Long time, no write, I know. Thanks everyone who's still hanging in there, waiting for me to get off my ass and write. Hopefully this is worth it. This is just a bit of insight, not much furthering of the plot. I'm not very happy with it, so if you have suggestions, or want to beta-read, let me know.

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Chapter Four:

Interlude

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Gina curled up in her narrow bed. Her head ached from the constant white noise coming through the ear implant. Her stomach rolled because of the medication they had given her when they replaced the earphone with something under her skin, so that she couldn't take it out.

She wanted to go home!

Little snuffling noises were coming from the other beds in the long room. The sound almost never came from the same bed, so Gina knew that she'd get shocked if she started crying. She could almost hear the voice telling her that "good girl's don't cry." It had only been one day, maybe a day and a half since she woke up on the shuttle, and she was already feeling like this. She didn't know if she'd be able to stand it until Duo found her.

She only kept herself from crying because she knew that Duo and Trowa would find her. She took deep breaths and closed her eyes, forming a picture of Duo and Trowa in her mind. It made her feel better, and proved that the strange people here weren't spying on her thoughts. In the scary stories told by the patients at the Clinic, the bad guys always spied on your thoughts.

Gina relaxed into the mattress, reminding herself that sometimes people didn't even have one of those. She kept Duo and Trowa in her mind, they were smiling like they did when she brought birthday cake home from school for them. It had gotten mashed in her bag, but they had eaten it anyway. She hugged her pillow to her, thinking of her family, and managed to block out the white noise. Gina didn't sleep very well that night, but she slept better than everyone else, except the adults.

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Viktor looked at Decasco from across the table. The bulky man had a cigarette dangling from his lips and a twinkle in his eye. This made Viktor doubt that the two pair he was holding would beat whatever Decasco had. This did not stop him from raising the bid and grinning like he was holding a Royal Flush. Hopefully the other man would fold, and Viktor wouldn't have to pay up on the two hundreds he had just promised.

It had been a slow week, except for that red haired girl a couple of days ago. None of the other children coming in and out of the vermin Clinic were likely candidates for what their employer had in mind. Someone always seemed to take them home. Viktor snorted under his breath, remembering that the doctor at the Clinic kept brining one of his children with him, or having them meet him there after school. What a disgusting place to expose a child to.

Decasco raised the bid again, and smiled. The smile reminded Viktor of the shark that had tried to eat him the last time he was on Earth. He was tempted to shoot Decasco, like he had the shark. Handgun, harpoon gun, at this distance they both were effective.

Viktor folded, swearing silently. Now he had to snatch another kid, just to pay off what he had lost to Decasco, and he had to do it alone, or he'd have to split the take with the other man, and that defeated the purpose.

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Duo was starting to see double, and Helena was barely keeping her eyes open. So far, they hadn't found the strange men among the passport photos. Ben was curled up on the couch, going through the passenger manifests from satellite colony 19926-X12 for the last six months and comparing the adults with yet another section of the Preventers' database. Duo smiled bitterly. If he hadn't been so glad for having all of this information in one place, he'd be spooked that the organization was allowed to collect it all.

He sent a little 'thank you' heavenward that the Preventers were on his side.

Trowa walked back in from his latest visit to the police station just as Helena's head started to droop onto Duo's chest. He took one look at them and the photos on the computer screen, and shook his head in tired amusement. "Wouldn't it work better if you and I staked out the clinic to watch for them? There can't be that many people who look like extras from The Godfather hanging around that section of town."

Duo shot Trowa a look. "Yes, that would be easier. How come you always get to be the genius?"

Trowa shrugged, "Natural talent, I guess." Duo laughed softly, and stood, carrying Helena with him.

Ben looked up, "Everything here checks out so far. We might want to get someone to go over these guys' backgrounds a little more carefully though." He set the laptop down on the floor, where Trowa had left it for him. Standing and stretching, Ben worked the kinks out of his shoulders before reaching to take Helena from Duo. "Everyone's beat. Why don't we all get some sleep, then ambush these dirtbags tomorrow."

Trowa quirked an eyebrow, "dirtbags?"

Ben grinned, "It seemed as good a term as any until we know their names."

Duo chuckled, and wished them good-night before stumbling off in the direction of the bedroom. Trowa locked the door behind them, before following his husband. He found Duo at the door to Gina's room, his braid half undone and the hair-tie wrapped around tense fingers. Trowa walked up behind him and pulled him into an embrace. "We'll find her, Love. Nobody can outmaneuver us all."

Duo leaned back with a sigh, sounding older than he looked. "We're not as fast as we used to be, Tro. What if we're not fast enough?"

Trowa didn't have an answer to that, so he simply kissed the side of Duo's neck and pulled the other man gently down the hallway, determined that they were both going to get some rest. Tomorrow, they would hunt, and someone was going to pay.

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End Chapter Four

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Thanks To:

Seeress: You always say the nicest things.

Jordan: Sorry to make you wait so long.

Everyone who didn't review: Thanks for reading, I love you all, even in your silence.