Heero sped down Sanc Kingdom Highway 1, making his way from the luxurious newer section of New Port City into the older area of the capital. The highrises, built since the war ended almost a decade ago, flew violently past as his hunter-green hypercar moved effortlessly down the pristinely paved coastal road.

Despite the speedometer on his instrument panel nearly maxing out and his speed well over the safe limit for the winding road, he couldn’t get to his destination fast enough. 

The call he was on only twenty minutes prior, which had instigated his mad rush to the old part of the city, played back in his mind.

“Agent Yuy speaking,” he answered the ringing phone at his desk in his usual noncommittal tone.

“Yuy, it’s Rajko Furian down at the Zodiac Club. Do you know me?” the voice on the other end was craggy, matching the solid yet rough-looking face Heero instantly drew to mind.

“I do,” Heero had been to the man's bar a few times. It was a known hangout for ex-soldiers to reminisce. Rajko himself was a seasoned veteran of wars past. 

Supposedly, the man had been with White Fang during the Eve Wars. After that, he had ended up in the Sanc Kingdom and opened the Zodiac Club. While Heero had never met the man personally, he knew that Rajko occasionally provided intelligence to preventers.

“I’ve come across a bit of intel that you will likely find interesting regarding your current investigation into Zechs Marquise. I called Wufei, my usual contact at Preventers. He’s the one who gave me your number,” Rajko spoke quietly. “Can you meet today?”

“What time,” Heero asked. He allowed only the slightest bit of interest to percolate into his voice. On the inside, though, he could barely contain his emotions.

“Can you come now?”

“On my way,” Heero was out of his seat before the phone was cradled, grabbing his keys and weapon, not even bothering to close his office door. He rushed to the parking garage and was off.

It had been almost a year since the investigation into Zech's disappearance and the events preceding it. Even with the full efforts of his team and the resources of the Preventers, Heero had been unable to make any headway. Hopefully, today’s meeting with Rajko would change that.

Almost one year ago, he had been given orders directly from Une to track down Zechs and bring him in to stand trial for murder. The former Talgesse pilot was accused of murdering Julian Benton, the grandson of Bradly Benton of Romafeller notoriety. 

While the loss of a Romafeller associate wasn’t the worst thing in Heero’s mind, he had his orders. Since receiving those orders, however, very little had come of his investigation.

Zechs fled the country shortly after the killing, and the trail went cold. Heero knew that if the man didn’t want to be found, he likely wouldn’t. It hadn’t even been established yet if the former lightning count was still on earth or if he’d fled to the colonies.

Heero’s thoughts trailed off as he slowed down and negotiated the exit from the highway into the old part of the city. The ride suddenly became bumpy as the low-profile hypercar hit the brick roads which paved many of the streets throughout the old districts of the capital.

While eager to get to his destination, he wasn’t about to speed over these roads and risk damaging his car. So, Heero took things slowly, knowing he only had a few minutes left to his destination, around a street corner five blocks in front of him.

A few minutes later, he pulled his car up to the side of the narrow road, parallel parking along the narrow street. He spotted a familiar-looking man in a matching uniform getting off a sleek black sports bike as he exited his vehicle. A long brown braid flopped down as the man pulled off his helmet, leaving Heero to wonder how he could get the helmet on in the first place.

“Yo, Heero, did Wufei message you too?” Duo waved and began walking in Heero’s direction.

Heero didn’t answer, instead choosing to walk towards the old brown building similar to the rest along the street, except for the sign on top that proclaimed Zodiac.

“Talkative as usual, I see,” Duo commented as he caught up to his friend. “What do you think this guy has on Zechs?”

“Don’t know,” Heero stated, not bothering to look over at the other pilot. “But he contacted me directly, said Wufei gave him my number.”

“Well, I got a message about thirty minutes ago from Wufei saying to meet you at this address,” Duo and Heero now stood before the door. “Apparently, Wufei is busy on guard duty.”

Heero reached down to the brass knob on the old-fashioned wooden door and opened it. Inside, the building was more modern, with scaffolding and a few ladders around the place indicating it was being renovated.

From the back of the bar, at one of the few booths that weren’t covered in plastic, the two pilots saw a hand go up and heard a deep voice proclaim, “Glad you could make it.”

Rajko got up and waited for them, shaking their hands and allowing them to be seated before sitting down again. The man was as polite as ever. While Heero had never met him personally, he’d seen the man around the bar on his few visits. One of the things Heero had always noticed was how gentlemanly the man was.

“You will have to forgive me for the short notice, gentlemen,” Rajko seemed fidgety but kept his voice even. “I’m afraid my information is quite sensitive and couldn’t wait.”

“Hey, no problem,” Duo said in a bit too upbeat a tone. “We’re just glad to be out of the office.”

At this, Rajko smiled. The man then poured a bit of bourbon from the bottle on the drinks cart at the end of the table. He motioned with the bottle to Heero and Duo, but both declined the offer.

“You indicated you have information about Zechs Marquis,” Heero cut to the chase.

“Unfortunately,” Rajko continued to pour his drink and then replaced the bottle. He took a liberal swig before setting down the glass and continuing. “One of my regulars came in last week before we closed for renovations. Said he’d just returned from the East, and some strange things were happening in that part of the world.”

“Where in the east?” Heero questioned.

“Didn’t say,” Rajko replied. “However, he mentioned that he’d been there for almost a year and had only returned earlier that day. He’d been paid a handsome amount to smuggle one of the Sanc Kingdom's most wanted men out of the country.”

Heero and Duo both looked at each other knowingly. They had been trying to figure out how Zechs so easily slipped out of New Port City without anyone knowing. That he’d been helped by a professional smuggling operation made sense.

“He came in dropping lots of money on top-shelf liquor,” Rajko continued. “Said he was only there to pick up a few things then was heading to South America. Said things were too dangerous here in the Kingdom and fixing to get worse.”

“What did he mean by that?” Duo asked.

“Don’t know,” Rajko answered. “The man wouldn’t go too much into detail other than to brag about how much he’d been paid. However, he seemed quite spooked about whatever would happen here in the Kingdom.”

“What’s this man's name?” Heero had his phone out already, ready to send a message to Preventer HQ. Hopefully, they could set up a dragnet and catch the man if he hadn’t already left the country.

“I don’t know his full name, but…” Rajko was distracted by the door to the bar opening. He turned his attention from Heero and Duo towards the front. “Sorry, we’re clos…”

The older man didn’t have time to finish his sentence before his head exploded into a fine mist of blood, brains, and skull fragments that painted the wall behind him. 

Immediately, Heero rolled from the booth and crouched low on the floor. As he moved, his hands reflexively pulled the service pistol from the holster under his jacket. Three shots rang off in the entrance direction, providing cover for Duo to slip out of the booth. 

One of the shots connected as both Preventers agents heard a chilling scream coming from the front of the bar, muffled partly by what Heero knew to be blood entering the throat.

Heero and Duo stayed low but quickly made their way over to the front, using the tables and chairs as partial cover.

As he'd suspected, one of the shots he let off connected perfectly with the man's neck. On the floor was a man dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and tie and a motorcycle helmet on, clutching in vain at his throat to stop some of the blood from rushing out of the wound.

Duo grabbed a towel from the bar and applied it to the wound on the man's throat. “Don’t you die, you bastard,” the braided former pilot shouted without much conviction. The man’s death was all but certain. The struggling stopped a few seconds later, and the man's hands fell from his throat while his head rolled to the side.

“Damn,” Duo seethed as he got up, blood covering his Preventers jacket. “The only clue we’ve had in over a year, and now we’re back to nothing.”

Heero got down on one knee and fumbled through the man's pockets, not yet interested in removing the helmet. After searching through both the pants and jacket, he came up empty-handed except for a sliver of paper with the bar's address. This guy was a professional.

“Get on to headquarters and have a team sent over for cleanup,” Heero instructed. “Let them know I want to be updated as soon as they have anything the shooter.”

Duo was ahead of him, phone already in hand. He went through the usual security procedures with the dispatcher on the other end, providing his code name, Darkness, and security code for the week. After he was transferred to the shift commander, he informed the man on the other end of the line they’d need bodybags at the Zodiac Club. 

“Keep this quiet,” Duo said before ending the call and replacing the phone in his pocket.

By this time, Heero had removed the motorcycle helmet from the man on the floor, his hands now also stained. The man was Asian, likely of Southeast Asian origin. Neither Heero nor Duo could ID the man, so Heero set the motorcycle helmet next to the body and got up, using one of the bar towels to wipe his hands.

“I think we should report back to headquarters,” Duo said. “Une will want to be briefed on this one ASAP.”

“I agree,” Heero said, already walking the few steps towards the door. “I’ll see you at headquarters. Stay sharp as this guy might not have been alone.”