I can't imagine Gozaburo Kaiba didn't have at least a few folks in the local PD in his back pocket. Which, in my mind, means that—even if Seto were inclined to trust the cops in general—he wouldn't trust them with all that much.
You know what I mean?
.
It had been years since the last time Kisara heard the voice of her older brother. Rhett was well into his thirties now, and he was sporting a full beard. He looked like a different man. Only his eyes were the same, that deep amber brown that sparkled like polished gemstones; and his smile, that was also the same. Kisara realized, as she looked at that face, just how much she missed him. She felt tears burn the backs of her eyes.
"Hello, Rhett," she said, holding her tablet steady in her lap and hoping she wouldn't drop it.
With the way her hands were shaking, she couldn't be sure.
"Hey-hey, Kay-kay," said Rhett. "You're looking good."
"You, too," Kisara said. "I love the beard."
Rhett stroked his chin and grinned. "Thanks. Mom hates it. What's this about a security risk?"
"I wish I knew anything specific enough to tell you," Kisara said. "All I know is this: somebody is following my boss. Seto Kaiba." Recognition sparked in Rhett's eyes, and Kisara held up a hand as he opened his mouth. "I know, I know. There's a lot to get into. The point is, whoever these people are, they figured out that he was with us, with the family, over Christmas. So, we need to make sure everyone is safe while we work out how to . . . neutralize the threat."
Rhett frowned. "Dad was grousing to me about not going to police. Are you sure your boss isn't making a mistake, here? Forgive me if I'm overstepping but refusing to talk to the cops . . . it doesn't not make him sound like a made man. You know what I mean?"
Kisara tried to remember the script Roland Ackerman taught her.
She eventually said: "These people have shown they know we're friendly with law enforcement. Nobody with aims against a Kaiba is going at it alone. It's not so much that we refuse to work with the police. It's just that we're waiting until we're sure there isn't somebody on the inside, waiting for us to let it slip that we know they're here."
Not a single word of this spiel was true.
Seto Kaiba trusted exactly one police officer on God's green earth, and that officer most certainly wasn't in Iowa. Seto was refusing to work with the police because he considered them inept, corrupt, and pathetic.
Kisara didn't think she blamed him much.
That said, she knew better than to even try having this argument with her father or her brother.
It was easier, for now at least, to appease them as much as she could.
Thankfully, Rhett seemed to take this explanation at face value. "Well. I guess somebody with that high a profile would know a thing or two about how to handle this kind of situation, wouldn't he?" He looked thoughtful. "I'm pretty sure I've heard stories about him dealing with this sort of stuff before."
Kisara nodded. "Rhett, Mister Kaiba's brother has been kidnapped so many times that it's statistically impossible. It boggles the mind. I literally haven't the faintest clue how that boy is able to go out in his own yard without panicking."
"Kids are made of sterner stuff than we give them credit for," Rhett said sagely.
"I suppose you're right about that," Kisara said. She smiled. "How's Ray?"
"She's doing great. Says she's going to keel over and die if she has to deal with our ISP anymore. We've been playing phone tag with them for a week now. But other than that, she's doing just fine."