Long time between updates and a short chapter but I have been working a lot lately and time just isn't on my side.
Chapter 3
The flight had been less than enjoyable for Seto Kaiba. First, his laptop had been dead and he hadn't been able to work until it had charged, and second he had lost 6 games of duel monsters, 4 games of chess and finally 3 games of tic-tac-toe to his annoying rival. To put it short, he was pissed. It wasn't that he lost, he could take losing with dignity, its that at the end, he was sure Atem had actually thrown the last few games and if there was anything he couldn't stand it was pity. The result was as soon as his laptop was charged he had set to work and ignored all attempts by Atem to start a conversation. But now that they had arrived he could get down to business.
As they got out of the plane, Seto quickly made his way to the waiting vehicle. A short ride later, and the testing field came into view. As the vehicle pulled to a stop, he looked around at the assembled military brass and sighed.
"Is something wrong?" Atem asked.
"I hate this part." Seto admitted then cursed. He was getting too comfortable around the geek squad, he wouldn't have normally have made such an admission.
Atem must have thought it was strange as well because he gave him a strange look before slipping out of the car and heading over to greet his superiors. It was weird to think that Atem had joined the army, but not possessing any valuable skills for the modern time he had little choice. He had, however, risen quickly through his natural leadership and the fact that he knew the vice president of Kaibacorp, the number one weapon supplier for the military. These two things had combined to get promoted to Kaibacorp Liason. Seto had tried to have him demoted and transferred far away but his stepfather had loved the idea and had kept him around just to annoy Seto.
Seto was all business as he quickly greeted each of the visiting officers in turn then took his place for the demonstration. "As you are all aware, weapons are used to win wars and create massive amounts of destruction. Let's not kid ourselves, we all know it, and the reason you come to Kaibacorp is because we do it better than anyone else. This, gentleman is the latest and greatest weapon: the Jericho missile."
As soon as he finished his speech, the missile launched and he braced himself for the shockwave of the explosion. He didn't need to wait long. The blast almost knocked him off his feet and he could tell that the brass were impressed. He got some mild satisfaction that Atem had been rendered speechless but overall the whole thing made him feel hollow. After he confirmed the order for the missiles, he went straight to the waiting hummer.
"Kaiba!" he heard Atem call but he ignored him and told the driver to go. Soon he would be home and then he would start investigating what Mai had told him.
Seto woke up. His head hurt. The last thing he remembered was a bright light and flashes of people shouting. And pain in his chest. He looked around. He was in a cave of some sort and he was very thirsty. He looked to his left and on a small table he saw a cup of water. He tried to grab it but succeeded only in spilling it on the cave floor. That was when he noticed the cables extending from his chest to what looked like a car battery on the table. He had never been one to panic, but as he unwrapped the bandages around his torso he began to feel real fear, mixed with shock as he saw a circular metallic something was grafted to his chest.
"I see you're awake." A voice said.
Seto looked up to see a well dressed older man standing in front of a mirror where he was finishing a shave. "Who the hell are you, where the hell am I, what the hell is going on, and most importantly what the hell is this!?" He yelled holding up the cords connected to the battery.
The old man chuckled. "My name is Arthur Hawkins, we are currently in a cave in the mountains somewhere, you and I are prisoners of a group that call themselves Paradias, and that is an electro magnet, hooked up to a car battery. You had a large amount of shrapnel in your chest. I removed what I could and that is keeping what's left from reaching your heart."
Seto let that sink in. He had to get to some real medical help soon. He needed time to think and really wanted something to drink. He was about to ask where he could get some more water when a small view port opened in the door and some people began shouting in several languages he didn't understand.
"Stand up!" Arthur said, "Do as I do. Put your hands up."
The door opened and a half dozen men wielding some very familiar weapons ran into the room shouting orders.
Seto narrowed his eyes as he studied each man and the weapons they were holding. Those definitely his weapons, not a knock off or copycat design. The question was how these idiots had gotten a hold of them when he checked every shipment? There were only three possibilities. The first was that they had stolen them a however they had been stolen from either didn't know or hadn't reported it. The second was that his stepfather was dealing under the table. While he didn't doubt that Gozoboro would do it, he knew that every weapon made by the company was accounted for. He knew who bought every shipment which led to the third possibility: someone that he had sold to was buying them to supply Paradias. The thought made him feel sick again and, as a consequence, he was not standing when the man with the red hair walked in.
Seto looked him over. He was about Seto's age, maybe a little older, with red hair. He was also dressed like a male prostitute. A short tank top exposed his stomach and he was also wearing some tight leather pants and a long coat. His two friends didn't look much better. One was short with spiky brown hair, goggles, and what looked like a leather vest. The other was tall and quite muscular. He apparently shared the others idea of fashion with his blond hair spiked up and a tight tank top. All three were wearing combat boots. "Who the hell are you?" Seto asked.
"Someone who should be treated with more respect." The red head said.
"I don't do requests." Seto said.
"I wasn't asking." He said.
Seto smirked. "I don't take orders either."
The red head started to walk forward but the big blonde held him back. Not yet Alistair."
"But Raphael" Alistair started but one look from the big guy and he shut his mouth and settled for glaring at Seto.
"Mr. Kaiba," the one called Raphael said. "if you wish to remain alive, you will do exactly what we tell you."
"And what's that exactly?" Seto asked, his glare enough to make several of the henchman take a step back.
"We want you to build us that missile of yours." He replied.
"Go to hell." Seto said.
Alistair smiled. "I hoped you'd say that, now we get to persuade you." He gestured and several men walked forward and grabbed Seto. He fought at first, but a blow to the head quickly took any fight out of him and he was hauled out of the room.
The next week was a blur of pain, unconsciousness, and waking but still he refused. He wouldn't let these bastards have such a weapon no matter what they did to him, he didn't want that on his conscience. During his moments of consciousness he had learned that the one with the brown spiky hair was named Valon and he had caught occasional glimpses of a person he was sure was the leader. A man with aqua colored hair down to his mid back who always wore white clothes. He did not know his name but was sure that he hated him. He could hear voices approaching and Arthur was telling him to get on his feet. He did, just so that when they opened the door they could see he was still standing and defying them. As usual the door opened and the usual group of cronies entered. This time though, they didn't say anything. They just grabbed him and Arthur, threw bags over their heads and lead them away.
Seto memorized the path threw the cave, noting two left turns, a right, and another left before that bag was removed allowing him to see. For a moment he was blinded by the sun but then he looked around at the camp. Everywhere he looked were men armed with Kaibacorp weapons and boxes filled with more. The canyon was non descript, it could have been any canyon anywhere in the world.
"What do you think?" a voice asked from behind.
Seto turned to see the man with the aqua hair standing behind him. He glared as he replied. "I think you have a lot of my weapons. What I want to know is how."
The man smiled. "You do not need to know that. What you do need to know is that your…unwillingness to assist us has grown tiresome. We have everything here you need to build the missile. I expect it in two weeks."
Seto looked at him like he had grown a second head. "I will not. What could make you think I'd agree just like that?"
The man smiled. "You have a brother do you not?" Seto said nothing but the color drained from his face. "I'm sure that you would not what anything to happen to him. I'll tell you what, you build my missile and after it is completed, I'll let you go and be with your brother."
The man smiled at Seto and extended his hand. Seto looked at it and he knew that he would not be allowed to leave here alive. But he needed to be sure that Mokuba would be alright. He took the man's hand. "You've got a deal."
Well that's chapter 3 I hope to have the fourth chapter by Valentine's day but if I keep having to put in 40 hours of overtime every week, probably not.