Chapter Thirty-Nine
Monday Meeting Blues:
Part Two

Heero sat at his desk with an ice pack held against the right side of his face. Serena's left hook wasn't a joke, she could do some damage with it and had with it. Heero had been blindsided by it and could only imagine the bruise that was left behind by Serena. He had gotten a good hit in himself, but the more Heero thought about it, the more guilty Heero felt for what he had done.

Heero had never outright hit a female before and yet at that moment he didn't see Serena as one.

Cursing under his breath, Heero knew he had let his anger get the best of him, again. Blind rage was never a good thing but when it came to Serena, Heero couldn't stop himself, even though he knew it was wrong. For whatever reason Serena was the only one who could set him off like that. And yet she hadn't done anything to physically harm him or anyone else.

Except for today.

It was the first time Serena had done something and it was either in self-defense or out of anger toward him. Likely a combination of both. Closing his eyes, Heero knew he was still struggling to trust Serena. It was a never-ending debate with himself. But her words were still resonating with him.

Everything Serena had said to him in the past and today reminded him to trust in her in some form. Even her actions had spoken loudly to him but Heero had just brushed them off. Serena wanted to protect Relena and had been trying to stop the very group she once worked for. But why now? Why hadn't Serena come to them before any of this happened? Why didn't she just run away from the start?

Heero knew there was more to her story than Serena was letting on. But she wasn't sharing any of those details with anyone.

Certainly not with him.

Heero sighed as he dropped his hand from his face. Ice wasn't going to change the fact that his jaw was hurting, and his ego. He may have jumped the gun earlier with Serena. Maybe if Heero had listened and asked the appropriate questions, he could've gotten the answers he was looking for. Not only that, but the guilt Heero was feeling was starting to take a toll on him.

He was feeling defeated by his actions. Even if he wanted to speak with Serena, chances were that no one would let him remotely close to her. Heero could call, but she'd either ignore his call or hang up on him before he even got the chance to apologize. Part of him wouldn't blame Serena for it either. Heero knew they would need to eventually speak since she was going to be interrogating Edman with him.

Heero could feel his anger start to rise again. Quickly, he pushed his anger back down. Heero couldn't change the fact that Serena was going to be there whenever this Edman guy was brought in. But maybe by then they could both sit down and discuss how they would be proceeding with the interrogation?

Une had mentioned a meeting beforehand, but Heero wondered if he could speak to Serena before that particular meeting. Heero would be lying if he said he wasn't uneasy about the whole idea, but if they could both be civil about it then Heero had no issues letting Serena be there.

Because Serena had made a valid point.

What if Edman didn't disclose any information? Was it possible that Serena could get him to talk? Serena had given off the impression she was capable of it. Even with his doubts, however, Heero was willing to give her a chance, especially if it meant gathering the information they desperately needed.

They needed a lead, anything that could direct them to where ROE's main headquarters were. From there, they could potentially locate the Gundam along with a majority of their members.

Maybe even some of their mobile suits.

Heero stood gathering his things. There was no point in staying any longer in his office and he needed to be with Relena before her next meeting.

With it only being Monday, Heero was going to have to work even harder than normal this week. Not just on his temper towards Serena but the fact he needed to finalize the security detail for the Ball, but also prep for the interrogation that lay ahead of him. At least two more meetings and then Friday night.

Heero groaned at the last thought. He had almost forgotten till now about Relena's impromptu dinner party. Which only meant that he needed to try and patch things up with Serena, or Relena would likely kill him if they went at it over dinner.

Relena was already making a big deal out of it since it was technically their first dinner party. Heero didn't care, either way, he still had tried to push the idea of them just spending the night alone, but Relena had been so excited over the weekend that Heero had all but given up.

It wasn't that he didn't like his friends, it was more of the whole entertaining aspect Heero didn't care for. He wasn't a host, and would likely never be. Offering a drink to someone or offering to let them stay for dinner was one thing, but planning a whole party was more of Relena's thing. Relena had a talent for it, and she loved to play hostess.

Heero sighed as he shut his office door, locking it behind him. The week ahead was shaping up to be a week from hell and he was stuck in the dead center of it.

Heero made his way through the Capital building heading toward Relena's office. They had about ten minutes before they needed to leave and head to her next meeting.

Heero had stationed extra security for Relena. Ever since Watson's attempt, he made sure that instead of her usual three to five guards that there was at least a minimum of eight to ten. Including himself. All scattered around Relena's floor, two outside of her door and the rest within running distance if Relena needed them. Heero had already passed by a few of them, letting them know that they'd be leaving soon.

As he continued down the hallway, Heero started to think that Relena needed more. Serena's words from earlier were still buzzing around in his head. If they were arresting some members of ROE, it would only be a matter of time before they'd try to lash out against Preventer. Of even members of the ESUN.

As Heero made his way to where Relena's office was located, he stopped short of Relena's secretary as a realization came to mind.

What if they found out where Serena was and tried to get in contact with her or outright try and retrieve her?

Whoever the leader of ROE was would figure out that some of their members had gone missing within a few days. They were already able to infiltrate Preventer without anyone's knowledge, so the likelihood that communication between these members and their leader was a given. No mission could go without some sort of daily or weekly contact.

Without a second thought, Heero pulled out his cellphone.

Serena stood in the kitchen eating an early lunch. Trowa had already left and she was trying to figure out what she could do for the rest of the day. Serena knew she needed to contact Une to get an update on the arrest and to see if Edmen had been taken into custody yet.

Serena mused over a few ideas on how to handle him once they were face to face. One was to simply lash out at him. A couple of well-placed hits usually did the trick, though she had a feeling that an action such as that would get her thrown out of the room. But then again, it probably would feel pretty good to take some anger out on someone.

Even though she had punched Heero earlier that morning.

Shaking the memory away, Serena focused on other possible ideas. Ones that would get her the results she wanted. Results they needed. Serena's musing over ideas came to a halt when her phone started ringing. Checking the caller ID Serena growled to herself as she answered.

"If you're calling to start another argument-"

"Serena, just listen," Heero said in a gruff tone.

"Why should I listen to you?" Serena countered back.

"This is important. Please?" Serena's brow arched as she debated over Heero's request. His tone suggested that this was urgent.

"Fine."

"What are the possibilities that the people you found from ROE were communicating regularly with your leader?"

"I used to have daily contact with someone before things changed."

"How were the communications handled?"

"It depended on the nature of the conversation. Why are you asking?"

"If we arrest all these people and no one responds to any messages or calls, someone is going to find out that we know about them. There's a chance they already know."

"That is a possibility."

"We need to find out how they were communicating. If they have any personal phones we need to obtain those along with any computers."

"That was already factored into the original plan. These people are going to be tried for their actions. There's still a possibility I could even be arrested and charged. The only issue we have right now is combing through everyone's personal belongings. If they were using cell phones to place calls, chances are the numbers are untraceable. As well as any digital form of communication. Any messages sent or received are either highly encrypted or deleted. Even if we dug through someone's hard drive it could take weeks before we found anything."

Serena heard Heero growl.

"Time isn't something we have at this point. You've already been with us for a month and I'm pretty sure someone has noticed that you're missing."

"Probably, but I understand what you're saying. This is why I want Edman. He just recently joined Preventer and since he worked closely with me, he's our best shot at finding out anything. We need to do this right or we're just left to continue chasing our tails."

"Look, I need to go but we'll discuss this more later."

"All right." Serena wondered why Heero had even called her in the first place if he didn't want to finish the conversation?

"Serena..." Heero trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry about earlier."

Serena stared down at her phone in her hand. As quickly as Heero had called, he had hung up. The whole conversation was strange, to begin with, but now she was even more confused.

"Did he just apologize!?" Serena asked aloud.

With at least one thing taken off his list, Heero pocketed his phone. He knew he'd have to call Serena back at some point and go over a few more things. At least for now he didn't feel as guilty as he had been feeling before placing the call. It was at least a start, and Heero hoped that his small effort showed Serena that he was trying.

When he brought his eyes up he noticed Relena's assistant Jill was staring right at him.

"Is everything okay?" Jill asked with her head tilted to the side. The young girl with short brunette hair and hazel eyes had been with Relena for the past five years. Jill was only a year younger than them but she had worked hard to earn her keep as Relena's assistant.

Especially after Chris. She was also one of the few people who knew about his and Relena's relationship. Jill never spoke about it and Heero had always been grateful for that. They respected one another and Heero had even come to like her. Even though he still put up his usually cold front, like he was now. Jill usually just looked past it. Sometimes.

"Everything's fine, is Relena ready?" Heero asked as he took a few steps closer to her desk.

"She should be. But what happened to your face, Heero?" Jill asked, pointing at him. "Were you in a fight or something?"

"Nothing," Heero said gruffly. He had forgotten for a moment that he was sporting a good-sized black and blue bruise on his jaw.

"Sure, whatever you say," Jill said as she folded her arms over her chest. "Relena won't be happy, you know this right?"

"I'm not worried," Heero said as he started heading towards Relena's office door. Without knocking he let himself in. The two men he had stationed out of her door exchanged glances before he entered.

"Perfect timing," Relena said with her back turned to him. She was busy filling papers away in her briefcase. "We need to head out…" Relena's words died on her lips as she turned around to face him. "Oh my god, Heero! What happened!?" Relena looked horrified as he met her eyes.

"Nothing," he replied calmly.

"Doesn't look like nothing," Relena said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her face hardened. "Looks like someone got a pretty good hit on you."

"No," Heero said, adjusting the strap of his computer bag. "Are you ready?" Relena took a few steps closer to him. Lifting her hand she grabbed his chin turning his head to the side.

"Whoever it was, was left-handed. Unless you angered Wufei. But if it wasn't him then who else could've done this?"

"No one, it was an accident," Heero smirked to himself. Relena was always good at remembering details.

"I don't believe you, but we don't have time to stand here and discuss this. I need to get to my next meeting." Relena glanced down at her watch. "And we're probably going to be late. It's a lunch meeting across town."

"We'll get there on time," Heero's smirk widened when Relena turned her eyes up to him.

"One of these days we're going to get pulled over for speeding. You know that right?" She arched a brow at him.

"We'll just get off with a warning. That's why you tend to ride in the front with me." Relena rolled her eyes at him.

"And here I thought it was just because you wanted my company."

"That too." Heero was rewarded with one of Relena's smiles when he pulled her closer. "But we should go." Relena stood on her tiptoes kissing him on the cheek.

"Yes, and you should ice that more. Don't need you looking like one of those MMA fighters Duo's always going on about. That and I want you looking good for the Ball," Relena said with a wink.

Tuesday came and almost went without any real update from Une. It was still relatively early, seven o'clock when Serena's phone rang. She and Trowa had been relaxing on the couch watching something of mild interest on the TV. Serena sat up reaching for her phone that was on the coffee table. She had been keeping it close to her in case any news came in about Edman. When Serena checked the caller ID, she was surprised to see who was calling. Serena's excitement started to build as she answered.

"Hello?"

"Lowell," Une's voice was sharp. Serena arched a brow as she turned to face Trowa.

"Commander," she greeted back in the same tone.

"I'm calling to inform you of new developments regarding the arrest of current ROE members."

Serena leaned back more in her spot on the couch. While something like this was supposed to be good news, she wasn't so sure. Une's use of words and tone had Serena questioning the nature of the call. Une usually wasn't this formal with Serena when she would call her.

"And that is?" Trowa shot her a look. Serena shook her head at the question he was trying to convey to her. There was a long pause before Une finally spoke.

"We got Edman."

Serena bolted upright. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the now muted TV.

"You got him!?" Her voice went an octave higher.

"He's being brought here as we speak. He'll arrive earlier tomorrow morning. Come in with Barton and prepare for the interrogation."

Serena could sense the smile on Une's face through the phone. This was their opportunity to find out where her Gundam might be. Serena needed this, correction, needed to know. From there she could continue with her plan. Serena could feel her heart racing with the prospects of what was to come. Collecting herself she replied as calmly as she could.

"Will do. Thank you for calling."

"Don't thank me just yet, Lowell. There's still a great deal of work ahead."

"Yes, of course," Serena said.

"One last thing before I let you go."

"Yes?"

"I'm withdrawing my limitations for tomorrow. The session will still be recorded, but for our records only."

"But what'll happen if this goes to trial? They're going to want the video footage from the interrogation."

"As you've said before, I tend to bend the rules sometimes," Une said. Serena's lips curled up, she was just given the green light. "All I ask is that you don't kill him. He shot at six of our officers, injuring two, and tried to make a run for it. Based on his actions I have decided that fair treatment won't work for him. But we still need him alive to stand trial."

"Roger that," Serena said as she looked at Trowa. Her smile grew wider. She finished up her conversation with Une before leaning back against the back of the couch. Trowa had kept his eyes on her but seemed to be waiting patiently for Serena to answer his unspoken question.

"They got Edman," Serena said. Her lips still curled up. "I'm going to work with you tomorrow."

"Another bring your girlfriend to work, day?" Trowa smirked. Serena tilted her head but decided against saying anything on the subject.

"I need to call Heero. We don't have a lot of time to prepare and he never called me back yesterday," Serena said as she stood.

"He called you?"

"Yeah, it wasn't anything important," Serena said as put her phone back to her ear. "Heero?"

Trowa half-listened as Serena moved into the bedroom, their conversations already switching over to Japanese. Heero hadn't said anything to him earlier that morning about speaking with Serena. Heero had only dropped off a rough draft of the security measures that would be taking place for the Charity Ball. Heero had asked him to go over them and add anything else he felt was necessary to make sure all guests and personnel were safe during the event.

Trowa stood from the couch making his way into the kitchen where he had left his laptop and bag. Knowing it'd be a while before Serena was off the phone with Heero. Pulling out Heero's detailed plan he walked back to the couch to start reviewing it. Trowa could hear Serena speaking and from the tone of her voice, it seemed as though they were being civil with each other.

At least for now they weren't yelling at one another.

Shaking his head, Trowa wondered how they could go from being at each other's throats to being so calm and collected. But then again this was Heero and Serena he was analyzing. They both could go from being hot-headed to rationalizing something within a matter of seconds. They both followed their emotions but also knew when they needed to put things in perspective to accomplish something. Trowa smirked to himself as he realized that they were too much alike for their own good. But maybe that's why he got along with them so well.

Or maybe because she was different. Serena was a person in her own right and not a complete carbon copy of Heero. Trowa was able to pick up on the differences from the start but the more time he spent with her the more he was able to see how different they were. Heero's eye would tick a few times when his anger reached a certain level. Serena's brows would crease ever so slightly before her breaking point. While both tended to clench their jaws, Serena would pull her lips back before moving the tension to her hands. Heero would clench his jaw while his fist balled at the same time. It may have been those little things but it showed how different Heero and Serena were.

One big difference that Trowa had learned right away was the fact that Serena tended to pace when analyzing something. Usually out of anger or simply being anxious while Heero could sit for hours before having to get up to move around. Trowa guessed that Serena's pacing was simply done out of habit. Even though he didn't fully understand it. If they were trained the same, why would Heero be able to remain still while Serena had to be moving? He tried not to analyze it too much, but the question remained.

There were still a lot of questions Trowa had, and if given the chance he would ask her, but somehow Trowa knew that asking those questions would potentially lead to her shutting down. Almost as if it was a safety net of hers, though she wasn't much different from the rest of them. They all had their secrets and some things they just never spoke about. But that was the mystery about her. What other secrets was Serena hiding?

Trowa glanced up as he caught sight of Serena walking by the open door of the bedroom. Serena smiled softly at him before turning her attention back to the conversation she was having with Heero. At that moment Trowa couldn't help but laugh to himself. Now he was starting to understand Relena's attraction to Heero. And why Relena had so desperately wanted to know more about Heero. The allure alone was enough to keep him coming back.

A/N

Happy Monday!

Hopefully, all of you had a wonderful weekend and if you celebrated Mother's Day, Happy belated Mother's Day to all the moms, and dads who are both mom and dad!

Now let's dive into this chapter. Heero has a lot of thinking to do. He's very much reflecting on his actions but he's still very much torn. Heero clearly feels very guilty for punching Serena. Don't blame him for feeling guilty, because he probably should be feeling guilty. As far as his ego... well it goes hand in hand because he lost his cool and went off. Heero's struggling between logic and emotions. He's picking up more on that Serena is being truthful to a point. There's something Serena isn't sharing and Heero's well aware of that. Heero doesn't always voice his opinions or thoughts, other than he doesn't trust Serena, but he doesn't have a good enough explanation that anyone would believe. Serena has everyone wrapped around her finger, and Heero doesn't like that, but Serena's starting to work her way more into Heero's heart. I wouldn't say an inch, but it's enough for Heero to want to try. Which is why he calls Serena and, gasps, apologizes to her? Does it mean they're on better terms? No, I wouldn't say that, but maybe they can be civil.

To sum things up, Heero's willing to give Serena the benefit of the doubt, but still, keep enough distance to figure out what's really going on. Heero has to do this because Serena has information, and even though he's questioning the "why here, why now," Heero knows that Preventers need Serena. Plain and simple. She's the key to figuring everything out. Now only if she'll talk... maybe she will in the next chapter, and maybe Heero will get some more clues. I mean Edman is being brought into HQ and as Trowa put it, it's another "bring your girlfriend to work, day." Though I don't think Serena cares much for the terminology.

As far as the phone call with Une, Serena's very excited. Will she punch another dude? Maybe. I mean she wants her Gundam. That and time isn't something they really have. As Heero pointed out in his first phone call with Serena. In their second conversation, it seems they were planning and getting along. So that's a plus. I mean Heero's putting things aside and it looks like Serena is too. Hopefully, the following day they continue to play nice. We shall see come Wednesday.

Jumping back to the scene with Heero and Relena, I'd like to quickly point out that Relena is not foolish in any way. She knows something happened but she's not going to get into an argument with Heero. I'm sure Relena eventually finds out what happens. Maybe at the dinner party?

Trowa... all I'm going to say is good luck buddy, cause you're looking like you're catching ALL the feels for Serena.

Wednesday's chapter, if you haven't guessed is going to be the "Interrogation" of Edman. Will they get any kind of information? Will things go downhill more? What will Serena do? What will Heero do? You'll find out on Wednesday. Until then, have a great rest of your day!

-MM