Disclaimer: I don't own a thing (as sad as that realization is), except for the words I've written.

Warnings: Rated for adult language (Duo's got quite a surly mouth and mind), some violence, and mild adult themes.

A/N: As always, reviews are appreciated, thank you for any and all support!

Maxwell

Chapter 3: Pour My Life Into A Paper Cup

Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers

The hotel room they'd gotten just outside Sanc wasn't lavish, but it was a helluva lot better than the places Duo had been staying at lately. Preventer perks must be nice.

He and Wufei sat on the suite's couch, a laptop on the table in front of them. The Chinese man clicked the first of the flash drives into place, opting for the one dated earlier than the other.

"We have six tries to get the password correct. If this one gets wiped at least it was old information. The other one is more relevant, more important." Wufei stated it in a matter of fact way, but Duo knew he was just grasping at damn straws.

"And how do we know there's anything important on these in the first place?" His companion was obviously skeptical.

Wufei gave the man a pointed look. One of those fucking looks that could kill. "Someone was clearly looking for them. They were important enough for someone to break in and try to steal them from a safe deposit box in an extremely secure bank."

Duo didn't answer, only nodded. Yeah, it made sense. Hell, Wufei always made sense.

They stared at the screen as a small, white icon that resembled a hard-drive popped up. It was labeled No Name which was without a doubt ironic for the two former Gundam pilots, a particular comrade coming to mind. But it was also another shitty, confusing thing thrown into the mix. It was so nondescript that still there was no positive evidence that these devices even belonged to Heero. But, hell, he was a mysterious fucking guy so what else could they expect?

Wufei double clicked the icon and a box emerged requesting a password with a green, blinking cursor that seemed to taunt them.

"Fuck, you were right 'Fei."

"This was inevitable, you knew that."

Sure it had been fucking inevitable, but he still didn't want to have to deal with it. Helping investigate a murder was one thing, but racking his brain for a combination of letters or numbers that Heero might find significant was another. Duo didn't want to think about him, didn't want to try and think like him. Dammit, but he had to. Curiosity's a bitch after all.

Duo grabbed the pen and paper that Wufei had laid out for him. He tapped the end of the pen to his lips while he thought. After a moment he scribbled something down in his scrawling block letter handwriting. Wufei leaned over to scrutinize what he'd just written.

"Gundam? You don't think that's a bit obvious, Maxwell?"

Duo's indigo eyes flicked upwards to glare at the man. "I'm making a fucking list, 'Fei. That doesn't mean I'm gonna try the first thing that comes to mind. Geezus, do you have any better ideas?"

Wufei leaned back to signify that no he did not. Damn, impatient man. That was usually Duo's department.

He continued to write anything that came to his mind as Heero Yuy flashed throughout it. Doctor J, Lowe, Zero, Relena, Preventer. He sighed, this was much more fucking difficult than he thought it would be.

"Lowe?" Wufei asked, this time out of curiosity and since the man wan't chastising him anymore Duo decided to answer.

"He mentioned him once. He was the man who mentored him, raised him I guess you could say. I don't know about him, but that's a name that'd be pretty damn important to me."

Duo stared at the words he'd written. There were five viable options, though viable may have been a stretch. He thought about numbers, but there was something in the back of his mind telling him that Heero would definitely not choose numbers. Words were more important, they meant something. That's what a password was about, emotion, something with meaning.

"Shit, I guess we better just starting trying 'em, huh?" He turned towards Wufei with raised eyebrows. Both men were tenser than they needed to be.

Wufei placed his fingers atop the keys in waiting, but spoke first, staring at the screen. "Do you think he would have changed his password daily?"

Duo processed the question for a moment but finally shook his head. "Maybe...but no. Passwords are deep shit, personal shit. You take a word that means something and stick with it forever."

Wufei realized that the braided man next to him may have been smarter and wiser than he thought. That and he trusted in the fact that he knew Heero better than anyone. "Okay. Any particular order?"

Eyes studying the list, Duo sighed. "Try Relena first."

He watched Wufei type in the name, the image of the pretty, blonde woman floating into his mind. They both tensed and then, after hitting enter, a warning box popped up telling them the password was invalid and asking if they'd like to reenter it. Fuck, even the computer seemed to know they were desperate.

"Lowe," Duo instructed next, deciding to start with the names first. Hell, you know, it didn't really matter in the end anyways. Either they were gonna work or not.

Wufei tried the name, hit enter. Invalid.

Duo rubbed a hand over his mouth. He didn't like how nerve wracking this had become. Shit, he'd been the damned God of Death, fucking Shinigami, why couldn't he handle some simple password hacking? Maybe because Heero was just too fucking hard to read.

"Okay, two down. Now try Doctor J."

Wufei typed in the name, no spaces, hit enter. Invalid.

Instantly the computer screen went blank. Duo's brows furrowed. "What's happening?"

"The flash drive is wiping itself. Three incorrect passwords." Wufei's teeth were clenched with every word. Duo wasn't sure if he was pissed at him or at the situation, but for a moment he thought maybe the man was reconsidering the amount of faith he had in the ex-pilot. Shit, he was trying his goddamned best, wasn't he?

Wufei pulled the flash drive out and tossed it on the table. Useless, motherfucking useless. He pushed the newer one in, the same maddening screen popping up.

The braided man was becoming less than sure of himself. "Do we try Preventer?"

Wufei shrugged. "It's not like he didn't have involvement after the war. He never seemed to dislike the program. But you're the one calling the shots here."

Duo didn't like being the one calling the shots here. Not that he wouldn't like to be fucking large and in charge, but not like this. Not when it was this important. He thought about the photographs, the autopsy, and Heero for a split second and his stomach tensed.

"Try it."

"Are you positive?"

"Let's just say I'm a gambler, 'Fei. Try it."

Wufei typed in Preventer, hit enter. Invalid.

Every fucking time invalid. Duo's teeth ground together in frustration. Maybe they needed new perspective, maybe he didn't know Heero like he thought. Shit, he hadn't been around him in three years, a lot can change in three years. Like a hairstyle, priorities, a password.

"What's next? Wufei prompted. It was obvious he wanted to get through this so if the flash drives became a dead end they could start figuring other shit out as soon as possible.

Duo sighed. "Fuck it. Try Zero."

Zero. Invalid.

It took all of Duo's restraint not to slam his fits down on the coffee table in front of him. That was it, a fucking dead end. They had one more try and then nothing. But he was out of ideas. In that moment he wanted so desperately to find a dark pub and tell the barkeep to leave the bottle. Too much, too fast with too little progress.

"We could try Gundam," Wufei offered.

"No, you're right. Way too obvious."

"We could take a break. Come back to it." Duo knew it pained Wufei to suggest it, but this was better than completely scrapping their only lead.

"It won't do anything? We can just leave it like that?" he asked, staring at the computer screen, running fingers over his face; he needed a shave almost as much as he needed a shot of hard liquor.

"It should be fine." He sounded unsure. "There's other things we can try to accomplish in the mean time."

Duo looked up, his eyes were bloodshot. "Try to find the others?"

There was a nod and he realized that sleep would again have to wait.

It was nearly five o'clock now, by the time they got to the Winner Corp building in Sanc it would be just about closing time. Just in time to inquire about Quatre's whereabouts. Duo wondered why Wufei hadn't just gone there first, anywhere in Europe being closer to his base of operations than the U.S.

"Why would you come all the way across the ocean to find me, when Quat practically lives in your back yard?" he asked, looking out the window. He could nearly see the large towers of the Winner family business peaking out through the rolling hills of Northern Europe.

Wufei thought for a moment. "In all honesty, I didn't think you'd want to help. If I found you and you denied the Preventer offer then at least the hardest part would be over first."

Duo almost felt offended by the man's lack of confidence in him. He hadn't been getting into that much shit lately, had he? "You know, I'm not accepting the Preventer offer. I'm helping an old friend." The word friend seemed to hang in the air for a moment.

There was a nod and Wufei spoke again. "Then hopefully the others are as easy to convince as you."

Duo figured Quatre would be game; compassion and camaraderie and all that bullshit. Trowa, on the other hand, might be harder, less willing. But it was smart to find the other half of that deal first; if anyone could convince Trowa it would be Quatre.

When they arrived at the Winner Corporation building and were walking through the impossibly tall glass doors of the front entrance, Duo realized that any inadequacy he'd felt around Wufei earlier was gone now, replaced by a feeling that he was not inadequate, just simply pathetic. The building was incredibly lavish and it seemed like he'd almost forgotten just how well off Quatre's family actually was. Shit, it made him feel like just another street rat back on L2 again.

It wasn't like Duo didn't have money; he did. But where that money had come from was a whole other fucking story. There was a time after the war when he thought he'd reformed, that something had changed, righted inside of himself. But, inevitable as it was, he'd slipped back into his old ways. He might have even felt a little guilty about it, but stolen and fraudulent money was still money and shit a guy's got to eat, right?

Wufei led him over towards an elevator bank, walking through the lobby as if he knew the building well. But of course he would know it well, wouldn't he? Being a Preventer and all, you'd seen everything, been everywhere, knew everyone. Damn, maybe he shouldn't have laughed out loud when he'd been offered such a position after all. Of course the whole money that was still money but wasn't his money thing might have been a bit of an issue.

The elevator ride was quiet and long. Apparently Quatre's office was on the very top floor of the building. Fancy fuckin' executive suite he guessed. Duo smiled lightly at the internal comment.

When they'd arrived, Wufei turned to him with a nearly imperceptible sneer, like he knew he would be causing an argument, but what he had to say was goddamn important. "Let me do the talking, Maxwell."

Duo shrugged, not having much energy to even care at this point. The Preventer could do all the talking he liked as long is it got them where they needed to go. They walked up to a reception counter and were eyed by the middle aged woman sitting behind it. She wore a bluetooth piece in her ear and had a severity about her that made Duo wonder how Quatre could have a secretary that was anything but kind and sweet and a little bit of a push over. Those were the kind of secretaries that easily succumbed to his natural charms, though he supposed today, with Wufei 'doing the talking,' he wouldn't have to overextend himself.

"Can I help you?" her tone was biting, as if they'd just walked in at the most inopportune time. Duo looked around, the place was fucking desolate.

"We're here to see Mr. Winner." Wufei spoke with the upmost professionalism and flashed his Preventer badge for good measure.

The woman studied them. "He's not available at the moment."

The little vein in Wufei's forehead usually reserved for Duo began to show again. "I've called here a dozen times. He's never available."

"Well I'm sorry sir, but you're just going to have to come back at another time." The woman seemed almost proud that she was ordering them away.

Duo noticed the slightest change in Wufei's muscles beneath his Preventer issue jacket, like he was tensing, ready for a dispute. But the tension of the situation was interrupted by a much more friendly, feminine voice from behind them. It made Duo jump, startling the shit out of him in the overly quiet top floor.

"Gentlemen, I do apologize, but my brother really is not available right now." Both men turned to face a woman, aged yet still youthfully beautiful. Her crystal blue eyes resembled those of Quatre, but other than that and the use of the word 'brother,' they would not have noticed the relation.

She held out a hand. "My name is Iria Winner. If you'd like to come with me, maybe I can try to clear some things up." The woman gave them a knowing look, almost like she recognized them.

Duo glanced over at Wufei, but the man was already walking forward, following Iria into an open conference room. Fuck, it was better than just leaving, still at the same damn dead end as they'd been at when they'd walked in. Duo followed and sat next to Wufei as the older woman sat down across from them. Both men folded their arms over their chests, waiting.

"I have to be brutally honest with you," Iria began. "I can't tell you where Quatre is."

No fucking shit. Of course she couldn't tell them, why make things more easy? Everything else seemed to be damn un-easy lately. Duo frowned in her direction, not about to take this crap anymore.

"Why not?" His words were harsher than he'd anticipated. Wufei gave him a sidelong glance with those steely eyes. Duo had forgotten their agreement that he wouldn't be the one speaking, but shit, it didn't seem to make much difference anymore anyways.

Iria's voice commanded their attention away from each other's glaring eyes. "I can't tell you, because I don't know where he is."

This was news. This was something they could possibly work with. If Quatre was missing then maybe the fire beneath their feet would start to burn fucking hotter and then they'd have to figure out Heero's damn password and who'd sent those sick, fucking photographs.

Wufei sat forward. "How long has he been missing?"

She frowned. "I wouldn't go as far as to say he's missing. I just don't know where he is at the moment."

Duo rolled his eyes. Fuck, weren't those the same two things? Missing and absent, shit were they really getting into the logistics of things here?

"My brother's head of security, Rashid, told me a week and a half ago that Quatre had been sent a photograph." Both men tensed as she continued to explain. "It was a recent picture from when he'd been visiting a colony, overseeing a new expansion project for Winner Corp. I haven't had contact with either of them since."

Duo felt his muscles contract with her every word. Damn photographs. So he wasn't the only one who'd received something so fucked up. He wanted to start guessing, start laying things out on the table, start speculating. But hell if Wufei was going to let him do that. Speculation must have been something burned out of you during Preventer boot camp.

Iria gave them a sad smile. "I truly am sorry I cannot be of more help."

By the time they made it down the painfully long elevator ride and were walking briskly out of the building and towards the car Duo was beginning to rattle off everything he'd been holding in. He had another aching for brown, burning liquid on the rocks.

"Fucking photographs, 'Fei." He said through tight teeth. "You think he's hold up somewhere with the Maganacs?"

Wufei, keeping his composure slightly better than his comrade, turned his head. "That would be my first speculation...if I were speculating." There was that fucking smug look he hadn't seen in years that Duo had half a mind to wipe from his face.

"Dammit 'Fei, I'm being serious. Heero's human body double is dead." He got a dark look at that comment, but ignored it. "Both Quat and I and who knows else apparently have some kind of psycho stalker. Now blondie's missing. You have to admit that this is all beginning to feel a little too fucked up for comfort." Again he craved that banter, but it seemed Wufei had lost his smugness.

They climbed into the car without another word. Neither wanted to come right out and say it. What if Quatre had succumbed to the same fate as Heero supposedly had?

Too fucked up for comfort indeed.

Wufei left the car with the hotel valet and they entered the lobby. Still neither had spoken and that was saying something for Duo. He hated silence and filled it whenever damn possible. It was one of those things that Heero must have found endearing about him, because what other fucking reason would he have had for not killing him when he got the chance? And there were many chances. Duo decided quickly to stop thinking about that.

This elevator ride was much faster and didn't make him feel inadequate or pathetic or any of that shit. The only thing he felt was exhaustion. Maybe that had contributed somewhat to his quietness.

Wufei unlocked the door and pushed it open, Duo following closely behind.

Then they both stopped dead in their tracks.

Sitting on the couch they'd shared earlier, the laptop still open in its infuriating place, skimming Heero Yuy's autopsy report was a man in nondescript clothing, a man they knew all too well.

Tall, lean, calculating.

Trowa Barton.