Chang was leaning against the hallway wall, arms cross over his chest. He had been standing here for the better part of two hours, watching Quatre pace restlessly. His thoughts wandered.
Like the other times he’d had nothing to do, he wandered about Maxwell. Poor Maxwell. Yes, Khushrenada was a monster that had butchered his inferiors and treated his wife like a common whore. Well, she was his wife now, but in Wufei’s opinion she’d always be Treize’s whore. Treize’s rape victim. Poor whore. Poor Maxwell. Poor everybody.
He’d only married her to make his claim to the Darlian estate all legal. Kosher, if you will. It made the news easier for the family to swallow.
Privately, Wufei wondered why the family hadn’t intervened already because of Treize’s treatment of the Darlian girl. Not only was he putting himself in a vulnerable spot should Relena ever get free, he’d married without the family’s permission, a huge risk to the future Khusrenada heir.
A hypothetical heir, Wufei corrected himself. Who knew what shape Relena’s body was in? Not to mention other factors like fertility, genetic disorders, birth complications, etc., etc., etc. It was too risky. The family wouldn’t like it at all.
Well, they’re going to find out, thought Wufei. Punching a speed dial button on his cell phone, he slipped out of the hallway and into an office behind him.
“Hello?” a female voice on the other end of the line said.
Wufei smiled. “Dorothy, it’s lovely to hear your voice. You’ll never guess what your cousin’s done.”
*~*~*
Noin lifted her Magnum silently, hearing a pair of stealthy footsteps edging closer to the door. A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead, and she blinked it out of her eyes.
Tick…tick…tick…
Distinctly she heard a ticking noise. What the fuck? A clock? A bomb? Neither. The noise was too soft, too natural for that.
Tick…tick…tick…
Her mind flashed back to one night a week ago. She’d been fiddling with her alarm clock, removing it from the dresser and setting it one the nightstand. Une, who’d been asleep, started awake and rolled over, hissing softly, “What’s making that noise?”
Tick…tick…tick…
“Just the alarm clock, love,” Noin had said. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, it’s just…it scared me.”
Tick…tick…tick…
“Why on Earth? It’s just a clock.”
“Not the clock. The noise. Did you ever hear that old wives’ tale about a death watch beetle? The story goes that you hear a ticking noise under the floor or in the walls just before somebody you love dies.”
Noin shifted her aim, following Zechs’s progress towards the door.
Tick…tick…tick…
The door flew open, banging against the far wall. Noin swung her aim to the right of the doorway, opening fire.
She was relieved when the ticking finally stopped.
*~*~*
Quatre panicked when he heard the soft thud of something heavy hitting the floor on the other side of the door. Reason and caution fled as he pulled out his pistol, firing at the doorknob twice to blow away the lock. He kicked open the door, rushing inside, not caring about the noise or Mr. Khushrenada’s orders to keeping everything absolutely quiet.
He felt the blood drain from his face when he saw Dr. Barton sprawled half in and half out of the tiny bathroom. When he got closer he saw the blood streaked down the sides of the sink, a trail of it left down the front cabinet door that Trowa’s arm had slid down against as he fell to the floor.
The cause of his injury was obvious. He still held the razor in his good hand.
Frantically, Quatre felt for a pulse. After a few agonizing seconds he found one, but it was weak and erratic. Hastily he yanked off his good silk tie, bunching it up, and pressing it against Trowa’s wrist.
“Don’t die, Doc,” he growled. “Don’t die one me, damn it.”
Trowa’s blood continued to drain out, steadily propelled by his failing heart.
~TBC~