Dis Aliter Visum

Chapter 83

Kurapica stood in the empty hotel room, holding his breath, all of his senses on alert. He couldn't hear Kuroro as he exited the room, the man walked far too quietly for him to pinpoint his location. He could only wait in silence in hopes that Kuroro wouldn't linger by the door. The minutes slowly trickled by. He nervously fingered the phone he'd shoved into his jeans pocket, his other hand clasping the list of names and transactions that Kuroro had left for him to research before he was to answer the calls. Preferably while Kuroro was eating his lunch, as he would then have all of the information that he needed by the time the first call came in. Kurapica glanced back at the small, ugly desk set in the corner of the room. The Spider Head had a the small laptop on it for Kurapica to use while talking on the phone.

The blond kept his eyes on the door and slowly took out his cell. His hand tightened around it and he took a few steps back. He glanced at the laptop again, before turning his gaze towards the door once more. His heart was beating loudly in his ears.

He didn't really like the task he had set for himself, but it was the only solution that he could see to his problem. His situation was dangerous. The closer he and Kuroro got, the more confused he became about his priorities. And this wouldn't do. At. All.

More than the dizziness and trepidations that overtook him whenever Kuroro touched him, the fact that he was starting to actually enjoy their talk, their banter, just spending time together, that was a big, big problem. It shouldn't have happened, but it had. Now the only thing that he could do was damage control. He was slowly losing parts of himself, something that he was all too aware of and definitely did not like. He wasn't about to lose himself to Kuroro's seduction, no matter how enticing the prospect was when, when in the heat of the moment. He had to regain some amount of control. He had to.

Slowly, he walked over to the laptop and set his phone and the paper he'd been given down next to it. He glanced at the door again. Kuroro wasn't coming back in, not until much later. It was all right. He could do this. He pulled the electric cord out from the back of the laptop, then turned it upside down. He unsnapped the battery pack and slid it away, then set everything back down on top of the desk. If there was a camera, he didn't want to take the chance that Kuroro was recording him. His eyes strayed towards the door again. A deep breath in, a deep breath out and he picked up his phone again.

His fingers clenched tightly around it. He used his thumb to access his contact list and scrolled through it until he got to the person that he needed. The only one he thought could get him out of this mess. Well, part of it anyway. He looked up to the door again, and his features tightened into a resolute frown. He pressed the dial button and brought the phone up to his ear.

He heard it ring once. Twice. Three times. His palms were getting sweaty. Four times. Five. He took in a breath and held it when he heard a click.

"My, my," the man on the other end of the line drawled out. "How rare of you to call."

"I would rather not have to do this," the Kuruta assured him, his tone hard. "You just happen to have a skill I want to use."

"How cold," there was a chuckle on the other end of the line. "And after all that we've been through together. It took me a lot of work to allow this little reunion between you and the one we both... desire."

"I hope you don't expect me to thank you for that," Kurapica scoffed, his tone getting harder still. "In any case, I'll get straight to the point: I could use your skills. Are you willing to help me or not?"

"Hmm," the tone was cheerful, an obvious sign that the man was just toying with Kurapica, mocking him. It seemed to be a widespread past time amongst perverts. "I don't know... there is something so enticing about having you beg for my help –"