Previously:
The officer closest to him looked genuinely disappointed as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "I'm sorry, Commander…but you need to cooperate. Your winged friend, too."
"Whatever it is you need to ask, it can wait until after the press conference," Satoshi said firmly.
"Actually, Sir, it can't," the officer forced out unhappily. Satoshi noticed something in his expression that he hadn't seen at first: Disappointment. In him.
"Boss, you're under arrest…for murder."
Part 41: Ultimatum
Murder.
Satoshi had to really think for a minute to realize what the officer – his officer – was talking about. Then, it all came back to him. Being shot, being pulled from a moving car by Krad, and waking up to a scene of pure carnage. It was bound to catch up to him sooner or later. "Murder?" he asked numbly.
"Boss, don't make this harder than it already is. You're charged with the murder of "Midnight" Sakamoto and three of her men. We found your car this morning in the waters below the crime scene. The bullets in the victims match your glock. Moreover, eyewitnesses have you and that creature," he waved a hand toward Krad, "involved in a gunfight at a local establishment."
"Those reports are all true, but there was no murder involved. The whole situation was self defense," Satoshi said firmly, knowing perfectly well that if these men were anywhere near the cops he'd trained them to be, they'd never let things rest at just that.
"And you never once called for backup? Never radioed in the situation, never filed an incident report. I hope you have a really good story for this," he confided apologetically as he clipped Satoshi's hands behind his back.
"Look, take me if you have to, but the angel wasn't involved. For your own safety, leave him out of this."
"No can do. The eyewitness saw both of you, and you're past giving us orders until we figure this thing out." Three officers closed in on Krad. Risa and Riku stayed close to the blonde, as if their presence might help prevent the obvious disaster that was about to take place.
Satoshi turned his gaze to Krad. *Cooperate. Don't you dare attack them, Krad,* he ordered, not really expecting it to work.
Krad glared icily at the men approaching him. His attention seemed to stick to the officer who was procuring handcuffs from his belt, the way a spider observes an approaching insect. And yet, no attacks were flying, yet. Hands closed over the angel's wrists, bringing them back. The movement was slow and firm, which was good. If it had been harsh, Satoshi suspected the blonde would have killed them all on sheer reflex. Krad's muscles moved stiffly but compliantly as his arms were brought behind him and secured. Satoshi let the breath he'd been holding slowly squeeze out of his lungs. The blonde actually seemed to be cooperating… for now.
"This is crazy. Satoshi wouldn't kill anyone!" Risa snapped as the police forced them out of Krad's radius and led both he and Satoshi toward a large police transport van.
Satoshi stared at the angel as they were both pulled along. He couldn't feel what Krad was thinking. At this point, any guess was as good as his, since he'd been certain the angel would have fought their captors by now. He turned to Daisuke, who was jogging alongside them, looking for eye contact. "Get to the stage. If I'm not back in time, forget the plan, Daisuke. It's too risky otherwise," he called to the redhead, just as the walls of the van blocked his view.
It was a spacious vehicle, considering its purpose, but dimly lit. It truly felt like a portable interrogation room. He and Krad were led to benches on opposite sides of the van. Satoshi sat down carefully. Krad jerked when the men touched his shoulders to make him sit. When he noticed the bluenette watching him, he dropped to the bench in a stiff movement, pale but still.
He's doing really well, Satoshi noticed, knowing he shouldn't take for granted it would stay that way. He had to focus on getting them out of there as soon as possible. "I know how bad the evidence looks," Satoshi said to the squad leader, whose name was Kouga. Satoshi had trained the man himself. "As you can see, it's been an unusual couple of days, but there's a logical reason why I haven't involved the department in this."
"Well, you have all the time in the world to explain it to us," Kouga confirmed flatly, directing two men to retrieve something from the front. They came back with a contraption made of black metal that looked like some kind of harness.
Satoshi's gaze hardened. "What is that doing here?" he demanded.
"Well, this is what it was designed for, isn't it?" Kouga said.
"It was designed to restrain Dark," the bluenette said, moving to stand up. A hand on his shoulder pulled him back to his seat. Krad stared at him, apparently not understanding yet. Satoshi didn't meet his eyes. The thought of what the blonde might do to his men if they tried to fasten him into that contraption was disturbing. "You don't need that. He's cooperating," Satoshi snapped.
"The squad's safety comes first, Commander, and there are four cold bodies right now that say the two of you are dangerous."
"He's not the shooter!" Satoshi barked. "I am. I did all of it."
Krad's eyes shifted to him, shock draining his irises to black dots in his amber gaze. The men in the car had much the same reaction.
"You're saying you shot all those people?"
"In self defense," Satoshi reaffirmed.
"One of those men was shot six times at point-blank range. You call that self defense?"
"The men were armed, and they were shooting too. You've read Midnight's file. You know what she's capable of."
"Then perhaps you can explain why she would even be after you in the first place?"
"I-" Satoshi faltered. His eyes shifted to Krad, who was staring. "She had Krad restrained in her basement against his will. He got a message to me, and I came."
The questions just piled up in the officer's eyes. When we've heard the whole thing through, we'll see," Kouga managed to respond. "Secure the wings," he instructed the men.
Krad scowled as the doors of the van were closed and locked behind them. Hands grabbed his left wing. He instinctively pulled away, but it was hard to prevent contact when his wingspan was longer than the whole van. More hands closed on his opposite wing, even as something cold and hard was slipped over the first. The contact shriveled something inside his mind into a tight, defensive ball. Memories triggered just beneath the surface, scratching at his inner walls.
*Stay calm, Krad. It's temporary,* Satoshi's voice ordered inside his mind. He wanted to scream back, but he couldn't find his voice. He flushed a deep red and forced himself not to attack, concentrating on Satoshi's instructions. Something slipped over his other wing as three men worked together to hold him still and prevent his involuntary wrestling. The device ratcheted with a series of clicks. Wire and metal noosed his wings in tightly, until they were bound fast to themselves and each other. The tight control of his mind felt like it was unraveling as he realized he was trapped. Again.
Krad flexed against the device, panic starting up in him. He couldn't extend or even move his wings. The harder his muscles strained against the harness, the tighter it latched him in. Satoshi wasn't doing anything to stop this. He was just watching. Everyone was just watching. Memories of his time in Midnight's captivity bled fresh fear into his expression. Vile humans starving him, beating him, caressing him, controlling him. He had to kill them. Had to kill them all. 'And then what, THEN WHAT?!' he screamed at himself. His eyes clenched tight.
Satoshi's earlier words were the only thing that kept him from blowing the whole van apart. He had, after all, agreed to cooperate. 'If not, you can consider that outfit a parting gift. Keep it and get out.' Why couldn't he? Since when had 'getting out' stopped being an okay option? Slowly, he brought the tornado inside him back below the critical point and held it there. He leaned forward over his knees on the bench, holding very still and looking like he would be sick.
Satoshi's mouth went dry as he watched the angel. "Krad," he breathed. Violence would have been one thing, but he hadn't expected the hardened angel to react this way. It seemed like it was about more than just his wings, like something was going on in his head that was traumatizing him. The angel's mind was locked tight, but anyone in the vehicle could see his pale skin was growing damp with sweat. "Get back," he ordered the officers. "Give him space while he gets used to it."
The men didn't take much notice of his warning and didn't seem concerned by the angel's state. "First, you answer some questions."
Satoshi ignored them, focusing on Krad. *Krad, show me what's happening.*
"No, just shut up," Krad answered shakily, not daring to use his mental voice. If he unlocked himself even that much, he was sure it would all spill out at once.
"Who's he talking to?" demanded one of the men.
"He's psychic," Satoshi explained with a dismissive jerk of his shoulder.
"Psychic?" Kouga murmured skeptically.
"That could be how he got the message out from Midnight's compound!" one of the men brainstormed with enthusiasm.
"Don't jump in with the sharks so easily, Taro," Kouga scolded. "You're kidding, right?" he demanded of Satoshi, jerking a hand over his ear as if that was some kind of protection against unwanted mind-reading.
"He's not psychic with you, just with me," Satoshi snapped. "Come to this side, and I'll answer all the questions you want.
There was a long silence. "Fine. You two, over here," Kouga directed. The guards on either side of Krad made their way to Satoshi's side of the van, giving the angel a wider berth.
Good. That should at least lower the chance of the body count getting worse. Satoshi took a deep breath and looked down at his watch. Gorudo was speaking in five minutes. This was all a huge mess.
Kouga broke him from his thoughts. "Alright, Commander. Start talking."
Satoshi sighed. "I couldn't radio anything in. Krad's existence is top secret, even from the department. He's been our inside source on Dark Mousy for a long time. I had to get him out of the mess with Midnight without involving the squad, but Midnight didn't part with him easily. I let her think it was police business, but she figured me out.
"There was a chase, and a shootout. The vest that saved my life should have been on the scene when you got there. We both dove for the street when I lost control of the car. We got cornered, they were out for blood, I was hurt, I got scared. None of it was planned." The bluenette calmed his tense fingers in his lap. He was a little surprised to realize he'd told almost entirely the truth. The only thing omitted was Krad's little shooting spree. That, and the angel's rescuing him from the car. Why cover that part up?
Because he couldn't make it sound real when it didn't even feel real.
Kouga stood and considered him for some time, ignoring the hopeful gazes of the other men. They were searching hard for a way to believe in him. He'd trained good men. "I might be able to work with that, but it's gonna take more information. Tell me about the freak," he gestured at the blonde.
"Krad," Satoshi said, his nerves rising.
"Can he speak, without this stuff," Kouga tapped the side of his head.
"Of course," Satoshi sighed.
"Then he can answer his own questions." Kouga turned to Krad, who was bent forward and looking at the ground between his knees. The angel still looked white as a sheet. Satoshi frowned at him. Something really didn't seem right with the blonde. "Well, Krad, can you corroborate the commander's story?"
The angel's expression soured without even looking at the man. He hesitated before returning with a flat "Yes."
"What exactly are you?"
"A work of art," Krad almost whispered. His bronze-silver voice, with its unplaceable accent, brought the rest of the van to a curious hush.
"You expect me to believe that?" Kouga scoffed.
"You do not?" Krad's piercing gaze took all irony out of the question.
"We'll…get back to that. Mind telling me exactly what Midnight wanted with you before you called for help with your "psychic" powers?"
Krad frowned at Kouga, his expression a golden warning.
"There's no point in trying to threaten me. Until I say otherwise, you're all mine, so start talking."
Krad stood up swiftly, looming over Kouga. He was intimidating, even with his hands and wings bound behind him. That didn't last long. Hands were on him instantly, forcing him back down to the bench. NO. Krad grappled against their hands, his movement almost frantic, before he was pinned firmly to the wall. He scanned the men's faces in an adrenaline-soaked blur. Azure blue caught his gaze in place as his eyes flew to Satoshi. The boy was standing up now. He was looking at him with a firm stare. Cooperate.
Krad just stared at him, his muscles shaking under the men's grips. How could the boy ask this of him? The rough human hands on his shoulders and chest were like a nightmare that wouldn't go away. He couldn't stand them, could barely breathe under their touch. The line between reality and his traumatic memories was rotting away. His whole body stiffened. No. She's dead. She's dead. Am I going insane?
He hated the terror that twisted in his chest. More than that, he hated the complacent blue eyes that were watching, only watching, while it all happened again. It was happening again. Why was he obeying the boy? He was free. Despair saturated the adrenaline in his system. He sagged under the men's grips and pounded his head back against the wall miserably.
Satoshi watched the scene unfold, horror growing steadily in his gut. He could never have imagined being this disgusted at the sight of Krad safely under control. The words pulled from his lungs, rising before he even knew he would say them. "Don't touch him." His harsh tone, barely even whispered, caught the men's attention. They looked back at him without quite releasing their grip on the angel. "I'm serious. Keep your hands to yourself," he snarled. Satoshi crossed to the angel's side and stepped between Krad and the men. Hands slowly drew away from the angel as the bluenette blocked them.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kouga started, confused by the intensity swirling in his Commander's eyes.
"Stopping you from being an idiot. He's not a normal human prisoner. There are rules to working with him, and you don't know crap about them, so get on the other side of the van." It took a few testing moments, but finally, the men retreated to the opposite side, leaving him alone with Krad.
The boy could hear his heart pounding in his chest. "Go ahead," he signaled the angel quietly. As he'd predicted, Krad jerked up to his feet and bolted to the far corner of the van, away from all of them. The cops just stood still while Satoshi's glare told them not to pursue.
Satoshi sat on the bench and frowned at his men. He knew full well there was no way the angel would be interested in sitting again anytime soon, after that little episode. He half expected Krad to let loose his power on all of them at any moment. Whatever was wrong with him, he had it bad, and being restrained was making it worse. He couldn't remember the angel ever being that traumatized by restraint, before-…
Did Midnight have something to do with this reaction?
His chest felt tight as it occurred to him he'd never really pressed the issue of what had happened with Midnight before he'd intervened. Krad had played it all off like he was fine, but suddenly, all Satoshi could think about was the state he'd found the blonde in when he arrived – half-dressed and half dead, drained past the breaking point. Shaking. Bleeding. Paranoid. The knot beneath his ribs tightened. What the hell had he interrupted that day? Midnight had a reputation for some bad hobbies, but had she seriously…with Krad…? Could Krad have actually concealed something like that?
He turned to stare at the angel, who was glaring at him and everyone else. "Look," he said to his men, tearing his attention away from Krad. "I know you're going to need to ask more questions, and there's a lot to explain. But I swear, there is a good reason I've kept quiet about all this, and I will explain it in time. Right now, we have a bigger problem. We're this close to finally getting something on Christopher Gorudo. Do you really want to miss it, fussing with me here?"
Kouga considered him for a moment. "It's true. We want to be there for the statement."
"I know you're not sure you can trust me, but we need to be freed, at least for the press conference. If you need me back afterwards, then that's fine, but I can't stay here yet."
The man frowned. He looked genuinely sorry. "Sorry boss. Not yet. We'll take the van over to the stage, and we'll hear everything you've got to say, but you have to stay put."
"You don't understand! I can elicit a confession."
The cops chuckled ruefully. "It'll be a cold day in hell when that bastard confesses to anything. We'll let you watch, and that's it."
Satoshi ground his teeth as the officers made their way to seats in the front compartment. One man stayed behind just to keep an eye on them as the van started moving. The bluenette looked over at Krad as the vehicle jiggled into motion. He noticed the angel was leaning against the wall. A little thought made him realize Krad was standing on his injured leg.
*They're gone. Why not sit down?* he asked the angel quietly, sliding down the bench.
Krad didn't even twitch, but something opened between them, just the faintest crack of light under the door between their minds. *Why… do you keep doing this… to me?*
Satoshi stiffened, a chill going through him. *Krad?*
The angel pressed himself against the corner, as if that would lengthen the distance between them. *Stop it! I don't know why you're doing it, but stop! Stop being like this. Stop ruining me. I can't even think straight. I should kill all of you.*
The bluenette jerked to his feet. Something desperate and utterly terrified was lurking just behind that door, and he was afraid to even try to open it. He tried his best to be calm and tactful. *What are you talking about?*
*SHUT UP!* the angel rasped, halting him. *You didn't fire any of those bullets.*
Satoshi just stared. Was that really what this was about? He didn't know what to say, because he really didn't have a good answer. *That's true. But I let a civilian get at my gun, which is almost the same thing, for a cop. And we've already been through this – whatever sentence they might go after for me would be nothing compared to you. I want you off their radar as soon as possible.*
The van shifted. Satoshi sucked in a quick breath as he felt a stabbing in his leg and an awful sensation down his back. The alien feelings hadn't originated from his body. The door was opening. *Stop it… Just stop,* Krad ordered him, sliding down the wall to sit on the floorboards. His wings strained at the harness, which clicked a notch tighter.
"Krad, just breathe," the bluenette said quickly as he crept toward the angel's side. He shot a warning glare at the officer when he tried to approach them. The look held the man back as Satoshi knelt in front of the angel. He frowned as he looked up close at the unpleasant brace that was locked around Krad's wings. Funny, he'd had no problem thinking about putting it on Dark… "This place is only temporary. I'll make sure they don't keep you here, so try to bear with it," he whispered to the blonde.
"As if they could!" Krad snapped. His blunt tone did little to offset the impression given by his pallid, sweating appearance.
Satoshi wasn't sure what came over him then. The angel's stern pain was too much to watch. With an expression calm and firm as a frozen lake, he looked into Krad's eyes. *Look, I'm not sure what this is about, but I promise that you are safe. I will not let them do anything to you, and I won't leave.*
Krad's eyes twitched up at him, pupils focusing into tiny dots. Satoshi waited for a response from him, but he seemed to be speechless. Of course he would be…why had he even spoken such ridiculous words? The angel would never be able to understand them. He barely understood himself, even though he really was serious.
The blonde's gaze jerked downward, but even as his eyes tried to disconnect from his wing host, something snapped loose inside him. Satoshi felt it clearly, like a tire suddenly blowing out at full speed. That tightly locked door burst wide, and Satoshi was thrust without warning, deep into the storm that was raging behind Krad's golden eyes.
The impact of the sudden mental contact almost dropped the bluenette to the floor. This was more than mere emotion. The link was tighter this time. He was not just seeing. He was remembering. Satoshi braced himself and swallowed hard. He'd never been able to block the angel, and now that the blonde's thoughts were so uncontrolled, he couldn't help but feel what Krad felt. There was nothing but anger and pain. Fury, revenge, confusion, helplessness. Isolation. Cage after cage after cage. He saw and felt Midnight, kicking the shit out of him, blow after blow, until he couldn't even move through the agony, let alone summon an attack. Humiliating pain was lacing down his arms and shoulders as he hung by his wrists, not knowing when it would stop. He starved, he ached, his throat dryer than sand. Outrage and terror battled inside him until the line between proud and pathetic was completely blurred, and all that was left was survival. Hands, hands all over his skin, holding him down, forcing him. Opening things up inside him that his drugged body and scarred mind couldn't possibly handle. Even pleasure, when it came, hurt beyond reason.
Satoshi wanted to look away, but he couldn't. These flashbacks were Krad's, and he couldn't stop them. He watched and felt all the things Krad had gone through with an unvoiced mental scream. No. No, no, no! The need to reach out and stop the cruelty was unbearable, but there was no interrupting what had already happened. He'd known Krad hated midnight for what she did, but he'd never, ever imagined it had been this bad. No one ever deserved to go through this. And the memories didn't end, would never end. They bled on and on, like an avalanche of horrors inside the angel's head. *Krad!* Satoshi gasped through their connection, into the mental whirlpool spinning between them. *Oh my god…Krad…* His hands still cuffed uselessly behind him, he leaned in and pressed his forehead to the angel's. His eyes burned with tears as he leaned into the blonde's clammy skin. *Stop thinking. Don't let her hurt you any more!*
Krad's chaotic mind flickered at his words. Satoshi expected him to withdraw from the physical contact, but he didn't move at all. The angel's tense breath disturbed the still air between them, brushing across the bluenette's collarbone. Krad seemed too trapped in his thoughts to do anything about his current mental and physical intimacy with his former tamer. Satoshi sniffed back his tears as he realized how awkward this must look to the officer behind them.
Krad's memories jumped restlessly. He was trying to force his way back to reality, looking for a foothold. He was being dragged up to meet his former wing host in Midnight's foyeur. The memory was painful, but the tension was different. Amidst the embarrassment and burnout, there was also hope, and longing. For what?Not even Krad's subconscious seemed to know. Satoshi was baffled by how much relief and need seemed to be associated with that moment for the blonde. All Satoshi remembered was the angel fighting him tooth and nail. Had it actually been different? Exactly how did Krad feel about him? He let a reassuring but confused feeling through his own barriers for the angel's sake.
Krad didn't reject the calmer mental contact. He breathed deeply and, with a little effort, brought the roar of his mind back to a quieter hum. He pulled the door shut behind him as he funneled himself back into his own head. The blonde raised his face, breaking their contact. Satoshi realized the angel was blushing.
Now there was something he didn't see too often. Satoshi sat up straighter and simply stared at the blonde.
"Satoshi-sama," Krad breathed, his blazing amber gaze seeming to disassemble him. "I -"
The van slowed to a stop. "We're here. Time to move," the officer behind them interrupted whatever it was Krad had meant to say. There was a loud clang as the latch to the back of the van shifted and the door swung open.
Kouga was standing outside. "It's starting."
Satoshi drew back on his heels, suddenly noticing how close he was to the angel.
"Coming, or would you rather stick inside?" Kouga prodded from outside the gate.
The bluenette looked Krad in the eyes. He stretched out his thoughts, but felt nothing from the chaotic mind that been so open to him moments before. *Can you do this?* he checked quietly.
Krad leaned away from the wall and rose to his feet. His pale expression was carved sternly in place. Satoshi stared up at him, still kneeling on the floor. He should be worried right now about Gorudo and what would happen if this whole opportunity went south. Instead, all he could concentrate on was the cold sweat traveling across the bridge of Krad's nose. He saw Krad's amber eyes begin to recognize that he was staring, knew the exact moment when the angel noticed the glaze of tears still clinging to his eyelashes, but he couldn't make himself look away. Not when he knew Krad was reliving those terrible moments behind that golden wall.
The boy slowly turned toward the open back doors of the van. Outside was his one chance to help Risa and Daisuke save Dark. But even without feeling Krad's mind, he knew the waiting officers and pointed guns represented the last place the angel wanted to be right now. He took a deep breath.
"No. We'll stay here," he said quietly, standing his ground next to the angel.
"We're going out," Krad muttered. Satoshi blinked at the taller man as he straightened up and walked to the door and into the custody of one of the uniforms. Bewildered, the bluenette climbed to his feet and followed the angel to the gate, jumping down to the grassy soil outside.
The secure transport was parked amidst a number of colorful news vans jumbled together like tic tacs on the field next to the park entrance. To their right, a substantial crowd had formed around a raised stage set up in the midst of the park. Cameras and microphones swarmed around the edge of the platform. Curious civilians fanned out around them, spread across the field. After the newscasts that had been streaming footage from last night for the past twelve hours, it was no surprise there was a turnout. Security was in plentiful supply.
A rush of whispers went through the crowd as Gorudo stepped up onto the stage, escorted by two of his security guards. The black-suited men stood at each side of the stage as their boss approached the podium.
"Kouga, I seriously need you to let us go, until this is done. You don't understand what's at stake," Satoshi urged.
"Not a chance. I'm very serious, commander, you're not going anywhere until we have you both figured out."
Satoshi bit back his retort, frowning out at the stage.
"Good afternoon. It's good to see so many here today," Gorudo began, calm as a snake. "You have questions about yesterday, as you should. I have questions myself. Since the cowards who propagated this disastrous prank against me have not come forward, I called this conference to set the public at ease, to what extent I can. First, I am pleased to say that the attack on our building will cause no disruption of Gorudocorp's normal business today or throughout the week. Rest assured that we will continue to serve our clients as we always have."
A burst of questions rose up from the sea of reporters around the stage. Gorudo roundly ignored them as he leaned toward his microphone. "I'm sure you have many questions. The public deserves to know what happened yesterday, and I intend to cooperate with the police fully in identifying who is behind this stunt. For the time being, I will say that the rumors that Dark Mousy was hidden within my compound are obviously false. I am the third wealthiest man in this country. It would hardly make sense to keep a thief loose in my building.
A chuckle rumbled through the crowd. The laughter turned Satoshi's stomach. The billionaire had a way with public speaking, and this whole situation was playing right into his hands.
A voice blazed up in the middle of the crowd. "You're smooth with covering things up, aren't you? A few charming jokes and some well placed bribes, and you can do anything you want in this city."
The crowd buzzed and expanded around a lone figure at the center of the throng.
Security pushed through the crowd towards the source of the disruption.
Satoshi's breath caught in his throat. "No, Daisuke…" It won't work if it's not me.
"Wait," Gorudo said from the stage, holding up a hand. The guards paused uncertainly. "Let the boy ask his question. If he's confused, it's likely there are others who feel the same way."
The split in the crowd migrated as the figure approached the stage holding a large black case. "I want you to tell these people the truth about what you've done. Tell them what really happened yesterday!"
"Risa, are you sure this is what Dark said to do?" Daisuke whispered to the girl behind him.
"Yes!" she prodded. "Please, Daisuke. We have to trust him."
The redhead braced himself and nodded. "We don't have another option. Satoshi's not here, and I'm not leaving Dark behind. Never again." He moved away from her, through the bystanders.
"If you want these people to take you seriously, prove it!" Daisuke shouted as he pushed his way to the steps at the edge of the stage and climbed up past a wary security staff. Only Gorudo's raised hand kept them from seizing the redhead. Daisuke held the case out in front of him. "The police use these all the time. If you really had nothing to do with yesterday's shootout, take the polygraph. This will settle it."
Gorudo tilted his head at the boy who was standing tensely on the stage across from him. "Look, son. This is a professional press conference. If I acquiesced to every challenge like yours, my work would never be done. Besides, you're not the police. You have no business carrying something like that around."
Daisuke pulled the case up in front of him. "Would your investors feel the same way about your passing up an opportunity to prove, once and for all, that you know nothing about Dark's appearance last night?"
Gorudo narrowed his eyes on the boy. "You have nerve. I'll acknowledge that much. Now I have to ask you to leave the stage. These good men and women have a lot of questions of their own."
Security closed in on him instantly. Daisuke had to drop the machine case on the stage as he was gripped under each arm. "No!" Daisuke growled. He struggled out of one man's grip and kicked the other in the shin so he could put space between himself and the guards. The men looked stunned as they realized he was actually going to resist.
"This man is Dark!" Daisuke shouted at the audience, throwing his arm down angrily. "He's lying to all of you, and you're just eating up the garbage he's serving!"
Murmurs rolled through the crowd.
Gorudo stiffened at the podium. "Remove him."
The security guards, reinforced now, closed in to get the redhead off the stage. Daisuke dodged around the podium, putting Gorudo between himself and the men. It was the safest place; he doubted the billionaire would try to attack him right in front of the crowd. On the other hand, the moment he was off this stage, he was fair game. He'd known that from the moment he'd called out from the crowd. "Last chance, Gorudo. Take the polygraph, and then you can just try to feed these people the same story."
"I will not be manipulated by a sixteen year old!" Gorudo snarled, watching in annoyance as Daisuke pounced and zipped between the guards. That evasive technique wasn't luck; it was skill.
Daisuke dodged sideways as one of the men made a grab for him. The guard's open arms tackled his colleague approaching from the opposite direction. "Why Mr. Gorudo, how did you know I was sixteen? Oh, that's right, you kidnapped me."
The press crews began crowding the stage, shouting questions up at them both, even as Daisuke's evasions made the scene look closer to a brawl than a press conference. Gorudo's gaze darkened. He caught the eyes of one of his two private bodyguards, who were both still positioned at the rear corners of the stage.
The black-suited man snapped to attention suddenly. "He has a knife!" he cried out.
All eyes focused in on Daisuke, who was tugging himself loose from a security guard who had caught his arm a few feet away from Gorudo. On cue, the second bodyguard pulled out a pistol and trained it on the boy. Something heavy and pointed slipped into Daisuke's jacket pocket as one of the security guards brushed past him. Daisuke blinked at the sudden new weight. He had only a split second to realize he was being set up. No way. Gorudo actually planned to get him shot right there on the stage.
A shot fired. Daisuke threw his free hand up across his face while the men around him froze. His thoughts screamed in panic. He couldn't get shot now. He had to get Dark back.
Gorudo threw his hand out fiercely. A rippling shield of energy formed between the gun and Satoshi. The wavering magic caught the bullet and held it there, as if suspended in time. It spun to a stop and then clattered uselessly to the plywood floor.
The entire park went quiet, as surely as the guard's bullet. Daisuke peeked around his raised arm and stared with wide eyes at the dispersing magic. Gorudo's form buckled sideways and leaned heavily against the side of the podium. The billionaire clutched at his chest, struggling for balance.
'Dark,' the redhead realized hopefully. Daisuke backfisted the guard who was holding him down and scrambled to put the podium between himself and the shooter. Gorudo groaned and pressed his hands to his head, doubled over with effort.
"That's it. Get pissed," Daisuke muttered, excitement building in his chest. He clenched his fists at his sides, braced himself, and turned to face the crowd. "This man is framing me because he doesn't want you to know the truth. He had me shot and abducted. He's been performing illegal human experimentation. Dark appeared last night because he was coerced into rescuing me! If you guys want a scoop, just ask-"
"This boy is obviously delusional," Gorudo snarled. "Get him off stage. Security, this young man is dangerous."
The guards looked uncomfortably from Gorudo to Daisuke as the crowd murmured. The gunshot had thrown them out of their comfort zone. They clearly weren't sure what they'd just seen, but they knew something unnatural had just happened. Ultimately, the security officers' gazes rested on the redhead and they began closing in. Gorudo lowered his hands from his head, smirking.
Daisuke clenched his fists. He had to keep Gorudo angry. That was all Dark had told them. He had to hope the angel could keep up his end of the bargain.
"You guys want a scoop?" he shouted to the crowd as he danced around one of the guards. "Ask Gorudo what he keeps on the 12th floor of his precious skyscraper. Ask him about the department he calls "Special Ops!""
Violet spilled like fresh paint down the tawny-brown ponytail that hung along the center of the billionaire's back. The older man's legs and back stretched, growing leaner and longer. A tanned hand reached out and gripped the podium for balance as his body shifted partially right before the crowd. "You disgusting brat," snarled a voice that neither was nor wasn't Gorudo's. The security guards froze in their approach as the billionaire turned to look at Daisuke, and the onlookers behind him, through vivid purple irises.
"Sir!" warned one of his private guards. Gorudo reached up to his face and touched his half-changed features. He cursed as he felt what he knew was not his own face. In a burst, he turned on his heel and charged through the line of gaping security officers, making a run for it.
Daisuke spun and pursued him across the stage. He had to leap and tackle the man to the ground to keep him from getting away. They went down in a fierce tangle of limbs and almost rolled right off the platform into the crowd. Daisuke wrestled for dominance as he was thrust onto his back, hanging partway off the front of the stage. Daisuke was well trained for this type of encounter, but Dark's body was still much stronger than his. The billionaire pegged him down at the center of his chest with one powerful arm, straddled across the boy's legs.
"Why put on this pompous display now, boy? Don't you remember?" he hissed into Daisuke's ear. "You gave this body up without so much as lifting a finger to stop me." His violent eyes hardened ruthlessly. "That was the correct decision."
Daisuke struggled with the hand pinning him, tugging at it with both arms. The violet-haired imposter reached to the side and found the handle of the hard black case Daisuke had carried on stage.
"No!" Daisuke gasped, grabbing for the case. "Stop! Dark!"
"You want the truth?" Gorudo demanded, sounding almost possessed with rage. "You don't need this toy. I'll give you the truth, free of charge." He leaned in close to Daisuke's face. "Dark's not coming to help you this time. I wrote the rules to this game, and believe me, only I can win it." He drew his arm back and smashed the case down across Daisuke's head. The redhead threw his arm up, blocking as much of the impact as he could. He felt the harsh snap of bone in his wrist before the case smashed into the side of his head with a blunt crunch.
The world spun white for a second. When his vision sorted itself back together, he was watching the blurry chunks of Trap's polygraph machine tumble out of the broken case as it fell at the feet of the reporters below. "No!" Daisuke twisted over on the plywood and flailed desperately after the machine.
"No you don't," Gorudo snarled as he grabbed the boy's broken wrist and tugged him away from the edge of the stage. Daisuke screamed in pain and grasped the man's wrist as he was literally hauled up to his feet.
"You…bastard…give him back!" the boy choked out as the world started spinning. This wasn't Dark. Dark would never hurt him like this. He looked up into what had once been Dark's face desperately. Dark wasn't coming, and if he didn't do something soon, he was going to get himself killed.
With a minor being obviously brutalized right in front of them, the onlookers finally seemed to reach a decision about which person needed to be stopped in this situation. Voices shouted up at the billionaire as he dragged Daisuke across the stage.
By the police van, Satoshi and his men had much the same reaction. "I'll be damned, that kid wasn't kidding. Gorudo's got something to do with Dark," Kouga gasped, pulling out his glock and a baton from his belt. "We gotta go, guys. Hiro, Maiku, stay with the commander. The rest of you, with me."
Satoshi started forward instinctively, but Hiro's hand on his shoulder pulled him back. "They've got it, Boss," the cop said apologetically.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with," Satoshi urged, feeling out the limits of his cuffed hands.
"I know Dark when I see him, Commander. We're trained for this, remember? We'll be careful," Kouga reassured him. With that, they ran to intercept the fight.
On stage, Daisuke gave up pulling away from Gorudo's merciless grip on his arm. He tried to resist the urge to break free and run. Dark was inside this body, and unless he did something right now, he was going to lose him. All of them were going to lose him, forever.
"Dark! Please!" he half screamed, throwing his arms tightly around the angel's shoulders. Fire laced up his broken arm, but he held on hard and pressed his face into the stiff fabric of Gorudo's tailored suit. "Please! I never meant to do this to you. I'm so sorry…Dark," he choked on a sob.
Gorudo pried him away and held him at arm's length. The police were making their way up toward the stage. He looked disgusted. "I'll kill you someplace more private," he growled. He reached out a cufflinked arm in the direction of the crowd, and violet energy began gathering around it. The police and reporters alike seemed to freeze, as if they instinctively grasped the danger they were in.
"Don't you dare fire on those people. Dark!" Daisuke screamed.
The light gathered and swirled around Gorudo's hand, building to a concentrated ball, explosive enough to injure or kill everyone watching them. Then, it abruptly fizzled out. The magic fell loose and unraveled. Gorudo's arm shuddered and he took a quivering step backward, as if an unseen force was shoving him. The violet hair dissolved the elastic around it and spread, wild and loose, around his head. When the unstable legs finally found balance and turned to face him, Daisuke saw only Dark in those violet eyes.
"Uck!" I need a cold shower," the angel grimaced, shaking himself off like he'd just rolled in slugs. He looked like himself. Maybe a little grayer under the eyes, but unmistakably Dark.
"Daisuke," the angel addressed him, "You're hurt. Do you want to run?"
The boy stared in emotional relief at his former soulmate, who seemed as casual and proud as ever. How could he act so confident when he was the one whose life was at stake here? The cordial greeting wasn't as intimate as he'd hoped, but then, he didn't really expect Dark to be comfortable with him right away, after all that had happened.
When the shock of seeing him real in front of him wore off, the answer was easy. The hard glint in Daisuke's eyes was enough reply for the angel to understand. Dark smirked, the energy sparkling at the corners of his eyes. "Good. Let's get busy."
"The machine," Daisuke muttered, looking out at their very confused audience. People were slowly beginning to recognize the fully transformed, albeit wingless, figure of Dark on the stage. The reactions were mixed, but considering that Dark hadn't been seen for two years, the sudden cheers from the audience were quite animated. In minutes, the scene had gone from a diplomatic press conference to a celebrity sighting.
If Dark was troubled by the attention, it didn't show. Daisuke walked up to the edge of the stage and gave a wave to the animated crowd. Slowly, the chaotic attention gathered on him. "Dark says that he'll take that truth test now," he announced. "If we could just get that machine back on stage."
He blinked his eyes hard as the crowd began to spin. "No…," Daisuke breathed as his head started to feel heavy. Maybe Gorudo had knocked him harder than he thought. If he passed out now, Dark would be on his own. He had to get that machine back. He struggled for focus, looking through the crowd.
Then he spotted her, near the front, pushing through the reporters. "Risa!" he called out. He felt the world lurch and go weightless. 'Not now,' he prayed to anything that could hear him. 'He needs me, right now!" Darkness choked out his vision. The next thing he knew, strong arms were holding him under the back and legs. The gentle support made it hard to even move a muscle to recover. "Stop! I need to…" he gasped blearily.
"You did fine, Daisuke," Dark's velvety voice said from just above him. "Lie still."
"No! I have to save you," Daisuke pleaded, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm not leaving you again. Dark, I'm so sorry."
"I know, Dai."
The redhead blinked up at the angel. Somehow, Dark's tone didn't sound sincere. *No, Dark, I 'm serious. I won't hurt you like this again. Please believe me!* The mental plea echoed emptily in the circumference of his own mind. The words would only sound like words, and there was no psychic connection between them to take the feelings any farther than his own head. For the first time in Daisuke's life, the phantom thief seemed almost like a stranger to him. This was what it was like for ordinary people to try to get close to Dark Mousy.
One of the police officers who had taken Satoshi earlier was making his way onto the stage, weapon drawn. Dark walked straight toward him.
"Dark!" Daisuke's hands gripped into his suit front. The angel proceeded without hesitating, much to the bafflement of the officer. Kouga put his hand behind him to slow his backup's approach as Dark came to meet him at the edge of the stage.
"Lieutenant Kouga, right? Long time no see," Dark addressed him calmly as the rest of the men on stage kept their distance. Even Gorudo's private guards seemed uncertain what to do with their boss in this changed form.
Dark didn't wait for a response from Kouga. The officer had no choice but to lower his glock as the legendary thief deposited Niwa Daisuke into his arms. "I'm leaving him to you," Dark informed him simply.
"You're…what? I'm here to arrest you!" He stumbled a little as he wound up with the boy's weight in his arms.
"Are you?" Dark grinned broadly. "That approach hasn't worked out terribly well for you in the past."
"Don't play with me, Dark," he growled. "You just bashed this kid's head in, in front of about two hundred people. You won't get away this time."
"Dark's face lowered so he was eye to eye with the man. "In all the years your team has hunted me, have you ever seen me cause collateral damage? If you really believe that was me back there, you can try to arrest me right now. If you'd rather do something useful, start getting all these people out of here. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold him back."
Kouga took a step back, uncertainty creasing his forehead. "Hold who back?"
Dark's expression darkened. "If you can't tell who the bad guy is in this situation, there's not much point telling you."
"Stop! Miss, this area is dangerous," one of Kouga's men ordered on the opposite side of the stage.
"I know what I'm doing, just let me through!" a voice that could only be Risa's argued back. The brunette shoved politely through the weak police barrier and stumbled free onto the stage. Clutched against her chest was the jumbled polygraph machine. She sprinted for the opposite end of the platform and stopped short a few feet from Dark. Her eyes centered on the redhead in Kouga's arms. "Is he-?"
"He'll be fine," the angel said, turning slightly so he could keep an eye on Kouga and see her at the same time.
Risa finally had a good look at Dark's face. It was subtle, but she could tell he was exhausted. Probably much more than he was letting on. The thought infuriated her. 'He didn't let you heal last night, did he?'
She grabbed Dark by the arm. "If you want him, you can shoot me first," she warned Kouga, pulling Dark behind her and backing them both toward the center of the stage.
"Whoah," the angel swayed as he let himself be drawn back with her. "Slowly, my lady. My heart's not ready."
"Stop making jokes and trust me for a minute," Risa said as she dropped to her knees and began frantically assembling the damaged machine.
"Risa, I can take it from here," Dark said. "Daisuke is—"
"It took us half an hour to learn how to run this thing from Trap. You can't just guess your way through it. You need help this time, Dark. Daisuke can wait until after your body is back."
The angel tensed and looked almost irritated for a minute, but his gaze ultimately landed on the machine Risa was plugging back together. She was fiddling with one of the knobs and muttering to herself under her breath.
"What is it?" he crouched next to her.
"Everything's together, but the power supply just isn't connecting. If we can get it to power up, we'll be all set. Dark, you can do this, right?" she gestured to the faulty wire.
"Yeah, I should be able to jump it," he answered, a little surprised by her knowledge.
He reached toward the machine, but was distracted by the loud screech of a megaphone coming online. "Dark Mousy, leave the civilian and step to the edge of the stage. You are surrounded."
Before Dark had even decided his next step, Risa launched to her feet and threw her arms wide like a barricade. "Stay where you are, and you'll get something you've never had a prayer of before: A polygraphic, comprehensive interview with the Phantom Thief Dark. No lies, no strings attached. You can go ahead and turn this into another of your embarrassing capture attempts if that's what you want. But step one foot on this stage, and you can keep those questions to yourself, because this won't happen twice. Got it?"
The man with the megaphone whispered to a cop next to him. They seemed to be arguing vigorously for a minute before the speaker finally nodded. He slowly lowered the device. The promise of a tell-all interview with Dark Mousy was too much to pass up. A sea of anxious civilians and furiously scribbling reporters clamored amongst themselves.
"They're waiting," Risa confirmed, taking a step back toward Dark. Her knees folded under her as she knelt down next to the machine and began fiddling with the sensors. Dark watched her in stunned silence. He could see her fingers shaking as she strung the sensors together. She was scared out of her wits, but she was still doing this. For him. How did this woman he'd once all but kicked out of his life still know him so easily? Why did he feel so confident with a terrified, untrained girl there at his side, but not Daisuke?
His pulse jumped inside his chest as he realized he was happy. More than happy. He hunched forward as a jolt of pain shot up his back. Horror flooded through him as he realized what was happening. "Risa," he gasped, the pain suddenly growing worse and worse.
The tone in his voice made her freeze in her work with the machine and shoot him a worried stare. "Dark? What's happening?" she reached out and touched his shoulders as his breathing started to falter. "Dark!"
The angel barely managed to meet her eyes. Pain sprouted like knives digging up from beneath his shoulderblades. "Run," he ordered her. "Make everyone run." He tugged his arms around his chest and jerked forward as a huge ebon wing leapt from his skin with a sickening rip. "NOW."
At the periphery of the crowd, Satoshi watched the scene unfold with wide blue eyes. "Crap," he murmured.
"What the hell's happening?" Hiro muttered behind him.
The violet-haired angel on stage cried out sharply as both wings burst open to their full span. Dark collapsed to his hands and knees on the stage, panting. Risa crawled back a few feet, staring at the angel anxiously.
Satoshi's throat sounded dry. "Of course."
Hiro frowned at him. "Of course what? What's happening to him?"
"The curse," Satoshi breathed. "He's not going to make it."
"You're going to have to a be a little more specific than—" Hiro's question was broken short as a pale elbow smashed into the side of his head.
Satoshi frowned at his unconscious colleague. "I'm sorry," he muttered. Maiku turned to stare at him in shock, dropping his attention away from the white-winged angel he was guarding.
"Maiku, Krad needs to be released," Satoshi warned.
"Not a chance," the officer murmured, aiming his pistol at his former Commander. He looked hurt, but Satoshi couldn't afford to feel guilty. Not right now.
On stage, Dark's body momentarily stilled. Then the angel was slowly rising to his feet. He calmly extended an arm toward the crowd, and a burst of magic fired without warning into the fray. Screams erupted from the crowd as several were hit by the blast and others burst into a horrified retreat from the stage.
"That's it. Move in!" Kouga called to his men.
"They're going to get themselves killed," Satoshi growled. "The keys, now, Maiku!"
Maiku twitched in horror at the scene unfolding by the stage, but his aim only hardened on his former commander. "You're insane. These things are obviously dangerous. There's no way we can let them go. Boss, if you attack me, that's it. You're through. You understand?" Maiku ordered.
Krad was staring at his former wing host, clearly shocked by the bluenette's defiance of the police. Those golden irises were full of questions and eager resolve. Waiting. That look seemed to be the deciding factor for the bluenette as he threw a sideways kick into Maiku's weapon and knocked it wide. He jumped through his handcuffs, his long limbs easily stretching over his tucked legs. With a sideways heave, he launched into the officer and knocked him to the ground. Satoshi quickly seized the keys from Maiku's belt.
Krad waited for the bluenette to escape on his own. Instead, the boy scrambled from Maiku's grasping arms and thrust the key into the angel's handcuffs, unlatching them from his long wrists. There was a hard squeeze behind his back, and the brace suddenly slipped loose from his wings.
The blonde stretched his wings wide and spun to stare at his former wing host. Satoshi was already being hauled to the ground by an outraged Maiku. The cop trained his weapon on Krad as he pegged Satoshi to the dirt by his sore ribs. "Freeze!"
Kouga and the rest of the squad were rushing in from the corners of the stage, coordinated into two teams. Dark's form straightened and casually pointed a feather toward each group. Violet flames burst to life around the quills. The men didn't stand a chance. A fierce exchange of gunfire and explosives left two men down and several others, including Kouga, crouching at bay behind the safety of the edge of the stage. Dark's form still stood, apparently unharmed, at the center of the platform. The black-winged angel tilted his head back and laughed. The man had completely lost it.
"Go!" Satoshi shouted, thrusting his bound hands at Krad as if he could push the angel away with the gesture. He shoved Maiku's aim wide and stared at the blonde desperately.
Krad took a wary step back. The decision was his. He was free. He could run if he wanted to.
A gust of wind blinded Satoshi and the officer as the angel took off in a burst of feathers and magic.
"Fool," Dark's voice sneered. He slammed a freshly shined loafer down onto Risa's stomach as she was sprawling away from him on the stage floor. "Allowing your deepest weakness to skip right up to you. I'll admit, she is a cute little thing. But hardly worth throwing away your freedom, I'd think."
"What?" Risa choked out as the words sank in.
Gorudo grinned until the whites of his violet eyes gleamed madly. "Weakness makes you imperfect, Black Wings. I'll do you a little favor, and wipe it out permanently. You get to watch." He lowered his palm toward the brunette.
Risa fell very still, tears streaming from her eyes. "Dark…please…"
The billionaire stretched his fingers. A ball of energy jumped to life between them. "Darling, this is going to hurt," he informed her venomously. Risa clenched her eyes and screamed as the light shot down at her.
A heavy impact crashed into her side, heaving her horizontally across the stage. The force punched a painful yelp from her lungs, and she knew she was flying sideways through the air.
It was odd, though. She'd expected Dark's magic to burn more. Moreover, the landing impact she'd expected didn't come. She had to think hard to realize she was still alive. Her eyes squinted open and her senses began coming back online. Her bruised-feeling face and side were pressed tight against warm fabric, and she began to notice that she was clutched firmly in someone's arms.
Relief poured through her. "Thank God… Dark," she whispered tearfully.
She felt a jolt and heard the thud of boots on plywood as her savior landed. Her disorganized senses told her they hadn't flown more than a few feet; that they must still be on the stage. The arms released her carelessly, and she found herself flailing ungracefully onto her butt. "Gently-!" she started to scold, when her rising gaze suddenly locked onto vibrant, golden irises. She froze beneath those yellow orbs, as if a lion were glaring down at her. "…Krad?" she whispered.
The angel frowned from his position over her, his solemn gaze impossible for Risa to interpret. His wings arched upward. Preparing. Warning. When he spoke, it was like an icy chill passing straight through her soul.
"Run."
To be continued!
Pretty please let me know what you think! Thank you so much for reading!
Love,
Kat