The Urchin: Part Eleven

By Banshi

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"Trowa, do you believe in dream interpretation?" Duo's question was so unexpected that it took a moment for Trowa's mind to catch up.

"Not really. There are too many different methods for me to put stock in any of them."

"So you don't think dreams mean anything?"

"I didn't say that." Trowa looked at his friend over the top of the file he was reading. Duo was chewing his lower lip, and looked like he was scrutinizing something. "Is there something specific bothering you?"

Duo went completely still, then he blushed. Trowa quirked an eyebrow in question, leaving Duo the option of ignoring it or not.

"Yes, but you don't need to worry about it." Duo went back to his own assigned reading with increased, and false, enthusiasm. Trowa puzzled over the short conversation for a few moments.

Maybe he wasn't the only one falling prey to strange flights of fancy. Judging by the look of Duo this morning, his experience hadn't been as calm or peaceful as Trowa's own. They all knew that nightmares had become the primary scar of the wars, for each of them. The only one who didn't seem to have a problem was Duo. Duo had once said that he didn't dream.

"Duo, I thought you said you never remembered your dreams." It was a deliberate misquote, and Trowa knew that Duo would rise to the bait.

"No. I said that I didn't have dreams. Sally said that I probably just didn't remember them."

"So why the sudden interest in dream interpretation and meaning?"

There was a long stretch of silence, and Trowa was worried that he had pushed too far, that Duo wouldn't speak again except to change the subject. And he was right, but the new subject wasn't something trivial as he had feared.

"I do realize that I kissed you, you know. I didn't think anything about it at the time, except to be surprised, 'cause Heero would'a decked me, and I always thought you reacted like him sometimes. You know...I meant it too."

And then Duo picked up his files and shuffled out of the house and onto the front stoop with them. This left Trowa staring at an empty kitchen with the beginnings of a grin on his face. It faltered and vanished quickly, but the warm glow of emotion lingered.

It may not be his dream-Duo, but this was at least a step closer to what he wanted with the real one.

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Heero downloaded files from the governmental database while Duo and Trowa were tackling the major players in the private sector. A major pharmaceuticals company and a toy manufacturer had both moved into the area recently. Right before the "vandalism" and subsequent crack- down had started.

None of them knew why a bunch of kids would be so important to any of the obvious parties, but refused to overlook anything. They had all seen too much screwy shit to leave anything to assumption.

Every cop on the colony had gotten a surprise background check, thanks to Wufei. Soon, the board members of the companies would also, though through less official channels. Courtesy of Heero Yuy.

As the file properties ran down the screen, Heero noticed some discrepancies with a couple of personnel files. He mentally tagged those files for careful review. He had yet to figure out if the disappearing playboy had anything to do with the current situation, but after the speech he had given at the gala, Heero wouldn't be surprised if he turned up on the colony.

After going through the files and transferring them to his own database he went back and followed all available pathways from the questionable personnel.

After hours of staring at personal histories, official files, school records, prison records. For the first time since Marimea, Heero was poking around in OZ files.

Nothing came of it. All of the records pointed to ex-soldiers and students with principles but little by the way of money or prospects. In fact, without the Gundam associated skills and mechanical genius, Duo's, Trowa's and his own files would read the same way.

Either there wasn't anything suspicious to find here, or the cover up was very good. Heero wasn't sure where to look next.

It was an unfamiliar feeling, and he didn't like it.

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Duo walked into his kitchen, saw Heero sitting at the table again with a scowl fit to melt gundanium on his face, and promptly turned around to leave again.

"Duo." Multiple dire threats in less than one actual word. Heero's specialty.

"Not until you're calm enough to not scare small children."

"It's important."

"So help me take some supplies to the Clinic. You can tell me after the walk."

"Hn." That would be an agreement in Heeroland.

"Good! Now shake a leg and help me with these boxes."

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"Well Duo! It's about time those supplies got here. Don't your friends in shipping understand the concept of overnight delivery?"

"They love you too Leslie." Duo sent a smile and a wink in her direction. Her blue eyes twinkled in response before she turned to the next crisis-in-the-making.

Heero raised an eyebrow at his braided friend, and received that same grin in return.

"So, Heero. What was so important?" Duo said over his shoulder as he walked into the supply tent.

"Just that I haven't found anything important. It's strange." Heero had to stop to catch his breath before hefting his box on top of the stacked cots.

"You think it's a smokescreen?"

Heero opened his mouth to answer, when he realized that neither he nor Trowa had told Duo about the guy at the gala. Now he wasn't sure if he should.

"Heero?"

Except Duo could read him like a book, and lying would get Duo angry with him.

"There's something we haven't told you." Heero stopped just short of continuing when Duo's eyes widened. He belatedly realized his mistake. He had said "we". If he hadn't been suddenly fearing for his life, Heero would have winced.

"'We'? As in 'I and Trowa'? That kind of 'we'?" Duo's voice got quieter with every question. Heero had always been ready to meet Death at any moment, but hadn't quite given it much thought since the Eve Wars. Now he was staring at eternity in a pair of very pissed indigo eyes, and all he could think was that he was glad he wasn't Trowa.

"Yes. Trowa and I. It didn't seem relevant before. I'm not sure it's relevant now, I haven't asked Trowa what he came up with." Heero had never prayed before, but found himself perilously close to doing so now.

The homicidal light in Duo's eyes faded as he thought about it. Then he turned away. "Alright, you two are forgiven, but you have to keep me up-to-date from now on."

"Hn. At the gala, there was a man, one of the sons of our hosts, and he displayed a strange disparity of knowledge, mostly about you. He knew that you had stolen Deathscyth, but not that I was the one who killed Noventa. He knew where you were from and about Maxwell Church, which I had to look up because you didn't tell anybody. That sort of thing."

Duo was pale, his clenched fists shaking with some deep emotion, probably rage. Heero waited for the storm to pass before saying the last part.

"What does he have to do with us and our work here?"

"Maybe nothing. A few days before I showed up here, he was erased from every computer database everywhere. The only records that he ever existed are on Trowa's laptop. We don't know how it's related, or if it's related, but it's something to be concerned about."

Duo nodded and left the tent without another word or a backwards glance. Heero stared dumbstruck at the tent flap for a moment before following.

He hadn't thought that Duo would be that affected.

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continued in part twelve