Hi-eeee! =^_^= *waves* I'd love it if you all paid close attention to the author's notes at the bottom of the page--there's something in them this week that one doesn't usually see accompanying a fanfic... =^_~=

Disclaimer: This year, for my birthday, I asked for omnipotent control over the five Gundam pilots contained herein, which I didn't think was too extravagant or outlandish. What did I get? A set of green plastic see-thru picnicware from Zellers. I hope my now-ex-boyfriend puts a little more thought into his next girlfriend's birthday gift. If you want to sue me for control of the picnicware, well, whatever floats yer boat, I guess... =P

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Episode Sixteen: Conspiracy Stew

"They are the silent griefs which cut the heart-strings." ~John Ford, "The Broken Heart"

August 29th, 1901

The morning after the thunderstorm, Duo was almost entirely sure he'd dreamed the events of the night before; when he woke to find himself safe and warm in the embrace of his closest friend, he thought he was still dreaming, until a piercing howl came from outside their closed bedroom door. Heero was awake in a flash and bolted upright in bed; Duo did as well, but the way they were tangled together, he had no choice. They sprang to the door in unison, but it was only Anna Maria on the other side, meowing like the world was coming to an end. The cat was making a strange habit of holding vigils outside their room.

The boys hardly spoke to each other that day. Being raised to some extent as staunch Victorians, they had been conditioned by society to publicly ignore any and all matters of an interpersonal, or especially physical, nature. They both thought, to different degrees, that this was the reason why the other one wasn't saying anything about the previous night, a classic 'ignore it and it'll go away' attitude of the era.

Duo hibernated in his kitchen for a long time, thinking; he had been presented with a strange and dangerous puzzle, but it had nothing to do with the results of the storm. Heero would be leaving soon, totally unaware that Duo knew why, and that he was desperately seeking a way to alter the outcome. He needed inspiration and a kind voice, even if it was only a voice in his head. Looking nervously about to make sure he wasn't being observed, Duo unbuttoned his chef's tunic and took something out of the inside pocket, a sepiatone photograph of a kind-faced woman with long blonde hair. He got up on a chair and perched the photograph on a high shelf, where the woman's image could watch over the entire kitchen, then sat back down at the table and went about his duties.

After he'd whipped together a hasty breakfast for the household, the chef sat staring at the kitchen table in a trance until his eye fell on a little jar of strawberry preserves that had accompanied the toast. The jar itself was a wonder of modern technology, able to be sealed completely airtight, maximizing food storage potential while minimizing spoilage. Duo pondered the jar, thinking...and thinking...and thinking...

...and then he struck gold. A magnificent idea hit him right between the eyes and he all but leaped for joy. Digging a pen, some paper, and a pot of ink out of the utility drawer, he sat down with his cookbooks and wrote out page after page of calculations, which he checked and re-checked before putting phase two of his plan into action.

Later that afternoon, Duo took his final figures and went to find Heero. The butler was back in his typical dining room chair, polishing the silver, and was a bit worried that he'd offended Duo with his actions the night before. He was secretly glad that the chef came looking for him, but was mildly disappointed that he only wanted to borrow some money. The braided boy refused to divulge for what purpose he needed the excess funds, only that it was 'vitally important' and that he couldn't go to Relena or anyone else. Heero thought that perhaps he should have been insulted by the request, but he couldn't help but be grateful that he and Duo were at least on speaking terms. He gave Duo whatever amount would make him happy, and the boy left very happy indeed.

For days and days, Duo laboured on some secret project he didn't want anyone to see, Heero in particular. Each time the frazzled butler would set even one foot into the kitchen, Duo would hurriedly shoo him away with some weak excuse, and Heero was starting to get the distinct impression that he wasn't wanted. Eventually, he stopped coming in the kitchen altogether.

On the 29th of August, what he thought could very well be his last day in England, Heero avoided the kitchen and concentrated on settling his affairs in and out of the house, although he very carefully kept himself from giving anyone the impression that he might not be coming back from his holiday. He walked out to the coach house at the back of the property carrying a piece of paper.

Trowa and Quatre saw him coming; they put down the brushes they were using on the horses' silky brown coats and stood at attnetion, out of deference to Heero's position. He stopped in front of them. "This is an informal visit," the butler said.

"What do you need?" Trowa asked genially.

"It's more a matter of what you might need," Heero answered, "a place to hide." The outdoor servants looked intrigued as he continued. "Since that incident in the pub, it's been pretty clear that your sisters know where you are," he said, holding out the paper to Quatre.

The blond boy took it and glanced it over twice, puzzled. "I don't get it...this is about women voting in general elections, isn't it?"

Heero ignored the obvious question. "The address at the bottom belongs to an acquaintance of mine, a Doctor Poole. She has room enough in her house to hide two extra people comfortably, and she knows how to keep a secret. If either of you are ever in danger and I'm not available to help, go there. Mention my name."

Both boys looked extremely pleased. Trowa strode forward and clasped Heero's hand energetically, forgetting protocol. "Thank you, Heero! You don't know how much it means to have someplace to go where Quatre's family won't think to look for him!"

"Oh yes," the gardener chimed in, "neither of us knows London well enough to pick out a place to hide at random. This is a big help!"

Their enthusiasm was entirely lost on their benefactor. "Good luck." Heero reclaimed his hand and turned to go.

"And have fun on your vacation!" Quatre chirped with a smile five miles wide.

Heero simply nodded, then walked back to the house. Quatre's face fell slowly as he sensed something troubling about his non-reaction. Trowa noticed his friend's expression quickly and eyed him with concern. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Quatre replied, staring at the sullen servant disappearing into the distance. "It's tough to get a read on him sometimes...but he doesn't seem very restful about this trip he's taking."

Trowa shrugged. "He's probably just stressed. Maybe he'll relax once he gets there...wherever 'there' is."

Quatre shrugged back, unconvinced. "Maybe."

**********

For days, the kitchen had been declared a warzone by three of the housemaids, plus Otto. Just about anyone who went near Duo's area while he was furiously at work on his experiment got snapped at and sent back the way they came. Occasionally he took his top-secret work outside the kitchen, and people quickly learned to steer clear.

On Monday, Otto came downstairs to fetch some cat food for Anna Maria and was shocked to see every worksurface covered with dozens and dozens of brand new Mason jars. A totally unnecessary expense for a household on a strict budget.

"What's all this!?" the house steward bellowed. "This is not what the housekeeping money is for! How did you pay for all this? Have you no sense of restraint!?"

"Don't get your nose out of joint! Miss Relena didn't spend a penny on it!" Duo barked as he was writing out labels for nearly a hundred jars. "I got the money somewhere else, okay? It's taken care of! Now wouldya please scram? I'm busy here!"

Otto left. He was angry and insulted, but he left.

On Tuesday, Doris was on her way to the laundry room with a basket of towels when she heard a violent banging coming from a little closet near the pantry. It used to contain cleaning supplies, which she had need of frequently, but now the closet stood empty, and Duo was on a chair in the tiny cubbyhole, with hammer and nails, creating an awful ruckus while reading from a book on cold storage.

"Good gracious! Where's everything gone from the cupboard?" Doris cried, clearly referring to her cleaning supplies. "'Ere, we've not got an infestation of insects, 'ave we?"

Duo appreciated the fact that the gray-haired lady was generally nice to everyone, and gave as good as he got. "No, I just needed this closet for something. I put some waist-high shelves up in the scullery and moved everything in there. It's got more room to move around, and I figured you'd appreciate not having to bend down to grab things off a low shelf." He knocked a few more nails in and tested his creation, a shallow sliding drawer underneath the top shelf, into which several holes had been freshly drilled, so that something or other could trickle down through the top shelf into the wax-lined drawer and be emptied out.

"Oh, what a dear you are," Doris cooed, pinching the boy's arm above the elbow. "Clever, creative, a good cook, and industrious an' all!"

Duo grinned. "That's me in a nutshell!"

Doris left, happy to know that someone was thinking of her needs, albeit indirectly.

On Wednesday, Bethany was making her rounds of the second floor, duster at the ready, when she heard water running in one of the unused guest suites. Since the residents there didn't usually take a bath in the middle of the day, in a room nobody entered, she decided to investigate.

The ensuite bathroom in question was filled with steam obscuring all but a long rope of chocolate brown hair that contrasted sharply against the light gold décor. Duo had turned the hot water on in the bathtub, full blast, and was lowering jars of various orange, red, and light brown substances into the boiling hot liquid.

"What the flaming 'eck d'you think you're doin'?" Bethany yelled.

"What? OW!" Duo yelped as he scalded himself in surprise. "I'm working on something vitally important here, so don't distract me!"

Bethany jerked an angry finger in his face. "You'll catch it for this, you will! I'll tell Otto, first I see of 'im, otherwise you'll get me in trouble for not stopping you!"

"Fine! Tell him! See if I care!" Slapping her hand away, reasonably gently, he went back to his jars. Whatever the mysterious contents were, they gave off undeniably delicious aromas.

Bethany left. She was being self-righteous and indignant, but she left.

Now, on Thursday, the day Heero was leaving for America, the crunch was on. Elsie stopped her morning chores to grab a quick snack and saw the man who delivered ice standing in the kitchen and talking to Duo. That wasn't very unusual; the manor had an ice delivery now and then, and a block only a foot long on each side generally served their refrigeration needs comfortably for a few days. What was unusual was that Duo was paying the man cash for an enormous quantity of ice, more than they could use in a fortnight or longer. There were six giant blocks of ice, twice the usual size, sitting on the kitchen floor and dripping everywhere.

"Oi!" Elsie shouted. "You've got an absurd sense of economy, you 'ave, wasting the 'ouskeeping on all that in this heat!"

Duo threw his hands up in the air. "Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not spending the housekeeping money, I got the money somewhere else! Now, get lost!" He turned his back on the exasperating woman and directed the delivery man to put the ice on the top shelf of the modified closet, giving him a little extra silver for his trouble.

Elsie left. She was annoyed and more than a bit curious, but she left.

After the ice delivery man had departed, Duo set up an odd little assembly line in the kitchen. All one hundred Mason jars were now filled with something, and in turn they were each given a neatly-printed sticky-back paper label, and placed on a shelf in either the pantry or the closet with the ice in it. He didn't notice Hilde watching him from the stairwell, and she made no effort to be noticed, but observed the bizarre display for several minutes before creeping back upstairs.

When he was finished stacking all the jars, Duo practically collapsed into one of the kitchen chairs; he had never worked so hard in all his life as he did that week. He took off his chef's hat and fanned himself with it, looking up at the photograph of the blonde woman on the high shelf. "I hope I'm making you proud," he whispered tiredly.

**********

The past week had felt strangely bland to Heero without his braided assistant bouncing around and pestering him incessantly. Duo spent every waking moment cooking, far more food than seemed necessary to feed the household, and when he fell exhausted into bed each night, he was asleep practically before he hit the pillow. Another thunderstorm swept through the city, but Duo was so worn out that he slept right through it. There seemed to be no time or energy left over for being scared of the thunder, or for idle chit-chat; even the Japanese lessons ceased.

Heero tried to put it out of his thoughts and remind himself that he had managed well enough without Duo's company before he arrived, and he could manage without it now. There were still several things he had to take care of before leaving that evening, and one of them was to make use of the miscellaneous bits of hardware he'd collected awhile back. He took the metal plates, the combination lock, and four heavy brass hinges into the storage room of the attic, with a few tools and a gaslamp, and set to work.

Guided by one tiny orange flame, he sawed open a foot-square section of wall near the floor, coincidentally enough, where Duo had hidden from him that one night so many weeks ago. He lined the space inside the wall with the metal plates, affixed the combination lock to the last plate, and put hinges on both the locked plate and the plasterboard section of wall he had removed. Within minutes, he had a makeshift safe, with an outer door that blended in rather well with the rest of the wall, and an inner door with a sturdy lock. The other metal plates lining the space would ensure that no one could drill into the safe from an adjacent room.

Once that project was finished, he went to his room and pulled the two suitcases out from under his bed and shuffled through the contents. Preparing for the worst, he eliminated all but the barest essentials for his trip, keeping in mind the possibility that he might not return. He was able to empty the large suitcase and put the smaller one into it; most of what he took out would only be useful in England, so he stowed it away in the safe.

The last thing he put in his secret storage area was a blue velvet pouch which held his small personal fortune of about six hundred pounds; on an agent's salary, Heero could have afforded his own butler. He tucked a note on Bridlewood stationery into the pouch, instructing that if he didn't return, the money should be divided amongst Duo, Catherine, and Arthur.

...Arthur. He'd be the best one to give the combination to. He closed up his wall safe and went downstairs, thinking he might look in on Duo on his way outside to the gardening shed. Brushing sawdust from his woodworking profect off his trousers, he walked cautiously into the kitchen; time was running out to say goodbye to the chef, and the boy's recent behaviour hadn't made the task any easier.

Duo didn't look up when Heero entered the room. He was studiously at work on a giant chart laid out in blue and black ink on a piece of large white card. Papers were strewn all over the kitchen table, the countertops were covered with at least a dozen ceramic storage bins, and assorted empty bags of flour, sugar, cocoa and a host of other dry ingredients littered the floor. Like all who came before him, Heero couldn't fathom what the lad was up to.

He walked over to Duo's chair wearing his usual blank expression to hide his inner agitation. I should have realized it would be a mistake making a friend while I was on an assignment. Wufei was right. It only then dawned on Heero that he'd never consciously thought of Duo as a friend until now, when it was perhaps too late to do anything about it. He took a deep breath. "Duo...I need to tell you something."

The chef didn't even glance up from his chart. "Not now, Heero, I'm working."

Heero recoiled from the awful sound of his own past words hitting him in the face. He set his jaw and glared at the back of Duo's head. Be that way, baka! I only wanted... Before the anger consumed him completely, he strode quickly out the back door and into the garden, taking another deep breath and counting to ten.

Duo watched him leave out of the corner of his eye, then sighed and put down his pen, looking plaintively up at the photograph again. I hope he'll understand when it all comes together...will he? The woman in the photo gave no reply.

Outside, Heero wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling once the anger dissipated, but it wasn't pleasant. As a result, he wasn't fully concentrating on where he was going and nearly walked back to the stables instead, but managed to pull himself together and make it to Arthur's cottage. His mind was now reeling with things he had left unfinished--the collection of intelligence on Treize, the interrogation of Lady Une, the search for a solid connection between the Count and Heinrich Wagner--they would have to wait, assuming he could complete them at all.

He entered the cottage without knocking, a priviledge Arthur had granted him weeks earlier. The kindly old carpenter seemed to be waiting for him; there was a fresh pot of tea, and Arthur sat in front of it with his hands neatly folded and his cap hanging off the corner of his chair.

"Today's the big day, innit?" the wizened old Scotsman remarked.

Heero took a chair next to him and paused for awhile before speaking. "It's not a vacation, despite what you've heard. I've been called away on business."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. He knew better than anyone else at the manor what sort of business Heero was into. "Ah see," he said, pouring the boy a cup of tea as usual, "and would it be safe to assume that Khushrenada's had summat to do with it?"

Heero took the teacup and set it in front of him, shaking his head. "Not this time. That boy who was staring at us from across the street the day the Count arrived...this is partly his doing." He took a sip of tea while Arthur remembered. "He may try to infiltrate the manor once I'm gone. Don't trust him."

"Aye," the carpenter assented. He took a long gulp of his own tea and looked curiously at Heero. "If ye dun' object to hearin' it, ye've got a face longer than a giant's shadow at sunrise. Would there be anythin' y'haven't told me, laddie?"

Does it show that much? Heero thought. Or is it just that I can't hide anything from you? He sampled the tea again and set the cup down, studying the flowered pattern around the rim. "I can't seem to talk to Duo about my leaving. He thinks of me as a friend, but lately I've upset him somehow, and he hardly wants to look me in the eye. He won't give me a chance to say my farewells properly, because...he honestly believes I'm coming back."

Arthur nodded slowly, with quiet understanding. "A one-way trip, is it?"

"I won't know until I arrive at my destination."

The Scotsman nodded again. "It's no' like you t'be concerned wi' sayin' your goodbyes, Heero. Ah dinnae think t'was in the job description t'be so sentimental."

Heero shut his eyes tightly for a moment, then stared blankly at the opposite wall. "Of all the things in this world that perplex me, I understand myself the least," he whispered. They sat in silence for awhile, taking alternating sips of the steaming brew. Heero set his cup down and hesitantly met the eyes of his companion. "If I can't get through to him before it's time for me to leave...will you tell him I meant to say goodbye?"

"Aye," Arthur said with a fatherly smile. He let Heero stay in the cottage for as long as he liked before the boy steeled himself to go look for Duo.

**********

The four housemaids were all down in the cellar after lunch, catching up on the laundry, as well as the gossip. The three originals had graciously accepted young Hilde into their fold, and they were all pleased with how quickly and efficiently she did her job, without, of course, outshining any of them in the eyes of their mistress. Appearing to be inferior and non-threatening was one of the most valuable skills Hilde picked up from living on the streets; Duo had taught her well.

She courteously let the older maids take charge of the conversation while they helped her with the washing, and they all enjoyed the resulting gab-fest, as was their custom.

"You should've 'eard 'er Ladyship rabbiting on about 'ow slow we was, and 'ow discourteous and disrespectful and what not," Bethany was saying. "I tell you, she's a changed woman now!"

Doris agreed wholeheartedly. "After Lord Peacecraft passed on, the strain was too much for 'er, you see, and she just got angry and bitter. Took it out on all of us, mostly. That's partly why so many of the staff left."

"Yeah, it were mostly the men an' all who legged it," Elsie whined, "leavin' us poor, defenseless ladies 'ere to contend with Ivana the Terrible." All four giggled at the secret nickname for her Ladyship. "Hilde, luv, you got 'ere exactly at the right time, now that she's mellowed a bit. 'Course, it don't take a genius to see that it's because of her precious butler, and now that he's on holiday, she might have 'erself a relapse!" Elsie shuddered at the thought. The others laughed.

"Well, I've only got Duo to thank for getting me this job," Hilde said wistfully.

Doris smiled a warm, motherly smile. "He's a lovely boy, that one."

"He's a nutter!" Elsie declared pointedly. "He's childish, and rude, and he looks like a girl with that hair of his!"

Bethany saw a faint blush and a smile teasing at Hilde's face. "Oh, don't talk down about 'im, Elsie, I reckon she fancies 'im!" The three older woman burst into excited teases and giggles that only made the youngest turn a deeper shade of rose.

"It's not what you think!" Hilde protested from behind an embarassed smile, which only provoked the nosy women further. "Honestly, it's really...really not what you think, okay?"

"What is it, then?" Elsie asked with a sly grin.

Hilde smiled and bit her lip. Is there any chance they'd understand? No, it's too...weird. Unnatural, even. I wouldn't tell anyone except...

Just then, walking past the tiny window in the laundry room wall, was the Duo in question. Before she even realized her feet were moving, Hilde was out the door and after him, amidst more giggles and hushed whispers from the other maids. She jogged out onto the back lawn and caught up with him easily. "Duo!"

Duo turned around and grinned. "Hey, kiddo! Don't tell anyone I'm slacking off work, will ya? Only I had to get some fresh air, I've been in that kitchen so much this week I'm going stir crazy!" He mimed stirring a bowl of ingredients and elbowed her in the side as she groaned dramatically at the pun.

"Duo, I wanted to talk to you about something, before you start hearing silly rumours--"

"Before YOU start anything...I want to talk to you first," Duo countered, "and I know I've been avoiding you outside working together in the kitchen, and I'm sorry, but I've gotta say something to you now. I promise I won't run away if you won't."

Hilde thought about that. They did seem to be avoiding each other, there was no denying that. Maybe it's time to get it all out in the open, she thought. "Let's go somewhere out of the hot sun to talk," she said, leading him towards the gazebo.

"Answer me something," Duo said as they walked, "if you're the scullery maid, then you're second in command over the kitchen after me, right? Which means, you take over if I'm ever absent or incapacitated or something, right?"

Hilde raised an eyebrow as she climbed the gazebo steps. "Are you planning on being incapacitated in the near future?"

"No, no," the chef sighed, "but what I am planning, I'll need your help for. You've gotta promise me you won't say a word about it to anyone...and before I tell you, I should tell you one or two...other things..." By the way he hung his head and shuffled his feet, Hilde could tell it was serious.

"Okay," she said slowly, "you go first."

Their voices were very faint, and it was clearly impossible for their conversation to be overheard, but it didn't stop someone from watching them. Hiding in the hedge maze, having taken a shortcut through it on his way back from Arthur's cottage, was Heero, and he watched the pair with a heavy heart.

He could actually have a normal life if it weren't for me. Seeing Duo and Hilde together brought about a strange, uncomfortable feeling, just like it did the day Hilde first arrived at the manor. Heero's inner demons were poking him in the chest with their little pitchforks, and especially after the way Duo had treated him the past week, he didn't understand why.

While he spied on the pair, wishing he was close enough to lip-read, he constantly speculated about their topic of conversation. First, they both looked very nervous, and Duo was giving a speech that made him stare at the floor of the gazebo, wringing his braid. Then Hilde looked shocked. She started talking animatedly back, gesturing wildly. Then Duo looked relieved. He threw his arms around her, and she welcomed his embrace. They both looked pleased...and the tightness in Heero's chest grew worse. He turned and quickly walked back through the hedge maze, not wanting to see any more and looking for another route back to the house.

Back at the gazebo, the youngsters broke out of their hug, and Duo counted his many blessings. "This is so great! I feel ten times better about this now! I honestly didn't know if you'd understand!"

"You thought I wouldn't understand you?" Hilde laughed. "If you ask me, I had twice as much reason to worry about you not understanding me! I just can't tell you how relieved I am!"

Duo grabbed her by the shoulders and looked intensely into her eyes, no longer timid. "Well, now that it's all sorted out, we've got some serious work ahead of us. Come back to the kitchen with me and I'll tell you my plan..." He steered her back towards the house and she was glad to follow.

**********

Dusk arrived. The time had come to board the ship to America. Heero couldn't tell whether Duo was avoiding him or he was avoiding Duo; he only knew that witnessing the two children in the gazebo acting so merry and carefree with each other had made Heero want to keep his distance, despite his original desire to see his friend one last time. Some tiny part of him hoped the chef would at least see him off on his journey, but Duo was nowhere to be seen.

The butler stood at the end of the front walk with his one suitcase, ready to blindly accept his fate on the strength of his sense of duty. Relena and Dorothy were there, with Frederick nestled in his owner's arms. Trowa and Quatre put in an appearance, a brave act, all things considered. Otto said a hasty and slightly smug goodbye and went back inside to confer with Treize, whom Heero spotted watching from a second-storey window. The three older housemaids appeared at the front parlour window, waved, then disappeared back to their duties, and Arthur stood at the far corner of the house, nursing his pipe.

Two servants were conspicuously absent--Duo and Hilde.

"Now, you will remember to send me a postcard, won't you?" Relena cooed, putting on a brave face before losing her exotic sweetie for three whole weeks. "And bring me back a present! I love surprise presents, especially from abroad! Father used to go away on business all the time, and he never failed to bring me back something nice. You won't forget, will you?"

Heero managed a tiny little fake smile for her benefit alone. "I'll do my best, m'lady."

"And say goodbye to Frederick, too!" she squealed, hoisting the terrier up to chin level and waving his paw in the air for him. "Say bye-bye to Heero, Freddie! Bye-bye!"

He felt a bit silly at first, but Heero slowly reached up and gave Frederick a friendly scratch behind the ears. The dog was perfectly fine up until that point; when his little brown eyes met Heero's, he began whimpering and crying and making an awful fuss. Trowa looked suspiciously at the dog, Quatre looked suspiciously at Heero, then the two boys looked worriedly at each other. Something was wrong, and somehow Freddie knew what it was.

Relena patted the dog's head and mollycoddled him generously. "Oh, there there, he's only going to be away for three weeks, Freddie, he'll be back before you know it! Don't cry!"

The three servants looked at each other very strangely, and the eyes of the two staying behind seemed to be asking all the questions. There was no time to get any answers, however, as the hansom cab destined to whisk Heero away to the docks was just clattering up the street towards the house.

**********

High up in the attic, gazing furtively down at the scene, were the two missing servants. They stood just far enough away from the storage room window not to be seen from the street, but close enough that they could see Heero stepping into the cab with his suitcase.

"We'll start as soon as he leaves," Duo whispered. He clasped Hilde's tiny hand and smiled in the dim light. "Nervous?"

"A little," the girl conceded, "but like you said, this is 'vitally important'." She smiled reassurance back at her friend, and they both turned again to the window. The cab driver cracked the reins, and the little carriage rattled on down the street. Relena was standing by the roadside, holding her lap dog in one arm and waving energetically with the other.

Once the cab had disappeared completely, Duo stood away from the window, straightened his shabby brown suit, and let out a slow, trembling breath. "Now I'm getting butterflies!" he said with a shaky laugh in his voice.

"Come on, it'll be over quicker than you think." Hilde rubbed the boy's quivering arm and led him out of the storage room. Phase three of Duo's plan was about to begin, whether he was ready for it or not.

**********

Relena stood on the front walk long after Heero had gone. Trowa and Quatre had taken the dog inside, leaving Dorothy to offer support and friendship to the saddened girl. She approached her Ladyship from behind and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Three weeks soon passes, m'lady," she said, "I'm sure I can find things to occupy your time until then."

Relena didn't answer for several minutes. She seemed more unsure and doubtful now about Heero's feelings towards her than she ever had before. "He didn't even tell me where he was going."

Dorothy squeezed her shoulders playfully. "Never mind! It's probably some bloody boring little lower-class resort in a tourist trap somewhere. Believe me, I speak from experience when I say that servants have the most awful taste in places to relax, because they're simply not meant to relax. They're meant to work!" She twirled Relena around and gripped both her hands, swinging them back and forth like happy pendulums. "Now, let's go inside and have a drop of sherry in the drawing room!"

It took a moment, but Relena smiled at the offer, and the girls ran lightly back indoors for their usual evening of gossip and games. To accompany their leisure, they rang the bellpull in the drawing room, mindless of the fact that there was no butler to answer it, and ordered some light refreshments from the first servant who happened along. It happened to be Hilde.

The girl went down to the kitchen and returned with tea cakes and petit-fours on a sterling silver tray. When asked why the chef didn't bring the dainty sweets up himself, Hilde humbly told the girls that Duo was feeling a bit under the weather and had gone to bed early. Relena didn't seem to care one way or the other after that; since the food arrived without incident, it didn't really matter.

Satisfied that Relena wasn't the least bit suspicious, Hilde went back down to the empty kitchen. She picked out a chair at the kitchen table and sank into it, tremendously pleased with herself. Looking up at where Duo had shown her the blonde woman's photograph and seeing it was gone, she smiled, thinking of what had happened in the last few hours. Mine, all mine... Seeking that extra bit of guilty indulgence, she kicked her feet up on the table and laced her fingers behind her head. Even if it's only for three weeks, I'm going to enjoy it, make no mistake.

Voices grew nearer from the other side of the basement, but the girl was too content to shift her very comfy position. "You're right, there's definitely something wrong. Frederick would never act that way if there wasn't a reason."

"If only we could get inside his head and find out what it was..."

Trowa and Quatre wandered into the kitchen, talking in concerned tones about something Hilde didn't have any will to discover. She was completely absorbed in her own happy little world and almost didn't notice when Quatre came up to her side holding the tawny terrier he and his friend were discussing. "Excuse me, Hilde, but where's Duo run off to? He wasn't outside to see Heero leave, and we want to ask his opinion on something that happened just now..."

Hilde sat properly in her chair and gnawed on her lip. "Duo...isn't here. He's upstairs. Resting. He was very tired and wanted to go to bed early. In fact, I think he might be coming down with something, the poor darling..."

Quatre eyed her carefully. "Alright...maybe I'll see him tomorrow then?"

"Yes, maybe!" the girl said breathlessly. "Now, I've got quite a bit left to do, so I'll let you gentlemen get back to your...dog discussion...or whatever." With that, she leapt out of the chair and skittered down the hall to another part of the cellar.

The boys simply stared after her, and Quatre was blinking away the confusion with all his strength. "She lied to me...she out-and-out lied to me about Duo, I can feel it!"

Trowa shook his head. "What is going on in this house?"

**********

It was a long, lonely carriage ride to the docks for Heero, one plagued with self-reproach and depressing thoughts about his former friend. The cab dropped him off a short walk from his ship, not exactly a luxury liner, but not exactly economy class either. It would be his home for the next week as he and hundreds of other people made the long trek across the Atlantic, but he knew he'd still feel utterly alone, even among so many.

He walked at the pace of a funeral march, suitcase in one hand, ticket in the other, until he reached a long gangplank leading from the dock to the main deck of the ocean liner. It was an impressive craft, newly fitted with electric lights, as well as several generators to power them. There were dozens upon dozens of men, women, and little children milling about on and off the ship, and lights were being switched on in all corners as the sun sank the rest of the way below the horizon. It was still a good half-hour until they shipped out, and there were still mountains of luggage being carted this way and that by a small army of red-capped porters.

As Heero made his way to the gangplank, he wasn't wholly paying attention to the restrained, late-day commotion around him, and didn't recognize the young gentleman taking the tickets until he was standing right in front of him. There, wearing a smart red porter's uniform and a foxy grin, was none other than Chang Wufei.

"Ticket please, sir," he said in a stately voice that didn't hide the malevolent gleam in his eye.

"Making sure I actually leave England, I see." Heero handed his ticket over with a glare. "If the ship stalls on its way out of the harbour, are you going to jump in the canal and push?"

Wufei glanced over the ticket and handed it back to him with a raised eyebrow. "I hope for the sake of the mission that you didn't write 'assassin' on your fake passport as your occupation."

"Perhaps I should borrow yours," Heero replied smootly, "I'm sure it has 'diplomatic immunity' stamped all over it. Very handy for getting away with murder."

"And who said anything about murder being part of your new assignment?" Wufei sang, looking sweetly innocent.

Heero stepped back and looked haughtily superior without much difficulty. "I know what I've been trained to do, and Jeffrhyss wouldn't send me all that way just to deliver an empty threat." He gripped the handle of his suitcase tightly and strode easily up the long, slanted gangplank, feeling the weight of Wufei's smirk on his back with every step.

The porter snapped to attention and saluted. "Safe journey, sir!" he called out in a military tone. Heero ignored him.

Once aboard, the former butler familiarized himself with the general layout of the ship, in case of emergency, then went looking for his stateroom. He was housed in the smallest of cabins, with one porthole for a window, and one tiny bunk to sleep on for the next week. He stowed the suitcase in the pull-out compartment under the bed, adjusted the shoulder holster under his jacket, and went back to the main deck to have a look around.

It was relatively quiet, even as the time grew shorter and shorter before the scheduled departure of the massive ship. For the next few days, at least, Heero would be free...there was no way Jeffrhyss could reach him in the middle of the ocean, and that thought comforted him somewhat. Sadly, instead of relishing the time off, he immediately began spending it on speculations about his new mission. It was to be a murder, done cleanly and efficiently, that much was certain, otherwise there should have been any number of agents already operating in the United States that could have completed the task. Therefore, if I'm being troubled to make this trip, it must be someone important...a powerful businessman, perhaps, or a politician who's standing in his Lordship's way...

He leaned casually on the railing, looking out over the port side at the shoreline of London, beautifully illuminated with thousands of tiny specks of light. It was a mistake to do so, for the moment he took in the sight of the glittering cityscape, the thoughts he had been trying so hard to block out came flooding back to him. The memories of those fleeting moments spent with Duo in his secret niche high above the walkway of Tower Bridge would not be quieted, and only served to make Heero feel more unwanted, and more alone.

It was indeed a shame that he didn't choose the starboard side of the ship from which to conduct his painful trip down memory lane, for if he would have looked over the starboard side, very carefully and with the keenest vision, he might have witnessed a peculiar event. There was, in fact, a darkly-clothed figure crawling delicately up one of the mooring ropes that held the ship in it's place. The figure climbed up to, but not onto, the main deck of the ship, waited until there was nobody watching, then jumped aboard with incredible acrobatic skill.

In the blink of an eye, the figure scampered a few yards away from the other end of the mooring rope to a tarp-covered life raft clinging to the side of the vessel, and hurriedly climbed inside it, seconds before two crewmembers rounded the corner and passed by. The ropes were tossed off their moorings, the anchor was hoisted, and with a booming note from the whistle, the ship was underway, carrying a little bit more than the usual cargo. The lack of substantial moonlight made it unlikely that anyone saw the figure duck into it's chosen hiding place, or that anyone saw the long chocolate brown braid that accidentally dangled over the side of the raft, or the hasty hand that snatched it back underneath the tarp, safe from all eyes.

Exactly according to plan, the ocean liner bound for America had picked up an unseen stowaway, a little brown mouse with bright violet eyes.


~~~~~~~~~~

Next, in Episode Seventeen: The true plans made between Duo and Hilde inevitably become clear to some of the household, and may have an unexpected effect on Quatre's quest for survival. Heero receives his orders, but can he bring himself to carry them out as instructed? Can he face the ultimate decision between death of the body and death of the soul?

Aieeeee! What was our favourite chef making such a huge production out of the jars for? What was really discussed between Duo and Hilde? What sort of peculiar understanding did they reach in the middle of all this turmoil? All will be revealed... =^_~= Now, if your head's spinning after all that and you're not sure why all this extra stuff happened, don't worry...most of you know my style by now, I gotta set up the pins before I knock 'em down! The next episode may or may not be double-length, I honestly don't know yet. As I get closer to finishing it, I'll let you know on my website. Next episode is definitely Sepetember 6th--it couldn't possible be any other day.

NOW...I have an interesting Quiz Question for you. It's more of a test to see how many people are really paying attention, since review traffic is down in the wake of the FNN outage. There have been several hints dropped about Heero's assignment in America over the last few episodes; taking into account the knowledge that I strive for a certain level of historical accuracy, how many of you can figure out what Heero's new mission is before September 6th? Email me your answers, and those who get it right will have their (screen)names posted on my little Wall of Fame, and (geez, I gotta think of a prize now)...well, there is no prize other than knowing you got it right, which is more of a prize for your history teacher...anywho. Think you can outthink Mitsugi? =^_~= Give it a try! Send your guess about the mission to koujonemitsugi@hotmail.com, and good luck!