Till Death Do Us Part…

Chapter Four

By Aryn

Heero walked into the run down bonds office and noticed the outer office was empty. The two desks still stood on either side of the small room, with picture frames, mementos and computers on each. He had left Arys on guard duty at the expansive mansion that Mei had gone to. The plan was if Mei were to leave the house, Arys would try to talk to her and see what was going on. He hoped to hear from her soon.

He approached the office door that was marked Ed Harris, Bondsman and knocked. A haggard voice replied.

"We’re closed for today. Come back next week."

"Ed, it’s Heero Yuy, a friend of Wufei’s. I need to talk to you."

Heero heard a chair scrape the floor and the bondsman walk across the room at a shuffle. The door opened and Ed retreated back to his desk. Heero could tell the older man had been crying, though he was trying to hide it.

"What can I do for you, Heero Yuy? Wufei hasn’t run off and blown anything up, has he?"

"No, he hasn’t. But I do have bit of interesting news for you. My wife and I saw Mei today. She was at a funeral in the graveyard. Arys is watching the house where she went."

Ed watched him carefully, scrutinizing and skeptical. "Mr. Yuy, five years ago I lost my daughter, who was around Mei’s age at the time, to an escaped serial killer. That was why I went into bounty hunting. To stop those kinds of people before another father lost his daughter. I felt the same kind of pain when Mei died. And if you came here to bring false hope to me or Wufei, I’ll make sure there’s a bounty on your head so big you won’t be able to live in the same place for more than a week."

"I understand your feelings. And I haven’t told Wufei yet. It’s possible she has lost her memory. If she has and Wufei approaches her, it’ll be like he lost her all over again. I know, I’ve been there."

Ed’s hard edge softened somewhat and turned into hopefulness. "You really did see her, didn’t you?"

"Yes, I did. We’re going to need help in trying to get her back. I was wondering if we could count on you."

"What do you want me to do?"

"We need you to keep Wufei busy."

Ed reached under his desk and threw down a pile of folders. "Think this should keep him busy for a while?"

Heero looked at the stack of folder. There had to be at least twenty. "Considering his feelings right now, that will take him two days."

"Two days? He and Mei brought in on average two criminals a day."

"First off, Mei isn’t with him. Second, Wufei has given up on any kind of tact. I’ve seen how he is when tragedy strikes. He’ll need to beat some people up."

"I’ll find some more bounties then. And if I run out, there are a few people that deserve a beating. I’ll keep him busy for as long as you need him to be."

"Thank you." Heero turned to leave when his cell phone rang.

It was Arys.

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Mei appeared interested in the books that lined the dark wooden shelves while Deshi made a business call. Something about the whole situation, the funeral, the house, her husband, didn’t seem to be right. And she had tried not to be suspicious, but small things made her so. The pictures of herself she had found through out the house were of a young girl with a forced smile. There were no recent pictures of her. Her "husband" seemed too cordial. He was very well mannered, but she felt he was that way for the sake of being polite, not out of love. She felt like just another client. Which brought up another questionable subject: his job. He seemed to shirk away from the subject and never brought it up, unless he was expecting a phone call or had to make one. And who would be conducting business after coming home from their child’s funeral? Mei had to find answers, and only she could find them.

The door to the office closed and Mei took off. Just as she was coming down the elaborate flight of stairs that led to the front door, the head butler greeted her with an oily smile.

"Are you going somewhere, madam?"

Mei forced a smile. "I’m just going out for a short walk."

"Would you like someone to accompany you?"

"No, that’s fine. I just need some fresh air and solitude. If my husband asks where I am, tell him I’ll return within half an hour."

"Of course, madam."

Mei let out a sigh of relief after she shut the door and headed out to the sidewalk. The huge house was situated in the middle of the city on the Colony. Due to the gate, fence and trees, it was well hidden.

She headed down the street and just looked around. Maybe she really was from here. If she was, hopefully something would bring back her memory. A store, a restaurant, a park. She walked a few blocks and stopped. There was a sense of familiarity about this spot. She looked across the street to see a Chinese take out place. It was a small place, but homey looking. She looked at the space next to her to find it to be a bonds office. She peered through the window to see a slightly heavyset man looking through folders and speaking to an athletic looking Chinese man. Both were engrossed in the discussion and didn’t notice her observation. Sighing to herself, she turned to keep moving and bumped into someone.

The dark haired girl turned around and flashed an apologetic smile, her gray eyes sparkling. "Sorry."

Mei mumbled an apology and saw the girl step into the office. Mei went around the corner and saw two cars parked by the side of the building. This place and those three people held such a familiar feeling. She felt this was where she belonged, but couldn’t figure out why. A silver Jeep gave her the same feeling. Looking around, she made sure no one was around. Quickly, she tried the driver’s side door and found it to be unlocked. She slid behind the wheel and just sat there. The interior, the smell and even the tapes that she found felt…like hers.

"Is this my car?"

She looked around and found a note scribbled on a ripped piece of notebook paper. It was a phone number and a name. Arys. Suddenly, the memory came back to her.

She was on her cell phone, driving. She had lost Arys’ cell phone number and Arys had called her. She had asked her for the number but had nothing to write it down on. She had turned around to the backseat to ask…her daughter for a piece of paper and pen.

Just as quickly as the memory came, it left. But at least she had something. Mei ripped off a small piece of the paper and found a pen in the car. Leaning on the dashboard, she copied the number and compared the writing. It was her writing. So this had been her car. So she did know those people in the bonds office. Getting out of the car, she put the paper in her pocket and gathered up enough courage to walk into the bonds office and see if they remembered her.

She came around the corner and started to go for the door when someone blocked her way. Looking up, a cold fear came over her. Deshi smiled icily down at her.

"Did you have a nice walk, dear?"

Mei shoved her hands in her pockets. "Yes, I did. I was just on my way back."

"Well." He snaked a arm around her waist. "I’ll walk with you. We have some things to discuss when we get back to the house."

______________________________________

Mei rolled over and looked at the clock. It was three in the morning and she still hadn’t fallen asleep. Her mind was too turbulent to rest. Climbing out of bed, she pulled on her jeans and T-shirt and headed down to the kitchen. Her room was most likely monitored by her darling husband. As she walked through the upstairs hallway, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her cheek was sporting a beautiful bruise. And even though it didn’t show, so was her back. Apparently Deshi’s discussions were one sided and backhanded.

She pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and went into the panty. Closing the door, she pulled out the portable phone and the scrap of paper with the phone number on it. Hopefully whoever Arys was, she was a good friend that wouldn’t mind getting woken up at three in the morning. Holding her breath, she waited out the first ring, and then the second. Finally, a groggy voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Is this Arys?"

The voice became alert immediately. "Yes. Is this Mei?"

"Yes. How do you know me?"

The woman on the other end sighed. "It’s a long story. Can you meet me now?"

"Sure, where?"

"There’s a bond’s office on Seventh Street. Meet me there."