Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Duo's Dilemma ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer - Gundam Wind does not belong to me. It never did. The only thing I own of this story is the plot, and the characters not originally created by the owners of Gundam Wing.

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Duo's Dilemma

Chapter 8

Now What?

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It was early Friday morning, but it seemed like everyone in Bella's house was already up and awake. Bella, who had not been able to go to sleep after talking with Duo about her mother, had spent the night pacing her bedroom floor and worrying continuously about her dad and step-mom. Finally, at about four-thirty in the morning, she had descended the steps and found herself something to keep her occupied...work.

She had checked her voice mail, only to find a message from her vice-president saying that everything was okay and the only problems they had encountered was a glitch in some of last month's accounts. Apparently, a large amount of money had come up missing from the reserves, and Daniel had no idea where it had went. Bella had been concerned at first, but then remembered that their monthly donation to one of the charities had come out of the reserves last month. She left a message on Gracie's phone explaining where the money had went, knowing that her secretary would pass along the information to Daniel.

Now, sitting at the table in her small kitchen, she was staring at the computer screen of her laptop, correcting a few minor mistakes that was left in her speech for the Senate. Behind her, a large pot of coffee was being made, and she knew the smell of the fresh brew would drag her guests out of bed in a little while. She had already heard one of her guests up and about this morning due to the sound of footsteps overhead, but she hadn't been able to tell who it was. The door to the kitchen swung open and Bella looked up to find Duo standing in the doorway. She tugged at the hem of the oversized football jersey she usually slept in, thanking God she remembered to put on a pair of shorts before she had come down this morning.

"Up already?" he asked, walking into the kitchen and sitting down across the table from her. "This is early, even for you."

"Couldn't sleep." Bella answered simply, taking another sip of coffee and minimizing the screen she was looking at. She took in Duo's relaxed posture and grinned.

"How's everything outside?"

"Fine." Duo answered, propping the chair back on two legs and putting his hands behind his head. "Quite as a mouse."

"You know you're gonna fall out of that chair if you don't put it down on all four legs, right?" she teased, nodding to the chair he was sitting in.

"No I won't." Duo said cockily. "My balance is perfect."

"Suit yourself." she said, grinning. "Don't come running to me when you smash head on my floor." About that time, Bella's ears picked up the sound of muttered curses and the footsteps coming down the staircase.

"Wonder which one that is." she said absently.

"It's Wufei." Duo said. "Nothing to worry about." The door to the kitchen swung open and Bella looked up to find the Chinese Preventor scowling worse than normal. He looked ragged, almost as if he had not been to sleep all night either.

"Morning, China-man." Bella said as he walked in and poured a large mug of coffee, then dousing it with enough sugar to put a Louisiana sugar plantation to shame. "Rough night?" At that moment, the sound of a cell phone ringing was heard, and Wufei pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen, seeing an all too familiar number on it.

"Shut up, woman." he all but yelled, slamming the door behind him as he left and flipping the phone open before answering it with a curt 'Now what do you want?'

"What's his problem?" Bella asked, slightly put out by his disposition as she watched the door to her dining room swing back and forth from the Chinese man's abrupt exit.

"Um, 'Fei was up most of the night." Duo answered with a grin.

"He couldn't sleep either?"

"No, Sally kept him up." the braided pilot said, chuckling. "Last I heard, she was calling him a stubborn ass idiot, and threatening to cut his balls off and stuff them down his throat."

"Lord help him. What'd he do to ensure her wrath that bad?" Bella asked.

"He forgot to call her yesterday." Duo said. "It was their three year anniversary from when they started dating, and 'Fei forgot about it."

"Ohh." Bella smirked, suddenly wishing she could hear the uptight Preventor being chewed out by his girlfriend on the other end of the phone. "Damn, Skippy."

'INJUSTICE!! WOMAN YOU HAVE LOST YOUR MIND!!' came Wufei's over exasperated voice from the dining room. Bella winced and Duo just shook his head, a small grin on his face.

"Well, if Heero and Relena weren't up yet, they are now." Bella said, rising from her chair after shutting down her laptop and placing it on a nearby counter as Wufei came through the door once again in a huff. "Trouble with the misses, China-man?"

"Stay out of this, woman." he snapped. "You're as bad as the other one, always asking stupid, sarcastic question that you use to trap people with. Don't you bunch of stupid women know when to keep your overly large mouths shut?" Bella flinched and started to get angry with the man in front of her. She watched as he walked towards the door, right towards her, muttering under his breath. "Utterly ridiculous.....that time of the month.....bunch of overgrown harpies that can't do anything ri..."

"Mr. Chang," Bella said, causing him to look up at her and glare even worse. "It's five in the morning. I'm cranky, irritated, and haven't had enough coffee to put me in a good mood yet. I have been up all night because mother nature decides to prove the theory that women can loose massive amounts of blood in a relatively short period of time, and still live to fix problems that chauvinistic pigs like you cause." Her hand reached out and she gripped the handle of one of kitchen knives. "Now, I have in my hands, a fourteen inch butcher knife, sharpened to perfection, and the only way out of this room is behind me. Now, do you really want to finish that sentence?"

Wufei's face actually went from red with anger to white in fright in about two seconds. He said nothing, only shook his head at Bella's questioning. the woman seemed satisfied with his mute answer and stepped out of the way, letting the somewhat shocked man past her. Duo watched the interaction with a sort of devious glee.

It was rare to see Wufei back down from an argument with anyone, especially if that person happened to be a woman. And the look of utter horror on the man's face when Bella picked up the knife and all but threatened to carry out Sally's promise of retribution for forgetting their anniversary he had been hearing all morning and half the night, had Duo cackling in delight. When Wufei was out of the room, and Duo was sure that Bella wasn't going to turn a knife on him, he broke the silence that had settled into the kitchen.

"You okay, Bella?" he asked cautiously, wondering if she was only playing with the other Preventor, or if she was seriously that angry and aggravated. The young woman turned back to him, handing him a mug of coffee and grinned.

"Oh, I'm fine." she said, laughing slightly at his cautious expression. "Just giving China-man a good scare this morning."

"As if he hasn't been scared enough from Sally." Duo muttered. Bella just smiled and walked over to the refrigerator, pulling things out to fix for breakfast. "What ya' cooking?"

"Don't know yet." she said, surveying what she had to work with. "What do you want?"

"Don't care." he said, shrugging. "I'm just hungry."

"You're always hungry, Maxwell." Bella pointed out, bending over to pull a carton of eggs out of the bottom of the fridge. Duo looked over at her and grinned. The jersey she had on had ridden up when she bent over, and he now had quite a view of her backside and her legs from where he was reclining. He smirked and leaned the chair back a little more to get a better view as she searched in the fridge for what she wanted. The shorts she had on were not much coverage, and Duo could see a small tattoo of some kind of animal on the small of her back. He squinted in the low light of the kitchen and tilted the chair back a little more, trying to get another angle to see what the picture on her back was. Unfortunately for him, he tilted the chair back a little too far, and went crashing down onto the tiled floor with a thud, spilling the hot cup of coffee in his hand all over himself in the process.

Bella quickly pulled her head out of the refrigerator and turned to see what the commotion was, only to find Duo lying on the ground, covered in hot coffee and trying to get up, his face contorted in pain from the scalding liquid he managed to pour all over himself.

"Owww! That's hot!!!" he yelled, pulling his now coffee-soaked jacket off and throwing it on the table. "Ohh, my head!" He rubbed the back of his head, and felt a bump start to form where his head had smacked into the tile. Bella shook her head and tried to contain her amusement at the poor man's misfortune. She'd tried to tell him he was going to fall.

"You okay, Duo?" she asked, coming over to check on him, a ghost of a smile on her face. "You didn't crack my tile with your hard head, did you?"

"Funny. What are you now, a comedian?" he asked sourly, picking his shirt away from his chest where the coffee had soaked in. Bella giggled slightly and led him over to the sink, cutting on the hot water and putting his hands under it, trying to cool down the red skin where the coffee had splashed.

"Not yet, but I'm trying." she said, looking carefully at his arm. It was not as bad as she had imagined, but it looked like the front of his shirt was the recipient of a large amount of the scalding liquid. "Pull that shirt off and I'll get you another one to change into." she said, turning towards the small laundry room off to the side of the kitchen. "It'll hold you over until you can get one of your own."

"Ohh, trying to get me naked now, are you, Bella?" he teased. "All you had to do was ask." Bella groaned and shook her head, opening the door and grabbing one of her father's old button up shirts.

"Honey, if I wanted you naked, I'd have jumped you already." she said with a teasing smile. "Now, unless you want to keep that coffee-soaked shirt on you and run the risk of blistering yourself, I suggest you get that shirt off." Duo only shook his head, wondering if his flirting was going to lead him into more trouble than he wanted to deal with. But then again, Bella gave as good as she got, so it's not like he had to worry about her throwing a sexual harassment lawsuit against him.

Bella grabbed a plastic bad and filled it with ice and a little water, then wrapped it in a dishtowel and handed it to Duo.

"Here." she said.

"What's that for?" he asked, slipping the shirt on and buttoning it up quickly, then sticking his burning hands back underneath the running cold water in the sink.

"Hold it against where you burnt yourself at." she said, nodding towards his chest. "It'll help cool your skin down before it blisters." Duo nodded and took one of his hands out from underneath the running water, taking the bag and holding it against his chest. Bella, pulled his wrist out from under the faucet and looked at it carefully. The skin was still red and it could possibly blister.

"Got it good, didn't you?" she asked.

"There's a first aid kit in my bag." Duo said, shrugging. "I'll take care of it later."

"Nonsense." Bella said. "I've got something that'll work just as well." She pulled out a bowl and put some water and ice in it, along with a bunch of vinegar. "Put your hands in that. The vinegar will help pull the heat out."

"Vinegar?" he asked skeptically, eyeing her like she was an idiot.

"Yes, vinegar." she answered. "I know it sounds stupid, but it works. Trust me." Duo shook his head, but dropped the ice bag and put both his hands in the freezing vinegar water, only to find that it worked better and killing the burning sensation than plain water alone.

"Better?" Bella asked. He nodded. "It's an old trick my mom taught me. Works really well for sunburns too." She picked up the discarded ice bag and unbuttoned one of the buttons on the shirt, placing it against his chest. Duo grinned and shook his head.

"There you go again, undressing me." he teased, a mock severe sigh coming from his lips. "Have you no modesty, my dear? What am I going to do with you, Ms. Saucier?"

"You really are a pervert. Is that all you think about?" she said, shaking her head, and trying to keep from blushing slightly at his teasing.

"Would you hate me if I said yes?" he grinned at her.

"Would you like me to let this ice bag go?" she asked innocently, pulling the bag away and letting the burning sensation hit Duo again like a semi-truck. He winced and shook his head quickly, his braid flapping from side to side.

"No, that's okay." he said. "You're fine right where you are." They were silent for a few moments, until Bella looked at him, concern still in her eyes.

"You didn't hurt your head, did you?" she asked. "I know that tile is hard as hell when you fall on it." Duo raised a questioning eyebrow and looked at her.

"And how are you so sure of that?"

"Uh, let's just say I went out one night with some friends, got a little drunk, and wound up sleeping on the kitchen floor." she said with a grimace. Duo laughed and shook his head. "One hell of a back ache isn't the only thing I woke up with the next morning."

"It's okay. I can feel a bump back there, but nothing I can't stand." he said, pulling his hands out of the vinegar water, only to drop them back down when the burning sensation hit again.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Fine." he answered, grinning to show he would be okay. A few minor burns from a cup of coffee and bump on the head from falling out of a chair while trying to look up Bella's shirt was nothing compared to what he had been through before during the war. But, his mind argued, he liked the attention he was getting from the young woman standing next to him, so what was wrong with playing it up a little? Of course, if Bella found out what had made him fall backwards in the chair to begin with, he might just not live to see another day.

"Still hurt?" she asked, nodding towards the bowl of ice water. Duo pulled his hands out and waited for half a minute before feeling the burning sensation come back, but not as bad as it had been. He took a proffered towel from Bella's hands and dried his own.

"It's better." he said, placing his hand on the ice pack she had been holding. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it." she answered. "My way of saying thanks for watching over my family."

"That's about all I'm good for." he said, shrugging.

"That's not true." Bella said heatedly. Duo looked over at her, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Do tell?" he said. "What else am I good for then?" he queried, wondering what she was going to come up with considering he had only met her a week before.

"Well, you keep me up to date on my first aid remedies." she laughed. "And you're somewhat entertaining to keep around, too. Maybe you should get a job as a clown if you ever quit the Preventors."

"No thank you. I'll leave that up to Trowa." he said, grinning. "But thanks just the same."

"Anytime, hon." she said, turning back to the counter that held the food she was fixing for breakfast. "So, figured out what you want to eat, yet?"

"Surprise me." Duo said, grabbing the turned over chair and sitting it back upright before sitting down in it.

"Yuy's not gonna bitch a fit if he comes in here and finds you with me, is he?" she asked, pulling out a pan from a cabinet.

"Nah, there's enough Preventors out there to keep everything in check." he said. "He won't get mad."

"I hope you're right." she said. "Because I hear someone coming." Sure enough, Duo heard the light footsteps of his partner coming down the steps, followed by Relena's steps. A few moments later, Relena pushed the door open and flipped on the main light switch, bathing the dimly lit kitchen area in fluorescent light.

"Morning, Bella." she yawned, seeing the girl stirring a large silver bowl of pancake batter. "Morning, Duo."

"Hey, Princess." Duo called out.

"Good morning, Relena." Bella replied. "Morning, Preventor Yuy."

"Hn." Heero grunted. "What happened to you, Maxwell?"

"Spilled coffee on me a little while ago." Duo said simply.

"He tipped the chair over backwards and happened to have a hot cup of coffee in his hands." Bella clarified, causing Relena and Heero to look at her. "He got a little burned."

"You okay, Duo?" Relena asked.

"Fine." he said. "Bella fixed me up." A couple minutes of silence passed, giving the two new comers time to get adjusted to the early hour.

"Where's Chang?" Heero asked, noticing that the Chinese man wasn't present like he usually was. "I heard him get up."

"He left earlier." Bella said. "I think he was in trouble with his girlfriend."

"Yeah, Sally kept him on the phone most of the night." Duo said. "He forgot their anniversary."

"Poor guy." Heero mumbled, remembering the last time Wufei had forgotten about his and Sally's anniversary.

"Well, China-man's about to miss breakfast." Bella said, stacking up some pancakes onto the plates set out in front of her. "Hope you guys are hungry."

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A few hours later, everyone was fed and Relena was reading over Bella's speech for the Senate meeting when the phone rang, causing the two working women to jump in surprise. Bella got up and grabbed the cordless phone, walking into the other room so as not to disturb Relena from her reading.

"Hello?"

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"Oh, hey, daddy." Bella said, leaning up against the couch. "How's everything going? You and Rita okay?"

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"Oh, really?"

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"Yeah, I'll tell her. Anything else?"

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"No, I haven't talked to her."

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"Okay, we'll be there this evening."

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"No, everything has been fine here. No problems at all."

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"Will do, daddy. Bye. Love you, too." Bella hung the phone up and walked back into the kitchen, watching as Relena made a spelling correction on the computer's document. "Well, I've got some news."

"What is it?" Relena asked, her full attention on her friend.

"Daddy said the meetings are starting up again on Monday. And they cut out the last week of meetings because of the threats." Bella answered. "The house is fixed going to be fixed by noon today, as well. And that means we can move you back to it. Dad and Rita are on their way there as we speak."

"They cut the last week?" Relena asked. "I can't see them liking that too much. These beauracrats love to argue, wonder who changed their tune?"

"Don't know, don't really care. But it could be the fact that over half of them have received threatening notes since this started." Bella answered, shrugging her shoulders.. "Should we go tell Heero and Duo the news?"

"Yeah." Relena said, shutting the top on the laptop and getting up from her spot at the table. "Better go relay the message."

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By the time Relena had packed up her clothing and the Preventors had relocated back to the plantation, Bella was ready to pull her hair out in frustration. She had hoped that Margureite would not be coming home as quickly as she was, but her luck was not with her. When she pulled up to the house, the first person out of the door was none other than Margureite, and she was heading straight for Duo.

"Is everyone okay?" the younger girl asked, waiting for the three Preventors, her sister, and the Vice-Foreign Minister to get out. "Belladonna didn't drive you crazy, did she, Relena?"

"No, the stay at her house was more than pleasant." Relena said, gathering her purse and going to get the suitcase that held her clothing, only to be beaten to the punch by Heero. "It was quite refreshing." Bella saw her sister's face fall in aggravation when Relena's word's sunk in.

Kenneth Covington came out of the house then, along with Rita, only to come hug Relena and Bella.

"I'm glad to see you girls are okay." he said. "I've been worried sick about you both."

"Have they heard anything else about who could possibly be behind the attacks?" Heero asked.

"They've got a few leads." Covington said, as he grabbed Relena's other bag. "But it's not solid. They aren't guaranteeing anything."

"Well, let's see if we can't get you situated back into your room, Relena dear." Mrs. Covington said briskly, shaking her head. "This has been an utter disaster."

"Thank you, Mrs. Covington." Relena said, allowing herself to be led into the expansive home. Bella's phone chose that moment to ring, and the woman pulled it out of her jean pocket with a groan.

"Bella." she said.

............ There was a sigh and the Preventors standing beside her turned to watch as the face of the C.E.O. went from normal to angry in a split second.

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"When did it get there?"

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"This morning? And you're just now calling me? What were you thinking?"

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"I'll be right there."

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"No, it's okay." she said simply. "I'd rather deal with this one myself."

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"Well, if you've already called the police, then there is nothing else we can do. Like I said, I'll be there as soon as I can."

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"No, I'm at my dad's."

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"Fine." Bella said, her free hand clenching into a fist. "I owe you one, buddy."

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"Well, I might make it up to you like that, but only if you're a good boy." she said, a smile playing on her lips.

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"Pervert!" she sighed. "You're hopeless, babe. Listen, let me change clothes and I'll be on my way. Bye." Bella slapped her phone shut and stuck it in her pocket, a frown on her face.

"Something wrong, sister dear?" Margureite asked, her hands on her hips.

"As a matter of fact, there is, Margie." Bella said.

"What is it, pumpkin?" Kenneth Covington asked, turning to his eldest daughter.

"There's been some problems at the office." she said simply. "And I need to get there."

"Anything major?" her father asked.

"Well, not unless you count someone breaking into the building last night and ransacking my office." she said, running her fingers through her hair.

"Did they take anything?" her dad asked.

"Not that Daniel can see." she said. "But I've got to get dressed and get there. The investigator wants to talk to me. Apparently someone hit the research lab in Baton Rouge last night, too. Excuse me, gentlemen." Bella walked away from the men and her sister, practically running into the house and disappearing up the stairs. Kenneth Covington followed behind his daughter, wanting to know what else had happened.

"Well, it looks like Belladonna is going to be busy for the remainder of the evening." Margureite said, a half smile on her face as she turned to the remaining men standing in front of her. "So, how about we all get dressed and go get something to eat for dinn...."

"Maxwell," Heero said suddenly, turning to his partner.

"Yeah?"

"You're going with her." he said simply.

"Say what?" Duo asked, looking at his leader as if he had lost his mind. "I'm what?"

"You're going with Ms. Saucier." he said coolly. "Go get some clean clothes on." Duo only nodded and walked into the house, his duffle bag slung over his shoulder.

"But, I thought you three were supposed to be watching Relena?" Margureite said, pinning Heero with a glare. "Won't you be taking away her protection if he goes?"

"Miss Covington," Heero said, glaring back at the girl standing off to the side of him. "Maxwell is under my command, and he does as I say. Your personal interest in him is not going to get in the way of what he needs to do. As for your paranoia of him being around Ms. Saucier, get over it." With that last remark, Heero turned towards the house and walked in, Wufei held back a smirk and followed him.

Margureite watched in anger as the two men entered into the house, leaving her alone in the driveway. She already had her suspicions that Duo had attached himself to her older sister, and she didn't like it one bit. She stomped her foot in a childish display of temper and pulled her cellular phone from her pocket, hitting the speed dial to an all to familiar number.

"Yeah, Neil, it's Margie." she said, walking towards the back of her father's house. "I've got something for you to do for me."

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When Belladonna and Duo got to her office building in the heart of the central business district, Bella was on edge as to what was going on this time. When she parked the SUV and got out, Duo right beside her, she headed straight for the doors of the office building, and was met by an utterly exasperated Daniel Marks.

"What's the damage report, Danny?" she asked, pushing their way to the elevator.

"Well, the computer network wasn't targeted this time." he said in a huff. "In fact, we aren't sure if anything is even gone. It's like whoever broke in just done it to ransack your office and trip the alarm. As far as I can tell, nothing is gone. But your office has a new coat of paint on the walls."

"What about that letter you got this morning?" she asked.

"The police have it right now." he said. "Whoever the hell sent that is pissed at us, Bella. They threatened everyone from you and me to the janitor's families."

"You got a threat, Bella?" Duo asked, listening in on the conversation and not liking what he was hearing. "You didn't tell me that."

"Well, I wasn't about to say anything in front of my dad." she said hotly. "And I was too mad to say anything about it on the way here." The three people made their way up to the office, and into the mess that was the waiting room. She was stopped upon entering the waiting room outside her office, and forced to answer a bunch of questions from the captain of the squad before she was finally allowed any further inside the room. Bella took one look at her secretary Gracie and mentally reminded herself to put the woman up for a raise for putting up with such a mess. She went to step into her office behind Daniel, but a burly man in a NOPD uniform stopped her, and pointed back at Duo, who was behind her.

"We can't let him in." the man said gruffly.

"He's fine." Bella said hotly.

"Sorry ma'am." the police officer said, shaking his head. "Orders from the captain. No one other than you and your employees are allowed inside."

"Do you have anymore questions for me, sir?" Bella asked, looking up at the burly man.

"No ma'am." he said. "You're free to look around and see if anything is missing. But please don't touch anything."

"It's okay, Belle." Duo said, nodding at the man in understanding. "Go ahead, and I'll talk to Gracie until you get finished." He gave her a wink and Bella nodded, stepping into her ransacked office, praying that everything was going to turn out alright.

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Duo plopped himself down on a seat across from Gracie's desk and looked at the frazzled woman. He looked around him carefully and noticed that nothing seemed to be out of place.

"What happened, Gracie?" Duo asked when the woman placed the phone on the hook.

"Someone sent a letter to Bella, threatening to hurt everyone in this building if she didn't 'back off of what is rightfully mine'. " Gracie said, using her fingers to emphasize the last phrase of the letter.

"Do you have any idea as to who it is?" Duo asked the woman, only to receive a negative answer.

"Bella's not exactly the angel of the business world, Mr. Maxwell." Gracie said with a sigh, rubbing her temples. "Hell, the woman isn't an angel, period. She doesn't use underhanded tactics like blackmail against her competitors, even though she's got enough to put half of this city in prison. She just drives a hard bargain. And heaven knows she's made plenty of mistakes and enemies in her life, but no one has ever gone so far as to threaten her like this."

"No one is perfect, Gracie." Duo said, nodding. "And Bella is not an exception. There's no doubt about that."

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The second Bella stepped into her office, she felt her stomach drop somewhere near the vicinity of her feet. Her normally clean, if a little cluttered office, was a mess of papers and red paint. It looked like some psycho had come in and painted random words on her walls with blood red paint. Bella looked around and slowly began to try and make sense of the words and phrases surrounding them.

And then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Well, like I said, it's a damn mess." Daniel said, looking at his boss, only to notice the pale color of her skin. "Boss? Hey, you okay? Boss?" Unfortunately for the concerned man, his boss only shook her head as the words imprinted themselves onto her conscience.

'Bourbon St. Mardi Gras. Fight. Do you remember? Madness. March 14. Betrayal. Hurt. Tequila. Hate.' Bella shook her head as it flooded with memories of what had happened no so many years ago, knowing that whomever had done this, knew exactly what had happened to her, and what she had done. 'Baby. Dead. Whore. You know what happens to bad girls. Accident. Hell. Devil. June 22nd. Kill. How could you? We will get you....no matter where you run! Killer. Whiskey. Bitch. Rum. Murderer.' Bella struggled to stand up when her eyes landed on a phrase that was all alone along the northern wall, a phrase she knew all to well, and that had etched it's way into her heart almost three years before. '...and Given over into the hands of God, I know you will forever be watching over us all. My life. My love. My only beloved son. Christopher Justin Gaylan.

"Boss!" came Daniel's almost panicking voice, pulling Belladonna out of her memories and forcing her to see the people who were standing around her. Somehow or another, Duo had managed to push his way into the room, and was now practically holding her up, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. She felt a slap to her face and her eyes focused on her red headed vice-president.

"Damn it all to hell, Belladonna!" He growled at her. "Answer me!"

"Who did this?" Bella croaked out, her voice choked and the tears in her eyes on the verge of falling down her cheeks. "Who's responsible for this?"

"We don't know ma'am." the officer said. "But we're looking into it as we speak. Do you have any idea who could have done this, now that you've seen it?"

"No." Bella said, her eyes hardening. "I don't know of anyone."

"Do those dates mean anything to you?" the officer asked. Bella only shook her head.

"Not that I can recall." she said, still shaking her head. Duo looked at her carefully, picking up on her anger and nervousness. "Did you need me for anything else?"

"No ma'am." he said. "We've found out what we needed. If we turn up anything, we'll give you a call immediately." The burly man nodded to Duo and jerked his head towards the door. "Get your girlfriend out of here, buddy. She's had one hell of a shock."

"Yeah." Duo said, eyeing the way Bella had tensed up and her tears had disappeared when her eyes stayed fixed to the northern wall of her office. "Let's go, Bella." He tried to turn her away from the wall, but it was like she was cemented to the floor. He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a light shake. "Bella?"

"Sorry." she said quickly. "I....sorry..."

"No problem. Let's go." he said. Belladonna nodded and turned to walk out of the room, Duo right behind her, and Daniel behind him. No one said anything until they got back to the SUV, and Duo took the keys from her. She got into the front and rolled the window down, beckoning Daniel to come closer.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Can you handle this mess on your own?" she asked coldly, her gaze up on the building she had just exited.

"Yeah. I can." he said. "You can count on me, Boss."

"Listen to me carefully, Daniel." Bella said, eyeing the young man in front of her. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Name it, Boss."

"My vacation is going to be running a little longer than I expected." she said. "There's some stuff I'm going to need to take care of since this has happened. I need you to run this place like you have been for the past week. Pull Corey from the tech department and get her to help you. If there's something you don't understand, she'll know. And if the two of you can't figure anything out, call me."

"Boss, what's going on?" Daniel asked. "What's happened?"

"Somebody is trying to play God." she said simply. "And their trying to bring back someone who isn't coming back."

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A/N - Okay, how was that chapter? Everyone good and confused yet? Good, you're supposed to be. :) Anyhow, things will work their way out in a few chapters or so. So don't despair.

Later,

A.A.

Remember to review, I want to know what you guys are thinking.