Chapter Thirty-nine: One More Web to Weave Before the Spider Strikes



Dan Sutton stood before General Victor, trying not to appear nervous. The general turned around in his leather chair.

"Did you get what I sent you for?" Victor asked coolly.

"Yes, Sir. It was engraved, as you said it would be." Dan said, reaching over and placing a black ring box on the desk.

Victor picked up the box carefully, almost reverently, and opened it. "Ah, yes. Perfect. Very well done, Mr. Sutton."

Dan smiled. "Thank you sir."

Victor took the gold band out of the box and laid it on the desk. He unclasped the chain that hung around his neck, and added the ring to the one already there. "Now I have a pair." Victor said, almost happily. "Did she suspect anything?"

"No, Sir. I bumped into her and got the box without a hitch."

"Well done. I'm promoting you to Lieutenant. When Commander Barton returns to base you will take your place under him."

Dan frowned. "What happened to Jack Avis, Sir?"

"He is no longer with us." Victor said with a grim smile.

The teenager didn't press the issue. "Yes, Sir. As you wish."

"Good boy. I have your first mission as Lieutenant for you. Extend an invitation to Ms. Yuy to join me for an hour or so this afternoon." Victor said.

"She wouldn't come willingly." Dan said.

"Tell her that if she does not come, the next gift she receives will be Anna Maxwell in a body bag."

"She'll want proof, Sir." Dan said.

Victor smiled like a Cheshire cat. "That what I like about you, always thinking. The beautiful thing about it is this: Ms. Yuy will not take the risk of being wrong."

Dan nodded, bowed, and said, "Yes, Sir."

Wufei, Mirek, Anna, and Cavel all silently filed into their room at Mirek's. All of them found a seat and slumped down into it. Anna sat by Cavel on the couch, an arm around his shoulders. He had lost a friend too that afternoon.

"Well, that was a waste." Anna sighed.

"Of what?" Wufei asked.

"Life, time, anything else you care to add." She responded.

"He could have survived." Mirek said.

"No. I'm sure he didn't." Anna said.

"How can you tell?" Cavel asked.

"Trowa Barton cried for him. He's dead."

The room fell silent as a sense of failure set in. Anna squeezed Cavel's shoulder and got up to go to her purse. She stood at the kitchen table for several minutes, rummaging through the green bag. She frowned when she did not find what she was looking for.

"What in the world happened to my wedding ring?" Anna asked no one in particular.

"Missing something?" Mirek asked, coming into the kitchen.

"My wedding ring. Oh, by the way, Mirek, I wish you'd find Heero. I don't believe he meant to kill the boy, and I have a feeling it's not going to sit well with him. Or Chase, when she finds out. Would you find him? If he doesn't know about the underground, maybe it's time he should."

The older man nodded. "Of course. I'll find him. It shouldn't take that long. Ja ne."

"Ja." Anna bit her lip. Where *was* that ring?



The sun had begun to set when Chase finally sat down on a park bench and sighed. Nothing seemed to be going well at all today. She'd spent it looking for any trace of Anna, Duo, Wufei, and any links to anything that would help. Her efforts had been in vain.

Her senses jumped to life as she felt a presence behind her. She spun around to see a young man standing strait and tall, shades resting on his nose.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"That's not important. I have a message for you."

Chase stood. "I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a hurry, sir."

"You weren't two seconds ago. Anyway, this has to do with a close friend of yours. Anna Maxwell is the name you know her by, I believe."

Chase paled. "What about her?"

"General Victor says that you are to come with me and meet him unless you would like to see your friend at your doorstep in a body bag."

"Anta!" she screamed as she lunged over the seat and at him.

"Don't shoot the messenger, Ms. Yuy. Please, come with me and the general guarantees her safety."

Chase growled something in reply and nodded.

"Please do hand over any weapons you might be carrying and we'll be off."



Chase saw the familiar white light fade around her and she blinked once. The room was empty except for herself and the man next to her.

"General Victor will be here shortly. Please make yourself comfortable."

Chase glared after the tall boy as the door slid shut behind him. She slid down against the wall, fingering the hidden gun hooked inside her jacket. The man was far too trusting.

Without warning, she felt the floor drop from beneath her. A choked back scream came from shear surprise and she landed with a thud on the cold ground. As she sat herself up, she felt a bullet scrape past her cheek. She grabbed for her gun.

"You were such a bad sport in our last game that I thought I'd give you a chance to make it up," Victor said from the shadows.

The brown-eyed woman gripped the gun in her hand as she crouched, ready for his next move. Game indeed… This man was nothing less than sick.

Victor stepped out of the shadows and smiled sadistically at the young assassin.

"Where's Anna?"

"So impatient, Ms. Yuy! We need to work on that."

"Listen you sadistic Son of a-"

"The language isn't needed, Ms. Yuy, if you please."

"Where is

she?"

"Ms. Maxwell… Wait, is that Ms. Russell now?" he asked with a smile.

"Nani?"

"Oh? You didn't know? Your good friend has annulled her marriage to Mr. Maxwell. Very sad actually."

Chase growled under her breath. "I don't care what her name is. Where is she?"

He smiled once more. "Haven't you figured it out yet? People really do give you Gundam pilots too much credit. She isn't here, Chase-san. I merely used your blind loyalty to your friend as bait. I wanted you to come play my game, little one. It's not every day I find such good opponents as you pilots are."

Chase's eyes darkened and she jumped up and was next to him in a flash of movement. He blinked in surprise as her boot made contact with his ribs and he went flying into the wall. He looked up to see her holding her gun to his temple with a deadly look in her eye. "Never toy with the people I care about."

"That wasn't fair, Ms. Yuy. You're not being a good sport about all this."

"Fair is when you win, ne?"

"You needn't put it so bluntly, Chase-san."

"Shut up and die," she growled out.

"Not yet, Ms. Yuy," he said with a smile. His finger pressed a small button and for the second time that day, the floor dropped out from under the young woman. "Not quite yet."

Chase fell down a long tunnel before landing in the mud outside of the building. She recognized the area as a deserted building just outside of Tokyo that had been shut down five year – if not more – before that.

She screamed in frustration as she slammed a fist into the building. She pulled her cell phone from her bag she had still draped over one arm. She sighed as she briefly thought of the trouble she'd have to go to replace most of the weaponry in it. True, she'd stashed a good deal of the special, otherworldly weapons in the hidden parts of the bag, but most of the truly useful things had been confiscated.

She read the paper she had scribbled the number of the hotel onto and dialed it in quickly. She waited and Ryuujin answered.

"Hey ya, boyo."

"Where've you been all day?"

"Here, there, everywhere. Just got done unwillingly playing one of Victor's 'games.'"

"You okay?"

"Of course. Could you come pick me up? I desperately need a shower, then I have something that I need to check up on."

"Where are you?"

"It's right outside of the city…"



Chase stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her body with a sigh. The likely hood of what Victor had said about Anna and Duo being true was very low to none, but she need to quench her curiosity.

She stared into the mirror for a moment and fingered the gash the bullet had made on her face. Hopefully makeup would cover it mostly. She sighed before grabbing her clothes off the counter and dressing.

The petite blond stepped out of the bathroom five minutes later, hair dry and ready to do some hacking.

"What did you need to check up on?" Ryuu asked from his place on the bed.

"Victor said something that just didn't set well with me. I'm going to the court house if you want to join me."

Ryuu blinked as he watched her leave the room. "The court house?" he asked as he followed behind.

By the time they reached downtown Tokyo, the courthouse was closed, much to Chase's delight. With much ease, they made their way into the building without tripping any alarms.

The assassin and the swordsman climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and Chase motioned to the second door from the elevators. "That's where someone would go, so that's where the files would be."

Ryuujin nodded and they walked into the room. He watched the petite woman shift through the files until she found what she was looking for. "He was telling the truth," she muttered.

"You never quite explained the whole thing," Ryuujin said, getting slightly frustrated with the young woman's lack of answers.

"Victor told me that Anna had annulled her marriage. Apparently he wasn't lying as I thought he was."

Ryuu nodded, then turned when his ears picked up a slight noise from down the hall. "We have company," he whispered.

"Should have known the place would have cops. Sloppy of me," she muttered. She stepped back into a dark corner of the room, watching Ryuu do the same. The door cracked open, light flooding in. An old man with a security officer's hat and uniform on peered in. He shrugged and left as quickly as he came, the hall's light leaving with him.

Chase stepped forward and picked up a paper, stuffing it into her bag. "Let's go. I really don't want the headlines to read something about 'manga artist turned burglar.'"

Ryuujin chuckled at this, but agreed. They left silently and headed back to the hotel where Quatre, Dorothy, and Odin were sure to be waiting.

Chase sat down and watched the rainfall into the dark sky of the night. "You lived in Tokyo for a while, Odin."

The elder man nodded.

"What do you know of something called 'Underground Tokyo'?"

Odin Lowe's eyes flashed briefly, but the young woman missed. "Underground Tokyo, eh? Never heard of it. It sounds like one of those nightclubs. I used to go to those, a long time ago."

Chase shook her head. "I don't think that's what this is. There wasn't any information on it, but I got the feeling it was more of a community."

Odin regarded the girl carefully. "No, Chase. I don't know what that is."

She shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask. I'll do a little research, see what I can find out."

"You do that." Odin said.

The small girl left, and Odin stood still for a long moment. He shook his head. "Always getting into things, that one is." He murmured. He reached over and picked up the phone, dialing nine numbers in quick succession.

Mirek Sloan was on top of a six story building in downtown Tokyo. His laptop was perched on the roof ledge, searching for Heero Yuy's modem. He had one leg propped up on the ledge as well, and he leaned on it. His black jacket flapped around him in the slight breeze. He sighed as the sun began to sink and he hadn't found a trace of Yuy yet.

He was slightly startled as his cell phone rang. "Sloan."

"It's good to hear your voice again, old friend." Odin said.

Mirek's eyes widened. "Lowe! I never thought I'd hear from you again. Disappeared into Ohio or something like that, didn't you?"

Odin laughed. "Something like that. I was upturned by Chase Yuy just this week."

"I've heard quite a bit about her. I haven't had the opportunity to meet her yet, though. What's up, Lowe? You forget your password into the Underground, or what?"

Odin frowned. "Not exactly. Chase has somehow heard of the underground. It wasn't by me; you know I took the oath of silence. But she knows, and she won't quit looking until she finds it."

Mirek watched his computer screen as he listened. "Even if she knew about it, Lowe, doesn't mean she could get in. If an authorized person doesn't escort her down, or she doesn't have a password, it will kill her. Besides, no one can find the underground."

"Don't have so much confidence in it, my friend. Chase is very persistent. If you don't turn up Anna soon, she'll root up anything to find her."

"Anna's with me." Mirek shook his head. "I don't think she'll find it, but if she does we'll deal with it then. Did you hear what happened today?"

"About the boy?"

"Yes."

"I did. You have something to do with it?"

"No. We just saw. Heero Yuy killed that Jack kid. Bad situation, and no way of stopping it except to take Yuy out. Couldn't do that either."

"I was afraid Heero was involved. Where is he now?"

"No idea. I'm searching for him as we speak."

"All right. Find him, Sloan. That kid's dangerous when he's depressed. Ja ne."

"Right. Ciao." Mirek hung up and went back to focusing on the computer screen.

He was soon rewarded, as a bleep showed up on the computer. He grinned. "Got you." Mirek shut the laptop and disappeared into the building. He reemerged in the parking garage and sped into the streets. Yuy was close, as long as he didn't jump. If he jumped, there was no hope of getting him back.

Mirek sped along at top speeds, almost racing the setting sun. The signal was originating from a club on the outskirts of the city. It was one of those tucked away places that not many people knew about, but enough knew to keep the place in business. Mirek knew it well. He turned off the exit he needed and five minutes later he was pulling into the parking lot of a seemingly rundown hole-in-the-wall jazz club.

The outdoor lights flickered on as he entered the building. Inside, it was exquisitely done up and decorated. Mirek happened to know that the owner was a professional bounty hunter who dabbled in owning restaurants as a hobby. It was adequately lit, and the piano was already being played. Mirek located Heero Yuy in a glance of the room and took the bar seat next to him.

No eye contact was made between the two men for at least five minutes. Mirek did not want to scare the younger man off. After a long moment, Mirek instigated a conversation.

"You look like you've had a hell of a day."

Heero looked up at him before turning back to his drink without saying a word.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Mirek said mildly.

Heero fixed him with a final warning glare, but still said nothing.

"I saw you earlier this afternoon." Mirek tried.

Heero's whole body stiffened. He didn't even look at Mirek as he dropped a bill on the counter and started to leave. Mirek grabbed his arm.

"Look, I saw what happened." He said lowly. "It wasn't your fault. I don't know what your business is with the other man, and I don't care, quite frankly. But I know you aren't from this time." Mirek stuck a business card in Heero's pocket. "You can go to this man if you need a place to hide or get away. No questions asked." Mirek stood, dropped his own bill on the bar and walked out, leaving a rather stunned Heero Yuy standing in the club.

After the sound of a car peeling rubber had died away, Heero pulled the card out of his pocked.

Mirek's Inn

Cozy Get Away Inn the City

There was an address and a phone number on the back of the card. Heero frowned. Somehow, that man had known that he wasn't from any A.D. year. That either meant he worked for OWN, or worked against them. Then he noticed an extra pair of initials written in pen under the phone number. They were almost to small to see, but Heero recognized them immediately.

A.M.

The Japanese man sighed and checked his watch. He might take the mystery man up on his offer, but he couldn't be late to pick his guest up at the airport.

Anna stretched as she walked along the beachfront. She stopped and bought a coffee from a closing stand. She continued walking before stepping off the concrete and into the sand heading further south.

The sun was halfway below the horizon, making the sky and sea a swirl of pink, orange, and blood red. The young woman knelt by the water's edge and dropped two white roses into the sea. They were swept away into the tide, the sunset tinting the pure color of the flowers.

"Farewell, my Ai. Always didn't last so long. Farewell, young one. I hardly know your name, but Trowa grieved for you." She murmured.

She backed away as not to get wet, and stared out at the water. A look of disgust flashed through her eyes before her expression returned to one of pensiveness. Anna turned to continue her walk when her gaze fell on a man kneeling in the sand quite a ways away from her.

She could make out the teal of his turtleneck and the grey of his pants and the chestnut brown of his bangs as they fell and brushed across his face. His shoulders were slumped and his head was bowed. Anna shook her head. "Imagining in excited reverie that the future years had come, dancing to a frenzied drum, out of the murderous innocence of the sea." She quoted to herself.

Anna knelt by him in the sand. "Do you mind?" she murmured.

He lifted empty emerald orbs to meet her gaze. "No." he rasped.

She wasn't quite sure what to say. "I'm sorry. It looks like we both lost a Jack."

The emerald eyes shut tight and his body clenched momentarily. He unclenched his fists and stared at his palms. She reached out and grasped one of his hands.

"You know I didn't kill Quatre." She whispered.

He nodded. "I know."

"You know you didn't kill that boy."

Trowa gripped her hand, his nails digging into the skin. "Technically, maybe."

"I saw it, Trowa. You didn't."

He looked at her. "You saw."

"I did. He had to have loved you an awful lot to do that."

"Everybody has to believe in something." Trowa said.

She released his hand and squeezed his shoulder. "So where do we stand? Friends or foes?"

"Can I ask you a question first?"

She nodded.

"Would you believe me if I told you I didn't kill your husband?"

The sun slipped over the edge of the earth and vanished into night. Anna took a deep breath. She'd known Trowa Barton a long time, but a long time ago. He wasn't a liar, and yet he sat next to her a traitor.

"Would you tell me that?"

"If you asked me to."

"If you told me that you didn't kill him, I'd believe you. But I'm not going to ask you to tell me that."

He looked at her. "Why not?"

She smiled. "I don't have to."

"I'm going back to OWN tomorrow morning. I have unfinished business."

"I understand. After that?"

Trowa pointed to the moon, glowing over the dark water. "You remember when we had that mission there? Just you, Wufei, and I? You remember what I said?"

"I remember. We had almost won it, and I asked you what happened after it was over. You told me that the end came after it was over."

"After tomorrow, it's over."

"Chase,"

"Never really needed me, Anna. She has Heero and if she discards him she's got Ryuu. What have I got, Anna? I've done everything wrong. Look what I did to Chase and you and Quatre and Duo and my Jack…"

"I don't know what goes on in that brain of yours, Trowa Barton, but Jack Avis made you make him a promise today. He told you to tell them something. What was it? You've got that."

"It's not for your ears, Anna. But you're right. I've still got that."

"Stay until tomorrow night."

"Why?"

"Would you stay? You owe me, Barton."

"As you like."

She touched his cheek and stood. Anna paused before pulling a third flower out of her coat pocket. It was white, but the tips were red. She handed it to him. "Take care of yourself, Trowa."

He took it from her. "You too."



Mirek locked the door behind him after he entered the above ground part of his inn. Wufei looked up from the book he was reading as the man came in.

"Did you find him?"

"Yes."

"Will he come?"

"Oh, yeah. He'll come. Where's the kid?"

"Sleeping."

Anna stepped in and flicked on the lights, startled when she saw Wufei and Mirek. "Hey, guys. Find him?"

Mirek nodded. "He'll come."

"Where did you disappear off too?" Wufei asked.

Anna shrugged with a smile. "Beach. You know I like the ocean."

Mirek headed for the hall into the Underground. "If he shows up, let me know. By the way, Anna, he knows you're here."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

When Mirek was gone, Anna sat cross-legged on the couch across from Wufei. "Can I ask you something, Fei-chan?"

The Chinese man nodded, still reading his book.

She waited to see if he would look up. He didn't, so she asked anyway. "Why did you hurt when Treize died?"

That got his attention. Slowly, he put the book down and furrowed his brow. "What?"

"Trowa betrayed all of us by going to OWN. I hated him for it. Then he killed Duo and I hated him even more. But today, when Jack Avis died in his arms, everything seemed like it was erased. It was like old times because I hurt for him. I still hurt for him. Why did you hurt for Treize?"

Wufei took a long breath. "You sure know how to ask a random question. I hurt, because I wanted it to be me. Because I felt he was the better man, and he died."

"Even though he killed Marian? He was the better man to you?"

Wufei nodded. "At that time I thought he was. Now I think he was a man who fought for what he believed in and paid the price of ultimate power."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Anna stretched again and stood. "Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come." She sighed.

"Shakespeare?" Wufei asked.

"Carl Sandburg. I'm getting married tomorrow."

"I know."

"Will you come?"

"If you wish it."

"I do."

"You're not supposed to say that to me."

"That wasn't funny. I'm going to bed."

"Is that an invitation?"

Anna threw a pillow at him. "Good night."

He smiled. "Night, Anna."

The girl lowered herself into the underground. "Suki da." She murmured as she vanished.



"I have two questions for you, Mr. Yuy." Meg Thatcher said, as they drove through downtown Tokyo.

"Call me Heero. And what?" he asked, checking his rearview mirror. Seeing nothing, he sped up.

"One, why did you fly me out here all the way from Chicago and not tell me why? Two, where in the world are we going?"

"I need you to do an autopsy. And we're going to a hotel."

"Another autopsy?! People don't stay alive very long around you, do they?"

"Not really."

"That's comforting. Whom am I doing an autopsy on?"

"A man. His name is Jack Avis."

"How did he die?" Meg asked carefully.

"I shot him."

She stared at him, dumbfounded. "Just like that? You shot him?"

"It was an accident." Heero growled.

"I never believed you could accidentally shoot anyone." Meg grumbled.

He gave her a glare that officially shut her up. He turned his entire focus on the road. Heero was in no mood to pass this place and then have to go on a wild goose chase to find it. He spotted the street up ahead and slowed the car.

"Is this it?" Meg asked cautiously. She didn't want this man's wrath on her.

"Yes." Heero said shortly. He parked the car in front of the small looking building and got out of the car. He went to the other side of the vehicle and opened Meg's door for her. She accepted his hand and got out of the car.

"It looks really small for a hotel, doesn't it?" She asked.

Heero made no reply as he led them up to the door and knocked. The light shifted inside the window as a shadow fell across it, and a moment later, the door was opened by Mirek himself.

"Mr. Yuy. Ms?"

"Meg Thatcher." Meg said.

"Come in." He ushered them into the otherwise empty lobby area.

They took the seats that were offered them and declined when Mirek offered them something to drink. He sat down facing them.

"Why is she here?" he asked.

"I asked her to come." Heero replied evenly.

Mirek shrugged. "As you wish. I can give you refuge, but only if you both swear complete secrecy. Lives depend on this secret."

"Mochiron." Heero muttered.

Mirek looked at Meg with a grin. "I've lived in this city for almost ten years and I still don't speak a word of Japanese. I don't suppose you could translate that?"

Meg thought for a moment. "I think it means 'naturally'. I lived with a girl who spoke it a lot. I'll keep it a secret."

"I accept you word. You realize I wouldn't even be doing this except that a friend asked me too."

"Anna Maxwell, no doubt." Heero said.

"Anna, yes. Follow me."

They got up and followed Mirek to the end of the hall. The tall man pulled back the section of carpet and the trap door swung open. Mirek lowered himself into the stairway, Meg behind him and Heero behind her. The door shut behind them. The stairs wound down for what seemed forever before Mirek pushed open the door in the hall of the underground part of the hotel. The other two stepped into the light.

"Way cool!" Meg exclaimed.

"Only she would say that." Heero muttered.

Mirek looked at him. "Why?"

"She's a coroner."

"Oh."

"That isn't funny, you two." Meg said airily.

"I want to see Anna." Heero said.

As if on cue, a female voice emitted a loud explicative from the other end of the hallway. "Mirek! Victor's up to something again! If I ever get my hands on the son of a,"

"Anna!" Mirek cut her off. "We have company!"

The twenty-six year old woman appeared in the hall, donning lavender pajama bottoms and a white blouse. "Meg! What in the world are you doing here?" she exclaimed. Her expression changed as her gaze rested on the Perfect Soldier. "Heero. Long time no see."

"Yeah."

Meg pointed to the man next to her. "He dragged me out here all the way from Chicago to do one autopsy. Can you believe it?"

"Oh, I believe it." She turned to Heero and addressed him in Japanese. "I have a mission for you, if you think you want it."

"What kind of mission?"

"I intercepted an email sent to all OWN employees that work in the German base. Victor is abandoning it tomorrow morning. His subordinates will be clearing out files and equipment during the afternoon, and he's having it burned at sundown."

"What do you think I could do?"

"Victor is leaving all the prisoners to burn."

"Hn."

"Heero, onegai."

"And you aren't doing anything about it because?" He asked.

"I have an appointment tomorrow."

He glared at her. "Fine."

She switched to English, for the benefit of Meg and Mirek, who were looking fairly lost and annoyed. "You can take Meg with you."

"Absolutely not."

"Take me where?" she asked.

"She can fire a gun. She's a medical doctor. She's an asset." Anna argued.

"I wouldn't even feel like taking you, and I know you're capable."

"Hello? Take me where?" Meg asked.

"To Germany to on a mission." Anna said.

"Cool! I want to go." The coroner agreed.

Heero looked like he either wanted to die or kill them all. "All right. Fine. But I'm not responsible for anything that happens tomorrow."

Mirek handed them each a key. "Your rooms are right down the hall." He said.

Meg took hers called back to Heero. "Don't you leave without me!"

Heero took his key and silently headed for his room. Anna called after him in his native tongue. "It wasn't your fault." She said.

He didn't acknowledge her.