By West Wind
Disclaimer: I have no claim to any of the Gundam Wing characters in
this story. They belong to someone else.
Author's Note: Sorry, I did not get this out over the weekend
like I had hoped. I am only a day late. =) I hope you enjoy this
chapter.
Heero emerged from his bathroom towel drying his hair when he looked up at his beeping computer. He walked over and in quick fluid movements punched a few keys to bring up the alert message. He picked up the phone to contact Quatre. Catherine answered.
"Is Quatre there?"
"He just left and I was going to call you. Something has happened to Marimeia."
"I know. That is why I called. Where did he go?"
"To her hotel. Her friends called and both her and Kiel are missing," said a worried Cathy.
"Tell, Quatre, I will get the others, and we are on our way. I'll call again when we get closer to L4."
Heero quickly dressed. He swiftly closed his laptop, picked it up, and rapidly walked out of his apartment and into Relena and Trowa's house.
"Where's Trowa?" he demanded of Relena who was in the kitchen.
"Upstairs with the kids," she answered.
Heero stalked to the stairway and called up, "Trowa, we have to go NOW! Marimeia is in trouble."
Within seconds the ex-Heavyarms pilot was at Heero's side and Relena was standing in the entryway with concern written across her face. Heero headed for the door, and Trowa gave Relena a quick peck goodbye and a hug of reassurance before following the determined Heero. Once they were in the car, Heero handed Trowa a phone.
"Call Duo and Wufie and tell them to meet us at the Preventer air strip behind HQ ASAP and call the air strip and have them prep a shuttle for us!"
Trowa made the needed calls and got everything ready for their departure. They were soon pulling up to the gate to the air strip. They were greeted by a young guard.
"Evening, Sirs."
Heero grunted and nodded.
"Commander Chang said you were to go to hanger three," the guard informed them before letting them enter.
Heero signaled his acceptance of the information and pulled through.
Wufie and Sally were waiting for them outside the shuttle, and Duo was getting it ready for takeoff.
"We loaded up the items we might need," informed Sally.
Heero looked at her funny at her mention of "we." She very determined and challengingly stared back at him. He was not going to argue with her over her coming. It just was not worth the wasted time, which was of the essence, it would take to lose the argument with her.
"Did you contact Quatre?" asked Wufie.
"Talked to Catherine. He was headed to Marimeia's hotel. I'll call him once we near L4."
The pilots and Sally boarded the shuttle and prepared for takeoff. The shuttle started down the runway and was soon headed to space.
From a window in HQ, a lone figure watched their shuttle take off.
"Bring her back safe and unharmed, Heero. Please, bring her back…" whispered the long haired woman with a tear slowly traveling down her cheek. "I don't know what I would do if I lose her."
~*~*~*~*~
There was a knock at their suite door, and Jen opened it. Before her stood the hansom blond friend of Meia's, the pilot of their shuttle and a couple other men.
"Your Jen, right?" he inquired.
"Yes, and your Trowa's brother-in-law, Qua-a-tr-?" verified Jen as she hesitated before stumbling over his name since she had only seen it in writing in Meia's address book and never heard it spoken.
"It's Quatre," he good-naturedly aided her.
"Please come in."
The men entered the suite. Two of the men took up positions by the door while Quatre took a seat in a stuffed chair with Rashid standing behind them. Nikki and Jen sat across from them. Quatre gave them a reassuring smile. Both girls felt comfortable with his polite gentle manner.
"Do you remember anyone following you or running into anyone who knew Marimeia?" Quatre kindly asked.
Both girls shook their heads no.
"But we were not really looking for anyone either," pointed out Jen.
"True," reassured Quatre, "there was no reason for you to be."
There was a knock at the door. One of the men opened it and allowed two men to enter. One of them was dressed like the others. The second was in a suite.
"Master Quatre, here is the hotel manager, like you requested," said the man who had just arrived.
"Thank you," Quatre answered before turning his attention to the manager. He read the man's name tag. "Mr. Kawansy, I believe we have not meet before, have we?"
"No, sir," Mr. Kawansy replied nervously.
"We have a situation here in which I require the corporation of you and your staff," stated Quatre.
Jen perceived the change in Quatre's manner. He still gave off the impression of gentleness and compassion, but now there was a solid core of authority and power. Someone you did not want to cross.
"I would be happy to help in any way, Mr. Winner. As would the staff."
"A friend of mine and this lady's brother," he gestured to Jen, "have disappeared from this hotel."
The hotel manager started to stutter a response.
"I am not blaming you, Mr. Kawansy," Quatre reassured. "What I need you to do is aid my men in discretely questioning your staff about their disappearance."
Mr. Kawansy nodded his head to acknowledge he would aid Quatre.
"Good, you may go," said Quatre in a dismissal.
Mr. Kawansy turned to leave when Quatre addressed him again,
"Oh, Mr. Kawansy, would you please have room-service send up something for these two ladies."
"Certainly, sir."
"What would you like?" Quatre asked them.
They voiced their desired foods. The manager took the order and left the room with Rashid and one of the men.
The phone rang and Nikki answered.
"Hello, is Quatre there?" inquired Catherine.
"Just a minute," said Nikki who was going to get him, but he was standing behind her.
He smiled lovingly at his wife and asked, "Did you contact the others?"
"I talked to Lady Une, and Heero called here. He already knew."
"Really! Now that is interesting," commented Quatre. "What else did he have to say?"
"He was going to get the others and they are on their way. He is going to call again when they are closer to L4," she informed her spouse.
"When he calls, give him this number."
"Will do," she acknowledged. "Any leads yet?" she worriedly asked.
"Rashid is inquiring. Don't worry, we will find her. Especially if Heero already knew something was up," he reassured before wrapping up the conversation.
~*~*~*~*~
The shuttle drew closer to L4, and Heero called Quatre's house. Catherine answered and gave him the number to the hotel room.
Heero dialed the new number, and Quatre answered.
"Find anything?"
"My men are still looking, but one of the employees noticed a young woman fitting Marimeia's description talking to two men in the parking lot when she was walking across it to get to work. One fits Kiel's description. The other was tall, broad, and deep chested with reddish-blond hair and a mustache."
"That sounds like Jim Moore," commented Heero.
"That is what the girls said. They ran into him before they left earth. They told him of their trip and where they would be staying."
Heero let out a few expletives as he slammed his fist down in frustration. The others looked at him questioningly, but he ignored them.
"We are about to dock. Where are you?" asked Heero.
Quatre gave him the hotel name and room number.
"We will be there as soon as we can."
~*~*~*~*~
Marimeia woke tied to a chair in an abandoned building. Kiel was still out, tied to a chair ten feet in front of her. Her mouth was gagged so she could not call out to him. She wondered how long they had been out. She could not see her watch and there were no clocks visible. She hoped that Jen and Nikki contacted Quatre and that Heero got the distress signal from her. If they had, then cavalry was on its way, she would just have to buy them time till they found them. She watched Kiel until he began to stir. He tested his bonds and found them secure. He looked up at her with a "what do we do now" look. She shrugged her shoulders. She closed her eyes to settled in to wait and drifted back to sleep. She awoke to the door opening and Jim entered their room.
"Ah, your awake," he said pleased. "I am sorry to have treated you so crudely, my love, but it was the only way. I have something for you."
He pulled out a beret like she wore in her younger days of trying to take over the world and placed it on her head.
"There," he said satisfied. "You look more like you did when I first fell in love with you when I was eleven."
She caught Kiel's look of disbelief and confusion from the corner of her eye.
"You radiated raw authority and power when you made your declaration of independence," he continued. "I have seen it laying under the surface like gold in a river bed. It glimmers when the light hits it. You have hidden it and refined it over the years, and it is still there and even more alluring."
Jim stooped down beside her and tenderly brushed strands of hair away from her face. Marimeia stared at him coldly.
"I have loved you for so long, and when our accident brought us together, I knew we were meant for each other. Nothing nor anyone will stand in the way of our love," he rambled and shot a glare at Kiel. "It hurt when you said there was someone else, but once he is out of the way you will see we are meant to be together. You will be mine."
Marimeia saw the look of murder in Jim's eyes as he looked at Kiel, and she realized he thought she was in love with Kiel. Even if she could voice the truth, he would never believe her. She let out a gasp as he roughly pulled her hair in his loathing of Kiel.
"My love, I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you," he apologized profusely. "You can't imagine my joy, after some research, I discovered the angel from the accident turned out to be the notorious Marimeia Khushrenada, who tried to take over the world, the love of my life."
Kiel looked like he would fall out of his chair if he was not tied in it, at the suggestion that his friend was the actual Marimeia that the last war centered around. He stared at her and could see the resemblance, especially with the hat. He wondered why he had never thought of it before. What kind of history buff was he, when he was friends with such a famous person and did not know it. Marimeia watched Kiel's reaction and keep herself from laughing. Jim followed her gaze.
"So you did not know your girlfriend was infamous? She did not tell you? What else might she not have told you?" he questioned as he walked over to Kiel. "Let me introduce you then. Before you sits," he announced while he gestured grandly to Marimeia, "Is Marimeia Khushrenada, granddaughter of Dakem Barton, the symbol for the men who fought for her. Don't let it worry you. She won't be yours much longer," he concluded with an insane laugh before tuning his attention back to Marimeia. "You have not had dinner, yet," he said with a sudden change of subject and demeanor. "Let me go out and get you something, for you must eat before we leave. I'll be back soon."
Kiel and Marimeia looked at each other after Jim left. Kiel tried to maneuver his chair over to her so they could attempt to free each other. His pitiful attempts were unsuccessful, and he almost manage to tip his chair over. Jim watched the mirth play across her eyes at his bumbling.
"At least I have brought some amusement to this situation," thought Kiel.
For once in his life Kiel could see no feasible way out of the jam they
were in. No one knew where they were or who had them. Jen and Nikki were
their only hope, but what could they do. At least Jim would keep Marimeia
alive, and she could try to escape later. However, Kiel had seen the loathing
Jim directed at him, and it spelled trouble for him. Kiel shook his head
at his dark thought and looked back at Marimeia again. She seemed to be
lost in thought. Her eyes were unfocused and vacant for some time before
they sparkled back to life. She then looked at him with what he could only
call hope in her eyes. He wished she could share the source of her hope
with him, but without words or gestures it was hard to do. He would just
try to take solace in the fact that she had hope.
Marimeia watched Kiel try to maneuver his chair over to her chair unsuccessfully.
It was an amusing site even if they were in deep trouble. Kiel finally
gave up and became lost in thought. Marimeia's mind drifted as well. All
of Jim's talk of her past brought back memories she had not dwelt on in
years. Yes, she had tried to take over the world and be the ruler like
her grandfather had raised her to be. She did not see it at the time, but
afterwards she realized that Dakem was using her like a puppet to obtain
his own goals. She was expendable, and she had no doubt that he would have
killed her if she had tried to throw off his reigns. However, Lady Une,
Relena and Heero showed her the errors of her way that day and saved her.
That day she learned fear.
Her thoughts drifted to Heero and the first day she meet him… the day he attacked her stronghold.
~*~ flashback ~*~ [Taken from Endless Waltz]
"Mister Dakem, we're on line with one of the gundam pilots," said an officer.
Heero's face appeared on the large screen before them.
"Heero," said Relena.
"Let me confirm, your shelter shield is activated?" Heero stated rather than asked.
"What are you planning?" demanded Dakem.
"Your shelter is secure, is it?," questioned Heero.
"Of course it is. See for yourself just how powerless you are," proudly challenged the young Marimeia.
"Roger that," Heero responded.
Marimeia gasped and was shocked by his cool reply. Then he fired and the shelter shook. Every one fought to retain their balance.
"Gather all the Serpents here! Shoot down Wing Zero!" ordered Dakem.
"What a miserable person! He's ... He's not going to be able to achieve anything," stammered Marimeia as she stood up.
"Are you afraid, Marimeia?" asked as very calm Relena.
~*~ end flashback ~*~
Marimeia was amused as she remembered her first impression of her love.
She hated him for challenging her and her neatly laid out plans, for causing
her to doubt and question what she had been taught, for showing her she
could be wrong, for showing her fear. She believed they were invincible
– no one could stand up to them. Heero proved her wrong. He and the other
gundam pilots stood up against the insurmountable odds against them, and
they came out on top. They always seemed to, and she was relying on that
fact to get her out of this situation. Heero and the others would find
her sooner or later, but hopefully before Jim harmed Kiel. She would just
have to buy them as much time as she could until the rescue party arrived.
She looked up at Kiel trying to give him reassurance that they would get
out of this.
Sometime later, Jim returned with Chinese carryout. He placed a crate
before Marimeia and sat on it. He removed Marimeia's gag. She opened and
closed her mouth a couple times working out the stiffness. He offered her
a fork full of food which she accepted and slowly chewed. He repeated the
process once she had emptied her mouth. Jim watched her intently as she
ate.
"May I have a drink?" asked Marimeia as she motioned to the paper cup setting on the floor.
"Of course," replied Jim.
Marimeia stole a quick glance and a reassuring smile at Kiel while Jim bent down to retrieve the cup. Jim held the cup up to her face. She captured the straw in her mouth and pulled up the liquid.
"Would you like more to eat?" asked Jim after placing the cup back on the floor.
"Yes, please," Marimeia politely responded.
He placed another fork full of food in her mouth.
"You said we were leaving. Where are we going?" she cautiously asked after swallowing.
"We will be going back to earth," answered Kiel as he offered her more food. "I have arraigned for a privet shuttle to take us back."
"Any place in particular on earth?" she prodded him.
"Some place special. I want it to be a surprise."
"Oh. What made you so sure I am Marimeia Khushrenada?"
Jim went on about his cleaver research and the facts and trivia he had uncovered that brought him to his conclusion. Throughout the process, Marimeia continued to probe and questioned in her attempt to buy them time until Heero or one of the others came to their rescue. By the time Jim gave her the last bite of food, she had confirmed her earlier suspicion that he was not mentally stable.
"Well, my love, it's almost time to go," said Jim as he collected the trash. "I just have a few loose ends to tie up."
Jim pulled out a gun and pointed it at Kiel. Kiel's eyes widened in horror and fear.
"Why are you going to shoot him?" Marimeia calmly inquired.
"I told you earlier, I am getting rid of my competition so our love will prevail."
"What made you think Kiel is your competition?"
Jim turned toward her and lowered his gun. She knew Jim would not believer her when she told him Kiel was not her love, but it would stall Jim for a bit.
"I have been watching you," Jim admitted. "I have watched you interact with various people and he," pointing at Kiel, "is the only one that fits. He has hung all over you the past week."
Marimeia had to admit, from Jim's perspective Kiel was the likely candidate. Kiel was an overly tactile person in both public and private. He liked to be in contact with those he felt closest to, like his sister and herself. It took many forms from an arm around the shoulders or a hug in greeting to a simple pat on the back. Heero on the other hand very rarely showed affection in public, and since, she and Heero usually hung out at his apartment behind Relena's garage, Jim probably assumed she was visiting Trowa and Relena, which was not uncommon for her. On the surface, Kiel would appear to be her boyfriend.
"He does that to all his close friends. He hung on Jen and Nikki as well," pointed out Marimeia. "We are only friends. Did you ever think the other person might be someone you have not meet?"
"It's so nice of you to try to protect him," said a confident Jim as he caressed her cheek. "He has to be taken care of."
"I will go freely with you anywhere, if you don't harm him," she pleaded, her eyes locked onto his.
"Sorry, I can't do that. He knows you are with me and would tell the others."
"He wouldn't if I told him this was what I wanted to do and asked him not to tell."
Jim's face was inches from her own. He pushed a stray lock of hair back behind her ear before responding.
"I don't think he would," Jim whispered, "but, it is very nice of you to try to save his life."
Jim lowered his face to Marimeia's and placed a kiss on her lips. Marimeia deepened the kiss, holding Jim there by the only means possible to her at the time.
"Heero, hurry" she thought to herself.
Jim pulled away breathless.
"Soon, my dear, soon," he said misinterpreting her actions.
Jim leveled his gun at Kiel. He pulled the trigger and sent the bullet speeding through the air. Marimeia's eyes widened and she screamed, "NO!!!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Author's Notes: Cliffhanger... I seem to be putting a few of them in this story. ~_^ Got to keep it interesting. (I hope your are finding it interesting.)
After watching Endless Waltz, again on Friday, I just had to
incorporate Marimeia's first reaction to Heero.
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