A/N: Sorry this has taken so long. I've had a bit of writer's block and my muse wants to work on other things. And then my boss wants me to read some of my work in public for a local thing called Helicon West so I've been trying to get about 20 minutes worth of stuff together that I feel is good enough to share. But I guess that's what I get for letting him know I was participating in Nanowrimo. I promise I haven't abandoned the story! Thank you so much for sticking with it and thanks for all the reviews!

Chapter 42

Quatre rubbed his temples as he slouched in the chair. He had promised Duo that while he was doing his shift in the hospital room he would analyze the transmissions from the bugs Duo had left at Whitaker's and he was regretting it. It was all mindless drivel, day in and day out. How long could two people debate which kind of cookies were better? He'd given up trying to figure out if it was code or a euphemism. Didn't they have anything better to talk about? They were having the same argument over and over.

Suddenly Quatre snapped to attention. "Why didn't we see it before?!"

He scrambled for his phone and called Duo as fast as he could.

"Hey, Quat, what's up?"

"Recordings!"

"Huh?"

"The bugs, Duo. They've been compromised. Whitaker has been transmitting a recording. Somehow he managed to have enough conversations recorded that we wouldn't notice right away but all the conversations are basically the same. There's no way that Whitaker spends this much time talking about cookies with his butler."

Duo swore. "So we've been wasting our time?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Okay, Quat. Thanks anyway. I'll let Heero know. We'll need to figure out a different way to spy on these guys, I guess."

"I don't think that's going to be possible, Duo."

"Why not?"

"Isn't it obvious? They knew about the bugs. Either you didn't hide them well enough—"

"I DID TOO!"

"Okay, okay. So you hid them well. Maybe they have a device that locates them."

"Maybe," Duo conceded glumly.

"Or maybe they weren't really fooled by your outfit and they were stringing you along."

Duo was silent on the line.

"Duo? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Tell me what you're thinking," the blonde pressed. He could tell from Duo's subdued attitude that the braided man was upset.

"I just hate feeling like an idiot. I know I act like one but when I'm not doin' it on purpose, it's…I dunno. It makes me mad that they played me, I guess."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, it seems that they've been playing everyone for years. This has been going on since before Preventer even existed."

"Still doesn't make me feel better," Duo muttered.

Quatre sighed. "I know. But think of how good it'll feel to get them behind bars."

"Prison will be too good for the likes of them," Duo growled.

"Agent Barton."

"Colonel Une."

Une resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Do you have anything to report?"

Trowa kept his expression neutral. "Not at this time, Colonel."

Une sighed. "You know you guys can trust me, right?"

Trowa nodded. "Yes. And we do trust you."

"So tell me about the girl."

Trowa took a deep breath. "She has been ill."

"So you keep telling me," Une replied dryly. "What is being done about her 'illness'?"

"She is recuperating."

"Trowa, I need to know what's going on. Wufei said he wouldn't tell me over the phone because he couldn't be certain it was a secure connection. This office is clean. It is safe to tell me what's going on."

Trowa looked away from the Colonel while he considered what to tell her. "Are you still in contact with Donovan Chase?"

"Yes. We have a meeting tomorrow afternoon."

Trowa's eyes hardened. "Then I'm not at liberty to divulge any information regarding the girl."

"And just why is that?" Colonel Une asked, a scowl on her face.

"Quatre doesn't trust him."

Colonel Une raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Because Quatre doesn't trust him? That's the best answer you can give me?"

Trowa nodded once. "That's the best answer I can give you at this time."

Une let out an exasperated sigh. "And when Chase asks to see the girl what am I supposed to tell him? I have absolutely no information on her. Do you have any idea what would happen if word got out that I'm not in control of my agents? I trust you boys but you have to give me a break here." The colonel looked at Trowa. "I don't trust Chase either. There's something off about him but I don't know what it is. Clearly you boys know things that I don't about him but I don't understand why you insist on keeping it a secret. We're on the same side. Stop treating me like the enemy."

Trowa took a deep breath and exhaled. "We don't think you're the enemy. We just think it's better if you deal with Chase without knowing what we know. We're afraid that the information we have will cause you to interact with him in such a way that will tip him off to our plans." Trowa put up a hand to stop Une's protests. "We don't think you'd reveal the information on purpose. We know how tricky he is and we know what he's been up to. We need the element of surprise on our side. You cannot reveal what you don't know and that's why we've kept you ignorant."

"Tell you what, Trowa. I'll make this the last meeting with Chase. I'm going to tell him that the girl has slipped into a coma and it looks like she isn't going to make it. That should make him stop coming around. Then I expect a full debriefing on the information you have attained thus far. Is that clear?"

"If it is safe to tell you, we will," Trowa said. "But I don't think we'll be able to tell you everything just yet."

Colonel Une didn't like it, but she knew it was the best answer she was going to get from the Heavyarms pilot. She hated not being in the loop, but the Gundam pilots were her best agents and she knew that if she trusted them, they would complete their current mission.

"Here are the papers Wufei asked me to get for you."

Trowa took the papers and gave them a quick once over. "Thank you, Colonel. These should help move our investigation along nicely."

Une waited until Trowa left before rubbing her face with a hand. She wasn't looking forward to her meeting with Chase. Trowa might be able to fool most people but Une had been analyzing him for years. As subtle as it was, his body language and tone told her more than what he'd said. Une was certain that if Trowa and Chase were ever left alone in the same room, Chase would meet a very sticky end.

"Why can't I go with you?"

Heero sighed. "Duo..."

"It's because you think I can't be professional, isn't it?"

Heero looked at his boyfriend, who was sulking in the corner with his arms folded across his chest. "That isn't it at all, Duo. Trowa and Quatre are going to issue the warrants to seize Whitaker's property. You can't go with them because I don't want to take a chance of having Whitaker recognize you."

Duo snorted. "I already told you that Quat thinks they saw through my disguise from the start. I want a chance to get back at them for playing me."

"That isn't a good idea, Duo."

Duo scowled. "I don't care! They're messin' with us. Not just me. It's all of us and they're laughin' at us because we haven't stopped them yet."

"Which is precisely why we have to continue to let them think they're winning."

"Yeah, yeah. So why can't I go with you to talk to that girl's parents?"

Heero chose his answer carefully. "Because of the way you are able to interact with the girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"The girl seems to trust you and Quatre the most, right?"

"I guess. Us and Trowa."

Heero nodded. "Yes. And I think that the more you know about her past the more you'll…how do I word this? You might treat her differently than you currently do."

"What difference would that make?" Duo demanded.

Heero sighed. "She reacts to body language, right? If knowing details about her past made you angry, she would be able to tell and she would think you were angry with her. That would make her retreat and possibly lose trust in you." Heero wrapped Duo in his arms. "She doesn't trust Wufei or me so it's no big loss if she doesn't warm up to us. But I still hope that she will feel comfortable enough around you or Quatre to talk to one of you. That's why I'm taking Wufei instead of you."

Duo remained stiff in Heero's embrace. "I guess. So I'm just supposed to sit around here while the rest of you go off and do stuff?"

"No. I have something else for you to do."

Duo raised an eyebrow as Heero let him go. "Let me guess. I'm supposed to 'guard' the girl today."

"Well, yes, I suppose it would be wise to have you at the hospital for the day. But that's not exactly what I had in mind."

Duo didn't answer because he was still sulking.

"I got some information from Mrs. Noventa."

Duo was surprised. He knew that Heero had sent a message to Mrs. Noventa asking about Sylvia but she hadn't responded right away.

Heero continued. "I have Sylvia's contact information on L2. Do you think Hilde will still look into it for us?"

Duo nodded. "I'm sure she will."

"Good. While you're at it, can you have a look at this information and see what you can make of it?" Heero handed Duo a memory card.

"What's this?"

"It's the information that Trowa was able to dig up on Wayne Harris and Donovan Chase. Chase claims to have grown up on L2. I thought you would be able to tell from this if he was lying about that."

"Yeah, okay. I'll get on it."

Heero smiled. He knew that once Duo felt like he was doing something useful he would quit pouting. "Great. Let me know if you find anything interesting."

Trowa kept watch as Quatre posted the notice on Whitaker's front gate.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?" A large man wearing a plain black suit and sunglasses headed down the walkway towards them.

'Let the games begin,' Trowa thought as Quatre straightened his tie.

The blonde was dressed in an expensive navy blue suit. He'd chosen the suit on purpose. Trowa, on the other hand, was in his Preventer uniform. They had decided to make it look like Trowa was providing Quatre with security rather than letting Whitaker and his goons know that Quatre was also an agent.

Quatre cleared his throat. "This property is to be auctioned off. I'm simply posting the notice."

"By whose authority?"

"According to the city records the property is abandoned. Several buyers have expressed interest in the property so the city is auctioning it off to the highest bidder."

"This property is not abandoned."

Quatre frowned. "Do you have proof?"

The man glared at Quatre. "The Master has lived here for the last forty years."

Quatre shrugged. "I'm very sorry, sir, but according to the city records no one owns this property. My advice to you is to have your master bring proof of ownership to this office." Quatre gave the man a business card. "And we can begin the process of clearing up this little misunderstanding."

The man gave Quatre a dirty look before stalking back into the mansion.

Quatre and Trowa casually left, not wanting to draw undue attention to themselves.

"That went as well as expected," Trowa said as he started the car.

Quatre nodded. "Yes. That man was afraid."

"Could you tell what he was afraid of?"

"I'm not sure," Quatre admitted. "But if I had to guess I'd say that his master has a pretty nasty temper."

Trowa nodded. "That would fit with everything else we've learned."

"Hey, Hilde! It's been a long time. How are ya?" Duo grinned at the familiar face on the vid screen. Hilde looked a little tired, but other than that, she hadn't changed since he'd seen her last.

"Oh…hi, Duo. I'm…fine."

Duo frowned. "You seem a little tired. Is everything goin' okay?"

Hilde nodded a little too enthusiastically. "It's great. I've just been really busy with the business is all."

"Oh, so business is goin' good?"

"Yeah. Almost too good."

"That's great!" Duo meant it. Hilde was his friend and he wanted her business to succeed.

"Look, Duo, it's been great talking to you but I have to go."

"Wait! I've got somethin' I need—"

Somewhere in the background a door slammed and someone yelled. "HILDE!"

Hilde's eyes widened. "I've got to go!"

The screen went black before Duo could say another word.

He sighed. He wasn't sure what was going on with Hilde, but he didn't like it. He wondered if he should try to call her again later. "Maybe I ought to go up there myself and check on things," he muttered.