UNDERLYING AGENDA
CHAPTER FIVE
"We meet the others at Ponzu's in an hour."
"Hn." Transfixed with the forty-five pages depicting the death of one of the most beloved war heroines of his time, Duo didn't even look up from the screen as he reached up to take another stack of papers from a scantily clad Heero Yuy.
He was too quick to disregard them to the far end of his cluttered desk.
Taking a look over his shoulder, Heero gazed over the familiar text with very little interest, much like when he had first read it. Duo, however, made it seem like a James fucking Patterson. "Duo. What's so fascinating?"
'Quite frankly, there's nothing spectacular about this,' Duo thought but continued on quietly.
Heero eyed the braided American and neither blinked nor faltered when he didn't acknowledge immediately. The pout on his face indicated that he was really trying his damndest to stay focused on the dry read and soak up the finer details. Unfortunately for him, there were none. Not where that report was concerned anyway. "An hour, Duo," Heero repeated, grabbing a freshly pressed button down from their shared closet. "In an hour, or you don't eat."
"Roger." Duo admired his shapely backside before he disappeared from the corner of his eye and snickered to himself, "Lucky hooker you are, Relena Peacecraft, but then again your brother's about to hit the jackpot." Warily, he turned his attention back to the computer screen, dropped his chin in his hand and sighed, "Just as soon as I figure out what the fuck is wrong with him…" Skipping through the pages illustrating the pathological methods utilized and all that other scientific mumbo-jumbo that meant nothing to Duo, he located the results and conclusions section and found it to be oddly concise narrative at the bottom of the last page.
"After extensive examination of the circumstances detailing this case, it is the finding of this department that the victim, Lucretzia Noin Peacecraft (W/F/04.175), expired as a result of an accidental fall from a chasm approximately sixty (60) feet high. In addition to Standard Pathological Protocol (STP), a Postmortem Toxicology Assessment (PTA) was administered. Elevated blood-alcohol content (BAC) levels charted at .17* from a blood sample collected from the victim at the time of the postmortem examination further indicated that her judgment was impaired to the degree that would make an untimely death not only probable, but undeniable given the hazardous nature of the environment itself and the time of day the accident transpired; 9:00PM PST. It must also be noted that inclement weather conditions at the time of death may have further obstructed the victim's already impaired judgment and contributed to the fall."
Duo was stunned. What on earth would possess a woman so in control and rational as Ms. Noin to act so carelessly? More importantly, when did she develop such an explicit alcohol problem? Grabbing the appendix, Duo read the methods used to calculate the BAC level and was inundated by the approximate amount of alcohol she had had to consume in order to score the level cited in the report. "No way in hell…"
At that moment, Heero reappeared with his jacket over his shoulder and keys in hand. "Last call, you coming?"
"Yeah," Duo exhaled. Swiping his wallet from the dresser, he took the keys from him and didn't hesitate to be first out the door this time around. "Waiting on you, now, buddy!"
Ironically, he could really use a drink.
Heero secured the passenger door to the company Jeep, "Find anything?"