by Zapenstap
Duo and Hilde walked about uncertainly, stooping to examine the floors, trailing their fingertips along the walls.
"It looks like they just painted it," Hilde said in awe. "Good as new! But I swear I saw the explosion from outside with my own eyes. One of these rooms was entirely consumed with this red fiery light. The noise was so loud I thought the whole wall must have been blown out."
"Yeah," Duo muttered. "That's what I thought. What room did it come from?"
Hilde frowned and turned about. "Down the hall a ways, I think."
Duo swallowed. Toward the wife's room. The wife! He cursed. What was he doing standing around when there might be some poor civilian being questioned or tortured or dying or who knew what? And there was still Teleb to deal with, not to mention Felicia. Had she betrayed him or not?
Duo grabbed Hilde's hand and ran down the hall with her trailing behind.
"What's going on, Duo?" Hilde demanded, pulling him back. "Explain it to me before we plunge into who knows what."
"A diamond heist, I think," Duo said. "Some guy named Teleb came to steal this diamond and some crystals from the wife of this warehouse, but they weren't really hers either, I don't think. I stumbled upon Felicia--you remember, I told you about her--prowling about outside. She's the one who left me at the door for those thugs. I don't know where she went."
"Maybe she's really working with Teleb," Hilde suggested. "And was trying to get you captured."
"Yeah, I thought about that, but I'm not sure. What of the diamond? It seemed to be this Teleb's main objective when I heard him talking in the hallway. Felicia held me back from getting him then, though."
"It looks really fishy, Duo," Hilde said uncertainly.
"I know," Duo muttered. "Hey! Do you have your phone on you?"
Hilde reached into her purse and drew it out. "Gonna call somebody?"
Duo nodded. "Yeah, if anybody has information on this Felicia girl, it'll be Heero."
Duo tried the most recent number he had tracked down as Heero's, the oone he had 911-ed, but it had been disconnected. He tried another. Disconnected. He tried his last one, but he got only a "this line is no longer in service. Please hang up and try again."
"Hey," Duo grumbled. "Where'd he take off to?"
"Try Relena," Hilde suggested. "Maybe she knows what happened to him."
Duo didn't want to call Relena. He hated contacting her. He had her personal number for some weird reason, but she rarely had time to talk and he rarely had the desire just to call up for a chat with the Earth's representative. She was so intense she gave him the creeps. "All right," he muttered grudgingly, and dialed the number.
"Duo Maxwell?" Relena's voice came in surprise over the phone, fuzzy and indistinct from so far away.
"Yeah," Duo said. "I'm actually trying to get a hold of Heero. Is he with you?"
"I haven't seen of heard from him in forever," she said quietly, and worriedly he though. "What's this about?"
"I'm trying to get some information on that Felicia girl we ran into before."
Relena paused. "Sally and Wufei already looked into that. There aren't any records on her, name, family, birthplace, nothing. I know she helped us out before, but she and the boy who came with her were keeping some sort of secret. The only records we found were that she did retain Angela Moise for awhile and reported the capture to the police. Heero uncovered that; I don't know if he knew more. I don't think so."
"Well, thanks anyway," Duo muttered. "I just ran into her again and she got me in trouble."
"Is everything okay?" Relena asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it; I'll take care of everything."
"All right." She paused, and he could hear the question hovering on her lips before she said it. "Duo, please contact me if you hear from Heero. No one's seen him for awhile and I can't help worrying. I... I know he's none of my business, but he's been so withdrawn lately and I...."
Duo smirked. "It's all right. I'm concerned too, but I doubt he'll contact me on his own. I'll tell you what, though. When this side adventure is over, I'll try to track him down for ya'. We really can't just let him hide from everybody, now can we?"
"Thanks, Duo," she whispered quietly. "I feel awful, but I just can't help caring about him."
Duo smiled. Any girl who could be moonstruck over Heero had to be creepy, but his smile turned into a grin. They more or less deserved each other. "Me too. I'm sure there's no real reason to worry, though. I'll see ya later."
They both hung up.
"Did you learn anything?" Hilde asked anxiously.
"No, not really," Duo said with a sigh. "Just that this Felicia's a ghost. Come on, let's go find that room."
They trotted down the hall together, peeking into all the rooms they came across. "Down there," Hilde said with a gesture to an antechamber with its door swinging open. "That looks like one of those office bedrooms bigwigs sometimes have when they stay overnight at their businesses."
Duo nodded and they both approached the room cautiously. Hilde entered first, and Duo felt her reaction from behind.
"Oh my God," Hilde said as they entered the doorway.
Felicia lay sprawled face down on the ground, her brown hair scattered in a wild mass on the carpet. Her left hand was burnt, the skin bubbled from some enormous heat. Her clothes were black and tattered in places, and she wasn't moving. Across the room, an older woman was laying on the bed as if asleep. Duo supposed she was the wife and had been knocked unconscious.
Even as Hilde spoke, both the women began to move. Hilde let out a sigh of relief and rushed to help Felicia.
"What happened?" the wife mumbled.
Felicia raised her head with a moan and a choked, sardonic laugh. She brought her burned and blistered hand to her breast, her body shaking. "Gone," she said. "I won, but he's gone." As she said it, her eyes fell on a pile of what looked like shattered glass lying in a pile on the floor.
So, Teleb has escaped.
"Are those the crystals?" Hilde asked.
Felicia looked up at her, eyes glassy. "No, not the crystals. Do I know you? Oh wait, you're um...Hilde?" Hilde blinked in surprise. Felicia put her unburnt hand to her forehead. "I am in such a state..." she mumbled.
Duo whipped out his gun. "Stand back, Hilde. This girl's got some answers to give."
Hilde looked up in surprise and moved back. Felicia lifted her head to stare into his eyes and moaned plaintively. "Right, of course, the thugs. I'm really sorry about that, you know." She smiled at him then, that beautiful, impish smile containing all kinds of flattery. "Someone needed to take care of them, and I knew you could do it! Better than me, probably. I really couldn't have you with me when I went after Teleb. I didn't invite you along if you remember."
Duo didn't lower his gun. "You didn't seem to do such a great job. What'd you do, stick your hand in the fireplace? I could have taken care of Teleb with one bullet."
Felicia's eyes seemed to turn into pure liquid. "No, that really would have been very bad," she said. "We would have both been in serious trouble if you tried that. It's okay, though. I have secured the prize and chased him away. Ask me no more questions."
"No, it's not okay! I'll ask you all the questions I want," Duo refuted. "You're wounded and in mortal peril, so don't even try to play this off. Who are you really?"
"Wounded?" Felicia chirped, blinking at her hand. "Oh right! It's nothing that will hinder me for too long." She grinned. "Oh, do put the gun away. I'm not going to attack you and you're not going to shoot me. I told you the truth before." She slowly stood to her feet. "My errand went well."
"Yeah? Errand complete? Is that what you say?" Duo said. "Where's the diamond?"
Felicia gestured to the pile of glass on the floor. "Pretty, huh? The pieces are still valuable, but not for the purpose Teleb wanted to use it for. This was not easy money, you know," she said in a lecturing tone that sounded silly coming from her mouth. "That particular diamond was an instrumental piece in a... weapon--I guess you could call it that--he wanted to use. And really, that's all you need to know." With that, she gave him a half-bow and walked right past him out of the room. She paused at the doorframe. Duo lowered his gun. "I really am sorry, Duo. I'm bad at making decisions, especially involving other people. That's why Cor usually comes with me, or someone else. Please forgive me. I meant well. I really did."
Duo frowned at her. For some reason, he believed her. Maybe it was the innocent look in her eyes. They were not the eyes of a criminal. She was not haunted by any shadows, of war or pain or death, nor possessed by any dark evil of greed or hate. But she definitely had something to hide, and whatever it was, she wasn't going to just tell him about it. Maybe she had her reasons. "Felicia's not your real name, is it?" he surmised.
She grinned widely. "You're a good guesser! But Duo's not really your name either, is it?" she sighed. "Nobody really seems to have real names here." But the idea seemed to delight her.
"What about you friend Cor?" Duo asked out of curiosity. "Is that his real name?"
"Coran," she said simply. "He's boring." And with a wink and a laugh she ducked out of the room.
Duo shook his head as she left. He doubted he'd ever--or would want!--to see her again. Then he stared at the pile of diamond shards on the floor. What sort of explosion would shatter diamond? And the pieces! It had made a pile. That diamond could have been close to the size of his fist! It would have been worth millions!
The warehouse manager's wife slid of the bed and toddled up to Hilde and Duo. "For the life of me, I don't know what has happened today. I can't seem to remember any of it." She passed a hand over her head. "Please, thank you so much for rescuing me. You can have one of these diamond pieces if you want. I seem to remember them causing me trouble. I don't really want them anymore."
Hilde picked up the largest with a glitter in her eye. "Duo, with this, we can expland our business greater than we ever dreamed!"
"Well, I suppose we have Felicia to thank for it," Duo muttered. "It was her that rescued you, I'm afraid," Duo told the woman.
"Who?" The woman said with evident surprise. "A girl? When was she here?"
Hilde and Duo both stared at her. Hilde opened her mouth, but Duo shook his head. This day was too weird already. "Well, thank you, Miss," Duo said, dofting his hat. "We could certainly use the money."
"There are two men locked up in a room down the hall," Hilde told her. "You should call the cops to have them picked up."
Again the woman seemed surprised. She couldn't seem to remember ever having being accosted in the hallway not long ago either, and couldn't decribe any of the men that had threatened her. But she believed them and agreed readily. Thanking them again, she saw them out of the building.
Outside the warehouse, Duo and Hilde stood together, examining the small diamond piece they had received from the woman, judging its worth. It would be enough to enable them to remodel their office, get some more buyers maybe, strengthen their shipping lines, pay off some of their loans maybe.
"What about the crystals?" Hilde said suddenly. "Didn't you say there were crystals?"
Duo paused in astonishment. "Yeah. I didn't see them anywhere." And then he smacked himself in the forehead. "Huh! That little...minx!" Felicia had taken them with her. She must have. She had taken a few intact crystals and left a shattered diamond. Whatever for? "Maybe they work just as well in this new weapons she mentioned," he muttered to himself.
"What was that?" Hilde asked.
"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering why she would want the crystals. I suppose we'll never really know what's up with her."
"I don't think she was bad, Duo. I think she was telling the truth. After all," she added, pointing a finger at his chest, "it was you who interfered. She's not really obligated to tell you anything. You should probably have just kept your nose out of her affairs and taken care of business!"
Duo grinned. "Yeah, well, I suppose. But you know me, it's hard to pass up an adventure. I guess I should go take care of those supplies now, huh?" he suggested a little sheepishly.
Hilde smiled and punched his arm playfully. "You'd better!"
"Oh drat," Duo said. "I left my clipboard inside."
Hilde drubbed him over the head with her fist. "We're going to miss closing time, Duo!"
"Hey, hey! What are you doing? Ow! Stop beating me! I'll go back in and get it!"
And he did, this time by the front door.
That's it for this fic. I know some stuff was kind of left hanging, but what can I say except stay tunred for my next post!