Here come old flat top
He come groovin' up slowly
He got joo joo eyeball
He one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please
-Lyrics to 'Come Together' covered by Aerosmith
That Which Mends Part 5
Heero chewed on the inside of his cheek as he sat in wait for any sign of life from Lady Une's closed off office.
What little banter of conversation he could carry with Anna was lost to him, spare for a few questions that she asked about what he was studying and such to keep him mentally distracted. She had even been kind enough to run out and purchase him a tea that he sipped, grateful to have something to do besides have his mind run wild on him.
"So, what do you do for fun?" Downs asked, her grin never wavering in her effort to calm him down as best she could while they shared a couch in the Preventer rec area. For some reason, that particular inquiry reached her charge and had him blinking at her as though he had woken from a dream.
Finally feeling a little more like himself, Yuy snorted, "I think I had enough 'fun' a couple of nights ago to last me the rest of my life."
Staring down into the cup he held with both hands against his lap, he shrugged, "I don't have time for anything outside of my studies since I'm looking to obtain my masters in psychology in a couple of years. That party was a rare deviation from the norm and all the experience I needed to know I'm not missing out on anything."
Anna's blue eyes grew slightly as her smile faded. "I guess I can't blame you there," she replied. Smirking, she reassured, "Although, I feel inclined tell you from my own experience that not every party ends with people waking up to find a federal agent in their bed and an explosive in their stomachs. You just got especially lucky. Some people would pay top dollar for that much fun in one evening."
She won a sharp laugh from the student for that.
Folding her arms behind her head, the redhead frowned, "You don't have any friends that you hang out with?" Heero shook his head. "Never got in trouble? Lived on the edge a little? Dated anyone?" Again, the scholar shook his head.
"Let's just put it this way," Heero told her, "if I were to go missing, it'd take a hell of a lot longer than a few hours for anyone at my school to notice. I keep to myself because I like it that way. It keeps me focused on what I'm trying to accomplish."
For a long pause, Downs gazed at him in silence before she muttered, "Damn. That's actually kinda sad."
Yuy frowned a bit that that, but had no time to react further when Lady Une's office door slid open and captured the attention of everyone on the floor including Quatre and Trowa, who had stopped typing to peek their heads up from their monitors.
Stepping out of the room, Wufei held an unreadable expression on his face as he centered on the pair sitting at the couch across the way and cleared his throat. "Anna, Heero," he called, gesturing to the open door behind him.
On their feet, the agent and the student exchanged glances and made their way towards Chang while the couple at their computers threw themselves back into their work.
Heero swallowed roughly as he entered the Commander's office and immediately noted Duo sitting in one of the two chairs before the only desk in the space.
Maxwell made no move to turn his braided head away from gazing straight ahead at his supervisor, even when he must have known the room was filling up... most likely to hide what was going through his mind at the moment.
Drawing a deep breath, Yuy raised his head to take in the attractive woman behind the desk with brown hair that fell just past her shoulders and matched the hue of her eyes. She stood up in a uniform and jacket of browns, greens and black similar to the rest of the team.
A hand extended, she bent towards him with a smile and a sincere, "Heero, it is very nice to meet you. My name is Middie Une, or Lady Une as my agents call me, and I am the head Commander of the Preventer division."
Put further at ease by her firm handshake that he received, Yuy nodded firmly, "Thank you, Commander. Nice to meet you, too."
He lowered himself into the seat beside Maxwell and peered from the corner of his eye to the braided agent. For a fleeting breath in time, Duo's violet gaze met his and a sympathetic smile was offered before he stared off once more.
"First things first," Middie muttered. With a snap of her finger, she pointed at Wufei and Anna. Pointing at the side of her desk, she wordlessly ordered them to flank her. Quickly falling in line side-by-side, the pair stood straight and taut in anticipation of whatever awaited.
Her brown eyes boring down on them, Commander Une told them sternly, "Agent Wolf and Agent Fire, I only want a 'Yes' or 'No' answer from the both of you and nothing more. If none of the events of this morning had come about, would either one of you have come forward to tell me about Agent Scythe's involving a civilian in our case in the manner that he had when he was undercover?" As she spoke, Maxwell gulped and cast his eyes downward.
Without a moment's hesitation nor a flash or regret from Chang or Downs, they answered clearly in a harmonized unison, "No."
Stunned, Duo shot his head up and blinked widely at his teammates as his jaw fell slack. They had just been given the opportunity to wipe their hands clean of his slip up and without so much as blinking, they accepted whatever fate would be handed to them by admitting they would have covered for him had the incident never come up.
Heero was impressed by their bold loyalty, though he kept his face trained to not display his reaction. It was a noble deed on both their parts to stand by their comrade by taking a proverbial bullet for him.
Lady Une sighed deeply, her building frustration melting away to a hint of a grin as she shook her head, "Why am I not surprised?" Maxwell, however, was... if the way he bit his lip and hung his head as any indication. Not only had he expected his friends to look out for themselves, he would have understood it.
After a short pause to weigh her options, the Commander nodded firmly to Wufei and Anna as she said quietly, "Very well. I appreciate your honesty and your loyalty. You are both dismissed. Give Agent Night and Agent Rock a hand in their research."
Bowing their heads, the pair turned on their heels and stepped through the door that slid open to them. The second the door closed to seal them off, the young woman focused on her remaining subordinate who kept his braided head down.
"I did that for your sake, Duo," she frowned sadly. "Don't you ever take them for granted. By all rights, I could have stripped them of their badges for withholding such information from me."
The corner of her mouth curling up at his flinch, she shrugged, "I had no intention of doing such a thing, but they weren't aware of that. Few in this life will ever find themselves as fortunate as you to have people like that to call their friends."
The next rough swallow from her agent was audible as he nodded shallowly. Raising his head slowly, he sniffled as the only physical sign that he was fighting to keep his emotions together.
Folding her hands together on the edge of her desk, she spun her chair to face their guest and smiled kindly to him. "As for you, Mister Yuy," she began, "I needed you to witness what I am up against when it comes to these knuckleheads that I have to keep in line." Immediately, the tension in the air dissipated as the young men before her laughed at the sentiment.
When the atmosphere settled, the Commander said sincerely, "I cannot apologize enough for how you've been mixed up into this case and I do hope you know not one of my agents would have consciously put you in danger. Whatever measures you would like to take in holding this department responsible for any damages, I will be happy to assist you and take the fallout to see that you are compensated in whatever way you need."
Taken aback by the measures at which Middie was going to look after him, Heero's eyes enlarged. She had given him a blank sheet to lay out his wishes as he pleased.
In the end, his initial desires were the same. "All I want is for all of this to go away," he chose aloud. "I'm aware that what happened was unintentional. I can live with that so long as I don't have to worry about my safety."
Duo craned his head so that he could look at him full on for the first time since the scholar was brought into the office. Relief flooding him, his mouth curled in a grateful grin. "Well, you're in great hands for that," he reassured with a wink. "Me 'n the gang won't let anything happen to you."
"Agent Scythe might have trouble keeping it in his pants," the Commander smirked as her chagrined associate set a half-hearted glare and a huff her way before she directed the rest of her sentiment to their company, "But I can say beyond any doubt that he's right in saying that. They're rough around the edges, but I truly believe them all to be the best of the best and more than capable of protecting you."
His agitation ebbing, Duo flashed her a grin that he passed along to his charge as their eyes locked again.
Time froze for Heero in that instant and he was taken back to their night together. Sober and aware of his senses now, he could easily see how easy it was for him to be to drawn to the handsome creature that he brought back to his room under a haze of alcohol enhanced primal urges.
But there also remained that hint of danger that practically radiated from the agent that was recognized in the light of day as his wild abandon in life that was becoming all the more clear. Given how put together the psych major was, he had to admit that there must have been truth in opposites attracting.
Unfolding her hands, Lady Une sat up taller as she added, "And protecting you will only be easier once we sort out what exactly we're dealing with and whether or not this new development at Drexel Hill is at all related. This mission is still in its early stages as we had a very garbled tip relayed to us from the FBI to intercept that chip, which we still have to decipher."
Heero glanced at his watch, informing, "I'd be grateful for the help, but I should be heading back to campus for my classes."
"Classes?" Middie repeated in confusion. "Mister Yuy, I should suggest that you stay here for the day until we lay out the details of your security. The logistics of who will be watching over you and when will need to be assigned. Then there is your room, which we should have searched just to be sure..."
Whatever the young woman continued to run down drifted off in the far backdrop of the thoughts running through the scholar's mind. Miss class? He never missed a class. That unsettled feeling sank back in for reasons beyond the potential threat on his wellbeing.
That was when a chilling image decided to come back into the forefront of his mind.
A light nudge to his arm brought him back to the present, in which he noticed Lady Une had stopped talking and Duo was frowning in worry at him as he asked, "You okay, 'Ro?"
"There was a black car with tinted windows," he murmured, fighting off a shiver. "I saw it yesterday morning when I was out for a run."
Backs straightening and eyes growing, the Preventers silently urged him to go on. Shaking his head, he shrugged, "I can't explain it, but something seemed... off about it and I stayed out of sight until it pulled away. This morning, when I read the paper, I realized that it was parked within walking distance of Drexel Hill. I'm probably overreacting, but..."
Maxwell asked, "Did you get the plate number? Maybe catch a glimpse of the driver?"
Finding himself relieved that he was being taken seriously by the braided agent who had become very grave and attentive to what was being relayed to him, Yuy let out the air that he had been holding onto. "No," he frowned. "I was behind some bushes and couldn't get a good view of those things."
Lady Une thought aloud, "There are toll booths at the bridges flanking the area. If they came from out of town, they would have had to cross one of them. Agent Scythe, I want you to pull whatever strings you have to and obtain the video footage from those posts to see if any vehicles fit that description. We might get lucky."
Duo was on his feet with a proclaimed, "On it." Set to his assignment, he all but ran from the office.
Grinning encouragingly to her guest when they were alone, Middie said, "I've never been one to doubt instinct. If you felt uneasy, you handled the situation well."
Doctor J had preached to Heero that he needed to trust his emotions, or instincts. Just as his late father had... Still, it was nice to have the agents take him seriously.
And because of that, he surrendered himself to the fact that the Commander made a point in her recommendation to stay where he was until he knew he was fine to return to campus. His professors would work with him to make up for the lessons he'd miss.
Folding her hands flat together before her chin, Lady Une murmured, "Since we have the room to ourselves, there's one little detail I need to hear because you look like you should be in high school... Please tell me you're not a minor on top of all of this."
Maybe it was his anxiety that had finally snapped that made her concern strike Yuy as funny. But whatever it was, his head fell back with a fitful laugh regardless. "No, ma'am," he snickered when he was able to get a hold of himself. "I'll be turning twenty in a couple of months."
Sagging heavily in her chair, the officer sighed deeply, "Thank God. Statuary rape is about the last thing I ever would have needed getting out. As much as I care about Maxwell, I would have skinned him alive for that."
"How old is Duo?" Heero inquired. The words were past his lips before he could ponder over why he really cared. But then, there was a lot going on that he remained unaware of. "Your whole team seems... awfully young to be federal agents of any kind."
Warming at that, Middie leaned back in her chair and smiled, "They range from twenty-two, with Duo and Anna being the babies of the bunch, to twenty-four. And they all got their start in this division when they were nineteen, making them one the longest standing squads in this whole building." Unable to hide his wonder, the student blinked his widened, cobalt eyes.
Lady Une chuckled as she stood up. "As part of my promise to see to your safety, I am giving you full disclosure to my team and the case that they are involved in. There will not be any secrets and you will be updated as I am on their progress. And if you are going to have such clearance, we might as well start with formal introductions so that you may be properly acquainted with them."
Waving a hand, she urged her charge to follow her back out to the floor. He was quick to fall in step behind her to be greeted by overlapping clicks of keyboard strokes as the five Preventers were sitting at their clustered desks and glued to their monitors.
"Fall in, everyone," the Commander called over the steady clamor. Saving where they were, the lot broke from their computers and approached to stand in a clean line.
Stretching a hand out to their visitor, their supervisor announced, "Just so you are all on the same page, this is Heero Yuy and he is a student at Great Lakes Villanova University. He had assisted Duo in retrieving the chip that we had been tipped off on and therefore will remain involved in this case until it is closed. That means treat him like a sixth member of the team, giving him whatever information he wants and allowing him to join in as he wishes."
Eyes blinked in surprise and heads turned to each until Lady Une began again with the tallest of the bunch at the start of the line. "This is Agent Night, Trowa Barton," she shared. "He is our usual go-to for undercover assignments when his technological skills are not required. He is also one hell of a marksman that makes him our resident sniper when action is required."
Smiling, he bowed his head to the scholar with a sincere, "Good to meet you, Heero. My apologies in advance for having to deal with us." Snickering along with the Preventers, Yuy nodded back while noting how the young man unconsciously tugged down on the sleeves of his green uniform shirt.
Middie shook her head in amusement and moved to the next in line as she said, "Agent Rock, Quatre Winner, is our inner liaison for information such as the leak to the chip that he recovered. He can get in and out of any database, no matter how high the security. He is also our public and human resources correspondent to handle media reports and smooth over any... colorful acts from the team that might rub the public wrong."
"A job that I'm not nearly paid enough for thanks to this bunch," the blonde smirked, causing his associates to laugh and nod in agreement. Taking the initiative to put himself out there, he stepped forward and held out a hand as he grinned, "Hi, Heero."
Relaxing all the more thanks to Winner's kind demeanor, the psych major's smile grew a bit as they exchanged a firm handshake before the officer fell back in line. First impressions of people were rarely wrong. And based on the friendliness of the correspondent, Yuy was pretty confident that he would get along well with him.
Lady Une proceeded on and whacked the third in the ranks upside the back of his braided head. "Oooww!" Duo cried, wincing as he rubbed the tender spot and grumbled, "Alright... alright. I guess I deserved that." His squad mates held in their laughter... but only barely as a few snorts and chuckles escaped. Even Heero bit his lip.
With a smug grin, Middie pointed with her thumb at her target and commented, "You've already met Duo Maxwell, aka Agent Scythe. God help me, I put him in charge of most of our field work for recoveries, undercover investigations and muscling out information when needed. He might be the biggest handful of the team, but he's also damned good at handling whatever's thrown at him including a lot of our behind the scene tasks."
Lowering his hand, the braided young man smiled at her for the compliment and peered back at his lover. "Hello, Heero," he spoke in that near purr that made the scholar's toes curl and breath hitch.
Odd, the effect that the agent had on him, Yuy thought to himself. he could understand the reaction were he under the effect of an alcohol buzz as he was when they first met... but apparently there was more to whatever drew him to Maxwell than he was first willing to accept. Steeling his nerve, he did offer a small smirk and nodded in acknowledgment.
"Then there's Anna Downs, or Agent Fire," Middie declared as she approached the smiling redhead. "There are few as knowledgeable in weapons of every sort as her. If it can kill or explode, she's aware of all the of ways it can do so and , if possible, how to defuse it." Raising an eyebrow at the expert, she added, "And she'll tell you all about those things in detail with the same tranquil air as someone relaying the weather, just to warn you in case you haven't already experienced that from her."
Her head tilting to the side to the entertainment of her friends, the named agent frowned in genuine puzzlement, "Wait... that needs to come with a warning?"
Snickering, Wufei nudged her and reassured softly, "Don't worry. It's all part of your charm."
There was another one of those moments between them when it was as though they forgot the rest of the world around them as they smiled at one another. It had a way of making Heero feel as though he was snooping in on a private glimpse in their private lives. If ever he wondered if they were involved, this glimmer had made it plain and clear to him now that they were indeed.
"He's right, Anna. It's... refreshing to know someone with that attitude," the student broke in, catching himself off guard at how quick he felt the need to put her at ease. Snapping her head of curly red hair, the young woman beamed and winked at him.
Growing all the more confident in her decision to involve her guest with every encounter, the Commander's smile spread further across her face as she patted shoulder the last of the Preventer, concluding, "Finally, there Wufei Chang also known as Agent Wolf resident jack-of-all trades and leader of the pack. Along with overseeing every aspect of our missions, he has the near impossible responsibility for keeping the others in line."
Arms folding across his chest, the Chinese agent snorted, "Which should earn me eventual canonization into sainthood for everything I put up with on a daily basis." Laughter filled the air again as he grinned smugly to his associates. To the unruly haired young man, he said earnestly, "Good to have you along for the ride, Yuy."
Still not entirely sure how he felt about the prospect of being thrown into a federal investigation with people that he still had only barely come to know, a couple of which he had only just met, Heero reserved himself to a quiet, "Thanks."
Bringing her hands together in a loud clap, Lady Une proclaimed, "Alright, we've all been acquainted and we have a lot of work ahead of us."
Centered on the agents, she ordered, "Back to whatever you all were tackling. I want to know all that's going on in the Drexel Hill investigation and whether or not we should seriously consider Thomas Klein at all involved in our case. Get me answers within two hours so we can plan out strategy for how to proceed." Not needing to be told twice, the team broke for their desks and buried themselves into their research.
"Make yourself comfortable, Mister Yuy," Middie advised the scholar. "Consider this your home away from home from now until our case is solved."
Heero swallowed roughly at that, eyeing the Preventers as they continued on in their assignments.
In a matter of three days, he had gone from an ideal student to a confidant and person of interest to a team of federal agents.
So much for life returning to normal.
TBC...
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