We also want to thank all the Slayers audience that has come over to read and review. You're the greatest!

Oh, Catwho, we haven't seen that peice of artwork, but it sounds great. Actually, we came up with an interesting Gundam Wing plot a while ago, then realized that it required certain things first, so this fic is sort of a prequel to our original idea. (scratches head) Funny, Modern Day is also a prequel to a fic I was writing . . . and at this rate, the PREQUEL is gonna be 100 chapters . . . (swoons)

Anyhow, as you guys can probably see, this isn't your average high school Gundam Wing fanfic. It won't be nearly as easy on the pilots as the other highschool fanfics are! BWA HA HA HA HA . . . sorry. Sadistic tangent . . .

Oh, and if you like the style of writing here and you know about and like the Slayers anime (you know, flat-chested redhead), you might want to check out our individual fanfics on Mine is Modern Day 1, a Filia/Xellos fic, and Elf's is called Slayers: Duality. Both are pretty funny but mine has more drama and angst to it . . . though I am trying to get him to concentrate more on character development, lol. (wish me luck!)

love, Ukchana (and CEP)

Chapter 2

Earth, Moscow
April 13th – 10:55 am

"Is she here yet?"

Wu Fei rolled his eyes very faintly at Duo's flippant demand and straightened further in the oak chair, then let his almond eyes drop to the long conference table. "Director Une is still out on other business at the moment." It had been two days since they had all picked up Duo and Hilde, and the former's unusually high enthusiasm had begun to wear a bit thin for the Chinese teenager.

With a smirk, the braided pilot shrugged out of his black leather jacket, his glance falling along the other youths around the table. "And what business would that be?" he asked, leaning back in the chair.

All watched the young Preventer as his mouth tightened almost imperceptibly. "The execution of," he paused as Quatre gasped and glared up at him, "certain activities that may or may not be related to our current goals. Why?" he turned to the well-dressed blond boy, "what did you think I meant?" One brow rose mockingly and Wu Fei crossed his arms to lean forward slightly on the table.

Blushing, the fair pilot ducked his head. "Nothing."

Hilde edged closer to Duo and lowered her voice. "So, how the hell did you come out of the bedroom alive? He was ready to skin you!"

The young man shook his tawny head, large violet eyes uncertain. "He made a vow to never kill again. Luckily I was able to remind him of it." He stretched and pulled his legs up onto the desk as if showing off his ebony jeans and combat boots.

"Ohhh!" the short-haired girl giggled, "so that's why you were screaming 'can't kill me, can't kill me'!" She chuckled as he rolled his eyes and looked away, then quickly lowered his feet at Wu Fei's sharp glare.

To the far left of them, down the table, Quatre raised his sea-green gaze to the sullen boy next to him. "Heero, I really wish you had used the credit card I gave you. You look like you haven't eaten in weeks!" Or bathed . . . good thing it rains often in Chicago.

Heero shrugged noncommittally and stared out across the table.

"Anyhow," continued the pale-haired young man, "you really should have. I checked on the usage of the account and you've only spent five dollars per week at fast-food restaurants!" He shook his head and adjusted his vest.

"It's for emergencies. Starvation is not an emergency."

Quatre's eyes quirked and he gazed up at him imploringly. "Heero!" he spoke softly, "even you need to eat!"

"Hmmm . . ." Heero's dark head drooped and he stared at the surface of the table. "It's oak."

"So?"

"They put us in the cheap conference room."

For a short time, everyone was silent, then the tallest young man lifted his tawny head, dusty eyes locking onto Wu Fei with that disturbing serenity. "Are there any others scheduled to attend this meeting?"

Behind the group but within Wu Fei's vision, a door clicked shut. "Only Agent Po, here," a sultry voice answered Trowa, and everyone turned at the sound to watch long-haired Director Une march around the table with Sally Po at her side. "Thank you for joining us," she spoke as she found a seat at the head of the table, Wu Fei at her left and Sally at her right.

Methodically, the garnet-clothed director set down the billfold in her arms and opened it, placing thin stacks of papers in careful piles along the oak surface. Finally satisfied, she laid her hands onto her lap and smiled faintly at each of them. "And now to why I decided to offer you a chance to formalize your educations."

Duo chuckled and wrapped his hands along the back of his neck lazily. "Well, that's rather obvious. Bribery."

Her brow rose but she waited patiently, the deep ruby of her skirt and suit reflected within her bright henna eyes. Beside her, Wu Fei glowered at the other boy.

"Pre-payment is probably a better term," Trowa spoke in the silence, smoothing the indigo dress-shirt he wore, and Heero's head fell a little in agreement.

Une's pale umber gaze flickered over them, studying each expression. The four Gundam pilots were calm, but the two women with them seemed uncertain. "More like, incentive."

There was a snort, and everyone turned to look at Heero, his eyes closed and disheveled bronze bangs shielding his features. "So, in return for schooling you're hoping that we'll change our minds about joining you. I hope you're not expecting much."

"If even one of you joins," Une leveled her gaze onto him, "it would be worth everything this will cost. A year of private schooling for all of the people here . . . isn't that great of a price to pay."

Trowa looked at her sharply. "But Wu Fei would not have been able to become an Agent without a high school diploma or GED and Quatre already has finished high school via private instruction. So why are they going along?"

"Ooooh," Duo jumped in, violet eyes flashing, "I get it now. You're not sending us to school to get diplomas, you're sending us to make us more normal!" Ignoring Hilde's laughter, he continued, "Wu and Quat are just there to keep us in line, right? And to make sure we're actually becoming normal, as opposed to setting the bathrooms on fire."

Une raised a brow, saying, "If that's the only thing you do, I'll be pleased." The long-haired director smirked a bit, then dipped her head to gaze out at them all. "And when I said everyone, I meant the four of you and the two young women you sit with. All of you will get a year of high-quality education for free, if you so choose."

"But why us?" Catherine asked uncertainly, picking nervously at the neck of her form-fitting blouse.

The indigo-haired girl on the other side of the table shook her head. "C'mon, it's pretty obvious. We're the other babysitters."

"Hey!" Duo snapped, turning to glare balefully at her, "who's babysitting who here? I happen to think I'm probably one of the more normal among this bunch."

"Well," the Director shrugged and began looking through the papers before her, "no one said that you wouldn't be. But we wouldn't want you to get a bloated ego. Now, then," she grouped some sheets and tapped the edges of the whole lightly on the table, "for the proposed room assignments should you agree. The school had few rooms left in the boy's dormitories, so the men will have to double up. The girls will have their own rooms."

When no one complained, she went on, smoothing her red suit-coat. "Duo, you and Heero will room together since you seem to get along the best, the same for Quatre and Trowa, and Wu Fei will have to withstand an unknown quantity as his roommate, mostly because he's spent enough time around people to be trustworthy alone."

"I HOPE Wu Fei is trustworthy alone," Duo joked uneasily while glancing at Heero, "he's a Preventer agent, after all."

The Director smirked. "That's what Po's for," she jerked her thumb to her right towards the unusually quiet doctor. The half-Asian woman chuckled slightly but stayed quiet as Wu Fei fumed.

Heero stared at the offending oak table and crossed his arms over the faded tank-top he wore. "Those room arrangements are satisfactory."

"I request a change!" Duo demanded as soon as the other pilot spoke, purple eyes frantic. "Please?"

The older woman leaned back in her chair and grinned, long almond hair brushing the seat as she crossed her arms over her jacket. "Why? Hasn't Heero always tried to kill you? If he hasn't succeeded yet, I doubt you're in any immediate danger."

"But," the braided boy stressed, one hand open before him, "this time I made him mad." He winced and chuckled weakly. "Usually he just tries to kill me because I'm there."

"Well," Une blinked, stone-faced at his joke, "this will give you the opportunity to make it up to him. I'd suggest flowers, but I don't think he's the type."

Heero frowned faintly but said nothing, and Duo grimaced. "I donno'," Duo glanced to Hilde, "I'd try anything at this point."

Clearing his throat, Quatre interrupted them by asking, "So, which school is this going to be? Wu Fei said a prep-school, but a specific location's always nice to know."

Pulling up another sheet of paper, the Director's tan eyes flickered over it. "It's called Castello de Cristo, along the coast of Italy."

Duo snorted. "Whoopee, 'the castle of Christ'. That's not stuck-up at all!"

Next to Une, the female Agent finally spoke up. "It's not called a 'prep-school' for nothing, Duo," Po chuckled slyly.

"So," Catherine piped up, beaming, "when do we leave?"

"Catherine." With a sigh, Trowa turned to gaze at the red-haired girl frankly. "I haven't agreed yet."

"You're GOING!" she demanded, and he sighed and slumped in the chair as she ranted. "This is a very good opportunity for you, and you know what the ringmaster always said about opportunities."

"Don't stick them in your trousers, otherwise they'll bite you?"

"NO, DUO!" Catherine snapped, obviously losing her own patience after two days of insanity.

Ignoring his friends' pointless chatter, Trowa sighed again and plopped his elbows onto the table. "Fine." The acrobat covered his face and shook his head.

"Um," Quatre spoke up again, azure eyes uneasily glancing around the table, "perhaps we could take a short break to consider your offer? It's getting near lunchtime," he added, gazing up at the sullen dark-haired boy next to him. "I'm sure we could all use some food." His voice became hard, and Heero's mouth quirked in worry at the firm glare emanating from the slight young man.

With a stunning yet chilling smile, Une nodded, tossing back her head. "That's fine. I'll have some food sent in and you can all discuss it amongst yourselves. Po," she turned to the violet-eyed agent next to her, "you can fill them in on your part in this."

Sally nodded once and watched as the Director stood to go. "Yes, Ma'am. Okay, boys," Sally turned a bright grin onto the pilots. "Any questions?"

The door closed on her words.

((()))

Earth, Izumo
April 13th – 4:45 pm

Relena rubbed her temples as she stepped out of the ivory limousine, gaze seeking out the pure azure sky above her in solace. Beyond, the verdant hills of Southwest Japan rolled gently into the distance. Heero . . .

"Miss Relena?" spoke the soft voice of her butler, and she turned to smile weakly at Pagan. "Are you alright? You seem rather weary today."

The blonde dropped her head to close her eyes, then stepped away from the car towards the expansive mansion, her heels clacking dully on the blacktop. "Yes, I'm afraid that I am." She adjusted her suit-coat and glanced over to him as they reached the front door. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm not really sure myself what's wrong. I wish I could say it's just work," her honey-gold head swung from side to side as he opened the door for them and led her into the foyer, "but I just don't know . . ."

The elderly gentleman harrumphed and paused to let her slip out of her shoes. "Perhaps it's an ill-omen, Miss Relena. Or," he frowned, "something besides work that troubles you often?"

Kimiko, the maid, suddenly appeared from a wide side-corridor and whispered, "Speaking of which, I believe you should go look to your room, Miss Relena." Giggling, the young Asian girl turned and hurried off the way she'd came, her delicate laugher grating a faint echo through Relena's skull.

"Oh, I wish I could take a vacation," the young Minister growled suddenly, and clutched her head. In the following silence, she let herself breathe slowly, then looked around the pale-colored, gently-lit foyer more calmly. "Alright, then, I'm sure I already know what it is but I might as well make certain. Would you like to come as well, Pagan?" she grinned. "You might as well get your pick of flowers today before I send the whole damn mess off to the Children's Center."

Pagan raised one silver brow, but said nothing as he followed her across the expansive main-room and up the towering stairways. "We need an elevator," the young woman mused, rubbing her temple. "I think I'm too old for this strenuous activity." The butler chuckled at her joke and her light smile touched upon him. "That's better, Miss Relena. Try to have a sense of humor about your situation."

"Yes, I know," she sighed, coming to the top of the stairs and starting down the hall. "I can't help but wonder, however, why I can't deal with one thing at a time, though, instead of ten things at once."

They trudged along in silence through the luxurious corridors until they reached the door to her room. The guard standing outside of her door saluted, looking regal in his crisp maroon uniform. "Ma'am. Nothing to report."

"Except that William was here again?" she asked lightly as she brushed passed him into the room and flung her shoes at the wall – or where the wall should have been. Instead they crushed a lurid collection of orchids.

The pale-haired girl looked around the room, blue eyes widening slowly at the display in her bedroom. "Good God, he's outdone himself this time," she stomped inside and kicked over the nearest vase of flowers. "What the hell does he think he's doing, this is my ROOM, not the rainforests of PERU!"

Outside, she heard the trembling voice of the guard, "Um, Ma'am, I know I wasn't supposed to let him in—"

"Your point?!" She carefully stepped past the fountains of flowers in the sitting room and managed to make it to the bedroom, which, after she kicked the door open, revealed itself to be thankfully empty. Growling, the blonde rubbed her head again and started for the connected bathroom. "Who gave you permission to let William into my room AGAIN?!"

Grabbing a container of pain-killers, she paused to look at her frazzled reflection in the mirror and groaned. "How could that guy be so interested in me when I look like this?"

Turning away, she almost ran into her mother standing in the doorway between the bathroom and her bedroom. "Relena? Are you alright?" Pagan must have gone to get her when he saw how upset I became.

Relena's mouth quirked as the older woman wisely got out of the way. "Yes, Mother," she moved into the bedroom and plopped down on the bed, "I'm fine. It's only that, after another horrible business trip to the colonies convincing people that they truly can tie their own shoelaces WITHOUT my help, I come home to find that my bedroom needs a weed-whacker." She rolled onto her back and stared up at the pale blue canopy, a frown crawling to her lips.

The sound of running water caught her attention, and she slowly sat up on the bed to watch her mother return from the bathroom, a glass in her hand. "Here, Relena," Mrs. Dorlan's soft voice murmured, "after you take some medicine for your headache I'm sure you'll feel better." Her mother's azure gaze dropped to the floor and the older woman added, "I'm really sorry, it was my idea to let him in. I had no idea that you had become so annoyed with William's gifts."

With a quick exhale, the eighteen-year-old Minister took the offered glass of water and swallowed two of the pills sullenly. "He seemed nice enough in the beginning, but I think he's read too many romance novels."

"Hmm," her mother nodded, then sat down next to her on the bed. "Well then, I guess you won't be wanting the pink Lamborghini he left in the back yard."

"WHAT?!" Relena barely caught the glass, then jumped up to the window and stared out. "How many times do I have to tell people I'm OVER THE PINK! Wait . . . I don't see a car . . ."

"Made you look," her mother laughed and rose from the bed.

The Minister tried to glare at her mother but her giggles were infectious. Laughing herself, she went to hug her mother, and sighed as they embraced. "Oh, Mom. This whole week has been really awful."

((()))

Earth, Moscow
April 13th – 12:10 am

Trowa frowned at his sandwich, then glanced up at Agent Po. "So, what kind of equipment can we requisition?"

Her eyebrows rose, and Sally leaned back in her chair to sip her soda. "It's a school, there's not much more to it. However, I understand where you're all coming from; trouble seems to follow you. Not to mention that one of you is a high-profile trillionaire," she glanced to Quatre.

The blond paused with wide teal eyes as everyone turned to look at him. "What?"

"Anyway," Duo snickered, "I'm bringin' my explosives along whether you say it's okay or not. Granted, Quatre could get kidnapped or somethin', but those things are great for clearing out clogged drains!" He grinned and gave her a victory sign, then gaped as Quatre snatched his sandwich away. "Hey!"

With a concerned look in his eyes, the aristocrat sat back down next to Heero, Trowa watching with amusement. "Heero," Quatre spoke softly, watching as the stoic pilot very slowly finished his lone sandwich, "here, I really want you to eat this one also. And mine." His glare returned to Duo, who flushed and growled, and Quatre added, "You owe him this at least."

Po sighed and scratched her honey-blonde head as the braided pilot withered in his seat, her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Oohhhkay . . ."

The dark-haired girl next to Duo patted his shoulder as he muttered to himself. "Here," she mumbled as she munched on her slab of meat and bread, "I've almost eaten half of it." Hilde shoved another bite into her mouth, then chewed and handed him a half-gnawed-on sandwich, adjusting her beret as she did. "Quit'cher whinin'."

"Ooooh, thanks, Babe!" Duo grabbed it and dug in. "You're a lifesaver!"

After watching to make certain that Heero began eating Duo's sandwich, the blond pilot began, "Director Une said you were coming as well, Sally. But you're not exactly a teenager . . ."

She laughed easily and finished her sandwich, then took another drink. "Yes, I'll be there as well, undercover."

"Bologna," Trowa frowned, sipping the soda uneasily.

"What?"

"I can't eat it."

Po rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"I'm Buddhist," the tall pilot said serenely. "Do you have any cheese?"

Wu Fei frowned at his own sandwich. "Sally, I have to agree. You know better."

"This is TURKEY Bologna, so deal with it," the older woman snapped, rolling her eyes. "We have a tight budget right now."

Heero raised his dark-brown head, Prussian eyes locking onto her like a tracking computer. "Like I said. The cheap conference room. Why?"

Stunned that the boy had spoken at all, Po scratched her head. "Well, we've had a few problems with things blowing up whenever Wu Fei gets near them."

"Quiet, WOMAN!" Wu Fei cried, face flushing as he threw down the hateful food, "it was only a few monuments and the old pentagon building! And a lot more things would have been 'blown up' as you say, if I HADN'T done anything!"

Everyone stared but Heero, Duo very slowly eating his half of Hilde's sandwich while Sally chuckled at the steaming young man.

"Anyhow," the woman ended her laughter with a contented sigh and a smirk, "as I was saying, I'll be undercover as the school nurse."

"Helloooo, nurse!" Duo whistled, then squeaked as Hilde tugged hard on his braid. "Ow, hey!"

"Lecher." She swiped the last of his sandwich out of his hand and popped it into her mouth.

"Oh, everyone hates me," the auburn-haired boy cried, "the God of Death is unloved!" He covered his face and moaned.

"SILENCE!" the Chinese Preventer slammed down his hand on the table. "You are all to ask Agent Po questions about this mission, you are not to make stupid jokes!"

"Thank you, Wu Fei," Sally beamed, and he turned his head away sullenly. "So, any other questions?" There was a pause and she winced. "Pertinent questions?"

The other four pilots and two girls glanced around at each other, then Catherine piped up. "Is there a dress code?"

"Yes," Sally nodded gently. "You will be provided with three uniforms, one type for summer and one type for winter wear, six sets total. Don't worry, they're very flattering," she beamed.

Duo raised his hand, violet eyes twinkling. "Can I have schematics of the dormitory?"

Wu Fei rolled his eyes and answered, "This is an acceptable question, all should be provided with schematics of the grounds, both hard and data copy." He glared at Duo as if angry that he had asked a useful question.

"Why do we need schematics?" the female acrobat murmured nervously.

"Intrusion, counter-insertion, defense and holdout tactics," Trowa replied, still eyeing his sandwich uncertainly. "It doesn't smell like turkey."

Heero glanced over. "May I?"

"Of course," Trowa handed him the sandwich and the somber pilot added it to his pile.

"Just three more to go!" Quatre beamed, patting Heero on the shoulder.

Glaring, Heero raised a brow at him. "We have things to discuss later, Quatre. Remember that."

"Eh . . ." The blond stopped mid-pat and sat back. "Okay." He cleared his throat and said, "Just to set it straight, we WILL be seniors, right?"

"Yes," Sally nodded again. "This is easy!" She folded her hands behind her head and leaned back. "C'mon, give me some tough questions! Compared to the press, you guys are pushovers."

Duo lifted his head, violet gaze catching hers. "Can we bring our own stuff? And how big are these dorms, anyway?"

"BIG ENOUGH!" Wu Fei pounced, "and, yes, you can bring personal items IF THEY ARE NOT AGAINST SCHOOL REGULATIONS!!"

Edging back, the braided pilot raised his hands higher and said, "Sure! Right!"

Sally shook her fair head. "Right. So, no other questions?"

Shrugging, Hilde spoke up, "What's the Omega?"

"Omega?" Catherine frowned, blue eyes still puzzled.

Trowa nodded gently. "Retreat signal. We would completely abandon the site."

"Hmm," Sally considered, "I didn't expect that we'd need one, but I guess it's best to be prepared."

The Chinese Agent scowled, then glanced over at his partner. "'The nurse has been fired' has a nice ring to it."

"Beats the hell out of the last Omega signal you came up with," she returned gaily. "Anyhow, there we go. That one sounds as good as any other."

Quatre nodded, watching as Heero very slowly finished another sandwich, with two left. "Sounds fine to me. But one last thing: Is there an equipment cache nearby?"

Heero's head dipped twice as he reached for another sandwich, and Sally slumped in her chair.

"Yeeeeees," the female Preventer stressed, "it's called an Appliance Depot. You're high-school students, not commandos . . . right now."

"Saying that," Heero spoke up again, and everyone stopped what they were doing, "I think we have to discuss an 'allowance'. Mother."

((()))

Earth, Izumo
April 13th – 6:13 pm

"Really, William," Relena spoke into her cel'phone as she meandered down the garden paths, "the flowers were very nice, but I just don't feel comfortable with such extravagance. It was quite thoughtful of you . . ."

The sunset cast a rich tangerine glow across the landscape, sharp shadows slicing into the world. Dropping onto a swinging bench, she listened to him expound upon his great apologies with barely-contained boredom. "It's alright, really."

"So," William continued undaunted, "have you thought any more about joining me in Italy? It's really quite beautiful and you certainly need some time off."

She sighed, his smooth voice lilting across her, and wondered whether she truly liked him or not. "Well, it has been hellish of late," she agreed, closing her eyes and letting the cool ocean breeze flow over her as she swung on the bench, "but I just don't know . . . I mean, we hardly know each other, William. It's only been a few months."

"I understand exactly how you feel. Perhaps you were too tired last week, but I did suggest that you invite Quatre Winner along as well. He's a great guy and I'm sure he needs some time off too, since he's in the middle of running his fortunes and a whole colony."

Nodding, the honey-blonde let out a long sigh. "He has said that he found the whole thing very tiring at times. Yes," she lied guiltily, "I believe I was too tired to remember what you said."

As the sun dipped over the sea, glitter splashed across the waves and her breath caught. I really have to get away from these dreadful politics before it kills me.

"So, would you like me to ask him to come along? You're probably exhausted, you should get some rest."

"Hmm? Oh, no, it's alright." She was silent again, watching the boiling sea as the sun dipped into it gently. "I think you're right. I'll ask him tonight."

There was a relieved sigh on the line, and William returned, "Wonderful. Oh, it will be a pleasure to see you so often."

The young Minister nodded, forgetting that he could not see, and gazed across the land. "Japan is very nice. But . . . a change of scene will be more than welcome."

((()))

Earth, Moscow
April 13th – 1:20 pm

"So," Quatre folded his hands behind his back as they strolled down the sidewalk, the afternoon sun warming their backs, "you wanted to speak to me, Heero?" He tried to smile and it seemed to wither on his mouth at the other boy's cold glare.

Unspeaking, the brown-haired young man leisurely came to a stop and turned to face the shorter teen. The spring breeze ruffled his bangs as he reached behind him and grabbed the magazine sticking out of his back pocket. His mouth curled angrily, and he handed Quatre the booklet, then crossed his arms over his dirty tank-top, indigo eyes accusatory.

As crowds pressed around them on their way through Russia's capitol, the blond boy began to feel more and more claustrophobic, and Heero's piercing glare didn't help matters. Swallowing, the saffron-haired trillionaire unfolded the magazine and gaped.

Flushing, Quatre shoved the paper at Heero, the image of himself and Relena passionately kissing emblazoned on the cover. "This – this is not true! That did NOT happen!" He hung his head shamefully and said, "I . . . Heero, we're just friends, and unfortunately the media decided to take advantage of that."

"You're kissing."

"Can't you tell a fake when you see one?!" Quatre cried, hands raised and open.

"Fake or not," Heero's baritone voice was icy, "everyone thinks that you kissed her."

"Not everyone, just . . . the stupid people."

Suddenly, someone in the press of pedestrians began crying out, and the two pilots turned to find a man pressing through the crowd. "Bozhe moi! You are the man who kissed Queen Relena! Look!" he called out behind him, and Quatre covered his face with his hands. "It's that Arabian King who kissed Queen Relena!"

Heero glared at them both in turn, then took Quatre's arm and led him back towards the Preventer's headquarters. "This is ridiculous," he spat as the Russian natives began gathering around them, chattering incessantly.

"I'm not a king, and I don't even live in the Middle East!" Quatre gasped as he was thrown through the opening electric doors. Brushing himself off, the golden-haired young man declared to his captor, "I don't care what they say or think, Heero, you have to trust me. I'd never do that." The doors slid shut and they walked up to the security station.

"So I had believed," the slender man told him flatly, glaring with cold Prussian eyes.

"Um . . . had?" Quatre nervously set down his car keys, two pistols and wallet and let the security man scan him. "What do you mean?" He handed the security officer his Concealed Weapons I.D. card, and the man nodded, then glanced over at the other officer dealing with Heero.

"Sir, you can't be serious . . ." The officer scratched her head as Heero placed another knife on the pile, then pulled out his semi-automatic Luger he had strapped to his inner-calf under his jeans. The redhead's mouth widened and she shook her head. "I see that you have a C.W.I.D., but isn't this a bit extreme?"

"Hmm." His harsh glare rose to her face and she flushed. "May I leave now?"

"Um, yes, just walk through the archway," she stuttered, then went to check her display as he passed through. "Uh . . . all clean . . . you can get your . . . arsenal now."

"Ohhh," Quatre held one hand over his eyes and shook his head as Heero began loading his weapons back onto his person. "You just never change, do you, Heero?"

The other boy's brows rose as he finished tucking the last gun away. "Quatre. Maybe you should get 'Queen Relena' to fake 'dump' you." He began marching off, the trillionaire at his heels.

"Heh-heh," the slightly shorter teen chuckled nervously as he struggled to keep pace without running, "if that will keep you from killing me, count on it!" He began to jog, then skidded to a halt when Heero stopped suddenly. "How do you walk so fast?"

"Genetic manipulation." He turned to stare into Quatre's blue-green eyes. "I hope you plan on asking her soon."

"Um, Heero . . ." The blond winced, then plowed forward. "You . . . might want to consider visiting Japan . . . sometime."

The sullen teen dropped his head, then, very slowly, his hand began to tighten around the magazine. "Yeah. I know."

((()))

Earth, Moscow
April 13th – 1:21 pm

Une turned to the vid'phone and smiled again. "You really want to go to Italy that badly?"

"I think you know what I want," the woman on the screen gave a feral grin. "And you need my help if they're going to come out of there alive."

Shaking her head, the Director sighed. "Oh, and why should I trust you? As I recall, you were one of them once. A turncoat doesn't suit my tastes."

"Or does it remind you too much of yourself?"

Glaring coldly at her caller, Une drew out every word intently. "I . . . know . . . why you're doing this. And it's not for me . . . or for the Foundation. It's for him." The girl blanched and Une cackled. "So, go ahead, I won't stop you. I know you won't allow any harm to come to him."