Leonardo took charge of carrying a blanket-wrapped Brandon out to the alley where Luke's Volvo was waiting. The doctor had been unable to get a lucid reaction out of their tortured friend when he had examined him in the basement. Luke's manner with Brandon was efficient, and he seemed to be in a hurry to get the man away from that place.
"Will you take him to a hospital?" Leo asked, hesitating near the car door while Katherine kept watch for him.
"No, Leo, I don't even know what I'd tell those people. I think it will be better for him psychologically if I take Brandon back to your home, to a familiar place, with familiar faces," Luke answered.
"I'm just saying, with everything that's wrong with him—"
"Leo, we can treat hypothermia, infection, and his broken arm along with anything else that's wrong with him underground. Do you not want him to be there?"
"It isn't that, Doc. You know I just want to make sure that Brandon's okay."
"I already gave him a shot of the adrenal-heat to help raise his body temperature. We'll start him on an aggressive treatment of antibiotics, get him completely stitched up…I'm not saying it won't be a job, Leo, but Marc, Caleb, and I can handle it."
"His arm doesn't look good."
"I'd bet money we're going to have to break it again to set it properly."
"What about…" Leonardo swallowed. "How long will it be before he recognizes us?"
"Brandon's in a state of psychological shock, Leo, likely induced by the trauma of whatever he's been through. His symptoms will probably persist for a while, but the dazed condition he's in right now…it could be anywhere from a couple hours, to a couple of days. We just have to get him through it."
Leonardo leaned heavily on the car door. "He was here the whole time. We had a ridiculously easy point of entry, and Daichi's men weren't even close to being the Akiudo's finest. Daichi is probably the only real threat among them, but they followed whatever he said. I can't believe we let Brandon down this badly. This was never even about him. I know Daichi would only use Bran to get to us."
"Leo, if I can repeat something you said a couple of days ago...this isn't your failure. You didn't know Brandon was missing, no one knew. His apartment was clean, and he was supposed to be gone. Nobody could have predicted Daichi returning to New York."
Leonardo was silent for a beat before making eye contact with the man. "Are you guys going to be able to transport Brandon okay?"
"Marc and Caleb are going to meet me at the van entrance with a slider. Between the three of us, we'll get him home, Leo. Don't stay here any longer than you have to though, okay?"
"We just need to wait for Daichi and get some answers out of him. I'm not sure how we're going to get him to talk yet. I don't want to resort to something that goes against our honor, but we have to find out who sent him. We've got to know where the extended threat comes from.
"Daichi is a henchman; that's all he's ever been. Taking down his operation here proves how little experience he has with leadership. Those men down there snapped like toothpicks, and that's not something we're used to seeing with their warriors. I heard Daichi say that Takashi wants to come back here. If we're going to come under further attack, I want to be prepared for it."
"But Takashi is behind bars!" Luke sounded frustrated.
"We all know that, but someone else is still running the show. We've got to get to the bottom of a few things, and you need to get Brandon out of here."
"Call me when you're on your way home. And Leo?"
"Yes?"
"For what it's worth, I don't think you guys should feel guilty for pushing Daichi further than you normally might. There are lives hanging in the balance…and he already deserves a lot worse than you're willing to dish out."
"I agree, Doc, but that doesn't mean we can act on it," Leo replied with more control than he actually felt. "Go. We'll catch up with you."
He stepped away from the Volvo and watched Luke pull the car away. On the inside he was running through all the possible methods they might be able to use to extract information from Daichi, and warring with his desire to kill the man outright.
I don't know how I'll react to having him within reach. I think I can control myself, but I'm not positive about anything.
"Leo, c'mon," Kat urged. "The sun's going down, but let's not expose you any more than necessary."
The turtle wordlessly followed her back inside, and she must have read his troubled state of mind.
"If you're not sure how far to go, you could always let me take care of Daichi," Kat offered with an edge to her tone.
"Kat…"
"Leo, he ripped apart two of our own, our brothers. I'm only saying, if it makes you too uncomfortable, I'd be happy to step in."
Leonardo shook his head sadly. "I'm no closer to figuring out what we should do with him than I was a few minutes ago. Hopefully we'll think of something in the time it takes his useless hide to get back here."
Katherine looked down at the ground. "Seeing my brother like that, Leo, it makes me want to hit someone over and over until they bleed as much as Brandon has. The image of Donny in my head makes me want to unload on all of them."
"Kat, you're not the only one. I'm mad – my brothers are mad. We're all on the verge of snapping, but we can't give away control. We can't let the bad guys take that from us, or we're no different from the animals they are."
"You guys will never be in the same class as the Akiudo garbage," she said with certainty.
Leonardo shook his head once more. "With the violence we're capable of, you don't understand how fine of a line we walk sometimes, Kat. I know that you're extremely capable too. I just worry…"
"What, Leo?"
"I worry about becoming the monsters that the world assumes we are."
Katherine sighed quietly. "That's only because they can't see you, Leo. All of you are the furthest thing from monsters. Those rotten excuses for human beings on the other hand, they're lower than low. I meant what I said, Leo. Give me a crack at Daichi, and I'll help you find out anything you want to know."
Daichi was irritated. His work over the last couple of hours had been a fruitless errand, as the subject of the tip Yukiko had provided for a more "suitable" headquarters for his men was in even worse condition than he'd expected.
She cannot stand that we are living underneath such a busy establishment, but where does she expect us to go? What does she want us to do? Live without electricity and plumbing? Run around homeless on the streets of New York? That will not earn me any new loyalty with the men.
They want to be taken care of in the manner they're accustomed to, the way Takashi looked after them. He was a strict leader, but no man ever went without. Until she is willing to send me more resources, Yukiko will have to deal with the fact that this is the best I can do.
Daichi slipped his key into the outside access door, and crossed through the narrow hallway that led to the storage room. His keys were still in his hand as he approached the basement door to let himself through.
He was surprised when he didn't find his watchman. Daichi growled darkly under his breath that the door had been unattended, and stormed down the staircase to give the guilty party a proper tongue lashing, and perhaps a blow or two to cement his point.
As Daichi's feet hit the ground floor of the basement, he was not prepared to be accosted by twin katana blades. The startled man began to backpedal, but the blades pursued him rapidly, crossing one another at the base of his throat like a giant pair of scissors. Daichi didn't dare try moving again.
"I'm so glad you decided to join us," a cutting voice informed him.
Daichi squinted at the figure in the darkness, and his mouth dropped slightly as the Shitenno got directly in his face.
"Are you really that surprised? You attacked our own, and you didn't think we'd respond?"
Daichi couldn't think of a safe answer, so he chose to say nothing. The katana blades guided him away from the stairs, and the blue-masked demon prodded him to walk backwards into the open area of the basement.
"We have a lot to talk about, Daichi, starting with what you're doing here."
"You are the almighty Shitenno," Daichi said sarcastically, finding his boldness. "Why should you need to ask me anything?"
One of the swords clipped his chin hard enough to draw blood. "You have no idea how close to death you are."
Daichi held his breath, waiting for the demon to finish him. The Shitenno merely forced him to start backing up faster.
"You keep moving," the creature ordered shortly. "Unless you want the chance to see me use my steel properly."
Daichi shut his mouth again, resolving not to speak. If their pathetic underling could withstand hours of torture without revealing a detail, surely I can handle anything they will do. If I die, I die. Better to perish on the demon's blades than to be looked down upon by Takashi and Yukiko for the rest of my life.
"What're we doing with him, Leo?"
A low voice over Daichi's shoulder surprised him again, and he twisted his head to see two more of the Shitenno. The red-masked one scowled at him so darkly that Daichi barely contained a shudder.
They are merciful creatures; they have proven it time and time again. I can outlast them.
"Let's get him locked up so we can discuss it a little more," the blue one said decisively.
As the demon began to lower his blades, Daichi ducked his head to charge at the creature as a last-ditch effort. He'd hardly lifted one leg before something crashed over the back of his head, and he instantly blacked out.
Daichi awoke in an uncomfortable cramped position on his stomach, unable to move his limbs more than a couple of inches in any direction. In a cruel twist of irony, he realized he was inside the same storage closet that had been Brandon's prison.
"Be still, Daichi-san."
The calm voice was familiar, and Daichi strained his neck to see Takumi beside him.
"What is happening?" Daichi asked.
"The demons go to decide our fate."
"And you tell me to be still?"
"All things are not as they seem, Daichi-san. When the demons overtook the basement, I stowed myself away here before they could find me. They knew I was restrained; they didn't know that I hold the key."
Takumi immediately rose several points in Daichi's estimation. "Do you mean that you can free yourself?"
"I already have, Daichi-san. The demons didn't know what to think when they found me already as a 'captive'. They placed you with me in order to discover how you would react to my presence."
"Are you able to free me as well?"
"Yes, Daichi-san, but it gets better. They appointed their humans as guards."
"Their humans?"
"A man and woman stand over the door. I don't believe they took part in the original fight. They should not prove difficult for you to overcome."
Daichi shook his aching head. "Turn me loose, Takumi."
"I am going to help you onto your side, Daichi-san. It will provide a partial shield from what I am doing should they be watching us."
Daichi grunted as Takumi fought to get him turned, so that his back was facing him.
"Perfect, Daichi-san. I will have you free in no time."