A Reason for Living Part 8
Unveiled Secrets
Heero's tone and body language was absolute...this was as far as the match of wills would go. An uneasy silence filled the room. A tense, strained wave flowed between the equally obstinate opponents.
Heero's stress was fueled by the rapid deterioration of time. Duo might have a valid excuse for being there late at night but Heero was definitely where he shouldn't be and could be discovered at any moment. More importantly he now knew that theories had become facts and with each passing hour the world could be brought to the brink of chaotic upheaval.
Duo's hesitation was more an internal clash as he struggled with his own self-doubt. But he was certain of one thing, something had to give or someone had to give in. "You're right Mr. Yuy this isn't the time or place." he agreed without declaring total capitulation. "So why don't you tell me the real reason you are here?"
01 bent his arm at the elbow allowing the Beretta to slide back into his hand. As Heero lowered the gun to his side Duo wasn't at all comfortable with the stormy cast in his piercing blue eyes.
"You and Robert Baines were seen together in Switzerland." Heero stated fighting the urge to inflect physical harm on the irritating Mr. Maxwell. "Then Baines showed up in Hamburg and met with the Captain of a ship used for smuggling operations. A few days later Khushrenada Electronics cargo just happened to find its way aboard that same ship.
The IPB has reason to believe that Khushrenada is constructing a device that can disrupt electronic guidance systems and your Robert Baines appears to be the middleman."
Heero titled his body, leaned nearer and narrowed his eyes. Now Duo was extremely ill at ease with the agent's entire demeanor. "Since you claim that Baines has disappeared," Heero reasoned as he took a long stride forward," then you, Mr. Maxwell, are now my prime suspect so I strongly suggest that you tell me what you know about Khushrenada and his project."
A shaky sigh was Duo's unpredicted response. He flopped down in the chair by the computer. His shoulders slumped as he covered his face with his hands. His body was exhausted, his mind was numb and he had fought alone long enough. "It is time to trust someone." his inner voice proclaimed.
"Robert Baines and I have been friends since college." he began with a far-off look in his eyes, "For the last three years Robert has worked as an independent investigative reporter. Two months ago he came across what he called "strange information" concerning Khushrenada Electronics. He wouldn't give me many details, he said he wanted to get the whole story first."
Duo glanced around the room as if he expected to see a ghost lurking in the shadows then his unfocused sight met Heero's now softer gaze. "I didn't know that Robert went to Hamburg. The last time we talked he said he had several hot leads and was coming to Montreux to trace suspicious documents he had found but he still wouldn't give me a clue about what he had discovered."
Duo paused and took a deep breath before he could continue. "Robert disappeared five days after he arrived." he finished, his voice fading away at the end. Pain welled in his eyes and a misty violet glaze washed over his pupils.
Heero reached out to touch Duo's shoulder but he drew away. "I had to find out what happened so I cashed in favors that a friend owed me to get transferred to Switzerland. The local authorities claimed that they investigated the case but they either didn't find any evidence or they were persuaded not to."
"Have you found anything?" Heero asked even though he already knew the answer from the hurt in Duo's eyes.
Duo shook his head slowly. "No." he whispered then drew in another quivering breath.
Heero leaned against the computer table resting the automatic on his knee. "It appears that you may have found your way into an international beehive."
"I knew things weren't right," Duo declared feeling at least partly vindicated. "and I also know that Welige is mixed up in this mess."
"Who is Welige?"
"Marquis Welige. He is head of the Shipping and Receiving Department."
"Shipping...Marquis Welige...M.W...images from the Vagabond flashed through Heero's mind. The log entry found in Hamburg, the circled initials, they had to be more than a coincidence. Had Lady Luck finally decided to be sweet with him?
"What do you know about Welige's connection?"
Duo straightened in his chair and with an air of renewed determination replied. "Two week ago I was checking on shipping schedules for a job I had completed. I noticed several shipments that had supposedly been delivered were not listed on the receiving slips. Also components and parts that had been entered in the hardcopy data logs had not been recorded on the computer invoices.
My first thought was that someone was stealing from the company but most of the items were fairly common and would not make much money on resale. Then the other night I worked late. As I was leaving I noticed Welige in here and when I stopped to say goodnight he seemed very nervous, you know like he was doing something he didn't want anyone to know about."
Duo locked his eyes on Heero. A hardened glare had replaced the pain. "I didn't give Welige's reaction much consideration until this morning when I walked in on him and Dorothy Catalonia. Ms. Catalonia is Mr. Khushrenada's Executive Secretary." he explained.
"Ms. Catalonia and I have already met." Heero responded as he recalled long blond hair sparkling in the sun. Memories of the reception, gold and diamonds accentuating the lady's charms, replayed freshly in his mind.
Duo nodded, "Dorothy and Welige were in the middle of an intense conversation. Welige was holding a silver box about the size of a cassette tape and when he saw me he had the same rattled reaction and quickly put the box in his pocket.
Welige wasted no time leaving. Afterwards when I asked Dorothy about the box she gave me a far-fetched story about a new project that Welige was working on but said that it was still in the development stages.
The secretive conversation, the edginess, that was all the conformation I needed. New projects don't get off the drawing board without my knowledge. I review every design and always have final approval on all phases of production."
"Would you recognize the box if you saw it again?"
"Yes, I think so."
Heero stood up, "Before we met so out of the blue tonight I was hacking into the computer files." He grinned like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "When I came up empty I considered the possibility that what I came here to find might be in Khushrenada's office."
Duo shook his head in disbelief, "I can not believe Mr. Khushrenada knows anything about this."
"Do you think Zechs Merquise knows?"
"Zechs?" Duo's eyes widened at Heero's point-blank question.
"Merquise has been the Chief Engineer on most of Khushrenada's largest project," Heero declared, "I would say that puts him at the top of the suspect list."
"It is no secret that Merquise and Khushrenada are much more than friends." Duo offered a counter-argument, "Zechs wouldn't be involved in anything that would hurt the company. He couldn't betray his lover."
"Not even for a great amount of money?"
"I don't know, I...." Duo sighed at the implications of Heero's aspersions concerning Zechs' trustworthiness and loyalty.
Heero glanced over at the computer he was recently using, "I was hoping to find all the answers but I couldn't get anything from this bloody machine."
A sly smile flickered across Duo's lips. The sort of smile that told Heero his inner council might have been right after all.
Duo switched on the uncooperative computer. "Sometimes you have to know how to talk to the bloody machine." he stated as he entered his personal access code.
Suddenly the computer decided to cooperate. Duo's fingers gracefully moved over the keyboard. A multitude of data flooded the screen.
"See if you can find anything that looks like the mysterious box." Heero instructed as he read over Duo's shoulder.
More keys were depressed. Current Projects popped up but Duo was having little success finding the box. "Do you really think that Welige wouldn't have encoded the information?" he wondered after exhausting all the entries.
Heero shook his head, "It was worth looking anyway."
"Wait a minute!" Duo exclaimed. He leaned closer to the screen and grabbed the mouse to scroll back up the list.
"Found something?"
"This shipment, here, it's heading the wrong way."
"What?"
"This road doesn't go anywhere, well it does, I mean it used to." Duo stammered in confusion.
"Does it or doesn't it?" Heero frowned trying to follow Duo's rambling sentence.
"The road runs along here." Duo traced his finger over a curvy line, "There is a large building at the end. Last year an aspiring industrialist began construction on a ski lodge but ran short of funds and only completely a third of the job. The main structure has been sitting there empty ever since. Another interesting aspect is that the building is about thirty miles from Khushrenada's chalet."
Heero remained deep in thought for several seconds, "By itself." he muttered, "What better location for an illegal operation..."
"Than a secluded building everyone believes is empty." Duo finished the agent's line of reasoning.
A wide grin flooded Heero's face, "This might be the first reliable information I've found on this whole damned mission." he proclaimed. "Thank you."
Duo returned the smile. "We both want the same thing, the truth."
*********
Trudging along the night watchman followed his repetitious routine. Every door was secure. Every corridor was vacant. As each strike of shoes on floor sent a sharp snap bouncing off the walls the echo of his footsteps were magnified by the stark emptiness.
The uninspired guard was about to return to his post when a thin line of light shining under a door abruptly changed his apathetic listlessness to a strangely stimulated response. Strange because his complaints of boredom had, without warning, been address.
However the opportunity to finally utilize his protective powers was not met with the zeal that he had expected. Suddenly the thought of a confrontation with an intruder made the doldrums of his work very attractive.
His first reaction was to call in the outside guards and their canine support but he reckoned that the Shift Supervisor would most likely consider that choice a dereliction of duty and as much as he hated to admit it, his job no matter how dull, was still paid employment.
Standing before the door in question he paused to summon up his courage that he hoped would be helped along up his drawn pistol. With a shaky breath and exercising extreme caution, he reached for the doorknob.
*********
01 and his unanticipated ally's celebration was short lived. Footsteps in the hall put an abrupt end to their excitement. Heero retreated to his previous hiding place behind the door pressing the Beretta against his chest.
Duo gave the unseen agent an anxious glance and took hold of the doorknob. Heero nodded. "Go ahead." he mouthed out the words. With a centering breath and a well-mustered attitude that he had nothing to hide, Duo opened the door.
A shocked watchman stared in surprise. "Mr. Maxwell!" he exclaimed rattled by the braided man's unexpected appearance. Since he had prepared himself for a more dangerous encounter the startled sentry continued to gawk.
"Do you need something?" Duo asked with an air of authority.
"Sorry sir, I didn't know you were in the building."
"I needed some figures for a report." Duo lied, "I didn't get a chance to compute them before I had to attend the reception." Duo lied very well.
"It's a late hour for working." the guard stated as he tried to peer around the supposedly lone employee.
Duo put on his most sincere smile, "Yes it is late but Khushrenada needs the report in the first thing Monday morning. I couldn't finish it without the figures." He leaned forward adding a subtle, sexy tilt to his body. "I'll just be a few more minutes, I promise."
The guard's response was quite predictable in light of Duo's persuasive posture. "Okay I guess it's all right." he decided letting his eyes wander a bit, "You be careful when you leave." he cautioned.
"I will, thank you."
Duo went limp as the door's latch caught with a click. "That was close." he sighed visibly shaken, "I think you'd better leave before we both get in trouble."
Heero put his hand on Duo's shoulder, "I can't thank you enough for your help. Go to work Monday morning as if everything is fine and sit tight until I find out what's going on at the lodge site."
"Wait a minute," Duo jerked back from Heero's grasp, "don't you think you can come in here, get my help then pat me on the head and go on your way."
"You've done all you can for now. Leave the rest to me."
Duo nodded so hard that his braid whipped over his shoulder. "Not a chance, there is no way I'm staying behind. I've earned the right to know what's going on and I have to find out what happened to Robert."
"Things could get ugly." Heero warned.
"I know," Duo admitted, "but you still need me."
"In what way?"
"There are a lot of turns and cut-offs between here and the abandoned lodge. Without me you could wander around a long time before finding you way." he announced with a self-satisfied smile beaming on his face.
"You can tell me the way." Heero insisted.
Duo stood his ground, "I've been worrying over this for weeks. It's more my concern than yours or your damned Bureau's." His eyes adamantly locked on Heero. "I go along or you can go to hell." he hissed. "Besides I know what that silver box looks like and you don't." he added to reinforce the importance of his position.
Heero threw up his hands in defeat. "All right."
"We're partners?" The question rang with a serious tone...Duo would not tolerate any foolishness.
"I have a partner." Heero declared, "If you come along we all work together, agreed?"
"Agreed." Duo offered his hand.
Heero reconsidered sending Duo back to work, "Since the watchmen discovered you tonight he might say something to the wrong people. Perhaps it would be safer if you stayed with my partner and me, at least until I get a feel for the latest developments.
Its Friday night, make that Saturday morning," Heero corrected their after-midnight status, "we will have the weekend to make some decisions before Monday."
"Are you sure that is necessary?"
Heero reached for the doorknob. "Yes I think it is." Cracking the door opened 01 checked the hall. "Come on let's get out of here."
*********
2:15 am. The nosy watchman as nowhere in sight as Heero and his civilian collaborator entered the corridor. The plan was to retrace the original route back to the side door, rendezvous with Wufei and secretly steal away into the night.
01, with Duo in tow, started across a loading dock. Heero hoped that no guards or dogs or native nocturnal creatures would cross their paths because he was in no mood for interaction with anyone or anything.
Midway to the outside door voices echoed through the bay's large expanses. Aware of their exposed position Heero motioned for Duo to climb a ladder to an elevated catwalk. Heero climbed up behind Duo and they both scrambled over the last step seconds before a pair of purplish outlines ran along the floor.
Crouching in the dim space behind an electric motor that operated a wench, Heero and Duo watched and waited. Overhead crisscrossed sections of pipe hissed and rumbled as they carried steam heat throughout the bay.
The two figures that were responsible for the elongated shadows walked down the center of the main aisle. Heero eased up just enough to see over the massive motor. Dorothy was immediately recognized. She had taken down her hair and tied the long tresses back into a golden ponytail. She had exchanged her revealing evening gown for a conservative but still stylish black pants suit.
The second member of the pair remained slightly to the side, just within the shadowy outer edge of light but from what voice quality that could be heard above the hissing pipes Heero determined that the person was male.
At first Ms. Catalonia and the mysterious man were too far away from Heero and Duo's location for their conversation to be clearly understood but judging from Dorothy's body language she was not happy. Each word was punctuated with exaggerated hand motions and each time, despite the overhead interference, her bracelet jingled as the charms hit together.
They continued to walk and Dorothy continued her overdone gestures. But even as the pair paused almost directly beneath the catwalk the stubborn shadows still defeated Heero's effort to see the man's face.
"How long before we can get the trucks." Dorothy asked the unknown male.
"Three days."
Another animated emphasis of her hands, another jingle from her bracelet. "Three days!"
"It is the best that can be done without calling attention to the project."
That voice, that all too familiar accent. Raising up on one knee Heero improved his view. Gradually the figure withdrew from the shadows and a face emerged from the veiled fringes.
Heero's hand raced to his pocket. His sudden movement caused Duo to flinch. "Heero?" he whispered as he wondered what had provoked the aggressive activity.
Heero ignored his inquiry and brought up the Beretta in a white-knuckle grip. Heero braced his knee against a safety railing and raised higher. Now nothing blocked his sight line between him and the bastard who had left him to die in Bolivia.
"Heero what are you doing!" Duo exclaimed lowly. He didn't at all like the intense glare in Heero's eyes or the way his body had hardened into a solid mass of muscles.
01 didn't hear Duo, didn't sense the alarm that his actions produced in his baffled ally. Straightening his arm he leveled the automatic in his firm, steady grasp. The barrel never wavered as Septum's head was perfectly aligned in the forward sight. One squeeze on the trigger and all the anger and pain would come to an end. But at what cost?
Ever since the reception the knowledge of Septum's presence had eaten away at Heero's sense of reason. Did he now need to question his motives? Was he crossing the line separating the assignment and his private vendetta? Could he jeopardize the mission to extract his personal revenge and could he live with himself if he did?
That evening he had traveled the same path but then he had put the safety of innocent people before his desire to extract justice. But now, just yards above his private demon, it would be so simple, so clean and it would be over.
Wufei's voice fluttered over 01's mind like the wind's phantom touch. The wise council he had offered during he and Heero's discussion in the BMW reminded him... "There is more at stake than your need to even the score."
"Damn you Chang." Heero mumbled under his breath. With a forceful exhalation the Beretta gave up its deadly duty.
Heero's steely glower was ablaze and the taste of retribution rankled on his tongue. His entire demeanor was transfixed by hatred that slowly consumed him. "There will be another time." he promised on his life and soul, "It will be sooner than you think."
"Three days," Dorothy confirmed, "and there better not be any delays."
Dorothy and Septum were gone. Staring into the empty bay, with Duo sitting mutely at his side, Heero rested wearily against the catwalk railing. The fact that he had made the right decision offered bitter consolation. "Soon." he promised.
TBC...
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