By: Spooks
~ ~ ~ ~
“Mr. Winner?” Mrs. Jessam, the head of the household staff, knocked politely on the doorframe of the dining room.
Quatre turned away from the after dinner conversation. “Yes?”
“I’m not sure if you heard the intercom buzz or not, so I thought I’d inform you that a few more of your guests have arrived,” the woman reported. “Mr. and Mrs. Marquise, and their child, I believe.”
“Let them in, please. Have someone help with their luggage, too,” Quatre replied immediately.
“Of course,” Mrs. Jessam nodded and left the doorway.
“Yes!” Relena grinned, abandoning her place at the table. “I finally get to see my niece!”
She fairly danced out of the room.
Everyone else exchanged a variety looks as Relena swept out the door. From Sylvia, Hilde, and Dorothy’s amusement, Gregory’s confusion, and Wufei’s sudden paling, a lot was said without anyone having to utter a word.
For his part, Duo turned to Heero and noted the sudden squaring of the Japanese man’s shoulders. Duo resisted the overwhelming urge to snicker. Even after all these years, Zechs and Heero still had a bit of rivalry between them, along with a healthy dose of mutual respect.
A few minutes later, and everyone had filed out of the dining room. Wufei went in search of the teenagers, particularly to tell Mariemeia that Zechs had arrived. The pair had a strange relationship. Wufei knew that the two usually discussed Trieze, something that gave the Chinese man a jag of jealousy, since the girl had long since given up trying to talk to him about her father. He used to wonder if she held Trieze’s death against him, so he had been more than a little uncomfortable. Now the he felt like he was ready to discuss Trieze with her, it may already be too late broach the subject.
Wufei was also a bit uncomfortable with Mariemeia and Zech’s strange friendship for an entirely different reason. Zechs had always seemed wary of him, which by itself annoyed the hell out of Wufei, simply because he didn’t know exactly why, especially since Zechs apparently held no grudge against the other former pilots.
It was only through their mutual work with the Preventers, after Zechs and Noin had returned from Mars, that they had become civil to each other. For instance, in a moment of almost-friendship, Zechs had told him that he and Trieze had been close for a time, but he didn’t hold Trieze’s death against Wufei. Zechs had said Trieze had chosen his end.
But now that Wufei was dating the blond man’s sister, their tentative friendship had turned tense once again.
After a few minutes of searching, he still hadn’t found Mariemeia. He snorted and started back the way he had come, deciding to go and check in the direction of the bedrooms where they were all staying. When he was almost there, he encountered Ophelia.
The girl looked at him strangely. “You look hassled,” she observed, cocking her head to the side.
“I’m looking for Mariemeia,” Wufei replied, speaking clearly so that she could read his lips. “Do you know where she is?”
Ophelia nodded, then reached up and nervously tugged at a strand of her platinum hair. “She’s in a vid-room down the hallway. The door’s cracked open.”
“Thanks,” Wufei nodded back and started to pass the girl.
“You might want to knock first,” she blurted out quickly, watching his face for a reaction.
Wufei hesitated. “Good to know.”
Ophelia just shrugged and hurried away, still twisting her hair in between her fingers.
Soon enough, Wufei found Mariemeia. She and Hakim were sitting far too close for Wufei’s comfort in front of a vid-set. He wondered which they had been paying attention to: the program on the screen or each other.
“May? I thought you’d like to know that Zechs, Noin, and the baby just arrived.”
“Really!” She sat up straight and grinned. “Awesome! Hey, Hakim, come on.”
The dark haired boy looked nervous as Mariemeia grabbed one of his hands and pulled him to his feet. “Um, May? I don’t want to sound rude, but--"
“But?”
The boy swallowed. “Nothing.”
“Right. Don’t say that if you don’t mean it,” the redhead retorted, raising an eyebrow at him.
Wufei suddenly felt like he was intruding. He turned and slipped out of the room, but hovered beside the doorway for a moment, deciding that he’d wait for them out there. Of course he wasn’t eavesdropping, he just happened to be in earshot. At least, that’s what he told himself.
“It’s bad enough that Wufei wants to kick my ass, May. You know, being Mr. Protective and all. If he’s like that, then how’s this Zechs guy going to react?” Hakim asked quietly. “From what you’ve told me, the guy holds a grudge like nobody’s business. What if I mess up?”
“Hey now, it’s not always a grudge. It’s just that sometimes a person might do something to him, or someone he cares for, and that taints his perception of the person who did the something wrong,” Mariemeia replied. “Hm. I guess that’s what a grudge is, though, now that I think about it.”
Out in the hallway, Wufei raised his eyebrows.
Inside the room, the girl had continued. “Besides, he’s relaxed a lot, from what people tell me. I don’t really know since I never knew him before, but I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Wufei walked away. They could go on their own. His mind so absorbed with the new information that he didn’t even realize he was leaving Mariemeia alone with Hakim.
He was going to retreat to his bedroom, but then decided that such an action would be rude. If nothing else, he needed to say hello to Noin. At least she didn’t hold an inexplicable grudge against him.
Ugh. He’d have to deal with Relena cooing over the baby, too. That in and of itself made Wufei nervous. Babies. How could anyone want kids at twenty-two? The very idea scared him to death.
Best not to think about it too much. Wufei took a deep breath and continued down the hallway.
~ ~ ~ ~
Relena arrived at the front door just as it opened. Zechs opened the doorway and stepped back outside and out of the way. One of the temporary staff members stepped inside first, carrying what appeared to be baby bags in both arms. The boy shuffled sideways through the doorway and grinned weakly at Relena.
“Are you okay? Need some help?” She asked, eyeing the bags.
“Naw, thanks though. Not heavy, just awkward to carry,” the staffer replied as he waddled down the hallway, presumably in the direction of Zechs and Noin’s assigned bedroom.
Relena watched him go for a second, biting her lip. Right when she was about to go and help him anyway, Relena saw one of the other staff members emerge from a side room. She let out a sigh of relief and turned back to the front door.
Noin had stepped inside, a baby’s carrier car seat held in her hand, containing one Tredici Marquise. The little girl’s icy blue eyes moved here and there, her tiny mouth opening in a toothless sort of gawking grin. Her black hair wisped in all directions, too fine to lay flat against her head yet.
“Hello, Relena,” Noin said tiredly, smiling at the blonde before moving aside and letting Zechs step through the doorway.
The tall man carried a suitcase and a small overnight bag. His hair had been pulled back in a loose ponytail at the nape of his neck. Dark circles under his eyes gave Zechs the appearance of a man that had just traveled for days with a baby. Relena shifted her gaze over to Noin and noticed matching circles under the woman’s own eyes.
“Hi, Lena,” Zechs said after he closed the door behind him and set the suitcase down.
Relena stepped forward and hugged him. “Hello, Brother.”
She pulled away and circled one arm around Noin’s shoulders and squeezed, being careful not to jostle the arm holding the baby’s carrier seat. “Hi, Luce. How’s my brand new niece?” Relena asked as she bent down to look at the quietly cooing baby.
“Wide awake and determined not to miss a thing,” Noin replied, her mouth quirking up into a little grin. “And unusually well behaved for the majority of the trip.”
“She’s just beautiful,” Relena whispered, letting the little girl grasp her finger in one chubby fist. “Such a strong grip!”
“You can hold her once we get everything settled, you just have to watch out for your hair,” Zechs said. He tugged the band from his own locks and shook them out, grimacing. “She really does have quite the grip.”
By this time, Quatre had made it to the front door, followed by Trowa. They had timed their arrival so that Relena would have a small amount of time alone before Quatre fulfilled his “host” obligations.
“Welcome to my home,” He said, smiling at the family. “Shall I show you where your rooms are located?”
“Thank you for inviting us,” Zechs returned, his voice low as he bowed his head slightly.
“So formal,” Noin commented. “Sure, lead the way, Quatre.”
Trowa nodded a greeting at the pair, his eyes flickering down at Tredici for a long moment. He smiled. “She’s lovely.”
Zechs and Noin looked at each other and grinned, responding in unison. “Thanks!”
The little group started on their way, Quatre in the lead. As they walked, they passed Heero, who was leaning in a doorway with Duo slightly behind him. The American had a casual arm around the Japanese man’s waist.
“Zechs. Noin,” Heero nodded. He cocked his head to the side and looked at the baby. He smiled faintly. “Congratulations.”
“Wow, she’s cute! I hope you’re ready to fight the guys off of with a stick, Zechs,” Duo peered over Heero’s shoulder and made a face at Tredici. She waved her arms and gave an almost inaudible gurgle.
“Don’t even joke about that,” Zech replied, rolling his eyes. “No one’s getting near my little girl until she’s eighteen.”
“Right, I’m sure she’ll appreciate that,” Noin laughed as they continued on their way. Before long they reached their bedroom and freshened up, also taking the opportunity to change Tredici’s diaper.
A few minutes later found the newly arrived couple in one of the rec rooms. Sylvia and Gregory put in a brief appearance to greet the newly arrived family, then left to go to bed, still influenced by their own jet lag. Hilde and Dorothy appeared almost right after the couple departed.
Hilde’s attention focused mostly on Tredici, and to everyone’s surprise, so did Dorothy’s.
“Sometimes I think you all forget that I’m a woman,” the Dorothy frowned, looking slightly perturbed. “Just because I’m not simpering doesn’t mean I don’t think babies are incredibly special. I do have maternal instincts.”
“And I’m simpering?” Relena asked, almost cooing her words as she kept her gaze focused on the baby.
“Do I need to answer that?” Dorothy smiled, raising an eyebrow.
Relena laughed. “I guess you don’t.”
Before long, Hilde excused herself. Dorothy stayed a few minutes longer, but soon departed as well.
While Zechs and Noin slumped against each other in a tired semi-sprawl, Relena sat with Tredici cradled against her chest, talking to the baby in a quiet singsong voice.
“Zechs!” Mariemeia’s voice rang out as she stepped into the room. She grinned and hurried over to the blond man, plopped down beside him on the sofa, and hugged him. The girl then popped back up and sat down next to Relena to look at the baby. “Cute.”
Zechs gave a low laugh. “Hello, May.”
Noin smiled faintly, shifting on the couch a little. “Yes, well, Tredici’s been up a lot today, so get a good look because she’s about to got to bed.”
“Where’s she going to sleep?” Relena asked, still not taking her eyes off the baby.
“Quatre either found a baby bed in the house or had one bought,” Noin shrugged. “I’ll have to thank him specifically for that later, because we could have just brought one of those portable things.”
Relena nodded and shifted Tredici so that May could have a better look. Sure enough, her little eyes were closed and her breaths were growing longer. “So, I guess you want her back then?” Relena asked quietly, stroking Tredici’s arm.
“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Noin grinned and eased her child out of Relena’s arms, carefully supporting the small head. Immediately Tredici snuggled against her mother’s chest and let out a tiny sigh.
“Aw!” Came the collective gasp from Mariemeia and Relena.
“Yes, yes,” Noin said softly down to Tredici, “You continue to amaze audiences everywhere with your beauty and charm. But it’s time for you to sleep. Almost time for Mom and Dad, too.”
“Oh, wait, there’s someone I want you to meet before you go off to bed,” Mariemeia spoke up, biting her lip.
~ ~ ~ ~
Out in the hallway, Hakim shifted from foot to foot and took a couple of deep breaths. May had told him that if he was really so nervous, then he could wait until she went and came back for him before he was introduced. The boy wasn’t sure that making such a big production helped; it just gave him more time to be anxious and jumpy.
It wasn’t such a big deal meeting all these other famous people, after all, he had known Quatre for years, and had seen Trowa few times but never really spoken with him, but it was still slightly intimidating to meet all these other near-celebrities. Being around Mariemeia so much had taken most of his anxiety away, but the fact remained that the girl considered some of these famous people as her surrogate family. It made things much worse. Hakim took another deep breath. It wasn’t as though he could decide to suddenly stop liking May, though, so he supposed he’d just have to deal with it.
“Hakim?” Came a voice behind him. The boy jumped and whirled around.
“Uh, hi, Wufei,” he finally settled for saying. He suppressed the urge to run away. Wufei was giving him another one of those scary “touch May and face dismemberment” looks.
“What are you doing, standing out in the corridor like this?” The man glanced at the doorway, then crossed his arms in front of his chest. He shifted on his feet before leaning against the wall. “Were you eavesdropping?”
“No, May asked me to wait out here in the hallway,” Hakim tried to look serious, not nervous.
“To wait before introducing you to Zechs and Noin?” Wufei pressed. The boy noticed that Wufei’s frown was really almost a scowl.
“Yeah, I was kind of nervous,” Hakim replied, then met the man’s gaze directly. “You know, it’s not exactly easy suddenly meeting all these new famous people, some of whom don’t like me simply because May and I are getting close. It’s not exactly fair.”
Wufei tilted his head to the side. “Well, it’s not as though it’s completely unfounded. She’s had friends that were only out to get a bit famous, or who wanted to pump her for information their parents could sell later. Forgive me for being wary of May’s safety.”
Hakim blinked. “Man, I can assure you that I’m not doing anything like that. Those things aren’t what I want.”
“Then what do you want?” Wufei asked calmly.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Hakim shot back.
For a long moment the two looked at each other. Hakim glared and tried not to be intimidated by Wufei’s cold, yet utterly piercing gaze.
Finally Wufei nodded. “You’re right. It’s not.”
“Huh?” Hakim stopped glaring and gave the man a weird look.
Mariemeia stepped into the hallway and snagged Hakim’s arm. She started to say something to him, but stopped short when she saw Wufei. “What are...?”
“Just leaving,” Wufei replied calmly.
“Have you greeted Zechs and Lucy? Have you seen Tredici?” May asked, her eyebrows shooting up. When Wufei didn’t answer, she rolled her eyes. “You’re coming in, too.”
“I’d rather--"
At that moment, Zechs stepped into the doorway, Noin slightly behind him with Tredici. Relena flanked her, still looking at the baby. Zech’s eyes had skipped past Mariemeia, took in Hakim, and were now focused on Wufei, who felt distinctly uncomfortable all of a sudden.
“Um, hello. Nice to meet you both,” Hakim stuttered out, breaking the tension. He looked back and forth between Zechs and Noin. “I’m Hakim.”
Zechs nodded. “Hello, Hakim.”
"Nice to meet you,” Noin nodded.
May looked back and forth between Zechs and Wufei, sighed, and stepped backwards a little, grabbing Hakim’s hand. “Well, okay, I’ll let you guys go deal with Tredici and go to bed. G’night.”
Hakim let himself be pulled away, a confused look on his face. “May, what’s going--" His voice was cut off as the pair turned a corner in the hallway.
“Noin, Zechs,” Wufei said after the teenagers had disappeared. He looked at the baby in Noin’s arms. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Zechs replied stiffly, moving to block Wufei’s view of Noin and Tredici.
Relena watched Noin shift the quiet and sleeping child. She glared at the back of Zech’s head. “Let’s go, Zechs. Tredici’s starting to fuss.”
“All right,” the tall man nodded. He stepped aside and let Noin through the doorway before coming up beside her and putting a protective hand at the small of her back.
“See you tomorrow, Wufei,” Noin smiled warmly.
He nodded, and attempted to return the smile.
Relena frowned and stepped up to his side. “Goodnight,” she said.
“Goodnight, Relena,” Zechs replied. Noin just nodded and sent the other woman a grateful look as they started down the corridor.
Relena turned to Wufei, a puzzled expression on her face. “What was that all about?”
“I wish I knew,” Wufei shrugged, taking one of her hands. “I really do.”
~ ~ ~ ~
“So, any luck?” Duo asked, leaning against Quatre’s computer desk.
Heero looked up from the monitor. “A bit. I’ve found a few sites with picture identification, just enough to cross examine the information and make sure it’s accurate.”
“Well, here’s the arrangement,” Quatre said, walking into the room with the white flower box in his hands. He passed it to Duo. “Rashid said to tell you good luck, that he’d be fine with going back to town tomorrow to see if the arrangement was made locally.”
“All right,” Heero took the box from Duo and opened it. For a moment they both glared at the flowers.
“Why don’t you start with the most obvious ones and look them up first?” Trowa suggested.
“Yeah, that’d probably be a good idea,” Duo nodded. “How about this white rose? It’s kind of weird that it’s dried and the other flowers are relatively fresh. And hey, don’t roses mean love?”
“Great,” Heero snorted. “That’d be just what we’d need.”
“I love you!” Duo said in a high-pitched voice, bringing his folded hands up to his heart. He continued in a forced deep voice. “I’ll kill you.”
Quatre plopped down on the edge of the bed. “I think different roses mean different things. Red roses mean love...so what do white roses mean? Do you think that’d be important?”
“Perhaps,” Trowa offered. He sat down on the edge of the bed beside Quatre. “It wouldn’t hurt to try.”
“Give me a minute...” Heero muttered, typing away. He scrolled down the screen. “White roses, dried, supposedly mean...that’s odd.”
“Heero, look up another site. That can’t be right,” Duo said, leaning over Heero’s shoulder.
“Apparently it is,” He replied after a moment’s more typing.
“What?” Quatre asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing over at Trowa. The taller man just shrugged imperceptibly.
“Loss of innocence,” Duo said over his shoulder. He nudged Heero’s shoulder. “That’s on levels of bizarre I don’t even want to begin to deal with.”
“It gets worse,” Heero said. He pointed at the screen. “Evidently holly flowers mean ‘Am I forgotten?’”
“They mean a question?” Quatre asked, standing up. He poked the white holly flowers. “Are you sure that it’s the flowers that are supposed to mean something? What about the leaves? They are sharp, after all.”
“The leaves aren’t listed on either site,” Heero shrugged.
"If I were to hazard a guess about the leaves, I’d say that, if anything, it adds to the theme by just being dangerous,” Trowa suggested. “If the other flowers have strange meanings as well, then you’re probably supposed to be looking at the holly’s flowers.”
“Well, hey, it could be one of those obvious things, as well,” Duo added. “I mean, come on, poison berries and jagged leaves aren’t exactly touchy-feely.”
“No, I guess not,” Quatre rolled his eyes. “So, is the arrangement supposed to mean that you’ve forgotten someone’s loss of innocence?”
“If we’ve forgotten, then how are we supposed to know?” Duo quipped, grimacing slightly. “So, how great are these picture identification galleries? Can we tell what the other flowers are?”
Heero gestured to the computer screen. “Look for yourself, I’m not very good at this. The photography isn’t exactly stellar, either.”
“No, but it would help us narrow things down if we had at least a vague idea about what kind of flowers the other two are,” Duo glared at the monitor. “But then again, there are so many different ways of altering flower colors, that just looking at the pictures could be misleading. I mean, come on, I’ve seen blue roses. What if these other ones don’t look like what they are? I’m sure as hell not an expert, and I know you guys aren’t either.”
“Well, if all else fails Rashid’s going tomorrow to the florist anyway to see if they can tell us who sent the arrangement, remember?” Quatre said patiently.
“It wouldn’t hurt to try,” Heero argued, frowning at the keyboard.
“You won’t know for sure if your information is accurate anyway,” Trowa put in reasonably. “Consider the source, here. It’s the internet. It could be wrong.”
“I could hack into--" Heero started.
“No way,” Duo shook his head. “It would be pointless. This can wait until tomorrow. We have enough to worry about without you committing an unnecessary felony, no matter how good you are at not getting caught.”
Heero raised an eyebrow. “What are you implying?”
“Nothing, just that it would be kind of silly to go to all that trouble when we can just ask,” Duo poked Heero’s arm gently.
“Anyway, it’s getting late,” Quatre said pointedly, looking at the wall clock.
Duo rolled his eyes. “Oh, subtle hint there,” he said as he grabbed Heero’s arm and tugged him up from the computer chair.
Heero, for his part, allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. He looked at Trowa with raised eyebrows. “Have fun.”
Trowa smirked.
“Okay, leaving now,” Duo said loudly as he started walking to the door, hauling Heero along with him. “Have better things to do.”
“I’ll bet,” Quatre snickered.
“Yeah, yeah, clever innuendo there, Q,” Duo snorted, turning around. He grabbed the doorknob of the bedroom door and started to pull it shut behind them. “Oh, and I know something weird is going on with you two, and I’m going to find out what is. Just thought I’d warn you.”
With that, he pulled the door completely shut.
“I take it we tell them the news tomorrow, then?” Trowa stood up and moved towards his fiancé.
“You mean you don’t want to see if Duo figures it out on his own?” Quatre stepped forward until he was right in front of Trowa.
“We’ll see,” Trowa moved a fraction of an inch closer and wrapped the blond in his arms. “It’s not as though we don’t have plenty of time.”
Quatre returned his fiancé’s embrace fiercely, the pleasant expression faltering from his face briefly. “No, it’s not.”
~ ~ ~ ~
“That was completely and utterly unhelpful,” Duo sighed as he closed the bedroom door behind him. He turned to face Heero. “Any ideas?”
“A few, but none of them make much sense,” Heero replied, his lips tensing into a thin line.
Duo gave the other man a searching look, then frowned. “Want to let me in on ‘em anyway?”
“Not really,” Heero looked down, then moved his gaze up to Duo’s face. “I wish we’d been able to find out what those other flowers were, at least. I should get out my laptop.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Duo shook his head and stepped between Heero and the case that held the computer. “We can wait. Don’t be an ass about this, I thought we already had this discussion?”
“We did,” the Japanese man nodded curtly. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t still want to look.”
“It won’t do any good. You’ll just stay up really late trying to find and cross check information, then be all tired and cranky tomorrow morning,” Duo said firmly. “And you’re not hacking into the international florist database or whatever the hell it may be. If I can wait, you certainly can.”
“I know.”
“...But you want to do something, don’t you?”
Heero shrugged and roughly ran a hand through his hair.
Duo chewed his lower lip, furrowed his brow, and observed his partner’s tense stance. “Heero, it’ll be fine. Everything is going to work out. All this shit, we’ll find out what it means. The tombstones, the stolen things, the bombing, the razor envelope, the pictures...all of it. But like we’ve been saying, we have to wait. She’s bound to fuck up. Law of averages.”
“I realize that.”
“Yeah, I know you do. All that logic doesn’t make you feel any better, though, does it?” Duo paused, then grinned crookedly. “It sure as hell doesn’t make me feel any better. I hate this waiting. I can’t even begin to piece it together, but it feels like I should be able to. I think that might even be the worst of it, because it makes me feel helpless. I hate it.”
He laughed quietly, bitterly, and began to pace.
“Duo, stop,” Heero said wearily. “You’ve made your point.”
“Have I?” The American stopped mid stride and frowned. “I wasn’t trying to make one.”
Heero returned Duo’s stare. “Well you did.”
Duo just raised his eyebrows and waited.
“We’re in this together, and we basically feel the same way about what’s going on. It’s not good. We need...We need...” Heero tapered off, looking slightly uncomfortable. The distance between the pair seemed to gape.
“You don’t have to say it,” Duo cut in, crossing his arms over his middle. He fixed his gaze on his feet. His toes curled into the thick carpet.
“Duo.”
“What?”
“Please, come here,” Heero finally asked quietly. He shuffled from foot to foot briefly, then stopped and stood still, his arms hanging at his sides.
Duo looked up, surprised. “Huh?”
“Fine,” Heero shrugged, and took a few steps forward until he was standing right in front of his lover. “Need you.”
“Is that...oh, shit! I thought you were going to say we shouldn’t be tog--well. Yeah,” Duo stammered out, his face turning red. “Damn, I feel stupid now.”
Heero blinked. “You thought what?”
“Uh...”
“You’re not stupid, but you sometimes jump to conclusions. How could you doubt...?” Heero swallowed, taking a step backwards.
Duo’s hands shot out and he grabbed the tops of Heero’s arms. “I don’t doubt. Fuck, you know I don’t like talking about this kind of stuff anymore than you do. It took us two years of living together to say we loved each other, for crying out loud!”
Heero stood still, then brought his hands up and settled them on Duo’s waist, feeling the other man’s diaphragm contract and expand underneath his fingers. “Fear?”
“Ugly word,” Duo looked away.
“But understandable,” Heero pulled Duo to him, nestling his head against the longhaired man’s shoulder, whispering in his ear. “Helplessness leads to fear. It’s perfectly logical. But we can’t let it get to us.”
Duo let himself relax, soaking in his partner’s warmth. “All right.”
“Bed?” Heero asked.
In his arms, Duo chuckled. “Is that all you think about?”
Heero snorted. “Don’t be an ass.”
“You’re stealing my lines,” Duo muttered back.
“Bad influence.”
“But you like my bad influence, don’t you?”
Heero smirked and walked backwards, pulling Duo with him to the bed. “And I’m not a bad influence on you?”
Duo raised an eyebrow and tilted his chin up. “The worst.”
“Good to know.”
They fell onto the bed.
~ ~ ~ ~
Sally sighed and checked her watch as she dialed the phone. It was already after noon, and she had so much left to do.
“Hey, what’s up? This is the offices of Spencer Incorporated,” a cheerful male voice said. A moment later the screen flickered, and a thin man with curly black hair appeared. He was wearing a dirty t-shirt and holding large cup of steaming liquid, probably coffee.
“Yes, may I speak with Mr. or Mrs. Spencer, please?” Sally asked, subtly looking down to check the information in front of her one last time. She already knew she was speaking with Mr. Edward Spencer, five foot eight inches tall and 24 years of age, but it would be best to be polite about this.
Yesterday when she had asked Marsh to locate the previous occupants of Heero and Duo’s apartment, the information had arrived fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the complications that had arose in acquiring security footage from the buildings surrounding Chester International had sidetracked her before she had a chance to get back to contacting the Spencers. As it was, she probably wouldn’t get a clear picture of the woman who had bribed the desk clerk until tomorrow.
Evidently the couple owned a small, struggling computer repair business. Their only registered telephone number was their office, and Sally thought it best to call during regular business hours.
“Speaking,” the man replied. “How may I assist you this fine day?”
“Well, Mr. Spencer, my name is Sally Po. I’m with the Preventers,” She replied, smiling warmly at the screen pickups and hoping she appeared friendly and open. “I was wondering if I could make an appointment with you to discuss a few things.”
“Oh yeah?” He replied, sipping from his mug and looking relatively unperturbed. “What things?”
“I’m sure you’re very glad that you and your wife moved out of your old apartment when you did, Mr. Spencer,” Sally paused, watching the curly-haired man’s complete lack of reaction.
“Yeah, me too. I guess you want to know why we moved out in such a hurry, then, right? Oh, and call my Ed, 'k?” He yawned and put down his coffee. A moment later he lit up a hand-rolled cigarette and took a lengthy drag. He held the breath in as long as possible before letting a cloud of smoke puff out of his mouth. “Ah...”
“All right, Ed,” Sally suddenly wondered what kind of cigarette the man had rolled. “That’s actually exactly what I’d like to ask you about.”
“Yeah, me and Teri were talking about it last night. Oh, hey,” Ed paused, looking off to the right. “Here she is now. Hi, Babe.”
A woman with short brown hair pushed Ed and sat down beside him, looking curiously at the computer screen. She glanced over at Ed. “Hey, Ed, is this a customer?”
“Naw, she’s a Preventer. Wants to know why we moved out of the bombed-to-bits place,” Ed smiled and offered the woman, evidently Mrs. Teresa Spencer, his “cigarette.”
“She’s a Preventer?” Teri’s eyes widened and she snatched the rolled cigarette from her husband’s hand. “What the hell are you thinking? Put that away!”
Sally cleared her throat. The Spencers both turned to look at the screen, and subsequently, her.
Teri smiled brightly. “Well, ma’am, to be straight and to the point, why the hell do you want to know why we moved? Isn’t that our personal business?”
“Yes it is, but I need to know why. It’s in conjunction with another case unrelated to the bombing itself,” Sally answered, lying easily. She was completely convinced that the two cases, the bombing and the stalking, were one and the same. She just needed proof, and a few connections.
“Mind sharing what it is related to then? Because if there’s the potential for us to be dragged into a courtroom or anything, don’t think I won’t hesitate to call a lawyer and cover our asses. Will that be necessary, Madam Preventer?” The other woman asked in a politely pleasant voice, smiling and cocking her head to the side. Ed looked at his wife with a goofy grin.
“No, not at all,” Sally shook her head. “I’m investigating a person who used to live in the building before it was destroyed. Out of curiosity, was there something unpleasant about the building that sparked your moving?”
“Naw, it was that chick!” Ed piped, then burst into giggles.
Sally forced herself not to react to the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She really didn’t want to be right, but it looked as though...
“Ed! Shut the fuck up!” Teri hissed. To Sally, she spoke in even, polite tones. “Well, you see--"
“Pardon me for interrupting, Mrs. Spencer, but to whom was your husband referring?” Sally broke in, forcing herself not to lean towards the screen.
“He’s just ston--I mean, uh,” the shorthaired woman chewed her lower lip. “This probably looks really bad.”
“Are you referring to your husband possibly being under the influence of illegal substances, or are you referring to being paid to break your lease and move in less than a day’s notice?” Sally asked cheerfully, letting a saccharine smile play across her lips. “The former can potentially get you into a lot of trouble, but the latter is something that can get you into no trouble at all. Well, providing you cooperate.”
“Are you implying...God, Ed, you’re such an idiot. Go lie down. You’ve been awake for what, three days?” Teri pushed the still-giggling man out of Sally’s view at the edge of the screen. A moment later, the Preventer could see him wandering behind his wife and collapsing on a small office couch behind her, yanking a blanket up over his head and burrowing under it.
“Anytime you’re ready, Mrs. Spencer,” Sally prompted.
“Call me Teri. Look, some woman paid us to move. We needed the money, and all we had to do was go that day. It’s not as though we were the first, either. We just figured she wanted our apartment, too,” the woman finally said, running a hand through her hair. “And to be perfectly frank, Ms. Preventer, Ed’s not on anything. Those are really cigarettes. He’s just been up for a few days.”
Sally took a deep breath and considered her words carefully. “When you say that you weren’t the first, could you please elaborate? Were other people you know from the building paid to move as well?”
“Yeah,” Teri nodded. “The people across the hall. The woman who paid us really wanted their apartment, and she said that she wanted ours for an art studio. Said she didn’t want to be too far away from her artistic endeavors...or something weird like that, she was pretty vague about the details that didn’t involve money. The price was right, so we took her up on her offer. And I’m glad we did, because if we didn’t...well...you know.”
“Could you identify her if I showed you a picture?” Sally asked.
“Yeah, no problem,” Teri waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.
Sally picked up a pen and a piece of paper and jotted down a few notes. “How long had she lived in the apartment across from yours before she made you her offer?”
“Just a day. She hadn’t even had a chance to move any of her stuff in,” Teri replied, shrugging.
“One day? Are you sure?” Sally asked, shifting in her chair. This was not good, not at all. “And you’re positive you can identify her?”
“Yeah. I could describe her right now if you want me to.”
“Please do.”
“Let’s see...Her name was Carisa or something weird like that. She was kind of short, skinny, and had these weird bluish-grayish eyes. Longish curly red hair, but it probably was a dye job ‘cause it just didn‘t look right. She was intense, had this look about her...like she could bore a hole through your skull just by looking at you, right? Thin little hands. She said she was an artist, and I believed her. She had that quality, you know? Moved like a cat,” Teri rattled off. She cleared her throat quietly. “Do you think she had something to do with...the bomb?”
"No, of course not,” Sally replied smoothly. “There are still some missing people, that’s all.”
“Oh, man, I hope she isn’t...you know...” the young woman’s voice trailed off. She looked down. “It’s bad enough all our old neighbors bit the big one, but to think that she just moved in and was basically responsible for saving our lives...shit.”
Sally waited for the other woman to continue.
“I mean, hell, some people had lived in that building damn near forever. Like Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi, they’d been there for fifteen years. Nice old couple, very sweet. They sometimes had me and Ed over for dinner. You’d think if some messed up coincidence was going to save a few people, it’d save good people like them, not a couple of losers like us.”
“You feel guilty?”
Teri finally looked up again, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Yeah. I guess.”
“It’s okay to feel that way, it’ll get better. You’re doing a lot just by speaking with me, giving me this information so that I can find a few more people that might still be alive,” Sally said slowly.
“Right, well...Logically I know it’s stupid to feel survivor’s guilt, but that doesn’t exactly make me feel any better,” the woman tossed back. She sighed. “Anyway, I have things to do. When do you think you’ll be calling us back and showing us this picture or whatever?”
"Either later today or tomorrow morning. Would you mind giving me your home number so that I can reach you there, or would you prefer that I call your office again?” Sally asked, sensing the closing of the conversation.
“Hey, lady, we actually live in this office now,” Teri smiled crookedly, wiping at her eyes.
“Thank you for your time, Teri,” Sally nodded.
“Sure,” the woman shrugged, then terminated the call at her end.
Sally hung up as well. She sat still for a full minute, rubbing her temples. Everything was starting to come horribly together. Solving the case was good, but the apparent solution was almost too gruesome for her to think about.
Everything was nothing more than circumstantial right now, but the way things were shaping up made Sally extremely nervous about Heero and Duo’s safety. They should be fine where they were now, though, so she felt relatively comforted. She’d contact them as soon as she was certain, and not a moment sooner or later. After all, if her hunch turned out to be wrong, she’d be giving them an insanely large dose of unnecessary paranoia for no good reason.
But if she was right...well, then they’d probably have to be put in a safe house until their stalker was caught. Which would probably be hellish, but at least it would be secure. For the moment they were fine, though, but they certainly couldn’t stay at Quatre’s forever. It wouldn’t be safe, not for anyone.
Sighing, Sally rose from her chair and strode into the greater office.
“Hey, boss lady, how’d it go?” Marsh grinned, running a hand through his thick brown hair as he looked up at her from his computer monitor.
“I’ll tell you in a minute. Has anyone managed to catch a glimpse of our mystery woman without her giant hat? Or even managed to get a good look at her face?” Sally asked.
“Not yet,” the Preventer responded, frowning. “The mystery lady’s damn crafty, keeps her head down and doesn’t look directly at any of the cameras, including the ones in the hotel.”
“Hm. We’ll just need to keep trying,” Sally patted his shoulder. “I need you to find the people that moved out of the apartment across from Yuy and Maxwell’s place. They moved right before the Spencers. Also locate the person that moved into that apartment, see if she’s listed among the dead, the living, or the missing. Run a background check as well. The sooner you can get me this info, the better.”
“Um, all right,” Marsh said as he wrote down a few quick notes. “Can do. You want me to finish scouring this surveillance footage, or just hand it off to someone else?”
"You can hand it off to me,” Sally replied. “Just get this stuff done for me, and fast.”
“Right,” Marsh nodded, suddenly serious as he got up from the computer chair.
Sally took his place and began to watch the footage on the monitor. The woman in the large floppy hat, the one that Cynthia, the desk clerk, had described walked across the screen. Sure enough, her head was down, her face not visible at all.
But Sally noticed that she walked gracefully...almost like a cat.
Not good at all.
Moving on to the next security camera’s recording, Sally tried desperately not to jump to conclusions.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Take it.”
“No.”
“...The plan.”
“But...”
“After all we’ve done, you want to relinquish your right to revenge now? I can walk away if you can. This is for you, after all.”
Silence.
“I thought not. You’re just nervous; it’s natural. Follow the plan. Destiny gave this to us...It was meant to be this way. Your misgivings are a test. Pass it and prove yourself worthy. I know you can do it. I have faith in you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
She left.
~ ~ ~ ~
Heero sat up, squinting against the morning light that managed to slip around the window coverings. He could have sworn he heard someone outside their bedroom door. A glance at the clock told him it was exactly 8 am.
Looking down at Duo, who was still asleep beside him, Heero sighed. He was probably just being paranoid. Settling back down, he wrapped an arm around Duo’s waist and spooned against his back. Might as well stay in bed a little while longer, he thought as he started to doze off again.
It seemed like Heero had just closed his eyes when a soft knock broke the easy stillness of the room. He frowned as Duo stirred against him. So much for sleeping in.
“Yes?” Heero cleared his throat quietly. “What is it?”
“Heero, is Duo awake as well?” Wufei’s voice asked in return.
“I am now,” Duo groaned, rolling over and glaring at the ceiling. “What is it, Wufei?”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think you might want to open the bedroom door.”
“Why don’t you open it?” Heero asked.
Wufei’s voice sounded strained. “Fine, I guess that’ll work.”
The door opened slowly. Wufei was revealed, standing far enough away from the threshold that he had to lean forward from the waist to reach the doorknob and push the door open.
“Where’s the fire, man?” Duo drawled, flopping onto his stomach and looked at Wufei.
Wufei didn’t even glance into the room. He was looking down. “I think someone’s decided to place a sick joke on you.”
Duo pushed up to see even as Heero’s gaze dropped to the floor where Wufei was still staring.
A wilted red carnation lay on the carpet. The same sort of flower that had been adorning the tombstone in the picture.
“That’s fucking sick,” Duo stated. “Not funny.”
"Not at all,” Heero agreed.
“Should I go get the others?” Wufei asked, his brow furrowing. They all knew that when he said “the others,” he really meant Quatre and Trowa.
Duo nodded. “Yeah.”
“All right,” Wufei turned and left.
Heero stood up, but he was forced to brace himself against the wall when a wave of dizziness washed over him. Steadying himself, he walked over and picked up the carnation. It was at least a few days old. Once again, he wished he knew more about flowers. Could it be the same carnation from the picture, or was someone just trying to give that impression? It was impossible to know either way.
“God, I have such a headache,” Duo muttered, also standing. He wandered unsteadily over to Heero, closed their bedroom door, and glared at the flower. “This has to be a joke.”
“It has to be,” Heero resisted the impulse to crush the wilting carnation. “Or so we hope.”
~ ~ ~ ~