A Daughter's Will
Disclaimer: Two fanfics later and I still don't own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters. Sad, but what're you going to do? Go on... Quit reading this...
A/N: So, here's the sequel to "An Orphan's Life". This one will more or less answer the many, many, MANY questions that were brought up the first time around and perhaps be more in depth... I'm not too sure right now, as this is just the first chapter. So, rather than just babble on some more, I'll just go ahead and start this fic.
It was another slow night at the Sank Kingdom Police Station. December was usually a slow month to begin with, but tonight was especially boring. Many officers were sent home early, leaving the station desolate.
One lone officer was seated in her usual spot, a lukewarm coffee to her right, her badge and various items from her wallet strung all over the desk to her left. She typed at the computer she considered hers, searching through the many databases the universe had, trying to find as much information as she could. Anything titled "confidential" was gold.
This particular night she was looking for anything that had to do with the twelve-year-old murder of a woman, her husband, and their three sons.
Three sets of footsteps at the desk caught her attention, but she kept her gaze on the computer. She'd really rather not deal with more stupid complaints of noisy neighbors or dirty lawns.
The men, she could tell by the smell of sweat and some other undecipherable odor, didn't get the hint.
One of them, a man who was fairly tall, with brown hair speckled with bits of gray and white, picked up a nearby pen and studied it closely as he asked in a deep, rough voice," Are you Sandra Burns?"
The officer looked at the man for a second with her eyes and shrugged. "Isn't that what it says on the nameplate there?"
One of the man's companions, a younger man who was obviously just a lackey, glanced at the gold nameplate at the front of the desk to make the verification. The first man stared blankly at her, as the third one just glared.
She frowned slightly, then went back to her search.
The first man put the pen down, a bit too hard in an attempt to keep her attention, and leaned against the desk. "We need to ask you a few questions."
The officer sighed and turned slightly to face them. "And who are you?"
"Let's not bother ourselves with such trivial matters." He straightened himself up and looked her directly in the eyes. "Now, then, do you recall about this time last year, a young orphaned girl coming into this very station?"
The officer started to get an uneasy feeling and slowly turned to face the men better. "A lot of people come into this station. I can't be too sure about what you're asking me." She was lying, but she couldn't let them know that.
Unfortunately, the man knew. "I think you are pretty sure who we're talking about. She was about this tall," He raised his hand to a few inches lower than his chest," honey colored hair, dark blue eyes, and a striking resemblance to a certain deceased vice foreign minister."
At this point, the officer knew something was definitely wrong with this current meeting. "What's so important about her?" she asked, casually reaching down under her desk to put the silent alarm on.
The man looked around the room and gave a shrug. "Well, it would appear she has gotten a bit of money and flew the coop. What gets me is how she even got the money in the first place, as she is an orphan." The man looked directly into the officer's eyes. "Perhaps a certain computer hacking officer could tell me how?"
Sandra kept a straight face as she continued to move her hand around blindly under the desk, trying to find the cursed switch. "You can't prove that."
The man leaned down on top of the desk and smiled a bit. "I don't think I have to." His smile quickly disappeared as he narrowed his eyes at her. "Now, tell me where the girl went, as I do recall her getting a shuttle ticket."
The officer gave a silent cry of relief as she found the switch. She stood up quickly, trying to figure out how she was going to get out of this alive. "I don't need to tell you anything."
The man quickly pulled out a gun and aimed it at her head. "Oh, but I think you do."
She froze, unsure of what to do.
He stared at her emotionlessly as he kept a steady aim on her. "I'm only going to ask you once more. Where did the girl go?"
She moved her fingers to flip the switch.
The man gave a slight smirk. "And don't think that that silly alarm will work. We disabled the entire alarm system and any colleagues of yours that were here are dead." His face went blank again and he stared at her coldly. "Answer me and you won't end up like them."
She tried to stay calm as she stared back at him. "How do I know that?"
The man gave a bit of a shrug. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see, now won't we?"
She stood silently for a few minutes, not knowing what to do.
The man cocked the gun and studied her reaction.
She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled as she blurted out, "Winner... I sent her to Quatre Winner."
The man smiled triumphantly and looked to his companions. "You got that?"
They nodded enthusiastically as he turned his attention back to the officer. "Thank you for your cooperation."
She made a face as the gun remained aimed at her." You can put that away now."
The man looked at the gun and then at her. "Now why would I do that?"
Her eyes widened, knowing what would happen next. She glanced around, trying to find something to use as a weapon against him.
The man who had said nothing the whole time reached over the desk and hit her hard across the face, knocking her to the floor.
As she struggled to get up, she was hit again. She looked up to catch the first man smiling down at her, the gun just inches away from her face.
"Perhaps in your next life, you'll remember to keep any incriminating information you possess in your head to yourself when threatened with your life. Because the man with the gun will always shoot." His smile widened as he pulled the trigger.
Theo let out a sigh as he walked through the snow towards his apartment. It had been another eventless night at the factory where he worked. On top of that, the heaters still hadn't been fixed, so he had to work in the cold again.
He kicked an empty can away from him as he walked on, thinking about many things as he always did on his lonely walks home.
It'd been a while, since he last saw Elysia. His job as security for the factory always kept him busy and his days off were few. He would much rather quit, but being that he needed the money to pay his rent and stay in the Sank Kingdom, he didn't have much of a choice. It didn't help that the used car he bought was draining him of every last cent he had, being that it was constantly breaking down and in need of repairs.
There were nights where he'd wonder if maybe he should've just stayed with the circus and left with them at the beginning of the year, where it was off to the next new location. But then he'd remember how willing he was to stay with Elysia and get to know her more as well as keep watch over her. Each time he saw her, his heart would beat a little faster and her smile would make him smile in turn and he would always get lost in her deep blue eyes...
If only there was a better way...
He pulled his jacket tighter around him, trying to figure out the next best time to see her. She hadn't been feeling too well either, and he didn't feel right not being there for her. Maybe he should go over on a night when Heero was out of the house and make her some soup or something. That way he'd be with her and she'd still have someone to watch over her.
He looked up as he heard a car coming from behind him. He frowned a little as it slowed to a stop in front of him, the window to the driver's side rolling down.
An older man in a black suit peered out at Theo and asked in a low voice, "You work at the factory down the road?"
Theo stared blankly at the man and raised an eyebrow. "What would it matter if I did?"
The man glared at Theo. "I advise you to cooperate now, as defiance will result in the loss of your job."
Theo narrowed his eyes at the man, angered that he had the nerve to threaten him when he didn't even know who he was. "You can't prove that I work there, nor do you have the power to fire me, just because I won't give you, a stranger, irrelevant information."
The driver continued to glare at Theo, then turned back to face the front of the car, muttering as the window slid back up," Even if I don't have the power now, the man I'm driving does. You'll be sorry, Barton."
Theo glared at the car as it sped off towards the factory. "Ass," he said out loud. He shook his head and turned back to go on his way home. This was the last thing he needed tonight. Now, he'd have to think of another way to avoid getting fired this time. Though, the fact that he was the only security guard who actually worked usually saved his ass each time. He was grateful his father had trained him so much as a child. He wouldn't be able to hold this job if Trowa hadn't.
Theo continued walking, then stopped when he realized something. Something he should've caught right away. Something that was bad.
The man not only seem to know that he worked at the factory, but seemed to know him as well. Well enough for the man to have said his last name.
Theo was definitely going to have a long night now.
"Caterina Iria Winner... Winner! ... Yes, as in Quatre Winner." Caterina let out a sigh of frustration as she turned in her chair to find a pen and piece of paper on her desk, brushing a strand of her blonde hair away from her face. "I don't understand how you people didn't put my reservation for this hotel! I've spoken with you dozens of times before! ... Yes, I would like to speak with the owner!"
For the eighth time that week, Caterina was getting into another fight with some person or another over the plans for her wedding to Jacob Peacecraft. First, she'd gotten mad at the florist for somehow confusing blue tulips with white roses. Then, the church she had originally picked burned down due to rioters in the Sank Kingdom. On top of that, the bakery that was making her cake, among many other desserts and pastries, decided that the quote they'd given her was too small, as the guest list continued to rise, which affected the amount of food.
Now, the hotel she had intended to have the reception at was telling her she not only didn't make a deposit, but she hadn't even made a reservation. She was starting to wonder if she should just take advantage of her father and Jacob's family's connections and just have them plan the wedding instead.
As she listened to the hotel owner drone on about the supposedly lost money and the fees she'd have to pay to re-reserve the hotel and the people who'd be forced out that weekend, she slumped down onto her desk and sighed again.
She knew she had insisted on planning this wedding all on her own. She wanted to prove that she can actually do something; that she wasn't an incompetent who relied on her parents as the common belief was. Oh, no, those tabloids weren't going to say she's not capable of doing things on her own. Not anymore.
But she hadn't realized just how hard this was. There were still many things to get done, like dealing with the caterers, speaking with the minister who was to perform the ceremony... She still hadn't even gone dress shopping. Her wedding was scheduled for February 9 and she still didn't even know what she was wearing.
She hung up the phone, not caring anymore about the hotel rental, and closed her eyes as she rested her head on the table. This wedding planning wasn't going as well as she'd hoped. How was she going to keep doing this on her own?
She banged her forehead a couple times on the desk, trying to knock some sense of hope into her. Come on, Caterina. You can do this. You're a Winner. It's in your blood to succeed.
She looked up to the massive piles of paper in front of her, receipts, schedules, ideas, and sketches somewhere in there. It's just a bit more work than you're used to. It won't kill you to give just a bit more effort, right?
She glanced over to the phone as it rang, not sure if she wanted to answer it. She stared at it blankly, then sighed, picking it up. "You've reached the office of Caterina Winner. What do you want?"
"Cat, my dear, this is Pierre from the tuxedo shop. How are you?"
Caterina sat still and stared blankly at the pile in front of her. "Enough with the pleasantries, Mr. French. Why are you calling? I thought our business part was done. Did I miss something? Please tell me I didn't."
She groaned when Pierre hesitated then replied back," Well, we've got a little problem, Caterina."
"What is it?" Caterina rested her head back on the desk defeatedly.
"We've somehow lost the measurements you gave us."
Caterina closed her eyes, not liking where this was going. "Whose measurements?"
There was a pause, then Pierre said," All of them."
Caterina let out a breath of irritation. "All right... Fine... No problem... I'll just go get Jacob and see when his next day off is... And I'll somehow get in contact with the others and... ask them if they remembered their measurements... Even though they're men and they most likely won't... " She made a face as some of the papers fell off the desk. "Pierre, I'm going to have to call you back once I have this figured out. Au revoir."
"Au revoir, my dear!" Pierre said back almost too cheerfully.
Caterina dropped the phone back on the hook and just laid there on her desk. She whimpered when the phone rang again.
She watched it as it kept ringing and then the answering machine picked up.
"Ms. Winner, this is the florist. We can't seem to get the arrangements to work with the flower choices you picked. They're falling apart. Please call us back and help us out with some new choices. "
The machine clicked off, before the phone began to ring again. This time it was caterer.
"Caterina, it appears you missed your appointment with us again. This is the fifth time now. If you really want us to work for you, you have to at least send someone in your place or call to let us know what's going on. If this continues, we may just have to charge you more or just refer you to somebody else. Call us when you're ready to make a deal."
Caterina began to rub her forehead as the machine clicked again. Two seconds passed before the phone began to ring for the fourth time. She stared at it blankly as the machine turned on.
"Cat, it's Jacob-"
She jumped up and grabbed the phone off the hook. "Hi, honey. I was just going to call you."
She sniffled a little and tried to sound happy. "What did you need?"
"Hi, sweetie. I was just calling to let you know I was going to be held up at work again. You know how my dad like to give me the tough jobs."
Caterina frowned a little and held back some tears that had rushed to her eyes, fighting the feeling of disappointment that rushed up. "But, Jacob, we were supposed to have dinner tonight and discuss some of the wedding plans. There are a whole lot of new things that came up that I need your help with."
"I know, sweetie, but I can't leave. I tried, believe me. But my dad isn't giving any of us a break. We've got a huge lead on the riots and he doesn't want any of us to stop until it's all cleared. Thompson couldn't even go see his kid being born. Everybody's on a tight leash here. You know I want to be there with you, but I can't... Cat? ... Are you crying?"
Caterina sniffled some more and held the phone away from her to prevent Jacob from hearing her. "No, I'm just... Can't your dad give you a break? Just one? I was really looking forward to this."
"Then he'd be playing favorites, my love. I can't fix it... Look, I have to get going. We're heading out in a few minutes. How about I take you out tomorrow night instead? We can even go dress shopping."
Caterina smiled slightly, knowing how much he was sorry, being that he absolutely hated going shopping. Especially with her. "That'll be fine."
"Great. I'll see you later tonight, Cat, okay?"
"Mmhmm."
"I love you."
"I love you, too... Don't get killed, Jacob."
"I won't. I never do... Bye."
"Bye."
She hung up the phone and stared at the desk in front of her. She had so much to do, but it was already pretty late and she was fairly tired. She looked to her phone, back at the desk, and then collapsed on her desk, letting sleep set in.
She'd worry about it all later.
"So, Elysia, what do you have in mind on what to wear for the party?"
Elysia made a face at Jennifer's question and stared at the phone quietly for a second, before answering. "It's just a stupid New Year's party thrown by the Preventers' and their close family and friends. Which is another thing I've been trying to figure out. Why was an invitation extended to my father?"
Jennifer sighed on the other end, making Elysia hold back a laugh. Why her friend enjoyed the parties where she herself had said were "nightmarish" and "pointless" and "just something for rich people to mingle mindlessly in the pretense that they were having a good time" was beyond her. "Jennifer, you were bred for the high life. I'm not used to this sort of thing."
Jennifer snorted. "Yeah, right. My first seven years of life were spent in a circus, while the next two were spent in an orphanage. Yeah, my life screams 'Caterina Winner'."
Elysia laughed and shook her head. "At any rate, I really don't have anything special and I don't care."
"Elysia, you need to allow yourself to have some fun. Sure, it's a silly party, but everybody you know will be there. Especially a certain tall, handsome, green-eyed hottie."
Elysia frowned a bit at the phone. "Did you just call Theo a 'hottie'?"
"Eh, whatever it takes to get you to go. He's not really my cup of tea. That and I grew up with him, so I know how he is and... Well, let's just say taking baths with him weren't too pleasant."
Elysia held back some more laughter. "You took baths with Theo! I'm going to ask him about this the next time I see him!"
Jennifer let out a slight shriek. "Elysia Angelina Yuy, if you dare to remind him about that, I'll make the rest of your life-"
"Oh, c'mon, Jennifer, you know I'd never do that. As tempting as it is to embarrass Theo..." Elysia trailed off and frowned when she heard a noise outside the front door of the apartment.
Jennifer didn't seem to notice her friend's silence. "Yeah, I know. But just so we're clear, I said nothing of the matter. Anyways, I was wondering... You know how we don't get much vacation time?"
"Uh, huh," Elysia answered absentmindedly as she walked quietly towards the front door.
"Well, you want to go hang out in the Sank Kingdom Plaza? I need to get out the orphanage for just one day. You know, actually spend the money I earn."
"When?" Elysia frowned some more as the noise got louder. She edged against the wall, trying to stay as quiet as possible.
"I was thinking the day after tomorrow. That way, you can tell me how much fun you didn't have at the party. Maybe even pick up some guys if I dress right."
As Jennifer went on about how she needed a boyfriend, Elysia leaned against the door and looked through the peephole to find the source of the noise. She frowned when she saw a man outside her door, seeming to study the area around it. She looked away, unsure of what to do.
Jennifer was still talking, unaware of Elysia's silence.
Elysia glanced back through the peephole to see what the man was doing now and frowned when she saw he was gone. She looked back into the apartment, then went to open the door.
"Elysia?" Jennifer had now caught on that Elysia was quiet. " You there?"
Elysia glanced down the hallway, completely desolate. She made a face, not understanding what just happened. Had she just imagined him?
"Uh... yeah. I'm here..." Elysia answered as she slowly went back inside." Just zoned out a bit." She took one last look out into the hallway as she shut the door. "Now, what's this about picking up guys?"
A/N: Well, there you go. The first chapter. I've just realized that Caterina is in there more than the main character. Sorry about that. ; Don't worry. That'll be fixed. The story gets better. I promise. So, as any fanfic author would say, please R&R and I'll see you next chapter. Bye for now.