Author's note: Hi there! Finally back with two chapters. Realised something went wrong with the chronology of the story and the timing so I had to take down Chapter 45 and edit it. Put it back up, together with Chapter 46. Some parts of both chapters come from what I've taken down, so for readers who have been keeping up with the chapters so far (and let me just say, thank you, thank you, thank you for that!), some parts may look familiar, but there's also new stuff. Hope it's better now and less confusing!

Chapter 45 (edited)

They didn't head back to his apartment immediately.

Athrun made a call as they headed for the car, talked a bit to whoever was on the other end of the phone, and by the time they got to the black convertible, he was done talking and he looked pleased. He unlocked the doors and said to Cagalli over the roof, "Let's head over to Miriallia's. I think she's got some news for me."

Traffic in the middle of the night was minimal and they cruised down the roads and highways at a comfortable and efficient speed. There was silence in the car. Athrun had much to think about. What news exactly did Miriallia have for him? The forensic scientist had refused to reveal it on the phone, but she sounded eager enough. And besides, he had the folded package of toothbrush bristles in his pocket to hand to her.

Cagalli too was quiet, immersed in her own thoughts. Head against the window, she watched the odd vehicle stream past and allowed her thoughts to drift back to the house they had just left. The fifth house, sitting silent and empty, in a neighbourhood that didn't look quite friendly. Could it be that the house belonged to Kira? Not this 'Kira Hibiki' that Athrun said they were looking for, but her very own brother, Kira Yamato. Could it be?

She wanted it to be. She needed it to be. For the first time, in fifteen years, she had received a sign. Call it coincidence, or destiny, or fate, or whatever. It had to be a sign of some sort. For fifteen years, she had seen and heard nothing. It was as if Kira had never existed, as if he had been a mere shadow fading in the light, like those imaginary friends that kids invented to keep them company. But that was not true. He had to have existed, or how would one explain the feeling of loss that had plagued her all those years, since the day she had learnt that her twin brother had disappeared without a trace? She had revisited that day so many times in her mind that she knew the street they had been standing on like the back of her hand. It had been the street behind their house, not the one she was living in with her parents, but the old one – the one they had left behind because it held too many bad memories. Her mother had been adamant about leaving. She had insisted that Kira would not be able to find them if he came back. But ten years later, they just decided that it was time to move on.

So it had been the old street where the incident had happened.

Now, Cagalli always revisited the incident like a spectator. In her mind, she saw herself standing at the corner of the street, a little blonde girl, about seven years of age, close to eight. Beside her, was her brother, a boy with brown hair and glittering amethyst eyes. They were shoving at each other and tugging at each other's clothes. The girl was furious because the boy had said that her dress made her look like a girl. She had been livid. She hadn't wanted to wear it in the first place; she much preferred her brother's T-shirt and trousers. She had wanted to give him a sharp, playful smack to the shoulder, just to silence him, when a large shadow cast over them. Two shadows to be precise, merged together to form a larger one. It had spilled over them out of nowhere. The little girl attempted to turn around but a large hand clamped over her face, covering her eyes, her nose and mouth, so that she couldn't see, couldn't breathe. The boy shouted something, but the other stranger grabbed him. A van drew up along the side of the road, but the girl's eyes were covered, so she couldn't see. Then something hit her head, hard, and a bright light flashed through her vision. The last thing she heard was the sound of a man shouting and the sound of tyres screeching. But no matter how hard the little blonde girl strained her ears, she didn't hear her brother. And then all went silent and dark.

No matter how many times Cagalli reflected on it, no matter how many angles she looked at it from, she still couldn't catch a single glimpse of the kidnappers. At first, she had felt afraid and confused when the police officers pushed her to recall the incident over and over again. Then she had felt anger – anger at herself for not being able to recall anything significant to nab the criminals, anger at her parents for having allowed them to head to the park alone, anger at the police for giving up and leaving the case cold, and anger at the whole wide world, for no fathomable reason.

But nothing felt more frightening than the sense of loss that came upon her as she registered the horrifying event. She felt halved, incomplete, deficient, lacking… more alone than ever. She could sit at the table for hours, lost and alone, not knowing what needed to be done, or what its purpose was. She could open the door of the house, and stand on the porch for ages, feeling as if she was waiting for someone. She could pour two glasses of water, only to find that she needed to drink only one, then she would end up drinking both, and filling them up with her tears.

That feeling of loss… The ever-present gap…

Filled up, to a certain extent, for the first time in fifteen years when she stepped through the front door of the fifth apartment.

It had been a weird feeling. As she stood in the doorway of the apartment, Cagalli had felt both familiarity and unfamiliarity. As if the very air within the house had smelled familiar, as if every object she touched had familiar fingerprints impressed all over them. Yet, she knew very well that she had never set foot in this apartment before. It was a foreign environment; there was a lot she found unfamiliar.

Could it be that Kira had been there before? Could it be that she had just treaded through the very same space her twin had? Was it Kira's presence she was feeling?

"Did you find anything strange about the apartment?" A voice broke through the silence so suddenly it felt like she had been doused with a pail of ice-cold water.

"What?" Cagalli spun her head around quickly, surprised out of her thoughts, "What did you say?"

Athrun cast a bemused glance at her before turning back to the road. "Are you alright? You've been awfully quiet. Is your head hurting? Do you want me to drive you home first? Or back to my house? The painkillers are in my home, yes?"

"What?" Cagalli said again, slightly disoriented. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and lifted a hand up to touch the dressing on her brow. "Oh, this? Don't worry, I'm fine. It's not hurting. I took some painkillers before I came to look for you. No, I'm alright, I was just thinking about… stuff. You were saying?"

"I asked, if you found anything strange about the apartment?"

"Strange?" Cagalli pondered the question for a moment, drumming her fingers against the dashboard. "There wasn't anything strange or peculiar. There was nothing worthwhile for us to take, besides those toothbrush bristles, which I'm guessing, may or may not yield results. There was virtually nothing in that house. I've never seen a house with furniture so sparse. How could there be anything strange in there?"

"That's exactly what makes the apartment so strange," Athrun replied.

"What?"

"The sparseness of the house," he explained. "I've never seen a house so bare either. There are not many reasons for a house to be so empty. One, the owner is single. You can't have a whole family living with such sparse furniture. Even a family steeped in poverty would have mats laid out for sleeping and they wouldn't have a nice leather sofa or a marble coffee table. So no, the owner has to be single. And two, the owner is rarely around. Maybe a businessman who travels a lot. Or in our case, a criminal engaged in all sorts of crimes."

A pause, and silence droned on, interrupted only by the quiet hum of the engine.

Cagalli nodded, "That makes sense."

"Another thing," Athrun continued, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Did you notice that the entire house was spotless?"

Cagalli turned in her seat to face him. A glimmer of revelation brightened her face as she straightened up, curious to know what Athrun wanted to say.

"How clean exactly is your house, Cagalli?"

"Clean enough, I suppose. Why?"

"Mine too," Athrun smiled, "even though I don't spend much time at home and I don't have a housekeeper. But the point is, why are our homes clean?"

"I guess, we do some housekeeping everyday to maintain its cleanliness?"

"Right," Athrun glanced at her. There was a thrill in his emerald eyes, and Cagalli recognized it. It meant that they were getting somewhere. "So how can that house be sparkling clean?"

Cagalli shook her head, frowning. "I don't quite get-" She stopped as the implications of what Athrun was saying dawned on her. "If Lacus has been gone for more than two days…" she began slowly.

A grin began to form on Athrun's face. "And kidnappers have to spend days preparing for the execution of their plan…"

"And if the woman you met – Flay Allster – said that she hadn't seen Kira in two weeks…"

"Not the Kira we know."

"There's no proof to say he isn't," Cagalli retorted quickly, "but anyway, point is, that house should have been empty for nearly two weeks or more… It couldn't be so clean. Someone's been inside recently."

"Exactly," said Athrun. "Someone's been cleaning up, and it's not just your average housekeeping. There wasn't a single strand of hair, or speck of dust, or fingerprint. Either we've got a superbly meticulous housekeeper, or someone's out to make sure every single trace or clue is eliminated. If we assume that Kira Hibiki-"

"Or Kira Yamato."

"No proof yet. But, if we assume that Kira-whoever is the leader of this operation, considering that he and I had a nice conversation on the phone, then he couldn't have been the one who came back to the house and cleaned up. Someone else did it."

"Okay," Cagalli nodded, "so what's our plan?"

"Right now, we're going to visit Miriallia Haw and find out what she has for us. Then in the morning, I'm going back-"

"We."

"What?" Athrun quirked an eyebrow at her.

"We," Cagalli repeated. "You're not going anywhere alone. We're going to do this together."

"Fine," he let out an exasperated sigh. "In the morning, we will go back to the house and see if we can find out from the neighbours who this miraculous housekeeper is."

The lights in the Central Police Headquarters were still on, even at 1:30a.m. in the middle of the night. The police force was a 24/7 business – criminals didn't have knock-off hours; cases didn't solve themselves, so the law enforcement had to work OT to keep up.

Because of that, Athrun had declined to park within the building itself. They ended up in a multi-story carpark two blocks down and made their approach on foot. The roads were largely empty. Only an occasional vehicle or two sped past them, their engines roaring loudly in the otherwise silent night. The Central Police Headquarters was a massive building constructed of stainless steel and glass and even from far, they could see the glow of lights, randomly distributed across the building's façade.

They paused by the sidewalk, a little ways from the building, and Athrun counted the windows. The seventh window on the sixteenth floor was lit – the Special Unit, or what was left of it, seemed to be hard at work. Cagalli waited as Athrun fished the cell out of his pocket and dialed up his office. It was Meyrin who picked up the phone and she told them that Seiran was out. The detective had decided to bunk in at the Clyne Mansion in case the kidnappers called, and he had brought Nicol and Dearka with him. The office was empty, save for Shinn, Luna and Meyrin herself, who had stayed behind to await orders and mobilize the men if the need arose.

Seiran out of the picture. One obstacle down.

So Athrun had Meyrin ring up Murrue Ramius' office next, even though he saw that the second window on the eighteenth floor was dark. The scarlet-haired secretary left him on the line and came back a minute later to inform him that the Assistant Commissioner had gone home.

It was all perfect.

Except for the two police officers on duty at the lobby.

The lobby of the Central Police Headquarters, like much of the rest of the building, was encased entirely in glass. There were huge glass doors between equally large glass walls. You could see everything going on in the lobby and in the day, the mass of people streaming through the lobby was a sight.

Athrun put out a hand to stop Cagalli's advance. They paused, side-by-side, together in the shadows, just out of the glow of a nearby streetlamp and waited. Neither officer noticed them.

But a second later, one picked up the phone on the desk and listened in to whoever was on the other end of the line. It wasn't a long conversation, and when he replaced the receiver in its cradle, he nudged his partner and both conversed with their heads bent low.

Athrun shrank back into the dark, and tugging on Cagalli's wrist, pulled her after him.

"Have they found out that we're here?" She whispered. "Who's side are they on?"

The blue-haired detective shrugged, emerald eyes focused on the Headquarters's lobby. Both officers had returned to their work, neither seemed greatly affected by whatever had traversed over the phone conversation. Neither looked up or scanned about for intruders.

"I'm not sure," he muttered. Faint mist from his breath clouded over Cagalli's face as they stood close, pressed up against the wall of an office building. The temperatures were dropping relentlessly. Cagalli glanced up into the night sky, but there was no moon or stars. Only an inky blackness. They were in for a cold winter, she thought to herself.

"Luna's here."

She followed Athrun's gaze and spotted the familiar crop of scarlet-red hair emerge from a pair of open elevator doors.

Lunamaria passed through the turnstiles and turned towards the entrance, facing out onto the empty street. If she hadn't known what she was looking for, she wouldn't have spotted Athrun, or Cagalli, for they were well-hidden enough, cramped as they were against the front of the neighboring building away from the light. As soon as she caught sight of them, she crossed the lobby in quickly, heading straight for the glass doors. She shoved the right one open with her shoulder, then beckoned to them with an open palm.

Athrun didn't move, and the hand he had on Cagalli's forearm prevented her from moving too.

Until Lunamaria opened the door wider and called out, "Don't worry. They're with us."

Neither officer glanced up when they slipped through the glass doors of the Central Police Headquarters. The trio passed through the turnstiles together, using Luna's entry pass. It was a precaution Athrun had decided to take, because all entries and exits were clocked in. Although Murrue hadn't confiscated his entry pass, he couldn't risk having his particulars clocked into the system at 1:30a.m. in the middle of the night. They cramped into an open elevator and didn't speak until the doors were safely closed behind them. Then Athrun frowned. "I believe the officers aren't part of the Special Unit," he said pointed out as the lift began its ascent.

Lunamaria just cocked her head and flashed a grin at them. "You'll be surprised at the number of allies we have in HQ," she said, "Most of the officers here, including non-Special Unit members, are sympathetic to our situation. It seems like Seiran's made many enemies and they're all more than happy to be of assistance to the Special Unit. Meyrin rang up the officers in the lobby just now and they agreed to cooperate with us." She pointed a finger at the closed-circuit camera in the elevator. "They've shut down the cameras too, just long enough for us to get up there, so no one knows you're here. And this afternoon, the officers-on-duty were more than helpful. They kept Flay Allster's presence a secret for us. Essentially, no one's happy that you've been suspended and we're all eager to see you return to your post, Chief."

Athrun merely responded with a wry smile. "I'm looking forward to that too."

They rode the lift up to the twentieth storey, where they found Miriallia Haw waiting for them in a forensics lab, sitting on a stainless steel revolving chair with her eyes glued to a microscope.

"Perfect timing." She glanced up when the three of them entered and pushed herself away from the bench. "You're just in time. I'll just cut to the chase. I've got some news for you, Athrun. Come and take a look over here." She spun around in her chair and kicked her feet so that she was sliding across the lab, the wheels underneath her seat rattling as they glided across the tiled floor. Athrun, Cagalli and Luna followed her. The brunette hauled herself in front of her computer and pulled up a document. All four crowded around the screen, their heads close.

"Look," Mirallia tapped the glass with a nail. "I've broken down the chemical trace found in the blood sample. One of the synthetic chemicals in there is epinephrine, or what we call adrenalin. But it's what I've told you before: this version has a different structure that enhances its function. So I've compared it with the original and discovered that there's a larger than normal quantity of the compound acetophenone that was used." The forensic scientist gave her mouse a click, and a diagram faded onto the screen. It looked like a complex web cluttered with chemical symbols. "This is acetophenone. It's a raw chemical used in the manufacturing process of pharmaceutics, including adrenalin. I've done some research on the chemical engineering plants that manufacture acetophenone and the molar mass and density of this sample matches the one synthesized by a chemical plant run by Rowell Corporations." Miriallia exchanged the chemical diagram on her screen with the license of the company.

Cagalli leaned forward so that she could get a better look. "Germany?" she asked, puzzled. "Rowell Corporations is based in Germany?"

"Yup," Miriallia smacked her lips and nodded, "But that's just raw acetophenone. Rowell Corporations is involved in chemical engineering, not pharmaceutics. Which means, a pharmaceutical company must have imported acetophenone from Rowell Corporations and used it to alter the structure of adrenalin, to create this new and enhanced sample that we found in the blood at the Clyne Mansion."

"Good job," said Athrun, "now we need the list of companies in the city that have imported acetophenone from Rowell Corporations."

"Already done that," the brunette smiled, "I've pulled up a list of those pharmaceutical companies. But, you need to understand that acetophenone is a very common ingredient in pharmaceutics. It's not a hazardous chemical, so lots of companies order it in bulk." She paused and searched her computer for the document. When it unfolded on the screen, Lunamaria gave a low whistle of dismay. Athrun understood why, for he too felt a sense of disbelief crowding down upon him. The list was alarmingly long. It spanned over three pages and each sheet was covered from margin to margin in tiny letters.

"How many companies is that?" Cagalli blurted out.

"Forty-two," replied Miriallia. "That's close to eighty percent of the total number of pharmaceutical companies we have based in this city."

Lunamaria ran a hand through her hair and sighed in exasperation. "Well, that just makes our job easier," she muttered sarcastically.

"Don't despair," Miriallia turned her head and flashed a grin at the distraught faces staring back at her. "Good news is, there are a lot of other anomalies in the blood sample – genetic alterations, hormone modifications, additional steroids – so I've got enough material to work with. I've used the same method to narrow down the list." As she tapped at her keyboard swiftly, the individual names on the screen began to change and shift. Some faded while others stood out in bold and the names began to disperse and separate into various columns across the screen, until a single block of words remained evident in focus. "Here we go," said Miriallia, "This is the list of companies that have imported all the various chemicals, compounds and ingredients that I've found in the blood sample."

Athrun ran his finger down the list, the glass screen cold and smooth underneath his fingertip, as he counted off the names. "That's seventeen," he said finally.

"That's a lot better than forty-two," chimed in Cagalli.

"Wait till you see this," Miriallia said smugly. She ran her hands across the keyboard, fingers flying across the keys at rapid and eager speed. The block of words transformed again and thirteen faded into a faint greyness, leaving behind four names that stood out in stark relief. "I found out that one of the steroid hormones contains a chemical known as methylhexanamine. Its safety has been questioned and it's now a largely restricted chemical. Only certain pharmaceutical companies are allowed to import it, and we've got only four in our city that have been given permission to do so. And that's it – the four companies." She swiveled around in her chair and beamed at her companions. "So what do you think?"

Lunamaria shook her head disbelievingly, red tresses bouncing with the vigorous action, but there was an excited smile on her face. "That's awesome, Miriallia," she grinned. "You're a life-saver."

But Athrun said nothing. And his lack of response drew the attention of the women.

"What's wrong?" Cagalli asked quickly, the smile already fading slightly from her face, as she sensed the tension radiating of him.

He said, "It's not four."

"What?"

"We're looking for one in particular, and I think I know which one," the blue-haired detective replied. He leaned forward and jabbed a finger at the screen. The ladies followed his gaze. "I've heard Lacus mention this company before," he said, "DEX enterprises."

"I'm not sure if I see the link-"

"According to Lacus, Kira Hibiki introduced himself as an employee of DEX enterprises."

All three of his audience lapsed into silence as they registered the implications of Athrun's words. Finally, they were getting somewhere. To have forty-two companies narrowed down to four was good, but to be able to identify the exact target was beyond their expectations. It was perfect.

"Can you get me the details of DEX enterprises? Like who owns it, what do they specialize in and where do they store their chemicals?" Athrun glanced at Miriallia. But before the forensic scientist could respond, Lunamaria interrupted smoothly, "Chief, why don't you leave that to us? Meyrin, Shinn and I can handle that in the office."

Her chief nodded in approval. "Yes, that would be great. I need a couple of other things from you, Luna. First off, any way you can get me a firearm?"

Lunamaria just stared at him.

"My gun's in the AC's possession, and-" He paused to hike up his right trouser leg and unsheathed the blade. Tossing it in one hand, he caught it by its hilt and said, "-this isn't going to be very helpful in the face of gunfire."

Lunamaria laughed. "I never thought the Chief of the Special Unit Athrun Zala would ever be helpless. You're the guy people say can rob the bank with a butter knife, least of all this combat knife."

"Well, resources can limit a man's potential."

"That's true," Luna grinned, then sobered up quickly and said, "I'll have to check about that. Might have to give Yzak a call. He knows these things better than we do. We'll do our best. Anything else, Chief?"

"Give Yzak a call, but tell him that his priority remains with the serum. Don't ever let it out of sight. And Luna, you guys need to stop Seiran if he tries to remove the vial from the safehouse. It mustn't get into the hands of the kidnappers or Lacus' safety will be undermined."

"Got it."

"One more thing. I need you to find out who owns this house." He rattled off the address of Kira Hibiki's apartment, which Luna scribbed on the back of her hand with a pen she grabbed off Miriallia's bench.

Then, turning to Miriallia, Athrun said, "I need another favour from you." He produced the folded package from his pocket and uncovered the snipped fragments of synthetic fibers. "I got my hands on the toothbrush of one of the masterminds. I'll greatly appreciate it if you could get me a DNA sample."

"How in the world did you get this?"

Athrun gave a weak smile. "It's better if you didn't know."

"Right," the brunette looked at him grimly, "But you should know then, that any evidence that you collect without proper procedure can't be submitted in court."

"Priority #1 is to ensure Lacus' security. As for the rest, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Okay."

"How much time do you need?"

"Minimum?" Miriallia winced, "about sixteen hours."

"Sixteen hours?" Cagalli snapped. "Lacus will be dead by then."

Athrun ignored her outburst, but he too felt her sense of dread. "Can you quicken the process?"

The forensic scientist just shook her head.

"Okay, just… do your best, Miriallia. Everything depends on the DNA result."