I do not own Gundam
Wing. This fan fiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of
profit or income off of this.
Chapter 2
Heero awoke the next morning in the room he sometimes stayed in at Trowa’s mansion with a plan of action in mind. He dressed quickly in a pair of expertly tailored black pinstripe slacks, and crisp white dress shirt. He put his shoulder holster on, and tucked away his 9mm before shrugging into the double-breasted blazer. He then went to find Trowa.
“I’ve been thinking.” Heero’s voice still sounded gravelly with the remains of sleep.
Trowa looked up from the paper. Heero had found him where he always was at that time of day, eating breakfast and reading the paper in his extravagantly decorated dining room.
“About?” he inquired, laying the newspaper aside and focusing on Heero.
“Her.”
Trowa’s eyebrow quirked up in surprise. “Why?”
“She’s dangerous. She can identify too many of us, now. And with the cops crawling all over her father, she may be willing to deal.”
A low growl sounded from Trowa’s throat as he frowned and then lowered his head to hide behind his light brown hair. “Hn.”
“And she’s missing. Police scanner this morning has the department out looking for her.”
“Just what are you proposing?” Trowa asked quietly.
“Let me find her. I’ll make sure she doesn’t talk,” Heero replied, patting the holstered gun hidden by his suit jacket.
“Find her, but I want her back alive.”
Heero growled his displeasure, but Trowa had dismissed him. He got in his shiny black Mercedes and left.
* * * * * * * * * * *
An hour later, Heero made his way through the run down Allen Café on the outskirts of town. It was little more than a truck stop with heavily tinted windows that made it look dark even in the brightest sunlight. It was the anonymity of the place, not the food that drew him there.
He sat down in a dimly lit booth and ordered breakfast. He didn’t have to wait long for what he came for, or rather whom. The door opened, letting in an uninvited burst of blinding sunlight. In its midst, a young man entered wearing a tan sports coat over a rumpled dress shirt, and brown slacks – usual police detective clothing. The long braid down his back, however, was anything but typical, as was the grin on his face. He made his way to Heero’s table and slid across the tattered vinyl seat facing him.
“Long time, no see, buddy,” Duo greeted his old friend.
“Yeah,” Heero said as the waitress delivered the plate of greasy sausage and eggs-over-easy.
Duo made a face. “That stuff will kill you, man. You need a woman…”
Heero glared at him for a moment. “How’s Hilde?”
“She’s great. Kids are running her ragged, though. Still as beautiful as the day I married her… Speaking of Hilde, she wanted me to tell you she has this friend…”
Heero’s features hardened into a dark scowl.
“Oh come on, she’s really nice…”
“I didn’t come here for a date, I came here for information.”
Duo rolled his eyes.“Yeah, yeah…you’ll probably die a bachelor. No woman is gonna put up with your shit….”
“Darlian’s daughter,” Heero growled.
Duo’s eyes widened – whatever he had been expecting the topic of his friend’s inquiry today, this wasn’t it. “What about her?”
A memory from high school flashed in his mind:
He stood at his locker talking to Heero when musical laughter floating down the school’s bleak, fluorescent-lit hallway interrupted their conversation. He turned and saw a beautiful girl with long blond hair walking towards them. He elbowed Heero to get his attention…
“She’s missing. What’s the department got?” Heero asked, startling Duo back to the present.
“Barton’s group doesn’t have her?”
“No.”
“Well, her father was convinced he did. We had our own suspicions, of course.”
“I took her home myself yesterday. She had to have left sometime after that.”
“You took her home? Does she…”
“What was in the report?” Heero asked quickly cutting off the rest of the sentence.
Does she remember you, Heero?
“They suspected that she took off. A few articles of clothing, and her passport were missing from her room; her car was gone. It was located this morning in a parking garage downtown. Dead-end, there. We checked with the hotels in the area, no one matching her description checked in last night, but we have yet to interview their night staffs. We have our people staking out the airports.”
Heero nodded as Duo ran through the checklist, sounding like the methodical detective he was.
“That’s all I have,” Duo said, watching his friend for any sign of emotion.
“That’s all I need. Thanks,” Heero replied, tossing some bills on the table for the meal as he got up.
Duo rose from the table and moved to block his friend’s exit. “Why….”
“You don’t need to know that,” Heero cut him off gruffly, pushing past him towards the door.
“But the deal was….” Duo began weakly, reaching out to grab Heero’s arm to try and restrain him.
Heero turned back around and grabbed Duo by his shirt collar, glaring at him as he spoke, “The deal’s off. I can’t afford another liability right now. You have a family, and I don’t need them on my conscience…” He let go of Duo’s shirt, and pushed him away.
Duo stared at his retreating back. “You need to be careful, too, buddy,” he said under his breath.
* * * * * *
A tall distinguished-looking man with dark brown hair and eyes stood before a crowd of journalists in front of the state capitol building. His face, normally kind and compassionate, was contorted into an expression of anger as a sea of faces shouted questions at him all at once and prevented his progress down the steps towards his waiting vehicle.
“My record on violent crime supports my claim. Just six months ago, I approved funding for a special task force on organized crime. The FBI has been through all of my financial records, there have been no contributions from the Barton Foundation to my campaign. These allegations are totally false! I will not dignify any further questions on the topic with a response.” The cameras continued to click as the governor stepped into his car.
“Any word on Relena, Zeches?” Mr. Darlian asked, narrowing his eyes at the man across from him with long, platinum blond hair and pale blue eyes. He was wearing a well-decorated police uniform. The long black limousine pulled slowly away from the curb.
“None. We’re still working on it. We have word from one of our detectives that Barton doesn’t have her. So, we’re concentrating our efforts on the airports,” Zeches Marquise, the Chief of Police said in an icy voice.
“Good. I want her back. And I want that scum Trowa Barton behind bars!”
“I know. We’re doing all we can.”
“No we’re not. I want to make that bastard hurt. I want round the clock surveillance on that guy and his people. If he so much as litters, I want one of our guys there to bust him! It’s time to put our task force in action.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Around five o’clock that evening, a man in a black pinstripe suit leaned back against the wall, apparently reading a newspaper through dark brown bangs that hid his face. He was actually watching the throngs of people make their way through the busy metropolitan airport.
A beautiful woman suddenly caught his eye – about five foot seven, dark brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was dressed casually in a pink cable-knit sweater and a pair of black jeans. She clasped a small duffel bag in her left hand; a black leather backpack was thrown haphazardly over her right shoulder. He watched her check in at the ticket counter, and then followed her towards the concourse. She quickly ducked into the ladies room, while he took up a position beside the exit.
The woman left the restroom, and glanced around. Suddenly, she was grabbed violently from behind as a large, callused hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her scream, and she was dragged backwards into a janitorial closet. The door shut, and she was turned toward her captor. Her eyes grew wide, and the hand was clamped over her mouth again.
“Relena, I don’t have time for this. There are cops crawling all over this place,” he hissed.
She bit down hard into the sensitive flesh of his palm, but he didn’t flinch. He continued to glare at her. She looked up at him like she wanted to say something. He reluctantly removed his hand, poised to grab her if she tried to call out.
“Trowa sent you?” she asked in a whisper.
“Yes.”
She tried to scream, but he covered her mouth. He glared at her again.
“I’m to bring you back alive, but he didn’t say anything about unharmed. I will shoot you, if necessary.”
Her mind drifted to a recollection of cold blue eyes glaring down at her outside her high school classroom…
“I’ll kill
you…”
The doorknob turned and yanked open. Thinking quickly, Heero pushed her against the wall, seizing her mouth in a rough kiss.
A flash of a
memory long buried, surfaced in his mind – wet hair clinging to his face as he
stared down into ardent sapphire eyes.
The startled janitor dropped his mop with a thud, causing the two to break apart. Heero lowered his eyes and smirked in what he hoped passed for a sheepish expression, and grabbed Relena’s hand, pulling her out of the closet. He slipped a bill into the janitor’s hand and winked. Then he dragged the stunned girl through the exit to the parking garage, and drove off.
They didn’t speak a word until they arrived at Barton’s large country manor on the outskirts of town. His instructions were to get her situated there, and watch over her until Trowa arrived.
He helped her out of the car, and she promptly slapped him across the face. It surprised him more than it hurt.
“That’s for kissing me without my permission,” Relena said, her blue eyes narrowing into angry slits.
Heero smirked. “You kissed back.”
Relena flushed a deep crimson color as she walked passed him into the house.
She unpacked her meager belongings, settling into the fairly large room she had been given on the second floor of the large estate. She removed her dark brown wig, and all the itchy hairpins she had needed to tuck her blond hair up underneath it. “Damn him for recognizing me,” she thought and threw the pins onto the counter with disgust.
After brushing her hair out, she flopped onto the neatly made twin bed, and closed her eyes. But as tired as she was, she couldn’t sleep. Her thoughts kept returning to what remained of the wreckage that was her life.
She had gone home to face her father, after he had dropped her off. She remembered suddenly how it felt for him to hold her while she cried in the car. Shaking off the memory, she thought back to her encounter with her father.
“Relena, thank
God you’re all right! Where have you been?”
Before she
could answer, he started shouting at her, “You went to see him, didn’t you?”
She nodded, her
eyes not meeting his.
He continued
his tirade, accusing her of wanting to cause trouble for him, and not caring
about anyone but herself. Then came the final insult, “I didn’t spend all that
money sending you to law school so you could become some mobster’s harlot!”
She slapped him
hard across the face. “That’s it! I’m leaving! I don’t need you to make my
decisions for me!”
She stomped up
to her room, threw some clothes in a bag, and made her way back to the front
door.
“If you leave,
don’t ever come back.” His face was red with anger.
“I won’t!” She
slammed the door behind her and tried to leave it all behind.
* * * * * * * * * *
Heero watched her toss and turn on the bed. She cried out, and he saw tears glittering on her cheeks. He knelt by her side, and gently shook her awake. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing beautiful blue-green eyes.
She gazed at him sleepily as she tried to remember where she was. Then slowly rose into a sitting position on the bed. Suddenly, she frowned. “You never told me your name,” she said, quietly regarding him.
“Heero Yuy,” he said, turning his back to her. He felt his heart plummet into his stomach with the question. “She doesn’t remember me,” he thought and ran his fingers through his thick wild hair.
Across the room, she looked at him through wide eyes, battling a torrent of emotion while her racing pulse chased away the last mists of sleep fogging her brain. The name had brought back memories from what seemed a lifetime ago. “Doesn’t he remember?” She wondered.
They had been only sixteen then….
An older woman,
about fifty, age streaking dark brown hair with silver and white, greeted her
warmly despite the chilly surroundings. “Relena. Come, meet our new volunteer.”
Relena smiled
and slowly crossed the room. He certainly didn’t look very friendly.
“Relena Darlian, this is Heero Yuy…”
“Are you hungry?” he asked sharply, interrupting her thoughts. “I came to see if you wanted dinner.” He was still looking towards the door, so she couldn’t see his face. His head was bowed, and his body tense with anger.
“Yes,” she replied absently.
“It will be waiting downstairs, whenever you are ready,” he said flatly, and opened the door to leave.
“Heero,” she called out, stopping him in his tracks.
He turned and stared at a point behind her, fixing a blank expression on his face. He caught his breath for a moment, as she remained silent.
She wanted to say something, anything, but he looked so…cold, so distant. She couldn’t find the words. All that came out was “What’s for dinner?” She dropped her eyes to the floor.
His face hardened and his lip curled into a snarl. “Lasagna,” he replied and walked out the door.
She bowed her head. “He doesn’t remember.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Heero entered the library and sat down in front of the videophone to make the call to Trowa. His face soon appeared on the active matrix screen.
“I can’t get away right now, Yuy. Some important business came up. Stay there and watch her for me.”
“Trowa, I’m not some God damn babysitter! Now, if you’ve got important business, I should be there, not here,” Heero said, glaring at the video screen.
“I can’t trust anyone else right now. I’ll explain later. It won’t be for long, I promise. Take care of her for me.”
“Trowa, you’re too soft on her. She’ll be your downfall.”
“I know. But I can’t help it. I love her, Yuy.”
Heero punched the
keyboard, angrily terminating the connection. “Damn it!” He closed his eyes as
he tried to get control of his emotions. “Trowa
is a heartless bastard. He is not your friend. He would kill you if he knew….”
His train of thought was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.
“Where is the cook?” Relena asked softly, avoiding his gaze. “I went to go get another serving of lasagna, but I couldn’t find it.”
Heero mumbled something unintelligible.
“Excuse me?”
“There isn’t a cook. It’s just us. I made the lasagna, and I put the rest in the fridge. I didn’t think you’d want any more.”
She couldn’t help it. Her lips twitched into a grin and she giggled.
He glared at her. “What?”
“I just can’t imagine you cooking. But the lasagna is delicious!” She laughed again as she left the room.
Heero closed his eyes and continued where he left off, “She is a distraction. I do not care for her anymore. That kiss meant nothing….” His thoughts traveled back to the kiss they shared earlier that day, then drifted unwillingly to another time…long ago.
They stood
there in the rain, within arms reach, but not touching. Neither one said a
word, afraid of breaking the deafening silence that surrounded them. She
reached out, and tentatively brushed from his eyes a stray strand of hair
darkened almost black with rain. He wasn’t sure if the tremor coursing through
his body was caused by her touch or the bitterly cold winter weather.
He grabbed her
wrist almost violently, startling her, and pulled her to him. He bent his head
towards hers…
“Heero?”
He opened his eyes in irritation. She was standing there holding a second plate of lasagna, looking at him with laughter dancing in her eyes.
“What?”
“Why were you blushing?”
He glared at her. “What do you want?”
“Some company while I eat. If you won’t come to the table, may I stay in here?”
“NO! No no no no no!!!!” His mind screamed. “If you must,” he said aloud.
“So how long am I here for?” She asked, her face clouding into a serious expression.
“I don’t know,” he swiveled his chair so that she was facing his profile. He didn’t want to look at her.
“Why am I here, Heero?”
“You know too much. You’re a danger to the Foundation,” he said without emotion.
She blinked and inclined her head in a thoughtful pose. “So Trowa wants you to kill me?”
“Not now. Eventually, though, he will,” he said as he watched her from the corner of his eye.
She took another bite of lasagna, and chewed slowly. “He’s not very nice, is he?”
Heero turned and looked at her, unable to hide his surprise at her statement. She had been crying over Trowa, yesterday – had claimed to love him. “What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.
“I mean he’s going to kill me because I know too much, when I don’t know anything at all. But, if he knew that you had kissed me, today, he’d probably kill you, too.”
“Hn…” he growled and looked away again.
“Kind of like wanting your cake and eating it, too.”
“You seem awfully cavalier for someone who just found out your boyfriend is going to kill you.”
“Ex-boyfriend. I could never love someone like him…” she said, her voice trailing off as she glanced up from her plate.
Her glowing eyes met his with an intensity that sent electricity down his spine. And in that instant he knew her strength. She blinked and looked quickly away.
He spun his chair around, turning the back to face her, and closed his eyes. “Trowa, you have quite a weakness, indeed,” he mused.
His mind
taunted him, “She never loved you.”