Chapter Fifteen: Tag, You're It.

"You do realize that was a red light and if a cop stops us we WILL be recognized, ne?" Heero deadpanned.

"Would you like to drive?" Chase asked sharply, glaring at the road ahead of her. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Take a left out of Chicago up there," Heero said.

"Where are we going?"

"Out of the city limits. The Chicago PD knows we've been in their city, but the other cities around it might not have heard. We'll get a good distance away, but not as far as they would suspect."

Chase opened her mouth to be silenced by the ringing of her cell phone. "What?" she demanded to the caller. Her eyes widened when she heard the man on the other side.

"Chase, we know where you are and you are now putting your employees at risk. Careless and sloppy, Chase, leaving someone like this girl to take the heat. I suppose you can be classified as a Yuy now, though. A true soldier."

"Barton," Chase hissed. "Hikari has nothing to do with all this! She doesn't know anything."

"Amazing, but that's what she keeps telling us, though even though I hear it from you as well, I don't believe it. I want Quatre back here and I will give all of you a chance to join up with OWN. It's a very profitable business."

Heero's eyes darted over to her as he heard her ramble a long line of curses. After she finished, she yelled some more. "You think I'd give Quatre over to you after what you did to him?! How stupid do you think I am?!"

"Not stupid at all, Chase. If you knew anything, you'd understand I wasn't the one that beat him."

"Yeah. You had someone else do your dirty work so your hands would be 'clean,' am I right?"

"No. I never ordered his beating. Some misunderstandings occurred and that was dealt with."

"You son of a-"

Heero grabbed the phone away from her. "Drive." He then put the phone to his own ear. "Listen and listen good, Barton. I don't have any problems with killing you; no matter what former relationships you may have had with my wife. I think even she might be to the point she wouldn't stop me."

"I'm sure you're ready and willing to kill me, Heero. I'm sure you may try, but you don't see the big picture. If you did, you'd see it my way."

"Explain."

"How about looking up?"

The loud sound of a helicopter hovering overhead filled the area and Chase cursed. "I'm going to loose them. Hang on and hang up the blasted phone."

Heero did so, tossing it out of the window in case it was bugged.

Chase swerved off of the main road and into an alley. "They can't follow us through all these buildings. They'll get too tall too fast."

"I hope you're right, and I hope they don't have any bugs in here."

"How did they know where we were heading? I personally did a scan of the car yesterday!"

Heero sighed heavily. "I'm not sure. Somehow Trowa's ahead of us on everything."

"You don't think..."

"Wufei may be correct. You have another phone, I'm sure?"

Chase smirked. "I come prepared, you should know this by now," she said as she pulled a small cell phone out of her jacket pocket. She dialed the number. It rang until it hit the voice mail. "No answer."

"Try again."

"Same."

"Leave a message telling Anna we're heading toward Dallas, Texas."

"Are we?"

"No."

Chase frowned. "I hope Duo is OK," she muttered as she did as her husband ordered.

Wufei, Duo, and Quatre all leaned violently to the right as Anna swerved into the parking garage of Rush Presbyterian. It was late, allowing for not many other cars to be in the vicinity, and no security guards.

"Was all that drag race driving essential, Maxwell?" Wufei muttered.

"Sorry. She's not warmed up yet. She'll be okay." Anna replied apologetically. Anna indicated a black car parked three spaces over. "Want to flip for it?"

In the backseat, supporting Quatre, Duo shook his head. "Nah. We'll be fine with this. Right Q-chan?"

Quatre smiled and tried not to grimace with the impact his side had taken. "It's fine, even though I have no clue where we're going."

"Don't mind that." Duo said. He directed his next statement towards the front. "I'll contact the two of you when we get where we're going."

"Or if you get in any trouble." Wufei added wryly.

Duo grinned. "Especially if we get in trouble."

"Try not too." Anna said.

"Hey, trouble's my middle name." Her husband quipped.

"And I thought it was Shinigami." Wufei grumbled.

Duo leaned into the front and kissed Anna on the cheek. "Get going you two."

They nodded. Anna grabbed her bag, and she and Wufei got out of the car.

Quatre decided to stay in the back and lie down while Duo got up front and drove. The braided man gave a final wave before disappearing out of the garage.

Anna stared after the car until something in her bag vibrated. She reached in and pulled out a phone differing from the usual. She flipped it open to find a voice mail.

"What is it?" Wufei asked.

"Dallas." She replied.

"That's where they're going?"

She glanced around the parking area, trying not to look suspicious. "Yeah. I'll drive."

"I was afraid you'd say something like that. You're beat. Let me drive. Get in." Wufei said. She handed him the keys and complied. He slid into the beamer and sped out onto the street, eyeing the Duo's car quite away down the street. It wasn't hard to spot because of the peeling paint job. He headed in that direction.

"Is this vehicle bugged?" he asked.

"It's possible, but doubtful. Trowa kidnapped Meg, why would he bug her car?"

"Because he's thorough. In everything." Wufei sighed.

"So I noticed."

"I take it they're headed somewhere after Dallas?"

Anna caught the double meaning. "Yeah. She didn't say where, though."

Wufei clenched his jaw. Wherever Duo was heading, it was definitely out of the state. He took the exit marked for Gary, Indiana. Wufei had the sneaking suspicion that New York would wind up the final destination. What he was afraid of though, was that Duo would turn out to be a traitor after all. He turned the radio on and turned it up so it was blaring.

"You took the laptop, didn't you?" he asked softly, knowing full well Anna could hear him.

A smirk crossed her features. "Of course."

They exchanged glances. "Of course. You're the only one he hasn't seen." He murmured.

"Exactly." She replied.

His jaw re-clenched as he followed Duo's car, just keeping it in sight.

The Duo double kept a continuous watch of the man in the backseat. Quatre had tried to keep up conversation, but he was just too tired. Duo had finally told to get some rest and not to worry. Just like that, Quatre had dropped off, dozing against the armrest. As soon as Duo had said, "Relax, trust me," he had.

So trusting.

The look-a-like shook his head. "Poor fool." He uttered under his breath. That was something he decidedly did not understand. One thing his trainer had pounded into him in training was not to trust anyone, even your own comrades, if you had any. Yet, these six had a definite trust in each other. And his employer Commander Barton had once made seven. It was weird.

He almost felt sorry for them all. They were all going to be ripped apart one by one and they wouldn't even see it coming. It would be so easy once this one was back under Trowa's imprisonment. Then they would bring in the other double and it would be too late to stop the plan.

Yes, he felt bad. But he had orders. Those orders were to secure Quatre Raberba Winner, also known as Lucky Vincent, and bring him back. And if he had time, pick up the girl in New York.

He frowned, remembering the looks that had passed between the one called Chase, Heero, and the Chinese man. Instinct told him they suspect something was up, but they weren't saying anything. That would have to be dealt with. That foolish girl that was supposed to be his `wife' didn't suspect anything.

"I guess that's what marriage does to you. Blinds ya." He said quietly. He pulled his transmission radio out of his pocket.

"Avis? You out there?" he asked, making sure Quatre didn't wake up.

"Of course. I'm always on standby." Avis replied.

Duo rolled his eyes. "My mistake. I've secured mission objective. I'm in route to Columbus, Ohio. I'll fly to New York from there."

"Are you being followed?"

Duo checked his side mirrors. He hadn't seen that beamer in half an hour, so it was safe to assume that the Chinese man hadn't followed. "Negative. Just me, sleeping beauty back here, and the road ahead."

"Sleeping beauty?" Avis asked, confused.

"Never mind. ETA is two and a half days. What's the current status on capturing the Yuys?"

"In progress, nothing confirmed. They're determined people." Avis said, irritation edging his tone.

"Well, be aware that they think something's up with me. It might pass, but it's a good thing Commander made the statement when he did." Duo said.

"Noted. By the way, does the girl we arrested know anything?"

He thought over the last conversation. "Nothing we don't know all ready."

"All right. Commander Barton will greet you personally when you get back. It might shock our foreign friend into spilling what we need to know." Avis said.

"Yes, sir. Is that all, Avis?"

"Yes. Drive safe. Avis out."

Duo shut the radio off and put it on the seat next to him. He gave one final glance to the backseat, and then settled in for a long night of driving. Quatre only stirred slightly as they turned a curve in the road.

"So where are we going?"

"New York."

"Won't they look for us there?"

Heero glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "They think we're going to Dallas. We'll head the opposite direction."

Chase nodded and kept her eyes trained ahead as her speed increased. She felt her husband's hand on her shoulder as he told her to slow down.

"Being noticed will not do us any good at the moment, Chase," he whispered. "And when you get tired I'll take over."

"That may be a while. You might want to get some sleep."

He shook his head. "No."

She sighed and settled in for the long drive from Chicago to New York. She didn't know what they'd find there. Dorothy was gone. She'd been taken away by Trowa. Duo was a possible traitor. Things were just looking darker and darker by the moment.

"I thought we were through with all of this," she muttered. "Why can't we just settle down and have normal lives?"

Heero placed a hand on her shoulder. "Chase-chan, if we had lived normal lives, we would not be sitting here now, simply because we would never have known each other."

The words hit home and the next several hours were spent in silence.