Warnings: This takes off a few days after Rapiers and Scimitars left off. This fic will include incredibly sappy moments between Duo & Hilde Maxwell, a bit of lemony lime, a pregnant Hilde, violence, angst, a temperamental Dorothy, and anything else my demented little mind can think up. ^_^
Clowns and Spies
Chapter One
Sparse moonlight shown through the bars of Michael Trisp's cell and he
growled angrily as he paused in his pacing to stare outside. How kind of
them to give him a cell with a view. He threw a punch at the bars, but
purposefully missed… He already learned his lesson on not punching hard
objects… His knuckles were bruised and bleeding and Michael rubbed them
with a pained expression. It really wasn't fair. That bitch had scarred
him, made his job a living hell, yet he was the one that was in prison!?
The witch had thousands of people wanting her dead now that her little
blackmail had been broadcast across the universe.
He hoped her body was riddled with holes by now… But he doubted he'd get
his wish. She seemed to have the life span of a cat or the luck of one
at least. Because of that damn blonde fluff! He should never have listened
to Une. Damn that psychotic bitch. She was getting off easy. Her trial
was still a few days off, but he knew she wouldn't be spending anytime
in jail. She'd be sent to a happy, padded cell where in a year or two she'd
be let out completely recovered… While, he was sent to a high-security
prison to spend out the rest of his life, or most of it at least, probably
being hit on by a thug named Bubba.
Michael cursed and kicked at the dingy pallet that occupied the dark cell.
That bitch was going to pay. They were all going to pay. He snarled and
reared back and kicked again…
His foot missed the pallet and slammed into the metal toilet accompanying
the room. Outside a Preventer guard laughed as Michael yelped in pain.
*
Dorothy smiled slightly to herself as she climbed out of her new Porsche.
She patted it fondly, something she'd never have done before the loss of
her other two cars. She placed her keys into her small yellow purse and
began walking the short distance toward the building that loomed before
her. It was tall, glass skyscraper that ominously towered over the other
buildings surrounding it. Here her office lay and here she'd finally get
to work once again. Her 'vacation' was to end today and Dorothy was glad.
She had a lot to do to repair the damage done in the last few days. The
releasing of all her blackmail had been a harsh blow. Now, she'd have to
start all over, but it some ways that fact was refreshing.
She was starting over.
Not that the last few days since Une and Michael's arrests had been quiet.
She'd spent some of it talking to Quatre about her father and her childhood
before her grandfather and her training… Then she'd spoken to both Officer
Yuy and Maxwell who'd needed her statement, which had led to her notice
of being needed to testify against both Une and Michael. Relena had also
visited often with Heero and Duo all wishing her to take Preventer protection
till the trials were over and maybe even longer…
Two attempts had been made on her life in the last five days… By two common
thugs whose pockets had been quite heavy with wads of money. A few of the
people she'd blackmailed were somewhat angry over the fact that their secrets
had been revealed and she wasn't dead. She'd handled the thugs herself
with no problems whatsoever, but Relena believed this only proved her point.
They wanted her to be protected and that meant Preventers inside her house
all the time and guards following her around. Dorothy would not allow it.
She could protect herself.
Speak of the angel and her two devils. Dorothy smirked as Relena Darlian,
Duo Maxwell, and Heero Yuy met her in the lobby of the Romefeller building.
The American grinned widely at her, his violet eyes dancing with evident
amusement, "Hey, Duch! How's life?"
"Fine, Mr. Maxwell." She raised an eyebrow, "Is there a reason for this
visit?"
"A very good reason! Right, Rellie?" At Duo's words Relena stepped forward
and smiled at Dorothy. The Duchess knew that smile. It was the one Relena
used when facing a group of particularly stubborn politicians. "I'm glad
to hear you're doing well, Dorothy, especially after those—."
Dorothy interrupted her, "No. I do not need Preventer protection. Two gunmen
are nothing. Now, please move aside so I can get to work."
It was truly remarkable how fast Relena could go from polite, pacifist
politician and into a stubborn, know-it-all friend. "Oh, no! Two attempts,
Dorothy! You need the protection! You can take an extended vacation from
work. I'll take over if you wish. But you need rest and security. People
are after you for the information that you so pleasantly collected and
had released. They want revenge and you need the Preventers. Also, they
need you to testify against Une and Michael. You have to take care of yourself!"
Heero's lips twitched as Relena shook a finger at Dorothy during the speech,
while Duo laughed outright. The Duchess calmly listened then smiled. Officer
Yuy stiffened at that smile and his eyes narrowed. She was up to something.
"Trowa Barton must also testify. Is he under Preventer protection?" Her
cool blue-gray eyes watched as Duo stopped laughing and winced.
"He's a Preventer, Dorothy." Relena explained rather weakly, looking to
Heero and Duo for help.
"He didn't blackmail anyone." Heero told her in his usual serious voice,
just a hint of impatience in the tone.
"You don't know if those two were working for a vengeful politician or
Michael and Une. Officer Po informed me of that three days past." Dorothy
eyed them each in turn, "Now, unless I'm mistaken, not even an ex-Gundam
pilot can handle numerous assassins by himself. You know I am as capable
of protecting myself as Mr. Barton. So until he is receiving such attention
then I will not agree to either protection or vacation. Good day." When
Duo blocked her path, she shook one high-heeled foot threateningly over
his own shoe. The American blinked and stepped aside quickly.
"Why can't you just protect her from a distance?" Relena asked as they
watched the Duchess disappear.
"She won't allow us to search her grounds or prowl her home. It's harder
to protect when you can barely come within twenty meters of her home. She
won't allow a bodyguard, not even one single guard, to follow her when
she is outside her home. The problem is we can't force her to let us. It's
her choice." Duo cursed, "She's being a damn idiot! Training or not she
couldn't handle four assassins if they had Une's Rose or something like
it!"
"She's a Queen at making impossible deals." The Minister sighed, "A Preventer
under Preventer protection…" She shook her head and tried to ignore the
two bodyguards that walked a foot behind her, Heero, and Duo.
"Trowa doesn't need protection. He's on L3 with his circus buddies. No
one even knows he's there!" Duo growled, "What is wrong with that woman?!"
"Dorothy understands, but perhaps—." Relena cut off and her eyes widened.
The two Preventers stared at her warily and Relena grinned widely at them
both. "I have an idea." Thus, the political Minister began explaining,
using every ounce of her noble training to convince the two.
*
Quatre stared at the computer before him with tired and strained eyes even
with his glasses on. He yawned and removed the glasses as he rubbed his
dry eyes. It'd been four days since he'd left earth the day after his talk
with Dorothy. That night she'd revealed a lot about her past, but he knew
she was still keeping much back.
He wished he could have stayed longer, but he'd been postponing his family
business for much too long. I wonder what she's doing for New Years. He
smiled; a celebration of another year since the colonies had been stabilized
in space. He wanted to see her, but work…
Quatre stared at his blinking laptop and raised one blonde eyebrow as he
commanded, "Open transmission." He smiled widely as a familiar face appeared
on the screen and grinned at him. "Sally! How are you?" Quatre leaned forward,
his bright blue eyes level with hers.
"A bit exhausted. Sorry, Quatre, but this is a business call. You've been
nominated as the Preventer's new Head. All nominees are to return to HQ
as soon as possible to await further instructions." Sally sighed, "There,
that's the official request." Her eyes danced with amusement at his bewildered
expression. "There are five nominees and since not every Preventer is capable
of electing his or her choice, the five are to form a committee. They will
lead the Preventers jointly until all Preventer choices are accounted for
and one of the five is elected."
The Winner heir looked stunned; "I can't leave. My company needs me."
"You don't have to come immediately. I'm sure you can let your sisters
handle the company for a few weeks. We need you, Quatre. Already one nominee
is too involved in the protection of Duchess Catalonia to do very much.
Two are having to travel from Mars." Sally tried not to sound as if she
was begging, but Quatre could tell from her face.
He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair, "Okay, Sally. I'll come.
Give me a few days to contact my sisters." Quatre replaced his glasses
as his head began to pound. "Sally, who are the others?"
She smiled, relieved that he'd agreed, and answered, "Noin, Zechs, Duo,
and myself."
"You'd be perfect for the job, Sally." Quatre told her honestly and she
laughed.
"Tell Wufei that." They both chuckled, then the Arabian looked away and
swallowed.
"How is she, Sally?" His voice was such a soft whisper that Sally wanted
to hug him, but she could merely smile a bit sadly as she spoke.
"She's fine, Quatre. You've probably already heard about the two attempts
and know she's safe. Duo and Heero are still trying to convince her to
take some form of Preventer protection and she is still resisting. Quatre,
she's fine." Sally told him quietly, hiding her own worries for the Duchess.
Ever since Dorothy's visit to her office she'd grown something of a sensitive
spot for Duchess Catalonia.
"Thank you." His voice sounded strangely husky as he turned back around
to face her. "I fear I must go, Sally, if I want to be there as soon as
possible. Good luck to you."
"You too, Quatre. Bye."
*
Trowa Barton was helping set up one of the smaller tents when Catherine
came running to announce he had a phone call. The acrobat thanked her before
leaving for his trailer that sat beside his sister's. The face greeting
him from the vid-screen surprised him enough to cause one eyebrow to lift.
"Heero."
"Trowa."
"Oh, god. You two are so hopeless!" Duo's smiling face popped up behind
Heero and he grinned at Trowa. "Hey, Tro-man! We've got bit of a job for
you."
"A job?" Trowa leaned forward and surprised both Preventer officers when
he actually stalked from the room at one point during the explanation…
But eventually he agreed.
*
Heero cut off the transmission and leaned back in his chair, his eyes on
the woman that had stayed out of sight during the conversation. Duo stared
at the vid-screen with a slight expression of confusion and awe; "Did you
see that? Tro-man got pissed. I mean, we've all seen him show some emotion,
but he's always been so… Cool, collected. I wonder why he got so mad…"
Relena stared at her hands; "Maybe you shouldn't be doing this. If someone
does come after them, then they're both together now. Easy targets."
Duo shook his head, "First, they'll be on a distant colony and we're using
the oldest rule in the book. We're hiding them in plain sight. No one will
ever think to look for them there. Second, Trowa is a Preventer Officer
and can protect Dorothy. Angry politicians are hiring the assassins coming
after her, not Une and Michael. We've questioned both and though we can't
exactly trust them, the attempts so far have been made by low-profile thugs,
not professionals. Third, Dorothy will be able to prove her spy capabilities
and hide under a disguise and a new identity."
"What if she doesn't agree?"
"You said she would." Duo lowered a level gaze toward Relena, "Are you
changing your mind?"
"Dorothy's hard to understand. She might and she might not. It depends
on her mood. She may think that having to stay with Trowa for awhile will
allow her to understand his weaknesses and strengths. She's never explained
why, but Trowa must have done something to her a long time ago."
Heero stood and both looked at him. "Dorothy doesn't like what she can't
label. Trowa won't fit her labels. Trowa doesn't like aristocrats or arrogance.
Dorothy isn't truly as arrogant as she seems to be. Neither understands
each other and neither likes things they can't understand."
Relena sighed, "I just hope she agrees. She does need at least some sort
of protection." She picked up her coat and slowly pulled it on as Duo and
Heero checked their guns.
"Duch ain't gonna know what hit her." Duo joked as the three left Heero's
office.
*
Dorothy lunged forward at her imaginary opponent, her rapier slicing through
the air, and her hair streaming behind her. Somewhere a clock chimed, announcing
that it was four A.M. Dorothy blinked and paused in mid-parry to lean against
her rapier. She needed to sleep, but she feared she was becoming something
of insomniac. However, it wasn't the sound of the clock that had made her
stop her practice, but the steady knocking at her front door.
The Duchess hoisted the rapier and walked out of the fencing room, making
her way toward the door with a slight smile. If it were another attempt
then she'd enjoy the exercise. She opened the door with a slight flourish
and raised an eyebrow as she faced Minister Darlian and Officers Maxwell
and Yuy. "Come to try to convince me once again?" She asked as she motioned
for them to enter.
"Actually, we have an arrangement that we hope might accompany you better
than constant watch." Duo answered, his cheerful grin in place even though
he desperately wished he was with Hilde who was staying with Relena since
he couldn't leave earth now that he was a nominee for the Preventer's new
President.
"An arrangement?" Dorothy sat down and crossed her legs, eyeing the three
with her usual smug air of confidence. "Please, explain."
"We want you to have protection. You don't want us following you around
everywhere. What about relocating? We have a perfect place you could stay
for a few weeks, with only one Preventer guard. You've told us yourself
that your training allowed you to be as good as that Collie woman."
"I have work." She answered calmly, "And Trowa Barton is still not receiving
the same treatment, now is he?"
Duo and Relena exchanged a grin before the Officer continued. "Well, that's
not completely true. Trowa is hidden from sight and will actually be the
Preventer that will be accompanying you. Since you are obviously as capable
as any Gundam pilot we've thought it would be wise for you to be protecting
each other. This way we don't have to worry about anymore traitors in the
Preventer corps being the ones to protect you. You'll be out of sight and
no one would ever think to look for you there."
A frown replaced her smirk, "Where would there be?"
"Now, Duch, you said that you weren't agreeing because Trowa wasn't receiving
the same protection. Now, he is. You shall protect him and he will protect
you. A circle, you see."
"Where is there?" She asked again and Heero finally spoke.
"Accept or don't. We will not risk explaining where Trowa is till you agree."
"My work…" Dorothy whispered and Relena smiled sweetly.
"You deserve a bit of a real vacation after this Une fiasco. I will take
care of Romefeller till you can return." Dorothy seemed apprehensive over
that bit of information, yet there was her sense of her honor to think
of. She had told them that she wouldn't agree till Trowa was accepting
the same treatment and now he was… And it would be interesting to see Trowa's
reaction to being protected by her self. Interesting, indeed…
To relax for awhile and to perhaps annoy the ever stoic Trowa Barton would
be a nice way to spend a week or two. And to see how Relena would react
to Romefeller… Yes, yes… This was all very, very interesting once one actually
thought it through.
Dorothy smiled, "I accept."
Hours later, an enraged Dorothy was being watched as she slowly cut the
last bit of her hair. The blond locks fell to the floor and she stared
at the image she now made. Her hair had been cut to shoulder-length and
dye had been used to make her hair a less whitish blonde and her eyebrows…
A tremor passed through her hand as she remembered having to sit through
the dying and plucking of her most shocking attribute. For years, she'd
kept her eyebrows just so… And they had forced her to ruin them. The image
staring back at her was her, yet strangely not her.
The woman in the mirror had hair that was now being placed in a high ponytail
and glitter painted across her eyelids and lip-gloss shone on her frowning
lips. The short skirt she wore over knee-high boots and the fur-lined,
low-cut shirt revealed a silver necklace. She looked like any average twenty-something
going clubbing.
"See, that wasn't so bad." Duo teased and Dorothy struggled not to throw
the scissors at the American. She was angry and the longer they stayed,
the harder it was for her not to show her anger. They had forced her to
cut her hair and change her eyebrows.
"You're leaving tonight on a public shuttle. You understand your new identity."
From Heero it wasn't a question. "Trowa will meet you and you know how
to contact us if you need help."
"Understood." Dorothy answered her voice calm even though inside she was
raging. She should've realized that the acrobat wouldn't be leaving his
precious circus and now she would have to join it. Actually, she didn't
mind quite that much. She could see the wisdom in the choice. No one would
ever believe that the Duchess Catalonia was hiding away in a traveling
circus. Yet, to spend so much time in his environment. Perhaps this
was a good thing. She could study him in his home where he'd be most comfortable.
Once she understood what exactly drove the acrobat, perhaps she could…
I could what? Dorothy stared at her image with frustration. What could
I do to him? Convince him.
Her eyes widened slightly as she realized that was exactly what she wanted
to do. Trowa was so much like Quatre in his view of her. Believing that
she was a sad, lonely woman. He wanted her to cry.
Yet, that wasn't completely true. He didn't think she was as kind as Quatre
thought and he was suspicious of her, as she was of him. He believed she
loved Quatre, but didn't trust her not to hurt the Arabian. In some strange
way, Dorothy wanted revenge on Trowa Barton for always shaking her so deeply
whenever they were together. He was one of the few people that made her
angry. Not even Quatre could cause her to show rage as the acrobat did.
Dorothy turned away from the image and reached out a hand to accept the
file containing the papers for her new identity. A passport, background
history, recommendations, hospital records, social security. All of it
rested in her hand. She raised her eyes to find that they were staring
at her. She smirked and spoke, her voice rolling into the slightly clipped
accent of the British, "My name is Lavender Gladius. You are?"
Duo whistled, "Do it again!"
She glared at him before turning her attention toward Heero, "Now the tricky
part, I presume."
He nodded, "You and Relena are leaving here together, Duo will pretend
to be your driver while I follow. At the port, you will both slip into
the ladies' bathroom where Duo will meet you. He will put on your coat
and cover his head with a scarf and leave with Relena while you board your
shuttle."
Dorothy slipped on a long, tan coat and tied a belt around it so her outfit
was hidden from sight. Next came a pair of sunglasses and the scarf and
soon she and Relena were out the door and supposedly meeting their chauffeur.
Heero followed in his car, keeping a fair amount of distance between him
and the car as his eyes watched for any suspicious onlookers.
Relena and Dorothy didn't speak as Duo drove them; instead they tried to
ignore his whining over having to pretend to be a woman… And then his bragging
over Hilde's pregnant state and how they were going to name the child Duo
Jr. Relena actually smiled at this, but Dorothy merely rolled her eyes
and focused on the road outside.
An hour later, Dorothy was watching the stars outside her shuttle window.
The plan had worked and now she was on her way to L3 to join Trowa's circus
as Lavender. As she watched Earth become smaller and smaller, Dorothy felt
a stab of unease. She never did enjoy visiting the colonies… It brought
too many memories of her father's death to mind yet the journey through
space usually relaxed her somewhat. The brilliant stars, endless space,
and ominous moon reminded her of nights of watching the sky with her father…
Dancing and laughing…
She smiled slightly, just a slight lift of her lips and pushed aside her
worries and distress. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the sight.
*
Hola! See! I said I might do a sequel
and here it is *^_^* Now, it might seem a bit strange right now, but trust
me. Everything will be thoroughly explained. Also, I've read stories where
Trowa comes to Quatre's (and if Dorothy is with Quatre, then to her too).
He always seems to come into their world of politics and wealth. I just
wanted to see if I could put one of them (Dorothy, in this case) in his
world. Well, ciao!!