Heero was camped out on the sofa, mindlessly flipping through TV channels, something he rarely did. Anything was better than staring up at the ceiling from one of the vacant beds in Relena's house, trying not to think about… certain things. Or certain people.

He also wanted to distract his thoughts from Relena's flight, although the storm had finally abated, and he knew she was high above it now, anyway. The shuttle appeared to be on course, so he had no reason to be concerned. He turned off the TV, bored already, and started flipping through one of Relena's coffee table books. It was full of bland-looking macrobiotic recipes, none of which appeared appetizing. But clearly the unexciting foods held the secret to how his ex-wife had continued to maintain the slim figure of her youth. Which Heero, jaw clenching, determined not to fixate on for too long, however difficult that was proving to be. Damn place was full of memories. Why, that very couch...

His ringing phone sliced through the silence, sending him into high alert. Especially when he saw the name on the caller ID.

"Relena," he answered automatically.

"Hi," she whispered. "Did I wake you?"

"No." He frowned. Why was she whispering? More importantly, why would she call him from space? "What's wrong?"

"Oh, everything's fine." Her tone was light and breezy. "How are you?"

Heero's heartbeat quickened. He knew she wasn't calling him to chitchat. She never did that anymore. Something was wrong.

"Tell me what you can," he whispered urgently.

"Um, well…" He heard her intake of breath. "Everyone's asleep…"

"Asleep?" His skin prickled. She couldn't mean… "Have you checked any pulses?"

"Mm-hmm," she answered casually. "Yep. Asleep."

"Okay," he breathed. "Did you see what happened? Poison? Chloroform?"

"No, I didn't..." she said slowly, lowering her voice even more. "I think… it was… tea."

"Tea?" He frowned. "You didn't have any?"

"No."

"But you're fine?"

"Mm-hmm."

"What about your bodyguard?" He figured ESUN would have sent several for a group of delegates.

"Also in la-la land…"

"I'm going to have to vet this security team myself next time," he grumbled. "Is he armed, at least?"

"I think so?" He could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

"Relena." Heero was sitting on the edge of the sofa, gripping the phone. "Listen carefully. Remember, we've been through this scenario before. I need you to think clearly, and do what you need to do. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," she whispered after a beat.

"Don't hesitate or hold anything back. Just like we practiced. Remember?" Granted, it had been years since they had gone over safety protocols together, but Heero hoped some things were not so easily forgotten.

"I remember." Her voice shook, just slightly.

"Then I need you to take your bodyguard's weapon and secure it on your person. Can you do that now?" Silence fell for a moment. "Relena?"

"I'm on it." She almost sounded annoyed. Good. Irritation would help her build up her resolve, he thought. He could hear her shuffling around and hoped she would be able to find the weapon and hide it before she was found out. "Got it," she said a few minutes later.

"Nice work," he said approvingly. "Now get ready to use it. If you have to."

"But, I-"

"Relena, don't argue with me. Remember what we talked about? You have to be prepared to fight. No matter what, do not let anyone take you to another location. You're already in transit, but…" He paused, listening to her steady breathing on the other end. "I can hack the shuttle controls and reroute the transmission circuit." He pulled his laptop out of his backpack as he spoke. "Otherwise, I can't control what happens on board. If you need to fight, then fight."

"And then what?" Her voice was still quiet and calm.

"And then we get you and the others the hell out of there." Heero glowered at his laptop screen. He could hack the shuttle's system a lot faster from the control room in the ESUN headquarters. He was able to access the database through the VPN from Relena's home, not too far away; but in this case, he knew fast still wasn't fast enough.

"I'm almost in," he murmured into the phone, hoping that would help ease her mind.

"Heero," she hissed. "Someone's coming."

"Stay calm," he instructed, although his own heart thumped in his ears. Not that he would ever let on. "Who is it?"

"Flight crew," she whispered. "But…"

"A disguise?" Heero wondered as his fingers flew across his keyboard.

"I'm not sure. I-"

"Ma'am?" A woman's voice sharply cut through in the background. "Ma'am, we're going to need you to return to your seat."

"Why, yes, of course." Relena was using her most polite, professional voice. "I was just checking on the rest of my colleagues; they all seem to have fallen asleep." She chuckled airily, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Yes, well, it's a very long flight," said the other woman. Heero didn't detect anything sinister in her tone, but that meant nothing. "You should rest, too, while you can."

"No, thank you," Relena said evenly. "But I am curious as to why it's taking the others so long to wake up. Surely you must know something?"

"Now, Ms. Darlian, let's not get all out of sorts. Please return to your seat. And hang up that cell phone! Mobile devices have not been approved for this portion of the flight."

Heero bolted up at the sounds of a struggle. A loud thudding in his ear indicated Relena's phone had been knocked to the floor. He heard the sound of a gun cocking. Then Relena's sharp, clear voice.

"I demand you tell me what's going on!"

"Give them hell, baby," he murmured, although he knew full well she could no longer hear him. "I'm on my way."

The line went dead. Now that Heero no longer had ears on Relena, the situation was all the more dire, and he wasn't about to waste any time. He quickly made another call.

"Agent Alpha." Une answered on the first ring. The consummate commander, she always sounded alert, no matter the time of day.

He cut right to the chase. "We have a situation with ESUN flight A-65 that requires immediate response. It's currently in transit between the L3 and L4 clusters…"

"I'm aware," Une cut in, not sounding the least bit alarmed. "Although it appears to have been diverted…"

"I hacked the transmission circuit."

"Why?"

"I have it on good authority it's been hijacked."

"Whose authority?"

"Relena's," Heero said simply.

Her heard Une draw in a sharp breath. "She's onboard?"

"Affirmative."

"Hm…" Heero could hear Une typing on her end. "This is a private government shuttle. With all of ESUN's security policies in place, how could terrorists even hijack it?"

"If they're terrorists. We don't know anything yet."

"What are you suggesting, Yuy?" Une sounded testy.

"I'm suggesting a Preventers crew meet that shuttle immediately."

"I'm already on it," Une barked. "But you're just going to hold it in place? If these are in fact terrorists, I wouldn't suggest that; you don't know what their intentions are. What's to stop them from just blowing-"

"I know," Heero cut in. "I won't hold it for much longer. Just long enough for the Preventers to track it. The shuttle was originally headed for L4 but changed course for L3 midway through the flight. No word on how long the passengers have been unconscious."

"Unconscious?" Heero gave Une a brief rundown of what had happened with Relena. "It sounds to me like they want her alive," the commander said afterward. "Otherwise why bother drugging everyone else while keeping up the charade?"

"No idea," Heero said flatly. "But I'm not leaving this up to chance. I'm going to need a shuttle."

"Naturally," said Une. "I'm on my way to HQ. We'll have one ready for you when you arrive."

"Thank you," Heero said in the sincerest tone he could muster. He appreciated Une's dedication, especially in critical moments.

"Don't thank me for doing my job," she snapped. "Now hurry."

"Right. See you soon." Heero ended the conversation and pocketed his phone. Now, there was only one other contingency he had to address. And she was sound asleep upstairs.


- RFP