Disclaimers: The song is Fiona's, the boys belong to some production
company somewhere, not making any money from this,
you know the routine.
Spoilers: None this chapter.
Notes:
Feedback: Pretty please? With little chibis on top? (You
pick which ones ~_^) Post here, or you can e-mail me at
insanewritinggirl@yahoo.com.
//blah// thoughts
blah>> electronics
Never Let You Go
Chapter 10
by quelirain
| Oh help me but don't tell me to deny it
I've got to cleanse myself of all these lies 'till I'm good enough for him I've got a lot to lose and I'm bettin' high so I'm begging you Before it ends just tell me where to begin --Fiona Apple, "Criminal" |
Relena raised her head in time to see Duo slam through the kitchen door, then return to the table in the dining room. He plunked his laptop in front of him. Wufei appeared, drying his hands on a towel.
"What's going on?" Relena asked.
"I was too late." Duo popped a disk into his computer, then turned it so that everyone could see the video.
...has obtained live videotape confirming that Vice Foreign Minister Relena Peacecraft was sighted at the New York Spaceport...>>
"K'so," Wufei muttered.
"We should have just shot the reporters on sight," Duo grumbled. "It would have provided a hell of a distraction."
As seen in the tape,>> the anchor continued, the Vice Minister was escorted by two unidentified men, one in a Preventers uniform. We have not been able to identify the Vice Minister's companions at this time.>> The video playback was replaced with the face of the perfectly polished anchor. Both the Office of the Vice Minister and the Preventers have declined to comment on the situation...>>
"Quick work," Trowa commented.
"After seeing that, I contacted Milliardo," Duo said. "He said there
would be a press conference at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.
He'll talk to Lady Une tonight. I have no idea what they're going to
say about this." Duo turned to Wufei. "Did you even
tell Une that you were with Relena?"
Wufei frowned. "Une is aware of the situation, although I will contact her in light of recent events."
Relena rested her head in her hands. "You know, why don't you just let me stand out on a rooftop somewhere and yell for Heero? It worked well enough during the war."
Trowa and Wufei looked at each other as if considering her idea, but Duo glared at them. Once he was certain that the message had been understood, he returned his attention the the laptop in front of him. "No. Snipers."
A muffled snicker came from somewhere. Reflexively, Relena looked up to see from whom the sound had come but instead caught a side view of Duo's face. The normally tranquil violet eyes were alight with something unholy and wholly dangerous. His trademark grin had twisted into a manic grimace, his lips pressed together in a tight pink line that was reminscent of grapefruit pulp.
With a rapid shuffle, Wufei and Trowa found that they had things to take care of in rooms other than the dining area.
…no word yet from either the office of the Vice Foreign Minister or the Preventers. However, we have received confirmation from an anonymous source that neither Vice Minister Peacecraft nor her principal bodyguard, Heero Yuy, are at the Peacecraft home…>>
"They distributed this all over the network." Duo's low growl was almost lost underneath the voice of the anchor. "I hate reporters."
"You get used to it," Relena replied quietly.
Could this be linked to the rumors of injuries at the Peacecraft estate?>>
Relena turned the screen toward her. The same anchor from the video was questioning a young man standing outside the gates to Relena's home.
Well, Linda, the estate has refused to comment on the situation. However, there are multiple eyewitnesses who say they saw an ambulance enter and leave the estate late Monday afternoon. Some of these questions should be resolved at tomorrow morning's press conference.>>
Thank you, Ron.>> The anchor announced a commercial break.
Silently, Relena rested her head in her hands, resisting the temptation
to slam her forehead against the table. A few seconds
later, she felt gentle hands on her shoulders, squeezing tense muscles
tenderly.
"How many?" she asked bitterly. "First the war, then the politics, then Heero—how many people's lives am I going to ruin?"
Strong hands turned the chair, and she found herself looking down at
Duo, her hands on her knees and his hands over hers.
"Stop it. You can't blame yourself for what Heero or anyone else does.
You'll go insane if you take responsibility for
everything."
She shook her head. "Even if it's my fault? Even if I helped create
the crisis? Duo, I set myself up for this. I let it
happen."
"Shit happens. We need to focus on three things right now: keeping you
safe, finding Quatre, and dealing with Heero. Beat yourself up over it
later. We don't have time for that right now." Duo wiggled his eyebrows.
"That is, unless you're into that sort
of thing…"
She couldn't help it. She smiled. Duo always made her smile. "Maybe later."
"Promise?"
Duo's laptop beeped, then a carefully gender-neutral voice said, Incoming call.>>
"Well?" Duo asked, ignoring the computer.
Relena blushed. "Shouldn't you answer that?"
"Not until I get a straight answer from you."
His eyes bore into her unflinchingly. She closed her eyes to escape them. "D-don't you want to see who it is?" she asked.
"Look at me." She felt his hand on her chin, but she kept her eyes closed. "Open your eyes, Relena."
She opened her eyes and saw him still squatting there, looking up at her, a smile on his face and a gleam in in his eye. "We're going to handle this, Relena. Trust me."
The world blurred. She closed her eyes. Gentle lips pressed against
her cheek, tasting the saltiness there, then pressed against
each eyelid, then her forehead.
The computer beeped again. You've reached Shinigami Central. Leave a message after the tone, or I'll hunt you down personally.>>
"Duo, this is Quatre. Nasira said you called--"
~owari chapter 10~