Hiding Scars

Chapter 17

Quatre rolled the SUV up into the driveway of the vacation house. The short ride back had been quiet, everyone feeling the tension radiating from Heero. They'd all noticed how he'd been quiet and moody during dinner, and had overheard the odd conversation between Relena and Heero.

Each person climbed out of the SUV and walked up to the house. Heero went straight to his room without speaking to the others and closed the door. Finally alone with his thoughts, Heero brooded about the day, and all the information that Wufei and Sally brought.

Heero changed out of his clothes and pulled on a clean pair of shorts, then picked up his laptop and sat down on the bed. He wanted more information, and he knew that Wufei, Sally and Une wouldn't give him any, since he was not officially on the case. But there were ways around it. Une trusted Heero to help build the security systems on the Preventer databases, so naturally, he knew the ins and outs of the entire system. He used his laptop to log onto the work computer he kept at the Preventer HQs. Luckily, the computer was on; Someone must have been using it. From there, he was able to begin accessing all the information from the case of Relena Peacecraft-Darlian and Howard Munn. From that database, he found links to the Virginia State Police databases. He easily hacked into that, which Heero found greatly unfortunate, and began to search through whatever information they had collected. Most of it was the bare bones of the investigation. Preventers had all the details. However, Heero did find one bit that was interesting. It was a list of those cleared to be present at the interrogation of Howard Munn the following day at 11 am. Heero grinned, and quickly added his own name to the list.

Heero glanced at the small alarm clock on the side table. It was already five in the morning. Time flies when you're on the hunt, Heero mused to himself.

Relena woke up suddenly to barking. She lifted herself up from her bed to see Cherry looking out the window in her bedroom, barking at something outside. Relena wrapped a thin blanket around herself and stepped up to the window.

"Oh no..."

Outside her home, the Police had completely lost control of the situation. There were media vans everywhere, people everywhere, cameras, both video and still, notepads and voice recorders. Some of the people from opposing media outlets seemed to be conversing, sharing their information with others. Relena swung her gaze across her occupied lawn, noticing that some of her neighbors were staring from windows and doors. As she watched the activity down below, something else caught her eye. Down at the end of the street, a long, black limousine turned onto the street, flanked by several black cars. There were flags on the limo, indicating who was inside. And Relena knew those flags well.

It was the President of the E.S.U.N. Relena spun away from the window and dashed into her closet. She pulled the first outfit she came to from the hangers and quickly dressed. She stopped in the bathroom. There was nothing much to be done about her hair, so she smoothed it down the best she could. She put on a touch of make up before jogging back to the window. From elsewhere in the house, she could hear her vid phone ringing over and over again. She ignored it. The President's car had pulled up to the curb, and there were several dark clothed Preventers standing around, waiting for him to climb out. Naturally, the media was being pushed away from her lawn, but they were still shouting at him and trying to take pictures and get a video feed. Relena watched as the President climbed out of the car and walked across her lawn and up to the door. She turned away and ran down the steps to her front door.

When she pulled it open, the President was just climbing up the steps of her porch. When he saw Relena standing there in the doorway, he broke out into a large grin, his eyes sparkling.

"Miss Darlian," he said, extending his hands out to her. She smiled back and took his hands. He planted a kiss on each of her cheeks.

"Hello President Travis," Relena said, stepping aside to allow the man into her home. One guard stepped in behind him while the others guarded the door and flanked the house to make sure no one tried to get too close.

"I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am to know you are alive," the President said, once the two of them had sat down on her couch.

"Thank you," Relena said, bowing her head slightly.

"We were so afraid for you when we found out that you disappeared. I was scared that you'd been killed," the President continued. "But when the news began talking about your sudden reappearance in the Americas, I began to have hope again. Lady Une was kind enough to confirm your whereabouts, along with the sordid details about why you disappeared. I am truly sorry, and know that if I had know, I would have done everything in my power to make sure that you would be safe," he said.

"I know that, and I appreciate it. What I decided to do was really for the best," Relena said. The President nodded his head.

"I understand," he said. "But I can't let this visit pass without me asking about what your intentions are. I've never found someone more worthy of your position than yourself, and I would be overjoyed if you returned to us, as Foreign Minister of the E.S.U.N." He sighed and pressed his fingers together. "But of course, I would understand if you do not feel you can return. It wasn't your choice to suddenly become known again to the entire world. I don't expect you to give me an answer yet, either. I just hope that you will decide, and we will either welcome you back to us, or we will leave you alone."

Relena had been staring into his eyes as he spoke, seeing the honesty there. It was one of the reasons his campaign to become President went so well. He was honest and open. Even now, Relena knew that no matter what her decision, he would accept it.

She remains silent for a few minutes, while the President politely waits. Finally, she decides to tell him her thoughts.

"I want to return to New Port City. I have already been making plans to return there. I wasn't sure if I would be taking up my position again; it all would have depended on what you wanted me to do. What I do know is that I want to help women, and spread awareness about... about rape. I want women to be able to defend themselves in case they are ever attacked," she explains to him. The happiness in his face is obvious.

"Yes, Miss Relena. That suits you perfectly. And I lend you my support. If you want to return to us, you can have all my support for your campaign for safety of women. And naturally, I believe you have some friends up in space who are struggling with your Mars project," he added with a wink. "Take your time to decide. I will be here for a few days. Here is where you can reach me," he said, handing her a small white card with his contact information for Virginia in blue pen.

"Of course, sir," Relena said, smiling brightly. The President rose and nodded to his Preventer guard.

"I will get out of your hair now, and I'll see what I can do about getting those vultures off your lawn," he said. Relena bowed her head again.

"It would be appreciated."

The President smiled at her and took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze, then followed the Preventer out of her home and back towards his car. Relena saw through the open door that there were already several Preventers around, setting up barricades to keep the media away from her house. The media people backed away, but it seems they would be be deterred from trying to get a good shot. Relena closed the door and leaned against it, sighing. So much had happened to her in the last week, and her mind was full to bursting, thinking about what happened and what she was making plans for. Relena walked away from the door, petting Cherry as she walked by the dog. Relena disappeared into her office, ignoring the blinking lights on her vid phone and sitting down at her desk. She turned on her computer and began to write.

Heero woke up to the sounds of his friends moving around the house. It was already ten in the morning. He dressed quickly in jeans and a button up shirt, then dug out his Preventers badge out of his bag and looped it around his neck. He dug out his gun as well and tucked it against his lower back in the waistband of his jeans. As he walked down the steps, Quatre looked up at him from the couch.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Heero didn't want to answer, but Duo and Hilde were staring at him as well.

"I'm going to the police station to watch that interrogation," Heero confessed.

"Wufei said it wouldn't be a good idea if you went," Quatre replied. Heero shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"What did you do?" Duo asked, eyeing Heero suspiciously. Heero grinned slightly. Quatre sighed.

"I'll drive you," Quatre said. Heero nodded once, and Quatre rose from the couch and grabbed the keys to the car. Heero waited while Quatre put on his shoes, and he glanced over and saw Duo and Hilde eyeing each other lecherously. Heero shook his head.

"Keep it to your own room," Heero said gruffly. Duo snapped his head over to Heero, but he let out a loud laugh.

"Sure thing, buddy."

When Quatre and Heero pulled up to the police station, there were several officers in uniform milling around outside. Most were smoking and drinking coffee from small styrofoam cups. Heero thanked Quatre and climbed out of the SUV. He shut the door and the car rolled away from the curb. Heero strode up to the doors of the station. He could feel the eyes of the officers on him, but he ignored them. He grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. Wufei and Sally were standing nearby, checking through a folder that Wufei held in his hands. They looked up at the same time when Heero walked in.

"What are you doing here?" Wufei asked, his eyes narrowing. Heero grinned at his coworkers.

"Heero..." Sally mumbled. Heero stepped up to the counter and checked in with the administrator.

"I'm here for the interrogation of Howard Munn," Heero said, handing over his Preventer badge and his other form of identification. The woman clicked away on her computer, checking over his ID. She handed them back to him, then added a guest badge to him.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Yuy," she said. Heero looked back to Wufei and Sally. Both of them had their lips pressed into a thin line.

"Yes?" Heero asked, looping his badge back around his neck.

"You won't be in the room with him," Wufei said, leveling his gaze at Heero.

"Understood." Sally looked down at the watch around her wrist.

"It's time. Come on," she said, and the two men followed her.

They went down a low lit hallway and Sally stopped at a door. She pushed it open, and nodded to Heero.

"You can watch from in here," she said. Heero nodded and stepped inside. There were a few other people in the room. A camera was set up facing through the one way mirror. Heero moved to a corner and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. The other officers looked at Heero, but he did not acknowledge them.

Heero looked through the one way mirror at Howard Munn. He was sitting at the table, his hands in cuffs. He wore the plain blue clothing of a prisoner. He had several days of growth on his face, and his eyes were lidded and ringed in blue. Heero watched as Munn clenched and unclenched his hands over and over again. Finally, Wufei and Sally walked into the room, closed the door and stood in spots that would still allow the camera to see Munn. Heero took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to reign in his emotions and calm himself down.

"State your name," Sally said.

"Howard Munn."

"And are you aware of what you are accused of?" Sally asked. Howard Munn grinned.

"Oh yes I do," he said, and a laugh escaped from his throat, rattling through the small brick room. Heero felt his hairs on his arm pickle. "You threw me in that cell because of that bitch Relena Darlian. I warned her not to run from me. But she did, so I had to chase her down to make sure she wasn't breaking my rules," he said. Heero's eyes narrowed. "But she did. She ran. And I had to chase her down. Oh it took a while, sure, but I found her. Disgusting women like that cannot hide from me forever," he said.

"Have there been other women?" Sally asked. Munn began to giggle again.

"I'm sure you'd love to know that," he said through his insane giggles. Sally and Wufei's eyes narrowed at the same time.

"We have located several of your little hide outs," Wufei said. "We have found your journals and notes and pictures."

"Ah, so you have gotten a glimpse of my genius already! Good, I'm glad I won't have to try and explain that to you," Munn said, leaning back in his chair. Sally's face paled, and Heero's body tightened. The urge to beat the living shit out of this guy was powerful.

"Why did you go after Relena Darlian?" Wufei asked. Munn closed his eyes and smiled wistfully.

"She was an interesting candidate. When I became aware of her existence, I knew she was something special. And I deserved something special," he said. "Of course, the girl was never alone, and it took me a long time to make the plans to finally meet her face to face. It really was one of my more genius ideas. I knew that loser wouldn't actually kill her. His aim was terrible. But I knew all those Preventer idiots would be busy cleaning up the mess, leaving Relena to me." Munn opened his eyes and looked at Sally and Wufei. "I should be thanking you for helping me get to her."

Wufei flinched in a forward movement, but Sally grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Heero, in the observation room, began to pace, his breath heaving through his chest as he fought to remain calm.

"But," Munn began to speak again, his eyes closed. "Relena broke my rules, and I am not a very forgiving man. I've been bitten too many times by being too forgiving. So she will have to die."

"Your plans will never be carried out," Sally said, losing control of herself for a moment, as she glared at him, her hands trembling.

"I'm sure you would love to believe that," Munn said, opening his eyes once again. He turned and stared straight at the one way mirror. "Perhaps I'll record it, like you are recording me right now, and broadcast it to the world. I can just see the headlines now- 'Queen of the World Brutally Murdered in Home.' Perhaps," he giggled once more. "Perhaps I'll adorn her lifeless body in a crown for the pictures."

Veins began to stand out in Wufei's neck. Sally nodded to Wufei, and the two of them left the room.

"Are we done talking and making plans for the future?" Munn called after them. A burly man in uniform stepped into the room and yanked up Munn from the chair he sat on and guided him out of the room. "Ah, did I piss everyone off? Make you uncomfortable? That's too bad!" he shouted as he was pushed along the hallway. Heero could hear him yelling outside the observation room door. Soon, Munn's cries and laughter faded away as he was taken back to his cell.