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"Bounty Hunters: The Case of the Stolen Yacht"Written By: Yanagi Disclaimer: I do not own or hold any rights to
[Gundam Wing]. Those rights belong to [Bandai, Sunrise, and the Sotsu
Agency]. These fan fictions were written for fun, not profit. However,
this story does belong to me. Please don’t snitch it. Warnings: the usual Beta: rogue53 Pairings: 1x2 Authors notes: The next in the Bounty Hunters
series and my NaNo for 2009. "Bounty Hunters: The Case of the Stolen Yacht" Chapter Five The coveralls arrived the next evening, making a conflict between two things they needed to do. They were supposed to attend the opening of that new club and they needed to try to sneak into the dock. Duo decided that attending the grand opening was necessary to their cover, sneaking into the dock was secondary. They could do it tomorrow. Heero realized that he was just impatient. Duo was impatient too, so they took a little walk to see what shift the dock was active on. On colony, every one worked on shifts as they were on a 24 hour clock. So a usual greeting amongst strangers was, “What shift are you on?” Duo knew that, if the dock was on third shift as their work 'day', they had a good chance of sneaking in despised as repairmen. If it was on second their chances were still good, but first shift would pose problems as the opening was on that shift. Heero suddenly said, “Duo, why are we worrying about what shift they're on?” Duo gave him a duh look. “I mean, why don't we just ask Jessica?” “I have no idea. I'll call her, shall I?” But Heero was already dialing her number. She told them she'd find out and text them, she also sent them a schedule for the next three days. She'd refused several invitations for them, but listed them anyway. Heero announced that there was no way he was going to a recitation of New Age Body Motion, what ever that was, charity or not. Duo just blinked once at the whole idea. They also were glad to see that she'd refused a wine tasting, the wine was made from garbage. And an Eclectic Junk as Art show. Duo just shook his head. The invitations that she'd accepted were a club opening, the aforementioned Inferno, a lunch with several of Hidalgo's friends and a dinner for one of Quatre's charities. They were both grateful for all her help; she kept them on the right social track without over burdening them with engagements. Something they were very grateful for. So, they dressed in their best casual clothes and headed for a quick walk done the mall, see and be seen. Duo called it a bit of social window shopping where they might actually buy something. Heero just called it humoring Duo. He really didn't mind much, so far this mission had been boring and safe. He got the nasty feeling that it wasn't going to last They walked from the hotel down one side of the street to the cross street that marked the end of the shopping district, crossed the main drag and walked to the other side of the area. Then they returned to the hotel, just in time to change for their lunch engagement. They changed from 'walking around' clothing into business
suits for their lunch. Very expensive suits, Duo called them Quatre-esque.
Heero liked them, he felt very dressed up. “So, do I look ok?” Duo turned around to look at Heero. “Like sex on two feet. Me?” “Edible. Where's this lunch? So far we've stuck fairly close to this area, I hope we don't have to go halfway across the colony to get there. And, what's this lunch about? Charity? Save the whiffle-bopper?” Duo laughed. “It's some sort of art thing. Boring, not controversial and probably so white bread we'll choke on it. Come on. Hidalgo set it up for some reason.” “Ok. I'd just like to know if I'm supposed to ooo and ahhh over something.” “No, just glower at everyone and give us an excuse to leave early.” Heero nodded once then asked, “And dinner?” Duo smacked himself on the forehead. “Damn. Let me check something.” he pulled out his BlackBerry and checked the scheduler. “Fuck. Lunch is informal, with Hidalgo, Mike, Jason and their girls. Dinner is the damn art thing. We'll have to change. The Dinner is white tie.” Heero just shrugged and went to change in to a sport jacket, trousers and button down shirt, no tie. Duo did the same. They both wondered how anyone could enjoy living like this. The idle wandering, shopping, partying and general uselessness were beginning to pall on both of them. As they walked to the elevator, lunch was on the rooftop, a restaurant called Paradise. They discussed how much longer they were going to work this angle before they tried another. “I'd give it another week. If we don't find out something, we figure out something else. I don't think we're in with the right crowd to find out much about Ameena. Hidalgo's a nice guy and all but he ... doesn't know the,” Duo snickered, “wrong people. If you know what I mean.” Heero agreed with Duo. “I do. Ameena's crowd is so useless that it's pathetic. I think Jess may have miscalculated her ability to squeeze us into two such different ... cliques. I'm bored and restless, hang gliding is all well and good but not that ... demanding. We've got to get something moving.” Duo rubbed his face. “I know. Hurry up and wait. This is worse than that stakeout in Florence. We sat around in that van for ... how long?” Heero grimaced. “Six days. I was ready to just barge into that house and shoot someone. At least we don't have the potty problem.” Duo snickered, “Right. That was just ... ugh!” The elevator binged and they walked into a garden. It was supposed to look like the hanging gardens of Babylon. They looked around and Duo had to admit, “Very nice. They've got a really good selection of hanging baskets, orchids and ... what's that vine?” Heero eyed it for a moment while he compared the vine to his memorized list of plants. “Hoya, I think.” He nodded his head at the hovering host and said, “Hidalgo.” “Yes, sir, this way please.” The host picked up menus and led the way to a table situated in a nook half way to the back. This was a serious restaurant, used by high class business men to conduct business, not a see and be seen place. Their privacy was assured by a maze of planters and hanging baskets, supplemented by trellises and other wrought iron arrangements. Hidalgo was already there and looking very satisfied with himself. Mike and Jason turned up as they were getting seated. The ladies, it seemed, had all needed a short visit to the facilities. Hidalgo got right to the point. “Ok, you got coveralls coming and I got a clue. There was a big yacht docked at Level 6, Dock 361 about three months ago, having kitchens and baths installed. Ameena threw a big fit about it, saying that 'he' was just spoiled and she should have been the CEO of WEI as she's one of the 'original' children. Sounded like her usual rant against her brother, but she disappeared shortly after that, came back with several muscle men and hasn't been heard from since.” Heero started to tell Hidalgo that they already knew that, but he held up a hand. “Bear with me. The ship stayed right where it was supposed to be for another three weeks. Then, it was supposed to be delivered to Mr. Winner, but it went missing instead. Now, the poop is that she was asking questions on the dock and then a couple of the crewmen quit under questionable circumstances. If you ask the right questions around that dock, you might find out something, and I'm still trying to get names of the crew. So ... I do good?” Duo nodded while Heero quickly entered all the info into his BlackBerry. “Yeah, you did good. That's the best lead we've got. Who do we owe what?” This question didn't get answered as the ladies came to the table just then, but Mike and Jason were looking very pleased with themselves. There was some shuffling and chair moving to get everyone at the table and relatively comfortable. The menus were studied and orders placed. All the ladies had salads with various toppings, all the men ordered some sort of sandwich. The food arrived, they started eating and that was when the two bounty hunters found out the other reason for their little lunch. It seemed that two of the ladies were well acquainted with Ameena's group, having friends that were either inner circle or children of inner circle. The gossip flew like snow. It seemed that most of Ameena's crowd was planning some sort of trip somewhere very mysterious. It also seemed that someone had let the cat out of the bag. Ameena was bringing her 'prize' to a satellite colony for a big going away party. All they had to do was find the ticket that told them were and when. The ladies all agreed that Ameena was a bitch not to just invite everyone and be done with it. Instead, there was a list of clues that had to be interpreted to find out the location. Anyone who showed up at the correct dock at the correct time could go. Duo nearly choked on his tea. “Is she barking? Why not just take out an ad in the paper? Something along the lines of, “I've stolen my brother’s yacht, if you want to party be here.” and give the coordinates. Woman is a complete fool.” Hidalgo shook his head. “Not only that, she's arrogant. And greedy. She's still going to charge an admission. Who ever heard of that? Claims it's for charity but ...” he was interrupted by Lulu, Mike's date. “How can you tell when Ameena is lying?” Duo replied, “Her lips are moving.” which earned him a pretty pout and snickers from the rest of the table. After they finished eating, Duo made a grab for the bill and Hidalgo managed to get it by snatching it out of the waiters hand and standing up. His considerable height advantage left Duo in the lurch, he thought. Duo tickled him and when he doubled over, Heero snagged the slip of paper and laughed softly. They split up after finding out that Heero and Duo were the only two who were going to the dinner. . They returned to the suite and settled in for a quick analysis of the new information. “You really believe that? That Ameena is going to just give hints about where she is?” Heero thought about that for a moment. “I don't think so. She's not that stupid. You know what gossip is, it takes a kernel of truth and coats it with pretty lies. So, what could the truth be?” Duo picked at his lower lip as he thought about it. “Mmmmm, not sure. She's planning something. Some showy stunt, or I miss my guess. But ... I just want to find Q's yacht before she does something really stupid with it. And ... wonder if we can charge her with grand theft auto.” Heero snickered, “Along with piracy, subverting a crew ... I've forgotten all the minor charges. Trowa had a bale of 'em. I'm trying to decide how that woman has managed to actually hide a yacht that size. Where the hell is it?” Duo actually scratched his head. “I haven't a clue, not one. She's sly, but not really smart. Every one we talk to says the same thing. And I'd really like to know how she got the crew to cooperate.” Heero rummaged in his briefcase, searching for another memory chip. “That's easy. She bribed them. And threatened the one's she couldn't bribe. The people she threatened are probably laying low until the stink goes away. I'd like to find one of them.” He found the chip and slipped it into a slot on his computer. He'd set it up on the coffee table the day they'd arrived and it hadn't been turned off since. “Hummm. Wonder .... I'm sending an email to Quatre asking for everything they have on the original crew. Maybe we can shake something loose.” Heero typed quickly and sent the mail off with a quick click. Duo glanced at his watch. “We better start getting ready. We've got about an hour to get ready. We have to leave a bit earlier than I'd like. The damn dinner is at the Arts Council facility. It's half spin and down colony.” Heero sighed. “That's halfway across the colony.” “Yeah. So, we better get a hump on.” They washed, redressed and left in good time. Heero insisted on leaving over an hour early, who knew what might happen and he hated being late almost as much as Duo did. It was a good thing they did as the first thing that happened was, they missed their train and had to wait for fifteen minutes for the next one. Then they missed their stop, although they had a perfect excuse. Necking is an excuse, right? Then the walk-way that was the most direct route to the venue was down for repair and they had to detour four blocks, then take a slide way. Duo hated slide-ways as the moving sidewalk like metal belt shook in a way that reminded him of a ship with unbalanced jets. It made him vaguely nauseous. When they finally got to the dining hall, they were faintly fussed and a bit stressed. It was made worse by the gathering of photographers and reporters just outside the door. The 'red carpet' was rolled out and everyone who was anyone was doing their best to hog the lime light as long as possible. “Fuck. I so do not want to get in that mess.” Heero growled softly, “Me neither. Let's see if we can't find a different way in.” They started to ease out of the crowd and immediately ran afoul of a colonial security officer. “Sorry, boys, invitation only. You'll have to get back behind the rope.” Heero seized his opportunity quickly. He pulled his invitation out of his inside pocket and showed it to the officer. This, along with the elegant tux he was wearing, made the man check a list on a data pad he was carrying. “Ok, you're in.” He turned to Duo. “Show me your invite, please.” Duo handed his over for inspection. “Good. So what's with the sneaking in a side door?” Duo sighed and rubbed his face, a quick glance at Heero got him a jerk of the head that Heero called a nod. “Take a close look at us, then look at our names. Ring a bell?” The officer did a double take. “Yeah. And I really, really don't want my face plastered all over the papers. We're here on a job, mission, assignment; whatever you want to call it, and we don't need the attention. So, we just want to get inside as quietly as possible. So ... think you could give a guy a hand?” The officer nodded. “Give me a sec.” He got on his radio and called someone higher up for and 'escort for shy VIP's'. It didn't take long for a liaison from the venue to come and show them a way inside, even going so far as to lead them all the way to the dining room and find their seats for them. They settled in for a boring evening of speeches and bad food. They were not disappointed. Most of their table mates were what Relena called empty headed moneybags, only invited because they would donate to almost anything, either for tax reasons or bragging rights. There was the usual opening speech, telling everyone which charity was giving the dinner and inviting them all to enjoy the art scattered across the walls of the dinning room. Heero observed that he could do better with a paintball gun. Duo agreed. If the art was bad, the food was worse. And the conversation consisted of nothing more than empty headed observations on politics, movie stars and fashion. The only other man at the table of six looked like he couldn't decide whether to blow his brains out or someone else's. Heero leaned rudely across his table companion and asked, “And what do you actually do for a living? Just so I know.” “Oh, sorry. My name is Alex Rogers. I'm CEO of Celco. We specialize in cargo handling applications.” He winced as the woman with him kicked him in the ankle. “Don't bore those boys with that. They're not really interested.” Duo took immediate revenge. “Oh, yeah, Celco. You're the company that produces the new C40-51 container. I like that one. Big enough to carry a good payload, with those recessed load bearing attachment points. Those are a great invention, really made it easier to stack containers without having handles get hung. Do you plan on making containers in other sizes?” Heero snickered behind his napkin as everyone at the table stared at Duo. Alex because he was delighted that someone finally recognized the usefulness of his passion and the rest of the table because they had no idea what Duo was talking about. “Oh, man, sorry. No one at this table has introduced themselves. Too much social chatter, not enough manners. Duo Maxwell, pleased ta meetcha.” Duo held out his hand, right across the woman seated to that side of him. This encouraged everyone to introduce themselves to Duo and Heero. And with that Heero, Duo and Alex started up a spirited conversation about shipping containers and structural materials that left the three ladies glassy-eyed and yawning. This lasted until desert was served, a very disappointing apple something which even Duo rejected with scorn. His plaintive, “How the hell can they charge 60 euros for shit on a shingle, limp salad and that?” Alex chuckled and said, “Because it's a charity. Most of the money goes directly into the accounts of the Arts Council. And they're going to stick us for a donation before we get out the door. Now, your best bet is to circulate. Avoid that corner as the group that gathers there orbits around that Winner woman. Unless you've got some sort of death wish.” Duo's eyes lit up at that. The Winner woman had to be Ameena. Alex's wife announced. “I don't like the way your eyes lit up at that. She's an awful woman, hangs out with all sorts of drug users and such. Drinks too much and has the most awful morals I've ever seen. She even takes a trip to Outer 7 every so often. And she's gone for a month at a time. Terrible. You stay away from her.” Heero's eyes flicked to Duo for a split second. Duo jumped into the conversation easily. “Outer 7? What's that?” Alex shook his head. “You don't want to go there unless you're looking for someone to arrest. It's a decommissioned scientific station. Some of Ameena's bunch took it over and they're manufacturing all sorts of stuff there. And it's also called Party Hardy.” Heero said, “I see. And no one has done anything about it yet?” “No one can. It's privately owned and they can make their own laws. Preventers can't do anything about it without proof of some sort of violation of ESUN laws. Manufacturing drugs isn't illegal, and taking them isn't, just selling them.” Heero blinked once. Duo asked the obvious question. “And so... how do they make a profit off giving them away.” “Easy. They call the whole sewer a 'vacation get away' and charge an entry fee and room and board. It's really expensive because everything you want is included in the package you pay for. They can't prove much, because the only people allowed entry are in one or the other of several people’s social circles.” Duo nodded his understanding. “I see. Jessica strikes again. Hummm. Heero?” Heero shook his head. “I'm calling Une.” This was when their names really clicked with the table. They watched in astonishment as Alex turned a funny shade of puce while all the ladies became fluttering messes, even Mrs. Rogers. Heero bore with the results of their recognition with cool aplomb while Duo managed to keep his friendly smile in place, but they were both distinctly uncomfortable. They managed to separate themselves from the table by going to examine some of the art more closely. . They roamed the room, like every other attendee, and examined some of the works closely. “It's a pair of knickers.” Duo's puzzlement was obvious. “Yeah, it is. Covered with ... acrylic paint?” Heero was just as puzzled. “So ... Fuck me! Will you look at that?” Duo pointed to the price. Heero squinted as if he thought his eyes were going back on him. “It's 3,000 euros? For crusty knickers? That's ... that's ... what the hell is this guy smoking?” “Dunno, but it's sure to be illegal, addictive and expensive. How the hell else is he charging that for this.” Duo's scornful tone and sweeping gesture made his opinion clear. “Let's blow this nut farm.” So they did what they did best and stealthily slipped out of the venue without anyone being the wiser. Heero managed to get Une's secretary on the phone while they were on the subway back to the hotel. Duo paired his BlackBerry with Heero's so he could be in on the conversation too. The secretary told them that, between the time lag and the time of day, they would be better off sending email. Duo just asked the woman if they couldn't just tell her what they wanted and have it mailed to them. They lost the connection when they entered a tunnel. The amount of metal in the hull of the colony, as well as that in the decking, cut them off like a knife through butter. Heero snarled but Duo just started composing his message, using the tiny keyboard on his BlackBerry with quick efficiency. By the time they got back to the hotel, Duo had sent his message and was ready for their next step in finding the yacht. It didn't take them long to get to their rooms, shed their tuxedos and find ship-suits. The box of coveralls was right where it was supposed to be, on the coffee table in the sitting room. Duo unbraided his hair and got Heero to help him re-braid it. It didn't take long but Heero ended up shaking his head at the amount of ordinance Duo managed to braid into it. No wonder that braid was so heavy sometimes. Duo just gave Heero a totally unrepentant grin and picked up his coverall. Heero took the other one; it was easy to tell which one belonged to whom by the size. Heero was still short, stocky and a bit more heavily muscled. Duo was the same height as Heero, but he was slender, willowy and wiry. The spacer fit of their coveralls allowed for hiding a number of interesting objects; Heero buckled the tool belt around his waist and checked the pockets, making sure he knew where things were. Duo stuffed things into his pockets; Heero doubted they were entirely legal. Then they did as most workers did and unzipped their coveralls to the waist and rolled the top down, holding it in place by tying the sleeves around their waists. They hid their sidearms in the bulky roll where they would be easy to get to and hard to see. “Well, I'm ready. You?” Heero just picked up the toolbox and handed it to Duo. “Yeah, we better be quick though. Management will have a fit if they see us and I don't fancy having to make explanations. The freight elevator is hidden at the end of the hall to the left, behind that bank of silk plants.” “Yup, I saw it first thing. I'll stick my head out and give the hall a quick scan.” Duo did so as he spoke. “Ok. Let's hustle.” He scurried out the door and made for the end of the hall. Heero followed quickly, only pausing long enough to lock the door. They nipped around the barrier, set there to keep the sight of a utility elevator from the delicate eyes of the customers. Duo quickly hacked the key card lock and opened the door. The elevator was on a different floor but it was easy to call by just pushing the button on the lock. The elevator arrived silently and they entered it. Duo punched the 'B'1 button and the elevator dropped smoothly to the first basement level. When the door opened, Duo took a quick peek out. Seeing no one they bolted through the large parking facility and into the shadows of a service corridor. “Ok, that was easy. Now all we have to do is find Docking Bay [ look up number].” As he was talking his BlackBerry beeped. He quickly answered it. “It's a text from Q. Addresses of all the original crew, with info on whether they're still on colony or not.” He studied it for a moment. “There's three still on colony. We need to go speak to them. One is even on this shift, but the other two are on ... third. We can stay up and see if we can't find them.” “Ok.” Heero glanced around to check on their location. The colony's under belly was marked all over with numbers to tell people where they were. It was too easy to get lost as every corridor looked like every other one. Everything was numbered from nul-gravity to the outer skin and from an arbitrary point from one end to the other. With quarter divisions in every direction. So a designation like 0-1-214-60 meant that the location was in the core at the first quarter, section 214, corridor 60. There would also be a room or bay designation. Heero checked the numbers against their address and said, “We're only three levels away and it's almost directly under us. If we can find a drop shaft, we've got it made.” Duo glanced around, then headed down a side corridor. “This way. There's probably a node close. There ought to be a drop shaft there.” Heero grunted but smiled at his partners back. Duo knew more ways to sneak in and out of places than anyone else he knew. They walked around a bend in the corridor and into a large circular room, in the middle of which was a drop shaft. A drop shaft was a bit of a misnomer, it was actually a cable with hand loops on it that moved around two pulleys, one on one level and the other several levels away. There were two sets of pulleys on the 'master' level, one 'descending' the other 'ascending'. All you did to use it was stick a foot in one loop and grab another. They used the drop shaft to go from their current level down three. They stepped off in a room so similar that the only way to tell the difference was to check the numbers on the wall. Duo made sure they were on the right level, then led the way. Heero really didn't need the guidance but he didn't object, the sight of Duo's braid swaying near his waist seemed to point at something Heero really enjoyed watching. It only took them a few minutes to find the docking bay. Duo just stood in the employees door and looked around for a moment. He pointed. “Heero, look there. There's a burn on the wall. Wonder what caused that?” Heero eyed it for a moment. “I don't know. But it's a perfect excuse to be here. We need to check behind it to make sure there's no damage.” Duo grinned. “Great idea. You're so slick.” Heero just headed for the burn. He was spotted almost immediately by one of the docking bay crew members. “Excuse me! Who are you?” Heero just stopped and looked at the man. Duo eased up beside him and smiled a bit. Heero's forgery skills were amazing so he wasn't too worried. Heero waited for him to come to them then handed the papers he'd prepared over. Heero read the badge the man was wearing. Hugo Altorfer held out his hand, took the papers and glanced at them. “Ok, I was wondering when someone was going to come check that out. No one can figure out what happened.” “Having any difficulties? Things that don't work? Anything?” “No, not that anyone's mentioned. Computers and electronics ok. Pressure lines all at spec. Hoists and such ok too. I don't know why they sent you.” Duo gave a shrug and announced, “You know management. No one knows why they do what they do. So ... we'll check it out and get out of your hair.” “Great, thanks.” He started to walk away but Duo started talking to him. “Man, Hugo ... you don't mind if I call you Hugo, do you?” Hugo shook his head. “Thanks.” Duo rubbernecked shamelessly. “I'm new on colony. I've never seen a bay this big. What the hell docks here?” “Private luxury yachts mostly.” He shook his head. “I don't understand how some people can be so damn stupid. That Winner woman, for example, she just got all in a snit about something and fired two of her own crew fro nothing that they could figure out. And they can't even get new jobs because she wouldn't give them references. I just don't get it. Carl and Jory are good men. But ... you're not interested in that sort of shit.” Duo caught Heero's eye and jerked his head toward the burn. “Sucks, but I know how rich people are. Wonder why Mr. Winner let her do that. It's his yacht, after all.” Duo caught a look at Hugo's face. “It is. Big thing in that rag my sister reads. Full page spread of the blue prints and everything. He built it out of his own pocket, for himself. She took off with it, so the poop is. He's a bit pissed. Can't figure it out. So ... what's with the burn?” Duo went to join Heero in examining the area. It was odd in that it looked very like a flash-bang burn. The surface of the plating was scorched but nothing underneath was damaged. Heero gave Duo a significant look. This didn't look good. More might be going on than just a simple theft, but what? They replaced the plate and wandered around a bit. The dock was clean, neatly kept and well used. The air lock which allowed the ships to enter the bay was perfectly maintained and didn't show any marks. The only oddity in the whole place was that one burn mark. As they were wondering what to do next a voice called out, “Hey, it's lunch time. We ordered pizza. You want some? There's plenty.” Duo immediately called, “Sure, thanks. Be right there.” He hissed at Heero. “We have to find out more about that crew. Maybe the dockhands know more than they've said. But we'll have to be careful.” Heero just grunted softly. He was better at interrogation than smoozing. He was going to have to depend on Duo's ability to pry gossip out of a clam. Not that he was worried, Duo's friendly, gossipy personality was mostly smoke and mirrors but it worked very well, he had high hopes. He wasn't to be disappointed. Duo settled at the table and announced cheerfully, “Man, pizza, thanks, guys. We forgot our lunches.” “Man, that sucks. I hate being hungry.” Heero managed a heavy sigh. “Me too. Is there any sausage?” “Yeah, man, here. And that's a supreme with extra cheese.” Duo made grabby hands at the speaker. “Yum! Gimme.” He was handed a piece of the supreme and a piece of pepperoni. “Here, and this is for ... what's your name?” “Yuy. Thanks.” As they started on their slices, Duo announced, “This is great. Thanks again. Oh, and my name's Max. What the hell happened to that wall. Looks like someone threw a handful of flash powder on it.” “We don't know. I was just there about a month ago. We checked everything out, found out that there wasn't any damage behind it. So we just wrote up a job ticket and let nature take its course.” “I see. Well, anyway. Someone was telling me that you had Winner's yacht here.” “We did. And a nasty stink there was too. She... by she I mean Ameena Winner, made everyone think it was hers. But you're not the first person to say that it was Quatre Winner's personal yacht. I bet he's really pissed. I would be.” Duo furrowed his brow in puzzlement, not all if it feigned. “But, if it was his, how did she get it off colony?” The people at the table looked at each other, then all the crew looked at an older woman. She just sighed, took a bite of pizza and chewed. After she swallowed she said, “No one's really sure, but my theory is this... That woman just convinced the crew that she was the owner, or convinced all of them but ... three? The crew tossed them and they just cleared the tower like any one else and went their merry way. Why? I couldn't tell you, but that's my story an' I'm stickin' to it.” Everybody laughed at that but the conversation took a serious turn when Duo asked, “What happened to the crewmen who wouldn't go along with Ameena?” She gave Duo an annoyed look. “Told you, they got fired.” “Yeah, but where are they now?” “Oh, sorry. Lower docks. They didn't get a rec so they're down below.” Duo grimaced in sympathy. The lower docks were rough territory where the low end companies kept their dock space. Salvagers, Sweepers and the fringe sorts. It wasn't a good place to wind up after working in a dock like this one. Heero just sighed, he knew they were going to have to go down and try to find at least one of those men. Maybe he'd know something, maybe not, but they needed to check. They still had no idea whether Ameena had headed for Outer 7 or somewhere else. They needed a good solid lead and this was as close as they'd gotten so far. He just hoped their info from Une was good. It should be on their computer by the time they got back to the hotel. They ate pizza, talked and relaxed for a while more then Duo stood up, stretched and announced, “Well, that’s that. There's no damage, all that need's done is replace that plate. I'll write up a work order and send it in. See you.” Heero picked up his tool belt, which he'd removed and put on the floor when he'd sat down. Duo got his box and they headed for the door. Before they got very far, Hugo stopped them. “Look, I don't know exactly what you two are up to. I wasn't going to say anything, but ... I recognized you the second you sat down.” He held up a hand. “Take it easy, I think Midde recognized you and I'm sure Jake and Fred did. So, if it's not a real 'tell you then shoot you' thing, what's going on?” Heero eyed Hugo for a moment, glanced at Duo and got a nod. “Ok, it's really simple. Quatre wants his yacht back and asked us to get it for him. We're doing our best but leads are slim pickin's. We're trying to keep as low a profile as possible so Ameena and her cohorts don't find out what we're up to.” Hugo thought about that for a moment. “I don't think it would make much difference if you took out a full page ad in a paper. She's not well liked on colony, even by her so called friends. They're mainly a bunch of hanger's on, hoping she'll throw them a bone. She's tight fisted as an L2 street rat. No offense.” He glanced at Duo who just grinned and shrugged. “You need to talk to those guys that got fired, just find them and walk smash up to them and ask. I bet they'll be glad to talk. If you could do a little something for them, that'd be icing on the cake. They didn't deserve what happened to them. Two of them have families to take care of. Think about it, Ok?” Duo nodded. “Sure, in fact, we'll go back to our hotel and check up on some things. While I'm there I'll email Q and see if I can't get them hired back. I don't think Ameena had the right to fire them in the first place. Um ... thanks.” Hugo just smiled. “Old habits die hard. You two did a good job during the war. You deserved more help than you got. So, payback isn't always a bitch. See you around.” He walked back to his compatriots, waving over his shoulder. Heero looked at Duo, Duo looked back, then they both started laughing. They laughed their way out the door and had to lean against the corridor wall. Finally, Duo wiped his eyes with a bandana he pulled from his hip pocket. He handed it to Heero, who did the same. “Man, do I feel stupid. He's right. This isn't war, or even a capture. It's a damn repo. True, some of Ameena's new crew are rough costumers but it's not a shooting thing. We've used up two weeks on something we should have just walked in and asked. But we know where she's most likely gone, just not why. We need conformation before we go off half cocked. But, all we really have to do is ask. So. Let's get back and see if Une or Q has sent us anything.” Heero just laughed softly and said, “Well, as you said once, you can't teach old dogs new tricks. But, really, I'd rather be safe than sorry. They did commit a felony after all. So, we'll go talk to these men, get them to tell us everything they can thing of, then caution them not to blab too much. When we go to do the actual repo, we'll have to be careful.” Duo nodded. “You're right about that. We might get shot at by the local security, unaware that the yacht isn't hers.” He suddenly stiffened. “Oh, shit! How many crew do we have to have to run the ship. Not servers and waiters and all that. Real crew. Fuck!” Heero's face went still, his war face, as Duo called it. “I don't know. Shit! We're slipping. We should have thought of that first thing.” Duo sighed. “I think we both need a real vacation after this. We've been on ten captures without a break. So, you handle Une, I'll find out about crew. We better get on the stick if we want to catch those guys when they get off shift. And I'd like a nap in there somewhere.” “Right, me too. Why don't we get back, do our thing, then nap until we get the intel. We'll just call all three of these men after we hear from Quatre. I think we ought to see if Quatre won't hire them back.” “Good idea, and that'll give us a good reason to see them. And give them a little good news to sweeten the pot.” . When they got back to the room, they were both still feeling a bit annoyed with themselves. Their war-time reflexes had wasted so much time. But Duo had announced that they were better rested than they had a right to be so it was all good. “Great! I've got an email from Q. He says ...” Duo took a minute to finish reading the message. “Ameena didn't have the authority to fire those men. He's reinstating them from his end right now, with back pay. That's good. And ... he's sent ...” Duo read quickly. “We need a crew of three. Pilot, co-pilot and navigator. But we can manage with two as either one of us can navigate at need. But, all we have to do is gain possession of the ship and get it into neutral space, sent our coordinates to him and he'll have a WEI crew take possession.” Heero sighed unhappily. “My news isn't so good. There's actually been a sighting of the yacht... at Outer 7. And Ameena is using the ship, which she's named the Azeera, to ferry the high rollers around. She's moving it every two or three days. I think it's to keep us from finding it.” He read a bit more. “Une's in a temper too. Outer 7 is manufacturing drugs on an unprecedented scale and they are using it all there. If you snort it, shoot it, swallow it or rub it in your bellybutton, you can get it there. And it's all free. That's how they're getting around all the laws. It's not illegal to use, just sell. And, all you have to do is be able to afford the horrendous price of residence on the station. Preventers is desperate to find some way to crack that mess.” Duo thought for a moment, “Well, if Ameena is taking money to ferry people to the station that includes them in piracy. Doesn't it?” Heero's grin was feral to say the least. “It sure does. If we find the ship on or going to the station, Preventers has a toe in the door. And you know Une, toe, nose, finger, followed by a whole troupe of bodies. We'll hand her this mess on a plate. All due to Ameena being a bitch.” He couldn't help laughing, not his usual, hearty laugh, this was the one that made the God of Death shiver. “Heero, damn it, don't do that.” Heero just raised an eyebrow. “What?” “That laugh is just plain creepy.” “And yours isn't?” Duo just snickered and went back to what he'd been doing. It didn't take long to make appointments with the three men, print out their reinstatement papers and back paycheck. After that, it was just a matter of waiting for the time of their appointment to roll around. Duo promptly flopped out full length on the couch and went to sleep. Heero just kicked off his boots and did the same. He would have taken Duo's boots off for him, but they both seemed to be in war mode so he didn't. It wouldn't be a good idea. ~ * ~ tbc... |
