Barton's Legacy
By West Wind
Rating: PG
Summary: Two Preventer agents show up to inform Catherine that Trowa was injured in an accident during a training outing, but there is more to it than a mere accident.
Disclaimer: Don't own the world of Gundam Wing just like to visit.
~ Chapter 3 ~
The smell of cooking breakfast woke Duo.
"Quatre cooking breakfast?" Duo pondered. "Smells good. Hope he made enough for two."
Duo lazily stretched before crawling out of his bed. He glanced around his messy room before snagging his black robe thrown over the back of the chair. After loosely tying it closed, Duo opened the door and proceeded downstairs yawning and scratching his head. He entered the kitchen.
Quatre sat at the table with a plate of food before him and reading the paper. He was already dressed and ready for the day even after the late night.
"Quatre said the smell of food would bring you down," said Catherine looking up smiling from her seat across from Quatre. "Let me get you a plate."
Catherine stood and filled another plate with food while Duo took a seat beside Quatre.
"You forgot she was here, didn't you?" Quatre leaned over and whispered to Duo.
He had, but he did not respond to Quatre's question.
"Thanks," he murmured as Catherine placed the plate before him.
He dug into the delicious food before him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The four ex-pilots entered one of the smaller conference rooms at Preventer HQ. They closed the door and got down to business.
"Someone has been hacking into our system," Heero started looking at each of the other three. "I have found their trail, but not who. Without them actually trying to gain information, I can't track them, but I have set up new security measures incase they try again," an evil smile crossed his face. "From what I can tell they didn't get very far, but they still got into some of the lesser restricted files. I have to sort through data for more answers. Wufei?"
"Someone was in the truck the night before Trowa set out," Wufei informed, "and Trowa's access code was used to gain entrance. I can find no hint of who the culprit is."
"That's because he was in a stealth suit," Duo casually explained and three pairs of interested eyes turned to him. "Of course, it was no where as good as what Deathscythe had," Duo continued, pride of his old Gundam still showing through after all the years. "It started malfunctioning as he left. My guess the energy source was beginning to fail. There was an odd shifting in the shadows as the suit began to fail reveling parts of a human form, but you have to know what you are looking at to know that."
Duo leaned back in his chair with hands behind his head, a self-important smile on his face.
"That explains why I could not find any sigh of the truck or building being entered," said Wufei.
"What have you learned, Quatre?"
"Not a lot. I got Une's report, forensics' report, and talked to a few of the cadets."
Quatre summarized what Mark had told him.
"One of the men thought he saw movement on the ridge not long before the explosion. I thought I would check that out today," Quatre finished.
"Take Wufei with you," suggested Heero.
Quatre and Wufei both nodded.
"I'll see what I can learn from my queries," Heero continued.
"Let me guess, I'm with Catherine," Duo surmised.
"Yeah, and see what you can find on recent purchases of stealth suits."
"Will do," chirped Duo
The four men stood to leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quatre and Wufei drove out to the sight of the insolent. Not even the remains of the truck were left after the Preventer team finished combing the area for clues, taking pictures, and hulling evidence to the lab for examination.
"Which ridge?" asked Wufei as they stepped out of the jeep and surveyed the area.
"The one up there," pointed Quatre to his left.
The two men trudged up the incline to get to the top. Their boots sank into and slipped on the mud from yesterday's rain as they moved forward. The height gave them a great view of where the camp had been set up. The chard black spot where the ammo truck exploded stood out on the green ground below.
Wufei examined the ground.
"There was a set of tracks up here," pointed Wufei to the washed out indentations in a spot of mud.
"But, there is no way to tell who's they are," said Quatre examining the imprint.
Wufei indicated his agreement with a throaty noise, and the two continued down the ridge.
Their search found nothing new.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That afternoon
"Well?" asked Heero of the other three in the room.
"Nothing new," Wufei said disgruntled. "I have tracked all leads and found nothing. If I do, it points back to Barton. Quatre and I found nothing unusual at the ridge."
Wufei crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair report finished.
"I have checked the system for tampering, and found no additional breaches. I then traced through the records to find what the intruder accessed," Heero reported. "It looks like the hackers goal was the personnel records, but did not get there."
"If the hacker has Trowa's ID number he could have gotten the information using it," pointed out Duo.
"Thought of that," Heero said looking right at Duo. "That's why I checked what personnel records Trowa had accessed in the past month." Heero took a brief pause. "All of our personnel records have been accessed using his ID."
Heero indicated those in the room.
"Are we the only ones?" asked Quatre shifting to become more comfortable.
"Ours, Trowa's, and Lady Une's," Heero answered.
Quatre visibly flinched at Lady Une's name in the list.
"So this person knows where we live and our past history," summarized Wufei.
"Why would they need that?" asked Duo placing his elbow on the table and dropping his chin into his hand.
"That's what we need to find out," answered Heero glancing around the table.
"Where do we go from here?" asked Wufei.
"We have exhausted the leads we have," Quatre pointed out.
"We still have one. Did you find anything on the stealth suit?" Heero asked Duo.
"I could not find anything, but Howard's grandson is looking into it for me," Duo answered leaning back in his chair. "He said it might take a few days. If Rex can't find the information, no one can."
"Just keep our eyes and ears open. Stay on your toes," responded Heero. "If they are after Trowa, they will try again, and we need to be there to stop it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo stood at the post that he had been at for the past three days. He stood watch over Trowa and Catherine. Somehow, he had been appointed her official keeper since he and Quatre brought her in. He showed her around town and kept her company at the hospital as she sat beside her unresponsive brother. Currently she had fallen asleep with her head on Trowa's bed.
The doctor said that Trowa was improving, but he was still mostly unresponsive. At times he was barley conscious and would start trying to pull at the tubs attacked to his face. The drugs they had him on probably did not help his state.
Duo was getting bored of watching the two sleeping people, so he started counting the number of bricks that made up the wall. He had counted to 74 when movement caught his eye.
Trowa's arm moved to gently rest on Catherine's shoulder before questioning, green eyes tried to focus on Duo.
"Trowa?" Catherine gently squeaked out with joy as she sat up and took his hand in hers. "Trowa!" she said delighted as he looked at her.
His other hand moved to his face feeling the tubs used to aid his breathing.
"Don't mess with it," Catherine ordered as she gently pulled his hand away from his face. "If you don't, the nurses will strap your arms down.
"Do you remember what happened?" she softly asked.
He indicated that he was unsure with the twisting of his flat extended hand in a so-so gesture.
"I'll tell the nurse that he is awake and responsive," Duo said and moved into the hall far enough to flag down one of the nurses.
The afternoon nurse caught sight of him and indicated she was on her way. Duo moved back into the room filled with Catherine's excitement. There was a joy in her chatter that had been absent from her earlier talks to the unconscious Trowa. Her delight was contagious, and Duo could not help but grin.
The nurse jostled Duo as she bustled past. Duo shifted his weight to his back foot to keep from falling.
"Welcome back, Mr. Barton," cheerfully said the nurse as she held her fingers lightly to his wrist.
Satisfied with his pulse, she checked his other vital signs.
"I called the doctor, so he should be here when he can," she said.
Trowa motioned to the mangle of tubes shoved up his nose and down his throat.
"We will take them out after we run some tests verifying you can breathe on your own," she assured. "I am impressed, usually the first thing a patient dose is try to pull them out. We end up strapping their hands down."
Trowa's eyes darted to Catherine briefly. He received an 'I told you' look.
"Someone will be in to check on you later," the nurse informed them before tending to her other duties.
"Hey, buddy," Duo said walking up to the bedside. "Good to see you awake."
Duo gave Trowa's shoulder a pat. Trowa acknowledged his housemate with a nod of his head.
"The ammo truck exploded, and you got caught in the blast," Duo explained seeing the questioning look in Trowa's eyes. "That was four days ago."
Duo listed the injuries Trowa had received and their prognosis.
Trowa's eyes focused on Catherine when Duo finished.
"Duo and Quatre came and got me the morning after," she said. "I have been staying in your room. Quatre and Duo have made sure I am well cared for.
Trowa nodded and squeezed her hand.
Catherine's stomach rumbled. She placed her free hand on her abdomen and smiled sheepishly.
Trowa gave her a gentle shove to get her to go eat. He settled back into the pillows, eyes drifting shut. Moments later his green eyes peeked through the slit of his eyelids. Trowa shot a determined look at Duo and motioned to Catherine.
"Catherine," Duo softly, "we should let him rest and get a bit to eat."
Catherine reluctantly agreed and moved for the door.
"We'll be back," Duo assured as he paused in the doorway.
Trowa nodded before his eyes closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The elevator stopped at the main floor. Its occupants swayed with the change of movement. A soft ding preceded the doors opening. Duo motioned for Catherine to exit first. She stepped into the hall with Duo closely behind her. His hand on her shoulder halted her progress as she turned into the hall to the all too familiar cafeteria.
"Do we have to eat there again," he whined.
She turned blue-gray eyes on him. The smell of food wafting down the hall caused her stomach to make its presence known once more.
"It's close," she pointed out. "They can easily find us if something happens to Trowa."
"They have my phone number to contact us if they need to," he pointed out. "I have to get out, see the sky, breath fresh air. It's after one, the food joints should not be busy," he continued to argue his case. "Just down the road is a whole string of restaurants."
Catherine looked toward the cafeteria before giving in.
"Good!" Duo said happily. "Let's walk. I am tired of standing still."
As they exited the building and walked down the sidewalk, Catherine had to agree with Duo. She had been siting far too long. Her ignored mussels delighted with the simple task of walking. The sunlight warmed her skin and caused her to squint till they adjusted. The warm breeze whipping around her carried the fragrance of spring. It was refreshing after the sterile air of the hospital. She lazily stretched her arms above her head as she soaked in her surroundings.
Duo, who had continued walking, paused when he noticed his companion's absence. He watched her elongate her body exposing her curves in the process. She dropped her arms back to her side.
"Told you we needed out of there," he smiled.
She closed the space between them and threaded her arm through his.
"Yes, you were right," she agreed. "Now let's get something to eat!"
She pulled him in the direction of the restaurant signs, and he happily followed her lead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo placed the plastic tray on the table and slid into the booth opposite Catherine. She snagged her sandwich off the tray and hungrily took a bite. Duo paused watching her before starting on his own sandwich.
"I wonder how long until they let him out?" pondered Duo.
Setting her drink back on the table, Catherine said, "I hope not long."
Duo nodded as he stuffed a handful of fries into his mouth.
"You know, over the past few days together I have told you all about my life at the circus, but I have not learned much about you. Do you have any siblings?" Catherine asked while Duo chewed the fries.
"No," Duo answered after swallowing his mouthful of food.
"What are your parents like?" she continued questioning between bites.
"I don't remember them," Duo answered. "Ya' see, I never knew my parents. I grew up on the streets of L2."
There was the look. It was the look of pity for his childhood and lack of family. He hated that look. Their pity did him no good. They were not there when he was starving or his friends were killed. They did not take him in when he was dressed in rags. It had been a hard life, but Duo did not regret it. Because of it and what it taught him, he was forged and tempered to become Deathscythe's pilot and helped establish peace on earth and in space. That was something he felt privileged to be a part of.
Duo braced himself for the coming "comforting" words but was surprised to see a look of understanding in Catherine's eyes.
"It's hard not to have one's parents around isn't it?" she said in her soft understanding voice. "At least I remember what mine looked like," she sighed heavily before putting a smile on her face.
"When did you loose your parents?" Duo asked surprised to find common ground other than Trowa with the circus performer.
"I think I was around seven or eight. We were traveling to join up with the circus when we were caught in the middle of a mobile suit battle. Our wagon was hit. Triton and I were thrown from the wagon. Mom and Dad did not survive," she narrated.
"Triton?" Duo questioned.
"My younger brother," she explained.
"What happened to him?" Duo asked; even though he had a bad feeling he could already guess.
"I don't know. They never found him. I still hold onto hope that he is out there someplace and is living a happy life. The ironic part is I could pass him on the street and never know it was him," she laughed dejectedly.
"So, you adopted Trowa as his replacement?"
"In a way, I guess I have. The circus became my family after my parents' death, everyone looking out for other members, some more than others. When I started working with Trowa, he started off as an enigma to me. He was so cold and distant, yet I saw in him someone longing for a family," she leaned forward and cocked her head at Duo who was intently listening. "He reminded me of Triton, and I adopted him."
She sat up and waved a finger at him.
"We are supposed to be talking about you, and here we are on me again.
Duo just smirked and shrugged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Catherine waited bouncing anxiously for Dr. Peterson to finish examining Trowa after her lunch with Duo. She would look at him hopefully with each murmur he made but was disappointed as he jotted down something on the chart.
Dr. Peterson poked and questioned Trowa more before replacing the clipboard by Trowa's bed.
"From the tests ran earlier, there appears to be no brain damage. Everything else looks good with no lasting damage. I want to get you up and moving," he said to Trowa. "After that, we will see about sending you home."
Catherine latched onto her brother joyfully.
"You get to come home soon," she rejoiced.
Trowa placed a hand on hers with a nod and a smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days later, Dr. Peterson deemed Trowa fit to go home.
Quatre helped Trowa out of the car while Catherine opened the front door. Trowa moved stiffly up the sidewalk and into the house. Catherine immediately started fussing over him, and he let her do it rather than fight with her. It never did any good anyway.
"Why don't you sit down right here, Trowa," said Catherine indicating the recliner in the living room.
Trowa, feeling more exhausted than he expected, sat in the padded chair.
"Do you need a blanket?" Catherine asked seconds before retrieving the blanket folded across the back of the couch and tossing it across his lap. "Are you hungry?"
"No, but I would like some water," Trowa answered.
"I'll get you some," she said before dashing out of the room.
Quatre sat on the couch with a wide grin stuck on his face. Trowa accusingly glared at Quatre for finding the situation humorous. Quatre's smile only widened more. Trowa defeatedly leaned back in his chair.
"It's only because she cares," said Quatre.
"I know," softly and neutrally said Trowa.
"Here you go," said Catherine as she offered Trowa a glass of water.
She watched him intently as he took a sip. She sat down on the couch. Her eyes were glued to him to see if he needed anything else.
"He is there in the flesh, Catherine" laughed Quatre. "He is not going to just vanish out of the chair."
Catherine reddened at Quatre's teasing.
"It… it's just that … he's here… I almost lost him again," she stuttered. "I don't want to lose him," she whispered as she dropped her eyes to her lap.
"You won't," Trowa tenderly said as he placed a hand on her hand.
"But you came close," she wailed with fear and grief.
She looked up at Trowa with tears glistening like dew in the morning sun on her cheeks.
"Don't cry, Cathy," softly comforted Trowa as he sat on the edge of his seat and pushed away a tearstain.
"Trowa!" she cried in a mixture of lament and joy as she launched herself at him.
She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as if he were her most prized possession and let the stress of the situation show. Trowa returned her hug pulling her into his lap where she cried tears of relief on his shoulder.
Quatre, knowing when to exit, slipped out of the room during the emotional exchange.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That evening all five pilots were gathered in Trowa's living room. Catherine placed a try of drinks and finger food on the coffee table.
"Thought you might like some refreshments," she smiled glancing around at the quiet men in the room. "I can tell when I'm not wanted," she light heartedly said as she turned to walk out. "I will be up in Trowa's room reading if anyone needs me."
The room was quiet as they listened to Catherine's footsteps fade up the stairway. Once she was safely away, Quatre was the first to speak.
"So what do you remember?" Quatre asked Trowa.
Trowa rubbed the side of his head as he gathered his words.
"I was talking with a few of the cadets when I was thrown to the ground by an explosion. After that I must have blacked out."
"Do you remember seeing anything on the ridge?" asked Wufei.
"I was not facing the ridge," answered Trowa. "Carl was."
The look on the boy's faces grew even grimmer. Trowa questioningly fixed his eyes on each one of them.
"Carl died a few days after the incident," Quatre informed Trowa. "They had him stable, but he hemorrhaged, and they lost him."
Pain haunted Trowa's eyes at the news.
"What of the other two?" Trowa asked.
"They are stable and on their way to recovery," Duo answered from his spot on the floor. "I checked up on them this afternoon."
Trowa briefly closed his eyes and nodded.
"Do we know who caused it?" Trowa asked.
"No," muttered the others.
"No one has tried to claim responsibility, and we have been chasing every lead we get but often run into dead ends," precisely elaborated Heero.
"What do you have so far?" asked Trowa.
The others proceeded to fill Trowa in on their activities while he was playing Sleeping Beauty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo was working trying to find sources for the parts used to make the explosive. He punched away on the computer, sending messages to people he knew, or made a call with an inquiry. He could hear Catherine moving around and humming the same tune she always hummed when keeping herself busy with housework. Duo often found the tune sticking in his head. It was a melodious tune, not fast but not slow, and with a hint of remorse to it. She would occasionally sing the words but was usually at a level that Duo could not catch. The only words that Duo had been able to make out belonged to the chorus and they did not make much sense. He thought they were:
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
Alive, alive oh, alive, alive oh,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
In the middle of one of the chorus, a baritone voice started singing.
Alive, alive oh, alive, alive oh,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
Duo walked to the kitchen to better hear the song. Catherine's alto voice blended with Trowa's as they started singing a verse.
In Dublin's fair city where girls are so pretty
Twas there that I first met sweet Molly Malone
As she wheeled her wheelbarrow
Through street broad and narrow
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
Alive, alive oh, alive, alive oh,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
Now she was a fishmonger and sure twas no wonder
For so were her mother and father before
And they each wheeled their barrows
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
Alive, alive oh, alive, alive oh,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
For the third verse they slowed down the pace and sounded more sorrowful.
She died of a fervor and no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
Now her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
Alive, alive oh, alive, alive oh,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive oh"
Duo clapped as the duo completed their song. The two performers, not previously seeing Duo, looked at him.
"Kind of sad, but well sung," said Duo.
"Thank you," bowed Catherine.
"She's been humming that since she got here, and that is the first time I've heard the words," Duo said to Trowa.
Trowa lightly chuckled.
"Some things never change," Trowa said.
Catherine smiled at him.
"No, they don't."
"What?" questioned Duo.
Duo stood there tapping his foot waiting for an explanation that neither of them seemed to be in a hurry to give. Catherine looked over at Duo and his agitated body language and laughed.
"How long should we keep him in suspense?" Catherine asked Trowa.
"Tell him. We don't want him to explode with curiosity," Trowa said as he sat down at the table.
"The song is an old Irish folksong my father use to sing," Catherine explained.
"Your father was Irish?" asked Duo.
"No, but the man that was like a grandfather to him was Irish. He taught Dad the song. Dad would hum or whistle it while he worked or traveled. I picked up the habit," Catherine smiled. "Trowa is one of the few people I know who knows the song."
Duo quirked a questioning eyebrow at her.
"We were traveling to a new city. Trowa and I were in the cab and I absentmindedly started to hum. I was surprised when Trowa started singing the 'alive, alive, oh' part. It and a few of the other lines were all he could remember, so I started singing too. He picked up the rest of the words then."
Duo rubbed his chin with his finger and thumb as he looked at Trowa then Catherine.
"Hmm," Duo said. "So, where did you learn the song, Trowa?"
Trowa shrugged as he used his fork on the breakfast Catherine had set before him.
"I don't know."
"You had to have heard it somewhere," insisted Duo.
"True, but I don't remember ever hearing it until that day," he answered before taking a bite.
"Hmm. Interesting," said Duo before turning and walking out of the room.
"What has him so intrigued?" asked Catherine.
"With Duo it's hard telling," answered Trowa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Three," said Duo.
"Yes, three contacts that deal in stealth suits," said Rex from his end of the vid-phone.
"Where will I find them?" Duo asked as he pulled a pad of paper to him.
The door bell sounded as Duo wrapped up his business with Rex. He heard Catherine's footsteps in the hallway on her way to answer the door.
"Thanks for the info, Rex. Take care!"
"Back at ya," Rex said as he readjusted his shades.
The murmur of voices carried down the hall, and Duo thought he should check it out. As he neared the hall the voices became more distinct.
"He is napping at the moment," said Catherine protectively. "Could you come back later?"
"This was the only time I could come by and was hoping to see him," the male voice said dejectedly.
Duo took this opportunity to step into the hallway. The cadet at the door looked at him momentarily shocked.
"Captain Maxwell," crisply said the boy as he stood at attention.
Duo vaguely recognized the boy as one of their recent cadets and signaled for him to stand at ease.
"I did not expect to find you here, Sir," the boy said.
"I had some work I had to do from home," casually said Duo as he leaned against one of the walls.
Trowa meandered into the hall looking like he had just woke up.
"Will, what are you doing here?" Trowa asked.
"We heard you had been released and a few of us were wondering how you were doing. I volunteered to come over and see."
"Thanks," said Trowa. "As you can see, I am up and moving around."
"Yes, sir, that is good to know. We signed a card for you," he added and presented a white card envelope which Trowa accepted with a nod. "Well, I should be going. I have to get back before lunch break is over," Will finished with a salute before crisply turning on his heals and walking back to his car.
Trowa opened the card and read the well wishes from his cadets. Catherine peered over Trowa's arm at the card and sighed how thoughtful the boys were.
"Speaking of lunch," Catherine announced enthusiastically switching topics. "Lunch is ready."
The two men followed her into the kitchen where she ladled soup into bowls. Duo accepted his and gently blew across the broth in his spoon. His mind quickly returned to his new leads.
"Maybe I can get Quatre to Trowa-sit tomorrow so I can start chasing down the leads," Duo thought. "None of the three are in town," he mentally sighed. "It will take a few days to track them all down."
Catherine noticed Duo's unusual quietness but made no comment on it.
"Thanks for lunch," Duo directed toward Catherine before leaving the table.
Duo strolled out to the garage to finish working on Trowa's car. He went to his workbench looking for the tools he would need.
The outside door swung open an inch with the passing wind. Duo looked at the unlatched door. He knew it had been locked this morning. He quickly glanced around the room looking for an intruder. Satisfied he was alone in the garage, he moved to the door. He used a screwdriver to nudge the door open.
The frame held no marks of forced entry, but the knob was scratch most likely by an addle fingered attempt at lock picking. Duo moved away from the door and surveyed the garage.
Nothing appeared out of place or missing. The most expensive pieces of equipment were where he had left them earlier. He moved around the cars. He glanced first under his, then Trowa's. As he started to rise, a dangling tube caught his eye. Duo grabbed the creeper and rolled under the car. Duo fingered the tube. There was no way it could be free without help. His experienced mechanic eyes scanned the underside of the car.
A thin wire caught his attention. Following it to its end, he found a detonator attached to the fuel tank.