Chapter 20

"Did they give a reason?"

"They claimed it was a crime scene. They're not releasing many details, though, so I've had to do my own digging. What I've found are reports of an illegal brothel and missing girls. From what I can tell, the Preventers are trying to pin a human trafficking ring on my client and by not telling him what they're accusing him of, they hope to keep him from building a credible defense. In truth the only real crime I could find was the disappearance of the girl my client was renting the property to. She'd called him in a panic when the Preventers showed up, which is why he called me to check on it. She was nowhere to be found."

"Had the Preventers seen her?"

"They claimed she was hurt and they took her to the hospital as a precaution. In fact, they suggested that my client was responsible for her injuries. They said she had been starved and beaten and it looked like it had been going on for quite some time. Considering he is confined to a wheelchair I'd say that's quite a feat. I have a current picture of her here. It was taken two weeks ago."

The picture showed a healthy girl standing outside the house, smiling at the camera. The picture wasn't up long enough for Heero to confirm that it was the girl they'd found but the resemblance was definitely there.

"Does that look like someone who's been beaten and starved? Amanda Fitzgibbons is a college student. She was excited about the property because it has large common rooms which she could use for study sessions and rehearsals."

"Rehearsals?"

"Yes. She's a theatre major. Her life goal is to become an A-list actress in Hollywood and on Broadway."

Heero, watching with Une, swore again. "I knew she was lying," he muttered.

Duo watched the girl. She watched him. After a minute she picked up the book Heero had dropped off and started flipping through the pages. Duo decided he could turn on the television. He figured it wouldn't bother her.

There was nothing on again. He flipped through the channels, pausing on the news.

"The Preventers must be stopped. Unlawful entry and false accusations against my client are only the beginning. What's to stop them from doing this again?"

At the sound of a book hitting the floor, Duo looked at the girl. She was standing next to the bed staring at the television. Duo looked back at the TV.

"Mr. Chase, are you saying the Preventers are overstepping their bounds?"

"I'm afraid so. I have been informed that they have a so-called witness that they think will be my client's downfall. My suspicion is that they only have the girl he was renting the house to. Her parents are quite concerned about her. I have an appointment to meet with her tomorrow and I plan to get to the bottom of this."

Duo looked back at the girl. Her eyes were wide and glued to the screen.

"Hey kid…Ki-id…HE-EY!" he yelled. That got her attention. She jumped and looked at Duo, fear in her eyes. "What the hell, kid?"

The girl pointed at the book and back to the television. Duo looked back and forth between the two objects trying to figure out what she was trying to say.

"That guy's the lawyer for the guys in the book. Now that you point it out, it seems odd he'd represent all those guys." He thought for a minute. "That's not what you're trying to tell me, is it?" he asked softly. This would be so much easier if she would just talk to him.

Where was Quatre when Duo needed him?

The girl gave him an exasperated look and turned her attention back to the television with a frown.

Trowa didn't have to go far to find Quatre. The blonde had been on his way to see Heero anyway.

"Heero had to leave. He asked that I fill you in."

Quatre nodded. "That's fine. Have you had dinner yet? I'm starving."

"I ate not long ago. I figured the girl would have eaten before I came on shift and I didn't want to eat in front of her."

"Well we got a bit distracted so she hasn't eaten yet. In fact, Duo showed up just as I was ordering her dinner." Quatre headed in the direction of the hospital cafeteria. Heero's office was in a building across the street from the hospital so he'd walked over. He supposed he could have picked somewhere else to go but the cafeteria was closest and he was too hungry to decide on something else.

Trowa raised an eyebrow as he fell into step with his friend. "What distracted you?"

"Sally went shopping and bought the girl some clothes to wear since the brace is off her leg and she's been given the go-ahead to be up and about if she wants. Sally thought it would be awkward for her to walk around in an open-backed gown, especially with us in the room. So I was waiting outside the room while the girl got dressed. I think she must have tried on everything Sally bought because it took forever."

"Sally probably wanted to make sure everything fit."

"Probably. What did Heero have to say?"

"Colonel Une and Sally are allowing the lawyer to meet with the girl." Quatre was surprised at the venom in Trowa's voice. "It's ridiculous. What do they think will happen? It's not like she's going to suddenly start talking. If anything it'll probably stress her out enough to make her pass out."

"They're letting a stranger meet with her?"

Trowa nodded.

Quatre frowned at how angry Trowa truly was. On the outside he didn't seem more than annoyed but inside, he was seething. "Why would they do that?"

"Heero said it was Une's idea. Part of him getting to meet with her is that Heero, Wufei and I will be in the room with her and you and Duo will stand guard outside in case we need backup for any reason."

"Would you rather I was in the room?"

"Heero said that wasn't a good idea. He seemed to think the lawyer would tell everyone you were working with us if he saw you."

Quatre busied himself with picking out something to eat as he thought that over. True, he didn't want everyone to know that he wasn't actually on L4 right now, but the thought of the girl meeting with the lawyer was upsetting Trowa so much that Quatre was considering trading with him anyway.

The cafeteria was busier than usual and it took the two agents a few minutes to get through the lines and find a place to sit.

"Was that all Heero told you?" Quatre asked as they sat at the table. "You seem awfully upset for that to be the only thing."

Trowa looked away. He hated lying to his friend but didn't want to upset him, either. "He mentioned the forensics report."

Quatre stopped eating and looked at his friend. "I can't imagine it was anything good."

Trowa shook his head. "I'd rather not put that on you right now. I haven't even had time to read the report. And the girl we have is more important than the ones we can't save."

Quatre nodded and slowly ate his dinner as he digested the information. Trowa was right. Getting upset over dead girls was pointless when there was a living one that needed their help. There would be time to mourn their loss later.

"I suppose I ought to let Duo go home," Trowa said, standing.

"I'll go with you," Quatre said, standing as well. "Sally said the girl could have treats like ice cream and chocolate now and I wanted to order her a treat but I forgot. If you'll give me a few minutes I'll get her something and we can take it up to her."

Trowa nodded. A few more minutes wouldn't kill Duo and bringing the girl a treat would make Quatre happy.

Quatre picked out a chocolate bar and went to the cashier. "Please put this on the tab for room 531."

The cashier frowned. "Were you expecting an order to be sent to that room?"

"Yes, an order of vegetable soup and a drink."

"I'm very sorry. It seems that order hasn't been filled yet. Would you like me to get it for you now?"

"Please do."

The cashier went to the kitchen and returned a moment later with the requested meal. "I'm terribly sorry about that. It seems that in the rush it got overlooked."

"It's quite alright," Quatre told her, even though he was actually upset that the girl still hadn't been able to eat. By taking the food to her himself he knew she would be able to eat and not be forgotten again.

As they left the cafeteria, Quatre started to feel uneasy. He frowned as he tried to figure out what was causing it. Suddenly his gut ran cold and he stopped in his tracks.

Trowa took a few steps before realizing his companion wasn't keeping up. He turned and was surprised to see that Quatre had gone pale.

"Quatre?"

"Something's wrong…really wrong."

"Who is it?"

Quatre took a few deep breaths as he focused. His eyes widened. "The girl! We need to get there now!"

Abandoning the tray of food on the nearest table, the two agents practically ran to the stairwell and dashed up the stairs. There wasn't time to wait for the elevator.

"Mr. Chase your client has been accused of some very awful things. Is he truly capable of committing such atrocities?"

"Of course not. No one is capable of such crimes against humanity. It's all propaganda designed to make the Preventers look competent."

"What a crock," Duo muttered, aiming the remote at the television. It was obviously upsetting the girl and Quatre would have his head if he found out. Besides, this was something Heero and Une would handle.

Just as he tried to push the button, the girl grabbed the remote out of his hand. He hadn't thought she could move that fast.

"Hey! What's got you so wound up?" She hadn't acted like this before.

She pointed at the television.

"Okay, I get it, you're watchin' this." Duo raised his hands in surrender and turned his attention back to the TV. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to watch it, seeing as the guy was totally dissing the Preventers.

"In fact, we have the girl's parents here with a plea that the Preventers release her from custody."

A man and a woman joined the lawyer. The woman had frizzy bleached blonde hair and the man had a receding hairline. Duo glanced at the girl, who was intently watching the proceedings. He couldn't see much family resemblance. He wondered if she'd been adopted. Maybe she took after a grandmother. She didn't look anything like her mom and the only thing she seemed to have in common with her dad was black hair.

Duo focused back on the television as the man spoke.

"Please, Preventers, we just want our little girl back. This week without her has been an eternity to us."

"There you have it folks, a heartfelt plea from a grieving father for the return of a beloved daughter. We can only hope the Preventers will be reasonable and let her go."

As they reached the fifth floor landing, Quatre grabbed his chest and sank to his knees. "I c-can't…it…h-hurts too m-much."

Trowa frowned. "I'm not leaving you here." He grabbed the blonde's wrist and pulled him to his feet. "Try to block it out. The girl needs you to tell us what's wrong."

Dragging Quatre down the hall, Trowa hurried to the girl's room. He didn't bother with knocking. He opened the door to see the girl staring at the television. Her jaw was slack and she gave a slight shake of her head.

"Grab her!" Quatre cried out half a second before the girl's knees gave out on her.

Trowa dove into the room and caught her just before she hit the floor.

"She was in on it the whole time!"

"Calm down Agent Yuy. She is still in custody, don't forget. And why would she go to such elaborate lengths to cover this up? It doesn't make sense." Une pulled the girl's file and made some notes. "Amanda Fitzgibbons…we need to run a report on her. See if she has a criminal record. Check the name against the missing persons reports. Get her fingerprints if you can and run them."

"We already did all of that. It turned up nothing."

"You have a name to go on now."

Heero grunted.

"Heero…I know it seems as though she's part of this but I have my doubts. You said yourself that Chase wasn't to be trusted."

Heero frowned but didn't reply. He had said something to that effect. What was Une's point?

"We know she isn't telling us who she is. She probably has a reason for it. We don't even know if her real name is Amanda Fitzgibbons. It might be a clever ruse."

Heero snorted.

"I'm serious, Yuy. We've had a hell of a time getting her to trust us. If we start interrogating her and she isn't really involved, it could undo all of the progress that's been made. I think Chase knows more about what's going on in that house than he's letting on and that might be what he's trying to accomplish."

"Don't you get it? It's all part of the act."

"I disagree. You have permission to accuse her of working with Chase. However, because of the possibility of this being a stunt, I think it would be best if you didn't call her by her name. Sally said he'd manipulated her. There's a chance her name is a trigger of some kind."

Heero grunted. "I will be confronting her, make no mistake about that."

"If the others didn't watch this, I think it would be best to keep them from knowing her name as well. She might trust us more if we don't force her identity into the open."

"Any other restrictions?"

"Don't do anything stupid."

Heero glared at her.

"I mean it. That girl is still being used as a pawn. Chase is still as slimy and reprehensible as he was the first time you set eyes on him."

"I will interrogate her. If she can't convince me she's innocent, she'll spend the night in jail."

"Fair enough. Let me know what you find out."

Heero nodded and left Une's office.