Identity Lost

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters, I do not own.

Eight – Unusual Situations

Unusual situations will lead a man to the woman he is destined to be with.

Work ended early for Mima that night. There were only a few stragglers who decided to stay in their seats until they were booted out. Harry insisted Mima to leave before closing so that she didn't need to pull another late night. The man she knew as her father was always much kinder to her compared to her mother and sister. Whenever they weren't around, he would go out of his way not to trouble Mima much further. On the rare occasion, it seemed as if he felt guilty for something and was trying to make amends.

As she bid a final farewell to the other co-workers for the evening, she left Hieronymous feeling frustrated. She wanted to see Heero again but where was she going to start searching? It seemed highly unlikely that he would be listed in the yellow pages. He wasn't the type of person that would advertise where he stayed, especially not after hearing Hilde's recollections. However, she went to double check the listings just to make sure... and sure enough, he wasn't there.

There was also the nagging feeling in the back of her head telling her she should heed her friend's advice. Hilde only had her best interest in mind and perhaps she was right to caution her about Heero Yuy. Nevetheless, the curiosity behind the man was too tempting to ignore.

While standing outside, she reached down and grasped her necklace, making a silent wish that she would be able to track him down.

She decided that returning to the café would be the best bet in finding any clues leading to Heero's whereabouts. It didn't take long for Mima to reach the front door of the establishment and she debated whether she should enter.

Looking through the Victorian-styled windows, she noticed that most of the seats were already filled with patrons and, more importantly, he was nowhere to be found.

"Guess there's no point in going in after all." Mima muttered to herself as she continued on her way. She knew it was too soon to give in but she had no idea where to search next. The city housed a couple of million people after all. Two hours later, she finally admitted defeat and started for home.


Jezzie and her mother relaxed on the couches of her apartment discussing the so-called banquet that she was attending. They were already into the second hour of conversation and she still couldn't convince Samantha how important this one night could potentially mean to her relationship with Connor Striker. Apparently parents from the older generation just didn't get it.

"I need to look fabulous, suave, sophisticated, everything!" She repeated for the tenth time. "I don't want his eyes wandering anywhere but on me."

"Well, dear, I don't see what's the big deal. And besides, you already purchased that dress worth three of your paycheques. What more do you want?" Sam argued on deaf's ears, still not understanding the relevance of attending a corporate shindig.

"Jewellery… I need jewellery." Jezzie stated matter-of-factly.

Sam sighed in defeat. She was her daughter after all and as ironic as the statement was, she was the tree from which the apple fell.

"If you only exploited Relena when you guys had the chance, we wouldn't be having financial problems right now." Jezzie complained.

As much as the mother-daughter duo argued in the past, Relena's name was almost always brought up, as the final nail to the coffin. Shortly after the collision on the road, they had no idea that the young girl they dragged home was Relena Darlian herself. Once they knew, they kept Relena in their home out of utter fear and uncertainty for what would happen to them should the world discover the truth behind her disappearance. As a matter of fact, when Sam and Harry decided to keep her in hiding they agreed never to mention it. Relena Darlian, as they knew it, disappeared as how the news reported the incident.

"How many times have we told you not to say that name? How could you say that – exploit her? You know we would never harm her. And worrying about having extra cash for jewellery is hardly what I define poverty."

"Oh, don't give me this nonsense. You loathe her presence as much as I do. Why else would we treat her like the insignificant creature that she is?" Jezzie cleverly sidestepped the discussion of the jewellery. She preferred arguing with her mother about the one topic that boiled her blood over every time she thought about Relena's perfect life of privilege, luxury, and undeniable wealth.

Samantha was furious by the way the conversation was headed and abruptly ended it with a stern voice. "Enough. I don't want to hear it and I am serious, Jezzie. Never say that name again."

Jezzie finally announced with a smirk. "Fine, have it your way. I have other sources to get what I want without using my bank account."


On that same night, Samantha was still going over the heated conversation with Jezzie earlier in the day and she didn't know what to make of it. She was absolutely clueless in terms of what Jezzie would be planning. As she was quickly filling orders in as fast as she could, she received an anonymous phone call for a special delivery to be made. "Mima! We have a delivery to make to the 52nd Precinct. Can you make the run?" Samantha called from the kitchen.

There were times when people called in special orders to be delivered to their destination. Usually they were private functions that the men didn't want their wives or lady friends to know about.

"52nd Precinct? I'm not sure if I feel comfortable making this delivery. Can you get someone else?" Mima asked gently, almost pleading with her eyes. 52nd Precinct was renowned for its gang violence and muggings on sidewalk streets. Most law enforcement officers turned a blind eye to that region since everyone treated it as a lost cause. Business establishments were abandoned; sidewalk streets cracked, and the neighbourhood residents didn't improve the reputation.

"I don't have time for this. Just get over there and deliver these boxes of dessert platters." She retorted angrily.

Mima had no other choice but to comply. She quickly buttoned up and carried the boxes to the loading dock for transport in one of two company delivery vans. It was just her luck to notice that other co-workers already took the vans as the dock sat empty with only patches of oil on the cement for companionship. How else was she going to make the delivery? If she didn't hurry, she knew she would get another earful from Samantha.

"Guess I'm walking." She mumbled to herself and then tried sarcasm to lighten the mood. "Good thing it's only ten minutes away – by car."

As the architecture progressed with age from one street to the next, Mima grew more anxious by the looks of the streeters lounging against the brick buildings. She kept looking down on the tiny scribbled paper at the address in order to avoid eye contact with strangers. It was well past midnight and the night owls were just coming out to roam the streets for alcohol and prostitutes. The pungent smell of tobacco smoke and hard liquor was already engulfing her senses. She couldn't decide which was worse for her lungs – second hand smoke from the restaurant or from the streets.

An old man wearing tattered clothes approached her dangling a half empty whisky bottle in one hand, "Hey, little lady, you need a hand with those boxes?"

Her walking pace sped up involuntarily and she managed to out-walk the man before finding her breath again.

Half an hour later, she discovered that she was terribly lost and the location was nowhere to be found. She was even brave enough to ask for directions but still came up empty handed.

"Where the heck is this place?" She was beginning to think that there might have been a mistake with the address; sometimes when they get so busy such errors were bound to happen.

As exhaustion began to set in, she dropped the boxes on a nearby bus bench and took a breather to decide what would be the best course of action. If she didn't return in time, she would not hear the end of it. If she didn't return with the payment for the delivery, she had no doubt that Samantha would deduct the value from her wages.

After much contemplating, she thought it was far better getting scolded in the safety of Hieronymous than being alone on the 52nd Precinct. The moment she stood up she felt a dark figure push her into the hidden alleyway between two decrepit buildings.

The impact of being crushed between the side building of a warehouse and her attacker happened so suddenly that she lost her breath for a split second. She felt foolish for not noticing the danger around her in time and she only had herself to blame.

"Gimme your money!" The man whispered harshly into her ear as he pinned her to the wall. "Don't make a sound or else I'll slit your throat." Mima then felt a chilling metal blade against her neck and she froze. She couldn't think…. She couldn't breathe. She didn't want to die.

"Turn around, bitch!" The assailant roughly manhandled her and turned her around so that she was facing him. Unfortunately for her, he was a wearing a black ski-mask and she couldn't pinpoint a certain facial characteristic to report to the police if she made it out of this alive.

'Help, somebody' was the only thought looping in her mind. She was too frightened to do anything and he knew it. Instead of waiting for her to retrieve her wallet, he reached into her coat pockets and dug around until he found what he was looking for.

"Please, leave me alone." Mima whimpered between gasping breaths. "You have what you want."

"No, not quite." He admitted, smirking. "You're a pretty one aren't ya? I bet you were in this part of town looking for some attention. Good thing I'm hear to ease that itch of yours. Are you feeling as hot as I am?"

Her assailant's hands started moving along the contours of her body and ripped open the front collar of her coat. She couldn't believe what was happening to her. He wouldn't dare…. but he was.

"No… please." She pleaded as she attempted to push him aside.

With one hand, he used the knife to hold her in place as his other hand freely tore open the buttons of her blouse. Her hands were proving useless in defence. He was overpowering her with his body weight and the more she pushed him away, the harder he pushed her to stay rooted against the brick wall behind them.

He almost went wild when he saw the white-laced bra beneath her layered clothing. Her efforts at fighting back were making him more aroused by the minute. Very roughly he cupped her right breast and kissed her to silence her scream. The man forced a leg between her legs to keep her from fidgeting and fighting off any last of her attempts of escape. Very soon, he was going to be between those thighs and he grew hard just thinking about it.

She prepped herself with the last bit of her strength to kick him in the crotch and run like hell but he anticipated her counter and forcefully punched her in the stomach with one blow. The pain was excruciating and she had no choice but to bow over. Mima's wind was knocked out of her and she was only being held up from her attacker's body.

"You're going to pay for that, sweetheart." He laughed as he slapped her into submission. Blood began dripping from a cut that he made on her lips from the force of his blows. He stopped once he noticed that her fighting spirit had left.

At that point, she didn't care anymore. Despite the pain clouding her senses, she was still conscious enough to think that death was more enticing than this cruel punishment. Her vision became blurry and she prayed to be anything but conscious for the remainder of the rape.

The seconds ticked away the potential end of her innocence.

She felt her pants being unzipped and the cool night wind against her breasts that were now bare.

Seconds turned into minutes.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" A thundering voice boomed from the lighted sidewalk.

"None of your goddamn business. Now, git!" She heard the attacker yell back.

"Get off of her!"

He abruptly loosened his grip on her and ran to attack the person interrupting his fun. The last thing she remembered was no longer being held up by the rapist and falling limply to the ground.

TBC