Chapter Two

"I thought you said you 'knew a guy'." Trowa stared down at their hostages with a bemused expression; which was really just a subtle arch of his thin eyebrows and a slight turn of his lips.

"I do know a guy," Duo grunted as he awkwardly undid his jacket. "His name is Eric Lendholm. He trusts and saves." His lip curled and he ripped off the sleeve of his shirt. "This fucking hurts." He poured a bottle of purified water over his arm with a shaking hand.

"Well you got shot, Duo. Did you think it would tickle?" Trowa crossed his arms over his chest and looked from the pissed off Japanese kid to the passed out suit. They were now bound and gagged and sitting in the middle of their loft.

"Would you shut up and help me out?" Duo snapped as he gestured wildly with a roll of gauze. "I can't think straight right now. I need a Percocet."

Trowa shook his head and shoved Duo down onto a stool. "Did you clean it out?"

"It's more irrigated than a fuckin' corn field in Indiana." Duo winced as Trowa poked at the wound and bit down on his lip. "You gonna wrap it or what?"

"Stop whining." He picked up the gauze and rolled a small portion up. "9mm?"

"Hell if I know!"

"You're lucky it went in and out. This isn't the time to be playing operation." He narrowed his eyes and smeared Neosporin on the rolled bit before pressing it into the wound. "This was sloppy, Maxwell," he murmured. Duo hissed but refused to cry out as Trowa carefully applied more Neosporin around the exit wound and wrapped more gauze around his arm. "You're going to get us killed."

Duo scowled and looked over at their hostages as the blonde man began to stir. "I won't let that happen. I never do." He stood up and grabbed a bottle of painkillers from the counter before downing a few dry. He met the Japanese kid's glare and almost laughed out loud. The guy had an attitude to rival his own. Duo un-gagged him and raised an eyebrow. "What's your name."

"What's yours?" The kid retorted.

"Duo, and this handsome specimen is my partner Trowa," Duo said with a forced grin. It was hard to put on the charming act when he had a fucking hole in his arm. The kid stared at him uncertainly for a moment as if he was thinking that knowing their names surely meant impending doom. "Don't worry, kiddo. Those aren't our government names so you aren't dead yet."

"How reassuring."

"Don't get him started, kid. He's a bitch when he gets shot," Trowa threw in as he watched his partner's eyes glitter dangerously. Duo's lips twitched again and he gave Trowa a long, considering look.

"Heero Yuy."

"Nice name," Duo commented blandly as he wandered over to the blonde and pulled him into a sitting position. He pulled the guy's gag off and watched his clear blue eyes dart around quickly.

"Where--"

"You're in the villain's lair, Blondie. That was the answer to your first and last question so I'll move on to mine. What's your name?"

The blue eyes moved around the room again and his mouth opened and closed before he finally answered. "Jason."

Duo smacked him in the head with his good arm and made tsking sounds. "You're either lying or unsure of your own name and I'm going to call it the former."

"His name is Quatre Raberba Winner," Trowa said dryly. "Or didn't you notice that?"

Duo ignored the last comment and studied Quatre's face. "No shit? Huh. You looked different on the magazines."

"Probably all of that airbrushing," Quatre said weakly, still disoriented from the shot. He looked from Duo to Trowa with an expression that was frightened and uncertain. What do you want with us? Ransom? I assure you--"

"I told you that was your only question and I don't plan on answering anymore." Duo waved him off and turned to Trowa, jerking his head towards the bedroom. When he followed him into the room, Duo closed the door behind him and shut his eyes briefly. "Okay, I fucked up. I know I fucked up. I don't know what we're going to do with hostages and I didn't plan on taking any when I got there. I know that I'm dragging us down deeper so please just spare me the lecture unless you can come up with something to do."

Trowa pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. "We have to call him."

"Shit, Trowa, he's going to--"

"Duo." The sharp tone silenced any further objections and Trowa quickly dialed the number. It rang several times before there was an answer. "We have a situation." He was silent for a long moment and one of his eyebrows raised slightly. "Ah, I see." He gave Duo a significant look and tapped his long fingers against the wall. "Both of them, for now. ... Yes. ... Yes, one of them does. ... Not in this sector. ... Ah. ... Two weeks. ... Barton, out." He flipped the phone closed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He already knew."

"How?"

"It's all over the news already and the surveillance tapes caught you on camera so the feds know that it's linked." Duo winced but Trowa waved his hand dismissively. "They already have us pinned with the murders so a bank robbery isn't going to have any more of an impact. He told us to bring them to L2 and then he'll decide what to do with them."

"What the hell? Why?"

"Who knows how he thinks, but I suspect it will be easier to ransom them on L2 than on this rock and his main concern is always money." Trowa slipped his phone back in his pocket. "The plan remains the same."

"With two fricken' hostages to slow us down all the way."

"Don't complain. It was you who got us into this mess in the first place."

"Why don't we just get rid of the kid and keep Winner?" Duo demanded. One hostage would be easier to transport than two. The thought processed as did his usual way of 'getting rid' of someone and his indifferent sneer drifted into a tired frown.

"He knows where we are and we don't have another safe location anywhere in this sector. We need this place secure until your arm is healed and we get the ship from the compound." Trowa ignored Duo's actual intent and studied his partner's drawn face. He sighed inaudibly before reaching out and caressing Duo's cheek. "Stop it."

"This sucks. This whole thing sucks," Duo muttered. "I wish we could just go back to the way we were all those years ago before we even got mixed up in any of this shit. We were supposed to be in this for a good cause and now I'm a fuckin' monster," He said darkly. "That girl... and this kid out there. Jesus I was just thinking about how good looking he was earlier and now I'm suggesting we kill him and--" He stopped abruptly and glared at the wall.

"I'm just as much of a monster as you are, Duo but this isn't the time to lament over that." Trowa tilted Duo's chin up and looked him in the eye. "We're finished with him after this."

"Swear on it?" Duo's voice was unsure as he looked at his friend with a vulnerable look in his eyes that very few people ever got to see. "Fuckin' swear on it, Trowa."

"Scout's honor," Trowa said dryly but there was a hint of a smile around his lips. He leaned forward and kissed Duo's forehead. "Now put your hard ass act back on so we can get this done."

Duo dug his fingers into Trowa's shoulders and squeezed; standing there for a long moment before he jerked back and straightened. "So what's the plan, boss? I know you got one already and obviously killing those brats ain't a part of it."

"Boss? Since when am I the boss?" Trowa cracked the door open and looked at their hostages. Heero was sitting rigidly and boring a hole in the wall with his glare while Winner looked around quickly for escape routes that he wouldn't find. However, if they actually found a way to get out of the ridiculously expensive (not that they paid for them anyway) tungsten-steel leg and arm irons, he would finally win the "Yes Duo, there are better escape artists in the world than you" bet.

"Since I've become a fuck up," Duo muttered angrily. "I swear, I didn't use to be this sloppy, did I?"

"Of course not," Trowa said coolly and shut the door again. "You're still alive, aren't you?"

"Eh, good point." Duo massaged his wounded arm and winced.

"Stop beating yourself up. I fuck up too. Remember that time on L3?" He raised an eyebrow expectantly and Duo snickered, immediately catching the reference. "Of course you do. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and fix this problem before you make it worse."

Duo smirked. "That's what I love about you, Tro. You're so fucking sensitive."

"You know where I'm sensitive." The tone was suggestive and Duo leered at him. "Anyway, like I said earlier the plan is the same as it was before."

Duo rolled his eyes. So much for a little kinky rough and tumble with hostages on the other side of the door. Oh well, he had weird fetishes anyway. "How do you propose we get them on the ship? The fuckin' feds are gonna be all over the place and Winner is not exactly low key so anyone could recognize him."

"Divide and conquer, Maxwell." Trowa tapped the door with his fingers. "But we'll get to that later. We aren't going anywhere until your arm is slightly more functional." Duo opened his mouth to object but Trowa silenced him with another look. "There should be something on the news by now."

"Of course there is since Winner is involved. I'm sure the feds are freakin' out right about now."

----------

"This was sloppy." Wufei rubbed his temples and stared at the crime scene with an annoyed expression on his face. "And I'm not just talking about our perps."

Sally shook her head. "It's like a bad movie, is what it is. Sloppy bank robbery lacking their usual finesse, they took two hostages for reasons that I cannot even begin to comprehend, we actually have surveillance tapes--"

"--But the idiot who designed the security, set up the cameras so that they hover directly above the door so the get away car is just out of view--"

"--and Winner's driver had a stroke and he's the only person we have as of now who actually saw it because Ms. Peacecraft wasn't paying attention."

"Sloppy." Wufei shook his head. "I imagine that having their pictures all over the news has made them pretty desperate to get out of dodge but why would he take two hostages?" He studied one of the prints from the surveillance tape and chewed his lower lip; a habit he only did when extremely agitated.

Officer Bradley approached hesitantly and shot a look at the brooding Wufei before turning to the more amiable Sally. "Ms. Peacecraft is ready to give her statement, Agent Po."

"Finally," Wufei scoffed under his breath.

Sally shot him a warning look before heading in the direction of the back offices in the bank. Peacecraft had been too shaken to speak before now, which was understandable considering the circumstances. They found her sitting in a plush chair by the desk with a rather impressive bruise on her face. Her dress was badly wrinkled and her eyes were red rimmed but she still managed to look professional and sophisticated. She started to stand when they entered the room but winced and sat back down. "Agents," She said politely.

"I'm Agent Po and this is my partner, Agent Chang. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Peacecraft and I'm sorry it has to be under these circumstances." Sally and Wufei both shook her hand before getting down to business. "Have you called your people?"

"Not yet but I'm sure they're on their way. I'd prefer to speak to you without my lawyer speaking for me." She cradled her bruised face for a moment. "Will you be able to help Quatre?"

"Why don't you tell us exactly what happened before we get to that," Wufei said briskly. "So far you're the only person who appears to be able to give us a concrete statement."

"What about the other witnesses? The tellers and the guard?"

"The tellers were unconscious through most of the incident and the guard passed out after he was shot. We have surveillance tapes but they are grainy and without audio. As of now your statement will carry the most weight."

Relena nodded and started to speak but she stopped suddenly and her hand flew up to her mouth. "What about Hazier? He wasn't hurt was he?"

"Mr. Khan had a stroke at some point during the incident. He's at Creedmoor Medical Center now and he's expected to live." Wufei flipped open his notepad and stared at Relena impatiently. Sally narrowed her eyes at her partner but didn't say anything.

"Oh no, that poor man." Relena squeezed her hands into fists before taking a deep breath. "As you can tell from the surveillance cameras, Quatre and I entered the bank while the robbery was already in progress. The bank security guard had entered with us because I believe he was returning from a lunch break. As we entered he had made a comment regarding a second guard's whereabouts." Relena paused and closed her eyes. "When we entered, the guard immediately opened fire on the robber and I believe he was hit, but he shot the guard anyway." She stopped and looked at them. "Can you tell on the tapes if he was really hit? Maybe if he's injured--"

"The equipment that this branch uses is very outdated so the cameras are not set up to capture everything that happened. However he appears to have been shot in the shoulder area," Sally told her.

Relena nodded and looked slightly disappointed that he hadn't been shot in the heart. "The robber told Quatre to kick the guard's gun across the room or he would... he would blow my brains out." She shivered slightly. "Quatre did it and then the robber told the guy sitting by the tellers to get the bag of money."

Wufei frowned. "Did the two of them speak before that?"

Relena shook her head. "No, the guy was just sitting there silently until then. He didn't really do or say anything the entire time except sit there and watch. Now that I think about it, he didn't even appear to be scared or concerned with the situation."

Wufei and Sally exchanged significant looks before encouraging Relena to go on. She frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "After that, the robber grabbed Quatre and I attempted to lunge at him but he kicked me into the wall and I slammed my head on the floor." She touched her face again gingerly. "I blacked out and when I came to, everyone was gone and the police had already arrived. The medics said I have a concussion and a few bruised ribs from where he kicked me."

Wufei scribbled some things down in his notepad. "Okay, Ms. Peacecraft that's all we need from you at the moment but we will probably get in touch--"

"Oh no you don't!" Relena shot to her feet despite the grunt of pain that escaped her lips. "You don't brush me off like some civilian! Quatre is still out there and he'll probably be killed by this maniac! I want to know what you're going to do about it!"

Wufei stared at her coolly and tucked his pad into his pocket. "We're going to do everything we can," He said in a voice that was less than comforting.

"Oh how reassuring," Relena snapped. "If you had done everything you could have done in the first place, this guy would already be in jail. I recognized him from the news, you know and I heard the other officers talking about it. This is the same guy who committed those murders."

"Very good," Wufei said flatly. "Now as I said, we will contact you--"

"How dare you speak to me in that manner," She hissed. "I am not some idiot that you can just brush off and I won't be kept in the dark. In case you have forgotten--"

"I know who you are, Ms. Peacecraft and that doesn't give you authority over me or any of my officers. Now if you'll excuse us--" Wufei started to turn but Relena grabbed his arm and tried to jerk him back around which caused her to lose balance and fall back in the chair with a pained moan. Wufei didn't make a move to help her but Sally rushed to her side.

"Sweetheart I know you're very upset--"

"Please do not patronize me," Relena said coldly and batted Sally's hands away.

Sally's lips twitched and she crossed her arms over her chest. Well apparently the rumors were not true. Relena Peacecraft was anything but a girly little push over. "Okay then. Ms. Peacecraft we're going to do everything we can to ensure Mr. Winner's safety. This was already a priority case but when hostages are involved, you better believe that we do everything we can to help them. Civilian casualties are something that this organization does not tolerate as I'm sure you must know since your brother is one of the founders." She narrowed her eyes. "We know that you're very tired, you're very sore and very worried because Mr. Winner is a good friend of yours. Please understand that everyone will be doing everything we can and that we will keep you informed, but pointing fingers is not going to get that done any faster and neither will throwing your weight around."

Relena bristled but remained silent.

"I also want you to understand that complaining to Captain Une about what you may believe is incompetence would be a very bad thing. Agent Chang and I are the top agents on this case and for us to be replaced now would be a very grave mistake. It has taken us a long time to get to the point we are at now and for new agents to take over would mean they would start again from scratch. I'm sure you don't want this to be prolonged any more than we do," Sally went on.

"I never said I would do that," Relena snapped.

"But I'm sure the thought crossed your mind," Sally said with an arched eyebrow. "Now please, go home and get some rest and we will inform your people as we make headway in this investigation. No one is trying to brush you off or disrespect you, Ms. Peacecraft but we do need to do our job and we can't do that if you are in the way."

Relena stared at her for a moment before sighing and standing up awkwardly. "I understand, Agent Po and it has been a very bad day. Please do all you can to help Quatre; he's very dear to me. And if you have to worry about anyone complaining to Une about incompetence; it's his sisters." She nodded stiffly. "I believe your offices have my contact information and I would prefer you call me directly instead of going through 'my people'. Good day, Agent Po." She limped towards the door while holding her side and ignored Wufei coldly.

Sally watched her go before turning to her partner with a frown. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what?" Wufei countered with a glare.

Sally opened her mouth to say something before shaking her head and giving up. Wufei's attitude was really just a lost cause. "You need to work on your bedside manner, Chang. You really do."

Wufei snorted and started out of the room. "Dealing with hysterical women wasn't in my training."

"I'd hardly have called her 'hysterical'," Sally said dryly. "She was upset and it's very understandable. Apparently she and Winner are supposed to be dating or something according to those magazines."

"I thought Winner was a queer," Wufei said blandly.

Sally threw him a dirty look. "A 'queer'?"

Wufei sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Homosexual. Can we get on with the case now?" He shook his head and made his way to the small security room. "I want another look at that tape."

"The Yuy kid?" Sally asked as they wedged themselves in the closet sized space.

"Yes. The teller said his name was Heero Yuy. He was supposedly asking about some questionable fees in his account and making a big fuss over it." Wufei rewound the tape and narrowed his eyes. "It may have been a diversion for the other guy while he knocked out the first guard."

Sally made a 'hmm' sound and studied the video. "He is awfully calm about the whole thing but for some reason I don't get the impression that he was involved. It's worth looking into though."

Wufei grunted and stuck his head out the door. "Bradley! Get me everything you can on this Yuy kid!" He ducked back in the room and saw that Sally had paused the tape on the part where the perp had his gun trained on Yuy. "At this point I'll look into any lead I can get my hands on."

To be continued..