The Bounty

Part 6: Bloom

After Heero's middle-of-the-night conversation with Quatre, he slept until one in the afternoon. He opened his eyes which felt like they were stuck closed with glue and waited for his eyes to adjust to the light coming in through the window. He dragged himself up into a standing position beside his bed and looked around. Compared to the hotel he'd stayed at, and the luxury and comfort of The Sailing Dove, his apartment was dull, boring and most of all... empty. He'd only spent a few short days with Relena, but he'd quickly grown accustomed to her presence, her mannerisms, and the way she laughed.

Heero grunted to himself to stop being so sentimental, and trudged to the bathroom. He stood under the cold water, waiting for it to heat up to an acceptable temperature, while also trying to wash away the sleep and memories. He stood with his head down, the water trickling through his unkempt hair to slide down his forehead and drop from his nose and chin. After several minutes, he finally grabbed his bar of soap and washed the scents of Relena and the sea from his skin.

It was a smell he knew he'd miss.

Once dry and dressed, Heero stepped out to the living room and flipped on the television. The silence was something else he'd forgotten. Even at night, the sound of the waves lapping against the yacht brought him to a comfortable sleep. The television was turned to a local channel, which was showing a news woman sitting behind a desk, talking to her partner. Heero went to the kitchen to make coffee.

"The news story that everyone is talking about is the sudden reappearance and arrest of one of New York's upper crust members, Relena Peacecraft. Several witnesses sent in this cell phone footage that they took at the marina yesterday, showing Miss Peacecraft running from someone, then being apprehended by the police, along with her cohort, Dorothy Catalonia."

Heero poked his head around the wall and glanced at the television. Sure enough, the channel was playing shaky footage caught on a cell phone of Relena. She was screaming and swearing, though they were beeping out her words. Heero chuckled when she landed a good hit on the nose of one of the police officers. His laugh died in his throat when the handcuffs were clapped over her wrists and she was dragged into a squad car. Heero grunted and changed the channel- it ended on a cooking show with an large woman with southern accent.

Guilt was eating away at the edges of Heero's mind. He desperately wanted Relena to know that he didn't know that Zechs was planning on having her arrested. He wanted her to know that he'd simply wanted her to be returned to her brother safely. He wondered if he'd be able to see her in prison.

The gurgle of the coffee pot caught Heero's attention. He pulled down a large cup and poured the coffee inside. He took a long gulp, allowing the scalding coffee to burn his tongue and throat. His own mild form of personal punishment for letting Relena get arrested.

He had to figure out something...

-/-\-

Relena was lying on the uncomfortable cot in the holding cell, staring up at the cement block ceiling. She was picking at her fingernails out of anxiety, and biting her lip out of anger. She was still dressed in her clothes from the previous day, she hadn't had a shower yet, and she knew she looked a mess. And she knew she smelled, too. It was bothering her to feel so unclean. Not to mention she felt like a caged tiger, ready to strike.

A few cells down, she could hear Dorothy trying to sweet talk one of the guards into her something- she wasn't sure what. Maybe she didn't want to know. Relena pushed herself up off her back and swung her legs over the edge of the cot. She raked her fingers through her hair and trying to untangle the knots she found. A loud sudden banging startled her.

"Relena Peacecraft?" She turned and saw a police officer standing on the other side of the door.

"What?" she snarled.

"You have a visitor," the officer said. He took a few steps aside and her brother appeared in front of her. Relena leveled a glare at him, and threw herself at the bars.

"You asshole," she shouted at him. Milliardo didn't even flinch, much to Relena's annoyance. His long platinum hair hung down, clean and straight as always, and he was dressed to perfection. He lifted an eyebrow at his sister, and Relena fought the urge to snap at him.

"Oh Relena, look what you have gotten yourself into," he said, a tone of mocking in his voice.

"It's your fault I'm here," she growled. Milliardo shook his head.

"It wasn't me, my dear. You ran away from us and did who knows what for money. I was only trying to bring you back where you belong, to keep you out of trouble," he said.

"You make it sound like I was a whore," Relena said.

"Were you?"

"Of course not!" Relena shrieked, her voice hitting an almost unnatural register. In shame, she cowered from herself. She was losing it, being cooped up in this cell. Milliardo crossed his arms over his chest.

"Look, mother, father and I just want you to come back and home. You know we have the power to erase your past. You can come live at home again, and put all these schemes and disguises behind you. It's what's best," he said, his gaze and voice both softening.

"I don't think you understand that I don't belong there. I wasn't happy!" Relena said, feeling her throat close and her eyes strained to hold back tears. Milliardo looked perplexed.

"You had everything..." he began to say, but Relena stopped him.

"No I didn't. I was caged up, like I am here. I couldn't go anywhere or do anything on my own. People were too afraid to be my friend. I felt so crazy inside our home that I thought my head would explode," she sobbed. Her chest heaved with the effort of trying to hold back her tears and failing. Milliardo reached between the bars and patting her head, like she was a little child. Relena took a swipe at him, and he jerked his hand back.

"Don't condescend to me, Milliardo. You are just as guilty of stepping out of our "lifestyle" and leading your own seedy alternate life, Zechs Marquise," Relena mocked him. Milliardo frowned, but had no response. He turned half away from her, glancing at her with her peripheral vision.

"You can cry about it now, Relena, but you'll thank me later," he said, and walked away. Relena hated when he got the final word, so she ran to the bars and yelled,

"Fuck you!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she slapped her forehead. "Smooth move, Relena," she said with a shaking of her head.

She stepped away from the bars and watched the police officer walk by, a strange look on his face. Relena turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. She began to pace. Her body was shaking with anxiety and anger. She still felt suspicious that her brother had ulterior motives for having her thrown in jail. He couldn't just want her to fix her lifestyle. There had to be something more... but what?

Relena didn't have time to mull over this thought. A different officer appeared at the cell. This one had a set of keys in his hands. "Your lawyer is here," he said simply. He unlocked the door and pulled it open.

"My lawyer?"

"Yes," the officer said, not bothering to offer any more information. He clapped a set of handcuffs on her wrists and led her roughly down the hall. Relena was about to protest, but she decided for once to keep her mouth shut. Relena walked in front of the officer, his hands holding onto her wrists. They walked down a long hallway, and the officer tightened his grip to make her stop walking. He pushed open a door and she stepped inside.

There was a woman sitting at the metal table, several folders spread out in front of her. She had reddish brown hair and friendly gray eyes. She rose when Relena stepped in the room and reached a hand out to her.

"Relena Peacecraft, my name is Catherine Bloom. I was hired to be your lawyer," the woman said. Relena shook the woman's hand and sat down across from her at the table.

"I don't remember hiring a lawyer," she said. Catherine smiled.

"I was asked by a friend. Quatre Winner. I believe you know him..." Relena thought for a moment. Of course she remembered Quatre. Distantly related cousins or something.

"Well, tell Quatre I said thank you," she said. Catherine nodded and sat back down in the chair.

"Let's get down to business," she said, a gleam in her eye that Relena wouldn't hesitate to call mischievous.

-/-\-

Heero was idly browsing the internet when there was a knock at his door. He wondered for a moment why the person didn't buzz the intercom, but remembered that the stupid front door was busted again. Heero pulled himself up off the couch and to the door. He pulled it open, and was surprised to see a woman standing on the other side, her short hair pulled back in a ponytail of curls and dressed in a skirt and blouse. She was carrying only what Heero assumed to be a stylish handbag. She smiled.

"Heero Yuy?" she asked. Heero nodded.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Catherine Bloom. I'm Miss Relena Peacecraft's lawyer," she said.

"Oh," he said with mild surprise.

"I was hoping I could chat with you for a bit," Catherine said. Heero shrugged his shoulders and stepped back to allow the woman into his apartment. Catherine stepped past him, her heeled shoes clicking against the old wood floor. She walked directly to the small dining table and set down her handbag and began to remove folders. Heero shut the door and locked it then turned back to her. She smiled.

"Please, have a seat with me," she said. Heero nodded and sat down in the other vacant chair. Catherine continued to shuffle through her papers, then finally set several piles down in front of Heero, facing towards him. Then she pulled out a tape recorder and set it down on the table. "Do you mind?" she asked. Heero shrugged.

"Depends."

"You are not on trial here," she said with a wink.

"Alright." Catherine pressed record on the device and folded her hands on the table.

"Please state your name and occupation," Catherine said.

"Heero Yuy, Bounty Hunter, occasional private investigator," he replied.

"Tell me about when Milliardo Peacecraft, aka Zechs Marques came to your office," Catherine said.

Heero spent the next hour telling Catherine the entire story, leaving out the private details of the encounters with Relena. He told her all about the information he got off the internet from his "sources," and how he came to find Relena, through Quatre's help. Catherine was mostly silent through the interview, occasionally asking a question or prompting for more information. Heero thought it was strange that she paid particular interest to the ways that he got information about Relena.

"Without revealing your source's identities, would you say that this information came to you illegally?" Catherine asked. Heero leaned back in his chair.

"To be honest, I don't even know these people's names. They are hobby hackers. If you give them a topic, they'll do everything they can to track down as much information as possible. It's like they have nothing better to do..." Heero trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. Catherine raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

"So you received this information that was gathered illegally?" Catherine asked. Heero nodded.

"You could say that," he answered. Catherine broke out into a large grin.

"Wonderful," she said, clapping her hands together.

"What do you mean "wonderful?"" Heero asked. Catherine reached out to the recording device and shut it off.

"Relena can really only be tried for taking illegal stock market tips and using them to her advantage. The other things that she was "charged" with are not really illegal. Her adult entertainment website that she runs could be charged with false advertisement, but there's not much to go on with that. However, since all your documents that you sent over to Mr. Peacecraft were gained through illegal means, then we will probably be able to throw the whole case out," Catherine said. Heero was impressed with this woman.

"So she'll be let go?" Heero asked. Catherine shrugged.

"There's still a chance she'll go to court on the stock market tips, since she was not the only one involved. That Dorothy Catalonia woman was the one passing the tips to Relena, so we don't know yet what will happen there," Catherine explained. She reached over and pulled a plain white envelope out of her handbag and passed across the table to Heero. "Open this after I leave, and you did not receive it from me," Catherine said. She rose from the table, gathered her documents and stuffed them back in her bag. "I will be in touch," she said with a smile, then let herself out. Heero barely noticed. He was staring at the envelope, wondering what could possibly be inside.

-/-\-

[Please write your statement below in legible handwriting]

Dear Heero-

Catherine Bloom, who you've met by now, said I could write you this letter while everyone was distracted.

I don't blame you for what happened. My brother has some messed up notions in his head that even I can't seem to figure out. I still don't really understand why he wanted to have me arrested. I am going on faith that you had no idea, either.

I should also apologize for pushing you into the harbor. I do hope you understand my motivations. If you need anything replaced, please let me know. I'll have it replaced for you. Talk to Quatre, apparently a mutual friend of ours.

I hope you haven't forgotten about me already. I haven't forgotten about you, and I want to see you badly. I keep having this crazy idea that I should break out from my parents house and just disappear again, but what would be the use, being on the run for the rest of my life. I could never feel safe anywhere. And besides, I would only want to be with you, and I don't want to take you from your life that you have now.

I'm being transferred to house arrest at my parents' home. I'll even have a fancy ankle bracelet.

If you should feel so inclined, my address is written below. My balcony and windows have roses growing on them. None of the other balconies or windows have that.

Love, Relena

Heero glanced down at the address she'd written in her neat handwriting. He wondered if it was even really possible to visit her up there. Wouldn't their home have an alarm system? Heero continued to ponder this letter from Relena. He couldn't deny that he desperately wanted to see her again as well, especially after reliving the entire experience again while he told Catherine what happened. An unfamiliar ache welled in his chest. He pressed the hand that held the letter to his chest and waited for the pain to pass. When it ebbed, he made a decision. He was going to see her no matter what.

He had some phone calls to make.

-/-\-

A/N: I am not a lawyer, nor have I studied law, so please forgive the possibly aggressive dramatic license I took with this chapter, and probably some of the coming chapters. Thanks everyone!

-Scarlet Eve