Disclaimer: See previous
part(s). Amir is mine. I’d like to thank my friend (you know who you are) for
helping me with the names of the new Gundams.
Wednesday, August 28 AC 198
Sally and Noin sat down at the diner,
sipping their coffee. They were, all in all, recovered from the shock of seeing
new Gundams and realizing that two were theirs. Midii and Catherine sat next to
them in the booth. They all sat in silence for about five minutes, just
drinking their coffee.
“I guess the coffee is pretty good if
you’re speechless,” commented Jet as she pulled up two seats. The four just
gave her a look. Jet shrugged.
“So, are you gals in?” she asked, “I mean,
I was given specific instructions to give them to you four, so they’re yours
whether you like it or not.”
“Some of us,” Midii declared, “Don’t know
the first thing about operating one of those.”
“We’ll train you then,” Jet told them. A
woman with braided black hair sat in the other chair next to Jet.
“This is Alex,” Jet introduced, “She’s a
rogue assassin looking for JL Khushrenada, so she’d greatly appreciate any
information on him.” The girls said hello and gave their names. The girl, Alex,
kept gazing toward Sally for unknown reasons.
“Aren’t you afraid that Heero will be jealous?”
asked Midii when she took another taste of her drink. Sally and Noin smirked.
“Yes,” agreed Sally, “don’t you think he
wants to be the one to do that?”
“I’m afraid that Heero won’t be able to do
anything like that for awhile,” Jet informed, “But I have talked to Heero, and
he gave his blessing to Alex until he can move again.”
“I can’t believe Heero admitted out loud
that he couldn’t do it,” Noin said.
“Well,” started Jet slowly, “it did take
him awhile after a bit of pain that immobilized him for about another week.”
The girls laughed some, except Alex.
“How is Heero getting along if he can’t
move?” questioned Catherine.
Jet replied, “His landlady is watching
over him. The way I saw or rather see her nurture and protect him, she’s like a
mother. Trust me, he’s more than fine.” The girls, apart from Alex of course,
laughed yet again.
Saturday, August 31 AC 198
Iria answered the phone. She was hoping
that the caller had been a doctor from her hospital, Dr. Evans. It would have
taken her mind off of missing and worrying over her absent little brother.
However, it was Rasid, which was not a totally bad thing. She hoped he would
have news, good news at least. In fact, she had forbidden bad news from being
spoken in her presence. She only wanted to hear happy, encouraging words.
“Any word from him?” she asked, “Has
anything else came up?”
“I am afraid not,” he answered, “This
could be good. There is not any bad news.”
Iria nodded, “Yes, at least you haven’t heard
anything bad…. What do you think is happening, Rasid?”
He shook his head, “I’m not sure. I’m not
sure I want to think about it.”
“I know what you mean, but I can’t help it
at night. I lie in bed and just think about all that could be happening while I
stare at the ceiling. I mean, I know or at least hope that all the stuff I
think up isn’t happening, but what if it is?”
“Master Quatre knows how to take care of
himself,” he assured her, “And I am sure they are not doing anything as bad as you
are thinking.” He smiled a bit.
“Thank you,” she said, “All my prayers
have been for Quatre and the girls.”
“As have mine, and I am sure they are of
many people. You’re welcome.”
Sunday, September 1 AC 198
Duo knelt down at the altar. It was a bit
strange to be in a church after all this time. He thought there would be more
people in the church, but they must have been done from the morning. He did all
the rituals he was supposed to do almost perfectly.
“Father Maxwell would be proud,” he
thought with a smile. He quietly said a prayer for everyone.
“Doesn’t he look familiar?” asked a nun
silently. She and a priest were whispering in a place where Duo did not see
them.
“Yes,” agreed the priest, “He looks just
like he did when he was eight but a bit older.”
The nun nodded, “Whatever road brought him
here was a tough one. His face looks a bit different, but he still has that
same glow. Should we go see him?”
“Later”
Thursday, September 5 AC 198
Quatre’s screams reverberated down the
hall, Relena’s screeches echoed through the corridors, Sylvia’s shrieks
resonated throughout the passages, and Amaya sat and listened to it all.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, tears
catching the edge of her eyes.
“I want my crystal,” he told her plainly,
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know,” she answered, getting a
bit angry he was still on that subject, “James, I already told you all that I
know. Now, stop, please!”
He shook his head, “You lie. Surely Winner
has told you something by now.”
“Well, he hasn’t.”
“I think he has. If you just told me, all
their suffering would end,” he told her with a smile.
“So this is why he always makes me hear
them scream,” Amaya thought, “I’m…the weakest. He figures I’ll break and tell
him first.”
“They wouldn’t suffer anymore?” she asked.
“Yes,” he clarified with a wider smile,
“it would all end. All you have to do is tell me where the crystal is.”
“Would we be able to go home then?”
“We’ll see about that,” he answered. She
seemed to think about it for a little bit.
“Well?” he asked.
She looked at him, “Quatre….Quatre told me
that-that he has it on him.”
“Really?” he asked surprised, “Where?”
“Well, it’s gone by now,” she told him,
“When you moved us to a new room, he hid it.”
“Where did he hide it?”
“He didn’t tell me, but I saw him do it.”
“Good girl, now where is it?”
“About ten feet to the left of our last
room together was a ball room,” she told him.
“It’s there?”
“In the big, glass, green vase, he put it
in there,” she kept her gaze on him. He studied her face.
“I’m glad you finally told me,” he said as
he took her arm and had the guards take the others back to their room. As soon
as they were all in the room, Khushrenada dragged her in with a smile. The
other three glared at him.
“Your little friend here,” he gestured to
Amaya, “Has decided to end your suffering.” They gave perplex looks from him to
her and back.
“She has told me where the crystal is,” he
grinned. The others’ faces were shocked.
“NO!” one of the girls screamed.
“Amaya, you didn’t!” exclaimed Quatre.
“I’m sorry, Quatre, everybody,” she
apologized.
“Oh, she did. She told me about how you
hid it on yourself, Winner, until we moved. She looked right in my face and
didn’t blink or cry as she betrayed you to tell me you hid it in of the vases,”
he smugly declared, “I am heading over there tomorrow morning.”
“Hid it in one of the vases?” asked Relena,
looking at Quatre.
“Yes, the girl saw him do it,” he told
her. JL threw Amaya down with the others and left, laughing.
Friday, September 6 AC 198
Alex looked out the window. The ballroom
window was huge. One could see the colony for miles. Her target was coming, and
she was ready. Her arms were crossed over her chest. When was he coming?
“Who are you?” asked JL Khushrenada as he
walked in the room, “Get away from that vase.”
“If you’re looking for that stupid
crystal, you just got had by a teenage girl,” Alex informed him.
“What?”
“She lied to you. It was a set-up.”
“No, it—” he got cut off by Alex pointing
her gun at him.
“I was lucky that you moved them. You see,
one of them has a communicator and talked to me while you were moving them. It
didn’t work in the cell, so we had to wait until the action to make this plan,”
she reported, “Why were you hunting down my family?”
“What?”
“Why were you hunting down my family?” she
repeated.
“They were worthless.” She moved closer.
“They got in the way.” She glared. “They knew too much.”
“Too much of what?” she inquired.
“Too much of my plan, they did a great
deal of my plan, but then they threatened to tell everyone.”
“So you killed them?”
“They died at their own hands. The only
instruction was to leave you and your cousin alone.”
She glared, “That’s a lie! They would
never commit suicide!”
He smirked, “They would if one of their
little secrets was about to come out. Now, in a week I have to talk to a man.
If I don’t talk to him, he’ll know something is up, and then things get bad for
you.”
“Then you will live to the conversation.
After that, I will kill you.”
He put his hands down. He moved to the
vase. She picked it up and dropped. No crystal was in sight.
Monday, September 9 AC 198
Hilde rubbed her bulging stomach. Only a
couple of more months were left in the pregnancy. She tried to focus on her new
baby instead of whatever Duo might be doing. He was gone indefinitely. She
heard reports on the news that Gundams were appearing all over outer space and
fought in battles. In fact, some were new. No one knew from where they came.
All this meant nothing to Hilde. She knew Duo was not in any of them except
Deathscythe. His was still operational, so she knew he was fairly well.
Every now and then he would contact her
when he was able to do it. Every time he called, it was the same thing. He was
well, but he could not say anything else. He would ask how she was doing and if
she felt it was near. Each time she came close to saying yes just so that he
would come home, well their new home at least.
The hotel room was small, but they could
not afford much right now. She walked down the street to the grocery store,
passing a church. For some reason, it triggered memories of Duo’s past. She
remembered him telling her about Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. If they were
alive today, what would they think? She kept going, not bothering to walk in
it.
“That’s the young lady the Father told us
about,” a nun pointed out.
Another nodded in agreement, “Yes, she is.
We are supposed to watch over her.”
“Should we invite her in?” suggested a
third.
“You two,” said the first, “should go help
her. After that, invite her.” The other two nodded and went up to Hilde.
“Hello, young mother,” said the third, “We
see that you are going on some errands. Might we be of service?”
“I am Sister Mary,” said the second, “And
this is Sister Margaret.”
“Oh! Um, how thoughtful of you two,” Hilde
said, “I’m just going to the grocery store.”
“Anything else?” asked Sister Mary.
“That’s all for today or at least right
now,” answered Hilde, “Are you from that church?”
“We are there for a couple of months,”
replied Sister Margaret. They helped Hilde shop and carry her groceries back to
the hotel room. Hilde was glad to have company.
“Won’t you come to church sometime?”
invited Sister Margaret.
“We’d love to have you,” agreed Sister
Mary.
Hilde became uneasy, “Well, I’m not sure….
I’m not married, I’m pregnant, and I’m not Catholic, either.”
Sister Mary smiled, “We would still love
to have you. Perhaps, the man will propose soon.”
“And maybe, you will join our church,”
grinned Sister Margaret. Hilde smiled back, not sure how to respond.
“Well, it’d be nice to have people to talk
to since Duo is gone,” she answered, “Oh, Duo is the father of the baby.” The
two nodded as if they already knew. Hilde eyed them suspiciously.
“Anything wrong?” asked Sister Margaret.
“Nothing at all,” Hilde answered. They
walked back to the church.
Tuesday, September 10 AC 198-11:20
Hollard roamed the streets. She looked at
the list to review the parts she was supposed to get. They were standard parts,
but it would take awhile to find them all.
She sighed, “This is going to take all
day.” She walked to the first store she found and wandered down each aisle,
looking at everything. She had the credit card that Jet told her would not max
out if she tried to get everything as low a price as possible.
“Great,” she said to herself.
“
“Lillian,” the man who must be
“You’re right,” she answered, “I don’t
know what you’re doing, but I know it must be wrong. You keep taking strange
phone calls, making sure no one can hear you. I’m scared.”
“Lily, you won’t get hurt. Just wait here
in this town for me. I’ll be back in a few days, and we’ll have enough money to
keep you from working for the rest of our lives.” Hollard peaked between two
large items and saw a girl in her mid-twenties wearing a waitress’ uniform and
a man in his late-twenties or early-thirties wearing an apron over his jeans
and flannel shirt.
“It’s illegal, isn’t it? You’re going to
do something wrong,” she pouted a bit. He put his hands on her forearms and
gazed into her eyes.
“Just wait for me,” he instructed and
left.
“Wait!
“Lillian!” he roared, “You and your lazy
bum of a boyfriend Monroe have to get back to the restaurant right this
instant! Or you’re both fired!” She wept and went back with the old man,
whimpering about how
“Whoa,” Hollard said to no one, “Jet was
right about relationships and jobs being for adults.” She sat on the floor for
a little bit and tried to design a strategy for using the money to get all the
parts.
Tuesday, September 10 AC 198-22:25
Duo
sauntered into the last office of the Preventers and took a seat in the nearest
empty chair, of which there were a lot. He looked at those who surrounded him.
Wufei and Trowa were there.
“So what exactly is happening?” Duo asked
them. All three looked pretty weary.
“Don’t ask,” instructed Wufei. He closed
his eyes and groaned quite loudly.
“We don’t really know,” Trowa informed
him. He looked at Duo.
Duo shook his head, “I hate to do this,
but I have to leave soon. Hilde will have the baby soon. I hate leaving you
guys, just the two of you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Trowa told him, “We
really just have to wait. Soon enough, Heero will be fully healed, and your
child will be here so that you can come back, and if we’re lucky, Quatre will
come back.” Wufei looked away.
“This…this is not how I pictured the
future,” Duo looked down at the floor.
Thursday, September 12 AC 198
“Mama,” said Little Amir, “What happened
to Uncle Quatre? He’s not here for my birthday, and he promised he would this
year.” His bottom lip was almost quivering.
Maria Eva picked up the now five year old boy,
explaining, “Uncle Quatre is gone for the moment. Remember when I said he was
at a bad man’s house and couldn’t get out? Well, he’s still there.”
“But he said nothing would keep him from
coming to my birthday party,” the child pouted, “He said he had a big present
for me and that I could go see his office like he let Jordan do.”
“Don’t worry,” his mother soothed, “When
he gets back, you’ll get your present and your day with your uncle.” He grasped
her as Rasid walked in. He feared the tall man, thinking he was a giant and
would eat him.
Rasid smiled at him, speaking to his
mother, “We have new information,” he told her, “We may have the position of
Master Quatre.”
Maria Eva smiled, “That’s wonderful! Where
is he?”
“According to our information, he’s on
Colony L5-J7787,” Rasid reported, “There’s a small boarding house there where
they could easily put the girls and Master Quatre. The only problem is how to
get them. The colony is deep in the heart of JL Khushrenada’s territory now.”
Maria Eva shook her head, not liking it,
“Would it be safer just to wait until they move them again and hope they put
them in a place that closer to the fringe?”
“It’s doubtful they would put them too
near the edge of his control, but it probably would be safer. We are, however,
checking all our sources; they may be somewhere new by now.”
“Thank you again, Rasid. You’re the most
devoted man to Quatre I’ve met since Father.”
“It is not problem at all, Mrs. Johnson.
After all, your father left me as Master Quatre’s guardian until he reaches the
age of twenty-five.”
Friday, September 13 AC 198
“You have barely been in control for a
couple of months, and already you could be giving away what took you so long to
achieve,” the shadow taunted.
“The brats will not take anything from
me,” JL told him, “Their numbers will dwindle soon enough.”
“Will you do that? How can you accomplish
this?”
“You took care of them before.”
The shadow snorted indignantly, “You think
I will just take care of them whenever they get in your way?”
JL glared at him but soon fell down in
unconsciousness. Alex had hit the back of his head with the butt of her gun.
She looked at the shadow on the screen.
“Who are you? Why do you hide your face?”
she asked him.
“My identity needs concealment. Who are
you?” he asked back.
“Alex is all you will get,” she answered,
“What deal do you have with JL Khushrenada?”
“He gets the colonies and Mars, and I get
my own satisfaction.”
“Your own satisfaction?” she repeated.
He chuckled, “Just keep Khushrenada alive
for a little more while. I need time to find a replacement for him.”
“I do not care who dictates over the lands
and colonies, but why should I yield to you?”
“You miss your family?”
“Why do you care to know?”
“I know everything that you want to know.
You defer to my request, and I will give you all that you need and want to
know.”
“Then I will do that for a little while,
but it better be soon, and you better have it all, or you will be sorry.”
Sunday, September 15 AC 198
Hilde smiled at Sisters Margaret and Mary
and the other nuns. They had introduced her to cross-stitching. She still was
very slow at it and a bit clumsy, but it was entertaining to do. The nuns were
mostly fixing clothes for the orphans on the colony, but the patches and
stitches were colorful and made them almost fashionable. At the moment, Hilde
was making small pillows with farm animals on them. Hopefully they would be
okay for the baby.
“You are getting better,” commented one of
the nuns with a smile.
“Thanks,” Hilde said. All of a sudden, a
pain shot through her, starting around her stomach. She clenched it.
“What’s wrong?” asked Sister Margaret,
worried. She and Sister Mary had such concerned expressions on their faces that
Hilde would have laughed had she not been in such pain. Wondering if they
should take her to the hospital, the Sisters crowded around her.
“It’s nothing,” she assured them, wincing,
“I’m fine.”
“Like Hell, you are,” a voice suddenly
said. The nuns and Hilde turned to see Duo there. He quickly closed the
distance between them, the nuns moving out of his way. His arms were around her
in an instant.
“Hilde,” he told her, “you’re coming back
with me.”
“Back with you?” she asked.
“Yes, we’re going back to the hotel. The
car’s waiting.”
“The car?” she inquired, “We have a car?
But I thought you said we don’t need a car with everything so close.”
“I lied,” he carried her out to the car.
After putting her in the passenger’s side, he said good-bye to the Sisters,
“Thanks.” He drove her back to the hotel and basically carried her back up to
the room.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Duo for
the fifth time.
Hilde laugh to herself, “I’m fine, Duo. It
was nice of you to thank the nuns. Oh! I forgot the cross-stitching I was doing
at the church.”
“I’ll get it later,” he helped her to the
couch, “Wait, you can cross-stitch?”
She blushed some, “I just learned. I can’t
really do that much. I do farm animals really.” She showed him the pillows of
ducks, pigs, cows, and horses.
“What about sheep?”
“I planned on tackling the sheep in the
next couple of weeks,” she looked at him. He still hadn’t sat down, “Duo, what
is happening? Why are you back?”
“I told you I’d be here during the last
few months,” he reminded her.
“I know, but I’m fine, and the guys need
you now.”
He sighed, “I know they do, but right now
we can’t do anything.”
“What about those other Gundams, the new
ones?”
“That would be the girls,” he sighed
again, “They’re helping. However, we aren’t enough. Heero is incapable of
anything right now. I hope he is better soon. Quatre needs to hurry up and get
those girls to a safe place so that he can rejoin us.”
“Who exactly are the ‘girls’? What are
those new Gundams?” she asked him. He closed his eyes in remembering all the
facts.
“You know the girls, basically at least.
They are Midii Une, Catherine Bloom, Sally Po, Lucrezia Noin, and Jet Yuy. Jet
is somehow related to Heero, but neither she nor Heero will tell us what kind.
Trowa guesses she’s his girlfriend.”
“What about those Gundams?”
“Sally pilots the Silverbolt, Noin has the
Lightningbolt, Catherine uses Sandstorm, and Midii operates Femmepetite while
Jet handles Double Zero.”
Hilde listened, wide-eyed. She wished she
could have gone. In fact, Jet had said one was really for her, but at seven and
a half months pregnant, it would be quite some time before she would off in a
Gundam. Duo seemed to have read her mind.
“You couldn’t even have one if you weren’t
pregnant,” he told her, “I wouldn’t allow it. And you’re definitely not going
out to go into labor in the middle of space.”
“I know, Duo,” she said almost sadly,
“What about my cross-stitching?”
“Eh, I’m sure we’ll get it soon,” he told
her with a grin, “By the way, Dorothy said that all the big guys from the mob
were already busy.”
“Duo!”
Wednesday, September 18 AC
198
Quatre paced the room quietly. Amaya had,
yes, bought them some time, but so far he could not figure out a plan, at least
not one that would not endanger the girls too much. She had done well, but why
had she done it? She had changed a bit since he last saw her at Miss Relena’s
last party, which had only been a few months. She had been captured with Sylvia
for a much longer time than he and Miss Relena had. They had even gotten out
for a few days. Sylvia and Amaya had not. Had months of being captured made her
more daring? Had they made her more stubborn? Had she kept it from him? Or had
he simply been too busy with other things to notice this side of her. Had he
mistaken her as just a young debutante, too naïve for anything his eyes had
seen?
~~Flashback~~
“Your little friend here,” he gestured to
Amaya, “Has decided to end your suffering.” They gave perplex looks from him to
her and back.
“She has told me where the crystal is,” he
grinned. The others’ faces were shocked.
“NO!” one of the girls screamed.
“Amaya, you didn’t!” exclaimed Quatre.
“I’m sorry, Quatre, everybody,” she
apologized.
“Oh, she did. She told me about how you
hid it on yourself, Winner, until we moved. She looked right in my face and
didn’t blink or cry as she betrayed you to tell me you hid it in of the vases,”
he smugly declared, “I am heading over there tomorrow morning.”
“Hid it in one of the vases?” asked
Relena, looking at Quatre.
“Yes, the girl saw him do it,” he told
her. JL threw Amaya down with the others and left, laughing.
“You told him I put it in a vase?” Quatre
asked, a bit confused, “Why would you say something like that?”
“He stopped whatever was happening to you,
and now he’ll be gone long enough for you guys to think of a plan,” she
explained.
“You mean the crystal isn’t there?” asked
Sylvia, “You lied straight to his face? Just like that?”
“Yes,” Amaya told them, “You mean you
can’t lie to people like that?”
“I’m not supposed to lie,” Relena told
them.
“Every time I lied, I got caught,” Sylvia
admitted.
“Same with me,” Quatre agreed.
“Well, I guess I’m special then,” Amaya
said, “It wasn’t that hard to find out what he wanted to hear. Compared to my
parents, he was a piece of cake.”
“You lie to your parents?”
“They think I go to the library every
Friday and Saturday night.”
~~End Flashback~~
Sylvia, too, had surprised him. He knew
she was courageous, but she endured a lot more than he thought she would have.
She also had, what was the word Duo had used? Oh, yes, she had “spunk.” The way
she stood up to JL Khushrenada and how she handled herself in his company, he
admired her for it. Of course, before he and Miss Relena joined them, they had
apparently dined with Khushrenada, so that could also play a factor in their
new personalities and fortes.
“Quatre,” Amaya woke him from his
thoughts, “are you okay? Have you thought of anything?”
He smiled, “Unfortunately, I have not yet
deciphered a plan to get us out of here.”
“Well,” she started, “you could always
just escape yourself. You have no reason to take the rest of us.”
“I can’t just leave you girls. They could
hurt you as punishment for my escape.”
She seemed to contemplate this for a
minute, “I think we could take it. Honestly, we will get out a lot faster, it
seems, if you just got out yourself then came and rescued us instead of waiting
to be able to break out with us.”
“I won’t let you girls here to get hurt. I
won’t allow you anymore harm,” he said firmly, keeping his eyes on her.
“Sometimes,” she stated, “You are too kind
for your own good.” He was about to retort when she continued, “However, I am
glad you care that much about us. If the opportunity comes,” she instructed,
“don’t hesitate to leave without us. I am sure we can endure whatever they give
us. I know I can and will.”
“Amaya, do not make me choose that right
now. When, no if, the time comes, I will make my choice, but not until
then, so I am afraid you cannot plan anything yet,” he told her. She moved
closer to him.
“Just what my father wants,” she said
quietly.
“And what is that?” he murmured.
“A man who is strong but courteous and
passionate,” she answered with a kiss.
Thursday, September 19 AC 198-9:30
Jet sighed as she gazed the town from the
rooftops. It was a habit that Alex had, and Jet had adapted it for her meetings
with the rogue assassin. Two soldiers were stationed at each corner and busy
street “to keep the peace.” Jet shook her head at the sight. This had been one
of the more thriving colonies, but now, under Khushrenada’s reign, it had
already started to shrivel. There were only small changes, but she knew it was
only a matter of time before its economy collapsed.
“What did you want with me?” she asked as
she heard Alex silently appear on the roof. She did not bother to look to see
her. She knew the older woman wore an expression of disbelief under her mask of
indifference.
“My assignment will take longer than
expected,” Alex informed, not bothering to ask how Jet heard or knew of her
arrival.
“And why is that?”
“I have permitted James Lee life for a few
weeks at least. The reasons are personal.”
“This flaws my plan. I need him dead,
now.”
“Well, he’s not dead. Deal with it. He’ll
be dead eventually; though you may not receive word about it for some time.”
Jet
growled under her breath, “If this is about your family, forget it. Kill him
immediately, or I will not spare your life.”
“The reasons are my own. I do not expect
you to understand.”
“I do understand is the problem,” Jet
thought then spoke aloud, “Then you have wasted my time.” She unsheathed an
unseen sword and had it at Alex’s throat. The killer also had a gun out in an
instant pointed straight at Jet’s head.
“A sword against a gun,” Alex commented,
“Being with Yuy, I would have thought you’d carry a gun.”
“I do,” Jet informed her, “But my reasons
for the sword are my own.” She smirked with the mock. Alex just glared. Jet
took the sword away and put it back in its hidden sheath. Alex reluctantly put
the gun away.
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“Take care of JL soon, or I will. I have
an engagement to which I’m almost late.”
With that, Jet jumped down to the street,
disappearing into the crowd for her rendezvous. Alex muttered to herself about
why should she obey such a young girl, but she already knew the answer. She
turned back to go get a few items from a store before returning to the troops.
Thursday, September 19 AC 198-10:05
Jet walked into the apartment complex. She
greeted the landlady, Laraine, and walked up the stairs to the apartment. She
opened the door and put her things on the counter next to her. No one was visible
from the doorway.
“Heero,” she said, “you need to stop
sulking. You didn’t greet me with a gun or a hug at all.”
Heero grunted from the living room. She
walked over to see him. He was sitting on the couch, blankets over him, as he
brooded. The television was tuned to one of the all news networks, but he was
not paying attention to it at all.
“I should be out there,” he told her.
“But you’re not,” she reminded him,
sitting next to him, “You still can’t go out there. First you need to find out
who did this and why, and then you can go help your friends.” He stared at her
when she pronounced the word “friends.”
“They are your friends, and you know it,”
she told him, “Just like your ‘uh…um, she’s my…you know.’”
He glared more, “I do not sound like
that.”
“You do, too. Sometimes you’re worse.” She
got up, pulled some things out of the refrigerator, and started chopping.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Cooking,” she told him.
“It’s too early for lunch or dinner, and
I’ve already eaten breakfast.”
“I know, but I have to cook for some
reason.” Heero just rolled his eyes when she was not looking. He glared at
random objects around the room and at any birds that happened to land on his
sill.
“Heero, leave the poor creatures alone,”
she ordered him. She walked over to him half-an-hour later with food and set it
before him. Heero stared at it while she watched him.
“You expect me to eat at ten-thirty?” he
queried.
“Yes,” she told him simply, “I do because
I made it.”
“You insist I eat this just because you’re
my—?”
Tuesday, September 24 AC 198
Alex walked among the troops of James Lee.
She surveyed each man. She still did not know why they never employed that many
female soldiers; perhaps it was just that men volunteered and women did not.
She motioned for one of the soldiers to follow her. He did. Her contact did not
know how to slip away unnoticed, but everyone basically knew not to bother him.
“Have you done anything I told you to?”
she asked him.
The laconic man responded, “I have done it
all.”
“Good,” she told him, “You have other list
of things to do in your bag. Take care that you do them extremely well.” He
snorted and analyzed the troops marching by them.
“What is it?”
“I always do it extremely well,” he
informed her.
“Well,” she warned him, “Make sure that
you do it this time, too, because I will make my move soon,
Wednesday, September 25 AC198
Trowa
kept staring at all the read-outs they had about the crystal that was now
somewhere in Khushrenada’s “government.”
“Found anything?” asked Sally as walked up
behind and sat on a couch with a coffee.
“Almost,” he informed, “There’s something
about this crystal. I can’t put my finger on it, but it triggers something
buried in my memory.”
“Its use is on the tip of your tongue?”
“Exactly,” he said succinctly. He kept
reading the document. There was something there. There had to be.
“Still working on it?” asked Dorothy as she
walked in and took her seat next to Trowa. She looked over the paper and
shrugged.
“Yes”
“So, Sally, I hear you’ve been busy with
battles.”
“Yes, I have. Repairs are being done right
now.”
“Wufei is not that happy. I just came from
the hanger. He’s complaining that ‘the druggy’ is doing it all wrong.”
Sally chuckled, “I’m sure he is.” She
sipped more.
“I haven’t seen you around lately; where
have you been, Dorothy?”
“I have other duties to do. I’ve been
making sure that people do not forget everything.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been keeping people on their toes.”
As they talked more, their voices faded
away from Trowa’s ears. While he kept reading more and more, he got
increasingly more involved with the words and statistics on the piece. Things
were beginning to fall into place. It all started to make sense. Why had he not
realized it before? It did not matter. They had to get the crystal back soon.
He stood up.
“Trowa?” Dorothy questioned him. Sally looked
at him with the same written on her face.
“What is it?”
“That crystal…. I know what it is now. I
should have seen it earlier.”
“Well, what is it?” Sally asked again.
Trowa put on a jacket and headed for the door.
“Trowa! Tell us what it is,” demanded
Dorothy. He turned for a second.
“Just tell Wufei that Quatre is playing
keep-away with JL Khushrenada with the Chivalric Crystal.”
“The what?” Sally asked.
“Just tell him,” instructed Trowa. With
that said, he left, practically running out the door.
“Do you know what he’s talking about?”
“No idea,” answered Dorothy, “But it
sounds pretty important.”
Sally nodded, “I agree. Guess we should go
tell Wufei.”
“Yeah”
Saturday, September 28 AC 198
Duo sat on the couch eating cereal while he
watched the news. Hilde was napping. He shook his head at what was reported.
They did not know half of what was really going on. Of course, he could not
blame them. They did not really have that many sources now that JL kept a tight
grip on what he allowed and did not allow leaking out.
“Duo,” Hilde groggily called as she walked
out of the bedroom.
“What is it? Is something wrong?”
“No, everything’s fine. I just had a dream
you left.”
“I’m not leaving until after our
daughter’s born. I told you that.”
“I know,” Hilde sighed as she sat next to
him. At almost eight months pregnant, she felt like a balloon or a blimp at the
moment. Duo put his arm around her.
“What does the news say?”
“Nothing really,” Duo admitted, “They
don’t know anything that’s happening up in the colonies really. Oleksandr
Schbeiker hasn’t done anything either. He finished taking over
Hilde listened. She was about to respond
when the door knocked. Who would be coming to visit them? The nuns would not
knock, they would phone, she never ordered room service to save money, and they
did not know any friends here.
“I didn’t think she’d be here this soon,”
Duo commented and opened the door. It was a girl at the door; however, she must
not have been the one to whom Duo referred because he did not let the woman in
the room. He thanked her and took a package from her. He walked back and sat
next to Hilde on the couch.
“Who did you think was coming?” Hilde
inquired as she watched Duo tear throw the brown paper.
“Jet said she’d be stopping by as soon as
she got word about anything,” he responded. When he got all the paper finally
off, it was a shoe box. Duo opened it. When he did, his eyes widened, and he
got paler.
“What is it, Duo?” Hilde wondered and
looked in the box, “How fantastic! A doll! Who’s it from? How did they know we
were having a girl? We haven’t told a soul!” She picked up the doll and
clutched it to her chest protectively, “Well, Duo, who’s it from?” It took Duo
a few seconds to respond.
“Hilde, I wish I knew who it was from. It
doesn’t say, but you can’t keep that doll.”
“Why can’t I?”
“Remember me telling you about Melita,
Dorothy’s cousin, and that doll?”
“Yeah, but you can’t possibly think the
same thing will happen with this doll.”
“Hilde, babe, this is the doll. In
your arms, you’re holding Kiara.”
How was this one? I hope I’m
keeping in context mostly.