Edge of the Chase [Ch6. PG13]

[RelenaFanel]

Title: Edge of the Chase
Author: RelenaFanel
Chapter: 6
Rating: PG13 [expected R - NC17 in later chapters]
Summary: The chase is on, and Heero never loses.
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5;

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Edge of the Chase

Chapter 6

Last Time:

??you haven?t once showed concern for? anything. And,? Relena drilled her finger at his chest, ?this whole situation is messed up. Seriously, Heero, tell me. What?s HAPPENING?? Relena crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. ?What did you get us caught up in??

_______________

?What did I get us caught up in?? Heero reproached, emphasizing the reference to himself. ?I didn?t get us caught up in anything. What did YOU get us caught up in??

?Okay,? Relena said, realizing she wasn?t going to get anywhere using this approach with Heero. ?Let?s take this one step at a time. First explain why? crap,? she broke off as the strap holding her foot to her insanely expensive and four-inch high shoe broke. Her heel slipped off the side and she had to grab his arm for support. ?I can?t walk like this,? she gestured. ?And I?m not going barefoot.?

?Agreed.? Heero knelt before her, grabbing the ragged hem of her tattered dress and yanking off a strip. Her body jerked towards him due to the force and her thigh pressed against his shoulder. Relena tried to hide the grin brushing across her lips as he wrapped the strip of cloth around the arch of the shoe and her foot. She had him right where she wanted him, and she couldn?t have planned it any better if she tried. Heero in helpful-mode was more likely to answer her questions than Heero in escape-mode.

?Why were you nice to that truck driver??

?I can hold perfectly pleasant conversations with strangers.? He answered, wrist brushing against her ankle.

?You can?t even hold pleasant conversations with your friends,? she pointed out. ?You bonded with him over that poster of me in the slinky red dress. You hate that poster. You ?accidentally? shot the man who produced it.?

?I never accidentally shoot anyone.? Heero said with a smirk.

?Exactly!? Relena cried, starting to get exasperated. He tied a knot around the make-shift strap, pulling her off kilter so she had to clutch at his shoulders for support.

?If I had just stolen the truck, the driver would have reported it immediately. By this time, it would have been necessary for us to change vehicles and still be on the run.? He got to his feet at continued across the parking lot. Relena teetered after him, her other shoe the one which was now too loose.

?Not if he had reported it to the police.?

Heero shot her an exasperated look.

?What?? Relena looked stunned. ?Wattmeter couldn?t have ties with the police, could he??

?Rel-E-na,? Heero growled. ?This goes beyond one dirty politician.?

She paused, letting that sink in. She had a million questions to ask him, and it seemed like each partial answer he gave only open up a million more. ?That still doesn?t explain why you?re being nice.?

?Because when they speak to the truck driver, he?ll talk about you but he won?t recall much about who you?re with other than he?s a nice guy. Real friendly.?

?What good will that do?? Relena asked. Honestly, she was usually better at figuring him out than this. It was easy to see that the reason she was floundering with his explanation was that he hadn?t shared the pertinent information with her ? she didn?t have all the facts that had to do with Wattmeter and the disc except for the fact that she was now on the run from this new villainy.

?Heero Yuy is infamous for not being a nice guy.? He shot her a cold look out of the corner of his eye and she grinned at him as if to say ?that?s part of your charm.?

?So, misdirection, then? They hear the term ?nice guy? and start wondering who, other than Heero, I could be with?? If she were looking for someone and heard proof that Heero was not with them, she?d feel relief. Then she?d underestimate. It was all about questionable doubt. If the ?bad guys? started to wonder whether Relena was with Heero or some other miscellany Preventor, they wouldn?t know what course of action to take. Obviously, they would have a far more difficult time tracking down Heero than anyone else. Not much was known about the true exploits of the former Gundam Pilot, but it was obvious that he wasn?t just a simple threat. No one in their rightful mind would want to go against Heero. ?One question, though. Cops don?t know squat about Heero Yuy, and Wattmeter knows even less.?

?Relena,? he impatiently sighed her name once again, and Relena started to feel like the na?ve girl she once was. ?The corruption comes from within the Preventors.?

She paused, stunned. ?Are you sure??

?No.?

Relena opened her mouth to ask another question.

?Not now,? he hushed her. They turned a corner of the mall building and were suddenly bathed in the blue light of a Walmart sign. ?You have ten minutes to gather everything you need.?

?Is it even open?? Relena eyed the store-front suspicious. A huge sign saying ?Open 24 Hours? was splayed in front of her, lights helpfully illuminating the words. ?Oh. But I don?t have any money.?

Heero opened the door for her, and she stepped in, standing between the outer and inner door with a distinct feeling of culture shock. Heero headed over to the banking machine and started entering numbers. Relena wandered after him, staring at the bright store piled with goods.

?Nine minutes,? Heero reminded her.

?Won?t that lead them to us?? She asked, gesturing to the bank machine. He put his palm on the dash and let it read his print.

?Yes.?

?Do you need anything??

Heero quickly typed in numbers on the pad, not answering her.

?Should I get food??

?You should get going,? he responded. Relena sighed, picking up her courage and walking into the store. There were a few other stragglers shopping in the middle of the night. A few were obviously in their night clothing, running to the store for some milk or antihistamines. In her state of dishabille, she would probably be categorized as one of them. Relena felt sorry for the workers. They all looked like they were going to keel over, and she was sure that the night crew was at least halved by the amount of staff working day. She grabbed a cart and went straight towards the back, not bothering to read the helpful signs hanging from the ceiling. Luckily enough, she came across the shoe department first. She grabbed the first pair of sneakers in her size, and they were pretty unattractive looking.

She might understand the concept of dressing for a reality on the run, but that didn?t mean her fashionable side had to like it.

After taking a wrong turn at electronics, the next section she hit was the underwear. She grabbed a serviceable sport?s bra off the shelf, hoping she didn?t get spandex poisoning or something from the inferior material. Turning around, she came face to face with the panty section. Congratulating herself on wise-shopping, she grabbed a package of three and looked around for the socks.

The next thing on her list was actual clothing. This is where Heero found her, frowning in confusion over a pair of jeans. ?Are the ten minutes up already?? She asked.

?Fifteen minutes ago,? he affirmed, dropping an armful of supplies into her cart. ?Do you need all this?? He asked, picking up her package of undies.

Relena grabbed them from him and tossed them back into the cart. ?Yes.?

Heero narrowed his eyes disbelievingly.

?There is a reason you can?t see any underwear lines under this dress, Heero.?

The corner of his lips twitched unbiddenly, and he smirked at her.

Relena grinned at him, feeling like a flirtation teenager who just shared a naughty secret. She looked back down at the jeans grasped in her hands. ?What size do you think I am??

Heero didn?t reply.

?I mean, it isn?t like my usual tailored clothing comes with a size label.?

Heero reached over and grabbed a pair of jeans off the shelf and tossed them in the cart. End of discussion. Relena overtly looked at the tag. ?Size nine!? she squawked indignantly, grabbing them out of the cart and replacing them with the size four in her hands. By the time she was done, Heero had grabbed a t-shirt and a hooded sweater off the shelves.

Relena stared at him levelly. ?They?re size small, right?? Shopping with Heero was never fun. One would be appalled by the almost sacrilegious things he did the last time she went into Bloomingdales and he trundled behind her in the name of national security.

?They?ll do,? he grunted, grabbing the cart and steering it towards the check-out counter.

?Wait,? Relena balked as they neared the front. The cashier looked like a zombie as she scanned an emergency diaper purchase and didn?t appear to be completely observant of her surroundings, but behind her was a camera mounted on the wall. ?Aren?t we conspicuous?? She asked Heero, fingering the silky material of her dress.

?Yes.? Heero answered, narrowing his eyes at her as if to say ?you?re only thinking about this now?? ?I want you to call me something the cashier will remember. I want her to recognize you.?

?I know what I?d like to call you,? Relena gritted her teeth. ?And believe me, she?ll remember it.?

?Think of what the tabloids would say,? Heero admonished, and Relena wasn?t sure if he was verbally sparring with her or completely serious.

?I think my reputation is completely shot after tonight, regardless of what I call you in front of witnesses.? Relena sighed, letting her bangs fall in a natural defense over her eyes. Heero ignored her pity-party and scooped everything out of their cart and threw it on the conveyor belt. Sweater sleeves got caught in electrical tape and Relena realized her new wardrobe was going to have wrinkles before she even managed to get it on.

?Hn.?

?Hi,? Relena smiled at the poor exhausted cashier, only to get a grimace in return. ?Long shift??

?You?ve got no idea.? The poor woman replied, dragging Relena?s new bra over the scanner. ?Say, ain?t you that princess?? The cashier pointed to a magazine beside her, displaying Relena?s smiling face along with the byline of ?quiz: are you a princess or a politician?? as though either role was exclusive. For a moment Relena considered buying the magazine to see which category she fell under.

?Yeah,? Relena responded, leaning forward as though she were about to share a secret. ?See that guy over there?? Relena hooked her thumb towards Heero. ?He?s my bodyguard. Usually I have this incredibly smart and sexy guy following me around and taking bullets for me, but this guy? He?s almost gotten me killed twice due to negligence.? Out of the corner of her eye she could see Heero?s jaw clench. ?The good thing is that I told him I needed new clothing and he agreed.? She raised her hand and twirled her pinky, miming that she had him wrapped around her baby finger.

?He don?t seem too bad,? the cashier responded, eyeing Heero as though he were one of the candybars in the display next to the cash and she hadn?t eaten since breakfast.

?Well, I guess one out of two isn?t that bad,? Relena said, trying to hide the smirk as she insulted Heero?s intelligence again.

?That?s $105.67, yer majesty.?

?Call me Relena,? she said, turning to her companion. ?Raoul! Pay the lady!?

Heero glared at her and forked over the money. Relena had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. Once they were outside, Heero carrying all the bags like a true gentleman ? or servant ? she was able to start giggling.

?Oh! The look on your face,? Relena chortled, pursing her lips into a pout and pulling a mock frown. She looked more like a pouty model than she did an irate Preventor. Blue Steel had nothing on Relena. After she finished laughing at him, she paused suspiciously. ?Why was I supposed to hide your identity if they had surveillance??

Heero didn?t respond; he just kept walking towards the parking lot.

?And even if those security cameras were only there for show, you took money out of the machine on your own account.?

?I used yours.?

?What?? Relena squawked. ?How did you. . .? she broke off with a rueful shake of her head. No wonder he was so unconcerned with how much she spent on new clothing. ?I?m glad you?re on the right side of the law.?

Heero paused from rummaging through one of the plastic bags hanging from his wrists. ?You might want to turn around, then.?

?Why??

?I?m about to steal this car.? He nodded towards the heap of old American-made junk.

?That car?? Relena questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. She started to feel like the spoiled princess, turning her nose up at the rust-bucket parked in the middle of the lot. ?It doesn?t even look like it would run. Someone probably abandoned it here.?

Heero had the car door open and was leaning under the steering wheel. Relena wondered how he was able to see in the dim light, and more importantly, she was noticing the way his rear looked in the black dress pants. Completely and utterly yum. She was paying so much attention to his backside that she jumped when the engine groaned, spitting as it tried to decide whether to turn over or not. Finally, it whined to life. Relena guiltily glanced around the deserted area, looking for someone about to jump out of shadows and incriminate them for theft.

Though Relena didn?t know who would want to stop them from taking this bag-of-bolts. ?Heero,? she hissed. ?What if we?re stealing the only means of transportation from someone who can?t afford better??

Heero raised an eyebrow. Relena didn?t know whether he was wondering why she would care of why she hadn?t thought of it sooner. Like, say, before he hotwired the vehicle.

?We can?t just DO that,? she argued with him. ?What if it belongs to that nice cashier? Her life is hard enough.?

Heero didn?t say anything as he piled their purchases into the back seat.

?Won?t it be obvious that we took it? If we?re on the run the same night that a car goes missing from the parking lot ? well, that doesn?t seem like a coincidence, now does it??

?Things get stolen all the time.?

?I thought you said we were in a middle-class neighbourhood!?

?Get in,? Heero said, ignoring her accusations as he stalked by her, heading back towards the store.

?Where are you going?? Relena called after him, trailing like a besotted puppy.

Heero picked up the phone in an outdoor booth. Relena thought it strange to see someone using a land-line instead of a cell-phone and she was amazed that the relic was still in use. She understood why Heero wasn?t using his own phone, barring the fact that he might not even have it on him, but wondered if a public phone would be just as traceable. She was about to ask who he was calling, but then decided that she would sound a bit too much like the curious child or the controlling wife for comfort. She was already coming perilously close to nagging him. Instead she hovered just within ear-range, keeping one eye on the procured vehicle and the other on Heero.

?We have a code 5,? Heero said as greeting, in his usual friendly manner.

He listened.

?No. Trust no one, no matter the clearance. Put Maxwell on it.?

He listened again.

?Trace the call. We need an identity clean-up here.? A few more seconds went by as the person on the other side of the line spoke. ?She?s safe. I?ll question her.? Here his eyes bore into hers and Relena felt indignant ire rise at the idea of him ?questioning? her. She curled her lip to show her displeasure.

?No,? Heero said. Then he grunted a few times. ?Partner him with Chang, then!? He put the phone back on the hook, and then picked it up again. Relena thought he was going to make another call, but instead he wiped it down with the hem of his shirt, giving her a nice view of his stomach in the process.

Once he moved away from the phone booth, she confronted him. ?Heero, we can?t steal this car.?

He merely brushed by her, walking towards said vehicle as though she hadn?t even spoken.

?I?m serious!? She turned on her heel, noticing for one teetering second that she was still in the high-heel shoes. ?Ok, if you won?t listen to me about that, at least tell me what you have to question me about.?

Heero pulled open the car door, slamming it behind him after he slid in. Relena hurried around the front of the vehicle, body bathed in the bright headlights so she couldn?t see into the car, but knew her gossamer dress was probably revealing more than even the silk was meant to. She didn?t know which desire was more urgent ? the one to change into the new clothing she had just purchased or the one to sit in the scummy car with Heero and finally get some answers. For Relena, it was practically a no-brainer, and she opened to door and slid down into the car as gracefully as she would getting into her limousine.

Heero drove out of the parting lot. It wasn?t until they were back on the road, traveling roughly in the same direct that they had started the evening off in, did Relena finally sigh wearily and turn towards him. ?What do you have to ask me??

He remained quiet for a moment, fingers flexed around the steering wheel. Just when she was convinced he wouldn?t answer, he opened his mouth. ?I thought I had taught you better than that.?

?Than what?? Relena asked, a frown flitting along her delicate features. ?You?re going to have to give me a reference point.?

?The situation with Wattmeter.?

?What was I supposed to do? You left me there!?

?You should have been perfectly safe.?

?You?re so sure of yourself,? Relena glared at him, arms crossed over her chest. ?If it wasn?t for you, I wouldn?t have had to protect myself.?

Heero snorted. ?Is that what you call that slap? I?ve seen babies defend themselves better.?

?Yeah, but I had dropped the disc. I wanted him to push me down so I could grab it without ?? Relena cut off as he turned and looked at her sharply, taking his complete attention off the road.

?What disc?? Heero asked.

?RelenaFanel.Feb9.2007

[Morrighan]

XDXDXDXDXDXD Oh, but Heero knows he <i>loves</i> that poster... He just doesn't like to share is all. XD

Lovin' the plot twists so far!! Can't wait to see more!

[TanukiSaint]

what!!!!!!what do u mean what disk!!!!!!!!???? <~ that was my reaction
Love Lena's appreciation of the body of God that Heero evidently has... Awesome twist! looking forward to the next chap.

[Aeris_Eithne]

Whaaaaaat? That was an amazing twist! And you get major kudos for incorporating Wal-Mart and a Zoolander reference in a 1xR fic. You are my hero!

[RelenaDorlinYuy1]

Hahahah Heero knows relena size that pervert XD

OOO i smell a lemon muhahahaha

[Lady Saffir]

*snort* If Relena's a size 9, then I'm a size 500. And what does he mean, what disc?! At least Heero realizes people think he's a jerk. Can't wait to see what the next plot twist is!

LS

[The Angry Angel]

Whoa! A rollercoaster has nothing on this story!!

Kudos

[Nihal]

I suddenly feel like strangling him, I don't konw why...no, wait I do! what does it mean "what disc"?!

[PeaceWing]

What disc? Gah! How can Heero say something like that? And, yes I agree with you Nihal. I also have this sudden urge to strangle him.

Well that was a very unexpected plot twist. Keep up the good work.

[amulak]

Wow- that's a twist! If Heero didn't give her that disk- what's going on??!! O.O
This is tense- I need another chapter, oh wonderful one, please!!!! >_<