DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing belonged to
Sunrise and co. I’m not making any profits out of this, so don’t sue. Oh, those
you think you’ve never heard before belong to me. And feedback is very welcome,
people!☺
TIMELINE: The story mostly takes place
after Endless Waltz. To be more precise, one year after Endless Waltz. That
means two years after my very own Treize’s Revenge series.
NOTE: I kinda forgot to do this in the first chapter. I have to thank Suiki Bara for clearing up a few things for me, namely what the ‘Terra Formation Project’ is about. For your information, the project had been mentioned at the end of both Gundam Wing the series and Endless Waltz by Relena and later Zechs. So Suiki, this chapter is dedicated for you and your brilliant mind.
By Arayelle Lynn.
Quatre Winner waited
patiently as the private shuttle of Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian made
its landing inside the holding bay of L1 colony. He waited for a few seconds
until the flight traffic attendant gave a clear signal before making his way
towards the shuttle. As Quatre walked, he was well aware of the flashing of
cameras all around him, recording the arrival of the most famous and
influential representative of Earth Sphere Unified Nation.
Relena Darlian stepped out of
the shuttle and made her way down. “On behalf of the colonies in space, I
welcome you whole-heartedly, Vice Foreign Minister Darlian,” said Quatre, still
trying to grasp on the concept of formality. They shook hands.
Relena smiled in amusement at
Quatre’s distinctive awkward manner. ‘He must’ve little time to practice on
being a diplomat because of his affairs,’ Relena speculated, noticing how
tensed he was. And so, she decided to tease him a little.
“It’s really nice to see you
again, Ambassador Winner,” she said and saw Quatre flushed.
The reporters continued taking
pictures of them. “Um… our transportation awaits us,” said Quatre,
uncomfortably. “It is best we make our way to your accommodation.”
“Lead on, Ambassador,” said
Relena and they made their way towards the waiting limousine. Once they were
inside, Quatre drew a sigh of relief as Relena watched him in amusement. He
looked at her, pained. “Ambassador Winner?” he voiced. Relena shrugged.
“Well, that is your job for now,
right?” He groaned. “Get used to it, Quatre. You’ll be hearing people calling
you that for the duration of my visit.”
For a moment Quatre shook his
head in dismay. “Thank goodness for all the business dealings I have to handle
or else I wouldn’t have any idea how to behave.” Despite his words, Relena knew
it wasn’t entirely true. Quatre Winner can be as formal and diplomatic as any
diplomats. In fact, she had seen evidence of this before he took over the
Winner’s family business. He had shown a great subtleties in dealing with the
daughters of the influential aristocrats back when he and Heero had been hiding
in the Sanc Kingdom as students in the institute. His good manner was the very
thing that made him fit in with the rest of the students, something Heero
didn’t bother to do.
No. The main reason, Relena
believed, was the weight of the burden of representing the colonies. And of
course, the media. She knew all the Gundam pilots were not comfortable being
the one in the news, save if they’re inside their gundams. All, except Trowa,
who was used to being in the center of attention when he performed.
“Don’t worry. We wouldn’t be
attending much formal functions,” she said, reassuringly. “I have a lot of
invitation to give talks and short visits though. They’re nothing that you
can’t handle.”
“Yeah, I’m aware of that,” said
Quatre. “They gave me the full list of your visits this morning. But I guess
the biggest event will be the New Year Ball tomorrow night.” He smiled at her.
“I hope you’re ready for some heavy dancing. It’s been a long time since the
colonies were graced by the presence of an influential Minister like you.”
“Of course I’m ready,” she said.
“You owe me a dance, remember? And I want you to be my partner for the first
dance.” Seeing Quatre blushed, Relena smiled. But in her amusement, she
suddenly felt as if something was going to happen soon. Something that spelt
danger to all of them.
>>>@@<<<
The ball was in full swing as
Quatre swept Relena onto the dance floor. Both were well aware of the eyes that was watching them, whispering
among themselves but Quatre and Relena chose to ignore them. As they danced the
waltz, Quatre gave Relena an update on the other Gundam pilots save Heero whom
he hadn’t heard from since the last time they saw each other. And for the first
time since Relena’s visit, Quatre seemed relaxed.
When the music ended, he led her
away from the dance floor. “You’re a pretty good dancer for a soldier,” Relena
complimented.
Quatre blushed. “Well, when I was very young, my
sister Irin taught me how to dance.” He glanced at her and saw her gave him a
questioning look. “Irin is slightly older than Erea and she’s the best dancer I’ve ever seen.”
“I would really like to meet her,” said Relena.
“What does she do?”
“Irin? Well, she opened a dancing institute on
Earth. She taught noble and rich
daughters and sons how to dance.”
“And I’ve had the opportunity of being one of her
students,” said a new voice. Quatre and Relena froze in their steps and saw a
blond girl standing before them. “Hello, Miss Relena. It’s been a while.”
Relena was surprised to find Dorothy standing before her.
“Dorothy. I didn’t know you were here,” she said as
they shook hands. “How have you been?”
Dorothy opened her arms. “Pretty well, I say.” She
then nodded at Quatre. “Nice to see you again too.”
He smiled. “Glad to see that you’re able to make it,
Dorothy.”
Relena looked at Quatre, then Dorothy. “I invited
Dorothy to the ball,” he explained. It was then Relena realized that whatever
was between them and Trowa, it was already in the past. So Relena stepped
forward and gave her old friend a hug, surprising Dorothy a little. “Well, I’m
just glad to see you again. It has been a while.”
“And what about me?” another new voice said. Relena
turned to see Vincent Dupree. “Nice to see you again, Relena.”
“You made it!” said Relena. “How are you?”
Vincent gave her one of his most charming smile.
“Been busy. But I’m ready to have a good time tonight.” He nodded at Quatre.
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Winner.”
“Just Quatre, please. And I’d like you to meet
Dorothy Catalonia.”
Vincent raised his eyebrow as he took Dorothy’s hand
and kissed it. “Duke Dermail’s granddaughter. It’s a pleasure to have meet you
at last. He talked about you so fondly that I sometimes think that I’ve already
knew you.” He didn’t mention Duke Dermail’s last words to him, fearing it might
jeopardize their newly formed acquaintance.
“Duke Vincent. I’ve heard not many about you,” said
Dorothy, curious as to why.
He shrugged and gave her a heart-melting smile. “Let
just say that I wasn’t in close contact with your grandfather. I’m only a duke
by inheritance and not an active member of Romefeller.”
“I see,” said Dorothy, immediately liked his subtle
manner. “Maybe we can change that, my duke.”
“Vincent, please. I don’t let my friends call me
duke.”
“Alright, Vincent.”
Vincent then turned to Relena. “Actually, I came by
here to ask if you’re free for the next dance.”
“Sure. Quatre and I were just talking.” She gave him
her hand. Vincent nodded at Quatre and Dorothy, “It’s been a pleasure meeting
you, Dorothy. Glad to see you again, Quatre.” He then led Relena to the dance
floor.
But as Vincent was passing Quatre, he paused. “Be
wary, Quatre. I saw Duke Kent Winteridge among the guests somewhere,” he
whispered. Quatre looked at him, surprised. He hadn’t known that Winteridge was
invited to the ball too.
“What was that all about?” asked Dorothy, breaking
through his thoughts.
Quatre glanced at her. “Oh? Duke Winteridge is one
of my rivals for Project Jupiter.”
“I see,” said Dorothy. Seeing Quatre not offering
more information, she turned her attention towards Relena and Vincent who were
dancing gracefully. Both were smiling, enjoying themselves. Dorothy then
realized that Relena had never look happier since her father was killed. Seeing
how happy her friend look made her sighed.
“Aren’t they a perfect couple?”
Surprised, Quatre turned his eyes to her. “Huh?
Relena and Vincent?” Dorothy nodded.
“Yes, see how well they move. It’s like they
understood each other, heart and soul.”
“Well, Vincent and Relena are old friends,” he said,
slowly. “It is possible that they could fall in love.” Then he added to
himself, ‘But there’s Heero. And Relena might still have feelings for him.’
“Hmm…” was Dorothy’s comment. She longed for someone
to care for her, to love her. But the one she wanted was always out of her
reach. First Treize, then Milliardo and now…
“Lady Dorothy,” a voice said, breaking her thoughts.
She realized then that there was a handsome-looking young duke was standing
before her. “Would you do me the honor of awarding me the next dance?”
Dorothy glanced at Quatre, not wanting to leave him
alone. But she saw he was distracted by something else. Realizing that the young
duke was still waiting for her answer, she offered her hand. “I’d be honored,
my lord.”
Quatre choked at the very sight that caught his
attention. It was a girl of his age, standing near the refreshment table with a
glass of fruit juice in her hand. He stared at her, making sure she was not a
figment of his imagination. He then turned to ask Dorothy to confirm his
sighting but found her being led to the dance floor. And so he returned his
gaze on the girl.
“It can’t be her,” he whispered as he made his way
towards her. But as he was approaching her, he realized that his suspicious was
true. She was…
“Kylie Khushrenada!” he said softly. “What are you
doing here?”
The girl before him was totally different from the
assassin he met two years ago. Her long red hair was darker almost to the shade
of dark brown and she pulled it up and let loose a few tendrils of hair. She
was wearing a dress that hugged her body perfectly. Her winter blue eyes
matched her dark lavender dress beautifully. All in all, she was ravishingly
beautiful. And breath taking.
Then, he saw the girl looked at him, uncertain. As
if she couldn’t make out his deal. “I’m sorry, sir. I believe that you’ve
mistaken me for someone else,” she said in a slightly accented voice.
“It’s me, Quatre. We met two years ago, remember?”
he tried again. ‘Did she met an accident that caused her to have amnesia?’ he
wondered. Somehow, that thought alone filled him with dread.
“I’m sorry, but no I don’t think we’ve met,” she
said, politely. “I don’t know who’s this Kylie Khushrenada so I would assume
that she’s a friend of yours. But I’m not her.” She started to move. “Excuse
me, I was looking for my employer.”
Quatre stared at the retreating form, realizing that
he could’ve made a mistake. Kylie was cold and void of emotions. The girl
before him was polite and nervous, traits Kylie had never and would never
display. Yet, the girl looked exactly like Kylie. Could it be that there’s a
twin of Kylie that she herself was unaware of?
“Wait!” he called out to her, reaching for her left
arm. The girl jumped and turned to face him. “I’m sorry for startling you. I
realized my mistake now,” he apologized. “Yes, Kylie was a dear friend of mine.
The fact that you look exactly like her made me mistaken you for her. It’s been
a long time since I last saw her so you could say that I missed her.”
Something in her eyes softened. “Oh?” She didn’t
seemed to know how to react towards this. “Th…that’s fine,” she said, softly.
Quatre suddenly remembered something. “I’m sorry. I seemed
to have forgotten my manners with all the embarrassment. My name’s Quatre
Raberba Winner.” He offered his hand to her. She reached out to shook his hand.
“You’re the one my employer was looking for,” she
said, her eyes flashing. Quatre had to remind himself that this was not Kylie.
“My name’s Heather Leong. It’s a pleasure to meet the heir of the Winner’s
family.” Quatre was about to ask who her employer was when another voice
interrupted them.
“Kylie!” Relena Darlian said. She had left Vincent
as soon as she saw Quatre was talking to the young assassin. But she was
surprised when Kylie frowned at her. So, Quatre stepped in, “She’s not Kylie,
Relena.” He gave Heather an appraising look. “Though the resemblance is
unbelievable.” He introduced her to Relena.
“Oh, I see,” said Relena, dubiously. Although Quatre
believed that the girl was not Kylie, Relena found herself questioning her
identity. There’s something about the girl she couldn’t place. Something that
was out of place.
“It’s really a pleasure to meet you, Miss Relena,”
she said, pleasantly.
“Relena, please. So where are you from?” she
prompted, trying to get to know the girl. But before Heather could answer, the
room roared.
“Hey, they’re starting the countdown,” said Quatre.
The three stared at the display clock before the room as the guests chorused
the countdown together. When they reached one, the room was filled with
well-wishers, each wished for a good and peaceful new year. Quatre turned to
Relena, his face beaming. “Happy New Year, Relena.”
“Happy New Year, Quatre,” said Relena, then her eyes
searched for Vincent. She had planned to wish her old friend a Happy New Year
but forgotten about it because of Heather. Quatre, meanwhile, turned to regard
the other girl who was standing behind him but found Heather studying the ice
sculpture on the refreshment table. Her face was suddenly tensed and
unreadable.
“Heather?” he said. Heather turned her head towards
him, blinking. “Oh, Happy New Year to you too, Quatre,” she said. “Will you
excuse me? I have to find my employer now. I was suppose to be his escort.” She
moved to get by him but she tripped over the hem of her dress. Her drinks
spilled on Quatre’s shirt as he tried to jump back. He collided with Relena who
was behind him as they both fell on the floor.
And the ice sculpture exploded into tiny pieces.
For a moment the whole ballroom fell into deep
silence. All the guests’ attention was fixed on the remaining ice sculpture and
the sight of Quatre and Relena on the floor. Heather stared at the ice
sculpture and at the burning hole in the wall behind the refreshment table. She
then stared at Quatre in horror. “Someone’s trying to kill the Vice Foreign
Minister!” someone else voiced her horror.
Then the room was plunged into chaos. Quatre tried
to disentangle himself from Relena, in case the shooter tried to take another
shot at Relena. But then Dorothy appeared, “Stay down with Miss Relena,
Quatre,” she said. She turned to the man behind her. “Take your man and find
the shooter before he leave the building. And make it fast.” When the man
hesitated, she barked. “Now would be a good time, captain! Don’t worry about
Miss Relena. She’s in good hands.” As she said that, Dorothy’s personal
bodyguard appeared by her side. The head of the security nodded and began to
issue orders to his man. He then moved to calm the other guests.
Dorothy shook her head. “That’s the poorest security
system I’ve ever seen.” She knelt before Quatre and Relena. “Are any of you
hurt?” Quatre looked over Relena first before he examined himself.
“We’re alright, just shaken,” he said. He then
remembered someone. “Heather?” he looked up. Dorothy followed his eyes and
almost jumped to her feet. “Kylie!” But the girl before her didn’t act like the
feared assassin at all. Instead, her face was pale and she was in verge of
collapsing.
Quatre jumped to his feet. “Are you alright?” he
asked, reaching out for her. She looked up to him and shook her head. But she
didn’t say a word. If anything, Dorothy guessed that the girl that looked like
Kylie was still in shock.
“Relena!” Vincent ran towards Relena. He knelt next
to her and held her in his arms. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” he asked,
deeply concerned. Relena shook her head. “I’m fine, Vincent. Please, help me
up.”
“What happened?” he asked, glancing at Quatre.
“Someone was taking a shot at Relena,” said Quatre.
He glanced at the girl beside him. “If it wasn’t for Heather, he would’ve hit
his target.” He smiled at her. “You saved her life, Heather.”
Dorothy examined the ice sculpture. “From the look
of things, she has saved both of your life, Quatre. If you hadn’t fell to the
floor, you could’ve been hit by the second shot.” Heather’s head snapped
towards her as others did. “There’s a second shot?”
“Yeah. The first shot missed and hit the ice
sculpture and the second shot hit the wall,” said Dorothy, digging a bullet
from the remains of the sculpture. “You were lucky.”
“B…but I tripped and accidentally spilled my drinks
on Quatre. He’s the one who really saved Miss Relena,” Heather explained what
happened. “He’s the hero.”
Dorothy shrugged. “Yeah, but if you hadn’t tripped,
Miss Relena wouldn’t be standing.”
“Heather!” a new voice called out. A handsome and
distinguished man in his middle twenties made his way towards them. He took her
hands and looked at her with deep concern. “I’ve just heard. Are you alright?
Are you hurt?” he asked as Heather nodded. “I’m fine, Kent.”
“I shouldn’t have left you all alone,” he said. He
then looked at the people gathered around Heather. “Do you mind if I take her
away now? She’s pretty shaken,” he asked. Seeing no one was objecting, he led
Heather away, blaming himself.
“Kent?” Quatre chorused.
Dorothy regarded at him. “Don’t you know? He’s Duke
Kent Winteridge, your rival.”
“Ambassador Winner.” The captain returned. They
turned their attention towards the head of security. “I’m sorry but we lost the
shooter. However, I’ve sent my men to scout the area in case he doubles back.
So far, the vicinity is secured.” He paused to glance at Dorothy’s bodyguards.
“I’ve prepared a few of my men to escort you and Vice Foreign Minister back to
your hotel.”
Quatre nodded. “That would be fine.” He turned to
Relena. “Looks like the party is not going anywhere. What would you say if we
turn in for the night? Tomorrow we still have that talk you’re suppose to
attend.”
Relena nodded. “Good idea. I’ve had enough
excitement for one night.”
As Quatre led Relena out of the ballroom, he spared
one more glance towards Heather and Kent. Both were whispering with each other
as Kent tried to calm her down. Then, a man came over to the duke and they
talked for a few moments. Quatre then saw Heather looked back at the bullet
hole in the wall and then turned her gaze on one of the dark and empty balcony
upstairs. Her expression was once again tensed and unreadable.
>>>@@<<<
“There was an attempt on
Relena’s life?” Lady Une chorused as soon as she read the report brought over
by Sally.
“Yeah,” said the Chinese
Preventer agent. “But that’s not what concerns me. She faces the threat of
being assassinated everyday in her life. No, what concerns me is how close a
call it was.”
“Heero,” Lady Une said,
understanding the meaning of her words. “You were concerned on how the assassin
get past Heero.” Both of them were well aware of Heero, protecting Relena
silently. They also knew that Heero would usually destroy the assassins first
before any of them could even get close to Relena.
“So the question is, what
happened to Heero?”
Sally leaned forward. “If you
want, I can have some of our agents search for Heero. Who knows maybe he’s hurt
somewhere.”
“No,” said Lady Une. “If we do
that, we’ll risk exposing his location and might even make it hard for him to
locate the assassin. We don’t know what happen to him and we shouldn’t
speculate. Besides, we have an even more pressing matters.” She glanced at the
report Sally gave her. “You said Quatre was with Relena, right?”
“Yes.”
Lady Une nodded. “Good. That
means we have the Gundam pilots handling this matter.”
“What is the pressing matter you
talked about?” asked Sally.
Lady Une looked at her agent,
grimly. “It’s that shadow. It’s heading straight into our solar system..”
“What? What about Wu Fei?”
“We lost him a few hours ago.
He’s gone.”
>>>@@<<<
Relena waited patiently as
securities ran a check on her hotel room to see if there were any unpleasant
surprises. She was bone tired and her patience was wearing thin. Only the fact
that Quatre was with her made her kept her temper in check. No use distressing
Quatre with her own fatigue.
When one of the security guard
gave them a clear sign, Relena and Quatre entered the room. The security guard
pulled Quatre aside. “I will have my men standing guard outside the Vice
Foreign Minister’s room, just in case.” Quatre nodded as the security guard
called for his men to leave the room.
Relena, who made her way across
the room towards her bed, gasped. “Quatre!” He quickly ran towards her,
followed by the security guard. What he saw made him froze. On Relena’s bed there’s
a picture of her and a stalk of red rose. A dagger was stuck on the picture.
“There’s something written on the picture,” the guard observed.
Quatre pulled the dagger and
picked up the picture. “ ‘You will be dead,’ ” he read and looked at
Relena. “It’s confirmed then. Someone is trying to get you.” He handed the
picture to the guard for an inspection and picked up the rose. ‘Something is
awfully familiar about this rose,’ he thought. Then it struck him, ‘Could it
be… no it can’t be her. She’s on our side… isn’t she?’
He turned to Relena and saw her
reached the same conclusion. But both didn’t sound their thoughts, fearing that
they would be making a big mistake.
>>>@@<<<
Wu Fei cursed the maker of the
shuttle he’s piloting as the control panel nearly blew off in front of his
face. He was passing Saturn when the shuttle broke down. After several hours of
diagnostic, he discovered that some of the fuses in the control panel
short-circuited, not able to take on a journey as far as this. And along with
it, the communication system, so he can’t call for help. Luckily, his
environment system and life support were still intact but he didn’t know when
he would run out of power.
Cursing, he slipped back into
the panel to recheck his repairs. Maybe he did made a few mistakes due to his
foul temper. And for the thousandth time, Wu Fei wished he had Nataku with him.
He knew the Gundam could make a long trip such as this.
After rechecking his repairs, he
turned on the engine. For a moment, the shuttle hummed and then died. “Come on,
you-stupid-piece-of-a-sorry-reason-for-a-bucket-of-bolts. Start!” he growled,
hitting the panel with his fist. Suddenly, the shuttle came to life and he
rolled his eyes. “Finally!”
He was about to leave the area
when suddenly his sensors indicated strange readings. Curious, he headed
towards the indicated area.
What he saw was a Preventer’s
shuttle holding on its own against some unidentified small space fighters.
Realizing that the shuttle couldn’t hold on much longer, Wu Fei opened the
channel. “Preventer’s shuttle, come in.” His presence attracted the
unidentified fighters as a few of them came to him. Wu Fei executed a few
evasive moves before destroying them all.
There was static and an image
appeared. “Wu Fei, glad to see some friendly face.”
“Noin! Zechs! Looks like you
could use some help.”
“Looks like it.”
“Good. I was looking for some
action, anyway.”
Wu Fei dove into the heart of
the battle. He tried to attract the attention of this unknown enemy so Zechs’ shuttle
had the chance of defending itself. The maneuvers of the fighters were new to
him that it took him a while to get a grasp of things and destroy a few of
them. They fought for hours before Zechs finally destroyed the last fighter. By
then, Wu Fei was already panting and his shuttle was making some strange
noises. Zechs and Noin were in worse condition than he was.
“Fancy meeting you here, Wu
Fei,” said Noin as Zechs ran a damage report.
“I’m on a mission. What was that
all about anyway?” asked Wu Fei, running his own damage report. His shuttle
will live to make another trip.
Noin wrinkled her nose. “Well,
it’s some of our newly acquainted friends. They didn’t like us snooping
around.”
Wu Fei nodded. “Well, you
shuttle seemed fine. I guess you’re okay to go on.” He paused. “I’m sorry to
have to split but I have something Lady Une wants me to investigate.” He tapped
a few keys to plot his course.
“Are you heading towards the
strange reading near Pluto?” asked Zechs, finally opening his mouth.
“Yeah.”
Zechs looked at him, his face
serious. “Don’t bother. We already know what was going on there,” he said. Wu
Fei looked at him, surprised. “You do? What is it then? Is it a new threat?”
“The most dangerous threat
ever,” he said, grimly. “It’s an invasion.”
>>>@@<<<
Quatre listened every word
Relena said as his eyes wondered at every corner of the big hall. He knew that
the Earth Sphere Unified Nation had provided Relena with enough security team
that could protect even the President himself but of all, he trusted his own
eyes and instinct to detect any sign of trouble. Especially, since he was
sitting right beside Relena who was standing behind a podium giving a talk
about pacifism to a large group of the colonies’ representatives. If he saw any
sign of trouble, he wanted to be ready to spring into action to protect Relena.
So far, there was no sign of
trouble. But Quatre was not easily satisfied.
“…And so let us work together to
ensure the peace and harmony of both Earth and outer space. We’re not doing
this to benefit any side, Earth and the colonies alike, but we’re doing this
for the sake of the whole human race,” she finished as the hall echoed with
thunderous hand clap as the representatives rose to their feet to show Relena
they shared her sentiment.
That’s when Quatre’s
specially-trained danger instinct tingled in his mind. His eyes quickly
searched around the hall, looking for the source that triggered his senses.
Then his eyes saw it. Among the catwalk above, there was a shadow, watching
Relena’s every move. With a rifle in his hand.
Quickly, Quatre rose from his
seat and dove. “Down!” he cried as he knocked over Relena. A few shots rang
followed by screams and people running. Quatre could hear someone barked an
order to shoot down the assassin as hands picked him and Relena up to get them
to safety. In the chaos, Quatre managed to steal a glance at the four bullet
holes on the wall where Relena was standing. He also managed to catch a sight
of the assassin’s retreating form. It was a girl!
Then, the chaos ceased as the
head of security came over to them. “Are you hurt, Vice Foreign Minister?”
“No, just shaken. Thanks to
Ambassador Winner,” she looked at Quatre who was lost in his thoughts.
“What about you, Ambassador
Winner?” asked Captain Malcolm, the head of security. When Quatre didn’t
answer, Relena was concerned. She touched his shoulder. “Quatre?”
He looked up, startled. “Uh?
Yes, I’m fine.”
Malcolm nodded. “That was some
great reflex, Ambassador Winner. You really did save Vice Foreign Minister
Darlian’s life.”
“It was nothing. I saw him on
the catwalk.”
“Then, I should say that that
was some keen eye sight you have. Pity that you weren’t a soldier. I could’ve
used someone like you in my team,” said Malcolm. Quatre nodded, slowly. “Yeah,
pity,” he said, absent-mindedly. Suddenly another member of the security team
approached them.
“Report, sergeant,” said
Malcolm.
The sergeant shook his head.
“Missed him, sir. The assassin is as slick as an eel. Maybe slicker.”
“Alright, ran another sweep
across the area while I lead the team to send the Vice Foreign Minister and the
Ambassador back to the hotel.” He glanced at them. “No one is going to get to
Miss Relena on my watch,” he said determinedly.
They returned to the hotel since
Relena and Quatre were schedule to arrive in the L2 later that evening. But as
they were walking along the hallway, they discovered that someone was waiting.
“Vincent?” Relena voiced. Vincent Dupree rushed towards her, concern was written
all over his face.
“Are you alright? I’ve just
heard,” he said. “I was on a shuttle to L2 when I heard about the second
shooting. I came back as soon as I can.” Relena could see his eyes were intense
and wondered why it so bothered him that her life was in danger.
“I’m fine. Quatre saved me,” she
said. Vincent looked at Quatre, gratefully.
“Once again, you amazed me,
Quatre Winner. I thank you for saving Relena.”
Quatre smiled. “She’s my friend
too, Vincent.”
A security guard exited Relena’s
room. “All clear, sir but you would want to see this.”
Curious, Quatre and Relena
exchanged glances as they entered the room. Sure enough, another note was being
left on Relena’s bed with a red rose. Malcolm picked the note and read, “ ‘Thank
your lucky stars for your knight.’ ” He then gave the note and the rose to
one of his men. “Run a scan on these items. I want to know if there’s anything
that could point us to our assassin.”
Then another man entered,
holding a cell phone. “Captain, there’s a call for you.” Captain Malcolm took
the phone and walked away from them. Relena watched the captain carefully,
hearing the rise of his voice and then a look of annoyance flashed across his
face. Then his shoulder slumped as if giving into a fight.
He returned to them, scowling.
“I was actually going to organize my team to go to L2 with you but it seems
like our service for you is terminate here, Vice Foreign Minister.”
Relena blinked. “Why is that?”
“It’s seems that another unit is
on the mission.” He regarded his men. “Hear this, men. After we escorted the
Vice Foreign Minister and the Ambassador to their shuttle, our job is over. The
Preventers are taking over.”
>>>@@<<<
When Duo heard about the second
attempt on Relena’s life, he
immediately knew something was amiss. Heero would usually destroy the assassins
before they even got close to Relena Darlian. If he had missed one that would
be understandable but to have missed twice, that’s different. And so, he
quickly went to the vidcomm to try to contact Quatre, who was suppose to be
Relena’s escort but he was too late. They had already left the hotel, heading
his way. So, he contacted another person.
“Hey, long time no see, eh,
Trowa,” he said, as soon as the quiet Heavyarms’ pilot appeared on the screen.
“I’m a little busy right now,
Duo,” he said. “So make it snappy. I need to pack.”
Duo shook his head. “I guess you
didn’t hear about the attempts on Relena’s life then.”
“Actually I did,” said Trowa.
“That’s the reason why I’m packing.”
Duo was surprised. “You’re
coming here?”
“Yeah, I’m a little concern,”
Trowa admitted.
“About Heero?” Duo prompted.
Trowa shook his head. “Not much
about Heero. It’s Quatre and Relena I’m concern about. Heero can take care of
himself. If he didn’t get the assassin twice, he would get him later. I saw how
he really worked. He’s good.”
“Alright, if you say so,” Duo
surrendered. “I’ll just have Hilde prepared the guest room.”
“Thanks, Duo.”
“Hey, Trowa,” said Duo before
the other could disconnect the line. “You know that while Heero always get his
target, there’s only one person who really gave him a hard time locating.”
Trowa paused, trying to
reconsider his answer but decided to tell Duo what he thought. “Yeah, you’re
right. Kyle Rayden.”
>>>@@<<<
Trowa disconnected the line as
he turned to another vidcomm. “You hear that, Quatre?”
“Yeah, I heard it. I guess you
guys are playing bodyguards now, huh?”
“Only until Heero gets whoever
the assassin is. You know we can’t be complacent about this kind of thing. The
peace of humanity depends on the survival of Relena Darlian and we need to keep
her alive to ensure peace.”
Quatre sighed. “Yeah, I know
you’re right.” He glanced at something outside the screen.
“Is there something you’re
keeping from me, Quatre?”
His friend turned to him,
startled. “Uh? No. Not at all. They’ve just announced our time of arrival.” He
decided to change the subject. “The Preventers are taking over the mission. I
guess I’ll be meeting Wu Fei and Lady Une anytime soon.”
“Good. The more experienced
people protecting Relena, the better. I’ve heard you’ve done a great job
yourself.”
Quatre shook his head. “Not
really great or else I would’ve capture or locate the assassin myself.”
“And then what?” asked Trowa.
“Do you think you can face this assassin one-on-one?”
Again his friend sighed. “No. I
just wished I could do better.”
“You’ve kept her and yourself
alive this far. So that’s good enough.”
“If you say so.” But he was
still unconvinced.
Trowa decided to end the matter.
“Since the Preventers are taking over, I guess Duo and I could snoop around to
find out more about our assassin. So, we might be joining you a little later.”
“Does that mean you’re heading
towards L1 instead?”
“Since that’s where the assassin
first strike, yeah. That means I have to call Duo up and have him meet me
there.”
Quatre nodded. “Alright, good
luck.”
Trowa stared at his surrogate
little brother, carefully. “You be careful yourself, okay.”
As if sensing Trowa’s deep
concern for him, Quatre nodded. “Don’t worry, Trowa. I’ll be fine.”
When Trowa terminated the
connection, he couldn’t help but wondering what Quatre had been keeping from
him. But whatever it was, Trowa knew it deeply concerned Quatre seeing how
distracted the Arabian pilot was. And he knew Quatre couldn’t afford to be
distracted for long if he wants to survive this dangerous game.
>>>@@<<<
A middle age man entered the
huge room where his fellow companions waited, patiently. The room was dark,
save for the light on the table where the other five was sitting. The man then
took out a large envelope and spilled its contents on the table. “This is as
much as I can gather from the officials before they get suspicious.”
One of them looked at him as the
others started riffling through the contents. “So, you didn’t meet any trouble
coming here?”
“None whatsoever. I left before
they could even start asking questions.” The man nodded at the contents.
“What’s your verdict?”
The men studied the contents of the envelop for a
moment. They then looked at each other and nodded. There’s no question now.
They’d all thought of the same thing even though it sounded a little far
fetched. “It is a new threat,” one of them declared. “Which means we did the
right thing by rebuilding the guardians.”
The man shook his head. “I thought we would not need
them anymore.” He looked at the five men. “What do you propose we should do
now?” he asked all of them but the question was directed towards the one in
charge.
The leader, the one who had spoken earlier, glanced
into the shadows in the room. “Now we made sure that the guardians are send to
the proper authorities. They would need them anytime now.”
The man sighed and nodded. “In that case, I’ll make
the necessary arrangement.”
>>>@@<<<
Quatre waited patiently for his
contacts to arrive. The restaurant was nearly full because of the lunch hour
but he found himself relaxed for the first time since Relena Darlian was being
targeted. After an official visit to an L2’s hospital this morning, Relena had
decided that she would need some time away from the official business. And
since Vincent had come to L2 with them, Relena decided it was time for her to
spend the rest of the day with her old friend, alone, save for five Preventer’s
agents who had been stationed close by as to give the two a little privacy.
The two had invited Quatre to
join them but he declined after a call from Duke Kent Winteridge. He invited
Quatre to have lunch with him and his companion. Winteridge had call it an
opportunity to get to know the heir of the Winner’s family. But Quatre knew
that Winteridge would like to size up his main competitor, which was fine with
Quatre since he’s a little curious about the man.
As he waited, Quatre’s mind
played hundreds of questions as to why, if the assassin was Kylie, she was
targeting Relena again. He had thought that whatever transpired two years ago
was forgotten, that she understood how important it was to protect Miss Relena.
He knew that Treize’s letter made it clear that Kylie should protect Relena. So
what makes her changed her mind?
Part of him also did not want to
believe that the assassin was Kylie. If it was her, wouldn’t she use her old
codename, Treize’s Revenge? Probably not, if this wasn’t about Treize at all.
Or what if there’s a new player in the game. But Quatre was sure that the red
rose was another mark that could be associated with Kylie. She had given him
one before she disappeared. The same breed as the ones she left for Relena.
And there’s Heather. He didn’t
know much about the girl because of their short acquaintance. But there’s
something about her that seemed so familiar. Something that told him that he
had seen or met her before. To satisfy his curiosity, Quatre had ran a check on
her background. All of it seemed valid. She had grew up in a farming village in
China and only left Earth a few months ago in search for a job. That’s how she
was employed by Kent Winteridge.
Suddenly he found himself
staring into a pair of winter blue eyes and nearly jumped. His first thought
was danger but a second later, a familiar man came into his view. “Mr. Winner?”
the man said. Quatre rose from his seat. “Duke Winteridge, it’s a pleasure to
have finally meet you, sir.”
“The pleasure all mine, Mr.
Winner.” They shook hands. Winteridge turned to his companion beside him. “This
is my personal assistant, Heather. But I guess you’ve met her at the party.”
Quatre smiled and shook
Heather’s hand. “Yeah, we’ve met.” He was curious at the relationship between
them. The way Winteridge was staring at Heather was as if they were lovers.
Heather, on the other hand, kept her distance as if she wanted nothing more
than an employer-employee relationship with him. But Quatre couldn’t blame
Winteridge though. Heather was a great prize to catch.
They settled down as a waiter
came over with their menu. They made their orders and while waiting, they
talked. They had a conversation about their past projects, complementing each
other for their good work and avoided talking about the Project Jupiter, the
very thing that made them rivals. And while they talked, Quatre found that
Heather kept her silence, joining in the conversation when Winteridge or Quatre
prompted her.
As they were busy discussing
about a possible future plan together, Winteridge spotted someone entering the
restaurant. “Vice Foreign Minister Relena, Duke Dupree, fancy meeting you
here,” he greeted as Relena and Vincent were talking to the receptionist.
The couple walked up to their
table. “Duke Winteridge, Ambassador Winner,” said Relena, then nodded at
Heather, “Heather. We didn’t know we’d be meeting you here.” She returned
Quatre’s concern look with a reassuring smile, telling him that nothing happen
to her while he was gone.
“We thought we would stop by and
have lunch here. I heard that the cuisine is excellent,” Vincent said. He then
looked over the tables dubiously. “I guess the tables are full and we were just
leaving to find another restaurant.”
Winteridge quickly stopped them.
“No. We cannot have the Vice Foreign Minister and her date cast away by a
simple reason like that. It’s not everyday the colonies are graced by Miss
Relena’s presence.” He gestured at the remaining seat. “Please, join us.”
Vincent glanced at Quatre,
uncertainly. He didn’t want to intrude in Quatre’s business affairs. But the
blond young business man smiled. “Please, I don’t mind,” he said, gently. “We
did plan to get to know each other, didn’t we?”
With that, Vincent nodded and
pulled a seat next to Quatre for Relena. He then took one beside Heather.
Winteridge signaled one of the waiter who came to their table with the menu.
After both Vincent and Relena had placed their orders, the conversation
resumed.
A few minutes later, the food
arrived. When the waiter left, Heather suddenly rose from her seat. “Excuse me
for a second, gentlemen, Miss Relena.” She then left, heading towards the
ladies room. Quatre saw Winteridge’s eyes following her.
“Duke Winteridge,” said Relena.
“How well do you know Miss Leong?”
Winteridge smiled. “Not well, I
have to admit. She came to work with me about two months ago, after my old
personal assistant retired.” He glanced at her. “When she first came to my
office, I know I have to hire her. There was something about her…” he trailed
off. He then shook his head. “Anyway, she has some very excellent
recommendations. So I thought I should hire her.”
“She seemed like a quiet sort,”
Vincent commented.
Winteridge smiled. “Yes, she can
sometimes be so warm and cold at the same time. She rarely talks about her family
though.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?” asked
Relena.
“No. I love mysteries and I even
love it in a woman.”
Vincent grinned. “Sounds to me
like you’re in love with her.”
“You ought to know, Duke
Dupree.”
Before Relena could ask what did
he mean, there was a cracking sound and the window next to Quatre and
Winteridge shattered into pieces. Reflexively, Quatre reached for Relena as
Vincent and Winteridge dove under the table. There were screams from the other
table as Quatre heard a series of running footsteps as the Preventers agents
chasing after whoever the shooter was.
A pair of hands helped him up.
It was one of the Preventer agent who left behind to make sure they were all
save. Vincent helped Relena up as Winteridge stared out. Quatre then went to
the remains of the window and inspected it. ‘Looks like someone really wants
Relena dead,’ he thought, frowning.
Then, there’s a sound of running
footsteps as Heather appeared. Her face was deep with anxiety. “What happened?”
When she saw the shattered window, she looked at them. “Is anyone hurt?” She
turned to her employer. “Sir?”
“I’m alright, Heather. Just
shaken,” he answered.
The Preventer agent’s comm
chimed. “Got him?” he asked.
“Lost him, sir.”
He nodded. “Ran a thorough sweep
throughout the area.” He glanced at Relena. “We will make sure the Vice Foreign
Minister is send to safety.” He signed off and turned to Quatre. “Ambassador
Winner, will you be joining us or are you staying with your companions?” he
asked, glancing at Winteridge and Heather.
Quatre looked at Winteridge who
said, “It’s okay, Mr. Winner. We can continue our conversation some other
time.”
“Thank you, Duke Winteridge. It
was a pleasure meeting you.” They shook hands and he turned to the Preventer
agent. “Let’s go.”
Then a waiter came over them.
“Vice Foreign Minister Darlian?” he said. Relena turned to him. “Yes?” she
answered. The waiter frowned and handed her a red rose. “Someone left this for
you.”
Relena looked over the red rose
and found a note attached to it. “ ‘You won’t be missed again.’ ” She
handed Quatre the rose and turned to Vincent, who looked at her in deep
concern. “I’m alright, Vincent.” She turned to the Preventer agent. “Let’s go.”
The Preventer agent took the
rose from Quatre and nodded to his men. “Escort Vice Foreign Minister Darlian
and her company to the limo.” Relena turned to Winteridge and Heather. “I’m
sorry your afternoon meal is spoilt. But it was a pleasure to meet you, Your
Grace, Heather.”
Then they left.
>>>@@<<<
When they reached Relena’s room,
they were surprised when the Preventer agent ushered them into the room without
running a check on it first. But they found the answer later in the room. Both
Relena and Quatre were surprised to find a woman in the room.
“Lady Une!” they chorused. Then
two more people appeared from behind her.
“Trowa! Duo!” said Quatre, very
glad to see them. But Trowa and Duo were looking at him, grimly.
Lady Une looked at them. “Vice
Foreign Minister, Ambassador,” she said, signaling her agent to closed the
door. The agent acknowledged her order and closed the door. He stood guard
outside the room. Lady Une turned to Relena. “Glad to see you unharmed, Miss
Relena or else I would have a lot to answer for when your brother gets back.”
She gestured towards a seat. “Please be seated, you two.”
Relena settled down but Quatre
remained standing. Instead, he walked up to his two friends. “Really glad to
see you guys again,” he said, smiling. But when they didn’t say a thing, he
frowned. “What is it? What did you find in L1, Trowa?”
Instead of answering, Duo
grabbed his shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell us that Kylie was targeting Relena?
Are you trying to protect her or something?” he asked, his voice held a trace
of anxiety Quatre had never heard before. He turned to Trowa who also looked at
him. Concern clearly written in his eyes.
“H… how did you find that out?”
he asked.
“When Lady Une showed us the
reports, we piece it all together,” Trowa answered, knowing this was the thing
Quatre kept from him earlier. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out Kylie was
behind this. Although she no longer used the name Treize’s Revenge, the red
rose and how the assassin slipped of the authorities’ fingers are conspicuous
enough. Besides, she’s the only one who ever gave Heero a hard time to find.”
Seeing that his friends had
already figured things out, he looked away. “I didn’t tell you because I don’t
want to make a mistake. We don’t have enough evidence to prove that Kylie is
indeed the assassin.”
“But we have enough evidence to
be suspicious of her,” said Duo. “That girl is a lunatic and dangerous. You
could’ve gotten yourself killed or even worse, Relena too and we’re the ones
who have to answer to Heero.”
Quatre then glanced at Lady Une,
who was staring at her hands. Duo then remembered what Kylie meant to the head
of the Preventer and so he quieted. Quatre then walked over to Lady Une but she
broke the silence first. “When I first heard that Miss Relena was being
targeted, I thought that the local authorities could handle it.” She looked at
Relena. “But when I heard about the threatening notes and the roses, I know I
have to step in. Kylie is my responsibility and if she, indeed, have turned
against us then it’s up to me to do something about it.”
“What do we do now?” asked
Quatre, slumped onto the sofa. He’d never felt so weary.
Trowa looked at Relena. “What’s
your plan for tomorrow?”
“We’re going to L3 tomorrow for
a formal visit in one of the local universities,” she answered. “I was suppose
to open their new south wing and gave a lecture on pacifism to the students and
the faculty.”
Trowa shook his head. “That
won’t do. You’ll be out in the open and a very welcoming target to the
assassin.” He purposely left Kylie’s name because he knew they still lacking in
evidence.
“Then you have to cancel your
appearance, Relena,” Duo suggested.
Relena rose. “I can’t do that.”
“What! Have you lost your mind
or something? Kylie could easily get you at such a crowd.”
“This is an official visit, Duo.
Not a political rally,” she argued. “I’ve accepted their invitation and
promised to come and give a talk. I cannot back down on that.”
“But…”
“I promised the human race a
world of total pacifism. What would the people say if I can’t even keep my word
to attend to an invitation?”
Seeing Duo was about to argue
some more, Trowa decided to intervene. “Alright, you go to the university as
scheduled. Quatre will be accompany you, right?” When Quatre nodded, Trowa
continued. “Good. That would leave us one Gundam pilot flanking Relena.”
“What do you propose we should
do?” asked Duo, sore at being outvoted.
Trowa looked at him. “We’re
working in the background, helping the Preventer agents.” He turned to Lady
Une. “Will that be okay?”
Lady Une nodded. “We would be
glad to have two Gundam pilots working with us.”
“One question,” said Duo.
“Where’s Wu Fei? Isn’t he a Preventer agent too?”
Lady Une cleared her throat
before answering. “Uh, Wu Fei is on another important mission for the
Preventer.”
“What! What’s more important
than maintaining peace between Earth and the colonies?”
“Ensuring the survival of the
entire human race.”
>>>@@<<<
Kylie stared into the computer
screen. The previous attack had been a close call. Too close for comfort. Now
she was preparing for her next plan of action. She knew where Relena Darlian
was heading next. It just a matter of planning her next move. As soon as she
got back, she found herself accessing some highly secured file and a moment
later, the blueprint of the university flashed on the screen.
‘Got it. This is the last
attempt. I got to make it count,’ she thought, studying the information. A
second later she found exactly what she was looking for. A possible spot for
the next strike. A smile played across her lips. “Perfect. This time, I’m sure
I won’t miss.”
Then, there’s a knock on the
door.
>>>@@<<<
The students and the member
faculty listened and hold on to every word as Relena gave them a lecture on the
nature of total pacifism. Each of them was enthralled by her belief in total
pacifism as well as her charismatic appearance. Duo found himself listening to
her as well despite the possible danger. He and the rest of the people in the
large hall were very amazed at how much a young woman could achieved in her
life. How she had lead the world into this days of peace. In other words,
Relena Darlian had achieved something farther than any normal people could
achieved. And that was the main reason why people idolized Relena and wanted to
achieve what she had achieved.
But then Duo had to remind
himself that he had achieved something too. If it wasn’t for him and
Deathscythe, the human race wouldn’t be having this peace, though no one had
known what he and the other Gundam pilots had sacrificed to ensure the well-being
of the human race. And the fact that they were still working their butts off
securing the peace between Earth and the colonies.
Duo then shifted his gaze on
Quatre who was sitting next to the podium. Although his face was calm, Duo
could see that the blond pilot was keeping his eyes all over the room, scanning
for possible threat. On occasions, he would glance at Trowa, telling him that
he hadn’t seen anything strange. Watching Quatre, Duo couldn’t help but
wondering why he was still defending Kylie. The girl had been all but friendly
towards them especially Quatre. And all the evidence was certainly pointing at
her. Duo could never trust people who do not laugh especially if they never
even smile. And the fact that Kylie reminded him so much of Heero made him
disliked her even more. Of all the Gundam pilots, Duo was never in good terms
with Heero.
Then it was finished. Quatre
rose from his seat as Relena made her way back to her seat. The host of the
event went to the podium to give their thanks to Relena and then the hall
hummed as some of the students and faculty members exited the hall. A large
number of them went to the front stage to meet Relena personally. Duo saw
Quatre stood near Relena as to provide as much security as he could. Then Duo saw
a Preventer agent came towards the two of them and ushered them towards the
exit while some agents keep the crowd at bay.
Duo then caught Trowa’s eyes who
signaled him to join him. They then made their exit through the back door.
>>>@@<<<
The crowd was immense. Each was
trying to catch a glimpse of Relena Darlian, former Queen of the former World
Nation. Relena waved at the crowd as Quatre tore his eyes away from the crowd
and managed a comment. “They loved you. You kept them captivated with your speech,”
he said as they were being led towards the limousine.
Relena spared him a glance.
“Yeah well, let’s hope I can use the same charm on the Earth Sphere Unified
Nation’s next board meeting. I still need to convince some of the
representatives that the renegade soldiers are not to be punished for their
crimes. Especially you Gundam pilots.”
“The matter is far from over,
huh?” he asked, sympathetically. He didn’t care what happen to him and knew the
others didn’t care about it as well. But what concerned him was the fate of the
guerilla soldiers who were just turning their lives around from the endless
fighting and bloodshed. Which was why the Project Jupiter was important to him.
If he could show to the representatives of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation what
the renegade soldiers could achieve without fighting, maybe they would gave the
soldiers a chance to start anew. And then, all of humanity can finally lived in
peace.
Relena, mistaken his silence for
concern for his fate, said, “Don’t worry, I will do everything I can to oppose
MacGarth from convicting you guys.” But before Quatre could correct her, there
was a strange movement in the crowds as something or someone hit him and
Relena. “Down!” he heard that person shouted as Relena, Quatre and that someone
slammed onto the ground.
At that very same time, someone
in the crowd was struck and there was a series of screams. The Preventers tried
to keep the panicking crowd at bay as to avoid a stampede as some of the agents
tried to figure out where the sniper had struck from. Relena turned her head,
trying to see what was going on when her eyes saw an agent examining a body of
a young man, an arrow was struck into his heart.
She then felt the person who
knocked her down turned his head towards the body and cursed. He then glanced
up and got on his knees. “Damn it!” he said in a deep voice. Relena immediately
recognised the voice. “Heero?” she said, raising to her elbow.
“Stay down!” Heero commanded. He
then jumped to his feet and started to run before any of the Preventer agents
could stop him. “Damn it, Kylie! What had happened?” she heard him growled
before he disappeared into the crowd.
Then, she heard Duo and Trowa
calling for them as they appeared from the crowd. They both help her and Quatre
up and then examining the area. “It was Heero,” she told them. “Heero saved
us.” Quatre nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I heard his voice.”
“Yeah, but I’d like to know
where the assassin was shooting from,” said Duo, looking around them. Suddenly
Trowa tensed and pointed. “There on top of that building,” he said. Sure
enough, they saw a figure standing on top of a nearby building. The wind blew
her hair gently as she stared down at them. They then saw her smashed her fist
on the ledge and then turned away.
“Kylie,” Quatre whispered,
disbelief.
“It’s Kylie! I’m sure of it,”
Duo declared. “Let’s get her. ” He took off.
Quatre started to go off after
Duo when Trowa stopped him. “Stay here. Protect Relena,” he said and then he
ran after Duo. Seeing he had no choice, Quatre stayed, keeping his eyes on the
spot where Kylie had disappeared.
>>>@@<<<
“I can’t believe it! “Duo said,
gritting his teeth as they went up the stairs to the roof. “After what we have
done for her, helping her get out from the hospital, she betrayed us.”
Trowa continued running up the
stairs, not saying anything. When he reached the top staircase, he pushed the
door open and ran out only to stop abruptly, making Duo collided with his back
“What?” Duo started but closed his mouth when he saw a body lying on the floor
next to a rifle.
“That figure we saw on the roof.
It was Kylie, right?” asked Trowa, bending to examine the body.
“Of course. Even Quatre confirms
it.”
“Just checking,” he turned over
the body. It was a young man with short black hair. His throat was slit. “We
didn’t see this guy, right?” Duo took a good look at him and shook his head.
“No way. I only saw one person on this roof and it was Kylie. No doubt about
it.”
“Then who is this dead guy?”
>>>@@<<<
“Kylie killed her own
accomplice?” asked Relena, disbelief. They were all back in Relena’s suite,
discussing the new turn of event. Duo shrugged. “Well, that’s what Trowa and I
are able to gather from the small evidence she left behind.”
Lady Une frowned. “Kylie wouldn’t
take an accomplice. She’s trained to do things on her own.”
“Well, she might be recruiting
now,” said Duo.
“But why kill her accomplice?”
Quatre asked.
Duo shrugged. “I don’t know.
That’s maybe the price for failure.”
“One question,” said Relena.
“Why was the man had a rifle with him? The student was struck by an arrow.”
“Kylie might be favoring herself
a new toy.” Seeing Relena’s dubious look, Duo shrugged. “I don’t know. But the
reports from the forensics did say that the fingerprint on the rifle belongs to
Kylie. Right?” He turned to Lady Une who nodded. “There you go.”
Quatre was unconvinced. Even
when they all returned to their rooms, he stayed up and stared at the notes
Kylie left for Relena. He knew something was amiss but he didn’t know what.
Questions played in his mind but he couldn’t answer not even one. Why was Kylie
targeting Relena? Why killed her accomplice? And why Heero had come to save
them and not facing Kylie before she pulled the trigger?
As he stared at the notes, he
suddenly thought of something. The notes though had a threatening tone to it,
never said anything about her targeting Miss Relena. He reread the notes:
‘You will be dead.’
‘Thank your lucky stars for
your knight.’
‘You won’t be missed again.’
These three notes all carried some sort of threat and also a warning. Suddenly, a thought struck him. ‘What if Kylie was trying to warn them? What if she was trying to protect Relena? That would explain the dead body on the top roof. He could be the assassin,’ he thought. ‘But what happen to the crossbow that fire the arrow? Why the secrecy?’
More questions played in his
mind but he found himself too tired and lacking clue to answer any of them. But
one thing he knew, Kylie was the only one who could answer his questions. And
he knew exactly how he could get the answers.
Provided if he’s right about
Kylie.
>>>@@<<<
Heero was on the computer when
the door swung open. Without turning to see who it was, he said, “Took you long
enough to get back here. What happened? You missed.”
Kylie closed the door and
glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 11 at night, ten hours after the
incident at the L3’s National University. After she got off the roof, she had
decided to lay low in the sewers, waiting until the authorities abandoned the
area. And then she made her way back to the apartment they rented. “Sorry. Got
a little caught up,” she said, slipping off her long overcoat. A searing pain
went through her spine as she cried out.
Hearing that, Heero jumped from
his seat and caught her before she fell. It was then he discovered that an
arrow was struck through her shoulder. He helped her on a chair and examined
the wound. “What happened?” he asked, seeing how pale she looked. Since she had
waited for ten hours to get to their hideout, she had lost quite a large amount
of blood.
“I got careless,” she answered,
gritting her teeth as Heero broke the arrow head.
Heero reached for some clean
cloth and said to her, “Hold on. This is going to hurt.” Without waiting for an
answer, he tugged the shaft free. Kylie stifled a cry but couldn’t help herself
from letting out a gasp. Then, Heero used the cloths to stop the bleeding and
then examined the wound again. “This requires some stitches,” he told her.
“Are you any good at it?”
“Done it a few times before.”
Kylie nodded. “Do it then.” When
Heero was about to open his mouth, she quickly said, “Don’t bother asking me to
take off my top. Tear it if you have to but I’m not sitting around half naked.”
“If you say so,” Heero said and
tore the area near the wound. As Kylie held on the cloth on the wound, he
sterilized a needle and then started to work. “We don’t have anything for the
pain,” he told her.
“That’s fine. I don’t feel them
any more,” she said. While Heero was working, there was a moment of a long
silence. “There were two, Heero.”
Heero looked up from his
handiwork, surprised. “Huh?”
“There was another assassin on
that roof and she was the one who shot me with a crossbow. That’s why Relena
and Quatre barely made it.”
“I see.”
There was silence as both
considered this new turn of event. How could’ve they missed this new assassin?
“Looks like Treize’s Revenge is out of the game for now,” she said, the pain
and fatigue finally settled in. “That means Heather Leong will take the center
stage from here on.”
