Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. Okay?

Author's Note: Well I want to thank Preventer Wind for giving me permission to use dialogue from the fic 'Big Man with a Big Gun.' It's on FFN if you want to read it.

Last Year's Crime
by Polka Dot

Chapter 1: Rescuing the Enemy


"Shh don't say a word."

"But..."

"No. Not now." Lips suddenly descended upon Dorothy's. It was a cold kiss, completely practical. Light spilled into the room.

"What's going on here?"

Dorothy slapped Trowa across the face. He grabbed her wrists and forced her further onto the bed. "I'm interrogating our prisoner." He smirked.

"Yeah well don't kill her. You're not the only one to want her for questioning." The guard chuckled. As soon as he was out of sight, Trowa let go of Dorothy. He lead her out of the cell and down the hallway. He pushed her into a corner when he heard voices, but fortunately they didn't venture near the pair. "That hair's too conspicuous." He said while handing her a rubber band. Dorothy scowled. She hated putting rubber bands in her hair because they never came out easily, but pulled her hair back obediently.

They reached the shuttle without being stopped. It was only a minor miracle considering the early hour.

They crawled into the nearest shuttle and began prelaunch. "We won't get out of here unnoticed. You are prepared for battle I assume?" Dorothy strapped herself into her seat with a tingle of anticipation running through her body.

"I'm hoping to outrace them."

"What? In this thing. It's impossible. What if they have mobile suits. We don't stand a chance."

"It will take them time to respond to the alert. We just need to get a good distance ahead of them." Trowa blasted through the docking bay doors and brought the shuttle to full speed as quickly as possible.

A few lights flashed on the spaceship, but no ships or suits pursued. "You can go to sleep if you like. It's going to be a while."

Dorothy shook her head. "I'm not tired. If you tell me where we are going, then I can fly the shuttle and you can go to sleep." Dorothy smiled at Trowa, but he ignored her.

"No."

Dorothy frowned. "Fine, will you tell me why you rescued me?"

"Heero."

Dorothy nodded. She was hoping that Quatre would've sent Trowa for her sake, but she really should've known better.

It was Quatre who met them. The reception was cool at least for Dorothy. Rasheed escorted them both to the command deck, where Quatre was overseeing operations. He smiled at Trowa, then turned to his ex-wife. "I hope you weren't treated too harshly Dorothy."

"I'm fine."

Quatre nodded. "Trowa will escort you to earth. I'm afraid that I am not able to accompany the two of you."

"That's understandable. I'm grateful for your help." She kept her tone distant. There was no need to make a scene.

Quatre sighed but smiled at her thoughtfully. "I am glad that you are unharmed. I probably won't be able to see you off but I wish you both a safe journey."

Quatre's kind words were little more than a well spoken dismissal and Dorothy didn't hesitate when Rasheed offered to show her to her room. It was still too soon, that much was obvious. Quatre played the victum well. She would have to watch herself while onboard. The maguanacs might want to exact some kind of revenge on her on behalf of their master.

The trip to earth was uneventful and hence painfully quiet. If Trowa had any opinions about her or the situation, he was keeping them to himself. She knew what to expect when she got there, but then again she really didn't. It was so much worse than she imagined. Milliardo or Zechs was there. She hadn't seen him since thier time on Libra together. A time that she knew he wanted to forget. She herself had tried to escape that memory, but after years with Quatre, she realized that her memories of the war were a part of her and that she had to embrace them if she was to be true to herself.

Zechs' eyes followed her coldly. The world still thought that Milliardo Peacecraft was dead, so she had to use unofficial channels to learn that he was pushing for Heero's execution. She was surprised that Noin wasn't around. She tended to keep Zechs on a short leash. Trowa led her straight to Heero. She sat down at a small table and eyed her surroundings. There were two glasses of water on the table and Heero's hands and feet were chained. Two security cameras were in the room and a man in a Preventer uniform stayed beside the door.

"Am I to be interrogated by a prisoner?" She asked to whoever was listening in.

"No, I will be asking the questions." Lady Une walked into the room and nodded at the guard. He left, but Dorothy knew that he wouldn't go far. "How are you Dorothy?"

"I'm fine."

"Why did Neo Fang take you prisoner?"

"My opinion on the direction that the organization should move in differed with that of some of my colleages."

"And who exactly are your colleages?"

"Mostly former Romefeller foundation members. The specifics aren't important, besides I know that you already know who they are."

"Not all of them or their positions, but we can discuss that later. What I really want to know is if Neo Fang is responsible for Relena Dorlain's death."

Dorothy feigned surprise. "I don't know what you mean. Everybody knows that Heero Yuy is the one who killed Relena Dorlain."

Chapter 2: Worse than Watergate

Dorothy frowned at the complete lack of reaction she got from Heero.

"Although Heero is the main suspect and most of the evidence points towards him, he is innocent until proven guilty. As the Head of the Preventers it is my responsibilty to make sure that whoever is responsible for Miss Dorlain's death is brought to justice. Even if Neo Fang didn't have any involvement in Relena's death, we know that they are benefitting from the tragedy. You must admit Dorothy, that your organization seems quite pleased."

"My former orgainization," corrected Dorothy. "After all, I was their prisoner just yesterday. But yes, Neo Fang's ideals never coincided with poor Miss Relena's."

"And so they plotted her death."

"Yes." Dorothy surpressed a smile. Finally she got some rise out of Heero, however small. "But that was years ago. Neo Fang has turned to less direct means to reach its goal."

"Such as?"

"Well I'm sure you've come across some of the propoganda that they've been spreading around the Colonies. Personally I don't have the patience to wait for the people to rise up in revolution, but as I pointed out before: Neo Fang and I have parted ways."

lady Une nodded. "We have read the Newsletter that they've been utting out. What about mobile suits? Does Neo Fang have any and if so how did they get them?"

"Honestly I don't know."

"Trowa mentioned that in your escape, you feared mobile suits coming after you."

"I don't think feared is the right word. I was aware of the possibility, but I don't know if Neo Fang has mobile suits. It was their desire to obtain them from some decomissioned military bases, but I don't know if they were successful. We were still in the planning stages of waging an infiltration, when I was unceremoniously dismissed from the organization."


"Why did the Neo Fang make your their prisoner?"

"I would think that that's obvious. They didn't want me giving away any of their secrets."

Lady Une nodded. She desperately wanted to lock Dorothy up so she could keep an eye on her, but despite the Preventers extensive knowledge on Neo Fang and Dorothy's involvement with the often illegal activites of the group, they had nothing concrete to hold her on.

"You can leave, but don't leave the country. You may be called in for questioning again." Lady Une watched Dorothy get up and was about to talk to Heero when a thought hit her. "Dorothy do you want to be placed in a safe house?'

Dorothy shook her head. "Neo Fang has become a kinder, gentler organization. It's one of the main reasons I left. Honestly I don't think the cowards left there would have the balls to come after me." She snorted as she walked out the door.

"You should keep an eye on her." Heero said.

"I've got a couple of operatives on it. So what do you think? Are you still going to stick to your story about seeing Neo Fang supporters that night?"

"I don't care what Dorothy says. The Neo Fang aren't getting any kinder. They are still terrorists and I'm sure that they are the ones who killed Relena."

"Well I'm not so sure about that. She seemed bitter and a lot of what she said was self-damaging. That's not Dorothy's style. She likes to come out smelling like a rose."

"She's definitely hiding something. She was playing games with you."

"She wasn't as forthcoming as I would have liked, but she seemed honest."

"Oh please, Dorothy doesn't know the meaning of the word. Just ask Quatre."

"Duo I'm glad you're here. I would like you to escort the prisoner back to his cell." Lady Une said as she walked out of the room and ran directly into an enraged Zechs.

"Why did you allow him to be present during Dorothy's questioning? He's a murderer. I don't understand why you're giving him so much leeway."

"We've been through this before Zechs. Heero is innocent until proven guilty. He didn't say a word during the interrogation, just like he promised."

"But you don't believe that he did it. You're trying to derail this investigation."

"That's not true. I want to get to the truth and if Neo Fang is responsible than Heero is the most capable person I have in derailing anymore of their plans."

Zechs shook his head. He closed his eyes and Lady Une could tell he was fighting his frustration. "You heard the tape. He was covered in her blood. You just want to see the truth."

"Look Zechs the tape is only circumstantial evidence. It will never hold up in court. And even though he was covered in Relena's blood, he was found holding her. The eyewitnesses who found them say that Heero was trying to revive her."

"You can't disregard that tape so easily. She was begging him to stop hurting her. You heard it didn't you?"

"Of course I heard it. I'll admit, it's very disturbing, but it's incomplete and comes from an unknown source."

"He killed her. He raped her and killed her. I can't believe I ever respected him. I believed him when he said he would always protect Relena. I know that he did it and I will see that he suffers for it." Zechs slammed his fist into the wall, putting a hole in the drywall and brusing his hand badly. He stormed away with a look of determination.

********
"Why don't you just leave?"

"I promised Une I wouldn't. She let me sit in on Dorothy's interrogation. I need to develop a plan anyway."

"But Heero the case against you just keeps building. If you're not careful, they could hang you for this."

"It doesn't matter if they do. She's gone Duo. The peace she created is evaporating and I..."

"Heero?"

"I don't see the point in fighting. Even if it is for peace, even if it is what she'd want. She's gone and I don't have anything left to fight for. There is no peace without her."

Duo felt sad for this friend, but then the anger grabbed him. "You're going to let the Neo Fang win then? You're going to let them get by with killing her, framing you and destroying everythiing that she worked for."

"No. I know that you and the others will handle it. You're all very strong. Stronger than I am now."

"Damnit Heero. You're really starting to piss me off. I know how much you loved her, but you can't just give up now that she's gone. If for no other reason, you can't give that asshole Zechs the satisfaction."

Heero smirked, slightly. He was furious at Zechs. He should be trying to bring Neo Fang to justice, but he knew that Zechs had heard the tape, so he really oculdn't blame him. Heero grimaced at the thought. It was humiliating. That tape had actually been transcribed and written in some of the lesser quality newspapers. As embarrassed as he was, he was even angrier that Relena would be remembered in that way. She deserved so much better.

"Duo have you made any progress on the tape?"

"No but until the Preventers can figure out where it came from it won't be admissible in court."

"Maybe not, but it's going to be hard to find an impartial jury at this point. You have to find that tape, the whole thing. It will prove that I could never hurt Relena."

*********
"Heero, stop. Please."

"You want me to stop princess, do you? Well I might be persuaded to show a little mercy if you get down on your knees and beg." A high pitched scream was followed by a low moan.

"Stop. Rewind. Play it again."

"get down on your knees and beg." A high pitched scream was followed by a low moan.

"That's her moan. It sounds like she was enjoying herself."

"I don't know. It's borderline at best. Besides even if he didn't rape her, it doesn't prove that he didn't kill her. We should focus back on the banging. We have to identify what exactly that is."

A smack could be heard followed by snapping almost popping sound. There was definitely some knocking in there too. "Did he say what that might be?"

"Who the prisoner? He hasn't said anything about the tape. He refuses to comment on it, other than to say that his and Relena's private relationship is nobody's business."

"Their private relationship? I thought she was engaged?"

"She was. In fact her fiance is the other suspect. If Yuy and Miss Dorlain were involved in a physical relationship, then that guy's got one major motive."

"So why isn't he in custody?"

"Are you kidding? That guy's loaded. He's got an army of lawyers. No, if Quatre Winner did kill her, then there's no way we'll be able to get anything to stick to him."

Chapter 3: The Secret Deal

"Quatre, you're finally here."

"I wanted to come sooner Duo, but I just couldn't get away from business. How's Heero doing?"

"Oh he's okay. Stubborn as hell, it's really frustrating, but there's nothing that I can do about that."

"Yes Heero's always been that way."

Duo nodded thoughtfully. He didn't want to do this, but he knew Heero wouldn't so, "Are you going to tell them about the deal Quatre?" he asked.

Quatre shook his head sadly. "I can't do that Duo. I would like to help Heero, but well, it would just bring up too many questions that I can't answer. I don't think it would get him off the hook either."

"But Quatre, Zechs is pushing for the death penalty. If you tell them then they'll have to let Heero go."

"No they won't. It will get the rape charge dropped, maybe. But they are still going to charge him with murder. Believe me I've thought about this. It won't help."

"Quatre..."

"I would like to see Heero now, if you don't mind."

Duo frowned but stepped aside. He wouldn't let this go so easily. He knew that Quatre and Relena had agreed to get married because Quatre needed an heir, Relena wanted a baby and Heero wanted their relationship to remain a secret. It would be a paper marriage only. There was more to it than that. Something that Heero and Quatre refused to tell Duo, but that was the gist of things.

Relena and Quatre were two people dedicated to their careers so the fact that they wouldn't live together probably wouldn't be an issue. Duo had always thought that Quatre was secretly in love with Relena, but after he married Dorothy that seemed unlikely. Of course Dorothy and Quatre were now divorced. Duo hung his head. It was a terrible mess. One of his friends was already dead, gone forever and with Heero in prison and Quatre a suspect, there was no time for healing, only bitterness and anger.

*********

"I'm sorry."

"I wish there was more that I could do. Duo wants me to tell the police, or at least the Preventers about my deal with Relena."

Heero shook his head. "That's not a good idea. It would probably just raise more suspicion."

Quatre nodded. "That's what I figured, but I wanted you to know that I would do anything to get you out of here. Heero I'm so sorry that this is happening to you." Heero didn't say anything, but Quatre knew that his friend wasn't angry with him. "Trowa is going back to the Neo Fang. Hopefully he will be able to find out some information for you."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "That might be risky. At least one guard saw him with Dorothy just before her escape. They may take him prisoner on his return."

Quatre nodded. "Yes I know. Trowa said that he didn't think it would be a problem. He felt he could deflect the blame, but of course I'm worried. Dorothy hasn't been very helpful, from what I understand."

"No she hasn't. I know that it will be difficult for you, but I think you should talk to her. Try to pump her for information. She may be more responsive to you."

Quatre winced, but hid it quickly. "I will try, but don't hope for much. I'm afraid that communication between Dorothy and myself has been rather strained since the divorce. She's quite angry. It may make things worse."

Heero looked at Quatre intensely. "I understand. Do the best you can."

Quatre nodded his consent and stood to get up, but Heero's voice stopped him. "Quatre?"

"Yes?"

"Does she know?"

Quatre stared at the floor. "Yes." He whispered quietly.

"About everything?"

"I think so."

"Will she tell?"

Quatre sighed and his shoulders slumped even more. "I don't know."
********
Trowa docked the shuttle and proceded to command deck 1, where his contact awaited. He stripped off his outer garments and allowed himself to be hogtied and gagged. Hilde punched him twice in the jaw and once in the mouth.

"That should be good enough." She said as she helped Trowa limp over to the janitor's closet. "I'll wait about two hours before I find you. That should give your injuries some time to color."

Trowa nodded and settled down for the long wait. He listened to Hilde gather his clothes and leave the command deck. He knew that Wufei and Sally had not been able to track the origin of the tape. If he and Hilde couldn't find some sort of evidence that Neo Fang was responsible for Relena's death within 48 hours, then Duo would break Heero out of containment with or without Heero's consent.

Quatre had gone to earth to check on Heero. Likely he was going to talk to Dorothy as well. That could backfire on them if Quatre wasn't careful. Trowa began to think about the events of the past two weeks. He wondered if Dorothy really was Neo Fang's prisoner. Supposedly she had been in that cell for months before he rescued her, but as he quietly observed her, he noticed that she didn't seem to be suffering from any kind of mistreatment, physical or mental. She seemed well fed and well excercised. If she was acting as a spy for the Neo Fang, he wondered what she hoped to obtain from the Preventers. He couldn't guess Dorothy's mind.

Instead, Trowa turned his thoughts to New Year's Eve. He wasn't there of course, but he had read the police report and listened to the tape. The tape was damning even for those who knew that Heero and Relena were lovers. If it was just a sexual fantasy being acted out by the pair of them, then it was pretty twisted. Of course Heero and Relena were not your average Jane and John Doe, but still that tape had shocked him. Heero wouldn't comment on it, even to Duo, but he did say that there was time missing from the tape and that if it could be found, it would prove his innocence.

Quatre had avoided all newspapers and media that mentioned the tape. He didn't want to know. That bothered Trowa. He wondered if Quatre was looking for more from his deal with Heero and Relena then just an heir to the Winner family fortune. He knew that Quatre was bitter and disillusioned by his failed marriage to Dorothy, but when he had first learned of Quatre and Relena's engagement, he was disappointed in his friend. He felt Quatre gave up too easily. Of course he was deeply distrustful of anyone offering more than friendship, based on his past history of betraying others and being betrayed. But Quatre wasn't like that. He believed in others. At least he used to.

Trowa sighed heavily and leaned his head between his legs. His arms were really starting to ache. Hilde didn't leave much play in the rope either. He closed his eyes and pictured Relena in his head. The last time he had seen her was just before Christmas. She was glowing with joy. She couldn't wait to get married, because Heero had promised her that she could get pregnant as soon as the ceremony was over. They were spending some time at Quatre's mansion on L4 for appearances sake, and Trowa was invited for dinner. She looked young again like when the Eve wars had ended. She was so full of hope for the future. Now that she was gone, it seemed there was no hope for the future. No one to carry on the peace.

Trowa grimaced in annoyance as a tear trickled down his nose. With his hands bound he couldn't alleviate the itch it brought. He wiped his nose on his knee and flung his head back towards the wall. A pain shot through his skull, but he didn't mind. He focused on hum of the station and let his thoughts drift away.
*********
"Our target has a visitor. It's Quatre."

"Affirmative. Turn off the dish."

"But what if there's trouble."

"He'll have to handle it on his own. I promised Quatre that we'd give them their privacy."
*********
"It's nice to see you again Quatre. Our last meeting was so rushed." Dorothy stepped aside allowing Quatre enterance into her hotel room.

"Nice room."

"It'll do for now. To what do I owe the pleasure."

"I think you know the answer to that. Have you told anyone about the Winner family secret?"

Dorothy raised her eyebrow and smirked. "I'm surprised you'd speak so frankly, and before I could even offer you your tea." Dorothy walked into the small kitchen and returned with a teapot and two cups, fresh lemon and a small sugar bowl. She poured Quatre a cup and added two spoons of sugar and a squeeze of lemon, then handed him the cup.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Sadly you got me hooked on the stuff. I always keep it handy."

"Yes, but I know you don't like sugar in your tea. How did you know I was coming?"

"It seemed logical that you would come. Lady Une has no subtlity. It's terribly dull speaking with her."

Quatre frowned. "I see. You still haven't answered my question."

"I told you before Quatre. Your secret's safe with me, but was it safe with Relena? I wonder what little words slipped out of her mouth before she passed away."

"I seriously doubt it was on her mind at the time."

"Really? I know that everyone thinks Relena's death was politically motivated, but I am not so sure."

"Actually with Heero as the main suspect, many news services are reporting it as a crime of passion."

"Oh yes the lonely body guard secretly in love with his employer goes off the deep end and rapes and murders her in a fit jealously over her impending nuptials to one of the world's most sought after billionaire playboys." Dorothy rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the hair. "I know that I don't often give the public much credit, but I doubt anyone believes that fantastic of a story."

"Well Zechs is convinced."

"Really? So Relena didn't let her own brother in on your secret deal."

Quatre sighed. "You knew all along?"

Dorothy squirted some more lemon into her tea. "It was rather obvious. Even if you did love her, you wouldn't stand a chance of winning her heart away from Heero."

Chapter 4: The Mask Cracks

Wufei's stern facade broke as he listened to the tape. The first time he had heard it, he was too shocked to react. Now he actually felt as though he might break down at the terrible sounds coming from the speakers.

It was definitely Heero's voice. Heero had never denied that. And the woman sounded like Relena. The forensics report on her body showed that she had had sex with Heero that night. Although the tape sounded quite brutal, she really didn't have any gross injuries beyond the two gunshot wounds in her chest. She whimpered a couple of times on the tape, but she never cried. That suggested that perhaps this was all just a sexual fantasy that they were playing out. However, it definitely sounded extreme and Relena was the kind of woman that would not cry over being mistreated. She was simply too strong for that.

He frowned when the banging started. They still hadn't identified that sound and Heero was not being helpful in the matter. Wufei couldn't distinguish it either. He turned his head when the door opened and felt his heat rise when Sally stepped into the room. It was hard enough to listen to the tape by himself or with Duo who was conspicuously quiet during the first run through, but to stand beside a woman and try to maintain some sort of professional dignity was just about impossible. He felt he should say something, but what could he say? Fortunately, Sally didn't seem to be in a chatty mood.
************
Quatre gritted his teeth and the tiny handle on his tea cup cracked under the force of his thumb and fingers. Luckily the cup was resting on its saucer and the tea didn't spill, but the handle broke off completely giving Dorothy far too much satisfaction.

"I'm terribly sorry Dorothy. I'm usually not a clutz but with my dearest friend gone and Heero sitting in prison, I'm afraid my nerves are fried."

"Think nothing of it Quatre. It wasn't an expensive set and poor Miss Relena's death has caused me no end of sorrow. I am terribly distraught for you as well. After all how will you get your heir now?" Dorothy kept the smile off of her face, but her eyes were dancing and poor Quatre's stomach turned at the look of glee she held. He began to wonder if she could have killed Relena out of spite, but she was a prisoner of the Neo Fang at the time of Relena's murder. Thus she was beyond suspicion.

"I'm sorry but I must be going."

"Must you? I was hoping you would stay for brunch."

Quatre shook his head. "No. I must be leaving now. Thank you for your time Dorothy." He walked over to the door and nodded his farewell, feeling colder now than the day he divorced her. She knew something, of that Quatre was certain. He hadn't gotten any useful information from her, but he was now convinced that Dorothy's escape from Neo Fang wasn't completely unexpected and Hilde and Trowa were in grave danger.
************
"Stop the tape."

"What is it? Did you recognize one of the sounds?" Wufei looked over at Sally in curious relief. He wondered if the tape was getting to her. It had certainly gotten to him, but the more he listened to it, the more desensitized he became. He frowned at this. He didn't want to become immune to the sounds of Relena's suffering. She wasn't one of his favorite people, but he respected her and he respected Heero.

"No, Quatre's leaving. We need to resume survellaince on the target."

Wufei nodded as he stopped his analysis. As far as he was concerned this tape was a travesty. Heero was a kind person. He didn't know who was responsible for Relena's death or why, but he knew one thing for sure. There was a great injustice that had been committed and he needed to find the true culprit before another such sorrow could be repeated.

"Wufei is something wrong?"

Wufei realized that he was lost in thought and looked over at Sally's concerned face. "No why?"

"Well Quatre doesn't look like he is going to check in with us. I thought he said he would. Should one of us pursue him?"

"No I'm sure Quatre knows what he is doing. If he found out anything important, he'll report it."

"Will he?" Sally wondered more to herself than to her partner.

Wufei snapped to attention. "Of course he will, why wouldn't he?"

"Well she is his ex-wife. He must still have some feelings for her. I know that Relena was his fiance, but I suspect that his marriage to her was a farce." Sally waited for Wufei to confirm but he neither denied nor affirmed her assumption. "If Dorothy was involved with Relena's death and Quatre found out about it, do you think he would tell us? He may still be in love with Dorothy. He may not be willing to lose her. Especially if he thinks that she did this for him."

"That's preposterous. Dorothy and Quatre couldn't wait to get away from each other. The divorce was more joyous than the wedding. And even if Quatre and Relena's engagement was based more on mutual benefit than on love, they were still at least close friends. He wouldn't cover for Dorothy. Not on something like murder." Wufei crossed his arms and scowled out the window.

Sally dropped the subject but continued deep in thought. Wufei had just confirmed her suspicions about Relena's impending marriage. It was a fake. She figured that he was probably right about Quatre not covering for Dorothy though. Quatre may still have feelings for his ex-wife, but he wasn't the kind of person to turn a blind eye to something like murder. He was in a terrible position. The media was portraying him as the loving fiance in anguish over Relena's death. They didn't know that Quatre was friends with Heero and that he had offered to foot all the legal fees. If Heero and Relena really were intimately involved then Quatre will be publicly humiliated. Otherwise he may have to watch Heero be executed. He had already lost one friend. For Quatre things could only get worse.
************
Hilde checked her watch and smiled slightly. It was unlikely that Trowa had enjoyed his time in the janitor's closet. She wasn't a mean person but it was funny to think of him bound and gagged just waiting for her to come and rescue him. She grabbed a cup of coffee and hailed the nearest worker she saw.

"Hey I was heading up to command deck 1 and I could use a little help."

"Well I don't have a lot of time."

"It'll only take a minute. I just want to access my points total. I think I'm due for leave, but you know I don't want to access them from a servo station without a witness."

"Yeah okay."

Hilde smiled and got ready for her big performance.

"Oh damn! I'm such an idiot!" She said as she spilled her coffee all over the floor.

"What happened?"

"I just tripped over my own feet. Can you beleive it?"

The worker just frowned at her and gave her a look that seemed to say, it wasn't so unbelievable. "I guess we'd better call someone."

"What? No way. Look, there's a janitor's closet right there. I can just clean it up myself. Hold this." She said as she handed him the cup and strolled over to the janitor's closet. 'Okay Hilde remember to look surprised.'

Hilde opened the door and screamed. Her eyes filled with tears and she began to feel herself shake.

"What is it?" The worker asked as he ran up to her.

Hilde just shook her head some more. This couldn't be happening. This was some kind of nightmare. She blinked at the tears couldn't be held back any longer.

"Oh my God." The worker looked in shock at the bound and gagged man lying at his feet with a bullet hole in the back of his head. "Did you know him?"

Part 5: Tears for a Clown

Quatre couldn't believe it was true. He began to shake and actually collapsed. Luckily he was standing over his chair. Duo hung his head in sorrow for a moment, but when he turned his face back up his eyes were blazing and his fists were clutched.

"We'll get the coward that did this Quatre. Don't worry, we'll make him pay!"

Quatre just nodded numbly. "Has...has anyone told Catherine."

Duo's fire burned out and he returned his gaze to the floor. "Sally said she'd do it. I would've but Hilde was being pigheaded. I was just about to yell my head off at her, but Lady Une ended up cutting in and calling Hilde back officially. I was ready to jump in the nearest shuttle and haul her ass here myself."

Quatre rubbed his hands over his face and made an effort to stay calm. "I heard you found the tape."

Duo perked up at this. "Well sort of. We still don't know who sent us the tape, but we found out who created it. As you know Relena sent home her entire staff the night of the murder. Well we found ou that one of the maids didn't leave like she was supposed to. We pressed her om it and she admitted that she made the tape of Heero and Relena that night. She says she was going to try to blackmail Relena, but then Relena was murdered. She says that the tape was stolen from her room when she was working and that she doesn't know who took it, but that she listened to the original version of it and she says she heard Relena and Heero exchanging their 'I love yous' and whatnot after the stuff we've already heard. She says that there was a lot to the tape we didn't hear and that Heero and Relena were definitely role playing. She says just about the entire staff knew about their relationship, but Heero instructed them not to talk even in a worse case scenario like the one we're in now. The rape charges against Heero have already been dropped and even though they're still holding him on suspicion of murder, it's likely that that will get dropped too."

"That's great."

"Yeah but Heero's pissed. We may have to hold him to keep him for going after this woman."

Quatre shook his head. He knew Heero wouldn't actually hurt this woman, but he also knew that Heero had to be really pissed. "Why didn't she come forward sooner?"

"She was afraid we'd arrest her for attempting to blackmail Relena. Of course there's no law that says we can hold her, since Relena died before she could ever put her scheme into motion."

"Well I'm glad for Heero, but I still wonder who is responsible for Relena's...and Trowa's deaths."

"Me too, but if we can find who stole the tape and sent it to us, that will provide us with a big clue. It's obvious that the person who sent us the tape was trying to frame Heero."

"What if...?" Quatre hesitated.

"What?"

"What if the murders aren't related. Maybe someone in Neo Fang found out Trowa was a Preventer and killed him to keep him from spying, then how will we find Trowa's murderer?" Quatre held his hand over his chest and breathed deeply. He felt so cold inside.

"It's possible, but unlikely. Heero says he saw Neo Fang operatives that night."

"Yes but there's something that's been bothering me about Relena's death."

"Yeah what's that?"

"Well it was just Heero and Relena in the house..."

"...and the maid."

"Yes of course. So it was Relena, Heero and the maid. Then the Neo Fang operatives came and shot Relena. They left and Heero called the ambulance. When the medics got there they said that Heero was trying to keep Relena comfortable. They didn't see anyone else."

"Yeah so?"

"Well Relena lives out in the country. The medics didn't see anyone on the road and they got there within 7 minutes of the initial call. There's no other road that goes out there and the forest in that area is too thick to land a shuttle. The police got there 10 minutes after the call and began searching the area with Heero. The police arrested Heero initially because they couldn't find any evidence of anyone else being in the area that night."

"True, but they couldn't have searched that thoroughly if they missed the maid."

Quatre nodded. "That's what bothers me. How could they have missed the maid if she was in the mansion?"

"Hey it's a big place and she wasn't supposed to be there so she probably hid herself. I mean she does work there, she must know all sorts of nooks and crannies to hide in."

"Yes I guess so. It just doesn't feel right to me though. I think we're missing something." Quatre hung his head and shook it. "Oh I don't know. I can't think with Trowa gone too. How could someone be so evil as to shoot a defenseless man in the back of the head!" Quatre slammed his fist down on the arm's chair.

"You're right Quatre, it sucks. It absolutely sucks for someone like Trowa to die like that. We're going get 'em though. We're gonna stop the Neo Fang and make Relena's killers pay."

Quatre shook his head at Duo's optimism and got up.

"Quatre."

"I gotta get out of here Duo."

"But Quatre..." It was too late. He was gone.
*********
"I think, I think it might be a whip."

"A whip?" Wufei scrunched up his forehead in thought. It could be a whip, that would make sense. "it doesn't matter anyway. That maid's testimony basically makes the tape useless."

"I wouldn't say that. Those men attacked Relena not long after this tape cuts out. Maybe there's some background noise that can help give us a clue."

Wufei shook his head. "If there was background noise then Heero would've have heard something strange that night. He wouldn't have left Relena alone."

"Well his concentration was definitely elsewhere. I mean nobody's perfect." Sally said as she rewound the tape. She had started llistening to it again after that horrible phone call she'd made to Catherine. The poor woman was devestated and sally could only watch from thousands of miles away as Catherine broke down in despair.

Wufei turned his nose up in disgust. He really didn't want to listen to that tape again. Now that he knew Heero wasn't raping Relena, it wasn't as hard to listen to, but it still made him uncomfortable and they had already meticulously picked it apart. "I don't think we should waste anymore time on that tape. It is a dishonor to Relena who...Quatre?"

Sally looked up surprised that Wufei's tirade was over so quickly. "What?"

"It's Quatre. He's visiting Dorothy."

"Why? I thought he was going to let us know when he was going back in for more information."

Wufei nodded but didn't say anything. He was too worried to comment.
*********
"Quatre? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Dorothy looked over her ex-husband. He was a mess. Quatre was never any good at hiding his emotions and he looked as though he was going to break down at any moment.

Quatre looked around hesitantly. "May I come in?"

"Yes of course." Dorothy stepped out of the way. "Let me put some tea on."

"No. That's okay, I'm not...I didn't come here for tea."

Dorothy raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She waited for Quatre to explain himself.

"I...I don't know why I'm here. Trowa's dead and I...I just needed someone to...to"

Dorothy threw her arms around Quatre and hugged him. She knew how close Quatre and Trowa had been. She knew this would be a huge blow for him.

Quatre returned Dorothy's hug and let his tears finally come forward. He had been holding them off as best he could, but he couldn't hold them off anymore. He buried his nose into her shoulder and absorbed the warmth of her body. She rubbed his back and stroked his head.

"I'm so sorry Quatre, my poor baby." She kissed his forehead and wiped the tears off of his cheek. She kissed his salty skin and began to kneed the muscles in his back.

Quatre felt the change in mood and heard the warning bell go off in his head. He knew he should leave. He knew that staying with Dorothy would be a huge mistake. He banished these thoughts. Instead he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. He laid her down on the couch and looked into her eyes. She looked so innocent, like the young girl he'd met years before when they were all just fools fighting in a useless war. She looked up at him and pushed the hair away from his eyes. He couldn't wait anymore. He laid down next to her and kissed her deeply.

Part 6: The Truth Shall Set You Free


"I can’t fuck your brains out if I have to hold onto the gun. But you do know what will happen if you don’t cooperate, yes?"

"Yes."

A loud and harsh cry tore from Relena's lips.

"I've heard this before, what's the point?" Une asked in obvious disgust.

"The forensics people matched the bullets from Relena's chest to Heero's gun. Well listen to what he's saying." Sally rewound the tape for a second.

"I can’t fuck your brains out if I have to hold onto the gun."

"So he put the gun down, so what? He could have retrieved it afterwards."

"Yes he could have, but then again maybe he didn't. Maybe somebody else retrieved the gun."

"Maybe, but Heero's not the kind of guy to leave his gun behind." Lady Une had supported Heero early on, but now that the case was getting more complicated, she longed for a resolution.

"No he isn't, but we still don't know why he left Relena alone after their little game. We need to get Heero to tell us what happened that night. Before, when he was reticent in the questioning, nobody pushed because we had the tape and the bullets from the gun, but now our evidence is looking more and more circumstantial. We need Heero to tell us the truth, all of it."

Une nodded her head in agreement. "I have been trying to get the truth from Heero Yuy for a long time, I don't think he will be any more forthcoming now than he was before."

"Perhaps we need to give him some incentive."
*********
"You've got to be kidding me. That's low, even for Une."

Wufei nodded his agreement. "Maybe but no one's gotten him to open up yet, we need to encourage him somehow."

"Hey I was getting closer. With the maid coming forward, I finally got Heero to that he had a relationship with Relena. Of course we all already knew that, but now so does Une."

"Hmph. With the progress you were making, Heero would've made parole before we found out what really happened to Relena."

Duo placed his hands over his heart dramatically and slumped into his chair.

"Cut it out. Let's see if Heero has taken Une's offer."
*********
"Well what's it going to be Heero?"

Heero frowned. It was perhaps the first emotion Une had seen from him during this entire ordeal. "There's nothing that I can tell you that you don't already know. You've already heard what Relena and I did that night and the maid has told you why. I wasn't there when Relena was shot. If I was, she'd be alive right now. I told you I saw Neo Fang operatives fleeing the house, but now you've pulled Hilde out of their organization. So what more do you need to know?"

"I need to know why you left Relena, when you left Relena, when you returned and found her, what you did while you were gone and what you saw when you saw those men flee the house that makes you think they belong to Neo Fang."

"I can't tell you why I left or what I did when I was gone."

"Then I can't let you go to Trowa's funeral."

"What?" Both Heero and Une snapped their heads up. "You can't blackmail Heero like that!"

"It's not blackmail Quatre. Heero has not been released and so he has no legal right to attend Trowa's funeral, however I am willing to let him go if he answers my questions. I think it is a fair trade."

"Well I think it's completely immoral and I won't stand for it."

"I really don't see what you can do about it Quatre. Besides you should worry about your own affairs instead."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you were Relena's fiance. Didn't it hurt you to find out that Heero and Relena were involved in an ongoing physical relationship, one that would probably have continued once you and Relena were married?"

Quatre didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what he could say at this point. He knew that only the truth would dispell Une's suspicion in him. He took a deep sign and sat down.

"I'll tell you, but you mustn't let this get out. Too many people know already."

Une frowned. "Quatre do you want a lawyer?"

Quatre shook his head. "I won't need one."

"Quatre you don't have to..."

"It's okay Heero. I trust Une to have discretion in this matter." He turned to Lady Une who had all her attention focused on the powerful young man. "I knew about Relena and Heero's relationship. In fact I was planning on using it to my advantage." Une's eyes grew wide in curiousity. Quatre continued. "As the only male Winner it is my responsibility to continue the line, preferrably before my thirteith birthday. My divorce with Dorothy derailed my plans. Relena wanted a child. Heero was willing to give her one, but he wanted to remain away from the public eye. So I figured if I was married to Relena, I could claim their child as my heir and Heero could remain in the background. Everyone would get what they wanted and nobody would get hurt."

"So how long were you going to carry on this charade?"

"We would probably have gotten divorced after a year or so. It wouldn't be good for our reputations, but mine has already been tarnished and Relena figured the bad press was a small price to pay for the chance to raise the child she always wanted."

"But if the child was to be your heir then wouldn't she have to give it up to you."

"Not at all, everyone knows a child needs his or her mother. I would remain on L4 while Relena remained on earth and the child wouldn't join me until he or she turned 18 and was capable of taking over the family business."

"I see. Well then if what you've told me is the truth, Relena's death must've derailed your plans yet again."

Quatre nodded. "So now that you know, can you stop trying to force info. out of Heero and let him go to Trowa's funeral. You know that it's the right thing to do."

"I'm sorry but Heero hasn't answered any of my questions yet."

Quatre turned to Heero whose face was unreadable. "Heero..."

"No Quatre, it's nobody's business."

Quatre hung his head for a minute, but then looked up at Une. "Can I speak to Heero alone please?"

Une frowned but nodded and then walked out of the room.

It doesn't matter what you say Quatre, I'm not talking. It's bad enough that the maid made that stupid tape. I won't reveal anymore details about my night with Relena."

"Oh come on Heero. How much more embarassing can it be? With the maid admitting that she made the tape and the tape's revelation that you laid down your gun when you were, uuhh, entertaining Relena, the evidence against you isn't enough to hold up in court. It's your silence that is keeping you here. Just tell me what happened."

Heero shook his head. "I'm sorry Quatre. I can't."

Part 7:Another Tape, Another Suspect

Duo laid his hand on Hilde's shoulder. "It's time to go babe."

She nodded and stood up, allowing him to lead her to the waiting car. She sat down in silence and wiped her hands over her face. She closed her eyes, but all she could see was Trowa's lifeless face. His dead green eyes staring at her, accusing her. No one had said so, but she knew that it was her fault. She had tied him up. That was the plan, but she could've made the ropes looser. Could've given him some kind of fighting chance. He was defenseless and it was all her fault.

"Hilde we're here."

The crowd seemed lighter without Heero or Relena. Dorothy was there, which surprised and angered Hilde, but she soon realized why when she saw Quatre holding his ex-wife's hand. "Good lord I hope they aren't getting back together."

"No kidding that woman is bad news."

"I disagree."

"Wha..? Oh Rasheed I didn't see you standing there."

"Abdul and I were quite upset when we heard of Trowa's death. Master Quatre was quite fond of him and with the recent death of Relena, I fear for the young master's emotional stability."

"Yeah but Dorothy isn't the one he should be seeking comfort from. I mean you had a front row seat for the divorce, it wasn't pretty." Duo grimaced.

"Sadly this is true, but despite their bitter divorce, Dorothy and Quatre were happy for several years. It is such a shame that they couldn't work out their differences. I had hoped that Miss Dorothy would come back to Quatre before he could enter into that false marriage."

"You didn't like Relena?" Duo tried to keep his voice calm, but this was odd. Rasheed always liked everyone. He and the rest of the Maguanacs were very easy going guys.

"Of course I loved Miss Relena, we all did. She brought us peace and she was one of Master Quatre's dearest friends, but Quatre needs a real wife. He needs someone to care for him. He needs more than just an heir."

Duo nodded it made sense, but it also worried him. Could Rasheed have killed Relena and if so did that mean that he killed Trowa too, or were the deaths unrelated? It was far fetched but he had to check it out, later.
**********
Wufei took the cup of tea offered to him and sat down. "Thank you."

Hilde nodded and sat opposite him. Words were hard to come by. Neither knew what to say, but Duo wanted to talk to Wufei after the funeral so Hilde made tea while she waited for her husband to return from their bedroom.

"Sorry about that. Thanks for waiting, I just hate suits. I had to get out of that thing." Duo explained as he sat down next to Hilde on the couch wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Duo told Wufei about his converstation with Rasheed at the funeral and his desire to start investigating the man.

"I agree, it does sound suspcious. I will begin to hunt down his wherabouts during both Relena's death. Why don't you see if you can discover where he was when Trowa was killed."

Duo nodded. "I'll start on it right away, but there's still something else that's bothering me."

"What's that?"

Duo frowned. "Why would Heero leave? I mean why would he leave then, right when he and Relena where in the middle of a hot night of passion? It doesn't make sense."

"Heero is still refusing to discuss that with anyone. As you know he opted to keep his silence and miss Trowa's funeral, rather than reveal his actions that night."

"Yeah I know, but if he knew something that could help us find Relena's killer, he wouldn't keep it a secret. There must be a reason."

"I don't know. The man has been exposed in front of the entire earth and colonies because of that tape. Perhaps he is simply trying to hold onto the last shreds of privacy by keeping Relena's final moments to himself."

Duo shook his head. "I don't think he is that concerned with his privacy. I mean everyone knows every humiliating detail at this point. He can't make himself look any worse in the eyes of the people. Can he?"

Duo looked at Hilde and their eyes both lit up at the same time.

"That's it!"

"What?"

"Condom run!"

"Huh?"

"Oh come on Wufei, you know what I mean. You're in the middle of a wilde session of monkey love and you realize you forgot your protection. You grab your pants, your shirt and your shoes, you jump in the car and you find the nearest drugstore that you can. We should start checking the surveillance tapes of the stores near Relena's mansion. If we can place Heero away from the mansion at the time of Relena's death, then they'll have to let him go."

Wufei sighed. "I guess it's plausible, but there is one problem Duo."

"Yeah what's that?"

"If it was a condom run then that means that Heero would have been, well unprepared and Heero is never unprepared."

"Oh come on Wufei, nobody's perfect."
**********
Heero veiwed the tape. Duo sat beside him beaming. Wufei looked disgusted.

"Well aren't you going to thank us?"

Heero nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. So Heero what happened? I mean you had this whole thing planned out right? So how is it that you forgot the slipcovers?" Duo asked with a smirk.

Heero frowned.

"It is unlike you Heero. We're just surprised that you let a major detail like that slip your attention." Wufei said embarrassed by his own curiousity.

Heero nodded. "Well not that it's your business, but Relena was always on the pill before, but with the upcoming marriage, she stopped taking it. I didn't want Relena and Quatre to have to deal with any bad press."

"Well that's one mystery solved, so tell me did you leave your gun behind too?"

Heero hung his head in shame. "Yes. I forgot it was on the table. I unloaded before I went to Relena's mansion, because I didn't want there to be any accidents, but I kept the bullets in my jacket pocket."

"And you didn't take your jacket with you."

Heero shook his head. "It was a warm night."

"I bet." He shot Duo a nasty glare.

"When they arrested me and told me that the bullets in Relena's chest were from my gun, I figured the Neo Fang operatives broke in found the gun and jacket and shot her. I still can't believe that I screwed up so badly. I deserve to be thrown in jail. I totally failed to protect her."

"Geez Heero it isn't your fault. I mean they probably had their own guns, they just wanted to set you up."

"Heero you keep saying that they were Neo Fang operatives, what makes you so sure?"

"Because one of them had a sigil on his shoulder of a scripted Nf in a circle."

Wufei nodded. "I've seen it."

"We need to talk to Dorothy again."

Duo frowned. "That will be hard. It looks like her and Quatre have gotten back together. He may not be willing to get information from her for us anymore."

"Actually it won't be hard at all. Lady Une just had Miss Catalonia arrested."

Part 8:Spy vs. Spy

"Quatre are you okay?"

"Yes I'll be fine. I can't say that I am surprised by this turn of events. I should've known that Dorothy wasn't going to change." Duo nodded, but didn't say anything. Now was not the time to point out his own reservations towards Dorothy. "Heero I wanted to congradulate you. I'm glad you're finally free."

"Thank you Quatre, but you know the media is going to have a field day with this." Quatre nodded. "Now with Dorothy's arrest, you may want to think about hiring someone to act as a spokesman on your behalf."

"Yes that's a good idea. I don't think I could talk to the press right now. They're like vultures circling a carcass. At least I have Rasheed and the rest of the Maguanacs to watch out for me."

Duo nodded. He hadn't told Quatre about his suspicions, but he had started his investigation and found that tracking a single Maguanac was proving to be very difficult. He could track the bunch easily enough, but the lineup tended to differ. The entire Magnuanac core were seldom seen together these days, but they were always working together.

"So what was the charge exactly?"

"Suspicion of arms trafficking. They caught two of Dorothy's known associates buying arms from a couple of undercover police officers. The men haven't said who they were buying the goods for, but Lady Une suspects that Dorothy was their employer."

"That sounds pretty thin. Une doesn't have anything else to hold her on?"

Quatre shook his head. "No. I haven't talked to Dorothy yet, but I do know that she is very upset with Neo Fang. I guess she has decided to get revenge on them." Quatre sighed heavily.

"I saw you two at the funeral Quatre. You're really disappointed aren't you?" Duo asked.

Quatre's face was hidden behind his blonde hair, but he nodded slightly. "I have no intention of resuming relations with my ex-wife. I wanted to try to patch things up with her so that we could be civil human beings within each other's presense, but even that looks beyond my capabilities. Dorothy's lawyers will be here very soon. If you two want to question her, you'd better do it now."

Heero nodded and left. Duo was slower in leaving. He squeezed Quatre's shoulder and leaned down. "I hate to ask Quatre, I know it's difficult, but do you think that Dorothy ordered Trowa's death?"

Quatre's eyes grew wide as he sucked in a breath. He had never thought of that possiblity, but now that he did think of it, "No I don't. If she does have contacts still within Neo Fang, I think she would use them to spy on her former organization. Maybe even sabotage Neo Fang. I don't think she'd expose Trowa, because that would go against her own plans."

Duo straightened back up. "Yeah I guess you're right. It sucks that we had to pull Hilde out. I mean I was totally for it, but man I would really like to know what the hell's going on up there."

"Don't worry about it Duo, I've got someone up there."

"What!? Who? How and when did you sneak someone into the Neo Fang?"

"Well I didn't actually, but when Dorothy began Neo Fang, some of the Maguanacs thought that the organization might be a threat to the Winner Family. A couple of the guys joined up right at the start and have now moved up into the higher ranks of the organization. From what they tell me, Neo Fang really is trying to move towards subversion and away from brute force. Although I'm totally against terrorism this new strategy of theirs may be even more dangerous to us."

"They're catching more flies with honey then with vinegar. Makes sense. We have had reports that their ranks are swelling. Damn, this isn't good!"

"No it isn't, but we can talk about this some other time. Heero's going to get mad at you if you keep him waiting any longer."

Duo's face fell and he sprinted out of the room.
*********
"Well I see that the cuffs have been removed. I take it you're a free man now Mr. Yuy. May I offer you my congradulations?"

Heero nodded. "I have some questions for you."

"Please, feel free to ask me anything. As I've told Col. Une. I have nothing to hide."

Heero grunted. "Were you jealous of Relena and Quatre's impending marriage?"

"Of course not. Why would I be jealous? Everybody knows that the engagement was a fraud."

"Yes, they do now, but how did you know that?"

"Because I know Quatre. I know that he was under a great deal of pressure to produce an heir and you and I both know how impossible that is for him. I was aware of Miss Relena's relationship with you and knowing Quatre as well as I do, I know he wouldn't break apart your relationship for his own needs. It seemed obvious that some kind of agreement had taken place. It wasn't hard to guess what it was. Especially since Miss Relena and I had talked about the prospect of children years ago and I had noted a bit of frustration from her at that time."

Heero grunted again. "Do you still have contacts within the Neo Fang?"

Dorothy smiled. "Now Heero you know I can't answer something like that."

"Why did you wait for Trowa to break you out of that prison? Surely you could've gotten out on your own."

"Well I was quite grateful for Trowa's assistance, but yes I could've gotten out on my own. I'm afraid that Relena's death messed my own plans up a bit. I decided to just lay low and wait out the investigation."

"I see. Are your plans back on track now?"

"No not really. Now that you've been released the investigation is in full swing again."

Heero nodded. "Do your plans involve the purchase of illegal arms?"

Dorothy smiled. "Don't be ridiculous. I fully support Miss Relena's ideal of total pacifism and the complete destruction of all arms."

Heero frowned. "I guess I don't have any more questions."

"Well I truly am glad you're free Heero. I'm sure that now Relena's true killer will be captured. I can only hope that Trowa's killer will be brought to justice as well. I wonder if they are one and the same."

Heero didn't say anything to that. Instead he got up and left the room, running directly into Zechs Marquis.

Chapter 9: Sterile Soliders

Neither one said anything at first. Heero looked into Zechs eyes, but had to look away. They were the same shade as Relena's used to be. "Zechs, I know how bad the tape made me sound..."

Zechs scowled but waved his hand in dismissal. "Just because you fooled Lady Une doesn't mean that you can fool me. You may not have raped Relena. I was of course aware of your relationship with her, but you are responsible for her death. You promised to protect her, instead you left her completely undefended."

Heero closed his eyes and blinked before looking at Zechs again. "I failed her, I know. I'm sorry Zechs. I know you loved her too."

"Sorry isn't good enough Heero. You're screwup has cost us all dearly. Neo Fang isn't the only terrorist group looking to take advantage of humanity's current feeling of directionlessness."

"I know that Zechs but you know that if these groups make a move then I'll be on the front line to stop them. I couldn't save Relena but I won't let her dream die too."

Zechs scowled at Heero's declaration. "You're a peice of shit you know that? She didn't ask you to marry her or to make any promises that you weren't going to keep. All she wanted was a child, but that was too much for you wasn't it? You wouldn't risk the exposure so you waited until Quatre came up with that ridiculous marriage offer. I know that her engagement has something to do with her death. You want to protect her dream, well what about her dream of becoming a mother? You smashed that dream of hers a long time ago." Zechs walked away fuming. He wanted to beat the crap out of Heero but he knew he'd never get to lay a hand on him.

Heero just stood there staring at the wall. A lot of what Zechs said hit close to home. He knew he'd failed Relena, but Zechs' cold confirmation cut through his gut like a knife.
***********
"What I don't get is why Quatre didn't just genetically engineer an heir. I mean he's a test tube baby, so are all of his 29 sisters, right?" Hilde asked as she sat across from Duo.

"Yeah, I think it's more a question of keeping up appearances. You know if Relena was seen pregnant and she was married to Quatre, there would be no question as to who the heir to the Winner fortune would be. It would just look good you know?"

"That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Wouldn't Quatre rather have a child of his own?"

"I'm sure he would, but he can't."

"What do you mean he can't?"

"I mean he's sterile. It's a side effect of the engineering process. They have never successfully produced a virile male test tube baby."

"Never?" Duo shook his head. "Then the mMaguanacs...?"

"All shooting blanks."

"Oh." Hilde mouthed the word more than said it. It was shocking to think that all the Magnuanacs were incapable of reproducing. She wondered if Dorothy and Quatre had ever discussed producing an heir.

The beeping of the vidphone caught Duo's attention and he left Hilde alone with her thoughts.

"Hey Wufei what's up?" Duo asked as he turned on the phone.

Wufei frowned. "I've haven't learned anything about Rasheed that can be considered incriminating but I did find out that Relena's guards were given instructions to allow the Maguanacs enterance to the mansion, due to the upcoming ceremony."

Duo nodded. "So any of the Maguanacs could have had access to the mansion on the night of her death? That's interesting. I've had a lot of trouble following Rasheed's movements too, but I found out from Quatre that the Maguanacs have a couple of spies within Neo Fang. They've been there since the inception of the organization and they may hold some high ranking positions."

"So one of them could've killed Trowa either at Rasheed's orders, or as part of a collective agreement." Wufei finished.

"Yes but why? Rasheed and Abdul attended Trowa's funeral. They seemed genuinely upset over his death."

"I think it's obvious that Trowa must've discovered something important. Something that could implicate one of the Maguanacs or possibly the whole group."

"I still have a hard time believing they'd do it though."

Wufei nodded. "I think Dorothy is the key to everything here. She's definitely hiding something and unfortunately it looks like her lawyers are going to have free in another hour or so."

"That could be a good thing."

"What!? Have you lost it?"

"No I haven't, but I certainly don't want to question Dorothy with her lawyers present. We need to get to the truth and there's only one way to do that. I think we're going to have to get a little rough with Miss Catalonia."

Wufei shook his head. "No, I won't do anything illegal."

"Don't worry, I don't think we'll have to go that far."
***********
Quatre stepped into his mansion on L4 and took a deep sigh of releif. He had to get back before his backlog of work became unmanageable. He knew that Dorothy was probably free by now. Her lawyers were some of the best, he'd learn that at the divorce settlement. Heero was free and although Trowa and Relena's killer(s?) were free, he was confident that with Heero on the job the mystery would be solved soon.

"Uncle Quatre, Uncle Quatre!"

Quatre's eyes popped open and he smiled as he saw his only nephew standing at his feet with his arms wide open. He quickly reached down and picked him up. "Hiya Quincy what are you doing here?"

"Rasheed called some of us up and let us know that you were feeling down so we decided to pop in and see how you were." Iria answered. She was in the tea room located adjacent to the foyer. Quatre looked over and noticed that his sisters Jacinta, Polka and Sheena, Quincy's mother, were with Iria. "Would you like to join us for some tea little brother."

Quatre smiled and nodded. He still hadn't met all twenty-nine of his sisters, but he had made acquaintences with fifteen of them and they all had an open invitation to visit. These four were his most frequent and favorite visitors. He especially loved it when Sheena brought Quincy. His birth was akin to a miracle. Several of his sisters were barren and the few who had children had all had daughters in the past. Quincy was the first true male Winner to be born naturally in several years, perhaps as far back as the founding of the colony. Quatre sat down in the tea room and watched Polka pour him some tea. Quincy bounced around oh his lap, but soon settled down and rested his head on his uncle's shoulder. He studied his uncle's profile with soft aqua colored eyes.
***********
Wufei watched Sally leave. He was surprised that she fell for such an obvious ploy, but figured she probably was looking for an excuse to get out of here. The Preventers surveillance of Dorothy Catalonia was turning out to be deadly dull. Wufei actually found himself looking forward to Duo's arrival. He wasn't actually going to participate, instead he promised to keep a lookout for Heero and Duo and cover for them if necessary.

He didn't have to wait long. A UPS delivery truck arrived at 10:15. He watched two delivery men carry a large box to Dorothy's hotel room and knock on the door. She opened it and allowed them to carry the box inside. Less then two minutes later they carried the box back out. One man turned around and yelled something into the room before slamming the door after himself. The men loaded the box back on the truck and left.

Chapter 10: Who's Your Daddy?

"Fuck you!"

"Don't make me hit you, bitch!"

"Hey everybody calm down! There's no need for all this yelling. It's simple Miss Catalonia, you answer our questions and we let you go."

Dorothy smiled wickedly. "Do you have any idea how powerful I am? If you lay a hand on me I'll have your skin flayed off."

"Miss Catalonia, while it's true that you are very powerful, it's also true that you have a lot of enemies. My friend and I are not easily intimidated, nor can you bribe us or seduce us. We have ways of making you talk, but we'd prefer to keep this as civil as possible. Please cooperate. Don't make us hand you over to the Cannes faction."

Despite the blindfold Duo could see the color in Dorothy's face drain away. He gave Heero a thumbs up. It had been a gamble, but apparently their information was correct that it was the Cannes faction that had tried to execute her.

Heero ignored Duo and eyed Dorothy closely. "Tell us why you're back on earth."

Dorothy shrugged. "The Preventers brought me here."

"Why?"

"They thought I might have information on Relena Peacecraft's murder."

"Do you?"

Dorothy's mouth twitched. "Maybe."

Heero's hand curled into a fist and Duo decided to take over. "Miss Catalonia, I thought we had an understanding. What information do you have on Miss Peacecraft's death?"

"Well I heard that Heero Yuy killed her, but apparently he's been released."

"I've seen the news Miss Catalonia. Do you know who killed her?"

"No, I don't." Duo looked at Heero.

"How about motive. Do you have any idea why she was killed?" Heero asked.

"Miss Relena had a lot of different enemies for a lot of different reasons. I'll admit that I was one of them, but I didn't kill her. I don't know who did nor do I know why they did it."

"Did Quatre Winner want her dead? Was he jealous of her relationship with Heero Yuy?" Duo asked. Heero looked at him strangely, but didn't say anything.

"Oh Quatre was jealous alright, but he didn't kill Miss Relena. He loved her too much for that."

"So the marriage wasn't a sham."

"It was, but only on Relena's end. Quatre wanted Relena to be his wife, even if it was only on paper."

"Why would Miss Peacecraft agree to that?"

"I guess Quatre could give her something that Heero couldn't. Who knows maybe he's lousy in the sack. I'm sure you've read the transcript of the tape. What a joke!" Dorothy laughed.

Heero frowned but kept his voice steady as he asked, "Do you know who stole the tape from Relena's maid?" Dorothy shook her head.

Duo took over the questioning. "I've heard that Winner's under a lot of pressure to produce an heir and that his proposal to Miss Peacecraft was prompted by this pressure. Is that true?"

Dorothy frowned. "I believe so."

"Why is it that you never gave Mr. Winner an heir? No the motherly type?"

"The problem wasn't with me."

Duo smiled. "So the rumours are true, Mr. Winner is sterile." Dorothy nodded. "Why not genetically engineer an heir? It worked for his parents." Dorothy frowned. "Miss Catalonia?"

"Answer the question!" Heero snapped. He grabbed a fistful of hair and tugged at it painfully.

"He can't."

"What do you mean he can't? It's a common procedure these days."

Dorothy hung her head an chewed on her lower lip. "I can't." Heero pulled on her hair, raising her head up. He pushed the barrel of his gun against her throat.

"Why can't Winner genetically engineer an heir?" Dorothy whimpered slightly and Heero lowered her head, but kept the gun pressed into her throat. "Well?"

"Because the genetic material had corroded. It's was preserved for so long, but it couldn't last forever. That's why Quatre has 29 sisters. It took them forever to get a male Winner last time. When we tried, there just wasn't enough juice left." Dorothy answered in a quiet, defeated voice.

Duo's eyes bugged out and when he turned to Heero he could see the shock on his friend's face as well. "I don't understand, why wouldn't you use Quatre's genes and if the material was old when Quatre was created then whose material was it?"

"All the Winner heirs since the founding of L4 have been created from the genetic material of Jacob Winner, the founder of L4. Quatre's father was actually his brother. So was his grandfather. It's a tradition, but as the years have passed, the genetic material has grown thinner and thinner. Quatre was born sterile and so when we were married, we decided to just start a new line, but we needed a donor. Trowa was our first choice. He agreed but some of Quatre's sisters were against the idea. Our divorce ended the discussion, but I know that Quatre wanted his child be related to the gundam pilots. If it wasn't mine and Trowa's child, then I suppose he figured Relena Peacecraft and Heero Yuy's brat wouldn't be a bad second choice."
***********
"Damnit, I think I'm more confused now. Did you know about this Heero?"

"I knew that Quatre couldn't have children and that he wanted Trowa to father Dorothy's child. He told me that he admired Relena and wanted a child that had her strong pacifist convictions. He also said that he wanted a gundam pilot as the father since he couldn't have children of his own. But the rest about Jacob Winner? No, I never knew and I can see why Quatre kept it a secret."

"Yeah, talk about bizarre. It does explain some things though."

Heero nodded, "and it does give us a motive."

Duo looked at Heero questioningly. "It does?"

Heero nodded. "We'll discuss it later. Wufei's going to angry if we don't get back soon."
***********
Wufei watched the UPS delivery men return the large box from before back to Dorothy's hotel room. He waited patiently for them to leave and return an hour later without the truck.

"So did you find out anything?"

Duo nodded triumphantly. "Loads. Has everything been quiet here?"

Wufei nodded. "I had no trouble. Do you know who the murderer is?"

"Well no, but..."

Heero interrupted Duo. "I think so."

"Huh you do?"

Heero nodded. "It's simple really. We know that someone is trying to prevent Quatre Winner from producing an heir. There's only one person who would want that."

"There is?"

Heero nodded. "Now what we need to do is get some evidence on that person and I think I know how."

"You do?" Duo scratched his head.

"The stolen tape is probably still in their possession."

"It is?" Duo looked over at Wufei to see if he understood Heero, but Wufei knew even less than Duo did.

"Of course they couldn't have done it alone. We need someone to infiltrate Neo Fang."

"You do? Well I guess I could..."

"I'll do it. Wufei I want you to continue to keep tabs on Dorothy. She may be in danger."

"What?! I thought Dorothy was our murderer."

Heero shook his head. "No Dorothy's our bait."

Wufei frowned slightly. "Heero you can't put her at risk like that."

"I trust you to keep her alive."

"But you haven't even told me who I should be keeping an eye out for. If you know who the murderer is..."

"I don't know who pulled the trigger. Just don't let any of the Maguanacs near Dorothy."

Chapter 11: Another Blonde Bites the Dust

"I don't quite understand."

"It's simple babe, you just spread the word that Quatre and Dorothy are back together. We've already sent photos from the Preventer's surveillance to the gossip rags. Plus we've sent photos from Trowa's funeral to the more reputable papers."

"But Duo I don't know any of Quatre's sisters. How am I supposed to gossip with them?"

"We got that covered. We told Quatre that you were going to come over and update him on the Preventer's investigation. We've scheduled your meeting at 1:30 but we'll drop you off at one o'clock. We know that some of Quatre's sisters are currently staying with him. You'll be there just in time for tea. Hopefully you can invite yourself in and spread the good news."

Hilde nodded. It wasn't the best plan, still it could work. "But Duo, Quatre's your friend. Won't he be mad when he finds out you're feeding false information to the media?"

"Well hopefully he won't find out until we've caught our murderer."

"He'll see the newspapers. He'll know someone leaked the info."

"Doubtful. Quatre's always told me he doesn't read those things."

"No one ever admits to reading those things, but everyone sees them and I'm sure Quatre is no exception. I know you want to catch this creep, so do I, but are you really willing to risk Quatre's friendship?"

"Hilde, this might end up being for Quatre's benefit. If Heero is right about our murderer's motive, then Quatre may be a target."
**********
Hilde tried not to look totally shocked. She couldn't believe this place and it was just the foyer. When the limo dropped her off, she thought that she was at a hotel or something. She couldn't believe that only one person lived in this huge house. Walking inside was an even greater shock. The floors were marble. The ceilings were vaulted and covered in rich sculptures and paintings. Her and Duo's entire house could fit in the tea room. She felt totally out of place.

Hilde sat down on a plush Queen Anne chair that reminded her of a throne.

The butler had asked her to wait here, but she knew she had to find one of Quatre's sisters, before her meeting with him. She got up and walked around cautiously. She heard voices coming from the room to the right and poked her head in.

"Hello, can we help you?" A blonde haired woman with blue eyes holding a teacup looked up at Hilde. She had a definite resemblance to Quatre and Hilde smiled, knowing she had just hit paydirt.

"Oh hi. I'm Hilde. I have an appointment with Quatre, but I'm terribly early so I was just looking around. It's such a beautiful house that I couldn't help myself." She said in her most perky voice.

"Oh well I'm Iria Winner and these are my sisters Polka and Sheena. Quatre's with his nephew Quincy. Sheena and Quincy have to leave today so Quatre wanted to spend some time with him before they left. It might be a while. When did you say your appointment with Quatre is?"

"Oh I didn't, but it's not for another half an hour. I'm very early and I don't want to disturb him. I'll just wait in the foyer."

"Don't be silly come join us for tea. We have plenty. So what's your business with Quatre?" Iria asked politely. Hilde smiled. This was going to be much easier than she thought. She sat down and took a cup of tea.
**********
Wufei sipped his coffee and grimaced. It was awful, just like the last 3 cups. He really needed to talk to Sally. Everytime it was her turn to make the coffee, he felt like he was sucking down poison. He looked over at the hotel, but Dorothy's shades were still pulled. If she didn't open them soon, he might have to go over there.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Sally asked as she slammed down a local gossip paper in front of him. Wufei began to cough viciously. Sally had startled him sending his last mouthful of java down the wrong pipe. His partner rapped him once on the back, harder than necessary.

"There was no one else who could've gotten a shot of Quatre and Dorothy together like this. You and I were the only two Preventers on surveillance that day and I know that I didn't give this picture to the 'The Sphere.' How could you do this? I thought Quatre was your friend. And what about your job? You know Lady Une will probably fire you for this."

"I know she will if you tell her, but you wouldn't do that, would you?"

Sally narrowed her eyes to slits. "You had better have a good reason for this."

"Well of course I do. I wouldn't humiliate my friend if it was at all avoidable. That tape of Heero and Relena was bad enough, pretty soon everybody is going to think that all us gundam pilots are sex-crazed deviants."

"Don't worry about that Wufei. I'll be happy to let them know how completely untrue that is in your case." Sally smirked.

Wufei frowned, but ignored her barb. "We believe that Trowa and Relena's killer is targeting Quatre's love interests. We are hoping that by disclosing recent pictures of Quatre and Dorothy together, the killer will reveal themself."

"What?! You mean that you are using Dorothy as bait?! That's totally unethical and irresponsible. You can't do that. If the killer gets a hold of her then it'll be your fault. You'll be responsible for murder."

"That's why I'm keeping such a close eye on her. I'm not going to let anything happen to Dorothy."

"No way Wufei. This is completely unacceptable and I won't go along with it. I'm going over there and taking Dorothy to a safe house now!" Sally stormed out of the room before Wufei could stop her. He threw his styrofone cup of coffee in the trash and ran out of the room and down the hall.

"Sally wait!" It was no use. She was too far ahead of him.

Sally walked across the street and knocked on Dorothy's hotel room door. Wufei stopped behind her. Their cover was already exposed, so she decided to kick in the door after waiting several moments. The room was dark. The lights were off and the shades were all pulled. She held her gun at the ready in her left hand and slowly flicked on the lights with her right hand. At first she didn't see anything. She only heard Wufei's sharp intake of breath and felt his hand on her shoulder. Then she noticed the mass of blonde hair poking out from behind the couch and the deep dark red stain that surrounded it.

Part 12: And Another Blonde Bites the Dust

Sally walked behind the couch and crouched down beside Dorothy. That's when Wufei heard a scraping noise followed by soft footsteps. He quickly readied his gun and raced out the door. Two men wearing jackets with the Neo Fang insignia on their sleeves were heading towards the parking lot.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" Wufei yelled. He took a couple of pop shots but couldn't catch up to them before they climbed into a car and drove away. Wufei frowened in frustration but then smirked when he saw a few drops of crimson staining the pavement. He took a tissue from his pants and quickly
soaked up the blood.

When Wufei walked back into the hotel room, he found Sally on the phone calling an ambulance.

"She's still alive?"

"Yes for now, but it's bad and you're responsible. You really screwed up this time. Lady Une is going to be furious." Sally's look told him that she wasn't that happy with him either.
***********
Heero opened the door quietly and took a deep breath. He'd just had his ass handed to him by Lady Une. Wufei was on suspended leave, refusing to talk to either him or Duo. Now he had to face Quatre, who after 16 hours was still in this dark hospital room holding Dorothy's comatose hand.

Quatre didn't turn when the door opened and closed behind him. The silence of the visitor and the guilt emaninating from him gave Quatre a good idea of who it was. He laid Dorothy's hand back on the bed gently and turned around. The anger in his eyes immediately caught Heero's attention.

"How could you?"

"Quatre I'm sorry. I thought Wufei could protect her."

"Did you? You never would've taken a chance like this with Relena. You didn't care if Dorothy got hurt, not as long as you got what you wanted."

"Quatre that's not true. I..."

"And what about me Heero? Did you even think about me? I've lost my fiance, my best friend and now possibly my ex-wife. Do you think that you're the only one who's been hurting around here?"

"No Quatre it wasn't that..."

"So was it worth it? Did you find what you were looking for? Do you know who killed Relena and Trowa?"

"Well Wufei was able to gather a blood sample from the crime scene and we've identified the assailant as Farshid Al-Jacobi. We believe that..."

"What? Did you say Farshid? But he's one of my Maguanacs. They wouldn't do anything like this." Quatre's entire body radiated shock and anger. Now not only were his nearest and dearest being picked off, but his loyalest friends were supposedly the culprits.

"Quatre I know that you trust the Maguanacs, but I beleive that at least some of them have betrayed you."

"And why would they do this Heero? Why!?" Quatre's fists were clenched at his sides and Heero could tell that his friend needed to hit something.

"I think they are trying to prevent you from having any kids. I believe that they are loyal to someone else and that that person has a very good reason for keeping you from producing any heirs to the Winner fortune."

"That's ridiculous Heero. The Maguanacs are loyal to the Winner heir first and foremost. As the Winner heir they are loyal to me and when I do finally have a male child their jobs will be to protect that child. The Maguanacs have faithfully served the Winner family in this capacity since the founding of L4. They have all sworn oaths to uphold this pact. Why would any of them break their oaths? Why?!" Quatre's voice echoed around the room. For once he wasn't thinking about other people's privacy or keeping up appearances, he just wanted answers.

"They haven't. At least they don't see it that way. I think that some of them have pledged their loyalty to your nephew Quincy. They have recognized him as the new Winner heir and consider your attempts to produce a child as a threat to Quincy's future."

"What?" Quatre's curiousity peaked at the mention of his nephew's name. "I would be happy to hand over the Winner estate to Quincy when he is old enough, but throughout history the Winner fortune has passed solely through the male line."

"I know, but now that Jacob Winner's genetic material is no longer viable, you've tried to produce an heir with no Winner blood at all. I think that some people find this unacceptable."

That made sense. Quatre sat down in the seat beside Dorothy's bed and thought about it. Quincy was Sheena's son and Sheena was produced from Jacob's genes just like him. Yes she was a woman and normally that would make her children nothing more than ordinary colonists, but Quincy did have Jacob's blood in his views and Quatre couldn't produce an heir with his blood unless he genetically engineered one from his own tissue. That was something that he had decided against a long time ago.

His own upbringing had been difficult because of his unusual birth. For the most part he led a sheltered life, but when he was around other children his age he felt the brunt of their taunts. He couldn't hide the truth because his sister Polka was only 4 months older than him. A human couldn't gestate a child so quickly. Eventually Polka was sent away to try to avoid the awkward questions, but that had hurt Quatre even more. Though he was friends with Polka now, she still held a bit of bitterness in her heart. He could feel it whenever they discussed the past.

Quatre felt a hand upon his shoulder and looked up. "There's more, but if you don't want to hear it, I'll understand."

He didn't, but he knew he had to. "Go ahead, tell me the rest."

"Farshid didn't act alone. There were two assailants at both Relena's murder and the attack on Dorothy. Furthermore Farshid is not one of the Maguanacs that have infiltrated the Neo Fang so he couldn't have been responsible for Trowa's death. In fact the Maguanacs that are in Neo Fang..."

"Aman, Jai and Ramen."

Heero nodded his confirmation. "They haven't left the Neo Fang base since New Year's. I think that someone is masterminding this whole thing. So far everyone who's been a target has been involved in helping you produce an heir, but you have not yet been targeted. Eliminating you would be the simplest solution. Since you haven't been attacked, I'm assuming that the person we are looking for is close to you. Someone who cares for you, possibly one of your sisters or maybe Rasheed or Abdul."

Quatre didn't say anything. He didn't react at all for a minute and then his face cracked. His forehead furrowed, his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth grimaced as a small moan escaped. Finally his hands came up and curled fingered grabbed the left side of his chest. Heero ran out of the room looking for help as Quatre doubled over in his chair, writhing in pain.

Chapter 13: Cry for Vengenance

Duo took a gulp to swallow the lump in his throat and squeezed Hilde's hand tighter. Dorothy was a wreck. She leaned on Heero heavily. She had awaken from her coma just in time to say goodbye to Quatre. His heart had finally given out and the doctors were unable to revive him. They had tried, but said that he lacked the will to fight for his own life.

The funeral was sadly sparse, several Maguanacs were being held on suspicion of murder charges and the rest of the corps were considered persona non grata under the circumstances. Only Iria and Jacinta were present because both Polka and Sheena had been brought in for questioning. The other Winner sisters were never that close to Quatre. The public was not invited, but a horde of photographers were waiting just outside the cemetary gates.

Still they were searching for answers. Just who knew about this conspiracy and how deep did it go? Rasheed swore that he had no involvement, but Abdul admitted that he was aware of several Maguanacs swearing loyalty to Quincy. Farshid refused to answer any questions without a lawyer present. When his lawyer arrived he instructed Farshid to keep his silence. Dorothy had identified her other attacker as Tahi Al-Hassan. Jai Al-Hassan, his twin brother, was one of the Maguanacs that had infiltrated the Neo Fang. If he hadn't killed Trowa then he was at least in on the conspiracy.

Neo Fang discovered that the Preventors had a beat on them and moved their headquarters off of MO-VII. It would take some time for the Preventors to discover their new location. Once that happened it was unlikely that they would be able to take Jai in without causing some sort of terrorist retaliation by Neo Fang. Realistically they were probably only going to be able to prosecute Farshid and Tahi, provided Dorothy stuck to her word and supplied eyewitness testimony at the trial.

They were all frustrated, Heero most of all. He blamed himself for both Relena and Quatre's deaths. Wufei was demoted and Duo was simply heart-broken.

"We have to do something!" Zechs slammed his fist on the table. "Can't you recall anything?"

Heero shook his head. "I told you before, I only saw them from the back and a little from the side. I never saw their faces. I've looked at the mug shots for all the Maguanacs but I just can't tell you who I saw fleeing the mansion that night. If I knew anything than I can assure you, Relena's murders would have suffered by now."

"So we can't identify them that way, there must be something else we can do. Someone we can lean on. What about Polka and Sheena Winner? Did we find anything out from them?"

Wufei shook his head. "No I wasn't permitted at the interrogations but Sally told me that both women hid behind their lawyers. We got nothing. Without any hard evidence we had to let them go."

"You know that tape's still at large somewhere. If we can find it..."

"You mean the tape of Relena and Heero?" Duo nodded his head.

"Whoever took it must've destroyed it by now."

"Wufei's right, whoever's behind all this has proven to be very clever. I can't see them holding onto something so damning."

"Probably not, but still I'd like to look around those ladies living quarters."

"I told you already, we can't get a search warrant."

"Oh Wufei you're always playing by the rules. I say screw the warrant. Heero and I can get in and out without anyone knowing. Ain't that right buddy?"

Heero nodded. "Yes I think we have to see if there is anything there that we can use. Meanwhile I think you should continue watching over Dorothy. I am not certain that she is safe." Wufei nodded his agreement.

"What should I do?" Zechs asked.

"See if you can find out where Neo Fang's new headquarters is. The Preventors may not be able to get to them, but I know that Jai Al-Hassan can answer my questions and I want to ask him personnally."
***********
"You know where they are don't you?"

"Honestly I don't. If I did I would tell you." Dorothy swirled her straw in her glass, moving the ice cubes around. She seemed nervous.

"You are still going to testify, even if the other Maguanacs aren't charged with anything?" Zechs asked .

"Of course I will. Those men tried to kill me."

"Aren't you afraid that the other Maguanacs will want to retaliate?"

"No I really don't think that they are all involved. Especially not Rasheed, he loved Quatre almost like a son. He'll get the others under control. Unless..." Dorothy looked out the window and sighed.

"What?"

"Quatre and I came to an agreement right before he died. I want to keep my promise to him, but now I'm afraid it might not be wise."

"What promise?"

Dorothy sighed and looked Zechs over. He was determined to get justice for Relena. She wondered if that would be enough to save her.
***********
"Did I hurt you koi?"

"Mmmm...no you didn’t hurt me. I think that I will be walking funny in the morning for being sore but other than that, you were delicious."

"I swear Relena, you have the most craziest and weirdest sexual fetishes, if I do say so myself."

"It’s not my fault that I have that odd fetish..."

"Enough. We don't need to hear the whole thing. Good job Duo." Heero took the tape recorder from Duo and looked at the tape.

"So I guess you aren't a deranged rapist after all. Of course I knew that already, but it's still nice to hear the proof." Duo flashed Heero a big grin.

Heero looked over the tape, forwarding it with a pencil. "It's awfully worn. Just how many times did you listen to this thing?" He asked with a scowl.

"What me? I heard it once just to make sure it was what I thought it was and that's it. I swear!" Duo waved his hands at Heero's suspicious expression. "Believe me I don't want to know what you do in the bedroom Heero. Some of us are happy with our healthy, normal, torture-free sex lives."

"I never tortured Relena!"

"Can we please focus on what's important here? You found this in Polka's room right Duo?" Duo nodded. "So that's it then, she's our ringleader."

Duo shook his head. "I don't think so. I found it in a box along with a lot of pictures of Relena and Heero together."

"What?" Heero's head shot up. "What kind of pictures?"

"Oh you know just the run of the mill Heero-and-Relena-getting-it-on pictures." Duo reached into his pocket and pulled out a mini-stack. "Here you two are kissing in the foyer. Here's a nice one of you two in the garden. Oh and would you look at this shot of you two in the office, well now I know why Relena's desk was always so shiny."

Heero snatched the pictures from a giggling Duo and began to run through them frantically. "They were all shot in the house, probably by that maid. I should've known better than to trust Peygan's recommendation." He fumed as he pocketed the pictures next to the tape.

"So what are we going to do? We can't bring her in based on this stuff, it was all obtained illegally and I don't think your UPS delivery trick is going to work this time. There is simply too many people at the Winner estate."

"Wufei's right. I will handle this personnally."

"How?"

"I'll pay her a visit tonight. She'll tell me what I want to know."

Heero prepared to leave, but stopped when Zechs and Dorothy entered the room. "I don't think that will be necessary Heero. Dorothy and I have a some news that will more than likely ferret out the leader of this little conspiracy."

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