A/N: I am so sorry these updates are taking so long. With any luck the next bit will come along without so much kicking and screaming. Thank you so much for your patience!

Chapter 66

"Colonel Une…so good to see you again," Donovan Chase greeted smoothly.

Une wanted to slap handcuffs on the greasy scoundrel in front of her. Unfortunately, she didn't have enough proof to arrest him yet. Yes, she had probable cause, but since Chase was a lawyer, she had to proceed carefully. If they could get Carter to confess, it would move things along, but Une didn't see that happening any time soon. Chase was here to discuss Carter's release, which Une would not be agreeing to.

"Mr. Chase, I wish I could say the same," Une replied rather coldly.

"Ah…I see. Shall we get down to business then?"

Une nodded.

Chase cleared his throat. "I am here because my client, Jason Carter, is being held unlawfully after being attacked by your Preventer Agents. You really ought to release him if you don't want this incident to affect the Preventers' reputation."

"Your so-called client kidnapped a woman, threatened her life, used her as blackmail and sexually assaulted another girl. I can't imagine why you think he's being held unlawfully."

"It seems to me that your agents have had it in for my clients since their raid on that house turned up nothing. Are you all really so desperate to tell the press that you're doing something that you'd resort to kidnapping and false imprisonment?"

"Are you really so desperate to get a sex offender on the streets that you'd resort to empty threats?" Colonel Une may have seemed cool on the outside, but inside she was afraid that Chase would follow through with his threat to go to the press and spread lies. There were several politicians who regularly denounced the methods of the Preventers and some were trying to sway the public to agree to disband the division altogether. Une was suddenly struck with the idea that maybe some of those officials were clients of Chase and Decart. She made a mental note to look into it.

Chase chuckled. "Oh, Colonel…we both know that you don't have anything on my client except what your agents and their family members are being paid to say."

That surprised Une. How did Chase know that Cathy was Trowa's sister? Trowa had opted to keep the last name of "Barton" so that his sister wouldn't be traced to him and his history as a Gundam Pilot.

Chase stood. "I'll give you some time to think it over." He leaned over the table. "I know you'll make the right decision."

Une watched as Chase left her office. What was she going to do if that man couldn't be put behind bars?

"I'm sorry that your cover got blown," Cathy said as Paul drove them back to the circus. "Are you in trouble?"

"Not as much as I could be," Paul admitted. "I'm sorry that you got involved, Miss Bloom."

"What's this 'Miss Bloom' stuff? You've known me long enough to know that my name is Cathy…or Catherine if you must be formal."

Paul felt a little embarrassed that she'd caught on to how stiff he was acting. "Sorry, Catherine. Cathy," he amended at her frown. "It's just…there are rules that I'm expected to follow and it's hard to break them."

"Rules?"

"Yes. I am not supposed to fraternize with those that fall under my protection."

"Is that why you've always acted like such an old poop?"

Paul chuckled. "I suppose it's part of it. I never expected to get attached to my assignment. I was afraid if I admitted how much I liked the circus I'd be tempted to leave the Preventers."

"You'd miss two paychecks?" Cathy teased.

"Actually when I started I told the Manager that I'd inherited money from a rich relative and would only take minimum pay and I've turned down every raise he's offered. The Preventers pay me well enough but it would have looked suspicious if I worked for the circus without being paid at all."

Cathy was a little surprised to hear that. The circus, while not in dire straits, didn't pay much compared to most careers. So to take minimum wage and refuse raises was really not working for much.

"He wasn't suspicious that you're not taking any money? Are you sure you have enough to get by on?"

"Like I said, the Preventers pay well enough. My trailer's paid for and I don't have any real bills so I just spend what I need to and put the rest away. And with my Preventers pension building up I'll be set when I decide to retire."

Cathy knew that the Preventers paid decently enough but she had always wondered if Trowa had supplemented his income with funds he "acquired" during the wars. Even if he had, from the way Paul talked it wasn't really necessary.

"I suppose if I ever got married and settled down I might reconsider whether or not I have enough to live on but for now, I've got plenty."

"What are you going to tell the Manager about…the incident with Carter?" Cathy asked quietly.

"Well…I figured I'd tell him as much of the truth as I can without admitting to being a Preventer, which is really all of it except that I gave an official report to Colonel Une. And honestly, since Kiri was under the care of the Preventers, I would have had to do that anyway."

"Oh. So…you're not leaving the circus, then?"

Paul raised an eyebrow. "Did someone say I was?"

"Well, no. But I thought that since I know about you being a Preventer now that maybe you got into trouble and they'll change your assignment."

"I didn't get in trouble. And I want to make it clear that just because you know, it doesn't mean you should tell anyone else."

"Oh, I won't," Cathy promised.

"Besides, if they did switch me out it wouldn't change anything, about you knowing, I mean. You'd always suspect that whoever replaced me was a Preventer so it makes just as much sense to go on as usual and not let anyone else at the circus know about it."

"Why are you stationed there, anyway?"

Paul chuckled. "I would have thought that was obvious. To keep an eye on Trowa and you, when he isn't around to do it himself. There are a lot of nutcases out there and if anyone caught wind that a former Gundam Pilot was hanging around the circus there's a good chance that something might happen. And it makes Trowa feel better to know that someone's got their eye on you in case someone figures out you're his sister."

"Like Carter did?" Cathy asked bitterly.

"Yes. Just like that. So I hope you won't take offense to me keeping an eye on you in the future. It's only because we care about you that I do it, not because I don't think you can handle yourself."

"We?"

Paul blinked in confusion. "We?" he echoed back.

"You said it's because 'we care about you.' Not because Trowa cares about me. You included yourself."

Paul cleared his throat. "Um…yes. I…um…"

Cathy grinned and decided to tease him. "Aren't there rules about fraternizing?"

"Yes…"

"Wanna break them?"

Paul turned beet red and concentrated on driving.

"I'm sorry, Paul. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's not that," he said slowly. "I…would like that…if you would."

It was Cathy's turn to blush. "I…would like that, too."

Paul couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "So…would you like to go to dinner sometime?"

Cathy smiled. "Just say when and I'm sure we can make that happen."

They pulled into the circus grounds and Paul parked outside the Manager's trailer. "We can tell the Manager everything except that I am a Preventer agent. I don't know how he would feel about finding out about that."

Cathy nodded. "I don't think he'd fire you."

"But I'd rather not take that chance. Colonel Une wants an agent here as long as Trowa is involved with the circus. He's too much of a risk to have out on his own."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It's like I said before, there are a lot of nutcases who would go after him if they found out he was here. At least if I'm here, he's got a bit of backup until we can get more agents out if necessary. That's all."

"Well…okay," Cathy said.

"Hey," Paul said gently, placing a hand over Cathy's. "I know that you're worried about Kiri. I am, too. But that's why Trowa is working so hard. And I don't know if he's told you, but I know that once he's done with this he's planning to quit the Preventers and just work for the circus unless he's needed for something special."

"Yes, he said something about it but then this whole thing with Kiri happened and it doesn't look like it's going to be fixed for a while."

"Well I'm sure that he's doing his best to get it done. Come on, let's talk to the Manager so we can get back. Une hasn't cleared me to come back yet but I think that she'll have that paperwork finished tonight or tomorrow."

They got out of the car and Paul knocked on the Manager's door. There wasn't any answer so they started for the Big Top. Along the way they saw several troupe members but none of them was sure where the Manager could be found. In the big tent, Torvald was rehearsing his act. He saw them come in and immediately dropped his anvil.

"Catherine! Johnson! Where is Kirimek?"

"She's safe, Torvald," Cathy told him. "Have you seen the Manager anywhere?"

"He is backstage."

They followed the strong man backstage and saw the Manager speaking to some of the tumblers. He looked up as they came in.

"CATHERINE! PAUL! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" he demanded.

"Sir, there was an incident early the other morning. We need to talk to you."

"Damn straight you do! In my office NOW!"

Cathy bit her lip and glanced at Paul, who gently patted her arm as they followed the Manager to his office.

He slammed the door behind them and whirled around. "Where the hell have you two been? And where the hell is Carter? I have a show to run and what do I find? No star. No hostlers. FOR THREE DAYS! Do you have any idea the bind you've put me in?"

"Sir, we're very sorry," Cathy told him quickly. "It wasn't like we planned to go off like that."

"I would expect you to tell me if you were leaving before a performance and I would have expected you," he pointed at Paul, "to at least leave your assistant with instructions to keep him busy or a message for me instead of gallivanting off into who knows where!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but it was Carter's fault we were gone," Paul told him, keeping his voice steady.

"Explain, Johnson."

Cathy and Paul sat down and Cathy started.

"Well, you see, I was going to run into town really quickly the other morning because Trowa and his friend ended up staying the night and I needed more groceries if they were going to stay for breakfast."

"Why did they stay?"

"Kiri was upset."

"Why?"

Cathy looked at Paul. "Um…well…it was because of Carter. Apparently she knew him from before she came here and he was one of the men that abused her. She couldn't stop crying."

"She told you this? She has started talking?"

"No, sir," Paul answered. "She hasn't started talking."

"The reason Trowa stayed the other night was because she was so upset and he was trying to figure out why."

"So how did you find out?"

"When I went outside with the intent to head into town, I realized that my car wasn't working. Trowa was going to look at it for me but when Torvald brought Kiri to my trailer, it put everything else on hold."

"Torvald knew about this?"

"No. He knew Kiri was upset because he came across her crying that night and since she wouldn't talk to him, he brought her to me so we could get things figured out. Anyway, I was about to go back into my trailer when Carter drove up and asked if I wanted a ride into town because he had to run in and get a few things for the horses. So I got into the car and he kidnapped me."

The Manager swore. "What happened next?"

"He took me to that old cabin about five miles down the road and told me to call Trowa. He wanted them to trade Kiri for me and when they got there, Carter made Kiri…" Cathy faltered.

"He made Kiri…?" the Manager prompted.

"He attempted to sexually assault Kiri," Paul supplied. "I had gone with Trowa because I wanted to deal with Carter myself but he was holding Cathy at knifepoint and he would have hurt her if Kiri hadn't distracted him enough for me and Trowa to take him down. Unfortunately, in the scuffle Kiri was injured. She's at the hospital and as far as I know she hasn't woken up yet."

The manager was silent as he mulled this over. "Catherine, were you hurt?"

Cathy shook her head. "No. I got a small cut on my neck where he was holding the knife but it stopped bleeding after a few minutes and I doubt it will even scar."

"Good. Johnson, were you injured?"

Paul shook his head. "I'm fine. Just mad as hell that Carter took advantage of us like that. The letter he gave you from Trowa was a forgery. Trowa told me he hasn't been able to find another hostler yet."

The manager swore at that. "I cannot believe I trusted his word. From now on no one gets hired without a full background check and if they claim to be referred by Trowa, he will have to verify it beforehand. This cannot be allowed to happen again."

"No, sir, it can't," Paul agreed. "We have more issues than just Carter's treatment of Kiri. He also lamed Buttercup, most likely to keep me distracted so that I couldn't stop him from taking Cathy. We're going to need to find a replacement for her. We can use her to breed but I think her performing days are done."

"That is very distressing news." The Manager leaned back in his chair and let out a breath. "I take it that you would like to be near Kiri at this time, Catherine?"

"I would at least like to stay with her until she wakes up," Cathy admitted. "But...if you can't spare me…I suppose I can come back earlier."

"No. You won't be any good to me if you're distracted thinking about her and I suspect that she will be more comfortable at the hospital if she knows you're there with her. Paul, you can take Cathy back but I need you here so we can get the horse situation dealt with and figure out if Carter did any other damage while he was here."

"Sir, Colonel Une wanted to speak to me about what happened because Kiri was placed here by the Preventers. I don't know how long that will take but I will ask her to make it as quick as possible so I can get back here. I don't like the idea of the horses being left to themselves too long."

The Manager nodded. "Fine. Get back here as soon as you can, then."

"Thank you, sir." Paul looked at Cathy. "Do you need to grab anything from your trailer before we go back?"

"I should take Kiri's things. I don't know if they'll let her come back with us or if they'll send her somewhere else but she ought to have her clothes anyway."

Paul and Cathy made their way to Cathy's trailer and Paul waited while Cathy packed Kiri's things. It didn't take long and soon they were on their way back to the hospital.

They didn't talk too much on the way, but Paul did ask, "How do you think Trowa will feel about us dating?"

"He'll get over it."

"This is gonna be fun," Duo said with an evil grin as he and Heero entered the prison block.

"Just remember that torture is okay, killing is not."

"Yeah, yeah…no killing," Duo promised. "But you'd be surprised what you can live through."

Heero suppressed a shudder as Shinigami made an appearance. Duo's deadly alter ego had remained relatively dormant during the years since the wars but every now and again he showed up, reminding Heero of what Duo could be capable of if he wanted to be.

Carter was in a small cement room. There was a cot in the corner with no blanket and no pillow and a bucket on the floor to serve as a toilet. As soon as they entered Carter started making demands.

"You can't keep me like this. I deserve a better place to stay. This is cruel and unusual punishment. You're breaking the law. You're going to get fired over this, you mark my words!"

"Shut your hole you worthless pile of pig vomit," Duo said as he sauntered around the small space. "Or I'll give you something truly terrible to whine about."

Heero grinned as Carter flinched and sat back on the cot with a sullen expression.

"That's better," Duo said. "Now, who do you work for?"

Carter looked away.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Heero said. "And I should warn you that between the two of us, I'm the good cop."

Carter remembered that Heero had been one of the agents to bring him in but he still refused to answer.

"Okay, have it your way," Duo said. He backhanded Carter, knocking him to the ground. "Who do you work for?"

Carter wiped a hand across his face, smearing the blood that was pouring from his nose. Still, he refused to answer.

"I can do this all night," Duo said. "And I'll enjoy it."

Carter looked at Heero. "Why don't you stop him? You're supposed to be the good cop."

Heero shrugged. "I said I was the good cop, not the involved one. This is his favorite part of the job. Who am I to take that away from him?"

Carter's eyes widened as he realized that Heero might not add to his pain but he certainly wasn't about to stop it.

"I can up the ante if you want," Duo said. "I know your sensitive bits are still very sensitive." He made like he was going to step on Carter's groin.

Carter screamed even though Duo never touched him. "NO! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

"Good. Now. Who. Do. You. Work. For?"

"Angus Carruthers."

"And how long have you worked for him?"

"About nineteen years."

"Wait a minute," Heero interrupted. "How old are you?"

"Twenty seven."

"You started working for this guy when you were eight?"

Carter nodded.

"Tell us about that," Heero said.

"I was picked up off the street when I was eight and sold to Mr. Carruthers. He…trained me to do things for him that other people wouldn't do."

"Like you trained that girl to do?" Duo asked.

Carter nodded. "Yeah. Stuff like that. When I got older I did other things like running errands and passing messages along to his other houses but I only recently got put in a training position."

"So how many girls have you trained?"

"Just that one."

"Trained any boys?" Heero asked.

Carter shook his head. "Mr. Carruthers likes to train those personally."

"You mentioned other houses. How many are we talking about?" Heero wanted to know just how many places they were going to have to raid.

"Six. One here, one on L2, one in Japan, one in New York, one in San Francisco and one in Australia."

"How many of them are linked to the cameras in the house here?"

"The cameras are linked into the main estate. Only Mr. Carruthers has access to them."

"Okay. So about the house in San Francisco…" Heero started. "Is it like the others or is it a legit male brothel?"

"That house is legitimate," Carter confirmed. "It's there to serve as a front for the others."

"Give me the addresses of the other houses."

"I don't know them. I mostly communicated via phone. If I had to visit the house I was taken by one of Mr. Carruthers' drivers. I wasn't ever allowed to know where I was at exactly."

"The phone numbers then."

"I don't have them memorized and Mr. Carruthers had them changed every other month or so. He didn't want them to be easily traced."

Heero grunted. It was annoying that he didn't have the information he wanted but at least they now had a starting point.

"Tell us about Chase," Duo ordered.

"He's one of Carruthers' officers. Each location has one."

"What are his duties?" Heero asked.

"Supervision of the property, receiving clients and making sure they pay. Upkeep of tarts while they're in residence."

"Upkeep?" Heero asked with narrowed eyes.

"You know, feeding, clothing, bathing, and releasing."

"Releasing?" Duo asked. "What do you mean?"

Carter licked his lips nervously. "Well…sometimes the Master requested their company and it was up to the officers to deliver them."

"Why refer to it as 'releasing'?"

"Because they were released from their normal duties."

"Is that the only time they got 'released'?" Heero asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Carter answered.

When he wasn't forthcoming with any other information, Heero prodded, "Explain in more detail."

"Well…some of the girls died natural deaths so…they were released from their duties that way."

"What about the girls that didn't die natural deaths?" Duo asked with a glare. "What about them?"

"We had to make room for new tarts. There's just not enough space to keep too many girls on hand, you know."

Carter's nonchalant attitude was really starting to piss Duo off. Heero saw Shinigami starting to rear his ugly head and tensed up, wondering how long he ought to let this go before stepping in. He didn't want Duo to kill Carter, he didn't deserve the easy way out of this, but he also didn't want to upset Duo and have Shinigami turn on him instead. It was a fine line to walk and Heero just had to watch for the right point of interruption.

"So why kill the girls when you're done with them? Why not just resell them or let them go or something?" Duo asked.

"Most girls are so…used up that they can't be resold for anything. Whether or not they die of natural causes they have to be disposed of when they're no longer useful. And you really couldn't expect us to just 'let them go' could you?"

"What's the point in cutting them up and putting them in boxes?"

"Well what else are we supposed to do with them? It isn't legal to bury human remains on private property in most places and having too many funerals would raise unwanted attention."

"Yeah, well doing what you've been doing has gotten that anyway," Duo growled. "What has to be broken in your head to think that this is okay?"

Carter shrugged. "They're unwanted anyway. Their parents bring them to us and we pay for them. They're just property."

Heero could tell that comment was going to send Duo over the edge, but by that point he was so angry with Carter himself that he didn't bother to intervene. Duo punched Carter in the jaw as hard as he could manage. Carter flew backwards, landed on the ground in a heap and didn't move. If Duo had taken it further than that, Heero would have stepped in, but Duo just grunted in annoyance and crossed his arms with a glare at the prone body on the floor.

"Duo…we can't interrogate him when he's unconscious," Heero admonished gently. "But I hope you broke his jaw."

"Me too."

The two agents picked Carter up off the floor and placed him unceremoniously on the cot. Heero looked at the man's jaw and decided he would have Sally send someone to make sure that Duo hadn't accidentally killed the bastard.

"Let's go tell Une what we learned. Maybe she can send out some groups to look for the other houses so we don't have to go ourselves."

"Sounds good to me."