Day Two
12:35 a.m.
Heero was
on his way to Shea's bar when he got the call from Wufei.
"Duo is
leaving New Orleans. I thought you should know."
"Nani?"
"He's
in the bedroom, packing. He's going to Johns Hopkins. The kid is being operated
on tomorrow morning."
Murphy's
Law. He should have known the one event that would draw Duo into the open would
happen when he was hundreds of miles away. "You're going with him?"
"I seem
to be. Since I was rash enough to make you a promise. But protecting him is
escalating in difficulty. One good thing is that we may have zeroed in on
Odin."
"How?"
Wufei
explained. "Relena's ordered him picked up for questioning."
"Does
she know you're leaving town?"
"Not
yet. Should I tell her?"
"After
the fact. So she won't be able to do anything about it except make sure he's
protected at the hospital."
"That's
my reading too."
"Take
him down the courtyard staircase and out the back way. Do you have a car?"
"It's
parked on Canal Street. And how am I supposed to get past Relena's guard in the
courtyard?"
"How in
the hell should I know? Improvise. You usually don't have any trouble."
"Thanks
a lot."
"Buy a
ticket to Milwaukee by way of Chicago. When you get to Chicago, make sure
you're not followed and then take a flight to Baltimore."
"Any
other orders?"
"Gomen."
Wufei had a perfect right to be sarcastic. Heero was trying to control the
situation long distance. He just felt so damn helpless. He wanted to be
there. And he was so scared, he was sick to his stomach.
"No
problem." Wufei paused. "Did you find Morrisey?"
"Dead."
"Shit."
"Yes,
but I may have a lead. I'll fill you in later. Call me when you get to the
hospital."
"When I
can do it discreetly. Duo wouldn't like seeing me report to you. He may toss me
out on my ear and you wouldn't like that."
"As
soon as you can then." He hung up the phone. Just try to locate Trey Catalonia,
he told himself. Don't think about Duo. There was nothing else he could do.
Wufei was smart and careful. He would take care of him.
Just
don't think about Duo.
****************
Wufei was
talking on the phone. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I just knew who
was on the other end of the line. I didn't give a damn that Heero knew where I
was going, but I didn't like the fact that Wufei had waited until I was in my
bedroom to call him.
I put
on my jacket, looped the strap of my camera around my neck, and strode back
into the living room. "I'm ready to go. I hope Heero gave you a good suggestion
as to how we should get out of here."
"Oops."
Wufei stood up and grabbed my suitcase and his own. "I was only trying to be
discreet."
"I'd
rather you be honest than discreet. Which way are we leaving?"
"The
courtyard." He moved down the hallway and unlocked the door. "You stay here at
the head of the stairs and I'll go down and talk to Relena's man, see what I
can do about getting him out of there."
"What
if you can't?"
"I
guess I knock him very gently and carefully on the head."
"I
don't think you can knock anyone gently on the head, Wu. Won't Relena be upset
with you?"
"Why
should I be any different?" Wufei started down the stone steps. "Stay here."
The
courtyard had no lights and Wufei seemed to disappear into a black hole. I
strained to see, but I couldn't make out either Wufei or the guard.
I was
suddenly uneasy. I should be hearing footsteps. Wufei's voice. Something…
Silence.
"Duo,"
Wufei called out.
I
jumped.
"Come
on. Hurry."
I ran
down the stairs and Wufei led me across the courtyard.
"How
did you get rid of him?"
"I
didn't," he muttered. "He wasn't there."
"Nani?"
"He
wasn't there." I could sense his tension. "And I don't like it, dammit. Relena
wouldn't have called him off the job."
"The
other guard, Walker..." Walker had died. Walker had been murdered.
Wufei
didn't answer, but his grasp tightened on my arm.
The
walkway leading to the street loomed dark and ominous.
"Stay a
few paces behind. I'm going on ahead." Wufei disappeared into the darkness.
Alone.
Fear iced through me. Someone was watching. I could feel it.
Not on
the walk where Wufei had gone. Behind me.
I
glanced over my shoulder and saw only gargoyles. Shadows on shadows. Then movement.
Oh,
God.
I raced
down the long walkway after Wufei. I could see the lights of the street and
Wufei's silhouette. "Wufei!"
"Duo,
what's-"
A hand
closed on my braid, jerking me to a stop.
I looked
over my shoulder. A white-painted face gleaming in the darkness. A skull. It
looked like a skull. Something else was gleaming, the blade in his hand.
"Run,
Duo." Wufei tore me from Odin Lowe with a force that threw me against the brick
wall.
I couldn't
run away. I couldn't leave Wufei. Where was he? I could barely see the two
figures struggling in the darkness. It lasted only a moment, and then one of
them was getting to his feet, coming toward me.
Wufei?
Odin
Lowe?
I
turned and ran.
He was
right behind me.
He
grabbed my arm. "Duo!"
I went
limp with relief. "Wu. I thought- I wasn't sure-"
"I
wasn't either for a minute." He was breathing hard. "He was very good."
"Odin
Lowe?"
"I
assume. I don't know anyone else with green hair, do you?"
"What did you do to him?"
"He
won't bother you again."
"He's
dead?"
"Exceptionally.
I'm very good too."
We were
out of the walkway, on the street. Lights. Beautiful lights.
"What
are you going to do about him?" I asked.
"Unless
you've changed your mind about going to Baltimore, we'll leave him for Relena.
I doubt if he'd be entertaining company on our trip."
"I
haven't changed my mind."
"I
didn't think you would." He urged me down the street. "Then let's see if we can
get out of the Quarter without running into Relena or one of her men."
***************
Cheyenne
1:40 a.m.
The
lighting in the demolition derby stadium office was soft and diffused, and
Heero had to step closer to study the group photo on the desk.
"This is
Catalonia. Second row, third from the left." Dunston pointed at a man in a
cowboy hat. "I told him not to wear it, but he put it on anyway."
Catalonia
was in his early twenties with a wide face and deep-set, light eyes. "Is he
good?"
"Not
bad but not as good as he thinks he is."
The
cowboy hat almost entirely hid Catalona's hair. "What color is his hair?"
"Light
brown, sort of sandy."
"Short?"
Dunston
nodded.
"I
can't tell what color his eyes are."
"Blue."
"Do you
have a personnel record on Catalonia?"
"Sure.
Do you think the IRS would let me run a business without records out the
wazoo?" Dunston went to the file cabinet and riffled through the folders.
"Catalonia." He handed the file to Heero. "You know, this doesn't surprise me.
I always knew Trey would end up in trouble."
He opened the folder. "Why?"
Dunston
shrugged. "Nothing I can point a finger at. Bad things happen when he's around.
Most of the time to people Trey doesn't like."
Catalonia's
mother was divorced and lived in Aurora, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. No
other relatives listed. Northern Lights, the clerk at the hotel had said.
Aurora Borealis? "Do you know anything about Catalonia's mother?"
"I know
he visited her pretty frequently. She came here last month and I gave her a
complimentary ticket to the show. He was preening and showing her off like a
peacock." He made a face. "She was a real pushy bitch. She had the nerve to ask
me why I wasn't starring sonny boy. I almost felt sorry for him. It was pretty
clear Trey couldn't measure up in her eyes unless he was top of the heap."
"Did he
ask for a leave of absence when he took off?"
Dunston
shook his head. "One night he was here, the next he no-showed."
"May I
have this folder and the picture?"
"As
long as I get the folder back. I don't want the IRS saying I claimed an
employee who doesn't exist."
He took
a marker and drew a circle around Catalonia's face on the photo. "You'll get it
back."
"Can I
lock up and go back to the bar now?" Dunston asked. "This isn't how I planned
to spend my evening you know."
Heero
nodded. "Thanks for your time. Call me at that number I gave you if you hear
from Catalonia."
"It's
not likely is it? You wouldn't be here if he hadn't done something pretty bad."
"You
can never tell." Heero left the office and headed for the exit. He doubted that
Dunston would hear from Catalonia ever again. Dekim had plucked the young man
from this world for his own purpose, and he would make sure Catalonia remained
cut off.
But
Heero might have gotten a break. It was hard to cut off a man from his mother,
particularly a dominant woman like the one Dunston had described. He would fax
the picture and file to Relena and then catch the next flight to Kansas City.
Heero
was becoming more uneasy the more he learned. Catalonia sounded reckless, volatile,
and vain. He would be a piece of cake for Dekim to manipulate.
Bad
things happen when he's around.
He
hoped to hell Dunston's words weren't prophetic.
***************
Des Moines, Iowa
6:30 a.m.
Trey checked
his wristwatch. Time to make the run to Waterloo. Dekim liked everything to go
like clockwork and precisely to his orders. Well, he was forking out the money.
Trey
would give them what he wanted.
****************
8:30 a.m.
Odin
Lowe was dead.
Dekim
hung up the phone. Inconvenient.
Or
maybe not. He would have had to dispose of Odin eventually anyway, and Odin
hadn't proved efficient where the boy was concerned. Not that Dekim could worry
about the boy just then.
He was
coming so close. Trey Catalonia should be in Waterloo already.
After
all this time, after all his planning, the countdown was about to start.
***************
Waterloo, Iowa
10:05 a.m.
Trey
yawned as he leaned against the truck's front fender.
This
waiting around was boring. But it looked like they were almost done.
He
climbed back into the driver's seat. It was all too easy. No excitement. Even
the extra little job Dekim had given him had gone off without a hitch.
He
watched as Dekim's men swarmed over the truck. If this was his truck wouldn't
be letting those foreigners touch it. You couldn't trust anybody. Everybody
knew that.
They
were through now, waving him imperiously out of the barn. Arrogant sons of
bitches. Just like in the John Wayne movies.
But
John Wayne had shown them.
Just as
Trey Catalonia would show them.
***************
Johns Hopkins
11:20 a.m.
"Why is
she still in the operating room?" I said worriedly. "It shouldn't be taking
this long."
"Oh?"
Wufei said. "I didn't know you were a surgeon. Maybe you should go in and take over
for Sally Po."
"Shut up, Wu. I'm scared to death. She's so little..."
"I
know," Wufei said gently. "That's probably why it takes so long. It must be a
very delicate operation."
He was
right, I realized with relief. Maybe nothing had gone wrong. It was good that
Wufei was here with me and not Heero. "I suppose you called Heero when we got
here."
He
nodded. "While you were talking to Sally before the operation." He let a couple
of seconds go by, then said, "I also called Relena."
I
stiffened.
"I had to
do it. You couldn't stay here without a lot more protection."
"Just
so she doesn't try to make me leave Iris."
"She probably
will, but we'll stave her off for a while."
"Did
you find out what happened to the guard in the courtyard?"
Wufei
grimaced.
"Dead?"
"They found
him underneath the courtyard staircase. Odin was evidently trying to get into
the apartment."
I
smiled with effort. "A mamba in the drain?"
"I
doubt if Odin Lowe was clever enough to appreciate James Bond. Don't worry
about it now. You're here and safe."
"You
shouldn't have told Relena that I was here. I'd bet it was Heero's idea."
"Well,
I agreed with him. I knew he had Iris's and your welfare at heart."
"Bullshit.
He doesn't care about us."
"You know
better than that. He cares. He just couldn't let it get in the way. He waited a
long time to get this close."
"He was
wrong. I can imagine how upset he was about his colleagues dying on Nakoa, but
that doesn't excuse-"
"His
colleagues?" Wufei asked. "Is that what he told you?"
"Yeah."
His reaction puzzled me.
"His
mother and father were scientists and they were both on Nakoa. His mother headed
up the project. They were the ones who brought Heero into the project. His
sister was a lab assistant, and it also seems to me that he had a new-born son
there as well."
Shock
jolted through me. "And they all died on Nakoa?"
Wufei
nodded. "I'd say that's enough to make someone a little obsessive."
"He
didn't tell me."
"He
didn't tell me either. I had to find out for myself."
"Why?"
I murmured. "Why did he keep it a secret from me?"
"I
couldn't tell you. I'm not Heero."
Who was
Heero Yuy? He had recounted the story of Nakoa with all the emotion of a robot.
He had said he was no longer the person who had lived through that horror. But
his pain was evidently still so intense he still couldn't talk about it even after
these past few years.
"It
doesn't make what he did any more forgivable."
"I'm
not defending, merely explaining." He smiled. "And perhaps I wanted to distract
you a little. I don't like to see you this-"
"Here
they come." I jumped up as the operating room doors opened and a wave of nurses
and doctors flowed out. In their midst was a gurney with Iris on it.
Sally
pulled down her mask and smiled at me. "Iris's doing very well. She's stable."
"Is
that all?"
"That's
pretty good for an operation of that length. You'll be glad to know I did a
brilliant job."
"I am
glad. But I'd be happier if you told me Iris's prospects are just as brilliant."
She
shook her head. "I can't say that. I wish I could. She's doing well now. We won't
know more until later."
Disappointment
flooded me. That's what she had told me before, but I had hoped-
"I
promise you'll know as soon as I do." Sally moved down the hall.
Wufei's
hand comfortingly grasped my shoulder. "She survived the operation. Five
minutes ago you would have been happy with just that."
"I know
I only wish-" I wanted desperately to know Iris was going to completely recover
and it was hard to wait. "I'm going to find someone to take a blood sample for
you to send to Atlanta. Then I'm going to Recovery to wait for Iris to wake up."
"I'll
go with you." Wufei fell into step with me as I hurried in the direction they'd
taken Iris.
***************
Aurora, Kansas
3:50 p.m.
The
Catalonia home was a small, neat clapboard house like a half dozen others on
the same block.
The
woman who opened the door was slipping into a brown coat. "Yes?" She said
impatiently.
"Miss.
Catalonia?" Heero asked.
"Are
you a salesman? For God's sake, I was just walking out the door." Dorothy
Catalonia probably looked younger than she was. Her blonde hair was long, her
makeup perfect. "And I'm late for an appointment."
"I'm
not a salesman. I'm looking for your son, Trey."
Her
lips thinned and she looked him up and down. "Why? Are you a bill collector?"
He
shook his head. "I'm thinking of opening a demolition track in town and I'd
like to offer him a job."
"Trey
has a job."
"Perhaps
I can up the ante for him. Can you tell me where I can find him?"
"Trey
doesn't live here anymore."
"But
you must be in contact with him."
"Why
must I? We've been estranged for some time." She checked her watched. "And I
have thirty-minutes to get to the other side of town to show a house."
"You're
a real estate agent?"
"Does
that interest you?" She moved past him toward an Oldsmobile parked in the driveway.
"Maybe you want to offer me a job too."
"I'd really
appreciate your help if-"
"I can't
help you Mr....?"
"Gardiner.
David Gardiner."
"You'll
have to find Trey on your own, Mr. Gardiner. I've no idea where he is. We've
lost touch over the years."
Heero
watched her back out of the driveway before he strode toward his rental car at
the curb.
He'd
done his job. He's disturbed Dorothy Catalonia and made her suspicious. All he
could do now was wait and see if Relena had done hers in tapping Dorothy's home
and car phones.
If she
knew where her son could be reached, he doubted that she could resist
contacting him. The big if.
He
drove four blocks and pulled into a supermarket parking lot to wait for the
call from Relena.
***************
8:15 p.m.
Sally
was coming down the corridor toward me.
I
tensed. She wasn't smiling. She just looked… abstracted.
She
stopped beside me. And she smiled.
"She's
going to be fine," she said. "She still has a long haul, but there should be a
full recovery."
"Thank
God."
Sally
frowned sternly. "Now will you go get some sleep? Your friend here has arranged
a bed in the room next to Iris's. How, I don't know. This floor was supposed to
be full."
Bless
Wufei. Bless Sally Po. Bless everyone in the whole damn world. "Soon I want to
go and sit with Iris for a while."
"She's
still under sedation."
"I don't
care."
Sally
grinned. "I did good, huh?"
"Dynamite."
I headed down the hall toward Iris's room. "You're right, you're totally
brilliant."
***************
9:30 a.m.
"Des
Moines," Relena said when Heero picked up the phone. "1523 Jasper Street."
"She
called him?"
"He
called her. She evidently doesn't have his number because she tried to get it
when he called. He put her off and she didn't like it. He didn't like your
visit to his mother either. I'm arranging transport for you, but I'm also
sending men in from St. Louis in case you don't move fast enough."
"Do you
expect me to argue? I'd tell you to have the local police pick him up if I wasn't
afraid they'd blow it. I'm on my way to the airport." He pulled out of the
supermarket parking lot.
There
was a chance Catalonia might already be gone before anyone got there. Making
him uneasy was a risk Heero had to take when he'd contacted mother. Uneasy
enough to contact Dekim or make a move himself?
He hoped not. He had an idea time was running out.
***************
11:10 p.m.
"Will
you please go to bed? It's almost midnight." Wufei was squatting beside my
chair. "This isn't doing Iris any good."
"I
know." I leaned back in the rocking chair, my gaze fixed on Iris's face. "I guess
I'm afraid to leave her." I smiled. "She opened her eyes about five minutes
ago. I think she recognized me."
"That's
good."
"This
is a nice room, isn't it? All children's rooms should have rocking chairs. They're
very comfortable."
"I
suppose they put it here for rocking sick babies."
"I wish I could rock Iris. Look at her. She's in a straitjacket."
"I
believe the correct term is body cast. I guess they have to keep her
from moving."
"Did
you call Heero and tell him she's going to be all right?"
"You
think he'd be interested? A cold, cruel, man like Heero?"
"Shut up, Wufei. He's all those things but he liked Iris. Who couldn't help but
like Iris?" Sitting there, I'd been remembering that night on the Montana
when Heero had stayed with me until we'd known Iris would live. He hadn't been
pretending that night. He'd been genuinely concerned about Iris.
Wufei
nodded, his gaze on the baby's face. "Can I talk you into going to bed now?"
I shook
my head. "I'm comfortable. I want to be here in case she wakes up again."
"You
really should go to-" He stopped. "I can't convince you can I?"
"Nope, you use the bed."
"I
wouldn't be so dishonorable." He sat down on an upright chair across the room. "I'll
stay here in case you change your mind."
There
was a comfortable silence in the room.
"Wu,
call Heero and tell him about Iris."
"He
already knows. He called me."
"He
did?"
"He was on his way to the airport in Kansas City. He was very relieved about
Iris."
"Kansas
City?"
"He's
been tracking down a man who might lead him to Dekim."
Dekim.
I had been on such an emotional roller-coaster ride about Iris that I hadn't
time to dwell on Dekim. But Heero had not forgotten him. He was as driven as he'd
always been. Could I really blame him? When Quatre had died, I had almost gone
crazy. How would I have reacted if my entire family had been killed?
My god,
I was making excuses for him when there was no excuse. Heero couldn't have been
more wrong. He had used me and manipulated the situation to suit-
Just as
I had done after Quatre's funeral. I had no second thoughts about using Heero.
I would have used anyone to get Dekim. Monsters should not be allowed to live.
Show
them the monsters.
No, not
now. The hatred and the passion for revenge would come again, but tonight I
didn't want to think of Dekim or Heero or anything disturbing. I just wanted to
relax and enjoy this moment of thanksgiving. Iris was alive and someday she was
going to run and play like other children.
Surely
it was safe to forget about monsters for a little while longer.
