By: Spooks
~ ~ ~ ~
The dining room was still silent when Zechs and Noin appeared in the doorway.
“What happened?” Noin asked. Her voice seemed unnaturally loud in the otherwise quiet room. She adjusted the baby in her arms. “Duo almost ran into us on the way here...he looked like he was ready to kill something.”
Zechs eased a protective, blatantly possessive arm around her shoulders. “What is going on here?”
“Well, to be brief, Heero and Duo received another package,” Quatre stated, his voice tense.
“Package?” Noin echoed. “What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t anyone tell you?” Quatre asked, his eyebrows shooting up. He continued, “No, I guess they didn’t, with you two just arriving last night...”
“Should we...?” Wufei started, frowning. He didn’t look, but he felt Zech’s hostile gaze hit him full force. He ignored it.
“Everyone else knows,” Relena replied, glaring when she caught the look her brother was sending her lover. She placed her hand on top of Wufei’s.
“What are you talking about?” Zechs repeated his wife’s question, an edge of impatient anger cutting through his voice.
“Sit down,” Quatre sighed, gesturing to the empty chairs they had left for the couple, down at the other end of the table. “This might take a while.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Back in their bedroom, Heero and Duo hadn’t moved from the floor. The laptop still sat beside them, discarded but not forgotten. Finally, Duo pulled out of their embrace and turned to the computer. He ran his fingers over the lettered keys lightly, then touched the 1 and 2.
“The wearing on the keys feels different,” he finally said. “What if...”
Heero snatched the laptop up from the carpet and examined the keyboard. He shook his head. “I can’t be sure. I don’t use the number keys as much as the letters, so the wearing on them is going to be different anyway. But the two keys fit correctly and match the type of keys in the rest of the keyboard.”
“I was thinking--hoping--that maybe the keys had been taken at some other time, and these two were just duplicates,” Duo shrugged awkwardly. “What do you think?”
“It’s possible...I haven’t really used my laptop since we arrived, and Quatre offered to let me use his personal computer, there’s been no pressing need,” Heero said. “I don’t know which would be worse, actually: if these two keys really were the missing ones, or if the originals were taken at a different time and these were just replacements.”
“Either way, someone, somewhere--Wait. You haven’t used the laptop at all? Even opened it since we arrived?” Duo asked.
“Actually...no,” Heero stared down at the computer. “You’re always saying I spend too much time on it, so I thought I’d see if I could leave it alone while we were here.”
Duo raised an eyebrow, a ghost of smile appearing on his face. “Really? So how hard has it been?”
“Very. Being on the computer is like a weird addiction. I wanted to get it out last night to find those flower meanings partially because I hadn’t used it in so long,” Heero replied. He looked at Duo with an amused expression. “Just don’t hold it over me.”
“As if I would,” Duo scoffed, rolling his eyes. “So, is it possible that the keys could have been taken, say, at the airport?”
“Not likely, I did have it as a carry-on. And because of that, I didn’t think it was possible that it could be damaged during the trip, since the case is tough and has protected it well in the past,” Heero frowned.
“So, in other words, those keys could have been missing since the first time you left the case alone. That would mean anyone, hired or otherwise, could have swiped ‘em at any time,” Duo pressed said keys, his brow furrowed. “I can’t help but wonder who had an opportunity to send them to us this morning. The timing is strange, you know? Is it just luck that we didn’t notice the keys gone, or were they actually swiped this morning and then sent immediately back?”
“Since the package was sent same-day delivery, that would mostly likely mean they were taken today to reduce the chance of me noticing their absence,” Heero rubbed his temples briefly. “Unless of course we were supposed to notice earlier and the same-day delivery is just a setup for something else...At any rate, we were both pretty out of it this morning, but I severely doubt anyone could have been in our room without one or both of us waking up.”
“Hell, it could happen. You know you actually move in your sleep and make sounds? You used to not do that. Anyway, let’s pretend that they were swiped this morning, no matter how freaky that might be,” Duo forced a grin. “That would mean someone had to leave the house to send it, since that kind of same-day shit can only be arranged at the post office.”
“Then it could be anyone, including people like Rashid, or Mariemeia,” Heero shook his head. “If we start thinking like this, then next we’ll start suspecting Hilde just because she’s been hitting on the mailman.”
Duo closed his eyes, his fingers still tapping idly on the laptop’s keyboard. “Actually, I was about to point that out. She also carried the mail in on the day she arrived.
“And as for Mariemeia, remember how she acted when she found out what was going on? What if she were in on it with, oh, say Relena, who just happened to have the opportunity to take those keys at any time?
“We don’t know were Sylvia and Gregory were this morning, not really, and Ophelia, Greg’s little sister whom he obviously cherishes, evidently lost her hearing in an accident that just so happened right around the time of the wars. What if it was a result of one of our battles?
“Let’s not forget out scathing Dorothy can be, or all the reasons that half our current friends have to hate one of us. Anyone could have a motive, especially considering how nuts this stalker bitch appears to be. And we’ve already established that she knows us well, just look at how she’s able to press our buttons. She’s even said that she knows us, and she could very well mean it literally. We’ve gone over this all before, and it just made us paranoid.”
“Duo...” Heero started.
Duo opened his eyes finally. “Basically, Heero, there are a million ways this could have happened. I know this. You know this. Our stalker is probably counting on this. What I was aiming for when I brought up the post office was that they usually have cameras up all over the place.”
“If we request the surveillance footage, it’ll raise questions. We’d have to go through either the police or the Preventers, and either one could leak,” Heero pointed out. “But right now, I can’t say that I’d care about that too much. This is getting far too serious.”
“Yeah, well,” Duo chewed his lower lip and stared down at the floor. “At any rate, I was going to suggest that we talk to Sally again, see if she’s dug up anything new. If she found any sort of connection between the stalker and the bombing, then it might be justified to get the footage pulled for the case.”
“That’s true,” Heero said, trailing his hand down to close the laptop. “But I was hoping there wasn’t a connection.”
Duo’s voice was quiet, his head still bowed. “I know. All those people...”
Heero looked sharply at his partner, but kept his voice soft. “Duo.”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe we should do something completely unexpected, something that we haven’t really considered doing since this whole mess started. It might throw the stalker off track,” Heero said carefully, watching Duo’s still expression.
“What?” Duo looked up, curious.
“Let’s go out tonight. Leave the house. Everyone. That way, if the stalker does want to get us, she would have the chance. It would be an opportunity for her to do something without hurting anyone else. The others can stay in groups for their own safety, just in case. But we can at least occasionally wander off,” Heero waited, his shoulders tensed into hard lines. Would it work? Or was this an insanely stupid thing to suggest?
“You know, this is probably the ballsy-est and most insanely stupid thing you’ve ever suggested, Heero...” Duo stated seriously, echoing Heero’s fears out loud. Then he started to laugh.
Heero frowned, the tension in his stomach knotting.
“I think we should do it,” Duo finished, leaning in to catch Heero’s mouth in an excited kiss.
“Are you sure?” Heero asked when they broke apart. “This could be incredibly dangerous.”
“So fucking what? It’s the last thing she’d think we’d do. I mean, damn, we’ve holed up here in Quatre’s fortress of a house since the thing at the pizza place and the poloroid, and we’ve sent Rashid out for us instead of going ourselves. This could lure the bitch into making a mistake. We’ll be armed, of course, and on our guard, but even if she doesn’t take the bait it’ll be damn nice to taunt her back by not playing her little game,” Duo said in a rush. “And hey, if it doesn’t work, we’ll still be able to call Sally tomorrow night and see how that’s going.”
Heero chuckled quietly, his worries ebbing away as Duo seemed to take to the idea. “And it’s not as though we’re sick of being stuck in the same place.”
“Not at all,” Duo shot back. He sent one last cutting look at the laptop, then rose to his feet. “Come on, let’s go tell everyone else our insane plan. Who do you think will be the first to tell us we’re fucking idiots?”
“Quatre, except he’ll be polite about it,” Heero replied, standing up. He picked up the laptop and returned it carefully to its case.
“You’re probably right,” Duo said, grabbing the other man’s hand and leading him out the door. Suddenly he stopped, a serious little smile on his face as he locked eyes with Heero. “Thanks for trying to distract me from feeling guilty about the bombing. I know, logically, that it wasn’t our fault those people were killed, but it’s still hard, you know? So, yeah, thank you, love.”
Heero squeezed Duo’s hand. “Any time.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Back in the dining room, Zechs and Noin looked positively stunned. By the time Quatre had finished relaying the information about the stalking, the room had cleared out, leaving only them, Quatre, and Trowa left at the table.
“Why hasn’t anyone done anything about this?” Noin asked, jiggling the baby in her lap. “This should have been reported to the Preventers some time last week, at least! Even with contacting Sally, this kind of thing could blow up--" she covered her mouth. “Oh, I didn’t mean to use that kind of--I didn’t mean--Please excuse my pun.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Quatre replied quickly.
“That suggestion did come up,” Trowa said. “Taking that sort of action is their choice.”
“Of course it is, but think of the ramifications this could have! Two former Gundam pilots, stalked to the point of paranoia by someone who apparently knows them well, which implies that the person has observed them for quite a while without them noticing. This could be a disaster for all of you if that sort of thing gets out. You know there are still those who hold grudges,” Noin said, looking over at Zechs worriedly.
“Which is probably why they’re keeping a lid on it,” Zechs nodded thoughtfully. “If it were me, I would try to take care of it myself.”
“There is the matter for pride,” Quatre nodded. He hesitated, “Look, if you two don’t want to stick around, everyone will understand. I can’t believe we didn’t tell you as soon as you arrived. It’s very possible that we’re all in danger by being around them, and the rest of us have made the decision to brave that chance. However, with your child, I doubt anyone would think twice about you two leaving.”
The couple exchanged a quick look before Zechs replied. “I don’t think we’d feel comfortable with running away from someone who can’t even come out of the shadows to air his grievances.”
“Her,” Trowa said. “The blood is from a female, remember?”
“Her, then,” Zechs replied.
“Hey, guys!” Duo’s voice cut into the conversation. He stood in the doorway, one arm behind his back to tug Heero forward as well. “What’s going on?”
“Duo, are you okay?” Quatre asked, utterly bewildered.
“Yeah, I’m fine. We’ve got an idea of how to fu--er,” Duo noticed Tredici gurgling at him from Noin’s arms, “That is, mess with the stalker’s head.”
“You have been apprised of the situation?” Heero looked over Duo’s shoulder at Zechs and Noin.
“Yes, just now actually,” Zechs answered, nodding.
“So what’s this idea?” Noin asked. “It must be something good to change your mood around so quickly.”
“It is,” Duo grinned. “Get this...we should leave the house tonight. All of us. Go do something, since Quatre nixed the entertainment.”
“Duo, Heero,” Quatre said after a moment of stunned silence. “Are you sure that you’re feeling okay?”
“You were right,” Duo muttered to Heero.
“About?” Quatre asked, looking back and forth between the couple.
“We were wondering who would imply that we had lost our collective sanity by suggesting this. Heero thought it would be you, but that you’d be tactful about it,” Duo cocked his head to the side.
Quatre rolled his eyes. “Great. I don’t know whether that’s insulting or not.”
Trowa chuckled. “Actually, I can see why you two would suggest this idea. It makes sense. Do something utterly unexpected, thereby putting yourselves in danger to lure the stalker out. You give her an opportunity to do something that would be less likely to involve the rest of us...But are you positive this is what you want to do?”
“Yes,” Heero replied, holding eye contact with Trowa. “If nothing happens, then we’re going to contact Sally tomorrow night to discuss a few things.”
Trowa nodded minutely. Apparently ‘a few things’ weren’t going to be public knowledge. He and Quatre, and Wufei as well, would probably find out later. On the plus side of Heero and Duo’s little plan, if nothing happened, it would reinforce the idea that someone inside the house was just scouting for specific information, and not the stalker herself.
“So, yeah, great, let’s spread the news,” Duo said. “Oh, yeah, can we use your computer, Quatre?”
“Sure, you know I don’t mind,” Quatre nodded as he stood up. “I have it protected, though, so I’ll go with you.”
“Great,” Duo replied.
“We’ll see you later today,” Quatre looked to Zechs and Noin. “Are you going to stay here this evening, or will you be going out with the rest of us?”
“It depends,” Noin answered, adjusting the child in her arms slightly.
“All right. I hate to leave guests by themselves at the table, but do you mind?” Quatre shifted his weight back and forth on his feet.
“Not at all,” Zechs nodded politely. “We can manage, I’m sure.”
“Thanks,” Quatre bobbed his head in an answering nod, then hurried out after Heero and Duo.
Trowa paused for a moment before he left the room. “You’re taking this well. Staying?”
“I guess we are,” Noin replied thoughtfully. “Probably because we haven’t stopped to think about it all yet. I assure you, I will probably be worried as anything once I’ve considered the situation.”
“So you might leave after all?” Trowa asked.
“I guess we’ll wait and see,” Zechs said. “It’s not like we’re going anywhere tonight, at any rate.”
Trowa nodded. “That makes sense.”
He turned and left Zechs and Noin at the table. The couple looked at each other, then down at their baby.
“Maybe we should leave,” Noin finally said. “Despite what you said about running away--which I agree with, by the way--if there’s any possibility that someone within the house could have been hired to leave that carnation, or even steal those keys, then I don’t know if I want Tredici here. I’m positive everyone would understand, considering the circumstances. If it were just you and I, it would probably be different.”
“But we’ve got someone else to take care of,” Zechs nodded. “We’ll think about it, see what happens. If things die down, then we’ll stay. If something else happens, then we’ll leave. Sound good?”
“I guess,” Noin replied, her face tense. She turned her attention to Tredici for a moment, then cleared her throat as she looked back up. “I think that sounds like a plan. Anything else happens, we’re out of here.”
They left the table then, leaving most of their food uneaten as a few of the staff began to clear away the dishes.
~ ~ ~ ~
Duo leaned against the corridor wall casually. He sighed and grabbed Heero’s wrist to see his watch. “Hm. I wonder what’s keeping them?” He asked as he moved to clasp the captured hand in his own.
Heero shrugged. “Why did you check my watch? Has yours stopped working?”
“Naw, it just felt like the thing to do,” Duo winked, squeezing his hand.
Heero rolled his eyes, not bothering to suppress a small smile. “Right.”
“You guys could have gone in if you had wanted to,” Quatre said, striding around the corner. He opened the door and went in. Trowa gestured for the other two men to follow, then closed the door behind himself.
“Sorry about that, I ran into Mrs. Jessam and informed her that we may all be out for the evening. I talked to her about digging into the staff about the carnation, by the way, like we talked about,” Quatre continued as he crossed the room.
“Um, all right then,” Duo replied. “Still going to try and place when that flower was dropped?”
“That’s the plan,” Quatre nodded as he sat down in front the computer.
“Have you set up the surveillance camera outside our bedroom door?” Heero asked.
“That’s what we’re about to look at, actually,” Trowa said. “We placed it this morning.”
As Trowa spoke, Quatre brought the surveillance footage of the spy camera they had utilized to observe Heero and Duo’s room door. He pointed to the screen, showing the couple the program and how it had been set up. “Okay, see, it’s motion sensitive and send the info back to the computer by using a tiny satellite chip to relay the information directly back to this console.”
Heero leaned on the computer desk, studying the monitor. “Did you just have this kind of thing sitting around?”
“Uh, yeah,” Quatre laughed nervously, tugging at the sleeves of his shirt. “It came in useful, right?”
“Have you tested it?” Duo asked, smirking slightly at his friend’s mild embarrassment.
“Yes, we tested it this morning after we set it up,” Trowa replied as Quatre brought up the footage.
“Hey, it got a few other people since the initial test,” Quatre said, bringing up a window. “Okay, this is me from this morning when we tested it. Let’s see who else walked by, all right?”
He clicked and another window appeared, but instead of showing a view of the hallway, it showed the weird blankness of something white blocking the camera’s view. A few seconds passed as the whiteness moved steadily past, followed by the bottom half of a maid’s uniform. Linen cart.
Another bit of footage showed Heero appearing at the opposite end of the hallway and striding quickly into the bedroom.
Watching the monitor, Heero shifted. He didn’t realize he could look that shocked or scared. Slightly embarrassed that the others had seen him in such a state, he clenched his jaw and watched as Quatre hastily opened the next clip.
Another window, only to see the path of the camera blocked again, this time by a pairs of legs. A bit of shifting, and the legs moved down the hallway towards the bedroom door. They watched as Noin met Zechs walking from the other direction. They met and exchanged a quick kiss, careful of the baby in Noin’s arms. They started down the hallway away from the camera, and were almost hit as Duo came hurtling around the corner.
Duo frowned as he watched himself being stopped by Zechs, the rage that boiled off of his recorded self was obvious. He watched himself almost leap down the rest of the corridor and disappear into the room. For a moment, Zechs and Noin stood, stunned, then hurried on their own way.
“Well, that was intensely flattering,” Duo said tensely, shaking his head. “So the camera works.”
The computer screen flickered suddenly, and a window popped up, showing Relena and Sylvia entering the end of the hallway farthest from the camera. They appeared to be deeply involved in their conversation, their mouths moving silently. As the four men watched the monitor, the women paused in front of Heero and Duo’s door, staring at it for a few seconds. Then they started walking again, coming closer and closer to where the camera was placed. Soon, their heads disappeared out the top of the small surveillance window; soon they were close enough that the entire screen was blocked.
They turned, two sets of slightly blurry clothes moving sideways as they turned the corner of the corridor, passing the camera. Then they paused. Only one person’s body was now blocking the view. Sylvia’s.
“Um...” Duo said, drawing the sound out. “What do you think they’re doing?”
Heero stared hard at the computer monitor. “They might have stopped to talk to someone.”
Trowa and Quatre exchanged a quick glance and remained silent.
Duo closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Damn it. I hate being paranoid.”
A knock at the door cut Heero off before he could say anything.
“Yes?” Quatre called out, his worried gaze wandering between Duo and the door.
“It’s me.”
Wufei.
“All right,” Quatre returned.
The door opened slowly, and Wufei looked in carefully before stepping into the room. “Fill me in,” he said, “What’s going on with those keys, what are you doing on the computer, and what’s this I’ve heard about tonight?”
“I don’t know. What have you heard?” Duo countered warily. Had news traveled so quickly?
“Are you insane?” Wufei shot back. “Rumor has it that you two,” he pointed first at Heero, then Duo, “Suggested that you put yourselves directly in harm’s way by having everyone leave the house tonight and ‘go out.’”
“Well, that would be the thing, wouldn’t it?” Duo shrugged, smiling casually. He started a mental countdown...5...4...3...2...
“You are insane!” Wufei shook his head. He turned to Heero. “Yuy! What is wrong with you?”
“Excuse me?” Heero asked evenly, crossing his arms over his chest.
“This was surely your idea, wasn’t it?” Wufei replied.
Heero straightened his back suddenly. How had Wufei known that? Had someone been spying on he and Duo earlier when they had come up with the idea? But wouldn’t the camera have shown that? “What?” He finally asked.
“I’m right, aren’t I? It’s suicidal, a bit insane, and entirely noble in a horribly warped sense of the word! It might as well have your name written all over it,” Wufei smirked. “But I’m not sure if anyone else would suspect that this idiocy was your idea, but to someone who knows you well it’s crystal clear.”
“Shit!” Duo grit out through his teeth. “Someone who knows us well? God fucking damn it!”
Heero glared at Wufei while he caught Duo’s arm and pulled the American to him in a sudden hard hug. Duo struggled, relaxed for a moment, then pulled away with a calm, albeit an uneasy expression on his face.
Heero cleared his throat. “Wufei. It’s good that you pointed this out, but couldn’t you have done it in a more...tactful...manner?”
“Excuse me?” Wufei stepped back, his hands coming up defensively. He blinked, then considered for a moment before continuing in a restrained tone. “I’m truly sorry if I set something off here, but this is an entirely ridiculous idea for so many reasons, and you have to know it.”
“Yes, yes we do,” Duo’s voice was quiet. “But it also makes a lot of sense. I’m sure you’ve mulled that over in your head along with the negative aspects of the idea, so don’t you think it would be worth a shot?”
“Not if one of you ends up dead,” Wufei replied evenly, his brow furrowing into a hard line. “How can you be so blasé about this?”
Quatre stood up from the computer chair, his fingers tightening into a white-knuckled grip on the chair back as he steadied himself. “Calm down. All of you.” His other hand ghosted up towards his chest.
Trowa immediately grabbed a hold of both Quatre’s shoulders and gently pushed him to sit back down.
The other three men had frozen, eyes wide as they watched Quatre’s shaking hand curl into a fist and pound the desktop in an angry outburst.
“Uh...Quatre? Is it, a, you know, well...I thought that you had a handle on that,” Duo asked, biting his lip as he searched for words.
“It comes and it goes, so I usually do, but there’s been such an overload in the house these past couple weeks, and the closer I am to a person the harder they are to push out...it’s even worse when such a multitude of things are coming at me from a bunch of different sources,” Quatre shook his head, frowning. “But I should still be able to control it. I apologize, I shouldn’t have interrupted. You were saying, Wufei?”
“I, well--" Wufei broke off and looked at Trowa. The taller man nodded. Wufei cleared his throat. “I just wanted to know why everyone would be so apparently okay with such a potentially deadly idea.”
“Wufei, we appreciate your concern, but think of it this way: if we make ourselves targets, we could be saving everyone else’s lives. We could throw the stalker off track with such a bizarre move. There are many positive aspects to consider,” Heero replied, trying to focus his attention back on the conversation.
“I can understand that, and I realize you two must know what you’re getting into, but isn’t there another way?” Wufei frowned thoughtfully. “I know that it might be disastrous if the information leaked, but what about the Preventers?”
“We’re going to contact Sally tomorrow night about some stuff if the situation doesn’t get any better,” Duo said. He shook his head, a grin forcing its way onto his face. “Aw, Wufei, it’s so sweet to know we’re loved!”
Wufei rolled his eyes, looking away. “Right.”
“About that...” Trowa broke in, “I got the impression there were things you didn’t want to say in front of Noin and Zechs. What were these ‘certain things’ you are going to discuss?”
“Seeing if there was any way to get surveillance footage from the post office,” Duo replied. “Basically, that’s it, and to see if there’s any other connections with the bombing.”
“The post office?” Quatre spoke up, rubbing his forehead tiredly. “That makes an astounding amount of sense. I can’t believe we didn’t think of that earlier.”
“We can’t be geniuses all the time,” Duo replied.
Wufei sighed, covering his eyes briefly with one hand in a gesture of tired frustration. “I suppose this is all decided and already being planned, then?”
“Yeah, but not too much. Just getting together some cars, since only some of the Manguanacs drove here. Mrs. Jessam is taking care of car renting and all that,” Quatre replied.
“Is everyone going to be pretty much sticking together, or is it all going to be random?” Wufei pressed.
“Well, I guess random would be better,” Duo replied. “After all, we don’t want to make a target of ourselves by all sticking together. Not to mention how much attention that large of group would draw.”
“But you two aren’t going to go off on your own completely, right?” Quatre asked, frowning.
“Not completely,” Heero shrugged. “But for a little while we probably are.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s right,” Duo paused, shifting nervously on his feet, “We could hang out with you guys or something, if that would make everyone feel better. That’s what I consider the safest thing to do, anyway.”
“Sure,” Trowa replied. “We don’t mind.”
“That’s an understatement,” Quatre muttered. “That way we can keep an eye on you two and know if you’ve disappeared for too long.”
“I’m fine with this...if Relena can be there,” Wufei spoke up, his face reddening slightly. He crossed his arms over his chest tightly.
“Yeah, yeah,” Duo replied, waving away the other man’s nervousness. “As if we’d expect anything different.”
“So everything is decided?” Heero asked after a moment.
Trowa nodded. “Looks like it.”
And so it was.
~ ~ ~ ~
Mrs. Jessam stalked back and forth in front of her lineup of permanent staff members. Forming two rows, the men and women looked at each other nervously and waited for the formidable Winner head of household staff to address them.
Suddenly Mrs. Jessam stopped, squaring her thick shoulders and looking calmly at the staff. Her voice was quiet and steady when she finally spoke. “One question: Who was in the guest quarters this morning, at any time, whether it was part of your duties or not.”
Four hands went up.
“All right. Everyone else can leave.”
When the door closed behind the last person, Mrs. Jessam walked the length of the four maids standing before her, glaring at them one by one. “So...Who was with you when you were in the guest wing, where did you go, and when were you there? Have you left the house today? Jenny!” The older woman tilted her head back and looked down at the maid sternly.
“Well, uh, this morning Tara and I changed linens in the rooms with the doors open. It was around nine, because a lot of the guests are usually up by then...and we did get most of the rooms. Later on, though, Samantha and I went through and tried to get the linens that hadn’t been changed that morning and got the towels,” the young woman spilled out. “I left this morning at ten so that I could go pick up my sister since we share a car. I used that as my lunch.”
“Fine,” Mrs. Jessam nodded, then turned to the next maid in line, a middle-aged woman with dirty blond hair. “Terry, your turn.”
“This morning around seven, Maxine and I,” the maid, Terry, nodded to the woman standing beside her, “Dusted the hall furniture and polished the mirrors.”
She finished, frowning harshly, and cleared her throat. “Really, Mrs. Jessam, why are we being treated like criminals? This is ridiculous. What exactly do you want to know? Is this interrogation because that silly little flower was left in front of those boys’ door this morning?”
The other three maids looked at Terry incredulously, then turned almost as one to see Mrs. Jessam’s reaction.
“Mrs. Giliam. That outburst was entirely uncalled for. If you wish to retain your position on Mr. Winner’s permanent staff, then you will not be able continue to conduct yourself in such a disrespectful manner,” Mrs. Jessam replied frostily. “Have you left the house today since then?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” the maid retorted, her eyes not making contact with the older woman’s. “I left for town at eleven for my lunch, since I start earlier than some people, I always take my longer break in the late morning.”
“I should hope you’re not afraid of met, my dear,” Mrs. Jessam smiled grimly. “That’s not my aim...All right, Maxine, your turn.”
“But Terry just said--" The dark haired woman started timidly. She stuttered under Mrs. Jessam’s reproving glare. “Uh, Terry and I did the furniture and mirrors! I went to lunch with her because she was going to that burger place I liked!”
“When where you in the guest wing?”
“I don’t remember! Right after the shift started at seven, I think!”
“All right,” Mrs. Jessam turned to the last maid. “Natasha?”
“Around nine I went through and watered the plants,” she replied promptly, keeping her light blue eyes fixed firmly at the floor. “I didn’t leave the house.”
“Thank you. Jenny, please stay here for the moment. The rest of you may go,” Mrs. Jessam said after a moment. “Expect me to see you later today or tomorrow individually, since some of you are off shift in a few minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am,” came the collective answer.
The other three ladies shuffled out while Jenny stood nervously enduring the brunt of Mrs. Jessam’s stern gaze.
“Ma’am?” Jenny asked, ducking her head. “This is about that flower thing, isn’t it? Tara and I didn’t do anything wrong this morning, did we? Because if you’re going to fire me then--"
“Oh, stop that,” Mrs. Jessam cut in mildly. “You’ve been one of the brightest, more hard-working employees I’ve had the pleasure of supervising.”
“I!” The younger woman’s head snapped up, her face plainly betraying her shock. “I mean--Thank you.”
Mrs. Jessam nodded, allowing a small smile to break her stern expression. “To answer your question, yes, this is about that flower. I’m narrowing down who, from the permanent staff, was in that area this morning. Did you see anything?”
“No...but Ophelia, you know, the deaf girl who’s a guest and who I’m kind of friends with now? She came and hung out with me after Tara went on break, so when I passed by the doorway I don’t think I was paying attention. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been distracted,” the maid ducked her head again.
“Wait...did Tara leave for her break from somewhere in the guest wing?”
“I’m sorry? What?”
“Did Tara, when she went on break, leave the guest wing unescorted by a permanent staff member?”
“...Yes,” the girl bit her lip, her fingers curling at her sides as she bowed her head even further. “I’m sorry! She was in a hurry because she said her pager went off and I was right in the middle of a room and she wanted to leave right then so I let her go and it’s my fault please don’t fire me I’m sorry!” She spat the words out in one breath, a quiet sob breaking her off mid-sentence.
“Stop that! You’re not going to lose your job over this,” Mrs. Jessam said calmly, her brow wrinkling in concern. “When was her break? Was it long?”
“Yes, I think she took that break as her lunch, because she told me she wouldn’t be back before I finished, and that she was sorry for leaving me to finish the linens by myself. Then just just...went...oh, and it was about nine thirty, I guess,” Jenny replied, her voice coming haltingly at first.
The door opened, and slowly Tara, the maid that had been sent for, stepped into the room, her posture slightly stooped in fear. Of course, Mrs. Jessam had made a production out of summoning the permanent staff right before a shift change, and the temporary staff had been halted in their duties, told not to do anything until the meeting was finished and the permanent staff came out again.
“Um, Maxine told me to come and see you,” the maid said, her light eyes almost hidden behind a ragged fall of mousy, blondish-brown bangs. She was very pale.
“Yes, dear,” Mrs. Jessam nodded curtly. “I have one question for you: Did you make any stops on your way out of the guest wing this morning?”
The maid’s shoulders tensed, bunching together as though she expected to be hit. “No!”
“Tell the truth!” The older woman demanded coldly. “You are on the temporary staff, therefore you will be leaving this job in less than three days’ time. You have no reason to be afraid of losing a few days’ pay. Therefore your fear is quite telling in and of itself. Shall I call the police and have them question you instead of me?”
“NO!” Tara’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. She stepped back, shrinking in on herself even more. Her voice came quietly, “I did. I did stop. I left that...that flower...I did it. I didn’t want to...”
“If you didn’t want to, then why did you do it?” Mrs. Jessam asked softly, suddenly worried. The girl now looked even more frightened than before.
“Tara, please tell us!” Jenny asked, carefully patting the other girl’s back in a comforting gesture. “Uh...Are you okay?”
“I did it because I was told to. After work last night, I went to the grocery store on my way home. I had one of the later shifts, so it was dark...and I had parked around the side of the building, like I always do because it’s not as long a walk, but it’s dark and there’s no street lights,” Tara said quietly, her voice coming out in a blank rush. “I had barely stepped out of my car when this...this...woman had pushed me against the side of my car and pressed up behind me to force me there and she had a knife and it was at my throat and cold.”
The other two looked at each other, shocked.
“She...she...she...told me that she knew where I lived and that if I didn’t do what she said then she’d come and find me and slit my throat. Or if I refused or yelled, then she’d kill me right then and there,” Tara whispered, her eyes wide and staring at nothing. “She asked me if I wanted to die in the dark, alone and helpless. I was...scared...so I said I’d do whatever she wanted if she only didn’t kill me.”
“And what...?” Jenny eased.
“She had me all pinned against the car and with her knife...she dropped that red flower on the car roof in front of my face and said I was to leave it outside those guys’ room door the next morning, then come back to the grocery store parking lot right after. I was to do it before a certain time...Once she had seen me arrive, she said she’d never see me again and that I’d be safe.”
“She?” Mrs. Jessam asked.
“Yeah...she sounded like a female, and since she was all up behind me I could feel her chest on my back,” Tara replied, still staring straight ahead.
Jenny blinked. “Whoa,” she looked up at Mrs. Jessam. “What are we going to do? If she leaves she could get hurt...I mean, what if this crazy person finds out she told us?”
“She won’t,” Mrs. Jessam replied. “Tara, you stay here. Jenny, you remain with her, please. I know that you’ve only got a couple hours left in your shift, and they will pass while you stay here and watch Tara. You shouldn’t leave either. I don’t want any harm to come to either of you.”
She didn’t want either of them wandering through the house alone...just in case. Mrs. Jessam sniffed, pursed her lips, and left the room. She had to find Mr. Winner, the sooner the better. Something had to be done, but she had no idea what.
~ ~ ~ ~
Trowa watched the telltale twitching of muscles up the side of his fiancé’s face as Quatre repeatedly clenched his jaw. By watching Quatre, he didn’t have time to worry about the implications of the head of staff’s report. One thing at a time.
“Thank you for taking the time to find this out for me, Mrs. Jessam, it is very much appreciated,” Quatre said. He took a deep breath, his shoulders forming a strong line. “And this maid, Tara Redson, is still in the second staff room?”
“Yes,” came the prompt reply.
“All right,” Quatre considered for a moment, then nodded to himself. “Please request that she stays there. Unless of course she wants to go home.”
“I’ll make a wild venture here and say that she will most definitely not want to leave the protection of the house just yet. She is...distraught,” Mrs. Jessam replied carefully.
“I’m sure she is,” Quatre nodded sharply. “Okay, have her stay there, and I’ll go in to talk to her soon, probably in less than thirty minutes. We’ll see what we can do.”
“Yes, sir,” Mrs. Jessam turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Quatre sagged suddenly, sitting down on the edge of his desk. “Damn, Trowa. Just...damn. I feel so sorry for this girl, because in a roundabout way she had her life threatened because she works for me...and yet I can’t help but wonder if she’s lying.”
“I know. I was thinking the same thing,” Trowa replied, leaning against the desk beside Quatre, close enough to be touching, but not quite.
Quatre edged sideways, taking in some of the warmth of his fiancé’s proximity. “Good to know we’re on the same wavelength. Do you have any idea what we’re going to do about this?”
“I thought you would,” Trowa said, easing his arm back on the desk so that it rested behind the blond.
“I wish I did,” Quatre shook his head, leaning into Trowa’s arm. “I hate not knowing what to do...but I feel like we’ve been put through so much...I just can’t think right now.”
“Perhaps we can have the girl put into protective custody with local law enforcement. We can do that without alerting anyone to the possible further implications of the case. At least until tomorrow, when I’m fairly certain Heero and Duo will contact Sally again whether something comes up or not,” Trowa replied.
Quatre turned and looked at him. “That’s a good idea. There are quite a few of us that have the clearance with the Preventers to request protective custody without having too many questions raised right away. Hopefully no messy conflicts will pop up with jurisdiction on something as simple as temporary protective custody...well, temporary until Heero and Duo either report their stalker as official or we can have her questioned in relation to the current bombing case.”
Trowa nodded, smiling slightly. “Exactly.”
Quatre tilted his head sideways and gave Trowa a suspicious, but amused look. “Are you humoring me?”
“Of course not,” the taller man shrugged. “I’m just glad you seem to be getting a bit more control in this situation. Now we have a plan. How do you suppose we carry it out?”
The blond man raised one eyebrow slowly, then started laughing quietly. “You’re too good to me, you know that? You know just how to nudge me in the right direction.”
“Nothing more than you deserve,” Trowa responded, shrugging again, tightening his arm around Quatre’s back.
“I think that’s questionable, but okay,” Quatre closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. “How could we be subtle about getting her into custody, then? I don’t think calling up the police and having a squad car come to the house would be a good idea. We could be watched, after all. In the very least, the neighbors would be alarmed.”
“Maybe tonight she and that other maid friend of May and Ophelia’s could come, make it look like they were invited?” Trowa suggested.
“...And then go by the police station?” Quatre finished. “That’s good. Do we trust this other maid?”
“I suppose. Mariemeia is a good judge of character, after all, and she’s on the permanent staff. You’ve already said that you trust Mrs. Jessam’s judgment,” Trowa replied. “Before this plan gets set into stone, though, we need to see if the others agree with us. Also we need to find out if the girl even would want to go into protective custody.”
“All right then. We’ll go talk to Heero and Duo to make sure they’re okay with this. Then we should probably go talk to Miss Redson to question her a little for ourselves and see if she what she wants. We can pull this off pretty easily, I’m sure,” Quatre summarized.
An hour later, and they had a plan. Mariemeia “invited” her new friends from the staff to come out with her when they got off work. (She said she had planned to invite Jenny along anyway.)
The police were contacted, and they agreed that the girl’s assault required at least temporary protective custody. So it was settled.
That evening, the Manguanacs Corps, several war heroes, a few political figures, an infant with parental accompaniment, and some ordinary folk unleashed themselves on the small city.
...And nothing happened to any of them.
Some people felt a profound sense of disappointed relief. Others...felt something else.
~ ~ ~ ~
The smell of chlorine invaded Its nostrils, but the stench was a small price to pay for the final steps.
Everything was blending, coming together in a fated mixing of elaborate manipulation...
The figure cut a shrill laugh into the darkness surrounding it.
It was going to win.
Soon.
Soon!
Soon the artist would birth a true masterpiece.
And then, then It would use the paint of their blood to color the brainchild that had taken years of preparation to mature...Oh yes, the nurturing would soon end and the destined beast of retribution would exhibit itself! Destiny aided It.
soon...
It couldn’t be stopped.
~ ~ ~ ~
Sally stared at her computer screen.
She was now positive that the woman who had bribed the desk clerk at the hotel was the same person who had been Heero and Duo’s next-door neighbor.
They had finally obtained a clear picture of the woman’s face, taken from the hotel room footage. A reflection off the glass doorway as the she left had revealed the only full frontal view of her features that they could successfully isolate.
Beside the frozen bit of surveillance footage, another picture was displayed. They had acquired the grainy ID scan that Sakano Inc. had taken of the woman who had moved into the apartment beside Heero and Duo’s less than a day before the pair had taken out their own lease. A background check had been run, and the neighbor’s record had been so clean that it was utterly suspicious. They had been able to pull up an official identification picture from said file.
The ID picture was much more distinct than the surveillance footage freeze frame. It showed the woman to have bright red hair, probably dyed, and no unusual features. It just so happened that Miss Carisa McDonald was listed among the missing from the bombing.
And worst of all, Sally thought the woman looked familiar. Perhaps it was because she had seen bits and pieces of the woman’s face from a variety of different angles. Maybe it was because she had been focused on the case too intensely and wanted to find something. Maybe it was because she had seen the woman before. Maybe she was hallucinating.
Sally closed her eyes briefly and sighed.
Nevertheless, it was past lunchtime and she still had to get in contact with both the Spencers, the couple she that had been paid to move out of their apartment (apparently to make room for Heero and Duo) and the desk clerk from the Chester International hotel, who had been bribed to point the couple in the direction of Sakano Inc. realty in the first place. She needed them to see the pictures and confirm that the woman was indeed the person the two parties had dealt with respectively.
It would probably be better if she sent out other agents to take care of that, she realized. Now that the connections were starting to come together, Sally’s hunch had become a very solid lead. Devoting manpower to it shouldn’t be a problem.
Sally picked up the phone, still hoping that the lead would be proven false. A few minutes later, she had agents making the necessary contacts. While she waited, she continued to stare at the face on the screen.
A knock at the office door jolted her almost out of her chair. A glance at the clock told her about twenty minutes had passed while she was lost in thought.
Sally cleared her throat and straightened her jacket. “Enter.”
Marsh stepped in, his face pinched slightly with concern. “Hey, boss lady, you look tired.”
Attempting a smile, Sally shrugged. “Hopefully we’re getting close to something, then we can all take a break.”
“Yeah, hopefully,” he nodded. “Uh, we just got finished with showing around the picture. The Spencers are almost completely positive that the floppy hat woman is their briber. Cynthia Kanno from the hotel confirmed that the ID photo is of the same woman that paid her. Just thought you’d like to know as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Agent Marsh, for your quick report,” Sally replied. She considered for a moment. “How long do you think running her face through the databases would take?”
“Well, I dunno...hold on, I’ll ask Kyle,” Marsh turned in the open doorway and called back into the greater office. “Hey, Kyle! How long do you think running the mystery woman’s face would take?”
“Depends!”
“On what?”
“How many searches it needs to go through! Hold on.”
Sally smiled slightly as she heard the other agent’s approaching footsteps. A moment later, he was standing beside Agent Marsh.
“Well, first the facial identification database that we use runs through known international criminals, those at large first followed by those we’ve caught, just in case. Oh, yeah, and you should know that it runs on bone structure variation, so it usually catches minor plastic surgery modification. Anyway, then the program runs through the at-larges by major regions and colonies, then the caught ones, then it goes into missing persons, alphabetical through the entire earth and colonies, then it goes through and hits on--"
“Thank you, Agent Broflovski,” Sally held up a hand. “How long can it take, at the most?”
“Uh, about 36 hours to confirm no matches,” the man replied.
“God, why didn’t you just say that to begin with?” Marsh asked, punching the other agent’s arm.
“Ow! Hey!”
“Ahem. Agents?” Sally cleared her throat.
They froze.
“Run the suspect’s face through the program, Agent Broflovski. I want to be contacted as soon as a match is made.”
“Yes, ma’am, but I can’t do it here. We have to send the info to headquarters, then they contact us if there’s a match,” the agent replied.
“Then do that,” Sally replied. “Tell them to contact me personally when and if they find anything out.”
The red haired man nodded, already heading back out the door. “Can do.”
“Agent Marsh?”
“Yes?”
“Tell the rest of the agents that we’re not working late tonight again but not to just abandon their own leads, no matter how weak or how improbable. Right now the case could be hinging on that woman’s identity, but this could be a total waste of time if we’re wrong or she’s found among the dead. I’d hate to think we pursued this into the ground and ended up losing the real criminal,” Sally said.
“Okay, I’ll go tell them,” Marsh turned to leave, then turned back. “You really don’t want this to be the bomber,” he observed, cocking his head to the side.
“No I don’t,” she admitted.
“We,” he nodded his head towards where the other agents were busy with their work, “Don’t really relish the possibility either. You’re not alone in that. Everybody likes the guys and they don’t want ‘em to be connected with it.”
“Thank you,” Sally smiled wearily.
“No problem,” Marsh grinned and left, leaving the door open.
Sally felt the smile fade from her face. Right now all she could do was wait. She hated waiting. Because who knew what could happen in the meantime.
Best not to think about it. Worrying never helped, action did, but sometimes action had to wait.
~ ~ ~ ~
Morning halfway around the world found Duo wide awake and studying the ceiling.
“What’s up?” Heero asked, rolling over and looking at him.
“The ceiling, apparently. I’m making sure it doesn’t try to go anywhere,” Duo replied quietly. He sighed. “I can’t sleep anymore. I can’t believe nothing happened last night. I can’t believe that poor little maid was threatened at knifepoint because of us. I can’t believe nothing happened last night. I can’t believe that the bitch wasn’t watching us the whole time. I can’t believe she wasn’t trying to throw us off by not doing anything because I’m fucking paranoid. Oh, have I mentioned that I can’t believe...”
“Nothing happened last night,” Heero finished for him. He frowned, stifling a yawn. “And what if we were supposed to notice those keys missing and we’re making a big deal out of nothing? What if she didn’t know we were going out until we already were? What if we rattled her into making a mistake by doing it?” He countered, rolling half on top of Duo’s body and blocking his view of the ceiling.
“I don’t know,” the American replied, winding his arms around Heero.
“I don’t either. Worrying will only help her and hurt us,” Heero said, leaning down to steal a kiss. He made a face. “We have morning breath.”
“It is morning,” Duo laughed quietly as he moved up for another kiss. “And I feel like something is going to happen today.”
“Maybe it will.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Through slatted blinds, the figure observed her prey.
...and bared its teeth in a vicious smile.
Soon.
~ ~ ~ ~