Another Murder of Crows: Part 9

These last few days have put my internal clock completely off. The sun is so bright and cheerful that there is no way it could be early in the morning. I stretched audibly, the bones in my back popping as I turned my head to see Wufei's clock. Just as I thought. It's 11:36. Ugh. Usually, I'm on my way to lunch at this time.

Also, I was pretty close to the alarm clock too, almost to the edge of the bed. I was sleeping in Wufei's spot, so I guess he got up and went to work this morning. Work. Double ugh.

I sat up, stretching still, and began to rub the sleep out of my eyes. I couldn't help but smile to myself. I feel good. Refreshed even. It's like all of this weight that was on my head and chest were dramatically lifted off of me, never to be thought of again. It's almost as if the past few days didn't happen. I want to say that it's a dream, which I know isn't true, but it has that appeal. I actually feel my age. It's amazing what some good sleep can do. Now, all I need is a cup of tea.

Scratching my head, I started to pull the covers off of me and opened my eyes to see...Heero. To say I was surprised would've been a flat out lie.

"AH!" I let out a very very VERY undignified yelp, flying back in surprise. In doing so, I started to fall off of the bed. In a desperate attempt, I flailed my arms out to grab something. My left hand wrapped itself in the bedspread and my right hand clamped onto the alarm clock, with both items following me down to the floor. I landed with a very unsatisfactory 'thud' on my back, the sheet slithered quietly to the floor, and the clock landed with a loud 'clang' when it hit me in the forehead. Triple ugh.

I stayed on the floor after that, too stunned to move. I heard before I saw Heero walk around the bed, and from the angle I was in it seemed like he was walking on a wall rather than the floor. He stopped maybe two steps away from me and sat down next to me, placing two mugs by his feet. Staring me straight in the face, expressionless, he asked, "Did I scare you?"

I rolled my eyes. I should choke him, but my hands probably wouldn't wrap around his neck. "No Odin, I do this every morning. Really, it's quite enjoyable. You should try it some time." The sarcasm almost solidified on my lips.

"Hn," was all he grumbled, and held out a hand to help me up. I took the offered hand and sat up, wincing a bit when my forehead started throbbing. He picked up one of the mugs and handed it to me, which I also accepted. It was hot tea with lemon. Thank Allah. If I had a macaroon, I would be in heaven. "Thank you." [1]

"Hn," he grumbled again, sipping on his coffee. I sipped on the hot tea, swishing it in my mouth for a bit before swallowing it. I could feel where the hot liquid burned my lip and tongue, but I ignored it. You get use to it after a while.

"Thank you for the card. It's gorgeous."

Heero stared into his coffee cup, watching his reflection waver on the surface. "You're welcome. And I am sorry. I didn't realize that I....hurt you."

Heero had the expression of a chibi-eyed, hurt puppy. I hate it when he makes that face. I believe that if he had it in him to make that face at the beginning of the war, Romafellar would've fallen to their knees in tears. Maybe he can try against White Fang, it's just so sad. "It's okay, and I'm sorry too." If he doesn't stop soon, *I'm* going to cry.

"So, how is the fetus doing?"

"Oh, he's doing good. Iria watches over him diligently. With her keeping tabs on him, I'm not worried about a thing."

"Good," he murmured over the rim of his cup. "That means I won't have to kill her." I rolled my eyes again and looked up to the ceiling for Allah, wondering ‘why me?' Iria is the only sister I have that Heero likes–well–tolerates. It took a lot of coaxing from Duo and I to stop him from trying to kill the rest of my sisters. Literally.

A pain radiating from my behind brought me out of my thoughts. We were sitting on the wooden floor, but the floor was freezing cold. My thin cotton pants didn't help me keep warm either, so I started to shift and rock a bit to get the circulation going in my behind. Of course we could've sat back on the bed, but that would've made too much sense.

"So, why are you here Odin? I know Relena leaves this evening around seven for the Sanc kingdom. I thought you'd be helping her."

He sat his mug on the floor, leaned back against the mattress, and crossed his arms over his chest. Not a good sign. "Rashid told me what happened last night."

Oh crud. "He did? How?"

"I called to ask if you could stop by the Preventers today and help Wufei with some things I knew he would have trouble handling. He told me about the incident with the mirror and with the hole in the wall. I didn't know you broke your mirror, I was told you cut your hand, so I'm pissed you didn't mention that to me or call me for help last night."

Oh great. "Odin, it was late and we didn't want to bother you."

"Bullshit. It was after ten when I called. I can always tell when you're lying Quatre."

Right now, the line 'you can't handle the truth' keeps replaying itself in my head. How inconvenient. "Okay then. We didn't call because you get all zero–systemy when something happens. I didn't want you to blow up my house for the sake of something that happened in my bathroom!"

Heero stayed quiet for a moment, I guess considering some options. I'm starting to sweat, and it's not because I'm hot. I get nervous when he's quiet too long. That means he could possibly be thinking...about explosives. "I get all zero...systemy," he said slowly.

I must admit that I could've said that better, and I could've said that without sounding like Duo too. "Uh, yeah. You see," I began, twisting my ring, "you get into this frame of mind where nobody can reach you no matter what they say. Sometimes it's disconcerting." I glanced up to look him in the eye.

I was expecting the Yuy Death Glare accompanied with laser beams, but instead I was rewarded with a very sly smirk. "What's so funny?"

His smirk started to turn into a smile. "That's a nice shade on you."

"What? What are you talking about?" I touched my cheeks and ran my fingers across my lips. They came back stained red, but not a natural red. "Oh no he didn't." I jumped up and across the bed to Wufei's bathroom. Staring me back in the face was a nightmare.

Duo, it could only be him, had put makeup on my face. A lot of it. My lips were a bright red, and judging from the words printed on the bottom of the lipstick, where it and the rest of the makeup sat around the sink, read ‘Fire Engine Red 03.' Worse yet, it was smeared across my face as if I kissed someone. The pale green eyeshadow with glitter didn't help much, not to mention that I had on so much mascara I looked like a racoon. My cheeks were a deep rouge, and done in a compacted circle that it looked like I had the colored cheeks of one of those porcelain dolls.

"I'm going to KILL him!" I yelled at the mirror. "Uh, he is so dead!"

To help matters along, I could hear Heero roaring in the bedroom, and Heero laughs as often as the Earth rotating in full around the sun. That's it. First, I'm going to kill Heero, then I'll kill Duo. Sounds like a plan.

I jerked the cold water faucet to full blast and stuck my face under it. I can still hear him laughing over the downpour of the water. That little....something. I don't know what to call him, but when I think of something, ha! I'll let him have it. Then when I wake up from the coma, everything will be okay. Right.

The soap stung my eyes as I tried to work off the eyeshadow, making me squint even harder. I don't understand how women deal with this. Ah the burn! And my lips were drying out as I rubbed my soaped-covered hands across them, trying to remove the lipstick.

After I toweled my face dry and managed to open my watery, pain-filled eyes, I realized that Heero was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, with money in his hand.

"Miss, what can I get for two credits?" he asked, that stupid grin on his face. Why that little....

My train of thought was interrupted by Heero laughing, once again, at his own joke. I paused briefly, hoping to catch him off balance before launching myself at him. Unfortunately, he easily stepped aside and I flew past him to land on the bed. He continued to howl. Now how am I going to kill him and make it look like an accident?

I pushed myself off of the mattress and sat towards the edge, winded. This entire situation is exhausting. Heero, still panting, came maybe within four steps of me, and asked again, "So, what can I get for two credits?"

I decided to react somehow, even though it wouldn't hurt him. I smiled very cheekily, trying my best to look like a cheerful, little waif, before I gave him the finger stiffly and snatched the credits out of his hand. "THAT is what two credits will get you."

He continued to bellow while I gathered my clothes to get dressed. It's not like I'm upset, but you know how it is. It's funny until someone does it to you, so naturally, this isn't funny, at least to me. And knowing Wufei, he probably helped Duo select the colors. You can't do things like this without an accomplice. So I'll have to add his name to my death list as well.

And I will have to kill Duo twice over because of his selection in my wardrobe. I should've known better than to let him pack my clothes. Don't get me wrong, the man can dress when he needs to, but he doesn't understand that I have a certain...image to uphold. My dress for the day was a pair of cut up pale blue jeans, with more slits than not, a white t-shirt with short sleeves, and a black leather jacket. This was the most decent thing in the backpack. The jacket I have always liked, so that wasn't a big deal, but the jeans weren't going to work. And I'm suppose to be on my way to the office?! Allah, help me through this day. Please!

"Are you ready?" Heero yelled from somewhere in the apartment.

"Just about," I called from the living room, tying my shoelaces. "Hey Odin, I want to stop by my house to get some change of clothes."

Heero joined me in the living room. "No. I don't want you going back until I check the house out. Besides, there's nothing wrong with what you're wearing."

Of course that didn't make me feel better, coming from the man who wore nothing but a green tank and spandex shorts for an entire year. "I can't go to the office dressed like this. It's not professional."

"Quatre," Heero started, pulling me to my feet. I reached down to the coffee table and picked up the card he gave me, careful not to bend it as I stuffed it into the backpack. "You're on medical leave in the first place, and are only going in to do Wufei a favor, then you're leaving. We'll be there an hour max. Nobody will notice."

I snorted. This day is going to be very long.

Very long.

***

"Ooh wee! Quatre, you lookin' kinda good dressed like that! Too bad you're my boss huh?" Hilde teased from her desk as I was picking up my messages. I could feel my blush spreading to my ears.

"Um, thanks Hil. It's all I have, at the moment."

"Yeah, I heard something about vandalism or whatnot at your house. You know you're always welcomed to crash at my place if you need to," she said seriously.

I smiled. She has sacrificed so much for us. Next to the guys, she is the next person I trust with my life. "Thank you Hilde, I know. I almost did last night, but I stayed at Wufei's. I'll probably go back home tonight though."

"So long as everything's okay. Oh! Speaking of Wufei, he said to meet him in his office to go over those proposals. Some of them need your signature."

"Alright," I said happily. Maybe it won't take an hour after all. "Here. Heero and I got you some donuts." On our way over, since I haven't eaten yet, and Heero is Heero, we stopped by McDonald's. After that, we made another pit stop by Dunkin Donuts. I bought enough food to practically feed Earth.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed happily before shoving a Bearclaw in her mouth. She and Duo have to be twins. There is no other way to explain it.

I shoved the neon pink slips of paper that were my messages into one of my pockets and preceded down the hall to Wufei's office. His was only two doors down from mine, with Heero's the last door on the left. Duo's was in another building, since he worked a great deal with Zechs and Noin on patrol and training recruits. The three of us did mostly political work.

I knocked on his door twice before slowly opening it and peeking my head in. He sat behind his wooden desk, with stacks of paper up to his ears, looking very unhappy.

" 'Bout time you got here," he said smugly, which was weird considering the smirk that split across his face.

I came in and left the door cracked partially open. "Well, I would've been here sooner, but it took a while to work off the mascara. When that dries, it's like cement."

Wufei collapsed deeper into his chair, laughing. "Oh, how I wanted to see the expression on your face. This is for the time Duo stuck his tongue in my ear."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault! And here's your lunch." I tossed him the BLT that was still wrapped in that wax paper with the McDonald's logo, and sat the bag down to get out his fries.

"Well, he wouldn't have done that if you didn't tell him that I was asleep, so it IS your fault." He went to his frig and got out two coke cans, and popped the top on both.

"You know I have to get you back for this."

He snorted. "Go ahead and try. I'd like the challenge."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You would."

"You shouldn't stick your tongue out unless you intend to use it." I jumped at the cheeky remark. Dorothy. I hate when she does that. Don't get me wrong, she's not promiscuous by any means, and she is a very kind and good-natured person, but sometimes she gets in these moods when she is very, how do I say, lewd. She's even made Duo blush! Mr. Shameless himself. If that's not much of an accomplishment, I don't know what is.

"Hello Dorothy," I said pleasantly. I don't harbor any bad feelings against her from our duel two years ago, and from what I can tell, she is truly sorry for what she had done. I'm just happy that I was able to get through to her. Too bad Wufei doesn't feel the same. If she wasn't a woman, he would've killed her a long time ago, but I've heard him say that he might make the exception in her case. If it's not one thing, it's another.

"Hello Quatre, you look very...interesting today. I heard you had a rough night. Everything okay?" She placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side slightly. Her face held a pinch of concern.

"Yeah, everything's okay. I should be returning home tonight. Thank you for asking."

"No problem at all. Just wanted to make sure everything's okay. If I can help, let me know." She smiled beautifully, revealing her straight, pearl-white teeth. Dorothy really is a lovely girl, but her eyebrows tend to be...distracting.

"Thank you for the offer Dorothy." I smiled back and dug around in the bag, looking for the spare apple pie. "Do you want something? I got a ton of stuff here--"

"No, that's alright thank you. I need to be going now. Miss Relena and I need to be at the spaceport around six thirty or so, and we still have a bunch of stuff to do. Just stopped by to make sure you were okay." She leaned forward to kiss me on my cheeks, which is what we always do, but right when she kissed my other cheek, I felt a slight squeeze on my behind. Before the question could reach my lips, she let go and quickly left the room, closing the door firmly behind her. I stood stunned for a moment until Wufei's slight chuckle broke me out of my reverie.

"You should've killed her when you had the chance," he said flatly. I pulled one of the chairs that were off to the side in front of his desk and sat down, grabbing a stack of papers while reading through my messages.

"I thought it was dishonorable to fight women," I retorted, balling up the first message and tossing it in the trash. I don't see the need to have a subscription to 'Whips and Chains.'

"She's not a woman," he said, shaking his head slightly. "She's a demon. A long-haired, forked-eyebrow, butt-groping demon."

"Right, sure she is," I commented dryly, throwing another message away, this one about intercolony phone service.

"Quatre, are you mocking me?" he asked, his tone slightly angry.

"No Wufei, I'm not," I replied, not really paying attention, as another message is shot into the trash. I don't know why Hilde would waste her time taking these, "mocking you."

"Hn. Where's Odin?"

"Oh, he dropped me off and went to see Zechs. I don't know what about." These people want another donation? Didn't I write them a check about two weeks ago?

"Hn, probably about a security upgrade knowing those two."

"Probably." As if I don't have enough credit cards.

The last message was from my sister, Iria, asking me to call her when I get the chance. I wonder why she didn't leave a message on my cell phone. "Hey Wu, I need your phone."

He reached out and turned the phone towards me without even looking. I had the handle wedged between my head and shoulder as I dialed her home number. After about three rings, the screen lit up with her face, and she smiled brightly at me, her eyes filled with mirth.

"Hey Quatre! I'm glad you called."

"Hey Iria, is everything alright? What's wrong?"

She laughed vivaciously at me, shaking her head. "Nothing's wrong, I just miss you and want to see you. There are a few things that I want to talk to you about that aren't immediate, but I would like to see you as soon as possible."

"I can be there maybe around eight or so tonight."

"That would be perfect, and tell that hunk of a man Wufei I said hi! See you then. May Allah protect you."

I snorted and ran my fingers through my hair. She is something else. "And you as well. Quatre out."

I hung up the phone, threw away the last message and started to attack the stack of papers with a great deal of zest. It would be nice to be around Iria again, chatting and playing a few rounds of Clue, talk about guys or whatever else comes to mind.

"Thanks Wu, and Iria says hi," I said, making my voice higher as I wiggled my fingers at him and made a kissing face. He blushed faintly. Ever since she met Wufei, she has always teased and flirted with him. I find that extremely amusing, since she and Sally are suppose to be very good friends. My life is turning into a soap opera, I swear.

"Tell her I said hello when you see her, and you're an idiot."

"Oh Wu, you gonna leave me and Sally for my sister, huh?" I started crossing my legs in the classic 'Basic Instinct' style, while spinning in my chair and smoking my straw. The only problem was that I was getting dizzy and I looked like a fool, but it had the desired effect. Wufei threw a few of his fries at me before laughing back at my antics.

***

"Oh man, I gotta hustle!" It's after five and I wanted to go home to get my car and meet the others back here at headquarters so that we could escort Relena to the spaceport. Ever since Dekim Barton managed to kidnap her while she was speaking with representatives on that colony, we've been more cautious about how she travels. And now that we know a threat is on the rise, we don't want to take any chances.

Zechs and Heero left to survey the spaceport to make sure there hasn't been any sabotage done to the shuttle, and that it is safe for her to be in. Noin and Duo will be personally escorting her on the plane, watching for Dorothy as well, and Heero and Zechs should already be on board. I volunteered to go undercover, since I was dressed the way I was anyway, to watch for anything suspicious. Wufei will be on the ground, watching to make sure no one tries to shoot down the shuttle once it takes off. When they arrive in space, the military will make sure she makes it to Earth safely. Ah, the life of a Preventer.

I hopped off the shuttle bus and headed down the stairs to the subway station. It would be faster to take the sub than to wait for a cab, and much cooler too, since it has warmed up today. I suppose they're almost done fixing that generator. Anyway, being a Preventer does have its upside, however small it is. I don't ever have to pay for the sub, or taxi, and a lot of the restaurants that Duo, Wufei and I like to eat at have a tab for us paid by the Preventers. The only other plus is that we are the only individuals legally recognized to carry weapons, but it's just Duo who seems to be ecstatic about that notion.

At the gate were two guards, collecting money as the passengers paid and stepped out towards the terminal. I stopped carrying my badge a long time ago, since every time I ever came, it's always the same two. Larry, one of the guards, simply waved my clearance and I jumped over the rail and lightly jogged my way to the sub.

I settled myself into the semi-hard, too narrow pale blue cushion and stared straight ahead through the window. I laid my head back against the top, my feet shoulder width apart, and tried to unwind on this mundane trip home. There were only two other people with me in this particular cart, an older man, maybe in his thirties in a dark blue business suit, probably a broker, talking loudly to someone on a cell phone in Russian. I couldn't make out all of the words, but at the same time I didn't want to know either. It didn't sound like he was talking to a client, unless the client's name was Miss Boom Boom. The other person was an older lady, in her sixties maybe, white hair in a bun on top of her head, with large beige glasses, and her face was a mass of wrinkles.

I figured it would take about fifteen minutes for the train to reach where I need to get off, and maybe another ten minutes for me to get back to the house. To get back to headquarters would take me another twenty minutes, and I should barely make it in by six o'clock. I'll make it.

Soon enough the train stopped, and the broker got off. Thank Allah. I needed the peace and quiet. It's one thing to listen to Duo chatter a mile a minute, but it's another when someone is speaking just as fast in a language that I'm not entirely fluent in. Actually, it's downright annoying. A few minutes after that, the old woman got off, and I was alone in the cart.

Since I was alone, I decided to hum a little tune. I really couldn't decide on what I wanted to hum, which is pathetic I know, so I decided to make up a song that I could possibly practice on the piano, or maybe it would sound better on the violin?

I started to ponder this when the lights quickly flipped off and back on again. I didn't think anything of it because it does that all the time. A few seconds later it happened again, and on the third time they went off. Now that wasn't right, but it's conceivable. Besides, light was coming in from the other terminals that we passed, flashing in and out of the cart like a strobe light.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps. I turned my head a little ways to see the silhouette of a man, and I tried to think nothing of it, but the soldier in me screamed otherwise. The light that did come in from the passing terminals did not highlight any features of him at all; it was as if the light refused to shine on him. All it did was pronounce his build. He was tall, had broad shoulders, and seemed to have short, ear length hair. That was all I could see.

I unzipped my jacket, reached inside and fingered my Bowie [2]. I slid it out of its sheath slightly, the cold handle of the knife very comforting between my fingertips. I hate being so jumpy, but with the atmosphere around me and the fact that I didn't hear or see him come in makes me wary.

He continued to walk in a straight line, not exactly towards me but more of a line right down the middle. The problem was that to my right there was a pole, and he would either have to come towards me or go to the other side to get around it.

I had a feeling he wouldn't do the latter.

My palm fit easily around the handle, waiting for him to make the next move. His pace didn't change, and with another glimpse of light shining in, it appeared that he had his hands in his pockets. That made my tension ease a bit.

He continued to walk, and actually moved towards the other side of the pole to go around it. I let out a breath that I wasn't even aware I was holding. Then another flash of light revealed that his hand was on the pole. I grabbed at my knife while he used the force of his walking to swing around and throw himself on me.

I was too slow. I was too. Damn. Slow.

He landed hard on top of me, and banged my head against the window. He caught my right wrist, the one that was holding the knife, with one hand and he had my left wrist with the other as he straddled my lap. He threw my right hand against the window, but I didn't drop it. He did it once again, but I still held on. He did two more times, but I didn't let go.

This time he stretched both of my hands high above my head, and quickly jumped up from my lap and kicked me across the cheekbone, then slammed my hand against the window, where this time I dropped the knife. I can't explain precisely the pain that simple, nonthreatening act produced. I've never really been in a hand to hand fight, except fencing, in which you really don't touch your opponent, and when sparring with Wufei, but I thought this man broke my face, the pain was so intense. I felt my head jerk hard, smacking against the window, my spine muscles twisting themselves into a knot because of the sudden, unnatural movement. My vision blacked out around the edges, but I could feel myself being pushed down onto the seat.

This time he held both of my wrists in one of his large hands as his body stretched out on top of mine, laying me back against the seat cushion while unzipping my jacket. At first I thought he was going to steal it. If that was the case, he sure is going through a lot of trouble for a leather jacket. But then I felt his face come close to mine, and his breath was ice cold across my cheek, as he whispered in my ear, "I've come for you Angel."

The words didn't quite click in, or his intentions, until I felt the button on my jeans come loose and heard the zipper of my pants come undone. Cold fingertips grazed the skin of my belly, making me flinch slightly at the touch. Panic rose from my stomach to my throat, and I could hear the fear singing within my nerves. I felt a wetness in my ear that could only be his tongue. I couldn't help shivering. He smiled against my ear. "Hmmm, so you like that huh? And I never thought you'd be the type to go....without," he said, as he moved his hand lower....

"Gaaaaah!" I screamed and started to push him off of me by arching my back. It only seemed to excite him more. I tried to kick him, but he was already in between my legs, and so close to me that I couldn't get my foot wedged between his body and mine. His lips were cold against my skin as he kissed and bit at my neck. I saw with a glimpse of light that his hand was fisted in my jeans, sliding one side of it down my hip. Oh Allah no! This can't be happening!

/ Relena! She needs your help. You can't let her down! / My thoughts screamed at me.

I planted one foot against the floor and pushed up, almost rolling him to the side of me. He leaned over my body to lift up the offending leg when I raised it and put my foot against his chest, propelling him off of me. He landed hard against the floor, and I launched myself off of the seat, readying myself for what I knew would be a tough fight. As soon as he stood I landed another kick to his chest, knocking him to the floor. A glimpse of light sparkled gold, and that could only be one thing.

My knife.

I threw myself on the floor and slid towards the corner where my knife laid hidden. As soon as I touched it, my hand and it became one, filling me with a confidence that I lacked at the moment. I quickly turned on my heels and slashed at my offender, but he jumped back instantly to avoid my strike. I ran a short distance before I landed a roundhouse kick to his jaw, where he doubled over but didn't fall completely. Now's my chance.

I kicked him in the chest again, then lounged forward, rolling myself into a little ball along the floor, coming to unroll myself on one knee and one foot, and stabbed him in his stomach. Before I consciously thought about it, I tried to kill him. I twisted my knife in him, almost carving a hole, straining as his insides hopelessly forced resistence on the blade. As I stood up and pulled my knife away, he fell to the floor. Straddling his hips, I brought the Bowie up above my head for the final blow, and brought it down fast, only to have it scrape against the hard metal floor.

"What the FUCK?!"

The lights came on, and I found myself sitting in the middle of the floor, on my knees, alone. I jumped up and glanced around me, trying to find my assailant. I was alone. There wasn't even anybody on the next cart.

I felt my face, wincing when I brushed my bruised cheek. My wrists were also badly bruised and I had to zip my pants up. Oh, this happened alright. This was NOT my imagination or some weird dream. My last clue was my knife. Studying it, I realized it had blood on it.

I wasn't bleeding. At all.

The doors to the sub opened, signaling my stop. Even though the blade was dirty, I stuck it back in its sheath and ran out, past the guards, past others walking towards the sub, knocking a few people out of my way as I raced up the stairs to freedom.

The sunlight blinded me as I came out of the tunnel, but I ignored it, my panic refusing to let me go. As soon as my foot touched the sand of L–4, I took off running towards home like I would never stop.

(tbc)