The Bounty
Part 8: Sunrises
by Scarlet Eve
Heero watched out the window as the sun began to sink down behind the buildings surrounding his apartment building. Behind him in the kitchen, Duo was rummaging around trying to find something adequate to eat, grumbling the entire time.
"What DO you eat, man?" Duo called, his head leaning into the refrigerator.
"That's not important right now," Heero said, turning away from the window and crossing the small apartment to the dining table, where their plan had been laid out a few hours earlier. "Come on. By the time we get there, it will be full dark." Heero slipped on a black sweatshirt that he'd found in the back of his closet. Duo came out from the kitchen area and picked up his small bag of tools.
"Fine. I'm ready," he said. Heero nodded, and together they left the apartment.
The night was mild, only minimal humidity and a slight breeze, which helped make the walk towards the Peacecraft home more bearable. The amount of cars and pedestrians increased as they moved nearer to one of the rich parts of the city. The people were better dressed as well. Heero hoped that he and Duo didn't look too suspicious, but he'd lived in New York long enough to know that no one really paid attention to anyone else. They slipped down the sidewalks easily without pulling a second glance.
As they walked, Heero mused on the irony of a bounty hunter going after his former charge. It did seem a little backwards to him. But he'd already made the most important decision while he waited for Duo to get to New York. If they were able to successfully release Relena from the confines of her home, he'd leave his current life and go away with her. They could pick new names, hide somewhere warm, and spend the rest of their lives traveling wherever their hearts desired. He knew this was a big decision for a girl he'd only just met, but he had never really been so sure about anything before. He had no doubts in his mind.
"You're quiet," Duo commented as they walked along. Heero looked at him, brow raised.
"Is that new for you?" Heero asked with a smirk. Duo made a face at him.
"Naw. Hilde tells me to be quiet all the time," Duo said.
"I don't blame her."
"Aw come on, give me a break." Heero shook his head letting out a small chuckle. But his face became serious again.
"I'm going away with her if we can free her," Heero said. Duo glanced at him, nodding.
"I figured as much. And you're sure?" Duo asked, and Heero nodded in reply.
"Maybe we'll find Chang," Heero joked. Duo laughed uneasily.
"I just never thought that you'd be the one to run off with some job," Duo said. "She must have really gotten to you."
"She did," Heero confirmed with a nod of his head. Duo slapped him on his shoulder.
"I'm glad. Make sure you invite me to the wedding," Duo teased. Heero shook his head, but he smiled.
-/-\-
The Peacecraft home loomed up in front of the two dressed in black. Lights blazed in several of the windows, but the house seemed quiet. Heero took a few steps towards the house and around to the wide alley between Relena's house and the one next door. He looked up, searching for the balcony of roses that Relena had described. Finally, in the soft light from the neighboring house, he spotted the balcony. He could see that there was a light on in the room, and he could hear faint voices coming from the room. Heero stepped out of the darkness and motioned to Duo, who looked both ways down the street, then jogged across and stopped beside Heero. Heero pointed to the balcony.
"That's the one." Duo nodded and took a few steps forward, looking around. From his bag, he removed one of the tools. He stood back, took aim, and fired. A bolt shot from the barrel, a cord attached. There was a small "ping" as it attached itself to the metal balcony. Duo gave the cord a few sharp tugs, and was satisfied with the hold. Duo nodded to Heero, who stepped up. Heero pulled on a pair of gloves and took the cord from Duo. He grasped it and stepped up to the brick wall of the house. Carefully, he lifted one foot, then the other, against the wall, using all of his strength to hold himself up. Memories of the police academy came flooding back. Heero remembered being good at this task, but it had been several years since he'd had to do something like this. Carefully, he placed one foot in front of the other, using the cord to pull himself up along the wall. Below him, Duo held the cord steady to make the climb easier for Heero.
As Heero climbed, he began to make out the voices speaking in the room. It was Relena and her brother. They were having what sounded like a heated discussion. He wanted to listen, but his foot slipped the moment he removed his concentration from climbing. Heero quickly regained control, but the voices had stopped for a moment.
"What was that?" Milliardo asked.
"Nothing. Probably just the neighbor kids," Relena replied, sounding frustrated.
"It sounded too close to be neighbor kids," Milliardo said. Heero froze. Milliardo's tall form appeared in the light from the door between the balcony and the room. He nearly stopped his breathing as he waited for Milliardo to return back into the room. Finally, having heard nothing else, Milliardo turned and disappeared. Heero resumed his climb, inching closer and closer to the balcony. As he got closer, the smell of roses assaulted his senses. The smell immediately made him remember his time with Relena on the yacht, in her little room, as they laid together on her bed.
His foot slipped again, making a scraping sound against the bricks, and he lost about a foot before his caught himself.
"There is something out there, Relena," Milliardo said. He reappeared in the doorway and stepped onto the metal balcony. Heero's heart hammered against his rib cage. He halted his breath and waited. He heard Duo's feet scrape against the ground as he moved, most likely to hide in the shadows.
Heero's hands began to sweat in the gloves. His eyes widened slowly as he felt the material covering his hands begin to slide against his skin, weakening his grasp on the cord.
"Milliardo! There's nothing out there!" Relena shouted. Heero saw her form appear on the balcony as well. She stepped across to the edge and looked down. Heero's worried gaze caught her own, and her mouth fell open. A moment later, her face had changed back to her previous annoyed look, and she whirled around. "See! There's nothing here! Look, if you aren't going to just own up to whatever your reasons were for having me arrested, then get out of my room." Relena pushed Milliardo back through the doorway without glancing back behind her.
"Relena, you know I only wanted you safe. A young woman like you, from your social standing no less, shouldn't be running all over the place on her own," Milliardo said. Relena laughed sarcastically.
"I was doing alright before you sent that bounty hunter after me," she said.
Heero took this chance to allow himself to breath once again, and was able to keep climbing up, though now that his gloves were wet with sweat, it made the going much more difficult. Every time he changed his grip on the cord to move up, the gloves caughts a bit of give.
"Relena..." Milliardo began.
"Like I said- if you aren't going to tell me anything, then get out of my room," she repeated.
"I saw those videos of you online!" Milliardo spat out suddenly, his voice laced with anger and vehemence. Relena gasped. Heero halted once again, his heart still racing.
"What?" Relena asked.
"I just couldn't believe that my sister would do something so disgusting, and then post it on the internet!" Milliardo said, the anger still present in his voice.
Heero was starting to slip again. He quickly tightened his grip. No matter what this conversation was about, he had to keep moving. He had to, or he'd fall. He wouldn't die, but falling on pavement wouldn't feel too great.
"Did you tell mom and dad?" Relena asked slowly, her voice low.
"Of course not."
A few more feet and Heero would be able to climb onto the balcony, but until Milliardo left, there was a chance that Heero would be found.
"I told them about your other transgressions. Of course they heard the rumors about you killing your husband..." Milliardo said. "But I wouldn't tell them about videos of you having sex with your old husband." The smugness is his voice was hard to miss.
"Oh god," Relena moaned.
"Shit," Heero cursed to himself, losing another foot or so. His mind was whirling. Below, he knew Duo was watching him, but didn't know if Duo could hear the conversation.
"Are you going to own up to your crimes yet?" Milliardo asked.
"Get out."
"Excuse me?"
"Get out. You don't understand anything, and I'm not going to bother to explain anything to you. Get out," Relena said.
"You are out of control. Perhaps a stint in prison would calm you down," Milliardo said, laughing. "At least you wouldn't make anymore sex videos," he added. There was a scream and a scuffle. Heero took that time to climb over the railing of the balcony, pricking his hands on the rose vines, and landing with a thud on the metal floor of the balcony.
Startled sounds and grunts issued from the room, but Heero pressed his back against the wall of the building, trying to hide in the shadows. Below, he could hear Duo begin to make the climb up the side of the building. Heero hoped he'd have an easier time.
The bedroom door slammed. Footsteps, then Relena appeared on the balcony. There were silent tears streaming down her face. She stopped in front of Heero, who had turned toward her.
"Heero..." she said, the tears still sparkling on her cheeks. "You probably heard..."
"It doesn't matter," Heero said. He pulled Relena into his arms and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Truthfully, he was concerned about the words of her brother, but Heero knew that Milliardo couldn't be trusted. But that could be dealt with later. There were more important things at hand.
A few moments later, Duo hauled himself up over the balcony and landed on his feet. Relena let go of Heero and looked towards the new arrival.
"Duo?" Relena asked. Duo spread his arms and grinned.
"Your gallant rescuers!" he said. Relena managed a small giggle. Heero turned towards Duo.
"Make this quick," he said.
"What's going on?" Relena asked.
"We're getting you out of here, Miss Jailbird. Should only take a few moments to remove that nice piece you got there on your ankle," Duo said. Relena looked down at her foot and shifted it uncomfortably.
"Is it even possible?" Relena asked.
"They put it on you, right?" Duo asked. Heero reached for Relena's hand and gave it a squeeze.
"He's got a knack for this," Heero said. "Though he'd never tell us where he picked it up." Duo simply winked. Relena led the two men into her bedroom where there was more light.
"Just take a seat there on the bed, and I'll get to work," Duo said. He flung down his bag from his shoulder where he'd put it for the climb. He pulled out his tools and set to work on Relena's ankle bracelet. Heero and Relena watched silently and with rapt fascination as he worked. Heero couldn't help but wonder if this was the first time he'd seen Duo so concentrated on something.
Heero shifted his gaze to Relena, who was staring at Duo while he worked. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and her face and neck were flushed with anger. Tears dried on her cheeks. Heero knew this was a weak moment for the young woman, and in it, she seemed different from the confident and happy woman he'd met in the Bahamas. But even as he watched her dab at her face with a tissue, he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world.
Absently, Heero reached out and brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen over her shoulder. Relena lifted her gaze to him, and she forced a small smile onto her face.
"I'm so happy you guys came for me," Relena said. "I think I was starting to go crazy being stuck up here."
There was a small click and the bracelet slid off Relena's ankle.
"No problem at all, babe," Duo said with a wink. He picked up the bracelet carefully, found a stuffed animal and stuck the bracelet around the animal's middle, and he locked it in place. The red light continued to blink.
"It scares me that you know how to do that," Heero commented. Duo shrugged his shoulders.
"Secrets of the street," Duo replied. Heero shook his head and returned his attention to Relena. She was rubbing against her ankle with her hand, and that look of determination had returned to her face that Heero knew had just been hiding. She looked up at him.
"Let's get out of here," she declared. Heero and Duo nodded. They followed her out to the balcony.
"Do you need to grab anything?" Heero asked, but Relena shook her head.
"Nothing was brought from the Dove. Everything should still be there," she said. Duo climbed over the railing and took hold of the cord. He'd replaced the gloves on his hands and quickly made his descent. Relena watched him interestedly. "I have to do that?" she asked. Heero nodded and smiled.
"You'll do fine," he said. Relena glanced back down over the railing and shrugged her shoulders.
"Alright." Heero handed her an extra pair of gloves, and she slipped them on over her hands. She climbed over the railing and looked down. Duo waved to her. Relena crouched and took hold of the cord. She slowly lowered herself down, trying to keep her grip firm on the cable. She managed to lowered herself a short distance, but she slipped and fell. She let out a cry, and from the balcony, Heero watched in horror but also listened for anyone returning to the room.
Down below, Duo managed to catch her, sort of. She'd landed on top of him and the two toppled to the ground. Relena couldn't help but giggle. Duo moaned.
"It's a good thing you don't weigh anything," Duo groaned, and Relena lifted herself off him and helped him back to his feet.
"Sorry, Duo," she said. Duo waved it off with a flip of his hand and that silly grin returned to his face.
"No problem."
Heero hauled himself over the edge of the balcony and made his way down. It was always easier going down then up, and it only took him a moment before his feet made contact with the pavement.
"How do we get this thing down?" Heero asked, tugging on the cord. Duo shrugged.
"Hilde never told me," Duo said. "Though she doesn't know I took her tools either..." Duo said with a lopsided, guilty, grin. Heero groaned and linked his arm through Relena's.
"Come on then. We need to get out of here," he said. Duo nodded and the three of them took off down the street. When they were a few blocks away from the house, they slowed their pace and walked. Duo walked a little ways ahead of Heero and Relena.
"What happens now?" Relena asked.
"We have to go to my apartment first. And after that, it depends on what you want to do."
"What do you mean?"
"I sort of had an idea that we could go get the Dove and sail off somewhere," Heero said, his face heating up slightly with a flush. He was grateful the darkness of the night concealed that fact.
"We?"
"Yeah."
Relena flung her arms around his torso as they walked and hugged him.
"Yes. That sounds like a fabulous idea!" Relena released him and clapped her hands together. She shuddered with excitement, her eyes bright with ideas and plans. To Heero, it was like the removal of the ankle bracelet had unlocked her personality, and the old Relena was back, scheming and planning and looking for adventure. Heero draped his arm over her shoulders, and they continued to walk to Heero's apartment.
-/-\-
Relena stood at the back of trio as Heero unlocked the door to his apartment. Her excitement had subsided slightly during their walk, and her anxiety had begun to take over. She twisted her hands around themselves, wondering when it would be discovered that she'd escaped from home. Of course, aside from that cord the boys had used to climb to her room, the police would be baffled as to how she got the bracelet off without breaking it. At least, Relena hoped they'd be baffled. Relena also hoped that Heero had some sort of plan to get to the yacht. Relena expected she'd have to rename it and have it painted. But that was a small thing compared to having her freedom once again.
Relena followed the two boys into the small apartment and shut the door behind her. She looked around, unsurprised as the sparseness of the room. It seemed very 'Heero' to her.
"Now we begin phase two," Duo said, dropping his bag of apparently pilfered tools onto the table. Heero nodded.
"What's phase two?" Relena asked.
"Getting the hell outta here," Duo said with a laugh.
"I need to pack some things. Quatre Winner wanted to see you if I ever got you back to New York, but I think it would be better to tell him how to get a hold of us and he can come visit wherever we are in a few months," Heero explained, and Relena nodded to agree. "We need to find a disguise for you as well." Relena grinned.
"I get to wear your clothes again?" Relena asked with a wink. Heero grinned slightly and nodded. Since it wasn't hard to figure out the small apartment, so Relena flounced away to his bedroom. From the looks of his closet, he didn't wear a majority of the clothing he actually owned. Relena pushed through the dusty clothes towards the back. She began to pull out articles of clothing. Jeans, sweatpants, shorts, sweatshirts, t-shirts... many of them with logos from the police academy and other colleges. She eventually found a pair of jeans that she was able to pull up over her hips and didn't fall down right away. She pulled on a hooded sweatshirt, and as she dug through a little more, she found a cap. Relena picked it up in her hands and looked it over. It was a dark grey newsboy cap. Relena immediately pictured Heero wearing it, and she burst out laughing.
"What's so funny in there?" Duo called. Relena rose from her spot on the floor and walked into the living room, carrying her find delicately between her hands. She lifted it up and saw Heero's expression fall. "What the heck is that?" Duo asked through laughter.
"It was a gift," Heero said, his voice low. Relena tried to hold back the laughter, but it was too difficult. Heero ignored the two laughing at him. Relena twisted her hair up and tucked it into the cap, pulling the brim down low over her face.
"How's this?" she asked, spreading her arms.
"You look like a gutter rat, but it'll do," Duo said, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms over his chest. Relena giggled. She hadn't felt this good in days. She felt hopeful for once, that this horrible nightmare would come to an end.
But the gnawing feelings at the back of her mind kept reminding her that she was now on the run from the police, and that Milliardo had seen the horrible videos that John had posted of her on the internet, and that Heero knew about that as well. But when she glanced at him from under the bill of her cap, she could see him staring at her with nothing but affection. Willingly, she returned the look.
"You know Quatre Winner?" Heero asked, looking up at her from his computer. Relena nodded her head. "He wanted to see you when I brought you back to town, but there's no time for that now. I suggest you write him a note or something, since he was the one to hire Miss Bloom," Heero said. Relena nodded.
"Of course." She sat down at the small table and pulled a piece of paper towards her and picked up a pen. She quickly scrawled a note, giving a few suggestions in case events turned out in Relena's favor. She folded the note up and placed it inside an envelope that Heero offered her.
"We'll drop it off on the way."
-/-\-
The moon was slung low in the sky, a sign of the dawn soon to come. Heero, Duo and Relena crept through the shadows cast by the buildings around the marina where they'd docked the Sailing Dove. There was a guard at the gate, sitting in his little booth, reading some kind of magazine and barely paying attention to anything else. Duo and Heero hoisted Relena up over the fence, then the two climbed over themselves. All around, the sound of water lapping against the hulls mixed with the waves and the calls of the early rising seagulls. Some of the yachts were lit up, early risers, most likely fishermen, were moving around. Relena guided the two men towards where she believed her boat was docked.
She soon spotted the flag and changed directions towards it. When she stepped up to the Dove, Relena lovingly ran her hand over the smooth railings. It was blessedly untouched. Relena, back in her element, vaulted over the railing, leaving the two on the wooden dock. She quickly pulled down her Dove flag and stowed it away. She heard Duo and Heero step aboard. There was an American flag stowed away under one of the couches, and she rose that up the pole instead, helping to disguise her yacht among the other patriots. Heero tossed his bag down into the living quarters and walked back up the steps. Relena was already at the wheel, waiting. She watched as Heero walked up to Duo and clasped his hand.
"Thank you, Duo," Heero said with a smile.
"Anytime man. Let me know when you two are set up somewhere. Hilde and I will come visit," Duo said, and Heero nodded. Duo waved to Relena.
"See ya, jailbird!" he called. Relena smiled, then lept over towards the edge of the yacht and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you for everything," she said. Duo nodded, and he stepped off back onto the dock. He unhooked the lines, and Relena jogged back to the wheel. She started up the engine and slowly began to maneuver the yacht out towards open water. Heero waved once more to Duo before he took a spot beside Relena.
Relena glanced up at Heero, a sad smile on her face.
"What's wrong?" Heero asked.
"What you heard back at my house..." she began, shifting her eyes away from him. Heero shook his head and ran his fingers through her hair.
"I don't care what happened in the past," he said. "Tell me when you are ready." Relena smiled up at him.
"Thank you."
After several minutes, they had cleared the marina and were speeding out towards the ocean. The faintest pink and orange peeked out towards the east, cresting over the endless ocean sprawled out around them. Heero slipped an arm around Relena's waist and kissed her, the salty air kissing their skin backing, welcoming the bounty hunter and the criminal back to the sea.
-/-\-
