Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. AT All. I own this story, though.
Okay, fine, so my best friend wrote a good portion of this story... But
*I* told her what to write! Hehehe... And had to edit it... *cringe* lol
(j/k - I still luv you, Brandi).
This is a non-yaoi, multi-paired fic. If you don't like this, I suggest you don't read my fics. This chapter features 01xRP, and it's a bit longer than most of my other stuff. Please enjoy.
Mission: Matchmaker.
Operation: Superglue.
"Aw, man! Paperwork again! This bites..." Duo Maxwell groaned and dropped a stack of paperwork from his desk to his partner's.
Heero Yuy scowled at the pile of papers, refraining from dropping it into the trash.
"I hear ya, bro," Duo said, poking at his own stack.
After an hour of silence, Duo stood up. "So, how's about a break?" He grinned, waiting for Heero's false protest.
"We have a lot of work to do..." Heero said. He only protested in case Lady Une was standing outside the door, which she sometimes had a habit of doing.
Duo grinned wider. "C'mon, man," he said. "You already finished - what? - a fourth of that?" Duo cocked his head. "How the hell do you work that fast?"
Heero stood up. "I guess I could go with you," he said, "I need to drop this off with Lady Une."
"All right!"
Heero grabbed his finished work and followed Duo out of their office.
As they headed off to the little coffee shop down the hall from the cafeteria, Duo shook his head. "Seriously, bro, how'd you get those finished so fast?"
Heero smirked slightly. "I knew you were going to suggest we get out of there, so I worked on the easy stuff first."
Duo nodded. "You are brilliant."
"No, I'm just not stupid."
They got their coffee and wandered back to the office.
"Nooooooooooo!" Duo whined. "Not the paperwork!!! Ahhhh!" He laughed and plopped down in his chair.
Heero shook his head, slightly annoyed at Duo's childish antics.
~~~~~
Relena Peacecraft made the last adjustments to her outfit. She tied her hair back with a pale blue ribbon, and slid on the creamy white pumps that matched her usual business outfit. She sighed, tugging on the jacket as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror in her bedroom.
"Relena! We're going to be late!" Dorothy cried from down the hall.
Glancing at the clock, Relena ran her hand through her bangs and they parted and fluffed naturally. "Coming!" she yelled, grabbing her briefcase from the top of her dresser and running downstairs.
Relena ran outside and down the stairs, watching Dorothy sigh in relief. It was her job to make sure Relena wasn't late. They hopped into the dark blue, bulletproof limo and told the chauffeur that they were in a hurry.
"Okay," said Dorothy, "you have to introduce me to... what was his name again?"
"Who?" Relena looked up from her meeting proposals.
"That cute senator..." Dorothy lowered one of her forked eyebrows. "Ewan Landsbury? The one who has a crush on you."
"Oh, him," said Relena. Ewan Landsbury was a handsome man, but everything about him seemed routine. His hair was never out of place, he was never late, and everything he said seemed rehearsed. Even his laugh. "Sure," she said. "Maybe he'll like you better than he likes me."
Dorothy laughed. "You don't like him, do you?"
"Not really. He's just..."
"Not Heero Yuy?" Dorothy smiled menacingly. She loved tormenting Relena about her schoolgirl crush on the mysterious Gundam pilot. But she also thought that Relena still liked him, and that it was something more than a crush.
Relena sighed. "Must we get into this again? I was fifteen, Dorothy. Five years is a long time."
"Of course," the spiteful blonde woman replied, looking out the window. She had never believed in love, but she knew that there was something special between Relena and that boy. Admittedly, she thought it was cute.
~~~~~
Heero leaned his head back, annoyed at a code he was supposed to break. It was being stubborn. "Damnit," he growled.
Duo jerked his head up. "What?"
"Take a look at this," Heero slammed the paper on Duo's desk.
"Holy crap!" Duo's eyes widened. "What the heck is this?"
"That's what I'm supposed to find out, Maxwell."
"Yea, I know, but why?"
Heero snatched it back. "Wanna help?" Heero grabbed some of his papers and dropped them onto Duo's now empty desk.
"Aw, I thought I just got rid of those!" Duo grins. "She gives you all the hard stuff, doesn't she?"
"Because she knows you'll just set it aside."
"True, true."
"Well, lets see if we can get your brain to work. Read this." Heero split his paper work in half, giving Duo something to do besides look stupid.
"Aw, man!" Duo took the first piece of paper off the top of the large stack, and after one glance, made a ball and a two point shot in the trashcan. "Yea!" Duo gave Heero, who was glaring at him, a cheesy grin. "Whoops."
"Just...." Heero would've said, "pretend to read," but a marking on the next paper in line on Duo's stack made him loose his train of thought. "What is that?" Heero grabbed the paper.
*This symbol, resembling a large bird foot print with swirls around it, was painted on the back wall of a popular nightclub in Vegas. Eleven (11) yards away from the new graffiti, a body was found. The male, 26, was identified as Deryk Wypps, a well-known gang leader. The male was shot two (2) times, once in the shoulder and once in the chest. Although several spray paint cans were found in a bag near the body, detectives say that "Deryk was not the one to paint the back wall, he was simply in the wrong
place at the wrong time." They made it apparent that a former gang member was responsible for the homicide, although no names have been given about the suspects. *
"That's odd." Heero felt as if he had seen the symbol before. "What do you think it is?" Duo stood up to see the photo.
"It's a gang shooting... Do you know the dead guy or something?" Confused, Duo asked, "What's the matter?"
Heero handed the paper to Duo. "Just look at it, and get to work." Heero returned to his desk, picked up the next sheet of paper, and continued to work. Duo looked at the paper, made no sense of it, and shot another two pointer.
~~~~~
"Thank you, John," Relena thanked her chauffeur as she stepped into the limo, with Dorothy shortly behind her.
"Tomorrow we have to go to St. Louis. You have a speech to give at a charity function." Dorothy looked at her planner, penciling in the outcome of the meeting they had just attended. Relena gazed out the window, a far away look in her eye. 'I wonder how Heero is. I can not believe I miss him...' Relena's thoughts lasted her until they arrived home.
"Miss Relena. Miss Relena? Relena," Dorothy, now waving paper in front of Relena, began to worry. "Are you all right? Relena!"
"Oh! Yes, I'm fine, sorry." Relena did not know how long Dorothy had been there for, but knew that the first yell had probably been after 15 seconds, if even that. Dorothy had little patience. Relena, adjusting her eyes to the brightness outside of the limo, thanked John once more.
~~~~~
Heero collected the rest of the paperwork. He decided to take it home to finish. One by one the papers in the small stack disappeared. Heero had finished all but two of the reports. Getting annoyed with the trivial work, Heero snatched up the last two sheets to look at. The first was another code to break, but the second caught his eye.
*This symbol, resembling a bird foot wrapped in swirls, was found painted on the back wall of a theater in Kansas City. During a late night play, a young male actor, 23, by the name of Kyle Juarez was shot twice (2) while performing. One of the shots was directed to the victim's shoulder, and the fatal shot to the victim's chest. Police reports show a number of calls after 9:34 pm, when audience members called about three (3) gunshots being fired. Security guards working at the theater heard the gunshots, did
not determine where the suspect had been, but feel that the shots were directed from the center balcony. There are no known suspects in this case. *
Heero's eyes narrowed. He looked at the picture of the painting. Although not exactly the same, it had been painted with the same amount of care as the other. It resembled the other report - same symbol, two shot wounds, no suspects. Heero knew that he was on to something, but what? Brushing his unruly bangs out of his face, Heero sat on the floor and turned on his laptop. He double-clicked on the Internet button, and began his search in hopes of finding a connection between the two murders.
About an hour later, Heero found the same symbol being used as a website's logo. The site contained information on an old organization that faded out in the 180's, but when Heero looked closer he realized that it was a cover for a newer organization. By clicking around the website, Heero discovered that the most unlikely words led to other websites. Some of them pertained to the original site or led to something else entirely, but one of them seemed to be the main site for a new organization. The symbol was
large, taking up the entire screen, and it had password-protected entry. Heero growled, and began to hack.
Frustrated, Heero leaned back and ran his hands through his hair. It was one in the morning and he had made no progress. "Damnit," he growled, slamming his fist into the floor. Crossing his ankles and propping his elbows on his knees, Heero ran one more scan on the computer.
It was thirty minutes before the beeping computer got his attention. He opened his eyes and looked at the site he just entered.
~~~~~
Relena searched through her closet for the right outfit. She knew it was in there somewhere... Aha! Relena pulled on a cream colored shirt to go with her coffee-colored pants. She slid on beige sandals, fluffed her bangs, and brushed her hair to frame her face. Okay, now that the clothes dilemma ended, she finished editing the speech she was going to give at the charity function before she went downstairs to eat breakfast.
~~~~~
Heero scrolled down the web page, taking in the information. This organization was responsible for the shootings in Los Vegas and Kansas City. The leader was a man nicknamed "The Chicken." Unfortunately, the site gave no information as to who The Chicken really was. Scrolling further, Heero found a link to a "planner." He raised an eyebrow and clicked on it.
The planner was a chart containing the names of assassinated people, the dates they were killed, and the nickname of the member who assassinated them. It was a large chart, over 5 pages long, and with a sixth page containing the names of people who the group was planning to assassinate. Heero realized that there was one assassin designated for each city, and that he could tell which city the next victims were going to be in by the name of the assassin.
He made a sound in his throat as scanned the names, looking for someone important that was to be assassinated soon. And he found it. "Relena." he said, his eyes widening. The assassin was stationed in St. Louis. "Shit!" Relena was supposed to be in St. Louis that very day! Heero sent a copy of the information to Lady Une, exiting the site carefully, so as not to alert them to a hacker. Then he grabbed his gun and ran out of the apartment.
~~~~~
Lady Une pushed a button on her desk, opening the doors to her office. "Yes, Mr. Yuy?" she said. She scanned the information he sent her and frowned. "How fast do you think you could get there?" she asked him.
Heero frowned. "Depends. I think I could make it in ten minutes on a motorcycle."
"How many traffic violations will that take?"
"Does it matter?" Heero growled in response.
Une smiled. "No, I suppose not. Get going then, Lieutenant. You don't have time to stand around."
Heero nodded and disappeared down the hall.
Colonel Une frowned and flipped on the intercom. "Lieutenant Duo Maxwell and Major Hilde Shebeiker please report to my office."
Hilde and Duo entered the room at the same time; no doubt they had been together when they were called. Lady Une shook her head. To be able to pull this off, she'd need to see how they worked together.
"There is going to be an attempt on Relena Darlian's life, today," she said. "Heero is already on his way to make sure it remains an attempt."
Hilde frowned. "But aren't there Preventers stationed there already?"
Une nodded. "Yes, but they aren't aware of the organization's plan."
"Are you going to tell them?"
"No. I know that the screening here is not good enough to filter out spies before they become Preventers, nor is Preventers capable of stopping its members from joining secret organizations. I believe we have spies among us, and I only want certain people aware of our knowledge of this organization."
"What d'you want us to do?" Duo asked.
She handed them the chart. "I want you to find out why these people were targeted. I don't care how you do it; just don't get the Preventers in trouble for broken laws or murders."
They both nodded. "Yes ma'am," Hilde said happily and saluted.
"I shall do my best." Duo grinned, gave Lady Une a mock salute, and followed Hilde out of the room.
~~~~
Heero zipped in and out of traffic on the motorcycle he "borrowed" from Wufei. He wasn't as accustomed to riding a motorcycle as Wufei, but he was still talented enough not to wreck it as he went 30 miles or so over the speed limit. The police saw, but didn't bother. The traffic was too thick to get to him.
~~~~
Relena stepped onto the stage at the UMB Bank Pavilion and took her seat next to a smug-looking aristocrat. Two of the politicians across the stage exchanged glances when they saw her, but she paid them no mind. She wasn't very popular in the world of politics. Her views were apparently too clear for them. It wasn't her fault they chose to look at the world through rose-colored glasses.
Relena squirmed in her uncomfortable chair and listened to the thousands of screams from the people in the audience. Many of them were angry at how the politicians dealt with things, and others were displaying their approval. Relena sighed. She wished people could see things the way the Gundam pilots did. It would save her a lot of trouble. But then again, it might create some.
~~~~
A familiar man stood beneath the stairs, waiting for everyone to be seated so he could make his move. He gently stuck his hand inside his uniform jacket. "John," he whispered to himself. "Now is the time you get to make something of yourself. You can end this foolish charade and be known for the talent that lies within you."
~~~
Heero Yuy jumped off Wufei's motorcycle, leaving it unattended in the grass. He grabbed a security officer and told him to watch it as he ran into the Pavilion. He stood only twenty feet away from the stairs that a shady man hid behind, but was too busy searching the crowds for the assassin.
~~~~
Politician after politician took the stand. Each of them gave eloquent or humorous speeches to signify their help with the charity, and then introduced the next speaker. Relena patiently waited her turn.
"I would like to introduce a young woman whose determination and great leadership abilities have given us hope when hope was hard to come by. Ladies and gentlemen, Relena Darlian."
The crowd clapped and cheered, waving flags and banners and holding up poster board scribbled with markers to get their points across.
Relena smiled, stepping up to the microphone. "I am here today," she began, "not to endorse myself, not to make myself look better as some politicians do, but to honestly help people. My goal is to make life better - livable, enjoyable, and peaceful without fear - for everyone, including myself. I pray that this function will help - "
Relena stopped mid-sentence as a searing pain coursed through her, and she hit the stage. Blood gushed from her shoulder, and the world around her turned fuzzy. She was aware of people around her, of screams and yells of anger, but all she felt and all she registered was the dizziness and the numbness. She was there, but somewhere else. 'Heero.' The faint, unrealistic world around her faded to black.
~~~~
Heero heard the gun cock, but could not tell from where. The man in the corner moved, and Relena collapsed. Before he knew it, Heero had his gun digging into the man's neck. He shoved it up under the man's jawbone, and the man dropped his gun. "Bastard," growled Heero. "I ought to kill you right now." The man looked ill, and shook violently in fear as the police surrounded both of them.
"You," a policeman directed at Heero. "You're a Preventer?"
"Yeh," Heero growled, never taking his eyes away from the eyes of the assassin.
"Is this the man that shot the Vice Foreign Minister?"
"Yeh." Heero continued death-glaring the man, who shrank back.
"We'll take it from here." Several shaken police officers seized the man, cuffed him, and threw him in a police car. A handful of Preventers followed to make sure they were trustworthy.
~~~~
Milliardo Peacecraft paced the floor, growling expletives under his breath. His wife shook her head and placed her hand on her stomach.
"Zechs," she said, "try to relax. Relena will be fine."
"Lucrezia," Zechs started, but stopped as a doctor came out of the hospital room. "Well?" he demanded.
"Well what?" the doctor said. "She'll be fine. She just has to relax some and try not to use her injured arm. It'll be healed almost completely in a couple of weeks. Tell her to come back then to see." The doctor wrote something down on his clipboard and walked away.
"Can we go in now?" Zechs turned to Noin, who stood quickly.
"No, we can't. It's not visiting hours yet. Why don't we go get something to eat? You should really calm down before you see her anyway. Come on," she grabbed Zechs's arm and led him out of the hospital.
~~~~
"Mr. Yuy," Lady Une said, standing next to Heero, who was sitting on a bench in the courtyard (which was located outside but in the center of the Preventer headquarters building).
Heero glanced at her from the corner of his eye. 'What does she want?' he wondered.
"Why aren't you at the hospital? After all, doesn't Relena deserve to see the man that saved her life? She'll want to thank you, you know."
Heero turned his head away from her. "Yeh, so?"
Lady Une smirked. She knew very well why Heero wasn't there - as did everyone else. Suddenly, a thought struck her. Relena needed a bodyguard, but there weren't very many people who could be trusted with the job. Heero Yuy had been protecting her for years, but staying in the shadows to keep anyone from knowing. With his current job, Heero hadn't been able to protect her as much as he would have liked to. Lady Une folded her arms, trying to think of the best way to pose her question. Heero could be very difficult.
"Mr. Yuy," she said again, making sure she sounded like she was contemplating something, and not that she was forcing him into something. She didn't want to lose a good preventer over this.
"Yeh?"
"You know Relena well, do you not?"
"I don't know."
"Well, you've known her for a long time. Do you think you could handle being her bodyguard for a while?"
Heero looked at her. 'What!' he thought. 'I couldn't handle three *days* with her.' However, he really wanted to protect her. "How long is 'a while'?"
"Until we can find a suitable bodyguard. Right now, you're the only one qualified enough for the job. Will you do it?"
Heero looked at the ground and narrowed his eyes. "No."
"Heero," Lady Une snapped, "I don't care what you're problem is; I want you to do this. It won't be for very long."
Heero glared at her. "No."
Lady Une returned the glare. "I'd appreciate it if you at least considered the job," she replied and walked back to her office. "He'll come around," she said to herself. Smirking, Lady Une picked up the phone on her desk and dialed a number.
~~~~
Relena was propped up on a pillow, nodding blankly at whatever her darling brother was saying. She was on painkillers, but perfectly aware of what happened and what was going on, and frankly, she was rather annoyed at the sling her arm rested in, although she knew it would hurt if it weren't there.
"Milliardo," Relena said, smiling gently at him, "I have been in the spotlight for quite a while. This is the first real assassination attempt. You would think, wouldn't you, that someone would have chosen to assassinate me while I was more important in politics?"
Milliardo Peacecraft growled at his younger sister. She looked calm, but just a little shaken by the attempts on her life earlier that day. How was he going to protect her if he wasn't around? A vibration inside his jacket disturbed his thoughts. Growling more, he pulled his cell phone out of an interior pocket and flipped it open. "Yea?"
"I have the perfect candidate for the job," Lady Une's voice told him. "We just have to convince him of it."
~~~~END CHAPTER~~~~
Ack! I don't have a preview for the next chapter! I'm sorry - don't shoot me! Anyways, I'd like to know how you like my story, my style, my writing, spelling, etc, so please review! Feel free to flame, but be prepared to get it back. Go to my website for more info about me: .
This is a non-yaoi, multi-paired fic. If you don't like this, I suggest you don't read my fics. This chapter features 01xRP, and it's a bit longer than most of my other stuff. Please enjoy.
Mission: Matchmaker.
Operation: Superglue.
"Aw, man! Paperwork again! This bites..." Duo Maxwell groaned and dropped a stack of paperwork from his desk to his partner's.
Heero Yuy scowled at the pile of papers, refraining from dropping it into the trash.
"I hear ya, bro," Duo said, poking at his own stack.
After an hour of silence, Duo stood up. "So, how's about a break?" He grinned, waiting for Heero's false protest.
"We have a lot of work to do..." Heero said. He only protested in case Lady Une was standing outside the door, which she sometimes had a habit of doing.
Duo grinned wider. "C'mon, man," he said. "You already finished - what? - a fourth of that?" Duo cocked his head. "How the hell do you work that fast?"
Heero stood up. "I guess I could go with you," he said, "I need to drop this off with Lady Une."
"All right!"
Heero grabbed his finished work and followed Duo out of their office.
As they headed off to the little coffee shop down the hall from the cafeteria, Duo shook his head. "Seriously, bro, how'd you get those finished so fast?"
Heero smirked slightly. "I knew you were going to suggest we get out of there, so I worked on the easy stuff first."
Duo nodded. "You are brilliant."
"No, I'm just not stupid."
They got their coffee and wandered back to the office.
"Nooooooooooo!" Duo whined. "Not the paperwork!!! Ahhhh!" He laughed and plopped down in his chair.
Heero shook his head, slightly annoyed at Duo's childish antics.
~~~~~
Relena Peacecraft made the last adjustments to her outfit. She tied her hair back with a pale blue ribbon, and slid on the creamy white pumps that matched her usual business outfit. She sighed, tugging on the jacket as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror in her bedroom.
"Relena! We're going to be late!" Dorothy cried from down the hall.
Glancing at the clock, Relena ran her hand through her bangs and they parted and fluffed naturally. "Coming!" she yelled, grabbing her briefcase from the top of her dresser and running downstairs.
Relena ran outside and down the stairs, watching Dorothy sigh in relief. It was her job to make sure Relena wasn't late. They hopped into the dark blue, bulletproof limo and told the chauffeur that they were in a hurry.
"Okay," said Dorothy, "you have to introduce me to... what was his name again?"
"Who?" Relena looked up from her meeting proposals.
"That cute senator..." Dorothy lowered one of her forked eyebrows. "Ewan Landsbury? The one who has a crush on you."
"Oh, him," said Relena. Ewan Landsbury was a handsome man, but everything about him seemed routine. His hair was never out of place, he was never late, and everything he said seemed rehearsed. Even his laugh. "Sure," she said. "Maybe he'll like you better than he likes me."
Dorothy laughed. "You don't like him, do you?"
"Not really. He's just..."
"Not Heero Yuy?" Dorothy smiled menacingly. She loved tormenting Relena about her schoolgirl crush on the mysterious Gundam pilot. But she also thought that Relena still liked him, and that it was something more than a crush.
Relena sighed. "Must we get into this again? I was fifteen, Dorothy. Five years is a long time."
"Of course," the spiteful blonde woman replied, looking out the window. She had never believed in love, but she knew that there was something special between Relena and that boy. Admittedly, she thought it was cute.
~~~~~
Heero leaned his head back, annoyed at a code he was supposed to break. It was being stubborn. "Damnit," he growled.
Duo jerked his head up. "What?"
"Take a look at this," Heero slammed the paper on Duo's desk.
"Holy crap!" Duo's eyes widened. "What the heck is this?"
"That's what I'm supposed to find out, Maxwell."
"Yea, I know, but why?"
Heero snatched it back. "Wanna help?" Heero grabbed some of his papers and dropped them onto Duo's now empty desk.
"Aw, I thought I just got rid of those!" Duo grins. "She gives you all the hard stuff, doesn't she?"
"Because she knows you'll just set it aside."
"True, true."
"Well, lets see if we can get your brain to work. Read this." Heero split his paper work in half, giving Duo something to do besides look stupid.
"Aw, man!" Duo took the first piece of paper off the top of the large stack, and after one glance, made a ball and a two point shot in the trashcan. "Yea!" Duo gave Heero, who was glaring at him, a cheesy grin. "Whoops."
"Just...." Heero would've said, "pretend to read," but a marking on the next paper in line on Duo's stack made him loose his train of thought. "What is that?" Heero grabbed the paper.
*This symbol, resembling a large bird foot print with swirls around it, was painted on the back wall of a popular nightclub in Vegas. Eleven (11) yards away from the new graffiti, a body was found. The male, 26, was identified as Deryk Wypps, a well-known gang leader. The male was shot two (2) times, once in the shoulder and once in the chest. Although several spray paint cans were found in a bag near the body, detectives say that "Deryk was not the one to paint the back wall, he was simply in the wrong
place at the wrong time." They made it apparent that a former gang member was responsible for the homicide, although no names have been given about the suspects. *
"That's odd." Heero felt as if he had seen the symbol before. "What do you think it is?" Duo stood up to see the photo.
"It's a gang shooting... Do you know the dead guy or something?" Confused, Duo asked, "What's the matter?"
Heero handed the paper to Duo. "Just look at it, and get to work." Heero returned to his desk, picked up the next sheet of paper, and continued to work. Duo looked at the paper, made no sense of it, and shot another two pointer.
~~~~~
"Thank you, John," Relena thanked her chauffeur as she stepped into the limo, with Dorothy shortly behind her.
"Tomorrow we have to go to St. Louis. You have a speech to give at a charity function." Dorothy looked at her planner, penciling in the outcome of the meeting they had just attended. Relena gazed out the window, a far away look in her eye. 'I wonder how Heero is. I can not believe I miss him...' Relena's thoughts lasted her until they arrived home.
"Miss Relena. Miss Relena? Relena," Dorothy, now waving paper in front of Relena, began to worry. "Are you all right? Relena!"
"Oh! Yes, I'm fine, sorry." Relena did not know how long Dorothy had been there for, but knew that the first yell had probably been after 15 seconds, if even that. Dorothy had little patience. Relena, adjusting her eyes to the brightness outside of the limo, thanked John once more.
~~~~~
Heero collected the rest of the paperwork. He decided to take it home to finish. One by one the papers in the small stack disappeared. Heero had finished all but two of the reports. Getting annoyed with the trivial work, Heero snatched up the last two sheets to look at. The first was another code to break, but the second caught his eye.
*This symbol, resembling a bird foot wrapped in swirls, was found painted on the back wall of a theater in Kansas City. During a late night play, a young male actor, 23, by the name of Kyle Juarez was shot twice (2) while performing. One of the shots was directed to the victim's shoulder, and the fatal shot to the victim's chest. Police reports show a number of calls after 9:34 pm, when audience members called about three (3) gunshots being fired. Security guards working at the theater heard the gunshots, did
not determine where the suspect had been, but feel that the shots were directed from the center balcony. There are no known suspects in this case. *
Heero's eyes narrowed. He looked at the picture of the painting. Although not exactly the same, it had been painted with the same amount of care as the other. It resembled the other report - same symbol, two shot wounds, no suspects. Heero knew that he was on to something, but what? Brushing his unruly bangs out of his face, Heero sat on the floor and turned on his laptop. He double-clicked on the Internet button, and began his search in hopes of finding a connection between the two murders.
About an hour later, Heero found the same symbol being used as a website's logo. The site contained information on an old organization that faded out in the 180's, but when Heero looked closer he realized that it was a cover for a newer organization. By clicking around the website, Heero discovered that the most unlikely words led to other websites. Some of them pertained to the original site or led to something else entirely, but one of them seemed to be the main site for a new organization. The symbol was
large, taking up the entire screen, and it had password-protected entry. Heero growled, and began to hack.
Frustrated, Heero leaned back and ran his hands through his hair. It was one in the morning and he had made no progress. "Damnit," he growled, slamming his fist into the floor. Crossing his ankles and propping his elbows on his knees, Heero ran one more scan on the computer.
It was thirty minutes before the beeping computer got his attention. He opened his eyes and looked at the site he just entered.
~~~~~
Relena searched through her closet for the right outfit. She knew it was in there somewhere... Aha! Relena pulled on a cream colored shirt to go with her coffee-colored pants. She slid on beige sandals, fluffed her bangs, and brushed her hair to frame her face. Okay, now that the clothes dilemma ended, she finished editing the speech she was going to give at the charity function before she went downstairs to eat breakfast.
~~~~~
Heero scrolled down the web page, taking in the information. This organization was responsible for the shootings in Los Vegas and Kansas City. The leader was a man nicknamed "The Chicken." Unfortunately, the site gave no information as to who The Chicken really was. Scrolling further, Heero found a link to a "planner." He raised an eyebrow and clicked on it.
The planner was a chart containing the names of assassinated people, the dates they were killed, and the nickname of the member who assassinated them. It was a large chart, over 5 pages long, and with a sixth page containing the names of people who the group was planning to assassinate. Heero realized that there was one assassin designated for each city, and that he could tell which city the next victims were going to be in by the name of the assassin.
He made a sound in his throat as scanned the names, looking for someone important that was to be assassinated soon. And he found it. "Relena." he said, his eyes widening. The assassin was stationed in St. Louis. "Shit!" Relena was supposed to be in St. Louis that very day! Heero sent a copy of the information to Lady Une, exiting the site carefully, so as not to alert them to a hacker. Then he grabbed his gun and ran out of the apartment.
~~~~~
Lady Une pushed a button on her desk, opening the doors to her office. "Yes, Mr. Yuy?" she said. She scanned the information he sent her and frowned. "How fast do you think you could get there?" she asked him.
Heero frowned. "Depends. I think I could make it in ten minutes on a motorcycle."
"How many traffic violations will that take?"
"Does it matter?" Heero growled in response.
Une smiled. "No, I suppose not. Get going then, Lieutenant. You don't have time to stand around."
Heero nodded and disappeared down the hall.
Colonel Une frowned and flipped on the intercom. "Lieutenant Duo Maxwell and Major Hilde Shebeiker please report to my office."
Hilde and Duo entered the room at the same time; no doubt they had been together when they were called. Lady Une shook her head. To be able to pull this off, she'd need to see how they worked together.
"There is going to be an attempt on Relena Darlian's life, today," she said. "Heero is already on his way to make sure it remains an attempt."
Hilde frowned. "But aren't there Preventers stationed there already?"
Une nodded. "Yes, but they aren't aware of the organization's plan."
"Are you going to tell them?"
"No. I know that the screening here is not good enough to filter out spies before they become Preventers, nor is Preventers capable of stopping its members from joining secret organizations. I believe we have spies among us, and I only want certain people aware of our knowledge of this organization."
"What d'you want us to do?" Duo asked.
She handed them the chart. "I want you to find out why these people were targeted. I don't care how you do it; just don't get the Preventers in trouble for broken laws or murders."
They both nodded. "Yes ma'am," Hilde said happily and saluted.
"I shall do my best." Duo grinned, gave Lady Une a mock salute, and followed Hilde out of the room.
~~~~
Heero zipped in and out of traffic on the motorcycle he "borrowed" from Wufei. He wasn't as accustomed to riding a motorcycle as Wufei, but he was still talented enough not to wreck it as he went 30 miles or so over the speed limit. The police saw, but didn't bother. The traffic was too thick to get to him.
~~~~
Relena stepped onto the stage at the UMB Bank Pavilion and took her seat next to a smug-looking aristocrat. Two of the politicians across the stage exchanged glances when they saw her, but she paid them no mind. She wasn't very popular in the world of politics. Her views were apparently too clear for them. It wasn't her fault they chose to look at the world through rose-colored glasses.
Relena squirmed in her uncomfortable chair and listened to the thousands of screams from the people in the audience. Many of them were angry at how the politicians dealt with things, and others were displaying their approval. Relena sighed. She wished people could see things the way the Gundam pilots did. It would save her a lot of trouble. But then again, it might create some.
~~~~
A familiar man stood beneath the stairs, waiting for everyone to be seated so he could make his move. He gently stuck his hand inside his uniform jacket. "John," he whispered to himself. "Now is the time you get to make something of yourself. You can end this foolish charade and be known for the talent that lies within you."
~~~
Heero Yuy jumped off Wufei's motorcycle, leaving it unattended in the grass. He grabbed a security officer and told him to watch it as he ran into the Pavilion. He stood only twenty feet away from the stairs that a shady man hid behind, but was too busy searching the crowds for the assassin.
~~~~
Politician after politician took the stand. Each of them gave eloquent or humorous speeches to signify their help with the charity, and then introduced the next speaker. Relena patiently waited her turn.
"I would like to introduce a young woman whose determination and great leadership abilities have given us hope when hope was hard to come by. Ladies and gentlemen, Relena Darlian."
The crowd clapped and cheered, waving flags and banners and holding up poster board scribbled with markers to get their points across.
Relena smiled, stepping up to the microphone. "I am here today," she began, "not to endorse myself, not to make myself look better as some politicians do, but to honestly help people. My goal is to make life better - livable, enjoyable, and peaceful without fear - for everyone, including myself. I pray that this function will help - "
Relena stopped mid-sentence as a searing pain coursed through her, and she hit the stage. Blood gushed from her shoulder, and the world around her turned fuzzy. She was aware of people around her, of screams and yells of anger, but all she felt and all she registered was the dizziness and the numbness. She was there, but somewhere else. 'Heero.' The faint, unrealistic world around her faded to black.
~~~~
Heero heard the gun cock, but could not tell from where. The man in the corner moved, and Relena collapsed. Before he knew it, Heero had his gun digging into the man's neck. He shoved it up under the man's jawbone, and the man dropped his gun. "Bastard," growled Heero. "I ought to kill you right now." The man looked ill, and shook violently in fear as the police surrounded both of them.
"You," a policeman directed at Heero. "You're a Preventer?"
"Yeh," Heero growled, never taking his eyes away from the eyes of the assassin.
"Is this the man that shot the Vice Foreign Minister?"
"Yeh." Heero continued death-glaring the man, who shrank back.
"We'll take it from here." Several shaken police officers seized the man, cuffed him, and threw him in a police car. A handful of Preventers followed to make sure they were trustworthy.
~~~~
Milliardo Peacecraft paced the floor, growling expletives under his breath. His wife shook her head and placed her hand on her stomach.
"Zechs," she said, "try to relax. Relena will be fine."
"Lucrezia," Zechs started, but stopped as a doctor came out of the hospital room. "Well?" he demanded.
"Well what?" the doctor said. "She'll be fine. She just has to relax some and try not to use her injured arm. It'll be healed almost completely in a couple of weeks. Tell her to come back then to see." The doctor wrote something down on his clipboard and walked away.
"Can we go in now?" Zechs turned to Noin, who stood quickly.
"No, we can't. It's not visiting hours yet. Why don't we go get something to eat? You should really calm down before you see her anyway. Come on," she grabbed Zechs's arm and led him out of the hospital.
~~~~
"Mr. Yuy," Lady Une said, standing next to Heero, who was sitting on a bench in the courtyard (which was located outside but in the center of the Preventer headquarters building).
Heero glanced at her from the corner of his eye. 'What does she want?' he wondered.
"Why aren't you at the hospital? After all, doesn't Relena deserve to see the man that saved her life? She'll want to thank you, you know."
Heero turned his head away from her. "Yeh, so?"
Lady Une smirked. She knew very well why Heero wasn't there - as did everyone else. Suddenly, a thought struck her. Relena needed a bodyguard, but there weren't very many people who could be trusted with the job. Heero Yuy had been protecting her for years, but staying in the shadows to keep anyone from knowing. With his current job, Heero hadn't been able to protect her as much as he would have liked to. Lady Une folded her arms, trying to think of the best way to pose her question. Heero could be very difficult.
"Mr. Yuy," she said again, making sure she sounded like she was contemplating something, and not that she was forcing him into something. She didn't want to lose a good preventer over this.
"Yeh?"
"You know Relena well, do you not?"
"I don't know."
"Well, you've known her for a long time. Do you think you could handle being her bodyguard for a while?"
Heero looked at her. 'What!' he thought. 'I couldn't handle three *days* with her.' However, he really wanted to protect her. "How long is 'a while'?"
"Until we can find a suitable bodyguard. Right now, you're the only one qualified enough for the job. Will you do it?"
Heero looked at the ground and narrowed his eyes. "No."
"Heero," Lady Une snapped, "I don't care what you're problem is; I want you to do this. It won't be for very long."
Heero glared at her. "No."
Lady Une returned the glare. "I'd appreciate it if you at least considered the job," she replied and walked back to her office. "He'll come around," she said to herself. Smirking, Lady Une picked up the phone on her desk and dialed a number.
~~~~
Relena was propped up on a pillow, nodding blankly at whatever her darling brother was saying. She was on painkillers, but perfectly aware of what happened and what was going on, and frankly, she was rather annoyed at the sling her arm rested in, although she knew it would hurt if it weren't there.
"Milliardo," Relena said, smiling gently at him, "I have been in the spotlight for quite a while. This is the first real assassination attempt. You would think, wouldn't you, that someone would have chosen to assassinate me while I was more important in politics?"
Milliardo Peacecraft growled at his younger sister. She looked calm, but just a little shaken by the attempts on her life earlier that day. How was he going to protect her if he wasn't around? A vibration inside his jacket disturbed his thoughts. Growling more, he pulled his cell phone out of an interior pocket and flipped it open. "Yea?"
"I have the perfect candidate for the job," Lady Une's voice told him. "We just have to convince him of it."
~~~~END CHAPTER~~~~
Ack! I don't have a preview for the next chapter! I'm sorry - don't shoot me! Anyways, I'd like to know how you like my story, my style, my writing, spelling, etc, so please review! Feel free to flame, but be prepared to get it back. Go to my website for more info about me: .