Remir scanned the monitor, eyeing the statistics scrolling across the screen. His face was full of subdued anger. On the monitor, a list of Arys' job exploits appeared. Remir had to keep himself from banging the computer keyboard in his rage. He had been outwitted by the Preventers of all organizations! How had they discovered his plans? Apparently, he had had a security leak somewhere.

"So, Risa Locke is really Arys Walker." Remir looked up from his computer to stare at the door to his office. His lips pulled into a feral smile. "Hmm... Perhaps I could use her for another pet project of mine. As well as get rid of her..."

Remir remembered Arys Walker. She had been one of the more interesting interrogations he had performed. One of her unique characteristics was her inability to feel pain. Remir gently ran a finger across the edge of his desk.

"Well, Miss Walker, looks like you are the perfect candidate to show me what happens after death."

Remir pulled up the colony database. "All right, Miss Walker. Just where are you hiding?"

With a beep, the computer pulled up Risa Locke's current location. Remir stroked his cheek thoughtfully with one finger as he read the address. "Ah, Miss Walker. Right down the street. How convenient..."

Remir rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation. He picked up the phone and called his guards. Arys Walker would be getting some visitors that night. He could hardly wait.

_____________

Arys wearily climbed into bed. She had had a hard day at work. Remir had been particularly difficult to get along with and she had no idea why. His eyes had frightened her that day. It was like looking into the eyes of a shark. A hungry one. She fingered the disk in her hand. Carefully, she slipped it under her mattress. The disk contained the coordinates of the bomb Remir had planted. It had taken quite a bit of hacking to get them out of the database without Remir knowing. He had practically peered over her shoulder all day.

She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost twelve o' clock. She had come back from work late. She hoped that Heero wouldn't mind if they went to bed early. She was exhausted. With a tired sigh, Arys hugged her pillow against her, trying to clear her mind of troublesome thoughts. As her thoughts began to drift, Arys heard a sound at the window. She sat up, now fully alert, and glanced at the clock. Twelve o' clock. But somehow she knew that it was not Heero at the window. Then, she heard the sound of a glass cutter. Part of her window fell into the room with a soft thunk, and Arys responded by leaping out of bed, reaching under the mattress for her gun, and taking up a position on the side of the bed away from the window. Arys went into combat mode as she waited for her midnight intruder to step through the window. She reached under the mattress again and grabbed a remote. With a smooth motion, she aimed it at the computer sitting on the dresser and then tossed it away just as a flurry of bullets flew through the hole in the window. On the dresser, a red light blinked on the computer console. Arys dove to the ground, ignoring the bullet that had ripped through one sleeve of her white T-shirt. She heard several bullets thud into the wall behind her.

"Where are you, Heero?" Arys whispered as she tried to get a better grip on her gun.

A smooth voice called to her from the window. "Miss Walker, please stand to your feet and drop your gun."

Arys recognized that voice. Remir. He had finally realized who she was. But she noticed his use of her maiden name. Apparently, her insistence that Colonel Une keep all record of her marriage to Heero Yuy out of the Preventer database had paid off. Heero was safe. Arys looked down at her shoulder to see blood staining her white sleeve. Quickly, she checked the wound and found that it was only a superficial graze. She stood to her feet, facing Remir who stood at the window with three guards surrounding him. All of them had their guns aimed straight at her.

"I know that you can't feel pain, Miss Walker, but a hail of bullets would kill you no matter how much they would not hurt."

Arys dropped her gun and raised her hands in surrender, grimacing as she did so. The man had a point. She searched for something to say before they hauled her away. Perhaps she could stall them long enough for Heero to get there and save her.

Remir looked her up and down curiously. "Do you always wear men's clothing to bed, Miss Walker?"

Arys glanced down at her boxer shorts and white T-shirt. Both belonged to Heero. She shrugged. "They're comfortable."

Remir gave her an easy smile. "No matter." He motioned to one of his guards. "Tranq her."

Arys shifted slightly, but Remir gave her a warning look. "Not one move, dear."

The guard pulled out a tranquilizer gun and aimed it at Arys. She waved her hands placatingly. "Please... I think you've got it all wrong. I'm..."

The guard pulled the trigger. Arys felt something hit her in the chest. She lowered her hands and looked down to see a feathered dart piercing the white cotton material. Swaying slightly, she reached up to pull out the dart. She gazed down at the dart lying on the palm of her hand and then looked up at Remir.

"Why..."

With a soft moan, Arys collapsed to the floor.

"Grab her," Remir ordered his men. "With this girl, we'll be able to find out what death is really like."

As the men carried her by him, Remir reached out to brush her cheek with the back of his hand. "Because, my dear, you are the only one who can stand what I have planned for you."

__________________

Heero leaped up onto the fire escape, hoping that Arys would not be too annoyed with him for being late. He planned to make it up to her that night by staying until it was time for him to go to work. He had weighed the risks and found them neglible if he did so. It had been so long since he had had a full night's sleep and he looked forward to sleeping until 7:30 instead of 4:00 as he usually did. He knocked on the top pane of the window expectantly. Then, he realized that the curtains were open. Ducking down, he saw the hole in the lower pane. He felt his chest tighten with panic as he scanned the floor of the fire escape. There was no evidence left behind to tell him about his wife's disappearance. Calming the pounding of his heart, Heero slipped into the room.

"Arys?" He called, pulling out his gun in case her intruder still lurked in the shadows.

He did a quick search of the room and found his wife nowhere. Heero went to the window and pulled the curtains closed. Then, he flicked on the light. His eyes were immediately drawn to the drops of blood staining the carpet on Arys' side of the bed. He saw the bullets buried in the wall. His battle experience told him exactly what had happened. The scenario played through his mind as he stooped down to touch the stains on the floor. His finger came away wet. Not even ten minutes had passed since his wife had been shot. Heero somehow knew that Arys was still alive. Her wound had been superficial, but the fact that she had been hurt infuriated him. He saw a small object lying under the bed. Heero gingerly picked it up and instantly recognized it. A tranq dart.

Heero's hand curled into a fist and he slammed it against the wall. He bowed his head in grief as he tried to control his rage. His wife. He had sworn to protect her and he had failed...

"If only I had gotten here earlier," He whispered, raising his head.

His gaze caught sight of the blinking red light on the computer. Heero wearily pulled himself to his feet and went over to the dresser. He watched the light blink on and off for a few moments before hitting a key on the keyboard. The dormant screen flickered to life and Heero bent down, more attentive, to see a message from his wife pop up onto the screen.

Heero tired to swallow the lump in his throat, but it refused to disappear. Feeling weak, Heero slid to his knees, clinging to the edge of the dresser. He did not cry, but his grief expressed itself in the thoughts running through his mind. He stared blankly at the window. A breeze fluttered the curtains slightly.

"She should never have come..." Heero whispered between gritted teeth. He stood to his feet and went to the bed. The sheets had been left pulled back, as if Arys had just left.

With a groan, Heero fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Underneath his back, he felt the warmth of his wife's body that had not yet dissipated. His hand clenched around the the blankets as he tried to imagine his wife lying next to him, quietly sleeping. He could almost hear her relaxed breathing, see her calm face. Heero opened his eyes and realized that he was still lying in an empty bed and that his wife was gone. He was alone. He sighed to himself and glanced around the room. He would stay the night here and go to work the next morning.

"Arys, please stay alive until I can save you." Heero closed his eyes again. "I don't care what you say. You're going to live if I have to kill Remir myself..."