Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. Never did, never will. Everything else is mine (unless otherwise stipulated)

Episode Twenty-Six: Cat & Mouse (January 24-29, 280 AE)

Duo jolted awake when he felt a cold touch at his throat.

"The fuck!?" he exclaimed when he almost head-butted Heero as he sat up, hands clasped protectively around his throat.

"I didn't mean to wake you…" Heero had retreated to the other side of the room, his hands raised to show he meant no harm.

"Shit Heero! Ya scared me! What were ya tryin' to do, strangle me?"

"Wufei said that you were in an altercation with Une. I was assessing the damage."

"Yeah…" Duo rubbed gingerly at his throat. "I got banged up a bit. But yer friend… Trowa," Duo still struggled with the name, "patched me up. He could use some pointers on bedside manner, but I gotta admit, the guy knows what he's doin'."

"Does your throat hurt? The bruise is dark," Heero commented.

"Yeah… the painkillers must be wearin' off," Duo admitted.

"Wait here," Heero ordered as he left Duo's bedroom and disappeared into the darkness of the apartment.

"It's not like I got somewhere to be," Duo muttered. "Shit! How did he sneak up on me like that? He even turned the light on," Duo wondered aloud as he glanced at the lamp next to his bed.

Heero soon returned with a glass of water and a small packet of powder. "Here," he thrust the two items into Duo's reach.

"Thanks but uh… what is it?"

"A herbal remedy made by Wufei. It is useful for easing pain," Heero explained as Duo accepted the water and powder.

After a moment's hesitation, Duo tilted his head back and poured the contents of the packet into his mouth and chased it down with several gulps of water.

"Whelp… it goes down easier than pills," Duo remarked, settling back against his pillows with a sigh. "Didja just get back?"

"The memorial service for Justice Noventa took longer than expected. I was… delayed after escorting the Supreme Minister home."

"Until two in the mornin'!?" Duo raised a brow as he cast a significant glance at the time displayed on the tablet next to his bed.

"Relena was… emotional after the funeral. She seemed to think that she would be targeted next. Noin finally managed to convince her she was at no immediate risk. After that I had a brief discussion with Noin and Wufei about your encounter with Une."

"Ah fuck!" Duo swore, "Is it house arrest at least? 'Cause Scraps doesn't do well in small spaces… oh shit! Yer not taking him away are you?" Duo sat up in dismay, his eyes frantically searching for his pet.

"No, Wufei convinced Noin it was an unfortunate accident. Quatre also intervened."

Duo sighed in relief and flopped back onto his pillows. "Wait, where's-"

"-in my sock drawer," Heero answered before Duo could finish.

"Heh, he really likes yer socks. What else ya keepin' there?"

"My underwear," Heero replied in monotone.

"Kinky!" Duo grinned. "Hey, wouldja stop hoverin' like that?" Duo asked when Heero continued to hover a foot away from his bed.

Heero nodded minutely and perched on the edge of Duo's bed. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Nah… just some scratches from fallin' in a bush, nothin' – WOAH!" Duo exclaimed when Heero suddenly pulled back the covers and yanked his shirt up to examine his torso. "That was not an invitation!" he groused as he yanked his shirt back down.

"I want to see," Heero protested, still gripping the bottom of Duo's shirt.

"You've seen plenty. Chill… Trowa already pulled the thorns out and swabbed and everythin'! Even gave me antibiotics, I'm good." Duo peeled Heero's hand off his shirt.

"I've already seen you naked," Heero stated. "Why are you being modest now?"

"That was different! I was injured and kinda a prisoner, remember?" Duo shot back. "Jeez, and I was complainin' how that cat-lovin' psycho needs to work on his bedside manner…" he muttered to himself.

Heero frowned but didn't protest any further.

"So uh…" Duo mumbled as Heero continued to perch on the side of his bed. "Yer still hoverin' and well… it's kinda hard to sleep with you there makin' me feel all.. umm…"

"Exposed?" Heero offered.

"Uh… not the word I was goin' for buddy," Duo groaned. "It feels weird k? I get all self-conscious and shit…"

Heero gazed at him skeptically for second before he nodded his head slightly and slid down to sit on the floor, making his head level with Duo's. "Better?"

"Uh yeah but… you gonna watch me sleep or something?" Duo asked suspiciously.

"Une almost crushed your larynx. You might stop breathing again." Heero stated morosely.

"Huh? I never stopped… oh, ya still hung up on that? I had a punctured lung, hey! It's not like ya did it on purpose," Duo added hastily when Heero's face scrunched into a dejected expression. "And then that other time, some psycho tried to poison me right? I'm still a lil' fuzzy on those details. I'd like to get my hands on him, ya said he was captured right?" Duo asked with genuine curiosity. "I wouldn't mind meetin' him if ya know what I mean…"

"He wasn't captured. Trowa eliminated him after hunting him down."

"Eliminated after hunting him down?" Duo wondered at the choice of wording. "Yer friend's one scary bastard, I thought he was gonna gut me when I asked him about his eye."

Heero stilled. "His eye?"

"Jeez, is he that touchy about it? Wufei had the same reaction when I told him I saw Trowa's eye patch."

"You saw the patch, not his eye?" Heero asked.

"Uh… yeah, why? Is it really gross or somethin'? He mentioned it being a gift or somethin' from the S.A."

Heero shifted uneasily, unsure how to answer.

"Fine, fine, none of my business," Duo grumbled. "Today's been a weird day and I wanna go to sleep. Turn off the light wouldja?"

Heero switched off the lamp but remained sitting on the floor next to Duo's bed.

"Seriously?" Duo huffed from under the covers, "Don't tell me yer gonna sit there all night!"

Heero remained silent, stubbornly refusing to budge.

"Ah for fuck's sake!" Duo exclaimed, exasperated. "Don't think I can't tell yer tired. Ya may be Advantaged but yer still human, human's need sleep."

"I'm staying," Heero insisted. Something about his tone triggered a memory Duo thought he had long forgotten.

"Come on squirt, off with ya! I'm fine!" Solo patted him on the head.

"No! I dun wanna! 'm stayin' here!" The young boy insisted stubbornly.

"It's just a scratch, I'll be fine after a quick rest."

"Liar!" The young boy disagreed tearfully, staring at the bloodstained bandages.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Solo told him gently.

"But!"

"Alright, I give up, you can stay. But only for today ok? Tomorrow you have to go back to yer classes. Father Maxwell will be upset if you don't go."

"'K! Promise!" the small child clambered up onto the cot and settled next to the blonde-haired teenager, careful to avoid the bandages.

Duo sighed and rolled over to the other side of the bed. "If yer gonna stay here, ya might as well sleep on the bed." Duo could feel Heero's eyes boring into his back. "Just don't hog the covers," he warned, pulling the covers up to his chin.

A moment later he felt the bed dip under Heero's weight and he felt a tug on the covers. Duo closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep but he could still feel Heero's eyes boring into his back.

"Wufei told me about L5, how it wasn't destroyed by the S.A., that they self-destructed," Duo stated. "And get this! They guy's a prince! Oh.. but ya probably already know that…"

"Hn," Heero replied gruffly.

"Hey, I never asked ya, where are you from?"

"I was born on L1," Heero replied curtly.

"Huh… yer not royalty too or somethin' are ya?"

"No."

"Are ya related to Heero Yuy? The real one, I mean the famous one, the activist guy that got his head blown off… shit, sorry, assassinated I mean…" Duo's tired mind was having trouble finding the right words.

There was a long pause before Heero answered. "No."

"Oh… but ya got the exact same name, it always made me curious, I mean, you were named after him right? The peace dove said that in her speech… but he didn't get famous until, I dunno ten years ago or so…"

"He was a close friend of my father's."

"Oh. Your father still around?"

"No."

"Sorry to hear that," Duo mumbled. "What about yer mother?" he yawned.

"She died before I was born."

"Oh, sorry to hear about that too…" Duo's tired mind didn't have the energy to grasp the glaring inconsistency of Heero's answer and he drifted back to sleep.

Quatre stepped into the darkened apartment with a deep sigh. He slipped off his shoes and padded softly through the large entryway and down the hall towards the back. He passed an expansive living room and dining room before turning the corner leading to another long hallway. Finally reaching the end of the hall, he pushed open the large doors with a light touch to reveal an expansive bedroom complete with a large bed and a spacious sitting area. The previously dimmed lights brightened at his entrance and Quatre flopped down onto the nearest chair with another deep sigh.

"Hello Sandrock," Quatre greeted the large Serval cat as he loosened his tie. "Were you sleeping?" he asked as the cat rubbed its head against his knee.

The large cat chirruped in answer, his paws kneading the thick carpeting that covered the entire expanse of the room. "Is Trowa here Sandrock?"

The large cat merely blinked at him and began to purr, continuing to knead the carpet. "I'm sorry," Quatre gently patted the large head, "I've been neglecting you haven't I?"

"Leo," Quatre called out as he continued to pet the large cat.

"Yes Master Quatre," the disembodied voice answered.

"Locate Trowa."

"Master Trowa is on the roof."

"Thank you Leo," Quatre stood and left the bedroom and returned back to the entryway. He re-entered the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. Seconds later the doors opened and Quatre disembarked into the cool night air. He blinked for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness and then scanned the expanse of the rooftop.

"You're home late… love," a soft and low voice called out to him.

Quatre turned and followed the sound of the voice. "I'm sorry, something came up."

After several more steps, Quatre could finally make out his companion's outline against the night skyline. Trowa was sitting on the railing snaking around the edge of the roof, his legs dangling over side and his hands lightly grasping the handrail as he gazed out into the night. "Is everything alright?" Trowa glanced back at Quatre's approaching figure.

"Just some unscheduled meetings," Quatre replied as he reached the railing. "Come down from there?" he pleaded, lightly touching Trowa's arm.

"You know I won't fall," Trowa answered. "And even if I did-"

"Please!" Quatre insisted.

Trowa fluidly pivoted on the railing and slid down next to Quatre. "Better?" he asked as he gathered the smaller man in his arms.

"Yes," Quatre breathed a sigh of relief and returned the embrace.

"You've been out late every night since you got back from L4," Trowa remarked softly.

"It can't be helped, I've been busy mingling with the Sedicis and their high-profile customers. I need to get into their inner circle if we're going to have any chance of tracking who's cloning credits and where the funds for the S.A. are coming from," Quatre sighed.

"The gathering at the Ranula Group's headquarters ended hours ago," Trowa commented, "What are you hiding from me Quatre?" He tilted his head back to look down at Quatre.

"I went to meet with Wufei and Noin afterwards, we were discussing what happened with Duo today," Quatre answered, refusing to meet his gaze.

Trowa's grip on the smaller man tightened. "What else?"

"Wufei finally uncovered what Leanne Veiga was trying to tell him before she was killed."

"The records keeper at City Hall?"

Quatre nodded somberly, his cheek rubbing against Trowa's broad chest. "She was trying to tell us that Justice Noventa was targeted because he was responsible for sealing all of our public records…"

"They were trying to uncover our identities…" Trowa finished for him, releasing his grasp on his companion. "Noventa…"

"He would never have betrayed us," Quatre clasped Trowa's arm. "He did not divulge our identities. We can be certain of that. And Wufei is confident that the secrecy surrounding our identities hasn't been breached… he's currently working on building us additional smokescreen identities and taking us off the grid completely…"

"You can't leave the grid completely, and neither can Heero. And if they've managed to discover that Noventa was responsible for shielding our identities, they're getting too close."

Trowa took a step away from the ledge and moved to dislodge Quatre's clasp on his arm but the blonde man stubbornly refused to let go. "Where are you going?" the blonde man demanded.

"I'm going to hunt down Leanne Veiga's killer," Trowa replied matter-of-factly. "Let go Quatre."

"You can't!" Quatre protested. "You'll expose yourself by tracking them down, they'll be expecting it!"

"Just like you're exposing yourself right now? I should be the one doing undercover work, not you!" Trowa's words were quiet but cold as ice.

"But you know what happened last time…" Quatre's voice caught in his throat.

"We've been over this already," Trowa shot back icily. "It wasn't your fault. Or would you feel better if I blamed you?" Trowa drew himself up to his full height and stared down at his companion.

"Be reasonable Trowa!" Quatre pleaded. "I'm handling it!"

"Like you handled it last time?" Trowa retorted with venom.

Quatre's eyes grew large. "We agreed to put the past behind us! We're different people now!"

"Are we?" Trowa replied quietly.

"Don't do this Trowa," Quatre pleaded, his voice hoarse, "this isn't like you."

"What if this is exactly like me?"

"It's not like you!" Quatre insisted.

"No Quatre, you want to believe that it's not like me," Trowa retorted and nimbly leapt over the barrier surrounding the roof.

Quatre gasped and dashed after him, leaning over and griping the rails in time to see Trowa land neatly on a balcony below and disappear into the building. With a deep sigh Quatre slid to the ground and held his head in his hands, emotionally drained.

Duo rubbed the back of his neck and then stretched. It had been several days since the incident in the conservatory and work had returned to normal, if idly training a ferret and tinkering with machinery constituted as normal. For Duo, tinkering with machinery was nothing new, but training an animal to follow commands was a novel experience.

He glanced at the clock and noted that it was nearing the time for lunch. Turning back to his work, he fiddled some more with the device on his workbench but quickly set it aside, unable to concentrate.

"Let's have lunch early Scraps!" he called as he twirled around in his chair and walked to the large cage in the corner of his office. Scraps was sleeping peacefully in the small hammock hanging in the cage, his body contorted oddly with his paws in the air.

"Oy, are ya comfortable like that?" Duo chuckled as he opened the cage door and reached in to gently poke at his sleeping ferret. Scraps squinted in annoyance, yawned and then rolled over to curl up in another distorted sleeping position.

"I shoulda named ya sleepy," Duo laughed to himself as he scooped up the ferret and tucked him into his coveralls. "I'd leave ya to your nap but I don't trust that ya won't wake up and cause havoc as soon as I leave!"

Whistling a merry tune, he left his office and headed upstairs towards the cafeteria. "Hiya Chuck!" he called to the man standing behind the counter, "what's the special today?"

"Hey Duo, you're early today," the burly man replied with a grin. "Hot entrees aren't ready yet but deli's open. Want your usual?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Duo grinned, grabbing a tray and scooting it down the metal countertops towards the deli section.

"How's the training going?" Chuck asked conversationally as he rolled out a piece of dough, slathered on some tomato sauce and began generously adding toppings.

"Scraps is doin' good, he gets into everythin', well, when he's not snoozing that is," Duo grinned, patting the sleeping ferret in his pocket.

The large man nodded. "Never much was an animal man myself but I gotta admit, Howard's critters are cute, and damn useful too. Extra cheese?"

"Do ya have to ask?" Duo shared a conspiratorial grin with the line cook as the bulky man sprinkled another generous helping of cheese on Duo's pizza.

"It'll be done in a jiffy," Chuck informed him as he popped the pizza into the oven. "So," he began, resting his hands on the countertop, "some Preventers agent was here looking for you."

"Huh?" Duo replied in confusion. "A Preventers agent?"

"Yeah, but he only knew your first name so I didn't say anything. You get yourself into trouble or something?" Chuck grinned.

"Uh…" Duo felt a huge chill down his spine. "Not that I know of..."

"Yeah, it was probably some mix up, he was probably looking for some other Duo," Chuck nodded to himself he filled a bowl with greens and topped if off with some slices of pear and a handful of nuts. "Did you see the new tables Howard had brought in?" he asked as he pointed to the patios just outside the cafeteria.

"Huh? Oh, when did those get there?"

"Just this morning, he even had more benches installed in the gardens too. I guess he wants the boys to get out in the sun before the big job."

"The big job?"

"Yep, Howard's got a crew gearing up for the reconstruction of L2, you musta seen it in the news right?"

"Well yeah, but that's not for a month yet I thought?" Duo's brow creased in both annoyance and confusion.

"Well, keep it on the down low, but there's an advance team heading over to play keep away with some grubby hands…"

Duo nodded. "I bet that's gonna piss off a lot of important people…"

Chuck laughed heartily as he pulled Duo's pizza out of the oven and slid it on to a plate, "Why else would we be in this business? You should check out the patio and gardens before they get crowded. Lunch rush will be here in about 30 minutes."

"Nah I think I'll…" Duo paused and gazed outside for a moment. "Ya know what? I think I will," he grinned as he grabbed his tray and headed outside.

Chuck watched him through the windows as Duo navigated his way out onto the patio and selected the table furthest from the doors and settled himself in front of his meal. Seconds later, a small furry body slinked out of Duo's coveralls and onto the table to soak up the artificial sun's rays. Chuck smiled to himself before turning back to check on the progress in the kitchen.

"What's for lunch today?" a cheerful voice spoke up behind him.

"Heya boss, meatball subs. I know they're you're favourite," the large man chuckled.

"Only when they've got pineapples!"

Chuck laughed heartily at the old man's reply. "You want everything with pineapples! I mean, I get it in fruit salads and pizza, but meatballs? That's just nasty boss!"

Howard slid his sunglasses down his nose and stared up at the bulky man. "I hope yeh didn't call me up here just to insult my tastes Chuck!"

"Hehe, if only," the man grinned before sobering. "There was this guy askin' around about Duo earlier today, said he was a Preventers agent."

"A Preventers agent?" Howard stroked his goatee in thought. "And yeh smelled a rat?"

Chuck shrugged. "Well, said Duo was an old friend of his, but said that they got assigned to different units and lost touch. Struck me as odd seeing as Duo's not Preventers plus that agency hasn't been around long enough for old friends to lose touch..."

Howard nodded. "Yeh sent him on his way?"

"We protect our own don't we?" Chuck crossed his arms in a defensive stance. "I'm not a fan of nosy reporters or…" he left the sentence unfinished.

"What was his name?"

"He didn't say," Chuck responded gruffly. "I asked Duo about it just now, he tried to hide it but he seemed spooked."

Howard nodded grimly.

"So what do we do boss? Want me to spread the word that we got an outsider poking his nose in our business?"

"Nah," Howard drawled. "I don't think he'll be back."

"So you're not gonna do anything about it? I mean, it's no business of mine but Duo's a pretty big fish ain't he?"

"What makes you think that?" Howard raised a brow.

"Well, the 'escort' he arrives with every morning for one thing," Chuck began listing reasons on his meaty fingers, "the fact that you personally brought him here, not to mention the fact that he got an underground office, I can keep goin' all day boss."

"Well, aren't yeh a regular ole genius!" Howard grinned with a mock glare. "Stop yer worryin' Chucky-boy, I didn't say I was gonna do nothing, I said I don't think he'll be back. Pros like our nosy visitor know better than to show their faces twice. Doesn't mean that they don't keep looking though," Howard pulled out his comm unit, "so we're gonna reply in kind."

Chuck blinked. "Uh? We're not doin' covert ops again are we boss?"

Howard laughed and waved him away, "Nah, we're getting our own pro. Go back to yer meatballs Chuck, thanks for keeping an eye out for Duo!"

"Sure thing boss," Chuck mock saluted and returned back to the kitchen.

Heero stared at a spot on the wall, focusing on keeping perfectly still and ignoring the intense stare Dorothy Catalonia was directing his way.

Relena was attending another public function where they were discussing some charity fundraiser or another. The meeting could easily have taken place at Peacecraft manor or at another private location, but instead, it was being held at restaurant in Sanq and labeled as a 'public function'. Heero had no doubt that this was the work of Dorothy Catalonia. And Dorothy, who was currently seated behind Relena Peacecraft, had no compunctions of staring openly at Heero the entire time.

A movement to his left distracted him from his studious examination of the wall and he glanced at his commander. Noin had joined him on duty today, acting as a buffer between himself and Relena. She currently had her comm unit in hand with a troubled look on her face. A moment later she glanced up at him and signaled in their old code that she had to leave. Heero nodded and followed her out of the room.

"What's wrong? Is there a security threat?"

Noin shook her head. "Just a heads up from Howard. Someone's been sniffing around about a link between the Preventers and the Sweepers organizations. I'm going to look into so I'll call for a replacement ok? I'm sure you can handle things on your own for a while."

"I'm coming too," Heero insisted.

"You have to stay here, you know the drill."

"But-" Heero tried to argue.

"No, stay here. Keep the Catalonia girl off my back, tell her there was a training accident that I had to attend to. I'll take care of this, don't worry." With those words Noin hurried out of the restaurant lobby and out to her car.

With a heavy sigh, Heero restored his stony expression and re-entered the semi-private room at the back of the restaurant, pointed ignoring the curious glances and stares.

He knew Noin was purposely keeping information from him.

Duo stretched out on the stone bench, arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the artificial blue sky. Scraps was curled, belly up, on his stomach, enjoying the artificial sun's rays. Just as he was finishing up his pizza and salad, the lunch rush had arrived and bunch of Sweepers who worked in the refurbished mechanics department joined him at his table to talk shop. Lunch had duly ended and since Duo was feeling lethargic, he decided to take an extended lunch break and had claimed one of the newly installed benches in the stone garden. He wasn't entirely sure if he was allowed to be out here, but technically he was still on Sweepers property and no one had come to escort him back inside, nor had his watch injectedhim with an incapacitating dose of barbiturates.

"Whaddya think Scraps? We ever gonna get to roam free or are we gonna be stuck in cages for the rest of our lives?" Duo wondered aloud. "Speaking of glass cages…" Duo tilted his head back so he could see past the statute blocking his view to the conservatory. He had chosen this particular bench for a reason, ever since his run in with Lady Une and his conversation with Wufei, he had been itching with curiosity.

The tall brunette had been flitting in and out of view, tending to her roses with dedication. It took a moment to locate her; she was seated in the gazebo, pouring herself a cup of tea. Duo sat up, much to the annoyance of Scraps, and crept up behind one of the stone statues to observe her more closely.

Lady Une sat alone, a faraway look in her eyes as she held her steaming tea-cup inches from her lips. After several long moments of vacant staring, she finally took a sip and lowered her tea-cup back into its saucer. The simple action tugged at Duo's heartstrings, hard.

"Aw shit Scraps, I'm always gonna be a sucker aren't I?" Duo muttered to his pet who merely blinked at him sleepily.

Duo watched her for a few more minutes, tugging worriedly at his braid before finally coming to a decision. "Whelp boy, no time like the present!" he told his ferret and marched determinedly back to the Sweepers complex. He descended the stairs to the lower level two steps at a time and ducked into his office to grab a rectangular piece of scrap metal. He exited his office and headed down the hall until he reached the break room. He grinned when he spotted a box of cookies on the table. Duo grabbed a plate and carefully selected two of each kind, noting that they weren't from Gelli's Bakery but a generic mass-produced brand, but beggar's couldn't be choosers.

With plate in hand, he marched purposely back upstairs, out into the courtyard and then towards the conservatory. Only when he reached the conservatory doors did he finally hesitate. Taking a deep breath, he glanced around to make sure no one was watching and then carefully pushed open the door. With carefully measured steps, he entered the conservatory, surreptitiously sliding the piece of metal into the lock mechanism to prevent it from locking.

"Umm.. hello?" he called out as he inched his way towards the gazebo. "Lady Une?" he stopped well within reach of the door and waited.

"Yes?" the brunette in question answered as she descended from the gazebo, her skirts fluttering about her ankles.

"Uh, hi, I was sittin' outside and saw you were all…"

"Oh?" Lady Une smiled and clasped her hands together, "have you come to see the roses?"

"Uh… I've visited before, I wanted to apologize…?" Duo answered uncertainly.

"Oh you have? I'm so sorry, I'm afraid I have an unreliable memory of late, we have so many visitors come to see the roses…" Lady Une trailed off with a troubled look on her face, "although I suppose there haven't been that many recently… oh, I'm sorry you were saying you wanted to apologize?"

Duo paused before replying, choosing his words carefully. "I umm… I think I've interrupted you while you were havin' tea… I brought some cookies if you like?" Duo held up the plate of cookies as he spoke.

Lady Une stared at him in confusion for a moment before breaking into a smile, "That's very kind of you. Would you like to join me? Although I'm afraid it's coffee, not tea."

Duo grinned, "That's even better! Haven't had a good ole' cuppa joe in a while now!" He carefully chose a seat that placed him closer to the door and plopped down with feigned ease.

"Cream or sugar?" Lady Une asked after she finished pouring Duo a cup.

"Both please!" Duo answered, eyeing the extra cups sitting innocuously in their saucers. "Expecting company?"

Lady Une faltered for a moment but resumed stirring sugar and artificial cream into Duo's cup. "No... I don't think so… but I never know when I'll have company… these are confusing times after all…" A glazed look entered her eyes.

"Uh.. this is some nice china ya got here," Duo scrabbled for a topic, uneasy with the faraway look in the woman's eyes.

"Oh yes," Lady Une's gaze focused on the fine china. "This is from Kushrenada collection, one of Master Treize's favourites. I always have it laid out in case Master Treize comes to spend some time in the garden; Master Treize is very fond of this garden."

Duo nodded and took his first cup of coffee. "Don't blame 'im, this place sure is nice. Ya take such great care of the roses too."

"Yes, Master Treize has been taking care of this garden since he was a child. Master Treize taught me how to take care of the roses after I entered into his service."

"Oh," Duo squirmed at the constant mention of the dead man. After all, mention of Treize Kushrenada was what had caused his near brush with death the first time he had met Lady Une. Thankfully, at that moment, Scraps decided to poke his head out of Duo's Sweeper coveralls.

"Oh my!" Lady Une exclaimed. "Is he your pet? May I?" she asked, extending her hands towards the furry head.

"Yup!" Duo replied quickly, silently thanking his ferret for getting him out of a sticky situation. "His name's Scraps!" he explained as he pulled Scraps out of his coveralls and placed him in Lady Une's outstretched hands.

"Scraps?" Lady Une's brow furrowed in confusion as she accepted the ferret and lightly stroked his head.

"Yeah, short for Scraper!" Duo grinned, relieved to see that Scraps was being docile.

"A fighter?" Lady Une mused with a faint smile.

"Sorta. I was thinkin' more 'survivor' when I named 'im. He was the runt, see. Plus he's got a gimped foot, but it doesn't slow 'im down, not one bit!" Duo announced proudly.

Lady Une's smile widened when the white-furred ferret wriggled out of her grasp and made a dash for the cookies.

"Oh no ya don't!" Duo scooped up his errant ferret and tucked him back into coveralls. "You behave or it's the harness of ya for the rest of the day!"

Lady Une stifled a laugh with her hand.

"Yeah," Duo grinned, "he's a crafty bugger. Gotta keep tabs on him all the time! I mean last time he got away…" Duo trailed off, realizing he was heading back into dangerous territory.

"Yes?" Lady Une looked at him expectantly as delicately picked up a cookie and took a small bite.

"Uh well… long story short, he got me into a lotta trouble 'cause he snuck into an off-limits area…"

"I see," the brunette woman smiled and sipped her coffee. After a moment, a small wrinkle of confusion creased her brow. "This is rude of me but… what did you say your name was?"

"Oh shit sorry!" Duo blurted out without thinking. "I'm Duo! Duo Maxwell! Sorry, that was really rude of me and uh… sorry about the cursin'… it's a habit I can't seem ta break…"

Lady Une smiled. "Well Duo, you do speak a very interesting… dialect." She took a sip of coffee and quietly repeated to herself "Duo… Duo Maxwell."

"Uh yeah… that's my name," Duo answered nervously. "Don't wear it out!"

"Duo… it's a very rare name, yet I feel like I heard it somewhere before…" Lady Une trailed off and the faraway look returned to her eyes. "And yet it's such an uncommon name."

"Err, well, an uncommon sort of guy…" Duo grinned, sweat running down his back.

Lady Une's gaze suddenly sharpened and her posture seemed to shift. "Yes, you are uncommon. Very rare even," she commented with a steely intelligence glinting in her eyes.

"Hey now, yer gonna give me a swelled head!" Duo blustered nervously.

"Would you like to see Master Treize's roses?" Duo blinked at the sudden change in topic but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Lady Une had returned to normal. 'Well, can't say normal, this lady's far from normal… but least she's back to the status quo' he thought to himself.

"Sure, I'd love ta!" Duo took a final sip of coffee and followed Lady Une out into the rose garden.

Thirty minutes later, Duo breathed a sigh of relief as he headed towards the door. He had to admit, the varieties of rose bushes in the garden were stunning, but he couldn't quite appreciate the novelty of the garden when he was constantly calculating the distance between himself and the door.

"Thanks again for the tour!" Duo called back as he opened the door and surreptitiously pocketed the piece of metal that had been keeping the door unlocked.

"You're welcome to come back any time," Lady Une called to him from where she had re-seated in the gazebo.

"Yeah, sure!"

"Please…" Duo heard the softly whispered plea just as the door clicked shut behind him.

"Damn... sucker punch right to the gut…" Duo muttered as he beat a hasty retreat for the Sweeper's main building.

"That could have ended much differently," a voice spoke from behind him.

"Shit!" Duo shouted, jumping a foot in the air as a steely grip grasped his upper arm. "Where the hell didya come from?" he glared accusingly at Trowa.

"That doesn't matter. Why were you in the Greenhouse?" Trowa asked as he pulled the braided man into the shadows of the stone garden and out of sight from both the main building and the greenhouse.

"I was there for the tour!" Duo snapped as he yanked his arm out of the taller man's grasp.

Trowa stared down at him with his single eye. "You're not stupid enough to risk your life for a tour of a rose garden. I saw the precautions you took."

"You were spyin' on me!" Duo accused. "Wait! Why didn't ya yank me outta there if ya knew I was in there?"

"I wanted to see what would happen."

"I was there 'cause I felt bad, okay? It's called empathy ya heartless bastard!"

Trowa tilted his head to the side and gazed at him quizzically, his one eye blinking slowly. "You felt bad?"

"Aw for fuck's sake! She was one of…" Duo stopped mid-sentence and glanced around to make sure that they were alone and out of earshot. "She was one of you! You know what I'm talkin' about!" Duo glared when Trowa feigned nonchalance.

"I don't know 'bout you freaks, but I was taught we never leave anyone behind! But what do you do? Ya stick her in a garden all alone, leavin' her to wait for a dead man to come back!"

"It wasn't my decision to put her there," Trowa replied calmly. "That was decided by Wufei, Howard and Noin."

"Ok fine, so ya didn't put her there personally, but yer just as responsible for leavin' her alone all the time!"

"Hm," Trowa answered but his gaze was focused somewhere behind Duo.

"What?" Duo turned to see what Trowa was looking at and quickly ducked behind a stone statue.

"Why is she here?" he whispered as he watched Noin navigate her way through the Sweepers' cafeteria.

"Howard called her here."

"What for? Wait, is this why you're here?"

Trowa didn't reply as Noin had made her way out of the Sweepers building and headed in their direction.

"Why are you skulking around here?" she asked Trowa as she caught sight of him. "You were supposed to meet me inside!"

Trowa shrugged noncommittally. "Any leads?"

"It was our phantom agent," Noin replied curtly. "Howard's crew was able to give me a good description. The damn bastard seemed to know where all the security cameras were though so we still don't have a photo of him that we could run through the database," Noin huffed in annoyance.

"Biometric data?"

"I took it down, but that can be faked too. If he's-" Noin stopped abruptly when she realized there was someone else in the garden. "Who's there? Come out now!"

"Errr.. hi," Duo sheepishly poked his head out from the statue he was hiding behind.

"Why are you hiding? Were you eavesdropping?" Noin demanded.

"Uh.. no… just didn't feel like being yelled at for bein' outside an all…"

Noin's jaw muscles tightened. "If you know you shouldn't be out here, then why are you here?"

"Uh…" Duo frantically searched for the right answer.

"I was with him the whole time," Trowa offered.

"Oh," Noin's anger seemed to deflate a little. "Well, I guess you can't stay inside all day. But keep out of trouble. That goes for you too Trowa!"

"Of course," Trowa replied smoothly. "I'll see you back at the office."

Noin nodded curtly and walked swiftly away.

"She's in a hurry," Duo commented.

"Someone's been snooping around the Sweepers headquarters."

Duo felt his blood run cold, his mind going back to his conversation with Chuck.

"Whadya mean by snoopin' around? Is it the S.A.?"

Trowa shrugged. "Too early to tell."

"Are they…" Duo couldn't finish the sentence, afraid to know the answer.

"I need to get back to work." Trowa pushed off of the statue he was lounging against and began to walk towards the road on the other side of the stone garden. "You should get back to work too."

"Fine," Duo grumbled. "And thanks for coverin' for me," he added grudgingly.

Trowa merely shrugged and continued to walk away.

Duo sighed and pushed away from his workbench only to nearly jump out of his skin in shock when he saw Heero standing in the doorway.

"Shit, ya scared me! Ya gotta keep sneakin' on me like this! How long ya been there?"

"About five minutes. I knocked, you didn't answer."

"Oh sorry, got lost in my work I guess."

"What are you working on?"

"Uh… nothin' really. Just tinkerin' with some stuff," Duo hastily shoved the gadget he was working on into one of the drawers of his workbench. "Whatcha doin' here?"

"I'm done with my duties."

"So yer babysittin' me tonight?"

"Babysitting?" Heero repeated in monotone.

"Nevermind, nevermind," Duo waved his hand dismissively and pulled Scraps from his napping spot and tucked him into his coveralls. "I'm ready to go when you are," he announced as he pocketed his comm unit.

"Do you…" Heero hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Do you want to pick up dinner before going home?"

"But-" Duo began before realizing that Heero didn't know about the shady character that had been asking around about him. If he did, Heero would have him squirreled away in some hidey hole before he could blink. And to be honest, he was starting to feel claustrophobic. 'I mean, no one'd be stupid enough to mess with Heero right?' Duo thought to himself.

"Duo?"

"Uh, yeah, sounds great!" Duo grinned. "Chuck was tellin' me about this place that has really good Italian, like spaghetti, lasagna an' stuff!"

Heero nodded. "Let's go."

"Well, well, well… I was right to follow the formidable Heero Yuy," a figure chuckled from the shadows. Two blocks away, Heero and Duo walked down the street towards the high-end residential district, large paper bag and foil wrapped trays in hand.

"And that mysterious Duo…" The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a comm unit only to have it snatched out of his grasp.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you'd better give that back!" the man snarled, turning around with gun in hand. Before he could take aim, the figure in front of him vaulted into the air and landed behind him soundlessly.

"Hello Nikol," Trowa Barton spoke softly into his ear as he delicately plucked the gun from Nikol's nerveless fingers. "You've gotten careless."

AN: Wow... long time since I updated. Ooops. Started a new job and it's eating up all of my time. Trying to set up a new schedule where I write a bit each week instead of vegging out in front of the TV...

Anyways, thanks for all the comments and reads! Hope you enjoy!

Maririn