Trust

Chapter Ten

"That's a nasty bump you've got there."

Sally rubbed her forehead as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Her head throbbed and her back ached. She looked around slowly through squinted eyes as she tried to identify the voice she had just heard. But there was no one there, the room was empty. She laid her head down gingerly, resigned to the fact that she probably imagined it.

Taking two deep breaths Sally allowed her body to relax into the soft mattress, or what she assumed was a mattress. She dropped one hand over the side and explored the furniture. No sheet, no mattress, just a – her investigation ended abruptly. She jumped to her feet as the memory of the explosion rushed to the surface. The jolt from her sudden movement intensified her pain but she had no time to acknowledge it. She had to figure out where she was and... 'Heero'. Her pulse quickened, her head throbbed in tandem with her heartbeat. Her mind explored several scenarios, the possibility they had been captured being the most frightening but most probable, except her surroundings didn't support that theory. Nothing about it said prison. It was neither sterile nor cold. She looked down at the piece of furniture she had just vacated, as suspected it wasn't a bed instead a wooden bench with cushions tied to the surface, there was also a coffee table, some books and personal items on the shelves and walls. On the far wall was a television, adjacent to it a window not large but big enough to escape and most notably the door, which was ajar.

Sally watched the door intently as she tried to weigh her options but before she could decide, the floor down the hall squeaked signaling someone's approach. Her fight or flight response was in over drive but her body wasn't up to the task. Her eyes widened as the door was pushed opened revealing the identity of her captors.

"You're awake."

Heero.

"Brought you some pain killers for that bump."

And Duo.

Adrenaline evaporated from her body at the realization that she was in no danger leaving her exhausted. With a groan she flopped back onto the make shift bed. "I hate the both of you."

Duo set the pills and a glass of water down on the coffee table. "Is that any way to greet your heroes?"

She sprang to her feet, muttering curses at her self-inflicted pain. "This is why I don't go on missions with you. Things blow up and people die."

Heero took up residence on a nearby bench, almost identical to the one Sally had laid on except no cushions. "You don't"

"Not yet." Sally sat gingerly at the end of the bench so she could make use of the pills Duo brought in earlier. "How did you even manage to find us?"

Duo switched on the television and lowered the volume. "Simple really-"

Sally scoffed at his choice of words. Nothing they did was ever simple. She scooped the pills into her mouth and took a mouthful of water, throwing her head back to propel the medication down her throat. She regretted it instantly. Returning the glass to its original position she rubbed her head in a futile attempt at abating the pain.

"I knew where you were and what you were doing. I make it a habit to know what's going on my colony."

She looked up at Heero, trying her best not to move her head in the process. "I thought you didn't have a plan B?"

"He was always part of plan A."

Sally looked to Duo who was now standing next the Heero. "Then you were late."

"Hey." Duo held both hands up defensively. "There was no way to know they'd go that far."

Sally's memory began to improve as the conversation progressed but there was one thing she had yet to recall or figure out. "How did we get out?"

Heero was first to respond."The explosion was small; half the building was still intact. Makes me wonder if they meant to kill us or if we just visited on the wrong day."

Sally couldn't help the moan that escaped her. The implication that they hadn't been the intended target did nothing to soothe her pain. In fact it was more than a little insulting, it might be a cynical thought but she would rather be a victim of an assassination than just a victim of circumstance. She couldn't dwell on that long though there were still too many questions to be answered. She leveled a glare at Heero. "If I remember correctly you promised to tell me everything."

His lips twitched. "That you remember."

Sally could feel the tremor of a laugh in her chest but she wanted to remain as stoic as possible. She cleared her throat in a weak attempt to chase away the laughter and also to give him time to answer. A part of her was concerned that he may not be forthcoming but if he was anything Heero was a man of his word.

Before either of them could speak the door opened once more. This time it was a woman to enter, Hilde. It really shouldn't have been a surprise but all things considered she was the last person Sally had expected to see. Then she realised, the personal items, the décor, her assessment from earlier had been correct. This must be there home.

Sally watched as the younger woman set down a tray with tea and neatly trimmed sandwiches. "I thought you might be hungry." were the only words she muttered before she exited just as quietly and quickly as she entered. Sharing her life and home with Duo she was probably used to clandestine meetings and made herself as scarce as possible. Once they were alone Sally turned her attention back to Heero. It was time that she knew the truth.

Relena pressed her lips tightly together to stifle yet another yawn, the third in a less than ten minutes. It was ten pm, thirteen hours since she had last seen her bed and it was starting to tell on her. But this was life as the Vice Minister, atleast that is what she told herself. It had become quite evident to her that there were many politicians of equal if not higher status that didn't appear at every event. So maybe she was just a closet masochist. Which is why she was here at another event, god only knows for who or why. It was just another entry in her calendar about which she was reminded by her assistant. It wasn't a good sign when she no longer kept up with the whys of her social gatherings and admittedly she felt slightly guilty but there were just too many. Some of which were of little significance other than to give bored house wives an occasion to dress up.

There was a low hum in the air from the many conversations around the room as dignitaries mingled and cajoled each other, each with their own agenda and cause. It was a dance of tongues until one was declared the victor or someone more interesting appeared. And here she stood in one such conversation. Her eyes skimmed the room as she listened with on ear to the man in front of her. His angle? Funding for something insignificant, must have been since she couldn't remember. The art of feigning attention was a skill she had mastered long ago so she did as any good conversationalist did in her position. She smiled when he laughed, looked concerned when his tone warranted and redirected his questions with a question. Maybe she was too good at it or maybe he just didn't care that she was uninterested. Then without warning his angle changed, the focus this time? Her. He stepped closer into her personal space and begun a deluge of testosterone fueled drivel. She needed an escape, fast.

"Excuse me Miss Relena." Relena jumped at the sound of Wufei's voice behind her, not in surprise but in hope. She could care less what he wanted, she wasn't going to let him leave without her. Relena turned to face her life line.

"I apologize for the interruption but I need to speak to you in private."

Saved. But at the same time she was slightly concerned. She allowed Wufei to lead her away. Surprisingly he didn't opt for a more secluded area rather just a few feet away from where she had been previously standing, granted this part of the hall had less bodies.

"What is it?" She voiced the question as soon as they stopped walking.

Wufei looked around only briefly before looking down at her. "You looked like you needed to be rescued."

Relena covered her face with both hands as relief and amusement engulfed her. She took a deep breath to chase away what was sure to be an un-lady like cackle before removing her hands. "Well I didn't know incessant nags were on the Preventer watch list."

"Call it a favor for a friend."

She gave a mock gasp. "For me?" The look on his face told her otherwise. "Remind me to thank this friend."

"Why would you thank him? You should be thanking me."

"You were paid this month weren't you?"

"Yeah, late."

There was no stopping the laughter, not this time. "I'm sorry, you should have said something sooner."

After the laughter subsided, Relena's smile remained as she regarded him. Something about his jet black hair just made his tux seem more sophisticated compared to the many others on display. Who would have thought after everything they would be standing smiling at each other. Her relationship and interactions with one Wufei Chang had morphed into an amicable understanding of one another, maybe too early to call it friendship but it was well underway.

Relena was still staring at him when she noticed his slow lean toward her. "Here comes another one."

A quick glance to her right showed a fast approaching Duncan Michaels, his eyes dead set on her making his destination known. "Ten minutes, then rescue me."

"Ms. Relena, I'd love to talk to you about Mars, if you would spare me a few minutes." Michaels said as he got within polite speaking range.

"Make that seven minutes."

"I hear things are progressing…." was the only part of the conversation Wufei heard as he moved away. He too had someone he needed to speak with. Not long after his rescue mission he had spotted the man in question or rather the man had allowed himself to be seen. Moving with deliberate slowness Wufei moved toward the area where he had last spotted the brunette. Leaning against the wall close to an archway he watched the crowd before him. He didn't turn when he heard footsteps stop behind him, it was better not to draw attention to either of them. "When did you get back?"

Trowa stood on the inside of the archway on the wall adjacent to Wufei. It provided the perfect channel for them to hear and see each other while also providing him cover since no one on the other side would be able to see him.

"A couple hours ago." There was a moment pause before he continued. "Howard is dead, so is Dr. S."

It took every ounce of will power for Wufei not to react or look toward the source of the news. "How?"

"Howard was shot, he was barely alive when I found him" Trowa closed his eyes against the memory however futile of an act it was in dulling the images. He had driven as fast as he could but it hadn't been fast enough. By the way events had unfolded it seemed like simultaneous hits. There was nothing he could have done. He wanted to believe that more than anything. Leaving the doctor had been difficult but at least he was spared the spectacle of watching him die. Maybe karma decided to punish him twofold for that because Howard had died in his arms, blood spluttering from his mouth as he apologized over and over for keeping them in the dark. In that moment he knew there were no words to help ease the man's pain or guilt so he did the only thing he could do, accept the apology and assure him that none of this was his fault. He even went as far as to promise him that everything was going to be alright. Trowa looked down at his palms both hands had been covered in Howard's blood as he took his last breath.

"What about the Doctor?" Wufei's prodding brought him back to the present.

"An explosion."

"Why would anyone want them dead, and why did you go to see them?"

It was then Trowa realised that Wufei didn't know as much as he had previously thought. "How much do you know?"

Wufei scoffed. "Not much, I'm apparently not on the need to know list."

"That's not true."

"Don't insult me; I know what you guys think."

"You're wrong Wufei."

Wufei checked his watch, seven minutes was long gone. "Your time's up." He didn't wait for a response he knew what they thought. To be honest he really couldn't blame but that didn't mean he wanted to listen.

"How long was the incubation period?"

"Two hours."

Nicholai walked a few steps behind the aging mad scientists as the two exchanged scientific and medical notes regarding their tests subjects.

"That's far too short."

"I realise that."

Nicholai wrinkled his nose against the scent of disinfectant mixed with decaying flesh and dying bodies. What was it about hospitals? The scent seemed to be painted into the walls and seeped through the vents. It was everywhere.

"Time til death?"

"Ten hours, twelve max."

"Then it's still too volatile and unstable."

"Indeed, it would be premature of us to move ahead while it's in this state."

Nicholai stared at the two in front of him, their white coats floating slightly at the hem as they walked. Maybe it wasn't the hospital, maybe the scent followed them. They were on the fifth floor of a seven storey hospital. The two floors above insulated them from the loud bursts of thunder and lightning which tormented the people outside. He shook his head as a wayward thought formed; even the weather seemed to respond to their presence.

"We need to move them. It's too soon for this to make an appearance." By now they had stopped walking and now stood in the middle of a large open room flanked on either side by beds surrounded by think veils of plastic, beyond that glass doors, after which point has-mat suits were required.

"We don't want to arouse suspicion. Besides we couldn't possible pay off every doctor, nurse and orderly."

"You don't own this facility?" It was the first time Nicholai had interrupted the duo but this revelation was shocking.

"Of course we don't, we're not made of money."

Nicholai struggled to maintain his composure, that was not what he had expected to hear but this wasn't the place to falter. It was unfathomable that they were using a public hospital filled with unsuspecting staff and patients but then if they were trying to eradicate life on earth this shouldn't matter. Ridiculous and hypocritical were the only ways to describe what he was feeling. It's not like he was innocent, his sudden concern for the lives of humans was disgusting even to himself.

Nicholai remained silent, another outburst from him might not be received as well as the first. The two were obviously in a generous mood and they were sharing more information in one night than they had in months of working with them. They were calculating, everything they did had a purpose. Every detail studied before being executed. The gundam pilots and the Preventers were no doubt searching underground channels, questioning every criminal element to no avail. What they were essentially doing was hiding in plain sight and so far it was working. Their titles as doctors meant that no one ever questioned their presence in a hospital or their so called patients. Although he was sure that someone in the hospital or someone very powerful knew they were here and was protecting them from unwanted inquiries whether in house or in government. But now there was a hitch and their ingenious cover needed to be protected.

Stepping out of the warm interior of the car had called for several minutes of mental preparation and one exasperated and annoyed look from the driver but eventually Relena stepped out. Much to her delight it was a still night, without the wind the chill was reduced considerably which made her earlier hesitation seem quite silly and the look on Wufei's face confirmed that was exactly what he thought as well.

Relena stared down at the tips of her black stilettos as she followed him up the steps to her door, it still amazed her how much things had changed between them. Lost in thought she followed him idly, moving up the next step only after his feet had cleared the one above. Her gaze was still cast downward while she waited for his feet to ascend the next step before she did the same. But after a moment of no movement she raised her head, something had stopped him in his tracks and she wanted to know what. With a small side step she was no long obstructed by Wufei's back. In front of them there was someone where the door should have been.

"I should shoot you just for being here uninvited." Despite the threat Wufei's voice held no real signs of annoyance or anger and the glint in Trowa's eye indicated he knew it was a bluff.

"You wouldn't shoot an unarmed man would you?"

"Of course he wouldn't." Relena interjected. She was genuinely happy to see Trowa and had to refrain from embracing him when she realised she had taken a few steps to close the distance between them. "Trowa how are you?"

"I'm fine and yourself?"

"You're more gullible than I thought if you think for a second he's unarmed."

Relena drew in a deep breath, they may have sorted through most of their animosity but he was still very terse. "Maybe, but standing out here talking about it must be a security risk so how about we all just go inside."

Trowa smiled over her head at Wufei. "I couldn't agree more."

Shrugging out of her coat Relena led the two into the sitting room. "Would you like something to drink Trowa?"

"No thank you."

"You're not going to ask me?"

Relena looked over to where Wufei sat perched on the arm of the sofa. "You know where everything is already; anyway I'll leave you two to it. I'm off to bed, night."

Even after Relena had disappeared into the house the two men continued on in silence until Trowa finally broke the deadlock. "Operation Meteor…."

Sally couldn't bear to look at them. What she was hearing just didn't make any sense, except it did. How could it not after everything they had seen in the past. But this had to be a new level of depravity. Yet despite being told that they were seemingly under attack the one thing her mind kept returning to was the fact that they had kept silent for this long. "How long were you going to keep this quiet?" She asked to no one in particular but no response came. "This is beyond crazy, it's our job." She pointed an accusatory finger at Heero. "Your job!"

Radio silence.

"I'm calling Une."

Sally made for the door but her progress was halted by the 5'8" frame of Duo Maxwell. "No, did you hear anything we just said?"

"What's your point?" She folded her hands over her chest. Whether the painkillers had taken affect or if the shock of the news she just heard had dulled her to physical pain she couldn't be sure nor did she care. There were more important things to worry about.

Duo ran a hand over his head. "You think they're doing this all on their own?"

"The insinuation being you think they're getting help from us?"

Duo stared through the open window, his words a low mumble in his throat. "Not all of you."

Heero stood, this wasn't the time to be creating division amongst each other. "Duo." It was only one word but it was laced with warning.

"What? Is there more?" Sally turned to Heero, confusion etched on her face. A silent shake of his head was all that was offered. When she turned toward the door Duo was no longer in her path. It seemed he too was tired of this conversation or there was more that he would rather not share with her even if it meant allowing her to contact Une. She didn't ask, whatever it was they could keep it. This needed to be reported.

They listened to Sally's footsteps until they were inaudible. Tension momentarily abated Heero reclaimed his seat on the bench. "She's right we should make this official."

"I'm not convinced."

It was obvious that Duo was still struggling with Howard's information. The realization that everything that had happened to his friends was orchestrated at the highest level was influencing his opinion. Heero couldn't deny he had his suspicions and he could understand Duo's aversion to government assistance especially since the Preventers was essentially just a happy blend of individuals from organisations linked to past atrocities. In the past they would have tried to fix things on their own but this was different. This wasn't a case of taking aim at a mobile doll or an enemy base. This needed a different approach. "We're not reckless teenagers anymore."

Duo's shoulders slumped, the fight leaving his body as he deferred to the majority vote. "Fine, report to your handlers. I promise to be there with an umbrella to say I told you so when the shit hits the fan."

Six- forty five, morning arrived far too quickly and she had already been up for two hours. Relena smacked her cheeks in the mirror in an attempt to liven up her features. She was already dressed for work in a navy blue trouser and white button down shirt but she was the epitome of the walking dead. Maybe coffee would help. It better it was her last resort.

"Morning."

With a start Relena twirled around to find Trowa beaming at her. Instantly she was resentful, he was obviously a morning person, wide eyed and handsome. "Trowa, you're still here."

"Yeah I stayed on the couch I hope you don't mind. Was counting on your magnanimity."

He was hard to hate for more than a second. "Has anyone told you how deceptively charming you are?"

"No."

Relena smiled. "Well I won't be the first." She walked past him and continued toward the kitchen. Trowa on her heels.

"Why deceptively?"

She turned her head slightly over her shoulder but didn't stop. "Because it hides so much."

Their chatter paused once they rounded the corner and saw Wufei sitting at the island in a white undershirt and jeans.

"Wufei," Relena shook her head in a mock scold. "You've made coffee, and you haven't offered our guest anything?"

Wufei pushed off from the counter. Cup in hand he marched to the door. "I'm not his babysitter."

Trowa poured two cups of the dark liquid, with an outstretched hand he offered one to Relena. "Don't worry about it Relena, I'm quite used to his delightful personality."

She mouthed a thank you to him before taking a sip. "Remind me again when it was that you guys became friends?"

"Just about the time you fell in love with Heero."

"Touché. Speaking of…where is he?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"I doubt that."

Trowa shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know."

"Fine, keep your secrets but you can't deny you guys are quite the characters. Quatre is so sweet, you are deceptively charming and Wufei is..."

"A condescending asshole?"

Relena was about to take another sip but the task of trying not to laugh made it too difficult. "Not quite what I was going for, no."

The two drank in silence, the joke still stained on their face and lips. Even as she washed her cup her smile was still intact. The thud of boots on tiles alerted them that Wufei was on his way back to the kitchen. With great effort they both attempted to straighten guilty smiles when Wufei reemerged now with his khaki dress shirt and jacket.

Relena didn't know if or for how long she would be able to remain passive so she muttered a quick excuse me and retreated to her room to complete her morning routine.

Wufei eyed Trowa suspiciously. "Where are you headed now?"

"Before the doctor died he gave me some information, I'm going to follow up on it."

"Alone?"

"You thinking of moonlighting?"

Wufei snorted. "What about the other two?"

"Haven't heard from them," Trowa walked over to the sink to clean up "but I'll keep you posted."

"Right."

The skepticism was evident and gave Trowa pause. "I don't consider you any enemy Wufei."

Wufei smirked slightly. "Just a condescending asshole."

"Well I was in the presence of a lady, couldn't tell her what I really thought of you."