After lunch, Jounouchi decided to spend his afternoon working his way through all the data and information acquired from Industrial Illusions and Paradius. He hoped to find more connections than just his feeble Ancient Egyptian link between the killed CEO's. He was alone at his desk; Honda had left to visit his colleagues at another department and he would be back soon enough. Jounouchi squinted at his laptop screen, when he noticed someone was approaching him. A gravely voice greeted him.
"Jounouchi," the man said as he took Honda's seat without asking.
"Hirutani," Jounouchi nodded in return. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" He knew his fellow detective from way back, from the time when they were in the same gang. Young and from broken families, both Jounouchi and Hirutani had used violence to establish their place in the world, using their fists and brawn to work out their anger and troubles. Jounouchi met Yuugi at Domino High School and left the gang as he learned the value of friendship and a life free from crime; Hirutani had taken longer to leave the gang and violence behind him. Since then, they both had become detectives, with Hirutani climbing up to the position of head of the specialized unit who investigated gangs. With his personal experiences, he was the perfect man to lead such a unit.
"I came bearing you a gift," Hirutani grinned, holding up a very thick file. "I didn't know you had met the Ishtar boys."
"What?"
"I saw your inquiry in the system," Hirutani explained. "About Malik and Marik Ishtar?"
Jounouchi's curiosity flared up. "If you're personally here... then they must belong to a gang."
"The Rare Hunters, to be exact. However, we can't really connect them to the gang. We know they're behind it, but we can't prove it."
"What are The Rare Hunters about?"
"Burglary," Hirutani answered. "So far, we can at least link them to a hundred burglaries. We managed to apprehend a couple of Rare Hunters, but they refused to name names. I interrogated one, but it was like he was on drugs. Totally unresponsive and slow, I couldn't get any answers out of him. He stared at me with totally blank eyes, you know?"
Jounouchi reclined in his seat. He hadn't pegged the Ishtar brothers for gang members, but then again, he'd only seen them for a minute.
"How do you know the Ishtar brothers are connected to the Rare Hunters?"
"Surveillance. We caught a couple of Ryuzaki gang members weeks ago, and they told us bits and pieces after some... appropriate pressure. We also have some footage of the Ishtars talking to Ryuzaki himself, but it wasn't enough to arrest them. I'm keeping an eye on them, though." Hirutani scrunched up his nose. "It's very frustrating. They're Egyptian citizens and their big sister, Isis, has much influence here."
"Really? How come?"
"She has some kind of diplomatic immunity," Hirutani scoffed. "It applies to Malik and Marik as well."
"Does she belong to the diplomatic corps?"
"Not that I know of. Apparently she's held in high regards by almost every government official in Domino City. This 'diplomatic immunity' is a carte blanche for her brothers to do whatever they want. Right now they're still street punks, but who knows how fast they'll turn into yakuza lords."
"Which reminds me," Jounouchi said, "when I spoke to Isis earlier, she asked immediately if there was something wrong with her brother?"
"You spoke to her? Well yeah, she should be no stranger to police investigations by now."
"No, you don't get it. She asked for her brother. Singular, not plural."
Hirutani scratched the back of his head. "My guess would be that she'd ask sooner about Marik than Malik."
"Which one is which again?"
"Malik is the one who looks normal," Hirutani said. "I had the misfortune to see Marik up close, once. I had arrested him and Malik for disorderly behavior and they had some stolen property: money and credit cards. When I looked at him, I noticed he hasn't any pupils. His eyes, Jounouchi... he was staring at me and I could see nothing but hate and anger in those eyes. He scared the fuck out of me, by just staring. And there's something else."
"What?"
"Marik... isn't right in the head. He has the body of a young man, yet the mind of a young child. He can read and speak Ancient Egyptian fluently, but he makes constant grammar errors in Japanese and even in Arabic. He can count, but anything more complex than adding and distracting eludes him. He doesn't know this is 'Japan'. He couldn't put an autograph on the statement."
"Are you telling me that he is... well, retarded?" Jounouchi didn't like to use that word and he thought back to the moment he had met Malik and Marik instead, but it had been too short to form a good opinion about them. Marik's voice wasn't hard to recall, though. Konnichiwa, Jounouchi-daimyo.
"No, I don't think so. His intelligence is at an entire different level, but I don't know if I want to find out exactly how and what. It takes a very unique way to approach him and the only one capable of doing so, is big sister Isis. She swooped in like a hawk after the arrest and took them home without even posting bail."
"They obeyed her immediately when she corrected them," Jounouchi said.
"Yeah, but for how long will they obey? There's going to be a moment when they want to break free from sister dear, or simply when Isis can't keep them under her control. It will happen, sooner or later."
Jounouchi thought about the murdered CEO's. "Do you think one of them could be a killer?"
"Marik," Hirutani answered without hesitation. "He lacks compassion and empathy, a textbook psychopath. He got really upset when we told him Isis would be disappointed with his behavior, and he was almost bawling that his 'pretty sister' had to come down to the police station. The next second, he sent me a glare that promised imminent death. I've never been so glad as to get out of that interrogation room."
"I appreciate you're telling me all this, Hirutani."
"No problem, man. Talk to me again if you want to know more." He tapped on the thick file. "Here's some reading material for you. One more thing, though."
"Tell me."
"You know there's a crime spree going on as of late, don't you? Many reports of burglaries and robberies..."
"Yeah, I heard about it. Do you think the Rare Hunters are responsible? You said that you could link at least hundred..."
"Keep this under wraps," Hirutani interrupted him. "Yes, I think the Rare Hunters are behind it, and I don't like it how quickly they have risen through the ranks. If they're doing business with the Ryuzaki gang, the Haga gang will soon follow... and then we might have a big player in the gang world again, organized and efficient."
"A crime lord," Jounouchi said. "Malik or Marik Ishtar?"
"I'm not sure." Hirutani got up and tapped on the file again. "It'll take one strong guy to make all the gangs in Domino City listen to him. If he's got the Rare Hunters, Ryuzaki and Haga in his pocket, then we're in for a whole lot of trouble. I don't see any of the Ishtars capable of it, but you never know..."
"Keep me up to date, will you?" Jounouchi said.
"No problem."
Yuugi finished up his profile report not soon after. He read over it once more before submitting the final version to captain Ushio. He was convinced it was the same killer, though the modus operandi was a bit different with Dartz. The fact that his henchmen hadn't been killed and the ceremonial knife had been left in his body, led Yuugi to believe that the killer had been disturbed. He had to be; one as meticulous, careful and patient wouldn't have left the three bodyguards alive. Dartz had been the main target, the rest was collateral damage. If the killer hadn't been disturbed, they all would've ended up dead. So who, or what, had disturbed him? It wasn't Yuugi's job to find out. He was the psychologist, not the detective. With a few commands, he printed out copies of his report and took them to Honda and Jounouchi. His friends had been working the 'CEO killer' case day and night and it didn't help that Ushio was constantly pushing them for updates. They were frustrated and exhausted from the executive meddling.
"Let's go out for some shogayaki," Honda said. "I'm hungry!"
"Sounds like a good plan to me," Yuugi said. "What about you, Jounouchi-kun?"
"Yeah, let's take a break." Jounouchi put the paperwork on his desk on a neat pile - the captain made a big fuzz about sloppy people - when he noticed something. The technical unit had brought over a box with Dartz' personal belongings, among which his agenda. Jounouchi had studied it all afternoon long, hoping to find a connection between Dartz, Pegasus and even the Ishtars. Now he saw something that he had overlooked, staring himself blind on what was in front of him. In the corner of his agenda, Dartz had written in his neat handwriting: "Meeting Kaiba Seto." Pegasus had been looking forward to meeting Kaiba Seto. Both CEO's had been about to meet up with him. Both had been killed.
Well, fuck.
Jounouchi didn't share his thoughts until they were at the restaurant and dinner was served. They deserved a break, so while eating, they talked about generic topics like the weather, movies and plans for the next weekend. Jounouchi ordered a second helping for himself and Honda, both boasting quite the appetite. He noticed that Yuugi was cutting his meat into unrecognizable pieces and barely touched the rest of his food. It would be typically Yuugi to lose sleep over the upcoming wedding of his friend, or so Jounouchi thought. Honda moved his chopsticks back and forth to help himself to some more cabbage.
"Yuugi, you're barely eating," he said. Jounouchi was relieved that he took the initiative.
"I'm sorry," was Yuugi's reply, as usual an apology. "I'm a little tired. I had to work hard to keep up with my patients and the work for Ushio-san."
"It's pretty intense," Jounouchi admitted. "You read and saw a lot of information that's hard for people to deal with. You stomached it well."
Yuugi shivered. "I wish I didn't have to see those pictures... but for the greater good..."
Yeah, for the greater good. Yuugi had always sacrificed his own wants and needs for the greater good, hadn't he? Jounouchi didn't know anyone who so selflessly put everything aside to help someone else.
"Guys, I do believe we need to go after Kaiba."
"The Kaiba?" Yuugi's eyes went wide.
"Is there another Kaiba?" Honda snorted. Yuugi looked at Jounouchi.
"What do you mean, 'go after him'?"
"To warn him," Jounouchi answered. "I believe he's the next victim."
"You're kidding." Yuugi looked panicked. Kaiba Seto was a very important person in Domino City. If he was killed, KaibaCorp. would crumble and half of the city's economy would be gone. Jounouchi explained why he thought Kaiba would be targeted next, but Honda disagreed.
"Of course Dartz and Pegasus would have meetings with him, he's the most important CEO here," he said.
"Yeah, but the both of them were about to meet him, and both of them are dead. There's a crime spree going around town and two international CEO's have been killed. We can't run the risk that he'll end up being the third. The least we can do, is warn him."
"Kaiba will never listen to you," Yuugi said. "Everybody knows he's extremely head-strong."
"He doesn't have to listen to me," Jounouchi said, grim. "Only to the Domino City Police."
The next morning, Jounouchi and Honda drove to KaibaCorp., located at the other end of town, not in the Kuwogara business district. The imposing skyscraper, taller than Industrial Illusions and Paradius combined, loomed over the city as a reminder of the power and influence of its owner. Jounouchi refrained from joking about compensation for certain areas and parked the car in the underground parking lot. He was slightly frazzled, as captain Ushio had insisted that he and Honda took Yuugi with him, hoping that he, as a psychologist, could convince Kaiba to accept help as he could be in real danger. It was publicly known that Kaiba dismissed everything that he didn't regard as important or interesting, and two detectives of the Domino City Police wouldn't be enough to get the message across. They took the elevator to the ground floor. Jounouchi walked up to one of the girls manning the tall reception desk and showed her his badge.
"We'd like to talk to Kaiba," he said.
"Kaiba-sama is on a strict schedule," she said, scrunching up her nose. "Do you have an appointment?"
"Lady, if you haven't noticed this," Jounouchi waved his badge into her face, "you'll know that Kaiba-sama will make time for us, because we're the Domino City Police and here to save his ass!"
She looked intimidated, but she was still unsure whether to call for Kaiba or not.
"Please," Yuugi said. "It's very important that we speak to Kaiba-sama. His life could be in danger."
Yuugi's friendlier tone brought her defenses down. She reached for her phone and talked to someone for a brief moment. "You can take the elevator," she said, "42nd floor."
"Thank you." Yuugi showed her a smile and followed Honda and Jounouchi to the elevators.
"Stupid Kaiba and stupid secretaries," Jounouchi grumbled.
"She was just doing her job, Jounouchi-kun," Yuugi said good-naturedly.
"She should jump because of my badge! What if there's a fire? An earthquake? Is she going to tell Godzilla to fuck off because he's not scheduled to rampage through the city?"
Honda chuckled. The elevator raced to the 42nd floor and when the doors opened, it wasn't Kaiba waiting for them. It was his younger brother.
Kaiba Mokuba had been vice-president of KaibaCorp. since he was seven, and both brothers were loyal to each other beyond any doubt or question. Grown up in an orphanage, they had been adopted by Kaiba Gozaburo who drilled them to become his successors, with violent and harsh means. Mokuba had managed to escape this treatment, but Seto got the full brunt of it. Everything changed when Gozaburo committed suicide, leaving the company in the brother's hands, who managed to take over and expand internationally. Mokuba might be younger and less ruthless than his brother, he was still a business man with a cruel youth and not about to take everything for granted. He bowed formally. Mokuba wasn't as infamously tall as Kaiba and he kept his hair long opposite Kaiba's short crop. He was much more approachable and open than his brother and Yuugi was slightly relieved that they got to talk to him first.
"My apologies, detectives," Mokuba said. "It's not very often that we have to deal with Domino City Police. KaibaCorp.'s own security is more than capable to deal with anything that crosses our path."
"Not with this," Jounouchi said, curtly. "Is there someplace we can talk?"
"We'll go to Seto's office," Mokuba said. He went ahead and opened the door to a large office, double as large as Pegasus' penthouse and a space where Jounouchi's entire apartment building could fit in. He whistled. His eyes went automatically to the unoccupied, large desk.
"Where's the swimming pool?" Honda asked. Mokuba made a dismissive gesture. From this floor, the view was breathtaking. On Mokuba's invitation, they walked over to the seating area and he crossed his arms in front of his chest, mimicking Kaiba's well-known stance.
"All right, what's so important that the police would like to talk to my brother about?"
"We'd rather talk to Kaiba himself, no offense," Jounouchi said. "I don't like to tell the same story twice."
Mokuba stared at him. "I can assure you that I can perfectly judge what information will have to be relayed to my brother or not." His voice went cold and business-like and Jounouchi was about to retort when Yuugi spoke up.
"His life could be in danger, Mokuba-kun. You've been keeping up with the news, I presume? The death of Pegasus-san and Dartz-san?"
Mokuba nodded. "Yes, I know. It's awful." He was quick to jump to the right conclusion. "As they were CEO's, you think that Seto is in danger?"
"Both CEO's had meetings scheduled with your brother," Honda said. "Both had international connections, just like your brother. We're looking at every angle to prevent another death."
"I see," Mokuba said, taken aback by the word 'death'.
"It's the biggest nonsense I've ever heard." Kaiba Seto swept into the large office, carrying a silver suitcase that he unceremoniously dumped on his desk. The typical coat with the large, flaring coattails he always wore emphasized his tall stature and impressive posture. While everyone was flabbergasted, Kaiba took his seat behind his desk, opened the suitcase and took out his laptop.
"Mokuba, send them away. I have no time for claptrap like this."
"Kaiba-kun, you should really hear us out." Kaiba's death glare at being referred to with the honorific '-kun' would be enough to burn Yuugi to a crisp. Jounouchi could hear the tremble in his voice, but he admired his friend for speaking up. "Two people have already died. We have reasons to believe that you could be the next target."
"Very weak reasons," Kaiba said. "I talk to CEO's all the time and I don't see anyone of them dead. There's absolutely no connection between Pegasus, Dartz or me that would put my life in danger."
"What makes you so sure?" Jounouchi asked.
"Pegasus wanted to talk to me about a game he had designed. Dartz requested a meeting, but I don't know what it was about. I never met them in person. Talk to my secretary. That's all."
"So you just think it's a coincidence that they ended up dead before meeting you?" Honda asked. Kaiba brusquely shrugged.
"I trust the competent detectives of the Domino City Police to solve the case," he said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "I don't see at all what I've got to do with it."
"Like my colleague said, we have reasons to believe that you're the next," Jounouchi said. "Our captain believes it could be a serial killer. Two international CEO's have already perished and you're an obvious target."
"That's great. KaibaCorp.'s security can deal with anything that's thrown at it."
"Also when it's supernatural?" Yuugi suddenly asked. The temperature in the room went down with a full ten degrees.
"Excuse me, what?" Kaiba's voice was just as chilly as the room.
"The killer has a certain set of skills that are borderline supernatural," Yuugi said. His face turned red, but he stood his ground. "Nobody has seen him enter or leave but in a 'flurry of dark and gold', and he uses ancient artifacts to kill."
"That's some imagination," Kaiba said dismissingly. "Why should I give any thought to something supernatural, something I don't believe in?"
"Yuugi is a psychologist and a professional profiler," Jounouchi defended him, "and you should better listen to what he has to say. We have studied these cases extensively and you don't know what you're rebuking, Kaiba. You don't stand a chance when this killer comes for you."
"Do you really think that someone could approach me that easily?" Kaiba snorted. "Try to approach me then, detective. See what happens."
That was all the invitation Jounouchi needed and he lunched forward to grab Kaiba at the throat.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi yelled but in mid-air, Jounouchi was shot down by lasers, paralyzing his body and he fell to the ground, shaking and twisting as if someone had attacked him with a taser. Yuugi wanted to run towards him, but Mokuba stopped him.
"Don't!" He pulled Yuugi at his arm, away from Jounouchi. "The lasers will affect you as well if you touch him. You have to wait a couple of minutes!"
Not a second after he finished his sentence, the KaibaCorp. security arrived on the scene, armed to the teeth. They swarmed around Jounouchi, weapons drawn. Honda held up his badge, but the team only backed off after Kaiba dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Jounouchi slowly turned around, wiping at his mouth.
"Is that all?" he said, his voice croaking. "I've had worse beatings on the streets."
"If you had a gun in your hand, the system would've assessed you as a bigger threat and it would've reacted accordingly." Kaiba's smirk was infuriating, and Jounouchi trembled; not from the humiliation, but from pure rage and the aftereffects of the shock.
"How would a system be able to assess a threat?" Honda asked, dumbfounded.
"This is what I do," Kaiba said. "I design programs and systems. Virtual Reality. Self-operating, intuitive software and technology. I'm sure it's all above your simple minds. Now leave my office. There is no threat or danger and I refuse to take anything 'supernatural' seriously. I had high esteem for the Domino City Police, but you're all a bunch of bumbling fools."
Yuugi looked at Mokuba. "Please, Mokuba-kun. For Kaiba-kun's sake."
"I'm sorry," Mokuba said, but he didn't sound very apologetic. "You've seen how our system reacts and I have more faith in anything my brother designs, than any protection the police can offer us. We have nothing to fear. Many people have tried to steal our company's secrets, our equipment and prototypes... I appreciate the time and effort, but everything's fine."
"Kaiba-sama?" A burly bodyguard, dressed in a black uniform with the white KC logo on it, stepped forward as if he wanted to remove Yuugi, Jounouchi and Honda the hard way.
"Escort them out of the building," Kaiba said. He wasn't paying attention anymore, occupied with his laptop. Jounouchi made a crude gesture with his hand, before walking out of the office. The burly bodyguard caught up to him, taking his job very seriously. Jounouchi's eyes darted over the man, out of habit. Next to the KC logo was a small name badge with "Toshiko Watanabe" printed on it, positioned next to another logo: Zorc Security.