They're getting closer...

Enjoy~

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Chapter 11

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In the stillness of a quiet hotel room, the faint sound of the ticking clock on the bedside table was accompanied briefly by a strange clicking noise emitting from the other side of the securely locked door.

Seconds passed until the silence was cut by a faint beep following the distinct clack of a lock disengaging. The door slowly swung open to reveal a bright grin on a certain American's face as he twirled a small device by its read and black cables. "Sweet, I shaved two seconds off my best time. Am I awesome, or am I awesome?" Duo snickered before placing the device in his preventers jacket's pocket.

Trowa looked over his comrade's shoulder into the hotel room. "Your penchant for things clearly illegal will never cease to amaze me. Now how much time do we have for this search?" he questioned while pulling out a pair of latex gloves from his own pocket.

Taking that as a cue to get his own gloves out, Duo was quick to tug them on as he stepped into the room. "Hee said that the conference just started and things are proceeding normally. Knowing Relena, she'll want to talk everyone to death. I'd say we have maybe half an hour to search then put everything back before we leave."

"Plenty of time. I'll start with the closet, you take the dresser."

"Alrighty." Duo didn't hesitate to go straight for the large dresser in front of the king sized bed and pull out the entire top drawer. The moment he saw lace he snorted in amusement. "Okay, this is slightly awkward." he chuckled, placing the drawer on the end of the bed.

Once the drawer was on the bed he stood straight for a moment and placed his hand to his chin in thought. "If anyone asked me last week what my next assignment was going to be, I don't think 'rifling through the Vice Foreign Minister's lace teddies' would have crossed my mind." he mused out loud.

"I would have been very disturbed if it did, Duo." Trowa called out from the closet. When he couldn't hear Duo moving he leaned back to check on him. The American was still standing glaring at the drawer like he was hesitant to move closer. "Duo, I know women's intimate apparel is intimidating, but we do have time constraints. They won't bite you."

Duo gave a short bark of laughter and fished out one of the flimsy teddies. "I'm just wondering how many of these Heero's played with." He held a purple tiger print teddy with a black feather fringe around the hems up to his chest and struck a pose. "Whaddaya think, Tro? Am I sexy?" he cooed while batting his eyelashes.

Trowa gave a little smirk and rolled his eyes. "Beautiful. Now can we be serious here for a few minutes? We're doing this for Quatre." he pointed out while returning to the pink suitcases piled in the closet.

The reminder had Duo smirking as he held up the teddy for further inspection. "You know a guy's your best friend when you're willing to break into a chick's hotel room to snoop through her lacy things, and it not have any sexual pretenses whatsoever."

"Indeed." the Frenchman called out followed by the sounds of zippers.

Continuing with his own search, Duo looked through the drawer, but when he saw how elaborate each article of clothing was his eyebrow quirked up high. "This is kinda weird..."

"What?"

Duo glanced over the price tags that were still attached to some of the garments as he spoke. "As far as I know Relena's been single since she and Hee split three years ago... A lot of this stuff looks like she's bought it recently... Why would a single chick pay some serious coin for sexy stuff when she has no one to show it to?"

"Perhaps she just liked them..." Trowa trailed off for a moment as a thought occurred to him. "Duo... Perhaps a better question would be why would Relena bother to place them in the drawer to begin with?" He stepped out of the closet and focused on the drawer on the bed. "If she recently bought them, wouldn't there be shopping bags in the room? Or at least be packed away in the suit cases? Placing them in the drawer means that she does intend to wear them during her stay here."

"Ooo... Naughty Relena.. Maybe she did find someone." Duo whistled as he placed everything back as it was in the drawer.

"Well, if she did, it's a bit careless of her not to inform us so we could include it on the security detail." Trowa muttered before returning to the half opened suitcases.

"Gotta good point there. Maybe she's hiring out a gigolo during the evening." the American thought out loud while replacing the drawer in the dresser.

"Focus, Duo."

The rest of the search went quietly and uneventful. The closet and the dresser turned up nothing of interest, as did the vanity and the bathroom. It was looking as if their assignment was a waste of time.

"Oi, Tro.. Found a strange note here in the bedside table..."

Looking up from where he was putting back the things in the vanity table, Trowa instantly frowned when he saw the unusual expression on his friend's face. "What does it say?"

Standing up straight, Duo glanced over the notepad in his hands. "Looks like a eulogy speech..."

"Eulogy?" Trowa repeated as he crossed the room to the braided man's side. "I don't recall anyone passing. Does it have a name on it?"

That braided head shook, but his brow seemed to furrow deeper the longer he read. "No.. But listen to this... Although he was taken from us in such a tragic way, we cannot allow ourselves to forget what he strived to teach all of us every day. His passing should inspire a greater passion within us to be the same pillar of hope and peace that he represented. Remember the strength he showed throughout the hardships that were constantly dealt to him over his life. A life cut far too short by the cruelties that still plague humanity. We should all endeavor to ensure that we do not allow such a travesty to happen again. In honor of my fallen counterpart in the road to peace, I beseech all of you to join me in turning his dream of finally bridging the gap between the colonies and the Earth in a peaceful coexistence into a reality." When Duo finished he glanced towards his comrade with a narrowed glare. "You thinking the same thing I am...?"

Mirroring his friend's glare, Trowa took the notepad and glanced over the words written in a delicate cursive. "Indeed... Seems as if Relena is anticipating a demise that has yet to occur." He looked towards the silently fuming American and was quick to place his gloved hand on the tense shoulder. "Duo, focus. This isn't enough to pin anything on her. We need something solid."

Duo took a deep breath to calm himself and bowed his head. "You're right..." As his eyes dropped to the dark red carpet his attention was caught on a black strap that was peaking out from under the bed. "Hello... Something's stashed under the bed."

Seeing it as well, Trowa got down on the floor to search under the bed. Soon he pulled out a black leather attache case and handed it to Duo. "It has a lock on it."

Taking the case, Duo smirked coyly. "I'm sorry, the word 'lock' isn't in my vocabulary." he stated while smoothly producing his black leather lock picking case from his jacket pocket.

Trowa hummed softly as he looked under the bed for anything else. "You're such a delinquent."

"Ah yes, but a delinquent that makes things a hell of a lot easier." Duo countered as he proceeded to pop the lock on the case.

"Quatre's faster than you at lock picking." the Frenchman stated as he stood.

Duo gave a sarcastic glare to his companion. "Yeah, and Heero's faster than both of us."

"That's because he shoots at a lock until it ceases to be a lock."

"Exactly. It's all about results." Duo's words were punctuated by the click of the small lock finally releasing. He opened the case and froze the moment he saw its contents. "Trowa... Call Heero now..." he whispered as he stared at the countless faces of his best friend staring back at him.

Trowa had already reached for his phone when his eye caught sight of the blonde's image in the center of a scope pattern. He was about to dial when the sound of heavy boots stomping echoed from the hall. The pair traded a quick glance, and in an instant Duo had the case closed before he drug it and himself under the bed. Trowa darted for the balcony, crouching low as he slipped out and hid out of sight.

Duo controlled his breathing as he waited for the footsteps, slowly reaching for his sidearm behind his back. Their caution wasn't in vain when the sound of footsteps stopped in front of Relena's hotel room. The faint beep that sounded easily alerted him that whoever was entering had a keycard. 'A co-conspirator..?' he thought while clutching the case tighter to him.

"No, nothing looks out of place... Yeah, I know... The lady is completely mental, but her money's still good."

When the bed suddenly bowed under the weigh of someone heavy, Duo bit his lip and tried to move out of the way.

"Oh yeah, when he didn't die she fuckin blew her top. She's insisting that she doesn't need any help this time. We're just supposed to keep those clowns that are always lurking around him out of the way...." The bed shifted slightly like its occupant was leaning over. "Nah, can't kill them. She said she needed them later. Blondie's the only one that needs to go... No, don't got a clue why. Don't really care. We're not supposed to ask that kinda shit anyway. From what I heard this bitch is going through hired guns faster than fuck..." A deep chuckle sounded and slightly shook the bed. "Yeah, Blondie himself took out Marcus. Nice tight triple tap to the chest.... Oh yeah, it was beautiful. And at that distance? I think he was a pro back during the war. Probably why it's so fuckin hard to kill the little bastard."

'Heh.. You got no idea, pal..' Duo glanced towards the balcony and wondered if Trowa was hearing everything. 'I'm pretty sure this qualifies as our proof...'

If only they could report it in.

Out on the balcony Trowa was having similar thoughts. Crouched down hidden behind the wall next to the door, Trowa could make out most of the things said inside. Since the sound was muffled and the noises of the midday traffic were filling the air, Trowa decided to take a chance and pulled out his phone. He was originally going to call Heero, but they needed more coverage. 'Need more security at the courthouse...' he thought as he hit speed dial.

-"Yes, Trowa? What is it? Have you found something?"- Une's voice called out over the phone.

"Yes, we've discovered something that would suggest an obsession over Quatre and possible notes for his own eulogy. Right now someone has entered the room. Duo and myself are hiding, but from the conversation the guy is having on the phone it sounds like he's a hired gun watching the place while Relena is busy." Trowa whispered as low as he could.

There was a slight pause before a deep sigh sounded over the line. -"Do you need back up?"-

"Negative, we don't want to risk anyone that may be in on this spotting any marked vehicles. However I believe you may want to send it to the courthouse. From what I could hear it sounds like Relena is going to act out some sort of plan today.."

-"Of course. I'll have them sent immediately and inform Heero of what you've told me. What are your plans now? Will you be able to escape without detection?"-

"We more than likely could, but do you think an accessory would be a useful thing to obtain?"

-"Heh.. Accessories are always useful, Trowa. Please be careful, and inform me of when you have the situation contained. I'll send out an unmarked vehicle to pick you up and return you to HQ."-

"Yes, Ma'am." Trowa immediately closed his phone and glanced back towards the glass doors. 'Hopefully... Duo remembers contingency plan nine...'

Under the bed Duo was sorely tempted to take out the loud annoying man perched on the bed. 'Wonder if I could get a clean shot if I pointed through the mattress...' he mused, his eyes twitching when the hired man gave another bellowing laugh. 'Fuck.. For a mercenary, this guy ain't too stealthy...'

"That would be fuckin awesome! But hey, I better let ya go.... Nah, I just don't wanna hafta deal with her bitching if she finds out I've been on the phone. She's iced other mercs for less, man. Remember what happened to Liza? Seriously. I'd feel sorry for her if I didn't feel like getting the same treatment from that psycho.... Nah, Liza's still alive. I think... I dunno. I'm not about to risk my neck looking for her though. Anyway, I'm gonna get back to watchin this place. Talk to ya later, man." The sound of a phone snapping shut was promptly followed by a weight flopping back onto the bed.

Duo's eyes widened when the bed bowed again and nearly settled onto his back. 'Shit.. This guy must be huge...' Now at least any shot he took would be a kill shot, but he knew they were supposed to make their presence unknown. 'Dammit.. What do we do...?'

Suddenly a soft sound came from the balcony. "Ryoow... Ryooow..."

The man on the bed shifted. "A cat? She didn't say anything about a cat..."

The moment Duo heard the sound something clicked inside his mind. 'Cat.. Plan nine...' When the plan instantly ran through his head, the weight on the bed started to move. Seeing his chance, Duo silently began to unhook the long leather strap from the attache case.

Strap in hand, Duo inched towards the end of the bed and waited for the man to head for the balcony doors. Once the man was almost at the glass doors, Duo crept out from under the bed and stayed in a crouch for a moment longer. The man was huge. Well over six feet with a broad build. Duo was guessing at least 250 pounds hidden beneath the thick brown canvas jacket and the camo pants. However the sight didn't intimidate him. His size was exactly was plan nine was made for. 'Heh.. Good call, Tro...'

The mercenary placed his paw of a hand on the balcony door and opened it. "Alright, ya stupid cat..."

Before he could take a step out the door, Duo charged forward. Within a second he jumped on the man's broad back and wrapped the leather strap around the thick neck before pulling back with all of his strength. There was a gurgling gasp as the mercenary began to choke. His meaty arms tried to swat at the form attached to him, but Duo cracked his left knee hard into the guy's kidney. When the Mercenary stumbled at the blow, Duo looked to the balcony. "Tro!!" As soon as he called out, he immediately dropped down the burly man's back, still hanging to the ends of the strap.

The mercenary was about to turn to shake Duo off of him, but his eyes nearly bulged out of his head when a solid force plowed into his stomach. Unable to take in a breath after his diaphragm was crushed, he couldn't let out the cry of pain that wanted to form when he heard several ribs crack. Straight ahead he was caught in the sight of a single green eye. He barely got a glimpse of the boot planted in his stomach before his vision steadily faded to black.

Seeing the man was already out for the count, Trowa let his right foot settle back on the floor. "You can let go now, Duo."

Duo readily let go of the strap, and watched with a satisfied smirk as the burly man fell to the carpet in a heap. "Ha, that was easy."

"Don't get too comfortable, Duo." Trowa pulled out his cell and made a quick note of the time. "The press conference will be over any minute. Relena's bound to strike soon. We need to prepare."

His good mood quickly twisting into something close to a deep seated anger, Duo glared at the mercenary. "That bitch isn't going to lay a hand on Q... I'll cap the whore myself if she tries." he grunted before dealing a swift kick to unconscious man's side.

Trowa placed a calming hand on his friend's shoulder as he pressed the speed dial on his phone. "Easy, Duo... We need to make sure everyone knows of the situation first. Just because Relena is the ring leader doesn't mean she's the only one lying in wait. Une will send for us. We'll take this guy with us and make him sing."

Still wanting to beat his anger out on the hapless bag of meat on the floor, Duo clenched his fists tightly to force himself to focus. "He'll be singing fuckin soprano after I'm done with him." he growled between his gritted teeth.

"You'll get your chance..." Trowa trailed off when the line picked up. "Une, we've got things under control. Send a van to the loading dock at the back of the building."

-"It's on its way. Be careful. There may be others lurking in the area. I've already sent word to Heero. He'll take appropriate action."- Une responded, her words very clipped.

Trowa could tell she was just on edge as everyone else. "Roger. We'll case the area before we make a move." He quickly closed his phone and pointed towards the door. "See if you can obtain a laundry cart from room service. We'll need to make sure this is the only merc that has an eye on this place."

Duo raised a brow at the command, but soon was smirking. "Afraid I'll kick this fucker's skull in if you go?"

Trowa mirrored the smirk. "I know you will."

"Heh, you know me well, Tro. I'll see what I can commandeer." Duo called out as he moved quick for the door.

Once his friend was out of the room, Trowa regarded the mercenary at his feet. He lightly nudged the unmoving hand with the toe of his boot and hummed thoughtfully. "You're lucky I have more control than Duo... Or that kick would have been to your throat."

His eyes flickered towards the notepad that held the eulogy for his closest friend. He stared at it for a moment before his gaze narrowed dangerously. "I won't show you the same mercy, Relena..."

"None of us will..."

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TBC

Looks like miss perky princess is officially on the shit list.

Later~