Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Gundam characters. The story plot is mine.
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Off to Join the Circus!
Chapter 11 ~ Plans in Motion
By West Wind

In the conference room on the seventh floor of the Catalonias Inc. building the company's upper management sat around a table with serious expression on their faces anticipation the beginning of the meeting. Mr. Catalonias entered the room and called the meeting to order. They were just getting ready to move on to new business when one of the company's lawyers burst into the room. Mr. Catalonias scowled at her interruption while the others looked curiously at Lynda.

"I am sorry, sir," she began, "but I have very important news that you need to know, NOW."

Mr. Catalonias growled under his breath as Lynda approached and handed him a document. He pulled the document from her extended hand. He started skimming the document but stopped halfway through. He could not believe what he was reading. He started over, this time being sure to read every word and punctuation mark. The others watched their leader in anticipation. Mr. Catalonias' face paled at the news he read. His company had been taken over by a company he had never heard of, QD Co. He turned back to Lynda.

"It is legit," she answered before he could ask. "I checked it all out before coming to you with it."

~@~

Dorothy made her way to her father's office.

"Hello, Dorothy," greeted her father's secretary. "Your dad is in a meeting."

Which conference room?" asked Dorothy. "I will just wait for him there."

Dorothy made her way to the waiting room that connected that group of conference rooms and took a seat to wait in. She watched Lynda enter hurriedly and smiled. Dorothy punched the numbers on her cell phone and waited for Quatre to answer.

"Hello," he businessly said.

"The ball is rolling. Come on up, and we will make our entrance."

With that she hung up and went to meet her cohort at the elevators. There was a soft ding announcing the elevators arrival before the doors pulled back to reveal Quatre dressed in a navy suit, their lawyer, and a couple security guards.

~@~

"This is impossible!" Mr. Catalonias yelled as he slammed the paper on the table before him.

The others around the table watched in confusion, yet all held their tongs until Mr. Catalonias decided to inform them.

The door swung open a second time since the meeting began. Mr. Catalonias looked up to find his daughter standing in the doorway smiling sweetly at him.

"Dorothy, you know better than to interrupt me when I am in a meeting!" he said irritated.

"Oh, I do, Father," she replied slowly and concisely as she sauntered in. "But, you see, as part founder of QD Co., my partner and I have every right to interrupt this meeting."

Her father looked at her choked. He knew she was an ambitious one, but could not under stand why she would take over her own family's business. It just did not make since to him.

"Right partner," Dorothy cooed.

"According to our lawyer, we do," said Quatre as he stepped through the door with his lawyer close behind.

Dorothy's father went white with shock. The Winner boy and his own daughter had taken over his company. He thought they hated each other.

"As you can see, sir," said their lawyer placing paperwork before the fuming man, "every thing is in order and they now run this company."

Mr. Catalonias picked up the paperwork and read through it looking for loopholes. He found none.

"The first thing we are going to do is reorganize!" said Dorothy with relish. "Security, please, escort Mr. Catalonias off the premises."

Mr. Catalonias sputtered at her audacity. To his surprise, two officers entered and proceeded to haul him out. Dorothy called them to a halt briefly as they passed her. Her father asking why with his eyes.

"Maybe you should be more careful in what you get involved in," she said cryptically before waving them on. "Now, down to business," she said as the door's to the room closed.

~@~

Duo ran through the stations in search for something to watch when an blurb on the news caught his attention.

"Hey, Lisa, you might want to see this," he called to her.

"What?" she asked as she emerged from the kitchen drying her hands on a towel.

"This," he pointed at the TV.

"Today the world of business was rocked," began the news reporter in the field with the Catalonias building behind him, "as the very prominent Catalonias Inc. was the victim of a takeover by the unheard of QC Co., but that is not the only twist in this story. QC Co. is a company created by Quatre Winner and Dorothy Catalonias…"

The report continued. Lisa smiled.

"They did it," she said gratified.

"Yep," said Duo.

~@~

The next major story to rock the news was the disappearance of Mr. Catalonias, former owner of Catalonias Inc. No one had seen him for several days. Police had searched his condo he had been living in since his wife kicked him out and found his car there. However, there was no sign of the former business man anywhere.

Dorothy and Quatre both suspected where he might be, and doubled their efforts in the area of wariness, security measures, and caution just in case they were the groups next target. If worse came to worse, they always had an ace up their sleeve in specific paper's held by a trusted friend.

~@~

In a dark room, Mr. Catalonias sat secured to the chair scared to death. He knew he was in trouble now. The door opened and a masked man entered. His manner was easy and relaxed as he moved around the room. Platinum hair flowing out behind him.

Mr. Catalonias eyed the man and those that soon followed with fear in his eyes. The worst part was the silence. As they sat up, none of them said a word. They worked in silence and that only caused their captive's anxiety to grow.

~@~

"What did you get out of him?" inquired a gray haired man behind an oak desk of the masked soldier before him. "Did you find out what we need to know?"

"Yes and no, Admiral Quine," answered the subordinate as he stood at attention. "Unfortunately, he has hidden the information we desire."

"Do we know where, Zechs?" the admiral asked.

"We know who it is with, but not where the person currently is," Zechs answered. "You see he hid a information dot in the locket of his adopted daughter when things started looking shaky for him. Since that time, she has ran away from home and has not been found."

"She could be anywhere! How is this going to help us?" the admiral demanded with the thud of his hand slamming against the desk. "She could be dead by now in some city ally."

"He did not believe that to be the case, and neither do I," Zechs added at his superior's doubtful look. "Just because the police could not find her does not mean I can't. The police don't know how to look the way I do," Zechs huskily said.

"She had friends in town. She might have kept in touch with one of them. I have men working on it as we speak. She will be found no mater what state she is in, dead or alive, and the information obtained" he promised.

The admiral let out a soft sigh.

"Zechs, you are correct, and if any one can find her, you will. You have proven yourself resourceful in situation after situation. Go and do what you do best!"

Zechs nodded, turned sharply, and exited the room.

~@~

Two women were shown into a large office where a man in uniform sat behind a cherry desk. They stood at attention before the desk and waited for the man's attention. He finished writing and looked up at them.

"You know the situation?" he asked them.

They both replied yes.

"You know where she is?" the man behind the large desk asked one of the two women before him.

"Yes, Sir," the purple/blue haired woman said crisply.

"Then go, find her, make yourselves inconspicuous, and wait for further orders!" he commended.

"Yes, Sir," said both women before sharply turning and leaving the office.

~@~

Things were a buzz at the circus. They had just added two new members to their troop and one of them had medical training. For the most part, they could take care of the daily injuries they received, but it was nice to have some one trained on site to take care of serious cases when they occurred instead of waiting for an ambulance. Their last troop doctor had retired several years ago, and they had not found some one to replace him until now. Their new doctor came with a cousin who was a teacher.

Everyone wondered why the two women would want to join the circus when they could get better paying jobs elsewhere. When asked, they replied that they could get that kind of job later, but right now they were wanting to travel. When they came across the posting for a doctor for the circus, Sandy thought she would apply and inquire about a position for her cousin, Lucy.

They were both hired by the circus management and were in the process of getting settled into their new home. Sandy was organizing the medical supplies in the first aid trailer with Lucy's help and making a list of items to be ordered. Their task was interrupted several times by various circus members stopping by to say hi and check them out.

The consensus of the majority of people that meet them was the two girls were very sweet and fairly outgoing, easy to talk with and a welcome addition to the troop.

~@~

Hilde pulled into her driveway and got out of her car. She had just gotten home from her after school job and was ready to collapse. A nondescript car pulled in behind her as she got out. She watched the car warily expecting it to pull out and head the way it had come from. It did no such thing. Two men got out and approached her. Hilde stiffened and stood by her car defensively. The men flashed badges at her to quick for her to see.

"Miss Schberker, we would like to ask you a few questions," man one said.

"About?" Hilde asked suspiciously.

"Your friend Relena."

Hilde eyed them cautiously as she responded.

"Have they found her?" she asked.

"No, but we have a few new leads," one of them replied as they approached her.

She backed up inadvertently from their approach.

"And we want to talk to you about it."

While the one drew her attention by conversation, the second grabbed her and placed a cloth over her mouth. Hilde struggled against her captor. She tried not to breath for she could smell something on the cloth and the bitter taste filled her mouth. She could not hold it for long. She came to the conclusion that if she did not get away she would pass out from the drug or lack of air. She made one more valiant attempt to get free before she blacked out.

~@~

Hilde's head lulled back and forth a few times as her drug fogged mind began to scratch its way to consciousness.

"I'll be late for school," was the first thought to cross her mind.

She tried to get up but found she could not move. She opened her eyes and looked around confused and befuddled. She had to be asleep still, she told herself because she was in a nightmare. She was in a room where the only furniture was the chair she was strapped to and a table pushed up against one wall. She struggled against the bonds but they would not release her. Hilde rested her head against the back of the chair.

"What do they want from me? What are they going to do to me?" she wondered and fear coursed through her.

She could imagine all sorts of things, and none of them any good. She closed her eyes cutting off the view of the ceiling. A few drops of moisture rolled down the sides of her face to her ears and the feeling of helplessness filled her.

"I have to be strong for Relena," she keep telling herself.

The two men from earlier entered the room. Hilde opened her eyes and looked forward at their entrance. The shorter of the two smiled sinisterly at her and approached her. He placed a hand on either of her arms and leaned down in her face.

"Where is your friend at?" he growled at her.

"I don't know," Hilde answered truthfully.

"She's your best friend and she did not give you a clue to where she was going," he said unbelievingly.

Hilde glanced around the room quickly. The second man was standing against the wall looking concerned at the other man's questioning.

"Correct."

He backhanded her across the face. Her head swiveled with his hand in the direction of the blow. It stung like crazy but Hilde determined to not cry out and looked forward at her attacker again. She could feel her skin reddening from the impact. He was getting ready to strike again when the door opened.

"Marrly! I told you not to question her until I got here," the new arrival said angrily.

Marrly stiffened at the sound of his superior's voice and Hilde looked around him to see who her temporary savior was. He was obviously some one with some rank. He wore a red double breasted uniform coat that had yellow shoulder decorations, white tight-fitting pants, black boots that went to his knees, and white gloves. He made a sharp looking figure, but the strangest item he was wearing was the silver helmet that covered the upper part of his face and his long pale blond hair draped down his back.

"But, sir," Marrly began before he was cut off by the scowl on the helmeted man's face.

"You disobeyed a direct order. For that you get cleaning duty starting now."

Marrly did not say another word. He walked out of the room without another word.

"You may leave as well," he said to the other man who promptly obeyed.

Once it was only the two of them, the platinum haired man turned, tossed his hair behind his shoulder, and focused his attention to her. It unnerved her that she could not see his eyes through his mask. What he was thinking or feeling was hidden from one of the main places she relied on. Hilde gathered her courage to face the new foe before her.

He leaned with arms crossed against a table at the side of the room before saying anything.

"You were friends with a girl by the name of Relena," he more stated than asked.

Hilde nodded.

"How long did you know her?" he asked.

Hilde was total thrown off by his line of questioning. She saw no harm in the question and it was information they could find by asking anyone at school so she answered him.

"After all that time, could it be assumed you knew each other well?" he asked.

"I guess so," Hilde slowly answered, her mind racing for where the man was going with his questions and what he was after.

"How well? Like best friends?"

"Maybe, maybe not?"

"Hmm," voiced the man before he started to pace the room.

"Before Relena ran away, how did you talk with each other?" he asked.

"We talked at school, called, and occasionally e-mailed," she answered"

The man paused, turned to her and smiled triumphantly at her. Hilde ran her last response through her mind once again and latched onto the word "e-mailed." The man knew that there was a possibility that she was still in touch with Relena.

"What was her e-mail?" he pressed.

"Why?" Hilde questioned. "It won't do you any good."

"Maybe not me, but it might help you out," he stated his valid threat.

Hilde was not sure what to do or what they could do with Relena's e-mail address.

"Come now," said the man as he stood before her and tilted her face up to him with a gloved finger.

Hilde tried to turn her face away but was stopped as he tightened his grip on her chin.

"Your friend has something that belongs to us, and she does not even know it. Therefore, we need to get in contact with her and arrange a return of it. We are willing to make an exchange with her for it."

The coolness and inflection in his voice told Hilde what they were going to trade for the item - her. She was their bargaining chip. Hilde became more confused with each passing moment. If all they wanted to do was make an exchange, then it would be to all their benefit to tell them, but in the worst case, they both could end up dead.

"We don't mean your friend any harm, as long as, she gives us what is ours," he said as if reading her thoughts. "I will give you time to think about it," he added before leaving.

Hilde watched him close the door behind him as her mind reeled. Hundred of options ran through her head. Most of them impossible or unprobable. She looked for ways out, but keep running into she did not know where she was or which way to go to escape the building to get out if she could even get loose from her bonds.

Time flowed by. The masked man returned, and Hilde was out of ideas. No option presented itself except the one they offered her.

"Will you tell me her e-mail address?"

Hilde nodded in defeat and hoped that all would turn out well.

The man smiled and awaited the information.

~@~

Lisa logged on to her e-mail. She looked down the list of new message and saw one from Hilde. She opened it to read and was shocked by its contents.

Miss Relena,

This is not from your friend Hilde but what I have to tell you concerns her.

Unknown to you, you have something that belongs to us. Your father put some information in your locket and we want it back. In exchange for what you carry, we will release your friend. She is currently safe as our "guest," but that could change.

We have arranged a location for the exchange to occur. Details will follow once you respond to this message.

Tell no one!!

Lisa had gone pale as she read the message. She could not believe what she was reading. She slowly read over it a second and third time. Finally she just stared at the letters on the screen.

"Hey, it is time to practice," called Duo as he entered the room and came upon the ashen Lisa.

He followed her stair. He had skimmed enough of the message to grab Lisa's hand when she moved to close the message before he could see it.

"This has to be some kind of joke," he whispered after he read the message.

"But what if it is not?" she asked as she looked up at him with tears forming in her eyes.

Once Dorothy and Quatre took over the company and the divorce was final, Lisa had though that everything would start looking up, but here was this. Her best friend was in trouble because of something she did not know she possessed. She did not know what to do. Duo already knew, and he would tell the others.

Duo gathered her up into his arms and gently stroking her back in reassurance.

"We will figure something out," he promised. "We will get her out of this. Don't respond to the message yet," he urged.

Lisa nodded she would not respond yet.

Duo logged her out and made her come with him. He had his arm wrapped around her waste, and she leaned against him for support. They went in search for the others.

Two sets of eyes watched the two move off toward the tent.

"She has read the message," said the owner of the pale blue eyes.

"That would be my guess," said the owner of the darker pair.

"We have orders to follow. We have to call him in."

The other nodded, and the two moved to do what they had to.

~@~

The others knew that there was something up as soon as Duo and Lisa entered the tent.

"We have to talk, now!" Duo stressed.

The others gathered around the two.

"What's happened?" asked Catherine eventually worried.

"Some place else," murmured Duo very seriously.

The five performers made their way to the Barton trailer. They scattered around the living room with anxious looks of concern on their faces.

"What's so important," demanded Wufei.

Lisa looked up at her friends and with an encouraging gesture from Duo, she began to tell them what happened.

"Do you know who sent it?" asked Wufei.

"I can make a few guesses from what I learned on my trip home," said Lisa. "If I am right, then it is the same organization you have been tracking down."

The door opened to the trailer and every one froze looking expectantly at the opening.

"Your guess would be right," said Heero as he entered the Barton abode.

Everyone was stunned to see Heero. He was the last person any of them expected. Two more forms followed him, closing the door behind them.

"Heero?!?!?" questioned Duo before he focused on the other two. "Sandy? Lucy? What are you doing here?"

"We are here to help," said Lucy

There was a murmur from everyone in the room. Things were beginning to happen quickly, and they were trying to take it all in.

"May we sit down?" asked Sandy.

Catherine nodded her O.K., and the two women pulled in two chairs from the kitchen.

"Heero, what do you mean she is right?" questioned Wufei as Heero began to unpack electronic equipment on the kitchen table.

"They will explain," was all the reply the other boy would give.

Wufei focused narrowed eyes on the two women who had joined their circle.

"You already know about Romefeller and OZ," stated Sandy as she flipped one of her twists back over her shoulder.

The group nodded and murmured they did.

"Lucy and I work for an organization that is trying to take them down for many years now."

"Does Heero work for it too?" asked the curious Duo.

"In a way," Sandy replied, "He is more of a freelance worker. He sends us info that he comes across that he thinks might be of interest to us. Much like he does for Wufei."

"How do we know you are not from Romefeller or OZ?" asked Trowa from his seat by his sister.

"That is just a call you will have to make," answered Sandy.

"If it helps," voiced Lucy, "I can tell you this. Our boss's name is Treize Khushrenada."

Lucy watched Lisa intently for her reaction. The name struck a nerve with Lisa. Everyone waited for Lisa to explain.

"He is a friend of Milliardo's that was helping him try to gain custody of me," she explained. "You know Milliardo then?" questioned Lisa.

"I went with him to a circus his sister had given him tickets to," Lucy explained.

Lisa's eyes lit up to know these were friends of her brother, and the tension in the room lessened slightly at her acceptance.

"We have been trying to take them down for years without much success," explained Sandy. "We finally managed to get a few of our men on the inside and know they have your friend Hilde."

"What is going to happen to her?" asked Lisa.

"That we don't know for sure, but for now she is safe," answered Lucy.

Some of the worry in Lisa's face faded.

"What is in my necklace that they want?" asked Lisa clutching the item in question.

"Your 'Father' put an information dot in it containing codes they need," explained Sandy.

Lisa's mind raced back to the time he had yanked the chain off her breaking it. That was the only opportunity he would have had to do that.

"We would like to see the dot, if you would let us," gently said Lucy.

"But… what about Hilde?" Lisa stuttered though.

"We will put it back," Lucy assured. "We just need Heero to examine it and see if the information can help us bring them down."

Lisa could see Wufei almost biting at the bit to see Romefeller fall. Hilde's life might be on the line, but if she did not help them, many other's might parish like Wufei's family had.

With her mind made up, she unclasped the chain and took the locket to Heero in the kitchen. He looked up at her approach and accepted the item. Carefully under Lisa's watchful eye, Heero extracted the item from under one of the pictures. He placed it in a drawer that pulled the item into his computer.

Heero swiftly typed, opening up files and programs, and analyzing the information.

"Will it help?" asked Lisa.

"It will take more time to analyze it," he stated before removing the dot and placing it back in its hiding place.

Heero handed the locket back to Lisa before loosing himself in his task at hand.

Lisa went back to her friends.

"He will be awhile," assured Sandy. "We should all go back to our normal routine. We can all meet again this evening and see what Heero had found."

The others grudgingly agreed and they did their best to appear as if nothing was unusual about the day.

~@~

Evening finally came. Lisa was relieved that they did not have a performance tonight. There was no way she could keep her mind on the act, and that meant danger for her and/or Duo.

When she returned to the Barton trailer, Heero was no where to be seen. She did find Catherine.

"We are meeting at Sandy and Lucy's," she explained before pulling Lisa out the door.

Lisa and Catherine entered the trailer. Lucy greeted them and directed them to sit while they waited for the others. Heero was already there. He gave them a slight nod as they settled themselves on the couch. The others soon entered, all anxiously anticipating what Heero had learned.

"Well?" asked Sandy as she looked pointedly at Heero.

He looked her in the eye.

"It contained some informative data, but most of the codes require a second part that I don't have."

Disappointment visibly swept across the room as hope faded from the faces' of those present.

"Would Mr. Catalonias have had the other parts of those codes?" asked Lisa.

"Yes," stated Heero.

"What could you do if you had the complete codes?" she continued questioning Heero.

The others in the room looked at her curious and confused at where she was going with it.

"It could get me no where or allow me full access to their systems," Heero answered.

"I see," Lisa slowly said thoughtfully. "I'll be back," she announced before bolting from her seat and out the door.

She returned a short time later carrying a box. She sat it on the coffee table, unlocked it, and offered it to Heero.

"See if there is anything in here that will help," she said.

Heero actually looked shocked as he began to sift through the contents.

"Where did you get this?" he asked softly.

"My sister gave it to me for safe keeping," she informed. "it's her insurance policy, but under the circumstances if it can bring down the entire organization then she would want us to use it."

The others wanted to know what was in the box. Heero pulled a disk out and inserted it into his ever-present laptop. The room was filled with anxious silence as Heero worked. After several minutes passed, a triumphant glint appeared in his eyes and a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth appeared.

"I think it just might get us what we want," he stated. "I will have to check it out some more, but it is promising, very promising."

Lisa let out a relieved breath as she looked around the room smiling.

"What do you have, Heero?" asked Sandy.

"I will tell you after I have some time to work with the new information," he responded. "May I keep this for the time being?" he asked Lisa as he held up the box.

"Yes," she replied and nodded her head.

Heero gathered his things and left for where ever he was currently set up. Those left in the room looked at each other lost and unsure of what they should do now. After a brief conversation, Sandy sent them all off to go to bed and promised she would let them know.

~@~

The next morning before breakfast, Heero returned looking very tired but pleased with himself. The group quickly assembled to get the newest report.

"We have them," he said smiling anticipatingly at the group. "With the information and codes from Sandy and Lucy's undercover associate, and what Lisa gave me yesterday, we can take both parts of the organization down."

Heero continued to outline what he had found, what records he had appropriated, and what they needed to do to accomplish their goal. Heero had already informed Treize of what he had found so plans could be made.

"Things will move swiftly from here," promised Lucy to Lisa.

Lisa nodded before they all shuffled off to breakfast. Wufei invited Heero to his place to eat, and he accepted.

As the Barton group entered their home, Jeff eyed them suspiciously. Over the course of the meal he got the entire story of what was happening out of them.

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Author's Note: I have a friend who's second daughter is due any day now and they are going to name her Lucrezia, a family name on her husbands side, and call her Lucy for short. Therefore, I could not resist giving Noin the name Lucy when she went undercover at the circus.