Chapter 19 - Silver Tongue
Seto headed down the staircase that led to the front door, which was when the doorbell rang a third time. "I'm getting bored out here!" the brunette female called from the other side.
He put the gun to his side and carefully opened the door. "What are you doing here, Suarez? And how did you even get this address?"
She smiled and walked into the living room, her pistol clearly in hand. "I have my ways." She sat down on one of the couches with a glance towards the door, which was still left open. "And why do you think I'm here?"
"Trying to kill me or kidnap someone in my family is typical around here," he scoffs. "Seeing you haven't tried either yet, I'm guessing you've got something else in mind."
Valencia stood to her feet, turning to see the gun in Seto's hands. "You really wanna fight me, kid? I'd kill you in a heartbeat."
"Try it, bitch. I dare you," he growled, loading the first shot.
Riley's POV
I snuck along the halls, listening out for any sound of conversation or gunfire. Kaiba's definitely stubborn and aggressive, so there's bound to be someone getting hurt. Damn it, why are these halls so big? Completely unnecessary.
I think I hear voices, but I can't tell what the hell they're saying. Knowing the bitch, she's probably gonna shoot if he doesn't give me up. And people would think Yami's crazy.
Before long, I hear a lone gunshot, which sets me off running. That bastard, he better not have gotten shot!
As I'm running to the source of the sounds, I hear a screech of pain followed by three more shots. I round the final corner, greeted by the sight of Valencia on one bloody knee and Seto with a bullet in his shoulder.
That really pisses me off and I need to see more blood before I feel like dealing with her! I cock the pistol in my hands and shoot her twice, one in the shoulder, another in her wrist by sheer luck.
She groans, quickly shifting her gun to her left hand. Before she could take her next shot, I call out from the staircase, causing their attention to shift to me.
"As much as I wanna kill you, perhaps we can play a game first. A bit of a gamble, just you and I, Valencia."
"And if I refuse?" she says with a bitter grin. "What if I decide to kill your boyfriend and take you by force?"
I smirk at her, lowering the gun a little. "In your condition? Doubt it, you'd get shot first. Unless you're really suicidal, I don't recommend trying it." I started walking down the staircase. "So, what do you say? Let's play a game."
Normal POV
Seto couldn't believe what he was hearing; Valencia is as good as dead, and instead of just shooting her and putting an end to it, Yami was suggesting that they play a game as she slowly bleeds to death? What the hell was he thinking?
"You shouldn't even be here, Yami," Seto said to him, receiving an impatient look from him.
"It's not Yami right now, it's Riley."
The brunette female scoffs. "Of course, the liar is the one I have to deal with! Go figure."
Riley glares at her. "Shut it, bitch, your life is in my hands." She huffs, keeping silent for a moment. "Alright, say I play your game. What are the rules?"
"Well, first and foremost," the liar in question said airily, "in order to play, you and I have to be the only people in the room and completely disarmed of any firearms or knives of any kind."
"Meaning?" Valencia deadpans, not caring much for the situation.
"Meaning that Seto walks out of this room alive." Seto widens his eyes.
Was he seriously going through with being in the same room as this psychopath unarmed? People can kill with just their bare hands and the teen was fairly certain that she had the capability to do just that.
A laugh echoes from her, the face of an amused woman unmistakable on her features. "Is that all? Why should I humor you?"
The tri-color haired male reached the bottom of the staircase, pistol still in hand. "Why wouldn't you? Just passing time and we finally get to catch up on civil ground!"
The trigger-happy female scoffs, "Why bother when I've basically already won this fight? I've told my men outside to set off the explosives that we've placed around the house. If I die, so will everyone else in this place. They'll be spared if you come with me without a fight." Valencia mentally laughs, thinking that she's managed to rattle him enough into compliance.
"If that doesn't do it for you, perhaps I could persuade you otherwise."
Surprised that he speaks, she pushed herself off of the ground with a smirk as blood still drips from her shoulder and wrist. "Alright, then. Persuade me."
He leans against the wall. "It's a questionnaire based game. First to lie or call it quits lets the winner do whatever they want."
"So it's a motive-driven game based on unpredictable questions?"
Riley shrugs. "Call it what you want."
The female takes a seat in one of the chairs nearby. "So I suppose there's an ante involved?" She received a nod.
"If I win, you leave us alone for the rest of our lives. Family and friends included. If you win…" He paused for dramatic effect. "Spit it out already!" she barks.
Riley smirks. "If you win, then I come with you without resistance. I will become an obedient doll to cater to your every whim, be it murder, sex, or otherwise, without a single protest. How does that sound?"
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!"
The brunette male, who had been keeping silent to watch things unfold, finally breaks through the deal with rage. "You want to bet how you want to spend the rest of your life in the hands of this two-faced whore?!" He stumbles over to Riley, furious at the situation. "You know damn well I can handle her myself and the explosives she speaks of are not a problem to me! What the hell are you thinking?!"
Riley, unamused by Seto's outburst, sighs and replies, "Why don't you worry more about yourself and trust that I know what I'm doing?"
"First of all, this-" He glances at his bloody shoulder, "-is a flesh wound. Second, you being here puts my brother and your child friend at risk. Should both of us die here because of your stupidity, the both of them are more likely to starve long before anyone finds them!"
"Then why don't you and your "flesh wound" go find them and make sure they are taken care of?" retorts the shorter male. "That way she'll be dealt with and Mokuba will be safe. You still have your weapon, you'll be fine, Kaiba."
"Which is part of why I think this whole scheme of yours is both foolish and a waste of time," he huffs, seeming to finally come down from his wrath for a moment.
Riley smiles, reminding Seto of the Yami he fell in love with for a moment. "Then trust me? Take a gamble this time. I know you like your odds either way."
The blue-eyed CEO thought about it. After a moment or two, he pulls off his necklace and gives it to him. "Fine; against my better judgment, I'm leaving this in your hands. Don't lose it. Clear?" The male in control nods, putting Seto slightly more at ease with the clear show of confidence. "Come let us out when it's safe. Don't die on me either, asshole."
Riley laughs before planting a kiss on him. "Oh, believe me, I don't die that easily~" he hums, a smirk plastered on his face. "Now, go. I have this handled."
As the brunette male departs to join his brother, his lover looks over to Valencia, who has finally moved to one of the couches in the room. "You like your tea, right? Why don't I make you some before we get started?"
She genuinely smiles, something she hasn't done in a long time, and says, "Fine. I suppose seeing your last act of free will before you become my obedient slave be filled doing something just for me makes this a bit sweeter."
He chuckles, turning his back on her and moving to the kitchen. Obviously, she doesn't plan on going anywhere without him and she's not making any moves to take him just yet. She could, but for some strange reason, she's not.
Riley begins making the cup of tea for her, leaving the tea bag to steep as he pulls a white ribbon with a garnet stone in its center out of his pockets. Twisting it slightly, it came off to reveal two .5 fluid ounce bottles hidden inside the hollow stone; one is blue, the other is violet. The violet-eyed male removes the minuscule violet bottle from its hiding place and pours it into the teacup, setting it to the side once it is emptied of its contents. He then disposes of the tea bag after a couple of minutes and adds a couple of sugar cubes into it. He returns to the room, stirring it as he brings Valencia her tea.
"Here you are. Hopefully, you like your Earl Grey still."
She accepts it, stirring it herself for a moment. "I find it strange that you're going out of your way to make me a cup of tea. What, trying to butter me up for your game, Yami?"
"Riley," he corrects, earning him an eye roll from the brunette female.
She takes a sip of it, eyeing him as he takes a seat himself. Once she sets the teacup down on the table, Valencia stands to stretch out her sore muscles for a few seconds. In less than a heartbeat after, she freezes, collapsing to the ground in a screech of agony. Seeing the look of horror on the bitch's face as she's betrayed in her most vulnerable moment made Riley laugh hysterically in a moment of insanity.
She stares at him with horrifying terror as she hoarsely demands, "Wh… What have you… done to me?!"
With a loud sigh of satisfaction, Riley smirks at the pitiful woman at his feet. "I think you know exactly what I've done to you, Valencia Suarez! Don't worry, though, it's not going to kill you. Yet."
After their escape from Valencia the first time, he had gone out of his way to window shop the black markets in search of a strong paralytic poison on the off-chance he got her to stay still long enough to ingest it. Sure, injecting it into her would be just as effective, but nothing compared to the satisfaction of seeing Valencia unable to move and slowly dying in front of him.
"So, are you going to play my game now? This time, you either satisfy my need for answers… or you die of poison."
The hazel-eyed female continues to stare him down, despite how weak she appears. "A-Are you insane? If I die… this entire building-" she coughs, blood dripping slightly from her mouth before she speaks again, "-will be blown to hell! Wh… What are you trying to accomplish, Riley?"
The short male rolls his violet eyes, slightly annoyed. "Well, if you want to continue what you're doing in life, then you'll want to answer quickly and honestly. That poison will take around twenty minutes to kill you and you've already wasted almost five trying to get your bearings and asking me stupid questions."
Moving to the ground to get a closer look at the paralyzed female's spiteful hazel eyes, he smirks once again before inquiring, "Shall we begin, then?"
~A/N: Sooo, I know it's been 3 years, not sure how to explain this one, to be honest ^^; Lot of drama, moved once or twice, lost a flash drive with all my stuff on it a couple years back, so I ended up losing motivation for a while, I am now in a healthy relationship right at this moment in time and they insist that I continue my fanfictions. I'm sure some of my readers stopped paying attention since I was inactive for so long, but for those who actually stuck around to read it since I went on my 3 year accidental hiatus… well, if you still kept me on your notifications for that long, I'm actually impressed. So, I'm gonna try and get these wrapped up and actually try to get a system going for myself. Probably not gonna happen, but I gotta do something if I'm gonna keep updating. I have a job, which drains my energy most days and I tend to be real lazy on my days off, so that's always fun, right?
Anyway, as always, Please Review and hopefully I actually update a little faster next time instead of waiting 50 years to get my motivation back ^^;
Next Chapter: Unknown
Taking a deep breath as a lone tear escaped his violet eyes, Yami shakily asks, "Final question: why did you choose me?"