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Seto smiled as he watched Mai walking away, her long legs striding smoothly across the floor and her hair bouncing slightly with every stride. For a moment his thoughts were lost in the wistful contemplation of her movement, then, remembering the conversation they had just had, he found himself suddenly frowning.

That had to rank as one of the most uncomfortable conversations of his entire life, he decided. I don't know what I've done or how to fix it? He thought incredulously. What sort of thing was that for him to say? It was like an apology, only he never apologised, ever. Except, his mind briefly flashed up an image of an upset looking Mai from a week previously, yes, well, except then.

'How the Hell does she keep doing that to me?!' he said quietly to himself.

Suddenly he became aware of a faint sound that contrasted with the music of the club. Recognising it as his ring tone, he quickly reached into his coat, tutting to himself irritably when he was able to instantly locate the phone in amongst the folds of the material. He flipped it open with an easy movement and held it to his ear.

'Yes?'

'Mr Kaiba,' Roland's slightly flustered voice sounded distant.

'Roland.'

Roland began saying something but Seto cut him off. 'Roland, you'll have to speak up, I'm in a night club.'

'A where, sir?' Roland's voice was stronger but his tone was confused.

'A night club,' Seto repeated steadily.

There was a pause. 'Did you say - '

'Roland,' Seto snapped irritably, 'did you call to discuss my choice of leisure activity or do you have something to say?'

Roland quickly recovered himself. 'Sorry sir,' he said, his voice returning to it's usual business-like manner. 'I'm at the hospital with McIntire, and the police. They want to ask you some questions, sir.'

Seto sighed slightly. 'What happened to 'initiating protocol'?' he asked sardonically.

'Well, we did try but it became a bit difficult when McIntire woke up and started screaming for his lawyer,' Roland explained apologetically. 'According to Jackson the protocol for such situations usually worked a lot better when the victim actually died.'

'Yes, I can see how that might work,' Seto conceded with a cold smile.

'Still, you'll be glad to hear that the press have been kept well out of it.'

'Good.'

'But I have an Inspector here who is threatening to change that if he doesn't get an interview with you now.'

'Now?' Seto raised an eyebrow.

'Yes sir, he's very insistent that he talk to you immediately.'

'Insistent huh?' Seto narrowed his eyes slightly. 'Is he there?'

'In the next room, sir. I took the liberty of giving him the office number and let him call that whilst I called you on your cell.'

'Thanks for the heads up. Get him and put him on.'

'Yes sir.'

Seto sat himself on the barstool and steeled himself for the conversation to follow. After a few moments a man with a strong London accent came on the line.

'Mr Kaiba?'

'Yes.'

'Mr Seto Kaiba?'

'Yes.'

'You're speaking to Inspector Adams of the Metropolitan police force. I'd like to ask you some questions regarding a Mr Owen McIntire who is currently in intensive care at St Bartholomew's Hospital with relatively minor injuries,' he said officiously before adding, darkly, 'considering what you did to him.'

There was a long pause.

'Mr Kaiba?'

'I'm listening.'

'We have witnesses who tell us that you were on the scene when McIntire fell from the rooftop, as well as witnesses who tell us that you were seen 'chasing' the man through the bar housed in the building below.'

Again there was a pause.

'Mr Kaiba,' the man's voice sounded annoyed, 'this is a very serious allegation.'

'I'm sorry,' Seto said calmly, 'what exactly is the allegation?'

'That you were in some way responsible for the nearly fatal incident that led to McIntire's hospitalisation and that you then absconded from the country with the idea that you could in some way avoid the due processes of the law.'

'Right.'

'Mr Kaiba,' the man growled dangerously, 'I know that you're some big-shot business man and you probably think you can buy yourself out of trouble, but I'm here to tell you that it won't work. Your father may have been able to sidestep the rules in the past but that's all changed. You can no longer assume any sort of diplomatic immunity - '

'Inspector,' Seto cut across the tirade, his voice cold and hard, 'let me assure you that I neither assume diplomatic immunity nor do I seek it. Furthermore,' he continued as the Inspector began to speak again, 'if your force has had dealings with my adoptive father in the past then that reflects very badly upon you but has absolutely no bearing on the way that I deal with things.'

Seto shifted his weight on the stool slightly as he got into his stride. 'The fact that you are prepared to accuse me of such a crime over the phone simply tells me that you have no solid evidence against me; otherwise I am sure the NYPD would be conducting the interview in person. And, if you really believed, for one moment, that I would be prepared to have this conversation in a public place, over an unsecured line and without my lawyer...' he paused and let the idea hang in the air for a moment, 'then you're a fool.'

'Mr Kaiba!' the man gasped in shock and outrage.

'This is what is going to happen,' Seto continued steadily, 'In twenty-five minutes you will call me on my home-office number which my associate, Roland, will give to you. At that time I will happily tell you everything you need to know about what happened as well as my involvement in it.'

'But Mr Kai-'

'Should you insist on trying to intimidate me over the phone; try to involve the media in any way or make the mistake of comparing me with my adoptive father ever again, then I will ask my legal team to step in and you will find your investigation snarled up in so much red tape you'll be drawing your pension before you get the opportunity to speak to me again.'

There was a long silence.

'Well?'

'Twenty five minutes?' the Inspector sounded like he was talking through clenched teeth.

'Twenty-five minutes,' Seto confirmed.

'Huh,' there was a click and the line went dead.

Seto snapped the phone shut with a satisfied smile. The conversation had been much more along the lines of what he was used to and, following the disaster with Mai, he felt a whole lot better.

Looking over to where Mai was standing, laughing heartily at something Joey was saying, Seto wondered what it was about her that meant he had found it easier to deal with a high ranking official who was accusing him of attempted murder, than to deal with her accusing him of... He frowned suddenly as he realised that he still wasn't actually sure what he'd even done to upset her.

Clearly she'd simply caught him slightly off guard. He thought back to the conversation and winced slightly. I don't know what I've done or how to fix it - he recalled his words again with a shudder of mortification. What the Hell was I thinking?

He shook his head slightly as he quickly paged his driver, telling him to be outside the doors of the club immediately. Twenty-five minutes should be long enough to get everything in order just so long as the legal team were on the ball and could get someone over ASAP. He would call Peterson from the car, he decided.

Now he just had to say his goodbyes and get the Hell out.
He walked towards the group, his mind already transferring to what Mokuba referred to as his work-mode. There was a definite purpose to his stride and, when he came to a halt next to Tristan, all conversation died instantly as his commanding presence seemed to wash over them.

'Something's come up, I have to go,' he stated coolly.

Mai, startled by his sudden arrival looked at him in surprise but Seto was looking elsewhere.

'Yugi, have a good trip back. Maybe, when the show arena is up and running again, you could come back over? All expenses paid again of course.'

Yugi blinked up at him in surprise. 'Err, that would be great Kaiba,' he smiled, 'thanks.'

Seto turned to Joey, Tristan, Tea and Serenity and opened his mouth as if to say something but in the end he simply nodded his head and gave them the faintest of smiles.

Tristan and Joey gawped at him in surprise at the almost pleasant gesture whilst Tea grinned broadly and jumped up from her seat.

'Bye Kaiba,' she said warmly and moved to give him a kiss on the cheek. The suddenly cold expression that he gave her though convinced her to quickly downgrade the show of friendliness to a slightly awkward handshake.

Seto turned then to Mai who was regarding him with a raised eyebrow.

'Mai,' he started, immediately aware of the feeling of nervousness rising within him once again. He took a quick breath and forced himself to push aside the sensation. 'I'm glad we had an opportunity to talk and I would like it if we could catch up again soon. I'm in a hurry now but if you leave your number with Mokuba I'll call you and arrange a mutually acceptable time.'

Mai scowled but Seto had already looked away again.

'Mokuba,' he turned now to his brother, 'I'll... see you at home.'

Mokuba gave him a questioning look but Seto dismissed it with a quick motion of his hand which told him that now was not the time to discuss matters. He glanced around the group once more and gave another faint smile before turning away.

As he started to make his way down the stairs Seto realised, with surprise, that he was feeling happy. The sensation made no sense at all considering the horrors that the evening had held for him and the fact that he was only now getting away so that he could be interrogated by a massively pissed off Police Inspector. Still, there was no denying the feeling that welled in him from the pit of his stomach. As he passed by the two men who had tangled with Mai earlier in the night, both sitting with their legs apart and cradling cold bottles of beer next to their battered privates, Seto gave in to the overwhelming desire to grin.

The group watched in silence as Seto left. Mai was the first to speak.

'Can you believe that?' she exclaimed, incredulously, shaking her head in wonder.

'I know,' Joey agreed, 'he was almost nice to me!'

'He didn't even say anything to you,' Tristan pointed out laughing.

'I know but there was definitely, you know, the Nod of Respect.'

'Nod of Respect?! Is that like the Sneer of Distain that he usually gives you?'

The pair continued their good natured banter as Mai turned away from them to watch as Seto made his way across the club.

He was nearing the exit when he suddenly stopped and turned. His eyes followed along the balcony, clearly searching for something. As he saw her he smiled.

Mai knew that she should feel annoyed with him; the way that he had just addressed her was, frankly, rubbish. However, as he continued to look up at her, his eyes glinting in the fluctuating light of the club, she found herself returning his smile and even grinning slightly as she felt a pleasant tingle run up and down her spine. She shook her head at him in mock disapproval and he in turn held up his wrist and tapped his watch, giving a quick shrug as if to say that his departure couldn't be helped. He smiled one last time and then turned quickly, his coat flaring around him, and left the club.

Mai watched him leave with a small smile and then shook her head again, laughing quietly to herself as she contemplated the strange events of the evening.

Certainly there weren't many men who could have survived the full scale attack that she'd levelled at Seto and, in many ways, she knew that she had been a bit hard on him. Any residual feelings of guilt had been completely washed away, however, by the way that he had spoken to her in front of the others.

Arrange a mutually acceptable time? She thought scornfully. What am I, some sort of business associate?! Still, all in all, it had been good to see him again. Really good. And, though his words had been ludicrously formal, the meaning was still clear; he wanted to see her again.

The thought made her grin.

'Mai?'

She turned, quickly snapping out of her reverie. Mokuba was standing directly behind her, holding out a phone.

'Seto said something about giving me your number to pass on to him?' he prompted with a smile.

Mai fixed the boy with a thoughtful look. Instead of reaching for the phone she leaned back casually against the railing, flicking her hair over her shoulder with a quick movement of her head.

'Your brother once told me that he'd find me,' she said archly. 'If he thinks I'm going to make things easy for him by simply giving him my number,' she stared intently at Mokuba, her eyes glistening with mischief, 'then he doesn't know me very well.'