The Assassin and The Thief

Chapter 9

(Bakura's POV)

When I wake up and the crimson blood fades to the bright white of the unforgiving sun, I realise three things. One, I'm not in my house. Two, Melvin is sitting beside me, stone-faced. And three, we're in the middle of the fucking desert! "What the fuck's goin' on?!" I demand. I shoot up, staring around.

We're in a truck and he's driving. I'm in the passenger side and must have been since I blacked out - no wonder my back hurts like a motherfucker. Melvin looks over at me, pursing his lips. "Just - I'll explain when we get where we're going. It's only five minutes away,"

I stare around and there is literally nothing but desert for fucking miles. Is this guy serious?! "What the hell are we doing here?!"

It's at this point I notice he isn't wearing his normal khaki pants with a tank top. It's a purple trench coat pulled around his shoulders. In the sun I see the shining flashes of metal peeking out from just under it. A gun! Fuck this whatever it is. Fuck this, I'm out. I'll walk back to New York. I try to reach for my door handle but a sharp pain slashes through the skin of my wrist, pulling it tightly back. I wriggle around, feeling both my hands restrained behind my back with what I'm pretty sure are zip ties.

The reality of the situation hits me like a brick fucking wall. I'm going to die.

(Marik's POV)

Stare ahead. Keep your eyes ahead so you don't drown in the pools of blood held in Bakura's. My body lost in that fiery death gaze I know he must be shooting at me, bullets deadlier than the ones I have in my gun. God, I love him so much the guilt feels like each of my ribs slowly shattering into hairline fractures, piercing fragments that force my heart to bleed waterfalls.

When did I become such a romantic?

I pull up to the dust clearing where above, a helicopter circles close to the ground. Very close. Inside I can see Kaiba's eyes glint. The rifle too, pointing from the corner of the window, a hidden sniper in the back cabin. I drag my Bakura from the car, pulling his limo body across the sand as he struggles miserably in the heart. It's so easy to drag him even writhing so - like a little kitten trying to escape my grasp. I dump him onto the sand and pull out my gun, pointing to his head. I can hear his heart pumping in shock and terror, but mine is hammering so loudly against my chest it resonates through the entire desert.

And at the last second, as my index finger squeezes the trigger I reach up and fire at the helicopter's engine.

(Bakura's POV)

Holy shit. HOLY FUCK. HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHITCRACKERS! He just shot that fucking copter! The blades spin and black smoke belts from the back. It plummets towards the ground less than 500 metres from us! Gunshots sound from inside it as it descends from the heavens to the earth. It doesn't explode, but I can still hear the splitting and bending of metal as shrapnel flies around. Melvin ducks over me, shielding me from the flying debris with his strong arms.

I can't even think right now. What the hell am I meant to do?! I'm shocked. I can't move. "It's gonna be okay, my Kura," Melvin assures, and he pets my long white hair. Why is that calming me down?! I shouldn't be calm! Nobody should be calm right now! But with each second my heartbeat slows, and my breath no longer comes out in frenetic gasps. I swallow dust.

"What the fuck just happened?" I croak out.

Melvin draws me back, staring into my eyes. So close. "Lemme explain over coffee,"

*

I sit shivering at the table in the small diner we drove another thirty miles to reach. It's 50s style and the bathroom stalls are big enough to shoot up in peace, but that's about as much as I register. With sweet brownstone pumping through my veins I gaze out the glass panelled wall at a horizon of sand. Melvin sits opposite me with two plates of pancakes. His have bacon, mine butter and strawberries. He starts to eat, I don't.

He leaps into a monologue that answers - pretty much - all my questions, but after it I feel like I know even less about him. About my brother. About me!

Apparently his name is Maria Ishtar and he's a hitman. His biggest client is a man named Seto Kaiba, an international crime boss who was manipulating my brother (that I can believe) to get the Millennium Ring for himself. He was hired by Kaiba to kill me and take the ring - I choked on my coffee when he told me that. But he didn't want to kill me so lured Kaiba here with the promise of getting the ring immediately and watching me die just to shoot the copter instead and (hopefully) assassinate Kaiba.

Okay.

I'm sure there are three hundred and forty questions I should be asking, but as my trembling hands encircle the disposable cup holding my steaming English breakfast tea, I can think of only one.

"Mel-Marik...Mr Ishtar?"

"Marik is fine, Kura," he smiles coolly. I must look like a fucking asshole when he's so casual about all this.

"Why'd you call me 'my Kura'?"

His smile softens, and his large hand slinks across the table, slipping over and concealing my smaller one underneath. "The same reason I couldn't kill you," I look from my coffee to his eyes. "I fell in love with you,"