By: Spooks
~ ~ ~ ~
So they waited. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, save for ten or so of the Manguanacs joining the core group of three couples for dinner. They were more or less forced to use one of the dining rooms instead of eating at the kitchen table, just to fit everyone at the same table. After they ate, the whole, bigger group congregated in one of the larger rec rooms.
The evening passed in a blur, and before they knew it, midnight had come and gone, taking their activities into the hours of early morning before anyone decided to even attempt sleep. For their part of the late night, the Manguanacs, while very aware of the situation concerning Heero and Duo's stalker, had merely gotten carried away with their fun and friends. For the former pilots, particularly the two in question, the reason for staying up so late was decidedly less simple: they knew that they wouldn't rest easily, and they were prolonging the inevitable hours of tossing and turning.
Playing the stalker's waiting game was nerve-wracking, and to say that it was not very conducive to healthy sleep was a bit of an understatement. Eventually, though, even the three couples had to break away into their separate rooms and at least make an attempt at resting.
As expected, dawn seemed to take forever to arrive. Unlike the day before, there was no staying in bed until noon, rather, they were all up and about not long after the sun had risen. No one had yet ventured out of their rooms, though, preferring to spend some quiet time with their significant others.
It was just as well that everyone was awake and coherent, because the ringing of the phone at 8 a.m. sharp probably would have woken them.
"Hello, Winner residence," Quatre answered the call quickly, just in case anyone else in the household was still asleep. He spoke into the audio pickup while he activated the video feed.
Trowa muted the vid-set before getting up and moving to where he could see the screen. The pair had been watching the morning news in Quatre's bedroom.
Lady Une's face flickered onto the screen even as her voice came from the small speaker. "Hello, Quatre. Or would 'good morning' be more appropriate?" She smiled slightly as she caught sight of Trowa coming into the picture behind Quatre.
"Either would be suitable," The blond man returned, nodding politely. He noticed that Une was wearing her Preventer's uniform, and the caller ID returned the Preventer's colony headquarters as the source. He continued smoothly, "To what pleasure do we owe this call? Is it concerning Preventer business?"
"Cutting right to the chase, I see. Good strategy for the business world, I take it?" Une's smile widened fractionally.
"Indeed it is," Quatre nodded, fighting a grin. "I supposed that if you were calling to say you could now make the party, then you wouldn't be calling from the Preventer's main office, nor wearing your uniform."
"Ah, but what if it was just convenient for me to make the call from here?" Une parried, one slim eyebrow lifting in amusement.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it two in the morning where you are?" Quatre answered, a full-fledged smile creeping onto his face.
"Indeed it is," Une laughed. "Very observant."
"Thank you," the businessman replied, also chuckling. Behind him, Trowa let out a soft snort of exasperation.
"Hello, Trowa," Une nodded, her eyes seeming to shift on the screen in the tall man's direction.
He waved one hand in a gesture of measured nonchalance.
The Lady brushed a strand of soft brown hair behind her ear. Her face lost its amused expression. "Well, to get to the point, we need to speak with Heero and Duo about the bombing incident last week. After they reported back that it was actually their own building that was destroyed, we understood that it would be insensitive to question them about the premises at that specific time. That's why we haven't called back or laid any pressure on them about this yet. We really would appreciate it if they could speak with Sally about the area and the layout of the building as soon as possible. We have the floor plans and the testimony of a few witnesses, but you can understand how the information they could provide about the day to day workings of the building might give us something more to go on."
"The investigation isn't going well?" Quatre asked.
"We have so little to work with. The bomb went off during the evening, when many people were home, so there are very few survivors of the actual blast. The two hundred or so people that weren't present at the time of the detonation are mostly civilians, and so far their reports have been imprecise, either due to emotional trauma or sheer lack of good observational skills," Une replied. "And since Duo and Heero are still reserve Preventers..."
Her mouth tightened, becoming a tight line. As head of the Preventers, she could call rank and bring Duo and Heero active on this case. By not pointing this out explicitly, she was not only being polite, but also being as sympathetic possible while still maintaining her professionalism. It was a fine line for her to walk. She was still trying to learn grace in such matters.
"Well, I'll pass the message along," Quatre said slowly, nodding to show that he understood all that Lady Une did and did not say. He'd use the information if and when he deemed it necessary to do so. "Can you give me the contact information as well?"
"Certainly," Une stated, her expression relaxing. "I'll also send the updates we have on the case. Fax or email?"
"Email," the blond man replied, bringing up the program.
For a moment Une was silent as she turned away from the video screen, presumably to send the information. A few seconds later, the email program on Quatre's computer beeped. He opened the document and began to print it.
"Of course, all of this information is classified from the public," Une said. Again, she was being generous. She didn't have to send any of the updated information about the case if she didn't want to, Quatre noted. In fact, she probably shouldn't.
"Of course," He confirmed. "The information will be kept secure."
"Thank you, Quatre. I'll let you two get back to your morning," Une smiled tiredly. "Good bye."
"Bye," Quatre replied, then cut the connection and turned off the device. He picked up a few of the papers from the printer's tray. "Wow, they really haven't come very far. They know the security patterns, but all the surveillance footage was kept inside the building."
Trowa turned the muted vid-set off and joined his lover in looking at the newly printed information. "Hm. At least they've analyzed the explosives. According to this," he shuffled through the papers in his hand, "they actually found the remote timer. It was located in the basement of the building across the street. When the countdown terminated, it sent a signal to the local detonators that were apparently set into the individual explosive packs. The successful strategic implosion of the building must have needed very careful timing."
Quatre moved closer to look at the papers Trowa was holding. "Does it say when the device was actually set? How far in advance the remote timer was started?"
"Since they have the countdown device whole and completely intact, there were able to tell quite easily. They the countdown started that morning," Trowa stated, his voice suddenly very quiet. "I wonder what time Heero and Duo left for the airport."
Quatre paled slightly. "Surely not... You don't think it's related to their stalking, do you?"
"I don't know. We don't want to make assumptions at this point. It might direct the investigation in the wrong direction," Trowa's jaw clenched. "I hope it's not related."
"You're right, we don't want to make assumptions," the blond nodded, snaking an arm around the other man's waist. "Besides, it's Duo and Heero's call whether or not to bring those possibilities up."
Trowa wrapped his arm around Quatre's shoulders and returned the semi-embrace. "True."
"This worries me," Quatre said after a quiet moment.
"Me too."
"We should go and give them the information..."
"Yes, we should."
"I don't really want to, though."
"Me neither, but it must be done."
Quatre pulled away slightly and looked up at Trowa. "I know."
Trowa just nodded.
They gathered the printouts and left to deliver the implicitly disturbing information.
~ ~ ~ ~
"You know, Heero, my hand is completely healed now. I can brush my own hair."
Heero grunted softly and refused to relinquish his grip on Duo's hairbrush. "So?"
Duo looked casually over his shoulder, cast a descending gaze at the damp hair cascading down his bare back, then raked his eyes back up to take in Heero. He grinned. "Good point."
"I thought so," the Japanese smirked and began to carefully tackle the thick tangles, starting at the bottom and slowly working his way up.
"Mmmmm...." Duo let his head tilt back slightly as his hair was gently tugged. He could feel the tension melting from his body with each little movement of the brush. "Ahh...."
"Articulate."
"Sarcastic?"
"You know it."
Duo laughed, careful not to move too much for fear of disturbing Heero's brushing.
A knock sounded at their door. Two knocks, to be exact, of medium force and in quick succession. Hard enough to be heard easily, but not intrusive. Quatre's knock.
The pair exchanged a glance.
"I'll get it," Heero said, handing Duo the brush and grabbing his shirt on the way to the door. Both of them had only been wearing boxers. As Heero reached for the doorknob, Duo also pulled a shirt over his head.
"Good morning!" Came Quatre's bright voice from across the threshold of the room as Heero opened the door.
As he threaded his mass of damp hair through the neck of his shirt, Duo could tell his friend's voice sounded just a bit too forced. It was that kind of strain that tainted the Arabian's voice when he was either very stressed or extremely worried. It was probably a bit of both.
"Morning," Duo replied, looking up from his hair as the blond stepped into the room. Yup, Quatre was definitely worried about something. He noticed the papers Trowa was carrying. Hmm...two plus two equals four. Whatever it was that Quatre was stressing over must have to do with those papers.
Heero nodded his greeting as the two newcomers entered the room. "What's wrong?"
Well, Duo thought with amusement, Heero must have picked up on Quatre's state as well. Good for Heero, both for noticing and for asking about it.
"Une called," Trowa supplied. He handed the papers to Heero, then placed his hands on Quatre's shoulders from behind. "That's the updated information on the apartment bombing, as well as contact information on how and when to reach Sally Po. She's heading the field team and would like to talk to you two about the case."
"Are they going to bring us in on the investigation?" Duo asked, rising from where he was seated on the edge of the bed.
"No," Quatre spoke up, his voice softer than before. He had sagged backwards a little bit into Trowa. "Une said they just want to talk to you about the general layout of the premises and that kind of thing. Also..."
"Also?" The Japanese man asked, raising a thick eyebrow at the blond's hesitation. Something was definitely wrong.
"You may want to look at the time the countdown was set," Quatre finished, looking Heero in the eye. "Not to jump to conclusions, but it's suspicious."
Duo leafed through the papers that Heero had handed him and found the information. He cleared his throat. "Suspicious is a slight understatement."
Heero leaned closer and skimmed the paper. "So, the countdown started on the remote approximately ten minutes after we left our apartment for the airport. It might be a coincidence. There is no proof that it could be otherwise."
"Yeah, you're right...but still. We can't eliminate the possibility that it is more than just happenstance... All those peop--Damnit!" Duo swore. "But here's a thought: Why do you suppose the terrorist would set the bombs off this way? Why use a remote timer in a different building? Sure, use a remote timer for the hell of it, but why not place the damn thing in the same building as the bombs so that it would be destroyed in the rubble? It's not like it would have been crushed by the rubble before it completed sending the detonation sequences. So, here's what I want to know: Why leave the evidence?"
Comprehension widened Quatre's eyes. "Unless the perpetrator wanted to leave some sort of clue on purpose..."
"Exactly!" The American exclaimed, his voice full of morbid certainty. "And look at the kind of clue it is. It doesn't give any real information. It's the criminal laughing at the investigators. It's a taunt, a boast, and an insult, all rolled into one! And who does that sound like?"
"We don't have any proof!" Heero interjected.
"Of course we don't!" Duo threw back. "But the circumstances are so convenient that they're cozy, and the modus operandi is the same, so I don't think you can play the devil's advocate in the case nearly as well as I can contend my point. Don't you dare throw away this possibility just because you're afraid of it!"
Trowa took a few steps quickly backwards, pulling Quatre with him.
Duo had whirled to face Heero, his eyes alight with caustic fire. Suddenly the wet-haired, t-shirt and boxer clad young man was replaced with the embodiment of pure intensity and barely repressed fury. Duo had changed into the very image of vicious Death personified.
"I didn't say that I didn't think you could be right. I just said we didn't need to paint ourselves into a corner," Heero replied calmly, his eyes the only thing that betrayed his sudden nervousness. He took one measured step forward, moving towards the seething Duo Maxwell.
Heero took a deep breath and stared Duo straight in the eye. "Those people's deaths, regardless whether or not if it was the work of the stalker, were not your fault."
Straight to the heart of Duo's real anger.
"Of course it's my fault!" Duo spat. "Whose else would it be?"
"Mine."
Duo froze, the word echoing in his head. He blinked, slowly, and in a rush, all the rage drained from the room's atmosphere. "No, not your fault, never your fault."
"The stalker is after both of us. Therefore, if you're going to lay blame on the targets instead of the one who set up the explosives, then I was also a target," Heero continued, moving another step closer to his lover. "So if you insist on this strange reasoning, then we share the blame."
"Fuck," Duo whispered, bowing his head. "Sorry. This is the second time I've lost it over this stupid stalker. I don't know what's wrong with me. You're right, I know you are. I know it in my head, but not in my heart... Shit, that sounds corny."
From the corner the room he and Trowa had retreated to, Quatre spoke up tentatively. "Well, things are usually corny because they're true, and therefore have been said one too many times."
Duo raised his head, smiling sardonically. "Yeah, you're right."
Heero finally reached out and placed a hand on the American's shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I suppose so. Eventually...well, maybe...Oh, I don't know," He replied, looking down at the papers still clutched in the Japanese man's other hand. "So, uh, when do you want to talk to Sally?"
"Whenever you're ready," Heero shrugged, then glanced over at Trowa and Quatre. "Did Une set a specific deadline?"
"She wanted you to call as soon as possible," Trowa shrugged. "She was trying to be nice about it. I suggest you not push your luck."
"You can use the com center in my bedroom for privacy, if you'd like," Quatre offered.
"Sure, but what time would be good to call? If we called right now we'd catch her at 10 p.m. their time," Duo muttered, checking the time zone map nestled in between the contact information and the beginning of the case updates. "I don't want to call right now, either. Should we wait, then?"
"If we wait until around 6 tonight, it'll be 9 a.m. tomorrow, Tokyo time, so that would probably work," Heero replied after a moment's calculation.
"Perfect. We're not procrastinating, we're being considerate," Duo snickered. He stopped laughing suddenly and looked serious. "Should we tell Sally our suspicions, even though we don't have any proof?"
"It couldn't hurt," the Japanese man answered.
"True, true," Duo agreed. He turned to the other couple in the room. "Hey, uh, so...sorry about losing my cool there. When's breakfast?"
Quatre rolled his eyes. "I don't know. We haven't been anywhere else in the house yet."
"Oh, so you were spending the morning in bed again?" Duo teased, trying to banish the tight feeling still gripping his chest. His voice came out rather strained.
"No. That was yesterday," Trowa deadpanned, pulling his blond lover tightly against him in one sudden movement. Quatre made a startled sound. "But now that you mention it...That is a good idea."
Heero and Duo blinked in unison.
Quatre blushed.
Trowa smirked, a ghost of an expression.
"Well then," the tall man spoke again. "We'll see you later. At lunch."
In two seconds flat, they were gone, only a wisp of displaced air left as a sign of their passing.
The two men remaining looked at each other for a long disbelieving moment, then burst out laughing. Since when had Trowa, of all people, learned how to diffuse a tense situation with humor? And dirty humor at that?
How times had changed...
In so many ways...for the better.
~ ~ ~ ~
Most of the rest of the day passed uneventfully. Catherine called to say that she wouldn't be arriving until the last day of the party because of a date mix-up with performances. As a result, she'd be staying a few extra days after everyone else left to spend time with Trowa and Quatre before heading off again. Of course, the way things were shaping up, some of the other party guests might not be leaving, either. Quatre was seriously considering offering Duo and Heero a suite of rooms until the whole stalker episode blew over.
Strangely, nothing sinister arrived in the day's mail except for a credit card offer. Spooooky.
The unusual silence of the day was ironically unsettling. It was a welcome change from the threatening packages, but it also gave everyone just a little too much time to think.
Six o'clock finally crawled its way around the clock, its arrival accompanied by Duo and Heero settling in front of the telephone in Quatre's bedroom. Earlier in the day they had sent an email indicating the time they would be calling, and by then Sally should have received it. If she had a problem with the call's time, 9 a.m. for her, then she would have replied to the email in the hour since office hours had started.
Duo dialed up the connection as soon as they were ready, his fingers stabbing the keys a little harder than necessary. He was irked about the chairs.
See, there were two chairs in the room already, so seating hadn't been a problem. Duo had hoped they could have put off the call for a few minutes, that is, he hoped that there would be only one suitable chair in the room, requiring them to find another chair so they would both have a seat. But no! There had been an extra, very nice, and very inconspicuous computer chair tucked into the far end of the com center, so they didn't have to go find another one, and therefore didn't earn a few minutes of forced procrastination. Duo took it as an omen that they should get the call over with as soon as possible. Chair omens. He was going crazy.
"Here we go," the American muttered as the connection went through.
A moment later the screen flickered to life and Sally Po's voice came through the small speaker. "Hello, Heero, Duo," She smiled tightly, nodding at both of them on the flat monitor.
"Sally," Heero acknowledged in return.
"Hey, Sally. I didn't think we'd get you right off the bat. I figured we'd get a lower level agent or something," Duo said, giving in to his desire to procrastinate.
Perhaps the chair thing had merely been about Trowa having his own computer chair at Quatre's personal com center, despite the fact that the tall man still didn't live with the blond. Therefore...the omen meant the Trowa was finally going to move in with Quatre? Or that Quatre was going to take a vacation and go with the circus for a while? Duo realized his thoughts were starting to get unfocused and cut them off. Perhaps, though, if he were careful, he could still get Sally to chat a little, and put off this uncomfortable ordeal.
God, Duo was tense.
"Well, Duo, this is a tight operation right now. Not only can we not spare the personnel, but anyone with possibly relevant information is given a direct line to my desk," Sally's tight smile fought to stay on her face as she spoke. She sighed, her expression relaxing for a tired moment. "I'm sorry, if I may sound rude, but we're going to have to get down to business now."
So much for chatting. Duo's fingers twitched.
"All right," Heero nodded again. Underneath the line of sight of the phone, his hand sought out Duo's.
"Okay then," She composed herself once again. "Do I have your permission to record this call for later review?"
"Yes," Heero answered. Under the desk, Duo squeezed his hand.
"Thank you," Sally replied, her tone grateful. "I'd hate to have to try and take notes right now. My brain's a little fried," she paused to clear her throat. "Please don't hold back anything, even if you think it may be irrelevant. At this point we don't know what little bit of information might be important to the case."
"About relevance," Duo spoke up, his voice measured and even. "We need to discuss something with you about the timing and the placement of the countdown device after you finish with your initial questions."
The Preventer nodded minutely. "Of course. Now, to begin with, what first drew you to live in this particular apartment building? We're trying to determine whether or not certain victims had any connections with each other, that sort of thing."
The couple glanced at each other. They weren't expecting that line of questioning, but it did make sense. For instance, if the complex had been advertised to young professionals and the rich exclusively, then an anarchist or anti-capitalism group could be responsible. Like those credit card buildings that those underground fight clubs had bombed last year, the only difference in that those attacks had taken no causalities.
However, the population of the apartment building had been varied between large working class families scraping money together to fairly well off singles living alone. That didn't mean, though, that the line of reasoning wasn't sound.
"Well, we had been between permanent dwellings for about two weeks," Duo started, his tone taking on a brisk manner as he recounted the information. It was like a debriefing. "Heero had mentioned wanting to live in Japan, so we decided to settle in Tokyo for a while. We had been staying in a hotel for about two days before we decided to start looking into finding an apartment. Our things were either in temporary storage or at one of our small permanent homes on the colonies, so that wasn't a problem. Anyway, I went to the front desk to inquire about local realtor companies and good areas to live, since locals usually know best, and the girl at the counter directed me immediately to the realtor that owned the building. She said her sister's cousin's boyfriend knew the owner or something like that. You have the realtor company's name, right? I can't remember it right off the top of my head."
"Sakano Inc.," Heero supplied.
"Just a moment. In what hotel were you staying? Can you give me a description of this clerk?" Sally asked.
"Chester International, it's the only one in the city, believe it or not. And the girl, uh, well, I can't remember anything about her other than she looked Japanese. I wasn't paying attention, to tell you the truth," Duo replied, biting his lip in embarrassment. He took a breath, then continued with the rest of his narration. "So we went to the realtors' office, and it turned out they just had an opening turn up that morning. A couple had just skipped out on their lease the day before, so we could move in as soon as we signed the papers on a temporary lease. So we signed and moved in the next day," the American finished with a slight shrug.
"Any particular reason why you chose Tokyo in particular to live? There was absolutely no prior knowledge on your part about this realtor or the building?" Sally asked after a moment's consideration.
Heero shifted slightly in his computer chair. "It was a personal decision. As you know, I am of Japanese descent. I myself don't really know much about my parents, not even their identities or if they were originally the colonies or if they actually were born on Earth. Lowe and J didn't tell me much of anything about my past, which is understandable, in retrospect, considering what they used me for," he paused, grateful when Duo gently squeezed his hand underneath the computer desk. "I was raised in the colonies, all my early memories are from there. I wanted to see Japan, to live there for a while.
"With the size of Tokyo, and especially considering mine and Duo's reluctant fame, it was one of our first choices. Not only that, but with the sudden boom of globalization that's been taking place during the new peace, Tokyo still offers enough things that are familiar to newcomers without losing its own intensely distinct pockets of culture. A perfect place for us to live, at least for a while," Heero smirked suddenly, realizing he had rambled almost as much as his lover would have. "So, no, we had absolutely no prior knowledge of the realtor company nor the apartment building before the hotel clerk referred Duo."
Sally smiled in amusement. "Thank you for your thorough answer. When did you move in, what date?"
Duo and Heero looked at each other. Sally obviously had the realtor's files and probably already knew what day they had moved in. She trusted them, but she was still checking up on the consistency and accuracy of their stories. Smart woman.
"We were there about two weeks, right? Forwarded mail had just started to finish catching up with us," Duo said.
"We had to pay a month's rent up front, along with the deposit, and we were going to have to wire money a couple of days ago for this coming month's rent...well, if the place were still standing," Heero considered and removed his hand from Duo's. He turned to Quatre's computer and pulled up an electronic calendar. The action took him out of the picture feed going to Sally's phone's screen.
The longhaired man snorted. "Hey, well, we don't have to worry about paying that rent now. I wonder if we'll get our deposit back? God, how morbid."
Heero glanced over at Duo. "Did we move in on a Tuesday or was it Monday?"
"Tuesday, definitely. I remember, because Mondays suck, and we were at the realtors on the Monday. I joked with the guy who showed us the place about it," the American replied.
"We moved in on the twenty-ninth," the Japanese man stated, moving back onto Sally's screen. Underneath the table, he linked his hand with Duo's again.
"All right. So you were there enough time to observe the residents and the security of the building. Could you give me the details on both, security first?" The blonde woman inquired.
"Well, it was actually a pretty decent setup," Duo started. "The lobby had two security guards at all times. The guards pretty much knew everyone's face, because the first few days we were there they kept giving us weird looks. As I'm sure you know from the building schematics, the lobby only contained the mailboxes and the door leading out to the street. The elevators and stairwells were in a separate area than the lobby, only accessible with a five digit key code that changed every month. Of course, we didn't actually live there long enough to find out whether or not they really did change the code every month or not."
"They probably did," Heero said. "There were also surveillance cameras in the lobby, elevator and stair areas, the underground parking garage, and in the hallways, for security purposes. The only way I could imagine that the bomber or bombers could have smuggled in the explosives is one or two at a time, during the daily rushes."
"Daily rushes?" Sally inquired.
"Yeah," Duo nodded. "You know, when work and school start or end. It's like rush hour. Lots of residents come and go at once, making it hard to keep track of everyone. It's conceivable that someone inconspicuous could have slipped in with a small package or bag while walking along with a group or residents. It's not that hard to do, that is, to tack oneself onto the end of a group like you know them."
"That's what I was thinking, too," Heero agreed. "With so many residents, it would be nearly impossible for the guards to keep up with all their friends, acquaintances, and other guests."
Duo's hand had tightened around Heero's at the mention of the residents.
"Please, could you describe the residents? So far the survivors and the people that weren't home at the time of the detonation are either too injured or too traumatized to give information on those that were there. We have their identities, their names and basic information from Sakano Incorporated, but having your objective opinions may help," Sally paused, her tone sympathetic, then her eyes on the screen shifted to look at Duo. "I'm asking this because you were removed from the situation when it occurred, and because you are both professionals...but if you feel uncomfortable discussing the topic, just say so, I can let it slide."
"No, it's fine," Duo answered, his voice emotionless and uncharacteristically flat. "There was a good mix of apartment sizes, from one bedrooms like ours to three bedrooms. I think the top floor was a penthouse. Some business types lived alone, some people pooled their money together, and families of different incomes lived in different sized apartments depending on the number of people and how much money they had. There was an elderly couple that even lived next door to us, a sweet old married couple that had lived in Japan their whole lives. The old lady brought us some food the first day we moved in as a housewarming present. The people that lived there were normal, average people that you'd find in any apartment complex. They were innocent."
Underneath the table, Duo's knuckles had turned white from the force of the grip he had on Heero's hand. Carefully, the Japanese man squeezed his partner's tightly clenching hand, and before long, Duo's fingers relaxed somewhat, then laced between Heero's own, bringing their palms together.
Sally took a deep breath. "...Thank you. Now, wha--"
"How many?" Duo asked suddenly, his head bowed, his bangs veiling his eyes from view.
"How many what?" Sally returned, her voice hesitant.
"How many of them are dead?" Duo clarified, lifting his chin. "It didn't say in the information Une sent over this morning."
"This morning...oh, the time change," Sally blinked, momentarily confused. "That's because we're unclear on the exact number of casualties right now. Of the 822 residents, 230 were not on the premises at the time of detonation, including yourselves. So far," she paused, swallowing. "So far, 356 have been found dead, that includes all the building and security personnel, 9 people were found virtually unharmed despite a few minor injuries, 58 people have been found alive and are in medical care, and 39 have died after we pulled them out.
"That leaves 130 people unaccounted for, as well as any guests the residents may have had visiting because we're unsure of some of the casualties' identities. We're still clearing the rubble and even sometimes finding someone alive, but at this point the chances of finding survivors is pretty slim," She finished, pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing. "It's a grim situation."
"It is," Heero agreed, squeezing Duo's fingers in his own when he said it.
During Sally's description of the casualties, the American hadn't moved, and the shorthaired man knew that Duo was repeating the woman's works endlessly in his mind. Logically, of course, Duo knew that it was not his fault, but Heero knew that one couldn't reason away one's feelings. Life didn't work like that. Therefore, he'd just have to be there to help Duo deal with it all, just as Duo had been there and helped him come down from the training J had put him through. Heero brushed his thumb over the back of his lover's hand.
"So," Sally cleared her throat. "What was it you wanted to discuss with me about the placement and the timing of the remote countdown device? Do you have some thoughts as to why the perpetrator or perpetrators would use such a device and leave such glaringly obvious evidence?"
Heero took a deep breath and began, knowing that once he started, Duo would join the conversation in a moment. "The day the bomb went off we received a package--"
~ ~ ~ ~
Nearly an hour later, Sally had the whole story outlined for her, and their reasons for suspecting the stalking and the bombing could be related.
The woman rubbed her forehead as though her head ached. It probably did. "Why didn't you contact the Preventers about this?"
"Privacy issues," Heero snorted. "We have enough trouble with the press as it is."
"Yeah, and really, we thought we were just being insanely paranoid about the apartment building before we received the latest updates on the investigation," Duo added. "Besides, personal things like this shouldn't be on the Preventers' list of worries. You have bigger fish to fry, and all that."
"True, but you are both Preventers, too," Sally replied. "Just because you're not active doesn't mean that the department would have ignored the safety of its members. We look out for our own, damn it. And, like it or not, on a purely political level, you are two high profile individuals, and you could be used as symbolic tools, hostages even. Would you have reported this eventually?"
Duo shrugged. "Maybe. It depends. Sure we're pretty worried here, but that doesn't mean that we should take advantage or our connections in the Preventers. It feels wrong."
"But did you take into account that if wasn't for who you are, and what you've done, you might not be put in this position in the first place? You probably wouldn't be stalked at all if not for that," Sally replied, holding up hands, palms facing outwards. "Look, I'm not trying to argue with you here. I'm just worried now, especially when I see what's happened here with the bombing. If the events are connected with this stalker of yours, I really and truly fear for you."
"That's comforting," Duo muttered.
Sally's eyes sharpened. "That's not funny."
"I know."
She sighed. "Of course you know. You'd think I'd have figured that out by now," the Preventer tugged on the collar of her uniform shirt, adjusting it. "I'll tell you what. Get together a sample of the ashes and bits of concrete, the envelope that had the flakes of blood mixed razor blades and glue, and one of the messages that used the cutout eyes to spell the letters. Send them to the main labs in Geneva. I'll send them a message telling them to analyze everything as soon as possible and compare the building materials directly with the stuff you received. I have a feeling they weren't compared in the other analysis. They can also analyze the glue used on the razors, see if its the same brand and that sort of thing."
"Why bother with the blood? We've already run a fingerprint search on him," Heero asked, his thick eyebrows knitting together.
"Well, at least we'll be able to tell whether or not there is more than one person's blood in the glue, and then gender of those involved in the very least. It could be more than one person," Sally said quietly.
"More than one?" Duo repeated. "That's...not something I want to really think about."
Beside him, Heero was working his jaw, clenching and unclenching it periodically. "How quickly can we receive the results?"
"How quickly can you get them to Geneva?" Sally countered in reply.
"We're on the eastern seaboard of the States, and if we put that in express mail as soon as it opens tomorrow...allow a few hours for transit across the Atlantic..." Duo thought for a second. "15 to 18 hours, depending on how fast the mail people decide to move."
"I can have it prioritized, and considering that this is the most high profile case we have right now, the lab will get right on it. The only problem is the time change, but considering the travel time the samples will need, it won't be that much of a problem. The analyses should be sent to me electronically less than 24 hours after you ship the samples, since I'm the head of this particular investigation, I'm the only one authorized to receive the results. I'll forward them to you," she finished.
In less than 42 hours, they would have at least something to go on. Whether or not it would be only the ability to eliminate suspicion or not remained to be seen.
Somehow, it was a decidedly empty comfort.
"I'm sorry I can't do more," Sally said after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
The American man shrugged one shoulder. "Yeah, well, you're doing a hell of a lot already, so don't feel badly."
Heero nodded minutely.
Just then, Sally turned her head, looking off screen to her left. She spoke to someone that the video capture couldn't pick up. "Okay...yes. I'll be there in a minute," she turned back to the screen, looking back at the couple half a world away. "I'm sorry, but duty calls. I'll do my best on this end of things. Good luck."
"Thanks," Duo smiled with his mouth closed. "You want us to pass along any messages or anything?"
Sally brightened a little. "Tell my partner 'hi' for me...and tell him I said that the vultures can only really eat you if you're about to die."
"Tell Wufei what?" Duo asked.
"Vultures can only really eat you if you're going to die. They're scavengers and feed on weakness. He'll know what I'm talking about," Sally smiled, enjoying her little moment of mystery.
"Sure," Heero nodded, just raising an eyebrow. He didn't get it either.
"Well, you better get going, Sal," Duo said, waving at the screen. He hesitated, then continued. "And once again, thanks for being discrete, and thanks for trying to help us. We know you've got a lot of other things to worry about."
The woman nodded. "Don't worry about it, it's the least I could do, speaking both in a professional and a personal context. I'm also going to follow up on some of this stuff that you gave me. You never know, you might have helped us solve the case."
"Good luck," Heero said.
"You too," She replied. The screen went blank and the sound cut out as she severed the connection on her end.
For a full minute the couple sat there, staring at the weird dullness of the blank screen. After a moment, the audio speaker made a harsh tone. An electronic voice politely echoed through the room, "If you'd like to make a call--"
Heero shut off the device, his hand lingering over the keypad for a few seconds more than necessary. Finally, he brought his hand back and swiveled his chair to face Duo's. Their eyes didn't meet, but their free hands sought each other out, joining together, solemnly mirroring the hands that had been joined during the entire telephone conversation.
The clock on the wall ticked loudly.
Tick...tick...tick...
It was strange that neither had noticed the clock until now.
The seconds were chopped away in infinitely long beats.
"I'm so tired all of a sudden," Duo said quietly, bringing his gaze up and finding Heero's, finally initiating eye contact after the untold minutes of weird hush.
"So am I," the Japanese man replied, also speaking softly. He stood up, moving slowly so as not to break hand or eye contact. Duo moved with him.
"What do ya say we just go to bed and sleep until things feel better?" The longhaired brunet offered a tired smile.
Heero nodded, squeezing Duo's hands in his.
They went back to their own room, only pausing to find Quatre and tell him what they needed to mail the next morning. The blond said he'd take care of it if they gave him the samples, because he wasn't about to let them out of the security of the compound. They didn't argue with the fiercely protective look on his face. Quatre said he'd ask Rashid to send the package for them.
Not even ten minutes later, they curled up under the covers together, clinging to one another desperately and hoping that their worries wouldn't follow them into their dreams.
Sleep didn't come for a long time, and when it did, their dreams were nightmares.
It seemed that the stalker was starting to get to them after all.
~ ~ ~ ~