The Third Hour

Chapter 5

"So." Says Catherine as she sips her tea. "Two guys broke into your house?" Relena nods as she places her cup down on the coffee table.

"It happened all so fast." Her voice is strained. Lightly she rubs her forehead as she leans back into the soft cushions of the sofa. "I barely had time to think. All I knew was we had to get out of there and fast. I'm sorry to burden you with our problems."

"Hmm. Why not your father? I mean, I'm here for you but don't you think he would provide you with better security?"

"Oh no." Relena holds up a delicate hand, shaking her head no. "If my father where to ever find me in any kind of trouble . . ." Her voice trails off as she about her father. "He'd lock me away. Daddy's little girl locked safe away in her glass castle."

"Glass?" Catherine is lost to the word's meaning.

"The life they live is so fragile, like glass.  Anything can come by and destroy it. It's funny how people fear the rich and powerful." Relena sighs as she thinks back to how she was treated in high school. People were only nice to her when she was looking. Yet behind her back they snickered and spread rumors. Heaven for bid if she ever did anything wrong. They all waited for her to trip, like vultures, and if she did, they would pick at her until she was bone dry. "Little do they know that one scandal can be the down fall. Their empire? Is nothing more than empire built on the backs of others." 

"Wow. I have no idea what that all just meant. But . . . you are talking about the rich right?" Leave it to Catherine to be blunt.

"Oh never mind."

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KINDDING ME!!!!" Both women jump at the sudden loud voice of Hilde. For someone her size she sure has a great set of lungs.

"Sally must have found something." Relena stands up as she heads to the bathroom where she left the other two to examine Hilde's neck. Coming to the bathroom Relena found a panic stricken Hilde standing in the tub, holding the shower curtain like a lifeline and a stressed Sally trying to coax Hilde to calm down.

"Hilde please! All I have to do is make a small incision . . ."

"Hell no! Relena are you. Ow. Hearing this?" Tears rim her eyes as the pain slowly consumes her.

"Doctor? What's wrong?" Sally, looking over her shoulder, addresses Relena.

"She has a large growth on the back of her neck. It's causing her tremendous amount of pain. All I need to do is release a little of the pressure." Turning back to Hilde. "It will hurt . . . a lot, BUT, it will go away really quickly!" Hilde rolls her eyes at the doctor's statement.

"Gross, a growth? What kind?" Says Catherine as she balances on her crutches.

"Catherine do you have any sharp knifes?"

"What? You can't be serious!" Relena pushes her way in front of Hilde. She holds her grown, arms stretched out wide, like a protective shield. "I won't have it."

"Ow! Yeah!" Hilde's grip tightens on the curtain as she doubles over in pain. Relena, for the first time sees the large lump on Hilde's neck.

"Dear God! That's huge!" Hilde looks up to her friend with painful, teary eyes.

"Thank you." Says Sally as she heads to the place where Catherine said her knifes where. "Now hold her still. Very still." Relena nods and turns to Hilde. Shaking her head in a plea, Hilde pushes her body, still griping the curtain, up against the wall. Both women advance to her and in a flash Hilde is down. They flip her on her stomach as Relena sits on her legs, holding her arms in place. Sally holds Hilde's head still as she steadily moves the knife closer to the endangering lump. All Hilde can do is cry her eyes out as she feels the cool metal touch her skin. "Catherine? We are going to need a shit load of towels!" The other woman nods and limps over to grab what she can. A minute later she returns, placing them near Sally's reach. "Ok Hilde. All I'm doing is just letting a little pressure her out. I need you to be very, very and I stress very, still. Got me?" Hilde tries to nod but Sally adds more pressure to her hold. "I said be still."

"O-ok." She whimpers, scared and embarrassed at her behavior. With skilled hands, Sally makes the incision.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The soft tapping to Duo's window do nothing to stir the sleeping man.

TAP.  TAP. TAP.

Nope. Try again.

BANG!

There you go! Duo jumps up from his sleeping position alert.

"What? I'm going . . ." Once his surrounding settle in, Duo becomes more aware of the car he's setting in and the mission.

Tap. Tap.

"What?" Duo looks out his window to find a very angry Hero looking back at him. "Oh shit the cops! Wait . . . I'm a cop. Kinda." Unlocking his doors Duo readies for the reason that brought Hero out. "Hey buddy. Long time no see?"

"Shut up Maxwell." Duo rolls his eyes at the man's trademark greeting. "I want answers. Now."

"Gee, I didn't know there was a test today. I would have studied . . ." The cold metal to his nose stops his chatter and the sound of the safety being turned off makes him sweat. "What do you want to know? You probable know just as much as I do!"

"Last time I checked you were on your way to a ten year stay in jail. That was two years ago." Duo pushes the gun away from his face with one swift, leisurely motion.

"Yeah, but I made a deal that got me out." He grins at the stone across from him.

"Explain. Are you working with them?"

"Who? The girls or The Third Hour?"

"Why would I care if you're working for the girls?"

"Sorry man! Didn't think you'd know about The Third Hour."

"I don't." Duo Maxwell has just become the most confused in his life.

"Damn it Hero! Cut the crap and tell me what YOU know!"

"The call to the station about the little incident earlier in the girls apartment? It happened way to fast for the station. They don't even move that fast for a robbery at a donut shop. Plus, they brought two body bags with them."

"Yeah, I thought that was odd."

"So I was asking if you were working for Quatre. The one who made the call. I feel he's up to something. "

"No, FBI." Duo take pleasure in the look of shock on Hero's face. However, Hero recovered quickly.

"How in the hell did you pull that off?" A silly grin spreads across Duo's face as he recalls his first meeting with Agent Chang.

"Almost got it . . ." Sally's sleeves are rolled up as far as they can go, in an attempt to spare them from the blood. However, the bathtub isn't so lucky, as well as Hilde's hair and her shirt. Relena tries to keep her lunch down as she holds her friend down.  "Almost . . ." Sally grits her teeth as her finger and the help of the knife, push out the tracker. Also, Hilde's screams of pain could wake the dead.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes. It sounds like it's coming from the house." Both men spend no less than a second on the thought before jump out of the car. Guns ready.

"There!" Sally yells with joy as she holds up the tracker. Relena's grip loosens as she takes a closer look but all to quickly is it destroyed by Sally's foot. With a soothing voice, Sally tells Hilde that it's all over as she pats Hilde's neck with the towels.

"What was that? That thing you pulled out of Hilde?" Sally sits up a bit, whipping the sweat from her forehead with her arm. She lifts the bloody towel as the wound slowly heals on its own. "Hilde?" Relena gets off her as she moves to get up. Hilde turns to the two women, hand on the back of her neck. Her eyes are wide with shock and cheeks are stained from her tears.

"The pain. It's gone. And the lump!" Relena smiles with her friend. Yet their joy is outlived to fast. Hilde growls as she turns to Sally. "You!" Hilde leaps at the other woman, crushing her with her weight. Sally tries to push the crazed woman off her but Hilde has wraps her hands around her neck and is know shaking the life out of her. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME? WHAT? GOD DAMN IT! YOU WILL TELL ME OR SO HELP I WILL KILL YOU!" Relena moves to her friends to try and coax her off the doctor but the sudden disappearance of the incision halts her actions. There is no mark, no scare, just perfect skin. 

"AAAAAAA!" Catherine's scream stops the feuding women and wakes Relena out of her trance. Rushing to the source of the scream they find Catherine waving one of her crutches in the air like a mad woman and a stricken Duo on the floor rubbing his head. The front door is off its hinges and Hero points his gun at Catherine, who is still waving the crutch in the air like a mad woman. "Get out! Get out or so help me I'll call the cops!"

"Lady we are the cops!" Duo stands up and grabs the crutch, stopping it. Duo speaks after Catherine calms down a bit. "Look we heard screaming and . . . Gah!" Duo catches eyes with Hilde and sees the blood on her shirt. He grabs her shoulders and gives her a hard shake. "What the hell happened to you girl?" Duo pulls her close to look at her back and when he pushes her back he sees a small blush coloring her cheeks.

"What's going on?" Says Hero as he lowers his gun. Relena walks up to him, eyes glaring.

"Mr. Yuy as I have said before . . ." Relena never finished her sentence. The sound of Duo's cry as Hilde knees him in the stomach makes Relena and Hero to draw their attention to them. Once Duo lets go of Hilde she takes off. Grabbing Relena's arm she bolts for the door, pushing Hero to the side. It takes a moment before anyone reacts.

"Ok. What the hell is going on! Who are these people?" Catherine points to the two men as she yells at Sally. "Who's going to fix my door?" Duo, not having time for this, turns after the girls. Sally would of joined but Hero stops her. His intense eyes stop any and all movement.

"Talk. Now" He orders to the stricken doctor.

"H-Hilde! Wait!!!" Relena yells as she is dragged across the neighborhood. Hilde gives no sign of letting up. The only thing that stops her is the on coming car. "Hilde!" Hilde and the car stop just in time to spare an accident. The bright lights blind them but the clear voice lets them know it's someone they know.

"Are you guys alright?" Hilde runs to the driver, who has now stepped out of his car. Hilde hugs the man as Relena catches her breath.

"Oh! Thank God! You have to help us! He's after us! He's coming . . ."

"Who?" Says Trowa as he pulls Hilde away.

"Duo." Relena finally speaks.

"Please Trowa! I know we don't know each other but you have to help us!" Trowa strokes Hilde's hair as he smiles down at her.

"Sure. Neighbor."