I do not own Gundam Wing. This fan fiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this.
Chapter 2
Heero awoke the next morning with a plan of action in mind. He dressed quickly in expertly tailored black pinstripe slacks with a crisp white dress shirt and solid red tie. He put his shoulder holster on, and tucked away his 9mm before shrugging into the double-breasted blazer. He then went to find Trowa.
"I've been thinking," Heero growled.
Trowa looked up from the paper. Heero had found him where he always was at that time of day, eating breakfast and reading the paper in his extravagantly decorated dining room.
"About?" he inquired, laying the newspaper aside and focusing on Heero.
"Her."
Trowa's eyebrow quirked up in surprise. "Why?"
"She's dangerous. She can identify too many of us, now. And with the cops crawling all over her father, she may be too willing to deal."
"Hn…" Trowa lowered his head and hid behind his hair.
"And she's missing. Police scanner this morning has the department out looking for her."
"Just what are you proposing?" Trowa asked quietly.
"Let me find her. I'll make sure she doesn't talk," Heero replied, patting the holstered gun hidden by his suit jacket.
"Find her, but I want her back alive."
Heero growled his displeasure, but Trowa had dismissed him. He got in his shiny black Mercedes and left.
An hour later, Heero made his way through the run down Allen Café on the outskirts of town. It was little more than a truck stop with heavily tinted windows, which made it look dark even in the brightest sunlight. It was the anonymity of the place, not the food that drew him here.
He sat down in a dimly lit booth and ordered breakfast. He didn't have to wait long. The door opened, letting in an uninvited burst of blinding sunlight. In its midst, a young man entered wearing a tan sports coat, rumpled dress shirt, and brown slacks, the usual detective clothing. The long braid down his back, however, was anything but typical, as was the grin on his face. He made his way to Heero's table and slid across the tattered vinyl seat facing him.
"Long time, no see, buddy!" Duo exclaimed.
"Yeah," Heero said as the waitress delivered the plate of greasy sausage and eggs-over-easy.
Duo made a face. "That stuff will kill you, man. You need a woman…"
Heero glared at him for a moment. "How's Hilde?"
"She's great. Kids are running her ragged, though. Still as beautiful as the day I married her… Speaking of Hilde, she wanted me to tell you she has this friend…"
Heero glared at him again.
"Oh come on, she's really nice…"
"I didn't come here for a date, I came here for information," Heero said flatly.
"Yeah, yeah…you'll probably die a bachelor. No woman is gonna put up with your shit…."
"Darlian's daughter," Heero growled.
Duo's eyes widened in surprise. "What about her?"
A memory from high school suddenly flashed in Duo's mind. He was standing at his locker talking to Heero when he heard musical laughter floating down the school hallway. He turned and saw a beautiful blond girl walking towards them. He elbowed Heero to get his attention…
"She's missing. What's the department got?" Heero asked, startling Duo back to the present.
"Barton's group doesn't have her?"
"No."
"Well, her father was convinced he did. We had our own suspicions, of course."
"I took her home myself yesterday. She had to have left sometime after that."
"You took her home? Does she…" Does she remember you?
"What was in the report?" Heero asked, quickly cutting off the rest of the sentence.
"They suspected that she took off. A few articles of clothing, and her passport were missing from her room; her car was gone. It was located this morning in a parking garage downtown. Dead-end, there. We checked with the hotels in the area, no one matching her description checked in last night, but we have yet to interview their night staffs. We have our people checking the airports."
Heero nodded as Duo ran through the checklist, sounding like the methodical detective he was.
"That's all I have," Duo said, watching his friend for any sign of emotion.
"That's all I need. Thanks," Heero replied, tossing some bills on the table for the meal as he got up.
Duo rose from the table and moved to block his friend's exit. "Why…."
"You don't need to know that," Heero cut him off gruffly, pushing past him towards the door.
"But the deal was…." Duo began weakly, reaching out to grab Heero's arm to try and restrain him.
Heero turned back around and grabbed his shirt collar, and glared at him as he spoke, "The deal's off. I can't afford another liability right now. You have a family, and I don't need them on my conscience…" He let go of Duo's shirt, and pushed him away.
Duo stared at his retreating back. "You need to be careful, too, buddy," he said under his breath.
