Canta Per Me
Episode Seventeen: The Order of Assassination, Part Two
Disclaimer: I think I've said it before, but here it is again. I don't own Noir or Gundam Wing. Boy, I wish I did. ^_^ I do own this story.
Author's Note: Since Fanfiction.net keeps acting up, and we don't know how long it's staying up. I've put up a website of all my work in progress and my favorite fics. Canta Per Me is my favorite Gundam Wing work. And I've noticed that it's a favorite to a lot of people. Canta Per Me is up there, but not on my other website. We're probably going to just link it. I just saw an awesome episode Noir. Episode 20 was wonderful, and I'm integrating more of that stuff for the later stuff for now I've got a couple of things of my own up my sleeve. Anyway, I'd like to take the time to thank the wonderful fansubbers who do their work for free, who subbed Noir: BakaMX and Soldats. BakaMX did the subbing for the first part and introduced this series to me, and Soldats for their continuing subbing. Those people are fast. ^_^ BTW, the quotes that are going to be used later on are from the Soldats' translations. This episode will not only be done by location, but also by time. As a Navy brat, I've put the times in military time. It just looks so official that way. This part is really long, and there are lots of scene changes, but it's relatively organize. I hope.
* * * * * *
"NOIR.
The word
designates the name of destiny from a distant time.
The two Virgo
reign over death.
May the Black
hands over the green field…
Please protect the newly born peace."
- opening from the anime, Noir.
Paris, France: Preventers' Headquarters, 19:36
Heero Yuy arrived at the Preventers Office right on time. He had to take a cab to the Offices where he found Wufei, Duo, Noin, Sally, Dorothy, Lady Une and Zechs. Zechs Marquise was the target of Noir. Heero was called away from Japan, but he was already done wrapping up Doctor J's final affairs. It turned out that Heero had inherited half of Doctor J's estate, but the other half was to someone else whose identity was concealed by the lawyer for the time being. Heero didn't bother to press the lawyer for more information as to who the other heir was because Heero assumed that Dr. J had at least one living relative that he didn't know about. Either way, Heero didn't care really. He wasn't going to keep the money from the estate. Dr. J became a very wealthy man after the war because of his patents just like all the other Gundam mobile suit creators. In other words, Heero had over five million dollars to his name now. He had the lawyer liquidated all the assets and donated everything anonymously to charity. Heero didn't want the honor. The money went to war orphans. No one, not even the other Gundam pilots knew about his inheritance.
"I've been working on the mission since the I've been in the plane," said Heero in his usual monotone voice.
"Yes, it seems that someone wants me dead," said Zechs with a slight smirk.
"Relena was the one who told you. Where is she now?" asked Heero.
"I think she's at her apartment," answered Zechs. The reason why he had followed her out of the office earlier that day was to give Relena a ride back to her flat because he didn't want her walking home while the streets were wet. He was willing to risk being out in the open, even though Noir was after him. He wanted to make sure that she was alright. It looked like she was in pain. Was he the cause of her pain?
"We should talk to her again," said Heero.
"We tried calling her flat, but she wasn't there. I talked to her assistant, Meia Krane. Meia didn't say where she went, but she was left to do some data crunching for Relena. So, I let her go back to work," said Duo.
"I don't think that Relena knows anymore. Do you really think that Relena's employer would be foolish enough to give her his real name if he was going to hire Noir to kill her brother? He would have known that Relena was going to tell Zechs about it," said Wufei logically.
"How do you know that the employer is a man?" asked Sally with an arched eyebrow.
"Because I do, Onna," answered Wufei with a smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Anyway, I don't think that Relena's out of her apartment. I think that she's there, but she just doesn't want to talk to anyone right now considering what's going on," said Zechs. 'She especially doesn't want to talk to me. Not that I blame her,' he thought without saying it out loud. Noin looked at him. His face wore no expression of emotion, but she could sense some sadness. Noin thought that if everything was alright at the end of this mission, then maybe Zechs could repair the damage done to his relationship with his sister.
"I've decided that Noin is in charge of this mission. I can't put you in charge Zechs because you're the target, rather the bait. When Quatre and Trowa get here we can divide the teams properly. We have less than thirty-six hours left. That's enough time, for now let's get some basic facts together about Noir and who would hire Noir. We're going to do a two-fold mission. One, find out who hire Noir and arrest him or her. Two, locate and arrest Noir," said Lady Une. Everyone nodded in agreement. Dorothy really wasn't a Preventer, but she was labeled as a consultant for the mission. She hadn't said much ever since the news came that Noir was actually after Zechs.
"You mean kill two birds with one stone," said Duo using an old adage.
"Precisely," said Lady Une.
"What am I supposed to do?" asked Heero who was still awaiting a clear, specific order.
"You will be searching for information on who hire Noir. It's going to be a challenge, but you'll team up with Quatre," said Lady Une. "The mission is the same for all of you. The mission is to find out the identity of Noir," she added.
"Mission accepted," said Heero.
* * *
Relena and Meia's Flat, 20:06
Relena came back from the bridge well after dark. She didn't even know how she really got home as she opened the door and staggered in. Meia looked up from the laptop. She had been working tireless ever since Relena had left few hours ago. Relena returned with her gun and empty clips. She looked tired even though she hadn't done much for the day. The latest contract was taking an emotional and mental toll on her, so Meia stood up to greet her.
"I'll kill Zechs Marquise," said Meia in her usual monotone. There was nothing more to say about the subject, so Meia gently led Relena to her room to get in her in bed to sleep. Relena fell right to sleep, while Meia got some rest as well.
There was still a lot of time left because they knew that the Preventers were doing more work than they were, and they could have just left it alone and kill Millardo Peacecraft/Zechs Marquise. They could easily do that on the last hour if need be.
Relena slept for four hours because she was exhausted from going out. She thought about her brother. When she was fifteen years old she was too immature to realize that for all the bad things that he did, it was out of his love for her. He was willing to move Heaven and Earth for her. Relena remembered the fight that Heero and her brother had in the South Pole with their mobile suits. She had ordered Heero to kill him, but when Noin told her that her brother was the other man, she told Heero to stop. Relena remembered him holding her and explaining things to her on the Libra. She knew now that the reason why he was willing to raze the Earth to start over was because he knew that she was safe on the Libra, otherwise he wouldn't have done it at all. Despite, all the pain she had suffered, she knew that his pain was just as bad. Her pain was just beginning, while his was increasing. Relena swore to herself at the bridge that she wasn't going to say anything about being Noir to her brother and further disappoint him. He had such great hopes for her; he had destroyed himself even more for her sake.
Everything was spiraling downwards for Relena. After the four hours of sleep, she laid awake in bed allowing the memories to comfort her. Relena had even her brother when she thought he was dead because he wouldn't have to deal with this world, and that he had found his peace in death. Relena's anger towards him and the others didn't taper down, but didn't rise any further. Her sadness out weighed her anger, making her anger infinitesimal to her sadness and pain. Although, the only one who really knew the pain she was suffering was Meia.
At around one in the morning, Relena got out of bed, and walked into the living room. The flat was only one bedroom, but the sofa was a sofa bed, so the living room was Meia's room. Meia slept with the moonlight pouring into the room. Relena noticed that Meia had left food for her to eat and saw all the printed out notes that Meia was able to find in the Preventers' computer network for her to read. Relena pick those up quietly and walked back to her room to continue working on the contract.
Meia opened one eye and then the other when she heard Relena quietly closed her door. Meia smiled slightly because Relena was back and focused on the contract. She closed her eyes again to go back to sleep. Relena had recovered and was ready for business.
* * *
Preventers' Headquarters, 02:47
It was early in the morning, and Heero was still working on the data that Zechs had managed to gather up on Noir. He looked at all the cases that the Preventers suspected Noir being responsible for. He was looking for a pattern, but it was difficult. As far as he knew Noir, took out everyone who surrounded the target, and left no survivors who could identify them. Wufei said that he could get in touch with some underground contacts who might know how to at least get in touch with Noir, but that would have to wait until morning. Everyone pretty much broke up around eleven 'o clock. Heero insisted on staying and working. He had already failed on mission involving Noir, the infamous mission in Spain. He wasn't about the fail this mission. He was sure that Noir was involved in the mission in Spain. Most of the people that Noir was suspected of taking out were people who were members of the world's underworld. They were the ones who could cause wars. However, Noir had no right to decide who lived or died. No one really does that was one of the lessons that Heero had learned from Relena. Suddenly, his thoughts were on Relena. How was she really handling this? Was she angry at everyone for keeping the truth about her brother from her? Zechs was right, if Noir was after him the further away Relena was from the situation, the safer she was. There was no need to worry about her safety, and she wouldn't welcome it from the Preventers. She probably felt betrayed by them, so she wouldn't want their protection. He really couldn't blame her because he understood why.
Heero thought of calling Relena to see if she was alright, but it was too late to do so. She would probably be asleep anyway. Heero had to find out who hire Noir, not for Zechs' sake, but for her sake. A long time ago, he said that he wouldn't kill Zechs because it would make Relena feel sad. Relena isolated herself from everyone else, even Heero. After the war, Heero had to continue working to clean up things after the war, so he didn't stuck around after the war too much, but the time he came back Relena had changed. He didn't know exactly what happened, but she was more distant and colder. Her work as Vice Minister had taken it's toll on her, and she was dispassionate about her work when she was seventeen. It looked like she didn't care anymore. Her expressions were emotionless, cold, and there was out right apathy coming from her. The weight of the world had taken its toll on Relena. No expected her to break that easily, at least not Heero. He thought that Relena was stronger than that, but it seemed as if something had broken her spirit and took the fight out of her. Now, she was different. The same fighting spirit had returned, but it was different now. Her spirit was colder, but even stronger than before. Heero assumed that time had returned her strength.
Heero decided that when everything was over that things would change. The Preventers would try harder to get back into Relena's good graces, but for now, it was best to leave her alone. At least for the time being.
Heero was on a mission, and he couldn't let himself be distracted by someone who didn't even care that much about him anymore.
* * *
Location Unknown (I), 05:30
Athena Angeleno was waiting for word on her lost lamb from Kurai. The test was going on as scheduled, and there would be no interruptions. Kurai came in just before dawn to report Relena's progress.
"How is she?" asked Athena.
"She returned to her flat after sundown yesterday. I didn't follow her when she left before that," said Kurai who didn't know where she went.
"She probably went to the bridge just outside the warehouses," said Athena as she sipped her tea.
"Before that she went to the Preventers Offices, I have no idea why. I suppose to prove that her brother was alive and to see him herself. She woke up after midnight and began working again. The girl who's with her gathered some information. I think they're planning on killing Peacecraft," said Kurai.
"The girl follows her lead no matter what. Even if the girl is the one who kills the target, she will still past this test. The girl wouldn't do it without her approval," said Athena in her ever calm voice.
"Yes, she's like her shadow," agreed Kurai as she sipped some tea.
"It's only a matter of time before the test is decided," whispered Athena as she prayed that Relena passed the test.
* * *
Relena and Meia's Flat 05:45
Relena and Meia were having breakfast as they discussed their plans for the day. They decided to divide the work, so that Relena would be ready to move at a moment's notice to get to the contractor, while Meia would be ready to assassinate Millardo before time ran out. Relena did some hacking of her own while Meia rested. Relena found out that Meia was very good at hacking and did the work that would have taken Relena twice the amount of time to do. She had to smirk because it was so much like Heero.
"I found out that Zechs will be at his flat near the library. They've divided themselves into two main groups. Heero, Quatre, Sally, and Dorothy will be looking for the original contractor, while my brother, Noin, Trowa, and Duo will wait for you to come to his flat to kill him by four o' clock. Wufei is out on the field to do the legwork and question some of their informants about us," said Relena as if she were discussing the weather.
"How should we position ourselves?" asked Meia.
"You'll be working on finding out who the original contractor is by using the laptop. Go to the library and work there. That way you'll be close enough. I'll stay here at the flat, but two hours before time runs out, I'll be outside on the streets. Possibly before that. Contact me only when you find out where and who the contractor is and give me his or his location. I'll take out the contractor. Either way, one of us won't be doing any killing today," said Relena with a sigh.
"I'll go to the library, but I'll get moving before it opens. I'll wait outside. What time does it open?" asked Meia. She had never been to that part of Paris.
"It opens at nine. It's almost six, but there's no time to waste," agreed Relena. Meia nodded, and by eight she was off to the library. Relena decided to use her own set of informants. Her informants were former agents for covert agencies who were better than the Preventers. These former covert agents didn't want to work for the Preventers, namely because of Lady Une's presence. They didn't trust the head of the Preventers, but they didn't mind Relena at all.
* * *
Preventers' Headquarters, 08:26
"Thank goodness I was able to grab an earlier transport," said Quatre as he and Trowa made their way inside of the offices.
"What about that meeting you were supposed to have this morning?" asked Trowa.
"My sister
said that she would attend for me," answered Quatre. When they arrived, they found Heero, Sally, and Dorothy
there.
"Where's everyone's else?" asked Quatre.
"Lady Une is handling other business as usually, and everyone else is at Zechs' apartment," replied Sally.
"Lady Une gave orders that you're going to go to Zechs to back up and wait for Noir to arrive, and Quatre, you're here to help us find the contractor," said Dorothy. Heero said nothing because he was working.
Trowa nodded and left, while Quatre pulled up another chair to see what was happening. Heero was focus on looking for the contractor. Everything was going as planned.
* * *
Outside the National Library, 08:45
Meia sat on the steps of the library. She had arrived by taxi cab and waited for the library to open. She arrived around 8:30, so she had out the portable, and was using satellite connection in the portable to do the work until she could get inside to use the port and power connections when the doors finally opened to the library. She waited, and promptly at nine the doors opened, and she was the first one there. She got to a connection station and got to work.
She attached the portable to the computer with the data corded and transferred the data to the laptop and got back to work. She was on the same tracks as Heero. She didn't know it, and neither did Heero. They were in a race against each other, and it was a close one. Heero was ahead of her because he had an earlier start, but she was gaining ground slowly as the hours pressed onward. Meia didn't bother to check what the Preventers were doing, so that she could just focus on the task at hand.
It was going to be a long day for everyone.
* * *
Streets of Paris, 09:47
"Do you have any information for me?" Relena inquired a woman who was in her mid-thirties.
"They say that Peacecraft should be punished for his crimes. But, most people feel that way," said the women apologetically. She didn't know about the contract on Millardo's head.
"I know," said Relena with a sigh.
"I found out about him being alive just a few days ago myself. The Preventers have been excellent about keeping it under wraps. I hoping to get in touch with you to tell you. I knew that you would have wanted to know the truth," said the woman who was only known as the Lark.
"Thank you," said Relena as she walked off. The sad thing was that Relena could trust her informants more than the people who called themselves her friends. In the world that Relena became a part of, she commanded power, respect, and fear. She was well aware of the fact that it was still early, but time was going to run out quickly. She looked at her watch and decide to move on to the next informant who was in Paris. If none of the informants in Paris knew anything, she was going to try and get in touch with her network outside of Paris, but most of them couldn't be reached by phone or any other kind of way to contact them. She had to be in those areas to find them. Relena looked at her portable and hoped that Meia was finding out information. She found out about the Preventers' plans, but she hadn't called Meia. It was agreed that this was a closed communications contract, and there was to be no contact other than to tell Relena where to go to take out the original contractor, and the only contact after that would come from Relena when she took out the original contractor.
'Why is it bothering you so much that they lied to you? Everyone lies. You've done more lying then them,' thought Relena to herself.
* * *
Streets of Paris, 11:38
Wufei had been on his feet all morning to look for the Preventers' informants, but no one had any information as to who the original contractor was and who Noir was. In fact, the name of Noir seemed to frightened most of the informants, and made them tight lipped. 'Noir has a bloody history behind him. I've never seen so much fear from those people. Some of those people survived torture at the hands of OZ soldiers. Noir must be very powerful, so that even his name can inspire that much fear. Who are you Noir?' thought Wufei.
Wufei continued his work, but he regularly checked in with Noin and Zechs. There was simply no information. Or worse, the informants didn't want to say anything about Noir. Wufei gritted his teeth at the thought of such cowardice, but he couldn't help and be impressed with Noir. The abilities of Noir astounded him because it had been a while since there was a challenge that Wufei looked forward to. He wanted to see what was so great about Noir. What was it about Noir that caused so much fear and respect at the same time? There was something truly honorable about Noir that Wufei could sense because Noir was dispensing justice. However, the methods of Noir was questionable, and Wufei knew it. He wanted to meet this warrior who had risen after the war ended. The warrior who was only active during times of peace. Why would someone be having a war during a time of peace? Who would do that? Wufei continued his search.
* * *
Preventers' Headquarters, 12:03
Heero had gotten up to finally stretch after a while. He was wondering if there was anyway he would be able to find out who the original contractor was. Quatre was now doing more work since Heero allowed him to do so. Heero was down right obsessive when it came to doing the work. "I just thought of something. Zechs has lots of enemies, but not everyone knows he's alive. It would have to be someone who knows that he's alive," said Quatre.
"That's fair obvious, Winner," said Dorothy in a bored tone. True, she was probably safer at the Preventers office than with the others at Zechs' flat, but it was so boring at headquarters.
"Making a list of enemies and separating them according should garner some results," said Quatre as he began to make a list of possible enemies of Zechs. It was a long list. It was a list that was as long as Quatre's arm. He began to separate living from non-living. Finally, with the list of living, he separated them further to see who would know if Zechs were alive or not, and then he further prioritized the list.
"I've got ten names," said Quatre. Heero looked at the screen at the names. It wasn't a definite list, and the chances of the it having the original contractor was slim, but it was a start. It was good enough.
* * *
Zechs' Flat, 12:15
"Quatre says that they've got a list of ten possible suspects of contractors. Wow. They must have gone through your enemies list," said Duo with a grin.
"What's the list?" asked Zechs. Duo handed him his portable to show the list. Zechs looked it over and mentally checked off some of. "Grant, the third man on the list is dead," he said.
"Are you sure?" asked Duo. Zechs looked at him without making another gesture, but his eyes told Duo that he was sure. "I'll send a message back to take him off the list," said Duo.
"I can't believe we're just waiting for Noir to show up to kill you," said Noin with a sigh.
"It's too quiet here," said Trowa.
"I can't stand all this waiting. It's like Noir is lulling us into a false sense of security," said Duo as he began to pace again.
"I wonder if Relena is alright," said Noin. She remembered the last time that Relena had spoke to her directly, and the reaction that Relena had when Noin told her to give her the flowers that she placed on Millardo's grave. Noin felt terrible about that. Relena's eyes looked so sad at the Preventers' Headquarters.
"She should be fine," said Zechs, "She's strong, and I think that she's mad at everyone right now."
"Strange, she didn't show it," said Trowa.
"I can't imagine her that mad at us," said Duo quietly. Just a few weeks ago, he received Relena's rejection of the invitation to his wedding. He admitted to Hilde that it stung, but right now, he didn't blame her. He wouldn't be surprised if Relena didn't talk to any of them again. Not for a while anyway.
* * *
National Library, 13:27
Meia had reduced the list of suspects down to a few people. Now all she had to do was guess. She had one piece of information that the Preventers didn't have. She knew that there was a half the payment of ten million American dollars to the account of Noir, and there would be two more million sent to their account when the job was completed. The standard was usually half before and half after, but then again, this wasn't a typically contract for Noir. All she had to do was find out who direct deposited the money into Noir's account by tracing it from their account to the original contractor's account.
She was looking at name on the list. It was simply Quinze. He was the man who sought out Zechs Marquise to get him to be the leader of White Fang. He had survived the disaster of Libra. Meia did the balance check on his account and found out that he had a Swiss Bank Account. It was going to take a little bit to hack into the bank's systems. However, there was no way the system was going to stand up to Meia's skills.
* * *
Streets of Paris, 14:15
Relena continued walking on the streets, but she wanted to go back to the flat. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, but she felt sick to her stomach because she knew what was going to happen if she didn't do the contractor or kill the contractor. Her reputation as Noir was as stake, and everything that she had built was going to be destroyed if she didn't do something fast. She couldn't stand the thought of killing her own brother. Sure, Meia was pulling the trigger, but Relena was more responsible for accepting the job in the first place. Worse, she didn't have the strength to do it herself.
Her search was futile, and there was less than two hours left. By four o' clock, the contract had to be honored. There was no point of return.
* * *
Preventers' Heaquarters, 14:38
"It's going to be four in no time," said Dorothy quietly. With each passing minute, everyone was getting more and more jumpy. Heero and Quatre were now eliminating people on the list. From their point of view, it didn't matter where the person was because it matter more to stop Noir than to capture the original contractor. Heero was suspicious of the fact that Relena knew something, but no one ever discussed the cases of Noir with her, so she didn't know anything. Still, he could sense something from her.
"When this is over, I'm talking Relena into joining my company instead of freelancing anymore," said Quatre quietly.
"Do you think she would agree to that after she just found out that she was lied to by everyone?" asked Dorothy.
"Hey, don't blame me. I wanted to her to know, so did Noin," said Sally rather defensively.
"I wanted her to know about him, too. I didn't want her to find out like this. I don't any of us wanted her to find out about it this way," whispered Quatre. He felt as if he had betrayed Relena's trust in him. Heero said nothing during the entire conversation; he merely worked on the task at hand, but he was listening. Quatre was right and so was Dorothy.
"Quinze is alive," said Heero verifying the data.
"I thought he died on the Libra," said Quatre.
"No, I saw him as I escape. He's alive. Snakes like him always survive," said Dorothy.
"I think we've just found our contractor. If we can't catch Noir, we'll get him," said Heero as he got to work finding out where Quinze was. Quatre called in his progess.
* * *
National Library, 14:40
Meia confirmed that the money was transferred to their account from Quinze's. She had to locate Quinze and found out that he was living in Paris in a townhouse in one of the wealthiest parts of Paris. She didn't care where he got his money, but she found out that he got his money from the people who had financed White Fang, and Meia could bet that it was the Society of Night who had funded White Fang.
She picked up her portable and called Relena who was waiting for her call.
* * *
Preventers' Headquarter, 14:40
"He's got a house in Paris. The suburbs," said Heero.
"That's one of the places where some of the wealthiest people in the world live in. I have a house there myself," said Quatre.
"You never know who you're neighbors are," said Sally.
"We should call Noin," suggested Dorothy.
Quatre turned on the communications link to get a hold of Noin. It was almost three.
* * *
Streets of Paris, 14:45
"I know where that is. I'll get there right away," said Relena as she hailed a cab. Quinze. Why wasn't she surprised? The man was the most sneaky man she had ever seen before in her whole life. 'He probably wants to get even with Millardo. Well, he made a big mistake,' thought Relena as she gave directions to Quinze's residents.
* * *
Zechs' Flat, 14:46
"Tell Wufei to wait for back up from you. There's no way I can send him by himself, even though he's already outside," said Noin. Heero nodded and closed the link.
"Quinze. I knew he got out alive. And I'm not surprised that he would want me dead. Why would he hire Relena as a business analyst for him? I didn't know he had the money to hire an assassin and live in that part of Paris," said Zechs.
"Ever heard the saying, 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,'" said Duo. He was learning all sorts of adages to use on the new baby when he or she was born. It was driving Hilde nuts to the point where she threatened him to get him to stop.
"Wufei, we know who the original contractor is. It's Quinze of the White Fang. Go meet the other Preventers at his house in Paris. I'm sending you the directions. You'll have to wait for back up," said Noin.
"I don't need the back up. I can go in myself," insisted Wufei.
"No, wait for back up," order Noin.
"Very well," said Wufei with a scowl.
* * *
Quinze's House in Paris, 15:20
It took a while to get to the house because of the traffic. The cab let Relena off a block just before Quinze's house. She ran all the rest of the way, and found that there weren't a lot of people on the street. It was one of the neighborhoods where people stayed indoors and ignored their neighbors. Relena got to the house of Quinze with a smirk on her face, she found a way to break into the stately two-story house.
Quinze was in his kitchen, but he never noticed that Noir had gotten into his house through the front door. When he got out of this kitchen, he noticed the opened door immediately and looked around him. He noticed on the clock that it was almost four o' clock and smiled. However, it appeared as if someone had broken into his home. He couldn't allow someone to just do that, so he went to his study to pick up his gun.
He opened the lights to find that the lights wouldn't work. The large, plush chair about fact to him, and turned around slowly revealing Relena. She stood up while Quinze looked at her with his mouth agape in fear. "You!" he declared in a loud frightened whisper.
"You know who I am. I assume you work for the Society," said Relena coldly.
"You have a contract. You accepted it," trembled Quinze.
"I'll have your blood instead," said Relena softly as she quickly took out her gun and shot him with a silencer, killing him instantly. He died with his eyes and mouth wide open. A surprised and frightened look. Relena walked to an open window and pulled the curtain aside, and left through the window. A breeze came upon her as she left the grounds. She took out her portable and contacted Meia.
* * *
Zechs' Flat, 15:35
Duo looked at his watch and the clock in the flat anxiously. When was Noir going to arrive? He walked over to the windows that had heavy dark green curtains drawn. Trowa looked at him, but didn't bother to stop him when he lifted the curtains from the edge to look out the window. Duo gasped because he was startled to see Meia Krane just standing outside across the street from Zechs' flat. He closed the curtain, but when he opened it again she was gone. She vanished into thin air as if she was never there at all.
"What's wrong, Duo?" asked Noin.
"Nothing…I just thought I saw something," said Duo.
Outside, Zechs' flat, Meia was running way with incredible speed. She had to get home because Relena contacted her to tell her that Quinze was dead. She noticed that Duo Maxwell had opened the curtain, and Meia had made eye contact with him briefly. She was careful to disappear and hoped that Duo would just think it was some sort of illusion.
* * *
Quinze's House, 15:40
Wufei couldn't wait anymore for the others; it was hard enough getting to that part of Paris because of the several streets and traffic it took to get there. He walked up to the house and noticed that the door was unlocked. He had his gun out and ready for anything that Quinze had. He looked around and noticed that the door to the study was wide open. He noticed Quinze's body lying on the floor. Wufei looked at him without checking Quinze's pulse he knew that he was dead because he could see the blood was too much.
"Why didn't you wait for us?" asked Quatre who was followed closely behind by everyone else, but he stopped when he noticed what Wufei was look at.
"We're too late. Noir got here before us," said Wufei.
Sally walked up to him and put on her rubber gloves to examine the body. Quinze had landed on his right side when he was shot, and Sally noticed that he was shot from point blank range in the throat. He had died instantly.
"I don't get it," said Dorothy softly.
"We'll have to wait for Noin to call," said Heero.
* * *
Zechs' Flat 16:06
:"I don't think Noir is coming," said Zechs. Noir must have figured out the trap that was set and didn't want to risk it. Noin sighed and called Heero.
"Bring Quinze to headquarters, Heero," said Noin.
"We'll have to do it in a body bag. Noir got to him," reported Heero.
Zechs betrayed a little surprise on his face, and everyone else was shocked. "What?" asked Duo.
"Noir got here before any of us. Quinze was shot in the throat," said Heero.
"We'll be there," said Noin as she closed the link everyone went to Quinze's house to see the scene of the crime.
"I don't get it," said Duo out loud.
"Neither do I. Was it a trap for Quinze? Was he really the contractor? Why didn't Noir come? Who really was contracted to die?" asked Noin out loud.
"I have no idea. I can't help but say that I'm a little disappointed that Noir didn't show up. However, I suppose this mission isn't a complete failure," said Zechs.
* * *
Unknown Location (II), 18:03
"Quinze is dead. She found out that he was the contractor order by the Society to contract her to kill her brother," said Kurai.
"I see. My lamb didn't pass this test. She has failed," whispered Athena.
"What happens now?" asked Kurai, awaiting orders.
"She must be punished for her failure, but first meet with her again," replied Athena.
"How should I exact punishment?" asked Kurai.
"Take something from her. Something important. You decide," said Athena softly.
Kurai nodded.
Next Episode, Episode Eighteen: The Oath of Noir…