And She Was Good

Chapter 3: Most Wanted

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or Gundam Wing.


[Buenos Aires, Argentina: Earth Sphere Unified Nations]

It was the kind of heat that came packaged, wrapped, and bowed in a suffocating humidity. You could try to wipe the beaded sweat from your brow with your forearm but it was just like spreading a mess; any brush by someone else, any touch to your own skin and the slick wetness was perpetuated.

Rei watched the fan in the upper corner of the dive bar, drawn to its humming and incessant creaking. Three streamers of white wiggled violently from its epicenter, caught in an envious bout of cool air that permeated little throughout the bar's dingy square footage. She couldn't feel the breeze. It was as if the humidity had blanketed them in a sludge-like dome, slowing the fan's effort to help and preventing the infiltration of much needed air.

The rusted bell on the door clamored and a blinding bout of afternoon light preceded a new customer. Rei didn't bother turning to face him, keeping her eyes pinned to the fan, but she could feel his eyes roaming her body. She wore a red, floral dress equipped with a tight bodice and a deep, open V that left little to the imagination. Her chest glistened with an enticing shimmer and a singular trail down the middle served as a desirous path to parts unseen. Her hair was swept up messily in a brightly patterned scarf: intermittent braids cluttered the large, tangled mass that stuck to her back and some strands she'd missed in the process framed her reddened cheeks.

Out of all of the empty chairs in the bar he silently pulled back the one to her right and sat down. He smelled of chorizo and gunpowder, the former causing her belly to rumble and the latter a more metaphorical scent than an actual one. He made no move to hide the gun at his belt, a blurred yet distinguished shadow Rei caught from her periphery, and it caused the young woman to finally tear her eyes from the fan and acknowledge his presence.

He was staring right at her. His unabashed, ghostly blue eyes met her amethyst ones unflinchingly. His face was thin, marked by hollowed cheeks patched with scruff that simply served to emphasize the shadows that contoured his facial plane. He pulled his eyes from her slowly to greet the bartender and rattled off an order in a deep, lazy Spanish. Then, as if as an afterthought, he tapped the table gently and spoke with more vigor. The bartender nodded and used one hand to pull a beautifully sweating beer bottle from the fridge, and used the other to grab a small, plastic remote.

The TV clicked on with a thunk and the tingling static of electricity. The picture emerged slowly like a developing polaroid picture before settling succinctly on a news broadcasting station.

Rei didn't bother to watch it. She knew the story that had been trending all day.

Her eyes remained trained on the man next to her as he took a long swig of his beer. He swallowed and clicked his tongue, shaking his head and rustling his shoulder length hair.

"Argentina is lucky to lack such fools, no?" he said, eyeing her. The picture on the screen displayed a giant, flaming crescent moon.

Rei didn't respond and after a moment of silence the man was left only to take another swig. Finally she tore her gaze from him slowly and held long and meaningful eye contact with the bartender. Something secretive was passed between them that caused the man next to Rei to chuckle. His deep throated merriment harmonized with the creaking floorboards as the bartender nodded, pushed aside a curtain, and disappeared into the back.

"Ah, Manuelo," he said loudly so that the bartender could hear him no matter how far he chose to run. "I should have known." He took another swig of his beer. "Give Alma my love." Then he turned his chilly gaze back to Rei.

They called him El Fantasma, the Phantom, because his eyes were a striking, colorless blue that could fill any room with a chill. That and he was the hardest man to find in all of Argentina. Rei tried to keep the hair on her arm from rising, even despite the absurd heat.

"You have done well, my protégé," he said lowly, watching as a rare flicker of emotion flashed across her eyes. He held up his hands with a surrendering smile. "Of course the term 'protégé' implies that you will carry on my work in my stead," he said again. "Alas you do not plan to do so, do you mi cariña?"

Rei sat across from him silently, choosing not to answer.

The Phantom shrugged. "I think you will find today much easier than you had planned, Rei," he said, relishing briefly in the surprise that painted her face. His chair screeched as he scooted back and stood from the seat. "Come," he said, waving over his shoulder, "let us do this outside so that Alma has less to clean up."

Rei followed after a moment's hesitation, eyes squinted with suspicion. The sun blinded her briefly as she broke the plane of the door and stepped into the back alley. He was facing her with that smile, the one that would have been attractive if it hadn't seemed so sinister.

He walked slowly towards her, a handsome saunter that matched his wispily handsome features. Soon he was flush up against her, his smirk never leaving his face. Rei stood her ground stoically, proving to him that she was not afraid.

The Phantom reached down and grabbed the side of her dress, balling the cotton fabric tightly. He bent his tanned nose to her neck, inhaling slowly as he pulled the hem up at a tantalizingly snail-like pace. His fingers trailed her slick thigh with a lover's caress until they reached something that blocked their progression. He exhaled.

"Even your sweat smells so enticing," he murmured as his tongue reached out and took a warm, gentle taste of her neck. When she did not react he smirked and pulled the gun from the holster around her upper thigh. "Here," he said, pressing the firearm to her stomach. "I think you'll need this."

Rei took the gun as he backed away and clicked off the safety, pointing the black barrel at his temple. For the first time in years a furious anger took over Rei's face, not doing much to mottle her beauty but setting lines in her features that were most unpleasant.

He knew. He must have known all along. But then…

"Why?" she growled through her teeth.

The Phantom gave her a sickeningly knowing smile that caused a lump to grow in Rei's throat. He shrugged slowly in the same knowing fashion, the smile not faltering. "I let you come to me because having you around was…fun." He gave a small laugh as her grip tightened around the gun. "Do not fear, cariña, the Initiative does not know…" he placed a hand to his chest, "only me."

Rei had to admit she was suspicious throughout her entire ordeal how much he truly knew. El Fantasma was renown for his resourcefulness, knowing every snitch and every rat in his cartel. In the back of her mind Rei knew she'd been tossed an impossible task, infiltrating his ranks and climbing up the hierarchy. But there'd been one thing she hadn't known: that he would fall in love with her. She thought such a cold, silent psychopath, as she'd seen him be, was incapable of such emotion. He would never admit it, but Rei knew. Just as he knew her secret, she knew his.

He flicked his wrist dismissively. "Your escape will go as planned but I will promise no more. All I ask is a bullet to the heart."

Rei wasn't buying it. "Why are you doing this?" She was not sad, she was confused and she was furious.

His look suddenly turned very serious. "There are many ways to die, cariña," he began, his ice-like eyes boring into her. "With the life that I lead my demise could be either spectacular or tragic. When faced with such uncertainties…" he trailed off and waved his hand, searching for the words, "you tend to garner very specific outlooks and tendencies which bolster your life." His eyes returned to her with such seriousness that Rei's hands began to shake. "You have made me question my inhumanity and that has ruined the game."

The Phantom reached out and grabbed her hand, moving the shaking gun from his temple to his heart. "No psychopath is a psychopath if he is able to love, no?" he continued with a gentle smile. The brief flash of humanity disappeared when he growled and pressed the barrel to his chest with an uncomfortable ferocity. "Now do it!" he demanded.

But Rei wasn't finished getting her answers. "Why Mamoru?!" she blurted quickly.

His free hand reached out and grabbed her chin and for a split second Rei was afraid he'd changed his mind. "Because he was useless!" The Phantom spat with renewed anger. Then he smirked devilishly. "She'd already sucked him dry by the time we found him."

Rei's eyes widened, her mouth falling open in astonishment. "He was…"

"Empty, nada," The Phantom said, cutting her off. His smile grew as sweat dripped from his forehead. "Just as you will be…soon enough."

Rei tried to tear herself from his grip but he was too strong. "Th-the Cobra Initiative—" she started, voice garbled by the tight lock he had on her jaw.

"I do not give a shit about the Cobra Initiative anymore," he hissed. "All I care about is destroying you for giving me humanity!" He yanked her face to him. "What happened in Colombia will eat you from the inside," he whispered as she gasped and whimpered uncharacteristically. "You will never forget, you will corrode from within, and then even you will not be worth saving."

Finished speaking, he pulled her face violently to his and crushed his lips onto hers in an unmerciful kiss.

A shot rang out as blood splattered cruelly against the alley wall. Rei's ears rung as the world spun around her in a nauseas swirl of colors. They sank to the dusty ground, a warm wetness much stickier than sweat coating the hand that held the gun. Rei couldn't catch her breath as the high-pitched squeal in her ears almost drowned out the terrified scream within the bar.

Someone was shouting a name desperately in anguish but Rei felt drugged. Her heart pattered painfully in her chest as she pushed his lifeless form off of her. Blood stained her hand, her arm, and her dress as he flopped into the dust, dead for all the world to see. The screaming within the bar finally reached her ears, although as she realized what was happening Rei wished the ringing had not died away.

"Alma!" she could hear Manuelo scream. "Alma, mi media naranja, Alma!" Rei covered her ears but could not rid herself of his terrible shrieks. "Algiuen ayudame! Por favor, Alma no! Alma!"

He'd killed Manuelo's wife. He'd known he would betray him in favor of Rei so he'd killed his wife. Rei rocked back and forth, trying to block out Manuelo's cries. Two people had died on her account that day, two people had paid the price of her presence.

Rei pressed her palms to the ground and pushed up quickly, running down the length of the alley. She had to keep her wits about her. Someone was bound to hear that shot and Manuelo's screams. Her feet pounded the hot pavement as tears streamed down her cheeks. She tried to remember her escape plan but all she could think of was Alma, Manuelo, and Colombia, Colombia, Colombia.

And that was the price of a psychopath's heart.


Makoto Kino gripped the armrest of the seat in pure terror. She was sure that the rate with which her heart pumped had to be extremely unhealthy—like bordering on cartoonish ferocity—like was it actually possible for your heart to beat right out of your chest? She breathed with purpose, in and out, as if she was in a Lamaze class.

Makoto opened eyes that had been squeezed shut, her lashes wet with unshed tears. Her breathing continued harshly and relentlessly, in and out, in and out. She could feel the gaze of her neighbor and turned to meet his skeptical stare.

"The hell are you looking at?!" she snarled angrily and then in a miraculous 180 turn she squealed pitifully as the plane touched ground. The plane bobbled for a moment and swayed and Makoto couldn't hold back the choked sob from deep within her throat as the tires screeched on the tarmac. The deafening pounding of air on metal saturated the cabin as Makoto released every cuss word she could think of under her breath.

And then, like it had all been a dream, the plane was taxiing gently at a smooth and easy pace. Makoto peeked open one eye, her thin yet muscular arms still shaking with fear as her fingers kept their relentless grasp on the armrests. Then her breathing began to steady itself, her small mouth open but not huffing. Finally she leaned back with a glorious exhale, closing her eyes and relaxing her shoulders. For the first time, Makoto felt the accumulation of sweat on her forehead. The plastic that covered the armrest made a sticky, suctioning sound as she tore her nails and fingers from its doughy flesh and wiped her damp forehead with the back of her hand.

How anyone could be calm as a giant metal box barreled towards the ground blew her mind. Given the circumstances, however, there was no going around the flight. Trains took far too long and Makoto didn't have any leeway to give. She may not have been the cleanest with her job…

The pilot announced the landing over the PA system once in English and then succinctly in French. The ding sounded and the fasten-seatbelt sign disappeared, signaling to Makoto that she was in the clear. The brunette snapped her seatbelt off and stood in a flash, flinging open the luggage compartment door before anyone else had even gotten out of their seat. From within the compartment she tugged out a small, black roller bag and placed it on the ground.

She tapped her foot impatiently until eventually, tens of minutes later, the flight crew opened the door. The passengers filed out slowly, causing Makoto's ire to rise but once her feet touched solid ground outside of the aircraft she exhaled deeply and smiled, even giggled, as she strolled up and out of the airport.

Welcome to Sanc Kingdom! a sign read as she encroached on the exit doors. However, Makoto did not pause. She glided through the sliding glass and immediately hailed a taxi. She told the driver her desired address and he gave her a mistrustful glance in the rearview mirror. She could see him size her up and Makoto looked down at her attire.

Her thickly curled hair had grown long in the years and was draped over a shoulder garbed in loose, black chiffon. The slightly see through material displayed a black bra beneath it and pooled in the lap of tight, black high-waisted jeans. Small, heeled black boots covered her feet and generated the annoyed tapping sound as she raised an eyebrow at his blatant size up.

Makoto repeated her desired destination less kindly and the driver immediately tore his eyes from her, squealing down the street. Makoto was thrust back into the seat in surprise before she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

She pulled back the sleeve of her shirt and twisted around her loose, golden watch.

Six o'clock… she thought, re-crossing her arms. Right on time.

It took a moment for the cab to weave around the Sanc Kingdom's evening traffic but within the half hour Makoto had arrived. As they pulled up to the building she popped a piece of bubble gum into her mouth and stared out at the gathering before her curiously.

Lines and lines of news casting vans cluttered the block as reporter after reporter spoke enthusiastically into microphones in front of large cameras. Each vied for the perfect position in front of orange brick, marred with the char of a giant crescent moon.

Makoto smirked and pulled out a pair of Ray Bans from the depths of her purse. She slid the plastic onto her face, paid the driver, and exited the vehicle. Wanting to keep a low profile, she slid around the vans and the reporters sneakily and stealthily before tiptoeing up to a side door. It was guarded by a handsome young man who immediately stepped in front of the entry.

"I'm sorry ma'am but I can't allow you to enter," he said, looking down and eyeing her evident bra before swallowing and looking back to her face.

Makoto blew a bubble and let it pop, gathering the gum back in her mouth. "May I speak to your presiding officer?" she asked.

The young man started to answer but then seemed to stutter for a moment, and Makoto realized that he was no longer looking at her…he was looking past her.

"I am his presiding officer," a deep voice said behind her.

Makoto tipped down her shades and looked over her shoulder to study the new voice. He wore only a white shirt tucked into the fitted black pants that marked a Preventer's uniform. A long braid traveled down his back and stopped just before his waist—where a glaringly obvious gun rested securely in its holster.

"Can I help you?"

Makoto's eyes snapped back to his face. She could see that a usually jovial visage was marked with a fierce seriousness. At first she couldn't find her words, his cuteness melting her sensibility, and Makoto felt the distinct warmth of a blush on her cheeks.

He grew impatient with her silence. "Look lady, civilians aren't supposed to be up here. If you're a hot reporter dressed up in a sexy outfit trying to prey on our younger recruits, don't bother. One of your comrades already tried and," he clenched his fists and looked towards the ground in mocked sadness, "although she got quite far, I—I mean we will not be fooled again!"

The bubble that Makoto had been blowing popped messily over her nose. Her eyes garnered an impressed and flattered glint as they grew wide. She pointed to herself in surprise. "You think I'm hot?" came her garbled response. As if suddenly realizing that was unattractive she seemed to startle herself and sloppily pulled the gum from her face, daintily stuffing it back in her mouth. She looked up bashfully, the blush now glaringly evident.

Duo raised an eyebrow, at first curiously confused by her childishly cute tactics. However, trying to put the pieces together himself and remembering the pestering reporter from before, he pursed his lips with an eye roll. "Alright," he said, grabbing her upper arm tightly, "I'm going to have to escort you off the premises—"

"Wait!" Makoto said, yanking her arm back, but Duo did not relent his grasp. When he continued to pull her around the corner, within eyesight of the news vans, Makoto panicked. With precise hits and movement, she had herself free of his clutches in seconds.

Duo had grunted when she twisted his arm at an odd angle, releasing his grip on her. He turned around in a flash and realized with disbelief that she'd already backed away. The bashful look had returned to her face as she clutched her hands to her breasts. Confused, and not quite sure of her motives, Duo's hands immediately went to his gun and he pulled the firearm from his waist. She backed away and put up surrendering hands but did not seem afraid.

Duo growled. She'd exited his handling with almost militaristic precision. Perhaps she was a karate nut or something, but to exercise such tamed force took a lot of restraint. He could feel a slight tingle near his upper arm and knew that if she'd chosen to in the moment she'd had her hands on him, the mysterious brunette could have dislocated his shoulder. Duo clicked off the safety and as the gun made a sound he saw a jarring seriousness take over her face.

"Who are you?" he asked angrily. He should have been more on his guard. This weird crescent moon gig had them all a little tweaked and off of their game.

She sighed. "My name is Makoto Kino," Makoto said, holding out her wrists "and I am here to turn myself in."

Duo's eyes widened a millimeter. Relieving himself of his initial surprise, he shook his head slightly. He wasn't buying it. "For what?"

Makoto locked eyes with him. "For the murder of Olivier Durand."

For a moment Duo relented. Not minding to keep his composure, his grip slacked on his gun and he stared at her with wide eyes. His mouth dropped open slightly as the gun began to slip from his fingers. Gathering his wits, he squeezed the weapon so hard that he almost fired a shot.

"That's impossible," he barked. "Olivier Durand is second on the Preventer's most wanted list." He looked her up and down. She was unharmed and unarmed and most peculiarly turning herself in. "What's your proof?" he asked sourly.

Makoto bit her knuckle worriedly. "Well, I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job…you know, doing my job," she mumbled. She sighed dejectedly and held out her hands pleadingly. "Just please take me into custody. We can tell you all of the details once we're inside."

Duo's eyes briefly departed from her tall stature and glanced at the young officer behind her. His eyes were wide as he pulled at the walkie talkie on his jacket, saying something quickly and furiously. Then the young boy, with shaking hands, pulled his gun from his waist and pointed it at Duo. The braided man's eyebrows shot downward…until it all came together. He wasn't pointing the gun at Duo…he was pointing it past him.

"We?" he asked, keeping his eyes trained on Makoto but beginning to feel the new presences behind him.

"I'd like to turn myself in for the murder of Momoi Arisawa," came a gentle voice. Duo spun around and pointed the gun at a small, kind looking blunette. Momoi Arisawa…the Preventers had been secretly tracing his bank accounts after his company found an unprecedented spike almost six years ago.

"And me," came another voice and Duo turned his shaking gun on a sunny blonde. Her hands were up as she took another step forward. "I'm turning myself in for the murder of Rashid Masarahi." One of the richest men in the world.

Duo heard the door open behind him and spared it a glance. Sally had emerged with Une right behind her, Heero and Wufei trickling out right after them. He turned his eyes to the last female. "And you?" he asked.

She kept her hands in the pockets of her fashionably professional pants. For such beautiful eyes they didn't seem so lively as the stared at him with an unseeing listlessness. "I am turning myself in for the murder of Nahuel Arias."

It was like they were entombed in a dome of deafening silence. Duo's breath caught in his throat and he could hear Sally and Une mumble their incredulity behind him. This last admission he would have found no validity in if she hadn't known his true name. Barely a soul knew his name, barely a soul could get near to him, barely a soul ever saw him.

"Better known as El Fantasma," she continued as the officers trickled down and quickly slapped handcuffs on all of their wrists. Sally whispered something about ushering them inside quickly so as not to alert the news vans and reporters but Duo's mind was in a haze.

Better known as El Fantasma.

Better known as the Preventers' most wanted man.


Hi all, sorry this took so long but I've been super busy with real life. I hope it's somewhat satisfactory! Try to set aside any disbelief you guys have and let the story unfold! I have plans and they make sense, I just don't want to reveal them all at once. Thank you all for reading and please review!

Pink Rabbit: Yep! Setsuna's a smarty pants for sure and kinda silly. Next time I'll definitely make the connection between her and the other girls and things will really start to come together. I'm glad you liked Ami's section! Yeah, I mean, I can't really make more surprises like that after I've revealed the first one lol but I'm just happy at least the first one was cool. About Mamoru—let the story develop! There's so much to be revealed before I even start to explain Mamoru hahaha. I promise there's a reason behind it and it's valid, you've just got to let everything come together. It'll take time so be patient with me, my friend! Also yes—I had a little bit of Beryl in mind when I wrote Genevieve hahaha, good pick up! Thank you for your compliments on my writing and thank you so much for your review, I really, truly appreciate it!

Yami Nocturna: I knoowwww, scandalous right?! All will be revealed in time! I hope the little nugget I left in this chapter gives you some more answers/questions hahaha. Thank you so much for your review!

JPandS: I know T_T;; it's a little dark haha but I definitely wanted to do something a little more serious. I'm actually really excited to get to all of the reasoning behind what's going on but you know me, hehe, it'll take awhile U_U;. I'd love to hear any of your guesses! I figure the burning crescent moon is pretty obvious at this point hahaha but I'm trying to make this all super mysterious! Thank you so, so much for your review!

Sweetypie15: Thank you so, so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Alesia: Thanks! Hope this chapter is just as good :D