walk away because he didn't have some fancy name-tag around his neck, then Kankurou apparently didn't pay enough money for those tattoos on his face. Everyone knew you didn't mess with a guy with face tattoos.
"I'm an officer of the law! I don't bow to hoodlums!"
Oh this kid was asking for it...
Kankurou started cracking his knuckles, but the soft voice of his younger brother stopped him in his tracks.
"Kankurou."
Gaara's voice was quiet, almost silent, but Kankurou always recognized the threat hanging in the soft tones. From a young age he had been programmed to fear it. There had been a point in his life when his body moved only to its command. Times were better now, but it was a lingering side-effect of their childhood.
The brat had reached into the inside pocket of his jacket, and Kankurou smirked. He saw the fear in that brat's eyes and it made him tingle with excitement. It was always a rush to know how easily you could overpower someone. Putting people in their place was Kankurou's favourite past time. But Gaara didn't care for things like that. There was only one thing that mattered right now; and that was Temari.
"I wish to speak to your commanding agent," Gaara said, elevating his voice authoritatively. The brat seemed surprised at the sudden shift in Gaara's demeanor. He looked quickly between Gaara and Kankurou, puzzling over who was the real ringleader of this duo. No one ever expected his younger brother at first, Kankurou thought. But that was always how they planned it.
"I don't think that'll be possible," the brat said slowly, his hand still in his jacket. But Gaara was undeterred.
"I'd like to speak to him. It concerns my older sister, Temari no Sabaku."
The brat still seemed cautious to let them in, but went inside to confer briefly with his superiors. He came out moments later, disgruntled but politely holding the door open for them to step inside. Kankurou watched the faces of several people stare suspiciously at him, getting ready to beat them all to a pulp at Gaara's orders.
Gaara talked to the commanding agent, a person Kankurou knew was his sister's boss. He'd only heard brief stories of the lawyer from his sister; most of what he knew about the Nara were from his own personal sources. Kankurou watched Gaara talk to Shikamaru, listening to the information pouring out of his brother's mouth.
Across the way, Shikamaru thought to himself that he didn't get paid enough for this job.
"Alright let me get this straight," he grumbled, rubbing his temples as a tattooed gangster and some soft-spoken college graduate stood in front of his desk, "You're Temari's younger brothers and you have information about her whereabouts." A nod came from both figures. "You refuse to divulge the source of your information, but you claim its extremely accurate." Another nod. "And you demand her retrieval but threaten decapitation if we tell her who helped us find her." A final nod.
Shikamaru looked blankly at the two of them and then looked at Sasuke, who seemed more than ready to shoot the newcomers. He sympathized with the other man; they certainly didn't have time to waste, but Shikamaru had a feeling there was more to this than just a couple of overly concerned younger brothers threatening death on several officers of the law. Sasuke however, seemed less willing to give these two the benefit of the doubt.
"If you idiots think for one second that we'll fall for that―"
Shikamaru held up his hand and Sasuke quieted immediately. He certainly didn't do it because it was Shikamaru, but because the very act of that gesture had been drilled into him since their inception into the Bureau. His teeth grit when he realized how easily and quickly he'd obeyed Shikamaru of all people, but the tactical genius had spoken before he could get another word in edgewise.
"Why should I trust your information?" he asked. Gaara shrugged.
"You certainly don't have to, but it's the only option that won't result in a dead-end." Shikamaru opened his mouth to protest that they had leads to follow, but Gaara cut him off. "We both know the Red Cloud doesn't use the same location twice. You're wasting your breath looking at long-deserted safe houses."
Shikamaru's mouth snapped closed, and he grumbled in annoyance under his breath. The stupid kid had a point. Shikamaru knew it was a long shot to go back to old hideouts, but he didn't have any other options until now. And the kid didn't look smug about being right, just determined to convince Shikamaru to trust them.
Ah man, what a drag...
"Sasuke, we're taking some guys and checking out that address." He could feel the protests rising in people's throats, but cut them off just as quickly as they came. "Everybody else will stay here. If your information turns out to be an ambush for us, your head is forfeit."
Sasuke grit his teeth, furious at super-genius' and their gullibility. But he relished in the opportunity to get out of this office. So he grabbed his idiotic blonde partner and swept out of the room, glaring at Gaara all the while. But the redhead was undeterred, choosing instead to sit patiently at the chair in front of Shikamaru's desk, as if he was a client of the Nara. Kankurou stood behind him menacingly with his hands in his pockets.
Together, they waited.