Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Silhouette ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

SILHOUETTE

 

A/N: *Patiently waits for objects to start flying her way*I know, I kinda fell off the face of the earth for what….a year and a half….For those few fans that still actually want to read my stuff, thanks for being patient, its been a bit of a rough and busy year and a bit…well…almost two years now. I hope that this story is worth the dropping of the two that I had been writing before. I needed a change of pace, something new, something not quite so dark. Anyway, I am done rambling, hope you like this chapter.

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

Images continued to flash in his mind, an old fashioned projector that blurred and distorted the pictures rolling through his vision that he wished he could erase. It was his mind silently screaming that it wasn't real, even though deep down he knew it had been. Cringing he tried to block them out, his efforts failing as the clarity of the images increased to perfection. The victim with the caduceus symbol carved on his abdomen and an entire section of his chest removed, the soft thump of his heart visible through the profuse amounts of blood. All the surgical instruments, the table and the noises that rang out from the room before they had even entered it continued to disturb him. But, of all those images and sounds, the man's eyes were haunting him the most. Brilliant snake green, eerily devoid of anything but the purest evil he had ever seen, ghostly and sharp.

 

Shuddering Yami snapped his eyes open locking on the ceiling above him. His breathing was ragged, chest barely expanding from the damage, and his asthma drying his throat and lungs from the effort to pull in oxygen. Swallowing hard he tried to slow his breathing, the painful heaving aggravating his wounds from last night. Groaning he covered his face with his hands, scowling at the sensation of rough tensor bandage rubbing against his skin.

 

Pulling his one hand away he stared vehemently at it, the bastard had sprained his good wrist on top of cracking a few ribs, cutting and bruising his back beyond belief, and creating a rather angry concussion. Holding back a snarl he sat up, slowly as not to aggravate his already damaged torso. Rubbing his throbbing temple he glanced down at the alarm clock beside him, it was close to five in the evening.

 

He had not slept since he got off work early in the morning, not only did his injuries and his curtains inability to keep the sunlight out prevent this, but so did the events of last night. He knew that he and Soren had stirred the hornet's nest; he knew exactly what it was that the two of them stumbled on. The Caduceus Killer's sixth attack, sixth victim, and they had stopped him from finishing his work.

 

A loud crash and a deep voice cursing beyond his bedroom door snapped him out of his reminiscing. Easing himself from his bed he gathered up his new uniform and a towel before heading towards the door. Stepping out into the upstairs landing he glanced down beyond the railing at the open floor below him. A soft smile gracing his face when he spotted his father grumbling and gathering up a fallen coffee cup, his German shepherd, Reno, vigorously licking the spilt liquid from the floor. Thankfully none of the fallen coffee had landed on the police uniform he was already clad in for work.

 

His father, Garret, glanced up at him, cursed colourfully again before calling up, “Sorry kiddo, I didn't mean to wake you.”

 

“You didn't,” Yami answered simply, leaning against the raining, absently watching Reno run up the stairs towards him. “I was already awake.”

 

Garret narrowed his eyes suspiciously, knowingly, “You didn't sleep again did you.” Receiving a brief nod for an answer he scowled, placing the broken cup in the garbage he crossed his arms giving his son the ever so famous cop look. “You'd better start taking those pills your doctor gave you, or I'll start forcing you.”

 

Quirking a brow Yami chuckled softly, reaching down to affectionately pet the dog's head before turning towards the bathroom, “Yeah, I bet you will.”

 

“I mean it Yami!” Garret yelled up only for his son to disappear out of his sight and the bathroom door in the upstairs to close abruptly.

 

Switching on the tap to the shower Yami stripped and clambered in, hissing sharply at the heat of the water but forced himself not to turn it down. Sighing softly he relaxed while the water harshly began to cleanse him from last nights encounter. It wasn't enough. He felt filthy, more so than he normally did after working a tough shift. His mind fabricating the concept of the killer's mere presence and the fact that they had touched was soiling him with the man's malevolence. It was as if the killer was permeating his evil through smell and bodily fluids. Snatching a cloth he saturated it with water and soap and started to viciously scrub the rest of the sensation and actual grit from his tanned skin.

 

Once satisfied that he was clean, he climbed out of the shower and dried off. Absently cleaning up his appearance as he stared in the currently misty mirror, his mind trained on the already darkening bruises the killer had inflicted on him. He looked even worse than he thought, the lack of sleep making his naturally tanned skin pale and around his eyes dark. The hand print bruises on his neck from the killer last night dark and impossible to miss, he snarled at that, glad that he had grabbed a turtleneck to wear to work under his uniform.

 

Abruptly turning away from the mirror he put his uniform on, hung up his towel and vacated the steamy bathroom. Descending the stairs he ignored the concerned glare his father was giving him and gathered a cup of coffee and a grapefruit from the fridge. Sitting at the table directly across from Garret Yami silently started eating his breakfast, gracefully chugging back his coffee and stroking Reno's head when the dog came and sat beside him.

 

He was blatantly avoiding Garret, he knew his father well enough to see a lecture or interrogation in the future before they both left for work. Though Garret was a hard and stereotypical cop, in his home and social life he was a very different person. He was exceptionally protective and very caring in his own way. His friends, whom all he worked with, called him the giant teddy bear. He is a softy at heart, with a pure muscle body and a temper much akin to a wolverine. Thankfully, only once had Yami seen that dreadful temper directed at him, and never again would he want to see it. He had been lucky then as well, that temper and had been fuelled with intense worry, Garret had barely touched him unlike what he did to most others that crossed him.

 

Catching Garret shifting in the corner of his vision Yami held back a flinch, here it comes he thought and slowly lifted his gaze to his father's.

 

Placing his cup of coffee back on the table Garret folded his hands together and leaned against the table, peering across it at his son, whom was clearly expecting him to speak and appeared nervous, “Soren called me last night you know, just after you told me you were going to be home late.” Catching the slight scowl that crossed his nineteen-year-old son's face he sighed deeply. “He told me that the two of you got into a bit of a scrap last night at one of your calls. That's the real reason why you were going to be late home, isn't it?”

 

Tensely sipping his coffee Yami glanced down and nodded, “Yeah,” he answered simply.

 

“Are you going to tell me what happened…or am I to rely on the radio transmissions I overheard last night.” Seeing his son flinch sharply he shook his head, rubbing the side of his face in exasperation. “You seem to constantly hope that I won't figure these things out Yami. Why can't you just tell me instead of hiding it and expecting me not to find out.”

 

“Because I don't want to talk about it!” Yami responded shortly, snapping his gaze back up to glare at Garret. “You need to learn to stay out of my business and not snoop around until I am ready to talk, and Soren needs to stop being your little phone buddy.”

 

Frowning Garret leaned back in his chair, absently tapping one of his fingers on the table, “So, you're telling me it's a bad thing that he decided to tell me that you were being treated in the hospital?”

 

Yami's dark eyes narrowed, “I'm fine.”

 

“Really,” Garret snapped, pointing sharply at Yami's bandaged hand. “A concussion, sprained wrist, and five broken, attempted strangling, bruised back or stressed ribs are nothing a father should be worrying about, hm?”

 

“He took a worse beating, if that's any comfort,” Yami retorted.

 

Grunting in frustration Garret clenched his fist, “That's not the point. I don't care about him; it's my stubborn son that concerns me.”

 

Slowly running his fingers through his hair Yami held them at the back of his head, eyes closing. The pain from his concussion was intensifying, and Garret wasn't helping matters. “I'm more worried about who he is and what he will do as opposed to what he did to me.”

 

“Meaning?”

 

Yami paused, moving to rub his temple before peering at Garret, silently deciding just to spit it out, “It was the Caduceus Killer.”

 

Instantly Yami bit his lip nervously, he could see Garret's temper flaring, the vociferous tapping of his shoe below the table emphasizing that. Gulping he slouched down in his chair, he wasn't afraid of much, but Garret's temper was one of those few things. Dark garnet eyes cautiously watched Garret struggle with his anger, waiting for him to start yelling.

 

Shaking his head Garret exhaled sharply, calming himself as best he could before speaking, “You can be so predictable sometimes Yami. I figured it was something like this, something big and the reason you tried not to say anything was because you didn't want me to be worried or angry. Well, guess what kiddo, if you had told me last night when you called I would only be worried, but since you decided to wait, anger has definitely come into the mixture. You mess with a serial killer and then don't tell me right away is simply asking for me to be livid.” Seeing Yami drop and his head eyes locking on the table, he continued. “What the hell were you thinking? Obviously there was no call, out of what I deciphered from Soren there were no cops on scene until after you got into your little fight. What ever happened to waiting for the police to clear the scene first?”

 

Clenching his fists Yami peered back up at Garret, expression icy, “We saved that man's life. If we had waited as long as it took for the police to get there, that man's heart would have been removed and he would be dead. I'm sorry for not being able to stand back and do nothing while someone is screaming in agony!”

 

Resting his elbows on the table Garret cupped his jaw with his hands. He could see that his son's displeasure was rising, his chest was heaving and a slightly audible wheeze could be heard when he breathed, the young man's dark eyes were trained on his face and his jaw was locked. “Calm down Yami, I knew you would not charge into a predicament without probable cause. Saving a life is an understandable reason. Now, how is your mind handling last night, your lack of sleep is not a positive indicator for me.”

 

Relaxing into his chair Yami sat forward and rested his head on his folded arms atop the table, “Not well,” he admitted, mind racing through the images that had been flashing before his eyes the entire night. “I can't get it out of my head.”

 

Leaning forward Garret gently pushed the still very hot cup of coffee against Yami's hand, pleased when his son glanced at him questionly but still picked up the steaming drink, “Then talk about it, I'm all ears Yami, and will be for another few hours before work,” he said, smiling softly.

 

With a somewhat reluctant nod Yami took a long drink of his coffee before tentatively doing as advised.

 

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Chucking several T-3's into his mouth, Bakura forcefully shoved them down his throat with a healthy gulp of extremely hot coffee. The instant the tip of the cup touched his bandaged nose he cursed, spluttered and nearly dropped the only thing keeping him sane and awake. A sharp glare was sent in Grey's direction when he heard his partner stifle a boisterous laugh. Dramatically slouching in the passenger seat of the car Bakura stared down the street with clear distain, practically cradling his cup of coffee while doing so.

 

They had recently left the Foothills hospital, having spent the better part of three hours there interviewing the now conscious victim and gathering as much information from him as they could. It had all been sketchy, partially remembered flashes, sentences and other mostly unusable information. The surgeon had been in too much pain to remember much. Though, he did manage to give at least a small bit of useful knowledge. He recognized the man's voice, along with remembering hearing the killer say something about needing revenge for his son. Now, all Grey and Bakura had to do was piece the actual murders with the concept of revenge and the killer's son, and it was possible that they would be able to finally generate a list of suspects. How large that list of suspects ended up being is what frightened them the most.

 

At the moment they were driving away from one of the EMT's, Soren Drayven, home after interviewing him. It hadn't gotten them far in terms of catching the killer. Soren had been directed strictly by his partner to tend to the victim, he paid little attention to the killer, and the only times he did was when his partner was on the losing side of the fight.

 

So, they were moving onto the other EMT, Yami Horakhty.

 

Taking out a piece of paper that they had written the addresses down on that morning Bakura stared down at the one they were currently heading to, “Good, these two live not that far from each other. Look for house number 519; we are on the right street already.”

 

Hazel eyes scanning the houses Grey finally spotted the house they wanted. It was a corner lot, appearing to be a three or four level split; it looked to be a fairly large home. Two vehicles were parked in the drive way, both contrasts to each other. One was a boxy Dodge Ram fully loaded red pickup truck, while the other was a classy black and silver Honda CR-V. Grey chuckled; they displayed their owner's personalities perfectly.

 

Pulling up in front of the house he glanced at Bakura, stifling another laugh, his partner was adjusting the scratchy bandage on his nose. “Are you going to retract your statement last night about apologising to him?”

 

“No,” Bakura snapped, gathering the case file and his coffee he exited the car. “Hurts like hell, yes. I am currently wondering how the hell that kid could hit so well, yes. Am pissed as hell, yes. But, that does not mean that I'm not going to apologise.”

 

“This should be fun,” Grey grinned, following his partner to the front door. He was greatly looking forward to Bakura finding out exactly who Yami's father was, and he knew for a fact that the man has clearly not yet left for work.

 

Briskly knocking on the door Bakura stood back, forcefully quelling his discomfort and irritation. He hated apologies, and rarely did he ever agree that he needed to give one. But, in light of last nights events he knew he had gone overboard on the young EMT. The kid had given them their break; along with put his life on the line to save that break. And, clearly, he had desperately tried to keep the killer there for as long as he could. He had been out of line with his comment, and he knew he deserved to have his nose shattered, didn't make spitting out the apology any easier.

 

He nearly jumped when the door opened, Yami standing in the doorway garbed for work his expression less than surprised to see them there. Instantly Bakura noticed the dramatically large pupils, even though it was clearly darker inside the house than outside, along with the tensor bandage on the young mans left hand. Gulping Bakura held back a cringe, a concussion and a sprained wrist, what else had Yami endured last night to save the surgeon?

 

Seeing that Bakura was lost for words Grey piped up, “Hello Yami, I know you're probably heading off for your shift soon, but do you mind if we ask you a few questions.”

 

Yami nodded, stepping aside to allow them in the house, “Of course Grey, come in.”

 

Bakura stumbled at hearing Yami say Grey's name, glancing between the two he stammered, “Wait, he never told you his name, how did you know what it is.”

 

“I know his Dad Bakura,” Grey answered simply, shoving his partner through the door. “I've distantly known Yami since he was little. You never let me get that across to you last night and I just wanted to see your reaction today.”

 

Taking his boots off Bakura grumbled before facing Yami again, “How are you feeling?”

 

Shrugging Yami signalled for them to sit in the living room beside them, “I've had worse, please go sit down, can I get you two anything?”

 

“We're good thanks,” Grey answered, giving Bakura sharp elbow of encouragement.

 

“Um,” Bakura started, sending a pointed glare at Grey first, sitting down stiffly on the couch. “I'm sorry for what I said last night, I was out of line.”

 

The young man faced him, his expression unreadable, “I'm sorry as well, I really shouldn't have struck you.”

 

A light chuckle from upstairs caught the group's attention, all three turning to see Garret coming down the stairs. Bakura nearly chocked in shock, frantically taking a better hold on his coffee as he stared on at the man advancing down the stairs. Gulping back a vociferous curse he shot a piercing glare at his giggling partner. Garret was the Chief of Police in Calgary, he was also one of the most respected cops in the entire police service, and everyone knew who he was.

 

“Glad to see that you can say sorry every once in a while Detective,” Garret teased, stepping off the stairs with Reno at his heels, moving to wrap an affectionate arm around his son's shoulders, whose head barely reached his shoulders.

 

Resisting the urge to pummel Grey into the ground, Bakura smiled nervously staring at the duo before him. Yami looked absolutely nothing like his father. He was maybe 5”6, not overly built but evenly toned. Spiky crimson, ebony, and blonde hair creating his very unique appearance, along with his natural soft bronze skin, which was light in comparison to his fathers. Garret was broad, over six feet tall, and held the appearance of an ancient Egyptian general with his deeply tanned flesh, dark green eyes, and very pronounced musculature. He had no chance of knowing that Yami was Garret's son, and Grey was clearly counting on that today, but it was probably the reason why he had tried to stop him from attacking the EMT last night.

 

“I certainly try sir.”

 

Waving a hand dismissively at Bakura, Garret retrieved two fresh cups of coffee for him and Yami, gently encouraging his son to sit down in the couch across from the two detectives. “I'm off duty at the moment, Bakura; you can drop the honorifics. I already feel old enough around my son; you don't need to add to it.”

 

“So, Yami,” Grey started, taking the pad of paper and pen from Bakura, staring across at Yami intently. “Can you tell us anything from last night, anything we can use?”

 

Sighing deeply Yami rested his elbows on his knees, leaning over and bowing his head he closed his eyes. He had just finished this conversation with his father not that long ago, he was having a hard enough time dealing with it, and he wasn't in a particularly talkative mood. Feeling Garret lightly rub his back, being very mindful of the damage, in encouragement he lifted his gaze back to the two detectives. “I didn't get a good look at his face, he was wearing a balaclava. I can't tell you anything more about the scene than what you already know, we tried not to tamper with anything, but he didn't make that easy.”

 

“What kind of injuries do you think you gave him?” Bakura pressed. “Just encase he gets himself checked out at the hospital.”

 

Running through the fight last night Yami murmured, “Concussion, damaged ribs, I hit his kidney and groin hard enough that he's probably going to be peeing blood for a week. Um, bruised knees, probably some damage to his back, I got his jaw pretty good too, and a broken nose.”

 

Both Detectives stared at him in shock, mouths slightly agape as they absorbed the estimated amount of damage. They were both reeling at the concept of someone so small being able to cause that much harm. Their stunned silence was broken when Garret smiled with pride, “You weren't lying when you said you gave him one hell of a beating.”

 

“You're obviously not much better off,” Bakura stated, pointing at Yami's hand.

 

“Again, I've had worse,” Yami assured, taking a long drink of his coffee.

 

“Is there anything else from last night that stands out to you?” Grey interjected, absently toying with the pen in his hand.

 

“His eyes,” Yami almost whispered. “They're unique, bright green, almost the colour of a tree snake.”

 

Scribbling that down on his notepad Grey murmured, “Can you guess his height or anything like that?”

 

Nodding reluctantly Yami polished off his cup of coffee, “He was close to your height, Grey, a little taller though, so probably close to the six feet mark. What glimpses I did get of his skin showed that he was definitely white, very pale. He definitely was not small in build though; he seemed to be in pretty good shape. That's pretty much all I can tell you, I was a little too preoccupied to take a really good look at him.”

 

“Understandable,” said Bakura, taking the pad of paper from Grey's hands. “I have to ask, for the report sake at least, why did you go in there if there wasn't a call?”

 

Standing up Yami strode into the kitchen placed his cup of coffee in the sink and retrieved his work bag from the bottom of the stairs, “We heard the victim scream from the parking lot across the street, we had stopped for a bit to relax. We dispatched the call as soon as we heard it, but once we got down there I couldn't stand hearing that man being tortured, so we went in.”

 

“Do you regret it?”

 

Yami stopped abruptly at the front door, attention directing towards Bakura, “Never,” he said stiffly. “Saving lives is my job, I did what I had to do to make sure of that, end of story.”

 

Garret sighed audibly, watching his son roughly pull on his jacket and grab his keys, “Do you have your cell phone?” Yami taking the said thing haphazardly out of his pocket to show him was his answer. “Call me to come get you if you're too tired to drive, I should be off long before you.”

 

“I know,” Yami stated, giving Reno a pat on the head before coming over and gently giving his father a grateful hug. “Thanks for this morning Dad, I'll call you when we aren't busy.”

 

Grinning and slapping Yami playfully on the hip he gently shoved him towards the door, “Get going you, can't have Soren's fiancé calling to yell at me for you not being there ten minutes early.”

 

Yami gave Garret a halfhearted glare and turned his attention to Bakura and Grey, “I hope I was at least a little helpful, and sorry again for the punch.”

 

Bakura waved him off, dismissing the statement, “You were far more helpful than the victim, and like I said earlier, I deserved it. Take care of yourself.”

 

“Plan on it,” Yami retorted as he clambered out the door, boisterously closing it in Reno's whining face.

 

The three in the living room jumped in surprise at the annoying ringing of a cell phone, shoving his hand into his pocket Bakura fumbled for his phone. Finally finding it he flipped it open and barked into it, “Detective Bakura speaking.” Instantly he went silent as the individual on the other end frantically pored information into his ear, his expression darkening the more and more the person spoke. Finally, the call ended and Bakura viciously shoved the phone back into his pocket and stood up, glancing down at Grey. “The bastard got to him at the hospital. The nurses apparently weren't watching him and he got to him not that long ago, his hearts gone and like the others apparently there's a symbol on his.”

 

Stunned Grey rose to his feet, “What?! How!?”

 

Glancing between Grey and Garret Bakura forcefully calmed himself, releasing a shaky breath, “They want us down at the hospital right now.”

 

“Grey, Bakura,” Garret said, catching the two as they dashed to the front door. “Keep me posted on the case, call as soon as you learn anything new.”

 

Both answered simultaneously before dashing out, “Will do sir.”

 

Hearing the door slam Garret cringed, scowling slightly before looking down at Reno whom was staring back at him, “Why can't people learn to nicely close doors, is it really that hard of a concept.” Reno merely tilted his head to the side, shaking his head Garret walked back to the kitchen. “Wrong person to ask.”

 

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“How do you do it man?” Soren questioned, following Yami somnolently into their favourite trendy café downtown, yawning and rubbing his eyes as he did so. “I pull one all nighter and I am a bloody zombie, this is what…your second, and you're all fine and dandy”

 

“Fine and dandy,” Yami scoffed, gripping his friend's shoulders and guiding his stumbling form to the line up to get coffee. “Unlike you, I've been doing these for years, I can survive on minimal sleep, you can't. But, that does not mean that I am fine and dandy, I'm just better at hiding my exhaustion.”

 

“No shit,” Soren yawned, eyes scanning the menu up top slowly deciding what he wanted.

 

Neither noticed the constant stares they were receiving from those in the café, most of them were young individuals shocked to see two paramedics casually strutting around and not trying to resuscitate someone. They were used to it now, the uniform constantly drew attention, whether they were cops, paramedics or firefighters their mere presence would peek people's interest.

 

Peering around Soren grinned and waved at them all, they all blushed sheepishly and snapped back to their conversations, all but one. Furrowing his brow Soren stared at a lone man in a corner, sunglasses and a toque completely masking any distinct features. He felt a cold shiver run down his back from the man's shrouded gaze, shuddering he tapped Yami on the shoulder whispering to him, “We got a creeper in the corner.”

 

Quirking a brow incredulously at his friend, Yami subtly glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of the man his expression fell into a scowl. Instantly, like Soren, he felt a cold chill rip up his spine and a pang of familiarity surge through him. Stunned he resisted the urge to step back, reaching out he turned Soren back to the front till, “Ignore him, let's just get out stuff and go, we can enjoy it in the rig.”

 

“Agreed,” Soren said stiffly, moving to give his order at the acquiescence of the cashier.

 

Paying for their coffee and the few items they bought to nibble on, they gathered them up and quickly left the café, glad to be out and away from the man's scrutiny. Sighing with relief they laughed at their antics and climbed into the rig, setting into their seats and turning on the ignition to ward off the cold winter wind outside.

 

“There's no full moon outside to blame his weirdness on either,” Soren joked, rummaging in the bag for a muffin and keeping his coffee perfectly balanced in his other hand. “You got to love the people out there that just adore sitting in corners and being creepers. He's probably venting out revenge on all those that are normal.”

 

Chuckling Yami undid the zipper to his thick work jacket and took a long drink of his coffee, “Who knows.”

 

Nibbling on his muffin Soren looked over at his best friend, he could see how tense he was. Yami generally had perfect posture, held himself with confidence and always appeared to be focused. Not tonight, he was the complete opposite, distracted and slouching. Obviously he was in a lot more pain than he was going to admit, along with mind worrying over the events of last night. Sighing Soren leaned over slightly peering intently at Yami, whom seemed to be avoiding his gaze, “How are you feeling, be honest.”

 

Dark garnet eyes slowly turned to his, the pupils very clearly dilated, “I've been worse.” Scowling Soren glared at him, satisfied when Yami growled and gave him the answer he wanted. “Like shit alright, and worried out of my bloody mind. Happy now?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“How bout you, you clearly haven't slept,” Yami pressed, turning in his seat to properly face his friend.

 

Shrugging Soren murmured, “Worried too, especially now that those two detectives confirmed what I thought. Abby spent most of last night screaming and crying at me, she won't listen to me at all when I try to justify why we went in, she's completely blaming it on you.”

 

“Not surprising,” Yami retorted. “Though, I did make the call.”

 

“Don't event try to take all the blame Yami, we both agreed and we both went in. The fault and the job well done belongs to both of us, though you were definitely more of a hero than me.”

 

“I wouldn't exactly call that being a hero, more like stupid and reckless endangerment,” Yami said abruptly, turning on the ignition to allow more heat to circulate the vehicle. “I just hope that the guy survived the night with his injuries.”

 

Both grew silent when the radio turned on, loudly blaring through the speakers eerily answering the hopeful statement that Yami had just said.

 

`It has just been confirmed by Police that the surviving victim of the Caduceus killer from last night, was found dead and heartless in his hospital bed. The detectives on the case refuse to disclose any other information about the two EMT's from last night and what new information they found today on the victim.”

 

Stunned Yami and Soren collapsed back into their seats, their hearts tightening in dismay at the news, both forcefully holding back the welling emotions within them. Exhaling harshly Yami bit his lip, eyes drifting over to lock with Soren's, tentatively he reached out and rubbed his friends shaking shoulder hoping that the gesture would give him a small amount of comfort. Soren gave him a weak smile, one of his hands taking hold of Yami's as he continued to stare at the radio in shock.

 

Shaking his head Soren stammered, “We saved him, only for that prick to find him anyway. Sometimes I wonder why the hell I chose this job.”

 

“You're not alone,” whispered Yami sitting back in his seat he turned the radio volume down.

 

`Dispatch to Ambulance 19,' chimed the voice of one of the dispatchers over the radio.

 

Yami scrambled for the mouthpiece, finally finding it he fumbled to get a hold of it then viciously clicked the button, hiding the intense racing of his heart from the suddenness of the call, “Ambulance 19 to Dispatch, go ahead.”

 

`I have an MVC down at sixteenth and Deerfoot, four vehicles, the guys there are asking for back-up and you're the closet, over'

 

“Roger, we're on our way, over and out.”

 

Both of them scrambled to fasten their seatbelts, Yami shoved the vehicle into gear while Soren switched on the lights and sirens. They shared a quick glance; their minds clearly holding the same thought before Yami slammed on the gas pedal and sped off to the crash sight. It was back to work, back to their regime, and back to being dejected from what they saw until it was all over at the end of their shift.

 

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Their hands in latex gloves and a smear of Vaseline below their noses, Bakura and Grey meandered through the crowd of nurses, doctors, and the few mobile patients in the area with a morbid obsession for violence. Finally shoving through they entered the taped off and curtain blocked scene, both cringing at the familiar sight before them, yet through its familiarity it never stopped their stomachs from churning at the grotesque injuries.

 

Holding back the intense urge to lose his supper Bakura strode over to the two police officers and the doctor standing near the body, allowing his eyes to fully absorb the image before him as he went. The wound that had been meticulously repaired last night in surgery was hastily ripped open, all the stitches severed and on scattered around the room. There was a blank bloody void where the heart once was, a trail of dark bloody along the floor indicating the path the killer took as he escaped from his finished work. Shuddering Bakura averted his attention to the officers and doctor, Grey at his side.

 

“What can you tell us before they send him off to the ME's office?”

 

The doctor, eyes dilated in fright and pale as a ghost, moved to the bedside, lifting up the sheets which had been covering the man's stomach, “There's the symbol, but I am afraid that it's different than the one that keeps being mentioned in the newspapers, and the one that we had found on him last night has been scratched out.”

 

Bakura and Grey both glared at him in bewilderment till the symbol was revealed and caught their attention, snapping towards it they both held back twin gasps, horror crossing their features as the doctor voiced their already deciphered conclusion, “It's the Paramedics symbol.”

 

Covering his mouth Grey stepped back, forcefully turning his attention away he questioned the two officers, “Did you take the pictures of the scene already?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“This as well,” Bakura pressed, the two officers nodded. “Good, get the pictures to our office as soon as you can, and get this poor man to the ME's office before he becomes the hospital freak show.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“Will do detective.”

 

Wrenching off his gloves Bakura stormed through the crowd of people, Grey scrambling behind him trying to keep pace. Tossing the gloves in the nearest trashcan he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, quickly dialling in a number and leaning against the wall, waiting as it continued to ring.

 

“Who are you calling,” Grey questioned as he finally caught up with him.

 

Bakura quickly glanced at him, “The Chief, he told us that if we found anything to contact him. This is definitely something, and this something is definitely a hint at just how pissed off that prick currently is at the two hero's of last night.”

 

Allowing it all to register Grey shuddered in disgust and dismay, his eyes watching the pieces of Bakura's words fall into place. The symbol before had been the caduceus, hence the reason why they had named the man thus, but now it was the paramedics symbol etched in beside the scratched out caduceus symbol that had been there last night. Yami and Soren had interjected in his plans and probably incredibly deflated his ego, the new symbol was a lash out at those two, possibly a warning. He was snapped out of his thoughts at Bakura's voice sliced through his fog.

 

“Hello chief, its Detective Bakura, I have some news on the case, and you're not going to like it.”

 

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Snapping off blood drenched gloves Yami chucked them in the biohazard bin in the back of the ambulance, grabbing several sterile wet clothes he moved to sit beside Soren by the open doors of the rig. Dropping down he handed half of the clothes to Soren and went about using the rest of them on himself to try and rub off some of the blood. They were both silent while they waited for one of the nurses to bring them out their warmed coffees and give them an update on the young girl they had brought in half an hour ago from the car accident they had been called to. They were parked in the back of the Foothills hospital, still in the emergency drop off area but out of the way enough that any other emergency vehicles that came would still be able to get to the doors. The other four ambulances that had been with them on the crash site were also parked by them, all of the other EMT's meandering towards them, all whipping off the blood from their own arms and faces.

 

It had been a tough and messy call. Four vehicles, one of them a large pick-up, one a van, and the other two cheap old cars. The two cars were completely totalled, the drivers of both pronounced dead on arrival. In the truck was a young couple, both in critical condition. While in the van was a family of three, the little girls seatbelt had broken on impact and she had been wedged on the floor between her seat and the drivers, her two parents were injured but in stable condition. It had taken an hour to get the ten-year-old girl out, and by the time they had she was in full-blown cardiac arrest from shock and blood loss. Yami and Soren were assigned to her seeing as they were the last ones to arrive on scene.

 

To say that it was torture to endure would be an understatement. Yami, being the smaller of the two, had to climb into the van and keep the girl as stable as he could through the wreckage till they could safely pull her out after the firefighters hacked the doors open. She had been awake to start, screaming for her parents and sheer agony, till she had finally succumbed to her injuries.

 

Sighing Yami rubbed his now clean face with his hands and looked up at the EMT's walking over to him and Soren, giving them a weak smile, “Hell of a way to start the shift huh.”

 

“You're telling me,” one grumbled, a classmate of theirs from SAIT, Eric Sanders. “Why is it that they give all the really hard calls to the rookies first.”

 

Soren shrugged, “Who knows, probably to torture us.”

 

“Give us a reality check on how hard this is job is going to be for the rest of our lives more like it,” said Alex, Eric's partner. “The four EMT-P's over there say that this is going to be the normal pattern for the rest of winter. Tons of car accidents, hypothermia incidences, suicides and drug overdoses.”

 

“Peachy,” said Eric sarcastically, eyes catching sight of a single nurse leaving the building holding a tray with four large mugs of steaming coffee. “Oh hallelujah, our coffee is being returned.”

 

With sudden speed Soren leapt from the back of the rig and dashed towards the nurse, fervently thanking her through her knowing laughter and taking his own mug and cradled it as he ran back to sit beside Yami. She walked up to them, her soft laughter a small bright thing for the four EMT's, “Eric, you ruined my fun, I was going to see if he really could smell it as well as he claims.”

 

“Eh, we're all too covered in rubbing alcohol to smell anything,” Eric stated with a laugh, gratefully taking his mug of coffee from her tray, absently watching Alex take his own.

 

Handing Yami his mug the nurse took in the looks of hope on the two young men's faces, she gave them a small comforting smile, “She made it through surgery, and the doctor says she has a high chance of making it.” She resisted the urge to laugh as the two sighed dramatically, an obvious weight lifted off their shoulders.

 

“Finally, some goods news,” Soren murmured, returning to gulping down his coffee.

 

“Good,” said the nurse, shoving the tray under her arm and turning back to the hospital. “I had better head back in, have to start doing my rounds.”

 

“Thanks again,” all four chimed in, holding up their mugs.

 

She smiled again and began walking back to the doors, “Any time boys.”

 

Sipping on his coffee Yami absently watched her enter the emergency ward in the hospital, his heart now beating normally after the consoling news she had given them. Relaxing back against the rig he let his eyes wander the front entrance, through the windows he could see nurses standing around the admission desk talking casually, and the odd person entering through the doors. The soft murmur of his friends talking the only sound he could ear above the cold wind whipping around them. Then, something caught him from the corner of his vision. Turning he narrowed his eyes in a mixture of shock and unease. A man with sunglasses, hat and a long black coat stood by one of the pillars outside of the hospital entrance. Peering closer he gulped harshly in recognition, it was the same man from the café. Gripping Soren's shoulder he fervently whispered, “Soren, look at that guy by the entrance, look familiar.”

 

Giving Yami a strange look Soren did as asked, instantly scowling, “Yeah, the guy from the café earlier. What the hell, is he following us or something?!”

 

“What guy,” Alex asked, following the two EMT's gaze and locking on the said man. “Jeez, talk about creepy. You guy's saw him earlier?”

 

Yami nodded, “At that café downtown before we got the call for the accident.”

 

“That's even creepier,” Eric said. “It's probably just a coincidence.”

 

Unsure Yami stood up and climbed into the back of the rig heading for the drivers seat, “I hope so, come on Soren we had better get back on patrol.”

 

“Yeah,” Soren said slowly, instantly following Yami. “Hey, are we still up for drinks and pool tomorrow night?”

 

“Yep, see you guys tomorrow.”

 

Just as Soren closed the back doors to the rig Yami heard his cell phone blare loudly, reaching into his pocket he pulled it out and flipped it open, “Hello.”

 

“Hey kiddo.”

 

Sighing Yami glanced back as Soren came to sit in the passenger seat, “Hi Dad, I was going to call you a little later, is everything alright.”

 

“Yeah, everything's fine, just fine, how are you surviving so far.”

 

“Barely,” Yami murmured honestly, giving Soren a small shrug in answer to his friend's questioning look. “Hard first call, and tired, we both are.”

 

“I can imagine why. Listen, come tell me when you get home alright.”

 

Laughing quietly Yami shook his head, “You worry far too much Dad, besides, you'll probably stay up until I get there anyway.”

 

“Yeah yeah, I'm allowed to worry, it's my duty as a Father. I'm not joking though, even if I am asleep come tell me that you got home alright so I can make sure you take one of those sleeping pills. You need to sleep for once.”

 

Not surprised Yami shoved the keys in the ignition and switched the vehicle on, “Alright Dad, I'll call you later when my shifts done if I need a ride.”

 

“Alright, take care of yourself.”

 

“Bye Dad,” shutting off his phone he put it back in his pocket, not able to resist laughing at the incredulous look on Soren's face. “Let's get going.”

 

“Sounds good to me, hopefully we can avoid this place for the rest of the night.”

 

“I highly doubt that,” Yami stated a smile still on his face as he drove out of the emergency parking lot and off to finish the rest of their shift.

 

A/N: Alright, again, I hope this was good. I am putting this one up now because I know its going to take a while to write the next chapter, gunna be busy for the next little while and chapt. 3 is going to be long. Otherwise I am planning on submitting a chapter after the next one is finished …So… review…plz? Lol