"Can we talk about this please?", Deirdra asked, as Alister turned away from her. All traces of his amicable attitude from that morning had vanished. He wasn't openly hostile now, having had a little time to cool off since his rampage, but his sulking was no less unpleasant. He crossed his arms and heaved an exaggerated sigh, making sure his annoynce was known to her. "Sure. Once I've explained to the boss why I missed my duel", he replied. As an afterthought, he added "Or maybe you'd like to do the explaining". Before she could respond, he had grabbed her arm and was pulling her after him towards Dartz's office. "What duel?", she asked, confused. He didn't answer. They soon reached their destination and he knocked at the door. "Come in", Dartz said from inside. They entered and Deirdra saw that he was busy signing contracts and making notations in the margins of a report. "Maybe this isn't the best time...", she whispered to Alister. He scoffed. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, as he knew Dartz wasn't going to be pleased by what he had to say. Dartz shoved some of the papers in front of him aside to free up more space on the desktop and continued working. He had yet to acknowledge the pair's presence. Deirdra didn't mean to be nosy, but she couldn't help stealing a glance at the paper lying closest to her. Her sharp eyes caught the words "Kaiba Corp." and "complete ownership". Had Dartz purchased her cousin's company? It couldn't be. She didn't know Seto very well, but if she knew anything about him, it was that he would never sell the family company. There had to be some mistake. She leaned in to get a better look at the document, but at that moment, Dartz looked up from his work, gathered up the papers, put them in a folder, and deposited the folder in a desk drawer, which he locked. He then turned to Deirdra with questioning eyes. Did he realise what she had been trying to do? She hoped not. Otherwise, she was in big trouble. However, he transferred his attention to Alister and said "I must say, I am surprised to see you two back so soon. Trouble?". Alister looked uneasy. "You could say that", he answered. Dartz narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, waiting for the biker to go on. He still smiled. He never stopped smiling. But his posture and the expression in his eyes was threatening. It was as if he was silently daring them to fail him again or challenge his authority, just so he would have an excuse to unleash his fury on them. Or maybe it was simply a scare tactic. But whatever it was, it made telling him what had happened all the more difficult. Luckily though, Alister was nice enough not to put Deirdra in the hotseat as he had threatened. "There was a minor misunderstanding between Miss Wallis and myself which led to us not leaving for my duel in time", he explained to Dartz. "What type of misunderstanding?", Dartz asked. "I forgot to tell her we were supposed to leave together", Alister lied. Well, it was partly the truth. He hadn't told her they were supposed to leave together, just to meet him later. Dartz was silent for a moment and Deirdra could almost hear the gears turning in his head. He was probably trying to decide whether or not to believe Alister's excuse. Alister hoped that he would, as he didn't want to implicate Deirdra, despite what he'd said, and he didn't necessarily want to bring up the Valon factor either. Finally, Dartz said coolly "I trust you realise the magnitude of your error and are very sorry for it?" "Yes sir", Alister replied. Deirdra tried not to laugh. Not that there was anything particularly funny about the situation -she just wasn't used to hearing Alister be so formal, or respecful. He obviously either greatly admired or feared Dartz. Perhaps both. "Despite the poor communication between you and your associate, I cannot see why the duels must be postponed", Dartz continued. "According to the info you provided, Kaiba left on a plane for Madrid 20 minutes ago", Alister retorted, a bit of his cockiness resurfacing. "You did not receive my text message?", Dartz asked. "No", came the reply. Dartz retrieved his Blackberry from his suit jacket pocket and pressed a few keys. Then he held the device up for Alister to see. "Mr. Kaiba has delayed his flight by an hour due to inclement weather. If you leave now, you should just reach the airport in time to do as we discussed", Dartz said. Alister spun on his heel and made for the door. Deirdra followed. "Tread carefully. Remember, your mistakes cost me", Dartz called after them.