Chapter Ten
"""I can't say I was very surprised when Heero showed up together with Wufei on the
Peacemillion. It was obvious to any person with a brain between their ears that we
gundam pilots would need to be together if we were going to succeed. Despite what I
previously wrote, I know that that wasn't Heero's opinion as he came here. Wonder how I
know? Well, let's just say that I understand how he thinks. I've been taught to think the
same way. I wonder if any of the others do?
The reason for which Heero came to the Peacemillion is the strategic advantage he
gained from it: a crew able to provide what he needed for his gundam lead by a man
trusted by professor J, back up if that would be needed, all the firepower needed and the
stealth mode that he could use to get where he wanted. The advantages were multiple. It
was only logical to come here. That the rest of the pilots were there was just a
coincidence.
When I met Heero for the first time since Wufei and I fled from the prison we had been
held in, I felt unexplainably happy about the fact that he was all right, that he hadn't lost
his spirit. Then, I grew worried as I saw what he had brought: the Zero system in the form
of Wing Zero. You can certainly trust Heero to choose the most difficult machine there is,
even if it happens to be the best as well.
I remember questioning him about the reasons of why he was piloting Zero. His revelation
that he had piloted the other gundam carrying the system shocked me. Heero was
stronger than I had thought. I couldn't help but wonder what he saw in the system
though. If I recall the event correctly, I called Heero a being with little humanity. Rather
ironical don't you think? That ended the talk, or that was what I was thinking at least. In
reality, Heero was nowhere near finished with me.
Immediately when I arrived at Howard's ship, I snagged an isolated room close to the
place where Deathscythe stood. Not only to be near my old buddy, but also to minimize
the probability of someone barging in on me when I do my workout. It's a lot of work to
keep my abilities hidden and extensive workouts to ease the itch in my muscles are part of
it. Not to mention catnapping – literally. Cats sleep often and quietly. So do I. I can sleep
anywhere.
Anyway, it was night and I had just finished one of my workouts, hanging in an awkward
position from the ceiling when someone knocked on the door. Immediately letting go, I let
myself fall to the floor in a crouch, not letting out a single sound.
"Come in!" I cheerfully said even as I started to let my hair out for re-braiding. Working out
doesn't exactly help you to maintain a neat hairdo.
The doors slid open a couple of inches, letting Heero into the room. He watched me in
silence for a few seconds before speaking, his eyes scanning my rather haphazard looks. I
think it was the first time he saw me in spandex and a tank top. Not a green tank top
though and my spandex shorts were much shorter than his.
"Heero!" I greeted, smiling calmly at him. "What did I do to earn the pleasure?"
He didn't answer my question, but nodded towards the mass of hair hanging around me.
"Need help with that?" he quietly asked. I shrugged and silently handed him the brush
and a rubber band.
"Sure," I said. "Be careful though. I don't need any bald spots."
I know for sure that that was the first time Heero ever smiled for one of my jokes. He
looked outstanding while smiling, still does, by the way. Walking over to me, he pushed
me into the chair behind me and went to work. We didn't spoke as he did so, didn't feel
the need I guess. I know I nearly purred. I love when people brush my hair. Purring
wouldn't be a good idea though, so I didn't.
When Heero finished a couple of minutes later, I turned to him with an unusually serious
look on my face. He looked rather surprised at that.
"So? Speak," I said. "I know you didn't come here to help me with my hair."
Heero sat down on my bed and simply looked at me for a minute before opening his
mouth.
"You have piloted Zero," he simply stated.
"Yes," I replied just as casually.
Heero nodded, as if I had just confirmed his suspicions. Knowing him, I probably had.
"What did it tell you?" he asked, giving me a firm look telling me I had to answer.
"That for now I am my worst enemy," I simply said, not looking away.
Heero nodded and rose, walking towards the door. When he reached it, he paused.
"Someone will need to pilot the system besides me," he said quietly. "You are the best
candidate. I know you won't do it though. I won't make you. It's obvious that something is
going on with you Duo. Try to come to terms with it. We need you. I need you."
He opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him. Just before it completely close
though, Heero said one last thing.
"You have beautiful hair," he simply said. Then, he was gone. I was left wondering how he
had learned to read me so well."""
January 10, AC197
It's early in the morning, about seven o'clock I judge as I make myself breakfast. Not many
are awake at this hour on a Sunday, former gundam pilots excluded of course, so it's
rather quiet. I expect it to be so for hours to go. After all, the loudest in our group, Duo,
has already been out for an hour or two. Quatre left to take care of some unknown
business just minutes ago and Wufei is with Heero in the appointed dojo, working out
before hitting the computers. Relena is still asleep, having been up late because of her
meeting. I'm thankful for that, as I have been appointed her guard for now. That girl is
always easier to guard when she's asleep. For when she's awake, she's been known to
pull the most impressive disappearing acts. While I respect her and consider her a friend, I
don't want to hunt her throughout the whole building.
I sit down at the low table by the window, looking out at the surrounding area while
keeping a close look on Relena's bedroom door. It's so peaceful at this time of the
morning. When I was at the circus, I usually woke up at dawn, just to have some time for
myself. If I were to describe bliss, it would be to stand barefoot in slightly wet grass,
watching the sunrise as I practise my acrobatics. Only one thing can rival those moments,
and that's waking up beside Quatre, a pleasure I've only recently discovered. I'm already
finding it hard to part from.
My sensitive ears catch the soft sound of feet pattering over the floor in Relena's room and
I slide to my feet, grabbing the extra cup of coffee I left on the hotplate. Taking place next
to Relena's door, I silently hand her the cup as she stumbles out of the room, her hair
messy and her blue eyes tired.
"Thank you, Trowa," she mumbles even as she gulps down the coffee and scrambles over
to the coffeemaker to find some more. I absently archive away the information that Relena
isn't a morning person in my brain before following her, staying silent.
It takes five cups of coffee before Relena evidently feels alive again. Placing the cup in the
sink, she walks into her room. Twenty minutes later, she exits, looking more like the
woman I know. Smiling at me, she nods.
"So, you are my bodyguard for the day," she cheerfully said, looking through some papers
she produced from a thick folder. "Duo told me yesterday that he most probably would be
on the streets today."
I nod, giving her a hint of a smile. She's tense. No doubt she's going to ask something she
thinks I will not like. Relena clears her throat and gives me an unsure look.
"Trowa," she slowly says, pleading evident on her face even as she is obviously trying to
hide it. "I have an official event today that I have to attend. A charity auction for war
orphans. My secretary never had the chance to cancel it. Would it be possible for me to
attend it, at least for half an hour? It would mean so much for the children…"
I quickly weight the pros and cons in my mind.
"Location?" I curtly ask, trying to recall which buildings in this town I'm familiar with.
"The city hall," Relena nervously answers. "I'm supposed to hold the opening speech at
noon."
The city hall. I've been there before, escorting Lady Une I believe. It should be safe and
considering the fact that I'm familiar with the security team there, I should be able to stop
any possible assassins, especially if I bring some of my tampered with detectors. Duo has
managed to make them detect even strange weapons like poison darts. Something about
shapes and ultrasound I believe. He tried to explain it to me once, but I have to admit I
didn't understand much. Duo's the resident genius when it comes to mechanics and
technique after all.
"It's acceptable," I tell her. "You have to obey my orders though."
Relena nods, obviously relieved. The event seems to be an important one for her.
"Thank you Trowa" she says, bowing her head. "I appreciate it. I'll be in my room until we
leave."
I nod and she disappears. It didn't take much of a mind to see that she did that to make it
easier on me, but I truly appreciate it. This more mature Relena is certainly more
pleasurable than the clingy one who followed us during the war. Sitting down in a chair, I
take my cell phone and make a call to the security chief of the city hall. Might as well start
preparing at once. If this event is pre-planned as Relena says, there will no doubt be an
assassin there. It will be a challenge to prevent him/her from entering.
"We're in" Heero tensely says from his place next to me and taps a few times on the
keyboard. "Is the disc holding the virus ready?"
I nod, of course. Looking over Heero's shoulder, I watch him scroll through the database
at a speed that makes it seem like garbage to me. It's hard to believe that Heero is actually
reading everything and yet I know he does. A wonder if anything.
Suddenly pausing, Heero nods for me to read what he has pulled up. It's a personal file on
one of Thor Arvidsen's musclemen. No photo though. Where the actual name should be
printed only the word Daemon stood. Duo was right. The owner of Hel Inc. has a man on
us with standing orders to kill.
Scanning the rest of the page for more information on this Daemon person, I come up
with nothing. It appears like Hel Inc. likes to keep its illegal information nice and
insignificant. It helps when it comes to us Preventers. Then again, if you have the least of a
brain, you don't put 'assassination' under work description on a net-based database. And
yes, that has happened. I arrested the person in question half an hour after finding the file.
Foolish people exist everywhere.
"Do you know anything else about this 'Daemon' person?" I quietly ask Heero. All of us
gundam pilots are well aware of Heero's training. So, we also know that he has a
complete encyclopedia of terrorists' network and assassination circles all over the known
world. He's actually the creator of the register we have at the Preventers. Duo insisted that
he made it before he went into hiding. Lady Une has seriously considered giving him a
medal or something for it. That's how important it has become for us.
Heero shakes his head though, and that surprises me more than anything. If Heero
doesn't know, then I doubt anyone does. This means that we have less than enough data
on the man we have to meet to resolve the threat of Hel Inc. I can only hope that Duo will
be able to get some Intel on the streets. He probably will, considering the success ratio he
had during the war when it came to intelligence gathering.
A knock on the door alerts me to the fact that Quatre is back from wherever he has been
today. He and Duo discussed something the day before and when I came to speak with
Quatre concerning safe connections on his network, Trowa informed me that Quatre had
gone out to do something unknown. I could only speculate that Duo had asked the petit
but dangerous blond to do something.
The door opens and the Arab peeks in, smiling as he sees us.
"Good," he says. "I was looking for you. Has Duo reported in yet?"
Heero looks at Quatre and I can already hear the negative 'hn' that will come out of his
mouth in a second. It's rather amazing how much that man can communicate in just
guttural sounds. As I think about it, it's even more amazing that we understand him.
"Hn." Heero much expectedly says and Quatre enters the room.
"I'll wait with you then. I need to speak with him."
I give a concealed curious look.
"Need to report if your mission was a success?" I casually ask, reaching behind my head to
pull out my hair tie. It's so tightly bound that my scalp will be tender for hours to go. Vanity
certainly has its prices.
Quatre laughs at my poor attempt on finding out what he has been doing today and his
blue eyes glitter.
"You'll know when I speak to Duo," he teasingly says. "Don't be so nosy, Wufei."
I sputter indignantly at that, completely for fun of course, as I was being nosy. As a scholar,
I don't like when I find something I don't know and can't find the answer to. It's incredibly
annoying. Just when I was about to reply, I interrupt myself as Heero's computer pings.
Duo has connected to Heero's laptop.
We all wait tensely for Duo to appear on the screen after Heero has typed in a few
commands, all for different reasons. Quatre because he needs to report, Heero because
he is in grave need of any information Duo might have on 'Daemon' and I because of
both. What can I say? I thirst for knowledge.
As Duo's face appears on the screen, we all relax slightly at his bright grin. I personally
think that Mr. Streetrat on the screen could charm a rock if he wanted to. That's one of the
reasons why he's so dangerous.
"Hi guys!" he says with a smile, giving a slight wave with a slender hand, well suited for the
profession that kept him alive for most of his life. "Been waiting for my call?"
"Hn," Heero says with a small smile that shocks me slightly. Duo certainly is a miracle
worker when it comes to humanizing Heero. "Have any information for us?"
Duo nods curtly, serious once more, and I find myself leaning towards the screen, eager to
hear what he has found out.
"There's a lot of talking going on out here," he quietly says. "Apparently Hel Inc.'s got the
street people in a bunch. The girl I talked to, Caramel, said that Daemon is a well-known
person on the streets, well liked as well. He shares what he gets and is generally nice. It
can't be denied that he is famous among the assassin circles for being ruthlessly effective
when it comes to his targets. Some people even say that he must have been genetically
engineered to be as good as he is. The general feeling about this guy is that he's pleasant
enough if you don't bother him, but you don't want to get on his bad side."
Heero nodded and I felt myself doing the same, another reaction born after meeting Duo.
"Aah," Heero thoughtfully reply. It has been proven over and over again that Duo's
information and hunches are correct more often that not. No doubt that Heero is already
thinking up a profile for the assassin in his head based on Duo's description.
Quatre clears his throat and leans into Duo's line of sight, a pleased expression on his face.
"I've got the thing you needed me to retrieve," he silently says, giving Duo a meaningful
look. "Do you want me to install it on a stationary?"
A weird look flickers over Duo's face for a second, disappearing before I have a chance to
place it. Giving Quatre a serious look, he shakes his head.
"No," he slowly says. "We will need it, and we won't have access to a computer then.
Convert the discs to nanochips and place them in the set I mentioned. That way, we'll be
able to use it whenever it will be needed."
He pauses for a second, and this time I can clearly see the anxiousness on his face as he
looks at Quatre.
"Do you remember what I told you to do?" he silently says.
Quatre gives him a curt nod.
"Yes."
"Good." Duo hesitates for a moment before looking at Heero with a yearning look on his
face. "Be careful, all of you."
As his face flickers away, I can't help but feel worried. Something is wrong.
Heero looks up sharply; fixing his eyes on a nearby vid screen that was showing the news.
As I follow his eyes, I realize what has caught his attention. There has been an
assassination attempt on Relena. Then, a man in a Preventers' uniform shows up on
screen, a serious look on his face.
"The assassination attempt was unsuccessful due to the intervention of one of our agents,
codename Nanashi," he curtly says. "Ms. Peacecraft-Darlian is safe and unharmed. The
agent in question is currently taking her to a safe house but she will make a statement at
eight tonight. That will be all."
We turn away from the news and share a look. It has begun.
TBC
"""I can't say I was very surprised when Heero showed up together with Wufei on the
Peacemillion. It was obvious to any person with a brain between their ears that we
gundam pilots would need to be together if we were going to succeed. Despite what I
previously wrote, I know that that wasn't Heero's opinion as he came here. Wonder how I
know? Well, let's just say that I understand how he thinks. I've been taught to think the
same way. I wonder if any of the others do?
The reason for which Heero came to the Peacemillion is the strategic advantage he
gained from it: a crew able to provide what he needed for his gundam lead by a man
trusted by professor J, back up if that would be needed, all the firepower needed and the
stealth mode that he could use to get where he wanted. The advantages were multiple. It
was only logical to come here. That the rest of the pilots were there was just a
coincidence.
When I met Heero for the first time since Wufei and I fled from the prison we had been
held in, I felt unexplainably happy about the fact that he was all right, that he hadn't lost
his spirit. Then, I grew worried as I saw what he had brought: the Zero system in the form
of Wing Zero. You can certainly trust Heero to choose the most difficult machine there is,
even if it happens to be the best as well.
I remember questioning him about the reasons of why he was piloting Zero. His revelation
that he had piloted the other gundam carrying the system shocked me. Heero was
stronger than I had thought. I couldn't help but wonder what he saw in the system
though. If I recall the event correctly, I called Heero a being with little humanity. Rather
ironical don't you think? That ended the talk, or that was what I was thinking at least. In
reality, Heero was nowhere near finished with me.
Immediately when I arrived at Howard's ship, I snagged an isolated room close to the
place where Deathscythe stood. Not only to be near my old buddy, but also to minimize
the probability of someone barging in on me when I do my workout. It's a lot of work to
keep my abilities hidden and extensive workouts to ease the itch in my muscles are part of
it. Not to mention catnapping – literally. Cats sleep often and quietly. So do I. I can sleep
anywhere.
Anyway, it was night and I had just finished one of my workouts, hanging in an awkward
position from the ceiling when someone knocked on the door. Immediately letting go, I let
myself fall to the floor in a crouch, not letting out a single sound.
"Come in!" I cheerfully said even as I started to let my hair out for re-braiding. Working out
doesn't exactly help you to maintain a neat hairdo.
The doors slid open a couple of inches, letting Heero into the room. He watched me in
silence for a few seconds before speaking, his eyes scanning my rather haphazard looks. I
think it was the first time he saw me in spandex and a tank top. Not a green tank top
though and my spandex shorts were much shorter than his.
"Heero!" I greeted, smiling calmly at him. "What did I do to earn the pleasure?"
He didn't answer my question, but nodded towards the mass of hair hanging around me.
"Need help with that?" he quietly asked. I shrugged and silently handed him the brush
and a rubber band.
"Sure," I said. "Be careful though. I don't need any bald spots."
I know for sure that that was the first time Heero ever smiled for one of my jokes. He
looked outstanding while smiling, still does, by the way. Walking over to me, he pushed
me into the chair behind me and went to work. We didn't spoke as he did so, didn't feel
the need I guess. I know I nearly purred. I love when people brush my hair. Purring
wouldn't be a good idea though, so I didn't.
When Heero finished a couple of minutes later, I turned to him with an unusually serious
look on my face. He looked rather surprised at that.
"So? Speak," I said. "I know you didn't come here to help me with my hair."
Heero sat down on my bed and simply looked at me for a minute before opening his
mouth.
"You have piloted Zero," he simply stated.
"Yes," I replied just as casually.
Heero nodded, as if I had just confirmed his suspicions. Knowing him, I probably had.
"What did it tell you?" he asked, giving me a firm look telling me I had to answer.
"That for now I am my worst enemy," I simply said, not looking away.
Heero nodded and rose, walking towards the door. When he reached it, he paused.
"Someone will need to pilot the system besides me," he said quietly. "You are the best
candidate. I know you won't do it though. I won't make you. It's obvious that something is
going on with you Duo. Try to come to terms with it. We need you. I need you."
He opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him. Just before it completely close
though, Heero said one last thing.
"You have beautiful hair," he simply said. Then, he was gone. I was left wondering how he
had learned to read me so well."""
January 10, AC197
It's early in the morning, about seven o'clock I judge as I make myself breakfast. Not many
are awake at this hour on a Sunday, former gundam pilots excluded of course, so it's
rather quiet. I expect it to be so for hours to go. After all, the loudest in our group, Duo,
has already been out for an hour or two. Quatre left to take care of some unknown
business just minutes ago and Wufei is with Heero in the appointed dojo, working out
before hitting the computers. Relena is still asleep, having been up late because of her
meeting. I'm thankful for that, as I have been appointed her guard for now. That girl is
always easier to guard when she's asleep. For when she's awake, she's been known to
pull the most impressive disappearing acts. While I respect her and consider her a friend, I
don't want to hunt her throughout the whole building.
I sit down at the low table by the window, looking out at the surrounding area while
keeping a close look on Relena's bedroom door. It's so peaceful at this time of the
morning. When I was at the circus, I usually woke up at dawn, just to have some time for
myself. If I were to describe bliss, it would be to stand barefoot in slightly wet grass,
watching the sunrise as I practise my acrobatics. Only one thing can rival those moments,
and that's waking up beside Quatre, a pleasure I've only recently discovered. I'm already
finding it hard to part from.
My sensitive ears catch the soft sound of feet pattering over the floor in Relena's room and
I slide to my feet, grabbing the extra cup of coffee I left on the hotplate. Taking place next
to Relena's door, I silently hand her the cup as she stumbles out of the room, her hair
messy and her blue eyes tired.
"Thank you, Trowa," she mumbles even as she gulps down the coffee and scrambles over
to the coffeemaker to find some more. I absently archive away the information that Relena
isn't a morning person in my brain before following her, staying silent.
It takes five cups of coffee before Relena evidently feels alive again. Placing the cup in the
sink, she walks into her room. Twenty minutes later, she exits, looking more like the
woman I know. Smiling at me, she nods.
"So, you are my bodyguard for the day," she cheerfully said, looking through some papers
she produced from a thick folder. "Duo told me yesterday that he most probably would be
on the streets today."
I nod, giving her a hint of a smile. She's tense. No doubt she's going to ask something she
thinks I will not like. Relena clears her throat and gives me an unsure look.
"Trowa," she slowly says, pleading evident on her face even as she is obviously trying to
hide it. "I have an official event today that I have to attend. A charity auction for war
orphans. My secretary never had the chance to cancel it. Would it be possible for me to
attend it, at least for half an hour? It would mean so much for the children…"
I quickly weight the pros and cons in my mind.
"Location?" I curtly ask, trying to recall which buildings in this town I'm familiar with.
"The city hall," Relena nervously answers. "I'm supposed to hold the opening speech at
noon."
The city hall. I've been there before, escorting Lady Une I believe. It should be safe and
considering the fact that I'm familiar with the security team there, I should be able to stop
any possible assassins, especially if I bring some of my tampered with detectors. Duo has
managed to make them detect even strange weapons like poison darts. Something about
shapes and ultrasound I believe. He tried to explain it to me once, but I have to admit I
didn't understand much. Duo's the resident genius when it comes to mechanics and
technique after all.
"It's acceptable," I tell her. "You have to obey my orders though."
Relena nods, obviously relieved. The event seems to be an important one for her.
"Thank you Trowa" she says, bowing her head. "I appreciate it. I'll be in my room until we
leave."
I nod and she disappears. It didn't take much of a mind to see that she did that to make it
easier on me, but I truly appreciate it. This more mature Relena is certainly more
pleasurable than the clingy one who followed us during the war. Sitting down in a chair, I
take my cell phone and make a call to the security chief of the city hall. Might as well start
preparing at once. If this event is pre-planned as Relena says, there will no doubt be an
assassin there. It will be a challenge to prevent him/her from entering.
"We're in" Heero tensely says from his place next to me and taps a few times on the
keyboard. "Is the disc holding the virus ready?"
I nod, of course. Looking over Heero's shoulder, I watch him scroll through the database
at a speed that makes it seem like garbage to me. It's hard to believe that Heero is actually
reading everything and yet I know he does. A wonder if anything.
Suddenly pausing, Heero nods for me to read what he has pulled up. It's a personal file on
one of Thor Arvidsen's musclemen. No photo though. Where the actual name should be
printed only the word Daemon stood. Duo was right. The owner of Hel Inc. has a man on
us with standing orders to kill.
Scanning the rest of the page for more information on this Daemon person, I come up
with nothing. It appears like Hel Inc. likes to keep its illegal information nice and
insignificant. It helps when it comes to us Preventers. Then again, if you have the least of a
brain, you don't put 'assassination' under work description on a net-based database. And
yes, that has happened. I arrested the person in question half an hour after finding the file.
Foolish people exist everywhere.
"Do you know anything else about this 'Daemon' person?" I quietly ask Heero. All of us
gundam pilots are well aware of Heero's training. So, we also know that he has a
complete encyclopedia of terrorists' network and assassination circles all over the known
world. He's actually the creator of the register we have at the Preventers. Duo insisted that
he made it before he went into hiding. Lady Une has seriously considered giving him a
medal or something for it. That's how important it has become for us.
Heero shakes his head though, and that surprises me more than anything. If Heero
doesn't know, then I doubt anyone does. This means that we have less than enough data
on the man we have to meet to resolve the threat of Hel Inc. I can only hope that Duo will
be able to get some Intel on the streets. He probably will, considering the success ratio he
had during the war when it came to intelligence gathering.
A knock on the door alerts me to the fact that Quatre is back from wherever he has been
today. He and Duo discussed something the day before and when I came to speak with
Quatre concerning safe connections on his network, Trowa informed me that Quatre had
gone out to do something unknown. I could only speculate that Duo had asked the petit
but dangerous blond to do something.
The door opens and the Arab peeks in, smiling as he sees us.
"Good," he says. "I was looking for you. Has Duo reported in yet?"
Heero looks at Quatre and I can already hear the negative 'hn' that will come out of his
mouth in a second. It's rather amazing how much that man can communicate in just
guttural sounds. As I think about it, it's even more amazing that we understand him.
"Hn." Heero much expectedly says and Quatre enters the room.
"I'll wait with you then. I need to speak with him."
I give a concealed curious look.
"Need to report if your mission was a success?" I casually ask, reaching behind my head to
pull out my hair tie. It's so tightly bound that my scalp will be tender for hours to go. Vanity
certainly has its prices.
Quatre laughs at my poor attempt on finding out what he has been doing today and his
blue eyes glitter.
"You'll know when I speak to Duo," he teasingly says. "Don't be so nosy, Wufei."
I sputter indignantly at that, completely for fun of course, as I was being nosy. As a scholar,
I don't like when I find something I don't know and can't find the answer to. It's incredibly
annoying. Just when I was about to reply, I interrupt myself as Heero's computer pings.
Duo has connected to Heero's laptop.
We all wait tensely for Duo to appear on the screen after Heero has typed in a few
commands, all for different reasons. Quatre because he needs to report, Heero because
he is in grave need of any information Duo might have on 'Daemon' and I because of
both. What can I say? I thirst for knowledge.
As Duo's face appears on the screen, we all relax slightly at his bright grin. I personally
think that Mr. Streetrat on the screen could charm a rock if he wanted to. That's one of the
reasons why he's so dangerous.
"Hi guys!" he says with a smile, giving a slight wave with a slender hand, well suited for the
profession that kept him alive for most of his life. "Been waiting for my call?"
"Hn," Heero says with a small smile that shocks me slightly. Duo certainly is a miracle
worker when it comes to humanizing Heero. "Have any information for us?"
Duo nods curtly, serious once more, and I find myself leaning towards the screen, eager to
hear what he has found out.
"There's a lot of talking going on out here," he quietly says. "Apparently Hel Inc.'s got the
street people in a bunch. The girl I talked to, Caramel, said that Daemon is a well-known
person on the streets, well liked as well. He shares what he gets and is generally nice. It
can't be denied that he is famous among the assassin circles for being ruthlessly effective
when it comes to his targets. Some people even say that he must have been genetically
engineered to be as good as he is. The general feeling about this guy is that he's pleasant
enough if you don't bother him, but you don't want to get on his bad side."
Heero nodded and I felt myself doing the same, another reaction born after meeting Duo.
"Aah," Heero thoughtfully reply. It has been proven over and over again that Duo's
information and hunches are correct more often that not. No doubt that Heero is already
thinking up a profile for the assassin in his head based on Duo's description.
Quatre clears his throat and leans into Duo's line of sight, a pleased expression on his face.
"I've got the thing you needed me to retrieve," he silently says, giving Duo a meaningful
look. "Do you want me to install it on a stationary?"
A weird look flickers over Duo's face for a second, disappearing before I have a chance to
place it. Giving Quatre a serious look, he shakes his head.
"No," he slowly says. "We will need it, and we won't have access to a computer then.
Convert the discs to nanochips and place them in the set I mentioned. That way, we'll be
able to use it whenever it will be needed."
He pauses for a second, and this time I can clearly see the anxiousness on his face as he
looks at Quatre.
"Do you remember what I told you to do?" he silently says.
Quatre gives him a curt nod.
"Yes."
"Good." Duo hesitates for a moment before looking at Heero with a yearning look on his
face. "Be careful, all of you."
As his face flickers away, I can't help but feel worried. Something is wrong.
Heero looks up sharply; fixing his eyes on a nearby vid screen that was showing the news.
As I follow his eyes, I realize what has caught his attention. There has been an
assassination attempt on Relena. Then, a man in a Preventers' uniform shows up on
screen, a serious look on his face.
"The assassination attempt was unsuccessful due to the intervention of one of our agents,
codename Nanashi," he curtly says. "Ms. Peacecraft-Darlian is safe and unharmed. The
agent in question is currently taking her to a safe house but she will make a statement at
eight tonight. That will be all."
We turn away from the news and share a look. It has begun.
TBC
