F.B.I. Special Agent Fox Mulder was beginning to get uncomfortable. He and his partner, Dana Skully, were on another punishment errand from A.D. Skinner. This time they had to track down some C.E.O., and they had barely started and they had already hit a wall.
This particular wall was another C.E.O., Seto Kaiba, who had been present around the time that Maximilien Pegasus had disappeared, but he wasn't talking. In fact, Mulder had the distinct impression that Kaiba was just toying with them to see how much they knew and how far they were willing to go.
Mulder really wished he were back in his basement. At least it was cool there. Kaiba's office was on the top floor, and surprisingly well furnished, but Mulder was pretty sure that the chair in which he now found himself was brought specifically to make him uncomfortable, and the heat turned off so Kaiba could see them sweat.
Seto Kaiba's distinctive deep, clip-toned voice cut into Mulder's dreams of his office.
"I really don't see what I can do for the F.B.I."
Skully, who was even more annoyed at her surroundings retorted, "When the C.E.O. of a Fortune 500 company goes missing, the F.B.I. tends to take notice."
"That and I always wanted to see a dragon."
Mulder's attempt to calm the situation did nothing but earn him a raised eyebrow from both his partner and Kaiba.
"Hum," said Kaiba, buying time while he tried to read Mulder's comment, in his experience government agents did not usually tell bad jokes, and he had never heard of a paid assassin who could say anything even that witty. He mused to himself "Maybe there's hope for these two after all, but that's still no reason I can't string them along a bit."
He continued to Skully, "It's like I told that Skinner person on the phone, I really don't know anything about what happened to Mr. Pegasus."
Skully responded by picking a file out of her briefcase and removing the pictures it contained. "Then," she said, "how do you explain these pictures of a KaibaCorp helicopter taken around the time Mr. Pegasus disappeared?"
"I don't believe I have to, unless I'm a suspect, in which case you'll be doing the rest of your interviews through my lawyer."
"As I said before," Skully said, this time making no attempt to hide her exasperation, "the F.B.I. would appreciate voluntary co-operation in this matter."
"OK, this has gone far enough!" thought Mulder, "We need Kaiba, and it looks like there's only one way to get him"
"Besides," said Mulder, with a quick glance at Skully warning her to keep quiet until he was done with Kaiba, "I really don't think you were at all involved considering that you were, "ill" at the time of the incident."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you couldn't have been in full possession of your faculties if these were taken," Mulder responded while pulling an envelope from his jacket. He slid it across the desk and Kaiba opened it. Inside were pictures, which in Kaiba's estimation came from two full rolls of film, of him washing Pegasus's dishes. If Mulder expected Kaiba to blush or rant, he was disappointed. Kaiba's eyes may have narrowed for a split second, but no one could really be sure.
After a few seconds, Kaiba returned the pictures to their envelope and addressed Mulder. "How much will it cost me to get these, and the negatives?"
"Validate the parking."
"Done," responded Kaiba, the relief he felt completely absent from his voice, "but I'm still not going to help you."
Kaiba pushed back his chair preparing to leave, but Mulder was not about to take "no" for an answer after sitting in the heat for hours. Before Kaiba could stand, he cut in "Fine, but I think you should know, Yugi Moto is our prime suspect."
That got Kaiba's attention. He stopped and returned his chair to its original place.
"That," he said, the excitement in his voice obvious, "is a completely different story."
"So we can expect your help then?" Skully inquired.
"Yes," said Kaiba "But not until tomorrow, I have other business today. I trust you can show yourselves out." With that he got up and left without another word.
"Wait, what just happened?" Skully asked her partner.
"When in Rome, grasshopper, it pays to speak the lingo." Mulder responded.
"I hate it when you mix your metaphors, and what do you mean "Speak the lingo"?"
"Well, this Yugi Moto is the only person to ever beat Kaiba in a game of Duel Monsters, and I have a theory on that if you're interested."
"Focus Mulder"
"Anyway, Kaiba's been itching for payback ever since, so bring up Yugi as a suspect, which he is, and you've got Kaiba."
"Mulder, I just don't see how some pre-teen boy could take out a man like Maximilien Pegasus, I mean getting past the bodyguards alone would take a miracle."
"Well, Skully," Mulder responded, "I might be forced to agree with you if it weren't for the Millennium Puzzle."
"Mulder, I've heard that story before, and I keep telling you, there is no way the Ancient Egyptians had that kind of power."
"OK, then explain the pyramids." Mulder challenged.
"I don't know MABEY it was aliens."
"Ouch."
"Why do we need Kaiba's help anyway? I mean what do you expect him to know, considering it's your brilliant theory that he was missing his soul at the time."
"I'm not saying he knows anything," Mulder responded, "but he was definitely missing something if he would wash dishes for the man who kidnapped his brother. Besides, what we really need him for is access, he practically owns this entire city and that tracking system he's using for his tournament could come in handy. And from what I've heard about him, this should be interesting at the very least."
"Interesting, Mulder is what worries me."