Chapter 4

"Do you know what brought it on?" Heero asked.

Trowa leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and dropped his head into his hands. "The attic. Don't…don't go up there. Send the forensics team."

"What's up there?"

"It was horrific…I've never seen anything like it. He…that asshole chopped them into pieces, Heero. I picked a box at random and opened it and it was…Heero it was full of girl's heads. Just their heads. Their eyes and teeth and tongues had been removed. It…oh, God!" Trowa rubbed his hands over his eyes, trying to banish the memory, but to no avail.

Wufei clenched his fists in anger. How could anyone treat women that way? Yes, he accused them of being weak and generally stupid, but that was no reason to decapitate and mutilate them. They had their purposes and not all of them were really that bad and even those that were didn't deserve that.

"I…I didn't open any other boxes so…so I don't know if…if he only kept their heads or not. Don't go up there…and don't let Quatre go upstairs at all. The rooms upstairs were used to assault the girls."

Wufei nodded. "I'll send the forensics team in and make sure Quatre and Duo are told to come straight here when they're done."

Heero nodded his thanks and Wufei left. Turning back to Trowa, Heero asked, "Was that everything you found?"

"When we went upstairs, my team found Decart desecrating a girl's corpse."

Heero scowled. "Is he in custody?"

Trowa shook his head. "I…I took him out. He didn't come quietly and tried to kill my men. I know I shouldn't have but I was so angry I just didn't care."

Heero nodded. "Just be sure you put it into the report so no one can claim that you used excessive force."

Trowa nodded. He was not looking forward to writing this report.

"I want you to wait for Quatre and Duo and ask them to report to me as soon as possible. And then I want you to rest for a while. Clear your mind…relax…whatever you need to do to prevent a more violent flash. We got lucky that you just zoned out for a while this time. I don't want to have to subdue you."

"Understood." Trowa stood and took a deep breath before leaving the tent. They had been lucky. He hadn't thrown anything or tried to fight anyone. It had helped that somewhere his mind knew that both Heero and Wufei were there and he was ultimately safe.

Wufei gestured for the nearest agent and ordered him to have the head of the forensics team report to him as soon as possible. He knew Quatre and Duo were in the basement and decided to head them off just in case either one of them got curious about the rest of the house.

He was more than a little relieved to see Duo emerge from the house, followed by Quatre.

"Wufei!" Quatre was glad he wouldn't have to search for Wufei. He was their medic and Quatre wanted the girl seen to as soon as possible. Maybe once she was bandaged up and given something to eat she wouldn't be so afraid. The abject terror he'd felt from her as they left the house almost brought him to his knees. No one should ever be that scared.

Wufei's eyes narrowed as Quatre approached. 'Please tell me that's not a dead body,' he silently prayed to no deity in particular. The girl was pitiful at best. Really it would be a miracle if that pile of bones and skin was still alive. Wufei frowned. The girl had to be alive. Even Quatre wouldn't let wishful thinking cloud his judgment and he wouldn't move a body from a crime scene. Wufei closed the gap between them. "Give her to me. Heero wants to see you."

"He can wait. She can't."

"Quatre…" Wufei was tired. He'd already dealt with one dead girl and Trowa's flashback. And it was likely he'd have to help with the horror of the attic. He really didn't want to argue with Quatre today, too.

"Wufei, you didn't see her in there. We almost didn't get her to come out at all."

"Actually, we didn't anyway," Duo interrupted. "Quatre had to grab her and haul her out. She just didn't fight him like we thought she would."

"Duo. Heero is waiting for you and Quatre to report." Trowa had started for the tent as ordered but veered off course as he saw Quatre arguing with Wufei. Duo said something as he approached, but he didn't catch it. What he could see was that both Duo and Quatre were upset about something and Wufei was getting angry.

"Trowa, make Quatre hand her over so he can go give his report," Wufei ordered peevishly as he stepped aside, revealing the limp girl in Quatre's arms. Yes, he knew he sounded like a child, but sometimes the only person Winner would listen to was Barton.

Trowa looked at the girl. 'No…not another one,' he thought. The girl couldn't possibly be alive. He shut his eyes. He just couldn't handle another dead girl today. He opened his eyes and was about to tell Quatre to dump the girl where he stood and let the forensics team handle the body when the girl started shivering.

Quatre held the girl closer to his chest, trying to warm her. He had such a wretched look in his eyes that Trowa could only guess what the girl was feeling.

Trowa swallowed the lump in his throat that formed at the pitiful sight. Did he dare get his hopes up that this girl wasn't as bad off as she looked? "Quatre," he said softly, "give her to me. There's a blanket in the tent and she's freezing."

Quatre looked down at the girl. He didn't know what would happen if he gave her to someone else. She already didn't trust him as it was. He frowned. Trowa was right about her needing to be warmer and they still had to report what they'd found to Heero. And there was the matter of that door leading into the woods from the basement.

Quatre nodded and held the girl out for Trowa to take. He was shocked when the girl seemingly cuddled into Trowa's arms. Was it possible that she had decided to trust them? She was really cold…perhaps Trowa was just warm. At least the feelings she was emoting hadn't intensified so that was good…right?

"Come on, Quat. Let's get this over with," Duo said, pulling Quatre's arm and drawing him out of his reverie. Quatre nodded and, with a last worried look at the girl, turned and followed Duo to Heero's tent.

Trowa followed Wufei to a nearby tent. He walked as carefully as he could, not wanting to frighten or hurt her as she shivered in his arms. Ahead of him, Wufei scowled as he held the flap open for Trowa to take the girl inside. Trowa raised an eyebrow as he realized it was the tent he was slated to share with Wufei and Quatre that night. Sure, there was room for the girl, but he thought it odd that Wufei hadn't insisted on her going into the medi-tent. It didn't matter. What mattered was getting the girl warm before she went hypothermic.

Trowa ducked down to enter the tent and knelt next to a foam pad. He frowned. It wasn't much but it would have to do. He carefully set her down and moved to where his things were stashed. He pulled out a plush blanket. It was fairly new and still very soft. Satisfied that it would keep the girl warm, Trowa gently tucked it around the girl, who looked up in alarm at his touch.

Careful to keep his face neutral, Trowa made sure she was well wrapped in the blanket. Inside, he was seething. No one had ever looked at him with that much fear in their eyes. Even when he was piloting Heavy Arms, no one had looked at him that way. This slip of a girl shouldn't have had to be afraid of him. Once wrapped in the blanket, the girl curled into a tight ball. Trowa frowned. Her leg bent funny. He made a mental note to mention it to Wufei.

"Did we catch the bastard?" Wufei asked.

"Yeah. I'm glad I got to plug him now that I can see some of his work." Trowa moved away from the girl and closer to Wufei on the other side of the tent. He watched to see if she relaxed and sighed when she didn't. "Not that it's a problem, but why didn't we take her to the medi-tent?"

Wufei glanced at the girl. "That's where they put the girl you found earlier. We weren't expecting any survivors after that so…I just didn't want her to see."

Trowa nodded slowly. "Maybe if we'd gotten here sooner the other girl would have made it."

Wufei nodded. "Possibly. That girl wasn't nearly as bad off as this one. Even similar cases didn't leave victims that looked like her. She's definitely the worst off of any I've seen. I can't believe the Preventers didn't pick up this case sooner."

"I know, Wufei, but human trafficking is not as pressing as some of the other cases they've had lately."

Wufei snorted. "Oh yeah," he drawled. "Stolen puppies are such an emergency. What will we investigate next? A butler that tries to off his mistress' cats?"

Trowa rolled his eyes. "In all fairness, the rumor was a gun smuggling ring with a threat to start another war, remember?"

Wufei grunted and grabbed his camera and first aid kit from his pack. Might as well get this over with. He would need to thoroughly document the girl's injuries for his report and then treat what he could. They'd have to wait until they got her back to base to check for less obvious broken bones, internal damage or any diseases she might be carrying. He moved to the girl and carefully touched her shoulder to alert her of his presence. He repressed the urge to curse when she flinched.

"Quatre wasn't kidding about her needing to be seen immediately," Wufei muttered. "Duo said they had to grab her because she wouldn't come willingly."

"Wouldn't or couldn't?" Trowa asked. "I think there's something wrong with her leg."

Wufei shrugged and leaned over the girl. He slowly pulled back the blanket so he could see her face. She kept her eyes scrunched shut and stayed curled up. Her breathing was slightly erratic. "I'm not going to hurt you. But I do need to see where you're hurt. We need to document your injuries and treat them."

The girl didn't move. If anything she seemed more upset than before. Wufei scowled as the girl started trembling.

"Wufei, maybe we should give her a bit of time. Look at her, she's terrified. Maybe we can try again in an hour to let her adjust to this new situation?"

"Hmm. You may be right, Trowa." Wufei slipped the blanket back over the girl. Let her stay in her little cocoon if it made her feel safer for the time being. It might just get her to cooperate later.

"Do you think she'll be okay in here…with us? I mean…after what I saw inside I can't imagine that being surrounded by strange men is going to be at all comfortable for her." Trowa said, keeping his voice quiet so as not to alarm the girl.

"She doesn't have much choice, does she?" Wufei countered. "She must be guarded until we can get to the bottom of this. It isn't safe for her even if you did get the louse responsible for this. I refuse to put her in the same tent as the dead girl. I can't imagine how traumatic that would be for her in the state she's in. Normally I would have stayed in the medi-tent with her, so it makes just as much sense to have her here instead."

"You don't think it will upset her to be in a tent with three strange men?"

"Of course it will," Wufei spat. "But we don't have any female operatives with us, do we? Our men are not trained to attend her should her health decline tonight. And given Duo's state of mind, I don't dare let her stay with him and Heero."

"Yeah…he was probably going to try and stay with us tonight. Not that I blame him. I don't fancy sharing a tent with Heero when he's in one of his moods."

"Well, Duo's just going to have to get over whatever tiff he's having with Heero and suck it up. I'm hoping that having Quatre nearby will set her at ease. He is the one that rescued her so perhaps she'll form an attachment to him that will allow him to get information from her."

"And what if she's still too afraid of us to talk?"

Wufei sighed. He hadn't been blind to the girl's alarm. "Well then maybe Quatre can use his empathy to figure out how to reach her."

"Sometimes I wonder if we don't put too much pressure on Quatre's empathy."

Wufei shrugged. "He hasn't said so."

Trowa looked at the girl. Her breathing had evened out. "At least she's sleeping for the time being."

"Good." Wufei moved back over to her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to examine her while she's asleep."

"That's not a good idea. What if she wakes up? You'll completely freak her out."

"I have to look her over anyway, whether she likes it or not. Sally will need a report on what to have ready when we bring her in tomorrow," Wufei snapped.

The girl shifted in her sleep, a troubled expression crossing her features.

"At least wait until she's into a deeper REM cycle so you have less chance of waking her up."

"And just how do you suggest I time that?"

Trowa shrugged. "Quatre should be back soon. He might be able to tell when she's about to wake up."

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Fine. But who's putting pressure on Quatre's empathy now?"

Trowa ignored the comment. "I need to check in with my men."

Wufei nodded. "I'll stay here with the girl. If you see the forensics lead send him to me."

Trowa nodded and headed out of the tent. He was supposed to be resting, but he could do that after he checked on Jameson.

"Sir! Have you seen Agent Chang?"

Trowa nodded to the agent approaching him. "He's waiting for you in that tent. Be sure to announce your presence instead of barging in."

Agent Walters, head of the forensics team, nodded. Everyone knew better than to startle Agents Chang, Barton, Yuy, Maxwell and Winner. They were younger than most agents, but their sparring sessions were legendary. During their first year at Preventer, the older agents intentionally set the cockiest new recruits against them just to put them in their places. There were rumors about them being the Gundam pilots during the Eve Wars but the only one that was verified was Maxwell, being as he'd been caught by Oz at one point and had his face displayed for the universe to see. Rumors aside, most Preventer agents were former soldiers so it was considered common courtesy among agents not to startle anyone, just in case.

Trowa took his leave of the older agent and headed back into the house to get a report from his team. Lieberman was at the top of the stairs talking with Jameson. Cooper was still in position at the foot of the staircase that led to the attic. Trowa kept his expression neutral as he gathered his men together.

"Anything to report?" he asked.

"Sir, Agent Chang had his men remove the girl. The perpetrator is where you left him. No other suspects or victims were located," Lieberman reported.

"Good. Cooper?"

"No one has attempted to enter the attic, sir."

"Agent Chang should be sending the forensics team any time. I'd like you to stay at your post until they arrive, at which time your shift is over until 0800 tomorrow morning."

Cooper nodded and went back over to the stairs.

"Jameson, did you sustain any damage earlier?"

Jameson shook his head. "Couple of bruises, I'm sure but nothing to get worried about."

Trowa nodded. He'd suspected as much. "If you feel like you need to be checked out, do so. Otherwise you and Lieberman are off duty until 0800. There's a mess tent so be sure to get something to eat. And if Cooper doesn't join you in the next half hour or so please alert me so he can be relieved as well."

The two agents saluted and headed down the stairs. Trowa did a quick once over on the rooms, just to make sure nothing important was missed. Once he'd checked all the rooms he stopped once again at the first room, the one with the weird stain in the carpet. He was fairly certain it was blood now that he examined it closer. He looked again in the closet.

"These couldn't all be hers, could they?" he murmured to himself. The clothes in the closet were actually of better quality than what the girl had been wearing. Most of it was newer. Maybe he should grab her warmer clothes to wear. Trowa frowned. The clothes were not all the same sizes. The size range was too wide to be a simple difference in brand. Trowa had no idea which size would fit the girl. Maybe it was for the better. This may just have been where the cad stored the clothes he took from his victims. If that was the case, there was a chance some of these clothes still had traces of DNA that would need to be identified. But the bed wasn't made. Surely someone had used the room, though Trowa had no idea if it was used for the same activities as the other, larger rooms on this floor. Whose blood was in the carpet? How long had it been there?

The unanswered questions were frustrating him. Maybe he shouldn't have killed the asswad, but Trowa didn't care. People like that had no business being alive. He stalked out of the room and headed down the stairs, meeting the forensics team halfway down.

"Agent Walters, did Agent Chang warn you what you would find?"

"Yes, Sir. We'll actually be transferring the boxes to the lab at Headquarters instead of opening them here. Agent Chang felt it might be a good idea for us to have access to mental health services for this particular case."

Trowa nodded. "Good. Be warned, I left a box open up there and it isn't pretty." Agent Walters nodded. "And when you head up, please tell Cooper he is free for the evening."

"Yes, Sir." Agent Walters gave Trowa a quick salute and motioned for his team to follow him.

"I'll send a patrol into the woods to see if we can find anything," Heero said after Quatre and Duo reported their findings from the basement. "As far as the girl goes I'll speak to Colonel Une about her. Once she gives us her statement we'll have to find where she belongs. I'm sure her parents will be pleased to have her back."

"So what do we do with her until then?" Duo asked.

"Leave it to Chang. He's supposed to be covering the medi-tent. I'm sure he can handle her."

"Come on, Quat. Let's get some chow." Duo stood and started for the tent entrance.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Duo glared at Heero. "I just said. I'm hungry. I'm gettin' food."

"I didn't dismiss you. Quatre, you can go."

"If Quat's goin' I'm goin'."

"SIT MAXWELL! I'm not done with you yet."

"WELL I'M DONE WITH YOU!"

"Duo…" Both Heero and Duo looked at Quatre, surprised that he'd spoken up. "Duo, I think you should hear Heero out. He has something to tell you. I'm going to check on the girl and see if Wufei needs to get some food. I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

Duo huffed and crossed his arms, glaring expectantly at Heero.

Quatre shot Heero a shrug and slipped out the tent flap.

"So? Say what you're gonna say so I can get some food."

Heero stepped closer and reached a hand out to touch Duo's arm, but Duo pulled back. Heero dropped his hand and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"What was that?"

Heero looked Duo in the eyes. "I said I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you earlier. Tripping wasn't your fault."

Duo quit glaring and dropped his arms. "Yeah…well…I really hate it when you jump all over me like that."

"Well what if I jump all over you in a way you like?"

Duo snorted. "Like you know what I like."

Heero closed the gap between them and put his arms around Duo's waist, pulling his partner's body flush with his own. "I think I do."

Duo groaned. After six years of being together, Heero definitely knew what Duo liked. "Anybody'd have to be insane not to like that."

Heero grinned and gave his boyfriend a kiss. "So am I forgiven?"

Duo kissed Heero back and pushed him towards the cot. "Maybe."

The two fell on the cot in a heap and kissed lazily.

"I thought you were hungry," Heero teased.

Duo grew predatory. "I am…but you taste better."