Work Trip

He figured the scare tactics would've lost their effectiveness by now. But he found that watching her as she scribbled in her notebook while he stood at attention waiting for her to stop caused him more distress than when she first barged into her vacation home and berated him for blowing up a building. Perhaps repeated exposure to her fury had not in fact inured him to its effect but heightened his sensitivity to it. Perhaps that was the plan, perhaps it was something she learned in her OZ days, to make soldiers wait, to make them nervous. In any case, whatever the circumstance, it was working.

An indeterminate amount of time later, Une finally put down her pen and looked up at Duo. She stared at him for a moment saying nothing. Duo tried to maintain a straight face.

"You've done well," Une finally said.

"Thank you, ma'am," Duo replied trying to sound formal.

"Do you enjoy the work you're doing right now?" Une inquired.

Duo thought about it for a second. "Yes."

Une grinned. "Good answer. But I'm asking if you would like a more… active assignment."

"Well, it's hard to say no to that," Duo answered.

…

Hotel Brussels, Brussels

January 28th, AC 199

A midnight security detail wasn't what Duo expected when Une said he was being put back into field work. Even weirder, he hadn't expected to be put onto the security team that was guarding Toro Campana, the CFO of Lucio Internationale, whom would be put on trial for treason in just a few days. But he supposed that this particular case was taking up all of Une's attention and she wanted to keep the circle around Toro and the investigation as small as possible.

It wasn't the most exciting of jobs as, predictably, not much happened between the hours of 11pm and 7am. But this was the job and he wasn't about to complain about it now, especially considering the mind-numbing work he had been forced to do for the last month. Duo was one of two patrol guards. He wandered around the building (mostly just the lobby, the stairwells, and the 19th floor where Toro was being held) looking for any signs of suspicious activity. Of course there was none. The stairwells were completely empty, the suite was quiet and was already being secured by two other guards that were dedicated to that floor, and the lobby only ever saw a few drunken guests at a time during those late hours; none of them suspicious.

Duo knocked on Toro's door. A few moments later he could hear the shuffling of slippers against the floor on the other side of the door.

"I'm fine, leave me alone!" Toro's annoyed voice came from the other side of the door before he finally opened it.

"Sir, my name is Duo Maxwell, I'm part of your security team tonight," Duo said in as professional a manner as he could.

Toro let out a deep sigh. "Don't you have a key card like the others?"

"I figured I would introduce myself before I barged into your room for inspection," Duo explained.

Toro merely stared at Duo for a moment, trying to get a read on his new guard. Duo merely stared back at him. Despite Duo's professional demeanour, he felt there was something different about this one. His long braided hair and his youth made him stand out among his army of monoliths in black suits.

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine," Toro said as cordially as he could given the circumstance.

"May I come in?" Duo asked.

Again, Toro sighed in exasperation before he finally gave in, took a step aside, and let Duo into his suite.

The interior of the suite was a large minimalist space with several rooms including a kitchen, dining room, living room, and three bedrooms. It would've been rather nice if it weren't for the fact that Toro Campana had been a prisoner there for several months and the maids could only keep up so much with his squalor. There were shorts on the floor, empty bottles of booze on every countertop, and tissue paper everywhere else.

"Would you mind if I searched the rooms?" Duo asked.

"Someone already did that this morning," Toro said.

"I'm sure," Duo said. "But I'm also sure you know how this goes. New shift, new search."

"What do you expect to find? That I'm building a bomb in here?" Toro asked sarcastically.

"No, just some a couple of passed out hookers and a mountain of blow."

Vustgaarde, Sanc Kingdom

Relena woke up. Or rather she finally admitted to herself that she wasn't actually asleep. The events of the previous day and how she treated Heero left her with a nagging feeling of regret. When was she going to get over this? She turned on the light next to her bed and reached for her phone. At least without Heero in her bed she could get to it without any hassle. But that's about all that was good about sleeping alone.

She thought it rather funny that she never had any issues sleeping alone her entire life. But after few short weeks of sleeping with Heero, she suddenly found her bed cold and empty without him. This was her own doing. She could've had his warmth beside him right then and there if it weren't for her own stubbornness.

Perhaps she just didn't know what she was missing back then. Perhaps she had just inured herself to loneliness. That was her fate after all. Being queen was a solitary business. And Heero was busy elsewhere. He had his own battles to fight.

But those battles were over. They had won. Against impossible odds and a world so cruel and wretched, they had somehow triumphed. More than that, he had made it out of it alive and well. It was a miracle. She lost sight of what was important, distracted in the petty triumph and grudges of the mundane and the quotidian. Perhaps that was a good thing. Perhaps a sense of petty jealousy and allowing herself to be a brat once in a while meant that things were finally returning to normal. Perhaps the stakes of life were low enough now that these things could bother her.

But what was the point of that bloody and awful conflict if not to understand the sanctity of life and the paramount importance of love? She could afford to let the little things slide, or at least do it for his sake. God knows he seemed to have a much better grasp of this concept than she did. For all of the public rhetoric about Relena being the Avatar of Peace, Heero was the one acting like he understood what it actually meant.

She texted him.

Relena: Are you awake?

Heero: Yeah

Relena: Why are you awake? It's so late.

Heero: Why are you awake?

Relena: Can't sleep

Heero: Me neither

Brussels International Air and Spaceport, Belgium

Kerestina and Tristan stepped off of their transatlantic flight around 7 in the morning.

The whole trip had left Tristan feeling rather uneasy. They had just spent 8 hours on a commercial flight, sitting behind a family of four, listening to the parents try to entertain their restless children and keep them in their seats. The mother even turned around to apologize for the noise, to which Kerestina flashed a warm smile and said that it was perfectly alright.

No one knew who they were. Tristan had spent the last two years on the run from the law, living in bombed out Alliance-era bunkers, seedy motels, and countless nondescript safehouses. Even luxuries, like the Merchant's villa, with all of its amenities, made him feel all the more alienated from the rest of the world. Now to be among them as an anonymous citizen, rather than an infamous traitor he always thought he had become in his mind, made him momentarily question what he was doing and why.

Kerestina on the other hand felt perfectly comfortable in an airport, even the one in the capital of the world. She was an outlaw like Tristan, but unlike him, she had been one most of her life. She had grew up in the world just outside the law, just outside the legitimate. Close enough that she knew how to imitate their ways and blend into their crowds.

It was thrilling. It was thrilling to buy whatever she wanted with her ill gotten money. It was a pleasure to dine alone in high end restaurants and have the occasional hedge fund manager, big shot lawyer, or even former OZ officer make a pass at her. She enjoyed the charade. She played along but ultimately took delight in rejecting them all. How little they knew about who she was or what she had done. How surprised they would be to learn that she was everything they had imagined her to be for that split second in the back of their mind when they first noticed her.

She was so comfortable blending into that world she had almost failed to notice Tristan lagging behind. She slowed down and waited for him to catch up.

"Piece of advice, look like you belong here," Kerestina whispered to him.

"What?"

"If you look suspicious, people will get suspicious," Kerestina said. "I'm your sister. You're my kid brother. We come from a bit of money. We've been traveling. We're going to see the parents. Got it? Can you play the part?"

It took him a few seconds but Tristan nodded in agreement.

"Good, go get our bags," Kerestina said. "I have to make a call."

Kerestina left Tristan at the baggage pick up and found a secluded space at the end of a corridor near the public restrooms. She took a deep breath, took out her phone and dialed a number.

She waited.

"Jacques?" Kerestina said. "It's Kerestina. I'm in town. Can we meet?"

The car slowly pulled up to the curb. There was already a crowd waiting for them. The Spaceport security personnel kept the reporters from swarming the car but that didn't stop the relentless assault of camera flashes nor chorus of questions and shouts that emanated from within the crowd. Heero's men, the temporary security team he had put together for the trip, got out of the vehicles both in front and behind and cleared a way into the Spaceport terminal before Heero got out of the car first and made his way around to open the door for Relena.

She took Heero's hand and stepped out of the car gracefully. Her expression was neutral, hidden behind a pair of oval sunglasses and red lipstick. She wore a light pink gabardine trench coat with a thick grey winter scarf and a pair of shiny black pumps. Her hair was tied back into her signature ponytail. A thousand a one flashes went off simultaneously as she rose out of the car to her feet with her hand in his. There they were, Heero Yuy and Relena Peacecraft, live in the flesh, unsaid but undeniable at that point. They were the very centre of the world.

She said nothing to Heero and he didn't expect anything else. She was confused and he felt as though he had let her down. Their text conversation from a few hours ago meant nothing. Neither of them said what they wanted to say. Instead they just danced around each other, too scared to confront their issues.

He led her silently through the crush of people, using his own body to shield her from microphones, camera lenses, and even some hands until they were inside the terminal lobby. She looked at him as to thank him for his service. How formal she was with him in public. Perhaps she just wanted to keep her entourage from gossiping about them by giving them nothing to gossip about. Dorothy and Cindy were tagging along for the trip. But he suspected this wasn't just some public charade.

They were guided through the to their gate by spaceport staff. There were far fewer people inside crowding them but by no means did the pass through the pristine halls of the capital's spaceport undetected. Once they had reached their gate, they immediately boarded the private spacecraft. It had been awhile since Relena had been to space. And Heero, while no stranger to space travel, had never traveled in such luxury before.

Entering the cabin, Relena was greeted by a face she hadn't seen in years. Ainsley Mortimer, even conjuring up her name sent a chill down Relena's spine. Ainsley stood up slowly as she saw Relena. She wore her bright red trench coat gracefully on her shoulders. Underneath, she sported a no nonsense navy blue blazer and matching skirt, with a pair of 3 inch kitten heels. Her dark brown hair was shorter than Relena remembered, shorn down into a wavy lob with subtle highlights that, Relena had to admit, suited her. She may not have been the obvious beauty that Relena was but she had her own definite allure to her. Her crystal blue eyes were as magnificent and as intimidating as they were the first day of high school, perhaps even more so.

"Hello, Relena," Ainsley's said in her silky English accent. "It's so good to see you again."

The Valknut, Preventers Headquarters

Une strode into her special task force office on the ninth floor with her secretary in tow. It was no longer just a vast array of empty rooms surrounding an empty hub. Hope had populated the space with some low level analysts she brought in from other departments to help them comb through the data on they got off of the Lucio servers. Nolan too had been putting together a small team of door kickers out of some of his most trusted guys from his department. All of whom, had been vetted and cleared by Une herself. She didn't like the idea of expanding the circle but she had to admit things were moving along rather slowly when it was just the three of them.

Une's secretary scurried past Une and awkwardly opened the glass door open for her boss as Une made her way into the conference room. Nolan and Hope were already in there waiting for her. Une set her tablet and her coffee down on the table and without so much as a greeting, she began to proceed with the meeting.

"Where are we now?" Une asked.

Hope jumped to answer the question. "There's been some activity in those accounts that I've been monitoring."

"How much?" Une asked.

"A few hundred thousand…" Hope answered.

"That's still not very much," Une remarked.

"Of course not. They're not idiots," Nolan interjected. "Whatever they are using it for, if these are related at all, it is for operations, not payment."

"Do you know where it went?" Une asked.

"Working in that right now," Hope said.

"Keep an eye on it."

"In the meantime…" Nolan said, in a voice as polite a manner as he could muster. "We have bigger problems. This visit the Vice-Foreign Minister and the Vice-Finance Minister is taking to space is stirring up chatter all across the colonies. I've gotten multiple reports from my sources that there are mass demonstrations being planned."

"Well that sounds rather unavoidable, given the nature of their visit," Une said in a dismissive voice. "And it has nothing to do with our investigation."

"Everything has something to do with this investigation," Nolan said. "We can't rule anything out. They may use this visit as a smokescreen to carry out an attack."

"Got any evidence for that?" Une asked.

Nolan paused and stared daggers into Une. She didn't flinched.

"It's what I'd do," Nolan said.

"Well, that's not much to go on, Nolan," Une said. "Right now, the only thing we have is the money. Hope, keep following it."

"Yes, sir," Hope said.

"I'm telling you," Nolan said. "You're looking in the wrong direction."

"Well, this is rather cozy, isn't it?" Ainsley said as she rolled her shoulders a bit.

"Given the circumstances of our trip, I'd say sharing a shuttle is appropriate," Relena replied sternly.

It was in fact a little bit tight in the cabin of the small private shuttle given that the combined staff and security teams of both ministers were aboard. The seating was arranged in pods. Relena, Heero, and Ainsley sat at the front, near the cockpit, while Dorothy, Cindy, Avery, and Morgan, Ainsley's assistant, shared the next one, while the other security personnel sat closer towards the back. Despite the fact that they hadn't resolved the tension that had been brewing between them over the course of the week, Relena insisted that Heero sit with her and even held his hand.

"Oh Relena," Ainsley chuckled. "Always the bleeding heart. We should all be so… committed."

"Why do this job at all if you're not committed to peace?" Relena asked rhetorically.

Ainsley rolled her eyes before she returned her gaze to Relena. Her nails tapped rhythmically against the arm rest as she amused smile appeared on her lips.

"You know, there are other things in life than work," she said as she turned her attention to Heero. "I figured you knew all about that now."

She raised her eyebrow and subtly licked her lips. Relena's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly. She felt uncontrollable rage about to overtake her at that moment. How dare she! But just as she was about to snap, her old instincts from high school saved her. Ainsley was just up to her old tricks. This is what she did. She probed and prodded Relena, looking for any weakness. Too many times before she had given into her rage and too many times before Ainsley had made a fool of her. Relena held her tongue. She steadied her breathing and looked over at Heero.

Heero just stared back at Ainsley with his usual stoic glare. Inscrutable as always, even now, after having been so intimate with him, she had a hard time reading his expression. What was he thinking? What was he feeling? Was he attracted to her? Did he like her nemesis' bold ways? I bet he does. Relena's imagination got the best of her. She imagined that Ainsley was exactly the kind the kind of woman Heero had been attracted to. Bold, and confident, naturally sexy. And suddenly her rage turned into a desperate jealousy.

"I'm going to have to ask that you avoid any further insinuations," Heero said in his usual flat tone.

His words surprised Relena. It wasn't at all what she had anticipated from him. But what did she imagine would happen? That he would take Ainsley, pin her down and fuck her right then and there? And in that moment, with those galant words, her hand in his, she suddenly felt utterly ridiculous. Where was this irrational jealousy coming from? What had Heero done to deserve her week's worth of ire? Was it simply the women he had slept with before they got together? What a juvenile way to approach their relationship! The truth what he had done nothing but be patient with her. She was being a child. And suddenly all that anger had felt towards him was turned inward.

"How honourable!" Ainsley said joyfully. "So, this is the man I've read so much about in the last few weeks. I must admit, I am fascinated. We haven't been formally introduced. I'm Ainsley. Relena and I are old schoolmates."

"Heero Yuy," Heero said. "Pleased to meet you."

"What an odd name," Ainsley said as she leaned forward slightly and rested her chin on her knuckles.

Heero said nothing.

"How poetic that your bodyguard, bears the name of that legendary pacifist," Ainsley said as she turned to look at Relena once more. "It's almost too perfect to be believed."

Relena quickly regained her composure. "You don't know the half of it."

St. James's Palace, London

The last time Mareen was at St. James's Palace was years ago when she accompanied Robert on a diplomatic mission. Back then, there were tensions emerging between the sovereigntist movement and the Alliance loyalists both within the Royal Court and Parliament, and the British public at large. Robert had been tasked with brokering a deal with the British government that would allow Britain to have more control over domestic affairs, including the privilege to independently ratify laws that had already been passed by the Alliance General Assembly, all the while still contributing to the Alliance's budget and committing its military strength.

That was a lifetime ago and certainly the circumstances of her visit were different. She was the honoured wife of the Vice-Foreign Minister of the United Earth Sphere Alliance back then. And the Alliance was at the height of its power. Not only that, Robert's father was a Peer of the Realm in his own right, making her husband the heir apparent to an English earldom, and herself a future countess. But how quickly things had changed. With the assassination of her husband and subsequent her estrangement from her in-laws coupled the tumultuous and violent year that followed, Mareen retreated from her public life and holed herself up in France to quietly grieve. Relena had her role to play and all Mareen could do was pray for her daughter.

So it came as quite a shock when she received an invitation from Princess Olivia to join her in London. The two had recently met at a soiree hosted by the Mayor of Paris during New Year's Eve. The two got along quite well. Mareen was appropriately differential while the Princess expressed her deepest condolences about the late Vice-Foreign Minister and praised Relena profusely. It was a pleasant night but Mareen never expected anything else to come of it.

It would've been rude to turn down an invitation from the sister of the king even if Mareen had no inclination to insert herself once again into the inner circle of the Pan European Aristocracy. That decrepit and tired group of noble houses that had survived Romefeller. Afterall, it was just one visit.

Being in that magnificent ancient palace made Mareen feel small and insignificant. It made her feel as though she were a peasant. She had come from a minor house from the north of France, ennobled only a few generations before by the then ascendant Romefeller foundation and she had married into a much older but comparably wealthy family with Robert. But the Windsors were on another level, being one of the oldest and most prestigious Royal Houses, even older than the Peacecrafts, their bloodline stretching back far beyond the After Colony era.

They sat in a large drawing room with tall windows that faced north into a courtyard. It was eerily quiet. It was just six of them in total including Princess Olivia and the two footmen at the door. It was a much smaller party than Mareen had expected. She supposed that she should be flattered to be in such intimate company with the Princess but in that moment all she could feel was a deep sense of anxiety.

For the hour or so Mareen said very little and mostly listened to the ladies converse. They talked about their children and their husbands and naturally discussed it all with intense detail. They were equally enthralled with the court gossip to which only Princess Olivia had direct access while the other ladies only had a tangential connection to. Mareen was even more distant from such things and could barely keep up with the names that were being dropped in every other sentence.

The British Aristocracy had always seen themselves as distinct and separate from the rest of Romefeller. While most of the members of the foundation had claimed, some more dubious than others, their nobility through one ancient medieval house or another. More often than not such claims couldn't be verified. As such any endeavoring and ambitious man (for it was usually a man) with a bit of money and some political acumen could place himself within the ranks of the nobility and join Romefeller and establish his dynasty within a generation or so. However, the British felt no need for such foolish pageantry. They knew who their great families were and could easily trace their bloodline, in many cases all the way back to the first king of Norman England, William the Conqueror. As such, while they tolerated the rest of Romefeller and often had to contend with the great families such as the Catalonias and the Peacecrafts, they were always far more interested in their own ranks. And while they bowed to the might of Romefeller during its ascendancy, and despite the fact that the previous British King was an ardent supporter and ally of the foundation, the wider British Aristocracy never fully integrated themselves within the wider power structure.

"I'm not sure how proper it is to speak of such in the company of Lady Darlian," Princess Olivia said, drawing Mareen out of her daze as soon as she heard her own name.

"Oh of course, how rude of me, please excuse me," Lady Anstruther said.

"Oh, it's quite already," Mareen said as she forced a smile. She struggled for a moment to remember what they had been talking about when her attention started to drift. "My daughter can be quite the firebrand at times."

"And we love her for it," Princess Olivia interjected.

Mareen once again forced a polite smile. "It's very kind of you to say."

"And how is she?" The princess asked keenly.

"She keeps busy, much too busy for my taste, but of course the excess energy of youth must be put towards something," Mareen said, affecting as much nonchalance as she could muster when discussing the activities of Relena. "At least she's being productive."

"Indeed, plotting the destruction of the Aristocracy one day, appearing on the cover of Vogue the next," Lady Carbery said. "I've never seen such unbridled zeal."

"Now, now, we shouldn't judge. In fact I quite admire her. She's doing what she believes is right. We will not fault her for that," Princess Olivia commented. "She's going to the colonies today, if I'm not mistaken. We should all be so bold in our efforts to maintain peace."

"I've heard that she's been spotted in more… informal settings as of late," Lady Anstruther said as she took a sip of her tip. "It's all my daughters can talk about. They follow her social media accounts and what was that word they used… fangirling?"

Mareen tried not to blush. An odd sense of pride suddenly took root in her. She may have disapproved her Relena's recent antics but it was still flattering to know that such well bred girls looked up to her daughter.

"Ah yes, I've heard about her and some boy she's been spotted with, some commoner from the colonies. Quite bold if you ask me," Princess Olivia said with a hint of excitement and amusement in her voice.

"When isn't she bold?" Lady Carbery commented.

Mareen let out a annoyed laugh. "There's nothing bold about it. For all of her admirable qualities, she's still just a silly girl sometimes."

"My dear, we were all silly girls at one point or another, let her live a little," Princess Olivia said. "She'll come around, you'll see."

"I hope it's sooner than later," Mareen said." I think she means to get serious with this boy."

"The heart wants what the heart wants," Princess Olivia said. "Thanks to her, we live in an era where such things can be pursued."

They were interrupted by the sound of the doors opening. They all turned their attention towards the butler that emerged to announce their visitor.

"Presenting Theodore, Prince of Wales," the old man said.

Not a moment later a young man dressed in a beautiful charcoal suit walked in. Mareen immediately recognized him from her last visit to the United Kingdom some eight years ago. He was a lanky boy back then. He had grown into a tall and handsome young man, with beautiful blonde hair, a strong jaw, and piercing blue eyes. Immediately, the princess and the ladies stood up.

"Please, sit." The Prince's voice was a smooth as silk. "There's no need for that. I apologize for my intrusion."

"Ahh my dear, what an unexpected but welcomed surprise!" Princess Olivia said as made her way over and gave him a welcoming hug.

"Aunt Olivia, beautiful as always," the prince said.

"What are you doing here?" Princess Olivia inquired.

"I must admit, I didn't expect you to be home today," the prince said sounding a little embarrassed. "I was hoping to go unnoticed."

"Did you bring another girl here," Princess Olivia asked with a naughty grin.

"What? I would never," Prince Theodore played along.

"Might I ask why you always insist on bringing them here?" Princess Olivia pressed. "Is Kensington not grand enough for your paramours?"

"Papa has the guards watching my every step nowadays," the prince said.

"Well I won't thank you for making me an accomplice in your schemes," Princess Olivia said. "Oh! Where are my manners! Let me introduce you to my new friend! Lady Mareen Darlian, mother of Lady Relena Peacecraft."

"Of course!" Prince Theodore said enthusiastically as he made her way over to Mareen and gently kissed her hand. "How do you do. You probably won't have remembered, but we've met before."

"Of course I remember," Mareen replied warmly. "Although you were quite a bit shorter the last time."

"Indeed I was," the Prince laughed. "You caught me one year before my growth spurt. How is Lady Relena?"

"She's well," Mareen replied.

"She's going to space today," Princess Olivia added.

"Yes, I am well aware," Prince Theodore said trying to contain his smile. "I can't think any man worth his salt that isn't intimately familiar of the comings and goings of Lady Relena Peacecraft."

"You should be spending your energies on finding a girl like her," Princess Olivia said. "Not cavorting with your endless cavalcade of bimbos."

"Oh to be worthy of a lady as fine as Lady Relena," the prince joked. "But alas I am not."

Mareen giggled. "You sell yourself short, your highness."

Prince Theodore offered a polite smile before turning his attention back towards the rest of the ladies and his aunt.

"I am intruding, again I apologize. I'll be on my way, and please Lady Darlian," he said as he turned once again toward Mareen. "Send my kindest regards to Lady Relena for me."

"As you wish," Mareen replied.

Elgin, G-17868, L2 Colony Cluster

The fanfare around the arrival of the Vice-Foreign Minister and the Vice-Finance Minister was even more intense in the colony than it was on earth. As soon as they had left the spaceport, their cavalcade was swarmed by a barrage of reporters, fans, and demonstrators that slowed their progress towards the hotel to a crawl. It took them nearly two hours to make the journey from the spaceport to the Regency Hotel where they had booked their stay. Since Heero was personally unfamiliar with the colony, he had specifically planned the trip so that Relena was exposed to the public as little as possible. He felt tense the whole journey to the hotel as an endless flood of bodies crashed against the sides of their vehicle. Relena on the other hand seemed unbothered by the media and public frenzy that surrounded them.

Heero only relaxed when they had finally reached the underground parking of the hotel where the a special greeting party was waiting for them. They were shown to their rooms by the hotel manager himself. He even led them into the room and described the features of the penthouse suite and all of the amenities that the hotel hard to offer. It wasn't anything different compared to what she had at the Royal Windsor back home in Brussels, but Relena graciously played along and thanked the manager for his generosity and hospitality.

After taking a few photos with the hotel manager and a couple of the staff that happened to be on the floor at the time of her arrival, Relena was finally alone with Heero. She slowly closed the door behind her. He was devastatingly handsome in his black suit, matching tie, and Preventers pin. She could see that now. After her epiphany in on the shuttle ride, she realized how much she had missed him. How much she missed his warmth of his arms around her when she slept, how much she loved it when he held her hand. And after seeing Ainsley try and fail to entice him, she realized how much she had missed his cock.

Heero looked at his watch. "You have a few hours before the state dinner."

She rushed him and caught him by surprise, pinning him against the wall.

"I'm hungry now," she growled.

She shed her blazer and dropped to her knees. Her hands tore at his belt like a rabid animal.

"Relena," Heero said startled.

She stopped and looked up at him. Her eyes burned with desire and a latent rage.

"I swear to god, Heero…" she growled once again. "If you say princesses don't give blowjobs one more time…"

Hotel Brussels, Brussels

January 30th, AC 199

"Go."

Kerestina unlocked the car doors allowing Tristan to step out. He pulled the black balaclava out of his rare pocket and slipped it over his head. He made his way directly across the empty street by the cover of darkness towards the hotel. He check his watch, it was five minutes past midnight. Tristan walked with purpose, at a steady pace, and with a confident stride. He could already see the security guards, guarding the front entrance. That's okay, he wasn't going in through the front.

He made his way to the back of the building and waited behind a tree until the guard by the service entrance reported in. Tristan made his move when the guard turned to face to other direction momentarily and made across the parking lot silently. He quickly closed the and wrapped his arms around the guard's neck and squeezed as hard as he could until he felt the man's body go limp.

He had 15 minutes until the guard had to check in again. Tristan looked down at the guard and thought for a moment if he should stick a knife in his neck just to be safe. But in the end, he decided against it.

"Alright, I'm in," Tristan whispered as he heard the door close behind him.

He made his way down the empty corridor towards the elevator.

"Okay, connect to the wireless network with your phone," he heard Kerestina in his ear.

Tristan pulled out his phone from his pocket and connected it to the hotel's public network. He then opened a custom app and waited for Kerestina to gain access to the hotel's security system. A few moments later, he had real time map and access to every security camera feed in and around the building.

"Okay, you should be good, confirm that you can see the map," Kerestina said.

"Confirmed."

"Alright, head to the 19th floor."

Tristan watched the security camera feed on the elevators on his phone and waited for one that was completely empty. He got into the elevator, cracked opened the maintenance panel and put it into service mode, allowing himself to ride the elevator up to the 19th floor uninterrupted. His eyes watched the display as the floor number increased at a steady pace. He didn't his best to control his breathing and calm his nerves. The effect was modest.

The elevator came to a stop.

The door opened.

He saw a black sleeve.

And as though he were on autopilot, he grabbed the arm of the man hoisted it upward and then dropped it down with a pivot of his foot and slammed the security guard to the floor and knocked him unconscious with a swift downward punch. The second guard came running down the hallway immediately. Tristan hid behind the corner and kicked out the knees of the security guard just as he appeared. Tristan managed to wrestle the gun from the second guard's hand before throwing a hard knee into his sternum, collapsing him to the ground. Tristan threw a second knee, sending the guard's head into the wall, knocking him out.

After neutralizing the two guards on the floor with surprising ease, he took the key card off of one of the guards and proceeded to Toro's room. Tapping the card against the scanner, he quietly opened the door and slipped into the dark room. His footsteps were light, his breathing steady and controlled. It was completely silent inside. He made his way through the messy living room and pushed open the door to the bedroom, where he found Toro sleeping.

He took out his gun from his back pocket and aimed it at his target.

He placed his finger on the trigger.

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

Startled, he turned.

He felt a swift kick connect with his chest sending him crashing to the floor and knocking out all of the air in his lungs.