This pairing was a challenge issued by a friend who thought it

This pairing was a challenge issued by a friend who thought it

would be an interesting combination. Action this time around.

First time I have ever written an action (read PLOT) orientated

fic so we shall see how this goes!

Title: Two Become One 4/?

Author: Rhina

Pairings: 2xS and one more – see if you can find it!

*******

WARNING: Angst and Language

*******

Disclaimer: I don't own the GW boys or their female counterparts

otherwise I'd be retiring instead of dealing with the likes of the

school board. I don't own the song "Two Become One" by the

Spice Girls either – thank goodness, who'd want to lay claim to

them?!

lyrics

~~~ scene change ~~~

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I need some love like I've never needed love before
(wanna make love to ya baby)
I had a little love, now I'm back for more
(wanna make love to ya baby)

~~~ Somewhere, L2 ~~~

Reflexively Sally reached up to tug on the end of her braid in a

typical nervous gesture. Finding the braid missing reminded her

of the role she was playing and how Margo Schwartz would

never think if doing something as juvenile as fiddling with her

hair. Unless of course it was an action deliberately meant to

entice the man of her choice to her side. And that was the tactic

that 'Margo' endeavored to employ on the young nervous

looking man across from her.

"Come on sweetness," she purred softly, her fingers stroking

down the silky length off a curl that had come loose from the

clip holding it back. "Just let me in to see the boss. I swear all

my qualifications are in order."

Clearing his throat and attempting to avoid the distraction of

Sally's enticing cleavage well displayed as she leaned forward,

he examined the papers once more. The documents did make it

appear as if she had completed a rigorous medical training and

though there seemed to be a couple of shading things about her

past before that time. He knew that would never bother the boss –

he merely wanted someone who could figure out how to make the

incision and remove the correct organ intact, regardless of what

happened to the donor later.

He did a quick scan of the data disk's information that had been

gathered off several extensive illegal searches of some criminal

record databases and found some notes of prior arrests and

felonies throughout the colonies, but nothing that would prevent

them from considering Ms. Schwartz as a potential employee.

The sweet enticing smell of her perfume wafted towards him and

overwhelmed his more reasonable senses at that moment.

"All right Ms. Schwartz," he said, staring with an almost dreamy

fascination at the cleavage displayed by the v in her shirt. He

was sure it hadn't been that deep before. "I need to go and confer

with my superior about your application and then I will be right

back."

A long finger traced a path down his baby smooth cheek,

startling him and making his muddy brown eyes open wide.

"Don't be too long now," whispered Sally. "It can get mighty

lonesome for a women around these colonies."

He gulped and turned, fleeing for the sanctuary of the inner

office. He didn't dare act on the hormonal impulses that skidded

along his skin at her presence, because he knew the boss would

rather explore her perfection by himself before deciding if she

was available goods.

Sally sighed with relief as the greasy little minion scuttled off.

Coming on to the man gave her the willies up and down her

spine and made her long to remove her own internal organs with

a dull spoon rather than conceive of actually being intimate with

such a … thing. Her thoughts strayed for a moment to the fine

form of a man she had seen in Duo before she left and she quickly

jerked her train of thoughts off that course. She couldn't afford

to be distracted by intense sexual longing at the moment. She

had a job to do and she needed to get it done so she could return

to being Sally Po and not this awful persona she had adopted in

order to complete her mission.

Remembering the importance of her mission, she relegated

Duo to the back of her mind and only a slightly longing ache

in her heart and moved on with what she needed to get done.

She slinked around the edge of the desk and keyed on the

computer terminal that was rather prominent. A moments cursory

search assured her that there was nothing of value on the machine.

"It would make more sense for them to have such information

squirreled away somewhere 'discreet'," muttered Sally as she

came back to her side of the desk. Her silent footsteps paced the

carpet as she contemplated her next move. She only hoped that

Margo was enticing enough to be taken on by these guys

otherwise she'd be back to breaking and entering and some things

were so much easier on the inside.

As she paced across the small office for what seemed like the

12 millionth time, the door to the inner office swung open and

the greasy male 'secretary' appeared once more. Sally

immediately turned the full wattage of her smile on him. "So

what's the verdict?" came her purring voice.

Gulping again, the man shuffled his papers in a fidgeting

gesture and made a slight bow in her direction. "The director

seems to feel that your qualifications are the exact ones needed

of a candidate for the position, but he wishes to conduct the

interview…personally," coughed the suddenly nervous man.

Sally puzzled about his behavior behind shuttered eyes as

Margo came forth and tossed her hair back in a seemingly

careless seductive gesture. "If that's what it takes to get the job,"

she murmured, leaning close and trying not to breathe in the

scent of his slightly panicked aroma, "then I'm definitely your

lady. Lead on McDuff."

Still puzzled by the sudden need for an interview, Sally swayed

her hips as her body moved with unconscious grace into the inner

office. She was concerned about the director's departure from his

standard routine. According to the source she had had inside the

operation before, the director's common hiring procedures were

very simple. Show up with a resume or documents that some how

reflected medical knowledge and you were hired. There had never

been a mention of an interview.

She knew that there wasn't a shred of information in those forged

documents that could possibly connect her to the Preventers or

the Alliance by any stretch of the imagination so there would be

no reason for something to be such a concern. She didn't like it

when people deviated from their normal practices, especially when

she was operating undercover without any backup. Crossing her

fingers deep inside the pocket of her tailored black blazer, she

entered the office and lit the dark room with her blinding smile.

The cavernous room was barely lit by the bluish glow of the

huge fish tanks that lined the walls. A small lamp shown on the

sleek black desk, but no other source of illumination was visible

in the room. The lack of light made it difficult for her to identify

all the items in the space at first glance. But within a moment or

two, her vision cleared enough for her to identify several chairs, a

long sofa that looked like it was covered in something akin to

leather and a huge conference table surrounded by more stiff chairs.

Everything seemed to absorb the blue light rather than reflecting and

Sally assumed that it had all be chosen for the eerie atmosphere that

it created. She hoped the shivers racing down her spine weren't

noticeable to anyone but her.

Having regained some of her ability to see, she spotted something

behind the long desk. It took her a moment of looking to decide

that it was the silhouetted form of a man. Being unable to tell

whether he was worth Margo's time or not, Sally decided that the

practical approach was more sure of winning her a position in this

man's notorious organization. "Good Day sir, I was told you were

interested in talking to me."

The hazy silhouette turned around in the chair and regarded her

carefully. Sally watched the blue light glint off of his odd-shaped

half-glasses and slicked back dark hair. His suit was dark in

color and obviously of a high quality cut, but it was his hands that

drew her attention. The seemed to be trying to display the affect

of years of wealth, but the careful manicure, even in the dimness

of the light, couldn't hide the rough scars of deep cuts and slashes

that could only have come from a very sharp blade. Something

like a scalpel perchance.

"Yes," came the deep voice from the darkness. "My assistant

informed me that you had some very high qualifications that

merited further investigation. Come and have a seat."

Sally accepted the proffered chair with some uneasiness. There

was no going back now though – she had unfailingly committed

Margo to this arrangement and by God she'd get her out of here

in one piece. "Thank you. I hadn't been expecting an interview

though. I had thought I would get a job."

He waved away her concern while offering her a refreshing

drink. Sally politely declined the offer, she liked to know all

of the contents of her drinks before she ingested them.

"The interview process is new I'm afraid," concluded the man

as he returned to his seat behind the expanse of the desk. "I've

had some rather unfortunately ungrateful employees the last

couple of months and I have no wish to repeat the performance."

"Ahh," nodded Sally sagely. "I can understand your need for

new employees then. I would certainly be _grateful_ for any

employment that you can offer me and I am certain that you'll

find all my qualifications are in order."

"Yes," agreed the man, shifting through the papers that resided

neatly in a dark folder on a single corner of the desk. "Your

qualifications are most impressive along with the notices of a

couple of 'incidents' on L2 and L5."

With a careless shrug and a semi-seductive flip of her hair,

Margo shooed the concerns away. "Those are long forgotten

I'm sure."

"A master forger and a skilled 'plastic surgeon' merely forgotten?"

asked the man with a single raise of his eyebrow. "Somehow I

don't think that's forgotten."

Margo smiled seductively and leaned over the desk, blue eyes

glittering as a small scalpel appeared in her hand without effort.

"It is when you talk to all the right people."

The man leaned back in his chair, tilting toward the blue light

of the fish tank. Behind him the careless motions of a shark

slipped through the water. "You are quite right. And you seem

to be the perfect candidate for the position I have open."

"Oh?" said Margo with interest as the scalpel disappeared as

slightly as it had been conjured to her hand. "And what position

might that be?"

"I have some, well, clients for lack of a better word," admitted

the sleek man in a soft dangerous voice. "They have certain

requests that I try to fulfill."

"Requests for what?" asked Sally, anxious to have her suspicious

confirmed by the head of the organization she wanted to nail to

the wall.

"For some needed organs."

"Organs?" This time it was Margo's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"If you're requiring some form of surgery, which I believe you

are do to the 'rigorous' job requirements, then I needed to know

what I'm removing. I'm not a fly by the seat of your pants

type girl."

The man nodded, his dark gaze assessing her through those

weird half-lenses once more. The blonde beauty across from

him was definitely not their typical applicant for such an

unappealing position. Her qualifications definitely meant that

she had merit as a candidate, but yet there was something

'overdone' about them. He shook his head about the suspicions,

knowing that he had been in the business far too long if he began

to suspect every mercenary blonde than came across his path.

"Human organs," he finally admitted in a graveled voice. "There

is a great demand from a certain clientele to have human organs

instead of the synthetic ones manufactured now. They wish to

remain purely human – not plastic bi-products. I meet those

demands when no one else will."

Sally managed to keep the slight thrill at his admittance to the

illegal organ trafficking she had suspected the underground ring

of for more than four years. She was definitely closer than ever

to nailing them with something, she only needed that elusive

piece of conclusive proof that damned all the guilty parties. "I

can understand their concern and the need for privacy then.

Where do you find such willing donors?" she inquired, attempting

a bored yet interested look, the shine of her blue eyes dulled by

the dimness of the light even as it gave her hair an eerie aura.

"Here and there," said the man off-handedly. The gaze through

the glasses became narrow-eyed and fierce as he continued.

"There are some things that your position does not need to be

concerned with. You are to removed the required organ, make

it ready to be delivered to the waiting customer and not ask a lot

of questions."

"I know when and where to keep my nose out of things," said

Margo as she raised her hands before her in a placating gesture.

"Are they supposed to be returned semi whole or do I not worry

about any more damaged goods than the organ?"

"The organ and getting it to the client intact and on time are

your only concern," was the cold response, eyes still examining

her in microscopic detail.

Whatever he finally saw must have pleased him for he broke

of his regard to reach down and bring out a file and slide it

across the desk to her. "I think though that as long as you agree

to keep your nose to yourself," he said quietly, "we shall have

an excellent working relationship with someone such as your

qualifications."

Margo smiled brightly at him. "I can certainly do that," she

said taking the file. "I assume that everything I need to know

is in here."

The man nodded and tapped the file again. "There is housing

information in here and a schedule and who you can contact

with questions. Other than that I shouldn't hear from you,

should I?"

"Certainly not," smiled Margo once more, taking the file and

standing gracefully. "It was nice to meet you and I look forward

to the work. Later."

Margo's graceful form shifted from the leather chair that had

molded itself to her shape. She saluted him lazily and sauntered

across the office. A slender hand grasped the doorknob and

pulled it open, letting herself out of the office after tossing a final

smile and a wink in the director's direction.

He watched her go without comment, making sure that the

door was latched before he moved from his chair. Striding

across the room purposefully, he moved to a far corner from the

desk, behind the large conference table. There he touched a

nearly invisible panel and watched patiently as one of the large

tanks slid back and to the side to reveal a long dimly lit hallway.

Without hesitation, he moved down the hallway, only a slight

limp marring his movements. He came to the third door on his

left, one that looked just like all the others in the hallway with the

exception of the emanation of loud ruckus rock music from

behind the thick grey steel door. His palm print on the id plate

next to the door made it slide open noiselessly, though any noise

whatsoever would have definitely been masked by the sheer

volume of the music and bass pumping from the room's stereo

equipment.

The soul occupant of the room was a long haired redhead who

was currently seated in front of a large computer screen head-

banging to the beat of the music. Long-fingered hands flew

across the keyboard at an amazing rate while his eyes, despite

the head-banging, kept track of the huge amounts of information

scrolling across the large screen in front of him. The light

colored clothes he wore contrasted starkly with the dimly lighted

atmosphere and the dark equipment around him.

With an efficient snap, the director turned off the music,

plunging the room into a sudden deafingly silence. "Ty," stated

the director in a harsh commanding tone.

"Ah come on man," said the redhead, swiveling his chair

around in an effortless gesture. His lanky body sprawled across

the surface of the chair portraying an air of careless grace,

almost like a cat looking for the perfect thing to pounce on. His

long hair clung to his cheeks and hid the coldness of his amber

gaze from the director's view. His lips seemed to be formed into

a permanant sneer. "It was just getting to the good part."

The director flung a sheaf of papers at the redhead and glare

across the top of his glasses at his hacker. He'd fire the

impudent upstart if he could, but he was far to valuable to dismiss

on a whim. "Find out all you can about Ms. Margo Schwartz."

The young man laughed. "Margo Schwartz?"

Scowling the director nodded.

"What am I looking for this time? Blackmail material?

History? What?" Ty asked, caressing the file in a way that sent

shivers through the director.

It was definitely better to keep the young man confined where

he could see him rather then letting him run free where he

could easily ruin the organization, despite the creepy signals

he sent off. "Anything and everything."

The redhead raised a single eyebrow at the remark. "Oh really?"

"I want to know everything from where she buys her underwear

to why the hell she showed up on our doorstep looking for a job,"

scowled the director. His need to protect himself and his lifestyle

was busy sending out warning signals about Margo Schwartz for

some reason. "She's too good to be true, too pat, too eager to work

for us and asks far too many questions. There's something more

to her than the quick records search can show."

"All right boss man," said Ty as he swung back around to face

the green-lit terminal screen. "I'll let you know when I find

something."

Satisfied that the matter was being taken care of, the director

turned to exit the office.

"Oh," added the redhead, watching the opening of the door in

the reflection of his screen, "make sure and turn the music back

on will you?"

Without a motion the door whooshed shut leaving only silence

behind.

"Well well well," mused the redhead as he opened the file and

snapped his fingers, which made the music resume at its

customary volume. "What secrets have you got to tell Ms.

Margo?"

Propping up the large picture contained in the file, he entered

her name and devilled into the digital world.

~~~ Office of the Director of Development, Preventer HQ ~~~

Duo sat in his office deep in thought. He was pondering a

short list of names and working through a mental list of

information on each culprit. Some of the names were certainly

the ones any brief scan would turn up, but there was a couple

that seemed out of place. There just never seemed to be one

that stood out in his mind though, despite the in-depth information

he was now privileged to hold.

The lights were on low and the only sound in the office was the

low key hum of his computer. Most everyone had left for the

day and he was gratified to have the time to be at work and do

some research with their more capable computers. There were

only a few more pieces of information that the computer work

had turned up and he was back to his own mental assests to

discover the culprit of the crimes.

The faint sounds of heavy metal drifted into the office. Duo

found himself humming along and tapping his foot to the heavy

beat. It seemed that one of his younger techs was working late

and had fine musical taste. Duo found that the music stirred

his blood and made the thinking process a little more rapid.

"Somewhere I am missing the darn key," he muttered to

himself, fingers reflexively drumming out the harsh beat.

"But then, this is just a search based on a possible motive.

Maybe I need to figure out who held the information on all

of the downed agents…"

He began to rummage through the files on his suspects once

more, linking together a few more pieces before he was startled

by the clearing of someone's throat.

"I'm sorry Director, I didn't realize you were still here," came

the nervous voice of his assistant Director, Carver. In a

heartbeat, he was blushing, something that Duo swore he did

even in his sleep. "The light wasn't on you see and I thought I

would come in a get the file that I needed…."

He folded and crossed his hands nervously, the thickness of

his lenses hiding most of his expression from Duo's inquisitive

look. His shirt was neatly pressed and his trousers creased as

if he had just put them, which would be weird considering the

hour of the night. His limpid blonde hair was carefully smoothed

back and gave the appearance of being well-molded into place.

Duo wondered though why the neat and immaculate young man

always seemed so nervous around him. There never seemed to

be any need since we was always organized and efficient in his

work. Something about that nervousness struck Duo as odd and

out of place, but he dismissed it without further thought, his mind

returning to its busy workings on the puzzle at hand.

"Not a prob," answered Duo, scooting away several papers and

wiping his computer screen clear. "What were you looking for?"

"Ummm," said Carver, clearing his throat again. "Just trying

to remember who all is out on assignment in Director Po's

section."

Immediately Duo's mind conjured up a mental image of the

striking blonde. He could had sworn that he felt drool forming

at the mere thought of those long legs and golden hair wrapped

around him. He imaged those baby blues looking at him with

lust and desire as that small pink tongue swiped across her lips.

And then he jerked himself back, his body painfully hard, as he

realized Carver had said something.

"What was that again?" he asked, shifting to find a more

comfortable spot on his chair, the ache settling deep inside him

once more.

"I said that I had gone to ask Director Po, but I have been

unable to contact her or find her in her office for the past several

days," stated Carver, anything other than mere curiosity and a

desire to complete his job, hidden by those maddening glasses

and the darkness of the room. "I normally make sure that the

agents are receiving the devices that they need and that all is

going smoothly, but without knowing who is out there, I'm not

able to complete that part of this chore."

"Ahhh," said Duo, his mind still slightly blurred by the

lustfilled thoughts and ponderings about how to fulfill those

fantasies as he off-handedly gave away severely classified

information. "Sally's off on a mission."

"A mission?" asked Carver, leaning forward with his curiosity

overwhelming him. "It must have been important if Director

Po went. Do you know where she went so I can be in contact

with her?"

Duo continued to absently answer the questions as his mind

prowled along the idea that he could go and meet her on the

mission. Give her a safe haven. Especially since the site was

his old hunting grounds. No one there knew of his promotion

and he could slid in easily with the old gangs. "Somewhere

on L2."

Shaking himself from the depths of his imagination, Duo

brought himself to his present. He forestalled any more questions

about Sally with his next words. "Don't worry about Sally

though, she's more than able to take care of herself and I'm

pretty sure she's only in contact with Une anyway."

"That doesn't sound very…safe, sir," commented Carver,

continuing to press the issue. "I'd like to be able to check in a

make sure that she is alright."

Duo leaned over the desk and met the man's gaze with his own

vivid violet stare. The words that came from his throat were

harsh and menacing and had the edge of Shinigami. "Don't

worry about Sally. She'll be taken care of."

The man inhaled sharply and the abruptly stood. "I understand

sir. If you'll excuse me then, I think I'll head home."

Duo sighed as he leaned back and relaxed into his seat once

more. He cursed his own inappropriate behavior and wondered

what the hell he had been thinking giving away such sensitive

information. There was certainly no way he could take it back

now, so figuring out a solution for it was certainly beyond him.

Instead he needed to find the culprit as fast as he could now.

His brain quickly returned to the complex issue and began

connecting who had the information about the agent and who

could have twisted the key to do them in. Minutes turned into

an hour and he slowly began to realize someone that they had

all overlooked. As a loyal officer to Une and Treize, he had

been considered someone loyal to them personally and

supporting whichever cause they upheld. Because of those

assumptions, this person had never truly been a suspect and

cleared in a rather rote manner. But yet, this person knew all

the information and was the vital key in all the missions that

went bad.

Shit. They were in Deep Shit.

Worse. Sally was in deep shit and he had done her in….

"Fuck," swore Duo. "Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!!! Sally!!"

Without another word he cleared his findings from his desk

and headed for Une's office at a dead run.

~~~ A Hidden Apartment, L2 ~~~

Sally came in the small apartment and shut the door behind

her, leaning against it with an exhausted sigh. It had been a

long day of demanding operations and she still had some

undercover work to do this evening.

None of her work during the day had brought her anywhere

near the information that was vital to breaking the case wide

open. So she was resorting to sneaking into the offices at night.

This kind of work was not her forte but to bring these mass

murders down, she'd do just about anything now.

Having seen the inside of the operation left her sickened and

weak. The gross waste of human life was truly tragic and there

was nothing she longed for more than strangling the man in

charge with her bare hands while the building went down in

flames.

Snarling with desire at the thought, she retreated to the

bedroom to change her clothes. A nice basic black seemed to

be the latest choice in fashion these days. Too bad she looked

so bad in it.

"The sacrifices a girl makes," she said with a smile as she

pulled out a change of clothes. As she stripped and took a

brief shower, she allowed her thoughts to stray to Duo Maxwell

and linger with the pleasing images. As she slowly dried her

hair, her mind reveled in the mere idea of him sharing the

intimacy of these tasks with her.

Shaking the images away as she dressed, Sally prepared herself

inside and out for the task ahead of her this evening. Hoping

it all went smoothly so that she might hurry home to what she

was longing for.

~~~ Commander Une's Office, Preventer HQ ~~~

"Une!" cried Duo, swinging open the door to her office wildly

and with a loud bang it slammed into the wall. "Une!"

Une lifted her face, smiling a slightly silly grin, from the piece

of folded notepaper in front of her. At the sight of Duo's deadly

Shinigami look, she laid it aside and assumed a business like

look. "What?"

"I've found your killer," snarled Shinigami as he leaned over

her desk. "Sally's going to find herself in deep shit in less than

24 hours if I miss my guess."

"Sally?!" cried Une with concern. "But no one knows where

she is but you and…"

Une broke off with a silent exclamation of distress when Duo

shook his head.

"He knows," whispered a pained Shinigami. "With my own

mouth I admitted it. I've totally fucked her over. I doubt she'll

forgive me."

"Duo," murmured Une, concerned for the mental state of the

young man in front of her. "I'm sure it was an accident…"

"Yeah," he admitted ruefully. "I let my dick do the talking

instead of my head. I'm such a fuck-up."

Une contemplated Duo's guilt in silence, unsure of what to

say to drive away his pain and help the Shinigami retreat a little.

But she knew deep inside, that it was the Shinigami that would

get them out of this mess.

"I'm going after her Une," growled the fierce protectiveness of

Shinigami. She was his and he needed to protect her from this

asshole. "I'll bring her back and deal with him, don't worry

about it."

He flipped the stack of papers he was carrying onto her desk

and turned briskly on his heel to stride from the room. "There's

your killer."

As the aura of Shinigami faded from the room, Une stared in

transfixed horror at the picture laying on her desk. Shaking

hands reached out and took a hold of it.

The sound of Duo's revving motorcycle broke the deadening

silence and Une crumpled the picture in her own hand.

"I too shall avenge you Treize," she muttered harshly, dropping

the picture to the floor and grinding it under her foot. "The

bastard will pay for what he's done to destroy your memory and

all you worked for. And I know just the person to help."

Une strode from the office and headed out to find help.

And on the floor of her office, the photo uncurled displaying

its image. The image of Carver Fultz.

~~~ Assistant Director of Development's Office, Preventer HQ ~~~

Carver quickly fled the darkened office and headed for his own

bright space. He folded his frame into his leather chair and spun

to face the computer screen. With a few rapid clicks, he had

connected to his home computer was busy using that to mask his

trails. His quick moving eyes burned with focus behind the imitation

lenses and those innocent baby blues harden to the sharp blue

diamonds.

"Well well, well Ms. Po," he snarled softly under his breath.

"What are you up to? And how can I make sure they find you…."

His fingers flew with determination as he skillfully wove the trap

to snare the favored mouse. A feral grin shifted across his menacing

features. "Here Kitty Une…."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Again C & C madly desired!!!

Tune in next time to see what happens to our fateful pair….

Thanks for reading!

^_^

Rhina