Chapter Twenty-one: You've Been Hit By, You've Been Struck By, A Smooth Criminal

"You trouble yourself to much, my friend." Trowa said softly.

Jack Avis was drumming his fingers on his desk, looking rather annoyed. "I was close! Confound it! I was so close and I failed."

Trowa glanced around, and seeing no one else took a seat. "Listen, Jack, I didn't expect you to get either one of them. In all honesty I didn't expect you to come back alive. You're lucky all you got was a concussion."

Jack glared at his superior. "So why did you send me?"

"Because you wanted the chance. You deserved the chance. I fought Heero Yuy once, a long time ago, and lost. He's fierce, and he married a fierce woman." Trowa replied.

Avis's glare lessened slightly and he plopped a folder in front of Trowa. "We found this where they were. They got away without it."

Trowa picked it up. "Sketches?"

"Yes. Not just the sketches, but the signature. I figured that there might be a way to connect Chase Yuy with her past counterpart."

"Elise Thate." Trowa murmured.

"Know her?" Jack asked.

"I've heard the name before."

"I'm sure. There's a drawing at the bottom of the stack that's frighteningly familiar." Jack said.

Trowa glanced up at him, before pulling the last drawing out from the pile. He stiffened. "It's..."

"The seven gundam pilots. And there's one sketch in there of just the five male pilots, and one just of you."

Trowa stared at him. "You know what this means."

"Of course I do. But nobody in her time knows that. It won't prove a thing there." Jack agreed.

Trowa tapped the folder against his palm. "Who says we have to prove it? I want you to go back. Seize Elise Thate's assets, her studios, everything. Shut it down."

Jack Avis shook his head. "No."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, no, Trowa. My mission isn't over yet."

"That's an order, Lieutenant."

Jack grinned at him. "Oh, really? You have to keep your rank in OWN. To do that you have to keep Victor and company happy. To keep them happy you have to deliver the Yuys sometime soon. I can do that."

"You tried, Jack. It's over." Trowa said.

"No. They're going to New York. They're going to try to protect Quatre Winner. From what I've heard you're closer to him than you are to me. I can get them there."

"It doesn't matter who I'm close to anymore. My life as I knew it was over the second I agreed to join OWN. There's a bigger picture, Jack."

"Trowa, if this Maxwell double gets to New York first, he'll take Quatre. And if he finds the Yuys there or they get in his way, he'll kill them. He knows they suspect him; he's got nothing to loose. I'm going to New York, Trowa. I won't stop until I have them. You want Chase Yuy alive or not?"

Trowa glared at him sharply. The last was a low blow and they both knew it. "Fine, Jack. Go to New York and do your best. But don't expect me to be your cavalry."

The younger man looked a little hurt by the comment. He took the folder and headed out. At the door he stopped and turned back. "I guess you don't need me alive that bad after all."

Trowa considered stopping him, but did not. Five minutes later, alarms went off in the compound.

Anna flattened herself against the wall in the shadows. Rolling her eyes, she reached back around the corner and yanked Cavel to stand next to her.

"They know we're here." He whispered.

"I noticed." Anna whispered back. "What level is the first level of holding cells?"

"Level Six, below ground." He answered.

"How many underground levels are there?"

"Ten."

"I'm assuming the lower the level the higher the security level?" Anna asked.

"Yes." Cavel whispered. "A long time ago it was used as a bomb shelter."

"Considering what happened to the house Marimeia used as a fortress, I'd say it probably doesn't work very well." Anna muttered.

He looked confused. "What house?"

"The house that Heero Yuy destroyed. Never mind. The service elevators should be this way."

Cavel hit the elevator button as Anna surveyed the hall. She looked at him.

"Why hasn't anybody hit this floor yet? We're on level four below ground." Anna whispered.

Cavel shrugged. "It's possible everyone went to level five, or that there's a high stake mission going on, or it's a all personnel training night. Sometimes no one's here."

"Variables you might have mentioned earlier, slick." Anna said.

"Sorry."

The elevator opened and she shoved him in. "Go directly to level six. Talk your way out of anyone you run into, and shoot anyone who doesn't listen. I'll meet you down there."

"Hey! Wha-" he exclaimed. He was cut short as the doors slid shut.

She ran back to the base computer near the end of the hall. She quickly hacked into the prisoner levels list and started through beginning at level six. Halfway down the list she found what she was looking for: Meg Collins. Anna ran back to the elevator and forced the doors open. She said silent thanks for the invention of leather gloves as she slid down the cable.

When her feet hit the top of the car, she listened for any sound of struggles going on. She heard none, and pried the elevator roof open. She found Cavel leaning on the door, keeping it open.

"It's about time." He said calmly. On the floor near where he stood were two bodies of OWN soldiers.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tiger."

"Don't be. I was just doing my job." He replied.

"Come on, then. What we're looking for is just down the hall. We need to hurry, because security will be swarming soon. They really need to amp it up." She said.

"I'll take the left, you take the right." He said, and they scurried down the corridor. A second later he called to her. "I found her, I think."

Anna came back to him and looked in the window. Sure enough, asleep on the cot was Meg. "How did you know it was her?"

"The preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America is scratched onto the wall." He replied.

Again he was right. "I'm impressed, Slick. Very impressed."

"Thank you."

"Meg! Meg, wake up! Ms. Collins." She called.

"They might have her sedated." Cavel murmured.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Anna said dryly. "Here, hold this." She handed him a black plastic case. He held it in his palm as she opened it and took out a hook looking device.

"I bought us a little time by putting out the elevators." Cavel said.

She nodded, too involved with her work to respond in any other manner. She yelped, as the lock sparked and set electricity into the air. "Did you know about that?" she cried angrily.

Cavel shook his head. "No! I thought those were only on level eight and down."

"Beautiful." She growled. She put the case away. "Step back." He did so. She drew out her magnum and put a hole in the door. "Standard never fails. Don't forget that." She said.

His mouth was slightly agape as she kicked the door in. "Sure." He said.

Anna knelt by the sleeping pathologist and shook her gently. "Ms. Collins, wake up."

Meg stirred and grumbled something about five minutes.

"Not now, you twit. This isn't college, Meg. Wake up!" Anna snapped. They were running low on time.

The grumpy doctor slowly came to. "Who the blazes are you?"

Anna grinned. "You don't know me. We have a mutual friend."

"Who?

"A Doctor Russell."

"Oh. Is she here too?" Meg asked sleepily.

"No, she's not. But she needs you to do a couple of things for her, okay?"

"Okay. I owe her anyway. What did you say your name was?" Meg stated.

Anna shook her as Meg's head started to droop. "You wouldn't understand it if I told you. Meg, this is important. Are you paying attention? Doctor Collins?"

Her head snapped up. "I'm here."

"Okay. I'm going to send you back to Chicago, okay? Once you're there, I need you to go to Doctor Estes's home. If it's still being watched, go home. If nobody is at her house, I need you to write that down and leave the note on your desk at the hospital. You got that?"

Meg nodded. "Going back to Chicago. Go to Gabi's house. If it's occupied, sleep. If it's not, say so in a note, leave it on my desk at work. You didn't tell me your name."

"Very good, Doctor Collins. My name is Hoshimawari Mei. If you leave a note, afterwards go home. Sleep. She'll owe you after all this." Anna said.

Meg was actually coherent. "That would be a miracle. I owed her for study sheets through most of college."

"Hmm. I bet she lost a lot of sleep for it too. Are you awake enough to go back, now?"

"Yes. I'm ready to ditch this place. Are you sure she's okay?"

"She's just fine. Hold on to your hat." Anna brought the laptop out of her bag and set up the program. "Don't forget." She hit the location and send button. Meg Collins disappeared.

"I only thought Commander Barton had that technology." Cavel said quietly.

Anna nearly jumped a mile and a half. "Jeez, Kid, I almost forgot you were here."

"They're coming, I think."

"Let's rock and roll, then. We don't know what time Mr. Barton will be dropping in on us this morning."

Chase brought the plane down for a landing when they reached Pennsylvania. "I'd go farther but we're running low on fuel," she explained to her half-asleep passengers.

"You DO have a way of getting the weapons through all this I hope," Hero muttered.

"I'll find a way."

"That's not encouraging, Elise," Dimitri said in perfect English.

Heero glanced at him from the corner of his eye. He muttered something in Japanese.

"No, Heero, I do know English, as I know many other languages. I am a resourceful man."

Glare.

Somehow (though I can't say how because I don't know) Chase managed to get the fuel without much notice. She crawled back up into the plane to find Dimitri sitting in the pilot's seat. "Sit in the back."

She glared when she noticed that Heero had taken Dimitri's place as the co pilot. "Why do I get put in the back?"

"Because there are men around looking for an 'Elise Thate,'" Dimitri responded. "Men in OWN uniforms. Sit in the back and keep your head down."

Chase did as she was told. "How do you think they found out?"

"Your sketches," Heero responded. "When you left them. That's the only way."

Chase growled low in her throat. "Blast it," she muttered. "Go, Dimitri. We need to get to New York now." She paused. "And I need you to send a message to Quatre, any way you see fit."

"Will do," Heero responded as he pulled his laptop out.

"Send it encrypted to Luck inc. computers. Quatre's personal one. 'QRW@luck.org', then write the following: 'Sorry my friend's secretary lost my sketches that you had said you were going to publish. Can you believe it? Sometimes I wonder why we pay these people-'"

Heero smirked.

"'- Anyway, Emerarudo Yoake will be a little late in the publishing stages. I'm dreadfully sorry, old friend. I guess that means that our meetings shall take place in other locations on a different time. I'm going home for a time, and I wish for you to join me.'

"Home: Japan."

"Really?" Dimitri asked. "Won't they catch on?"

"No. Home might be Chicago for them, simply because that is my base of operations. Japan shall always be home."

Heero nodded, seemingly understanding. "Let's go."

Quatre walked into the old warehouse where Chase had kept one of her many art studios. She had told them before they left that she would meet him there, or send word otherwise. No word had come yet.

"Perhaps she has not arrived," he said quietly to himself as he walked through the doors.

The sight astounded him. Tables overturned. Artwork scattered and lamps smashed. Televisions, radios, and CD players were broken and ripped apart. The wall scrolls that had hung on the walls had been put through shredders and now lay in piles on the floor, along with the extra paper she had. Pencils, of all kinds, lay broken into many pieces around the room. Erasers were broken and scattered. Japanese tools were found in various places, carelessly thrown around, unlike Chase would ever treat her prized material.

Quatre's breath caught. "Hoshi..."

After the initial shock, thoughts flooded into his mind. What if she had been waiting for him? What if OWN had come and seized her while she was unaware they even knew who "Elise Thate" was?

Quatre walked to the small portion of the studio that was used for supplies when Chase came here to work. The pantry was empty, cobwebs the only occupants. The fridge was not functioning and it had not been for a long time.

"Good. She wasn't here."

Quatre jumped, heart pounding as his computer beeped from inside his bag. He opened it up and read Chase's message. He wrote: I await your arrival.