Still bold. Still manipulation. Trust nothing you read.
No, it doesn't matter to him. It doesn't. It really doesn't. He didn't bother to look it up. Heidi rocked Athos and Aramis as Porthos fidgeted around but didn't cry. I never gave him my last name anyway. She had told the others that Duo Maxwell was going to help her, and about the risks of everything. After that came several rants and raves about what she was doing, jeopardizing putting herself and her innocent triplets in so much danger.
And that's as far as she got. She promised she'd return and stay in touch as they figured out what they'd do. She just didn't want to take any chances. That's when Mandy told her, and just finished calling her again to tell her, that she was falling for a trap. He knew what Heidi had done. He wasn't going to let her go.
It wouldn't be so bad, if Mandy wasn't so smart. She was really good at strategy. She used to apparently be a life coach according to her profile, and that must have made her excel in a lot of strategies. From top to bottom, she was the one that kept their train going right.
Heidi felt like the plugged up wheel in it right now. The pilot seemed genuine. I mean, I'm still here. I survived the hotel, he could have called the cops on me. So? He doesn't know. He really doesn't, and that's okay. I'm taking care of us, in a way I feel comfortable with. It's fine. It's fine! She anxiously tucked in Porthos more. He liked being tucked in and his blanket wasn't as snug, maybe he'd stop being as fidgety. It's fine. He doesn't know my past, or he sees past it to who I am now. He's not scamming on me! He's not, why would he waste time with one woman? Well, why would he be wasting his money either, or helping with the card? Mandy makes a really good point. Why?
She had to remember. Why did he want to help? I helped him with his wallet. That helped him see the good, or he never looked into my past criminal offenses. He didn't, did he? He couldn't. He didn't know my last name. It wouldn't matter. It doesn't matter, really.
"Hey."
"Did you look at my past criminal offenses?" she said as she saw him appear on the side. "They don't matter anymore."
"Is this . . . a thing with you now?" He just looked at her strangely.
"What thing?" Wait. "I shouldn't have been as loud."
"Yeah," he said.
"I. I get loud when I'm nervous." She rubbed her ear. "Sorry. Um. Card?" She pulled out her purse and yanked out the card. "Here." She presented it to him.
He looked at it but didn't move as fast. Why wasn't he taking it again? "So? Why'd you name your kids after the three musketeers?"
Um? "That's a strange question."
"Tch. Your stuff hasn't been?" He sat down at the other end and looked at Aramis. "They are always doing nothing or . . . yelling their head off."
"Excuse me?" What? No, nope. She had to be really kind. "They are babies, they don't do much, Sir." Yeah, right. They did plenty. She watched him rock Aramis.
"Uh. So, I have been on a long journey," he said to her. "I came down from the colonies for a meeting, and I'm still unwinding," he said. "I'm going to get something to eat. You want something?"
Something? "In a hotel at one?" It was strange he wanted to meet in the same hotel too. He put her up for the night, then she left early to meet with Mandy, get grilled, and get grilled again on the phone for coming back. It must have been convenient for him.
"It's lunch time, and I see sandwiches. No cheddar cheese for you, right?" He felt more off today. "Did I get that right?"
"Yeah, I can't stand cheddar in any form." She waited while he went to go pick up a couple of the complimentary sandwiches for hotel people. Although technically neither one was right now a hotel person. Oh the least of your crimes. Just, be nice. He's not up to anything. He's helping you. He just told you he had some kind of important meeting. That's probably the cause of him acting a little strange. Not, wanting to arrest her. He could have done it a long time ago if he was going to do that. It's fine. He's fine, he just wants to help. He started to come back. "You don't want to arrest me, you just want to help?"
"Yeah," he said slowly as he handed her a sandwich. "There's nothing to worry about. If I was going to do something, it would have been a long time ago." He handed her an ice cold drink too. "Nice, huh? This joint has glasses. No problems with a standard soda or you need juice or coffee?"
"No, I don't mind soda." She placed her hands around the cold glass. She looked at her sandwich. The kids were being good right now, and the pilot was actually still rocking Aramis. Should she eat?
"No need to be nervous," Duo said almost in a sad tone. "Really. I'm not here to hurt you. Lady."
Hm. Heidi took a bite of the sandwich but watched Porthos. He was fidgeting again. She took her free hand and tried to tuck the blanket more around him. Silly boy kept trying to stick his foot out, but still wanted tucked in. That was him.
Afterward she took a small drink from her glass. She really didn't want to just eat out there alone so much, it was better to just eat in the car. The vibrations from the ride usually kept her babies calm. The pilot hadn't even bit into his sandwich. "Not hungry?"
"Gotta eat something," he said. "Emotional meeting, but people still gotta eat, or they just get beaten down. You know?" He unwrapped his sandwich.
Heidi scratched her leg through her dress and rubbed her ear. She looked at her boys and towards the front entrance of the hotel lobby. She looked at the burger. "Yeah. Okay." She took another bite, and took another drink of the soda. She wrapped both sides of it with her fingers and drummed on it.
She heard him make some kind of noise.
"Do you always drum on your drinks?" he asked as he looked at her glass.
Drum on her drinks? "I don't know?" She moved her fingers back and forth along the glass more. She didn't want to make him annoyed at her, but that seemed to do the opposite.
"I gotta think."
"Think? The card?" she asked. She watched him take her glass.
"Uh, no, your drink. It's dirty, I can see it," he insisted. "I'll be right back."
Dirty? Ew. Heidi watched him bring a new one over to her. "Thanks." She held it for two seconds, when he started to take it back again.
"Ew, really? You can't even see it without the light from the windows at first," Duo said as he took the drink again. "Nevermind, their glasses are probably all dirty. Let's just eat the food."
Weird. He wasn't gone very long. "Anyhow, here's the card?"
"Yep, card. I'll take that." She held it out to him and he took the very edge strangely. "It shouldn't take long, then you'll be on your way, okay?"
"Okay. A couple of hours?" she asked.
"Not that long. I just gotta take it somewhere I know near here." He looked toward her kids again. "I'll be back."
"Okay." He moved out of the entrance. Weird. He felt weird. At least it wouldn't take very long. She already went out shopping for some more formula and diapers, with three pairs of extra clothes.
She picked up Athos that seemed the most wanting to be out of the carrier. She nestled him against her, trying something different like Marilyn did with Triton. "Not your thing, huh?" She brought him closer to her chest and he looked over her shoulder while she ate the sandwich.
Zhang Colony:
"Ah no." Da Cao went over by Hilde and watched her feet. "She is in free roam, will the one watching her please watch her? We do not need her hurting herself." He straightened his outfit. "We're not barbarians like Revenge of the Lost."
Duo headed to where he went previously with the glass. Heidi was ultra nervous, she couldn't keep her fingerprints on anything for a short time at all. He grabbed the glass he had stashed away. Hopefully it would have enough for them to tell. "Okay now, part one." Real identity, and safety from the cards.
"I'll take it and the card."
Huh? Oh, great. "What the hell are you doing here?" Too close!
"I don't know her, so it should be fine," freaking Zechs Merquise said. "I'll get the prints done faster than stashing it for someone else later and risking someone on the staff picking it up. I'm prepared. You'll have results in a few minutes. There are no guarantees, but it's the high 90's in accuracy."
"They've seen pictures of all the fricking pilots and you count." He tried to keep it down in a whisper. "Too late now." A few minutes. He must have had some connection that respected him around there to do it. Not much choice. "No idea how it will turn out. She's fidgety. I tried my best."
"Wufei should be hearing from Sally Po. We'll have a better chance of establishing the possibility of this being fake or real soon." Then, he just walked off with the glass and the card.
Seriously. Instead of just staying back in respectable lengths, he had set up stuff near the hotel he rented? Eh, Zechs never followed anyone. Always did things his own way. Duo hid out for the time being, just in case Heidi felt like coming out of the lobby area.
Wufei's Vehicle
Wufei answered the phone.
"Wufei." Sally Po's voice sounded skeptical. "What exactly . . .?"
"I just need the results of whatever you could find from it," Wufei insisted. "Could you find any positives?"
"They were really damaged. I am still running a lot of these that were collected. It should have been done in a better manner. Who collected these and in what manner?"
"It was a last resort kind of thing, limited time, and it was more important to wipe the prints," Wufei said, still not wanting to tell her much. "What did you find so far?"
"I really want to know what's going on, Wufei? I know the woman that came here as Noin under duress, wasn't Noin. What am I doing here? I just need to know, Wufei, to help the best I can."
Oh, of course she'd want to know. She probably found something then. "The other woman was not Noin, but we suspect there might be another that is. She won't have memories of Noin, and believe she is an actual fugitive on the run from RTL."
"Oh no, Wufei. You aren't kidding, are you? No, you never kid. This is serious. Is she under the identity of an actual fugitive?"
"Yes, and the little witch hunt against anything RTL now is not going to be good if she's spotted with it," Wufei said. "If they catch her, they won't just release her."
"They'll find evidence somewhere to pin her. Well, at least they won't get evidence from the fingerprints. I'm guessing RTL had their own ways of keeping them gone."
Ugh! "They deal with their memberships own fingerprints." Damn! "I'll let Heero know, fingerprints won't work."
"They will eventually come back. Do you need me on backup for other samples?" Sally Po asked. "I really want to help, Wufei."
They would have to find different samples. "It's not just Noin, it's all our friends," Wufei confessed. "They've been gone longer. Things were sent to someone I know. Our friends could all possibly have children and be on the run, or this could be one big, mighty trap to snap on us."
"You find the samples and I'll get anything done for you, Wufei. I promise."
"Thanks, Sally." Lured him into telling her things, she had always been good at that.
The Hotel
Duo saw Zechs coming back in so he stopped hiding behind the plant. "Well?"
"There was nothing detected," he said as he gave everything back. "RTL must have had a way to make sure their members left no prints. No wonder they lasted for so long without detection. I'll keep the glass and get it directly to Sally Po."
"Great. Nice." Not. "Take it straight to her." There was still no way of knowing. Pretty ruthless, making sure they couldn't even have fingerprints. Was really hoping for an answer. Is this woman really Hilde? Are those babies mine? Are they some trap meant to fall on us, or was she . . .?
/"Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"This zero system is from hell itself. If you are the god of it still, I hope you can disable it. You have no idea what it can do."
"I saw Hilde. I know what it can do."
"You don't know what it can do! Trust me, they were just testing you. Probably to see how we handle the control system. They will completely rewrite them."/
"Rewritten." Did they rewrite her? It's killing me not knowing!
/"Heero." Trowa was on the phone. "Do you see what they are doing with the zero system? You said Dorothy had her memory tampered with. Will it be reversible?"
"No. There might be some connections made later. Some. Realization. They might get sparks back, but they'll never be the same. Things. They used to do. Words. The way they act."/
"Should have just killed me, why didn't they just kill me?" Duo was trying to keep it under control. He wanted to make for cover in a ditch somewhere just like he would when he was a kid.
An answer, just an answer to this misery. Relena believed it 100%. Heero was more in the 50/50 range probably.
He folded his hands almost in prayer, but started biting at the sides of his thumb until his teeth impression was engrained in it. He covered his thumb with his fingers. Okay. It's been awhile. What would Sister Helen say when I got worked up? Life's shitty right now, what am I thankful for? Okay, those weren't the church words she would say, but it was closer to what he needed to hear. Hilde might be alive and healthy. There was a good chance. I'm still near this woman, and I'm not far. I'm going to figure out the truth. I got a DNA sample at least when I was going for fingerprints. Hopefully it's enough.
Fighting and some programming was his style, but DNA testing and fingerprinting, was not in his calling.
Oh. His phone was vibrating. It was Heero. Part 1 failed. Wufei said the fingerprints were too damaged. Wow, you don't say, Heero? He told him about Zechs, and about the glass. Heero promised he'd punch Zechs next time he sees him. That'd go over well. Okay, well, just keep it up, Duo. Nothing's a hundred percent, keep that in your head. That's all. Then he'd be right behind her, twenty minutes away.
Duo called Heero directly as he left to his own car. "Fine then, there's no answers. Onto part 2?"
"Yeah. Relena's already making the arrangements. I need the name that appears on that card."
Duo looked at the card. "Momma Bear 4 in big font on the front. Official name on back is Heidi Hildenburg? Are they even trying? Who came up with such a fake last name?" Had Hilde right in it!
"Fine. Give us a minute. I'll text you the information to get the cards from the nearest facility. It's enough on each card for one month."
"Which is still more than a pretty penny, setting up five pregnant women and moms for a whole year." Seriously, Relena was putting a decent chunk on the line to keep them safe.
"As soon as all the other women besides Momma Bear 4 use their card, we'll have to set up a fake attack. If they believe it's unsafe, they'll have no choice but to trust your cards."
"End of RTL having a chance to trace them in the future. Sorry ahead of time to Relena if these are fakes."
"I am sure that they aren't," Relena said in the background, probably thinking it was too soft for him to hear. "I understand if they are, Duo, no worries." She made that noise a little higher.
"We'll continue on with Part 2 while trying to find a way to make Part 1 happen. They'll leave traces of DNA wherever they stop. They might give something away to local cameras we can hack. We'll get it figured out, Duo."
"Yeah, and we'll get the money stopped if they are just a con looking for a payday on the side of RTL." He couldn't say it very seriously. Heidi seemed genuine, but he'd already been fooled for how long?
He arrived at a bank and got the exchange. Five cards.
He return back to the hotel lobby.
Hotel Lobby
Wow, maybe that's why Duo Maxwell had chosen that location instead? It hadn't been more than an hour before he came back.
"So? Really bad news," he said as he returned. "There was a lot of risky stuff in that account, and I don't recommend trusting the other cards. I personally hate to see anything happen to kids so . . ." He gave her five cards. "I took what was in your account, hacked it all and shoved it onto these five safe cards for you. I know, I know, they won't take them at first. But, those other cards are dangerous. Seriously, if they use them, bolt. The cops are going to be right there."
Heidi took the cards. They really were that dangerous? "Thank you, Sir. I'll let them know. They won't listen, but if something happens, maybe they will. Um? Oh, and I talked to Marilyn again. She'll eventually . . . get herself tested and let you know?"
Duo just chuckled and waved his finger. "I really want to meet with her."
"You have her number now." It didn't do much if she didn't answer it though. "She's just a little . . . uncomfortable still. You know, after watching her baby sail through the air and almost die."
"I get it. There was a reason that Trowa was coming for her. It was bad timing overall," Duo said. "That lady that was a threat is gone now. If she is Middie Une, then she needs to get back to us."
"Right." See, that made more sense right. He was helping her, to use her, to get Middie's trust. "She isn't trying to stay away from him specifically?" How to explain? "Even if she is Middie, if the wrong people find out, it won't help her any better."
"Which means she needs to go to the one person that trusted and protected her," Duo said. "If she is her, then that is Trowa Barton. You know, father of her kid?"
"I know. She knows." Shoot. "I'll stay in touch with them for awhile, so I'll try and help her understand. Like I said, I really owe you, and even though Middie Une's past isn't spectacular, it's still better than . . ." Yeah, she didn't need to go on. Mandy was right, if he ever thought one second to actually find her. He has my name from the account. So. This was the last time she could really trust him.
Nobody could overlook that past of hers. No matter how little she resembled that person anymore. It didn't change her past. "If she's Middie Une, I'll make sure she gets back to you. I promise." She stood up and started to grab the carriers. It was time to get going.
"How do you tell them apart from each other?"
The children? There were all kinds of different ways, but he probably wanted something he could see. "Their blankets."
"If they got shoved with the wrong blanket, could you tell them apart?" Duo asked.
Really need to get going. Why was he so interested in her triplets? "Porthos likes to stretch his feet out but he likes to be tucked in. Aramis loves being all tucked in. Athos will eventually move around enough to lose the blanket as much as possible so he always has to wear a warmer onesie."
"Oh. Hey." Duo seemed impressed. He lifted the blanket off Athos which just made him stretch. He took it and put it around Aramis. "No idea how to make you happy, Porthos. Welcome to life, it's usually that way."
"No." That sounded defeated. Heidi took the blankets and tucked it around his feet. "Life switches gears in happiness. Right now you can be comfy all tucked in, and then stick your feet out later. Momma will just cover them back up later again when it makes you grumpy." She chuckled. "Pointless repetition but that's life." She picked up his carrier. "Come on, let's go."
"I can help again." He picked up Aramis. "I want to help?"
"Okay." Heidi was going to grab Athos' carrier, but Duo got it.
"Least I can do." Something seemed so sad in the pilots eyes. That emotional meeting he was talking about? Maybe someone close to him died. Marilyn said Trowa had been really shot up. Maybe it's more important than ever to him to find her because he might be in real trouble? "I definitely promise, Duo Maxwell!" She bowed lightly. "I will make sure Middie gets things confirmed."
"Good to hear." He followed her outside and helped place her boys in the back. "Be careful."
Then again, there was something else. Duo's eyes on her felt almost like when they first met. Poor guy. It has to be the other pilot. "Thanks, Duo Maxwell." She closed the door and opened the front to get in the driver's seat.
He just stood there and waved to her. "See you soon. I mean, hear from you soon. About Middie Une."
"I'll keep in touch." After everything he just did for her? I know Marilyn has to be Middie Une. I'm going to get your friend's friend back to you guys somehow. She started the car and looked at the back. The boys are all ready to go. They were ready for the sweet vibrations of the car.
Almost, Athos was starting to stir.
"Hey, why don't you try that card out too?" he suggested. "If anything happens, I'm not real far right now. You have my number. Just a double check real quick."
Hmm. "You mean buy like a candybar?"
"Yeah," he sort of laughed. "It'll put my mind at ease." He looked toward the back. "Your world isn't very safe for three newcomers, so I want to make sure you trust that card. It's sort of like the other card, a safety measure won't let it be transferred to another card or straight out cash."
Uh? "Okay. I'll make a quick stop at the gas station on the left side of the street." Quick stop. Ha. She would still have to drag in all three carriers for it, but he wanted to make sure they were all well. Yep. You know his past. He's worried about these little guys. It was the world's smallest favor. "Bye, Duo."
Duo's Vehicle
Duo just watched her move out of sight and walked to his own car. Just twenty minutes away. The deceivance was over for now. He texted out the word Mission Accomplished in a group chat he made with all their names.
Heero called him. "I'm not allowed to punch Zechs for you. Relena said I could annoy him in a different way later."
"Not allowed?" After all that stress, he definitely needed to unwind. "I didn't know you needed your princess' permission to do something?"
"It would anger her."
"Oh, and that would mean what, less personal time with your royal highness?"
"Yes."
Huh. Every year, Heero really had made bigger strides into becoming . . . better. "I guess I'll just see his reaction at a wedding ceremony one day," he teased Heero. "That should be even better than a hit."
"Agreed. Everyone is in place. Zechs promised Relena he wouldn't risk making contact again. The doctors say Trowa is stirring, but he still can't have visitors."
"I guess it gets hard to get on the visitor list of someone shot five times. I'm sure we'll see his funny little clown face soon."
"Did you recognize anything specifically in Momma Bear 4 that points out she will trust you about the cards?"
Heh. "I don't trust myself to see nothing. I'm hoping I made the right impression. I mean? She's called me everything from pilot to Sir, Duo Maxwell, to even Duo a little bit. I am taking off soon."
"The cards' safety should hopefully lure them in. She used the card too."
"Good." Trust came first before anything else. Hopefully they got to the others before they used those cards.
Quatre's Vehicle
"Master Quatre, you can get some rest," Rashid insisted as he watched the road. "We aren't even getting started yet, and I can tell you didn't get much rest last night. They will be hours away if they meet again."
"I was so scared last night that this meeting would be about them," Quatre said. "I also had a sinking feeling it was about us pilots. Now, I know it was about both. I want to get to Dorothy, but I want to see Trowa. I don't want to risk losing track of her, but I can't help being worried about so much more. Trowa is lying in a hospital bed, and I know Duo probably feels miserable not being able to get any results."
"It's not too bad, Master Quatre. He's only twenty minutes away. We are ready to strike when we must. The others are already excited about the preventer's uniforms."
"I hate that the Maguanacs have to take this risk. We don't have anyone else we can trust that they won't recognize. Getting real preventers involved would be bad." He warned them there would be a really good chance someone would get hurt, but they would risk it. They needed to make sure no one actually opened fire on the mothers and pregnant women.
Cons or not, those babies weren't fake, and they still had to protect them.