Chapter 19
The room had gone silent again over Aria's proclamation.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tristan queried. "I mean, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would willingly hand over evidence to his possible indictment."
"Do we even know what kind of evidence we're lookin' for?" Joey added.
Aria thought for a moment. "It has to be something connecting my stepfather with the mastermind behind this all. Once we know who that is, then we'll have something substantial to take to Kaiba."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
"Well," Téa said, "Then we need a plan to break into his house and steal some evidence. Where would be the most likely place to look?" Téa asked, turning to Aria.
"His study, definitely," Aria responded.
"Then we break in there, grab whatever it is we're lookin' for and scat!" Joey said, jumping up while punching the air.
"Woah, hold on a second there," Tristan interjected. "You do know what we're going to do is highly illegal right? How bout we do it without anyone finding out."
"Right...that's what I meant," Joey said sheepishly.
Aria quirked an amusing brow as he sat back down. "I may have a way of getting in. We just have to make sure that Riku is out of the house."
"So, we stakeout the house, wait for him to drive away and then you make your move. If he comes back we shoot you a text," Joey explained nonchalantly.
Aria blinked at him in surprise. "Huh..." she said thoughtfully. "For being quite simple, it sounds pretty good actually."
Joey leaned back on the couch with his hands behind his head, a smug look on his face. "Hey, whattya expect? I'm more than just a pretty face."
A hand whacked him from behind the head.
"You mean more than pretty idiotic," Téa said irritatedly.
Chuckles rippled throughout the group as Joey uncomfortably rubbed the back of his head, while shooting Téa an annoyed glance.
"Well I guess that settles it then," Yugi said, speaking up for the first time. "This weekend we'll get that evidence and exonerate Aria's name."
Everyone but Aria nodded their heads in agreement.
"Hold up a second guys," Aria said with a raised hand. "As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, you don't have to be involved with this. I am perfectly capable of doing this on my own."
Téa grabbed Aria's hand and pulled it down. "Haven't you learned anything about this group of friends by now?" Téa said sincerely. "We stick together, no matter what dangers might lie ahead."
Aria's eyes softened. "But Tristan is right, this is highly illegal. What if you get arrested because of me?"
"Hey, haven't you heard that old saying?" Joey asked, "A good friend may bail you out, but it's your best friend who's sitting in the cell with you."
A small laugh escaped Aria at Joey's logic. "I don't think that's a real saying Joe."
"Whatever, the point is we're your best friends Ari, so don't try and change our minds, it ain't gonna work."
Aria gave a reluctant nod. She wasn't used to having people help her, or having to depend on others for help. For the past five years, it had only ever been her, with no one around to go to in a time of need. Tears pricked her eyes as she wondered at the people sitting around her. After her mom had passed, Aria had stopped believing that someone would come along who cared about her as much as her mom did. Even with Kaiba now out of the picture, she was still not alone and surrounded by people who loved her.
"Alright, enough of the heart to heart talk," Tristan said, breaking the silence. "Some of us still have to work tomorrow, so I'm going to hit the hay."
"Yeah, I should probably be heading home too," Yugi said with a yawn.
Slowly, everyone started getting up, getting ready to either head home or head to bed. One by one the room slowly emptied till only Téa and Aria remained. When Téa made no move to leave, Aria gave an exaggerated yawn hoping that she would get the message. Aria had had enough talk for tonight, she didn't know if she could handle anymore.
"Aria..."
Aria started at Téa's soft, almost sad tone. Looking at her, she noticed that Téa sat with her elbows propped up on her knees, her face cradled in her hands. But it was her expression that made Aria's heart drop. Téa was looking up at her with such sympathy that it almost seemed...sorrowful.
"Aria," Téa began again, "There's something that was greatly overlooked in all of this." Téa smiled wistfully to herself. "Something I'm not surprised the guys failed to notice."
Aria sat down beside her on the couch. "And what would that be Téa?"
"How you're dealing with the break-up from Kaiba."
Aria opened her mouth to refute Téa's statement but she interrupted her first.
"I know you guys weren't actually dating, but you had grown considerably close over the summer. And he just threw you out of his office. Which, by the way, I'm pretty sure you left out half the things that were actually said in there," Téa said with a pointed look.
Aria aimed her gaze down at her shoes. It was true that she had omitted a lot of the conversation between her and Kaiba when retelling the story to her friends, but she just couldn't let them think that he was this horrible person for saying those things to her. There was a part of her that wanted to belittle him in front of her friends, but the more rational part knew that Kaiba was only lashing out because he had been deeply hurt. Aria knew how hard it was for him to let people in, to actually trust someone outside of his family. And then to think that that person had betrayed him? Aria was surprised he had let her go so easily.
"It doesn't matter what he said," Aria replied, while still looking at her shoes. "He's not a bad person Téa. He thinks that he was betrayed in the worst possible way by the first person he had ever let in besides Mokuba. Do you have any idea how that must feel to him right now?"
When Aria finally chanced a glance at Téa, she saw that her eyes had considerably softened.
"You're pretty amazing to still defend him after tonight," Téa said.
"I just understand him better that's all." Aria let out a soft grunt. "And to stop Joey from running off after him. You know how the big brother in him gets."
Téa laughed. "Yup, he does get pretty protective alright." As her laughter died, Téa suddenly grew somber. "I guess what I want to know is, are you hoping to reconcile with him once your name is cleared."
Aria leaned her head back against the couch, starting up at the ceiling in thought. "To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it. I'm more focused on being able to move on with my life in the way that I want."
"Still though..." Téa said hesitantly, "Don't you want to get back together?"
"On the surface I do," Aria replied, "But deep down I see that Kaiba still has a lot of trust issues." Aria turned to Téa with watery eyes. "He didn't even give me a chance to explain myself. He immediately thought that I was the culprit, not believing one word I said." She covered her arm over her eyes in an attempt to try and steady herself. "What's to stop it from happening again?" She felt a comforting hand be placed on her shoulder.
"I can understand your distrust," Téa said softly. "Kaiba wasn't the only one whose feelings were betrayed. Only you can decide if you want to let him back in again."
Aria lowered her arm, tear stains marking her sleeve. She gave Téa a shaky nod and even attempted a small smile, for words were too far gone now.
Téa opened her arms up to Aria who gratefully went into them. It was then that the tears that had been held back that night all began to fall.
+++
A cacophony of voices surrounded him, yet he couldn't make a single one out. Here he was sitting in on a very important meeting that he had called, and yet his mind wasn't engaged. It was a thousand miles elsewhere, replaying over and over again the conversation that could've gone a million different ways. What if he had believed her words? Where then would they be? Or would he only be further into her deception? The thought put his teeth on edge.
"Mr. Kaiba!"
Kaiba slowly looked over at the speaker, his Vice President of Operations. A very irked expression covered his features. It was obvious that Kaiba had not been paying any attention and it showed on the other faces around the boardroom.
"Mr. Kaiba," his VP continued in forced civility, "With the hacker emergency dealt with, can we now focus on taking Duel Monsters Online to the next step so that we can work on building a prototype as soon as possible?"
Now Kaiba remembered why he had called this meeting. "Of course," Kaiba answered tersely.
The VP narrowed his eyes at Kaiba. "Then maybe you could be so kind as to take part in our meeting so that we can achieve this goal."
Kaiba's fists tightened on top of the table. He couldn't remember the last time one of his VP's treated him like an inattentive adolescent. And he didn't like it one bit. A scathing retort was hovering on his lips when his secretary walked into the room.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kaiba?"
Kaiba didn't know whether to be relieved or angered by the interruption.
"What is it?"
"A very urgent matter has come up and is in need of your attention."
Kaiba continued to glower at his VP, trying to decide if this "urgent" matter was worth leaving the meeting over. Wordlessly getting up, Kaiba left the boardroom and headed into his office. When it came down to it, he didn't have a valid reason in which to respond to the VP. He had been distracted during the meeting and hadn't heard one word that was spoken.
Kaiba sat down at his desk, waiting for his secretary to catch up with him. "So what was so important?" he bit out.
"Nothing," she calmly replied. "It looked like the right time to pull you out of there before the wolves started tearing their claws into you."
Kaiba raised an eyebrow at her boldness but decided not to comment. Afterall, he really had been about to be torn to pieces. And that would not have been good for his reputation as the ruthless CEO that he liked to uphold.
"But now that you are out of that meeting, you can focus on those things in which you have your mind so preoccupied." His secretary allowed a few potent seconds to pass before turning on her heel and heading back to her desk.
Kaiba scowled at her retreating back, for her pointed comment had found its mark. "Send Roland up to see me."
Mrs. Davidson paused only to glance back and give a small nod. Then she left the room and softly closed the door behind her.
Letting out a huff of air, Kaiba sagged into his chair trying to organize his thoughts. Even though all the evidence pointed to Aria as the culprit, Kaiba had not been able to find peace with the whole situation. To the point where it was greatly affecting his work habits. It may just be his personal feelings infringing on his common sense, but until he could figure it out for sure, he was going to need some help.
Just then Roland entered with a soft knock on the door. "How can I be of service sir?" he said in his ever professional manner.
Kaiba knew that if anyone could get to the bottom of this mess, it was Roland. "I want you to reopen the insider case," he stated simply, waiting for Roland's reaction before continuing.
Roland simply lifted an eyebrow at his boss's command but remained silent.
"Something's not adding up, it was almost too easy catching the culprit. I want you to go over our data with a fine-tooth comb to make sure that nothing was overlooked. Anything that looks remotely suspicious I want you to bring to me."
"Should I operate under the impression that the culprit might still be at large?" Roland asked.
Kaiba leveled a stare at his most trusted employee. Was Roland insinuating that Kaiba thought Aria was framed? Did it matter? "I want you to operate under no impressions. Let the data lead you to your conclusions."
Roland gave a short bow and as his usual exit, left without another word.
Kaiba let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in. With one base covered, he turned to the next, the infamous USB drive. Again he thought about where it could have come from, Kaiba Corp didn't even have USB's that could store this much information. It couldn't have been Aria's stepfather, he wouldn't have had the means. No, this must have come from higher up, the person who was really behind it all.
Through all of his anger towards Aria, Kaiba almost forgot about the elusive mastermind who was supposed to be behind this whole scheme. If Kaiba did thwart his plans of stealing the files, wouldn't he try again? The thought made Kaiba's blood boil. No matter what it took, he would find the blackguard who thought he could steal from Seto Kaiba.
Fueled by his anger, Kaiba began researching on his computer to find out more about the USB drive. As he worked, his ire ebbed a little as it was replaced with the thought that if it was discovered that Aria was innocent, then maybe there could still be hope for them.
+++
"Ouch, you're on my foot!"
Aria and the gang were huddled outside her stepfather's house, trying to hide inconspicuously behind a bush. With five people it wasn't going too well. Thankfully it was late in the night when not too many people were milling about.
"It's not like I have much choice!" Tristan harshly whispered back to Téa.
"You know you didn't all have to come, one person would have sufficed," Aria mumbled.
Joey nudged her shoulder. "And miss all the action? Nah, we're all in this together."
Téa snickered. "And I thought I was the one who gave the corny friendship speeches."
"Just don't ask us to put all of our hands in and draw weird symbols on them," Joey retorted.
"Shh!" Aria hushed, "I think I see the garage door opening."
Sure enough, a black sedan pulled out of the driveway with Riku behind the wheel, and sped off down the street.
"Okay," Aria said, turning to them, "I'll check my bedroom window first and if that's locked I'll have to run around back and hope to find an unlocked window or door on the first floor."
"We got your back Aria," Yugi whispered. "Just make sure you get out as soon as you find what you need."
Aria looked back into Yugi's unwavering gaze and gave him a solemn nod. She knew she was risking a lot breaking into her old home and that getting caught was not an option.
"We'll text you the minute we see that car coming up the road," Joey affirmed.
Aria nodded then double checked that she had her phone securely on her person and that it was set to vibrate only.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, Aria gave a small wave and quickly ran to the other side of the road. As she walked up the drive, she was thankful that most of the lights in the neighboring houses were off. As she reached the trellis, she grabbed onto the familiar holds, her body quickly remembering the climb she had done over a dozen times.
Upon reaching her window, Aria sent up a silent prayer as she attempted to lift it. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as the window easily slid open. Stepping into her old room, a touch of homesickness pricked at her conscience. The room appeared virtually untouched, even in the darkness of night, it looked as if she had just packed up and left yesterday instead of weeks ago.
Shaking the feeling of nostalgia, Aria exited the room, turning on her cell phone flashlight as she went. She didn't have time to dwell on sentimental memories. Heading down to the first floor, Aria immediately went to her stepfather's study. If she couldn't find any evidence in there, then she would search the rest of the house; if there was time.
Entering through the door, the familiar smell of smoke and alcohol wafted about her. Not daring to turn on any lights, Aria flashed the light onto Riku's desk. Not a scrap of paper sat on it. Going behind she tried to open the drawers. Locked! Just as she was about to turn around to try his computer, her phone buzzed.
Riku's home! Get out!
Fear seized Aria's chest. How could he be home so soon? Panicking, Aria turned quickly to rush out the door. But in trying to skirt around the desk, her feet quickly became tangled, sending her crashing to the floor. Her phone shot out of her hand and went flying across the room, the light spiraling over the dark walls. Scrambling to her feet, Aria groped with shaky hands, trying to pick it back up. By the time she had gotten a firm handle on it again, she heard the telltale signs of heavy footsteps coming down the hall. Her time had run out.
Scanning around the room, Aria searched frantically for a place to hide. Her eyes stopped upon a door beside the entryway. Without a second to think, she dashed to it, praying there was enough room inside for her. Yanking it open, she was relieved to see it was a coat closet, lined with Riku's many formal suit jackets. Pressing herself into them, Aria tried to close the closet door as quietly as she could.
A few seconds of silence passed as Aria willed her breathing to become slow and even. She heard a soft click and then footsteps, followed by the thud of a closing door. Aria pressed her hand over her nose and mouth to quiet her haggard breathing. Unfortunately there was nothing she could do about the heartbeat that was thundering in her ears.
It was hard to hear through a closed door, but Aria strained anyway to catch any signs of what her stepfather might be doing. Was that the beep of his computer turning on? Aria placed her hand on the door handle, biting her lip in apprehension as she tried to decide if it was worth the risk. Then Riku's deep voice spoke, though slightly muffled came across quite clearly.
"You better have a good reason to be calling me at this hour."
Aria only barely caught traces of a muffled response, even with her ear pressed against the door, she couldn't make out what the other voice was saying.
"There was no need for you to intervene, I could have gotten the plans on my own."
Aria's mind went on high alert. This had to be the criminal mastermind they've been after all along! With renewed determination, Aria again placed her hand on the handle, and slowly began to turn it. With the latch all the way open, Aria gently pushed the door open.
Light from the computer screen filled her vision, but as her eyes adjusted she could see Riku's back with the monitor in front of him. Squinting due to the distance, she could just make out the profile of a man who looked like was wearing a red blazer. One feature she could definitely make out was his long silver hair, but his facial features were blurry. He definitely felt familiar to her, but why?
"I don't want Kaiba to come snooping around Fenrir Inc," Riku continued.
"Don't worry Mr. Ito," a musical voice responded. "You just leave Kaiba-boy to me."
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top