Final Mission Status 9/? by Mizaya and Zapenstap

[zapenstap]

Final Mission Status

Chapter 9

By Mizaya and Zapenstap


It was Friday morning, the fifth day of a hellish week, and Trowa was hard at work. He was reviewing the timetables of various communications taking place within and around the Preventor Headquarters when a voice through the intercom on his wall called his name.

?Barton, you?re wanted immediately in Commander Une?s office.?

Surprised, he looked up, wondering what it could be about. He wasn?t expecting a meeting this morning. In fact, he had specifically asked to be left alone so he could use his time to uncover the identity of Douglas Richmond?s secret contact. The man was a known mole among the Preventors, and working for Cole, but Trowa was certain now that he was also working for someone else, and he was very close to discovering whom.

?I?ll be right there,? he said aloud.

He looked down at the papers on his desk, lines upon lines of dates, times, phone numbers? the sort of thing that would put most people to sleep. Trowa?s methodical hand had been through them all, and he had certain lines highlighted. Most of the information was useless to him, but somewhere in this stack of otherwise shreddable junk was the key to Richmond?s mysterious correspondent, and he was going to find it.

But it would have to wait. He stood and reached for the Preventor?s jacket hanging off the back of his chair so as to look presentable in Une?s office. Since Heero had walked in on the ex-gundam pilots discussing his mission status with Relena, everyone had taken to looking as professional as they possibly could, and besides, Trowa always tried to be an example for the young cadets that took their cues from him.

As he prepared to close the folder he had been working through and lock it up in the drawer for later, a pattern in the lines he had been highlighting caught his attention. Something about standing up and looking at it from a distance caused the information he had spent the last hour poring over with a magnifying glass to leap up like answers out of a word search.

Could it be?

He flipped backward through a few pages, scanning the highlighted lines for a number at a certain time and location he remembered was there. It didn?t take him long to find it. His eye knew it before his brain did, and it took a moment of mental processing before he connected the information in front of his face to the information in his brain?information associated to a particular name and face, and one he knew. Personally.

In a moment, he had his coat around his shoulders and the folder tucked under his arm. The ever-stoic, slow to movement, never-hysterical Trowa Barton literally ran to Une?s office.

He was admitted before he knocked on the door, and entered to find the office a little crowded. Une was present, along with Lucrezia Noin, Zechs Merquise, Duo Maxwell, Wufei Chang, and of course, Heero Yuy. Strangely, Duo Maxwell and Sally Po were there as well, though they had been scheduled to leave late the night before for America to get everything in order to secure the containers. If Une had delayed their departure, she must have received new intel, and it obviously wasn?t good news.

?Excellent,? Commander Une said, her tone revealing that indeed things were not excellent. ?Everyone is here. Let?s get started then. You are probably all curious as to why this meeting was called.?

?Commander,? Trowa interjected, and attempted without much success to disguise the urgency he felt, ?I just discovered some intelligence that you should be interested in hearing. It concerns what we discussed earlier. I should probably discuss it with you alone.? He ignored the offended look Duo gave him for being left out.

?Thank you, Barton,? Une replied. ?I am sure it is important. But there is someone very busy waiting to relay some pertinent news to us in person.? She looked around at them all. ?I wanted you all here to hear it directly because it concerns all of you. I am relieved you could all come at such short notice. Noin, would you please lock the door??

Although Trowa was restless over his own discovery, the disciplined side of his inner soldier quieted at this information. Une turned around in her chair to face a vid screen hung on the wall behind her, with a remote in her hand. Trowa?s curiosity increased. He wondered who this mysterious, but seemingly busy, contact could be. Whoever this informant was, he had to be very far away, or else relaying information through visual communications would be too risky.

He didn?t have to wonder long. Once the doors to the office were locked and the blinds on the windows pulled shut, Lady Une switched on the screen.

?Hello. It?s good to see all of you again.?

It was Quatre.

He was dressed in a navy blue business suit, looking like the young and dapper businessman he had turned into since his father?s death and the end of the war. His face was still gentle and youthful-looking, but he had grown a foot in recent years, and there was an intellectual maturity in his eyes that was as sharply intuitive as ever. Trowa realized that he hadn?t spoken to his friend in far too long.

?Hey, Quatre,? Duo said. ?It?s been a while. Got something for us??

?Yes, I?m afraid I do. Noin contacted me recently to let me know what you all are up to, and I discovered something you?ll probably want to know. It concerns your current mission profile. It?s urgent, and I?m afraid it?s not good news.?

Trowa felt goose bumps crawl up his arms as Quatre continued. It took a lot of mental effort to force himself to listen to every word without chiming in prematurely.

?Noin asked me to trace any leads I found on William Cole to see if he has potentially threatening contacts in space,? Quatre explained. ?Things have been busy here, as I?m sure you all know, but I did find something of particular interest. It seems that in addition to Miss Relena, William Cole is interested in acquiring gundanium alloy.?

?What?? Wufei demanded. ?From where? For what reason??

Quate held up a hand to quell the dissenting murmurs. ?As you know, it?s not easy to make gundanium alloy. The refining process is very expensive and there are only a few factories in space with the resources, equipment, and financial backing to accomplish it. During the war, the Barton Foundation owned one of them. Oz, or more specifically the Romafeller Foundation, owned another. My father had partial access to a third, which is how I obtained these records in the first place. With the Abolition of Military Weapons Act, the government redirected the production effort of all of these factories. Through Relena Darilan?s work as a peace ambassador, what remains is dedicated to producing other things now?equipment for space exploration, terra formation, resource satellite construction and the like.?

?Only they weren?t all shut down,? Noin guessed, and Quatre nodded. ?Figures. So which factory is still operational? What is it making and who owns it??

?Well,? said Quatre, ?the one that should concern us is a factory called Aero Operations, or Aero Op. My sources have confirmed that this factory is definitely still capable of producing gundanium alloy. For various legal reasons, the government can?t just swoop in to shut it down. Whether or not the factory is currently producing anything military is unknown; it merely has the potential to do so. There is discussion ensuing over whether or not the material is military by its very nature or whether there is any historical value to the site. After all, records show that parts of all of our mobile suits were actually made there.?

Quatre paused. ?Miss Relena would probably be a better source to consult over the political details. What is more important is that my informants have uncovered that this particular factory has a secret financial backer. Public record shows that Aero Op is operated by local Colonial government, but in point of fact, the deed to the site is held by William Cole.?

Duo sucked air in through his teeth. ?So??? he prompted.

?It gets worse,? Quatre said. ?William Cole published his rights to Aero Op recently, though for what purpose I have no idea. When he purchased it in the first place is unclear, but whom he purchased it from is not. He got it from the Romafeller Foundation. Specifically, from the Catalonia family.?

?Damn it!? Zechs swore. ?I suspected something like this.? The legs of his chair screeched against the ground as he pushed himself violently way from the edge of Une?s table. There was a flurry of movement as everyone began muttering at once. Only Trowa and Heero remained silent. To Trowa, this news was not surprising. It filled in the missing piece from what he had just uncovered. Heero?s reticence was more of the focused sort. He stood with his back to the wall, his arms crossed, and his eyes drilling holes into the vid screen where Quatre looked down at them all apologetically.

?Are you saying that Dorothy Catalonia has had past business dealings with William Cole?? Wufei demanded. ?That?s highly compromising!?

?I?m saying it?s a possibility,? Quatre said, and from the expression on his face, it was not a possibility he wanted to admit. ?I have occasional dealings with Miss Catalonia myself.? He blushed under all of their surprised stares and added hurriedly, ?All perfectly legal and impersonal. Business, you know. She knows a lot of people, some of them bad, some of them good, but she never struck me as bad herself. I hope I?m not wrong, and that this information is nothing to worry about, but if it is?? He trailed off.

?Don?t let your wish for other people?s goodness get in the way, Quatre,? Trowa interrupted. ?Let?s assume it is something to worry about. My intelligence will shed some light on the matter.?

All eyes turned to look at him, and Une?s were especially sharp. ?Continue, Trowa.?

He cleared his throat. ?A few minutes before you called this meeting, I discovered the identity of the person other than Cole who has been communicating with Douglas Richmond: it is Dorothy Catalonia.?

There was a moment of shocked silence.

?She knows everything we?ve been doing,? Noin murmured. ?She knows about the set up. She has to know that there?ll be a strike. Does she know the details??

?No,? Une said. ?She shouldn?t.?

?But she knows too much if she?s working with Cole,? Sally Po said slowly. ?What is she getting from the relationship? What is he? How much she tells him will depend on her objectives.?

?Perhaps his intent has been her intent all along,? Zechs snarled. ?She?s working with the enemy. Maybe she wants this whole thing to explode into public to discredit our organization.?

?Wait a minute,? said Duo. ?That seems kind of extreme. Does she have reason to hold a grudge against us??

?Well,? Sally ventured. ?Maybe she wants Cole to succeed because she wants Relena out of the way. If Relena was held captive by a crazed terrorist, or even killed...?

Trowa?s mouth turned dry. His mind leapt even further ahead. The possibilities for a public manipulator with Dorothy?s connections and finances were staggering. The situation was hot. Relena and Cole, half a continent under threat of nuclear fallout, and a military factory capable of producing gundanium alloy?Manipulated the right way, it could be used to trigger another war, or something equally cataclysmic, and be laid at Cole?s feet! Was he the true villain? Or merely a scapegoat?

?We need to find her,? Zechs said. ?Now! I?ll wring her neck myself.?

?We need to know how much she knows, what she is planning, and how much she has told Cole,? Une said with grim conviction. ?Quatre, thank you for your help. I?m sure you have duties to attend to. Wufei, assemble a team. Find and arrest Miss Dorothy Catalonia on charges of espionage against the State. Bring her in for questioning. We?ll keep her in custody, under surveillance, until we can get a handle on this thing.?

Quatre waved to them all before canceling his connection and returning to his work so they could return to theirs. Wufei nodded curtly and dragged a startled and protesting Duo toward the door. ?You?re coming with me.?

?I?ll start prepping the teams,? Noin said. ?Sally? Will you help me??

Sally nodded.

After the room?s occupancy was lightened by five, Une turned to Heero. Only Trowa and Zechs still remained in the room with them. ?In the meantime, how are we with Relena??

Heero hadn?t moved during all the excitement. He had remained leaning against the wall, listening to their discussion of impending mission tactics with a stoic expression. His eyes were hard as rocks, his thoughts perfectly impenetrable. ?Everything is as well as can be expected,? he replied. ?When do you want me to prep her for the rendezvous??

?Tomorrow night,? Une replied. ?Tell her what we want Cole to know. Cole needs to see that the choice Relena is making is between a secret marriage to some petty soldier?that?s you, no offense?and a multimillionaire who can attend to all her needs and which will save the world in the process. Our psychology team has reasoned that that is most likely how he sees this exchange. He thinks he can do better than you and he expects Relena to see that. He needs to see that she is considering it. Remember, too, that tomorrow night is your last night together. That should also be convincing.?

Heero glanced at Zechs for some reason, but the other man?s jaw was locked and his whole expression was like granite. ?Understood,? Heero said. From this alone, it was hard to tell how he felt, and impossible to determine what he was going to do.

Trowa was concerned about Heero?s dilemma, but he had other things to worry about. Dorothy needed to be brought in and questioned, the reconnaissance teams needed prepping for departure, which was already going to be delayed twenty-four hours, and they didn?t have much time. Their seven days grace period was almost at an end. They needed to contain this situation to avoid unpredictable fallout and ensure that nothing went wrong with the strike. Any rogue factors could upset the balance, and the combination of intelligence and careful planning for contingencies would be what prevented that. With this new information regarding Dorothy?s shifted alliance, Trowa knew he would be working with little to no sleep until this thing was through.

Even as he was thinking that it couldn?t get much worse, there was a hasty knock on Une?s door.

?Come in,? Une said, and Sally Po burst back into the room.

?I?m sorry to interrupt your meeting, but you might want to turn on the news!?

Une switched the channel to the local news station, and after several minutes of shock, Trowa looked around the room. It was the first time he could ever remember seeing Heero looking stunned.

?I have things to attend to,? Heero said quietly, and no one argued with him.

?You might have trouble getting out of the building,? Trowa warned.

?I?ll take Wufei?s bike.?

Well, of course, Trowa reasoned. People were less able to follow someone on a motorcycle, especially if they couldn?t see through the helmet enough to know who was riding it, and Heero could ride it right out of the garage. Wufei was going to be pissed, but Trowa wasn?t going to be the one to tell him that Heero stole his bike.


*****



Relena was drafting proposals when Julie, her secretary, knocked frantically on her door.

?Oh my, Miss Relena! The paper!?

?For heaven?s sake, Julie,? Relena replied in bewilderment. ?Please come in.?

Her secretary?s face was flushed as she burst into the room and shut the door behind her.
?Have you seen it?? she asked.

?Seen what??

Julie laid what looked like a tabloid on her table.

?I don?t have time for rumors, Julie,? Relena said, knowing her secretary to be something of a flighty, easily enchanted person when it came to mysteries and celebrity gossip.

?I know, I know, but it?s all over the news too! Look at it.?

Relena looked, and gasped in horror.

There it was. Her face, and Heero?s, the pictures clearly taken at separate times but their bodies spliced together and enlarged on the front page of the city?s most popular tabloid. The picture was surrounded by the outline of a heart, and the heading read ?A secret romance? A secret marriage? What other secrets is the world?s representative for peace, Miss Relena Darilan, hiding??

?I don?t believe it,? she exclaimed, and was conscious of the diamond ring on her finger glinting under her desk lamp as she lifted the tabloid to look more closely at the article. ?When did this come out??

?Today,? Julie said. ?I just got it on my morning break. They must have published it fast! I knew you wanted to keep it a secret, so I was surprised. But Miss Relena, it?s worse than you know! The news is taking this seriously. Someone credible must have tipped them off and now the tabloid cover has made real headlines. There are reporters outside the building.?

Dear God, Relena thought. This was not what she needed. This was not what the world needed! This was exactly what should not have happened, terrorist threat or no terrorist threat, and not only was it a lie, but she would have to lie more?to the entire world!?to keep up the pretense. After this was all over, would the public understand, or would they just feel deceived?

And what about Heero?

An icy chill gripped her heart and she rose from her desk to peer out her blinds at the street below. There were reporters milling around down there. It seemed that every major news network or independently run magazine had sent a representative.

?Call for my driver, Julie,? she said. ?I need to get home immediately.?

Several minutes later, Relena hurried out of her office building surrounded by a hastily gathered entourage complete with building security. Her personal assistants informed her that the local press had learned of Relena?s ?elopement? from an anonymous phone call and that a large crowd of the paparazzi was gathered around her house as well as her office building. Even Preventor Headquarters was besieged, and everyone stationed was hoping to catch an interview with the new ?Mrs. Yuy? or her new ?husband? returning home.

?Tell them I?m keeping my name,? she said frantically. It would be best to keep any information she could about Heero out of the papers as much as possible, and lie as little as possible. In a year, those sorts of details could count. ?Tell them that I cannot afford an interview at this time, but that I will be happy to hold a press conference on the subject this coming Monday.?

Monday was a long time to wait, but she couldn?t do it any sooner. She didn?t even know if she would be able to do it Monday. If the mission went wrong, she might be dead, or married to a terrorist, or too busy dealing with the aftermath of nuclear fallout to bother answering questions about her love life. Weighing the alternatives, she wasn?t sure which would be preferable!

Reporters swarmed around her as she raced down the steps to the limo waiting on the curve. She ducked through the door her driver held open without engaging any of the questions hurtled at her from all directions, and managed to keep her expression composed the whole way home. This sort of thing was not really that unusual for her. She had experienced it growing up with her father her whole life, most especially on the day he died, and routinely after becoming a government official. It had been a personal burden before this, but having experienced it in the past didn?t stop her heart from racing now.

But Heero. What about Heero?

When her driver pulled up to the curb in front of her house, Relena swallowed hard. Heero was home. She didn?t know how he had managed to escape Preventor Headquarters, but he was home. He stood in the doorway wearing his Preventor?s jacket and holding a motorcycle helmet in one hand. He was oblivious to the cameramen taking pictures of him. His attention was focused on her, watching as Relena?s driver let her out of the back of the limo and accompanied her to the doorway amidst the cries of some very tactless questions and the flashes of a dozen cameras.

On the doorstep, Relena felt Heero?s hand brush protectively behind her back. She flinched unconsciously. It wasn?t good to look so intimate on camera. People would just talk more. She glanced up at Heero?s face and bit back a warning as Heero turned her toward the house and flung one of his classic heart-stopping glares at the crowd before ushering them both in and slamming the door shut behind them.

?Heero, you shouldn?t look at them like that,? she whispered distractedly. They were alone at last, or as alone as they could be with the cameras recording their every move and reporters hollering outside their door. She was somewhat relieved, though. They were inside, and she had been through this kind of thing before, weathered it before. She could get through this too. And then she got a good look at Heero?s face. ?I?m sorry,? she stuttered. ?I don?t know how this happened.?

Grunting, Heero walked into the kitchen and pulled the bottle of last night?s wine from the refrigerator. ?It?s not your fault so don?t apologize.? He poured himself a glass of white wine and replaced the cork in the bottle without asking her if she wanted any. ?I just didn?t want to deal with this,? he said.

Relena looked at the ground and tried to think of something to say. ?You knew it had to come out eventually,? she said. ?This is what I am. I?m a public person. Everything about me is public property.?

?I know,? he said, and took a swig of wine from the glass. ?I?m going upstairs. I?ve had a long day. We?ll talk later.?

Relena stood alone in the doorway, feeling bereft of something she could not explain even to herself. Was Heero angry with her, or did he just need time to adjust to something that must be painfully difficult for him? She tried to imagine what it must have been like for him while he waited at home for her, always coming to the door to see if she was home and being showered with a barrage of questions from strangers who had gathered personal information about him from who knew where instead. With shaking hands, she removed herself to the living room and turned on the television to see what the news was saying.

It was her worst nightmare. There Heero was, on every channel that could possibly air the footage, and he looked completely out of place. The reporters showed him arriving on a motorcycle wearing a Preventor?s jacket and carrying a gun. Then they showed him standing in the doorway of what they believed to be his own house looking like a deer caught in the headlights?or maybe a wolf caught under a searchlight. They asked him question after question, some very personal, some downright rude, and he refused to respond. But he also refused to go in the house, which made it look as if he was purposely tuning them out in order to affront their sensibilities. There was an awkward lull in the reporting when, at one point, he fixed one of his deadly gazes on the camera and seemed to scare the cameraman into filming the crowd instead. ?Oh, well he?s not too friendly, is he?? someone in the crowd muttered, followed by, ?Let?s show that footage again.? Relena quailed as she watched, and couldn?t after ten minutes or so. It was truly a public relations nightmare.

When Relena went upstairs later to try to talk to Heero and see how he was doing, she found the door locked. She pulled back, startled, and backed away.

Were they fighting? Were she and Heero actually fighting over this?

Her imaginary happy home was in shambles. Not because of some manipulation for the camera or some fake set-up gone awry, but because of a real life issue that really would be a problem if she and Heero were ever actually together.

Even if Heero secretly loved her, he didn?t want this life, and this was the life he would have to look forward to if he confessed his feelings and chose to stay with her. How could she have overlooked something so obvious?

There was no way he would want her now. Tomorrow was their last night together, and she had been hoping that he might break and tell her that it was all gloriously real before then so that she could be sure of his feelings when it wasn?t so urgent to prove them to someone else, but now she wasn?t sure that would be the best thing for either of them, and unless it aided the mission, she knew she wouldn?t get it regardless.

As Relena made her way back down the stairs, she started to cry. The tears just came and she could not hold them back. It didn?t occur to her to even think about anyone that might be watching. The press was kept out by the blinds and that was enough. All she could do was make sure that she cried softly enough that Heero didn?t hear.


*****



An hour after the meeting with Une, Wufei and Duo joined with a hastily prepped team on the other side of town. This wasn?t where he expected he would be today, but when Une had called him just before he was set to leave last night and ordered him and Sally to cancel their flight and come in to her office the following morning, he knew plans were going to be changed. If they caught Dorothy now and got the right information from her, he and Sally and her team might be able to leave this afternoon. If not, the reconnaissance mission might turn into one hell of a wild ride.

?Nice digs,? Duo muttered after he and Wufei directed twenty-some Preventors into securing the perimeter around the five star hotel where Dorothy Catalonia was staying. They had the complete cooperation of hotel management and were preparing to personally lead a team of five up to the penthouse and break down Miss Catalonia?s door if she didn?t come quietly.

?Try to act professionally,? Wufei said with that digging sarcastic lilt that seemed half an insult and half a compliment. ?I didn?t bring you along for a laugh. We need to do this quickly.? He directed the men behind them to load their assault rifles

?In and out,? Duo grinned. ?Just my style. Do you think she?ll cause a problem??

?She?s just a woman,? Wufei replied, and smirked.

?I don?t know about that,? Duo said wistfully, suddenly homesick for Hilde. ?I?ve known some pretty feisty women.?

Wufei harrumphed and said nothing more.

When it was time for stealth, Duo gripped the 45 caliber semi-automatic weapon he hoped he wouldn?t need and followed Wufei up the back stairs to the top level of the penthouse. Their five backup recruits followed them, and since Duo was not often involved in this sort of fieldwork these days, he could only hope that Noin had trained them well and Wufei had chosen wisely.

The door to Dorothy?s rooms was locked as they had expected, but the hotel management had assured them that she had not been seen leaving the hotel at any time during the morning, and that when she did have to go somewhere, she always requested a driver.

Standing on either side of the door, Duo and Wufei shared a confirming look.

?Dorothy Catalonia?? Wufei called. ?It?s Wufei Chang. You?re under arrest by order of State Defense. Please open the door. You won?t be harmed if you come peacefully. We just need to take you down to Headquarters for questioning.?

There was no answer.

Duo felt sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck. This was supposed to be easy. They had caught on to Dorothy early. The hard part would be getting her to cooperate in bringing down Cole.

?Miss Catalonia,? Wufei called again, this time coldly determined, ?if you do not open this door, we will be forced to break it down. Open the door now. This is your final warning.?

When there was no answer, Wufei spared only a moment to confirm with Duo and the rest of the team before doing precisely what he said he would do. The frame splintered as his heavy, steel-toed boot slammed against the wood, and the door gave after only two well aimed kicks.

Following protocol, they stood back in the event of enemy fire, but when nothing but silence followed, the five armed men under Duo and Wufei?s command filed into the room with weapons ready. As commanders of the operation, Wufei and Duo entered last, and so they were the last to see that the room was undeniably empty. There were signs of a hasty packing and departure, but Duo didn?t need to wait for the men in their team to thoroughly check all of the rooms to know that the occupant had fled.

?Get Une on the phone,? Wufei commanded. ?Quickly.? Duo jumped to comply, even though he wasn?t Wufei?s subordinate.

When they had Une?s ear and relayed the information, they were surprised to learn that she was not more startled.

?Apparently Dorothy prepared for this,? Une said, her voice coming smoothly through the ear pieces Wufei and Duo had individually attached to their ears and adjusted to the same frequency channel. ?She must have known we wouldn?t trust her and that we would be investigating her activities closely.?

?But how did she know we were coming now?? Duo muttered.

?She had help,? Wufei said grimly.

?It would seem so,? Une agreed, ?and from someone other than Douglas Richmond. He didn?t know about this.?

?Does that mean that there is another mole among the Preventors?? Duo demanded.

?It?s a possibility,? Une said. ?It might mean any number of things. The only thing we know for sure is that Dorothy has fled and there is no telling where she is now. What?s worse is that I have no resources available with which to track her down. I?m going to need every hand I can muster to deal with the public.?

?The public?? Duo said in horror. ?What does the public have to do with this??

?Have you seen the news?? Une asked.

?No,? Wufei said. ?What?s happened now??

?Your basic nightmare. We?re moving things up. I?m afraid we?re all going to be working around the clock tonight, so you?d better come back to Headquarters. You?re not going to like this, but it?s our best shot at securing the safety of the world.?

Duo listened to the debrief resolutely. That wild ride was becoming more and more of a certainty, and a dangerous one at that. He would have to remember to keep it out of his voice when he called Hilde later this evening, and maybe send her a letter in case something unexpected should happen.


*****


The phone woke Relena from a fitful dream.

She had fallen asleep on the couch, still dressed for work, not even removing her heeled shoes before burying her face in a pillow and trying to smother her need for tears. She wasn?t sure how long she slept, but it felt like hours. Her body felt heavy and a thin sheen of sweat plastered most of her clothes to her skin.

It was quiet outside. Perhaps the reporters had given up and gone home.

The phone rang again, but stopped mid-ring. Heero must have answered it, which meant he was still here somewhere, probably barricaded in Relena?s room?their room?upstairs.

Relena forced herself to sit up and took off her coat so that her body could breathe. She ached from head to toe. The house was too quiet, and silence seemed to pervade every inch of her inside and out. The salt from her tears made the skin on her face feel cracked and dry, but she didn?t want to scrub them off with her sleeve, and she couldn?t get to her sink.

?Relena??

She turned.

Heero stood at the top of the stairs, leaning his forearms on the railing and looking down at her with one of those expressions she couldn?t read. His voice was gentle, though, lacking the chill she had heard from him after becoming the center of a celebrity scandal.

?It?s Une,? he said.

Relena rose slowly to her feet as he came down the stairs to meet her. Standing face to face, he took her hand in his and looked steadily into her eyes. To her surprise, he lifted a finger to her cheek. ?Have you been crying??

She couldn?t answer. If she tried, she might start crying again, so she said nothing.

She was surprised when he leaned in to kiss her. His lips were softer than silk. This close, he smelled like the leather from his jacket, and under that the faint scent of cologne dizzied her senses. Her lips accepted his kiss as the soothing gesture it was meant to be. It comforted her in a way she couldn?t describe, and she was afraid of it, of how much she longed to be comforted.

?Heero,? she said, pulling away slightly. ?I?m sor?oof!?

The wind left her lungs and blood rushed to her head as he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She gasped, trying to draw breath with his arm crushing her lungs and blood running to her head. He carried her upstairs to the bedroom and pushed open the door with his foot. In silence, he deposited her on the bed and sat on the foot beside her.

?They?ve moved up the itinerary,? he told her. ?You?re meeting with Cole tomorrow instead of Sunday night. I?ve asked to go with you, but this decision is yours. Our plane leaves in seven hours. Lieutenant Noin will meet us here and take us to the airfield by helicopter. We?ll fly to America by private jet and land on the Cole estate itself. You will be escorted to your meeting with Cole by Zechs, Wufei, and a third guard, which is me unless you say otherwise. Cole will be allowed to try and persuade you to marry him. I?m sure he will be prepared to finalize it right then and there.?

Relena couldn?t speak.

?I love you,? Heero told her. ?I don?t want to lose you, Relena. And I don?t want to fight if this is to be our last night together.?

?Then let?s make up,? she said.

Her hand closed over his wrist. She wanted to put all of this behind her; her fears, the public, Cole, everything. The mood was perfect. Heero was still so close that her senses swam with the sight and scent of him. It wouldn?t take much for her barriers to come down. A kiss, a look, anything would do it. It could be their last night together, and she wanted to be as close as she could be.

?Relena,? Heero continued, and his voice sounded like gravel, emotion tightly constrained behind layers of iron-hard control. ?I?m trying to be the best husband I can be to you, but I can only do so much. I know you are considering this man?s offer. After today, I wouldn?t blame you.?

And suddenly she realized that once again, this crazy display of affection was for the camera, not for her, and played to boost the confidence of some crazy old terrorist who wanted to marry the Queen of the World. God, she was dense.

?I am considering it,? she said, and was surprised how cool she sounded, and how honest. It was an absolute joke, but an irrational part of her was mad at Heero for leading her on this way, and she would use it to the world?s advantage since what she wanted didn?t matter.

As she stared blankly at the wall, Heero leaned in close to her and grazed her jaw with his lips. She closed her eyes, overwhelmed by a touch that was so simple, so unexpected, and yet so erotic for being both. Sitting there on the edge of her bed in her business suit, contemplating a tomorrow that could be the end of her happiness, she could hardly understand how she could so quickly lose every rational thought in her head. Her eyes closed and her head tilted back as Heero moved in to kiss her neck, and she felt his breath as well as his lips warm her skin.

?Heero?? she said uncertainly, and didn?t know herself if it was a protest or encouragement.

Heero eased her body onto the bed and trapped her between his arms. His fully-dressed body over hers was more sensual than anything she could dream up, and the fact that he still continued to lavish her neck and face with tender, ardent kisses left her with nothing left to think about.

?Who do you want?? he whispered into her ear, loud and breathy enough to send a chill down her spine. ?That lunatic Cole?? His tongue touched her earlobe and she lost all sense of direction. ?Or me??

Her eyes flew open. She really was dense! She knew the right answer, and her eyes blazed with indignation as she glared up at Heero?s face from the pillow. It was his fault for doing this to her, confusing her with what she wanted versus what she needed to do. Everything about him was desirable, and it took a lot of concentrated effort to look him in the face and say the words that everyone but him needed to hear. ?I don?t know,? she said, and cursed the unfairness of world for the necessity of her reply.

For a moment there was silence. Relena felt herself shaking slightly with barely constrained desire. She could feel the weight of Heero?s body over hers and dreaded its removal after such a rejection, even a staged one, but Heero merely pulled his head away from her face and stared at her with eyes she couldn?t read.

Did he love her? Did he want her? In reality, she had no idea. Heero was simply too good at disguising his emotions. Tomorrow would be the last day of this charade, and after it was over?assuming she wasn?t killed or married off to a psychopath in a botched mission?Heero would probably disappear, no matter what he actually felt, if that was anything at all. She had so many things to tell him, and yet she mustn?t say a word.

He touched her hair, brushing his knuckles against her jaw as he flicked a lock away from her neck. To her surprise, his head descended to kiss the spot that he had touched, and as it did a wave of heat washed over her. She found herself clutching Heero?s back as he lavished attention on her neck, her chin, and the skin showing just below her collar bone. She quickly felt too hot for her clothes, and her lips parted to release a trembling complaint.

At the sound, Heero physically turned her head with his hand, gently touching the lower half of her face with his fingertips and bearing down on her to tickle her ear with his breath.

?Just ask and I?ll stop,? he whispered, but despite the gentleness of his hands, it was a whisper that came out aggressive, low and husky like a growl. When she didn?t protest, he moved his body over hers even more possessively, holding her in place even as he gave her a verbal choice, his knee wedged between her thighs and leaving not an inch of space between their bodies. Pressed against her as he was, it was clear what he wanted, and when she caught a glimpse of the steel in his eyes, she got the impression that he knew she wanted it too and that he meant to have it no matter what she might say.

She couldn?t say anything. She was powerless to stop him. She didn?t want it to stop.

?You?re mine, Relena,? he told her, and although she knew it was the proper thing that a husband would say to a wife he didn?t want to lose, the tone of his voice dared her to challenge it.

His teeth bit at the buttons on her blouse and pulled them apart. With every inch of skin he exposed to the cool air, the more she felt like fire. It wasn?t long before she was sitting up to help him remove his jacket and his shirt and brazenly touch his bare skin with her hands and lips wherever she could reach. He managed to strip away her clothes down to the chemise she wore beneath her blouse, and as her arms entwined around his neck and pulled the top half of his naked body close to her, even that went into the growing heap on the floor.

Urgency drove every impulse. It was her last night with Heero as husband and wife, and she was determined to make the most of it.



TBC


Zapenstap: We updated!
Mizaya: Sorry for the delay!
Zapenstap: And thank you to the people who reviewed, emailed, left comments, etc. ? from the last update until now. I always felt inspired by response, and that is motivating! So here we are.
Mizaya: Same here! We hope you like it!
Zapenstap: We?ll update again soon!

[relena]

Yes!!! Yes!! Yes!!! You guy's did a update... Good job... I hope to see the next chapter soon...

[SerenityDeath]

oooooooo i liked it can't wait to see what happens to them after!

[Morrighan]

Yikes, lots of plot twists!

That final scene.... *fans herself* There's no way that's for show. No fricking way.

Can't wait to see more!!

[AnShino]

=) You're BACK! Hooray! As always I love this story (and I wish my space bar wasn't broken so I could type more/ faster)!!

<33 I'm very anxious to see what happens next. This is really good and I'd go so far as to say I don't care how long it takes you both to update... jsut as long as you promise you'll finish it!


~An

[NafX]

Oh my GOD !!!!!!!!!!
I have missed this so much ...
Thankyou so much for coming back and continuing ...
I'm going to have to read th entire thing from scratch again now ...
Just so I can relive the experience to date ...



It's fabulous ...
You guys are fabulous ...

Keep it coming ...



~Nat

[amulak]

YAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been dancing since Thursday when you said that you were going to update. I've had a link to your fic ever since I first read it, and now, finally, the waiting has paid off!!!!
I absolutely LOVED this chapter, just like I love this story You guys rock to the sky- I love you!!!! Please update again soon- I'll be dying in anticipation while I wait! :o

[RelenaDorlinYuy1]

YES OMG U Girls finally update i

Anyway OMG this is getting steaming now only the sexy sence but the plot as well and heero finally confess his love to Relena its not for show its THE REAL DEAL !!! i waited for a long time to read this chapter , i hope you guys update the next Chapter i wonder what Heero and the other going to do with Cole and Dorthy muhahahahaah

[miz_lou]

Holy cow!! The next chapter!! *excitement* And you both did such a great job writing that I was able to turn away the need to reread all the chapters up to this point. After that amount of time, that is truely a mark of excellent penmanship.

EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN Zapenstap & Mizaya!

I always knew Dorothy was not one to be trusted, but did Relena listen to me? No no no j/k I'd be a lot like Relena in wanting to give someone a second chance honestly. But alas *sigh* that is one of the causes of terrible terrible conflict. Explotation of those who want to see the good in mankind.

Honestly, good for you! Putting Heero through a typical day for Relena. Maybe then can he understand the true pressure she goes through and start to re-evaluate his treatment of her. Unfortunately, I can also understand poor Relena's inability to find the words to effectively handle the situation. I don't care how mad she is with him, she will still wish to confort him in whatever way she can. I think secretly, Relena might have been crying for Heero too - since he is unable.

Seemingly I was very much expecting Dorothy to be on the other side of her hotel room door and willing to come with them. Not that I think she would have opened the door herself, but that she would be peacefully sipping tea at her table as they splintered her door and acted as if nothing had happened. Complacent to surrender to Wufei and Duo. That just seems her style. Quite a twist for her to be so far ahead! -- gah, another mole!!!???

Oh. my. goodness.

The amount of emotional turmoil Relena goes through ------ Heero can't be doing it for show!! HE JUST CAN'T!!!
:-?
I mean, did he actually confess? He was quite shaken with the tabloid explosion, but his "shakeness" might actually be for show too. And locking her out, then sweeping her up like that... he wasn't doing it for the camera, he doesn't even like camera's if his reaction in the driveway was any indication! No, it wasn't for show *is so confused* was it??

*feels her heart scream* He just has to know now that he is capable of these feelings! If anything good can come from this... situation, if that is what is really holding him back from her, not saying a word to her!!!!!! He is capable!
He just has to simply allow himself to say it now, for real, everytime they are together, to Relena in the plane on the way to Cole's, or writing it down on a note that the camera's can't see in their house in the morning before leaving for Cole's!

*just dies*
omg, he >>HAS TO LOVE HER<< Has to do something about it!!
... right? *sniffle*

[takisha16]

Awesome!
You guys updated!
I loved this chapter!
I feel bad for Dorothy! I don't think she really is that deep!
I sure hope not!
I also hope that Heero's actions are not mostly for show!
Poor Relena! She must be sooo stressed now.
And also with the cameras and photographers lining around her house.
I bet Heero was pissed!
I did not get why he left her and locked himself inside their room. Did he need time
to think?
God...this is sooo stressful! I need to know what happens next!
Please update soon!