The next morning the receptionist of the Star Hotel delivered a message for Heero under his alias, Odin Lowe. A phone number was scrawled onto a piece of paper, and Heero called it.
"Hey Lowe, perfect timing," he was greeted by a far too familiar voice.
"Nichol," Heero answered, sour. The man wasn't on his favorites list for a reason.
"Lowe, can you come over right now? I need to discuss something and it has to be done in person." Heero refrained from heaving a deep sigh. Nichol loved to play the big bad guy, but in reality his influence was next to nothing. Still, he often had details of transactions and meetings that left Heero wondering exactly what kind of big bad guy Nichols was actually playing. One thing was sure, he wouldn't shed a tear when Nichol's ass landed in prison. As it was, Heero had to keep his contacts warm and it wouldn't do him good to refuse Nichol's request.
"Very well," he said, "I'll be at the Sphere Lounge soon." He hung up before Nichols could say something and left the Star Hotel in search for a cab. It didn't take him longer than twenty minutes to reach the bar, and he searched Nichols out, at his favorite spot: all the way in the back.
"Hey Lowe! Glad you could make it." Nichol and another goon -Walker, Heero's sharp mind provided the name of the young man next to Nichol- greeted him as if welcoming a long lost friend home. It made Heero's skin crawl; what were they so ecstatic about?
"Nichol, Walker," he greeted them curtly in return. "What did you need to talk to me about?"
"Septem asked if you could advance the transaction. Plans have been sped up, you see."
"I told him several times before, no. I can't. Good for you that you have retrieved the gundanium chips, but I can't magically conjure the conductors out of thin air. I had a transaction date set with Dermail, and there's nothing I can change about that."
Walker scowled, Nichol shrugged. "Leave it to Shinigami to steal the things that are deemed to never be stolen."
Heero remained silent. He didn't have a single scrap of evidence to prove that Duo was Shinigami. It was for the better to not comment on it. An awkward silence followed; Heero refused to sit down and used his height to tower over Nichol. There was nothing wrong with sending out a strong signal of self-confidence.
"I can't believe you're not even going to listen," Nichol said, exasperated. "The General himself wants you to act quicker, and you're refusing? I can't believe it! You had set up everything with Dermail-"
"And exactly like I agreed with the Duke, it's going to be," Heero interrupted him rudely. "I have my own manufacturers to deal with. Let me repeat: I can't deliver any sooner than the agreed date. More so, praise your lucky stars that I'm not even postponing the date. I had to lay low for a while after Dermail was assassinated. I don't know if the killer was anyone of your precious group, but if there was any delay, you'd only have to thank yourself."
"You still think it was one of us?"
"It could be anyone." Heero raked a hand through his unruly hair. "I don't know Dermail's boss, even though I can take a good guess." For good measure, he glared at Nichol, who tried to keep up his neutral expression.
"I don't see what could be achieved by wasting Dermail. Well, I'll pass the message on to Septem, even though he's not going to be happy about it."
Heero's mind worked at top speed. The Secret Service had carefully prepared for the transaction date, which was nothing less than a covert operation to apprehend as many people involved as possible. This was Heero's job, and he had to make sure everything went according to plan. He couldn't change anything about the date or the transaction; it was endangering his undercover persona if he went out of his way to contact Headquarters. Everything had been planned, to the finest detail; now wasn't the time for trouble to arise. If the Secret Service flushed out an entire rebel organization with this bust, it would mean a great victory for the ESUN, and Earth would be safe.
"Well, if you're so hesitant to tell him, I'll be happy to deliver the message himself." Heero made sure to add enough disdain to his voice as to bait the other man. He didn't fail.
"If you want to lose your head, it's fine by me." Nichol snorted, but Heero could see the relief in his eyes. Yes, sure he wanted to play with the big bad boys, but he was still afraid of any repercussions, and valued his life more than anything. Nichol would never rise in the ranks. Delivering the message to Septem in person wasn't Heero's main priority. He wanted to see Duo again, and his best chance was to meet him at the mansion. His stomach did a strange flip-over in his body. As far as the Secret Service was concerned, Duo was a criminal and it was Heero's prerogative to get him involved in the transaction, so he could be arrested. As far as Heero was concerned... Duo was still a thief, and he had broken the law, but he had nothing to do with the rest of the rebels, hadn't he?
"I was about to go to the mansion anyway," Nichol kept talking and Heero quickly focused his attention back on him. "You can come along."
"Sounds perfect to me," Heero said and waited for both Nichol and Walker to get up. You're getting too personal. Just focus on the mission, right?
Nichol whistled a non descriptive tune as they arrived at the Septem mansion. Heero was told to wait by someone from the serving staff, and he killed a little time by looking at the huge paintings. Art was a luxury in his lifestyle; he barely had the time to look at and value it. The portraits were done in a renaissance style, depicting family and Septem himself in glorious battles. Who in his right mind was so fond of war? Heero realized of course that these paintings had nothing to do with modern warfare; it was just a painting style. He simply didn't like it.
He wondered how much longer Septem was going to make him wait. Maybe he could just wander off and look for Duo, but fate was smiling upon him; it was Duo himself who walked down the hallway and noticed Heero first.
"Hey," he said, hoisting a large backpack over his shoulder.
"So you returned from your mission?"
"My work here is done." Duo grinned.
"You've got to fill me in on the details. How did you do it?"
Duo didn't deny, or confirm anything. "You want me to divulge the secrets of my trade? Tsk, tsk, Mister Lowe." His grin broadened, though.
"I never thought that someone would actually be able to penetrate the vault and rob it blind."
"Ah well. I guess nothing is really safe, is it?"
An awkward silence fell. Heero noticed he wanted to twiddle his thumbs, while he was marveling at the fact that his tongue had just dried up. His rational mind took over.
"Aren't you going to stick around for the conductors? To see how they match with the gundanium chips?"
Duo wrinkled his nose. "No, I don't think so. My work is done here," he repeated and made a movement as if to stalk past Heero.
"I have an appointment with Septem," Heero blurted out, "and I'm going to advise him your presence at the transaction. You can identify the conductors and their compatibility with the chips."
"I don't care if they're compatible or not," Duo answered. "I don't know what you want from me, Lowe, but my work ended last night, and I want to go home."
"Home?" With Hilde?
Duo arched an eyebrow. "I told you before I was from L2."
A terse nod. "Yes, that's true. I didn't know you had a... home there."
"It's actually a scrap yard," Duo suddenly winked at him. "So when you visit, don't expect any fancy villas or mansions like this one."
"Visit?" Heero almost stuttered, but then a servant showed up to tell him that Septem can see him now, and his conversation with Duo was cut short. Duo only raised his hand in some sort of gesture of goodbye, and he was gone. The relief that washed over Heero enabled him to withstand two hours of Septem ranting and snarling.
Despite Septem's attempts to speed things up, the moment of the transaction came soon enough to Heero. He had prepared this for months when he was still dealing with Dermail, and with the rapidly approaching moment, the adrenaline started pumping through his body. There wasn't going to be any HeeroYuy tonight, only Odin Lowe, the merchant with the circuit conductors. His persona was going to be just as surprised as everyone else when the Secret Service showed up. He checked his Smith and Wesson .28 in its holster and made sure his clothing fit perfectly, as to not to reveal the weapon. Certainly the rebels would assume he was carrying a piece, there was no need to call extra attention to it. He checked his watch and took a deep breath. After one look at his reflection in the mirror, he straightened his shoulders and walked out of his room of the Star Hotel.
The night was dark and clear of any stars. L4's warehouse district was brightly lit, but the most northern corner wasn't reached by any light. Septem had his own reasons to choose this place; Heero didn't care. The mansion was too obvious, and if the General wanted to do his business in a cheesy warehouse district, so let him be. He was like steel, his back as straight as a ruler, his blue eyes piercing. Behind him were two crates with conductors, rigged by J. They were just the bait, and not supposed to work. After tonight, their existence wouldn't matter. Even though he couldn't see them, Heero knew about the snipers and the arrest team, lying in waiting. Her Majesty's Service would come through for its name; Relena would be reassured and safe, the entire Earth would be safe.
A Mercedes Bentley drove up to him, the headlights dimmed. Heero waited patiently for Septem to step out; as soon as the car grinded to a halt, Walker all but hurried out to keep the door open for the General. Heero was about to talk when he saw the third person get out of the car and his jaw went slack. Duo! His eyes went wide. The thief turned around as he slammed the door unceremoniously shut; 'pissed off' wasn't even a start to describe his angry attitude. What in the hell is he doing here?
"Where are the conductors?" Septem's voice grated even more on him than usual, as Heero had only eye for Duo. He caught Heero's look and pursed his lips like a pouting child; his entire demeanor expressed irritation and anger. Forcefully, Heero tore his attention away from him.
"The two crates over here, General. Careful. They're wrapped for protection."
"They're not explosive, are they?" Septem snorted. Heero glared at him.
"Treat them with care or you'll find them damaged beyond repair," he sneered. "We're talking intricate and fragile technique here, General." He managed to put the most disdain in the last word. "Be rough and they're unbalanced and worthless for your gundanium circuits."
"Hn," was the only answer he received. Septem made a gesture with his hand and Walker moved forward to lift up the lid of the first crate. There was something in Duo's hand; something folded in a piece of cloth. Heero was about to ask, when another Mercedes drove onto the terrain. Duo didn't pay attention to the second car and folded the cloth back, revealing a gundanium chip in his hand. Walker had unpacked one of the conductors, carefully taking it out of the protective wrapper. Working together, they clicked and matched the chip and conductor together. Walker nodded, satisfied.
"Perfect match. It's the right stuff, General."
Septem grunted and moved his gloved hand up. At the sign, the doors of the second Bentley opened and four men spilled out of the car. Flunkies, Heero dismissed them from his mind as soon as he saw them. The General spoke to him. "Perfect work, Mister Lowe. I'll recommend you to the Foundation for your reliable deliveries."
Foundation? Bingo! Heero gave a nod, and waited for Septem to extract a heavy envelope from his uniform. He accepted the concealed money. "Thank you General, it was nice doing business with you."
Septem motioned to the flunkies. "Load the crates in the car," he said and turned around to walk back to the limousine. "Be careful! If you break anything, I'll have your head!"
Heero watched his retreating back, along with Walker's. Duo turned on his heels to leave as well, a frown marring his face. Heero slowly slipped his fingers into his jacket for his gun. Any moment now. As soon as the flunkies grabbed the crates...
"Freeze! You're under arrest!" A booming voice echoed over the terrain and three large spotlights were flicked on, flooding the area with hellish bright light. Walker and Duo immediately jumped away and the next second all hell broke lose. Heero had no time to ask himself where all the gunfire was coming from - until he saw that Septem's flunkies had all been armed with AK-47's. They were happily firing in all directions, uncaring where the voice had come from. Return fire was met with more fire - the bullets were flying around, far too close to Heero's liking.
He ducked to the side and looked around him, taking in his surroundings. Apart from the men with the AK-47's, and Septem disappeared to wherever corner of the terrain, Heero saw Duo with a heavy Magnum .44, but he wasn't firing. Walker, next to him, was fiddling with his Sig Sauer p226 and just put a new clip into the weapon.
"Drop the weapons! You're surrounded!" The megaphone was barely audible above the gunfight. The terrain was stormed by the arrest team, cornering the apparently weaponless General, who cowered in the corner of the building.
"Alex! Muller! Help me! Get the conductors!" He cried out, hands up as if he was already surrendering. The flunkies had never gotten close to the crates with the conductors, but to his horror, Heero saw Duo moving towards them. The men addressed by the General were covering Duo, who had almost reached the first crate. Walker was following him, intent to take the second crate.
"Leave them! It's not worth it!" Heero yelled out as he stood up. Duo shot him an incredulous look, clearly not understanding as his hand touched the lid of the crate.
"Stop!" He aimed his weapon at Duo, and his incredulous look merged into a bitter, angry one. A look that wasn't fitting his open, violet eyes who had shone with mirth and warmth. There was no warmth in them, only coldness, bitterness, anger and... death. Walker went down first, and then Duo widened his eyes as blood splattered all over his face, and it wasn't all Walker's.
"No!" Heero cried out, too loud for his own good. He ran forward as Duo slumped over the crate with conductors, the unreality of what was happening turning time into slow-motion. The doors of the adjacent warehouses opened all of the sudden with military-clad men running out, ambushing the arrest team, outnumbering them. Heero didn't notice. He didn't notice the bullets flying around, the hell around him with men crying out in pain or in victory, he didn't notice the eyes that followed him, he didn't notice someone plucking at his sleeve as he shrugged it off, still moving forward, reaching for Duo. He grabbed him at the shoulder, shaking him harshly.
"Duo! Duo, answer me! Duo!" Somewhere in the cacophony he picked up Septem's voice, yelling and screaming, but he didn't even bother to make out the words. Duo looked up at him, blood on his face as he looked not-understanding at Heero. It had to be a shock, and Heero shook him some more, his training forgotten, his calmness and composure forgotten.
"I'm getting you out of here!" Heero hollered and moved his hand to grab Duo's upper arm, but he didn't make it. He didn't even manage to lift Duo up. Something exploded close to him and the force knocked him soundly off of his feet, rolling over the harsh, gritty ground, his skin ripping apart, pain exploding all over his body. Darkness claimed him even before he smacked into the unrelenting wall of the warehouse.
Silence. Heero opened his eyes and blinked. He was looking at a carved ceiling, with lots of curls and circles. He wasn't in a hospital, or in a prison cell. Heero tried to get up, but a wave of nausea hit him and he fell back in the cushions. No IV drips, no machinery beeping. This wasn't a sick bay, or a hospital room. Where was he? His eyes fell on the mahogany nightstand. The antique brass clock on it ticked very, very faintly, and the baroque lamp next to it was tacky enough to make his head hurt even more. This had to be Septem's mansion.
If it was true, why would the General even bother bringing him back to the mansion? Had he figured out Heero's real identity and was he being held hostage, or held prisoner for further interrogation? So many questions, it made his head spin. Heero decided it was better to get some rest, for now. He was going to need all his energy and his strength if he'd been found out. The door opened and he feigned sleep.
"Mister Lowe?" A kind female voice. "Mister Lowe, are you awake?"
He opened his eyes to look at her. The elderly woman was dressed in an old-fashioned nurse uniform including a large apron and a pristine white, small cap on her head, covering a bun of light grey curls.
"Yes," he said.
"Good. You're very lucky to still be alive, young man." Her eyes showed a little sadness; this woman had seen a lot of people getting hurt and injured. He wondered how she came to work for Septem. "I don't know everything and I don't want to know everything. All that's important to me, is to get you healthy and back on your feet again."
"What happened?" Heero asked. She shook her head.
"They mentioned explosion to me, but I don't know the details. That's for you... grown men to talk about." The disapproval in her voice was meant for the business the 'men' were involved in, he was sure of it. "Your ears will be ringing for a while."
He had no other choice but to nod; he had already noticed the distinctive sound in his ears.
"Duo," he said.
"Excuse me?"
"Duo. How's Duo?" he asked.
She proceeded to check his vitals instead of answering his question. The nausea he was experiencing had nothing to do with his own physical injuries.
"Tell me, please," he whispered. He had to know.
"He's alive, Mister Lowe. Now you have to rest. You will have those waves of nausea for quite a while, I'm afraid. You can also feel unbalanced or disorientated."
When Heero didn't say a thing, she continued: "I will check up on you twice a day."
"Any messages from the General?"
She wiggled her eyebrows. "The General? I haven't seen him, I'm sorry. No more questions now, rest."
He had no other choice, and when he closed his eyes, sleep overtook him much faster than he expected.
"How's he doing?"
"Shush, Mister Maxwell. Your voice is too loud."
"How's he doing?" Duo again, his voice much softer. It wasn't difficult to recognize his voice, and Heero pretended to be asleep for some longer.
"Pretty well, considering the proximity of the explosion. He needs to rest, as his injuries will take a while to heal. Now step aside, Mister Maxwell, you're blocking my way."
"Sorry about that."
Heero opened his eyes. "What's with all the noise?"
The nurse sent a scathing look at Duo, but he merely shrugged. "I was curious to see how you were doing. We need to talk, you know."
Another scathing look, and this time Duo cowered a little. The nurse was clearly not pleased with his visit to her patient. Heero quickly gauged Duo, but he couldn't see anything in particular about him; had the gun missed him?
The nurse finally finished with the dish. "Try to eat something," she admonished him before leaving the room. Duo used his left hand to turn the plate around, moving the small tray it was on, closer to him. Heero knew he was right-handed, and frowned. Duo didn't elaborate.
"Go ahead, eat. I'll do the talking."
Heero picked up the cutlery. It wasn't standard hospital food and he dug in with gusto.
"Walker didn't make it," Duo said and awaited Heero's reaction. He looked up from his plate.
"I'm sorry. Was he a friend of yours?"
Duo cocked his head. "Not really, but still. I think Nichol is the one mourning him most; especially because Walker didn't have a rank or title he can prey upon. Poor Nichol, he tries so hard." His sarcasm was obvious and Heero hid a snicker behind his hand.
"Septem is gone, too. Botching the transaction was good enough to send him on permanent vacation."
Heero choked on a potato. That was something he hadn't expected. Duo had said 'botching'. His mind refused to work at normal speed, and he couldn't connect the dots together. His fork grated over his plate.
"Who replaces him?" He finally asked.
"Khushrenada. Ever heard of him?"
Heero racked his brain. "Wait a minute... Khushrenada, as in Treize Khushrenada? I think I've heard from him before."
"Old European royalty or something," Duo mussed, looking a bit sour. "When you've got a solid financial back up, it's always easier to rise up in the ranks. Some people rely on their skills, others on their heavy bags of gold." He shrugged as if he was talking about the weather. "Anyway, Khushrenada is a pretty big boss now. I think he's addressed as His Excellency."
"What is it with all these people and their titles?"
"I don't think their titles are as preposterous as you think. They have a lot of ties in the old nobility; genealogy helped them to dig up the titles of their ancestors. Our good Queen Relena didn't want large ranks of nobility to outdo the general public," he put on a comical face, "so she abolished every rank and title. Not something the folks liked, mind you."
Heero chewed slowly. He could recall Relena's decision to abolish title and rank as to create more equality. In the line of her Total Pacifism policy, she didn't want any distinction between 'old royalty' and 'citizens'. She wasn't really pleased with her own title of Queen of the World as she wanted to be addressed to as Relena, but she understood that the very people she reigned wanted to bestow her with something that made her exactly different because of what she was: the Queen.
"Relena is a pretty Queen and smart too, but this wasn't very nice of her to do," Duo snickered. "All those poor wealthy dukes and earls, suddenly without title, and forced to mingle with the commoners. It was quite a shock!"
"Don't tell me they want to impeach Relena because of that!"
"Peh, no, of course not. I don't think Khushrenada has anything to do with the Peacecraft woman."
"So what's with all the gundanium chips?"
"Building mobile suits of course. Increasing the armaments."
"For a war against who?"
Duo grimaced. "For the highest bidder."
Silence. Heero moved some peas around on his plate. He wasn't very hungry anymore and his head ached from the amount of information Duo had provided. He had to contact HQ and inform Une of everything that had transpired. He ignored Duo stealing a potato from his plate, a little awkward with his left hand.
"About the transfer..." Duo picked up the conversation again.
"What about it? Did you manage to salvage the conductors, or..."
"We got all of them, but not in one piece. That's where you come in."
"Huh?"
"Khushrenada figured that as you're the one who delivered them, you're also the one who can repair them."
"I'm a trader, not a repair shop!"
"Tell that to Khushrenada yourself. He wants to see you as soon as you feel better. He figured that you have enough knowledge of the conductors to repair them. Only forty of the two thousand are broken. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Duo switched topics. "I wanted to thank you for saving my life."
"I didn't save your life."
"So it was your clone who ran towards me under heavy bullet fire? I clearly recall it was you who tried to get me up."
"Well eh... if I really saved your life, the bullet wouldn't have hit you. Where were you hit anyway?"
Duo opened up his jacket to reveal his right shoulder and upper right arm, firmly taped in. "Clear and clean flesh wound. It still hurts, but I've experienced worse."
"Worse?"
Duo's eyes seemed to harden, a dark shadow cast upon his face. "You reached out for me in a life threatening situation and that's enough for me. I thank you once again."
"Don't mention it. Hilde will be glad that her boyfriend still is one piece."
Suddenly, Duo threw his head backwards and laughed uproariously. Heero was inclined to laugh with him, just of the sheer heartiness that shone through Duo's laugh.
"What's the joke?"
"You thought Hilde was my girlfriend?" He laughed again. "I understand. We're good and have known each other for so long. It's a common misconception."
Heero realized his face was as hot as a stove and he wanted to cry out in sheer joy. Duo mistook his heated face for embarrassment and patted him on the hand.
"Don't feel bad about it. If I hadn't told you, you would've heard it from someone else. No offense taken."
Heero almost clenched his fist from the touch. If he had been a seven year old, he would've said something like "I'm never going to wash this hand again", but he refrained. The news that Duo and Hilde weren't a pair excited him with joy.
"Well I should leave you to your rest," Duo said, "before Mrs. StrictNurse comes back and kicks me out. I'm sure Khushrenada will pay you a visit. Think about what I've said, okay?"
He was out of the door before Heero could answer. Oh, he was going to think about what Duo had said - but not about the part with the conductors.
Chapter 4 | Chapter 6