Thanks to ShadowMajin for his precious work as beta reader.

Chapter 7 - Room 403

"Are you Mr. Ouji?"

Vegeta frowned at the question. He contemplated the number displayed on the screen of his phone while trying to identify the female voice talking to him. Her number fit no registered contact, but it wasn't hidden either. That detail soothed his instinctive wariness. "How did you get my number?" he asked.

"I stole it," she claimed bluntly.

Vegeta was lying on his bed and that statement had him sitting up in one go.

"From a common friend of ours, a short guy with filthy hair," she added, "He wanted to prevent us from meeting, but I realized that his way of doing things happened to be much too expensive for both of us, so I stole your number from him."

Vegeta ran a hand in his hair as he was trying to follow her speech. "Can you tell me who you are, then?"

"Let's say my name is Giada. I have been a temporary secretary at Capsule Corp for one week. Does that sound familiar to you?" she replied quietly.

Vegeta's heart raced at the mention of the Capsule Corp. Things pieced together instantly in his brain. This woman had to be Yajirobe's source. She had obviously understood that she'd laid her hand on a treasure thanks to her temporary job and she had decided she would keep it for herself by cutting out the nasty rat.

Vegeta couldn't help the smirk that grew on his face. He stuck the phone between his shoulder and his cheek and leaned to the bedside table to take a cigarette. "Giada, huh? Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.

"Quite the opposite, Mr. Ouji; I am the one willing to help you - if you're ready to pay a fair price, that is."

Vegeta struck a match and lit up the cigarette. "What is it about?" he asked while breathing out the first drag.

"I can work for you. I'll tell you what I learn and you'll pay me for each tip I give, should it be useful or not. What do you think?"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "How much do you want?"

She kept quiet for an instant. He felt felt she was mulling over the question. "1,000 zenis a tip," she ended up declaring.

Vegeta pinched his lips. The woman was quite cunning, but she was a total amateur and she had no clue how much people were ready to pay for her knowledge. Furthermore, considering the gap between the price she was claiming and the price the filthy rat was demanding, her bargaining also demonstrated that Yajirobe was definitely good at swindling people. "Well, Giada, I don't know. That's a lot of money. How do I know I can trust you?"

"I knew you would ask me that so I'm ready to give you a preview of what I'm offering you. I let you know about something new and you check it out. If it happens to be true, you'll pay me for the tip and we'll work further together."

"That sounds fair to me. Tell me."

Giada didn't answer straight away and Vegeta had the feeling she was having a second thought, but then her voice resumed. "She booked a room for tonight at Hotel Hiltz. Room 403."

Vegeta's blood ran cold. If what this woman said was right, it was some unexpected precious information. He grabbed a pen on the bedside table and a newspaper resting on the bed next to him. He noted the number of the room and the name of the hotel while asking further. "What kind of room is it?"

"A matrimonial room. I would say she might have a guest there,"

"Do you know the name of that potential guest?" he carried on. He was trying to repress his excitement and he was doing his best to sound unimpressed, but it was becoming harder and harder as the call kept going.

"I'm not privy to every detail, but I guess it should be the same partner as usual, the baseball guy. You know, I'm not exactly supposed to know all these things in the first place. You have to find out on your own."

He took a drag of his cigarette by contemplating the words he'd scribbled on the paper. "Okay, Giada, I'll check it out. If it's right, I'll pay you 1,000 zenis. How do we do that? Do we have to meet, or what?"

"No meeting for the moment, Mr. Ouji. I'll call you back in two days. By the way, the phone I'm using isn't mine, so no need to try to track me down. I could be fired and sued for talking to you."

"Don't worry, you know sources are completely confidential, don't you?"

As a reply, she just hung up. Vegeta stared at his phone with disbelief for a while. He couldn't believe his luck. A temporary secretary had eventually happened to be the cracks in the Heiress' fortress and right at the time when he was investigating her. On top of it, said secretary had decided to get rid of Yajirobe's grip and she'd come directly to him. Vegeta's wary mind told him it was too good to be true. However, he had to admit her story matched exactly with the situation. She knew Yajirobe and she knew about the baseball player. He had no choice but to follow this lead, especially considering Goku had ruined his chance to learn more about the Heiress the night before at the Stadium.

The thoughtless moron had scared the target. There was no doubt the Heiress had recognized him. Vegeta had felt her shock when Goku had hugged her and she had been dreadfully nervous even after he'd left her box. Now, she would be on her guard and that would make everything even more complicated. Vegeta cursed under his breath at the thought.

When the Heiress had left the stadium, he had decided to stay and tail the baseball player after the game. Unlucky for him, the victory of West City team had triggered a complete mess in the neighborhood causing a frantic crowd to swarm the entrance of the baseball stadium with the hope to meet the winners.

Vegeta had posted himself on the opposite side of the street, right next to his girl, and he'd waited for Yamcha along with the restless fans all by thinking about Goku. He was wondering if his rival could be stupid enough to try his luck at following the Heiress' car. Either way, Goku had been nowhere in sight since their talk and Vegeta felt somehow concerned about it.

About an hour after the end of the game, Yamcha and the team had exited the building, welcomed by roars of joy. People had become over-excited and Vegeta had hardly been able to get a glimpse on the baseball player's hair before he got lost in a sea of heads surrounding the team.

Vegeta had a hard time trying to make out what the next move of his target would be. Fortunately, a row of elegant cars had showed up to pick them up and Vegeta had been able to followed them from afar thanks to his girl. He couldn't say which car Yamcha was and he prayed that the group wouldn't part. However, all the cars headed to the same destination and they stopped at a club some blocks away, where the team obviously intended to celebrate its victory.

Vegeta had never been there before and it was no good. He had no contact in the staff and he wouldn't be allowed inside. He'd tried to bribe the bouncer, but in this kind of wealthy place, it had been of no use. He'd also thought about sneaking in through a window, or back entrance, but the building was made in a way that gave him no opportunity to do so. Just when he was resigning to be on a boring stake-out for the rest of the night, he stumbled across Goku having a cheerful chat with the bouncer. Goku beamed at him on the go. "Hey, Veg'. Too bad 'non-friends' have to stay out, we could have some good fun inside," he claimed. Vegeta glared at him and Goku smirked in return while the bouncer let him in.

Vegeta could have screamed out of frustration at the sight. Yet, the only thing he could do was settle himself in a dark stinking alleyway near the entrance of the club in order to watch any people leaving the place. He'd waited there for hours, picturing Goku getting good tips about the baseball player, befriending interesting people, and moving on with his investigation.

The whole night had gotten on Vegeta's nerves, making him annoyed and tired to no end. As it was about two in the morning, he was caught off guard by Goku coming out of the building and walking straight to him.

Vegeta watched him with a silent hatred as he joined him and leaned against the wall in front of him. The taller man looked calm as if waiting for Vegeta to say something. Vegeta could have slapped his quiet cocky face. "What do you want, Kakarott?" he grumbled instead.

Goku smiled. "I told you already, why not team up? We did it before and we did a good job. We can do it again. No need to be friends."

"This is ancient history and Bulma Briefs is nothing near Freezer. I don't need you," Vegeta spat.

Goku sighed. "Still, you'll find out that she's not a piece of cake either. Just think about it. Either way, I wanted you to know that Yamcha left about half an hour ago. It seems you missed him."

Vegeta frowned at the statement. He stared at Goku's face in search of any hint of lie. The other reporter gave him another smile and left him behind. For some reasons, Vegeta felt he'd told the truth and that fact twisted his guts. How could it be that this damn moron was always ahead of him?

Vegeta's night had definitely been a complete waste and he still felt bitter and frustrated about it. Yet, this Giada's call had somewhat cheered him up. Up 'till now, Vegeta might be the one ahead.

He stubbed out his cigarette and searched for Hotel Hiltz's number on his phone. He found it and dialed it. A genteel voice answered him. "Hotel Hiltz?"

"Good morning. Do you still have a free room for tonight? I'd like to book one." Vegeta asked.

The line was silent for a minute, then the voice resumed. "Yes, Sir. What kind of room do you want?"

"I'd like to get the same room I had last time I came. I think it was 403 or something. On the fourth floor anyway," Vegeta said.

"We only have one room left on the fourth floor, Sir. It's a royal suite, Number 410. Would you like it?"

Vegeta swallowed hard. "I'll take it," he grunted. "My name is Mr Sen."

"I'll book it for you, Mr Sen. Do you have any idea at what time you might arrive?"

"Late afternoon, I think. Just… just remind me how much a royal suite cost?"

"7,000 zenis a night, Sir. No breakfast included. Is that a problem? We have smaller…"

"No. No problem. My company will pay for it," Vegeta cut off.

"Then, I wish you a nice day, Mr Sen. See you tonight," the voice greeted.

Vegeta hung up and threw the phone further on the bed out of anger. Damnit. This Giada had better be right. Mai would never pay for a royal suite at Hotel Hiltz. Even with no breakfast included, this wouldn't happen. It meant Vegeta would have to nag at Pilaf to get his expense back and his sole hope to make it was to have some breathtaking pictures and stories in return.

...

Hotel Hiltz was one of the most luxurious hotels in the whole country. As Vegeta entered the lobby, it reminded him of the Palace that was once his home. Everything was immaculate and shiny; it was almost dazzling. At 5 pm, he was standing at the front counter and signing the register as guest of room 410. The Heiress would certainly not show up before dinner, or even late evening and he needed time to get ready for her arrival.

A bellboy guided him to the room he'd booked. Vegeta had a suitcase stuffed with the equipment he would need to have a proper job done – if there was any job to do, that is. The Royal Suite was an impressive place. Vegeta contemplated the magnificence of the room for a moment. He was no longer used to such lavish settings and it reminded him once again of some very old memories. He repressed a sigh and focused on his luggage. He opened the suitcase and pulled out each item it contained one by one.

When he was done, he considered everything he had at his disposal and mulled over the situation. He picked out some devices and stuffed them into a smaller bag. Then, he walked out of his room. The corridor was still and deserted at this hour. The clients were still out and the cleaning staff was done with its jobs. Pitch perfect.

He searched quietly for room 403. When he faced the right door he used a multi-pass Nappa had sold him. It was a professional one, no doubt. The door clicked open in a blink and Vegeta entered the room.

It wasn't as big as Vegeta expected it to be. It was even much smaller than his Royal Suite. The Heiress might be fed up with self-indulgent luxury – or maybe she liked discretion better. The lounge was of normal size, separating a bedroom and a bathroom.

Vegeta lost no time and spotted the phone. He worked on it first, placing a bug inside of the receiver. Then he placed small microphone in the lounge and moved on to the bedroom. Although he disliked to hear every single thing that happened there, he had no qualms about fixing some more microphone in that place, knowing that many important talk might be held there.

However, when it came to the cameras, he decided a single one in the lounge would be enough. There was no point in adding a second one in the bedroom. What would happen there was no mystery to him and truth was he wasn't the least bit interested in whatever indoor sport the Heiress liked to practice. Furthermore, cameras snapped awful pictures and Mai would reject any crude pictures for legal and commercial reasons.

When he was done, he checked the whole place once again to ensure he would leave no hint of his visit. Then, he went back to his room and waited while watching the news and eating a sandwich.

The Royal Suite of Hotel Hiltz cost an outrageous price, but Vegeta had to admit it was a much nicer place for a stake-out than the stinking alleyway he'd spent the previous night in. He regularly checked the clock and as hours went by, he became more nervous. He hoped that Giada was a reliable informant.

He had a start when the microphone lit up. He turned off the TV and switched the camera on with bated breath. The light was rather dim and the picture was crappy, but he could clearly see a woman entering Room 403. She was wearing a hat and a trench with what looked like blue locks spreading over her shoulders. She stood motionless for a moment as she was contemplating the setting with her luggage resting next to her. When she took off her hat, unleashing silky blue hair that left few doubt about who she was, glee and relief washed over him.

She walked straight to the window. She closed the curtains carefully and then turned on the lamps. Only then he could take a glimpse at her face. Along with the hat and the coat she had big sunglasses on which had her look like a lame cliché just taken of a spy thriller. She was definitely awful at picking up disguise.

She grabbed her suitcase and headed straight to the bathroom. Vegeta had no device there and he couldn't help but wonder whether it had been a mistake to leave this room as a blind spot.

The only thing he could hear now was the muffled sound of water flowing from the tap. What if she had a phone call while in the bathroom? He would miss the whole talk. Damnit.

He had no time to linger on that thought as someone else entered the room. It was a man. Vegeta squinted and leaned forward closer to the screen. The light was dim and the guy was standing half out of sight so the only thing Vegeta could say was that he was tall with brown hair just like the baseball player. Vegeta licked his lips nervously. His heart was racing. He soothed his nervousness by remembering that he would have time to have a better look at him later. Both guests were supposed to spend the night there after all. He lit a cigarette and watched further.

"Bulma?" the guy called while making a hesitant step ahead.

The water stopped flowing. "Wait, wait," a female voice giggled in return. Then the door of the bathroom opened and all the lights went out all of a sudden. Damnit.

The figure of the Heiress rushed through the twilight and jumped straight on the guy with a chuckle. As far as Vegeta could see, she had taken off her coat. Her blue strands of hair were shining in the shy light. The lovers were out of sight for a minute. All he could hear was laughter and whispers. He couldn't repress another smirk. "Gotcha, little mouse," he murmured for himself.

They stepped back into his field of vision then. The guy was holding her tight and she had wrapped her legs around his waist. They were hugging or kissing- he couldn't say but he didn't care at that point – while walking across the lounge to the bedroom. They entered the bedroom and closed the door.

Vegeta looked at the button of the bedroom's microphones with some reluctance, but he ended up turning it on. He took care to have the volume at his lowest level. He always had a hard time bearing with the voyeurism his job sometimes imposed on him. Well, at least he found out that the Heiress and her baseball player weren't the noisy type. Hardly some panting and moaning and they would spare him any nasty talk or animal cries. He felt somewhat grateful for that and turned his TV on with the sound on mute. He followed the rest of the news while paying occasional attention to his clients' soundtrack.

He was caught off guard when his room's phone rang. He had a jump and cursed. He stubbed out his cigarette and took care to clear his throat before picking up with a frown. "Room service," he answered with his voice as slick as possible.

"Hey, we're room 403, we'd like some Champagne and a can of whipped cream here," a female voice claimed.

"I'll be there in five minutes, Ma'am," Vegeta replied.

He hung up and repressed an annoyed grunt. A can of whipped cream? What kind of crap was that? He picked up the phone of his room. A feminine voice answered immediately. "Room service, how can I please you?"

"I need a bottle of Champagne and, huh, a can of whipped cream for room 410," he grumbled in embarrassment.

"What Champagne, Sir? We have…"

"The cheapest you got. Quick," he cut off.

"I'll be there in five minutes, Sir," the woman answered politely.

"If you can make it in two minutes, you'll have a better tip,"

"I'll be there in two minutes, Sir," she added meekly.

Vegeta hung up and checked his watch. The girl of the room service made it. Exactly two minutes after their talk, she was standing on his threshold pushing an elegant cart with a champagne bucket standing proudly on it along with a can of whipped cream. He didn't let her in and gave her a bundle of notes. She thanked him with no further comment and vanished back into the elevator.

He took the cart into his room and removed all the items resting on it. He placed a rectangular box that was about the size of the cart's tray on top of it and he draped the whole thing with a white tablecloth. That way, the cart looked somewhat higher that it normally was, but the box went completely unnoticed.

Then he pulled a knife out of his pocket and cut a tiny notch in the tablecloth fabric on the front border of the cart. He slipped his finger carefully through the hole and drew back a thin wire coming out from the box. Thus, the small wire was showing through the tablecloth, but it was tiny and discreet enough to look like a flaw in the fabric. Vegeta gave his work a satisfied glance and pocketed his knife back.

The box contained a compact camera that could be triggered at distance. The pictures it would snap wouldn't be excellent, but provided the subject was worth it, it wouldn't matter. With that, Vegeta slipped in a sleeveless black jacket on his white shirt and stepped out of his room.

He pushed the cart up to room 403 and stood in front of the door for a moment. He ran a hand in his hair and prayed that the Heiress wouldn't recognize his as the waiter from the Stadium. The risk was low though. Back in the stadium, she had taken too much care avoiding eye contact and he'd had a cap on. Furthermore, now in that hotel room, the light was dim and her mind was up to something else. He knocked.

"Come in," the Heiress' voice answered.

He did as he was told and pushed the cart up to the middle of the deserted lounge. He was about to leave without saying a word when the bedroom's door opened and the Heiress showed up dressed in a robe. He shivered and looked up at her.

"Champagne? Vegeta, how nice from you!" the woman exclaimed with a glad beam.

He froze and his eyes widened in horror at the words. She took off her wig and shook her head in order to let her true blond hair fall free on her shoulder.

"Fuck off. Lunch? What the hell?" he spat in confusion.

She burst out of laugher while Goku stepped in just behind her with his hands in his pockets. "You liked our show?" he asked with a smile dancing on his lips.

Lunch walked to the tray and grabbed the bottle of Champagne. "Did it sound real? I always thought I should have been an actress," she added with a mischievous wink.

Vegeta was speechless and numb. His eyes were wandering from Goku to Lunch then back to Goku. Goku came closer from the tray. "Look at that, Lunch. He even brought the can of whipped cream. How professional."

The cork of the bottle popping out had Vegeta regaining his wits. "Kakarott, I'll kill you for that," he fumed.

"No need to be such a bad loser, Vegeta," Lunch said while filling the glasses, "You're so uptight sometimes. You'd better have a drink and listen to Goku for once."

He stared at her in disbelief. She was jubilant and he felt like slapping her. She was watching him back with a defiant look as if she'd guessed his thoughts. He just clenched his fists though.

"Now, guys, that was fun but I have my own work to do," she resumed while getting rid of the robe. She was dressed up underneath.

"Thanks for your help, Lunch," Goku told her.

She pouted. "Next time, we'll do it my way, right?" she replied. Then she turned to Vegeta "I wanted to make a tiger roar, but Goku thought it would be too much. Boring."

"So distinguished from you, like always," Vegeta growled.

She chuckled and grabbed the bottle. "That's for me. Enjoy the room, but don't do anything crazy," she concluded before exiting the room.

As soon as she closed the door, Vegeta lunged at Goku and gave him a powerful punch in the jaw. The taller man hadn't seen it coming and he tumbled down, bumping his head on the sofa in the process. Vegeta was on him in a split second and grasped his collar forcefully as he was getting ready for another blow. Goku was able to catch his wrist just in time to prevent another attack. "Damn, Vegeta. Don't be so hot headed," he hissed

"Are you kidding? I told you I'd kill you. Why are you getting in my way? Do you have any idea how much I had to pay for a room in this hotel? Not to mention the waste of time and energy!" Vegeta roared by shaking Goku's collar.

"Man, calm down. It was just a joke. I needed to have a serious talk with you," Goku pleaded.

A strange weariness welled up inside Vegeta. He gave an exasperate sigh and let go of Goku, all but snatching his wrist out of his grip. "You really think what you just did is the best way to have me listen to your crap?" he blurted out as he stood up.

"Exactly. It was the only way to draw your attention," Goku replied while struggling to his feet.

Vegeta went to the cart and grabbed a glass. He drank a few gulps out of it. "How is that?" he asked with a wince.

"You never listen until you get a punch to your face," Goku mumbled. He was sitting on the sofa and rubbing his aching jaw.

Vegeta turned to him with vivid anger on his face. "Then why don't you just try to punch my face instead of having me waste my time and money, you moron?"

Goku couldn't prevent a soft smile from appearing on his face. "Cool down. Listen, I told you we need to team up, but you still wanted to have your way. Now, see what happens? You got trapped like a noob. If we don't team up, we'll be in each other's way and our target is enough trouble already, don't you think?"

Vegeta just huffed in return. He dropped into an armchair and sipped his glass.

"Giada is real," Goku claimed all of a sudden.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Why would I believe such crap?"

Goku seized the second glass on the cart. "How do you think Yajirobe was able to know so much in such a short time?"

Vegeta squinted. "You went to see Yajirobe? You never ask for his help as far as I know. That's the main reason why I use him despite his insane prices."

Goku rubbed his head in embarrassment. "He was the only one able to provide me something valuable about Bulma Briefs," he confessed.

"And how come you learned about his source at the Capsule Corp, then?" Vegeta asked further.

Goku had an enigmatic smile. "Well, we had a deal but he didn't stick to his word. He had to find a good way to repay me for that. That was Giada."

Vegeta pursed his lips. "A deal? You never deal anything with Yajirobe. Do you mind telling me what it was about?"

Goku shrugged. "He wasn't supposed to tell you anything about the Heiress and the baseball player, but he did it anyway. With some delay, I have to admit it, but he did."

Vegeta choke on his sip. "You're both rats," he grunted while wiping his mouth.

"Maybe but thanks to you, I'm in touch with Giada and it means I will have plenty of information you'll never have. Also, as we both saw yesterday night, I have access to places you won't set foot in," Goku resumed with a playful smile.

Vegeta frowned. He felt Goku was right, but his pride was making it difficult to accept such reasoning.

Goku suspected he wasn't far from caving in though and he carried on, "On the other hand, just like you told me before, I'm screwed up because she knows my face and she'll recognize me whenever I come too close to her. What you did yesterday at the Stadium by pretending you were a waiter, this is a thing I can no longer afford. It sucks, but I'll have to get by with it."

Vegeta watched him silently for a while. That face of his, his cocky smile everyone held for a goofy one. "How do I know I can trust you? You trapped me tonight."

Goku raised his hands in a harmless stance. "If we're working together, I have no reasons to lay traps for you, but if we're not, you'll never know what I'll be up to."

"Better keep your enemy close to you," Vegeta mumbled. This had been a rule the Ice Jinns were careful to remember and it had prevented Vegeta from getting his revenge for years.

"That's the spirit, although I never considered you as an enemy," Goku admitted. "Deal done?"

Vegeta sighed. "We'll give it a try. A single attempt. If it doesn't work out, our partnership is finished, hear me?"

Goku beamed. "Whatever you want, I'm relieved to hear you talk that way."

Vegeta gave a disbelieving grunt. "Tell me about that Giada. What does she know?"

Goku leaned backward in the sofa. "For example, she knows that someone tried to shoot the Heiress this morning."

Vegeta froze. "What? Are you kidding or… is it another of your tricks to frighten her?"

"Oh, please, I'm not that crazy," Goku objected forcefully, "I swear I have nothing to do with that. It gave me an idea though. So, are you in?"

Vegeta had a second thought, but he ended up raising his glass in agreement. "I'm in. For the moment."

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