Pairings: Duo/Heero, Quatre/Trowa

Warnings: possibilities of later violence?, supernatural stuff, not sure what all's gonna be in here yet

Author's comment: And yay Spellcaster is well...partically done? But enough about that! Heer's part three of BC.

Blank Conspiracy 03

Time: 12:00 pm

Operation Blank Conspiracy- Report #3:

The mission so far has been nothing but a complete bust. We failed to capture the target and have lost whatever lead we had on him. Still, if I was to make a bet, I would say that our target's hideaway is probably somewhere near the Maxwell Church. I'll have Sandrock stay behind and keep an eye on the church via the cameras we installed in the nearby trees. We might actually be able to find out some information since we now know the target's looks and first name. That's the job the rest of us will be doing. No matter how careful he is, the target can't have hidden from everyone. I will put the reports on hiatus until we can find any further information. End Report.


"So how exactly are we going to go about doing this?" Wufei asked causing Heero to look up from where he'd been typing up the report.

"Hmmm." Resting a finger against his lips, Trowa frowned glancing at the two of them then at Quatre who was sitting on the other bed looking up information on their secondary laptop. "The simplest way would be to check out the sleazier parts of town. The Black Market, the place where no one has a name."

"Makes sense," Wufei said frowning also now. "But we'll definitely be using a lot of money to bribe them."

"If that's the case then so be it," Heero said setting the laptop aside as he got up from the bed. "We can't risk the chance of him jumping on a transport to another colony."

"Right," Quatre added standing as well. "And I've actually gone ahead and looked up some locations that might be of use to us." He picked up a stack of papers off the bed and started passing them around. "Here's some maps. I've circled the areas that I think we should look into. Heero, why don't you take the west side of town? Since there's not much going on up to the north, if you don't mind, Trowa, can you take care of the north and the east? And Wufei, go ahead and look into the south side."

"Good thinking," Heero said glancing over the map and marking what places in his mind he'd like to check out. "Let's head out as soon as it starts getting dark. We'll have at least a thirty percent better chance of finding at least some clues."


Dear Diary:

Looks like I did a good job losing those guys. There's no knock at the door yet. Course, there shouldn't be, I mean…I made sure to rewrite any information on Hilde in the records as soon as she decided to help me. I didn't want her getting hurt. No one should able to find me here. I feel bad for coming into her life like this and destroying it, but…well…it hasn't been completely bad. She's been a very good friend through all of this. And I'd do anything and everything to protect her, just like I'd do anything to protect the Maxwell Church. I just hope that no one finds out what my weakness is. Like those guys from earlier….

I'm kinda curious about what those guys want with me though. They don't look like they're from OZ. No, definitely not. If they had been, they would have caught me before I even had time to blow my nose. Who are they working for then? Maybe I should do some research on them and find out. It won't be very good if I find out they're just some company that's just like OZ. Yeah, maybe it's time for a little bit of investigating. If they were looking for me, they must be somewhere close by. Besides...that one guy was kinda cute. It makes me not mind being caught by someone like him. Heh…sounds like this group might actually be some fun.


"So remember to lay low and don't go anywhere!" Hilde was saying as she started packing up her stuff for work. It was unexpected…and it was perfect timing. If Hilde was gone, he didn't have to worry about her getting hurt or worse. Besides, she probably wouldn't let him out of the apartment otherwise. "I know this is short notice but the job really wants me to go on this business trip with them. They might as well start paying me more. They're always calling and bothering me wanting me to do everything for the little measly pay they give me."

"They're cheap, there's no way they'll pay you more," Duo said grinning as he lounged out on the couch stretching, his braid falling off the side and curling up on the carpeted floor. "Course I wonder if it has anything to do with me at all."

"What are you talking about? Of course it doesn't!'' Hilde said smiling at him and walking over as she ruffled his hair a bit. "What would make you think something like that?"

"I just can't help that I'm feel like I'm putting you in danger somehow. You shouldn't have even allowed me into your life. What if they find out where I am and try to hurt you?"

"Just promise me you won't go doing anything stupid while I'm gone and we'll leave it at that," she said smiling a bit as she went back to finish packing her stuff. "I don't want my apartment blown up just because you wanted to bake your cookies faster."

"I'll try not to," Duo said laughing as he sat up on the couch. "But no promises on not doing anything danger. But if I find it's necessary, I'll do it." He stood up from the couch. "Now you better get going before you're late. You know how paranoid they get when you're not there."

"I know I know," Hilde said roughing her eyes as she came out of the bedroom with two bags being pulled behind her. "Anyway, time to go." She stopped beside him kissing his cheek as she smiled at him. "Don't wait up for me."

He blushed a bit smiling at her as he started to reach for her bags. "Are you sure you don't need help with your bags?"

"Positive!" She said slapping his hand away. "I don't want you leaving out and drawing attention to yourself. Just sit still, ok? I bought some food in the fridge and there's some extra cash underneath the rug if you need anything. Oh and make sure you lock up and don't answer the phone and if you see any mail, just leave it. I'll get it when I get back. And be careful not to-"

"Ok ok, I get the point, Mama Hilde," Duo said getting behind her as he started pushing her towards the door. "Now get going before you're late."

"Ok ok." She said blushing slightly as she started walking. "I'll be back in a week. Try not to break anything! And Duo." She stopped just outside the door looking back at him and smiling softly. "Be careful, ok?"

"Alright," Duo said smiling at her. "I'll be as safe as a baby in a crib."

A baby in a crib surrounded by alligators, anyway.

"Alright…" She smiled and waved at him before she grabbed her stuff rushing down the steps. Duo smiled in return waving at her watching her disappear down the steps before closing the door and turning walking over to the window. He waited a few moments, watching the cab Hilde climbed up into drive off before he grinned and reached down picking up his hat from off the coffee table along with the keys to the apartment.

"Now, time to investigate," he said pushing some shades on and grinning before he went out the apartment closing the door behind him.


Time 7:30 pm

"When you said check out the sleazier places, I didn't expect it to be the whole downtown area."

"Stop complaining," Heero said over the ear piece. "It's the only lead we have right now."

"And you really think an orphan church boy's gonna hang out in an area like this?"

"It's still only a fifteen percent chance that he's even in the area." Quatre's lighter voice said in the earpiece. "Still, fifteen is better than nothing at all."

"Before you said it was a thirty percent chance," Wufei muttered as he kept walking, shoving his hands into his pockets. "But I'm still looking at our chances of finding him." He sighed as he stopped at a corner looking up at the sky and holding the earpiece with one hand, feeling like he was talking on a cell phone. "Anyway, I'll do what I can here. If you guys find anything out, fill me in. Shenlong out." He grumbled as he cut off the connection glancing around trying not to stand out but trying to find anything suspicious. "This is harder than it should be. We should just shake the information out of that priest and be done with –" His words were stopped as he was bumped into roughly by some guy in a hat and wearing shades.

"Excuse me," the man said as he kept walking, moving casually.

Wufei frowned nodding his head. "It's alright." In his mind though, he was quickly processing this information. Though it was dark enough that he couldn't fully see the male's features, the fact that the male was wearing sunglasses this late in the afternoon when the sun was down definitely warranted its own share of suspicion.

"Hey," Wufei said frowning as he started to turn to the man. "Stop right…." The words died on his lips as he saw that the man was already gone, the tail end of a braid running around the corner of the building in front of them. "Fuck!" He started in pursuit as he tapped into the earpiece to contact Heero.

"Zero speaking," Heero said through the earpiece. "What's wrong?"

"I just got bumped into by some suspicious looking guy," Wufei said as he kept up only barely seeing the end of the braid as it disappeared around corner after corner. "He's moving fast," he said before checking at his pockets. "He's got my wallet too."

"What was he wearing?"

"A black hoodie and cap. And strangely enough, sunglasses."

"This time of the night?" Heero paused on the line obviously thinking about something before he continued. "He's hiding his eye color."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, just keep up with him."

"Damn it!"

"What?"

"I lost him," Wufei said frowning and staring at the dead end not even sure how the guy could have escaped. He was fast, too fast. Was he even human? Even Wufei with his Preventer trained body couldn't keep up. Just what kind of drugs was this guy on?

"Roger, I'll contact Sandrock and see if he can pick up a trace on the wallet."

"I'm already on it," came the light voice. "It looks like he's close to where Zero is. Do you think you can catch him?"

"That isn't an option," Heero said sounding as serious as ever. "Where is he coming from?"

"From the south. Go right two blocks and you should meet up with him. But you better Hurry, Zero. He's moving pretty fast."

"Alright," Heero said, the sound of movement telling Wufei that he was heading that way. "Shenlong, go ahead and try to get here. Sandrock, stay on the line with me."

"Alright. I'll contact Heavy Arms and let him know the situation. Shenlong out."


Heero was running while he was on the line with Quatre, picking up on the changes in direction that the target was taking instantly as soon as Quatre mentioned it. But now, he was closing in and it was only a matter of waiting as he pressed up against the side of the wall waiting on 02 to running around it. "Zero, he's here. Get ready."

"Roger," Heero said preparing himself waiting on the word from Quatre.

"Now!" Quatre yelled out in his ear giving Heero only a second to respond as he jumped tackling Duo's body down to the ground, his long braid waved around in the air.

"Oof!"

"Good job!" Quatre yelled out before having to force himself to calm down. "I'll tell the others to meet up with you."

Heero just nodded even though he knew Quatre couldn't see him, his eyes focused on the braided boy beneath him as he kept him pinned down and reached out taking the glasses off finding the pretty violets staring at him, the eyes not even looking surprised.

"Looks like you caught me," Duo said smirking up at him easily.

"You don't look surprised," Heero said looking at him suspiciously. This guy had just been caught yet he didn't even seem to care. Was this a game to him?

"Might be because I planned to be caught," Duo said the grin not leaving his face for a moment.

It made Heero a little suspicious of the braided boy. "Planned?"

"And you caught me pretty fast too." Frowning, Heero got up grabbing hold of Duo's forearm to make sure he didn't get away as he pulled him up. "Wow, you're strong."

"We need you to come with us."

"I don't think so."

Heero's eyes narrowed looking at the guy, wondering just how he thought he was going to get away from him now that he was caught. And with the others closing in on them, there was nothing he'd be able to do this time. "It's not a request."

"How about no then."

"What does OZ want with you?" Heero demanded glaring at him figuring he should at least have some answers out of him.

"You might be cute," Duo said grinning and winking an eye at him. "But that doesn't mean I'll do anything you say."

"I…" Heero's eyes widened slightly, his cheeks turning a red tint as he opened his mouth trying to reply, not used to this type of person. "…."

"Now that's cute." Duo laughed staring at him, violet eyes shining with excitement. "Tell you what, you tell me why you want to know and I might just give you some information."

Heero cheeks were still red but he glared at him, getting himself under as much control as he could as he tightened his hand. "We need your cooperation in order to put a stop to OZ. Whatever their plan is, it looks like they're after you. It's our job to protect you."

"Protect me?" Duo asked looking surprised before he starting laughing. "Sorry, but I don't need protecting, buddy. If you hadn't noticed, I'm good at running and hiding. OZ won't find me."

"What does OZ want with you?" Heero asked, feeling like a headache was coming on. Could he at least get SOME kind of answer out of him besides these smart ass comments? Though he did have to admit…this Duo guy could run like hell.

"What else?" Duo asked looking thoughtful of a moment. "World Domination."

Heero blinked. "What?" His hand loosened on Duo slightly, the braided one taking the opportunity to pull himself free as he turned bolting off. "Hey!" Heero quickly went in pursuit determined not to let him get away this time.

Frowning, Heero picked up his speed moving as fast as he could as he went around the corner looking for him, cursing under his breath when he didn't see anything there. "Damn it!" He glared around him not seeing any places that the braided one could have gotten too. How could he have…no wait…there was a small opening leading under the fence. Could he have really fit under there? "Sandrock, I lost the target."

"What! What happened?"

"No time for that," Heero said frowning not wanting to even think about it. He was careless again, that's all. "Tell me if you have a reading on Shenlong's tracer."

"Y-yeah," Quatre said, some typing going on in the background. "It's just a couple of blocks away from your current location due north."

"Alright," Heero said moving back enough to run and jump over the fence as he went north. "I'm going in pursuit, stay on the line with me."

"You're getting closer, already," Quatre said though he didn't sound too happy about it. "It's to your left…it seems like the target isn't even running anymore."

A frown lifted to Heero's lips thinking that maybe the target had tossed the wallet and kept the money. But when he got to the little alleyway, the only thing he saw was a couple of homeless people flipping through an open wallet and splitting the cash between them, the cash that had been meant to draw 02's attention to them.

"The target has dropped the wallet," Heero said glaring as he clenched his hands tightly. This meant that Duo knew all along what he was doing. They'd been baited…the feeling reminding Heero of last time when he'd first met Duo. The boy had obviously known that the Preventer had been following him. So where was this information coming from? Did they have cameras on them that he didn't know about? "I'm heading back to the room now. Tell the others to do the same. There's no point in staying here."

"Roger that," Quatre said. "I'll tell the others."

"This is a pain," Heero said rubbing his head. He thought he felt eyes on him though and stopped turning back only to see nothing but the homeless people he was leaving behind. Where had that Duo person disappeared to? Maybe they were approaching this all wrong. The way Duo moved, it wasn't like a normal person…no he was pretty smart. They needed to start treating him like he was a detective…like he was a Preventer on the loose.

Time: 9:30 pm

Dear Diary,

Well, that was fun. Looks like these guys might not be so bad after all. They're pretty clueless about the whole thing too. I wouldn't mind meeting the others as well. Like that blond guy, he looked nice. Or maybe he was just faking, I don't know. Boy, if Hilde knew what I'd done, she'd kill me.

Still, something's bothering me. There's something strange going on at the Maxwell Church. How do I know that? Well, cause I set up some cameras there a while back before this all started, that's how. Anyway, the problem, besides the fact that these guys haven't even been there since they installed their own cameras, is the fact that some strange people have been showing up there. Some strange people…that I'm almost certain came from OZ. How did they find out about the Maxwell Church? Well either way, I think I need to go investigate. I haven't been seeing anyone coming out of there or going in there in a while. Wait…is that a note on the door? Shit, it is! It's saying they're out of town! No way! Father Maxwell and Sister Helen would never leave the orphanage! They didn't even have that kind of money to go anywhere! What's going on here?! Sorry, diary but I gotta go!


Time: 12:00 PM Two days later.

Operation Blank Conspiracy- Report #4:

Operation Blank Conspiracy is not going well. Since that time, we've only managed to find 02 one time; however, he evaded our team again. He is well aware of us and had at the time made purposeful contact with us. 'Hhe hasn't tried anything further since then. We did learn something through the conversation I encountered with 02. OZ wants world domination. Whether that is true or not will need further investigation.

However, within the last two days we've noticed something a bit odd about the Maxwell Church. At least three strange figures have showed up there and since that time, no one has left the building. I believe something may be going on there. While normally we wouldn't waste time on something like this, the Maxwell Church is currently our only strong link to 02. For now, I think we will investigate what's going on there and find out who these strange men are. There is a possibility that they are from OZ. If so, we will have to find 02 and get out of here as soon as possible. We will take the time to make out a plan. End mission Report.


Time: 1:30 Two days later.

Wufei slammed his hands down on the wobbly kitchen table, paperwork scattering about on the floor as his eyes twitched in frustration. "This is getting us no where!"

"Shh…Wufei, calm down," Quatre said softly, his eyes somewhat swollen from having stared at the computer monitor for almost two days. "We do have ears around, remember?"

Wufei frowned and lowered his voice, but the anger he felt still came out loud and clear. "We've been at this for almost a week now and still we haven't found a thing! On top of that, we haven't seen the target since that last time. Now we've got those weird guys inside the church and no way of knowing if people are even still alive in there. We need to do something!"

"He's right," Trowa said walking over to the Quatre's bed and sitting down beside him. "It's been too quiet. We need to get into contact with 02 some kind of way. We really don't have much time to waste."

"And that's why we need another plan!" Wufei said vocally as he glared around at the three of them. "I bet if we went out to that church, we could force some information out of the priest."

"That's unwise," Heero said frowning from his spot on the bed, his laptop open and shining up at him. His eyes didn't look nearly as bad as Quatre's but they weren't perfect either. He was tired, they all were. And this was starting to wear on their patience and their energy.

"I know," Wufei said sighing, releasing a little bit of the pent up frustration he was feeling. "Damn it, I'm just getting annoyed. I just wish we could bust inside, find 02 and be done with this." He moved from the table and heading for the door. "Sorry, I need to take a walk and get some fresh air. It's getting too foggy in here."

"…Actually, that's not a bad idea," Quatre said as he started typing onto the laptop.

"…The walk?" Wufei asked lifting a brow as he looked at him like he was insane.

"No, hear me out." Quatre said talking as he typed, not continuing until he had their full attention. "Ok, I doubt Father Maxwell knows where 02 is," Quatre said even as he continued typing quickly on the laptop. "From what I know of 02, he's good. When it comes to hiding, he's the best. He's obviously had this planned out for a while, so there's no doubt he probably hasn't told anyone of his location."

"Then why suggest talking to the old man for nothing?!" Wufei yelled out threatening to go out the door on him.

Quatre shook his head and held up a finger signaling for him to stay still and to stay quiet. When Quatre was on a roll, it had to be a good sign. "Think of it this way…this church is very important to 02, right?"

"Go on," Wufei said frowning, his eyes twitching slightly as he waited impatiently by the door.

"So…let's set up a trap," Quatre said finally looking up from the computer. "We'll use the church as the bait." He sat up as he turned the computer around showing the group of them the church. "It's obvious that something is going on right now inside of that church. We just need to bring it to the attention of 02."

"And what if he already knows about it?" Wufei asked thinking that if 02 knew then he must be already planning something.

"Then let's be ready for it if he does. If there's something wrong, and he does show up, then we can be ready to capture him or rescue him depending on the situation. Either way, we need to be inside that church if something happens."

"It sounds good," Heero said glancing over at the group. "The problem is how do you plan on getting inside? Maxwell himself wouldn't trust anyone to go inside and I'm sure OZ wouldn't either if they're there."

"Then let's use a disguise," Trowa added in drawing everyone's attention to him…everyone but Quatre who had quite the wary face.

"A disguise?" Heero asked, getting interested by the looks of it. "What kind?"

"It's an orphanage, right?" Trowa said stating the obvious for them though it was obvious that he was up to something. And it seemed to be something that Quatre didn't appear to like. Wufei frowned, glancing at Heero noticing the amusement in his eyes. This must have been something he missed out on cause everyone got quiet.

"Yeah, it's an orphanage…so what are you planning?" Wufei asked, wanting to get on with this. What was it they had in mind?

"Well…they're more likely to welcome a nice newlywed couple than a guy or two showing up to adopt children."

Quatre blinked before he started to blush, his eyes widening. "Y-you can't be serious, Trowa! You said that wouldn't be necessary for this mission!"

"That was before we learned 02 lived at a church orphanage," Heero said inputting his approval of this plan. "You said it yourself, 02's weakness will probably be there. If he's lived there for this long, then he'll definitely be coming to check on the people there. He's attached to them."

"We should probably go get some supplies then," Trowa said standing to his feet.

"But-"

"Don't worry, I've already brought some clothes from our last mission just in case," Heero said gesturing to the suitcase over by the wall.

"But-"

"I'm surprised," Trowa said walking over to the suitcase and starting to open it. "I expected most of your supplies to be electronic equipments and weapons."

"It's always good to be prepared," Heero said returning to his computer, even as he glanced at Trowa watching him pull out the short little skirt and blouse. "Wufei, what do you think?"

Wufei blinked his eyes before he shrugged his shoulders. What did he think? Well obviously they were about to dress the blond up in drag and force him to play a part of their little game. But as long as it wasn't him…and as long as it got the mission done with. "Whatever, as long as we can get 02."

"It might be a good idea to practice a little so it looks more natural," Heero said, looking completely serious when he said it.

"You're right we should practice," Trowa added looking just as serious.

"Ah…"Quatre blushed looking away from them as he stood up from the bed setting the laptop aside. "I'm going to go get us some food. You guys stay here and please try not to destroy anything." He didn't bother looking at them as he slipped past Wufei not even looking back.

"…And what was that about?" Wufei asked lifting a brow, noticing the hasty retreat the blond made to get away from them.

"Some time back, we had a mission that involved a married couple meeting our suspected targets at a restaurant for dinner." Trowa shrugged as he set the offending articles of clothing on Quatre's bed. "As you can see…Quatre was the wife. I played as the husband since we needed Heero to watch the monitors."

"Ah I see," Wufei said shaking his head. "I'm not much for drag…so don't even think about put me in a dress!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Trowa said relaxing on Quatre's bed and looking down at the laptop at the picture of the church they'd gotten from their cameras. "Still, this might actually work. Once we're inside, we'll be able to control the situation, or at the very least know what we're dealing with."

Heero nodded looking at the laptop again. "Just be sure that everyone is prepared if we have to defend ourselves and everyone else."

"There are a lot of kids there," Wufei said thoughtfully and frowned. "If you don't mind, I'll keep an eye out from the outside. We really don't need everyone rushing in, especially if they try to trap us from outside."

Heero nodded knowing exactly what Wufei meant. "Alright, just be careful." He himself was going to try sneaking in from the back to see what he could find. They knew what their objective was. No matter what, they needed 02 alive and on their side. If something happened and one of them got hurt, they were just going to have to leave them behind. Wufei knew everyone was prepared for that…even him. Still…it never amazed him how much could be sacrificed for the sake of one person.

"Let's get started when Quatre gets back," Heero said standing up to take a break from his laptop. "This may be out last chance to try to catch him. Everyone…be careful…but remember the objective."

TBC…

Mmmmm well, Quatre in drag….poor thing. Anyways, finally updated on this story, yay! Wow I'm sleepy.

Many lives for one life.

At least now we have an idea of OZ's goals. Now we just need to find out why and how?


"I'm good at running and hiding."

The way he's covered up, he's definitely hiding himself for a reason….his hair…and his eyes.