Authors Notes: Warning violence ahead.

Fallen Angels

Chapter Fifty-one - Hunters in the Night

*****

Yohji sighed as he finally sank down into the seat. His lover was heavy and he knew it was the extra weight of the wings he loved so much. He and Deiji helped Enzeru to stretch out on the long velvet seat his head in the blonde's lap. He watched as his old lover's mate climbed in and sat across from them followed by Deiji. The leader of the Kritiker team Destiny leaned over the back of the seat and told the driver where they were going and the car began to move.

"Deiji what is going on here? Who is the little boy? He looks like your friend Seto."

The big man nodded as he pulled Kenko close to him. Feeling him curl up against his side Deiji leaned down and kissed him. "The little boy is Noa Kaiba. He is the brother of Seto and Mokuba, the friends you've met at the estate every now and then. Right now I'm acting on the court's orders as his temporary guardian until Seto comes home."

Yohji looked at him surprised. "I thought that it was only the two of them?"

The other man nodded. "So did we until last night. From all the paperwork that I've seen in the last thirty-six hours it appears that he is the real son and heir of Gozaburo Kaiba, the man that adopted Seto and Mokuba about ten years ago."

"So he had a mistress on the side? And what did you mean he'd already been taken once?" the blonde asked as he gently ran a soothing hand over his lover's silvery blue head and down his arm.

"No, Noa is as legitimate as you can get. His mother died in childbirth and Noa was raised by his Father and probably a nanny, I don't know," Deiji explained. "He would have been about 25 now if he hadn't died at the age of eight of an undisclosed illness. We know now that the illness was an untreatable heart condition. A tumor."

"You mean he's dead? Wait no that's not right if he was dead then why..." Yohji trailed off staring at the other man. He noted absently that his old lover's mate was also staring at Deiji. Obviously he hadn't known some part of this information either.

"They brought him back," the other Kritiker agent informed him. "Don't ask me how, I don't know yet. But they brought him back to use him as a pawn to take Kaiba Corp from Seto."

"They who?" the blonde asked confused.

"There is a group of business men associated with Kaiba Corp that has been trying to get their hands on the company since Gozaburo died. They've been ruthless about it and don't care who they hurt to do it," Deiji informed him.

Yohji's eyes went wide as he suddenly realized what Deiji was telling them. He heard a gasp and looked at Kenko to see that his face was wearing the same look that he knew his bore. "Oh my God."

Deiji nodded affirming their suspicions. "They knew he was dying the minute they revived him and that there was nothing that could be done short of a transplant or a miracle."

The big man turned eyes filled with heartfelt thanks to the angel resting his head in the blonde's lap listening to the story silently. The angel gave him a tired smile and nodded before closing his eyes trying to rest and regain strength.

"They were going to let him suffer and die again. Probably after they had gotten some legal document signed by him giving the company into their control. And they waited exactly the right amount of time to make sure that he died within days of coming out into the public eye. If I hadn't moved as fast as I did and you hadn't been able to help we would have lost him and he's innocent in all of this. I don't know what I would have done without your help."

"So we're going after them," Yohji surmised, looking at Deiji with eyes narrowed in righteous anger. "We don't have a mission, Manx won't be happy."

"Kritiker was working on putting one together," the leader of Destiny reassured him. "We're just jumping the gun a little. And we'll need to. They may already have the paperwork signed and ready to go. We've only delayed them with all the legal documents I threw at them this evening."

"So who are these men?" the blonde asked.

"They go by some sort of a corporate type of name. The 'Big Five', that's all we've ever known them as and apparently they were working for Gozaburo far enough back that Noa remembers them," Deiji replied. "They tried something like this about four years ago when Seto and I were 15. They kidnapped Mokuba intending to use him the way they were using Noa and tried to kill Seto to get him out of the way. Fortunately I was able to help Seto and then he and I rescued Mokuba. It was right after that, that Kritiker approached me for the first time."

He looked up as the car pulled into the curb outside the building that housed the Big Five. Reaching across the space between the two seats he pulled a double shoulder holster, with two Glocks already equipped with silencers. "Are we ready?" he asked looking at Yohji.

"Ready," the blonde nodded playing with the wire in his watch. Then he looked at his lover who was slowly sitting up. "Do you have the strength to fly to the roof love. We'll meet you there? Or do you want us to bring them to you?"

Enzeru smiled at his lover and kissed him gently, then moved to get out of the car to test his strength. He leaned against the car for a moment, then spread his wings out behind him and flapped them a few times. "Hai, I think I will be ok."

Yohji nodded and gave him a nervous smile and started toward the fire escape to meet his lover at the top.

Deiji looked at his lover and Mike. "Kenko I want you to go with Mike. Find the room they were keeping Noa in and see if they had anything for him if they did then pack it in whatever you can find. No matter what you may hear that is your only mission. Do you understand?" he asked firmly.

Kenko swallowed nervously, he didn't like the sound in Deiji's voice, but he wouldn't fail him. Deiji had put up with a lot just for him and he did ask to come. He wasn't sure of what was going to happen and he was pretty sure that he didn't want to know the details, but he trusted him. "Okay," he said quietly "I can handle that."

Big 2 was up late that night in his room, typing away at the laptop. He'd calculated that even with the delays from that upstart lawyer, they could still pull off their plan and have Noa back just in time to finish up and die. He smirked, envisioning the look on Seto's face when he was in charge and Seto in a gutter. Big 2 frowned when he heard the sound of car doors and went to go see.

Enzeru flapped his wings again and with a wink to Yohji, took off into the air towards the roof. His flight was slow and a bit sluggish, but he finally made it and landed none too gracefully on the roof. He got up to his knees and brushed the gravel from his stomach, thinking how funny that must have looked to see an angel do a face plant if there had been anyone to see it. He slowly got to his feet and walked to the ladder where he sat down and waited.

Deiji nodded pulling his jacket on and zipping it up. He led the other two towards the back of the building pulling out his lock pick kit as he went. At the back door he found the lead to the security system and followed it to the main box. It was intricate but with a couple of snips he'd cut the main lines that signaled a break in and reported errors to the security people. Then he led the other two to the backdoor and quickly picked the lock.

Yohji was puffing by the time he made it to the roof. It was definitely time to quit smoking. He found his lover kneeling on the rooftop and helped him to his feet heading for the roof door. He dragged his set of lock picks out and began to pick the lock hoping that Deiji had the alarm disabled by now. "It won't be long now love," he murmured to his dark angel.

Kenko followed Deiji trusting the taller man's instincts. This was something new to him and it made him a little jumpy. Biting his lower lip he made sure that he stayed close at all times until he finally got inside.

Enzeru smiled at Yohji and kept silent, folding his wings close to his back as he waited for his lover to open the door. If he had had the strength, he would have just phased through the door and unlocked it from the inside. He looked around the roof, watching for any possible danger and smiled again as he heard the click of the door unlocking. "Your rather good at that, maybe when this is over, you can tell me where you learned it." He whispered.

Big 2 frowned, hearing voices and went back to his room to retrieve his gun. Passing the dark rooms of the other members he went towards the stairs, eyes on the ceiling where the noises were coming from.

Deiji pushed the door open slowly listening for any sounds in the darkened back hall. Hearing nothing he slipped in motioning Kenko to follow with Mike right behind. He led them silently down the hall checking each silent dark room as they passed. He was surprised not to see any servants but they might have all been released for the night. They finally reached the brightly-lit front hall and he stopped pushing his lover back seeing Mike automatically plaster himself to the wall. He looked out into the entry seeing it empty and motioned the other two to follow.

Kenko followed, he wasn't very sure on where he needed to go and hoped Deiji or Mike did. He let his thoughts wander as they walked to what was going on, how could someone be so cruel as these five. He knew from experience how cruel people could actually be but ...this Noa was a kid a small kid. Men liked this deserved whatever was going to happen tonight, and for the first time in a long time he felt like he was actually doing the right thing.

Yohji slipped the kit back in his pocket and leaned up to kiss his lover. Then placed a finger on his lips shaking his head. He paused part way down hearing a stair creak. He loosened his wire ready to take the person down. A shadow came around the curve of the stairs and he tensed ready to release his wire however needed.

Enzeru nodded and smiled, following Yohji down the hallway. His senses peaked at the new scent and he felt his jaw start to ache. He suppressed a groan as his teeth began to grow in anticipation of the 'hunt' they were on. He set a hand on Yohji's shoulder and walked forward silently to come face to face with the man as he walked around the corner.

Big 2 rounded the corner and stopped, bringing his gun up when he sensed people there. "Who's there?!"

"Mike take Kenko find the room that they would have kept Noa in. Be careful and if you have to shoot to kill. Do you have your silencer?" Deiji said softly as they reached the top of the stairs. His head jerked up hearing a stair above them creak. Was it Yohji or one of their marks?

"Got it boss," Mike whispered pulling his own gun out of the holster at the small of his back. "Don't worry I'll take good care of him."

Yohji flung out his wire and wrapped it around the barrel of the gun jerking back fast to pull it from the man's grasp. Then he flung the wire again wrapping it several times around the man's neck and pulling it taut. He watched as the man gasped for breath, his face rapidly turning purple as his windpipe was crushed.

Kenko looked at the gun for a moment and shivered, he had never been a violent man. Touching Deiji's shoulder for a moment he turned to Mike. "I'm ready, show me the way."

Enzeru smiled as the gun fell to the floor and grabbed the man's wrist, wrenching it to the side. "You won't be needing that." His smile widened as the man grunted in pain, using his other hand to grasp at the wire around his throat and baring his teeth at the dark angel. Enzeru showed his own elongated fangs and pulled the man tightly against his chest, using his free hand to turn the man's head roughly to the side. He leaned in and bit as hard as he could into the man's neck, falling to his knees with the body cradled to his chest as the blood rushed over his tongue. When the man was dead, he let the body fall from his grasp with a thud and turned a bloody smile on Yohji.

"Let's go find the others. This one got off too easy."

Deiji kissed his lover. "You stay behind Mike and let him check each room," he said fiercely. Then watched as the other man led his lover down one end of the hallway. He went to the stairs and looked up just in time to see the first mark fall lifeless from the angel's grasp. He gave Yohji a silent thumbs up and motioned to the doors that ran along the hallway.

Yohji nodded and started down the stairs. As he reached the hallway he looked down seeing Kenko and Mike at the very end of the hall on one end and Deiji already heading to the last door on the opposite end. He motioned to Enzu and led him to the first central doorway silently pushing it open. A soft light shone beside the bed but the man in it was asleep a file on his lap.

Kenko followed Mike down the hall closely and found that he was probably more overprotective then Deiji. When Kenko said something about him not wanting to be a bother, Mike had promptly replied something about Deiji... and stringing him up by certain body parts if he let something happen to him.

They finally came across the room they were looking for and Kenko frowned. It was so cold and sterile that it made a hospital room look warm. "This is it?"

Enzeru stood and followed them down the hallway, licking at the blood on his lips as the energy began to slowly return to him. His teeth still ached, and his body was screaming for more. His senses were sharpening to the point that he could smell every living creature in the building. He grinned and walked into the room as Yohji opened the door. He stopped at the bedside and looked down at the sleeping man. He looked up to Deiji, seeing the hatred blazing in his eyes and motioned that he should go first as the dark angel hopped onto the bed silently to watch.

Mike nodded. "I guess so, poor kid. Let's get his stuff packed up and then I'm getting you out of here. The boss ain't going to want you in here much longer." He moved in and started opening doors until they found the closet with the few clothes that had been purchased for Noa.

Kenko packed the sparse belongings and felt such pity, no wonder Deiji was so taken with him. He wondered briefly what it would be like to adopt a boy like Noa and raise him with his lover. That was his dream to have a family like that, one to love him and that he could love. Finally finished he looked at Mike. "Okay, I'm done but I want to check on Deiji first."

Big Three still slept but started and blinked his eyes open when a shadow passed over him. He stared up at the two looming over him and grasped the file in his hands. "What the hell--?!"

Deiji watched as Enzu jumped on the bed and the man lying on it woke startled. "You all actually thought you'd get away with it. Be glad it's us taking you down. Gozaburo would have had you flayed alive if he'd known what you were about to do to his son. Have fun I'm off to find the next, " he said as he casually put a bullet in the man's brain and walked out.

Enzeru turned to the man and pouted. "No fair...I'm still hungry." He shrugged and jumped off the bed, kissing Yohji as he passed to follow Deiji down the hallway. "Three more, right? Do what you want, but don't kill them." He smiled at Deiji as he stopped at another door. "I can smell him."

Mike looked at Kenko and started to protest as they stepped out of the boy's room. He barely saw the man half hidden in another doorway before the bullet hit the wall beside his head. He fired back several times and heard a scream of pain as he shoved Kenko back into the room.

Kenko stumbled backwards and he paled, sliding down the wall. He hadn't expected that and pulled his knees up to his chin wrapping his arms around them. He didn't want to move now he could still hear the man screaming in pain and he shut his eyes trying to block it out of his head. "No... no... no..." was all that he kept repeating and all he could do was shut his eyes to the world around him.

"Well that's done it," Yohji sighed as he ran out the door. One across the hall burst open and he barely had time to disarm the man and slam him against the wall knocking him unconscious before he pulled the trigger.

Enzeru leapt on the unconscious man as soon as Yohji stepped back, tearing into his neck and drinking all the man's blood. He wiped the excess blood from his chin and stood, turning to Yohji. He grinned and kissed Yohji again hard on the lips and chuckled. "This is turning me on. Let's hurry and finish this so we can go home."

Deiji heard the gun and the scream and swore racing out the door. He saw Big Four falling to the ground clutching his shoulder and ran down the hall to where he'd seen Mike. He kicked the gun out of the man's hand leaving him to Enzeru's tender mercies as he ran to find his lover. He flung into the room narrowly missing being shot by Mike as barreled passed him and fell to his knees beside his lover.

Kenko didn't even acknowledge the presence of his lover as he rocked back and forth. The only thing he kept muttering was no, he knew the man had probably died and he felt somehow it was his fault. What was he doing here, what was Deiji doing here? Did Mike actually kill someone in such cold blood... the man he had come to look upon as a protector as well? He knew what Deiji did but it never sank home until now.

Trembling he felt arms around him and he stiffened as strained eyes locked with Deiji, "No don't touch me."

Yohji nodded feeling the adrenaline pumping through him. It didn't normally arouse him but he knew that by the time they had completed this impromptu mission, finished healing Noa and got home he would have relaxed enough that he might be ready. Looking around he realized that one mark was still missing and slowly began to check the rest of the rooms. He finally found the one they wanted and motioned to Enzu. He would let his lover deal with this last one in his own way. He needed to find Deiji something was wrong he knew it.

"Baby, it's okay, it's okay. You're safe, I'm here no one will hurt. God I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let you come," Deiji whispered. He heard the door close and knew that Mike had left them alone. "I never wanted you to see this side of what I do. Please baby talk to me."

Kenko shook and whispered, "He's dead," as tears welled up was.

Enzeru entered the room behind Yohji and smiled at the snoring man. He turned and watched his lover leave the room and turned again, watching the figure sleep for a few more moments before crawling up the bed slowly. He straddled the man's body and sat hard on his waist, effectively waking him.

Big One opened his eyes when the weight settled on him and he gasped at the winged figured. "Who are you?"

Yohji approached the end of the hallway and handed Mike both guns he'd retrieved from the floor the man with the shoulder wound had stopped screaming and was moaning quietly now. He would leave him for Enzu his lover would need all the strength he could get. "What happened is Kenko okay?"

Mike nodded his face grim. "He's never been on one of these with us before. He's pretty freaked."

Yohji nodded looking at the closed door silently.

Enzeru smiled, showing the man his bloody fangs as he leaned closer and whispered in his ear. "I am your angel of death." Before the man could reply, he licked at the man's neck and bit into the flesh, bracing himself against the headboard as the blood flowed hot and thick into his mouth.

Big One tried to shriek but nothing came out so he thrashed and tried to throw the angel off.

Deiji looked at his lover terrified that he'd lost him that this had been the final straw that his lover could take. "Who's dead baby. Mike is okay. Who are you worried about?"

Enzeru smiled against the man's throat and continued to feed until the man quit thrashing about and let out a final sigh, then went limp. The angel leaned back and licked at his lips. "One more." He stood and walked out of the room, turning off the light as he left.

Kenko threw his arms around Deiji suddenly shaking. " I don't know who but I heard his cry of pain. I can't get it out of my head Deiji, make it stop! Please make it stop!"

Yohji saw his lover come out of the room down the hall and knew that only one mark was left alive. The impromptu mission had taken under twenty minutes and they had only one casualty and still no alerts. It would be a charnel house when they left but no one would ever know who had done the job.

Enzeru smiled at Yohji and nodded, indicating that the fourth of the Five were down. He looked at the man lying in the hallway and grinned. "Is he one also?"

Deiji curled his arms around his lover pulling him into his lap rocking him slowly. "He's stopped baby, listen. See he's stopped. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Never again, I won't ever let you go through this again. But now Noa and Seto and Mokuba are safe. You helped us make them safe."

Kenko nodded numbly as he laid his head on Deiji's chest tears dropping one by one out of his eyes. He hated being so weak but he hated violence more and he should have known better. "Yes safe..." his voice was barely a whisper and his turned his face into Deiji's shirt and let out a strangled sob.

"Yes he's the last," Yohji told him. "Can you take him into his room. We don't want him in the hall when Deiji comes out with Kenko," he asked.

Deiji held his lover tight letting him cry as he silently rocked him. His own eyes were dry as he railed at himself. It seemed for each thing he did right tonight he did one wrong and this was one of the worst mistakes he'd made all night. They had worked so hard and in seconds, months of work and struggle seemed to have been destroyed. He would shed his own tears later. For now he had to stay strong. Slowly he stood up with his lover cradled in his arms and started for the door. He opened it and stepped out just in time to see Enzeru step out of the room where the wounded man had been.

"Are we done?"

"Yes, that was the last one," Yohji told him looking over the crying man in his old lover arms. "Will he be okay?" He got his answer as Deiji's lips thinned.

"Mike get the bag and lets get the hell out of here."

"Right boss."

Within minutes they were down the stairs and slipping out the back way and headed back for the Eden Estates. It was a silent group, which rode in the back of the limo as Deiji tried to comfort his lover.

**********

End Chapter Fifty-one