Progress: 3 of a proposed two figure sum
General Notes: I give you all my sincerest apologies for taking so long to update! It was…well…let's just say I just had my chemistry exam and…well, it didn't go quite as well as I wanted it. I felt like I could have done so much better, and that exam was more difficult than anything I have thus far attempted. It seemed as if some divine power somewhere was just channeling all the things I hadn't revised for into one exam! Total evil I say! Anyway…now it's over, so I'm free to write and do stuff for another…month and a half before my exam results come back and I discover just how badly I did. But one thing is for sure, I'll never ever forget the process of Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy again! That thing just cost me seven fudging marks! (starts bashing head into unwary keyboard)
In any case, I bring before you a new chapter of Covetousness. I hope you guys all enjoy it and, as always, read and review!

Covetousness: adj. An extreme desire to acquire or possess; synonym: greed.

Music: Bang Bang – Kill Bill OST; Little Red Riding Hood – Sam the Sham; Broken Wings – Trinity Blood; Life is Like a Boat – Rie Fu; May it Be – Enya; I Don't Know You Anymore – Savage Garden; Smoke – Natalie Imbrugalia (I hope I got her name correct…)

Covetousness

Chapter Three: A Job

Heero Yuy emerged from the state library with a look of satisfaction on his face and a scrunched up note in his pockets. As he had thought, the name Khushrenada was not common, with only two in the entire city and one registered under the military database. It only took a further half an hour on a computer and a good deal of research (some of which bordered on illegal invasion of privacy; i.e. hacking) for Heero to find all of General Trieze Khushrenada's standard data. The man's more secret files however, were inaccessible, and the recently escaped man did not wish to try hacking any further at a local library unless he could understand the full logic behind what was happening behind the screen and the overly complex ones and zeros. Even so, Heero had enough information on his hands for the moment, what came next was figuring out what to do with it.

He had been keeping a close eye on the news, and was mildly surprised when his picture did not appear under the Wanted Men category. He supposed that was supposed to warn him of something, since the government was not willing to spread his identity into the public. Heero suspected the reason behind such an act to be one of two things: a) they did not wish to alarm the public with the knowledge that a patient had escaped from a supposedly high-security military facility, or b) they did not wish for the public to know because whatever occurred to Heero under their care was highly illegal, and worthy of violent outbursts and scandal.

Heero walked down a busy street, noting the sun's gradual descent beneath the horizon through all the various sky scrapers. It was soon going to be peak hour, and already, businessmen and women were filling the streets on foot, in vehicles and other forms of public transport. Heero kept his eyes fixed on the path before him, refraining from drawing attention to himself. He supposed his dress did not match with the professional business suits and coats surrounding him in hoards, but exhausted office-workers had much more important things to dwell about than the man walking swiftly amongst them, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

On his way across a road, Heero bumped shoulders with a passing man. He looked up quickly, and the man apologized quickly with a smile, before turning and continuing walking, long chestnut-braid swinging behind him. Heero shrugged and continued walking, eyes back on the road and trying to think of where he would stay for the night. He might have been able to wander around for all of the previous night, but he was definitely growing tired, and the forty dollars he had left was hardly enough for a motel room and an adequate dinner. Heero sighed as he left the street and entered a small fast-food restaurant, joining in the absurdly long queue while skimming over the menu and trying to pick something familiar and appetizing. When everything available failed to tug at his memories, he settled for bowl of chicken-soup noodles. Even if the name was bland and the food was bound to be boring, it still sounded better than "white turkey delight". As far as Heero was concerned, there was no such thing as white turkeys, and the ridiculously high price next to the meal only further heightened his reluctance to try anything so completely exotic.

His meal arrived in a plastic bag placed inside a paper bowl, costing Heero another seven-fifty from the remnants of the fifty dollars he had left. He counted the money he had left as he left the store, frowning while trying to tally what he could do with the thirty-five bucks he had left. It was definitely not enough for a motel, even the more straggly ones, not to mention he had no identification on his person. He would probably be safer if he remained on the road, ready to leave at any possible moment. Silently, he hoped that there would be no rain. The last thing he needed at the current time was to be faced with the dilemma of finding some shelter against the rain.

The sun sunk beneath the horizon, and the city was plunged into natural darkness, countered by the thousands of neon lights which sprang alight the instant the sun set. Heero hunched his shoulders while clutching his dinner for warmth. It seemed that the weather was turning foul on him, and was probably going to end up in a storm soon, judging by the mass of clouds slowly building in the sky. With a shrug, he continued walking at a faster pace, all the while complaining in his mind that this was definitely not his day.

The Chief of Security was frantic as he shuffled desperately through a pile of profiles on possible assassins, courtesy of his secretary Lela, who was currently sitting next to his desk doing much the same thing as he. They needed to find somebody who would be good, exceptionally good, considering who they were dealing with. Not only that, they also had to be trustworthy, and not likely to brag to anybody about their assignment. He had told Lela that earlier, and she had instantly run a search through the database of assassins from the past five years till present, finally producing a large stack of profiles for her boss. The man shook his head slowly while rubbing the bridge of his nose with a tired right hand, he had never imagined work in the military to be so tedious.

'Mr. Conley?' Lela asked, eyes fixed on a file in her hands. 'Would you mind taking a look at this?'

'Tell me you found gold Lela.' Conley mumbled tiredly, reaching over for the file. His secretary gave him a wide smile, and he could not help but smile himself. Flipping open the manila folder, he found himself staring at the picture of a boy in his late teens. The boy had a heart-shaped face, and a gleeful smile on his face, but his violet eyes indicated otherwise. Conley knew those eyes – the eyes of an assassin, and such a young assassin. His eyes flicked over the profile next to the picture, feeling his smile increase as he read:

Name: Duo Maxwell
Date of Birth: July 4 19x (1)
Gender: Male
Place of Birth: L2 Colony

'This makes him…twenty-five now.' Conley mused. 'An assassin at the age of seventeen, left the military when he was twenty-two. Last assignment completed…' Conley's eyes widened at what he read next, the smile on his face growing possibly larger. 'Yes Lela, Mr. Maxwell will do well for our cause. Not even a blemish next to his name, and five medals for good service, not to mention several recommendations next to his name, including one by Commander Une. Yes, he will do nicely.'

'Only problem is that he's retired sir.' His secretary frowned, already sifting through the database for Maxwell's full profile.

'Get him to come back.' Conley leaned back in his chair. 'There is no such thing as leaving if you are an assassin. There are just very long breaks, but in the end, they always come back.'

Duo sighed as he entered his apartment, nudging the door closed behind him with a shoulder. It was nine already, much later than when he should have returned. He told Quatre earlier that his boss would keep him in, and the man definitely lived up to expectations. He had Duo staying and working away until eight-thirty over a forty-page document that was not even supposed to be his problem. Still, it did make for a legitimate reason to stay away from the Winner party.

Duo dropped shrugged off his coat and threw it with practiced ease at the coat hanger. Next, he ripped off his tie and pulled his shirt open a few buttons. The tie soon found its way on the couch, followed not long after by Duo's own weight. The braided man sighed, feeling as if his head was about to explode. If he even heard the word "duty" again, he felt as if he would cry. The long hours he spent reading over that long article about soldiers and duty and brothers-in-arms really ticked at his nerve, not that he had anything against soldiers, but simply because he had never read such a badly written and completely opinionated piece. The entire piece was screaming hero-worship, and told Duo more about the war-nerd who wrote it than any profile on the man ever could. Duo supposed he was being unfair, having been a part of the shady side of the military, but seriously. One could read the word "duty" only a certain number of times before one began to wonder whether the writer was completely in love with the word or seriously lacking a thesaurus.

The phone rang, and Duo had half the mind that it was Quatre. Heaven knows he would be looking for any excuse too if it meant getting away from one of their family functions. With a sigh, Duo heaved himself off the couch and took his seat in front of phone, picking up the handset. Quatre's voice filled his ear, and Duo smiled before turning on the video, finding a frustrated looking Arabian staring back at him with accusing blue eyes.

'You!'

'Yes, it's me.' Duo smirked, reaching over to the cradle and putting the phone on speaker. 'What's wrong Q?'

'How could you abandon me?' Quatre looked flushed, and Duo had to smile.

'Abandon you to what Q?' He asked innocently, seeing Quatre's face contort. 'It is a family occasion after all, is it not?'

'Everybody is here!' Quatre looked dismayed. 'The mayor is here, the mayor's family is here, the mayor's cousin's family is here! Not to mention a mass of people I have never even seen before, a couple of people who I probably did not ever wish to meet, and a few people from your old crowd.'

'My old crowd?' Duo gave a skeptical look.

'General Khushrenada is here.' Quatre grumbled. 'Lady Une is here, a bunch of random other military officials are here, and the security around this place seems to have quadrupled between the time they came in and now.'

'Why are you telling me?' Duo asked, although he had a faint idea as to what the answer was going to be.

'Something is up.' Quatre spoke calmly, confirming Duo's fears. It was only then that Duo noticed that Quatre had relocated himself in the garden, and was now unobtrusively turning his mobile phone around to give Duo a quick glance of the security around the Winner Estate. Duo frowned, finding a similar look on his friend's face when the camera swerved back to him. 'This is the sort of security you have up only when you are in critical danger.'

'They think that somebody is going to crash the party.' Duo mumbled, confirming Quatre's idea. 'Somebody strong.'

'It could be a group.' Quatre suggested, now sitting with his back against a fountain of a swan.

'Or a group.' Duo conceded. Turning around, he turned on the television with a nearby remote, switching to the news channel. The reporter was currently talking about some flooding which occurred in Taiwan after extreme rains. Duo frowned. 'Well, the news doesn't know anything, so maybe it's a person after all. A group would hardly be as easy to conceal.'

At this point, there was a knock at the door, and Duo started. He paused for a moment before biding Quatre goodnight and hanging up. Standing up, Duo gave the door one last odd look before proceeding towards it, making sure to look at the screen (a little rectangular LCD panel with a feed on one of the numbers fixed onto the outside of the door). He saw a man and a woman, both standing perfectly straight with impassive expressions on their faces. Their uniforms revealed their identities immediately, and Duo felt he sudden urge to run away. Instead, he pulled the door open, giving both his visitors a smile.

'Can I help you?' He asked, his voice calm and polite.

'Duo Maxwell?' The man asked, while his companion squirmed uncomfortably. Duo supposed they must have seen many people like him before, and knew for a fact that a smile was mostly a sugarcoating over a dangerous poison.

'Yes.' Duo stared, leaning against the doorframe while his right arm pressed against the other side, barring the visitors from coming in.

'I am the Chief of Defense at the Area 25 Research Facility.' The man introduced. 'My name is James Conley, and this is my secretary, Lela Raines.'

'And?'

'We are here to inform you of a military order.' Conley declared. 'May we come in?'

'I doubt you'd leave even if I said no.' Duo sighed, taking away his arm and showing his guests in. The two followed their way in behind Duo, and the braided man caught the secretary's look of distaste when she spotted some stray clothing lying at the door to his bedroom. He smiled at them and took a seat on the couch, eyeing them expectantly. Conley cleared his throat.

'Former Agent Duo Maxwell.' He declared, and Duo lifted an eyebrow skeptically. 'You have been selected to engage in a mission of utmost importance.'

'Like what?' Duo asked, violet eyes sweeping over the man speaking to him. He was stocky of build, with a fair amount of muscles. The guy had two pistols on him, one visibly at his hip and the other strapped to his boot. There was also a knife at his hip, sheathed in black along with his two guns. Duo had no doubt that if they were to engage in battle, this man would not stand a chance against him. With that done, his gaze fell on the secretary, and saw that she cringed when their eyes met. He smiled, this one would not pose a threat either.

'Capture and return an escapee, dead or alive.' Conley explained, his voice bland. 'Any questions?'

'Yea.' Duo's eyes flew back to his face once again. 'Did you notice the "retired" notice on my file?'

'Yes.' Conley's voice was deadpan. 'However, as an agent – current or former – it is your duty to serve when the need arises.'

Duo felt his left eye twitch – it was that duty word again.

'Also, the military holds you in very high esteem.' Conley definitely looked like he was reciting the lines from a previously written speech. 'Your record while serving was impeccable; you have been recommended by more than a few high ranking officials, and you have won five medals in the past, a true testament of your skill.'

'But in the end none of that matters.' Duo asked blandly. 'It all comes down to duty doesn't it?'

'Yes.'

His right thumb joined in with the twitching. The Chief of Defense seemed to notice, because he took an obvious step backwards. There was just something unnerving about assassins when their trigger fingers begin to twitch.

'Do I have a choice in this?'

'Technically, yes.' Conley answered, his face giving nothing away. 'However, as you know, there are consequences should you decline.'

'In other words.' Duo sighed. 'I don't have a choice at all.' He leaned back in his seat, feeling just a tad unhappy about the situation. At least Quatre was going to be pleased: Duo felt as if he had found the person responsible for the extra security around his mansion. 'Who do I have to eliminate?'

'His name is Heero Yuy.' Conley turned to his secretary, who passed him a sheet of paper, which he then passed to Duo. 'He is a top priority escapee.'

'I gathered as much.' Duo muttered dryly, taking the page and staring at the picture. A man in his mid-twenties, similar to Duo's own age, stared back at him. In the picture, he was wearing a black business suit, with a white shirt under. His hair was a messy, chocolate brown, but even so, there was nothing insensible about this man. His eyes were a cold Prussian blue, his jaw set, and his mouth in a firm line. From what Duo gathered from the picture, this man was definitely someone with a lot of skill, although what that skill was in doing was a different story. There was just something about those icy eyes which reminded Duo of his own eyes during the days when he was an assassin. It was an empty, unfeeling look which promised death without morose. 'How recent is this picture?'

'Three years old.' The secretary explained, giving her boss a break. 'However, we can assure you that he has not changed in appearance.'

'Is this file similarly old?' Duo asked, indicating at the details listed next to the picture.

'No, the file is mostly up-to-date.'

'Including the part that says he's dead?' Duo cocked an eyebrow. The secretary bristled slightly.

'That is an error, sir.' She explained. 'We would not be having this problem if he were dead, sir.'

'Don't call me "sir".' Duo sighed, eyes back on the file. 'It makes me feel old.'

'Sorry sir.'

Duo sighed again, loudly. The secretary squirmed and apologized yet again, this time refraining from adding the sir at the end. The braided man continued skimming over the information given, committing all the details to his mind. There was definitely something strangely familiar about this person, a thought which unnerved him. He was certain he had seen this person before, and the name was not that foreign either. He frowned.

'So, why do I have to eliminate him?'

'That is unimportant for your mission, Mr. Maxwell.' Conley answered this time. Duo gave him a look.

'Tell me now or I'll find out for myself.' Duo retorted with a careless wave of his hand. 'I can hack into your database easy and without being traced. So you can either tell me, or risk having me screw up your system simply for the sake of it.'

'He is…' Conley faltered, and Duo smiled. This was definitely a section the older man had not prepared. 'He is…Heero Yuy is a research subject.'

'What did you guys do?' Duo asked condescendingly. 'Make him ultra strong or something?'

'We…' Conley faltered yet again, and his secretary squirmed next to him. 'He was brought back to life.'

There was silence in the apartment, broken only by the secretary's nervous twitching and the ticking of the clock hanging off the wall. Duo simply stared, feeling numb shock creep into his brain. He gave himself a mental shake, alerting his mind out of the black hole it was in danger of falling into.

'That's taboo.' He said simply, obviously. There was nothing else he could say. 'You want me to destroy some guy for being the illegal result of an illegal experiment that nobody should even research about, let alone attempt.'

'Yes.'

'Where's the justice in that?' Duo asked, feeling suddenly very sick. Conley simply regarded him with a level stare.

'You are an assassin Maxwell, a tool for the military. You want no pretty words, so I will give you none. This is your assignment, and you have a week to complete it, six days if you exclude today. There is no need for any over-reactions or justice on Yuy's behalf. The guy was chosen as the subject of the experiment for a reason you do not need to know, and his past is also something you do not need to know. Do not research it Maxwell, lest you end up hating yourself and unable to complete this mission. The military considers this a high-priority, the government considers it at the top of their list. Just do your job. It is not imperative that he dies. Simply bring him back to the facility. You will be paid a large amount, he will be put back where he belongs, and everybody can continue with life. Are we clear?'

'Yes sir.' Duo growled, eyes on the floor. The two guests nodded a goodbye and left, but only after telling Duo that this was to be kept a secret from everybody, and that they would be sending over a man who would help him search for Yuy tomorrow. Duo then moved on to emphasize that he did not need somebody else's help, and demanded that they leave before he did something highly painful to the Chief of Security. There was a gruff affirmative and a bid goodbye before the door closed, and Duo was left alone on the couch with his face in his hands.

Heero Yuy's photograph lay on the coffee table, the image facing down.

Meanwhile, Heero Yuy stood in the shadows of an alley, eyes fixed on the Winner Mansion.
Endnotes:

(1) I...seriously don't know when Duo's birth date is, or if he even has one. The fourth of July is somehow always the first date that comes into my mind, even though I'm not American and I don't live anywhere close to America. I don't know, probably because of that movie Independence day...beh.

Things are going so quickly! Okay, probably not really, considering it's already the third chapter. But it feels fast to me! Well, anyway, Heero is poor, homeless sex on legs and Duo finally got his fateful job! I think that perhaps I made my timeframe a little short, considering everything is supposed to occur in one week. Oh well. I'll try and integrate some of the other G-boys, as I probably should and was planning on doing, but suddenly forgot where I was going to put them (moans pathetically). Anyway, hopefully I'll manage to get Wufei into the story by the next chapter, and perhaps Trowa. I can't really remember what I planned to do with them originally, but…Assassin will think of something…hopefully. Anyway, until next time folks!

Assassin