Duo hastily exited the engine room, barely escaping with his dignity intact. Despite her earlier complaints that he was too young for her, Ellen had seemed determined to corner him. "Scary woman." He muttered, thanking whatever powers above that Hilde was far away on L2. She wasn't the jealous type, but, if she had an inkling of what Duo had just escaped, he wasn't sure that even the best doctors could put him back together again.
He was too busy thanking the celestial deities to notice where he was going and as a result, he slammed right into someone.
They both hit the floor with a thud and pained exclamations. Duo worked on catching his breath before looking to see who he had collided with. Hannah sat on the floor near him, rubbing her chest where he had hit her.
With a gasp, he jumped to his feet and uttered as many different apologies as he could think of. He quickly offered his hand and hauled her to her feet.
"It's all right, don't worry about it!" She exclaimed, waving her hands. "Honestly, Jack, you didn't hurt me…" She smiled slightly and began to walk away.
"What did you call me?" He asked her, his eyes wide.
"Duo." She turned and regarded him quizzically.
"No, you didn't. You called me Jack." He said.
Her face paled ever so slightly. "I did? Well, I didn't mean to, you're obviously Duo." She said, avoiding his stare.
"Who's Jack?" He asked curiously.
Her face went from white to pink. "Don't worry about it, Duo. It was just a slip of the tongue." Without further comment, she whirled on her heel and marched down the hall.
Duo watched her leave with an uneasy feeling in his gut. He didn't know exactly why, but she seemed so…, he scratched his head and tried to come up with a way to describe it. "Familiar." He whispered. He had felt it since seeing her on the view screen in Lady Une's office. He frowned and picked on this feeling in his mind. Why did she seem so familiar? And why did she seem to avoid him? Duo shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking towards his room. It bothered him, this not knowing, and if Duo Maxwell was anything, he was a man of action. He would find out. Curiosity killed the cat, Hilde would say. Duo smirked. "But satisfaction brought it back." He whispered and turned around to find Hannah's room.
It didn't take him long to find it. Just as he rounded a bend, a door whooshed open and Hannah rushed out, her arms full of papers. He ducked into a nearby alcove and watched. Another woman, one that Duo didn't know, stood by the door, obviously waiting for the doctor.
"Hurry up, Doc. They're waiting." She said, pointing to her watch.
Hannah made a face at her and shoved some of the papers into the woman's arms. "Don't nag me, Pai. They can't start the meeting without us."
The woman huffed and the two walked briskly down the hall in the opposite direction. Duo grinned and cracked his knuckles. It was almost too easy.
He waited a few minutes and then quickly made his way to the door. There didn't seem to be any kind of locks or security system. With a final glance in both directions to make sure no one was coming, he pushed the red button and slipped inside.
It was pitch black in the room and he had a few moments of groping blindly along the wall until he found the light switch. Harsh lights flooded the room. He looked around, appraisingly. It was Spartan in its décor. A single bed was pushed against the far wall, the sheets and blankets tangled up in the center. A pair of pants was flung carelessly over the only chair in the room, which sat in front of a small metal desk. The only other furniture in the room was a battered metal dresser. A mirror hung over the bureau in a dark wooden frame. There were pictures taped onto the mirror and Duo found himself drawn to them.
The first one was obviously of the crew of the Ryouzai. He recognized Hannah, Mike, Ellen, Eric and the woman from earlier named Pai. There were several others, as well. They sat around a large wooden table in what was clearly a bar. Some of the people had gathered around Hannah and Mike so that their backs wouldn't be in the shot. Everyone was smiling and holding glasses of beer and other liquor. He wondered what they were celebrating. His sharp eyes picked up the imprint of writing on the picture. Carefully, he peeled it off the mirror and flipped it over. Written in a slightly illegible scrawl was: 'My birthday on L1. Charlie's. 6/20/196-Ask Mike what happened.'
Duo grinned and stuck the picture back onto the glass. He turned his attention to the next photo, which was obviously older. A woman with a slight resemblance to Hannah smiled haughtily into the camera. Her mahogany colored hair was done in an elaborate up-do and she wore what looked like a very expensive emerald green silk evening gown. Diamonds glinted coldly on her throat and in her ears. Standing beside her in an equally expensive looking gown was a teenage Hannah. She looked fifteen or sixteen at the most. Her gown was white silk and pearls decorated her throat and were wound into her hair.
The two stood next to each other, the older woman had one pale, slim hand touching Hannah's right arm.
Duo reasoned that this photo probably had something written on the back, so he once again skinned the photograph carefully off the mirror. On the back, written in the same handwriting as the bar picture was: 'Mom and me, Officer's Ball. Presidential Palace, Earth 12/23/175'
He flipped the photo over again and studied the younger version of Hannah. She was smiling, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. He noticed that part of a man's military uniform was visible next to Hannah and that a man's hand rested on her left arm. He looked at the edge of the photo and realized that it had been torn. He wondered who the man had been. Maybe her father? He shook his head. She was obviously the daughter of someone important, how did she end up on the Ryouzai, engaging in what were probably illegal activities?
He shrugged and stuck the photo back, his eyes already trailing to the next one. His mouth went dry as he stared at it. It took him a moment before he could reach a slightly shaky hand to the mirror to peel it off. It was straight forward enough, a happy young family standing in a park of some sort. Hannah was smiling broadly into the camera and this time, the smile reached her eyes. Her dark brown hair was loose and some of it seemed to be blown by an invisible wind. She was wearing a red t-shirt and white shorts. Nestled against her hip was a small child, no older than a year. The toddler squinted into the camera and gave a gap toothed smile. His overalls were smeared with dirt, as was his face. One pudgy hand gripped Hannah, the other held a ratty looking bear. But it was neither of them that had Duo so shocked. It was the man standing next to them, with one arm wrapped around Hannah's waist. Clad in blue jeans and a black t-shirt, he had short messy dark brown hair and laughing blue eyes. His mouth was stretched into a large grin and his free hand was stretched forward, giving a victory salute. He looked exactly like Duo. Swallowing, he flipped the photo over. 'Jack, baby J and me. Rare day out. L2, 5/14/181', was scrawled on the back.
Jack. She had called him Jack and now he could see why. He placed the photo back in its original position and looked at the last one stuck to the mirror. It was a wedding photo, or at least it appeared to be at first glance. Duo peered closer and frowned. Hannah was wearing a white lab coat splattered with blood, clutching what appeared to be hastily assembled paper flowers. Standing next to her in a black, slightly tattered jumpsuit with a cast on his arm and a black eye, was Jack. Both were smiling, but appeared tired. He didn't have to turn this photo over. Written on the bottom was a single line: 'Wedding Day. 1/15/179'.
He stared at this odd assemblage of photos, his eyes returning again and again to the face of the man who could be a dead ringer for him. Jack. He had solved that mystery, but another reared its head. Where were Jack and the baby? Why did he still feel as though there was more to discover?
"Find anything interesting?" A voice asked him. He jumped and turned around, wondering how long she had been standing there.
Hannah leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. "Well?"
Duo cleared his throat. "I know this looks bad…" He began.
She laughed. "Luckily, I keep the jewels in the safe." She said her voice heavy with sarcasm.
"I didn't come here to steal anything…" He stuttered, turning red.
"Of course not. Did Lady Une send you? Was she not satisfied with Shiro's explanation?" Hannah pushed off the wall and walked towards him, her face was impassive, but her eyes were angry. "I don't know why she thinks she can't trust me, actually, I do know why. But if I wanted Relena dead, she would have died on the operating table."
Duo raised his hands. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just…"
"She probably hand picked you for the job. Find a guy who looks like Jack to unhinge me, was that the plan? Then, when I've decided that I'm crazy, go through my room and find out how I'm helping dear old Lucas." She spat.
Duo shook his head, honestly confused and not a little frightened by her anger.
"Well, tell that venal bitch that I haven't spoken to my brother since my trial, which was nearly fifteen years ago." She was now close enough to Duo to hit him, and she looked ready to. Her fists were clenched at her sides.
He waved his hands. "I'm not here because of Lady Une, I swear." He said, meeting her eyes.
She arched her eyebrow again. "Then why are you here?"
He blushed and looked down at his toes. "I wanted to know why you seemed spooked whenever you looked at me…and why you called me Jack." He looked back up at her. She seemed genuinely surprised.
"What?" She leaned back slightly and stared at him.
"I don't know why. Normally, I don't care what people think of me, but for some reason, I wanted to know…" He trailed off and looked in the direction of the photographs. "I look just like him. It's eerie, really."
She followed his eyes and nodded. "Very eerie." She replied softly.
"What happened to him?" Duo asked carefully.
She didn't answer, but walked up to the bureau and plucked the family photo from the mirror and stared at it for a moment. "He died. Fifteen years ago. He was executed by the Alliance for sabotage." She said sadly.
"And the baby?" He crossed his fingers, hoping not to push his luck.
"I don't know." She replied. "I suppose he's dead, although I don't really want to believe it. But the orphanage on L2 where they put him while I was in prison was blown up and I've never found a trace of him…" She put the picture down on the bureau and looked up at Duo. He could see the anguish in her eyes and felt sad for her, he wanted to leave her alone, but he had to find out more, had to see if he could answer the question that had popped into his head when he first saw that picture of Jack.
"Your son…he would be…how old?"
"17." She said dully.
Duo frowned. "That's the same age as me." He said carefully, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. "And I spent a few years in an orphanage on L2."
She stared at him for a long moment before opening her mouth to respond.
"Doc! There's a couple of ships heading for us and they're not responding to our hails!" Mike's voice boomed over the intercom, making them both jump.
"I'll be right there!" Hannah replied and turned to leave. "We'll finish this discussion later." She said over her shoulder to Duo.
He was too busy thanking the celestial deities to notice where he was going and as a result, he slammed right into someone.
They both hit the floor with a thud and pained exclamations. Duo worked on catching his breath before looking to see who he had collided with. Hannah sat on the floor near him, rubbing her chest where he had hit her.
With a gasp, he jumped to his feet and uttered as many different apologies as he could think of. He quickly offered his hand and hauled her to her feet.
"It's all right, don't worry about it!" She exclaimed, waving her hands. "Honestly, Jack, you didn't hurt me…" She smiled slightly and began to walk away.
"What did you call me?" He asked her, his eyes wide.
"Duo." She turned and regarded him quizzically.
"No, you didn't. You called me Jack." He said.
Her face paled ever so slightly. "I did? Well, I didn't mean to, you're obviously Duo." She said, avoiding his stare.
"Who's Jack?" He asked curiously.
Her face went from white to pink. "Don't worry about it, Duo. It was just a slip of the tongue." Without further comment, she whirled on her heel and marched down the hall.
Duo watched her leave with an uneasy feeling in his gut. He didn't know exactly why, but she seemed so…, he scratched his head and tried to come up with a way to describe it. "Familiar." He whispered. He had felt it since seeing her on the view screen in Lady Une's office. He frowned and picked on this feeling in his mind. Why did she seem so familiar? And why did she seem to avoid him? Duo shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking towards his room. It bothered him, this not knowing, and if Duo Maxwell was anything, he was a man of action. He would find out. Curiosity killed the cat, Hilde would say. Duo smirked. "But satisfaction brought it back." He whispered and turned around to find Hannah's room.
It didn't take him long to find it. Just as he rounded a bend, a door whooshed open and Hannah rushed out, her arms full of papers. He ducked into a nearby alcove and watched. Another woman, one that Duo didn't know, stood by the door, obviously waiting for the doctor.
"Hurry up, Doc. They're waiting." She said, pointing to her watch.
Hannah made a face at her and shoved some of the papers into the woman's arms. "Don't nag me, Pai. They can't start the meeting without us."
The woman huffed and the two walked briskly down the hall in the opposite direction. Duo grinned and cracked his knuckles. It was almost too easy.
He waited a few minutes and then quickly made his way to the door. There didn't seem to be any kind of locks or security system. With a final glance in both directions to make sure no one was coming, he pushed the red button and slipped inside.
It was pitch black in the room and he had a few moments of groping blindly along the wall until he found the light switch. Harsh lights flooded the room. He looked around, appraisingly. It was Spartan in its décor. A single bed was pushed against the far wall, the sheets and blankets tangled up in the center. A pair of pants was flung carelessly over the only chair in the room, which sat in front of a small metal desk. The only other furniture in the room was a battered metal dresser. A mirror hung over the bureau in a dark wooden frame. There were pictures taped onto the mirror and Duo found himself drawn to them.
The first one was obviously of the crew of the Ryouzai. He recognized Hannah, Mike, Ellen, Eric and the woman from earlier named Pai. There were several others, as well. They sat around a large wooden table in what was clearly a bar. Some of the people had gathered around Hannah and Mike so that their backs wouldn't be in the shot. Everyone was smiling and holding glasses of beer and other liquor. He wondered what they were celebrating. His sharp eyes picked up the imprint of writing on the picture. Carefully, he peeled it off the mirror and flipped it over. Written in a slightly illegible scrawl was: 'My birthday on L1. Charlie's. 6/20/196-Ask Mike what happened.'
Duo grinned and stuck the picture back onto the glass. He turned his attention to the next photo, which was obviously older. A woman with a slight resemblance to Hannah smiled haughtily into the camera. Her mahogany colored hair was done in an elaborate up-do and she wore what looked like a very expensive emerald green silk evening gown. Diamonds glinted coldly on her throat and in her ears. Standing beside her in an equally expensive looking gown was a teenage Hannah. She looked fifteen or sixteen at the most. Her gown was white silk and pearls decorated her throat and were wound into her hair.
The two stood next to each other, the older woman had one pale, slim hand touching Hannah's right arm.
Duo reasoned that this photo probably had something written on the back, so he once again skinned the photograph carefully off the mirror. On the back, written in the same handwriting as the bar picture was: 'Mom and me, Officer's Ball. Presidential Palace, Earth 12/23/175'
He flipped the photo over again and studied the younger version of Hannah. She was smiling, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. He noticed that part of a man's military uniform was visible next to Hannah and that a man's hand rested on her left arm. He looked at the edge of the photo and realized that it had been torn. He wondered who the man had been. Maybe her father? He shook his head. She was obviously the daughter of someone important, how did she end up on the Ryouzai, engaging in what were probably illegal activities?
He shrugged and stuck the photo back, his eyes already trailing to the next one. His mouth went dry as he stared at it. It took him a moment before he could reach a slightly shaky hand to the mirror to peel it off. It was straight forward enough, a happy young family standing in a park of some sort. Hannah was smiling broadly into the camera and this time, the smile reached her eyes. Her dark brown hair was loose and some of it seemed to be blown by an invisible wind. She was wearing a red t-shirt and white shorts. Nestled against her hip was a small child, no older than a year. The toddler squinted into the camera and gave a gap toothed smile. His overalls were smeared with dirt, as was his face. One pudgy hand gripped Hannah, the other held a ratty looking bear. But it was neither of them that had Duo so shocked. It was the man standing next to them, with one arm wrapped around Hannah's waist. Clad in blue jeans and a black t-shirt, he had short messy dark brown hair and laughing blue eyes. His mouth was stretched into a large grin and his free hand was stretched forward, giving a victory salute. He looked exactly like Duo. Swallowing, he flipped the photo over. 'Jack, baby J and me. Rare day out. L2, 5/14/181', was scrawled on the back.
Jack. She had called him Jack and now he could see why. He placed the photo back in its original position and looked at the last one stuck to the mirror. It was a wedding photo, or at least it appeared to be at first glance. Duo peered closer and frowned. Hannah was wearing a white lab coat splattered with blood, clutching what appeared to be hastily assembled paper flowers. Standing next to her in a black, slightly tattered jumpsuit with a cast on his arm and a black eye, was Jack. Both were smiling, but appeared tired. He didn't have to turn this photo over. Written on the bottom was a single line: 'Wedding Day. 1/15/179'.
He stared at this odd assemblage of photos, his eyes returning again and again to the face of the man who could be a dead ringer for him. Jack. He had solved that mystery, but another reared its head. Where were Jack and the baby? Why did he still feel as though there was more to discover?
"Find anything interesting?" A voice asked him. He jumped and turned around, wondering how long she had been standing there.
Hannah leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. "Well?"
Duo cleared his throat. "I know this looks bad…" He began.
She laughed. "Luckily, I keep the jewels in the safe." She said her voice heavy with sarcasm.
"I didn't come here to steal anything…" He stuttered, turning red.
"Of course not. Did Lady Une send you? Was she not satisfied with Shiro's explanation?" Hannah pushed off the wall and walked towards him, her face was impassive, but her eyes were angry. "I don't know why she thinks she can't trust me, actually, I do know why. But if I wanted Relena dead, she would have died on the operating table."
Duo raised his hands. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just…"
"She probably hand picked you for the job. Find a guy who looks like Jack to unhinge me, was that the plan? Then, when I've decided that I'm crazy, go through my room and find out how I'm helping dear old Lucas." She spat.
Duo shook his head, honestly confused and not a little frightened by her anger.
"Well, tell that venal bitch that I haven't spoken to my brother since my trial, which was nearly fifteen years ago." She was now close enough to Duo to hit him, and she looked ready to. Her fists were clenched at her sides.
He waved his hands. "I'm not here because of Lady Une, I swear." He said, meeting her eyes.
She arched her eyebrow again. "Then why are you here?"
He blushed and looked down at his toes. "I wanted to know why you seemed spooked whenever you looked at me…and why you called me Jack." He looked back up at her. She seemed genuinely surprised.
"What?" She leaned back slightly and stared at him.
"I don't know why. Normally, I don't care what people think of me, but for some reason, I wanted to know…" He trailed off and looked in the direction of the photographs. "I look just like him. It's eerie, really."
She followed his eyes and nodded. "Very eerie." She replied softly.
"What happened to him?" Duo asked carefully.
She didn't answer, but walked up to the bureau and plucked the family photo from the mirror and stared at it for a moment. "He died. Fifteen years ago. He was executed by the Alliance for sabotage." She said sadly.
"And the baby?" He crossed his fingers, hoping not to push his luck.
"I don't know." She replied. "I suppose he's dead, although I don't really want to believe it. But the orphanage on L2 where they put him while I was in prison was blown up and I've never found a trace of him…" She put the picture down on the bureau and looked up at Duo. He could see the anguish in her eyes and felt sad for her, he wanted to leave her alone, but he had to find out more, had to see if he could answer the question that had popped into his head when he first saw that picture of Jack.
"Your son…he would be…how old?"
"17." She said dully.
Duo frowned. "That's the same age as me." He said carefully, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. "And I spent a few years in an orphanage on L2."
She stared at him for a long moment before opening her mouth to respond.
"Doc! There's a couple of ships heading for us and they're not responding to our hails!" Mike's voice boomed over the intercom, making them both jump.
"I'll be right there!" Hannah replied and turned to leave. "We'll finish this discussion later." She said over her shoulder to Duo.