Chapter 13

"Colonel Une…a Mr. Donovan Chase to see you, Ma'am."

Colonel Une had been expecting this since Heero talked to her the day before. "Show him in, Grace."

The door opened and her secretary led in the lawyer her top agent had warned her about.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Colonel," Chase greeted her smoothly with his hand outstretched.

Une politely shook his hand and gestured for him to sit. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Chase?"

"I'm afraid I have a bit of a complaint about some of your agents."

"Oh?"

"Yes. You see, I represent a Mr. Joseph Whitaker. He owns a piece of property near the Mount Wilson Observatory and, unfortunately, it is currently overrun with Preventer Agents. He would like them to leave. When I presented the agent in charge with an order to vacate the premises, he refused."

"What reason do my agents have for being there?" Une knew exactly what he was talking about. She just wanted to hear his theory.

"I'm sure I don't know. What I do know is Mr. Whitaker was renting the property to a student who is currently missing. He received a very distressed call from her when the agents showed up but no one has heard from her since."

"She's missing?"

"Yes…in fact, I had hoped your agents had brought her in for questioning or something. Her family is quite concerned about her."

"Well that is a problem. I'm afraid I haven't heard from my agents out in the field yet today. However, if you would like to leave me your contact information I will look into this personally and get back to you as soon as I possibly can."

The lawyer gave her a greasy smile and passed her a business card. "Thank you, Colonel. I look forward to hearing from you."

Colonel Une saw him out before calling Heero to her office. They needed to decide how best to deal with this new development.

Quatre carefully approached the girl and slid the tray onto her lap. The girl looked up at him as if asking if the food was really for her. Quatre hated that. He pushed the feeling away and chuckled instead. He didn't want her to know he was upset. It might make her retreat and she was doing so well.

"Sorry your hand is sore. I'll try to stick to yes or no questions and give you a break."

The girl looked at the small bowl of soup, crackers and cup on her plate. She cautiously reached for the cup, watching Quatre the whole time to make sure she wasn't doing something wrong. She took a sip and her eyes widened. Quatre had ordered her a soda instead of water, just to see how she would react.

"Is that okay? I can get you something else if you'd prefer."

The girl gave him a shy smile and took another sip. He grinned back at her and turned his attention to his own tray. He felt a little guilty because all she got was soup and crackers whereas he had rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. He probably should have ordered the same thing that he got for her but there were few things on the hospital menu that he could stomach anymore. And he did let her pick what kind of soup she wanted.

He carefully watched her out of the corner of his eye. He didn't know if she would need help but he didn't want her to feel self-conscious about eating, especially when she really needed to. He wasn't sure what her meal times had been like in the last five years and he didn't want to do something that would scare her and make her stop eating.

She seemed to like the soup, which was good, but something in the way she was eating bothered Quatre. It was like…like she wanted to swallow it in one gulp but it was too hot. He also noticed that she was watching him like a hawk. He focused and could feel wariness in her and it made him wonder if her food had been taken away from her before she got the chance to finish. She nibbled on a cracker, still watching him, and he chose not to pay attention to it. He wanted her to feel safe and if she needed to size him up for that to happen, he would let her. He waited for five minutes after she stopped eating to speak to her.

"Did you get enough to eat?"

She nodded. Quatre smiled as he took the tray. She hadn't hesitated that time. He left her drink on the table next to her so she could have it later if she wanted. Sally still had her on a drip so any liquids would only be helpful. And he hoped it would help her to understand that he wasn't going to snatch her food away from her. He left the tray on a table near the door. He could pass them off to an orderly after he finished his meal or take them back to the cafeteria on his way out. He was tempted to leave the leftover crackers for the girl as well but decided that he would rather order her fresh food every time. Of course, if she asked him for the crackers he would gladly give them to her rather than making her wait for new food to arrive.

Turning back to the girl he said, "Sally suggested having you eat several small meals a day rather than just two or three large ones, so we'll get you something else in a few hours if you want."

The girl didn't react to this. Quatre had hoped she would initiate conversation once she had been fed, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. He wondered how he could make her feel more at ease. She had been grilled by Sally for quite some time…maybe she was afraid he was going to do the same?

Well, if she wasn't going to talk, he would have to ask her questions. But maybe he could leave the interrogation until later, when she was more comfortable around him. He resumed his seat and took a bite of chicken while he figured out how to approach this without scaring her. He supposed he could try to get to know her. If they could find a mutual topic of interest, maybe she would feel comfortable enough to ask him questions as well.

"Do you like to read?"

The girl seemed startled at his question, but she thought it over before nodding.

"What about music? Do you like music?"

Yes.

"Movies?"

Again, yes.

"What about sports? Do you like football?"

No. Well, Quatre supposed he had asked her two questions. Perhaps she was responding to the second one.

"Soccer?"

Again, no.

"Baseball? Basketball?"

The girl shook her head. He had hoped that the girl would show enough interest in one of those subjects to start talking about it. Maybe if he had more specifics he could lure her into a conversation, but guessing would take forever and likely just bore her.

"Well, maybe later I'll have you write out a list of stuff you'd like to read or watch or listen to, but I won't make you do it now. I know how boring it is to sit here and do nothing."

The girl immediately looked down and flinched as though she had just been yelled at. Quatre mentally groaned. He'd done it now.

"I didn't mean it like that," he clarified quickly. "What I mean is that I've had my share of hospital stays. So have the others, so we get it that you'll be bored with nothing to do."

The girl lifted her eyes a little, staring at him intently. Quatre let the one-sided conversation drop before he really put his foot in it. He finished off his food and put his tray with hers. He headed back to his chair, grabbing the television remote on the way. Sitting in silence would be awkward. He bet she hadn't been allowed to watch much television and might enjoy it.

"Why don't we see if there's anything good on for a bit and give you a rest from answering all these questions, eh?"

The girl seemed to be okay with it, so Quatre pushed the power button and immediately wished he hadn't. The news was on, which was airing a story on the satellite acquisition he was supposedly heading up. Actually, his sisters were doing all of that but as the heir to the corporation technically he was supposed to be the only one with the authority for any such additions to the company. What no one outside of his family and very close friends realized was that he'd signed over authority to some of his sisters while he was working with the Preventers. The news showed a stock photo of him and he flipped the channel quickly.

Part of him wanted her to see who he was and part of him didn't. He hated it when girls found out he was a multimillionaire because they started squealing and fawning over him. But part of him thought he might be okay with it if it made her trust him enough to start talking.

"See anything you want to watch?" Quatre asked as he flipped through the channels. He glanced at her and she stared blankly at him.

"Nothing? I guess we could always watch the hockey game," he teased, hoping it would at least get her to shake her head 'no.'

He blinked in surprise when the girl slowly nodded. "You like hockey?"

The girl graced him with another shy grin and a small nod.

He chuckled. Progress! "Who'd've guessed?"

He made himself comfortable, well as comfortable as he could in the hospital chair, and they watched the game in silence. Focusing on her emotions, Quatre was pleased to feel that she was relaxed. Not quite content, but definitely closer to it than she'd been since they found her. He wondered how long it would last.

Sally called Une after compiling her notes.

"Yes?"

"It's Sally. Do you have a few minutes?"

"I'm currently in conference with Agent Yuy."

"That's perfect. This information is pertinent to him as well."

"I've put you on the vid screen. Continue."

"Thank you. I wanted to talk to you about the girl…well…I guess she's really a young woman since she's nineteen."

Une raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

Sally continued. "She still isn't talking, but I did get her to communicate through writing. According to what she told me she was there for five years—"

Heero swore, Sally ignored it.

"—and the reason he beat her was because she wouldn't let him rape her. I think…I think he must have starved her to try to get her to cooperate because…she hasn't had a period in over three years. Since she obviously wasn't pregnant it must be because her body weight was too low at that point."

Heero looked confused.

Colonel Une cleared her throat. "Just to clarify for Agent Yuy: when a woman is of child bearing age her body must meet certain requirements for her to have a cycle. One of those requirements is for her body to retain enough fat to create an environment for a fertilized egg to survive. Fat is also necessary for estrogen production, which is vital to maintaining pregnancy. If her body can't support the egg, it stops ovulating until such time as her body is again capable. General consensus is that a girl must weigh a minimum of 90 lbs. for this to be possible, though that is not a reliable guideline by any means. There's more to it than that, but you get the idea."

Heero nodded his understanding. Who knew females were so complicated?

"Continue Sally."

"I have another theory…about why he starved her to such a point."

"Oh?"

"It's possible that he wanted to make sure he couldn't get her pregnant. It seems a bit of a long shot but it's not unheard of. It would make it easier for him or anyone else to use her without any means of protection over a long period of time if there was no chance of pregnancy getting in the way. It's disgusting…but then…this whole business is."

Une nodded. "Since she wasn't actually raped, there's no real way of knowing whether that is the case until we get the bastard in custody and interrogate him."

"Or we get our hands on the video feeds from that house," Heero put in.

"True," Une conceded. "What else did she tell you, Sally?"

"She didn't want me to contact her family."

"That seems odd," Heero said with a frown.

"She seemed to be afraid that if she told me where her parents were, the man who took her would be able to find her again."

"Which means she was probably snatched close to her home."

"That's what I thought, too, Heero. I told her I would have you come by with some books of suspects. She agreed to point out her captor. I'd prefer if you waited until tomorrow, though, to let her get used to being here. She's still pretty jumpy. I think if she feels safe she might actually talk to us. And her body needs rest so I doubt she'll even stay awake very long today."

"Acceptable."

"Was there anything else?" Colonel Une asked.

"She gave me the name of the man who was holding her hostage. If I'm deciphering her writing correctly, his name is Perdu."

Heero frowned.

"That name wasn't one I remembered so I assumed he gave the girl an alias in case she ever escaped."

Heero swore. "I'll get the books to her first thing in the morning. We need to know who he is."

"Just be careful not to push her too hard," Sally warned. "She's still pretty scared of everything. I wouldn't be surprised if she has second thoughts about telling us all of this. He's done a number on her psyche."

"Fine," Heero spat.

"I mean it, Heero! Quatre frowned and she looked like she thought he was about to beat her within an inch of her life. You will not do anything to frighten that poor girl into cooperating or so help me—"

"Enough," Colonel Une interrupted. "Sally, I'm sure Agent Yuy and the others will keep her needs in mind as they interact with her. However, I would like to reiterate the need for urgency in this case. Whoever this Perdu person is he's out there and likely finding more unfortunate victims. We need the girl to cooperate."

"The best way to get her to cooperate is to make her feel safe. She won't feel safe as long as she's terrified."

"How do you know she isn't just being difficult?" Heero asked, scorn evident in his tone.

"Because she's communicating even though it's blatantly obvious that she's terrified. She's hesitant but she still answers our questions. Patience is going to be key. If we're impatient it will make her withdraw and we won't get anything out of her. Trowa said it best: she needs to speak to us on her terms, not ours."

There was silence as Une and Heero considered this.

"Agreed. But I will encourage her to cooperate," Heero said.

Sally sighed. She supposed that was as good as it was going to get with Heero. Really, that much of a concession was an improvement from when he first joined the Preventers. Back then it was fierce interrogation until he got the information he was after. It didn't matter if the informant needed sleep, food or medical attention. Heero got what he needed first.

"Since that's settled, if there's nothing else?" Colonel Une asked, breaking the silence.

"I think that's everything for now," Sally said.

"Thank you, Sally. Please keep me informed of any new developments."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Sally ended the call and leaned back in her office chair as she thought. This could go one of two ways: Heero would either go easy on the girl and they could get all the information they needed or he could lose his temper and she would retreat past recovery. Perhaps she should discuss it with Quatre. He might be able to keep the former Wing pilot in check.

Only time would tell...

Quatre was pleased. The girl seemed to be enjoying the hockey game. Every time the L.A. Kings scored a goal, he felt a hiccup of happiness radiate from her. It seemed she favored them over the L1 Gunrunners. He wondered if he could use that to get her talking.

The game was almost over when there was a knock on the door and Duo poked his head in.

"Hey, Quat! Heero wants to talk to you for a minute." He approached the trays on the table and wrinkled his nose. "I can't believe you're making her eat this."

"It's not as bad as most hospital food," Quatre told him with a shrug as he gathered up the trays. If he was going out he might as well get rid of them. The girl hadn't shown any interest in more food but he supposed that was to be expected. She probably didn't dare ask for any more. Quatre made a mental note to offer her something when he got back. Perhaps a dessert-type treat like ice cream or pudding that would be easy on her stomach but filling at the same time.

"Whatever you say, man. I just know that I'm not risking my taste buds on it."

Quatre left and Duo plopped himself into the chair. He sized up the girl for a second before asking, "You talkin' yet?"

The girl shook her head. Duo shrugged and checked what she was watching on the television. A hockey game? Well it was better than Desperate Housewives of L4. And the Gunrunners were playing. Sweet.

"Aww come on! How could he miss that shot?"

Duo grumbled under his breath about the poor playing before grabbing the remote. Nobody he knew liked the Kings so Quatre must have been watching the Gunrunners.

He caught a glimpse of the girl out of the corner of his eye as he moved to change the channel. She looked sad. "You're not really watchin' this are you?"

She nodded and looked down at her blanket.

"But the Gunrunners are losing. Don't tell me you like L.A.!" Duo protested.

The girl moved her head up and down once before cautiously looking back up at the television as the announcer excitedly reported another goal for the Kings.

Duo sat back down and leaned back in the chair, considering her carefully. She was probably feeling more comfortable around him if she was willing to watch the game instead of cower on the bed.

"Man, I knew I should've let Trowa watch you until Quatre gets back," he told her jokingly. "He doesn't care who wins as long as it isn't the Gunrunners. I think he's never gotten over that bet he lost when they played against the Street Rats and they won with a lucky shot during sudden death overtime."

The Kings were leading by more than 30 points. Duo rolled his eyes dramatically and looked at the girl, who twitched a little but didn't react as strongly as she usually did.

"Man, this is embarrassing. You know the Kings are gonna win. You sure you wanna finish watchin' this bloodbath?"

The girl didn't answer. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

"Huh…well how do you like that?" Duo asked the thin air. He considered changing the channel but decided not to in case she woke up. He was sure she wasn't feigning sleep because her breathing was too even. But he didn't know how lightly she slept when she wasn't drugged or completely exhausted and he figured it wouldn't hurt to leave the television alone for a few minutes at least.