Yami bolted upright in bed, his back and legs drenched in cold sweat.

Seto was sleeping soundly beside him, rolled up under the covers.

There were blue and red lights flashing outside the window, casting a harsh reflection against the tiny gap in the curtains, and Yami's stomach dropped to his feet. What the hell? Police? And based on the amount of lights without pulling the curtain back to peek, it looked like 3 or more squad cars.

Immunity means they leave me alone, Yami narrowed his eyes and was glad that he'd woken up from his night terror.

Quietly shaking Seto awake, Yami circled the bed and knelt by his nightstand to grab his gun, hearing Seto turning over in his sleep to mumble, "mnmnmn don't touch me…"

"Seto! Wake up! Police are outside!" Yami hissed, and Kaiba's eyes shot open when he heard the sound of a gun's magazine sliding in, along with the sound of Yami racking the gun somewhere on the ground.

He sat up with a tired groan and sleepily palmed his face.
What…time….was it? And why were the police here at…
He flipped his phone over on the nightstand and recoiled at the time.

3:24 AM.

Yami snatched his phone off the nightstand and texted Mokuba 5 times to break his silent hours.

"Wake up but stay in bed!"
"Code romeo."
"Romeo"
"Romeo"
"Romeo"

Yami slid the gun he'd just loaded across the nightstand and nodded at Seto, reaching down to grab his hand to gently rest it atop the weapon, his heart wrenching with affection when he watched Seto yawn and growl angrily.

"Alright, I'm up," Kaiba breathed, curling his hand around the butt of the gun, making sure the safety was on before he climbed out of bed and followed Yami into the walk-in closet.

Yami was already dressed and tucking the gun into the belt at the side of his hip, flitting the hem of his blazer over it and draping a dark red tie around his neck.

"You're getting ready for a wedding? Fuck the tie," Kaiba began, and Yami shook his head.

"I'm a criminal. I'm going to be dressed," Yami replied so calmly, Kaiba's voice died.
Okay then. He would too, damn.

He reached for the suit he was going to wear into work tomorrow–well, today, since his day was starting now it seemed–and he'd just stepped into his slacks when Isono appeared at the closet entryway.

The manservant bowed apologetically and stepped out to give the masters privacy while he announced their guests.

"We have Jououchi Katsuya, along with a deputy director of strategic services and intelligence, joined by their teams, and a chief of homeland security, along with his international officers–"

"We got it!" Kaiba cried, his blood running cold when he realized this was why Yami was throwing on a tie. Shit. Why was everyone in the world here on his driveway at 3AM?!
To arrest Yami? Better call the lawyer…

Yami stood by the glass case of watches and selected his oldest one–his rolex daytona–and slid it on. Then he knelt to dig behind the racks of shoes to pull out a metal box that rattled when he opened it, and he picked a small chip out of it and slipped it into his sock.

"I've chipped myself," Yami told Seto quietly as he slid the lid back over the box and stuck it behind the shoes. "It's encrypted but you'll know it when you see it. If it goes out of range, I'm either deep underground or floating in space. Either is possible. But out of range doesn't ever mean dead."

"Are you going to be okay?" Kaiba cried, his knees weakening as he watched Yami behave with an eerie calm. "...Y-You have a special immunity agreement. That means you can walk, after you…talk…"

Yami rested a hand on his chest, gave him a pretty smile and then dropped his hand to walk out of the closet without another word.

Kaiba blinked, his heart pounding in his ears.

"….I'll call the lawyer!" Kaiba called to the empty doorway, and he shoved his hand into his pocket for his phone, hissing under his breath.

Yami slowly walked down the grand staircase, trying to take deep, even breaths.

He knew this day would come.

The police would never fully leave him alone, and now that he'd anchored himself to one country, fallen in love and was living with Seto who was high-profile himself, of course the deputies of all intelligence agencies would show up in an entire hoard at his front door.

He'd always expected it, but wasn't ever ready for it to really happen.

It was just like getting shot.
Always expecting it, but never really ready for the full shock and pain.

Isono was waiting loyally by the door, and Yami gave the manservant a calm nod, hoping this wouldn't be the last time he'd be seeing him.

"I appreciate you, and thank you," Yami said, and Isono gave him a grim smile.

"Don't speak like that, sir," the manservant replied, bowing and then resting his hand on the large door panels, getting ready to open it. "I'll walk you out, ready?"

No, Yami shoved his hand into his pocket but then remembered he should keep his hands out where everyone could see them, and he nodded, slowly raising his hands and lacing them behind his head in a familiar motion.
Coming out willingly, peacefully.
But armed.

"Please stay inside. I will walk out alone," Yami nodded, and Isono gave him another funny look.

"Stretching?" Isono asked as he moved to unlock the doors, and Yami's reply made his finger slip on the last lock.

"Yes, this stretch is called, 'hands behind your head where I can see them'," Yami attempted a joke, but he knew it landed badly.

Breaking out into a nervous sweat, Isono pulled the heavy doors back and heard Seto come jogging down the stairs, but Yami gave him a loud command, "stay where you are, Seto. Out of range, away from the doors."

Seto skidded in the middle of the stairway and turned on his heel, choosing to position himself on the 4th floor hallway where he could see through the glass divide straight down the foyer and out the door.

Isono stayed behind the door, knowing it had been quadruple reinforced to take on heavy automatic fire, and watched Yami walk bravely down the marble steps with his hands laced behind his head, nodding at all the officers who were standing at attention by their cars.

They had changed formation since he'd last opened the door, and Isono shivered when he saw a sniper perched atop the roof of a black police van, followed by three men on the ground, on their stomachs with guns aimed at Yami. Oh. Hell.

Kaiba couldn't see the sniper, but he saw an officer openly pointing a weapon at Yami and his blood boiled. He could hit that guy from here.
He touched the gun Yami had given him…

Yami turned around to give him a reassuring smile over his shoulder, so he dared to relax.
Fuck. What was taking that lawyer so damn long to get here?!

There was a tense silence, and Yami counted all the heads before he sighed again and slowly got down on one knee, unlacing his hands and holding them splayed beside his head. Now…what?
Why was no one making a command?
Who was in charge?
He almost recognized every big agency head here.

"AY Ayyeeyeyyey. Stand down!" Joey came barging through the group of heavily armed officers and stood in front of Atem, waving his hands defensively and pointed at the sniper lying atop the van. "Get down from there, Ryoko-san! I said this guy's peaceful and decommissioned! This is not how ya talk to a guy! And at 3 AM?! C'mon. Get up. I mean, get down."

Yami stayed unmoving, listening to the water running in the fountain beside his ear while the officers on the ground by the van didn't move, and neither did the sniper.

Okay…

"Hey, Yami! Sorry to wake ya," Joey turned around to talk to him like no one was present. "I mean I tried to get'em to relax, but they wouldn't y'know? …They got Anzu! And I couldn't call ya or nothin'. You're not mad, are you, bud?"

Yami's head spun with confusion as he shook his head, still on hyper-alert because of the 5…no, 6 guns pointed at him. He'd almost missed the man who was standing behind another police van, using the door as a shield while the weapon was resting against the door frame.

"Who has Anzu?" Yami began, and he saw three men in suits striding up to him to grab Joey and yank him back.

"Assistant director, please stand back and away from the terrorist. You're next in command! You need to take more precautions!"

Yami grit his teeth. Again, being referred to as a terrorist. Loved that.

"We need to enter the premises to make sure you're not holding her hostage," a man with a white badge swinging around his neck stepped forward and spoke to the spikes in Yami's hair instead of making eye contact. "We know you have contacts with Marik Ishtar. We're also aware of your immunity deal with Miss Mazaki and–"

"Wait! Wait… What is happening? And…can I sit down?" Yami lowered his hands a fraction of an inch. "Why are you bringing up Marik? And this isn't my residence."

The three officers blinked at him, and another man added, "but we have you listed in the system as 'living here permanently'. Is that information incorrect?"

Yami opened his mouth to ask for a lawyer, who appeared to be arriving just in time.

Isono saw the gate notification and had already let the car roll in, inciting a fresh bout of startled cries from the officers, "movement at the gates! Hostile! …Possibly hostile!"

"He's my lawyer!" Yami raised his voice, recognizing Dartz's car, feeling tired as he ached to lower his hands. "This is uncivil. Everyone come inside for some coffee. I'm tired."

He stood slowly and hated how he could feel the guns following him as he stood.

"Sir, the asset is standing…" Yami heard someone report to his left.

Dartz climbed out of the car and froze when he saw four officers pointing weapons at him, and he slowly set his briefcase on the ground by his feet while holding his hands up beside his head. A-Atemmmmm…
Why was every 3-letter law enforcement agency here?
What the fuck was happening on the Kaiba property at 3 in the damn morning?

Two officers approached him and patted him down, taking out his phone and car keys, scanning them intrusively with a device before handing it back and announcing, "clean!"

What the fuck! Dartz gnashed his teeth and bent down to pick up his briefcase which was swept away from his fingertips and also scanned with a device. Did they think he was a bomb courrier or something?!

"I'm a criminal defense lawyer," Dartz began haughtily, and he received an open badge shoved in his face.

"Yes, you collude with and defend terrorists like Atem. We know he uses you for his own purposes. Come with us," the man in the heavy, full-armor gear and helmet said as he grabbed Dartz by the arm and pushed him into the house. "Walk. Eyes forward."

Yami slowly walked up the steps and gave Isono the best, most confident smile he could muster.

"Coffee for everyone. I'm afraid you'll have to wake the chef," Yami said as he stepped into the house and turned around to glare at the pile of officers behind him. "Shoes off, everyone. This is a home. Isono here will provide slippers."

And he turned to continue walking inside, hearing Dartz speaking furiously in his defense, "amnesty code of conduct 14.6 section 23b states that when…"

His voice faded when Yami walked into the first floor dining room and pulled out all the chairs, feeling like he was hosting a weird, twisted tea party.

His phone was buzzing in his pocket, undoubtedly from Seto, but he couldn't answer it right now.

He was fortifying the kitchen for his own needs, making sure all the utensil drawers were locked, and he set the gun down into the napkin cabinet, keeping that unlocked.

There.

Then he stood by the table, watching the agents file into the dining room and mill around, beginning their search, and sure enough, Seto's angry voice could be heard echoing from upstairs.

"Do you heathens have any sense of decency? It's 3AM! Almost 4!"

"Mr. Kaiba, we have a warrant to search…and you're lucky we aren't charging you for housing and aiding a known terrorist…"

"Call him that to my face one more damn time!"

"Mr. Kaiba, please. We need to perform a routine walk-through and we'll be done."

Yami grimaced and didn't move from his spot by the dining table, deciding to sit down at the head of the table and cross his legs, calling out, "Isono, please bring us both a coffee!"

Isono had just finished handing an agent their last pair of fresh slippers when he perked up and nodded, standing to close the door, trying not to shake at the sight of all the agents combing through their rooms, walking around like unwanted party guests lingering.

He rushed to make the coffee and listened to Master Kaiba storming down the stairs and coming to a stunned halt at the 1st floor kitchen area, seeing agents walking through the garden, their entertainment lounge, even peeking behind the bar.

"Okay what's going on?" Kaiba asked weakly, deciding to sit in the seat beside Yami, who looked way too calm. He reached forward to rest his hand atop Yami's hands but to his shock, Yami withdrew and whispered, "don't touch me right now." So Kaiba shrank his own hands back and wondered if they were fucked. Like really fucked.
Cops were everywhere in their house and Yami wasn't…doing anything.
Neither was their lawyer, who was standing silently by the end of the couch, being patted down by another officer and then was instructed to sit down on the lounge.

Echoing shouts of, "clear!" drifted through the house.

"Clear on the 1st floor…!"
….

"2nd floor, clear!"

Mokuba shrunk up underneath the covers, pretending to be asleep like Yami said, because thank fuck he'd woken up and obeyed that text. Code Romeo required him to grab a weapon when no one was looking and evacuate to Nat's house, or Shizuka's apartment.

The lights flashed on in his room and heavy footsteps walked through his room, making him super fucking mad, but he took deep, even breaths and even faked a snore, clutching his phone under his pillow while keeping it on silent.

The footsteps exited his room and he heard a gruff voice, "clear! 3rd floor, Mokuba Kaiba's room, clear. Kid is asleep."

And the lights switched off with a loud click!

Yami heard Mokuba's status through the chain of command and gave Kaiba a careful nod.

Seto blinked rapidly and nodded.
Yami had Mokuba in his plans…always.
He wasn't worried about that little stinker right now, knowing Mokuba could take care of himself when the situation escalated.
Yami was the one in danger right now.

Dartz folded his arms across his chest and tapped his foot.
He'd like an explaination for what the fuck was going on.

The manservant walked over and served him coffee, which he accepted gratefully and tried to catch Atem's eye, but the spiky-haired man wasn't looking at him. Dammit.

Coffee landed in front of Kaiba too, so he picked it up and slowly took a sip, noting that Yami didn't touch his.

Finally, the cops finished their sweep and one man with a couple of flag pins on his lapel stepped forward, along with an armed officer beside him, holding the point of a gun at Yami, making Kaiba extremely uncomfortable.

"Can we not do gunpoint? It's too early. Or late," Kaiba said irritably, glaring at the man's gun.

"Do you know who sits here?" The man with the pins scoffed at Seto Kaiba with a condescending look. "This man put a bomb in someone's mouth, detonated him in a shipping container, and then mailed him as a message. Message received, Atem."

Isono nearly dropped the next tea cup he was serving when he heard this, and the receiving officer also fumbled the catch, spilling a bit of coffee onto the floor, both of them not making eye contact and privately shaking.

"He was your mole. You're welcommme, Chief," Yami replied in a quiet, singsong voice that sent a chill down Kaiba's spine. "Or are you a Director now?" He didn't turn his head as he examined his manicure, steadily recalling the man's name, "Chief Hemorrhoid. That's what everyone called you back then. I remember. Your partner was alive all the way up until his arrival date. It gave him time to think about what he did wrong. And I heard you promoted someone who really deserved it. An all-around win."

The man's eyelid twitched and Kaiba felt a laugh climbing up his chest.
W-What the fuck! Yami knew this guy!
Chief Hemorrhoid.
Funny nickname.

"Enough fucking around," the man snarled, and the officer at his side raised the gun higher. "Where is Marik Ishtar?"

Yami blinked and his stomach dropped to his feet. Oh fuck.

"He better be in a secure facility," Yami let the anxiety show on his face. "...Is he not? And if not, wow. You people are incompetent. And you call yourselves deputies of homeland security and whatnot."

Kaiba had to cover his mouth with one hand while trying not to make any eye contact.
F-Fuck he wanted to laugh so badly, but was afraid he'd get shot if he snickered. These officers ranked higher than Anzu.

The officer holding the gun stepped closer until the gun was almost touching Yami's shoulder, and the director placed a palm down on the dining table, bending down to look right into Yami's face, making Seto's blood boil at how close the other man was getting.

"Start talking and prove your green asset status. Marik Ishtar. Location."

Yami blinked calmly and stared right across the long table and spoke in monotone because he could feel his temper rising, "you're close enough for me to smell the calorie bar you ate an hour ago, and that means you're close enough for me to snap your neck, Director."

The man straightened up like a board and grit his teeth. This was the ghost he'd been trying to catch for the first 4 years of his career, and here he was, sitting smugly in a comfortable country, untouchable because of an air-tight immunity agreement. Monster.

"I got it! I got it!" Joey came dashing over and pulled out a chair right beside Atem, almost elbowing the director of homeland security in the chest as he nudged the seat back and then scooted forward with a loud scrape. "Bud, it's like, super urgent, and we know you don't do nothin' unless it's for your own good, okay? But Anzu is in trouble and we…reaaaally need ya to help us out."

"Where is Anzu?" Yami's eyes narrowed and Kaiba's heart skipped a beat. Oh shit…

"Uh she–" Joey couldn't even get a word out before the director stepped forward to interrupt.

"Do not disclose classified information to a dangerous asset!"

Seto exercised his jaw and pinched his brow in exhaustion. Oh god…

"Ya wanna find her alive or not!" Joey stood up to shout, his cheeks red. "Treat 'im like a human and he'll help us. That means guns down! Men, down! All ya'll can…go outside fer fuck's sake. He hates cops! You and your fancy schmancy psych profilers all know that. So fuck outta here! Anzu is my partner and I'm gonna do what it takes to get her back!"

Stunned at hearing Joey curse so much, Yami stared at the back of his head, his appreciation for the blond officer rising. Kaiba even felt a twinge of respect climbing reluctantly up his chest.

Yami's ears were ringing in and out and he realized he was dissociating for a moment, so he had to put his head down slowly in his arms. Oh no…
It was coming back.
Atem was coming back.

He rested his forehead on his arms and stayed that way, listening to Joey shooing everyone out of the house, leaving only the directors and chiefs, who all took a tired seat at the table and were served coffee.

Kaiba stared nervously at Yami, who looked like he was taking a nap with his head in his arms, nothing but spiky hair visible, and he felt another chill go down his spine.
Yami sure was carefree…

"Okay!" Joey was panting with exertion as he came jogging back into the dining room and sank into the seat beside Yami, reaching out to touch him on the shoulder. "Bud? Tired, I know. I've been up for like 2 days already."

Yami jerked his head up and his eyes sharpened. "She's been missing for two days?"

"W-Well," Joey's hand tightened around Yami's shoulder. "It's been 13 hours since we found out, and then….maybe 9 of 'em unaccounted for, because we thought she was just late for work, then we heard abouthim breakin' out. Then we went to her house, and there were signs of a struggle. Windows broken, her car still there, badge n' keys, all left behind."

Yami blinked twice.

"I need a solid timeline of all her actions 2 days prior to her disappearance, and…access to everything you've gathered so far," Yami said quietly, still hearing ringing in his left ear. "And you'll have to give me a moment. I keep dissociating." Then he put his head back down in his arms, his mind churning.

Anzu had been targeted.
That meant…players like Marik knew he had Anzu in his pocket. Dammmn it. That meant someone had figured out his safety net. No matter.
Anzu was a high-ranking agent and abducting her was a message.
Or… Marik held a grudge because of his summit arrest, and…

If I reveal myself as the one looking for her, that tells everyone I'm working with the wrong side, Yami fumed, realizing this put him in a tight spot. It was fine.
He still had his knight, Joey, his most versatile piece.
His king, Seto, was safe, at his side.
His rook, Mokuba, and his bishop, Isono, all safe.

Okay, here I go, Yami took a deep breath and got ready to raise his head, ready to be Atem again. He would do it for Anzu, who was genuinely a great friend to him.
If he lost her, it would be a great loss indeed.

Author's note:

Thank you for following this story so far!