The Bounty

Part 5: My Brother, My Betrayer

Relena rested her chin in her hand, her elbow balanced on the metal railing at the prow of the boat. In the distance, the skyline of New York was looming, normally a welcome site for the young woman, but not this time. Instead, she knew her brother would be waiting at the marina, with as of yet unknown plans for her. She knew this because she could hear her captor, Heero Yuy, speaking with her brother on the phone. He'd made the call as soon as his cell phone picked up a few bars of signal. At least Heero had the decency to look sad when he made the call.

"See you soon," Heero said behind her. Relena turned and watched as he pocketed his phone and looked up at her.

"There's still time to turn around," Relena suggested, crossing her arms over her chest. Heero shook his head, his brown hair falling in his face. Relena pursed her lips and huffed.

"My livelihood would be gone if I abandoned my job," Heero replied. "We've talked about this."

Indeed they had, many times over the previous two days. Usually while they were naked, lying in Relena's bed, when Relena's attachment to the handsome bounty hunter was the strongest. She'd even had a moment of weakness and shed a few tears at him, but he would not be swayed. And he continued to remind her of his promise, that he would keep in touch with her, no matter what happens when they arrived in New York.

So while he slept, Relena had to make her own plans. She never went anywhere without a plan.

-/-\-

Heero slowly maneuvered the yacht through the marina, searching for Relena, who'd already went ashore to negotiate a long term spot. Finally, among flags, masts, boats and people, he saw her waving to him, her floppy sunhat reflecting the sunlight. Heero nodded and closed the distance, and pulled the yacht into the spot where she stood. Relena quickly attached the hooks to the dock as Heero cut the engine. He picked up his duffel bag from the floor beside him and slung it over his shoulder. He stepped off the boat onto the dock and smiled at Relena, who was frowning and looked nervous.

"It's alright," Heero said quietly, and he rested a hand on her shoulder. "If he goes overboard, just call me and I'll see what I can do to help you." Relena gave him a half smile, but did not respond. She looked around the crowded marina, keeping her face mostly covered by her hat.

They began to walk towards the mainland, Heero's hand brushing against Relena's as they walked. Finally, Heero spotted the sunlight reflecting off the platinum blonde hair of Relena's brother, Zechs, or rather, Milliardo Peacecraft. He had on sunglasses and was dressed more casually than he had been before, but there was no mistaking that hair. The distance closed, and Relena seemed to become more and more agitated. Heero couldn't help but wonder if there was a more sordid history between the two than Relena had said.

Heero saw Milliardo smile when he saw his little sister, but Heero could also sense Relena's nervousness beside him as their feet clunked against the wooden dock.

-/-\-

Relena's eyes were rapidly scanning the area, searching for a familiar face in the crowd. Finally, she saw a flash of blonde hair disappear behind a group of people, only to reappear on the other side. The woman sauntered down the dock, looking around at the docked boats like she owned the place. Relena let out a breath of relief.

Dorothy glanced towards Relena and winked, and Relena smiled. She quickly turned her attention towards her brother, who was now a few feet away.

"My dear sister," Milliardo proclaimed as he threw his arms around Relena and pulled her into a hug. Relena reluctantly allowed herself to be enveloped for a moment, before she pulled away. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dorothy walking towards her brother and stopping behind him, casually leaning against a wooden post and inspecting a yacht.

"Hello brother," Relena said, having to crane her neck to see his face. Relena looked to Heero, who was still standing beside her, one hand resting on the strap of his duffel bag. Milliardo turned his gaze towards Heero.

"Thank you for successfully bringing my sister back," Milliardo said, producing a white envelope from his shirt pocket and handing it over to Heero. Relena detected almost a hint of guilt in Heero's expression as he took the rest of his payment from the Peacecraft heir and tucked it away in his bag. "If that's everything...?" Milliardo added, reaching a hand out to Relena to lead her along. From behind her brother, Relena saw Dorothy nod.

"Of course," she replied, and took a step forward. But instead of taking her brother's hand, she whirled around towards Heero, planted her hands on his chest and gave him a rough shove towards the edge of the dock. At the same time, Dorothy sprung on Milliardo, heaving her shoulder into him and sending him sprawling towards the water.

Relena caught Heero's gaze as he stumbled backwards, a look of pure confusion staring back at her just before his face disappeared over the side of the dock.

There were two simultaneous splashes. Dorothy had successfully forced Milliardo over the edge as well. Now the two girls stood in front of each other.

"Relena!" both Heero and Milliardo were calling, attempting to keep their heads above the water while being jostled by the boats all around them.

"Let's go," Dorothy said. Relena nodded and they took off running, pulling the stares of the other people standing around on the docks. They dashed through, shoving people out of their way as they made a run for it.

-/-\-

Heero was the first to climb out of the water and back onto the dock. His clothes and his duffel bag were soaked with water, and he stood there on the dock, dripping, watching as Relena and Dorothy dodged around the other people.

"Yuy! Run after her!" Millardo yelled at him from where he was hanging off the side of the dock, struggling to hoist himself back up. Heero nodded and swung his bag around so it was across his back then took off. His shoes made an unpleasant squelching noise as he ran, and the water soaked clothing slowed him down. But really, he wanted Relena to get away. But Milliardo didn't need to know that.

Behind him, Milliardo managed to pull himself up, but his pace was slower than Heero's due to the soggy jeans Milliardo wore.

Heero tried to find Relena and the other woman among crowd. He stopped for a moment to look, and heard shouting coming from somewhere off to his right. Sure enough, several people were yelling and jumping out of the way of the two girls. Heero lunged forward and began to run again. Every few steps, he would see Relena's head, with her large sunhat, bobbing up and down through the crowds.

Another sound caught his attention, and this one caused his chest to tighten. It was the sound of police sirens. Heero stopped running again and peered over the heads of the crowd. There were three police cars waiting near the exit of the marina property, their lights flashing. Milliardo caught up to Heero, his chest heaving slightly with the struggle of running in wet jeans.

"I figured she'd try to run for it," Milliardo said with a laugh. Heero glanced at Milliardo, feeling a strong dislike towards this older man. "Thanks again, Yuy," he said before stalking off towards the officers.

"Shit..." Heero mumbled. He circled the crowd to approach the commotion from a different angle. Through the bystanders, he could see an office wrestling Relena down to the ground. Relena's cohort was already handcuffed and being lead towards a police vehicle.

"Get off me!" Relena was shouting. Heero wanted to run to her, but if he got arrested for interfering, he would be of no help to her. So against his desires, he stood firm behind the crowd, watching the blonde woman who stole his heart get hauled up by two burly officers and shoved into the backseat of a car, but not before swinging her arms around and knocking one of the officers in the face and giving him a bloody nose.

-/-\-

Heero leaned forward in his seat and handed the taxi driver a wad of cash to pay for his ride from the marina back to his apartment. The taxi driver grunted in thanks, and Heero climbed out, pulling his still wet duffel bag out behind him. The taxi sped away, nearly hitting a pedestrian. Heero trudged up to the door of his building and walked through the always broken door and up the steps to his apartment.

When he stepped inside, his own scent hit him. He hadn't been gone that long, but already his home felt unfamiliar and strange. Compared to the beautiful hotel, the beaches, the pools and the ocean, his small, sparse apartment was dull. He sighed and pulled off his wet shoes and kicked them into a corner. He walked into his bedroom and peeled off his wet clothes and tossed them in a heap along with his duffel bag. Looking at his bed, he suddenly felt very tired, so he laid down and slept.

Heero woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. It was dark outside his windows, and a quick glance at the clock on his nightstand told him it was 4:35 in the morning. Heero groaned and pulled himself off the bed. He'd left his phone in the pocket of his wet shorts. Luckily the damn thing still worked after taking an unexpected swim in the ocean. But Heero couldn't feel mad at Relena for that move.

To Heero's surprise, it was Quatre's name on the caller ID, where Heero had been expecting Duo. Heero answered.

"Quatre."

"Heero!" Quatre said. "Sorry to wake you."

"It's fine. I deserved it," Heero said with a slight laugh. "What's going on?"

"The entire upper east side is buzzing about Relena getting arrested at that marina!" Quatre said. "I've just left a party with some family friends and business partners, and that is all anyone can talk about. Naturally, the Peacecrafts were too ashamed of their daughter to show up, so none of us could get the real story. A few people who were at the marina earlier today saw it happen, and those us their stories. What really happened, Heero?" Quatre said, his words fast and urgent, a trait of the rich gossip, Heero supposed.

Heero took a deep breath and told him an abridged version of the events that took place that day. Quatre made many surprised gasps and other noises.

"Did you ever find out what she'd been up to that her brother was so concerned about?" Quatre asked.

"Yes, but I can't reveal that information," Heero lied. He didn't need the upper crust of New York to have any more ammunition against Relena than they already had.

"I see..." Quatre said, though he sounded slightly disappointed. "What'll happen next?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Quatre asked.

"My part is done," Heero said, though is hurt his heart to say it. "I'm no lawyer, and I'm not a police officer anymore. There's nothing I can do for her short of trying to break her out of jail..." Quatre was silent for a moment.

"I'll hire her a lawyer!" he said. "We'll get her out of jail!"

"Can a Winner lawyer beat a Peacecraft lawyer?" Heero asked sarcastically. Quatre missed it, as usual.

"We'd have to find out, I suppose," Quatre replied with a laugh, like it was all a game. Heero ran his hand over his face. "I'm going to find out where she is and see what I can do! Thanks Heero!" Quatre hung up the phone before Heero could say anything.

-/-\-

The bright, fluorescent lights glared down in Relena's eyes, giving her a headache. She sat in a metal chair at a metal table. There was a pane of one-way glass on one wall, where she knew someone was watching her and listening to her conversation with a detective. She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to open her mouth. The coffee they'd brought her had long gone cold. Relena was sure it was nasty garbage coffee anyway.

"Are you ready to talk?" the detective asked when he returned to the room, a fresh cup of coffee in his hands. They'd been in the room for four hours, during which Relena revealed nothing except her extensive vocabulary of swear words.

"I want my lawyer," Relena said. "But you arrested her." The detective snorted.

"We ran a background check on Dorothy Catalonia. She is most certainly not a lawyer," the detective said. Relena shifted indignantly and pursed her lips together in a tight frown.

"If you are unable to afford a lawyer, the court can appoint you one," the detective said, though there was a distinct smugness about the way he spoke that set Relena's teeth on edge. She kept her mouth shut. "Well, even if you won't talk... you will listen," the detective said as he pulled a manilla folder from his jacket. He sat down in the chair opposite of Relena and flipped the folder open.

"Let's see here..." he said, shuffling a few of the papers around. "Maiden name- Relena Peacecraft. Briefly Relena Darlian until the untimely death of your husband. Oh but what's this...?" He pulled a sheet of paper out, all the while with that smug grin on his face. "Other known aliases, Katrina Weyridge, Starla Boynes and Mariana Jewells. All with strange and questionable activities attached to them." The detective looked up at Relena and met her eye. "Seems you've been busy these last few years."

Relena fidgeted in her seat. Her mind was racing. How did he get all that information? Slowly, like light filtering through the clouds, she began to figure it out. Heero must have found that information, or how else would he have known where to find her? Her stomach tightened unpleasantly. Had Heero betrayed her? Was their relationship even important enough to be considered betrayal?

"Where did you get that information?" Relena asked through gritted teeth. The detective leaned back and laced his fingers over his stomach.

"Why, from your brother," he replied. Realization crashed down onto her. Heero must have given Milliardo the information as he was searching for her, and Milliardo, the real betrayer, handed it over to the authorities when he had Relena arrested. It took all her willpower to recross her arms over her chest and say,

"I will say nothing until I have a lawyer."

-/-\-

Yay!

-Scarlet Eve