Chapter Fourteen
Help Wanted
When Marcus flew into the hospital he met five young women parked outside of an operating room. Two were staring blankly ahead, one was crying silently, one was sobbing loudly, and one just sat there with a stern look.
A couple of the girls looked up and nodded at him as he stood in front of them. "What happened?" he asked simply. He could still feel his stomach lurching from the flight. Stupid jet lag.
Celes curled up into a ball, cradling her wrist and ankle, and her bawling subsided into soft tears, muffled by her knees. "Celes and Deirdre were being driven to Ianthe's scrimmage," Maryanne said in a monotone. Her eyes were dry. "A truck barreled through and turned into the wrong lane pushing the car sideways. If flipped completely over and slammed into the guardrail. Deirdre and the driver were both severely injured. Celes hurt her ankle and wrist and the other boy was perfectly fine. The driver of the oncoming car has a minor concussion, but that's all."
Marcus nodded and came over to Celes' crumpled figure. He spoke softly as he pried for more information. "How is the driver?"
It was Amada, wiping her eyes, who spoke now. "They had to amputate his hands. They were basically cut off by the crumpled car-roof. He has a severe concussion and his knees were shattered. He also has a pretty bad gash in his side. But the doctor's say he'll survive, and learn to cope without his hands…." Her voice trailed off weakly.
"And Deirdre?" Marcus was fighting to keep his voice steady now. He had to be strong and safe, to help these girls. But his heart was pounding so hard he thought it would break through his ribcage. Kiki had called him to tell him what had happened, that they needed his help if he could come, take a little time from work. Coming from Kiki, he knew it must be serious.
"She wasn't wearing her seatbelt. She complained about her shoe hurting her so she was bending over to fix it when we were hit," Celes said in a strained voice. It sounded as if it was costing her all her strength to suppress her sobs long enough to speak comprehensibly.
Kiki took the narrative over. "They had to cut her and that other guy out of the car. She has at least one broken arm, several fractured ribs, and a bunch of other complicated things the doctor mentioned that I've never heard of that had to do with her legs. I think basically she hit her head pretty hard and is suffering from some internal injuries and her bent knees rammed against the dashboard. She's been in surgery for five hours now."
Marcus swore softly. Milliardo would have his head, as if he didn't feel bad enough already. He liked Deirdre, a lot, to put it lightly. But he surveyed the girls and made a quick decision. "You all need some sleep. Go home and I'll stay here if they need someone for her."
"No." Kiki's eyes were flaring. "We're staying here and waiting." The other girls looked at him resolutely, daring him to say another word about them leaving.
But a nurse came out of the O.R. looking grave and it stopped Marcus from his biting retort. "We've done all we can do right now. We need to watch her over-night and see if she continues to bleed. The doctor will be out to speak with you in greater detail in a moment. I'm just here to tell you that she's was semi-conscious for a few minutes…."
Everyone jumped at that. "That's a good sign, isn't it?" Maryanne asked.
"Yes. Especially since she spoke. She asked for someone named Heero. I thought maybe it would be nice if you brought him here to see her." Then the nurse apologized and left quickly, tactfully ignoring the tear-streaked faces.
"Who the heck is Heero?" Ianthe scrunched her face. Her frank, unemotional voice broke the tension.
"I've known her for nearly four years now. I've never heard her mention a Heero, and if he's that important you'd think I'd have heard about him," Maryanne observed.
"What's her brother's name?" Amada said quickly.
Maryanne looked thoughtful for a moment. "You know, after all the times she's mentioned him, I don't think she's ever said his name. It's always been 'brother'. Maybe that's who he is."
"No." Everyone looked at Marcus in surprise.
"You know who Heero is?" Ianthe cocked an incredulous eyebrow.
"No. I haven't the foggiest idea who Heero is, but I do know that he's not her brother."
"Maybe he'll know who he is. If she can wake up and say his name, he must be pretty important."
"Unless he's someone who died a long time ago but she cared about…." Amada suggested.
Kiki snorted. "You mean like that Tai jerk?"
"That's it! He's an old friend! I bet he'd know!" Maryanne said excitedly. "He knew her in high school, didn't he? He'd be sure to know! Do you know where Deirdre keeps his number?"
Kiki shifted uneasily. She really didn't trust this Tai guy. It wasn't exactly her business if Deirdre wanted to get mixed up with him, but it was fishy the way she talked about him. "Yes…"
"Well, let's go!"
Five minutes later Marcus found himself chauffeuring five near hysterical girls around. Kiki and Deirdre's room was completely unrecognizable after about ten minutes of frantic searching and flinging or objects. Fortunately, Amada's wild flailing only resulted in a few slight bruises from flinging the large PS book at Ianthe's face.
When Maryanne triumphantly screamed, "I found it!" Marcus sank uneasily down into a chair. What if Relena had died? What would have happened? Relena Darlian would have just vanished into thin air forever. This was too close, and in reality, not over yet.
He heard Amada chatting excitedly on the phone to someone. She must have reached this Tai guy.
The girls were chattering like a bunch of hyenas. All they needed was something to distract them, to make them feel useful in helping Deirdre.
But something was missing.
Marcus sat up and watched the girls. A certain blond was missing. He got up and knocked softly on her bedroom door, but there was no answer.
Unceremoniously waltzing in, he found her staring at the poster-plastered cinderblock wall with empty blue eyes in a red, tear stained face. Celes was the most cheerful and enthusiastic of all the girls. She was scary, acting like this.
He sat down on the end of the pink blanket and rubbed her good ankle gently. "Celes…"
She blinked, but gave no other sign that she heard him. "Celes, please look at me. You're scaring me." She blinked again but turned to him. She tried to force a smile but it looked so painful that he winced. Then he had her in his arms, stroking her hair and murmuring in her ear soft comforting words. He hardly even knew what he was saying to her.
She was thin, too thin. It was like cradling Raggedy Anne with the floppy arms and legs. Rocking her back and forth, he heard himself pleading with her, asking her to talk to him. Maybe he couldn't take care of Deirdre, but he would take care of this girl. He could do this, here and now.
Tai looked up from his mound of books to Huy's voice calling him. He was holding the phone with a bewildered look. "It's a girl!" he was saying in an incredulous whisper.
Snapping himself from la-la land, Tai propped himself up on his elbows and took the receiver from his brother. "Hello," was his curt salutation.
"Tai?" a female voice, which he did not recognize, hesitated.
"Yes."
"This is Amada, one of Deirdre's roommates," a girl told him in a rush. She had a shrill little voice and sounded exceedingly relieved. "I was just calling because I thought you should know that she was in a pretty bad car accident."
Tai was glad that the girl hadn't asked him any questions as of yet because he felt his heart stop and throat clog up. Accident? He pushed his initial feeling out, mostly because he was confused by it and replaced it with a comfortable, familiar feeling. Annoyance. Wouldn't that be just grand, after all the hiding and careful planning and three and a half years of successful hiding, she got herself into a car wreck. That was a safe emotion…but not very nice, he amended.
The girl, what was her name? Amanda? Amada? Something like that, but she was talking about surgery and Deirdre going to make it. Tai felt his heart start again, and blamed it on worrying about peace and the colonies.
"She was conscious for a little while, and she asked for someone named Heero. We thought maybe you might know who she was talking about."
Tai stared straight ahead for a moment before speaking. He didn't trust his voice, he was sure it would crack as it hadn't since he was thirteen. "I'll be right there, as soon as possible." And he hung up. He couldn't cope with questions. Then he flew to the computer and began searching shuttle reservations.
"Uh…earth to Tai…what's going on?" Huy asked, his voice just barely reaching his brother.
"Deirdre was in a car wreck. She was asking for 'Heero' during surgery. I'm going there."
"But you have midterms….remember? You kind of need to pass them, you know?"
Tai didn't say anything for a moment as he dialed a number and spoke to a travel agent, who wasn't very helpful, telling him all flights were full. Then he answered Huy's question/statement. "I guess I'll just have to fail," he told Huy as he pulled out an old duffel bag.
"Hey, you don't think I'm going to let you go alone!" Huy yelled as Tai ran out of the room for a minute, presumably to arrange some things for the flight.
Marcus paced up and down the hallway. Deirdre was in surgery again, and she'd come to just long enough to ask for this Heero person again. The girls all sat quietly with their school books and sightless eyes in the hall full of recovery rooms. They would wheel Deirdre back here when they were done.
"Let me get this straight--you said that when you told Tai about Heero, he said 'I'm coming?' correct?"
Amada glared at him. "Yes. For the millionth time, yes, yes, and yes. I don't understand it. But that's what he said. It was like he didn't even hear me. He just said 'I'm coming' and hung up." Amada was really getting sick of Marcus butting in. He'd been a great help with Celes, but other than that he was just a pain, always jumping on everyone's cases and questioning every nurse that went in to check on Deirdre. It was like had elected himself personal bodyguard for Deirdre.
They all jumped as a resounding crash startled the silence of the hospital hall with it's soft beeping machines and air conditioners. A dark headed boy bounded into the hallway, panting. He looked around at them, wide-eyed so they saw he was of Asian descent.
He swore loudly. "You guys seen someone around here who looks just like me, only surly?"
The girls shook their heads mutely. Marcus glared as the boy looked frustrated and sat down next to Ianthe. "What do you want?"
"I'm trying to find my brother. You see, we flew in and then he just dashed off and I couldn't find him, but I knew he'd want to come here eventually so I came. But he's not here so now I guess I'll just wait."
They all just blinked at his cheerful torrent of words.
"Who are you?" Kiki asked scornfully.
He grinned, completely unconcerned. "I'm Huy Iwasato. Who are you all waiting for?"
"Our roommate…" Maryanne said slowly.
"Deirdre?" Huy guessed. They nodded. "Great. I'm glad I could meet you all. Which one's which? And who are you?" he asked lightly, turning to Marcus. "I'm sure you're not a roommate." Marcus didn't much like this boy. He reminded him sharply of the unnaturally cheerful and annoyingly contagious Maxwell who hung around the Preventors sometimes. He really wished Zechs would get rid of that Maxwell kid. You couldn't trust cheerful people like that—only people that cheerful are selling something.
"Of course not," he snapped impatiently. Who the heck was this clown. "I'm a friend."
"Oh, I thought you just like to frequent the hospitals and visit complete strangers!" Huy winked. Marcus reiterated in his mind that he did not like this boy.
"What's your brother want with Deirdre," Marcus snapped. It was all he could do to keep from yelling. His nerves were short.
"He's Tai's brother," Kiki told them. They all looked at her in surprise. "Huy's fiancee came and stayed with Deirdre and I over Christmas. I take it you quit being a pig?" she asked, turning to him.
He scratched his head. "Yah…I'm a giant git. I know that. She knows that. Don't ask me why she's still marrying me."
Ten minutes later Kiki was sorry she'd asked him any question at all. He could go on forever, and not take any visible breath. But the other girls were giggling now. Even Celes was starting to smile. He was a clown. But Marcus was looking more irritable than ever.
"Is your brother like you?" Kiki asked suddenly.
Huy laughed loudly. "Heavens no. We're complete opposites. He's too serious, I'm too goofy. Together we get along fine. Kind of like our parents. He's like dad, I'm like mom. But we won't be getting married or anything," he winked mischievously.
"Incidentally," he went on, "does Deirdre talk much about Tai?"
"No. Just in passing," Amada told him.
"Hm. I guess this could take some work after all," he said shifting into a mock Sherlock Holmes position. He noted their confusion and paused to elaborate. "You see, my incredibly stiff brother has never really shown much care for any girl, ever, except Deirdre. And she seemed to like him a lot. Naturally, I ask myself, why aren't they together when they obviously should be."
"You're going to play match-maker between a guy who played dead and a sweet innocent girl?" Ianthe asked with obvious scorn.
"Hey, she's friends with Tai. She can't be that naïve," he retorted flatly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Maryanne jumped up. "What kind of person is this Tai anyway? Getting Deirdre mixed up in things she shouldn't be?"
"Absolutely nothing. Huy's just jabbering nonsense as usual," a new voice said from the hallway, startling them all.
Huy jumped up indignantly and everyone gaped at the slightly shorter elusive "Tai." He had a stern face and a commanding presence. You knew right away not to mess with him.
"Where in blue blazes did you run off to! You can just leave me like that!!!" Huy was yelling, heedless of the O.R. and patients, presumably attempting to sleep.
Tai just looked at his brother calmly. "You chose to follow me. Thus, you proceed at your own risk. I'm not going to waste any time babysitting."
Huy narrowed his eyes. "Hey, I'm covering your sorry rear! I went and talked to all your professors and pleaded for a make-up date for all your exams!"
"I took them before I left. They probably knew you were pretending to be me."
Huy balked at that. "Oh yah, how did they know you had a twin?"
"Huy, you don't exactly blend into a crowd. Everyone knows you. You make sure of it." Marcus got the distinct impression that Tai wasn't even really listening to his brother. He was watching everyone with unnerving frankness.
"You make being social sound like a bad thing!" Huy shot back.
"If that's how you choose to take my words."
Huy jumped at his brother, but Tai smoothly dodged and pulled Deirdre's chart out of its clear plastic box outside the door.
"Hey, you can't do that!" Marcus jumped up. First, Huy was making a racket, and second, this Tai was just waltzing in like he owned the place and taking Deirdre's chart. "That's illegal."
"Talk to someone who cares," Tai said flatly. Marcus' eyes widened.
"Yah, it's not like it's the first time you've done something illegal." Huy was pulling himself off the ground. "You know, if anyone catches what you did with those shuttle tickets…"
"No one ever has."
"You hacked into a government computer system!" Huy said indignantly. "You think people aren't going to catch you?"
"Huy, I've been doing it since I was in grade school. And I've yet to be caught."
The girls looked like they had all had enough. "Who are you? There's no way the Deirdre would be attached to someone as deplorable as you!" Ianthe was yelling now.
But Tai just shrugged. Kiki couldn't believe than anyone could be so calm with people all around yelling. "I don't claim to understand it. And I'm not a common criminal. I do what is necessary for the job. Currently, my job is making sure that Deirdre lives. If it involves hacking computer systems and checking charts, so be it."
"I don't see how stealing hospital records can help Deirdre's position," Marcus spat irritably.
"You're right. It won't. But at least I now know her state."
"We could have told you that," Ianthe nearly shouted.
"In a garbled third or forth hand account…" he said, his voice flat without a trace of sarcasm. Before anyone else could explode he continued. "I'll be back in a bit. I need to take care of some things. She won't be out for another several hours. Huy, do me a favor he stay here."
The brothers looked at each other and seemed to say something to each other without words. Huy nodded gravely. "Sure. Hurry back. And give Kieko a call for me. I prefer to still be engaged when I come home. I've already screwed up once and all. She'll listen to you."
Tai nodded, clapped his brother's shoulder and walked out.
"What just happened?" Kiki was the first to ask.
Huy sighed and sank back down to his seat facing six glaring sets of eyes. "That was my brother, the sole human living completely devoid of tact, grace, or anything remotely resembling manners. Actually, he's just extra bad right now because he worried about Deirdre. I've never seen him so worried in my life. He's usually pretty nice, actually."
"What was this illegal stuff you guys were talking about?" Marcus demanded. His temper was still up.
"He hacked into the shuttle ports records because they said they didn't have room for us on a flight, but you know those shuttles, there's always room for one or two more. He's amazing with machines of any kind and can hack into anything. I don't think there's anything he can't do."
Marcus continued his barrage of questions. "Where did he go now?"
"Haven't a clue. But you can bet he has his reasons and will be back. He's pretty dependable. I don't think he can lie. He just states things as they are and goes with it. If someone's in his way, he hits them. If he needs something, he'll do what he has to get it. He's not someone to mess with." Huy was looking bored.
"So he'll be back?"
"Yes."
"Does he know this 'Heero' Deirdre wants to see?"
Huy hesitated for a second and looked a little surprised. "What about Heero?"
"You know him then?" Amada asked before Marcus could.
"Yah. I know him. We both do. What about him?" Huy was looking a little worried now and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
"She was calling out his name." Marcus looked none too happy about this.
Huy nodded gravely. "I see…" was all he said.
Everyone looked expectantly at him, but he ignored their eyes, stood up, and immediately broke into a hoard of stories which had them laughing and forgetting everything within ten minutes. It was two hours before Tai came back, with several plastic bags. "I brought provisions," he told them as he handed out sub sandwiches. Huy was grinning ear to ear. Marcus jumped at the word 'provisions.'
He didn't want to admit that he was grateful to this rude, selfish boy but he was pretty hungry, and accepted his with a stiff nod. As they sat down, he attempted to interrogate Tai again. "Were you a soldier?" The use of the word 'provisions' was just too odd to ignore.
Huy choked on his food but Tai looked unconcerned as he sat down placidly. He was a person with a completely unreadable face. "Yes."
"How old are you?" Maryanne asked, incredulous.
"Nearly twenty-two."
"But then…you would have been…"
"Fifteen during the war. Yes."
Marcus let in some breath. That explained a lot. He'd met many soldiers and some people were affected more than others. But something was bothering him. "Didn't you fight, Huy?"
"Me?" he looked surprised and pointed unconsciously to himself. "No. No, Tai and I were in different situations, you might say. So they didn't call me. I'm useless. Tai here is amazing with everything."
"Only because I was trained," Tai said, not with modesty, but with resentment, much to Marcus' surprise.
"So how do you know Deirdre exactly?" Tai sighed at Amada's questions and a couple girls giggled. His expression was too funny. Expectant and exasperated.
It was all he could do to keep from massaging his temples. The billion dollar question—how to explain how he and Deirdre had met without giving anything away? He could feel everyone hanging on his every word and was not blind to the fact that they were judging him, and none to kindly. "We met in high school," he decided lamely. That was true. They had gone to school together. For a time, a very short time.
He tried to concentrate on chewing, but his throat wasn't working properly.
"That's what she told us. Was it before or after the war?" Amada was looking a little interested, watching him warily.
Tai tried not to look like he was doing quick thinking. "Before," he decided.
"So were you a prick before to war to, or just now?" Ianthe asked nastily. Maryanne 'tut-tutted' her, but Ianthe didn't seem to care.
Several years ago, Tai would not have cared if someone said that about him. This was the one raunchy thing about living with his family and making friends. These comments could sting. But he supposed most of her opinion came from the 'dying' story.
Then a muted high-pitched clicking metallic sound echoes through the sterile hall. Several nurses were wheeling a bed toward them. They stopped in front of Deirdre's door and paused to swing it wide and clear space for Deirdre. Her face was pale and her eyes sunken in. She coughed softly and blinked. Then her clouded eyes rested on Tai—he could feel his heart skip. It was just relief, he told himself. Just relieved.
"Heero…" her voice was almost inaudible and everyone was staring at Tai again, he could feel the eyes on his back. He had to shut her up before she said anything else in this delusional state.
He strode over and peered down at her, the nurses looking at him happily. "She's been asking for you constantly!" She obviously assumed that he was Heero.
Pushing the blankets aside, he found her hand. "Deirdre," he told her firmly, reminding her of her own name. "Deirdre, it's Tai. Do you recognize me?"
She smiled and whispered. "I recognize you…Tai." The nurses started to wheel her away but she started. "Tai…" she said again.
"It's okay, honey. He'll be right here. We just have to get you settled, then he can stay with you all you like, and maybe this Heero will come later," the motherly nurse comforted, patting her head delicately and looking sheepish for assuming he was Heero.
Within five minutes, Tai had a chair set up beside her bed and was holding her hand carefully, while everyone else filled up the room. Deirdre seemed more lucid the longer she was awake, but the nurses warned them not to tire her.
She smiled at everyone, and looked flattered, or at least as much as she could under the circumstances. "Huy…how's…Kieko?"
He grinned. "Beautiful as always. And probably cursing me because she's found my note pinned to her door."
They stayed with her a little while, but then her eyes began to close and they knew that they should be leaving her soon. Tai was at the door when she suddenly woke again. "Don't…don't tell…Milliardo. Please….don't tell him…." Her voice was weak and she obviously had forgotten who she was with. Tai decided the best course was to answer her and distract everyone who was looking curiously at him. Especially Marcus.
"He won't hear it from me. He won't need to. I'll take care of you, Deirdre," he promised. She smiled, it looked a bit like a wilted daisy.
"Again? It's all you seem to be doing…." Her eyes closed again, dark lashes framing her sunken eyes.
Huy was at the girls' apartment when Kieko informed him exactly what she thought of his note, which had come unstuck from the door and fall through the slats of the porch, down to the ground. She had spent five sleepless days worrying when she stumbled across it while visiting a downstairs neighbor. She informed him and everyone else within listening distance, which was about a three mile radius with the level of screaming she was doing.
"You could fail all your classes, then you'll probably not even make it into grad school and then what will I be left with? A lazy bum of a husband, that's what!!!"
Huy was holding the phone three feet from his ear and grinning limply at everyone. "I think she's PMSing," he mouthed. When Kieko had paused for a breath he jumped in. "You don't think I could let Tai come here alone! And Deirdre is really bad off. She needs him and Tai needs me. It's a screwed up triangle! We won't be gone much longer, I promise!"
"You've already been gone nearly a week! And I've been sitting here worrying like mad about you and Tai! I'd have thought at least HE would be responsible!"
"We were resp—"
But she cut him off again with more of her worries. Finally he had to butt in. "I'm sorry I worried you but would you please calm down and sound like a normal human for about five minutes! I was trying to tell you that Deirdre's doing better and we'll be able to come home within a few days. Tai's booked the flight and everything. Please don't scream like that!"
They could hear Kieko breathing heavily, like a hippo out-running a crocodile. She muttered something curt that no one could catch and hung up. Huy sighed and sank back to his chair.
"Well, that was a lovely little call…." Maryanne grinned at him. He smiled weakly. The girls had all taken a great liking to the charismatic Huy, despite Marcus' surely looks. But even Marcus had to admit that Tai wasn't so bad either. He had practically lived at Deirdre's bedside, and he seemed to be all she wanted. She'd quit calling for Heero, so it was plain to everyone that he WAS Heero, even though Huy tried to dodge all questions and Tai just wouldn't answer.
Tai helped feed her, talked with her, brought her newspapers and held them while she read. He even snuck a TV in so that she could watch the news. It was incredible the change wrought in him when he was around her, and vice versa.
The phone rang again and Huy jumped five feet in the air. Amada and Celes, who was much better now that Deirdre was out of danger, giggled. Ianthe answered and looked wide-eyed at everyone as she spoke the usual "Uh-huh's" and "No's" to the person on the other end. She hung up nervously.
Marcus snapped sharply at her, and brought her back to reality.
"Deirdre's missing. She and Tai both. They just up and disappeared. The nurses can't find them anywhere. The nurse at the information desk said that a Japanese boy wheeled a red-haired girl out of the hospital a couple hours ago, but they can't find her."
"If he's hurt her…" Marcus snarled.
Huy jumped up. "Tai would die protecting her. She's safe, where ever they are."
"Why is it that I'm so doubtful…."
"You don't even know Tai, so how can you say anything?" Despite the first impression of hateful siblings, the twins had proved to be surprisingly close and friendly to each other.
"That's exactly why I'm worried. Who is this Tai, or Heero, or whoever the heck he is? How can we trust him?"
"He knew her WAY before you did! Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Huy yelled. Tai was always calm amid accusations, but Huy, on the other hand, screamed right back. "You don't know what you're talking about, prep boy!" Huy's back was arched and he strongly resembled a cat, hair on end and screeching.
Marcus was on his feet in an instant when the door flew open. Tai stood there, arms full of a smiling Deirdre, her red hair braided down her back with daisies woven through it. Her jaw dropped slightly as she took in the scene before her.
"Tai, come here and defend your honor! I'm sick of seeing you take all this crap from this…this…." He never determined what Marcus was, but continued to stutter.
But Tai looked as he always did, eyebrows knit. "What have I done this time?"
"Removed a girl in very fragile health from the hospital without permission!" Marcus rounded on him.
Deirdre clung to his collar, but Tai walked in and carefully put her down on the couch. "She needed some fresh air and if she'd shown any signs of weakness at all, I'd have taken her back. I did tell the nurse at the desk I was taking her for a walk."
"The doctor didn't give you permission. What gives you the right to just waltz out of the hospital with her?"
Tai shrugged and got a glass of water and handed it to Deirdre, who smiled. She looked fine to Kiki, in fact, she even had more color in her. She said as much to Marcus and he snapped rudely back at her. Not that she cared, and shrugged it off. She'd never liked Marcus very much. She had expected to despise Tai, but found she couldn't help but like him. It was fairly obvious why Deirdre depended on him so much. It was simply because she could and there were very few people in the world on whom you could depend. Grab them if you can, Kiki thought. So unlike certain fathers….she banished the thought quickly. It just made her worry about her mother's health and the dream trip to the Philippines.
But Marcus finally got up and stormed out of the apartment, without a backward glance.
"Don't mind him," Celes told Tai and Huy. "He's just worried."
"I can understand that," Tai said softly. "I think I better speak with him." And he followed quickly. Huy looked angrily at his brother and called after him, slamming to door behind him.
"Well, that was odd…" Maryanne said, looking around at everyone. "What did you and Tai do anyway, Deirdre?"
They turned back to the grinning Deirdre. She vaguely touched one of the daisies in her hair and smiled dreamily. "He took me to the park and we had a little picnic. I fell asleep though. It was so nice…" she was smiling in a funny sort of way.
"Did he kiss you?" Ianthe asked directly.
Deirdre looked startled. "No." Then she looked a little sad. "No. But it was very nice…I wonder when he's going to take me back to the hospital…" she murmured. It was obvious that no one would get any information out of her.
"We'll take you. If those boys are chasing Marcus down, it could be a while. Where did he leave that wheel chair?"
"Under the tree…" she told them, languidly yawning.
Kiki and Amada exchanged worried looks.
"Marcus, MARCUS!" Tai yelled after the blazing young man. He could see him stop and turn around. His face was red, and he rolled his shoulders back, as if bracing himself to meet a blow.
Tai skidded to a halt in front of him. "Marcus, we have to talk this stuff out. I know you hate me, but I have to clear the record, I would never ever hurt Deirdre. If I didn't think she was fully up to it, I never would have removed her. And at the moment she shows any sign of weakness, I would take her back. I want her safe as much as you do."
"I suppose you know who she really is?" Marcus snapped.
"I do, and all the more reason it's a good thing I'm here."
"To protect her? Yah, you protect her from bad guys and I'll keep her safe from you," he said vehemently.
"I told you, I would never hurt her," Tai insisted showing the first bit of passion Marcus had ever detected from him.
"And who are you? Some old friend who played dead? With code names and hacker alias's? Real trustworthy!"
Tai could hear Huy panting from behind. "Don't mention who she really is," he warned Marcus with wide eyes, praying he'd get the message.
"Hey, you want some help beating this jerk?" Huy asked as he skidded to a halt. Marucs looked with narrowed eyes at Tai who replied with big eyes. Marcus gave an imperceptible nod. He got the message.
"No. We're fine. But thanks Huy."
"Gee, and I was just hoping too…."
"He's a politician, not an athlete. He wouldn't have been much fun for you," Tai said sarcastically.
"Maybe. He is pretty puny."
Marcus was glaring again, but looked slightly nullified. Something, Tai had no idea what, had gotten through. "I'm going to go say goodbye to Deirdre. I have to get back to work soon." Then he turned away leaving a relieved Tai and angry Huy.
"You called?" Marcus asked as he unceremoniously plopped himself in a padded chair. The room was dark except for the single lit lamp behind the desk where a tall blond man sat.
"Yes. I was wondering how you were doing on your…project." The speaker sat firmly back in his chair, eyes serious and trained directly onto the man before him.
"Well…" Marcus sighed as he shifted in his chair. "It seems that MAN is going to be the one to crumble. But I don't think FFIC is going to last much longer either. They've got a charismatic leader though. I wouldn't be surprised if he was spared and bought by another group, much like what you did for White Fang."
"Hm…Well, I doubt this person would be doing it for the reasons I did. We'll have to keep an eye on his movements."
Marcus nodded. "Right. Most of these groups only have bits and pieces of strength, but get someone smart to combine them all, and we'll have a royal mess on our hands. I guess I'm glad we've got you Preventors to help out. Especially with you on their side, Zechs."
He snorted. "I can see why you aren't advancing very quickly in the political realm. Your flattery skills need work."
"Oh? Too obvious? I suppose your sister is much better at such things," came the snide reply.
"No. Relena takes an entirely different approach. This makes it unnecessary for her to do such things; it is understood that she is direct, honest, but polite. No pussy-footing around."
"Hn. Speaking of which, I was wondering if you could do a background check on someone for me." Marcus was avoiding Zechs hard gaze as he fished around in his briefcase by his side.
"I don't like doing things like that unless I know why."
"Well…that's the difficult part. You'd probably ring my neck if I told you."
Zechs did not look amused.
"Okay. It's about Relena. I know where she is, but I'm worried about her, about some mess she might be getting herself into," Marcus admitted finally.
Zechs gave no visible reaction but spoke quickly. "Is she safe? Does it have to do with any of the groups you've been watching while in the colonies?"
"No. She has nothing to do with my research. She was very suspicious about my presence, but did not press me for any answers. But I think that was more due to her own surprise rather than my skills of diversion. No, while I was there she found an old friend, a highly suspicious friend. Apparently he played dead on her for a few years and just popped up out of no where. I'm fairly certain he knows who she is. Anyway, he was visiting her this week due to some…extenuating circumstances. He's a scary kid." Zechs took a visible intake of breath. "You know who I might be talking about."
Zechs narrowed his eyes. "What is his name?"
"Iwasato. Tai Iwasato."
Zechs swore colorfully.
"You do know him? I take it you don't think too highly of him yourself?" Marcus queried. He was starting to get more interested in this friend of Relena's.
"I do know him and until a short while ago I had a certain amount of respect for him, then I found out that he had not died."
"You knew and you didn't tell Relena!" He couldn't help but raise his voice a little. Could Zechs be that cruel to his sister, knowing that her friend was really alive but didn't talk?
"I only found out at the end of last year. I spoke to him and I think he has a pretty decent excuse. I just didn't want to lay that bombshell on her yet, and I'm furious that he found her first. He didn't really tell us too many details about himself either. I think he's protecting himself, which is smart. Do you know anything else?"
"Well…I know he has a twin brother and that he's going to Swinson Institute. I think he's in the life science department, but I can't remember his major. I believe he's planning on medical school." Zechs nodded. "You already knew all of this, didn't you?"
"Yes. I did."
"Then what information are you looking for? Is he dangerous to Relena?" One thing Marcus hated about dealing with Zechs Marquis was that you could not read his face. He was evasive as a snake and held in all emotions or else revealed false ones. He was a master of control and deceit, yet the most honest person he'd ever encountered. It was confusing. Marcus just liked to say for simplicity's sake, he did not understand how Zechs worked. He was honorable yet hiding in the shadows. He was the Lightening Count, hero of a respected organization yet the rebel leader of a group that attempted to destroy Earth. He fought against his own sister but also fought to preserve her life. It made Marcus' head spin.
"At one time he was very dangerous to her and yet not so. Now, I don't know. THAT's the part that I'm trying to figure out," Zechs told him, which really said nothing useful at all.
"How could he be dangerous and not at the same time? I don't understand."
"Don't worry about it. Thank you for the information. You understand what is needed of you know, don't you?" Zechs asked politely.
Marcus narrowed his eyes at the blond man. "Yes I do." But he left it at that. Nothing would escape Zechs' mouth that would help Marcus to understand what was going on. The man was a closed book, giving nothing. So he got up and exited the room quietly. But then Zechs called after him.
"Hey, Marcus!"
"Yah?"
"Don't worry about Iwasato. If I decide he's a danger, I'll take care of him myself."
Marcus nodded to the receptionist who was packing up her bag. She smiled back. Marcus was tired. He had a shuttle back to Earth to catch. Going from Earth to Mars to Colony to Mars and back to Earth. It was running him ragged.
He was an assistant to the Secretary of Foreign affairs, meaning that when Relena came back, he'd be working quite closely with her on many things. But having met Zechs Marquis and being made to realize a future threat of war, arguing stupid points of minor laws and boundaries seemed pointless. So he'd become more intimately involved in Preventor business by watching politicians, seeing who they favored, if anyone. If one of these small groups of upstarts were to gain some power, and get some legal backing, there would be trouble. That was what Marcus was looking for, the political backing from misguided leaders. This most recent mission had been following one such leader. But there had been little cause to worry as two groups had fought, one losing all strength and completely dissolving while the other only barely lived. And that was the group he hadn't been watching in the first place. But still, he had a valuable name for Zechs. The man was a potential threat. The Preventors would have to watch him.
It was funny but much of the Preventor work was spy and subterfuge. Zechs probably hand picked his spies, Marcus mused. He would have a formidable group. Then there was Zechs' connection to the Gundam Pilots. Now there was a conspiracy if there ever was one. The giant machines which everyone watched help bring about piece, but the pilots' identities were never revealed and all information mysteriously disappeared from all networks. It was as if they had never existed. The only information available were rumors. Most of the people who had such information were high ranking officials in the wars and many of those were dead, and the few that weren't worked for the Preventors or were controlled by the Preventors. It was dangerous business asking around about them too. Some said they died. Some say the gundams were highly advanced mobile dolls from the start. No one really knew. But Zechs certainly did.
But now he was too exhausted to think. Marcus returned his rental and parked himself in front of his gate, waiting to depart. Earth. Once again. The place all were drawn too in the end. It was a magnet, like Jews wanting to return to Israel, all humans wanted to return to earth.
The hardest part was making sure there would always be an earth to return too. Marcus just hoped that Relena, young and innocent as she was, would be capable of what all believed she was. The government wouldn't explode tomorrow, or in the next year or so, but it was dangerous. They needed Relena to nip it in the bud. He just hoped it wasn't in flower before she returned to work, and that she would be sufficiently recovered, physically and mentally.
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A/N Thank you again for all the reviews/comments! Also, because I am back at school and due to an unusual set of circumstances, I have to have someone else actually update for me but my author's notes aren't very current, so if I have something to say I'll post it on my bio page. I'll try to post and comments or answer any questions there. Also, to answer some very old questions/comments that I don't think made it to the correct person, Ummm…
Ken: I know guys don't worry about that. I figure my characters are just being sarcastic if not making fun of the girls.
dark abaddon: I'm not Filipino, but I have a friend who is. Actually most of my friends are foreign or have foreign heritage. That's the cool thing about college—I grew up in a place where the cultural diversity in my school, and consequently representative of my "city," consisted of three African Americans (two of which were identical twins and among my best friends) and maybe two Asians. But at college, it's totally different, for example, I was walking with some friends from class and one of them cursed "your (meaning me) stupid country" for being so cold. Then I looked are realized I was the only American present—there was a Mexican, Chilean, Canadian, Japanese, and Korean. I thought it was hilarious. And I have a German and a Taiwanese as roommates. It's great!
Shanachie: You're a doll for reading my stuff! But I have to say it's pretty nerve racking to have someone who actually knows me read my stuff…hack…cough…another roommate...cough. Not too obvious was I? ^_~ (blinks innocently)
Lucifer Fujii: Yes, that was by a very safe margin the longest review I've ever had. Thank you for the suggestions and actually I have been taking a class that touches very lightly on linguistics and the histories of them—very interesting stuff. I'm not a psychology major or minor, in fact I've never taken a psychology class in my life, but my sister (one of them) majored in it. I tend to think Lady Une is full of crap as well—she did suffer from multiple personalities, of a sort any way. And I hope you did well on your essays and homework.
And I really wanted to list everyone's names and thank everyone individually for reviewing me, but the list got waaaaaay too long and I'm lazy so I gave up. But thank you to everyone! I love you all!!!!!
Wish me luck in school—I'm up to my fourth semester of Japanese and it's just getting more and more complicated! My Christmas list this year consisted of "Japanese/English dictionary, Kanzi dictionary, etc." Kind of depressing.
Also, as a note to future chapters, I know nothing about politics, the military, physics (unless you count high school, which I personally do not count), and I'm terrible at math. Thus, the next few chapters that get into that kind of stuff, I am, in fact, pulling everything directly from my butt. I am not one to try and pretend that I know everything, and people who do irritate me to no end, thus, I am confessing right now before I get into any of that stuff. However, I do know a lot of other stuff, which I am not going to enumerate. But please, if you know anything more than I do about said subjects and notice that I'm making a blithering idiot of myself displaying my severe ignorance when I write about them, please tell me so I can revise my chapters and fix any problems. I haven't gotten into that stuff yet, but when I do, constructive critizisim will be much appriciated.
Thanks again and now that I have written my excessively long end notes—thank you and adieu and mata nee! Yorosuku onegai simasu!
Toodles for now, Tygerlilee