AN

Wow! What responses! That cliffhanger seemed to jumpstart a bunch of you! This is now officially my most reviewed story so thank you all very much! I appraicate all the wonderful things you have to say and I thank you for all the support. Now that that's settled, on to the story!

Disclaimer-I own nothing.

No Escape

Chapter 31

Ichigo called Kira on his cell while he dialed 911 on Rukia's phone.

Rukia sat up in bed, bleary-eyed, but as she listened to him telling them what was happening, he saw her face go pale.

"Natsuki," she whispered.

"Sir, do you know the address?" asked the 911 operator.

"Rukia, what's Momo's address?" asked Ichigo, still struggling to sound calm.

Rukia pushed her weak body from the bed and hurried into the kitchen. Ichigo followed her. She pointed to an address in her book, and Ichigo read it off to both of them.

"Units are on the way," said Kira.

"Police will be there shortly, sir," said the dispatcher.

Ichigo looked at Rukia and moved the phones away from his mouth. "Do you want to drive or handle the phones?"

"Phones. You drive. Use every trick you know to get us there. We can't let anything happen to Natsuki."

Kon poked his messy head over the railing. "What's going on?"

"Go back to bed," said Rukia.

Kon's mouth hardened. "It's my dad, isn't it? He's hurt someone else."

"I hope not," said Ichigo.

Rukia was sliding her coat on over her pajamas and shoving her feet into a pair of shoes by the door.

"I'm going with you," said Kon.

Ichigo knew that look on his face. He'd seen it time after time during his special forces training. It was the one men wore when they'd decided nothing was going to stop them from reaching their goal. It was the look of a man who didn't take no for an answer.

Arguing with him would only waste time. "We're leaving now."

Kon didn't even bother finding shoes. He was the first one out the door.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Yammy heard the little girl's whimpering cries. He doubted she even knew she was making them.

He reached under the bed until he felt the girl's arm. He pulled her out, ignoring her ineffective struggles. She slapped at him, even clawed at his fingers, but she was too scrawny for it to be of any use.

He jerked her hard, so she'd understand who was in charge. The girl gasped, and a cordless phone skidded across the worn wooden floor.

Yammy pulled her to her feet and shook her by the shoulders. "Did you call someone?" he demanded.

Her eyes were huge and red from crying. She made pitiful sobbing noises that shook her thin frame and made him want to shake her harder. Snot leaked from her nose, making Yammy's stomach turn. He hoped he didn't have to keep her long before he could trade her for Kon. He wasn't sure how long he could stand dealing with the whimpering mess.

God, he hated little kids. Maybe it was a blessing that he'd been in prison while Kon was growing out of this disgusting phase.

"Answer me, damn it!"

The girl looked at the floor and hunched her shoulders as if trying to make herself look smaller.

Yammy slapped her face, just hard enough to get her attention.

She gasped and covered her face with her hands.

"Who did you call? The police?"

When she didn't answer again, he raised his hand. "Don't make me hit you again," he told her.

"Rukia!"

Yammy smiled. "Good girl. I was going to call her anyway."

Then he heard the sirens and realized that Rukia had probably called the police. He hadn't had the chance to warn her not to.

Fuck!

Yammy dragged the girl out of the room, picking up the phone on his way. He needed to get out before the police came.

She tripped on the stairs and would have fallen down if he hadn't been holding on to her. He picked her up with one arm and tossed her over his shoulder.

By the time he'd gotten downstairs, he could already see the glow of flashing lights winking through the blinds.

A frustrated roar burst out of him, making the windows shake. This was not supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a clean trade. He'd get his son and get out of the country without the police being the wiser. But no, the soft little girl who couldn't stop crying long enough to wipe her nose had ruined everything.

Yammy tossed her on the floor, next to her mother's bleeding body. "See what happens when you try to fuck up my plans?" he asked her.

She was sobbing, holding the arm she'd landed on close to her body. "Mommy?"

"Mommy didn't listen to me," said Yammy. "The same thing will happen to you, too, if you don't listen."

The girl shook her mom's shoulder, but the woman didn't move. Blood oozed out of a hole in her chest, but apparently, the girl hadn't figured out what that meant. "Mommy, wake up! Please, Mommy!"

Police cars started flooding the street out front. There was no way Yammy was going to get out of here without being caught. His plans had to change.

At least he had a hostage.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Ichigo made the fifteen-minute drive to Momo's in less than half that. Rukia's stomach rebelled at the sudden turns and dangerous speed even as she admired the skill it took to get them there safely.

Momo's street was blocked off by police cars, and they couldn't get closer than a hundred yards. They got out and headed down the cracked sidewalk.

Light flashed everywhere, and neighbors poked their heads out to see what was going on. Some of the police had their weapons drawn and all of them kept careful watch on the house. In the deep shadows behind the run-down home, Rukia thought she saw movement.

"There's someone back there," she told Ichigo.

He took her arm to steady her over the broken concrete, which was good, because her legs still weren't working like they were supposed to.

"It's SWAT," he said.

"How can you tell?"

"They're moving in standard two-by-two formation."

An officer in uniform stopped them in front of Momo's neighbor's house. "You can't come any closer."

"Is Detective Kira here?" asked Ichigo.

More than a hint of sarcasm tinted the young man's tone. "Yeah, but he's a little busy."

"I'm the one who called it in. Where is he?"

The officer hesitated for a moment as if deciding whether or not to cooperate, then pointed to a clump of men near one of the patrol cars.

Ichigo told the policeman, "I'm going to him."

"I can't let you do that. The man inside is armed."

"I know. I heard him fire a round when the little girl in there was talking to me on the phone. I'm not trying to interfere, we just want to know what's going on. These people are friends."

"Can you please find out if they're okay?" She didn't realize until Ichigo petted her hand that she was squeezing his arm hard enough to leave bruises. She relaxed her grip and took a deep breath. She had to stay calm so she'd be able to help if they needed her.

The officer gave him a brief nod. "Stay here. I'll go get him."

Rukia's phone rang. It was Momo's number. A jolt of panic shot through her, and she nearly dropped the phone before she could push the talk button. "Natsuki?"

Ichigo leaned close to the phone, and she angled it so he could hear, too.

"No," came Yammy's angry voice. "But she's right here. If you want her back, then get these fucking cops out of here."

"Not going to happen," said Ichigo. "You might as well give up now. It beats being taken out in a body bag."

"Do they make those in kids' size?" asked Yammy. "Cause that's what they're gonna need for the little girl here if they don't back off. I already took out her mom. Don't think for a second I won't do the same to her if I have to."

In the background, Rukia heard Natsuki's pitiful whimper of terror. She was still alive. They weren't too late.

Rukia nearly crumpled with relief.

"Let Natsuki go, you bastard!" she cried. "She's just a little girl."

"You want her. I want Kon. The only way you're getting her is if Kon agrees to come with me."

Rukia's throat clamped down so hard she couldn't talk. She felt Kon's presence at her back and prayed that he hadn't heard that.

"Sure," said Ichigo, sounding totally casual. "Whatever you want. Just don't hurt the girl, or the deal's off."

Rukia stared at him in shock. "You can't-!"

Ichigo's hand clamped down over her words, cutting them off. He mouthed the words, "Trust me."

She did. He'd never do anything to jeopardize a child.

Rukia nodded and Ichigo removed his hand.

"What can't I do?" demanded Yammy.

Kira arrived then, and Ichigo held up a finger for silence. "How do you want this to go down?" he asked.

"Get the cops to leave. Then we'll talk." Yammy broke the connection.

Rukia felt hot tears slide down her cheeks. She could only imagine how frightened Natsuki must be. And poor Momo! "We've got to do what he asks."

"What does he want?" asked Kira.

Rukia made the mistake of looking at Kon. She saw the moment he realized what was going on-the way his eyes dulled with shock and anger.

"He wants me," said Kon. It wasn't a question. He knew. "Fine. I'll go to him."

Ichigo clasped the boy's shoulder. "That's not going to happen. We're just playing along to keep him from hurting Natsuki."

Kira's jaw clenched. "What about the woman who lives here?"

Instead of responding to Kira's question, Ichigo looked at Rukia. "I'm sorry, love."

Rukia started to shake and her breath came in short, harsh pants. Her knees felt wobbly and she had to fight the temptation to pass out. This couldn't be happening. Momo was working so hard to build a better life for her daughter. It couldn't end like this. It couldn't! "She might be okay. Maybe he just injured her."

"Maybe," said Ichigo, though he didn't sound convinced.

He looked to Kira. "You need to have your men back off. He's twitchy."

"We can pull the units back some. But no way will we let SWAT back off. Not as long as there's a chance one of them could take him out."

"I could take him out," stated Ichigo. There was no bravado in his voice, just simple, lethal fact.

"I don't doubt it. I've seen your records, but you're a civilian now. You need to let us handle this."

Ichigo's fists clenched tight.

"I'll go talk to him," offered Kon.

"No!" said all three adults at the same time.

"It's me he wants! If he's going to have a hostage, better me than some scared little girl."

"He's already killed at least eight people," said Kira.

Kon's body went still. "What do you mean eight people?"

"He doesn't know," said Rukia, feeling the weight of her decision to hide the truth bearing down on her. "I didn't want him to know."

"Know what? Don't treat me like a child!" Kon ground out. "I deserve to know what's going on."

Ichigo's fingers slid over Rukia's hand in a soothing caress. "He's right, Rukia. He's nearly a man now. He can handle it."

Rukia's eyes closed in regret. Things would have been so much easier if Kon had been a child who needed to be protected. But he wasn't. He was already being forced to face his father's mistakes, and coddling him would only make her feel better. Not him.

"Go ahead," she told Kira. "Tell him what you know."

"Yammy has been killing people since he got out of prison. He's tried to kill Rukia twice now. He sabotaged her car, then poisoned her."

Kon's face went white, his eyes flat as he looked at her. "Poison? That's why you were sick tonight. He tried to kill you to get me back!"

"No! This wasn't about you," she said. "All of the people he's killed lived in the same foster home years ago."

"It's my fault," said Ichigo. "I'm the one who killed his uncle. He may be getting revenge on all of us, but I was the one who caused it."

"No, my father caused it," said Kon, looking a little sick.

The detective's lips pressed together.

"Kon..." Rukia reached for him, but he jerked away from her touch. She wanted so badly to comfort him, but she had no idea what to say or do to make any of this better.

He closed his eyes, pain tightening his face. "If I don't go in there, he's going to kill Natsuki, too."

"You can't stop him. Let the police handle this."

"She's right, son," said Kira.

Kon glared at him. "I'm not your son. I'm his. I can't let him hurt a little girl."

"We won't let that happen," said Ichigo.

Kon glared at Ichigo. "You can't stop him, either, I don't care how big and tough you think you are. I'm the only one who can stop him. I'm the one he wants."

Ichigo gave Rukia a guilty look before he said to Kira, "Maybe he can help. Maybe if he pretends to go along with Yammy's plan, he'll let Natsuki go."

Kira shook his head. "It's too risky."

"I'm not taking any risk at all talking to him on the phone," said Kon.

"We've got a hostage crisis specialist already on the way," said Kira. "We just need to keep things quiet until then. She'll know the best way to handle this."

Ichigo muttered a low curse. "You think Yammy's going to wait until some specialist gets here?! He's getting twitchier by the minute! You have to do something NOW!"

"You're not in charge here, Ichigo. Either shut up and let us do our job, or leave. I won't have you making things worse."

Ichigo pointed to the chaos around them. "How much worse do you think this can get? Does Natsuki have to die before you'll move in?"

"SWAT is on standby. We know what we're doing."

"Tell that to Natsuki!" shouted Ichigo. "She's in there, scared to death, and we're standing around out here waiting for some specialist to arrive. Fuck that!"

Ichigo turned and stalked away back toward his Mustang. Rukia turned to follow him, but Kira stopped her by taking hold of her arm. "Let him go."

Rukia grimaced at him and pulled her arm free. She turned once more to follow Ichigo, but then thought better of it. He obviously wanted some space. Or maybe he was planning something that would save Natsuki. Normally, she would protest the breaking of rules, but this wasn't a ormal circumstance. Rukia decided to remain quiet and keep Kira distracted for as long as she could.

"Are you going to let me talk to Yammy?" asked Kon.

"Not yet. The longer we stall, the better. Yadomaru-the negotiator-is good. If anyone can find a way out of this mess, it's her. All we have to do is stall until she gets here."

"How long will that be?" asked Rukia. All she could think about was little Natsuki in there, alone and afraid. Something like this would be hard on the strongest child, but Natsuki didn't even have that going for her. She was emotionally frail. Something like this might destroy her.

For all Rukia knew, it might already be too late. Ichigo... Do something.

AN

Ah, so it's not Renji after all. At least not now. But never fret guys, Renji gets what's coming to him in the finale. But first we have to deal with Yammy. If only Kira knew. Ichigo following rules, that's hilarious! Review please!