Hi everyone. this took soooooo long. I'm really sorry for the delay but school has just been so demanding and I've had other dieas swimming around distracting me from this. but it's finally finished abnd I can't wait to hear what you guys think. On another note, I have deicded to break topics in this story and have redone earlier chapter to fit with this one, I will be reposting them soon.
Discalimer: though it's at the top of my wish list, I do not own Ghost Hunt, but since thanksgiving is coming up we can all be thankful that Fuyumi Ono decided to create them.
Mai had had no idea how long they were in the van for. Nearly the entire ride -save for the time she'd been unconscious due to the Taser incident shortly beforehand- she was lost in her own thoughts, and the feeling of being cradled in Naru's lap. However, she was aware that the ride had to have been at least an hour and a half from when they'd been picked up. Mai snuck a glance at Naru; he was staring at the wall across from them, jaw clenched tight and mouth set in a thin line that portrayed the grimness of the situation. There was more to his expression than that, but Mai couldn't put it into words. She'd seen his stoic face all day long, even seen that rare smile of his when she'd needed it most, but this was an expression she'd never seen him with before.
"Stay behind me." He whispered to her as the van slowly came to a stop. What good it would do them, neither had any idea since a bullet fired at them from such close range would go through both of them, killing both too if the angle was just right. But Mai said nothing and quickly complied. When the van doors opened they were greeted by the harsh white light only florescent bulbs could provide, the kind used only in storage warehouses. It was then Mai realized it was nighttime, making the glare of the electric lanterns all the more harsh and ache inducing. The glare, however, was coming from inside the building, and so the light only came from straight ahead. But there was just enough of it for Mai to make out movement in the dark and to see Naru being pulled away from her, a small grunt leaving his mouth as he was shoved in the stomach rather painfully.
"Naru!" Mai called as she too was pulled from the vehicle. "Let me go you piles of scum!"
They did not heed her threats, believing her too weak to actually escape.
Big mistake. Mai slammed her foot down on top of the lackey and wrenched her hands away from Yoshino. Swinging her foot out she connected with the jaw of a third man who had come to help Yoshino and the first lackey escort their captives inside. Whirling around Mai saw Naru fighting back as well, she had to keep back a grin of triumph at the thought that they could still get out of this yet.
Naru, on the other hand, was fighting back as best he could without losing control of his powers. He'd come especially close to doing just that when he saw how reckless and stupid Mai's attack had been. She could have gotten herself hurt for all that trouble and there was still no guarantee that they would get out of this. He'd just finished catching one of the other men who'd come to stop them in the gut when he heard the crackle of a gun from behind him, where Mai was in the general vicinity. Instantly he turned, eyes scanning for one thing.
He was glad to see she hadn't been hurt, her instincts kicking in and prompting her to duck to her knees. However, he was so concerned on making sure she was safe from the distance she was had he didn't notice the goon creeping behind him until he felt the butt of the gun smack against his occipital lobe (big sciencey word for the part of the brain that allows us to see). The world went black for a moment, and Naru felt himself slumping forward.
"Naru!" Mai cried in alarm, seeing the whole thing happen but too fear struck to warn him. She watched as Naru seemed to struggle with consciousness, falling to his knees in the process. She saw the goon who'd hit him slam the sole of his foot into Naru's shoulder blades, forcing the young psychic to the ground.
Mai turned to find herself staring at the barrel of a gun, and the one at the trigger was none other than the halfway insane Yoshino. She concentrated on not running like her instincts screamed at her to do.
"You know Shibuya." Yoshino said glancing over at Naru as he looked up to find the position Mai was in. "You really should learn to keep this bitch of yours in check. Shouldn't you?"
Mai felt a rush of anger and adrenaline. She stood, shoulders shaking in rage, completely disregarding the gun trained at her heart.
"Excuse me!" she yelled. "What did you just call me!? Where in hell's name do you get off calling me a bitch? And his bitch? Are all you men in the world seriously full of this chauvinistic crap!? First of all; I am not, repeat am not 'his' in any way, shape or form. A woman does not 'belong' to the man she dates and I'm not dating him so it's not an okay thing to say. Second of all, even if I was dating him there is no way, shape, or form appropriate to call a woman a derogatory name like 'bitch'! You'd do well to remember that since hell truly hath no fury like a woman's scorn!" At the end of Mai's little rant there was stunned silence.
Naru was seriously contemplating just letting his powers loose for the way those punks looked at her; awe, shock, and pure carnal lust. If he'd been able to get up at the moment Naru would have killed those who dared to touch his Mai and then flick her for being so stupid and ignorant of the danger.
"Hello?" Mai prodded irritably. "If you're going to just stand there and gawk at me then I'd like to take my friend and leave please."
Yoshino then let out a deranged and manic laugh, the other cronies followed suit. Mai glared katanas at them all when two other men came out of the shadows and forced her down to the ground.
"Make sure their under control and kept secure." Yoshino ordered putting the gun in its holster and dismissing the lot with a wave of his hand. "Chris and I will return later." He nodded at the goon who'd been there to assist in their initial capture. They slid into a new car and drove off into the night.
Mai's instincts kicked in as she huddled closer to Naru in the throng of the unfamiliar mafial men. It was then she got a good look at their surroundings and deduced they must have been taken out of Manhattan, probably in the Bronx or somewhere of the like. They were stranded in an empty lot with three gigantic abandoned warehouses, one on each side. The fourth looked down at docks near a river, in other words; they were far from where anyone would be able to find them.
A man stepped forward and grabbed Mai by the shoulder. She was sure it would disconnect from the force he'd used dragging her up onto her feet. Unconsciously she must have cried out because she heard the sound of Naru barking an order at the man, but not the actual words he used. However, it did help to bring Mai back to her senses; she planted her feet and stood her ground.
"Let me go right now or I swear I'll start screaming so loud it'll wake the dead from the 1600's." She warned.
The man grinned and leaned forward; Mai could now make out a mole on his left cheek right near his lips and could smell the alcohol rolling off his breath as he wafted it into her face.
"Go ahead," He said with a smirk. "There's more than a couple beneath your feet. I'm sure they'd just die to hear a pretty voice like yours."
Mai blanched. It wasn't mostly out of fear of him, more like from the disgusting smell of the liquor on his breath, the suggestive tone he spoke in, and the fact of the matter being that he probably wasn't lying.
"Let us go right this minute," Mai began trying to remain outwardly calm and composed though she was trembling like a leaf on the inside. "And I swear I won't report any of this."
"Like hell you won't." The man spat. "You're in our hands now and completely at our mercy."
"I swear to God…" Naru ground out through his teeth; his voice colder, harsher, almost subarctic and bitterer than when he normally spoke. The look on his face was absolutely feral, the look a predator gets when another kind of its species dares to intrude on what theirs, oh what his face would have looked like if he'd known just how perfectly Gene was mimicking his actions at the moment.
"You've got no leeway or options for debate here Davis." The man who held Mai spoke, cutting Naru off. Apparently he was the leader. "That's right, we know who the both of you are so your best bet would be to shut up and follow without hesitation. Let's go." He said to his fellow men. Mai and Naru started to struggle anew. "I wouldn't do that if I were you guys." The leader warned. "If you don't something might happen to that cute little cousin of yours Davis." The threat reached Naru and he froze. Mai glanced at him and saw Naru being murderously calm, but he allowed himself to be pulled into the warehouse. Mai followed suit without a fight. Once inside the bright lights shining from the outside were really just a collection of weak bulbs.
"What have you scum done with Kasai?" Naru asked once the goons had settled him on the floor.
"Watch it." the leader -Mai had then and there dubbed him Mole mouth- replied curtly without answering the question. "She's fine," There was a pause. "for now."
Naru let out a homicidal sigh but otherwise remained silent. Mai kind of wished Naru would say something because the look he was giving the men was really starting to scare her. She was so sure that no matter how much or how strong a resolve any man on earth had, that look would crumble it in a second and send shivers down their spines. In short, it would leave a heavyweight macho man groveling in fetal position on the floor sucking his thumb with tears in his eyes; that's how scary it was. It seemed like mole mouth was experiencing the fear as his grip on Mai tightened.
Mole mouth quickly regained his composure and looked at Naru with a cold smirk of self-satisfaction. "Keep it up and she won't be Davis." Naru glared from under his bangs but did not act as two men unbound him and dragged him further back into the warehouse, away from Mai.
"Naru!" she called surging forward. Mole mouth tightened his grip on her and spun her around to face him.
"Well well, why don't you and I have so fun?" he asked her. Mai felt dread form leaden in her stomach and its weight sink to the soles of her feet.
Mai now tugged even harder, trying in vain to escape. "Let me go you sick creep! Naru!"
"Everything alright boss? One of the men attending to Naru asked.
"Everything's fine." Mole mouth assured them, placing his hand over Mai's mouth to stop her screams. "I'm just going to take our little lost mouse and have some fun with her.
Mai looked toward Naru, she was sure the fear she felt was reflected in their depths. Naru's cold demeanor, turned subzero glacial and Mai was sure she thought she heard him growl.
"Let her go now, before I make your pathetic excuse for an existence a living hell." Naru snarled, starting to struggle against the men trying to bind him once more.
"Hah! You're not in the position to do anything to me Davis." The boss spat. Mai took advantage of the distraction to elbow him in the ribs and escape. She wasn't sure what she needed to do but her instincts told her to get to Naru and get out of there. Naru was able to wrench an arm away from one of the men and use the momentum to swing the other off. He took about two steps towards Mai when the men from behind jumped on him. Naru kept fighting them off as Mai tried to get to him and help. Still they were able to move forward and Naru reached out a hand to Mai to try and get her behind him where it was safe. His fingertips had just brushed by hers when the sizzle of a Taser filled the air and Mai went limp once more.
Naru's eyes hardened and he wished that Gene was alive, if that was the case then Naru could let go of his power and save Mai without bringing harm to himself. As it was now though, he couldn't. At least not without being put in the intensive care unit of a hospital for a few days. And although Mai was strong, he doubted she'd be able to drag him whatever distance they were away from society suffering from the aftershocks of a double Taser attack. He could, however, glare at the men as Mai fell backwards and into the arms of yet another goon.
Mole mouth grinned lecherously at Mai's unconscious form as she lay still yet alive in the goon's hold.
"Much better." Mole mouth declared scooping Mai up from where she was being held. Naru went to lunge at him but was stopped as the other henchmen he'd fought off tied him to a chair.
"You sure about that boss?" one of the men from behind Naru asked. "We were told not to harm her." Naru was a little relieved that she wasn't supposed to be harmed, but it quickly dispelled when he realized these men would not hesitate much longer if given the okay. He, on the other hand, could not do a thing since they had gagged him.
"It's fine." Mole mouth assured them as he walked towards an office building on the far wall. "We'll all take turns, and this timid little thing won't say a word. Now will she?" Naru growled against his gag and tried struggling against the bindings, but they were tight; not able to be released by human hands. Mole mouth eyed him amusedly. "Secure that one." He ordered turning away. "And don't bother me for anything until I'm done."
"Can't you go any faster?" Lin asked irritably.
"You know, I would, if I could do so without getting arrested." Yasu replied with sarcastic sweetness.
"You're just under the speed limit." Lin argued.
"Yes, but as I've said before I only have a paper license." Yasu batted it off.
"Why do you not have a real license?" Lin asked.
"Because driving in this town is close to suicidal and I can walk or take a taxi anywhere I need to go. Why waste all that money which could be used for something more important paying off a car and its high insurance rates?" Yasu asked in response.
"Fair enough." Lin grumbled.
"Gentlemen, can we please focus on finding our friends?" John asked from his seat in the back.
"How far are they out there?" Yasu asked slowing in the line of traffic.
"Pretty far, but we're nearly there." Lin replied. "But we'd be there faster if you'd let me drive."
"Note the traffic." Yasu told him. "What do you propose I do about that? And I already told you that this is my dad's car, he only let me use it on the pretense that I would be driving it." Lin said nothing as he took in the long lines of metal vehicles. "Like I said," Yasu went on. "This is why I got a paper license. I hate driving in this city."
"Agreed." John replied.
"And what? You think getting through D.C. is any better?" Lin asked looking up from the grid on which Mai's phone was leading them to.
"We're gonna argue about this?" Yasu wanted to know. Lin's device went off. "What's that?"
"The locater."" Lin replied. "Ms. Mai, well her phone at the least, is on the move."
"Where?" John chimed.
"Coming right towards us." Was Lin's answer. "And judging by the speed at which it's coming I think they're in a car."
"Where?" Yasu asked.
"Stay straight for now." Lin replied. "We'll run into them soon." He looked over at the college student. "You know how to fight, right?"
"What do you mean?" Yasu asked not taking his eyes off the road.
"Can you handle yourself in a fight? Do you know self-defense?" Lin prompted.
Yasu let out a nostalgic grin. "I was born and raised in this town, course I do."
"That doesn't put me at ease." Lin told him.
"I was the youngest of three brothers. Both of them liked to beat on me, they taught me how to fight back and when it was okay to fight dirty. Most important thing they told me was to never throw the first punch."
Lin glanced out the side window; he was starting to like Yasu.
"So, we're all keeping an eye out for this white van?" Yasu suggested.
"Agreed." The other two men in the car said in confirmation.
"I don't think there'll be too many other people where we're going." Lin added.
"Where are we going exactly?" Yasu asked. The map Lin had up earlier only gave a general area and approximate location of where Mai and Naru could be.
"Some docks down in the Bronx." Lin replied. He bit back a swear when Yasu swerved into another lane.
"Well why didn't you say so?" Yasu told him. "I know a shortcut."
A headache conveniently started its assault on his mind but Naru could not feel it. Nor could he feel the ropes digging into his skin or the gag stuffed in his mouth nearly choking him. All his focus, and a great deal of the fear he rarely let himself feel was on Mai and what was happening behind that office door. Though he rarely prayed, Naru prayed to any god that was out there that Mai would be safe and not actually harmed. He couldn't hear anything from where he was; chained to a wall since he was struggling so much and none of the goons wanted to be bothered with holding him down. Mai had disappeared with that creep just over five minutes ago, but Naru knew that guys like him didn't even require half the time to scar a woman for life. He felt fear, more of terror or panic really for Mai; she was still probably passed out and alone, unaware of what was going to happen to her.
Naru fought down a wave of nausea, the boss had promised all the men turns with her. Not only was that about as disgusting and low as a man could go, but Naru had made a promise to protect Mai; how was he supposed to do that while he was wrapped up like a Christmas present? He'd promised himself he'd keep her safe or die trying and yet here he was: absolutely helpless. There was an undistinguishable shout from the office, Naru wasn't sure if he needed to block it out or hope it was Mai signaling she was awake and at least somewhat okay. True to orders the men didn't interfere and Naru fought down a wave of instinctual adrenaline that said to screw the risks, use his powers and get Mai out of here. He needed to do something, but how? And more importantly: what?
"They're heading our way." Lin said quickly glancing at his phone. "In the opposite direction." The car's three occupants looked to the left to see a black SUV being the only car heading down the road.
"Are you sure?" Yasu asked. "I saw them get taken by a white van, not a black SUV."
"I'm positive" Lin affirmed. "Besides, according to the tracker they just passed us." He remarked as the enormous vehicle drove passed them.
"So we're sure it's them?" John asked.
"Yes. Find a spot to turn around." Lin ordered the driver.
"Yessir!" Lin was sure if Yasu could have saluted, he would have.
As discreetly as he could, Yasu turned around and started following the sports vehicle.
"Now what are we supposed to do?" Yasu asked, whispering though he knew the people in the other car couldn't hear him.
"We follow and hope they pull over long enough so that we can get Noll and Mai out of there." Lin replied.
They followed it to a run-down yet still working gas station, not pulling up to refill.
"That didn't take long." John commented. Per Lin's instruction, Yasu drove past the station and into an alley within sight of where they were headed.
"And now?" Yasu inquired.
"Hopefully we'll get lucky. One will go in and we can take down the other." Lin said drawing his gun.
"Looks like we're getting lucky." Yasu said pointing to Yoshino getting out the driver side door. "He's pretty big." He commented.
"Maybe so," John agreed. "but it isn't size that counts, it's skill."
"I guess…" Yasu replied starting to open the door, wondering why a priest would know something like that.
"No." Lin's voice stopped him. "Only one of us can go. I'll do it."
"But Lin," John protested. "You need to take care of yourself, for Kazuya's sake. I'll go instead."
"What do you know about approaching a guy who's behind the kidnapping of our friends?" Yasu asked as the blonde slid out the door and started walking towards the car. He turned to Lin. "Lin? Why are you letting him go?"
"Before he became a priest, John was one of the most famous junior martial artists in Australia." Lin replied. "He practices in his spare time. Combine that with his exorcism abilities and he's definitely a force to be reckoned with when provoked."
"So why's he a priest?" Yasu asked watching John's progress out the window.
Lin shrugged. "Found he was happier helping people through God's work rather than hurting them with his own hands."
"Oh…"
Meanwhile, John had managed to subdue the other man in the car and waved the two over.
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said he knew his stuff." Yasu commented looking at the unconscious man in the passenger's seat.
"Thanks mate, but Kazuya and Mai aren't here." John said sadly.
"Hey, that bag's Mai's." Yasu said pulling it out from the seat.
"Some of the other things belong to Noll." Lin added.
"Noll?" Yasu asked.
"Parent's nickname for Kazuya." John explained.
"Okay then. Well at least now we know that we're on the right track." Yasu said finally.
"Yes, but we won't know unless the other man comes back." Lin told them keeping an eye on the convenience store. When he caught sight of the man exiting he shoved everyone into the back seat and pulled out his gun. The man coming back from the store was carrying two large bags filled to the brim with prepackaged junk food. Lin held his breath as the man, Lin now recognized him as Yoshino, climbed into the front seat without realizing his lackey was passed out. "Long time no see Yoshino-sensei." Lin said slipping into Japanese to add insult to injury while the nozzle of his gun was pressed into the madman's head.
"Back at 'cha Kojou." Yoshino replied, his trademark manic grin faltering ever so slightly. "What? You get tired of babysitting duty after all these years?"
"No, more like you and your men took him while he was trying to get away from you." Lin answered. "Now, be a docile little maniac and take us to them."
"What makes you so sure I had anything to do with this?" Yoshino asked with a smug look on his face. "You got any proof?"
"you mean besides the cellphone we were tracking the belongs to one of the people you took, Noll's weapons which have his name carved into them, and a witness who can confirm seeing you and your partner tasering a woman to get Noll to go along with you?" Lin asked just as smugly,
"damn." Yoshino muttered under his breath. "you got me didn't you?"
"hate to break up this little thing we got going on here." Yasu exercised his impeccable timing once again. "but who is this guy anyway?"
"worked at the same school as his present boss." Lin answered, not taking his eye off the madman in the front seat. "she went crazy 'hexing' everybody and when Noll caught her out she was sentenced to two years in an insane asylum. However, she was able to get out early for showing marginal improvement and good behavior. Once out in the open she built up a business here in the U.S. Noll and I have been trying to keep an eye on her ever since one of her employees carried out a 'special order' and killed his twin brother, though the bullet was really meant for him."
"What a mouthful." Yasu remarked.
"You said it." John agreed. "And there are many more stories to tell, but right now we need to get moving while it's still daylight."
"right." Yasu nodded. "Where is Mai?" he asked the driver.
"Ah, so you're a friend of that little spitfire are you?" Yoshino asked in reply.
"Yeah, so what if I am?" Yasu said.
"Got quite a few men riled up back there with her impromptu little lecture on gender equality. If I hadn't been so… moved and had it not been against orders I would have already shot her dead." Yoshino let out a humorless chuckle
Yasu cringed and wrinkled his nose in disgust, figuring out the hidden meaning behind Yoshino's word choice of "moved". He felt the need to vomit.
"Gag me now please." The college student managed to croak out. "And kill him while you're at it."
"Not yet…" Lin replied. "Now, I'm going to give you a choice. Either take us to Noll and Ms. Mai right now, or I believe god would deem it worthy for John to throw a couple of punches at you."
"That scrawny little holy man?" Yoshino barked out through peals of laughter. "He couldn't hurt a fly!"
"That 'scrawny little holy man' took out your friend there in less than a minute." Yasu informed him.
Yoshino gulped and started the car.
"Nice to know you see it our way." Lin smirked.
Mai could literally think of a ton of reasons for why Mole mouth would feel the need to rape a girl. However, not one of those reasons justified the act and Mai was only going to let it happen to her when she was dead and buried. Wait, scratch that, not even then. Thankfully, her body had apparently gotten used to the electric shocks that came with being tasered rather quickly and as a result woken up rather quickly as well. However, Mai's instincts had told her it would be in her best interest to continue the act of being unconscious until an opportunity presented itself. That was proving rather difficult however, as she felt her skin crawl from contact with this revolting man who didn't even bat an eye at the suggestion of raping an unconscious woman, or even possibly an unconscious female period. While Naru was being restrained by ropes Mole mouth carried her into a gutted office and placed her down on a cot near the far wall.
Barely cracking one eye open, Mai watched as Mole mouth started pacing the very small office expanse, chewing his fingernails and muttering as he did so. Apparently he did not notice that Mai had woken up. Mai decided to use that to her advantage. She let out an audible groan and acted as if she was just waking up.
"Uhh, what happened to me?" Mai asked groggily looking at Mole mouth while she stretched out her limbs as much as she could, still being restrained at the wrists with the zip ties.
"Had to knock you out for a little while." Mole mouth told her, the confidence he had earlier nowhere to be seen. "You were getting reckless and needed to be controlled."
Now, Mai didn't know a whole heck of a lot about psychology, but a pattern she'd picked up from watching way too many crime shows was that attempted rapists were usually too stupid and impotent to actually go through with the act as a result of nervousness. Clearly, the case was the same here as Mai could tell her was extremely nervous around her. This was definitely to her advantage.
"Yeah? I guess so…" Mai replied rubbing the back of her head as she yawned again. She wasn't making a totally obvious effort but she was trying to placate his ego.
"It ain't gonna do you any good sucking up to me now." Mole mouth said blatantly trying to intimidate her. "Not gonna do you or your friend any bit a good."
"I realize that." Mai told him, letting her head hang low and her bangs cover her eyes. The admission seemed to get his attention. "I've no choice but to do as you say," she brought her arms around herself as though she might fall apart. "or else you'll hurt Kasai and my parents. They're here right? Are they safe?"
"They're not here." Mole mouth replied.
"Where are they then?" Mai persisted. "Are they safe?"
"They're at the old Jargon paper warehouse out in long island. And they'll be safe and sound long as you do what you're told." Mole mouth replied, his confidence returning as he took in Mai's "fear"
"Of course." Mai complied. "But, if I may ask, why? Why plan all this? I just don't get it."
"My plan?" mole mouth asked surprise evident in his voice. He let out a dark chuckle. "Much as I'd like to take credit for all this girlie it wasn't my doing; it was the higher ups planned this. But I think I'm entitled to a little early reward for all my hard work." He continued, his face twisting into a lecherous grin as he finished.
Mai forced herself to shudder in "fear" as Mole mouth dragged his eyes up and down her body. It seemed to please him greatly and he moved closer to the cot she lay on.
"Who else is above you?" she asked, the fear she'd been falsifying becoming slightly less fake as she struggled to sit up.
"Does it matter?" mole mouth asked in response. "After all, I'm the one you have to deal with now."
"I just want my family to be safe…" Mai said looking down as tears filled her eyes. "Can you do that for me?" she forced herself to act submissive as though she was genuinely breaking and ready to give herself to this man to protect her loved ones.
"I can." Mole mouth told her, grasping her chin with his clammy hand in a cliché movie move where the male was seducing his female companion, a move he was failing miserably at. "If you promise to be a good girl and do as I want you to." Mai acted as though she was both fearful –which on some level she was- and mesmerized at the same time.
She let out a sigh, trying to keep her mask in place as she contemplated on the best way to take this miserable excuse for a human being down. She didn't bother trying to weasel any more information out of him since she doubted he knew much more that what he'd already told her. And that was a whole heck of a lot more than she thought he would.
Very suddenly, Mai noticed Mole mouth leaning in to kiss her and if her hands had been free she would have hit him. But as it was she could still cause him damage. She waited until his eyes were closed and then slammed the heel of her foot into the joint of his knee. A place bound to cause pain, as Mai already knew from an accident where she fell down the stairs the wrong way. As Mole mouth hissed in pain, Mai then took her foot and got him in the chest. Winded, he fell back and Mai used the opportunity to jump up off the caught. However, Mole mouth recovered faster than she had anticipated and he swept a leg of his own under Mai's feet. She fell back on her hands and Mole mouth hovered over her menacingly.
"You are extremely lucky I don't hit girls." He growled at her.
"But tasering and attempting to rape me are okay?" Mai asked.
"You want it." mole mouth informed her, his voice dripping venom and confidence. "All the whores called women do." Mai rolled her eyes at him and he came close to losing it. "I couldda been a nice guy about this," he said scooping Mai up and setting her on her feet; ripping her jacket down as far as he could with her arms still bound. "But you just had to go and pull that little stunt, didn't you?"
"Little stunt?" Mai asked in surprise. "What, you mean self-defense? The same thing every woman does when she's in danger of being raped?" Mai narrowed her eyes at the pig before her and kicked him where it counted. He fell to the ground writhing and Mai sent him a cool smirk. "And Naru thought that men would cover that spot first." She said to herself, shaking her head. "Guess he was wrong."
Mai made her way over to the desk and rummaged through the drawers as best she could. All she found was half of a pair of scissors with an extremely dull blade. Not very good but for the moment it was the best Mai had. She began to saw through the plastic ties that bound her wrists hoping to god the Mole mouth would stay on the floor while she freed herself and tried to rescue Naru. She knew he was trapped because if he wasn't she wouldn't be fighting like this, he'd have already come in and saved her. Mai knew she had to free her hands to open the door, but what was she going to do when she got free?
"So," Yasu asked. "how are we supposed to do this? Go in with the victory flag held high? What?"
"You're not doing anything until I make sure Yoshino is telling the truth." Lin replied. They had already driven past the building Yoshino had said Naru and Mai were being held in twice but Lin was taking no chances. He slid out the side door and crept to the building, looking through the window.
Yasu watched as John crawled into the front seat, happy to be away from those who wished to do evil.
"You know, your friend is very interesting." He commented.
"I believe you." John agreed. "But Lin and I aren't technically friends."
"Oh?"
"Technically Lin is more of an acquaintance than a friend; we only know each other through Kazuya. In actuality; this is the first time we've spent longer than a few hours in each other's company."
"Really? How did you meet Kazuya?"
"Well you see; I came here to the states when I was about seventeen. I was walking down the streets trying to find my way to the local parish and that's when I ran into Kazuya for the first time. I started helping him and his brother when they needed exorcisms."
"What's up with Kazuya and Lin?" Yasu wanted to know.
"Kazuya's parents are very overprotective of him, so Lin works as his bodyguard." John explained.
"Yeah? What's Kazuya's story anyways?"
"There's not really much of a story to tell." John shrugged as he lied. In truth, he knew that the events in his friend's short life would probably be enough to fill up quite a few lengthy volumes."
"Sure, okay then." Yasu knew he was lying, it was something he was good at spotting being a professional yarn spinner himself. There was something more to Kazuya Shibuya, especially with the way he and Mai acted around each other. Mai was like his little sister, one he intended to protect the best he could. He might not have known her the longest but he had never seen her act the way she was around any other guy she'd dated before and he didn't want her to get hurt. Yasu chuckled under his breath at the irony of that last thought. Here he was worrying about Mai getting her heart broken when she was probably facing physical pain at the moment. Both men sat in silence until Lin returned.
"Well?" John prompted.
"Noll's wrapped up like an extravagant Christmas present, and there are about four other men near him. Thankfully they're too preoccupied with a game of poker." The older man informed them.
"And Mai?" Yasu couldn't keep the anxiety out of his voice.
"I didn't see her, doesn't mean she's not here though." Lin replied.
"Okay then, what's the plan?" Yasu asked sliding out the car door.
"First thing's first," Lin said. "we knock out Yoshino and make sure that those bindings are secure."
"Let me take care of that mate." John volunteered. He was in and out of the car in less than three minutes. "Knowing where pressure points are comes in handy when facing a larger opponent." John answered Yasu's questioning look.
"Now what?" Yasu turned to Lin, more than happy to let him take control of the situation since the college student felt his hands start to shake.
"I'll show you where to go and what I'll need you to do." Lin replied leading them over. "Those four men don't look like they're skilled in fighting so they should be easy to subdue. Now listen carefully, here's the plan…" Lin showed them the positions and jobs they were supposed to handle as they looked through a smashed window and he repeated it twice to make sure his companions understood. "Any questions?" Lin asked. The men shook their heads. "Good, Yasuhara; you know what to do."
Yasu nodded and ran to the other side of the building and grabbed a rock from the ground. He threw it at the window, the reverberating crash loud enough to alert those inside. He did it again and heard footsteps coming towards him. Two of the four came out and looked at him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing kid?" one of them asked.
"Breaking windows, why?" Yasu replied cheekily, throwing a third rock towards another window. "And I'm not a kid."
"Why you!" the second one made to lunge for Yasu. A voice rang out.
"Now, now." Lin said stepping from the shadows, his gun aimed at the two. "Let's stay calm, okay?"
The two men reluctantly nodded their agreement. Lin allowed himself a smirk as the two men moved closer to him on their knees, hands behind their heads. A scream broke out, loud enough to be heard through a wall and the broken windows.
"Mai!" Yasu cried, starting to run.
"John!" Lin turned his attention to the priest. "Go and hold him back!"
"Right!" John ran after Yasu.
The two men saw their chance now that Lin was distracted. The first one jumped up and kicked Lin in the wrist. The pain forced him to drop the gun, and the two men he'd had under control ran to the warehouse.
John had managed to try and restrain Yasu, but seeing the men run he let go. Unfortunately both men went for the same goon; leaving the other to escape inside and alert his comrades.
"Now what?" Yasu asked from his position; sitting atop the goon while John tried to apply the pressure point maneuver.
"Good question." Was Lin's cryptic reply.
When the first rock shattered the window closest to him Naru wasn't quite sure what to think. By the time the second rock was thrown he was already figuring out a way to get free. Thankfully two of the goons who'd been "watching" him ran out to see what the commotion was all about. A familiar voice answered their demand and Naru's eyes widened.
'Yasuhara?' he thought. 'What's he doing here?' now, Naru wasn't completely sure it was Yasu, having only met the man once before this very day. Yet another rock shattered glass and Naru began struggling against his bonds once more, the chair he was sitting in creaking in protest. The other two men noticed this and went to secure him better. Seeing how tightly he was restrained already didn't leave for much option other than completely wrapping him in ropes. Except… Naru was hoping they wouldn't figure that one out. Luck just didn't seem to be on his side today as they secured a rope in a hangman's noose knot, securing the other end to the hook on the wall the chair was chained to. The idea of this was to keep their prisoner from struggling lest he cut his air supply off.
However, the men were a little overzealous and tied the knot so tight Naru couldn't breathe even though he wasn't struggling. He kept up trying to get free, and his mind was starting to hallucinate as he slowly suffocated. One of his increasingly lessening conscious thoughts was the hope that whoever was out there would hurry up.
"I vote going in brandishing guns." Yasu suggested.
"I'm the only one of us who has a gun at the moment. And you better believe that all the men in there are at least lightly armed so the answer is no." Lin countered.
"Aww! You're no fun!" Yasu whined.
"This isn't supposed to be fun." Lin reminded him.
"Lighten up Lin." Yasu replied looking down at the man he'd tackled and John had incapacitated. Lin went to reply when John cut in.
"I think we should be coming up with a plan." He suggested.
"How 'bout a human shield?" Yasu asked with a grin, looking once again at the unconscious man they had with them. "Hey, I was only kidding!" he protested when Lin glared at him. A long pause followed. "Alright then, what would you do if we were doing things by the FBI's rule book?"
"Not really sure," Lin replied. "the worst case we've ever underwent while working in the FBI was a spirit in Salem where anyone who saw it was immediately met with severe misfortune. Gaunt tattered man, very gruesome death."
"I think I've heard of that." Yasu said; a hand on his chin in thought.
"You have?" Lin asked, raising an eyebrow dubiously.
"Yeah, Mai and I love reading ghost stories. One of them had a story about this guy, Giles Corey I believe his name was. Only man during the Salem witch trials not hung after his accusation." Yasu replied.
"I don't think I've ever heard about that." John said looking at Lin.
"In short, he was pressed to death 'cause he wouldn't plead guilty or innocent. But apparently the law allowed people to torture confessions out of prisoners. He was crushed to death under the weight of theses pressing stones and the weight of the sheriff overseeing the torture. The book said that before Corey kicked it he placed a curse on Salem. Since that day a ton of tragedies occurred. It even said that Corey's ghost could be seen around the graveyard he was buried in. Apparently seeing his spirit was to warn of a bad omen or that one had already passed. Other than that, he's supposedly fairly benign." Yasu finished his explanation, slightly out of breath and making sure the man they'd captured wasn't waking up.
"impressive." John finally said.
"Thanks," Yasu replied. "now; since we don't know what could happen, how about a happy medium?"
"What kind of medium?" Lin asked; curiosity piqued.
Yasu motioned them closer and began to whisper.
The black spots threatening to take over his line of sight were now turning all sorts of different colors. Naru felt his eyes trying to roll back into his head and leaned back to give the rope some slack. However, there was only so much slack he could let himself have before the chair threatened to tip back and hang him. He was still conscious enough to notice that of the two men that had gone out only one had returned. It was a good sign but whoever was trying to rescue them was moving about as fast as a tortoise, and the more time they took the closer he was coming to death. Another thought fought its way to the forefront of his barely-there mind. What was happening to Mai? As the meaning of it sank in he jolted and started struggling again. All that did was sufficiently give him rope burn.
'no,' he thought. 'accidently committing suicide won't help me, and it definitely won't help Mai.'
'I have an idea,' a voice said.
'Gene?' Naru thought, stilling his minimal struggle momentarily.
Gene chuckled. 'I thought you were supposed to be smart. Can't even recognize me after becoming so infatuated with Mai?' he taunted.
'this isn't the time for games right now Gene' Naru nearly snarled back. Do you know of a way to get me out of this or not?'
'you could always manipulate the angle of the hook.' Gene replied matter-of-factly. 'you'll end up on the ground and you might find it a bit tough to breathe but you won't have the risk of hanging yourself over your head.'
'and just how do you propose I do that?' Naru thought. 'in case you haven't noticed; you're dead. I can't use my powers unless you're there to keep me from destroying myself.'
'think of it as spoon-bending,' Gene coaxed. 'it'll only take a minimal amount of power to bend the hook so the rope can slip off and it'll be easier to breathe.'
I suppose you're right.' Naru thought begrudgingly. He proceeded to block out his brother in order to concentrate on the hook behind him. Normally he would be able to do this without worry since it was small, but normally he was also unrestrained. Using physical as well as mental power lessened the risk considerably, but there was no other way to free himself. He had just been able to fully concentrate and begin bending the hook when the doors burst open and a very familiar figure strolled in.
"G'day mates." John called cheerfully, the shock of his casual entry being the only reason why he wasn't full of bullets. "I wanted some time to negotiate with you all."
"What?" one of the men sputtered. "Just who the hell do you think you are?" the two others behind him debated on whether or not to go get their boss. "No," he said in regards to them. "he said he wasn't to be disturbed. Besides, won't take long to oust a weakling like him." He was referring to the fact that John did not have any weapons nor any visible, bodybuilder muscles.
"I advise against the use of violence mate." John said. "I do the work of god and I don't want to hurt you." Naru was really getting aggravated with how long this was taking his friend. The men laughed at John and walked in his direction. Naru knew it was pointless, unless they were armed with a weapon out of a sci-fi movie; John would be able to incapacitate them before they pulled the trigger.
"Hear that guys?" the man, apparently second in command after Mole mouth, asked; a condescending lilt to his voice. "This guy's a holy man, and he's gonna do something bad to us if we don't talk this out." He turned to John. "What're ya gonna do? Preach us to death?" he asked as the men started to advance on him.
"So, you don't care about your friend?" John asked, indicating the man who had not returned from outside.
The men's faces wavered. "Jackson can take care of himself. We don't hafta worry 'bout him." The 'leader' replied.
"So, you have no desire to bargain for this comrade of yours." John said, making sure this was what they wanted. The three men continued to advance on him; laughing all the while. "such a pity, I had hoped we could settle all this peacefully."
"peace don't mean jacksquat in this world." The leader told John. John merely nodded his response and turned to leave. The men weren't able to come out of their shock until John was almost at the door. They ran after him and were thrown back into a wall, lucky to be semi-conscious as Naru knew John was only using a minimal amount of his martial arts skills.
"Perhaps you want to reconsider your decision?" John asked them as they struggled to their feet. The goons didn't reply, choosing to strike again when Lin and Yasu burst from the shadows.
Between the three of them the fight would have been over relatively quickly, but gunshots went off and Lin forced the other two back, each checking their allies over for bullets. Naru would have tried to bend the hook once more but it took too much effort to concentrate while this chaos was happening around him. Instead he chose to work free the crude knots tied around his hands, all the while keeping an eye on the office door for Mai or the creep that had taken her in there. More gun shots went off and in the midst of all this one of the men set off a smoke screen. Everyone coughed as they stumbled around. Thankfully Naru had managed to free one of his hands just as someone knocked into him. Sending the chair backwards and; had Naru's hand not been free to brace some of the impact, he would have been crudely hung and on his way to the spirit world. The rope pulled tauter than it had been before and Naru had been struggling to breathe as it was. He felt his heart stop dead as a feminine scream filled the otherwise near silent air.
17 pages... in case you were wondering this chapter is 17 pages long. also, I had to do a project of the Salem witch trials and the curse of Giles corey was an actual occurance, and his ghost still does haunt Salem... Anyways, please review!