Author's note: Apologies, everyone, for the extremely long delay! I was having my exams and simply couldn't find any scrap of time to write this chapter. Now that I'm into my vacation, I should be able to speed up my writing, so hopefully, more chapters to come in the next few days… Meanwhile, here's a slightly longer chapter to make up for the delay. So read on, and hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 47:

Dearka roused the moment he heard Nicol's exclamation, right hand reaching instinctively for the gun at his hip. "What?" he blurted out blearily, sitting bolt upright from the couch where he was curled up in.

The he realized that he didn't need to wait for Nicol's reply. He knew exactly what was happening. The phone was ringing its head off, its shrill scream piercing the silence. He stared at it for a second, and turned to glance round at his companions.

Siegel Clyne was awake. And judging from the clean, un-creased state of his suit, Dearka figured that the man hadn't slept a wink. He was sitting across from him, eyes fixed intensely on the buzzing phone, as if his entire life depended on it, which was probably true. His face looked calm and composed though. Only the deep furrow in his brow betrayed his anxiety. Meanwhile, Nicol was shoving at Seiran to no avail – Moron Seiran was so deep in his sleep, he could have been dead.

For heaven's sakes, Dearka snapped in his mind.

He scrambled to his feet, rushed for the sleeping man and hauled his supervisor into an upright position and yelled unceremoniously into the man's face. "Detective Seiran!" He considered swinging his palm across the sleeping man's face, and decided that he liked the idea – it would be nothing compared to what Seiran deserved for putting his chief through all that shit. But fortunately for his victim (and unfortunately for Dearka), Yuna Roma Seiran woke up with a start. Under other circumstances, Dearka might have laughed to see the array of expressions on Seiran's face. For a moment, Seiran looked dazed, the astounded by Dearka's outrageous display of disrespect, but eventually he caught on and began batting furiously at Dearka's hands, which were still holding him in place. "Alright, I'm awake. Let go now!"

Dearka released him, and Seiran was quick to bounce back to his usual self. "Well, don't just stand there," he snapped, pointing at Nicol with a finger, "Get ready to trace the call." With the other hand, he gestured at Siegel Clyne, who, by now, was looking less composed by the second. "Pick up the phone at the count of three," he instructed. Already, the infuriating air of professionalism was creeping into his voice and stance. Dearka rolled his eyes, but held his tongue and settled himself obediently beside Nicol.

"One," Seiran said.

"Two minutes, Mr. Clyne," Nicol reminded, "We need the call to last at least two minutes." Siegel Clyne nodded and leaned forward, teetering at the edge of the couch. His hand hovered over the phone receiver.

"Two," Seiran said.

Nicol's hands flashed over his keyboard and nodded to indicate he was ready.

"Three," Seiran said.

Siegel Clyne picked up the phone and held it to his ear. "Hello, Siegel Clyne speaking."

Dearka had to hand it to him. Even in a situation like that, with Moron Seiran in charge, Siegel Clyne could still keep his cool. He knew now why his chief respected his adoptive father so much, and why Siegel Clyne could qualify as the best thing that had happened to Athrun. Siegel Clyne was silent as he listened to the speaker on the other side of the phone, then after a quick moment, he pried the receiver from his ear and tilted it towards Seiran. "He wants to speak to you, Detective."

Detective Seiran just stared.

"He said he wants to speak to you," Siegel repeated. "Now."

Seiran made a move to shake his head. The word "no" was already forming at his lips but Siegel Clyne just went on speaking, "He said you don't the right to reject any of his requests. He asked me to remind you that Lacus is with him, together with your next promotion."

"What?" Seiran blurted out. But Dearka noticed that the detective's hand was already moving towards the phone receiver. The asshole, he thought to himself, the promotion-seeking, downright stupid fool was falling into the trap.

Seiran put the phone receiver to his ear tentatively, as if it were a ticking bomb that would explode. "Hello?"

"Hello, Detective Seiran." The voice on the other end of the receiver sounded amused, which frightened Seiran a little. "Y-Yes." He realised he was stammering, so he cleared his throat in a hurry, and pretended not to see the disapproving looks that Nicol and Dearka were flashing him. He was their chief, he didn't need to answer to them. Straightening to his full height, he replied nonchalantly, "Yes, that's me. What do you want?"

"Very nice to meet you, Detective Seiran. I figured that it's only polite for me to call and speak to the new supervisor of this operation."

"How did you know I'm in charge now?" Seiran asked, failing to hide the anxiety from his voice.

There was a low laugh. It rattled across the phone line, a sound that grated on Seiran's nerves. "What?" He snapped. He felt a tinge of panic, and annoyance. Who the hell did this guy think he was? "What's so funny?" A hand reached out for the phone receiver, but he evaded it. Dearka shook his head warningly, "Detective Seiran-" Seiran covered the phone receiver with his palm. "I've got this under control," he hissed. When he returned his attention to the speaker, the laughter on the other end of the phone had died down.

"I know a lot, Detective. Including the fact that you've got the serum in a safe house, and Detective Yzak Joule is guarding it. You don't plan on giving me the serum at all, Detective. You're just playing games with me. So I'm not going to beat about the bush. New rules, Detective - I want you to order your men to withdraw from the safe house immediately. Every single one of them. Pick up your phone and give Mr. Joule a call right now."

"If you think I am going to listen to a criminal, you-"

Seiran's words were cut off by the stranger, who simply said, "Don't test me, Mr. Seiran. If you think I'm playing around, just ask your predecessor. Athrun Zala, I believe? He'll tell you how many of his friends and colleagues I've killed. Last warning, Detective Seiran. Withdraw all your men from the safehouse right now, or you can forget about seeing Lacus Clyne." He paused. "And your promotion. We both know you've got a bright future ahead of you, nephew of the Police Commissioner and all. Rescuing Lacus Clyne will look good on your portfolio. Don't let me ruin it."

The line went dead.

And Dearka exploded abruptly. "Oh, shit!" he snarled when he saw Seiran drop the phone from his ear. "Oh shit, oh no," he muttered, stabbing both hands into his hair and clenching the blonde strands tightly in his fists. "Nicol, how long did that take? Tell us you got something."

His teammate simply shook his head, and placed a flat, decisive palm on the top of his laptop screen. The laptop folded shut with a loud, disappointing snap. Frustration was plastered over the green-haired detective's face. "A minute and fifty-two seconds," Nicol replied, "We needed just a little more time. It's just like the previous call. They're doing this on purpose. They're obviously timing the call and they know when to cut us off."

Dearka turned his attention to Seiran. The purple-haired detective was staring at the phone receiver as if it were alive and barking at him. "Are you alright, Detective Seiran?" He raised his volume, barely able to mask the contempt in his voice. "What did the kidnappers say? What are their instructions?"

His temporary chief glanced up at him, gaze a little stunned and lost, and when he spoke, Dearka thought that Seiran had gone nuts. "Call Detective Joule immediately and ask him to pull the team out."

Dearka didn't call Yzak. At least not immediately, as Seiran had requested.

He called Athrun first, and got him after a long nerve-wrecking, nail-biting minute. His boss didn't sound pleased to hear what he had to say.

"Where are you now?" His chief said curtly.

Dearka winced. When his boss got all taciturn and brusque, trouble wasn't too far off. "In the Clyne Mansion," he replied.

"Seiran there with you?"

"Yes."

"Does he know you're on the phone with me?"

Dearka glanced round the pillar he was using as his refuge and eyed the entrance of the Clyne Mansion's study critically. He caught a glimpse of Siegel Clyne, perched on the edge of the couch. And he glanced the dithering figure of Yuna Roma Seiran as the man paced the length of the room, arms gesticulating wildly, and Nicol who was busy keeping Seiran occupied. "No. He's busy right now," Dearka said into his cell.

"Good," Athrun said, "Keep it that way. We're chasing down some clues over here. I need more time. Can you stall Seiran?"

"I'll do my best."

"Okay. Keep me posted." Athrun snapped his cell shut, dropped it into his lap and slammed both fists into the steering wheel, startling Cagalli, who whipped her head around and stared at him. "What's wrong? Who was that?"

Athrun heaved a sigh and straightened in his chair. This was just fantastic, he thought bitterly. Just when everything seemed hopeful. They had started the day on what he had considered to be a relatively good note. Luna had slipped out to procure breakfast, and they had eaten it together – the six of them – all huddled up in Miriallia's office, poring over details of DEX enterprises. The burger was greasy, but enormous, and satisfied his hunger considerably – Athrun had forgotten that he had missed dinner and he was ravenous. The machines in the lab were busy churning out the DNA profile from the toothbrush bristles. The .357 SIG felt nice and familiar resting against his hip. Meyrin had compiled the data on DEX enterprises and Athrun had had some time to scan through the file while he ate.

DEX enterprises was a drug-testing company based in New York, but it owned a lab in the city. It was registered under the name Dexter Smith, a forty-year old man who didn't like the spotlight much for there was hardly any information on him. It appeared to be a regular pharmaceutical company; there were no records of suspicious illegal activities. But Athrun was sure there had to be something strange about it, which was why he had Cagalli to pore over it. They had snuck out of the headquarters at 5 a.m., before Assistant Commissioner Ramius had reported for work.

Everything going smoothly, except for the piece of news Dearka had just delivered. Athrun shoved the gear into 'drive' with the flat of his palm, a little more viciously than he had intended. Trust Seiran to ruin things. He eased the car out of the parking lot and headed for the exit of the multi-storey carpark, talking to Cagalli as he drove. "It was Dearka. The kidnappers called and spoke to Seiran. They demanded that Seiran have Yzak and the other officers removed and Seiran's approved the withdrawal from the safe house."

"No way," Cagalli glanced up from the file and stared at him. "How could he make such a foolish decision?"

"It's Seiran." Athrun replied simply. The convertible swung out onto the main road and Athrun gunned the engine. Traffic had picked up a little from the previous night, but it was still relatively quiet.

"So," Cagalli worried at her lip with her teeth, "what do we do now? How do we stop Seiran? And just what do the kidnappers want?"

Athrun didn't answer right away. They were onto something, he could sense it. Fuck, he didn't just sense it, he knew it. They were moving slowly but surely towards the final destination. Only problem was, he couldn't afford to move slowly. He didn't have a whole lot of time. And as if the whole wide world was out to remind him of it, a deep blue sedan slid in front of his convertible, cruising at what appeared to Athrun, to be a freaking snail's pace. Athrun swore under his breath and swerved the car into the right lane, then back into the left again, overtaking the sedan. He got a cacophony of horns, from both the sedan and the vehicles in the right lane. He ignored them.

He could sense that Cagalli wanted to say something about his reckless driving, but she kept her mouth shut dutifully, clutching the file and papers in her lap with one hand to prevent them from sliding into the foot well, the other clutching the seatbelt crossing her torso.

"Sorry," he muttered, just to break the silence.

He suddenly felt the urge to make a fast u-turn and send Cagalli all the way back to her home. The Yamatos had to be fretting now. The fact that Cagalli had called them yesterday, promised she would be home in a few days, and that she was safe and sound with Athrun, didn't matter. And neither did the fact that the Yamatos seemed to trust Athrun, after all they had grown up together. Because if they ever found out that the only child they had left, who had just been discharged from the hospital with stitches in her head, was running all over the city with him and his unruly driving, they would likely suffer from a heart attack.

"Don't even think about it."

He glanced round at Cagalli, whose amber eyes were narrowed at him. "If you even send me within a mile of my house, I am going to jump out of this car," She warned. "So don't you get into your over-protective mode. We made a deal to get through this together and I am choosing to tag along with you. I'll bear responsibility for my own choices. So stop piling all that blame onto yourself. Just tell me what's the plan and I'm all in."

Athrun sighed resignedly. He was probably going to regret it when things started going crazy all over the city, but for now, he had made his own choice, which really wasn't much of a choice.

"We're going to head back to that apartment and talk to some of the neighbours. See if we can get some hints on who has been cleaning the place up. After that-" he glanced over at Cagalli, "we're going to pop by DEX enterprises and speak to some of the scientists and find out what they use metheylhexanamine for. As for Seiran, Dearka and Nicol will stall for time."

"Okay, so what do you need me to do now?"

Athrun nodded towards the file in her lap. "Look through the file on DEX enterprises. Tear it apart. There's got to be something suspicious in there. We need to find what it is, and that's going to lead us one step closer to Lacus."

By the time Dearka got back to the study, Seiran was giving Nicol hell for failing to trace the call.

"We need better technology," Seiran snapped, then hearing Dearka's footsteps from the hallway, he whirled around and faced the blonde man. "Aren't you the IT expert? How is it that the both of you couldn't locate where the call was made from? This is the Special Unit, for heaven's sakes. This is unacceptable! And what did Detective Joule say? Has he and all the men pulled out yet?"

"Yzak's patrolling the perimeter of the safe house. The call was patched through to one of his subordinates instead. He said the moment Yzak's back in the safe house, he'll get Yzak to call," Dearka lied smoothly.

"This is unacceptable!" Seiran repeated. "Doesn't Detective Joule have any other phone lines? Have you tried his cell? His radio? How can a detective be unreachable?"

Dearka shrugged, "I've tried his cell and his radio. The signals aren't very good at the safehouse. I couldn't get him. We'll just have to wait."

The neighbourhood looked a little friendlier in the day. Less shifty.

Athrun aligned his car with the road kerb and shoved the gearshift into 'park'. He got out and stepped around the hood to join Cagalli on the sidewalk. She was staring up at the fifth apartment, which stood still and quiet, its blinds still drawn down across the twin windows on each side of the door. There was an intense expression on Cagalli's face, as if she were waiting for someone to open the door, and hoping it was a familiar face.

"Come on," Athrun muttered, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing it gently. She came after him, albeit a little reluctant, and they headed towards the apartment on the left. The fourth one in the row. They ascended the steps together, but the porch was narrow and only Athrun could stand on the highest step, Cagalli one step behind him. Athrun rang the doorbell and there was a faint chime that resonated somewhere deep in the house.

"Coming!" A yell sounded from behind the door. It was a woman.

Athrun and Cagalli shared a glance, then turned back quickly to the door, just as it opened up from inside. The woman standing in the doorway was wringing her hands on a dish towel. She paused, and looked at them, curiosity plastered on her face. "Can I help you?"

Athrun let an easy smile creep onto his face. "Hi, I'm so sorry to bother you this morning, ma'am. I'm here to visit my cousin. He lives next door." He pointed at the fifth apartment just to reiterate his point. "But he seems to be out and we couldn't contact him. We were hoping to take a seat inside first because my girlfriend's recovering from an accident." Athrun shifted aside so that the woman could see Cagalli, who gave a weak smile. The woman's eyes travelled to the bandage on Cagalli's brow, and a look of sympathy came upon her face. "So," Athrun continued, "my cousin said he had a housekeeper who comes to clean up his house and the housekeeper is due to come in this morning. We were just wondering if you knew who the housekeeper was and if you could provide some sort of description, we'll know who to look out for?"

"Oh, I see," the woman finished drying her hands on her dish towel and she folded it absently as she talked, "To be honest, I don't know him that well." She put her head out of the door and Athrun had to lean back a little so that she didn't collide into him. She glanced over at the fifth apartment. "He's your cousin?" She asked, "Well, I really can't say I know much about your cousin. He's hardly ever at home. But he looks nice enough, too quiet, perhaps. Just smiles at my kids, my husband or me when we greet him. I don't even know his name. Not to mention his housekeeper. In fact, I didn't even know he had one. I've never seen anyone else coming to the house, but then again, I go out to work most of the day, so maybe I've missed it."

"Oh, right," Athrun smiled, "it's alright then. We'll just go over to the next house and try our luck."

"Sure. Nice to meet you."

They stood on the porch a little longer until the woman had closed the door, then they came back down the stairs and headed for the apartment on the right – the sixth one in the row.

"Girlfriend?" Cagalli said as they walked down the footway. She crooked a curious eyebrow at him. Athrun just smiled and shrugged. "She believed it," he said simply.

The sixth apartment on the street was opened up by an older woman with slightly graying hair. She looked sympathetic when Athrun relayed his story again, but she gave the same answers, and got Athrun and Cagalli nowhere. When she offered to let Cagalli rest in her house, Athrun declined politely and they waited again for the older woman to close the door before coming back down the stairs.

"Are we going to try any more of these houses?" She asked, as they stood on the sidewalk, glancing down both ends of the street.

"What are the chances of success, if the people in closest geographical proximity to our target do not even have a clue?" Athrun said.

"Right, so what do we do now?"

"Let's go and speak to Flay Allster and see if she knows something about this housekeeper."

Stellar hunkered down in the dark blue sedan, watching as Athrun Zala and Cagalli Yamato crossed the road and headed for the diner. Things were getting heated now. Athrun Zala was sniffing them down more quickly than they had expected.

In an attempt to slow him down, Stellar had eased the sedan in front of his, like a tired, cautious female driver who was doggedly heading home. But Athrun Zala maneuvered his convertible skillfully and jumped the queue, despite the obvious irritation of the other road-users. She had to compress the horn and warn him off, just to blend in with the annoyed crowd. But because of that, she had to fall back behind several cars, in case she had drawn too much attention to herself. But Athrun Zala hadn't even looked at her.

When his black convertible turned into Kira's neighbourhood, Stellar knew they were in trouble. Athrun Zala had uncovered things they hadn't expected. Problem was, how much did he know, and how much more was he going to find out in the next few hours?

She watched from afar as the blue-haired detective and his blonde companion slid through the front doors of the diner and disappeared from view. Then she picked up her cell.

Kira answered after only two rings. "What's happening on Athrun Zala's side?"

Stellar inhaled a deep breath before she spoke, certain that Kira wouldn't like the news one bit. "I tailed him from the police headquarters. He headed straight for your apartment."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Stellar winced. She wasn't sure if Kira was surprised, or frustrated. There was also a possibility that Kira was already thinking ahead and calculating his next move. She waited patiently.

"Where is he now?" The tone was sharp and terse.

"He's in the diner, with Cagalli Yamato. I think he's going to talk to Flay Allster."

No one could accuse Rau Le Creuset of being impatient. He was a very patient man – he could wait years to get what he wanted.

But Athrun Zala was something else.

The detective tested his patience every step of the way, stretching it to its limits.

He glared up at the scientist standing in his doorway, who faltered back a step under the intense stare. Fuck them, he thought to himself, none of his subordinates could get things done fast and right, just the way he wanted them done. Rau had been annoyed when the man burst through his door gabbling. He hated people who got flustered easily – being flustered didn't solve problems. And when the scientist had finally calmed down enough to tell him what the problem was, Rau realized that the other type of people he hated, were those who tested his patience.

"The agent we sent to keep an eye on Kira's apartment – the housekeeper," the scientist wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "She said a man and a woman had come asking about Kira. She identified them as Athrun Zala and Cagalli Yamato. It seems that Athrun Zala has caught onto us. What do we do now, Sir?"

Rau Le Creuset leaned back in his chair. Indeed, what were they to do now? If he had been there, he would have shot Athrun Zala point-blank. That would have solved all their problems. But no, his people always had to wait for his orders. They were like machines, which annoyed him a little sometimes. They could only provide him with problems, not solutions. And none of them had guts, except… maybe Kira. Rau smiled. Kira was indeed a fine specimen. Not many people dared to glare at Rau when he was the one holding a gun flushed against their temple. Only Kira – the boy's hatred for him was so obvious. And Rau was okay with it, as long as Kira got things done the way he wanted them.

A thought stirred in him and made Rau grin. Imagine the two of them – Athrun Zala and Kira Hibiki. What a fine collection he would have. But until then…

Rau reached for a slip of paper and scribbled his message on it, pen nib scratching across the white surface rapidly. Then he folded it in half and tipped it towards the scientist in his doorway. The man stared for a second, then inched forward and took it between thumb and index finger, like a man about to prod a ticking bomb.

"Make sure Kira gets this message," Rau said, turning back to his paperwork, and dismissing the frightened man with a wave of his hand.

Author's note: Woohoo! Finally! Okay, I'm a little excited about this chapter and the next one to come. Couldn't resist torturing Seiran – he deserves all that for putting Athrun through that crap in GSD! Anyways, the next few chapters should be exciting enough. Can't wait! Meanwhile, don't forget to review, review, review and let me know what you think about this chapter and what's going to happen next!