Dannie was still laughing when I left Wufei's office a few minutes later.
Her large body jiggled in time with her laughter as she pawed through a
stack of files on her desk. I suppressed the urge to reach across the space
between us and smack her. So what if I was only 5'2 and weighed 110 lbs.
dripping wet?
So what if I was about as threatening as a toy poodle? I needed the $2,000.00 and I needed it last week. She finally located the file and flipped it open.
"Jesus Marquez, age 32. Brown eyes, black hair, 158 lbs. 5'7. He was arrested a couple of months ago in possession of several illegal firearms. He had a court date yesterday and he didn't show." She closed the file and looked over the rims of her glasses at me. "Were you serious about being able to do this?" She asked, assuming a matronly tone which clashed horribly with her outfit.
I nodded emphatically. She looked decidedly skeptical.
"Do you really know how to use a gun? Do you even own one?"
I hesitated and she threw her hands up in the air. "And with no training except as a secretary, no weapons and no attitude, you want to go out and apprehend a man wanted for possession of illegal firearms?"
I hung my head. "I really need the money." I whispered.
She sighed and began flipping through a rolodex . When she reached whoever she was looking for, she picked up the phone and dialed. I heard a man's voice answer a few rings later. Dannie got the most frightening smirk on her face.
"Hello, Mr. Maxwell." She paused as he replied. "Don't worry, I'm not calling about that." She rubbed her hands together like a child considering a tray full of goodies. "How would you like an opportunity to piss off Wufei and make a little extra money?" The man's response seemed positive because she laughed delightedly. "Oh, it's a goodie. I want you to train someone. Wufei's wife's cousin came in as a file clerk, but her strained finances made her decide to become a fugitive apprehension agent." There was a pause and then another response. I hate only being able to hear one side of a conversation. "If she finds this guy, Wufei will be beyond pissed." She giggled. I idly wondered what Wufei had done to warrant such maliciousness from his own employee. And then I remembered who I was talking about. . I turned my attention back to Dannie, who was wrapping up the conversation. "Thanks a bunch, Mr. Maxwell, this should make things around her positively amusing."
She hung up the phone and turned her laser vision back onto me. "If Wufei wasn't such a piss ant, I wouldn't delight in torturing him so much." She said with a large smile. "Duo Maxwell, our bad ass bounty hunter has agreed to take you under his wing. He said he'd meet you at R&C's café in half an hour."
I thanked her profusely. "Incidentally, where is R&C's?" I asked as soon as I was done kissing her feet in gratitude.
"Down the street, two blocks. It's a nice little place, a cop hangout for the most part." She waved her bejeweled hand in the direction I should go and handed me Marquez's file with her other hand. "Now go." She said. I went.
Mom was waiting for me in her car when I came out of Wufei's. I gestured for her to roll down her window.
"Did it go okay? Are you starting now?" She asked, leaning across the passenger seat with a hopeful expression.
I nodded. "I got a job." I couldn't bring myself to tell her exactly what kind, so I fibbed a little. "I start now. Could you pick me up at 5:00?"
She nodded and beamed. "See? Everything will be fine now."
I nodded and smiled, although I doubted she'd be so enthused if she knew what exactly I'd signed on for.
I stood on the sidewalk and watched as she drove off and as soon as she was out of sight, I turned in the direction of the R&C Café and walked quickly towards it, the file still clutched in my hand.
The R&C stood out in the slightly shabby neighborhood. It had colorful red and white striped awning, sparkling clean windows and a bright sign that announced to the world that the R&C served breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast, incidentally, was served all day. I walked through the door and a brightly polished brass bell announced my arrival. A few cops in uniform were sitting at the counter drinking coffee and they glanced at me when I walked in. Sitting over by the window were two men I assumed to be plain clothes policemen, probably detectives. One had an open, friendly expression, platinum blonde hair and kind green eyes. The other looked as though he had swallowed something unpleasant. He had dark brown hair that flopped over his dark blue eyes. Ying and yang. The blonde smiled at me, the dark haired one didn't even acknowledge my existence, which, in case you were wondering, was just fine with me.
A small, neatly lettered sign urged me to wait to be seated, so I did. A few moments after my arrival, a perky blonde girl wearing a frilly white apron walked quickly towards me. "Hello." She said with a smile. "Welcome to the R&C café. Smoking or non?" She picked up a menu and waited for my answer.
"Non, and some one will be joining me." I said with an answering smile. "His name is Duo Maxwell and.."
Her smile faltered slightly and she gave me a once over. "Duo Maxwell, you say?" She said curiously., interrupting me.
At the mention of his name, the conversations stopped and heads swiveled in my direction to give me another glance.
At the table by the window, the two detectives were trying not to appear to be eavesdropping, but they were.
I nodded. "Do you know him?"
She grinned. "He's somewhat of a legend around her, Miss.?"
"Just call me Hilde." I said.
She extended her hand and gave mine a good pumping. "Relena. Relena Darlian, co-owner of the R&C." She said.
"I guess you're R, then." I replied.
She nodded. "Catherine's the C. She's in the kitchen." She grasped my elbow. "I'll take you to Duo's regular seat." She said, guiding me away from all the cheerful looking, empty booths. Duo's regular seat was in the back, tucked into a corner. I felt slightly uncomfortable, as though I were about to conduct some illegal transaction. . Relena handed me a menu and took my drink order.
I was sipping on my coke and perusing the menu when the café, which had once again been filled with the quiet buzz of many different conversations, suddenly went silent. The bell over the door tinkled and I heard Relena greet someone. I really wanted to turn around and look, but I was trying to play it cool, so I continued to sip on my coke and read the menu as though it were a Pulitzer Prize winning novel.
I heard the sound of footsteps approaching and involuntarily tensed. For some reason, I was terribly nervous.
"Relena, babe, bring me a big ass cup of coffee, will you? I had a late night." A deep and satisfyingly masculine voice asked as someone slipped into the booth across from me.
I looked up at him and suddenly wished I had something to mop up the drool with. Duo Maxwell was gorgeous. He had long chestnut brown hair that hung in a braid down his back and violet eyes that seemed to be laughing. Full, extremely kiss-able lips were twisted into a smirk. I ignored that and noted that he definitely was in top condition. He shrugged out a black leather jacket , tossed it negligently across the seat next to him and rested his elbows on the table as a prop for his chin. He was wearing a black v-neck sweater that stretched across a broad, well-defined chest and black jeans. I couldn't see his butt, but I bet it was just as yummy as the rest of him. He cocked an eyebrow and smiled quizzically at me. Dear god, his smile made my knees weak and I wasn't even standing up.
He waved a hand in front of my face and I blinked. I could feel all the blood rush to my face.
"S..sorry. I guess I was expecting you to look.different." I said lamely and suddenly wanted to sink into the floor.
He grinned. "Ditto. I wasn't expecting a pixie."
Pixie? "Pixie?" I gave him an evil look.
He laughed. "Well, this has started off well." Relena brought his coffee and whipped out a notepad.
"The usual, Duo?" She asked.
"You got it, babe." Duo said and took a swig of coffee.
She turned her attention to me. Suddenly, I was feeling very tiny and underfed, like some sort of waif. I'll show him pixie. "I'll have the Lumberjack's breakfast special." I said.
Relena blinked but wrote it down and Duo laughed again. The Lumberjack's breakfast special consisted of three scrambled eggs, a stack of pancakes, toast, three strips of bacon, three sausage links and a coronary.
When Relena left, Duo plunked his coffee mug down and eyed me critically. "Let's get down to business. First off, what's your name?"
I was slightly surprised, but then I remembered that Dannie had neglected to mention it. "Hilde Schbeiker." I replied.
He leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. I looked down at the table to keep from ogling his well defined chest. "Hilde, hmmm.short for.Hildegard." He said thoughtfully. "One of the Valkyries who brought dead warriors to Odin."
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. Good looking and smart? Hot damn.
"Actually, I was named after the twelfth century German nun who was revered as a prophetess and was later sainted." I couldn't help it if I sounded slightly smug.
"Oh, that Hildegard." He said with another one of his knee melting grins.
If we didn't start talking shop soon, I was going to leap over the table and molest him. The scary thing was, that I didn't think he'd mind.
"So, Dannie says you want to be a bounty hunter." He said, as though reading my mind.
I nodded.
He gave me a long, appraising look and laughed again. "Well, you're not physically threatening, but somehow, I think you're probably scary as hell when you're mad."
I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, so I kept my mouth shut.
He took that as a sign to continue. "What experience do you have? Can you shoot a gun?"
I fiddled with my discarded straw wrapper. "I shot a gun.once."
"Dear god." He said, looking at his coffee. "What the hell has Dannie sent me?"
I straightened and gave him another evil look. "Listen, everyone has to start somewhere. I'm a quick study."
Our conversation stilled as Relena approached with our food. She plunked down what looked like a bacon cheeseburger and fries in front of Duo. My meal was spread out across several plates. My eyes widened involuntarily and I wondered if my impulsive decision to show off had been somewhat stupid.
Duo squeezed ketchup onto his plate and dragged a couple of fries through it. "Catherine makes the French fries from scratch." He said with a mouth full of potato. "They're the best in the city."
I was only partially paying attention to him. Mostly, I was trying to figure out a way to save my dignity. I bit my lip and picked up my fork, stabbing at the heap of scrambled eggs.
Twenty minutes later, I had eaten my fill and more and was wondering if I'd have to ask Duo to roll me out of the restaurant. I felt slightly nauseous.
Duo was sipping his seemingly bottom-less mug of coffee and watching me with a small smirk. I wanted to die and preferably take him with me. Why the hell was he always smirking?
I set my fork down with a sigh and was just about to say something rude to him when the two plainclothes detectives approached our table.
The blonde greeted Duo in a friendly manner, as though they were old friends. The dark haired one still looked as though he'd been force-fed rotten brussel sprouts. He grunted out a greeting.
The braided bounty hunter, however, did not seem as friendly towards them. He nodded at the cop and his partner.
"Heero, Quatre." He said by way of a greeting.
"Your lunch date caused quite a stir when she announced she was meeting you." The blonde, Quatre, noted with a smile.
Duo glanced over at me, that damned smirk returning.
"She's not exactly a date, Quatre." He said.
The dark haired one, Heero, raised an eyebrow.
Duo seemed to understand his unvoiced question. "She's a relative of Wufei Chang's and I've been asked to train her in the field of fugitive apprehension." He said grandly.
Both Quatre and Heero stared at me, identical expressions of surprise on their faces. I frowned and sat up straighter.
"I know, I know. I look like a pixie." I said, irritably.
Quatre snorted and I thought I saw a ghost of a smile on Heero's lips.
"You're related to Wufei Chang?" Quatre asked, after he had gotten a hold of himself.
"Not blood related. He married my cousin." I said.
"You're Sally's cousin, then." Heero remarked.
I nodded. "You know Sally?"
Across from me, Duo laughed. "Babe, everybody knows Sally."
I frowned.
Quatre cleared his throat. "Anyway, this isn't just a social call, Duo. We wanted to know how you're coming with the Khushrenada case."
Duo shrugged. "It's going." He said.
Heero frowned. "Why do I feel you're holding something back, Maxwell?" He asked in an irritated voice.
"Probably because I am." Duo replied. "Listen, don't get your panties in a twist, Yuy. I'll bring him in and then you can do your thing."
Heero's expression soured even more, if that was possible, and even Quatre looked a little miffed. They nodded stiffly and left.
"What an asshole." Duo muttered.
"Heero?" I asked quizzically.
He nodded. "Quatre's all right, maybe a little too happy, but Heero.god, he makes flowers wilt and babies cry."
I smiled.
Relena skittered over with our bill and eyed the remnants of my meal. "You certainly made a sizeable dent in that." She said with a tiny smile. She cleared away our dishes and went back into the kitchen, where I could hear someone singing a popular tune off-key.
"Well, you ready?" Duo asked, grabbing the bill and shrugging on his jacket.
I gave him a blank look. "For what?"
He grinned at me and I felt my heart flutter. Damn.
"Shopping, babe. We're gonna do a little shopping."
So what if I was about as threatening as a toy poodle? I needed the $2,000.00 and I needed it last week. She finally located the file and flipped it open.
"Jesus Marquez, age 32. Brown eyes, black hair, 158 lbs. 5'7. He was arrested a couple of months ago in possession of several illegal firearms. He had a court date yesterday and he didn't show." She closed the file and looked over the rims of her glasses at me. "Were you serious about being able to do this?" She asked, assuming a matronly tone which clashed horribly with her outfit.
I nodded emphatically. She looked decidedly skeptical.
"Do you really know how to use a gun? Do you even own one?"
I hesitated and she threw her hands up in the air. "And with no training except as a secretary, no weapons and no attitude, you want to go out and apprehend a man wanted for possession of illegal firearms?"
I hung my head. "I really need the money." I whispered.
She sighed and began flipping through a rolodex . When she reached whoever she was looking for, she picked up the phone and dialed. I heard a man's voice answer a few rings later. Dannie got the most frightening smirk on her face.
"Hello, Mr. Maxwell." She paused as he replied. "Don't worry, I'm not calling about that." She rubbed her hands together like a child considering a tray full of goodies. "How would you like an opportunity to piss off Wufei and make a little extra money?" The man's response seemed positive because she laughed delightedly. "Oh, it's a goodie. I want you to train someone. Wufei's wife's cousin came in as a file clerk, but her strained finances made her decide to become a fugitive apprehension agent." There was a pause and then another response. I hate only being able to hear one side of a conversation. "If she finds this guy, Wufei will be beyond pissed." She giggled. I idly wondered what Wufei had done to warrant such maliciousness from his own employee. And then I remembered who I was talking about. . I turned my attention back to Dannie, who was wrapping up the conversation. "Thanks a bunch, Mr. Maxwell, this should make things around her positively amusing."
She hung up the phone and turned her laser vision back onto me. "If Wufei wasn't such a piss ant, I wouldn't delight in torturing him so much." She said with a large smile. "Duo Maxwell, our bad ass bounty hunter has agreed to take you under his wing. He said he'd meet you at R&C's café in half an hour."
I thanked her profusely. "Incidentally, where is R&C's?" I asked as soon as I was done kissing her feet in gratitude.
"Down the street, two blocks. It's a nice little place, a cop hangout for the most part." She waved her bejeweled hand in the direction I should go and handed me Marquez's file with her other hand. "Now go." She said. I went.
Mom was waiting for me in her car when I came out of Wufei's. I gestured for her to roll down her window.
"Did it go okay? Are you starting now?" She asked, leaning across the passenger seat with a hopeful expression.
I nodded. "I got a job." I couldn't bring myself to tell her exactly what kind, so I fibbed a little. "I start now. Could you pick me up at 5:00?"
She nodded and beamed. "See? Everything will be fine now."
I nodded and smiled, although I doubted she'd be so enthused if she knew what exactly I'd signed on for.
I stood on the sidewalk and watched as she drove off and as soon as she was out of sight, I turned in the direction of the R&C Café and walked quickly towards it, the file still clutched in my hand.
The R&C stood out in the slightly shabby neighborhood. It had colorful red and white striped awning, sparkling clean windows and a bright sign that announced to the world that the R&C served breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast, incidentally, was served all day. I walked through the door and a brightly polished brass bell announced my arrival. A few cops in uniform were sitting at the counter drinking coffee and they glanced at me when I walked in. Sitting over by the window were two men I assumed to be plain clothes policemen, probably detectives. One had an open, friendly expression, platinum blonde hair and kind green eyes. The other looked as though he had swallowed something unpleasant. He had dark brown hair that flopped over his dark blue eyes. Ying and yang. The blonde smiled at me, the dark haired one didn't even acknowledge my existence, which, in case you were wondering, was just fine with me.
A small, neatly lettered sign urged me to wait to be seated, so I did. A few moments after my arrival, a perky blonde girl wearing a frilly white apron walked quickly towards me. "Hello." She said with a smile. "Welcome to the R&C café. Smoking or non?" She picked up a menu and waited for my answer.
"Non, and some one will be joining me." I said with an answering smile. "His name is Duo Maxwell and.."
Her smile faltered slightly and she gave me a once over. "Duo Maxwell, you say?" She said curiously., interrupting me.
At the mention of his name, the conversations stopped and heads swiveled in my direction to give me another glance.
At the table by the window, the two detectives were trying not to appear to be eavesdropping, but they were.
I nodded. "Do you know him?"
She grinned. "He's somewhat of a legend around her, Miss.?"
"Just call me Hilde." I said.
She extended her hand and gave mine a good pumping. "Relena. Relena Darlian, co-owner of the R&C." She said.
"I guess you're R, then." I replied.
She nodded. "Catherine's the C. She's in the kitchen." She grasped my elbow. "I'll take you to Duo's regular seat." She said, guiding me away from all the cheerful looking, empty booths. Duo's regular seat was in the back, tucked into a corner. I felt slightly uncomfortable, as though I were about to conduct some illegal transaction. . Relena handed me a menu and took my drink order.
I was sipping on my coke and perusing the menu when the café, which had once again been filled with the quiet buzz of many different conversations, suddenly went silent. The bell over the door tinkled and I heard Relena greet someone. I really wanted to turn around and look, but I was trying to play it cool, so I continued to sip on my coke and read the menu as though it were a Pulitzer Prize winning novel.
I heard the sound of footsteps approaching and involuntarily tensed. For some reason, I was terribly nervous.
"Relena, babe, bring me a big ass cup of coffee, will you? I had a late night." A deep and satisfyingly masculine voice asked as someone slipped into the booth across from me.
I looked up at him and suddenly wished I had something to mop up the drool with. Duo Maxwell was gorgeous. He had long chestnut brown hair that hung in a braid down his back and violet eyes that seemed to be laughing. Full, extremely kiss-able lips were twisted into a smirk. I ignored that and noted that he definitely was in top condition. He shrugged out a black leather jacket , tossed it negligently across the seat next to him and rested his elbows on the table as a prop for his chin. He was wearing a black v-neck sweater that stretched across a broad, well-defined chest and black jeans. I couldn't see his butt, but I bet it was just as yummy as the rest of him. He cocked an eyebrow and smiled quizzically at me. Dear god, his smile made my knees weak and I wasn't even standing up.
He waved a hand in front of my face and I blinked. I could feel all the blood rush to my face.
"S..sorry. I guess I was expecting you to look.different." I said lamely and suddenly wanted to sink into the floor.
He grinned. "Ditto. I wasn't expecting a pixie."
Pixie? "Pixie?" I gave him an evil look.
He laughed. "Well, this has started off well." Relena brought his coffee and whipped out a notepad.
"The usual, Duo?" She asked.
"You got it, babe." Duo said and took a swig of coffee.
She turned her attention to me. Suddenly, I was feeling very tiny and underfed, like some sort of waif. I'll show him pixie. "I'll have the Lumberjack's breakfast special." I said.
Relena blinked but wrote it down and Duo laughed again. The Lumberjack's breakfast special consisted of three scrambled eggs, a stack of pancakes, toast, three strips of bacon, three sausage links and a coronary.
When Relena left, Duo plunked his coffee mug down and eyed me critically. "Let's get down to business. First off, what's your name?"
I was slightly surprised, but then I remembered that Dannie had neglected to mention it. "Hilde Schbeiker." I replied.
He leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. I looked down at the table to keep from ogling his well defined chest. "Hilde, hmmm.short for.Hildegard." He said thoughtfully. "One of the Valkyries who brought dead warriors to Odin."
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. Good looking and smart? Hot damn.
"Actually, I was named after the twelfth century German nun who was revered as a prophetess and was later sainted." I couldn't help it if I sounded slightly smug.
"Oh, that Hildegard." He said with another one of his knee melting grins.
If we didn't start talking shop soon, I was going to leap over the table and molest him. The scary thing was, that I didn't think he'd mind.
"So, Dannie says you want to be a bounty hunter." He said, as though reading my mind.
I nodded.
He gave me a long, appraising look and laughed again. "Well, you're not physically threatening, but somehow, I think you're probably scary as hell when you're mad."
I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, so I kept my mouth shut.
He took that as a sign to continue. "What experience do you have? Can you shoot a gun?"
I fiddled with my discarded straw wrapper. "I shot a gun.once."
"Dear god." He said, looking at his coffee. "What the hell has Dannie sent me?"
I straightened and gave him another evil look. "Listen, everyone has to start somewhere. I'm a quick study."
Our conversation stilled as Relena approached with our food. She plunked down what looked like a bacon cheeseburger and fries in front of Duo. My meal was spread out across several plates. My eyes widened involuntarily and I wondered if my impulsive decision to show off had been somewhat stupid.
Duo squeezed ketchup onto his plate and dragged a couple of fries through it. "Catherine makes the French fries from scratch." He said with a mouth full of potato. "They're the best in the city."
I was only partially paying attention to him. Mostly, I was trying to figure out a way to save my dignity. I bit my lip and picked up my fork, stabbing at the heap of scrambled eggs.
Twenty minutes later, I had eaten my fill and more and was wondering if I'd have to ask Duo to roll me out of the restaurant. I felt slightly nauseous.
Duo was sipping his seemingly bottom-less mug of coffee and watching me with a small smirk. I wanted to die and preferably take him with me. Why the hell was he always smirking?
I set my fork down with a sigh and was just about to say something rude to him when the two plainclothes detectives approached our table.
The blonde greeted Duo in a friendly manner, as though they were old friends. The dark haired one still looked as though he'd been force-fed rotten brussel sprouts. He grunted out a greeting.
The braided bounty hunter, however, did not seem as friendly towards them. He nodded at the cop and his partner.
"Heero, Quatre." He said by way of a greeting.
"Your lunch date caused quite a stir when she announced she was meeting you." The blonde, Quatre, noted with a smile.
Duo glanced over at me, that damned smirk returning.
"She's not exactly a date, Quatre." He said.
The dark haired one, Heero, raised an eyebrow.
Duo seemed to understand his unvoiced question. "She's a relative of Wufei Chang's and I've been asked to train her in the field of fugitive apprehension." He said grandly.
Both Quatre and Heero stared at me, identical expressions of surprise on their faces. I frowned and sat up straighter.
"I know, I know. I look like a pixie." I said, irritably.
Quatre snorted and I thought I saw a ghost of a smile on Heero's lips.
"You're related to Wufei Chang?" Quatre asked, after he had gotten a hold of himself.
"Not blood related. He married my cousin." I said.
"You're Sally's cousin, then." Heero remarked.
I nodded. "You know Sally?"
Across from me, Duo laughed. "Babe, everybody knows Sally."
I frowned.
Quatre cleared his throat. "Anyway, this isn't just a social call, Duo. We wanted to know how you're coming with the Khushrenada case."
Duo shrugged. "It's going." He said.
Heero frowned. "Why do I feel you're holding something back, Maxwell?" He asked in an irritated voice.
"Probably because I am." Duo replied. "Listen, don't get your panties in a twist, Yuy. I'll bring him in and then you can do your thing."
Heero's expression soured even more, if that was possible, and even Quatre looked a little miffed. They nodded stiffly and left.
"What an asshole." Duo muttered.
"Heero?" I asked quizzically.
He nodded. "Quatre's all right, maybe a little too happy, but Heero.god, he makes flowers wilt and babies cry."
I smiled.
Relena skittered over with our bill and eyed the remnants of my meal. "You certainly made a sizeable dent in that." She said with a tiny smile. She cleared away our dishes and went back into the kitchen, where I could hear someone singing a popular tune off-key.
"Well, you ready?" Duo asked, grabbing the bill and shrugging on his jacket.
I gave him a blank look. "For what?"
He grinned at me and I felt my heart flutter. Damn.
"Shopping, babe. We're gonna do a little shopping."