Okay, so, sorry I'm late! You would not imagine how busy I've been. I've had furniture to put together (not just any furniture, but Ikea furniture.), world cup games to watch (Yay America!) and a lot more. But I think I'm just about done with all that and I hope I'll be on time next week. Sorry for the delays, now enjoy!

Malik stayed completely still for the entire car ride. The glares Bakura shot him through the rear view mirror were returned by looks of fear and helplessness. Malik tried his best to think of escape plans, but his mind wouldn't cooperate with him and instead chose to focus on the many things Bakura planned to do with him. He knew the pale man most likely would not kill him, but Malik took little comfort in that. After all, there were many things far worse than death.

After about an hour of driving, Bakura pulled up to a large, luxurious looking house. Malik cursed himself for not paying attention to any road signs, because he had no idea where he was. The surroundings were not familiar to him, either, but he could guess they were in a fairly wealthy part of town. Bakura got out of the car, slamming it harshly and making Malik wince.

"Get out," Bakura growled menacingly.

Malik, having learned from before, obeyed the order and clambered to his feet and out of the car. His arm was roughly grabbed by Bakura and he dragged towards the front door. It was barely light out, but Malik still couldn't make out the address of the house, nor did he have time to study the neighbourhood. Bakura opened the door and gave him a sharp shove inside. Malik landed sharply on his left elbow, but held back a sharp yelp of pain.

The inside of the house was dark and shadowy because none of the lights were on. The only source of illumination was given by the morning sunlight seeping in through the closed blinds, creating eerie shadows throughout the large entryway.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Fucking hell, can't you stand?" Bakura gritted his teeth as he pulled Malik back to a standing position. He lead Malik through many other rooms, all decorated with expensive furniture, and many had large flat-screen TV's. He guessed that Bakura probably hadn't obtain them through legal means.

Malik was led to a room that contrasted with the rest of the house. This room had light blue walls and was completely empty save for a small bed in the corner, a white nightstand, a rubbish bin, and a small white dresser. All of this furniture was relatively beaten up, with deep gashed and dents in the white wood.

"Go sit on that bed. Don't even think about trying anything."

Malik obeyed silently and sat on the bed, which was hard and lumpy, but he dared not complain. He was still cuffed, and the fabric of his gag was crusty and soiled with saliva, chafing his cheekbones painfully. Malik realized too that he also really needed to use the toilet.

Bakura paced around the room, his hand combing through his messy white locks. Malik wasn't sure how long he was sitting there, but exhaustion soon took him over and he fell asleep. After a while, Bakura noticed soft snoring coming from Malik, and turned to see him sleeping. He scowled, shaking his head.

"Goddammit… How could I have made such a big mistake…" he sighed angrily, leaving the room and locking the door behind him.

He walked through the hallway and sat on the couch to watch the news. Luckily, there was nothing on Malik or any other missing person. He didn't expect there to be anything unless Malik was some sort of famous movie star or someone of importance. Bakura took out his laptop and quickly googled Malik's name, but all that came up was a facebook account that had remained unused for a year. Bakura breathed a sigh as he closed the laptop, thankful that it seemed his kidnapping would go unnoticed for a while.

"We better figure out something fast," he said to himself. He felt lucky he had gotten off so easily, but he was still worried that the worst was yet to come. After all, his boss had a reputation for not going easy on those who crossed him. And Bakura had most definitely crossed him.

Bakura got up off the couch to check on Malik. He was still asleep, making Bakura's job of tying him up easier. He couldn't allow Malik to sneak away while he was gone, and lucky for him it seemed that Malik would not be waking up any time soon. Bakura had grabbed some old rope from a toolbox that was left out, presumably because Bakura had been looking for a proper lock-bumping screwdriver. He tied Malik's still cuffed wrists to the headboard, ensuring there would be no escape for the boy. Happy with his work, he once again left the room.

"I'll probably have to feed him and shit…" He moaned, dreading the work that was to come. He couldn't be blamed too much, after all, in the rainy night Malik easily looked exactly like Mariku. But still, a good hunter, a hunter like Bakura, should never make such a dastardly mistake, no matter how much of an excuse he had. I just should not have happened. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Both at himself and at Malik.

In an attempt to cool himself off, he got up and went to his kitchen on the other side of the house, inwardly cursing for having such a large home. He boiled himself some water for a cup of tea and poured himself a bowl of crisps. He waited, drumming his fingers on the table, for his water to boil. After a few minutes he heard the hissing of the kettle, signalling to him that the water was boiling. He took it off the stove and poured himself a cup.

"Shit, that's hot…" he hissed as the steam condensed on his hand. He set the kettle back down on the stove and added two cubes of sugar and some milk to his steeping tea. He grabbed both his snacks and headed back to the room he was before, setting the food down on the coffee table.

"Where the hell did I put that book…" He muttered, looking around. He looked under the coffee table and in the couch cushions, but he still didn't find it. He always seemed to be misplacing things.

"Whatever," he growled, sitting down on the couch and flipping on the TV. He was half watching the programme and half thinking about what he was going to do about Malik. He munched on his chips and sipped his tea loudly in an effort to take his mind off the young man currently tied up in his empty bedroom, but it didn't help. After all, it was kind of a big thing to just ignore.

After he finished his tea and crisps, not even bothering to clear the dishes to the sink, he got up again and paced.

"He better call me about this…" he mumbled, "It's his bloody fault too…"

As if his cell could hear him, it started ringing. Bakura jumped a bit, startled by the sudden vibrations in his pocket, before pulling it out and tapping the 'accept call' button.

"What?!" He growled, annoyed at his thoughts being interrupted.

"Watch it, Bakura," growled back the familiar voice of his boss. Bakura stiffened.

"Oh, it's you. You have an idea?" Bakura asked, surprised that he was getting the call so soon.

"Yeah. Take the kid tomorrow down to our place in Brixton. We'll take care of it from there. There'll be two men there. You're to hand him over without a word. And don't let anyone see you."

Bakura raised an eyebrow, "So what're you gonna do?"

The man growled back, annoyed, "You are in no position to be asking questions right now, Bakura. You're lucky I'm even helping you out here. Ant I expect you'll be working for free from now on, right? Or will you have to talk to my men about this?"

Bakura gulped, gritting his teeth, "Whatever. I'll bring the kid. Mariku has left the country by now, though."

"I know. I've already sent someone better after him. But I could still use you here, I have a lot of people who owe me after all, you included."

Bakura growled again and hung up, seething with rage. He had gone from best to worst in a matter of a day, all because of that stupid brat Malik. Now not only was he in trouble with the boss, but he was expected to work without pay to make up for his mistake.

"Shit!"

So this chapter was a bit shorter than the previous one, sorry about that. But I hope it was worth the wait! Also, if you're reading and are interested, I am in need of a beta reader. Please review and favourite/follow! Your feedback motivates me to write more! :)