~~~
Heero had to admit; he had worked the girl a little harder than he'd intended. She was panting heavily and moaning into her still-jacketed arms. With a glance at the clock, he knew that her next class would be in fifteen minutes.
"You can rest," he told her. He wasn't really surprised she was so winded. Although she seemed thin, she was very out of shape. He could tell that even with the loose jacket and jeans draped over her thin frame.
"What were you trying to do?" Siri gasped at him as she caught enough air in her lungs to speak. "Kill me?!"
"No. You are out of shape."
"Duh! I haven't done much of anything in two years!"
"Why not?" Heero was curious about this, but camouflaged it easily.
"School," was her abrupt answer.
"How?"
"You don't talk much, do ya?" she smirked at him. He could see the smirk in her eyes, even though her whole face was shrouded in shadow. Still, he hadn't seen her face. The only part of her not covered by clothing was her hands and eyes. Everything else was covered heavily in shadow and darkness and cloth.
Heero did not answer Siri's question, but she shrugged it off. She tugged the sleeves of her navy jacket and slowly pulled the thing off. It was then, for the very first time, that Heero saw Siri as she truly was.
He could not believe his eyes. The only way he could describe her was to think back to the ancient scripts he had studied under Quatre's request. Angelic, emerald green eyes stared out from beneath naturally-long lashes and pale blue eye shadow. A tiny, slightly upturned nose twitched as she set the jacket on the back of her chair and gave a whooshing sigh. Rosy cheeks, whether from make-up or natural means, he could not tell, and pale, cherry-blossom-pink lips characterized by an eternal smile.
Chocolate hair fell over her shoulders and piled on the desk in front of her. It wasn't quite the reddish tint of Trowa's or the blondish of Duo's but neither was it the umber of his own. It was blinding in its own righteous shade. He wondered why on Earth she even wore the jackets she did, but then noticed several dark blemishes on her arms, which she was quick to cover.
More bruises. Where had she gotten them? Surely she wasn't attacked on the way to school? Was that it? Heero did not know. But what he did know was this; he did not like it.
***
~~~
It was only that afternoon that we next met. My jacket had long since been replaced around me, as I never was without it for long. He seemed a bit irritated by it but showed no signs. I wondered again how I simply knew he was displeased with my appearance. Tari, Telex, Toraneko, Raine, and I all had met at Ms. Peacecraft's home once more.
"I still don't see why we're helping them," grumbled Toraneko. None of the boys were within range and Ms. Peacecraft was asleep in her room. "They're the Gundam pilots."
"That's why we're helping them, TN," Raine said in explanation.
"That's no reason," Toraneko argued.
"Look, TN," I said to her, scowling. "You're jumping to far too many conclusions all at once. They may be soldiers, but remember, everyone has an honor and a destiny."
"And fate and time are the only one's who tell us who they are," she repeated tiredly. "Siri, I've heard that from you a thousand times, but what does it mean?"
"It means you should try and give these guys a chance, TN," Tari explained. I gave her a thankful smile.
"Hey, girls, what's going on?" the braided one walked in. Duo was his name. Duo Maxwell.
"Okay, thank you, Mr. Maxwell," I smiled dazzlingly.
"Just Duo's fine, Siri," he grinned sheepishly. "I'm not that much older than you."
"All right, Duo," I grinned again before releasing a pleasant giggle.
"Hey, Siri, isn't your birthday coming up soon?" Telex asked in a change of subject. She was good at that when she needed to be.
"Yeah," I blushed. "You guys don't have to do nothin' special..."
"Aw, that's our Siri," Tari teased. "Modest as ever!"
"Tari!" I shouted, my face flushing.
"When?" Duo asked out of the blue. Well, not for him, anyway. He didn't know.
"February," I answered, blushing still. "The eighth."
"Yahoo, our girl's gonna be seventeen!" Raine cheered happily, her arms raised in the air. Wufei entered the room and silence fell.
"Hello, Wufei," I waved cheerfully.
"Hn. Baka onna."
My face fell and I pulled my hand back into my lap quickly.
"Wu-man, don't call her that!" Duo reprimanded Wufei, all cheerfulness gone.
"It's all-" I began, but was cut off.
"Yeah, Mr. Chang, she's no more of an idiot than Duo is!"
"As if that is saying much," stated Heero as he entered the room. Hurt as I was by his words, I showed none of those feelings. I only laughed at Duo with the others. It was then that I saw my favorite animal pinned up on the wall, a painting by one of the most famous artists of our time, Ookami.
"Oh!" I shouted happily. "Wolfie! I love wolves!" Study of the painting revealed the intricate lines made by the wonderfully textured oil paints. The painting showed highlights of beautiful gold amongst the amber fur that the wolf had. My eyes were held captured by its, however, as I saw it was my favorite color; blue.
No one bothered me for a few moments, but soon after, I was beckoned to join the group to discuss the search of the school once again.
"I have taken the liberty of drawing up a plan," Trowa said calmly, handing us each a stack of papers. "Quatre helped, of course."
"Yes. What you five will do is take each of these students into your own perspective and watch them closely. Follow them after school and make sure they aren't part of the drug trafficking. Then report back here every afternoon and check the name off for either."
"What if you still consider them suspicious?" TN asked.
"A question mark will suffice," Trowa answered.
With a few more instructions and precautions, we started in on our evening homework.
***
~~~
Kyle Rem flew swiftly toward the run-down houses. Yes, flew, for he was in the shape of a falcon. Rem was a demon, after all. He counted down the numbers on them, down to 385 Gerald Street, shifting back to his human form in the barely-there driveway.
"Caprice!" he roared, thundering his fist on the door. "Caprice, open this door!" A sleepy-looking Italian answered the door and goggled at his boss, at a loss for words. "We need to have a few words, Caprice."
"Y-Yes, Mr. Rem, sir, come inside, sir, mustn't catch a chill, sir," Caprice stammered, letting the tall, lanky supposed school principal into his extremely humble home.
"Caprice, where is your daughter?" Rem snarled haughtily. The Italian stared at his master cluelessly. "Well?!"
"I...I don't know, sir, she u-usually doesn't g-get back until...um...seven."
"You let her stay out that late?" Rem snapped. "She could be doing a million things! Where is your head, man? Oh, yes, I know," he sneered slyly, "it's in your shorts." Caprice looked shocked a few moments before nodding stupidly.
"Caprice! I expect you to know where that child is 24/7 from now on! We've had a few leaks, and I expect no more," Rem glowered at the slow man angrily. "Is that clear, Caprice?!"
"Y-Y-Yes, sir, Mr. Rem, sir, Toy will be kept in careful proximity, sir!" Caprice clipped, military-style.
"Toy?" Rem snarled.
"I-I...I meant Siri, sir."
Rem blinked at Caprice. "Siri Capri?"
"Y-Yes, sir, sh-she shortened her l-last name for s-school, sir. S-she goes to yours, s-sir."
"All the more, then. She had Peacecraft and Harding and the newly-troublesome teacher, Shin," Rem muttered, more to himself than his crony. "Keep a sharp eye on that girl. She needs little more than a push to set her off."
Caprice stared as Rem let himself out the door, muttering to himself about "darned women" and crazy powers. He shook his head and sighed, hoping not to cross paths with Kyle Rem for a long time yet.
At that moment, he heard the door open. And he snapped.
***
~~~
"Heero," Trowa stated to the umber-haired boy later that night. It was seven and Heero had long since driven Siri home again, still wondering how on Earth she had gotten those bruises. The auburn hair Trowa had was haphazardly everywhere, and it was obvious he hadn't gotten any sleep in at least two days.
"Trowa."
"The tracer..." Trowa's voice trailed off, and he was obviously puzzled. Heero was surprised, though he did not show it, that Trowa was such. It wasn't every day something bedazzled the amnesia-shaken ex-clown.
"What about it?" Heero asked. His monotone never wavered.
"It was quite strange. The tracer was there one moment, gone the next. Then it reappeared about three miles away, in less than fifteen minutes."
"You are certain?" Even Heero's voice held a nanometer of surprise in it.
"Yes. But that is not all."
Wufei came up behind the European boy, panting. "Yuy, the tracer reappeared in the exact same place you stopped."
Heero's blood ran cold.
"Capri may be in danger," Trowa voiced the worry. Wufei did not say anything. He did not care about the idiot girl. But he did care if the other guys were hurt because of her.
"We're going," Heero grabbed his bullet-proof vest and his gun. Releena, who was sitting on the couch in the other room (where he had last put said items) inquired where he was going.
"Siri's in trouble, 'Lena," Duo reported as he, too walked into the room. Releena was at last out of her neck brace and could move her lips and such. She gasped in shock.
"But...how...what..."
"No time to explain, Miss Releena," Quatre said as he hurriedly grabbed his things as well. Within a few moments and a whistle of wind, Releena watched them back out of her driveway and speed away faster than she'd ever seen them go.
***
~~~
Several falcons surrounded the house at odd locations as Heero drove off. He'd let me out at precisely six forty-five and I was wasting as much of my time outside of the house as I could. It was during this little bit of time that I noticed them. Falcons everywhere, golden feathers with reddish, brownish, and black feathers, white feathers, any color you could think of that wasn't tropically normal for a falcon.
Although I did not study falcons on a regular basis, I did happen to notice that most, if not all of them, were peregrine falcons. Mostly golden-brown feathers with them. An abrupt reminder of fifty-something books I'd read from the library. Animorphs. I'd loved that series so much.
I knew, however, that it was not natural for birds of prey to sit on telephone wires and the roofs of cars and houses. There were several that even stood regally in the middle of the road. There were many things wrong with this picture.
1) Birds of prey do not stay together. They hunt and live alone; 2) Peregrine falcons in particular are known to attack other birds, not sit passively with them; 3) Why on Earth were they all staring at me with their golden eyes that could see a mouse three miles away?; and 4) No peregrine falcon enjoys the night. They are not owls, which can see through darkness as if they had minute suns in their eyes. In the darkness that had fallen, their eyes were no better than mine.
Perturbed by this analysis of my surroundings, I headed inside. I'd rather be beaten up by my father early then stand here with what felt like a billions eyes watching my every move. It reminded me severely of Mr. Rem when he sometimes subbed for Fawkes, when he had to fix the computers elsewhere in the school.
"Brat, get in here!" my father thundered the moment I entered the house. Surprised as I was, I made my way toward the kitchen, where my father was seated at the table, his nostrils flared in anger.
"You little whore!" he snarled upon my entrance, leaping to his feet. He was not drunk, for once. Or high in any other way. He was actually sober, which surprised me. Maybe he was getting better off it? "Where have you been?!"
"I was at Miss Peacecraft's, doing my homework, Daddy," I smiled at him, trying not to faint from the sudden onslaught of scents that had reached me, only the moment he had opened the refrigerator.
"Brat, from now on, I expect you to head home immediately after school lets out," he growled.
"But Daddy-"
Big mistake.
"Why you little-"
He cut himself off and threw his fist into my jaw. I heard a rather loud snapping noise and felt as though my jaw had been ripped out of its socket. As suddenly as my jaw was severed, I was suddenly in an embrace that cracked my back painfully. He pressed himself against me, and so close were we that one would have sworn we weren't two, but one.
Several more shoots of pain in my face caused my throat to involuntarily whimper. Simply staring at me with a void countenance, my father said nothing. There was a ravenous hunger in his eyes, something I saw in him only once; when he'd looked at my mother in the court hearing that day, only about twelve years ago.
**FLASH**
"Where are we going, Mommy?" I asked my mother, my chubby hand clenched in her long, slender one. Her chocolate hair swirled around her in grace in the wind. Mine was still so short, but they were cut into straight bangs that never seemed to fix themselves, and two small pigtails.
"We are going to court, Siri," she smiled at me, but I could tell she was worried. What about? It wasn't as though the court could hurt her...was it?
"Why are we going to court?" Inquiries of a child to a worried mother are often not heard. This was one of those times. "Mommy?"
"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, Siri, honey, I didn't hear you."
"Why are we going, Mommy?"
"Your father wants to take you from me, Siri. But I don't want to let you go."
Fear overcame me. "Mommy, no! I don't wanna go to daddy, he was mean to you!"
"Yes, I know."
We walked together into a room full of people. Some sat in wooden benches similar to church pews. I saw Mr. Treize among them and waved to him excitedly. He gave a small wave with his own, white-gloved hand as well. I gave a small sigh of relief. Surely with Mr. Treize here, I wouldn't go to daddy.
Then, I saw him. Greasy black hair, narrow dark eyes and an eager look on his face as he watched my mom sit down in the chair adjacent to him. He was on the left; Mommy and I on the right. Watching us both with eyes that seemed so full of something that made me uncomfortable, I could only stare at him.
"Who's that, Mommy?" I asked her, toying nervously with my silver pendant. I'd never met him before.
"That is...that's your father, Siri."
My heart stopped and my blood ran cold in my veins. I did not hear the judge enter the room, nor did I feel my mother standing me up to honor him. I stared at the man who sat across the aisle and my eyes never left him. His eyes, on the other hand, never left my mother. It was only when he stood to go to the stand that I snapped from my reverie.
Questions were asked of him, questions I knew were untrue. Mr. Treize raised several "objections", but they all were rejected. When the man I now knew to be my father sat down again, I watched his eyes follow my mother, fidgeting far worse now.
When all was said and done, and the little wooden hammer the judge held fell, my mother was crying. My father looked from her to me and gave the most sadistic grin I had ever beheld in my young life. It was then that I knew I was in trouble.
**FLASH**
Pressed against my father, his lips on mine, rubbing the snapped jawbones together painfully, I did not feel him move away from me for a few seconds. Dizzy as I was from the constant, stabbing pain in my jaw, I was able to make out only one conclusion of what he was doing. A small bottle was in his hand, along with a napkin.
I fell to the ground, the pain becoming white hot and far more disconcerting than before. Suddenly, the napkin was against my nose and mouth and I didn't care anymore. The only thing that mattered to me now was the blackness that I was sinking into...
~~~
Heero hadn't driven this fast since the last time he'd been in Wing Zero. The prospect of finding Siri dead drove him even faster. She was special, too special to be lost. Mysterious as she was, she was still his student and his friend. One of his friends.
Plus, Duo was muttering in his ear.
"Come on, Heero man, drive faster...come on...she's in danger, Heero, there's no way she's not...Heero, faster...come on, you can drive faster than that! We can get food afterward, too, you know. Come on, Heero, pedal to the metal, man..."
"Wufei, take care of this nuisance," Heero stated calmly as he drove ever faster. Wufei nodded, a glint of a smile in his eyes as he tugged the braided boy backward by his braid.
However, any glee Wufei had found in pulling Duo by his hair to make him shut up was quickly forgotten when they rounded the corner. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of birds surrounded the house. Falcons, as Quatre stuttered. They all stared at the blue car in which Heero and the other four ex-pilots with a glare so deadly, it tied with Heero's.
And, driving off down the road at top speed, was a golden maintenance van. In the rear window was the Indian, Caprice. Next to him, leaning against the window and looking dead or at least unconscious, was Siri Capri.
By the time they had realized that Siri was in the van, however, it had reached the end of the road, where it suddenly disappeared without a trace. Vanished into thin air.
"Talk about your fancy getaways," Duo murmured despite the dire situation.
***