Brood: And so begins another chapter of this story! Yay!

Chibi Joey: Can I be biggys?

Brood: Nope! Too cute not to glomp! *procedes to glomp*

WSJ: *snickers quietly* Hey Brood, should we tell our readers about the little April Fools prank Zutsokaki played on us? I have visual aids... *holds up pictures*

Brood: ,O_O, NO! Don't you dare SJ!!!

WSJ: ^___^ We don't own Gundam Wing or YGO, so there.

()()()()()

Chapter 2: Case 1, The Gundamium-Plated Kidnapping

Jounouchi stared at her steadily, slightly bored. "Oh, really?" Here's hoping she doesn't want us to get her cat out of a tree of something...

Dorothy Catalonia Winner nodded slightly, her platinum blond hair swirling around her shoulders. "Hai. My husband has been kidnapped. Oh Jounouchi-san, you must get him back!"

This is more like it. Jou thought to himself, sitting up slightly. "Of course, of course. But what makes you think he's been kidnapped?" He leaned back again, and stuck the end of a cigar in his mouth. Mmmm, chocolate cigar!

"Oh!" Dorothy looked started, and then dug through her purse for a moment. She pulled out an envelope and handed it to Jou, dabbing at her eyes with her hankercheif again. "That came in the mail two days after my Quatre-koi was supposed to be home from a business trip."

Jou gave the envelope a once-over, peeked inside, then handed it to Ryou. "Well rookie, what is it?"

Ryou suddenly looked nervous. This was, after all, his first real case. "I-I'd say it's a ransom note."

Jou nodded. "Right. So read it already." Ryou glanced up at Jou and opened the envelope.

" 'Dear Mrs. Winner, Your husband is very valuable to you, but he is of a bigger price to us. If you do not pay three times the usual amount by the usual contact within the next two weeks, Quatre will be of no use to anyone.' And it's just signed 'The Lighting Baron'."

"Well now." Jou said, allowing a bit of a cocky smile to reach his face. "What do we have here Mrs Winner? How long ago did this come? What's the 'usual amount'? And more important, who's the 'usual contact'?"

Dorothy looked suddenly nervous, and hid it by burrying her face in her hankercheif. "It came yesterday, and I don't know." she said a bit too quickly. "My husband's aid, Trowa Barton, would be the only one to know that."

"I suppose we'll be paying a visit to Mr. Barton sometime in the near future then." Jou said.

"And while we're on the subject, Mrs. Winner, how about discussing my payment. My usual fee isn't very cheap, especially in cases like this, where me and my rookie could get hurt."

Dorothy looked up and opened her purse. "Payment? I can assure you that money is not an object, especially where my dear husband's safety is concerned." She sniffled and pulled out a checkbook, scribbling something out. "And here's a little in advance to prove it."

Jou took the check and gave it a once over. He didn't dare widen his eyes at the amount, which was very high indeed. Years of training taught him not to show surprise at anything, even high dollar amounts. "That's a pretty high starting fee, Mrs. Winner, but anyway, you have my service. And by the way, any idea who this 'Lightning Baron' mentioned in the letter is?"

"Hai," Dorothy said, nodding a bit hesitantly. "My Quatre is the head of Winner Corperations and has many enemies. But the biggest one is Milliardo Peacecraft. He runs a rival company, and would love to see Winner Corp die. Milliardo-san also doesn't like Quatre, because his little sister Relena is dating Winner Corp's vice president, Heero Yuy."

Jou scratched his chin in thought. "Overly protective brother, eh? Hm..." He stood up abruptly. "Then we're off to see both Mr Barton and Mr Yuy. Anyone else we'd need to talk to Mrs Winner?"

Dorothy frowned in thought. "Oh! If anyone would know of Milliardo-san's plans it would his vice president, Duo Maxwell, or his secretary. I don't know her name."

"Right then. Ryou, will you run down and tell Shizuka we're going out for awhile?"

Ryou nodded and left the room by the door that led to the rest of the house. Jou put his arm kindly around Dorothy's shoulder and led her to the other door, grabbing his coat and hat as he went. "Now Mrs Winner, are you all right? You have someone to take care of you?"

"Oh yes," she said, sniffling a little. "My lady-maid, Cathrin. We get along well together, even with my Quatre-koi's absence."

"Very good then." Jou helped her down the flight of iron stairs that led to the ground, and saw the limo waiting in the street. A rather irate Chinese man was standing outside, leaning up against it, and when he saw Dorothy he straitened and perked up. "Mrs Winner. Are you ready to be conveyed back to the estate?"

Dorothy sniffed, this time aristocraticly as she ducked through the door that the Chinese driver held open for her. "Hai Wufei, I am."

Wufei bowed to her as he closed the door. "Very well, ma'am." He walked with a measured step that made Jou think of carefully controlled rage around to the driver's side door and got in. A moment later the engine revved and the limo peeled out in a cloud of dust, leaving Jou coughing in front of his house. Ryou came out a few moments later, his own coat slung over one shoulder.

"So... Where to?"

That snapped Jou out of his contemplation of the lady and her driver, and he turned to his rookie. "Winner Corperation's main building. We're off to talk to Mr Barton and Mr Yuy."

Ryou nodded and left Jou, and a moment later Jou's old, beat-up black mercedies benz pulled around the side of the house with Ryou behind the wheel. Jou tossed his coat into the back seat on top of Ryou's and got in next to him. "I trust you know the way well enough to give me directions?" the white-haired man asked. "Because I don't."

Jou looked at him strangely. "It's the only building taller than Kaiba Corp, which in turn is the only one taller then Merquize Inc, Milliardo Peacecraft's company. Where have you been your whole life that you don't know that?"

Ryou frowned, and his eyes got a slightly far-away look. "Travelling with the theatre troupe."

"So that Hiro guy was tellin' the truth? You really did live with the troupe and everything?"

"Hiro wouldn't lie." Ryou said, slightly offended. "I've known him long enough to know that."

"So what made you leave? And what was up with that Anzu chic?"

Ryou shot him a look and frowned. "This isn't the time Jounouchi-sama. And I'm not one of your cases. It's not your business anyway."

Jou raised an eyebrow, an expression that Ryou didn't see, as he was driving. 'Well well,' he thought to himself. 'This is getting very intresting indeed...'

"Hold up," he said a moment later. "We might as well stop at Merquize Inc. I'd forgotten that you go right by it to get to Winner Corp."

They rode the elevator up to the floor just below the top floor, where the vice president and other high-level people worked. As soon as the two stepped out of the elevator they were confronted with a rather intresting sight. A young woman a little younger then Ryou was sitting behind a desk, trying to stay serious as a man a little older leaned over her, nibbling her ear and whispering what had to be sultry things to her. "Duo! Duo stop, we've got visitors!"

The man, Duo, pouted and leaned his elbows against the desk, his long brown braid of hair falling over his shoulder. He didn't even look at Jou and Ryou, just at the woman. "Awww, come on Hilde-babe..."

"Not now." she said firmly. "We'll play later." She gave him a lusty wink, and he grinned. Jou and Ryou just looked at each other and shrugged as they stepped up to the desk. "How can I help you? I'm the secretary, Hilde Schebeiker-Maxwell."

"And I'm vice president of Merquize Inc." Duo said, extending his hand. "Duo Maxwell."

Jou didn't take the pro-offered hand. Instead he just looked at it, and slowly Duo lowered it, the smile on his face drooping just the barest bit. "Jounouchi Katsuya, private investigatior. This is my partner, Ryou Hiroki. We were employed by Mrs Dorothy Winner to investigate the disappearance and possible kidnapping of her husband, Quatre Winner."

Hilde looked alarmed. "Oh my goodness! Who would do such a thing?! Poor Dorothy..."

Jou's eyes were on Duo. He didn't look surprised. The VP even looked a bit... Smug? Jou's eyes narrowed dangerously. Add one to the list of suspects...

"Is Dorothy all right?" Hilde was asking Ryou. "She and I are good friends, dispite working for opposite companies."

"She was when she came to us this morning." Ryou said, then thought about it. "Mostly."

"Surely you don't suspect Zechs." Duo said, then started. "Er, Milliardo."

Something clicked in the back of Jou's mind, but he couldn't place it. He frowned slightly. "Yes, we do. Anyone close to Mr Winner in any way is a suspect. Even Mrs Winner. Right down to the lowest servent in their house." he added, thinking about the irate driver, Wufei. "Come on Ryou, I don't think we're going to figure out anything else here, and we stil have another stop to make." Besides, I know we've just found something important. If only I could figure out what...

They arrived at Winner Corp at about ten-after-two, and all the high-level people were just getting out of a big board meeting. Trowa Barton and Heero Yuy were easy to spot, talking earnestly together and the last to leave the conference room. As the pair drew near to Jou and Ryou and caught sight of them, Heero cut off his friend and associate mid-sentence with a small downward chop of his hand.

"May we help you?" Trowa asked.

"Hai," Jou said. "Mr Barton and Mr Yuy, I presume?" The two men nodded, and the blond PI continued. "I'm Jounouchi Katsuya, private investigator. My partner and I have been employed by Mrs Winner to search for her husband. She told us that you two may have some information critical to the case."

Heero and Trowa exchanged long glances, an unreadable conversation going on between them. Finally Heero nodded, and Trowa sighed, and then gestured them toward a door engraved with Heero's name. The four filed in, and Trowa and Ryou took seats. Heero sat down behind his desk, while Jou remained standing with his arms crossed.

"First off, Dorothy shouldn't have brought anyone else into this." Heero said, clearly unhappy about this. "I told her the two of us would take care of it, but as usual she didn't listen." He held up a hand as Jou made to ask a question. "You may have noticed that Trowa and I aren't exactly suit and tie business-types."

It was true. Both were dressed in dress slacks and button-down shirts, but Heero's shirt was untucked and the first button of his shirt was undone, and he was wearing a leather jacket over top. Trowa's vest was left open, and his shirt too had the top button undone.

"It's because we're not." Trowa said bluntly, reaching under his vest. He pulled out a revolver, and Jou's eyes widened, though not in fear, since Trowa held the gun easily and made no move to aim or fire.

"Holy sh--."

Heero too had pulled a gun out from under his jacket and laid it gently on the table. "We aren't technically businessmen. We're bodyguards. I'm former military, Trowa's former CIA."

"You were a spy?" Ryou blurted, staring at the man next to him with a mixture of awe and amazement. Trowa stared at him a long time before nodding once. Jou frowned at his rookie partner's rudeness.

"Quatre hired us to watch his back." Trowa said. "But we didn't think we'd have to protect him from his own."

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked, but before either of the men could answer, Jou was suddenly out the door and running at full tilt toward the elevator. Heero and Trowa looked at Ryou, who sighed. "He does that."

Heero took off running after the blond, while Trowa just stayed where he was. In fact, the former-spy leaned back and propped his feet up on Heero's desk, smiling a little and winking candidly at the stunned Ryou. "So, anything else you'd like to ask me, young one?"

Heero caught up with Jou just as the elevator doors started to close, and the PI held them open a moment so that the Perfect Soldier could get inside. "Why'd you take off?" Heero demanded as the elevator began to decend. He jammed his revolver back into its holster, having only had time to grab it before running after Jou.

"Because," Jou said grimmly, shifting his weight forward onto the balls of his feet as if preparing for a fight. "I have to get back to Merquize Inc." Heero gave him a 'why?' look. "Duo would have warned his boss by now, and they may kill Quatre, or at least move him somewhere else. I recognise the name that Duo let slip now. 'Zechs' was the name of the leader of a cult/gang that I rounded up about a year and a half ago. We never did end up catching 'Zechs' himself."

A look of understanding dawned on Heero's face. "So if Duo tells Milliardo, aka Zechs, that you're on his tail, he'll do away with the evidence, namely Quatre."

"Right," Jou said. "And it gets worse. I just said that I took in his gang a year ago. Well, I also inadvertantly killed his lover, Lucrezia Noin. If Zechs knows I'm still around, he's going to want my blood bad."

The elevator doors opened and both men sprinted for the street and Jou's car, leaving a startled doorman in their wake.

~*~

So here's the case so far. Me and my rookie got called onto the job, and Duo, VP of Merquize Inc., let it slip that Milliardo, President and owner of that company, was really the notorious leader of the White Fang Gang, Zechs. This was gettin' a little too big for my britches. I knew I couldn't take my rookie in when I went to take in Zechs, 'cause he'd do anything to get at me for killing his woman. I know I wouldn't mind revenge if.......nevermind.

Anyway, I don't think Mr. Winner's wife is as innocent as she looks. Something tells me she needs actin' lessons. But why would she practically give me the directions to where she stashed her husband by pointing out people that are obvious suspects? Hmm...that driver's lookin' suspicious as well. Now I can tell an innocent dame from a guilty one any day, and that Hilde Maxwell is one innocent dame, even if her husband is lookin' at the near top of my suspect list. And I'm wonderin' if I can't trust those two bodyguard mugs, Trowa and Heero, to help me out on this case....because I know I may need some backup fire on this....What a way to get out of a slump, huh?

()()()()()

Brood: Phew! Another chapter done! And only two reviews on the first one? Awww...come on guys, you like us better than that!!!

Zutsokaki: No they don't.

Brood: *fume* No talking! Still mad at you!

Zutsokaki: *innocently* For what?

WSJ: *snickers* The afforementioned April Fools prank. I think you'll be in the dog-house awhile Zutso...

Zutsokaki: X.x;;

God bless minna-san!