Chapter Fourteen: When We First Practice To Deceive

Quatre lay awake staring at the ceiling of his friend's loft, wondering where things had gone so wrong. Everything that had gone on for the last week was all wrong. Chase and Anna were never supposed to remember, much less get involved again. Heero wasn't supposed to contact them; he and Duo had done that on their own. Not that he wasn't glad to see them again, but it was under the same circumstances as they had been when they had first met twelve years ago.

The only reason they had all come together in the first place was because of a war. It was the first time in years that he could remember being part of a unified group, like a real family. He and his father had never been close; their views had differed too much. But they had fallen in together so well even it had been awkward at first. Especially the friendship he shared with Trowa.

"Do you really have to leave? I won't stop you, but at least tell me what your name is before you go. My name is Quatre Raberba Winner."

"I have no name. But if you must call me something, it's Trowa. Call me Trowa Barton."

"Goodbye, Trowa. We'll meet again."

Quatre bit his lip and shifted so he faced the wall. There was a reason for Trowa's actions, and he wasn't going to give up until he found out what it was. He knew Chase had to be angry with the tall pilot, and Anna had already expressed her outrage at his treachery. The blonde Arab only hoped they could keep their tempers in check long enough for everything to be sorted out.

Wufei knocked on the door at the end of the hallway. He knew it had to be Anna's, because the muffled arguing coming from the other room had to be Chase and Heero. He had never heard Chase and Anna really fight, any time they had it was staged. When Heero and Anna fought, you could hear it across the globe. Rather, you could hear Anna around the globe. When Chase and Heero fought, it was generally muffled at first, and then it escalated from there. Or rather, Chase escalated from there. So it was more than likely Chase and Heero in the other room.

"Women," he thought dryly.

"Come in!" she called.

He slipped in and shut the door behind him. It was pitch black in the room, except for the moonlight pouring in the window. Anna was sitting on her bed staring out of the window and across the street.

"May I join you?" he asked.

She tossed a glance in his direction and nodded. He took the invitation and sat on the end of her bed.

"Nani desu ka?" he asked quietly.

"Just thinking." She replied.

"Regretting."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Tabun."

"I'm sorry about your son, Anna."

That comment got her attention. She pulled her gaze away from the stars and met his eyes.

"What brought that on?" she murmured.

"Just watching you and Duo earlier. And that picture of you and that boy." He said, indicating the photo on her dresser.

She smiled, albeit a little sadly. "That's my nephew. He's a great kid."

"He doesn't look like you." Wufei remarked.

"He shouldn't. We don't share blood." Anna said. "Not that it matters."

"Blood doesn't make a family." He said tentatively.

"No, it doesn't." she agreed. "Like the seven of us, ne?"

"Hai."

The conversation lulled and they both watched the night sky.

"Shooting stars..." Anna whispered absently.

"Do you want it back?" Wufei asked.

"What's that?" she questioned.

"The necklace. I still wear it."

Anna shook her head. "Keep it. It doesn't belong to me here."

He nodded. "Chase and Heero are at it, I think."

She snorted. "It's no wonder. She told me they encountered our fickle friend Mr. Barton."

"Anna, you can't blame him for this whole thing. He's a link in a chain." Wufei warned.

"He's supposed to be a link in our chain! He can't possibly be doing this undercover, look what he did to Quatre! Never in all my life did I expect to see the kind of injury done from one friend to another as the injury I found in Quatre. That would be like Chase beating me to a pulp, or me her, or Duo beating up Heero with malicious intent." She exclaimed.

He sighed. "Anna, listen to me, this is a huge operation going on here. It's been in the works for almost six years. They came to me a year and a half-ago and offered me a high rank of seniority if I pledged my loyalty to OWN. To gather information, they agreed to let me have a trial so to speak of three months. At the end of three months I refused the offer, but I know what he's up to. Anna..." The ringing of her cell cut him off.

She gave him an apologetic look and answered. "Hello? Oh, yes, hi, Rachel." Anna's look became more and more severe as the conversation continued, and she gave nothing more than several acknowledging grunts. Finally, she sighed. "Yes, I understand. They're sure? She's not pulling another stunt is she? No planted bodies?" There was a pause. "Yes, all right. I'll be there as soon as possible. Thanks, Rachel."

Wufei gave her a questioning look as she hung up and stood to move towards her closet. "What was that about?" he asked.

She turned towards him and put her hands on her hips. "He's kidnapped a coroner friend of mine. He's gone way to far this time." She smirked. "All though I don't envy the person who kidnapped Meg."

"How do you know it was Trowa?"

"Now you see Meg in the morgue, bright flash of light, Meg's not in the morgue anymore, but her very freaked out assistant is." She answered.

Wufei nodded. "Sounds like Trowa." He moved and grabbed her wrist as she reached for the closet door. "Would you kill him?"

Anna froze. Her eyes darted from face to face on the poster on her door. They landed on Trowa. "Possibly." She whispered at it.

He twisted her wrist in his grip so she was looking at him. "You can't." he hissed.

"Why not?" she hissed back.

"Because you could no more stare down the barrel of a gun and shoot Trowa Barton than you could me." He said softly.

She smirked. "I have stared down the barrel of a gun and shot you."

Wufei frowned. "But you didn't do it with the intent to kill."

Anna glared at him and wrenched out of his grasp. "I know. I fit both your no kill categories. Bleeding hearts and women."

Downstairs, Duo looked around carefully, and listened closely before he pulled out of his bag what looked to be a two-way radio.

"Avis? You there?" he asked after he turned it on.

"Confirmed. Are you in?" the reply crackled over the static.

"Like Flinn. None of them suspect a thing. The Chinese dude's got a problem with me, I think, but I'm assuming that's a personal thing. Not even my `wife' saw anything out of the ordinary." He responded.

"Good. Keep them in the house as long as possible. Keep low; you won't have your cover long. Heero Yuy is bound to see something sooner or later. Cause as much friction between them as possible. If they're against each other they'll be useless as fighters when the Commander makes his move." Avis ordered.

"What do I do when they find out?" he asked.

"Do whatever you have to get out of there. And I mean whatever." Avis replied.

The Duo-look-alike smirked. "Acknowledged. Duo out."

"Avis out."

Duo shut off the radio, leaned back in the couch and grinned like the cat that ate the canary. This would be interesting.

Chase opened her mouth to respond to her husband when the doorbell rang. She closed her lips and glared. "I'll be right back. Don't move."

She walked briskly down the hallway to the door and opened it, half expecting an annoying advertisement to be stuck on the door handle.

"Jen-chan!"

"Konban wa, Hikari. This really isn't the best time..."

The young Japanese girl seemed to ignore her superior artist's not so subtle hints to leave. She walked right in. "Turn on your TV. Something is on."

Hikari Mio didn't wait for Chase to turn her own TV on but raced to it and flipped it on.

On the television a news reporter continued to talk from what appeared to have been in an ongoing story. "...And in other news, the four young people from the shootings at Luck Inc. the other day are believed to have retreated to somewhere in Chicago. They were put under suspicion after Dorothy Catalonia was arrested for leading the other attackers in the other night's shootings.

"Mr. Vincent is no where to be found and it is believed that he was taken by this small group."

Pictures of Chase, Anna, Heero, and Duo showed up on the screen.

"These are the young people responsible for this. They are under the names of Jennifer Estes, Gabrielle Russell, Heero Yuy, and Duo Maxwell. If any information is known, please contact authorities.

"And now a word from FBI agent Trowa Barton."

Chase looked back at the small crowd that had gathered around the TV. "FBI? What the heck?!"

"I would like to make it known that if any of these four people would step forward and help us find the rest, we would be happy to put them under our protection. Mr. Vincent must be found at all costs. We do offer protection."

The television winked off and Chase slumped onto the couch. "He's making us look like criminals."

"What is all this?" Hikari demanded.

"Who's she?" Heero demanded, glaring at the young Japanese artist.

"She works under me on Emeradudo Yoake. This is Hikari Mio. Hikari, this is Anna, Wufei, Duo, and Heero."

"Wow. So this is all true or what?"

"No. We were trying to help Mr. Vincent against the people that were trying to kill him for something that he knows. OWN, the division of it in Chicago is led by the man you saw in TV, Trowa Barton. They're trying to kill him, not us," Heero said.

Hikari nodded.

Duo snorted. "So what does he expect us to do? Turn each other in?"

"Apparently." Wufei agreed.

Anna groaned and flopped on the couch next to her friend. "I'm going to have my medical license revoked."

"I guess you won't be teaching tomorrow." Heero remarked.

She nodded and looked at Chase. "You can't go to the studio either. We'll be arrested if we're seen in public."

Chase growled. "That idiot's made us fugitives."

"And he's putting Quatre in the middle of it for his own gain." Heero added.

The younger artist looked back and forth to all of them, and then to her boss. "You could always go to your place in Japan."

"Trowa will find us there, too." Chase sighed.

"It would buy you time, though." Hikari said.

"One thing's for sure. We can't stay here. Your neighbors will recognize us, Anna's students, co-teachers, and doctor friends will; Chase's artists and friends will; and people who have seen Heero and I around will know us. One of them is bound to turn us in." Duo said.

"He's right, for once." Chase acquiesced.

He glared at her slightly.

"We can't stay together, either. We have to split." Anna said flatly.

"Split?" Hikari echoed.

"No way, Anna." Heero said, shaking his head.

"Maxwell's right, Yuy. We're way too easy to find this way. There are six of us together now." Wufei put in. "And one of us is going to have to go back to our `world' as they put it and join OWN undercover. They've kidnapped a coroner from this world." He added.

"You know what that means. If Trowa's going after one of our friends, he'll go after others." Chase groaned. She looked at Hikari. "You better get out of here while you can. It's not safe around here right now."

Hikari grinned. "It was never safe around you, Jen-chan."

Wufei frowned. "She should stay here tonight and go at dawn. It would be safer for her to leave that way."

"Whatever you think is best, boss." Hikari said, looking at Chase.

"Keep in mind they probably have this place under surveillance." Heero said.

"I know they do. About twelve of them showed up earlier and tried to finish the job Trowa started. I gave them a drug that induces amnesia." Anna said.

"That's why he hasn't found our location yet." Wufei yet.

"If she stays they'll think she knows more than she does." Chase pointed out.

"She already knows to much." Wufei argued.

"Me? I don't know anything. I just came by to drop off a sketch." Hikari said, looking innocent.

"She's hung around her employer to long." Duo grinned.

The employer in question glared at him. "Damade."

Duo became suddenly serious. "When we split, we should go in three groups of two. At least we'll all have back-up that way."

They all stared at him.

"Duh, boyo, that's the way we always do it." Chase remarked.

He flushed and muttered something incoherent. Out loud he said, "Well, I'll take Quatre. I know a place where they'll never look for us."

Chase narrowed her eyes and saw Heero do the same. It had been a while since they were all together, but they had fought all ready, and in their pairs.

The brown-eyed artist glared slightly at the one with the long braid. "Duo?"

"Hmm?"

Chase took a deep breath, looking at him intensely, trying to figure out what was different.

"I'll take Quatre," Heero said as he stepped forward.

"C'mon, buddy, I've got the perfect place for him."

"Where?"

"..."

"We need to know, Maxwell, or we won't be able to give you both back up if you need it," Wufei reasoned.

Chase opened her mouth to speak when a loud knock came at the door. "This is the Chicago Police Department. Open up."

Hikari looked at Chase for a moment. "I'll go with him and do the best I can. If they see me with him, they may believe he's really not up to anything because I'm not a suspect," she said in hushed tones so the police couldn't hear anything.

"Or they may do just the opposite and take you in too," Anna responded.

"I can take that chance. Hey, I was complaining earlier that this would be a quiet night," she answered with a smirk.

Chase sighed deeply. "Do that, Hikari. Duo, send word to us where you'll be. I don't care how, just do it and don't let them know. Heero, I would assume you have some kind of plan, boyo?"

"I have a place we can hide. They won't find us easily."

"Police! Open up!"

Chase sighed. "Let's do this."

Anna grabbed her bag off the kitchen counter and handed Hikari her house key. "Here. When they question you tell them you let yourself in and no one was home. It's none of their business why you have a house key." She turned to the others. "We can go out the top deck, climb over about two decks and go down someone else's stairs."

"They'll question the lights being on." Heero said.

"Tell them we leave our lights on when we work late. By the time they search our work places we'll be long gone." Chase told Hikari.

The police pounded on the door again. "Chicago PD, open up or we're coming in."

"Get going! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Hikari whispered. Out loud she yelled, "Just a moment, please!" She then streamed off into frantic Japanese. She was actually quoting part of Chase's Emerald Dawn, but what Chicago cop would know?

Chase grinned at her gratefully, and they disappeared up the stairs. Duo and Anna went first, and when they were on the second set of stairs, Wufei stopped Chase and Heero.

"Tell me you noticed the weird part of that previous conversation." He murmured.

"Besides the fact we're almost under arrest?" Chase said dryly.

Heero nodded. "Oh, yeah. We noticed."

Wufei looked serious. "You two hide wherever you like. That leaves Anna and I teamed up. I don't particularly want her wrath right now; most of that is derived at Trowa anyway. But something is askew with Duo, and I plan to find out what."

"You're going to follow them." Chase said.

"Absolutely." Wufei confirmed.

"Be careful. If you're wrong it could be bad, if you're right it could be worse." Heero said.

"Let's rock and roll, people." Anna hissed from upstairs.

They heard the door open and several police officers rush in. The three dashed up the stairs. Duo was already on the deck, supporting Quatre, and Anna was finishing making the bed so it didn't look used. Wufei grabbed her arm and in a last minute dash she grabbed something out of the cabinet to shove in her bag. Heero shut the deck door behind them and they silently slipped away over the decks and down to the parking lot.

"Oh, yay, another complication." Chase muttered as they stood in the parking area.

"Now what?" asked Heero.

"Two cars. Three teams." She replied with a huff.

"Not a problem. Duo, Quatre, Wufei and I will share a car until we get to Rush Presbyterian Hospital. A friend keeps her car parked there. She's--out of town. She won't mind. Duo and Quatre can take my car from there." Anna said.

Chase gaped at her. "You're letting Duo take your car? That hunk of junk?"

Anna glared at her. "It's junky, but loyal. It's a lot more dependable than that tomato you own."

"We'll see. That okay with you, boyo?" Chase asked.

Heero nodded his approval. Duo helped Quatre into the car as Anna got in, and Wufei, Heero, and Chase shared one more last look.

Two cars started in the dead of night. Anna rolled her window down, and Chase did the same.

"Hey, take the back exit. And keep in touch." She said.

Chase grinned. "I'll send you a postcard. Ja." With that, she drove off and out of site.