Two Meetings And A Death
Valdimir Nabokov: You can always count on a murderer for a fancy prose style.
Oscar Wilde: A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
Duo Maxwell, now known only as Shinigami, stepped over the dirty streets of the Shadows in L2. The smells were familiar to him and he smiled bitterly at the many homeless he saw walking the streets. That smile quickly disappeared however he never showed any weakness for long. He was tired but his steps were careful and energetic. It had been a long week.
Just a few hours earlier he and Tahil, who was still by his side, had gone to the shuttle port and had managed to erase all traces of his arrival to L2. He smiled at the tiny girl by his side.
"See something you like?" She challenged.
"Not in the way you're thinking babe," He laughed easily. "I'm heading to Arman's. You can't follow me there; I'll call on you when I need you again."
Tahil merely nodded. She knew her place. Shinigami watched as she easily detached from his side and slipped away. He picked up the pace stopping to glance at his reflection in a shop mirror. He could see only Shinigami, the God of Death, looking back at him. There was no trace of Duo Maxwell.
"Hey kid," The shop owner stood in the doorway glaring at him. "Buy something or get lost."
"I don't like your tone friend," Shinigami glared back. "Let everyone know that Shinigami walks among you now."
The shop owner opened his mouth to retort but Cottonmouth silently glided up to Shinigami's side. Everyone the far into the Shadows knew who Cottonmouth was, Shai Ichii's voice to the people, and they feared him.
"My master has a message," Cottonmouth spoke with authority and people began to gather around and listen. "He honors you Shinigami and casts his vote for you to become high leader."
There was a murmuring among those who had gathered. Everyone knew what the position of high leader was, even though it had never been evoked or held by anyone in the history of the Shadows. The leaders of the five Cartels had to elect someone into the position, a position held for life. The high leader had complete control over the Cartels which meant complete control over the Shadows. The Ichii Cartel had just made a public announcement that would either damn the Cartel or help it.
"If that is the First's decision," A new voice spoke up. "Jimmy Daman will support it and also nominates Shinigami to the position of high leader."
The murmuring of the crowd increased. All present knew that they were witnessing a very important moment within the Shadows, a possibly change in leadership. They looked to Shinigami with interest and all noted how calm he was. Silence reigned as three other figures stepped out of the crowd, figures recognized as the remaining public voices of the three remaining Cartels who had yet to cast their votes.
"Juan Sanchez will see Shinigami nominated to the role of high leader," The man smiled and bowed his head to Shinigami.
Shinigami watched them all with a look of calm and borderline indifference. Make no mistake, he knew just what a momentous occasion this was for the people of the Shadows but he was not overly surprised by the recent turn of events. He noted with hidden amusement that the shop owner was visibly shaking, realizing his grave mistake. He sneered at the shop owner and the crowd of people around him visibly thinned.
"On behalf of Aidan Kincaid," A tall thin man spoke next. "He too will nominate Shinigami to the position of high leader."
"Hosea Arman will also nominate Shinigami as high leader," The last man spoke.
"You," Shinigami pointed to the store owner. "Come here!"
The shop owner stumbled forward, face pale and eyes wide.
"Are you good with figures and do you have a good memory?" Shinigami asked.
"Yes," The man was able to say without stuttering.
"Good," Shinigami smirked. "What's your name?"
"Troy Stevens," He said quickly.
"Well Troy," Shinigami said. "I like your attitude and I want you to be my personal accountant and assistant. You thought I was common riff raff and you've got balls. Would you be willing to serve me?"
"Whatever you command," Troy agreed.
"I'm not a fucking dictator," Shinigami hissed. "It's your choice! I can promise you the work won't be easy."
"I'll do it," Troy said evenly.
"Excellent," Shinigami smiled. "Tell the five," He spoke to their messengers. "I want a meeting at Arman's in three hours in his study."
The five nodded and slipped away.
"You know the Hawthorne place right?" Shinigami asked Troy.
The other nodded and Shinigami went on.
"I want you to go there and when it's finished come and get me at Mimi's," Shinigami instructed. "Or just come back to Mimi's in five hours."
Troy nodded and went off to carry out his orders.
Shinigami walked slowly through the alleyways of the Shadows. The crowd had dispersed and he had quickly taken his leave. With a weary shake of his head he continued putting one foot in front of the other, coming ever closer to his destination. He smiled at the thought that he would soon surprise the leaders of the cartels. After all he was about to sneak his way into the most secure holding in the Shadows, Arman's very own house.
He carefully pulled out of his jacket a tiny hand held device. It was something he had put together himself, a little trick. He scrunched up his face in concentration as he input the proper commands into the tiny thing and waited for it to get to work. He smiled in satisfaction as the series of code flew across the tiny screen and slipped into Arman's yard. He kept the device out in his hand; it was able to disrupt most electronic security systems with hardly any indication in the actual security system, a wonderful device. Carefully he picked his way into the study on the bottom floor and arranged the furniture around a low lying table. Then Shinigami sat back and waited.
Lady Luck was with him when he heard several sets of footsteps outside the door. He smiled to himself when he heard the voices.
"What do you mean that he'll meet us here?" Sanchez's voice reached his ears.
"He'll be here," Ichii assured the group. "He's Shinigami. I put nothing past him and I trust his word."
Shinigami watched with lidded eyes as the door swung open. He spoke before they could turn the lights on.
"You're right to trust me Ichii," Shinigami smiled thinly. "The rest of you should follow his example. Don't worry about your security systems Arman; I can assure you that they are quite good. Let's get down to business gentlemen."
"You called us here," Kincaid said taking the seat closest to Shinigami. "Mind giving us a clue as to what the meeting is about?"
"New orders," Shinigami drawled. "I want better information networks set up and quickly. They need to be coded and reliable. There are specific people I want watched but we'll get to that list shortly. I also want information on the government and any underhanded dealings they might partake in. Any informants I don't want to have direct contact with me will contact Mr. Stevens."
"We keep abreast of world wide politics," Daman noted. "You want a closer eye on them?"
"Exactly that," Shinigami nodded. "I also want all the former Gundam Pilots watched, Quatre Winner and WEI, Trowa Barton and the circus, Wufei Chang and the Preventers, and Heero Yuy needs to be tracked down. Then there is the matter of Dorothy Catalonia and her trial, if she is convicted and sentenced I want to break her out and have a place ready for her here. Keep an eye on Lady Une, Zechs Merquise, Lucrezia Noin, and the very last person I want watched is Relena Peacecraft."
"Yuy was last seen in Argentina and he should still be there," Kincaid offered. "I have my people watching him, but discreetly."
"Continue on that way," Shinigami cautioned. "He's dangerous."
"We'll do as you've requested," Ichii promised.
"Then I'm going back to Mimi's to get some sleep," Shinigami stood. "I'll be leaving for a mission to L3 in two days to take care of Redner. I'll leave the same way I came in."
With those last words he turned and dived out the window. He was gone by the time Ichii moved to shut it.
Shinigami slipped back into his room at Mimi's and wearily sank down onto the mostly clean bed. He was used to such conditions, a little dirt and grime never hurt anyone, certainly not him. He had been to Earth to visit Quatre and the last time he had had any decent sleep was two and a half days ago. It was nice to visit his friend again but at the same time he almost wished that he had sent someone else to see Quatre. There were a few things that he did not want the Arabian to figure out before he had to and his upcoming assignment might make Quatre reconsider giving him this long term mission, if he ever linked the assignment to Shinigami. He did not plan on allowing that to happen.
Still there was much that could go wrong but he would not worry about it now.
It seemed not even five minutes from when his head touched the pillow that he was awakened by an insistent rapping on the door of his room. He blinked the sleep rapidly from his eyes; it was never good if your senses were not always on high alert in the Shadows. He rolled over in bed hoping to block out the annoying noise but the pounding only served to match that in his head. He glanced at the tiny clock in the wall and noted that he had managed four hours of sleep, plenty for whatever the day might bring to him. The rapping continued and he quickly crossed the small space to the door from the bed and yanked it open, ready to face whatever was on the other side.
"Troy?" Shinigami blinked a few times to make sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him. "What is it?"
Troy Stevens was Shinigami's new personal aide.
"Hawthorne is all fixed up," Troy took in Shinigami's appearance and his rumpled clothes with a mental grimace. "And ready for you to move in. Are those your bags in the corner? I'll take them. Come on."
"I was sleeping," Shinigami grumbled slightly. "So there's no emergency? We're just moving me?"
"Yeah," Troy hefted the two bags easily moving to the door. "Ichii wants you to have time to set up your security before you head to L3 for that one job. What are you going to do there anyway?"
"You really want to know?" Shinigami asked with a smile, much more awake now. "I'm blowing up Herr Redner's office and I'm going to kill the bastard. He's beginning to get a hold on Arman and he already has damning evidence on Ichii." Shinigami shook his head. "He's planning to present his findings to a Committee on the Earth United Sphere Council next week and I can't let that happen. So I'm going to clean up that mess and Howard will pick me up and bring me back."
"Is there anything that needs to be taken care of while you're gone?" Troy asked as they headed out of Mimi's.
"Keep negotiations with the Yakuza open," Shinigami instructed briskly as they walked along. "If you can try to set up a job by job negotiation system or you can off them an extra two hundred credits a month from the original offer. Try and dig up some more information on Dorothy Catalonia's trial too. Any key witnesses you can find that are on the opposition buy them off or kill them." His violet eyes glittered darkly as he went on. "I don't care who it is. If they're a Preventer or politician notify me before taking any action."
Troy nodded as he mentally catalogued his orders, "Should I pass on any new information on the Catalonia situation to you? And I'll remember to check in daily."
"Yeah," Shinigami rubbed the back of his neck. "Anything on Dorothy just give me a call, day or night. And if you've got questions call me, don't wait."
Tory nodded and stepped back to let Shinigami walk into the mansion first. There was a grand entrance hall, inlaid with marble, with two stair cases leading up to the second floor on either side. On the main floor was a dining hall, ballroom, two full bathrooms, a library, kitchen and two other rooms that could be used for various things. The second floor consisted of a master bedroom suite with a living room and bathroom attachment, two other bedrooms, two more full bathrooms, a private study, and two other multi-purpose rooms. Both the attic and basement were divided into five sections. Shinigami had plans for the free spaces.
The Hawthorne mansion was huge. He loved it though. His face displayed a huge grin as soon as he looked around the entrance hall. Everything was clean. There was fresh paint and new light fixtures, nearly everything was new but it fit in well with the original style of the house which pleased him greatly. He chose the master suite of rooms for himself and he and Troy unpacked his things. Soon after Troy left him to explore on his own.
Shinigami spent the next day setting up his security in and around the house. He placed sensors all around perimeter of the property and also around the perimeter of the house. He put booby traps just inside the perimeter and just around the outside of the house and he put other more sensitive sensors on the windows, doors and stairways. He made sure to get both the attic and basement too. Everything was hooked up to computer systems which he could monitor and change through his laptop no matter where he was. Being Heero Yuy's partner and roommate had paid off in many little ways he thought with a bitter smile.
Two days later Shinigami was stepping off his private shuttle and onto L3-A1. His trademark braid was tucked into his leather jacket and he wore a black fedora hat pulled low, a new addition to his wardrobe from Jimmy Daman. The man had told him that the hat "suited him" and he personally agreed it had the right touch of style to it. Shinigami and Daman had become close despite their age differences; both had a similar easy-going and joking personality. He had the same closeness with Ichii, their ruthlessness and tenacity drawing them together in a strange way. It was in Ichii's shuttle that he had traveled to L3-A1 in at Ichii's insistence because the custom's master would recognize it and not put him through any 'real' searches.
Ten minutes after landing he was outside the shuttle port with his rucksack waiting for his ride. Howard was already prepped to pick him up in three days unless there was a change in plans. Shinigami knew there was bound to be a massive man hunt for Redner's killer because he was a big shot on L3 but he had to go, he knew too much about Ichii's business. If Herr Redner was allowed to testify Shinigami's position would be weakened, as would the Shadows and he could not afford that kind of a set back in his plans.
A blue Cadillac pulled up in front of where he was standing and he climbed in after checking the license plate.
"Give me the information," Shinigami said in the passenger seat as soon as the car had begun to pull away from the shuttle port.
"So you're Shinigami?" The driver said looking at him carefully but it was hard to get a good look with the fedora angled the way it was. "You're awfully young aren't you?"
"Not in this line of work. Comments like that won't endear you to me either."
"I don't have to be on your good side," The man commented casually. "I don't have to help you. You'd best remember that."
"It's in your best interest to help me," Shinigami was calm again; he kept his threat vague in the hopes that the man would ask him why and he wasn't disappointed either.
"And why is that?" The man shifted in his seat.
"If you want to continue business with the Shadows, Yakuza, or any of the Irish, Latin/Spanish, or Asian groups you'll behave and do as I say," Shinigami said evenly.
"I know you have some sway in the Shadows," The man sounded bored as he relayed the facts that he was already aware of, what many in the Underworld were aware of. "But no one can control them totally. And how can you get to Yakuza? That Japanese punk doesn't obey anyone."
"He does now," Shinigami smirked. "He owes me a lot of money, more than he could probably repay me in his lifetime. And in case you didn't get the memo I'm the High Leader in the Shadows. Either you work for me when I need you to or your business is ruined. When you're not working for me I don't care really what you do."
"I don't see any real benefits in there for me," The man said getting ready to conduct a business deal, hoping to get something out of Shinigami.
"You owe me money too," Shinigami began in a bored tone. "Plus I offer protection from the authorities, including the Preventers. If business gets rough I can pull some strings, make a few deals and get things picked up a little bit for you. Or I can even loan you money in return for favors."
"What do you want from me?" The man asked. "What kind of favors?"
"Mr. Stevens will be in touch with you if any of these favors, besides passing on information on the list," Shinigami informed the man. "This job that I'm here for now is strictly for Ichii and no one else. I'll kill Redner, get what I came here for and blow up his offices."
"But why you?" The man asked. "Why are you the one who's doing this?"
"Because I never miss a target," Shinigami's tone was cold.
"How many have you done?" The man asked comfortable talking shop, something he was familiar with
"Lost count a long time ago," Shinigami shrugged.
"How'd you manage to do that?" He asked interested.
"I killed probably tens of thousands in the first war alone," Shinigami was a little uncomfortable but he didn't let it show. "It got hard keeping track after my first ten or so missions. And you're not to tell anyone about this conversation."
"Ah, I won't," The man assured and then he began to give Shinigami the information he needed. "Redner will be working late tonight and after ten there won't be anyone there but him, not even any janitors. Tonight is the perfect opportunity for what you have planned.
"In the trunk there's four blocks of C-4, the remote detonator and the remote fuses, and the gun with the laser mount you requested. There's also a lock picking kit back there because I thought you might need it but I wasn't sure. It doesn't work well with older locks but it might come in handy so I just stuck it in there."
"Thanks," Shinigami smiled. "What kind of safe is in the office?"
"A StrongArm5000," The man said the name a little hesitantly, expecting there to be an outburst of anger.
"Good," Shinigami sounded relieved instead. "That's an easy model to work with."
"Easy?" The man squeaked in surprise. "What's your time?"
"Depends on one thing," Shinigami answered. "If I leave behind evidence it takes me about ten to twenty minutes. If I don't want to leave any physical evidence I've been in the safe it takes me about thirty minutes to fifty minutes, all depends on how my touch is. I got in a lot of practice when I was with the Sweepers."
The car fell silent. They pulled into an apartment complex. The man took Shinigami to the trunk and handed him the duffel bag filled with the aforementioned items and then the two went up into an apartment and Shinigami took a nap until five that evening. The man ordered Chinese food for them but found that he was too nervous to eat much but Shinigami ate more than enough for both of them and the man could only watch and shake his head.
By seven Shinigami was dressed and ready to go. The two drove the blue Cadillac and parked it up the street. Shinigami hacked into the security systems from his laptop inside the car. He had the cameras begin splicing and replaying a continuous feed showing that nothing was out of the ordinary.
'You'd think people would understand technology is faulty,' He thought to himself. 'And I was expecting someone like Herr Redner to have a few security guards, but I'm not complaining any since it makes my job easier that he doesn't.'
At 9:15 he had broken into the building and had sent the blue Cadillac off, telling the driver to return in exactly an hour and ten minutes three blocks away. He stuck some C-4 by the front, back and side exits, all with remote detonators in every charge he placed. He also put C-4 on most of the support walls on the first three floors of the building to ensure that the innards of the building would be a real mess for investigators.
Shinigami went up to his objective on the fourth floor. Here he placed only a skeletal amount of C-4 because it wasn't necessary to waste what he didn't need, especially because he didn't want to demolish the building. If he did that it might take the investigators too long to find the body and the empty safe.
Carefully he crept to Redner's off and tested the door. It was locked, like he had expected. The pick tools he had been supplied wouldn't work for this lock, it was too old but he had extra ones stuffed in his braid and used one now to pick the lock. It was a cheap lock for someone with a StrongArm5000 but Redner only played at being extremely wealthy. Shinigami hated Redner's type more than the people who were loaded and refused to share any with the less fortunate.
Redner didn't even look up as the door opened soundlessly, another trick that Shinigami had picked up while growing up with Solo. Redner was so absorbed in his work that not even his peripheral vision registered as Shinigami crept into the room. What made him look up was the sound of the door clicking shut, a sound that Shinigami had wanted him to hear.
Redner didn't look surprised at the intrusion or the appearance of someone he had never seen before.
"I was expecting someone," He said calmly. "You're here to buy me off aren't you?"
"What makes you say that?" The question was asked from the black figure who was now seated across the desk from Redner, feet up on the desk.
"You don't have a mask on to hide your features," Redner pointed out the obvious. "That means you're here to negotiate because if you were here to kill me you wouldn't want me to see what you look like."
"You've learned too much on Ichii for me to just let you live," Shinigami smiled at his prey. "You see, I'm different from most assassins. Those who wear masks are cowards. Although I will tell you that Ichii thought it was best to try and bribe you. Fortunately I outrank him and you're too much of a liability to me, so yes, I'm afraid I am going to kill you but you have to answer a few questions for me first."
"Who are you?" Redner now had a bead of sweat visible on his brow line.
"Shinigami," He said with a grin. "And I'm your worst nightmare."
"If you've come to kill me than just do it," Redner jutted his chin out trying to be brave but failing miserably.
"I know you're scared Redner," Shinigami smirked coldly. "And it's not for you to decide when you'll die, that's my choice. Very few can truly face death without fear except for the Gundam Pilots but they're a rare breed and you're a common one. Now, who else have you spoken to about Ichii? Who else knows?"
"No one," Redner looked defeated but Shinigami had to be sure.
"Are you telling me the truth?" Shinigami was sarcastically nice. "Because if you aren't I'll wait until this building is filled with people before I blow it. Their blood will be on your hands, mine too, but mine are already permanently red and I don't give a damn anyhow. Now, are does anyone else know?"
Wordlessly Redner shook his head. Shinigami grinned maniacally; a look that was usually was reserved for when he was inside his Gundam out in the heat of battle. Shinigami had no problems killing and Duo did not either, so long as they weren't innocents, but Redner was no innocent and Shinigami never made those distinctions like Duo did. Still he would be able to follow through with his threat if he had to because it would be Shinigami pushing the button in the morning.
But he was pleased that Redner could still think enough to answer the questions. It had to be damn frightening to know you were going to die soon, not that he had ever felt that way when looking at death so he could not really relate to what was going through Redner's mind. But before he killed him there was one more thing that he needed to be sure of. Just one more question and the man could die.
"Now then," He kept his tone light and dropped his feet to the floor. "Do you have this information stored anywhere else besides your head?"
Nervously Redner glanced at his fireproof StrongArm5000 standing proudly in the corner. Shinigami noticed and was amused. The self-assured pompous bastard, otherwise known as Herr Redner, was unsure and shaking slightly now.
"I already know about the safe," He sighed tiredly. "I want to know if there's anywhere else besides the safe? I don't plan on being here all night."
Redner mouthed a 'no'.
"Good," Shinigami grinned.
Too rapidly for Redner to follow Shinigami pulled out a gun, took aim, pulled the trigger and Redner fell over dead. There was a neat entrance wound in his face and a large exit wound in the back of his head that had sprayed some of Redner's brains onto the wall and part of his bookcase. Still it was a quick and mostly neat and painless way to die. Redner was lucky in that respect, he had not been stupid enough to take anyone else down with him either.
With fluid grace Shinigami crossed over to the safe, knelt down and got to work. Usually for safe work he relied on the touch and feel method, there was just a sacredness to it that couldn't be matched when using technology. That sacredness made everything whole and complete, even if for just a few moments. It took him thirty-four minutes to reach that moment but it was worth the time spent. Shinigami pulled out all the folders, papers and disks from within the safe and stuffed them into the duffel bag. He could go through them later.
After a brief moments hesitation he stuffed in some empty papers and placed a small chunk of C-4 and shut the safe door. Carefully Shinigami made his way out of the building, fedora pulled low and coat collar up high. Two blocks later he pressed the remote and after a slight delay a deafening BOOM! could be felt and heard.
A satisfied smile in place he moved off down the street whistling a jaunty tune. His work here was complete, well almost. There was still the matter of deciding if was going to let Barton in on his mission. He could provide a place to lay low and meet with Quatre. But would Barton turn him in? Shinigami was not sure but he could count on him to at least listen and hear him out. And while this guaranteed him nothing it was the best he was going to get and he was adept at dealing with less than the best circumstances, he just took what he could get and worked around what he could not.
So he climbed back into the blue Cadillac and they drove for thirty minutes before they got close to the circus where Barton was. Shinigami, with his rucksack over one shoulder, was able to catch the end of the Dagger Dance Barton did with his sister Catherine Bloom and he was impressed once more by his comrades fluid grace.
Without attracting any notice, Shinigami crept after the two. Barton went directly to the animals, a sure way Shinigami would be able to get him alone because the Dagger Dance was close to the end of the last set of acts. That meant fewer people were rushing around; in fact the animals were already bedded down for the night, their caretakers already in bed in their trailers.
Still he waited, allowing himself the extra time to grow accustomed to all the different sounds that came with a circus. His senses adjusted quickly and he could soon distinguish human noises, night noises that were common with a circus and the sounds of the animals. He registered all these noises so that if his senses caught anything that he had not previously heard he would be alerted to it. Shortly he was able to distinguish Trowa's noises from everything else, although it was not easy to pinpoint the banged boy's location. It appeared that Trowa still kept up some habits from the war, more than most ordinary soldiers, only he was a Gundam Pilot and therefore what could be considered normal for an ex-soldier would not be normal for them.
Shinigami stole out from behind the crates and out from the darkness of the night, heading towards the lion cage where his old buddy was based off of the noises that he was hearing. He stopped within Barton's line of sight.
"Hello Trowa," Shinigami spoke softly.
"Duo?" Trowa stood gracefully and turned to face him. "Quatre's been looking for you. Une and Wufei are worried."
"Yeah well Une and Wufei just think I'm going to do something stupid if I'm not monitored," Shinigami said looking around the animal cages. "We need to talk, privately."
Trowa nodded, his one green eye that was visible from under his bang assessing his old comrade. He took Shinigami to a tiny and well sound proofed trailer.
"It's mine," Trowa said unlocking it and stepping inside. "Une paid for me to modify it."
"There's something I need to tell you," Shinigami sighed looking around at the tidy trailer. "But the Preventers can't know, you can't tell anyone this. This is personal information that I'm going to reveal to you before anything else ok?"
"I won't say anything," Trowa blinked his visible eye, the green glittering like a jewel. "You have both my word and oath on it."
"I don't go by Duo Maxwell any longer," Shinigami looked down at the floor before lifting his head and looking Trowa in the eye once more. "It's just Shinigami now and that name will become well known soon enough. I grew up in the Shadows, Tro. My first memories are from there, I know how to do all the dirty things that a street whore does. I know the drugs, though not firsthand and I know the Underworld.
"You see, the Underworld, they owe me more than they could ever repay me for helping keep them afloat during the wars. I loaned them money and arranged for their products to be shipped safely so they could stay in business. To a certain extent the Underworld has always been connected but I'm connecting them even more, forming the most secret and failsafe communications network. I'm getting news on all government policies, politicians, and people I've asked them to watch.
"I'm on a mission, of a personal nature to a certain extent. I'm watching the peace by using the Underworld. Mostly I'm using them for the information but occasionally people who get too close to me or to other delicate situations have to disappear, you know.
"Every month I compile a report and I personally deliver it to a courier who then takes it directly to a mutual friend of ours. Now you can't be mad at Quatre for lying to you and everyone else because I made him swear to me on all that was and is dear to him that he wouldn't tell anyone else what I was doing for both myself and him. But I'm telling you about this now because I know he'll begin to crack if there's no one to talk to about this and other things and for obvious reasons I can't contact him directly too often. So I was wondering if you'd check up on him from time to time and make sure he's doing ok with work and everything else."
"Does Wufei know?" Trowa asked calmly. "Or Heero?"
"Wufei's with the Preventers," Shinigami snorted loudly. "And Heero's disappeared but I'm trying to track him down, but not too hard. I know he wants a chance to be normal so I'm giving it to him. The world will turn on us again but I'm going to try and keep that from ever happening or not happening too badly if it does. Still it's only a matter of time before most of the people think that we're the bad guys and most of the bastard politicians already believe that or something close to it, like we'd rape their mothers or something."
"I know," Trowa shifted and sighed. "I'm too much of a soldier to not see the signs that were there last time and again this time. I'll keep an eye open for anything out of the ordinary from wherever the circus is. I'll be sure to keep an eye on Quatre as well. I still think that you should tell Wufei but I won't betray your trust, I just want you to know I don't approve of keeping this from him or approve of all your methods.
"The only reasons I'm doing this for you is because I know that if the peace falls within the next ten years and we only have the Preventers things will be bad. The other reasons are that I still trust both you and Quatre and because I know that you'd do anything to keep this peace from collapsing."
"Thanks man," Shinigami grinned and sank down onto one of the bunks. "Would it be too much to lay low here for a few days? You know, until the manhunt blows over?"
"What did you do Shinigami?" Trowa asked, his green eye twinkling with suppressed mirth that comes from knowing your comrades for a long time.
"Well," Shinigami tried not to smile. "I got rid of Herr Redner and blew up his offices. He got a little too close to me, but no one else was hurt. Still sure you won't turn me in now?"
"Redner should have been prepared for something like that," Trowa said. "He should have protected himself when he went to war with Ichii."
"So you know their names?" Shinigami tilted his fedora to the side so it rested at a jaunty angle.
"Only because the circus has occasionally hidden wanted men," Trowa smiled at the phrase. "So you won't be too out of place here, or the first we've hidden. As long as you stay in the back area you'll be protected, just try to keep your braid covered, that's too hard to explain away. You can bunk in this trailer with me while you lay low. The circus doesn't perform tomorrow or the day after which is perfect because you and I have some catching up to do."
"You mean I have a lot of explaining to do," Shinigami half-joked.
"That too," Trowa said with a half smile. "I've missed knowing that you were around. It's good to have you back."
"I'll always be watching from the sidelines you know," Shinigami reminded him. "It's good to know that you've got my back though."
"Aa," Trowa answered. "Good to know."
The two spent the night in companionable silence, finding comfort in each others quiet presence and strength. There were no nightmares until they woke the next morning. By then Herr Redner's death and the explosion of his offices was plastered all over the morning news and it was believed to be the work of a terrorist group which struck both the young men as a fitting explanation.
The circus folk were more than happy to help out Trowa's friend but Catherine was harder to convince and fool and finally both of them agreed and revealed Shinigami's identity. Fortunately she agreed wholeheartedly to keep his identity a secret and to his him whenever he needed because she firmly believed that each of the former Pilots deserved the chance at a normal life and she was also glad to see that Trowa had friends outside the circus, friends who cared about him.
"Well Tro," Shinigami was saying three days later as they stood waiting for a Sweeper contact. "It was great seeing you again and thanks for, well; you know what I'm trying to say."
"I know," Trowa offered a tiny smile. "Take care of yourself Shinigami and if you need anything you know how to look me up."
Shinigami pulled him into a fierce hug, surprising Trowa, but the young man returned the embrace just as fiercely. They understood each other, more than twins or spouses or best friends. They were war bonded, trusting in each other completely with their lives and with all the innocents lives and they accepted each other, with all the scars. For them this secret would either make that bond stronger or weaker, only time would tell. But both of them felt sure enough of that bond to take that risk with it.
Shinigami spotted his Sweeper contact and followed after him, leaving Trowa behind with one last grin, and then he vanished. Soon enough he and his contact were in a tiny private shuttle port inside a two person shuttle that taking off from the runway.
"Man Shinigami," The contact grinned. "You cut it close there. Nice job though, very thorough and all that."
"Thanks," Shinigami said. "Will Howard be here?"
"Yeah," The young man said. "I think that he's really eager to talk with you."
"He's not the only one eager for a little chat," Shinigami smiled.