Chapter 16

"I don't think I need to tell you that this is a sensitive case. And as much as I dislike the man, we still need to appease him to a point."

"Hn."

Colonel Une looked at Heero. "Your thoughts?"

"I don't like him."

Une resisted the urge to smirk. She agreed with Agent Yuy's feelings towards Donovan Chase but personal opinions were not valid reasons for anything. "So you said last time we talked. Care to elaborate this time?"

Heero was leaning nonchalantly against the wall. "He has an overdeveloped sense of entitlement that he feels should make others give a shit about what he wants. He wears poorly tailored knockoffs to give the impression he's more affluent than he really is. He tries to intimidate those around him and when that doesn't work he resorts to ordering people about as though he's the only one with the mental capacity to do anything without having his hand held. It's insulting and during the wars I wouldn't have thought twice about dumping him in a ditch somewhere."

Colonel Une barely kept herself from laughing. Heero certainly didn't mince words. "Aside from the fact that his personality and character flaws annoy you, what do you think?"

Heero looked her in the eye. "There's something off about him. He uses his attitude to hide it but he's not to be trusted."

Une nodded. "I agree. However, I think the only way to get him to back off is to let him see the girl. It is possible that his client has been lying to him and he doesn't know anything about the girl's true condition."

Heero grunted.

"We will not turn the girl over to him but we need to let him see her and assess the damage for himself."

"What if he accuses us of causing the damage to her?"

"Agent Chang documented everything."

"Photos can be doctored."

"I understand that. But unless we can get that girl to talk, it's all we have."

"Quatre is working on that."

"Good. Now about Chase…I will call him and set up a time for him to meet with her."

"There need to be conditions."

"Such as?"

"She's not to be alone with him. Trowa and I will be there with her. He will come unarmed. He will be alone. His so-called "client" will not be allowed to see her. If we feel the situation is becoming too stressful for the girl, she will be removed and Chase will not have another time to meet with her. However, if the girl asks to meet with him again, we will arrange it."

Colonel Une frowned as she considered Heero's terms. "What if he doesn't agree?"

"Then he doesn't see her. Sally has said not to overstress the girl and I will take no chances with her as she is our only lead at this point."

Colonel Une nodded. "Perhaps it would be a good idea to have him speak to Sally about the girl first. If he hears about her condition and the terms for seeing her from certified medical personnel he might fight us less on it. And if Sally feels she isn't ready for a visit of this nature she can tell us and we will set something else up."

Heero nodded. "Acceptable."

Colonel Une pulled out Chase's business card and turned on the vid phone. "You may stay if you desire."

Heero nodded and stayed where he was. He was silent as Une dialed the number and it rang twice.

"Hello?" Donovan Chase appeared on the vid screen.

"Mr. Chase?"

"Ah, Colonel Une! What a delight to see you again! You're looking lovely today. What can I do for you?"

"I looked into the girl you said went missing from your client's property."

"Wonderful! Did you find her?"

Colonel Une nodded. "She's here, though I must say that I agree with my Agents' decision to bring her in. She's very sick."

Chase looked mildly surprised, but not surprised enough. That was enough to confirm to Heero that he knew something. Heero glowered from his position. He wasn't in Chase's line of sight but he could see the slimy lawyer just fine.

"I'm very sorry to hear that. My client said she is the model renter. Very clean, quiet, always pays her rent on time," Chase was counting off the virtues on his fingers. "What would you say made her ill?"

"She was dehydrated for one thing," Une said carefully. She wasn't sure how much she wanted the lawyer to know. "She's had a very high fever and hasn't had much of an appetite. She's being treated by our best physician and has improved but I'm afraid she isn't well enough to go home just yet."

For a split second Chase looked absolutely livid. Heero wondered if Une had even caught it as the man's expression changed so quickly.

"Well, we wouldn't want to put her health at risk," Chase commented casually.

"No," Une agreed. "How would you feel about meeting with her doctor tomorrow? We could discuss the girl's condition and if the doctor approves, perhaps we could set up a meeting and you can see the girl for yourself and make sure the girl we have is the one you're looking for. It is possible that the girl you're looking for is still missing, after all."

"I quite agree, Colonel. It makes sense for me to identify the girl you have in custody as the one I'm looking for. After all, there are a number of transients in the area and it is possible that your agents picked up someone completely random."

Colonel Une nodded. "What time would be convenient for you to come by?"

"Would tomorrow morning be manageable? I believe I have time from nine to eleven."

"That would be fine. I will see you tomorrow."

"I look forward to it. Farewell, Madame."

The vid screen went black as Chase hung up. Une hung up on her end and looked at Heero.

"What are your thoughts now?"

"He knows something. Did you see how angry he got when you said she wasn't well enough to leave?"

Colonel Une frowned. "Not really. Let me bring up the conversation and we'll look at it closer." She opened a file on her computer and retrieved the recording of the call. She slowed the feed down as they neared that portion of the conversation.

"There!" Heero said and Colonel Une paused the video.

The picture on the computer screen showed that Donovan Chase was furious. Looking at the man on the screen, Colonel Une had to suppress a shudder. He looked truly dangerous. "You don't suppose the girl has ever seen Chase before, do you?"

"I wouldn't know. She said she didn't see very many people in the house. I'm assuming she was kept in the basement room that Quatre and Duo found. Trowa suggested she had been allowed in a small room upstairs, but I think she would have seen more people if that was the case."

"But it is possible that he could have been one of the few people she did see, especially if he really does represent the owner of the home."

Heero shrugged. "It's possible, I suppose. The name she gave us was Perdu. The owner of the house is listed as Angus Carruthers, who, according to the last census, is a stock broker in New York and I have been unsuccessful in contacting him."

"So Donovan Chase is our only chance to clear this up? That's not a reassuring thought," Une remarked dryly.

Heero looked at the man on the computer. "No, it isn't. And if this is the real Donovan Chase, I think we ought to have Wufei in the room as well while Duo and Quatre stand guard outside. I will take no chances with this girl."

Duo flipped through the channels again. He hated when his guard shift hit at night. There was never anything good on and he'd forgotten to bring a few movies of his own. Heero wasn't likely to stop by with any due to the fact that he was still working.

The girl shifted on the bed and he glanced over at her. She moved her head from side to side and looked like she was in pain.

"Shit," he muttered to himself as he got out of the chair. He hoped she wouldn't start screaming.

He watched as she got more and more restless. Maybe if he woke her up he wouldn't have to call Sally to drug her.

"Wake up. Come on…" He frowned as her breathing sped up and she started to tremble. Duo reached out and gently shook her shoulder. "Wake up! Everything's fine…you're safe. Just…wake up already!" He shook her shoulder a little harder.

Her eyes popped open and she looked scared. Duo felt bad. He hadn't meant to scare her. She stared at him as her breathing slowed to a normal pace.

"Sorry, but you were having a nightmare. I was afraid you'd hurt yourself again."

The girl looked around as if she wasn't sure where she was.

"Um..do you want me to get Sally to give you something?"

The girl frowned and bit her lip before shaking her head.

Duo shrugged. "If that's what you want." He wasn't going to push her into doing something she didn't want to do. Trowa had told them that she had a hard time coming out of it when she'd been drugged. Duo figured it was because she was so scrawny. It was probably hard for Sally to determine just how much to give her and she probably gave her too much last time.

The girl started feeling around and grabbed the pen and paper that had been left next to her. Duo waited while she wrote and held the paper out to him. While Duo had had an admittedly limited formal education due to growing up on the streets, the girl's handwriting bordered on terrible. It took him a few minutes to read what she'd written.

'What do you mean, hurt myself again?'

"Um…well, your wrists. You had a nightmare when you were transported here and you pulled against the restraints so hard you cut your wrists pretty bad. Wufei ended up giving you a shot of something to make you stop."

Duo found it hard to believe that she hadn't realized her wrists were bandaged for a reason but then she had done it when she'd been basically delirious due to a high fever and dehydration so he couldn't really fault her for not knowing. He watched her reaction. She seemed a little upset as she looked at her wrists.

"I'm sorry I woke you up and all. It's just…I guess I was afraid you'd hurt your back again or something with the way you were thrashing around."

The girl nodded and laid back down but she seemed distracted to Duo. He thought about asking her what was wrong but decided not to. She wouldn't talk and he didn't want to make her write it all out. The silence was getting to him, though.

"Hey, do you mind if I turn on the TV or something?"

She shook her head and gave a small wave of her hand. Duo grinned and grabbed the remote, turning on the television as he went back to his chair. The volume was up too high so he adjusted it and flipped through the channels. There still wasn't anything on. He made a mental note to leave some videos in his car so he wouldn't have to channel surf all night anymore.

He smiled broadly as he found a movie he liked. He glanced at the girl, who was staring blankly at the television. Maybe she wouldn't like it. He was about to change it when he realized that her eyes were half shut already. She wasn't going to be awake very long anyway. When he checked on her a few minutes later, she was fast asleep again.

He settled in to watch his movie when there was a knock on the door. He frowned but got up and answered it.

"Heero? I thought you were working."

"I just got off and thought I'd check in on you before heading home."

"I'm fine," Duo smirked. "You can't fool me. You were worried about the girl."

Heero shrugged. "A little. But mostly I wanted to make sure you weren't too bored."

"It's fine. I finally found a movie to watch."

Heero nodded. "Do you need any—"

Heero was cut off by a scream from the girl.

"Damn!" Duo swore as he moved back over to the flailing girl.

Heero followed him in. "Don't let her hurt herself."

"Easier said than done," Duo quipped as he tried to hold her legs down. She kicked out at him and he barely managed to dodge it.

Heero leaned close to her ear. "Easy! It's okay. You don't have to be afraid." Quatre had chewed him out for scaring the girl and he wanted to redeem himself. He hadn't meant to scare her before and, as Quatre had pointed out numerous times, she wasn't going to talk to them if she was afraid.

She lashed out, hitting him. It didn't hurt, he'd had bug bites that were more painful, but he didn't want to alarm her further. He stepped back, watching her twist and wriggle on the bed. Duo grabbed her arms and held them down. The girl screamed again.

"Drug her already! Push the button!" Duo yelled over the din.

"No…let her go."

Duo looked at Heero in surprise. "What?"

"I want to try something first."

Duo backed up, raising his hands in surrender and the girl kept screaming.

Heero went back over to her and knelt next to her head. "It's okay…stop screaming. You're safe, he can't get you anymore," he told her quietly. "Hush now, you're safe. It's all right, calm down."

The girl took a gasping breath and her eyes opened. She looked around wildly, her eyes unfocused. Heero frowned. While he'd hoped she would wake up he wasn't sure she was actually aware of what was going on. She curled up on her side, breathing heavily.

"So…what now?" Duo asked quietly.

"Go get Sally."

Duo nodded and slipped out of the room. Heero slid his arm under the girl's neck and shoulders and carefully turned her onto her back. The girl stared at him but he could tell she didn't actually see him at all.

"Don't be afraid, you're safe. He cannot get you," Heero told her as he laid her back on her pillow. The girl closed her eyes just as Duo returned with Sally.

"What's going on?" Sally asked. She'd been on duty in another part of the hospital and hadn't heard the noise.

"Night terror," Heero told her. "She was awake but…not awake. I think she can hear us but that's it."

"She had a nightmare earlier but I got her to wake up. It was nothing like this one," Duo added.

Sally nodded with a sigh. "I'll give her something."

"Trowa mentioned that she has a hard time getting the drugs out of her system," Heero told her.

"I'll adjust it. With as skinny as she is I'm not surprised. I probably gave her too much last time," Sally admitted with a frown.

"Do you think she'll remember this?" Duo asked.

"I'd guess not so much," Sally said. "Night terrors differ from nightmares because with nightmares you're truly asleep and you generally wake up. With night terrors, you are actually half awake but unable to recognize things as they are. Studies have shown that those who have night terrors don't remember them."

"Well…that's…good, I guess."

"Since I know she'll be out for a while I'd like to attend to some things. Would you two be kind enough to leave?"

Duo frowned. "Why? What are you going to do?"

"Since you must know, I'd like to give her a bath and get the sheets on this bed changed out. It won't do us any good to try and make her well if she's surrounded by filth."

"Uh…right," Duo said with a slight blush. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"Well…since I really won't have any help…probably half an hour or so."

Duo nodded.

"Would you go to the nurse's station ask Hannah to bring me bathing supplies and clean sheets?"

Duo nodded and went to do as Sally asked.

"Do you need assistance, Sally?"

"It would be nice, but I can manage."

Heero was silent for a moment. "I've run a background check on Hannah. She may stay to assist you if you desire."

"I appreciate that, Heero. It will make this much easier." Inwardly, Sally was annoyed that Heero had gone to such lengths without consent, but she understood why he felt such precautions were necessary.

Heero went outside and in a moment he let Hannah in.

"Here you are, Dr. Po," Hannah greeted Sally cheerfully with the requested supplies.

"Thank you, Hannah."

The two women quickly bathed the unconscious girl and Sally opened the door. Duo was waiting. He'd sent Heero home to get some rest.

"Duo, could you please hold her while we change the sheets?"

"No problem."

Duo lifted the girl's slight form and the women changed the sheets quickly.

"Thank you, Hannah. I think that will be all for this evening," Sally said, dismissing the nurse as Duo set the girl back onto the bed.

"D'you think we ought to set the bed back up to where she had it?" Duo asked.

"Sleeping flat won't hurt her but we could hurt her if we have it set wrong. It's better to let her readjust it when she wakes up tomorrow."

"You're the doctor," Duo said with a shrug as he plopped into the chair.

"She should be out for several hours yet but alert me if anything changes."

"You got it Sally."

Sally left and Duo flipped through the channels. There was still nothing on.