Author's note: Right, here's the next chappie. Sorry the delay, guys. Anyways, I'm a little unsure about this chapter. I think it kind of went completely OOC. But I couldn't think of a better way for Kira and Lacus to interact… hmmm… hope I didn't ruin Auel's character…

Chapter 35:

Nine a.m. Approximately two hours since he had smashed the phone into the ground. Approximately thirty-four more hours left.

Time running short.

Athrun caught the sheet of paper nimbly as it spooled out of the printer and added it to the rapidly rising stack on his desk. His intense emerald eyes glanced down the list of names as fast as he could. Harry Summers. Estimated age 31. Athrun stroked it out with a pencil and a ruler. 31 was too old. He was sure they were in their early twenties. Next, Hamano Peterson. Estimated age 22. Possible. He stared hard at the grainy photograph. It showed a little boy – the last picture his parents had had before he went missing – with bright blue eyes.

"The only thing I saw were his eyes… and, I don't know, Athrun. I feel like I've seen those eyes before. They're purple, dark purple."

Not Hamano Peterson then. Athrun crossed him out and went on to the next.

"Chief?"

"What?" he rapped out, not bothering to glance up from his list.

Meyrin winced. "Are you sure this is going to work?" she scrolled down the list with her mouse. Names flashed across her screen at lightning pace. "There are more than ten thousand missing people entered into the database each year. We're covering two to three years' worth of information. That's close to thirty thousand entries."

And that's only the tip of the iceberg, Athrun thought. They were sweating the details, poring over the smallest, slightest clues. A part of him knew this was the least efficient solution, but hell, all the other trails had gone cold. He needed something. Just something. He pointed his pencil at her, "then we better quit talking, get a move on our asses and keep working. Give me the next set of names, Meyrin."

"Boss, we're only at letter 'H'," she said. She looked like she was about to cry. "By the time we get this thing done, Lacus'll probably…"

"Just print it, Meyrin."

"Boss…"

Athrun looked hard at her.

The printer whirled to life again. Alongside it came the shrill ring of the telephone. He stabbed at the speaker button with his index finger, not taking his eyes off the list in front of him. "Update me," he said curtly. Shinn's voice emanated through the speaker. "Boss, we've got Jeremy Baxter with us in the theatre. Do you want to speak to him?"

Athrun was already moving. He grabbed his keys and holstered his weapon. "Be there in five," he said before cutting off the connection with another stab of his thumb. "Keep working on it, Meyrin. Give me something."

"Here."

Kira glanced up at the voice. Stellar was standing over him, with a faint smile playing across her lips. She held out something to him and he realised that it was a custard bun wrapped in plastic. "Thanks," he muttered, receiving it gratefully. Stellar just nodded in response and sat down on the ground beside him. Tucking her knees to her chest, she turned concerned magenta eyes on him and watched as he ripped open the plastic and devoured the bun mechanically.

"Sting told us you were upset," she said softly.

He stared straight ahead at the blank dusty wall across the room and concentrated on eating. Bite, chew, swallow. Bite, chew, swallow.

"Is something bothering you?"

He tore off a hunk of bread with his teeth.

"You're starting to scare me a little, Kira."

He turned his head to look at her. Stellar was curled up, her knees under her chin. Her magenta eyes were searching the floor and Kira caught a glimpse of the shine in her eyes. Tears. "I'm sorry," he muttered, turning away. You fuck up everyone you're close to, asshole, he thought to himself. It was the case for Flay, and now it was happening again for Stellar.

"No," she whispered, "it's just that I wish I could help."

He didn't reply to that. He didn't know how to. All he could do was reach over and pick up a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap and downed it quickly so that he didn't feel the need to say something.

"Sometimes, do you wish you were normal?"

He paused in his drinking and lowered the bottle, glancing at her. She was looking at him intently.

"All the time," he said, "all the time."

They were quiet for a spell. Just sitting together, their arms brushing against each other lightly. Taking what little comfort they could from each other. Kira broke the silence first. "Where's Auel and Sting?"

"Auel was complaining that he was bored. I think they both went to see Lacus Clyne."

The plastic bottle slipped from Kira's fingers and fell to the ground. Water pooled on the dusty floor as he stared at her. Then he got to his feet and ran.

Athrun got a deafening horn and the finger as he rounded the bend at a harrowing speed, narrowly missing the bumper of a blue Cadillac. He ignored it and concentrated on weaving his way through the morning hour traffic. He wasn't a reckless driver and he wasn't suicidal. He had been on so many car chases through the urban city that he had honed his driving skills to perfection.

He raced down the street, swerved to overtake a crawling truck and spun his wheel. The car veered sharply and turned right. Tyres screeched wildly as they struggled to grip the asphalt.

His cell rang. With a hand rock steady on the wheel, he fumbled through the glove department with the other, searching for his earpiece. He found it and fitted it into his ear. "Zala," he rapped out.

"I just met Nicol and he told me the situation. You want me to trace the manufacturers?" Miriallia Haw sounded incredulous.

"Is it possible?"

"Why?"

"I want to know how, when and where the chemicals you found in the blood sample were produced. The manufacturer, the time of manufacturing, the place, the importer, whatever. Can you do that?"

"It's not impossible. All companies produce the same chemical with slight variations in their formula and each batch of chemicals produced differs very slightly in the percentage of its components. It's inevitable. So yes, it is traceable."

"Okay," said Athrun as he steered into the left lane, "I need the information asap, Miriallia."

"l'll do my best."

The line clicked off as Athrun rammed his foot into the accelerator.

Time running short.

The first thing Kira did after he had burst through the door was to rip off the body lying atop Lacus Clyne. He slammed Auel back into the wall. "What the fuck are you doing?" he snarled.

Auel was wearing a mask but it didn't hide the crazed look on his face. His cerulean pupils were dilated and had turned into a dark shade of blue. He was laughing. At least he had the sense to don a mask before he entered, Kira thought bitterly. "Aw, Kira," Auel sniggered, "welcome to the party!" He whooped, throwing his arms upwards and knocking Kira aside. "I was just about to taste her. We can share if you like! I've got dibs on-" He didn't finish his sentence as Kira floored him with a punch.

Auel just lay on the ground and laughed. "Man," he hiccupped, staring up at his attacker, "you pack such a punch, Kira. I never knew you were so violent in sex." He dissolved into giggles, squirming about on the dusty floor.

Kira whipped around and stared at Sting in disbelief. His green-haired accomplice was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. Mask in place. Looking completely unconcerned and uninterested.

"Why the fuck didn't you stop him?"

"You know Auel's unstoppable when he's like that," Sting shrugged, grinning, "Restlessness is his tragic flaw."

"I don't care," spat Kira. "Just get him out of here. If he puts one foot through this door again, I'm not going to be responsible for what happens to him."

"Sheesh," Sting grimaced, "You're in a foul mood."

Kira fixed him with an icy glare.

"Okay, okay," Sting put up both hands in a placating gesture. "I'll get him." He sauntered towards the fallen man and hooked an arm through his. "Come on, lover boy," he smiled, pulling the still laughing Auel to his feet. The pale blue-haired man protested but Sting wrapped an arm around his waist and manhandled him out the door.

Kira watched them disappear into the dimly lit passageway, then slammed the door unceremoniously. He wanted so much to smash his fist into something. Maybe the door. But he figured that would splinter the wood and leave an unwanted hole in it. Instead, he lifted a hand and touched the mask on his face to make sure it was in place before he turned to face the woman lying on the ground.

Her pink hair was caked with dirt and the dress she had been wearing – a pale pink and white knee-length dress – was covered in dust. The hem of her dress had been hiked up her thigh and the sleeve had been ripped off its seams. With her hands and feet still bound, she had no way of getting up.

Kira spotted the jacket and crossed over the room to it. It had been balled up and flung aside. He dusted it off as best as he could and returned to Lacus Clyne with it. Averting his eyes politely, he wrapped the jacket around her and pulled her up into a sitting position. She was shivering. Form the cold or the fear, he didn't know. He lifted his gaze to her face and saw the lingering fear in her blue-grey eyes. She was watching him, but not with apprehension. He was surprised to see a hint of relief in the tear-filled eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

He didn't reply. Just nodded and leaned her against the wall so that she had some leverage and balance.

"You okay?"

She tilted her head in a slight nod. Dust-filled hair slipped down and covered her face. Hesitantly, he brushed the dull pink locks away and tucked them behind her ear.

"Thank you," she whispered again.

He left her sitting, as comfortably as she could get, and retreated into a corner, watching her. She didn't look hurt. No doubt shaken, but not hurt.

"Why did you save me?" Her voice was hoarse and it quivered a little.

Kira shrugged. "We're not rapists."

She was quiet for a spell, then her pale, parched lips cracked into a faint smile. "How can you be so cold and distant, yet so humane?"

"We all have issues," Kira said. She stared at him. "It'll be better for you to keep on the right side of us," he warned.

"So I'm in the hands of psychopaths?" Lacus pointed out.

He laughed at that. It was a pleasant sound. Not filled with malice or derision. Just plain laughter, like he found her question amusing.

"Perhaps," he said, shrugging. "But I prefer to call them side effects."

"Side effects?" Lacus repeated, a puzzling frown creasing her brow. "Side effects of what?"

He shrugged again.

"What kind of side effects?"

"If I told you, I'll be letting you know our weaknesses," he smiled. It was the first time Lacus had seen him smiling, especially since he didn't have the black bandana to cover the lower half of his face. And she was mesmerized by it. In her current situation, it seemed completely out of place. It didn't look like the smile of a murderer.

"Was he on drugs?" she asked tentatively.

"We don't do drugs."

"Then why did he-"

"He gets restless easily, and whenever he gets restless, he looks for something to entertain himself with," Kira shrugged his shoulders. "Usually it's sex, when he can find himself a target."

Lacus went quiet.

"But the other man-"

"Sex isn't his thing," Kira grinned, "If you were a man, he might find it a thrill to take you down. He enjoys a fight."

"There was a woman."

"Don't underestimate her," he said, "she has her own issues, but she's every bit the assassin."

There was silence as Lacus Clyne processed the information. Then she glanced up at him and looked away again. Like she was struggling with herself. He could see the question at her lips. He knew what she was going to ask and he waited patiently for it.

"And what is your problem?" she asked. She was whispering, as if afraid to know the answer.

Kira just smiled. "You don't want to know."

There was silence for a moment. Kira watched the fear play across her pale face. Then she looked him straight in the eye. She was psyching herself up. "Tell me, please."

Kira smiled. "I have a taste and hunger for killing."

Author's note: So, what do you think? Is it bad? Good? *wince and smile hopefully* Don't forget to review and let me know what you think. And I know, my updates are coming at a much slower pace. So sorry, guys, but I've been incredibly busy over the past week and if that is even possible, I'll be even busier in the following weeks. Bear with me, guys. I'll update as soon as I can!