Dark Diplomats

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority Kenneth Blanchard

Shinigami surveyed Tahil, watching her with an approving eye as she worked. He turned to Troy who stood ready at his side, waiting for orders. Shinigami smiled thinly to his personal assistant who had become his all around caretaker and living and breathing appointment book.

"Get her attention discreetly and bring her to Mimi's," Shinigami said turning around to face in the direction of Mimi's. "I'll be in my usual room. Bring her straight to me Troy and then hang around for a bit because I'm going to need you for later."

Troy Stevens nodded and moved to carry out his orders. He did not bother asking questions of his boss since Shinigami was often miles ahead in his plans, his mind seemed to move circles around everyone else. Troy just tried to keep up as best he could and he did as he was told. He observed the girl a little more closely, carefully checking over the other people in the general vicinity before finally deciding to approach with care and caution.

"Tahil?" Troy asked when he was within a few feet of her, his stance calm and certain. "Shinigami sent me to fetch you to Mimi's. He wants to speak with you now, follow me."

Tahil looked him and up and down but at last she nodded and he turned satisfied that she was not going to be difficult. Troy led the way to Mimi's, ignoring all the attention they attracted walking beside one another. Many of the people thought that he had purchased Tahil for some quality time, a thought that would have once offended him greatly. Now he was past such petty offences, he had devoted his cause to Shinigami and it did not bother him that he belonged to a mere teenager. Shinigami was more than the stories made him out to be and he was worth every day that Troy gave over to him in service.

Troy did not bother knocking on Mimi's door. He walked in and one of Mimi's girls smiled at him but no one approached him about what his business there was. Even the bouncer barely turned a glare in his direction and even that was only to acknowledge him with a casual nod of recognition. Troy moved up the stairs to the room that Shinigami had on permanent rental.

Shinigami now lived at the old Hawthorne House but he had little rooms rented out all over the Shadows. He used them for meetings and drop-offs for various things and people. It was safer that way, a smart way to operate in Troy's opinion.

Already his information network had spread throughout the Colonies. L1 was the first to fall to him. Shinigami had practically strong-armed them into it. L1 was where most of the drugs were transported to from Earth before being brought over to L2 and then re-sold. At first L1 had told him they expected payment, more than Shinigami was willing to offer them. So he had the Sweepers picking the drugs up from Earth, paying for them and transporting them to L2 for only a fraction of the cost. It had only taken L1 two weeks to cave and work for no charge.

After that L4 followed. They were notorious for being a clean colony but not when it came to technology piracy. The Daman Family had been particularly helpful there by supplying their services to L4s former clientele for less than the regular price. It had taken them less time than L1 to fold to his demands. Once L1 and L4 had joined with Shinigami L3 had offered to partner up with him. A mere technicality but it made the negotiations much more smooth and pleasant.

The information network was growing stronger on Earth everyday as well. Most of Earth's Underworld partnered with Shinigami because he controlled the Colonies and without the Colonies nearly fifty percent of their profits would disappear every year. None of the Underworld on Earth wanted to think about that as a possibility. It also helped that Shinigami made most of the people who helped him into richer people. And if not richer they were safer and conducting more business.

Troy knocked on the door and opened it, ushering Tahil in. There was no need for a secret code; the bouncer downstairs made sure that no one unknown made it upstairs while Shinigami was in residence.

"It's good to see you again," Shinigami lounged on the slightly dirty mattress and gestured to one of the four chairs in the room. "Take a seat Tahil. You too Troy, and shut the door would you?"

Without a word Troy complied and watched with some mild amusement as Tahil thought about being stubborn before she too took a chair.

"Now that we're all here we can get down to business," Shinigami put his hands under his head making a pillow. "Tahil, I want you to do something for me. That's why I asked for you to come here. I need you to go to L1 and follow and observe a Mr. Dodd for me."

"Why?" Tahil folded her arms over her chest, a strap on her top moving down her shoulder just a bit.

"Mr. Dodd has managed to piss me off," Shinigami leveled his violet gaze at her until she looked away. "The details of how and why aren't too important to get into and we don't have the time. And I need to find out what type of schedule he keeps before I pay him a visit. I hate working with unknown variables if I don't have to."

"Send your little lackey over there," Tahil grumbled as she tugged down her too small shirt.

"Oh I would," Shinigami smirked at her choice of words. "But he needs to stay here. I'm going on another business trip and someone needs to run things from here for me. That's why I need you on L1, because I know you'll do a good job. It should only be for a week or so and after that you'll be back here and five thousand credits richer."

"A lot of money for such a simple job," The girl noted with a sharp look aimed at the High Leader, suspicion in her eyes. "What's the catch?"

"There isn't one," He sighed, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. "I'm willing to pay so much because I need someone to leave with me tonight. It's a rush job and I need to pay enough to entice you to leave tonight."

"I'll take it," Tahil finally said after a brief consideration. "When do I need to be ready to leave?"

"Four hours from now," Shinigami sat up on the mattress. "I'll drop you off with Howard and he'll brief you some more on exactly what I need from you while you're down on L1. Troy, you know what to do while I'm gone. I've got to go and pay a little visit to a few old friends of mine."

Troy blinked curiously at his boss. He did not know who the old friends were. Eventually Shinigami would tell him but for now he was content not to know, knowing too much was always a bad thing.

"Be back here in three hours Tahil," Shinigami said as the girl moved to the door. "Don't be late."

"I won't be," She tossed impudently back over her shoulder as she left.

"What's going on?" Troy asked.

"A lot of shit," Shinigami chuckled softly leaning back against the peeling wallpaper on the wall. "I have a little information for a certain Preventer I know but who doesn't know me. And I need to stop in and see Sandrock."

"Is Sandrock a friend from the war?" Troy said listening carefully to the tone and words.

"He is," Shinigami confirmed with a wry smile. "You'll probably never meet him which is for the best. It's nothing to worry about Troy. I'd just rather put off the visit until next week but it can't wait any longer. Things have been set in motion."

"It's about that Catalonia girl isn't it?" Troy was smarter than he looked.

"Yeah, it is," He smiled briefly at the mention of Dorothy's name. "I'm not going to let her be convicted with the death sentence. It's pointless and Relena isn't being very effective at the moment. A little blackmail here and a murder there will get me what I want just as well. Peace has a dark side to it you know."

Troy merely nodded. He knew all too well what that dark side was. Shinigami controlled that dark side, he embodied it even though it sometimes seemed like it would slowly tear him apart. But Shinigami always held himself together. Troy had a feeling that Shinigami would do whatever it took to keep another war from breaking out, no matter what it cost him or anyone who worked for him. Troy thought that was admirable of him and a murder or a few hundred dead was a rather small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.

Idly he thought about who Shinigami had known before he had returned to the Shadows, what he had done while he had been gone from L2. There was not a record to be found because anyone who tried turned up the same dead ends. Troy knew, he kept track of everything and stored it away in his head. Very little was written down on paper for fear of incrimination or blackmail.

"Don't forget you need to speak with your contact in Berlin," Troy reminded needlessly.

Shinigami merely nodded, already lost in his own thoughts and plans. Troy honestly did not know how he kept it all straight but that was not his concern.

Troy watched, on guard, as Shinigami slept for nearly three hours. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and a hand strayed to where a gun lay concealed in his trench coat before Troy could react. He looked to Troy and conveyed to him silently that he wanted his assistant to open the door to their room. Troy did so and Tahil stood outside a bit winded arriving from wherever she had disappeared off to. Shinigami smiled when he saw her, hand slipping unobtrusively away from his concealed firearm.

"We'll be on our way then," Shinigami leaped off the mattress standing and wide awake. "I'll drop you off with Howard and then head down to Earth. I'll call in tonight Troy, have something ready for me."

Troy merely nodded. Everything was under control in his capable hands or Shinigami would have replaced him by this time.

Shinigami and Tahil boarded the Demon King, Shinigami's personal shuttle. It was small, only able to take ten people and cargo but it was fast and undetectable thanks to the superior connections he had access to. The Sweepers had been a great help in building and designing it. Daman had provided some excellent technology that very few people had. It took them only an hour to reach Howard on the Anubis. Shinigami docked long enough to pick up some extra weapons and drop Tahil off, he wasted no time with idle chit-chat among the Sweeper crew.

Nearly seven hours later he was at his destination.

"This is Shinigami calling out to Berghof," He called out on the secure frequency that had been prearranged.

"Berghof reading," A deep voice came back to his ears. "Landing is cleared. Green lights all the way."

Shinigami grinned. Green lights indeed. He landed easily on the air strip, taxing off to the side. He then received clearance to taxi his shuttle into one of the larger hangars, a good place to hide the Demon King. He came down and out of the shuttle walking confidently to one of them men waiting off to the side for him. He carried one bag with him, casually slung over a shoulder.

"Berlin first," Shinigami nodded a brief greeting to the two men. "I need to meet with a contact there."

He was immediately ushered into a private car that drove with no stops except for gas and bathroom breaks. He felt a bit like someone of Relena's standing, being driven around. He arrived in the early morning hours at his destination.

Shinigami alighted from the car and was taken straight in to see Lt. Danzig as he was known. It was an insightful meeting. Lt. Danzig gave him more information to use against Senator Dodd.

"That reminds me," Lt. Danzig said. "The main operator of the new L5 Colony is still unknown. I can't find any name for him. All we know is that he is not of Chinese descent."

"Interesting," Shinigami commented. "If you find out anything contact me."

Shinigami was smiling like a cat that had just eaten a bird by the time the meeting had ended and he was on his way to New Capitol. The only thing that remotely bothered him was the new L5 Colony but even that could not dampen his spirits.

Once in New Capitol he went by Merquise and Chang's apartment. He dropped off a package in the mailbox addressed to Merquise. He was confident that Zechs would receive it and keep its contents a secret.

He then went back to the privately owned and operated airstrip and slept fitfully for several hours on board the Demon King at his own insistence. He woke and showered in the mechanics bathroom being careful not to get his braid wet.

Shinigami waited for night to come, passing the time with a call to Troy. His assistant reported that things were going well and that Arman had some men on L1 should Shinigami need them when he made his special trip. He smiled at the thought.

His next destination was Quatre Raberba Winner's. He knew Winner's grounds and mansion well enough to break in completely undetected, especially now that the sun would be going down. Shinigami waited, keeping his bag on his back in the garden. The sun began setting, casting shadows all across the yard from the trees and bushes, which Shinigami used as cover to get in close to the house. He was able to disarm the security system wirelessly from the outside because of the equipment Daman had provided him with. Slipping in through the window was easy work for an old thief like him and Quatre's windows were not much different than anyone else's, they just cost more money.

He lowered the window after himself and re-set the alarms in Quatre's house. He used his stealth to head up to Quatre's private rooms to wait for the young blond business man to come in. He did not have to wait long.

"Hello Quatre," Shinigami said from his seat at the foot of the bed. "Long time no see."

"Shinigami," Quatre said almost saying Shinigami's real name instead of the alias. "What can I do for you?"

"No need to be so formal," Shinigami smirked briefly at Quatre's politeness. "I'm just passing you some information by word of mouth because I don't want it written down. Senator Dodd has been a bad boy and I aim to publicize that in a few weeks."

"Good," Quatre nodded with approval. "That should help Dorothy's case."

"Dorothy won't be put to death Q," Shinigami stood and moved for a window. "Not while I'm in control of things. I'll get her off one way or another. Failing that I'll break her out of prison before the execution. You continue work on Rochambeau like you've been doing. That will leave me free to go after Dodd."

"Was there anything else?" Quatre asked sensing that Duo was about to leave.

"Not really," Shinigami smiled fondly at his comrade. "I needed to see for myself that you're not over-working yourself into an early grave. This world needs you. Tell Relena to take a little break now and again for me will you?"

"I will," Quatre promised him.

Shinigami paused before flinging open the bedroom window as though he wanted to add something more but he merely tossed one more smile over his shoulder before slipping away into the oncoming darkness.

He left the grounds quickly, walking down the street at a slow rambling pace. A few blocks away a car pulled to a halt to the side of the road and Shinigami got into the back seat. He directed the driver to take him to a hotel in New Capitol and once there he locked the door behind him and collapsed on the bed, sleeping for the entire day. When he woke his braid was a mess, coming loose.

A muttered sigh and a few curses later he was stripping down leaving a trail of clothes on his way to the bathroom. Once there he quickly undid his braid and stepped under the hard stream of hot water. He made quick work of washing his hair with plenty of conditioner and shampoo. Fifteen minutes later he stepped out of the shower and got most of the excess water out of his hair before re-braiding it wet. There was not enough time to dry it, he had places to be and people to meet with. He had already been on Earth for three days.

Shinigami called the car back and checked out of the hotel. He spent several hours riding in the car back to Berghof's location. Once there he went immediately to the head of the Berghof operation.

"Daniels," Shinigami said with a fleeting smile. "I need Zechs Merquise closely watched over the next two weeks. I want to know what he's eating, who he talks to. Everything and anything you can get me."

"I'll get on it," Daniels made a note on a piece of paper. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah," He shifted his weight to the other foot. "Actually there is. Have Danzig look into Dodd's associates, business and personal. If any of them can be connected to Dorothy Catalonia or her imprisonment I want to know right away. Anything to do with Dorothy Catalonia gets to me or Troy as soon as you get it. Those are standing orders for everyone."

"I'll be sure to pass those along just to be certain that everyone's aware of that," Daniels promised. "And I'll pass along your orders to Danzig."

"Then that's everything," Shinigami moved towards the door. "I'm heading back into space now. Reach me through Troy if anything comes up."

Daniels nodded as he watched Shinigami slip away through the door. The Demon King was cleared for take off half an hour later. Shinigami was in space and docking with the Anubis eight hours later. Howard surprisingly was one of the people there to meet him as he disembarked from the Demon King.

"Howie," Shinigami had a genuine grin on his face. "Sorry I didn't take the time to at least say hi before I left."

"It's all right Kid," Howard adjusted his sunglasses on his face. "How long are you here for this time?"

"A few days," Shinigami said grabbing his one bag and moving over to Howard's side while some Sweepers swarmed over the Demon King to check it over and make minor repairs and alterations. "Until Tahil comes back and reports to me. Then we'll both be leaving back to the Shadows."

"Go get some sleep Duo," Howard said looking him over as they left the holding dock. "You need it."

"Sure thing old man," Duo smiled.

No matter how many times he insisted that Howard call him Shinigami the old man never did. He was always Duo or Kid but he liked it that way, it kept his old self alive. But for the moment he could was too tired to care and when his head hit the lumpy pillow it felt like a piece of heaven.

He woke to a tapping on his door. He squinted before realizing that there was no light on in the room. It took him a few seconds to wake fully and walk the few steps over to the door to open it. Mac stood there, lips pinched in obvious disapproval but Duo shrugged that off easily enough. There were many things that caused Mac to wear such a face.

"What can I do for you?" Duo asked studying the mechanic before him.

"The boss picked up that girl you dropped off with us a few days back," Mac wiped some invisible grease off his palms onto his slightly dirty rag tucked into his belt. "Howard said I should come and get you up. Kid, you've been out for nearly eighteen hours, do you ever sleep?"

"I sleep plenty," Duo grinned wiping the left over sleep from his eyes quickly. "Just haven't for a while, been busy. Lead on Mac!"

He gave the mechanic a friendly squeeze on the shoulder as he shut the door to his room. Duo may not have been a Sweeper in name any longer but in the true sense he was still part of the family. It was enough to take away the harsh reality that he was really alone in his world. He let Mac lead even though he knew that Howard would have Tahil in his office.

Duo stepped into the room without bothering to knock. It was his interview after all and he was the boss here even though it was still Howard's fleet.

"Say Mac," Duo said calling back the mechanic before he could slip away. "Did Ginger ever get the Bolt?"

"She sure did," Mac said shaking his head in disbelief that Duo actually remembered such a small detail. "I'm going back to work now. Take care of yourself"

Duo shut the door behind him leaving him alone with Howard and Tahil. He glanced briefly in Howard's direction before deciding that the Sweeper captain could remain. Howard would never talk and it did not matter if he knew Duo's plans or not. The Sweepers had been sucked in too deeply to back out now, too deep in to even have a prayer of getting clemency from Relena Darlian Peacecraft herself.

"What've you got for me babe?" Duo grinned unrepentantly at Tahil.

"Dodd sticks to a pretty tight schedule," Tahil shrugged her slender shoulders. "He keeps his plans for the day on his computer; you should be able to have an easy time hacking into it if I could do it." She passed him a folded sheet of paper. "That has his office hours for the next few weeks."

"Lovely my girl," Duo grinned like a Cheshire cat as he took the paper from her. "This is plenty. I just needed confirmation I could trust. And I suppose you both deserve to know my plans involving Dodd. He's getting a special visit from yours truly and I mean to put the deep fear of Shinigami into him. If that doesn't work he won't get second chances from me because I plan on canceling him from the equation."

Howard let out a whistle. "Dodd's a big player in politics. Are you sure you should kill him if the scare doesn't work?"

"Either that or kidnap him," Duo ran a hand through his bangs. "Killing would be easier than kidnapping though."

"If I give you a two man crew to go along with you on the Demon King the kidnapping should work," Howard scratched at his chin thoughtfully. "If you're willing to expend the extra effort for that course of action."

"I'll keep that in mind Howie," Duo promised with an easy smile. "I'll have to factor in the right timetables for everything to work out. Thanks for the offer though. I'll let you know if I'll need that crew."

Howard merely gave him a tiny smile before he pushed himself up and out of his chair. "Duty calls."

He left Duo and Tahil alone in his office and Duo merely sat back and let him go. It did not matter who knew of these plans, no one who worked with him or for him would be stupid enough to get in his way.

"Hey Tahil," Duo said ten minutes later. "Could you do me another favor?"

"I suppose," She looked curious.

"Remind me occasionally that I'm not only a puppet master," Duo gave a tiny smile. "I can't have my ego getting to big."

Tahil merely shook her head but he knew that she agreed and that she understood what he could not voice, his fears, losing who he was to his own private darkness. A darkness that he ruled with a calculated and personal touch because he was Shinigami and that was his job.