Within: Chapter 7

    "Aoshi -- " Kyrie began but instantly silenced when the ice-cold stare looked back at him.

    "Case," Aoshi said.  The man who had walked Kyrie into the room thrust it into Aoshi's hands.  

    "You want another look at it?" Aoshi said, his voice flat and utterly uninterested.  Ushakov scratched his chin thoughtfully and shrugged.

    "I'm sure my men checked it out to my satisfaction."

    "Where do you want to sign?"

    Ushakov laughed.

    "No hurry," he said.  "The money and the property will always be there.  We shall have a leisure dinner first..."

    He looked at Kyrie and the oversized jumper he wore.

    "And perhaps find clothing that is more...flattering for your lovely companion."

    Aoshi shrugged.

    "Whatever."

    Ushakov gestured one of the men standing on the side to take Aoshi's briefcase as Kyrie was led away.  Kyrie cast a quick glance behind him as Aoshi walked with Ushakov out of the hall.  Vaguely, he still can feel the button in his pocket.

    Not yet.... 

    Although he didn't know what he was waiting for.  All he knew...and all he could feel was, something was about to go wrong. Terribly wrong.

    The metal case clattered loudly as Aoshi opened it on the polished dining room table.  Both ends were splayed open as Ushakov stared down at it.

    "There's a bottom to it that we cannot open," one of the men said to Ushakov.

    "I had pens in here," Aoshi said.  "Give me those."

    "You can sign with -- " The man began.  

    "You stupid shit, I need one of the pens to open the bottom."

    Ushakov nodded at the flustered man.  He stepped back and out of the room for a moment.  He returned with the leather pouch and tossed it on the table.

    "What's in the pen?" Ushakov said cautiously, taking a careful step back.  

    Aoshi chose one of the black metal pens from the pouch and held it up for him to see.

    "Made of titanium," he said and uncapped it.  He moved the stacks of papers from the case and set onto the table.  He ran a hand across the leather bottom and stopped near the far left corner.  He pressed the tip of the pen into a near-invisible hole and a small click was heard.  His hand moved again, and found three more holes that he had opened in the same manner.  There was a silence when he opened the second half of the case.

    "You think I'm stupid enough to bury a bomb or gun in here?" Aoshi said and shoved the case toward Ushakov.

    Ushakov's men shifted through the stacks of clipped papers and folders and when the bottom of the case cleared, they stepped back.  Ushakov picked up the first stack and leafed through it.

    "These are -- "

    "Papers Kyrie has to sign," Aoshi said and pressed the cap back into the pen.  "The top half was mine."

    "Why?" Ushakov said, tossing the papers back into the case.  Aoshi closed it - the four clicks secured the bottom.  "Check and balance system that I'd set up soon after Kanryu died."

    Aoshi tossed the pen back into the metal case and closed it, then shoved it toward one of the men.  In Russian, Ushakov  told the men to bring Whiskey and take the metal case to his quarters.

    "If I split the inventory of the estate - it doubles the chances of my survival .... in cases like this."

    Aoshi slumped down into the seat.

    "Whoever kidnaps me will need to do twice the work to get the entire estate."

    "Spencer's not exactly equipped to rescue you."

    "Probably not, but he has his value as the son of a powerful politician."

    "His value means nothing in a place like this," Ushakov said.  "Just as you have no value here."

    Aoshi shrugged and a small smile appeared.

    "After the papers are signed, my value means nothing -- what does it matter?" Aoshi said.  "Whether you want to risk the wrath of Britain for sake of one pretty doll, is up to you.  But I would imagine you are more reasonable than you normally would be.  Kyrie is useless to you."

    A servant entered the room carrying crystal decanter and two thick glasses on a silver tray.  Gingerly, he placed it on the table and poured it into the glasses before setting it down in front of Aoshi and Ushakov.

    "So Spencer was never an heir," Ushakov said after he took a long drink that emptied the glass.  He broke out in a hardy laughter that echoed terribly in the large dining hall.  

    Aoshi said nothing as his smile grew.  He picked up the glass tumbler and took a tentative drink from it.

   "An ignorant hostage," Ushakov said.  "Dear boy will be crushed when he learns this."

   Aoshi swirled the whiskey in the glass and shrugged.

   "We can't all be surrounded by Saints, I suppose," Aoshi said and took another sip of the whiskey.

   Ushakov pushed his seat back and leaned back.  A satisfied grin on his face.

   "You are much  more interesting than your father -- "

   "He's not my father," Aoshi cut in.

   "Yes, yes -- I have mispoken," Ushakov said.  "Kanryu...I wonder if he knew you were capable of such deviousness."

   "Of course he did," Aoshi said.  "He raised me, didn't he?"

   Ushakov laughed.  Before he could reply to Aoshi's remark, Kyrie was shoved into the dining hall by one of the guards sporting a bruise that was purpling over his upper lip.

   "Feisty little thing, isn't he?" Ushakov said to the man who only nodded - pure irritation in his face.  "You will have your turn later..."

   The guard touched his bruise and gave Kyrie a lingering grin before he dismissed himself.  Kyrie stood where he was left, uncertain what to do.

   "Sit down," Ushakov finally said and gestured to an empty chair to his right. 

   When Aoshi didn't give Kyrie any signs to do otherwise, Kyrie reluctantly pulled out the chair and sat down.

   "You look very nice," Ushakov said and pressed the buzzer under the table next to him.  "White suits you nicely."

   Ushakov rubbed a lock of Kyrie's hair between his thumb and forefinger.

   "You missed an interesting conversation," Ushakov said.  The doors from the kitchen opened and the thick scent of steak wafted through.  A servant wheeling a cart came through and slowly unloaded plates of sliced beef and vegetables onto the table.  Another man-servant followed behind with a bottle of red wine.  As the plates and glasses were filled, Ushakov described the metal briefcase.  When all color had drained from Kyrie's face, Ushakov was satisfied that Kyrie had learned this for the first time.

   "It's a lie...." Kyrie whispered.  "Can't...be..."

   His blue eyes were large with shock.  They widened when Aoshi's lack of response confirmed it.

   "You should have trusted your instincts," Aoshi said and picked up the filled red wine.  "One of the things I know you felt when I first recruited you was fear..."

   "I admired you -- "

   "Your curiosity got the better of you," Aoshi said.  "You were trying so damn hard to defy your father that you forgot how to read your own instincts."

   Kyrie's fists pounded on the table, rattling the silverware and plates.

   "No! I chose you over my father! It was never -- "

   Aoshi held his hand up and shook his head.

   "Don't shout.  It makes you look childish."

   Kyrie's hands curled into fists.  Ushakov shoved a slice of steak into his mouth, amused by the banter.

   "Do get something to eat," Aoshi said and speared a piece of beef on his plate.  "We've got a long night ahead."