Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

Beyond Betrayal: The Lavender Files

Chapter 11: The Storm

Rain pelted the truck carrying the precious cargo needed to complete a powerful satellite. The two figures in the front of the vehicle sat in silence, one poised rather stiffly, while the other struggled to find a comfortable position in the cramped space.

“Gahhh!” Duo let out a frustrated noise as he sat back into his seat in a huff, obviously still uncomfortable.

“It’s only been five minutes. They’ll be here,” Quatre replied to Duo’s exasperated wail, his mind otherwise occupied by the steady, harsh melody of water droplets pummeling metal.

“There just had to be a storm scheduled for tonight, didn’t there?” complained Duo. “And on top of this mess, where has Heero gone?”

“He mumbled something about taking Relena to a safer area. I suppose we can’t be too cautious. You never know what might happen if Spindown catches on to us.”

“That won’t happen,” Duo said confidently. “Not while I’m on this case…and speak of the devil…” he faded as three black cars arrived in the deserted parking lot of the L4 shuttle port.

Quatre, dressed in a mechanic’s jumpsuit, casually put on a cap and glasses, hoping no one would see through his disguise. Though he appeared simply to be the truck driver, besides being the Winner heir, he was wired with a direct link to the Preventers, updating them with every detail of the transaction.

A man stepped out of one of the cars as a boom of thunder echoed throughout the colony. Huddled under an umbrella, he approached Duo’s window and spoke. “Mr. Maxwell, I assume? Please join our little caravan. Mr. Spindown’s personal shuttle awaits the cargo you’ve brought us. In the hangar, we can work out all of the details. If you’ll follow us.”

“Certainly,” Duo said almost too pleasantly and smirked as the plan went into action.

Everything had gone perfectly. Although Spindown himself was not present, the men he sent inspected Duo’s materials and accepted them with satisfaction. Spindown’s workers began to load the cargo onto the ship.

“Nice doing business with you, Mr. Maxwell. I am sure Mr. Spindown will be pleased,” Terry’s agent told Duo before they parted.

“Be sure to give him my best regards,” Duo chirped, with a smile plastered on his face that quite unsettled the other man. “Hope to see you soon!” the braided man continued merrily, almost revealing the hint of mischief in his voice, before adding silently, In fact, I count on it.

<><><>

The rain was streaming down in currents from the colony’s manufactured storm, an occasional lightening flash outlining the grid-like buildings in the distance.

Meanwhile, Heero had departed from the shuttle port, literally dragging Relena behind him. He lead her to an unmarked car and ushered her in.

“Where are we going, Heero?” Relena questioned, as the two sat breathing heavily from the rush to the car. The windows were now quite foggy from the heat of their flushed bodies.

The man beside her, however, was focused on other matters. He fidgeted with a small laptop and loaded a gun that had appeared from somewhere under his long, black overcoat. Seeing the gun, Relena couldn’t help a look of surprise.

“Why would you need that?” she questioned.

He paused, feeling the weight of the smooth weapon resting in his palm. “Just in case,” he answered softly, turning his liquid midnight gaze towards her.

Relena stared back at him, still confused. And when he proceeded to start the car, she became even more so. Their leaving had not been part of the plan.

Heero, looking forward now, was collecting his thoughts. “Relena,” he started, “I…you…” Finally he settled on, “Remember--” but then was cut off by Trowa’s face on the vidscreen of his laptop, along with a few new faces. Trowa’s unexpected connection meant Heero was too late for explanations. The brooding boy gave a menacing stare towards Trowa’s placid face, whose eyes held the slightest look of an apology.

“Do you have the girl?” Trowa asked simply.

“She’s here,” Heero replied in a cold manner.

“Let’s see her,” one of the unnamed faces barked.

Relena was wide eyed. She was about to question Heero, but the words didn’t seem to come out. Something was terribly wrong.

Heero turned to the girl next to him, giving her a harsh glare, but not his harshest. Holding a gun to her head, he warned her monotonously, “No funny business,” then turned the screen towards her.

Trowa glanced uneasily at the Vice Foreign Minister’s worried eyes, yet remained proud of her composed nature. He had always held a great respect and admiration for Relena, who was one of the strongest women of his acquaintance.

The men surrounding Trowa seemed satisfied. Just as Heero was about to disconnect the communication, one of the men stopped him.

“Have the lady hold the laptop,” he ordered, oblivious to Heero’s glare. “We want to see her pretty face the whole journey. If you try anything, mark my word, you both will feel the effects of Mr. Spindown’s wrath.”

Relena took a quick breath in. Were Heero and Trowa working for Spindown? She couldn’t believe it. Had Heero betrayed her, after all they had been through? But then the girl remembered his passionate words about trust. Was that his way of warning her? She wasn’t entirely sure of anything. She was too shocked to be angry or sad or hysterical, so she just sat quietly in the passenger’s seat, holding the laptop while Heero drove for what seemed like miles. Heero occasionally stole a glance her way, concerned about the girl’s stunned silence. His heart twisted in a torturous knot for having to put her in this position, but it was the only way…

Before long, they had reached their destination. Heero informed Trowa they were ready, and the green-eyed agent said he would be sending three of his men to exchange the girl for a monetary reward. Relena was now propped against a dingy wall of the adjacent alleyway, staring blankly into oblivion, too paralyzed with shock to move. If anyone else had kidnapped her, she would have put up a fight, and would probably be trying to run away right now. But this was Heero, and she would never run from him.

Out of the girl’s earshot, Heero whispered to Trowa when the other men had disappeared from the screen. “I didn’t have time to tell her the plan,” he growled angrily.

“Things don’t always go the way we plan. Spindown was getting impatient and wanted to verify she was securely in your hands. I recommended you for the job of kidnapping her, remember, and Spindown hardly trusts me.” Trowa paused, then looked at his partner with a hard, serious gaze. “I can’t guarantee your safety, Heero, but I’m working on it--”

“I’ll do whatever is necessary for the mission,” Heero said sharply, not whispering any more, as his face molded into a hard set look of stone before cutting off the transmission.

Relena looked up when he said this, then folded her hands in prayer. It was the only thing she could think of to do.

Heero slammed his car door shut and grabbed Relena, leading her down the secluded alleyway. He scanned his surroundings, finally choosing a secure nook in the shadows and ordered the girl to remain there.

“I never thought it would come to this,” she mumbled shakily as she huddled on the damp pavement, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Don’t think,” Heero told her, and with a swish of his coat, he was gone.

<><><>

**Insert The Matrix CD track song “Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Mix)” by Rob D here ^_^**

Some time later…

A figure in black walked briskly under the long stream of streetlights, his face illuminated for one brief moment under every iridescent glow, only to again be filled with darkness afterwards.

Dripping sounds echoed through the streets, as the rain had stopped, for now. The air felt hot in the eye of the storm, and a disturbing calm coated the industrial landscape. Heero was sure the fierce thunder and lighting would start up once again, after the misleading stillness lured enough souls back into the open.

Surveying the area, he soon heard faint footsteps. He walked to where three forms stood, only their outlines visible in the blackness. A clouded moon offered the single available light source at the end of the alleyway, the same alleyway in which Relena now hid. He prayed they would not find her.

The solitary figure stopped at a distance in front of the three others, staring silently as his eyes tried to cut through the night.

The three men seemed to look over the loner. The showdown appeared to be over before it had even begun. The wind picked up as each side studied the other, wondering who would make the first move.

“Where’s the girl?” a low, intimidating voice called from the trio.

Heero glared icily in the dark, then called out to his enemies, “I’ve changed my mind. The girl stays with me.”

"Hey, Boss, what’s he saying? The deal was…" one of the three noted, speaking to what looked to be their leader in the middle.

The tall central form merely held a hand out to silence his subordinate, still pondering the situation. With another wave of his hand, he signaled the man on his other side to move away behind him.

"What does this guy have planned?" Heero thought, gripping his gun tightly under his coat as he watched the three figures spread out before him.

But the one man who had spoken before was growing impatient. "What are we waiting for?" he shouted. "If he doesn't bring the girl, he dies." And with that, the man grunted and ran towards Heero, pointing a gun to his head.

"Damn it," Heero thought, remembering the gun in his own hand. He didn't want to kill anymore. Is this how it would have to end?

The form in the middle just stood, watching. Heero could see his dark overcoat flapping in the strong wind.

The man who had attacked now gripped Heero and moved behind him, tightening a thick arm around his neck as he held a gun up to his head.

As the cold metal of the gun pressed against his temple, Heero sensed the icy chill of death growing stronger. Heero tightened his fingers around his own gun hidden below his overcoat as the man before him moved to pull the trigger of the gun against Heero's head.

BAM! BAM!

Heero watched in disbelief as the man, who was holding him moments before, fell to the ground, along with the gun that threatened his life. Looking towards his other enemies across the way, Heero noticed the form that had been standing behind his leader had already fallen. The center shadow stood still, his arms outstretched to each side, a gun in each hand, holding his position.

Heero then pieced the events together. The mysterious shadow had skillfully grabbed two pistols of his own, one pointing towards the area inches away from Heero's ear, where he had successfully shot the man holding Heero from behind. The leader’s other arm was positioned to where the third man had stood off to the side just moments before. Soon, each gun disappeared back into the deep folds of the figure's overcoat and he stepped into a stream of moonlight.

Trowa's one green eye gleamed the brightest Heero had ever seen. Tawny bangs swept over the side of his face, innocent, yet dangerous.

Calmly striding over to where Heero now stood, Trowa nodded to his partner and offered his hand. Heero shook it, relieved.

Relena watched the whole scene in horror, but never made her hiding place known, as Heero had instructed her. Now, as her breathing turned shallow, all Relena could see was the dimmed silhouettes of two men in a handshake, their overcoats flapping vigorously in the cold wind.

The darkness of the night, the fear of the showdown, and the suffocating scent of death overcame the pale girl as the midnight around her faded into the blackness of her own mind.

<><><>

Heero rushed over to the dark corner that hid Relena, frowning when he saw the girl had fainted. The rain had also started again.

“Damnit,” Heero cursed under his breath as he gently inspected the girl. Small, wet drops of water lay like pearls on her cheeks and bejeweled her eyelids, causing the girl to glisten like a surreal fairy creature in the moonlight. Heero placed a hand on her face to try and wake her, wiping a few damp strands of her hair away from her cheek, but Trowa quickly pulled Heero’s stroking fingers away.

“Let her sleep,” the tall man said stoically, while gently smiling as he pondered the affection he had just witnessed between Heero and his fallen angel.

With that, Heero swept the crumpled girl into his arms and the two men quickly fled the scene.

“Nice of you to let me in on the details,” Heero muttered to Trowa as they moved through a maze of side streets and alleyways. “I thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Terry has an eye of a hawk,” Trowa told him. “And it likes to linger on me. I barely convinced him to allow me to accompany his two henchmen, who were then instructed to keep a close eye on me. Therefore, I didn’t want to seem suspicious by telling you every detail of the plan. I figured you could handle it.”

“Hn,” Heero grumbled. But thinking back on the events he whispered, “Thanks.”

Trowa silently accepted his friend’s words with a slight bow. The tall man knew Heero was gracious that his hands were still free of blood. Trowa had realized some time ago that Heero made a promise not to kill after the Mariemeia incident and, so far, he had kept that promise.

After a period of silence, Trowa spoke softly, “I have more news of Spindown.”

Heero gave him a look, silently begging him to carry on with his findings, as the two men hurried through the shadows of the night.

“Terry left,” Trowa stated.

“He what?” Heero whispered harshly, while readjusting the precious load in his arms.

“He’s gone. Probably to hide his files.”

“Track him down then.”

“Can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s too late. He’s apparently already on his way back.”

“Trowa, that’s not like you.”

The silent man only gave him a look as if to say, ‘Do you dare doubt me?’

“I’m fairly certain of where they are.”

Heero gave him an inquisitive glance as they reached his getaway vehicle, just as the rain came down a little harder, urging the tall man to continue.

“He’s buried them where he locks all things precious in his past…”

<><><>

The Next Day…

“Can you believe it?” Duo asked Quatre in his most innocent voice as they lounged about in one of the blonde’s grand rooms. “The shuttle that Spindown’s men loaded his shipment on exploded in a freak accident on its way to Earth. All of its cargo has been completely demolished! It’s all over the news.”

Quatre just smiled at him, shaking his head.

Suddenly, a servant entered the den in which the two boys sat and addressed Quatre. “Excuse me, Master Winner, but there is a gentleman here for Mr. Maxwell.”

“Thank you, James. Please send him in.”

The two gave each other a knowing look before a plump old man entered the room, his eyes shifting nervously.

Both boys recognized him instantly as the pompous fellow Lady Une was always complaining about.

Duo gave a wicked grin before rising to meet the man in all politeness. “Why, Secretary Grislow, to what do I owe this honor? Please come in, sit down.”

The older man cleared his throat as both men sat. “I have come to investigate the shuttle accident that recently occurred involving Mr. Spindown. He is currently working on the New Colony Project and, as a government official involved with the security of the operation, it is my job to find out the facts pertaining to the incident.” He paused and let out a sigh to calm him.

“So all of the materials in that shuttle were completely demolished?” Quatre asked him politely.

“Yes,” replied Grislow. “Totally destroyed. I investigated the scene myself, and my men are still surveying the wreckage. I just need to report my findings, so I have set about interviewing all witnesses in the matter. Mr. Spindown has cooperated with our inquires and informed us his shipment had materials he purchased from you. I would like your cooperation as well, so if I could ask you a few questions--”

“How very interesting,” Duo interrupted him. “I would like to ask you a few questions.” He smiled mischievously as Quatre got up to shut the door.

The Secretary glanced around nervously before catching the gaze of the braided boy whose face had been so light and innocent a moment before.

“We’ve been expecting you,” the boy continued as his violet eyes revealed a dangerous sheen.

<><><>

Trowa and Heero were now back on earth and, having placed the still unconscious Relena back into the care of her able staff in the Cinq kingdom, journeyed towards the headquarters of SpinTech Incorporated.

They had just received word from the Preventers of his capture and arrest, and wanted to meet him on the scene.

As Trowa drove through the crowded chaos surrounding the SpinTech building, numerous news reporters shouted over the noises of sirens and chatter.

“A surprising discovery took place this morning in a supposedly abandoned resource satellite not far from the L colony cluster. Preventers infiltrated a warehouse to find workers constructing a satellite with materials obtained illegally using government funds from the New Colony Project. Terry Spindown, President of SpinTech Incorporated, who was involved in the project, is being charged with fraud, conspiracy, and theft of government property. The Preventers were able to prove the crime by marking the materials a local dealer was to provide Spindown. Later, these materials were secretly dropped off at the resource satellite before the shuttle was rigged to explode. When the Preventers examined the materials at the warehouse, they bore the same secret labels of the cargo that was reported destroyed. Spindown denies the charges and remains silent as to questions about the secret satellite operation, except to claim it doesn’t exist. More details about this shocking case to come…” a reporter babbled excitedly.

Trowa and Heero had now stepped out of the car and strode through the area restricted from the public to meet Wufei at the front entrance of the building.

“About time you showed up,” the Chinese man scolded them, looking as ticked off as always.

Trowa simply gazed serenely, feeling good to be back around the familiar faces of the Preventers, while Heero merely looked unaffected as Sally walked up to the three.

“Hey, guys. Long time no see,” she greeted them cheerily. “Thanks for all of your great work in the field,” she told them kindly as Wufei continued to scowl, “we couldn’t have done it without you.”

“It’s not over yet,” Wufei observed stormily, yet there was truth to his words.

The sky was overcast, and a few raindrops fluttered downwards, warning of a storm to come.

Not again, thought Heero, as people pulled out their umbrellas, preparing for a downpour. He had been soaked to the bone the night on L4 before and was not looking forward to another rain shower.

At the very moment a streak of lightening flashed through the sky, a huddle of people burst from the door of the SpinTech building. Cameras flashed and Terry Spindown was brought out in handcuffs, escorted by two Preventers. Lady Une also emerged, quietly following the entourage.

Terry’s lips were curled, and his face was squeezed into a snarl. When he caught the familiar face of Trowa, however, his features softened a bit. He stopped as he passed the tall man.

“So you were a Preventer all along, huh? I never trusted you,” Terry said, eyeing him.

“I know,” Trowa replied calmly.

“I was very suspicious of you, in fact.”

Trowa gave a small nod.

“I was even going to have you killed,” Terry admitted.

Trowa’s eyes flashed up at this. “Why didn’t you?” he challenged, though his voice remained low.

“You reminded me of my boy,” Terry said, gazing off in the distance. “He was just about your age, right before—” the man paused, unable to speak of the untimely fate of his only son. And just as quickly as the man became sentimental, Terry Spindown switched back into his ‘evil businessman mode’ once again. “You have twenty-four hours to come up with some proof, gentlemen,” he addressed Trowa and Heero with a smirk before he was escorted away.

Terry knew one instance of fraud was not enough to stop him for long. Without his Lavender Files, there was no proof the secret satellite project even existed, or of his past illegal activities. His arraignment was scheduled for the following day, and if the disc was not found, Terry would be free to go with hardly a scratch or inconvenience to his budget. It was true he might lose the contract for the New Colony deal, but Project Lavender would still be in tact. That resource satellite was not his only place of construction.

As Spindown was led into a police car, Heero turned to Trowa with a smirk growing on his face. The sun cautiously peeked out from a softly murmuring cloud as the rain began to fade.

“And so, the entire infiltration operation was saved as a result of your boyish charms. Remind me to use you more often, Agent Barton,” Heero commented wryly as the two men exited the scene.

“I’m getting quite tired of your newfound sense of humor, Agent Yuy,” Trowa eyed him with mock-bitterness before his glare was hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses.

Heero calmly reached into the pocket of his black overcoat and retrieved his own shades. “I have heard that clown suit has more affect on the ladies, though,” Heero continued nonchalantly as he gracefully swept his sunglasses over the amusement in his eyes.

Trowa merely let out a slight growl, though smiled a bit at the chiding remark.

Both men, now looking terribly intimidating (and devilishly handsome), continued walking down the gray city streets with the faint rumbles of thunder rolling away, overcoats flapping lightly in the cool breeze.

They had caught their man, and now strode victorious off of the cement battleground. But in no way had they won the war…the final battle had only just begun.

<><><>

AN: Hi! Hope you enjoyed the main climax of the story. Although I’m veering off on another plotline, I only expect the fic to be one more rather long chapter. Following that, I’ll probably make an equally long epilogue to tie up any and all loose ends. Again, thanks for all of you who’ve stuck with this story. Your patience and feedback means more than you know.