Disclaimer: never will
Chapter 4
28 Minutes
Take One: Wufei Chang
He hated China. Ancestry be damned, Wufei absolutely hated China. It wasn't the overpriced hotel's for White people to fall for, or the faux festivals to make the foreigners throw out more money- no. Wufei hated China for the sole reason of travel accommodations. It took almost 5 days to leave the country by truck.
He remembered his phone call from Duo. How long ago was that? Two days? Three days? The braided idiot had wanted to pull off another heist.
Flaskback--
Wufei had been at the farmer's market in a small Chinese town. There was word that one of the vendor's sold armory on the side, you just had to know which. After receiving the information that it was one of the chicken sellers, Wufei made his way through the stalls. He didn't need any more hints after he got a good look at the chicken sellers, all were old men-except for one. A tall China man, covered in tattoos with prison markings had given Wufei a hint of who it could be.
When he started talking to the vendor, an argument began to arise.
"(You pay the same as any foreigner!)" the burley China vendor scowled in his native tongue.
As soon as he was about to argue back, his cell phone went off.
Ring. Ring
"How the Hell did you get this number, and why should I stay on the phone?" Wufei barked through the phone.
"Easy Chang, I have a favor to ask you." the insipid voice of Duo Maxwell replied.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?" Wufei seethed. Whatever favor Maxwell asked for, it would always result in the same thing…
"I need you to be our 'grease man' so to speak."
"Who are you fucking with this time, Maxwell?" Wufei had to admit he was curious.
"Khushrenada's casino."
All Wufei had to hear was that name, and anything that involved screwing him over was a plan that favored him.
"Who's all in? You say who I think you say- then I'll just wing it on my own."
Wufei recalled back to the last heist they tried to pull. What Yuy had done was immoral for his standards, and that was on Yuy himself- but he refused to take part in that kind of heist plan again.
"Well everyone really, except Heero of course- afraid he's still learning his lesson." Duo lied. But Wufei wouldn't know this until he reached Sanc.
"I'll call you the next time I have signal." Which he promptly hung up. Now back to arguing with this asshole.
End Flashback--
He was at the Russian border in a matter of hours, after traveling for 3 days straight Wufei hoped that this heist would lift his spirit a bit. He didn't tell Maxwell, but he recruited someone to help them in this heist, her name was Sally Po and she would meet him in Germany- before he made his way to Sanc. He planned on calling Maxwell today to give him the news. Afterall, Wufei at this moment; was unaware the Heero Yuy was involved.
Wufei whipped out his phone and dialed the braided idiots number.
Take Two: Relena's Office
Relena walked in her office that morning with a large vase of Lilies and orchids to greet her.
"Sylvia? What's this for?" Relena asked her secretary, who in turn had presented a card for her boss.
"Mr. Treize left it for you, he told me to give you this when you came in."
The card was laced around the borders, something you would find in wedding invitation, Relena opened to reveal its contents:
Good Morning Beautiful.
I hope the flowers are to your liking, it's only a small token of appreciation for you accompanying myself to the Grand Opening of your brother's and my Casino. So, as an extra gratitude, I would like to take you out to dinner tonight.
How about Portebella's? I won't take no for an answer.
Sincerely: Treize
Relena read through the contents over and over. He wanted to take her to dinner? She knew she should be feeling ecstatic like most women would be if Treize Khushrenada asked them to dinner. So instead, she settled with a pleasant feeling of looking forward to the event. As she concentrated on this thought, a tap on her shoulder awoke her from her mind.
"A real man knows to shower a woman in gifts, and they seem so expensive." the silk voice of Dorothy Catalonia commented. She stood behind Relena, wearing a red business shirt and a white blouse- her bleached hair up in a bun.
"Oh, Dorothy. You nearly scared me." Relena put the card in her purse, and wanted nothing more than to avoid any conversation held by the woman beside her. Dorothy had a very 'promiscuous' reputation with the male employees in the office, and her brother instructed her that it would be bad for publicity to be seen with such a woman.
Dorothy slid her arm about Relena's shoulders. Holding her head close to Relena's ear, Dorothy whispered discreetly.
"Men like this are very forward in their interest, women like you are more conservative." Relena could smell the scent of perfume and cologne mixed together.
With that, Dorothy let go of Relena and walked away.
"She was in the conference room with the CEO of our corporate acquaintances for more than an hour, and I don't think they were talking." Syliva whispered to her boss. Her curls bouncing when she looked around to see whether anyone heard her.
Relena simply told her secretary to have the vase delivered to her apartment suite. She would prefer to forget any word the Dorothy Catalonia said to her.
Take Three: Black-eyed jack
"Wufei, you recruited someone and didn't even tell us!" Duo was frantic, he expected a call from Wufei and only the knowledge that he would be in Sanc soon- Not a new person for the team.
"She's more then qualified, she's an expert in these kinds of things." The voice on the end of the line answered.
Trowa, Howard, and Heero were all looking at this display with a passive expression. They had been waiting for Wufei to call, and expected it 3 days ago. Now, the Chinese man had called and informed them that he had picked up a new recruit to help with the surveillance of the heist. From what they could hear from Wufei on the phone, She was an expert in computers and did military time. But Maxwell was still on the fact that Wufei hired someone they didn't know.
"What's wrong with my surveying?" Howard grumbled.
"You're drunk half the time." Heero answered casually.
"oh yea."
Duo had been arguing on the phone with Wufei for an hour. In that time, Howard flashed a deck of cards to Trowa and Heero. So they set down to playing Blackjack, Howard the only one drinking beer.
"So Heero, how'd the Pen treat ya?" Howard asked slurring his words.
"Not so bad as to what they say."
"You weren't anyone's bitch were you?" Howard choked out before succumbing to laughter.
"I found that some men become them by choice, so they don't actually make you into one." Heero answered casually.
"If that's the case, did you experiment?" Trowa asked with a dead seriousness, but laced with mirth.
"Women are more to my taste, sorry Trowa I don't find men as attractive as you do.." Heero answered.
"Especially since that last piece of ass you had," Howard said drunkenly "What was her name? Selena, Helena, ..lena. Oh well, she had a body that would make preteen boys hit puberty three years early."
Duo was still arguing with Wufei on the phone, an argument that could be heard in the background.
"Howard I don't think you should go there." Trowa advised, while Howard didn't notice the white fists formed from Heero's continuous clenching.
"What? Trowa you even said how hot she was. I knew exactly why Heero volunteered to string her along. I'm jealous, I'll admit it." Howard slurred on. Not aware that the man in question was staring at his cards with a deathly concentration- and not for the sake of the game, his breathing shortening from rage.
"He shouldn't be angry, he's the one that got to fu….." Howard didn't finish his sentence, instead he met the other end of Heero Yuy's fist.
This caught Duo's attention. "You know what, We'll argue later." with that he hung up on Wufei.
Heero only hit Howard once, then made his way out the front door- slamming it in his wake.
"I told you not to go there." Trowa said as he held a cold beer to Howard's blackening eye.
Take Four: Milliardo's Dilemma
He'd never had a problem with confidence before, he never had a problem with fear. But now, staring at the gleaming diamond ring in his hand- they were hitting him hard at the moment. Milliardo had planned a dinner at the most expensive Hotel in Sanc, Treize had helped with the reservations. Tonight, he would propose to Lucrezia Noin. He felt more then ready to start a family.
But he was having trouble with every little thing. And set to calling his sister over for assistance.
"Milliardo! I'm here." Relena called from the front door of his apartment. Milliardo raced and grabbed his sister by the hand.
"I need your help!"
That was an understatement. Milliardo stood before her with a crooked tie, hair a mess, and…was that sweat?
"Sure." Relena said a little nervously. Prying her brother's hands off her, "What can I do for you?"
Rather than explain, Milliardo reached in his pocket to show her. The black velvet box opened and revealed the gleam of a substantially large diamond."Oh my god. You're going to..?" Relena started.
Milliardo nodded.
"You're going to ask her to…?"
Milliardo nodded.
"We're going to be…."
Milliardo nodded.
"THAT'S WONDERFUL!" Relena jumped up and down and hugged her older brother tightly.
"That's if she says yes." He then began to drop back into his hectic state.
"If? Brother you two have been together since childhood. I'm sure if she didn't want to then she'd have split long ago."
"I'm planning on asking her tonight, Treize got us reservations to…" Milliardo tried to explain.
"Portebella's in the Sanc Hotel?" Relena answered.
"Yea, how'd you know?"
"He asked me to dinner there tonight." Relena said, feeling a bit suspicious about the situation.
"That's Great! I'll feel more comfortable."
Relena however remained unsettled.
Take Five: Dinner For Four
Suprisingly, it didn't take Relena long to get ready for that night. Her brother took considerably longer than her. Trieze arrived in his stretch limousine at the Peacecraft Manor. Relena wore a simple black dress that exposed her back, while her brother wore a sharp black and white tux. Treize of course commented on how beautiful she looked. They made there way toward Noin's, to pick her up in the same fashion.
Noin was a tall and stunning women, shorter than her brother though. Her short hair was divided on the side, and matched Relena in a simple black dress as well. Her brother couldn't contain his goofy smile the whole way to the Hotel Restaurant.
However, as they arrived at the Hotel and Treize was helping Relena out of the limo. Something caught Relena's eye. As she stepped out into the night air, she looked around her and was met with a wide eyed stare from two Prussian blue eyes. Standing not but five feet away.
"Heero?"
All Done for this week...I'm working on the next chapter for my other fic "Murder by any other Name" so look for that soon.