Recently re-checked for typos. Sorry if I missed any.
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Chapter Two
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Duo decided that he'd use his Pilot advantage, and contacted Une.
Call Back Later, the text message ran across the vid-screen. Duo sighed, knowing that she was going to kick his ass if he kept bugging her while she was in her meeting. Just like she was going to kick his ass if he went around her and asked one of the other head-honchos.
He called again, adding the text code for emergency. If they were going to type this out, she'd damn well better be paying attention.
What!? He could clearly picture the scowle on her face.
Missing Kid
Who's?
MINE
Call Noin. Full Priv.
And that was why he liked her. Duo signed off with a Thanx and got to work using his brand-new full privelages. Getting access to the Preventer's database was easy, once he'd talked to Noin. She had developed a nearly physcic ability, and was good at acting accordingly. She knew when they had really been given acess and when they had skipped that step. He was on-line and wading through L2 travel records within the hour.
He didn't think that it was likely that Gina's kidnappers had moved her off-colony by legitimate means. That didn't mean that he wasn't checking. While he was checking records of child travelers, he was also looking over the cargo ships' manifests. He still knew which ones were most likely to have stow-aways, willing and otherwise. Looking at the daunting lists, he sent a prayer:
Please let her still be on colony.
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Trowa was ready to start throwing people. Shop keepers who had fingered Gina for petty theft from among a dozen very similar eight-year olds suddenly couldn't give him better answers than "Maybe."
"Maybe it was that kid."
"Maybe she had red hair."
"Maybe it was a girl."
"Could'a been a green jacket."
And on and on as Trowa canvassed Gina's rout, her photo ID and school portrait in hand. More than a few of the shopkeepers wouldn't look him in the eye, and only glanced at the photos. Catching sight of a uniformed officer, Trowa reminded himself that, little as it was, he was still getting clearer answers than the police would have. it was a supremely depressing thought. Still, he kept at it. Someone was bound to give up information. Someone had to know something. And he'd get it, even if he had to beat it out of them.
As the colony darkened to "night," Trowa finally headed back, knowing that Duo hadn't had much more luck than he had. Gina was out there somewhere, probably frightened out of her mind, and Trowa felt helpless.
Walking through the front door and meeting Duo's eyes, he knew that his husband felt the same. There would be no sleep this night.
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The police left the small house while admonishing the two distraut and dangerous fathers to leave the matter to the authorities. Nobody believed that they would, and the Detective shook his head as the door closed behind him.
"Twenty-four hours this girl's been missing, and these two have already compiled a better case file than we would have in a week." He sighed, admiring the older men for their abilities. There wasn't a cop on L2 these days that hadn't been brought through the acadamy with stories of the two men and their deeds for the people of the colony. But him, he'd been here when they came to the colony. He'd gotten to watch the changes happen, and knew that the stories, unbelievable to most of the cadets, weren't even half as amazing as the truth.
"They have more time, and the luxury of being able to focus on one case, sir." The other detective was new. His partner could see in his eyes that the young one couldn't believe two men could do all that had been attributed to Trowa Barton and Duo Maxwell.
"They also have the head of the Preventers helping them on an freelance basis. What the Capt. wouldn't give for just fifteen minutes of that woman's time." The older detective sighed again, then smiled. "C'mon, let's see if we can't get their daughter back before they beat us to the scum that nabbed her."
"But you just told them to..." the young one started.
"Son, I'd be disappointed if they listened me."
They left the small house behind.
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End Part Two
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