Prospects - Chapter 4

[owned_by_a_cat]

Title:      Prospects
Series:   Bleach AU
Genre:   Drama/Romance/Humor
Rating:   Mature (eventually)
Pairing:  Byakuya/Renji - with supporting cast of Shuuhei/Kensei and Yoruichi/Kisuke if I'm brave enough

Author's Note:  First and foremost, thanks to the intrepid, endlessly helpful, ichibanseiken, who took time out from finishing her own story to help keep me on track once again.  Hope I managed to sort out the bits that made little sense.
And so the story continues...

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Chapter 4: Fine Line


The apple described a blurry arc in the air.  It hovered for an instant at the apex of its flight before it gave in to gravity and smacked into Shūhei's hand with a sharp slap a moment later.  Only to take off with a quick flick of Shūhei's wrist to join the wheel of spinning items once more.

Byakuya Kuchiki leaned back on the scantily upholstered bench that was the small airport's idea of traveller comfort and resisted the urge to check his watch again.  It was Swiss, precision-engineered and reliable – and consulting it once more would do nothing to change the situation. The Kuchiki company jet had arrived 15 minutes ago, just as expected.  Dr. Renji Abarai had not. And Shūhei Hisagi sat cross-legged in the middle of the tiny airport lounge, juggling.

Hisagi had been quieter than usual since they'd parted company with the fire-haired geologist.  He had not reviewed their breakfast meeting, nor commented on his friend's sudden urge to leave the country with his uninvited visitors in tow. It was never a good sign when Hisagi grew quiet, but Byakuya could not fathom what bothered the brunet.  Instead, he watched as Hisagi's phone joined the apple, two oranges, a box of matches and a bunch of keys in the air before Shūhei's face.

It wasn't the first time Byakuya had seen Hisagi juggle. The security specialist kept a jar of brightly coloured cloth balls on his desk and explained to all those who asked – patiently for the most part – that juggling kept him focussed while he was thinking.  And while there were bets outstanding on the number of balls Hisagi could keep in the air at any one time, and the number of hours he could spend juggling without taking a break, most of Kuchiki Industries' employees had become used to small coloured balls moving in the air over Shūhei's desk.

When Hisagi joined his company, Byakuya had watched the man along with everyone else.  Some days he seemed to do little more than toss the coloured spheres around while staring at the bank of windows with unfocussed eyes. Those were the times, when Byakuya had wondered just why Kensei Muguruma and Don Frazer had been so eager to hire the brunet with the strange tattoo.

Shūhei's phone shot up high into the air, and the Kuchiki remembered the day he'd first seen that move.  Hisagi had been lying almost horizontal in his chair, juggling, when all of a sudden coloured balls spiked high before hitting the floor around his chair in a soft patter. Then computer screens flared to life and keyboard keys began to rattle like hailstones on a tin roof. Kensei burst out of his office as if summoned by a spell. Frazer arrived at a run carrying a laptop, bundles of cables, clips and other unidentified electronics.  Whole groups of IT and CorpSec staff huddled in groups around workstations, examining readouts and talking in hushed, excited voices. 

Shūhei Hisagi's desk was the hub in this wheel of frantic activity. 

Over the next sixteen hours, Hisagi left his desk only to go to the bathroom.  He spoke little, barely took his eyes from the four screens in front of him and just frowned when Kensei force-fed him hot chocolate and shortbread.  At the end of those sixteen hours, though, Shūhei had located and isolated a security breach that had bothered Kuchiki Industries for more than three months.  And he presented his findings in the most anticlimactic way possible – with four lines of writing on a post-it note. 

Nobody in the room had thought to challenge Hisagi's findings.  There was no argument, no debate, just a well-oiled machine swinging into remedial action. From that day forward, however, Byakuya had never questioned the younger man's ability to distil a coherent pattern from unconnected reams of data.

That Shūhei felt the need for focussed thought right now was a bad sign.

"Hisagi." Byakuya decided to rattle Shūhei's cage a little. "Dr. Abarai is late," he said when the younger man looked up at the tone of command in Byakuya's voice.  "And why are you...?" He waved a slim hand at the mix of objects spinning in the air.

Hisagi drew a deep breath and caught the items one by one.  "Something is niggling at me," he admitted, not looking at the Kuchiki. "I can't pin down if it's something Renji said or something I saw and it doesn't fit anywhere yet, but..."

"Do you think Dr. Abarai is pulling out of the deal?"

Shūhei shook his head in emphatic denial.  "He would have done that face to face."

"If he'd only decided while he was driving?"

"He would have come here, sir, and told you to your face.  Along with his reasons."  Shūhei stowed his phone and keys.  He walked to where Byakuya sat and placed the fruit on the bench beside their bags. 

"So you think he has reason."

"Something you said this morning bothered him," Shūhei replied simply.  "But it's nothing to do with this particular itch in my brain. I'm sure of that."

Byakuya Kuchiki didn't argue.  He knew how truly gifted Sosuke Aizen was when it came to creating elaborate games.  He had the scars to prove it and so – after the latest game – did Shūhei Hisagi. Shūhei's hair had grown back into its customary spikes and he acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but Byakuya knew that Shūhei sought out Retsu from time to time. He wouldn't risk missing anything.

"In that case, explain why Abarai would have a reason to pull out of this deal," Byakuya demanded.  It irked him that he could have missed something so important.  Something Hisagi had seen.

It was true that Kuchiki Industries didn't deal with freelance prospectors, but that didn't mean that Byakuya didn't keep an eye on the deals he was offered.  The CEO of Kuchiki Industries had been impressed by Dr. Abarai's proposal.  His research was flawless, the case was exceptionally well reasoned and the documentation was better than anything even the Kuchiki prospecting office produced – and given his rigid standards, that was saying something.

Finding that Hisagi knew the prospector had – at the time – seemed like exceptionally good fortune, a chance to smooth the way through the inevitable checks and examinations without ruffling feathers and a welcome shortcut to a speedy end to negotiations.

Meeting the redhead had been unexpectedly enjoyable for the reserved – sometimes even introverted - Kuchiki.  He felt drawn to the mix of contradictions in the man's character.  Abarai liked solitude, but handled the people around him with an easy-going friendliness that the Kuchiki had never been able to manage.  He expressed his opinions, but didn't argue.  He was observant and watchful, but relaxed enough to be good company. In short, Renji Abarai seemed one of those rare people who were so happy with their life that even a large lottery win would not change them.  And he was pleasing to look at.  After their dinner, Byakuya had assumed that he had the man's measure. Erroneously, as it was turning out.

"Renji is the best friend any man could have," Shūhei said as he took the bench opposite the Kuchiki and made himself comfortable. "It doesn't matter if it's the most dangerous or god-awful mess you'd got yourself into, he'll bust a gut to get you out. He had nobody while he grew up, so he takes friendships very seriously."  A lopsided, crinkly-eyed grin graced Shūhei's face. "Remember how he described the village he stayed in? They didn't have much, but they shared, looked after me. To Renji, they'd feel like family. And after what happened, he'd feel he let them down."

"So when I implied he couldn't bring Aizen to justice or that he wasn't responsible for the way the find was worked..."

Hisagi nodded and Byakuya thought that he really should have paid better attention to the brief flashes of temper that managed to slip through Abarai's control. Maybe then, he wouldn't have jeopardised this deal. Just because they were as rare as hen's teeth didn't mean he could allow himself such slips of judgement, or ignore them when they happened. After all, if one of his employees misrepresented Kuchiki Industries in such a manner, they would not be working for him much longer.

"Hey, Renji!"

Shūhei's voice drew him from his thoughts. The brunet had the phone pressed to his ear and was speaking into it.

"Just in case you didn't notice, you're late! We're wondering if you got lost and need a map. Give me a buzz when you get this. Shuu out."

"He didn't pick up?"

"Voicemail. Probably no signal. That's not surprising with all these hills around." Hisagi's voice was calm, but his eyes scanned the Kuchiki's face in a way that made the raven nervous.  Shūhei had a knack for reading men even when they tried to hide.

"Renji being late is not the issue, is it?" Shūhei said after a moment just as Byakuya had expected.  Hisagi had a knack for coming straight to the point, too. "What's really bothering you?"

"It's starting to feel like another elaborate hoax." Byakuya hated it when his words sounded tired, almost defeated, when nothing could be further from the truth.

"What's making you think that?"

Byakuya ordered his thoughts.  "Aizen would have studied you while he held you captive. He'd know that your greatest weakness is your loyalty to your friends."

Shūhei's sudden, blinding smile was disconcerting. He didn't consider loyalty a weakness.  But Aizen would and clearly did.  And even Byakuya, though he would never travel that particular road, could see ways in which Shūhei's loyalties could be manipulated.

"You always point out how rare coincidences really are," Byakuya said.  "So can it be a coincidence that shortly after your escape the biggest mineral find in recent years is offered to Kuchiki Industries by your best friend?  A friend, furthermore, who has crossed paths with Aizen and appears to be on bad terms with the man? And whom Aizen is having watched?"

Shūhei's eyes still glowed with amusement.  "I'm not going to argue about strengths and weaknesses with you, sir. And Aizen may think what he wants. He'll be wrong either way."  Shūhei pulled his feet up so he could sit cross-legged on the narrow bench resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his folded hands. 

"That Aizen's having Renji watched is a complication, I grant you. But probably one that would work in our favour more than Aizen's," Shūhei said slowly, thinking.  "It's certainly not a coincidence that Renji brought his find to you. It's more or less a logical conclusion, given his history with Aizen."

There was that smile again, so full of genuine amusement that Byakuya felt irritated.  "Would you care to explain how you arrive at that particular conclusion?" he asked, voice a little sharper than necessary, but not caring a whit.

"He told us so himself," Shūhei replied in his usual calm way. "He said that he offered his first find to you, because of your reputation, and that he only went to a broker – not Aizen directly – when you turned down his proposal.  And after all that happened, he wants more control over the development of his finds. He won't get that if he engages a broker.  His only chance at seeing the find developed the way he wants is to offer it to you."

"So far, we only have your gut instinct that Abarai's story is true," Byakuya said, unconvinced. "And we have not ruled out that Aizen is pulling Abarai's strings."

"Due diligence in business is a virtue not a vice," Hisagi quoted Kuchiki doctrine with a grin. "I'm sure you'll have us verify every fact we're given twice over before you consider putting pen to paper.  But going back to your initial proposition that it feels like a hoax:  You've barely made contact with Abarai.  You haven't invested anything in the find so far. What would Aizen, or Renji for that matter, gain by pulling out now?"

"I have left London.  I am stuck in this airport lounge in the middle of nowhere."

"Now that sounds more like it."  Shūhei straightened up, reached for his phone and pressed a button.  "A game of misdirection would fit Aizen's MO."  He lifted the phone to his ear and smiled.

"Hey. All serene in old Blighty?"  He listened for a moment, then nodded reassuringly at Byakuya.  "Do me a favour and track Renji's mobile. He's not answering."  Byakuya watched him shake his head at something Kensei said.  "Nah, just playing a hunch."

"What hunch are you playing, Hisagi?" Byakuya queried when Shūhei closed the phone and stood, staring into mid air.

"Given his history, we're assuming that Aizen's after you personally, or after Kuchiki Industries.  But what if he's after Renji? Or more to the point, his notes?" 

Shūhei reached for his bag and pulled out a map, spreading it out just as his phone buzzed.  He answered and listened, fingers caressing over the paper with little taps. "Halfway down? You're sure? Ok, ok – I believe you!  Where, exactly?"

While Byakuya watched, Shūhei traced a line on the map, marked two likely spots and sat up.  "Could you keep an eye and buzz me if he moves?  Thanks. Shuu out."

"Care to enlighten me?"

"Renji's phone signal is stationary," Shūhei reported in a quiet monotone that sent dread fluttering along Byakuya's spine.

"Where?"

"About ten miles from where we separated."

"And?" 

Shūhei drew a deep breath and squared his shoulders.  "Kensei's located the signal half-way down a cliff," he explained. "That could be an error caused by the topography.  Alternatively, Renji could have dropped his phone.  Or he .. is.. actually halfway down that cliff."

"Well, we are clearly unable to determine which it is while we are standing here," Byakuya said and reached for his bag.  "I will tell the pilot to wait. You get the jeep. We meet outside."

Shūhei didn't move. "I'm not sure that's wise, sir," he said quietly. "If Aizen is in the mix, and Renji's the target, then we might turn into very convenient collateral damage if we go sticking our noses in."

"Are you suggesting that we leave your friend in whatever predicament he is without even trying to assist?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow, not at all surprised to see a faint blush spread across Shūhei's cheekbones.

"Certainly not, sir. I am suggesting that you stay here while I go and check on Renji."

Byakuya pinned the brunet with a long hard look. "Good try, Hisagi," he said, while he turned towards the door.  "Need I remind you that after that stunt you pulled, you are as much a target as I am? It's best if we stick together."

~*~*~

Shūhei drove as if he tried to outrun a tornado. The tires sprayed grit and gravel in their wake and when the road turned Byakuya had to cling to the seat to keep the map in position on his lap and the gun case he'd fetched from the plane secure under his boots. 

Shūhei barely slowed passing through the town and attacked the road leading up the side of the cliff at full throttle. Driving on the worn tarmac with its grooves and ruts while the sun sank and the light faded was trickier than navigating in broad daylight. Again and again, the Jeep's wheels hit potholes that made their teeth rattle and the car lurch across the road.

"Hisagi, we will not be able to assist your friend if you wreck the jeep," Byakuya commented exasperated after a particularly violent jolt and slew. "I suggest you moderate the speed. Now."

It clearly irked the brunet, but the jeep slowed to a more reasonable speed and the ride evened out a little. They turned right at the top of the cliff, following the road that Renji had taken that morning.  They drove straight into a blood red sunset, but the road was wide here and the edges well defined, so Shūhei sped up again. After six miles, though, that changed and Shūhei gritted his teeth.

"We're close," Byakuya stated, keeping one eye on the landmarks his mobile phone app pointed out and the other on the map.

Even in the fading light, the place of the accident was impossible to miss. Broad skid marks criss-crossed the road and deep furrows had been gauged into the road's soft verge in the place where a car had gone over the edge.

Shūhei pulled up and grabbed the gun and flashlight Byakuya held out to him.  The dipping sun bathed the top portion of the cliff in a rosy glow, while shadows deepened over its lower reaches.  They had little time to locate the redhead before it grew too dark.  But fortunately, they knew where to look.

Even in the shadowed parts of the cliff, the scars in the creamy limestone were easy to make out, guiding them down to the Land Rover, which looked surprisingly intact.  It lay on the passenger side surrounded by a heap of debris made up of broken sample crates, bagged rock samples and torn vegetation the car had collected on its slide down the hill.

There was no sign of Dr. Renji Abarai.

Next Chapter >>

Comments

[tylashke.livejournal.com]

The way things look, Gin probably kidnapped him. Either that or he was rescued by some random passerby... Liked the interaction between Byakuya and Shuuhei here, especially with more backstory about Shuu and more of Byakuya's thoughts. Looking forward to the next chapter!

[owned-by-a-cat.livejournal.com]

Ah, my Ren is more resourceful than that! Though I must admit that with Job Hunt and all, Shuu is my current favourite to write for and it shows. Still, I got my favourite redhead into this mess, now I need to get him out of it.

BTW, your selection of gorgeous icons really makes me jealous. Unfortunately, I haven't an ounce of artistic talent...

[ichibanseiken.livejournal.com]

Shuuhei the reckless driver - the reckless everything, it seems. "Moderate your speed. Now." That made me smile. I like the extra backstory, and the way you accentuated the dramatic tension toward the end of the chapter. Now I'll be biting my nails until you let us know what's going in with Dr. Abarai. Wait, the mineral deposit he found - I hope that wasn't Kryptonite. Could it be he got too close to his samples in that crowded car of his?

[owned-by-a-cat.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think my Shuu has a temper. All the more explosive since he keeps it so well boxed up most of the time.

Not quite sure about the effect of Kryptonite in crowded spaces. Just having this image of Renji picking up the Land Rover and throwing it at Gin's head...

Or were you suggesting that I'm having a bit too much fun with my characters and they're sliding out of the realm of the believable?

[ichibanseiken.livejournal.com]

No, your characters are very believable. I was just feeling goofy :-)

[niacyuu.livejournal.com]

Looking forward to the next chapter!