The Plan Part 3
Heero was the first one at the shuttle port on Monday morning. Chang had called him the night before and told him that since Relena was 'on his way' he would pick her up. That was a bit odd, since by Heero's calculations, it was actually a good 15 miles out of Chang's way, but Heero had other things to do before he got to the shuttleport, so he was pleased that Chang had taken the initiative.
One of those things had been calling Duo to make sure that he was ready to go. Heero had spent most of the weekend fretting about Dorothy and Duo or wondering why he was fretting about Dorothy and Duo. Why would Duo turn to that duplicitous female for help? Why not his best friend? They usually spent some time on the weekend together, but Duo had claimed to be 'busy' the last two days. If it turned out that his time had been taken up by that blonde haired scheming witch, Heero was going to be very upset.
Which then made him ask himself why he would be very upset.
Himself replied that he just would, that's all, so quit thinking about being upset and focus on Duo.
Heero frowned. Duo would have to answer some questions this week. There would be plenty of time for them to talk privately and Heero intended to see that they did.
"Heero!" A familiar voice called. Heero turned to see Chang and Relena approaching. Relena waved her hand once she saw that he was looking. Chang was scowling, but that was a normal expression for Chang.
"Relena," Heero greeted her when they got closer. "All ready?" He didn't bother to greet Chang, social niceties weren't his favorite thing. He only greeted Relena since she sulked when he didn't. Relena gave him a brilliant smile and Chang scowled more.
"Yes. Once Dorothy and Duo get here we can go." Relena told him.
What? Heero blinked.
"Dorothy and Duo?" He repeated.
"Oh yes! I called Dorothy this morning and she said she was having car trouble. So I called Duo and he said he'd be more than happy to pick her up." Heero nearly growled.
"I wasn't told that Miss Catalonia was coming along. Une said that she was negotiating for you this week."
"Oh her aids are, but I need Dorothy with me. She's invaluable on these diplomatic trips. There she is!" Relena waved cheerfully over Heero's head. Heero turned to look and for some reason the sight of the two late arrivals made him feel very angry.
Dorothy was strolling towards them, her head bent slightly towards Duo, who was apparently talking about something amusing, since Dorothy was smiling. Duo was carrying her bags and she had one hand resting on his arm. They reached the other three and Duo gave Heero a nervous smile. Why was Heero frowning like that? Had something gone wrong already?
"Good morning Miss Relena, Mr. Heero." Dorothy flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled wider. "It's so good of you to come along as our translator, Mr. Wufei." She patted Duo's arm. "Thank you for sending Mr. Duo along to pick me up, Miss Relena. He's been a big help already."
"I'm so glad!" Relena smiled. "Thanks Duo!"
"It was no problem, ladies," Duo assured them automatically.
Dorothy noted the matching frowns on Chang and Yuy with satisfaction. Things were going so well already. "Are you ready Miss Relena?"
"Of course Dorothy! I was hoping we could go over those notes for the speech?" Relena started moving towards the gate and the others followed her. Wufei and Heero flanked her. With Heero it was an automatic reaction, but Wufei's was a response to Heero's.
Duo brought up the rear, grinning to himself at the behavior of the other two. Dorothy had sure read that one right. He still didn't trust her, but he was more than willing to lend a hand to the 'find Relena a new man scheme'.
"I was hoping to have it completely finished so that Wufei could go over it as well." Relena smiled at the agent beside her. "That way you'll be able to translate it easily at the opening meeting. If you don't mind?"
"Not in the slightest," Wufei assured her. "I am here to assist you after all, in all ways." Heero completely missed the emphasis Wufei put on the last three words for his benefit. He was too busy cataloging the looks Dorothy was giving Duo from under her eyelashes. Duo didn't seem to respond to them, except for a slight blush. Heero scanned the crowd for danger automatically, even as he wondered what was going on with his best friend and that woman.
Once on board her private shuttle, Relena settled down with Dorothy, her notes and Wufei. Heero and Duo took seats by the back door of the shuttle.
"So Heero, do we have the security plans drawn up and all that?" Duo asked after takeoff was complete. Heero had already booted up his laptop.
"Yes." Heero pulled up the plans and turned the computer so that Duo could look at them as well. "This is our itinerary, and the schedule of meetings. I thought since there are three of us, two of us could always be with her and one of us could either work the crowd or guard the door. We'll rotate through the positions, except for Chang of course. He will have to stay near Relena as he is her translator."
~*~
Wufei looked up from the speech and frowned. He couldn't hear exactly what Yuy was saying, but the words Chang and translator had been audible. He shot a glance over his shoulder to where Maxwell and Yuy were going over something on Yuy's laptop. The security plans no doubt. Obviously Yuy didn't see fit to share them with a mere translator. Wufei tensed. He should go straighten this out right now!
Before Wufei could get to his feet, Dorothy leaned over with her sly smile. "So, what do you think of Miss Relena's speech, Mr. Wufei?"
"She has an excellent speech writer," he replied. The speech was very good and he had been impressed with many of the points it made.
"Oh, I don't have a speech writer," Relena smiled with a faint flush. "I wrote it myself."
Wufei blinked, Yuy momentarily forgotten. "Truly?"
"Oh yes," Dorothy smiled wider. "Miss Relena writes all her own speeches."
"I don't wish to parrot the words of others. I need to find my own." Relena explained.
Wufei was impressed despite himself. "This point here..." he flipped back a page and found the spot on the paper. "This will translate well. It's similar to a moral from an old folktale..." As he explained, Relena listened- fascinated. She had never heard the stoic pilot speak so much. He really was very intelligent and educated, she thought to herself.
Dorothy leaned back in her seat, eyes half-closed as she watched the two in front of her. Very good, she thought, and risked a glance back towards the other two. Heero and Duo were bent over his laptop. Heero looked up and met her eyes with a cold glare.
Dorothy laughed internally. Really, this was almost too easy!
The rest of the flight went smoothly. Heero wanted to talk to Duo about his 'problem' but the proximity of that woman prevented him. He privately resolved to have it out with Duo as soon as he could.
They were met at the airport by several dignitaries, all eager to meet the Vice Foreign Minister. Relena greeted them graciously, Heero on one side of her and Wufei on the other. Duo stood behind her, next to Dorothy. It irked Heero no end, but Chang had to be at Relena's side.
When they climbed into the limo Duo took the seat up by the driver. Wufei took the seat next to Relena, so Heero was forced to sit next to that woman. He didn't like the way she looked at him from under her lashes. He glared back.
Dorothy merely smiled.
Relena was still going over her speech notes. Wufei had gotten caught up in her enthusiasm and was helping her rewrite parts to fit the background of the audience she would be addressing.
Wufei was impressed despite himself. He had never thought anything much of Relena, not out of dislike but because she simply hadn't interested him. However she was proving that she was intelligent, well-read and focused, qualities that he admired. He was able to push his irritation with Yuy to the back of his mind as he spoke with her.
Dorothy sat complacently and watched the two of them, occasionally adding a soft-voiced comment, but mostly just letting the two of them interact.
When they arrived at the hotel, Heero told Relena to stay put while he went and did a preliminary sweep.
Wufei simply climbed out of the car and followed Heero into the building. He could do anything Heero could do after all. Duo rolled down the window between the front and the back seats and shared an amused grin with Dorothy.
"How are you doing ladies?" He asked.
"Very well, Duo, thank you," Relena replied, sorting her notes. "Wufei was a big help. I didn't realize how well educated he was." She flushed. "That sounded snobby."
Duo merely smiled. "Fei was a scholar once. He didn't want to be a warrior. He was happy with his studies."
"What happened?" Relena leaned forward a bit in her seat.
"His wife died." Duo met her eyes and smiled faintly at the shocked look. "Yeah, he was married. It was an arranged thing and I guess she was quite the spitfire. She defended the colony from the Alliance and died. He named his gundam after her."
"Nataku- the warrior," Relena nodded and Duo lifted an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't thought that Relena would've learned any of the gundam's names except for Wing. Relena was looking thoughtful. Duo met Dorothy's eyes and she nodded slightly.
Things were going very well.
TBC...
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