Ch. 7 Bed Jumping and TV

If it were possible, Heero paled. Officer Melurik had been the head of the Medical Research and Development center on the L3 colony. Not only had she been the leading researcher in molecular biology and bioengineering, she had also been the leading industry expert on biochemical warfare. Melurik and her team had created curse and vaccinations for some pretty heinous chemicals. However, Melurik had been neutral, supplying her talent to both the colonies and Earth, but once again, where did Janice fit in?

Duo must have read his mind by saying, "She was somewhat of a double agent. She spied on Oz to provide UESA with intel for warfare, while simultaneously collecting information from both on any biohazards they might have been developing. Obviously none of them were used, but Melurik had developed the strains to create resistance strains from it."

Heero thoughts on that a moment. "Have any of them been tested?"

"On animals, they could never get approved for human testing."

"What else did you find on Janice?" This came from WuFei.

"Nothing on bioengineering or biochemical warfare, if that's what you're asking.

Heero could almost feel the relief wash over WuFei. If there had been doubts before, they were gone now, leaving behind the carefully calculated '05 pilot.

"I have a theory." Duo stated, bringing everyone's attention back. "I think both of them were taken for the wrong reasons. Winner Enterprises had funded Melurik's research, Janice worked for Melurik. Now, whoever is behind this knew Janice worked for her, so they know Janice without a doubt. My guess is they took both thinking they knew the intricacies of Melurik's work and want that information to start another war.

"Maybe someone to fund the continued research?" WuFei wondered out loud.

"Heero said what everyone thought, but wouldn't say, "Or test subjects."

The car was eerily silent, thoughts turned dark and in some minds, dangerous. If they were testing on Quatre who knew what would happen when the remaining pilots got a hold of the guy. Heero was almost afraid of what WuFei might do if he cared for Janice as much as he thought he did.

The remained in silence the rest of the ride to the hotel, each one deep in their own dark thoughts. Trowa pulled into the underground parking bellow the Tripton hotel. It was fairly classy, but he guessed WuFei had pulled strings at Preventers and everything was paid for, everything, even the rental. Duo and Trowa had obviously taken advantage of the situation. Who was he to argue? It was nicer than his apartment and would allow him better working conditions and regularly cooked meals brought to him, which right now, was just as important as the mission they were on.

They followed Duo and Trowa's through the garage and into the elevator. Trowa had conveniently parked next to the nearest exit as well as the nearest stairwell in addition; their rooms were on the first floor right next to the stairs to the garage. Trowa had obviously planned the locations in case they had to leave in a hurry. Nothing like good old Gundam Pilot planning. Conveniently, their rooms were adjacent with a door between the two. Both rooms had two full bedrooms which would allow him privacy from WuFei. Both rooms had a full size bath, king size bed and walk in closet. The living room had a mini bar, large wrap around couch in the middle of the room facing the almost instantly large, wall mounted TV. The doors to Duo and Trowa's adjoining room were to the left of the television and currently open.

"For being a 4 star hotel, their maid service is deplorable." WuFei commented as he exited the room he'd claimed for the duration of the stay.

"Sorry, that was my fault." Duo replied.

WuFei stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"Duo looked slightly embarrassed. "I, um, was testing the firmness of the mattress?" he half stated, half questions.

"You had sec in my bed!" WuFei yelled a little too loudly.

"Hell no!" Duo looked offended. "I was jumping on it! Geez, there's a lot of things I'll do; having sex in a friend's bed ISN'T one of them!" Duo stalked back to his room mumbling under his breath.

WuFei slammed the door to his own room, Heero assumed to make the bed.

Heero looked at Trowa's blank face, but caught the laughter in his eyes. No doubt, he had shared in Duo's endeavor. Trowa shrugged and followed his lover into their suite, closing the door behind him. Heero went to the remaining room to find his bed a mess as well. Inwardly, he smiled, if Quatre had been here, he and Duo would have had a field day. The beds would have been in worse condition and most likely the couch as well.

He tossed the small bag of clothes on the bed; they were his spares from the office, he would need to replace them when he got back. Stretching, he pulled off his shirt before ordering room service.

While the shower heated up, he took a good look at himself in the mirror. He looked gaunt, not terribly so, but enough that it was obvious he hadn't been eating enough. His body had lost most of its muscle tone and would take months of reconditioning to get it to the state it was previously in. Worse still, the scars stood out in raised white lines on his arms and ribs. He already knew the ones on his thighs would look similar, though they wouldn't stand out as much since his legs were white, almost never seeing the light of day; his upper body still clung stubbornly to its tan.

He stared into the mirror until the steam fogged it up before removing his jeans and stepping into the shower. The hot water scalded his almost too cool skin for a few moments until his body heated up. If his body couldn't regulate its temperature, he was in worse shape than he'd thought. Grabbing the shampoo he lathered up his hair then scrubbed down his body. As the suds slid off his skin and down the drain, so did a lot of the tension he hadn't known he had been carrying.

His muscles moved a lot more freely than before as he dried and used the lotion. Lack of proper nutrition made his skin dry and tight, he needed it flexible for his workout in the morning. Dressing in his spare jeans, hunter green t-shirt and his glock secured inside the inner pant holster at his back, he wandered back into the living room feeling safer with the gun.

Room service had arrived while he was showering and it was way more than any ONE man could eat, well, except maybe Duo. He seemed to have a bottomless pit for a stomach. Placing his laptop on the table he began his selection of food. It had been a few hours since his last meal, and now that his stomach had, had a taste of food, it wanted more.

He took a few slices of pot roast, seasoned potatoes, variety of vegetables and a slice of cheese cake. He had barely taken his first bite when Duo barged in; he was beginning to think the adjoining rooms were a bad idea. Duo helped himself to some food and took a seat on the couch to his right.

"I thought I smelled food." He said shoveling large amounts of food into his mouth.

Heero didn't really mind, there was enough food for all four of them. The Tripton didn't do anything small apparently. He turned his thoughts inward, savoring the taste of the pot roast, the texture of the different foods and their own unique flavors. Every part of him felt alive and energized. He had been so stupid; allowing himself to become so weak, any junior assassin could have picked him off. He continued berating himself silently until the click of the television pulled him from his thoughts.

"Sorry, do you want it off?" Duo asked reaching for the remote.

Heero clamped down on his hand almost violently.

He stared at the green tinged screen, the body on the floor. The camera feed was in night vision, slightly distorting the room's finer details, but nothing about the room really stood out to make it recognizable; just plain smooth walls and floor with what looked like a drain in the middle. The body he recognized, he had seen it so often he would have been able to identify it with his eyes closed. Vaguely he was aware that Duo was yelling.

(O)(O)(O)

So here is yet another chapter. I know, they have been short, but if I don't break them up, it'll take you at least an hour to get through any of it lol. I am already part way done with chapter 8, not sure if I will be able to get that one up tonight or not.