The Silent Series – Chapter Four: Silent Plot
By
Moonraven
“Where
the hell is Relena?” Zechs’ voice boomed over the communicator.
Heero
frowned and nearly dropped the bunch of wires he was sorting. Trowa hissed and
Heero tightened his grip while turning to the new Preventers agent by the door.
“I sent her with Noin. She should have been with the rest of the diplomats at
the rendezvous.”
He waited
impatiently while the agent relayed the message. With Trowa under the bomb and
him sifting through the wires, he couldn’t very well respond to the message.
Both he and Trowa had stripped down to their undershirts and the speakers were
on the jackets. So much for new and improved gadgets.
“They’re
NOT here! Report on last known location.” Zech was understandably upset; both
his sister and his fiancé were missing.
“About
ten minutes ago, main staircase, going up.” Quatre’s voice came through the
earpiece and Heero felt Trowa stiffen immediately.
“What
the hell is he doing with the communicator?” Trowa and Heero said at the same
time. The Preventers agent acting as liaison faltered momentarily, then he
re-phrased the question into the pin.
Ignoring
the question, Quatre said, “I’m closest so I’ll check out the upper
floors. I’d sent two agents with her earlier; I have one agent with me, now.
Will contact you when they’re found.” Quatre’s voice was crisp and
commanding, something that Heero hadn’t heard in a long time.
“What
did he do?” Trowa made a move to squirm out from under the stage where
speeches were made not too long ago.
Heero
nudged Trowa’s leg sharply with his foot to remind the other man where he was.
Trowa made a strangled sound but remained frozen where he was. Heero glanced
down at Trowa briefly before turning to nod at the Preventers agent. Heero
wasn’t sure the blond would take ‘no’ for an answer anyway and with Trowa
and himself occupied, Quatre was their best chance at finding Relena. The
blonde’s determination was notorious even in the political arena.
“Affirmative,
Agen… er… Mr. Winner.. .sir.” The agent relayed uncertainly.
“And
find out where the hell are the two agents that went with Relena.” Heero
ordered the new guy briskly.
“Er…
guys, love to help but my hands are tied with the evacuation here. The kitchen
is gone, man. That was some bad-assed appetizer, I hope you guys have better
luck with the main course.”
“Um…
they’re doing their best, Agent Maxwell.” The new recruit was turning green
at the thought of being blown to bits. Then remembering Heero’s last command,
started searching the frequencies for the two missing agents.
“Heero.”
Wufei’s voice came over the comm.
“He’s
defusing the bomb with Agent Barton, sir. He can hear you but he has removed the
mic.”
“I’ll
back up Quatre. We’ll find them, Zechs. Chang out.”
No reply
necessary. Wufei wasn’t going to take a ‘no’ either. Heero sighed and went
back the their immediate problem; the bomb. Despite what others believed, he’d
learned a long time ago to trust his fellow ex-pilots. They would find Relena.
Trowa, on the other hand, was not taking the ‘Quatre running around a burning building with one agent’ thing well. He remained stiff and unmoving under the bomb.
“Trowa,
we don’t have time.” Heero reminded him quietly.
“I
know.” Trowa replied with a heavy sigh and went back to work. The sooner he
finished, the sooner he could wring the little blonde’s neck for breaking
protocol.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Oh my
god, Noin, you’re bleeding!” Relena cradled Noin’s head in her lap. She
stared in horror at the steadily growing dark red stain on Noin’s previously
immaculate uniform. “Noin!”
“I’m
okay, 'Lena. Don’t shout.” Noin said softly and tried to push herself up.
With a painful gasp, she fell back against Relena, making the younger girl cry
out in distress. “Shh, Relena. We have to be very quiet.”
Relena
watched in anguish as Noin fumbled with the communicator on her lapel with one
hand while trying to staunch the bleeding in her sides with the other. “Here,
let me. What do I do?” Relena asked, eyeing the pin uncertainly.
“Ta---take
it off and just talk into it.” While Relena fiddled with the back of the pin,
Noin pulled the earpiece off and handed it to Relena. “Put this on. You’re
on a private channel with Zechs… you may hear the others but he’s the only
one who can hear you. Press the blue button... the others… pilots…” Noin
took a deep breath before continuing. “…can talk to them… then.”
Relena
took the earpiece and fitted it into her right ear. Immediately, she heard the
commotion that Noin must have been listening to all this time. No wonder they
always seemed so distracted. If she had to listen to that all day, she’d
simply go crazy.
“Hello.”
Relena said softly into the pin.
“Noin?”
Zech’s voice came in immediately. “Where’s are you? Are you alright?”
“Milliardo!” Relena cried in relief. “It’s Relena. I’m fine but…”
“No!”
Noin reached up suddenly and shook her head. “Don’t… he’ll worry…”
“Relena,
where are you?” Zechs repeated. “Where’s Noin?”
Relena
stared at the blood oozing from Noin’s side and suppressed a shudder. “Um…
she’s here.” To get her brother’s mind off Noin, she continued quickly.
“Milliardo, we’re in a closet in a suite somewhere on the third floor. I’m
sorry, we were running and… and I didn’t pay atten---”
“Running
from what?” Zech’s voice cut in. “'Lena let me talk to Noin.”
Relena
swallowed and looked down at the young woman in her lap. Noin was panting
slightly, her face beaded with perspiration and she was very pale. Relena was
more worried about Noin than she was about her brother so she decided to tell
him. “Mil, the representatives from MN107… they have weapons and they shot
two agents. I think they’re dead, and… oh god, Milliardo, Noin… she’s
bleeding pretty badly.”
Relena
winced as her brother shouted obscenities on the other side of the line. Then
she heard him talk to Quatre and Wufei… wait… Quatre? Why Quatre?
“I’ve
found the two agents.” Wufei said darkly, leaving no doubt that Relena had
been right; they were dead. Despite the horror of the situation, Relena
couldn’t help the fluttering in her chest at the sound of his voice. He was
alive and he was coming for her.
“Relena.”
Quatre’s voice sounded in her ear. “Are you armed?”
Relena
looked at the gun Noin had put down next to her. It wasn’t like she had never
handled one before, but still; it wasn’t something she’d thought she would
ever do again.
“Yes.”
Relena replied then remembering what Noin had said about changing channels she
pressed the blue button then said, ‘Yes.’ Again. “I have Noin’s gun
here.”
“I
understand, Relena.” Quatre’s warm voice calmed her somewhat. “We’re
going to do our best so you won’t have to use it. I’m on the third floor
now; I’ll be there soon. Two knocks, a pause and two more, got it? Don’t
answer or open the door for anyone else. Is that clear?”
“Yes.”
“Good.
Wufei?”
“Got
it.”
“Quatre
out.”
Relena
blinked blankly at the pin she was clutching. It had never ceased to surprise
her how efficiently these men worked. Never used complete sentences when one or
two words would do.
Suddenly,
a loud explosion rocked the building and she leaned over to cover Noin
instinctively. Several boxes fell off the shelf and landed next to them but
nothing damaging.
“Er…
sorry, guys. Couldn’t put out the fire in the power room.” Duo’s voice
sounded tired. “Quat, man… um, I think you’re gonna need a new home,
buddy.”
“That’s
alright, Duo, I don’t like the color of this one anyway.” Quatre’s voice
replied grimly and Relena heard Duo chuckle. She shook her head in amazement.
How could they joke at a time like this? And what was happening out there? Why
was Quatre sent to rescue her?
“Quatre,
please be careful.” Relena whispered into the speaker. “There’re four of
them and they have… big guns.” That didn’t sound quite right to her and
she colored slightly when Duo burst out laughing on the other side.
“Don’t
worry, princess, Quat’s not too bad himself.”
“How
would YOU know?” Wufei deep voice asked and Relena felt her heart skipped a
beat… again. “Quatre, I’m right behind you.”
“He
doesn’t KNOW!” Quatre hissed and Duo laughed again. Relena shivered
involuntarily at the sound. She’d heard it before and she could just picture
the dangerous gleam in his eyes as he laughed defiantly in the face of death.
Then she
heard the door to the suite opened and Relena clutched Noin closer to her chest.
She tried her best to scoot to the back of the closet, away from the door but
she was too worried about the bleeding to move Noin very far. Weren’t
abdominal wounds fatal?
Then the
knocks came; two knocks… pause… two more…
“Quatre!”
Relena called out in relief. The closet door opened immediately and the
unmistakable blond head of Quatre Raberba Winner poked in.
“Hello,
Relena. Sorry to have kept you waiting.” He smiled grimly as he pulled the
rest of the door back and Relena saw that he had traded his jacket and tie in
for a good size pistol. He knelt down in front of her and pulled gently at
Noin’s hand to see the wound on her side. What he saw made his handsome face
crease worriedly, adding to the fear that was growing rapidly inside Relena.
Still frowning slightly, Quatre reached over and took Noin’s gun, checked the
safety and the ammunition then tucked it into the waistband of his pants. Then
he looked sideways at her and smiled gently. “Let’s get out of here, shall
we?”
Relena
nodded eagerly but before they could make another move, Wufei shouted a warning
then shoved Quatre all the way into the closet. The blond muttered something in
Arabic as he managed to keep from crashing into the two women. A shot rang out
and Quatre muttered some more as he maneuvered around the small closet. Relena
could hear Wufei telling someone to get down as more shots were fired. She
closed her eyes and clutched Noin to her tightly. Rapid shots rang out at close
range and Relena opened her eyes to see Quatre firing out from his hiding place
next to her. His face was intense and his lips were pressed into a thin grim
line. A dangerous glint in his eyes was something that was rarely seen and
Relena took a shaky breath as she remembered the last time she’d seen it -
some three years ago during the war.
“I
don’t know Duo, it looks like the bad guys got real big guns... OUR guns! How
the hell did they get their hand on Preventers issued guns?” Wufei asked
between fires of no one in particular. “Back-up? Quatre, do we need
back-up?”
At
Wufei’s one-sided conversation, Relena realized that she had lost the
earpiece. She looked around the floor but gave up almost immediately; the floor
was littered with contents from fallen boxes.
Relena
saw Quatre check his ammunition then grinned out the closet door at Wufei.
“Getting soft in your old age, Wufei?”
“Look who’s talking? Your shots haven’t hit anything vital yet.”
“I’m
maiming them, not killing them!”
“Excuses,
excuses.”
“Excuse me!” Relena interrupted them indignantly. “We have an injured
woman here in case you’d forgotten. Can you play later?”
Quatre
turned to give her an apologetic smile. “Sorry Relena, I didn’t mean to
upset you. Help is on the way. Don’t worry.”
Distant
shouts and more gunfire could be heard and both Wufei and Quatre stopped
shooting and listened. “Yep, here’s Zechs.” Quatre said lightly and
flashed her a smile. Relena blinked at him uncomprehendingly. Quatre, in her
opinion, was enjoying this far more than he should.
Quatre
slipped quietly out of the closet. A few seconds later, Wufei stuck his head in
the doorway.
“You
okay?” He asked lightly but she could just make out the worried lines around
his mouth.
Relena
nodded and swallowed. Now that everything was over, she couldn’t seem to get
her voice to work. Wufei nodded then moved back as Zechs pushed past him to
kneel next to his prone fiancé.
“Noin.”
He called softly while he checked her wound and vitals. “Get me the
stretcher.” He called behind him and more men moved to the closet.
When they
had secured Noin and carried her away, Zechs helped Relena up and hugged her
tight. “I was so worried.”
“I
know, I’m really sorry.”
“We’ll
talk later. Come on, let’s go.” Zechs pushed her towards the door as they
hurried after the stretcher carrying Noin. Relena turned one last time and saw
Wufei and Quatre kneeling over a bloodied body on one side of the room. Next to
Quatre stood a tall young man she’d seen with representative Tamar from MN205.
She looked down at the man they were talking to and gasped when she recognized
the bloodied heap as Hans Jorgensen. Relena made a move towards them but was
halted by her brother.
“No
Relena. Let them handle it. We have to get out of here.” Zech took a hold of
her elbow and pulled her after him.
“Shouldn’t
they come as well?” Relena asked. “The bomb…”
“They’re
coming.” Zechs reassured her and pulled her along. The last thing Relena saw
before they left the room was the tall young man putting his hand gently on
Quatre’s shoulder and she couldn’t help wondering who he was and where in
all this was Trowa…?
****************
“Guys!
Out, out, out!” Duo shouted as he ran into the ballroom and screeched to a
halt into front of Heero and Trowa, the only remaining occupants in the west
wing. The men being yelled at were nonchalantly putting their jackets back on
and only spared him a glance as they straightened their clothes. Duo blinked
then grinned mischievously at the two young men. “Er… Did I miss
something?”
Both men
gave him death glares and Duo rolled his eyes. “I swear you two are from the
same mold.” He muttered then looked behind Trowa. “Newbie took the bomb?”
“Yes.”
Trowa said and started walking towards the door. “Move it Duo. The fire is
spreading fast.”
Duo
squawked indignantly. “Hey! That’s what I came here to tell you!” He ran
after the taller brunette and snagged on to his arm. “Tro.”
Trowa
stopped and turned impatiently to face Duo. “What?”
“Go
easy on Quat, will ya? He did get Relena and Noin out safely.”
“It
wasn’t his job.”
“Apparently
the person whose job it was to protect her, failed.” Duo said the last word
clearly and he could practically feel Heero cringing.
Trowa
narrowed his eyes and glanced passed Duo’s shoulder to the silent man behind
him. “He probably saved us all with what he was doing.” Trowa commented
quietly.
“I
know; it’s just a messed up night, man, and boy are we gonna get an earful.”
Duo agreed. “So… don’t chew him out too badly, okay? I haven’t seen
Quatre this alive in years.”
“Can’t
the two of you talk someplace else?” Heero asked as he walked passed them to
the door. “At this rate, you won’t have a chance to see Quatre at all let
alone chew him out.”
Duo
watched his former lover leave with mixed emotions. Lots of mixed emotions. He
wasn’t sure what they were; adrenaline still pumped enthusiastically through
his veins but the lump in his chest he knew was of a different origin entirely.
“Duo.”
Duo
looked up and saw Trowa studying him quietly. “Yeah… we better get going.”
He grinned at the taller man and together they walked out after Heero.
What to
do with Heero? What to do…? His mind kept asking but for the life of him, Duo
couldn’t find the answer. Heero didn’t love Relena… so why the hell did he
make everyone believe that he did? And why the hell did he leave? Why the hell
did he stay away? Why? Why? Why?
“You’re
muttering to yourself.” Trowa said as they cleared the building. Firefighters
and their equipment passed them to go into the burning building and the two
young Preventers wove their way clear of the emergency team. Most of the people
left around the grounds were agents, all the dignitaries, guests and staff were
evacuated to selected locations where Duo knew each one would be thoroughly
questioned and for many, searched.
Duo
turned to say something smart to Trowa but something else caught his attention.
Next to the fountain in front of the main driveway, Quatre was standing next to
a tall sandy-haired young man, talking to another Preventers agent. Duo glanced
sideways at Trowa hoping that the taller man hadn’t seen them and maybe, just
maybe he could steer Trowa somewhere else.
No such
luck. Trowa’s eyes were fixed them and he was scowling hard enough to break
steel.
“Shit.”
Duo muttered as his ‘Heero problem’ flew out the window and his ‘keeping
Trowa from killing a diplomat problem’ flew in. He stepped in front of Trowa
and none too gently pushed him in another direction.
“Tro!”
Trowa
glared down at him briefly then looked back up in Quatre’s direction again.
“What are they still doing here?”
“Ground’s
secure. Chill, man, he’s surrounded by agents. Everything’s cool.”
Trowa did
not reply but he never took his eyes off the couple.
“Tro,
is that the guy you pulled your gun on?” Duo asked as they watched the pair
from a distance.
“Yes.”
“Who
the hell is he?”
“Azir
Rasha. A… friend.”
Duo
looked from Trowa to Quatre then to the young man and shook his head. Then his
head nearly lulled off his shoulder when Azir affectionately brushed Quatre’s
hair out of his eyes and rubbed gently at some spot on Quatre’s cheek.
Trowa
froze next to him and Duo knew exactly what kind of pain the other man was
feeling. Still, Trowa had brought this on himself. He was an idiot for denying
his feelings for Quatre for this long.
“Jealous
much?” Duo asked lightly.
“I
don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hello!
Earth to idiot.” Duo waved his hand in front of Trowa’s face. “You’re
talking to the guy you screwed because you couldn’t have Quatre, remember?”
Trowa
turned his gaze to Duo and frowned. “That wasn’t why we…”
Duo
raised his brows. “No? At least I admit that we had sex because
I was being an ass about Heero. Why can’t you admit the same thing about
Quatre? You love him.”
“I
don’t.” Trowa stared at him hard, daring him to disagree, which Duo merrily
did.
“Liar.
That’s what you said two years ago and I believed you then. You want to know
why I called off our little fun?”
Trowa
frowned and shrugged. “You said it wasn’t your style to stay with one guy
for too long.”
“And
you believed me.” Duo sighed and shook his head. Yep, idiot.
Trowa
stared at him impatiently. “You don’t lie.” He stated Duo’s mantra.
“True…
but YOU did. I know you love him, Trowa, because during one of our little romps,
you said his name. You said it the way I would have said…” Duo trailed off
suddenly and shook his head. This wasn’t about him, it was about two other
idiots he called friends.
Duo
almost felt sorry for the man. Trowa paled at first then looked horrified and
then as if he didn’t believe Duo, he shook his head to dismiss the idea.
“Don’t
argue with yourself, man. You said it; I don’t lie. I wouldn’t make up a
story like that.” Duo shook his head helplessly. “I don’t get you. You
KNOW Quat has feelings for you. What the hell are you doing?”
Trowa was
silent next to him so Duo peeked up at the man through his bangs. Trowa was
watching Quatre and the Azir guy intently. His face was an enigmatic mask but
Duo knew only too well what that mask hid. Duo wore one too, only his was
cheerful and bright where Trowa’s was emotionless and bland. When Trowa
finally spoke, his voice was soft and pained.
“It’s
too late, Duo.”
Duo
followed Trowa’s gaze and saw Azir holding Quatre’s hand, his head bent
close to the blonde’s as he spoke softly to him. Duo wanted to tell Trowa that
it wasn’t too late, that if Trowa acted now, Quatre would never seek comfort
somewhere else but before Duo could say those things, Trowa shook his head
silently and walked away towards Quatre.
Duo
stomped his foot in anguish while muttering colorful choice words. Then he
became aware of someone watching him. He looked around for several seconds
before he found Heero regarding him from behind a fire truck. Then the perfect
idiot turned and disappeared into the night.
Idiots!
They were all idiots!
Including
himself, Duo admitted resignedly. HE was probably the biggest idiot of them all.
**********
“What
the hell happened?” Lady Une’s voice rang out in the small sitting room of
Relena’s hotel room.
They were
all there, scattered around a coffee table where Heero’s laptop screen
displayed a very stern looking Une. Heero, Relena and Quatre sat side by side on
the sofa facing the laptop, Wufei was leaning against the wall to their right,
his arms crossed over his chest, Duo was sprawling in the armchair on the other
side of the sofa, and Trowa was standing rigidly at Quatre’s shoulder, behind
the sofa. They hadn’t changed and everyone except Relena was wearing the
clothes they had on the previous night.
No one
else spoke and the silence in the room was deafening.
Lady Une
rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation then looked up at Trowa. “You
first, Mr. Barton. Would you care to explain how the representatives from MN107
came to be fully armed and how on earth had they managed to plant two, not one,
mind you but TWO bombs under your very nose?”
Trowa
stared unflinchingly into the screen and shrugged. “We searched everyone but
due to the diplomatic treaty sighed last year under section SC-208, we were not
allowed to search the persons of government officials, colonial representatives
and other dignitary guests who attend peaceful conferences.”
Duo
snorted in disgust, letting everyone know what he thought of the treaty. Trowa
glanced at him then added, “I believe several of us have voiced our concerns
in the matter to you.”
Une
narrowed her eyes at him. “So, it’s MY fault, is it?” When Trowa didn’t
answer, she asked, “And what of the bombs? And the body of the detonator?”
“The
body was crushed by fallen debris and unrecognizable.” Heero answered.
“Tissues were taken and sent to the lab this morning. We should find out his
identity soon. But the bomb, that’s another thing that puzzles me.” Heero
paused and frowned. “If the purpose was to kill, why wasn’t the bomb under
the stage detonated instead of the one in the kitchen? At that time, all the
guests were in the west wing, mostly where the bomb was. Why detonate a bomb in
the kitchen, which was on the opposite side of the facility? That doesn’t make
sense.”
“A
diversion?” Wufei suggested.
Quatre
nodded in agreement. “The men were clearly after Relena. Maybe they didn’t
want to harm anyone else.”
“But
why?” Relena asked suddenly. “I have no quarrels with MN107 up until last
night. He was very upset by the proposal but he couldn’t have known that
before my speech.”
“You
said so yourself, Relena; you have death threats. It may have nothing to do with
your proposal.” Heero told her. “Maybe they couldn’t detonate the one in
the ballroom because they were there as well so they used the one in the
kitchen. They were hoping to finish their job during the commotion.”
“And if
Quatre hadn’t stolen the communication unit from one of the agents, we would
have been too late.” Duo looked pointedly at Trowa who promptly ignored him.
Quatre
blushed and nearly jumped out of his skin when Relena threw herself at him.
“I’m
so sorry Quatre, I hadn’t thanked you at all.” She cried into his neck while
he gently held her. “And those men you sent with me… I’m so sorry.”
“It’s
not your fault, Relena.” Quatre said soothingly. “Blame the ones who did
this and they will see justice, I promise you.”
“Yes,
they will.” Lady Une confirmed grimly. “Their wounds were treated, and I
believe they were transported to Preventers headquarters on Earth earlier this
morning.” Une checked the papers in front of her then nodded. “Yes, here is
the order. We’ll take care of them.” She looked up again and sighed.
“Report on Noin’s status.”
“Zechs
called a few minutes ago and the surgery went well. She’s in serious condition
but stable.” Quatre reported with a small smile. One more tragedy averted.
“Good.”
Une sighed then frowned when she saw Wufei moving up to stand next to Trowa.
“What is it, Wufei?”
“There
are things that don’t add up.” He frowned then turned to Trowa. “When did
the representative from MN107 arrive?”
Trowa
thought for a second or two then replied, “In the afternoon, around 3 p.m.”
“When
did they have the time to plant the bombs?”
Trowa’s
eyebrow twitched slightly. “They didn’t.”
“There
are others.” Heero muttered darkly.
“And
they’re either on Quatre’s staff or working for Preventers.” Duo added
from his chair.
“Most
likely Preventers.” Heero agreed with a scowl.
“Explain.”
Une ordered briskly. Calling her agents traitors was like a slap in the face.
Duo
shrugged and sat up. “No one was allowed in or out of the ballroom since
morning when the stage was erected. Our agents supervised all work and the only
ones in or out of that room had clearance, which were all approved by
Preventers. So, either we’re SO screwed up that we didn’t see a bomb that
size being put up or someone covered up real good. Either way, we don’t look
too good.” Duo grinned humorlessly at Une.
Wufei
nodded then added, “Now security in the kitchen was just as tight since poison
wasn’t out of the question and we had agents crawling all over the place.
Even if the bomb used in the kitchen were considerably smaller than the one in
the ballroom, to put the package behind the refrigerator would take some time.
Someone was bound to see it and some explanations would have to be given…”
Wufei trailed off as he looked at Trowa.
“They
could say they were inspecting the facility for safety purposes.” Trowa
muttered angrily.
This was
not good. Relena looked from one man to another and they were all deep in
thoughts, most of them with huge frowns. Relena thought back to the agents that
she had seen the previous night, even the agents they had guarding the hotel
now… anyone of them could be the traitor(s). They weren't even sure how many
there was.
Finally
Heero spoke and it was to issue an order to Lady Une, Commander in Chief of
Preventers. “You’ll need to check every agent’s background and contact us
as soon as you find anything. We’ll take care of things here. Contact no one
else out of this room with the exception of Zechs. We’ll touch base this
evening at 9 p.m. our time.”
Une
narrowed her eyes at him and her lips compressed into a thin angry line but she
didn’t comment on the fact that he was treating her like a field agent.
“What
about Relena and Quatre?” Une asked instead. “Will you take Relena off
planet?”
“Negative.
They would just follow us now that they know we’re here. It’s best to stay
here where there’s back-up.”
Une
frowned but appeared to trust his judgment and nodded. “Alright, 9 o’clock,
your time then. Une out.”
Heero
closed his laptop and no one spoke for a while. Rapid knockings at the door
jerked them out of their thoughts and Wufei went to open it. The Preventers
agent on the other side gave Wufei an envelope making the Chinese man frown
darkly. They spoke quietly for a few minutes then Wufei nodded and dismissed the
man. He closed the door then returned to the rest of the group, staring at the
envelope in his hand thoughtfully.
Relena
had felt Quatre stiffen the second they saw the envelope. She glanced at him and
he stared at the paper in Wufei’s hand apprehensively.
“Is
that what I think it is?” Quatre asked in a small voice.
Wufei
nodded and handed it over to Quatre. “The agent said that it was found with
the supplies taken from the house. No one saw anything.”
Relena
looked over at the long white envelope and saw that it had three simple
initials: QRW. Quatre stared at it like it might grow a head and bite him.
“Quatre?”
Trowa called softly.
Quatre
took a deep breath then smiled up at the tall brunette. “I’m okay, thank
you, Trowa.” He swallowed and ripped the envelope opened. His delicate brows
knitted together as he read and when he was done, he was visibly pale. He looked
up at Trowa in frustration.
“He was
there, Trowa, at the Conference. He said he was close enough to...”
“What?”
Trowa exclaimed before Quatre could finish and snatched the paper from the
blonde’s limp hands. He scanned it briefly then muttered, “Son of a…”
Heero,
Duo and Wufei went over to Trowa and they in turn, took the letter from him.
“Shit.”
Duo’s eyes widened as he read the content. “He even saw Quatre’s little
love scene, Tro. Damn!”
Love
scene? Relena looked at the mortified blond next to her then up to Trowa whose
face had darkened even more though she wasn’t sure if it was because of the
‘love scene’ or the fact that the would be killer was right under their
noses.
Judging
by the serious faces around her, Relena knew that the odds were against them.
Preventers’ security was compromised more than they had guessed. The only ones
they could rely on were all in this room.
And it
was a pretty damn small room.
TBC…