Next chapter. Quick note, originally I wrote this with Kaiba using Jarvis like the movie, but then remembered about Kaiba's computer from the season one episode where Yugi dueled the impostor Kaiba. Seto's computer didn't have a name, so Jarvis became Janet. Not really important to this chapter but just letting people know so there's no confusion.
Still don't own Iron Man, S.H.E.L.D. or Yu-Gi-Oh. Damn.
When the plane touched down at the Domino Airport Seto almost growled. Even though he had spent the entire flight back sleeping, mostly to avoid talking to Atem, he still felt tired. He probably would be for awhile anyway. He adjusted the sling on his arm as he stood. Apparently he had dislocated his shoulder during his crash landing and the adrenaline from the whole thing had kept him from noticing until they were flying back to the base. It wasn't really that bad, just a slight pain remained. He only agreed to the sling so the doctors would clear him to travel and now that he was home he was ready to discard the sling altogether. Before that though, he was going to use it to his advantage. Gozaburo wasn't the only one who knew how to play the media, and he was going to need as many people on his side as possible. He owed it to Arthur to make sure the people like that couldn't use his weapons to suppress good people like him. He would try to find Arthur's granddaughter after he finished his press conference.
The ramp lowered and he and Atem began to disembark. He caught sight of a couple EMT's approaching with a stretcher, and since no one else was on the plane he assumed it was for him. Playing the media was one thing, this was utterly ridiculous. He glared at them like he wanted to smite them with his gaze alone and the EMT's had the sense to step back and let him pass. He could see Gardner standing near his car with Taylor. The only reason he allowed Tristan as his driver was because the guy was loyal to Tea and Atem, and therefore was not a friend or henchmen of his stepfather's. The less his stepfather knew about his business now the better.
He chose not to say anything until he was seated inside the car. He heard Tea tell Tristan to go to the hospital but he put a stop to that in hurry. He was fine and he had better things to do.
"But Kaiba," Tea started, "You're still hurt. We need to get you checked out. I know YOU think you're invincible, but even you need help sometimes."
Seto decided to cut her off before she got going. He didn't need to hear her opinion of friendship, again. "If it will let me get on with my plans and avoid a meaningless argument you may have my personal physician meet us at the house later. Right now I want you to call a press conference. As soon as you can get one together." He wanted to catch his old man off guard, give him less time to react. If he could keep him on damage control for a few weeks, so much the better.
"Why a press conference? Why now? You should be resting."
"Look Gardner, I plan on doing plenty of resting AFTER the press conference. I need to do this as quickly as possible. I'm not sure how, but somehow the bastards that took me were armed with Kaibacorp weapons, and some of the more recent ones too. There is no way that should have been possible. I need to figure out how they got them. I need this press conference to say my piece before Gozaburo has a chance to spin it or blame it on PTSD or something. Otherwise things will be business as usual and whatever leak we have that allowed a bunch of terrorists to get guns and missiles from us won't get plugged. Now call the damn press conference." After saying this Kaiba leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes. He need to rest but that would come later. Right now he was planning what he was going to say to the media. His usual was crude remarks or gestures. That wasn't going to do this time. He hated the press. Always trying to portray him as a monster, like he enjoyed knowing that right now, somewhere in the world, weapons he designed were killing someone. Perhaps it was time to show his emotional side.
Tea pulled out her phone and made the necessary calls. She couldn't help but think of how much more fragile Kaiba looked. She looked at Atem who was sitting next to her. He was also looking at Kaiba with an expression of concern. Neither of them really knew what had happened to Seto during the months he'd been missing, but Tea could guess he wasn't being treated well. How much did he have to endure? He was strong, stubborn and mentally tough, and to the outside observer he would seem the same. She, however, had the benefit (or the curse) of being one of the few who really knew him. She could see that he was a bit frayed and, while he was putting on a front for their sakes, shaken. He would never show weakness to Atem, but maybe after this press conference she'd be able to help him, if he'd let her.
Atem wasn't sure what to make of his rival. He had said little during the trip back and even trying to goad him into a game of duel monsters had done nothing. Usually it was Kaiba who wanted to play, to try to prove he was superior, even if he had to border on nagging to get Atem to agree. But no matter how hard Atem had tried he couldn't elicit the faintest interest from the CEO. All he got was silence, except for about the twelfth or so time to try to break Kaiba out of his funk, Kaiba had simply replied "No, no more games." He hadn't elaborated or said anything else. Just kept staring at a beat-up Blue-Eyes card. Atem didn't get it, Kaiba had three Blue-Eyes in his deck, why was this one card so much more important than the other two. He asked, but received no response. Even now Kaiba was playing with the card, turning it over and over in his hands.
Seto wasn't sure what do to do. He knew he was going to expose the fact that terrorists had gotten a hold of weapons made by Kaibacorp, he was also going to announce that he was starting an internal investigation and that all manufacturing and shipping of their weapons would cease until it had concluded. Gozaburo wouldn't overrule him for fear of media backlash so that should buy time to find the leak and stop anyone who shouldn't be from getting their weapons. But what to do about the weapons that were already in the hands of terrorists and criminals? How was he going to stop them? It was something that was going to require more thought. In the meantime he took the locket he always wore around his neck, that held his picture of Mokuba, and placed Arthur's Blue-Eyes in it as well. He wouldn't forget Arthur, his friend, and he would make sure that all they went through wasn't for nothing.
As it turned out, the press conference was very easy to organize, since word of Seto's return had leaked out and the press were all over his home trying for an interview. He was never more grateful that he had insisted upon having his own home, separate from the Kaiba mansion, near the sea. Again it kept Gozaburo from interfering with him directly and, in this case, allowed him to have first shot at the media that had gathered there. It was a bit of a problem getting in with all the news vans parked outside, but once he was in he was happy to see that the press was sitting in the seats that had been provided by Tea's staff, and that he wouldn't be mobbed as soon as he left the car.
"We're here." Tristan said, stating the obvious as usual. But he did get out and open the car door like he was supposed to. 'At least, unlike Wheeler, Taylor can be trained.' Kaiba thought. Then he smirked a bit. 'And he's housebroken.'
Kaiba allowed himself to be helped from the car, even though hated letting Taylor touch him, he needed to maintain the illusion that he was suffering and injured. Any sympathy would be helpful. Once he was on his feet he made his way to the podium, still standing tall but purposely schooling his arrogant swagger. He could hear whispers from the gallery about how he looked different and he just hoped that was a good thing. Atem took the podium. "Mr. Kaiba will be making a brief statement, he will not be accepting questions at this time."
As Kaiba took the podium a man dressed in a dark suit with a mustache walked up to Tea. "Miss Gardner, my name is Croquet. I represent the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. We would like to make an appointment to speak to Mr. Kaiba."
Tea looked at the man. "That's quite a mouthful of a title."
"We're working on it." He said. "So when can we speak to Mr. Kaiba?"
"I'll set something up after the press conference." Tea said as Kaiba started speaking.
"First of all let me say for those of you who have never experienced a war zone, thank God. For a long time Kaibacorp has been manufacturing weapons, secure that we were giving the good guys the tools they would need to make sure as many of them came home as possible. That illusion has been shattered. I watched as young men and women were killed by the very weapons I designed to defend them." Seto paused at this point to gather his thoughts. He could see the press were eating this up, but now that he had started speaking, he was finding it hard to control his emotions. "I was a prisoner for over a month and during that time I saw that these men, who called themselves Paradias, were well armed with Kaibacorp weaponry. Every atrocity they have committed with those weapons weighs on my soul. I watched the closest friend I've ever had killed so that I could escape, murdered with my weapons. This cannot be allowed to continue. No more sons, daughters, fathers, or mothers will be sacrificed. As of this moment all manufacturing, all shipping of weapons and materials produced by Kaibacorp is suspended pending a full investigation as to how and why terrorists could acquire them." He wasn't even sure anyone could hear him anymore do the uproar that had come with his announcement. The fact that he actually shed a few tears during the speech and had choked when he mentioned Arthur helped his cause.
"I…" Seto started but the uproar, the emotion and the exhaustion was just too much. He turned and retreated inside leaving Atem to disperse the crowd. Once he was inside his home he stood for a few minutes, just taking it in. He had never expected to see the place again and he couldn't describe how good it felt to see the familiar, if a bit impersonal, room. But then his feet were moving. He wanted a shower and then to sleep for a week but first he swung by his work shop. "Janet you up?" he asked to the seemingly empty room.
"Sure Hon." Came the the response as the various computers and monitors in the room flared to life as the A. I. that controlled the house came online. "May I say how nice it is to have you home." the voice continued.
"Thank you. It is good to be home. I need you to access Kaibacorp's main computer and download all shipping information for the last six months to my private sever. I don't care if it was an inter office shipment of paperclips and post-it notes I still want it." Seto said. Some of the weapons those guys had been using had only come out in the last six months so it gave him something to start with. He also had seen the numbers on some of the crates and was going to be looking specifically for those to see if he could see where the company had sent them, or thought they sent them. "I also want any information we have on an Arthur Hawkins, specifically relating to his granddaughter, Rebecca."
"Sure thing. Anything else?" Janet asked.
"One other thing. Once the files are downloaded, disconnect yourself from the Kaibacorp mainframe. I don't want anyone trying to hack in to see what I'm doing. If you need me I'll most likely be asleep. Don't wake me unless the house is burning down."
"No problem."
Unfortunately while Janet understood about waking him, Gardner had no such understanding. It seemed he had barley gone to sleep when she woke him to be poked and prodded by his personal physician and a psychiatrist she had brought in to look him over. He fired her, as well as his doctor but they ignored him and did the exam anyway. He sighed because he knew that firing them had lost all meaning ages ago. He had fired Gardner at least eight times in the first week alone. Only Gozaburo could fire them.
"Well I think that does it Mr. Kaiba, you seem pretty healthy for someone has been through what you have. I think a lot of rest and relaxation and should be just fine." The doctor said.
Tea sighed with relief. She had been so worried for him these past few months, and for a while she thought he was dead. That had caused all kinds of strange feelings she didn't want to think about. But now he was home, as just as surly as ever, although he also seemed much more subdued, less sure of himself. "I'm glad. You hear that Kaiba, rest and no work for at least a few weeks." She gave him her best glare, but was met with an almost amused expression.
"I would like to point out that's exactly what I was doing before YOU came and woke me. I am now returning to my previously scheduled dreams. And I'm taking a gun, you wake me again I will shoot you." Seto said as he left room. Tea didn't know if he was kidding or not about the gun but decided she would leave him alone. Just in case.
Several days later Seto finally emerged from his room. His sleep had been plagued by nightmares, but he really hadn't expected anything else. He was looking forward to finally starting his investigation, as well as another project he wanted to explore. He was both shocked and annoyed when the first person he saw was Gozaburo waiting for him in the living room.
"Its about time, I thought you may have died in there." the old man sneered. Seto didn't rise to the bait, he wanted the man gone and having an argument would just prolong this encounter. "What the hell do you want?" he asked.
Gozaburo smirked. "What no banter today? You must still be tired. I just stopped by to say thanks for the mess you threw in my lap. Thanks to your press conference I've had to shut everything down and do an investigation because not to do so would be bad PR. Its going to take weeks to clean up this mess you made."
"Good." Seto said with a smirk of his own. " I hope you don't mind, actually I don't care if you do, but I'll be running my own investigation. It's not that I don't trust you and your people, oh, wait, yes it is." As he said this he folded his arms, causing the robe he was wearing to shift and reveal the glowing power source in his chest. Gozaburo's eyes immediately went to it.
"So that's the thing keeping you alive." He could almost see the dollars in his eyes. Between the reactor itself as a power source and the weapons he could power with it…He shook his head to stop from staring, cleared his throat and said "You really should let some of the techs see that, or at least give us the specs. Can you imagine what we could do with it?"
Seto quickly closed his robe. He should have guessed the old man would know about the arc reactor. Atem probably told him, either directly or in his report from when he found Kaiba. "I know exactly what you could do with it. That's why it is staying with me. Maybe, after the investigation, if I find you've been a good boy I'll share the specs. Now kindly get out before I am forced to throw you out. I'm sure you don't want THAT in the papers."
Gozaburo decided that today discretion was the better part of valor. Seto seemed pretty together, all things considering, but he really didn't want to push a button and have him get violent. Not yet anyway. So without another word he left. Seto was surprised that Gozaburo had given up so quickly but was very grateful for it. He had far more important things to do than argue with him after all.
Seto headed down into the basement, where he had his workshop, and fired up Janet. He wanted the results of his search on the shipment numbers, specifically A-1138. That had been the number stamped on the majority of the crates in the Paradias compound. A quick look through the manifests didn't reveal that number, but he noticed several others he had seen marked as lost. He frowned. Lost shipments weren't being included in the shipping reports he had been seeing. Further searching revealed they had been on planes, ships and transports that had been shot down or victims of raids or pirate attacks. That at least explained some of the weapons. However, he still had his missing shipment. More searches didn't turn up anything in the shipping manifests, meaning it had never been shipped out.
"Janet, link back in to the Kaibacorp network and run a full search for shipment A-1138. I want any and all information on that number, even if its just a memo." Seto wasn't sure why it hadn't shown up in the shipping information. He had really hoped he would find it among the lost shipments as at least that would partially explain how the weapons got to terrorists. He was about to move on to his other project when he noticed something odd about the shipments. With a few exceptions, they were spaced apart at regular intervals. About every three months a shipment would get "lost" in the same part of the world.
"Janet open up the shipping list for the lost shipments as indicated." He was ignoring the the shipments lost at sea or in other areas and focusing on the Middle East. He also removed the few that had been shot down, those had been military shipments and he doubted the army was supplying the guys shooting at them. The lists appeared on the screen and he noticed several odd things immediately. First was that all the shipments were nearly identical. A lot of small arms with a few larger weapons like RPGs and surface to air missiles thrown in. Second, there was a lot of ammunition which normally would be shipped separate from the guns that used them, just in case somebody intercepted a shipment. Finally he was unable to locate the names of the drivers or personnel who were transporting the shipments. If they had been attacked there should have been some reports of injuries or deaths, insurance payouts, something. Even if they had surrendered the shipments without fighting and no injures had occurred…it made no sense. If he had been a driver and had something so traumatic as being robbed by terrorists had happened he would have had at least a small claim for therapy. There wasn't even a record of what kind of vehicles were used. He also noted that a shipment of newer, higher grade weapons had been reported as lost just hours before the convoy he had been with had been attacked. Weapons very like the ones he had seen some of the Paradias flunkies using.
"Sir, I have located A-1138. It is listed as defective/destroyed in the Kaibacorp database. Records show that it was a very large shipment of missiles and missile parts that was destroyed approximately one month ago after one of the missiles exploded in storage. " Janet said.
Seto frowned. One month ago…that was during his imprisonment. "Pull up the list of destroyed equipment." He looked as Janet brought up the missing equipment. The parts were almost exactly what he would have needed for the Jericho missile. Almost like it had been custom made for him. The explosion had been used to cover up the loss of the shipment so it could be sent to Paradias, so he could build the missile system for them, there was no other explanation. There was no record of who had made the report, or who had handled the disposal. No real surprise there.
Putting the investigation aside, he could dig for more evidence and try to find a paper trail later, Seto set about working on his other project. He knew he should devote his energy to finding out who the weapon supplier was, even if he was almost certain Gozaburo was behind it, but he was too excited to get to work. The armor he had built, while clunky, had worked well…except for the flying, he needed to work on that. He wanted to build a more sophisticated version of the suit, work out the kinks, and see what it was really capable of. First though, he needed a better power source. While the reactor currently in his chest had worked well, it was built from second hand parts in less than ideal conditions. He doubted it would hold up for long with what he had planed.
It didn't take him nearly as long this time as it had in the cave. Partly due to the fact he knew what he was doing now, but mostly because he had Janet and the proper tools to machine the parts he needed exactly instead of improvising and modifying parts that were never made to work in the way they had had to. However, now that he had the reactor he was faced with a problem he didn't foresee. How was he going to install the damned thing? His hands were too large to fit into the cavity in his chest and the robotic assistants he had in his lab were not precise enough for such delicate work. After dwelling on the problem for a bit he knew he had no other choice but to call Gardner. It wasn't something he wanted to do, he had been avoiding her for several days now, but he was nothing if not practical. It was convenient that she had practically moved in to "keep an eye on him" despite his protests.
The truth was though, he had been avoiding her for a different reason. Since his captivity he had been less and less willing to be left alone. He was not a scared child, but the thought of being completely alone had unnerved him more than he would admit. The fact that Gardner was genuinely concerned for his well being made having her around easier, but he was starting to wonder if he had suffered some kind of head injury that was affecting his judgment. He actually trusted her.
"Gardner, come down to my workshop." He said into the intercom. He then went over to his work table and got comfortable.
Tea had been watching the fallout from Seto's press conference and the various news outlets had been having a field day with speculation. Most thought Kaiba was suffering from some form of PTSD, others that he had lost his mind, and a very rare few were speculating that he was actually human. Either way Kaibacorp stock prices had plummeted and there were rumors of federal investigations going on into Kaibacorp's shipping practices. Even Gozaburo was having a hard time keeping his composure, she had seen him on several different interviews so far and he had come very close to exploding at Mai during the last interview.
The intercom buzzed. "Gardner, come down to my workshop." She sighed and got to her feet. She almost thought about ignoring the order. Would it really kill him to ask nicely? She should just leave him hanging until he could be polite, especially after he had pretty much ignored her existence for days. However, she knew that if he was actually calling her, he probably really needed help with something, he was too proud to ask unless it was absolutely necessary.
She walked downstairs and entered her security code for the workshop. She was a little surprised to see that it actually worked since Kaiba had disabled it two days ago so she would "stop bothering him" after she woke him so the doctor could examine him. She was surprised to see Kaiba lying on a table without his shirt on. She blushed at first, but soon her curiosity overcame her modesty and she walked over to the table. It was the first time she had gotten a good look at the device that was implanted in Kaiba's chest, and she had to admit she was more than just a little horrified by what she saw. She looked to Kaiba's face and saw he was looking at her. Not glaring like she would have expected, more like he was analyzing her and it made her feel awkward. She couldn't help but blush again.
"Let me see your hands." Kaiba said looking at her expectantly.
Tea just stared at him. He wanted to see her hands? Why? She couldn't help but voice the question. "Why do you want to see my hands?"
Kaiba rolled his eyes. "During my captivity I developed a hand fetish." He deadpanned. "Just show me your damn hands!"
Tea lifted her hands reluctantly. Seto stared at them for several seconds before nodding. "Alright, you'll do. I can't seem to fit this new reactor into my chest cavity. My hands are too large to reach this little wire and unfortunately my robotic assistants aren't precise enough for such work. I need you to reach into my chest, unplug the old reactor from the base and then plug the new reactor in."
Tea stared at him like he had just grown a second head. "You want me to do what? Forget it Kaiba there's no way that I could do that. What if I screw up? I'll call Atem, maybe he can help you."
"As much as I'm sure the Pharaoh's girly hands would work just fine I am not about to let someone for whom electricity is high tech play with something like this. This device is going to keep me alive, I wouldn't trust him to correctly change the batteries in the TV remote." Kaiba replied. "Besides I want this done now. I'm here and ready and I don't want to wait until Atem can make time to stop by and visit."
"Well I could get Tristan. I'm sure he's out in the garage working on the cars. He can be in here in just a minute." Tea said backing toward the door. She really didn't want to do this. I she messed up, what would happen to Kaiba? He said the device would keep him alive, would he die if she didn't install it right? No, she wouldn't take the chance. Despite how much of an ass Kaiba could be, and often was, he had grown on her in time she'd been working with him. She cared about him at least as much as she did about her other friends, and if she was completely honest with herself, as much as she did about Atem. She NEVER thought she would feel that why about Kaiba.
Seto cursed inside his head. She was going to leave and get Taylor. That fool's hands were as big as his, no way would that work even if he trusted him enough to let him play around with his insides. He sighed. This was going to cost him he knew but it was the truth and he needed her help. "I don't want you to get Taylor. I wouldn't trust him or Atem with this. I trust YOU." he finished quietly.
Tea eyes got comically wide. She never thought she would her those words from Kaiba. It made her feel warm all over. She reluctantly returned to the table and followed his instructions as best as she was able. "Oh god there's puss or something in here!" she said wrinkling her nose in disgust.
"Its not puss." Seto said trying to be soothing while she had her hand inside his chest. "It's just a lubricant for the device, kind of like motor oil in a car." He had successfully walked her through removing the reactor and was telling her to lift the wire when she did exactly what he didn't want her to do and pulled the magnet out. The monitors immediately started blaring.
"What's happening?" Tea asked looking panicked.
"Nothing much, I'm just going into cardiac arrest." Seto said glancing at the monitors. Tea shrieked and started to panic even more but Seto needed her to focus. "Gardner! Stop freaking out and plug the reactor into the base plate!" She did, looking the entire time like her eyes were going to pop out of her skull. "Just be careful not to touch the sid-ES!" Seto yelled as Tea let the cord brush the side of the cavity. Fortunately it was only for a second. It was like getting jolted with a taser. Seto took the reactor and fitted it into the opening before giving it a twist to lock it in place. The monitors went silent and Tea very nearly collapsed on top of him. She was shaking and hardly seemed like she could hold herself upright.
"You aren't going to faint are you?" Seto asked. Tea looked pale and it would be just his luck that she would pass out and he'd have to take care of her.
"I'm fine." Tea said shakily. She stood up and took a deep breathe to compose herself. "Never ask me to anything like that again Seto Kaiba."
"Don't worry, after you almost killed me I will find a better solution should I ever need something like this done again." He smirked at her and she looked like she wanted to yell at him but instead huffed out her annoyance and retreated back upstairs. Seto was glad she had left. He would have felt bad had they started arguing as he had asked for her help after all. Besides he had more important things to do with his time.
So that's the chapter. I'm about half way through the next one but work is picking up again so I don't know how much time I'll have to devote to this. For those of you reading and enjoying this story, please be patient, I'll eventually get it done.