Relena fingered her ID badge - or rather, Faye's - as she waited for the elevator. Wufei was next to her, scrolling through his tablet. Technicians, administrative and maintenance personnel milled about. Relena pretended to be absorbed with her phone while tracking their movements out of the corner of her eye. No matter what, she had to remain discreet.
Relena waited until she and Wufei were inside the elevator, alone, before addressing him.
"How is he?" she asked softly, giving him a sidelong glance. Wufei looked up from his tablet.
"Better than we expected, actually," he answered. Relena breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good." She flexed the fingers of her good hand. "I'm glad to hear it."
"Of course, we had to adjust his medication throughout the night." Wufei pushed up his glasses. "But he's docile now. The serotonin inhibitors helped. Last I checked, he was resting."
"Thank you for doing that." Relena looked Wufei in the eye. "And thank you for arranging this for me." He frowned in response.
"You're welcome, although I still think it's a bad idea. This is risky at best." He sighed. "If I were more awake, I would have fought you more."
Relena lowered her eyes. "I know."
"I had to make up something to the board about your wanting to confront your attacker. Like some woman empowerment thing." Wufei rolled his eyes. "They seemed to buy it, but…" He clenched his jaw. "We need to be careful. You understand what's at stake."
"I do, but I also have to see him." She turned pleading eyes to Wufei. "You don't know how badly I want to break him out of here and take him home. And I would, if I could do it without being shot on sight." She sighed deeply, her shoulders shagging.
"I know." Wufei reached out and grasped her shoulder. Relena was glad he chose to sympathize instead of scolding her just then. She could sense Wufei's fatigue, and knew dealing with Heero in his altered state on a daily basis had to be a burden all its own.
The elevator stopped and the doors parted, and Wufei and Relena stepped out into the basement. They entered a long, dimly lit hallway bathed in a pale, sickly yellow glow.
"I don't understand why Preventer can't move now," Relena continued their discussion, keeping her voice low. "He already escaped once…" She turned imploring eyes up to Wufei. "Why can't we just set him free, then capture him ourselves?"
"We have to weigh all the risks of doing something so reckless," Wufei countered.
"Duo could do it," Relena muttered, picturing their old friend detonating his way through the base, heroically dragging Heero out with him.
"Obviously," Wufei agreed. "He's brash enough for the job, sure. But Heero would have to be stable enough to make it out of here. Without taking Maxwell's head off in the process."
Relena grimaced. "And you don't think he's there yet?"
"Not nearly," Wufei answered. "We'll see how he does on the latest batch of meds."
"Right." Relena sighed again as they neared the lab entrance. She watched silently as Wufei entered his access code, then allowed her inside. She followed him into the square-shaped metallic room, where a small team of technicians in white lab coats sat huddled at their workstations.
And there, just a few feet ahead, was a large glass wall separating the main room from a smaller room, where she could see Heero lying strapped to an exam table.
He was clad in a black tank top and pants, and wasn't fighting the restraints. As Wufei had said, Heero was resting, his head against a flat pillow, his eyes closed. To Relena, he resembled nothing of the wild man who attacked her; he looked every bit like the man she had known and loved.
Relena ignored the room's other occupants and rushed right up to the glass.
"Why is he restrained like that?!" She turned questioning eyes to Wufei. "He's all alone in there…"
"It's necessary, for now," Wufei explained tonelessly. "Wouldn't want him to hurt himself. Remember, he's coming down from his latest dose."
One of the young technicians frowned in Relena's direction.
"Faye, you're concerned for that son of a bitch, after what he tried to do to you?" he spat. "I'd like to put the bastard on ice for good."
Wufei shot him a steely glare. "Enough, Chad. She's already distraught. Let her be."
Chad rolled his eyes but backed away. "Fine. Sorry, Dr. Zan." He shot Relena a withering look before returning to his station. Wufei was also giving her a hard look. Relena winced, knowing she had nearly blown her cover. She would have to force herself to keep her emotions in check.
Faye. I'm Faye, she chanted inwardly. My name is Faye Oaks...
"Like I said earlier," Wufei murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. "Careful."
Relena swallowed around a lump in her throat. "I'm sorry. Can I go see him now?"
Wufei sighed and looked around him. "I still wouldn't advise it, but you do have clearance now." He lead her around the glass wall to a large steel doorway off to the side of the smaller room. "I would caution you to keep your distance."
"But he's restrained," Relena protested.
"Doesn't matter," Wufei said tersely. "We can't be too careful. Of course, I'll be right there with you."
"You won't let me speak to him alone," she surmised.
"Not right now."
Relena matched his stern gaze. "I'm still going to tell him, you know." Wufei's almond eyes widened.
"Don't do that. It's unwise."
"But someone has to," she whispered urgently. "He deserves to know what happened, and who he really is."
Wufei squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Women…"
"Besides." Relena gave his arm a jab. "You'll be right there with me, in case anything happens."
"Like if he reacts unfavorably?" Wufei sighed. "You don't know what that kind of information might do to his head. This is a terrible idea..."
"But why?" Relena spread her hands. "Maybe it will give him hope, knowing there are people on the inside, trying to help him." Wufei shook his head.
"Or he'll think we're just trying to fuck with him."
"Then we'll have to give him proof," Relena said firmly, newly determined. She grinned up at Wufei while he shook his head.
"You're insane."
Relena's gaze was unyielding. "Let me in, please."
Wufei sighed again before entering another access code. "Something tells me I'm going to come to regret this…"
Trowa looked down at the brown uniform in dismay. "A delivery guy, really? This is the best we can do?"
Une regarded him with a slightly bemused expression. "Take it or leave it," she said flippantly. "The institute is large, but considerably small-staffed on site. Even if you disguise yourself as a tech, you'd stick out like a sore thumb." She tipped her head at Trowa, appraising him with her eyes. "Not to mention that hair of yours… I don't know how you ever managed undercover. You don't exactly blend into the scenery."
Trowa patted down his hair, but it sprang back to its full volume. "I'll add a hat. Anyway, this probably won't be enough to get me into wherever Heero is…"
"No, but it will at least get you into the building." Une cracked a smile at him. "And I know you can manage from there."
She bent down at her desk and retrieved a few cardboard boxes of various sizes from underneath. Trowa's eyes scanned over the labels, all addressed to Dr. Feng Zan.
"You thought of every detail," he said approvingly. "But then I should expect the Preventers to be thorough, as always."
"Oh, that." Une's lips twitched. "I had Wufei withhold some of his mail for such an occasion. These are full of medical supplies he doesn't necessarily need. But no one at Abbott needs to know that. Tell them they contain hazardous materials, or something." Her eyes glimmered. Trowa smiled but shook his head.
"Nah. Someone would probably want to examine them, and that would only slow me down." He took the items from Une and turned to exit her office. "I'll… report back when I can."
"Very well. Thank you, Agent Seed." Une's eyes darkened. "Be careful. With both of them." Trowa surmised she was referring to Heero and Relena. He frowned.
"But Wufei is still there, right? If he granted Relena… er, Faye, entry, then he must know what he's dealing with." Une shook her head from side to side.
"He'll listen to her, when she's insistent- Relena, not Faye," she clarified. "Deep down, it seems he has a soft spot for her."
Trowa scoffed. "Don't we all."
"You know how good she is at appealing to her audience," Une continued with a heave of her shoulders. "That woman can turn black into white. And she's been begging Wufei to let her see Heero for months now. I knew he would cave, one of these days, and she would take advantage of his sympathy." She shook her head morosely. "Last night set everyone on edge, but not one of us can afford to let our feelings dictate how we handle things from now on." She leveled Trowa with her gaze. "Understand?"
Trowa met the commander's resolute gaze with one of his own. "It won't be a problem."
Relena stood to the side of the exam table that held Heero, watching in mesmerized silence as his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. He looked so peaceful as he slept. She wanted to reach out and smooth back his long, unruly bangs, but knew Wufei would bark at her. Was he a Preventer agent, doctor or guard dog? At the moment, he seemed to be an uneasy combination of all three.
She took a tentative step forward. Wufei immediately shot out an arm to block her.
"Stay back," he warned.
"But he's sleeping," she hissed, whirling to face him.
"Doesn't matter," Wufei said sharply as he blocked her path. "What did I say earlier?"
"Hey."
Relena's head jerked up at the sound of the deep baritone. Cloaked in annoyance, but smooth as velvet. And intimately familiar. She couldn't hold back the smile as it crossed her face, and she turned back to look at Heero.
He opened an eye - just one - and peered in their direction.
"You two." He glowered. "Mind keeping it down over there?"
-RGS
