Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Integration ❯ Only A Day Away ( Chapter 17 )

Integration

By: Bane's Desire

Part 17

The two young men remained an extra day on L-1 after their visit to the circus and took in the colony's renown Japanese Gardens, located in the city's center, and ate the reputedly best Japanese cuisine found in space. For the next six days they shuttle hopped from one colony to another, taking in the sights and making the most of the time they had left together

Their visit to L-2 was short. The colony was improving but still in a dilapidated state compared to colonies that had fared better during the embargo years imposed by one Earth government or another. Disguised, Duo took Quatre to the former site of the Maxwell orphanage, and with tear-filled eyes, related to him the sad tale of the only family he'd really had and how they were destroyed by the Alliance in order to serve as an example to the L-2 rebels.

On L-3 they visited a Spanish night club featuring flamenco dancers. Both were surprised by the din caused by feet pounding rapidly into the wood floors and the castanets that clicked out an accompanying harmonious beat.

Returning to the newly rebuilt L-5, Quatre took him to the famous Chinese Dynasty Museum that featured the history of that colony's ancestry and displayed rare silk garments worn by ancient ancestors, art and artifacts that had been crafted by talented men and women on print or a pliable material, taking the forms of nature or even of dragons painted, tooled or carved in jade. In remembrance of Wufei, they visited the L-5 memorial, a shrine tiled in marble with the name of all the citizens of from that colony who had been destroyed to preserve the path to peace. They recognized the Chang family name on many of the tiles and the both of them realized just how much their former comrade had lost in that one space battle. It was no wonder that Wufei had readily accepted the terms of the Integration; it certainly was one way to deal with just a tragic past, one fraught with so much loss. With his memories wiped clean of the incident, the orphaned Chinese teen could lead a life without the constant reminder that his battle with OZ had destroyed all he'd known and loved. After having that sobering experience, the two disguised men strolled the colony's streets, finding themselves in a restaurant where they stopped for their evening meal. Both were delighted to find the quality of the Chinese food was unsurpassed by anything they'd had before.

They returned to L-4 at the end of their week together, both a bit apprehensive as to what would happen next. Stepping into the dark apartment, both young men noted the chill of the room that seemed to match the iciness that was beginning to seep into their hearts as their time with each other ran out.

"Lights on," Quatre said, and the words had their usual immediate effect as the room was illuminated. Duo took their bags to the bedroom while Quatre went to the vid phone to scan through the listed messages.

"So, did your sister call?" Duo asked, coming back into the room.

"I received nineteen phone calls from her and you got three," the blond said, turning his head slightly to smile back at Duo as he came up behind him.

Putting his chest against the taller man's back, the brunet set his face against the other's shoulder and wrapped his arm around Quatre's waist. "You gotta make sure she does some major sucking up before you give in and go back to the office," Duo said in a half-teasing yet serious manner.

"I think twenty-two calls to apologize is a good enough start," Quatre replied, then turned within the other's embrace to face him, wrapping his own arms around his smaller lover.

"You gonna call her back now?"

The blond let a long sigh escape his lips. "Tomorrow. After you've gone."

Duo had made the decision during the week to take a commercial flight to Earth, not wanting to draw any undue attention to himself that might come with him showing up at a customs terminal on Earth in a private, Winner-owned shuttle. With that decision made, Quatre arranged and paid for passage for the day after they returned to L-4. The shuttle, leaving late the next morning, would take Duo back to Earth, to the Najd shuttleport in central Saudi Arabia. Further arrangements had been made for a driver to meet him at the shuttleport and take him to Rashid's home in Al Jabayl on the Persian Gulf. The senior Maguanac accepted the charge of seeing to all of Duo's needs and help him secure a new I.D. and transportation to Brussels, where Heero lived with Relena and worked for the Preventers part-time in their technical division. At other times, Relena's spouse was required to travel with her as a member of the Sanq royal family and a spokesperson for pacifism.

The good mood that had been with them for the week they'd spent away from the apartment dissipated with each moment following their docking at L-4. Both men were finding it hard to accept that this was to be their last night together. They'd mutually agreed to not speak of any regrets or apologies, and so the silence between them grew. Speaking of their past was becoming as painful as thinking of the unknown future, and so they said little at all.

Now locked in each other's arms, they paused in the embrace for several long moments more. Quatre was the first to step back, and when he did, he took Duo's hand in his own and gently tugged on it. "Come with me," he said.

Leading Duo to his study, Quatre went directly to his desk, the light spilling in the open door from the hallway provided their only light. There, on top of the desk's surface, was a large and thick envelope. At quick glance, Duo saw that it was boldly addressed to Quatre and that it had come from Saudi Arabia. Quatre picked it up and with a slowness that displayed his hesitation, he turned it over to his soon-to-be ex-lover.

"This is all the information Rashid collected on Kai Ozuka. I'm sure he has everything in there that you need to plan your approach."

Duo took it from him with an air of gravity that he rarely displayed. He looked down to see the envelope was sealed; Quatre hadn't opened it to view the contents himself. Lowering his hand, he closed the distance between them and put his free hand behind Quatre's neck to pull him down for a kiss, knowing that this information would send him on his way in the morning and how that knowledge was hurting the other man. The kiss was long and slow, leaving both young men breathing a bit more heavily when they parted.

"Thank you, Quatre," Duo whispered, placing his forehead against Quatre's, their breath mingling together. "For everything."

The blond nodded, the hair on his forehead rubbing against the brunet's fringe of hair. "I'm going to get ready for bed. Why don't you look over the information and come join me when you're done."

"Alright," Duo replied, then stood still and watched as Quatre turned and left the room, disappearing out of the door.

Sitting down at the large desk, Duo turned on the lamp, set on the left-hand corner of the large desk. He carefully opened one end the envelope and tilted the it so that the contents slid out onto the desk top. He gazed at the report folder with several colored tabs that separated the neatly organized information that was the key to his future happiness.

Feeling both nervous and excited, he opened the cover and noted the first tab was titled, Subject's Personal Information. He skimmed over the material reporting the day and time of Kai Ozuka and Relena's wedding as well as the couple's already-known background history. Of course it didn't reveal Kai as being Heero, or the accomplishments of Wing Zero's pilot during the war, but stated the carefully crafted, Integrated past that was far from the truth. He let his eyes wander past the photocopied articles proclaiming the happiness of the couple deemed by the public in general as a perfect match.

He jumped to the next file regarding Kai's employment. Everyone who picked up a magazine or watched the news was well aware that he acted as his wife's personal body guard, but the information listed on the copy of the official-looking Preventer letterhead stated all of Agent Ozuka's accomplishments within that organization. A chill went up his spine as he noted the high praise from agents Fire and Water. He recalled that Agent Fire had been the person who was over Scott Mercer and, if his dead, ex-lover was to be believed, agent Fire had either allowed the situation with Scott to come about, or he simply turned a blind eye to the situation gone bad. Duo frowned, a crease forming between his eyes. He decided that, after he had Heero on his side again, he'd see to this Agent Fire, and make sure the unknown bastard paid for all the misery he'd endured from Scott Mercer's hands.

Shaking off the mental image of his revenge, Duo turned back to the folder. The next section reported Kai's daily activities, documented over a three week period of time. It seemed to him that, in some ways, the Integration had accomplished what he'd failed to do during the time spent with his lover, to relax his rigid standards. Heero now lived his life like a scripted, predictable routine, something that he, as a terrorist, was careful not to fall into. To the perfect soldier, being predictable meant setting yourself up for imminent capture or death.

Scanning Kai's daily routine, he noted that he left the home he shared with Relena at precisely seven thirty a.m., Monday through Friday, to either go to the Preventers' Headquarters or to Relena's office located nearby in a swank, high-rise office building housing the Earth and Colony government offices. Her post there was mostly that of a figurehead, her role as part-time peace ambassador and lecturer on Pacifism or Sanq's history warranted her a nominal office near the bustling government center.

Each work day, Kai Ozuka took his lunch at twelve fifteen, walking alone or with other Preventers and patronizing five selected restaurants, each one visited on the same day each week. The names of the restaurants were also listed, as were the food items Kai selected on a regular basis as well as the people he lunched with. Duo's eyes widened as he noted Chen Wong's name along with Milliardo Peacecraft. He realized he shouldn't be surprised that the three seemed to be friends, after all, their Integration was supposed to link the six of them together in some way. With the failure of his own Integration and the corruption of Quatre's, he'd kind of thought that, at least to some extent, everyone else's would also be screwed up. Evidently it suited Relena's purposes to let Heero have contact with two other fellow gundam pilots.

Reading further, Kai left the office at five thirty each weekday evening, give or take fifteen minutes, and he promptly returned home to share the dinner with his wife at seven thirty in the formal dining room. The lights in his bedroom came on between nine and ten p.m., and he usually spent the hour making phone calls, watching T.V. or reading before the room darkened.

Kai's weekends were less regimented, spending some of his free time home, working on computer systems and escorting his wife to various social functions. There was one occasion during the three week time when he spent part of the weekend with Wong and Peacecraft, who apparently shared a large home on the outskirts of Brussels. The relationship between the two Preventers was fairly well known by their working associates, though it was not publically displayed.

Duo was not totally surprised with that bit of information. He hadn't known of Wufei's sexual preference during or after the wars, only that he'd been married very young and widowed shortly after. He'd gotten some hint that he might be involved with Peacecraft when he'd observed them at the Chicago airport. There was just something about their body language that spoke of a shared intimacy. He was glad to know that his instincts had been right, at least in this case. Duo felt a great sense of relief in knowing that he could now let go of his worry for Wufei. It seemed as if his former comrade had found fulfillment in his job and had a personal relationship that appeared to be flourishing. He no longer needed to fret that his friend had also been screwed over by the corrupt procedure of Integration, where doctors were willing to change a person's future, much to the subject's detriment, and all for a fistful of credits.

It appeared from the information before him, that unlike Quatre and himself, Heero was fully re-Integrated. The perfect soldier he'd known would never have set his life into such a mundane and routine pattern. Heero had drilled it into him during the war that such a routine was dangerous. Yet now, that very predictable life he'd made for himself, would help him to confront Heero with the truth of his life and reunite them.

The next section of the folder displayed typed dialogue from the listening device Rashid had managed to implant in the couple's home; yet another glaring variant from Heero's former security-conscious self. Any place he and Heero had ever stayed: a hotel, shack or safehouse, had been carefully swept for any tracking or listening device each time they returned to it. That Rashid was able to place the device in his bedroom and the fact that it had stayed in place for the three weeks truly spoke of the lost conditioning that had always been an intrinsic part of Heero's personality.

From the few conversations that were captured, it was obvious that Kai and Relena had little to say to each other. The recorded conversation during the evening meal, which was served at the same time each day that they were home, had Relena usually speaking of her day at the office or passing on gossip she'd gotten from her friends, Lucretia and Dorothy, about everyone else in their social circle. She would ask Kai about his day and he'd report to her of the various systems he was working on and where he'd had lunch that day and with whom. The conversations, written in script form on paper, seemed formal and stilted to Duo as the couple spent a few minutes each day going over the schedule for the following day or the weekend.

After Heero left for the gym in the evening, there was only Relena's phone conversations that were picked up on the hidden microphone.

Rashid's report went on to state that Kai and Relena shared separate bedrooms and that during the three weeks he'd listened to their conversations, he deduced that, during the time of the surveillance, the couple had never shared a bed.

With hope brimming in his heart, Duo turned to the next section and found the floor plans of the home Kai and Relena shared as well as an over-all look at the Preventers' building with Agent Kai Ozuka's office clearly marked.

Glancing at the desktop clock, Duo realized he'd been sitting there for over an hour. Closing the folder, he carefully slipped it back into the envelope it had come in and rose from his chair and shut off the desk lamp. Tucking the information under his arm, he made his way through the room, lit only by the light streaming in from the hallway through the open door. He went quickly towards the bedroom knowing Quatre would be waiting for him and that they would momentarily be making one last memory of their final night together. As he walked through the large apartment, turning out lights as he went, he found himself feeling torn between feeling anxious to leave for Earth, where he was going to be reunited with Heero, and the sorrow he felt at leaving Quatre behind, especially knowing his friend was going to be hurt by their parting.

Opening the door to the bedroom, he found a forest of candles, their small flames flickering in the otherwise dark bedroom and softly illuminating the large bed where Quatre sat, his back resting against pillows pushed up against the headboard, his chest bare and his lower body covered only by the satin sheets. His smile was welcoming and warm, and that, in and of itself, was something that Duo had always appreciated from the other man, an open acceptance that Quatre had always given him. The envelope was set on the dresser and dismissed from his mind as shoes were toed off and clothing was discarded in a deliberately slow and seductive manner. Duo also wanted to make this night memorable, and with the blond man's eyes drinking in his every movement, he decided to put on a good show.

Once completely free of his clothing, he moved forward and Quatre pulled back the champagne colored satin sheet, inviting his lover to join him. With the coolness of the bedding on their heated skin, the two men, now well acquainted with each other's bodies and responses, began their lovemaking with the intent to take it slow and make it last as long as possible.

It was a few minutes after midnight when the two sweaty, sated bodies separated, and then only for the need to clean up. A few minutes later, they embraced once again in the center of the bed, and held onto each other as they dozed off into a sleep that was neither restful or restorative.

Xxxxxxxx

Standing silently, side by side, at eleven forty-five a.m. the next morning and under a sign that labeled Boarding Gate 15, the two parting lovers found that any words of farewell they should be saying were reluctant to be voiced, especially being surrounded by other passengers who lounged around them in the seating area while waiting for the expected boarding call.

Quatre looked as his companion, a small smile coming to his face. "I can't believe you look as good as you do as a blond." He eyed the newly bleached out hair that Duo had chosen to sport in order to disguise himself from easy identification by Earth's custom officials.

"I look better as a blond than I do with hair as black as Wufei's," Duo replied, thinking of the numerous hair colors and styles he'd used to hide his true identity. "And I really don't pull off red well." He ran his hand through his hair, now even longer than it had been when he'd arrived on L-4 over two months earlier.

"I miss your braid," the blond whispered, looking at the nearly white hair.

"Me too." They shared a brief, sad smile.

"Are you going to grow it out again?" Quatre asked.

"I don't think so, at least not as long as it was. But I have to admit that I do like it longer; I just liked how it felt. Maybe I'll let it grow past my shoulders." He shrugged, then gave the blond a crooked grin. "I can save a fortune on haircuts by letting it grow."

Currently disguised in a black wig and dressed down in jeans and a t-shirt, the blond felt free to be more bold in public than usual. He reached up his hand and ran it through Duo's blond hair. "I like it long, too," he said thoughtfully, his eyes, focused on Duo's, expressed more of his longing and sadness than his words could at the moment. "It's so thick. I could spend hours running my hands through it." And he had. His blue-green eyes watered at the thought that he would never be able to run his fingers through Duo's hair again. "Blond from a bottle suits you," he added.

"A blond in my pants suits me even better," Duo teased, then sobered at the look of hurt that crossed Quatre's face. "I'm sorry," he rushed to say and embraced his friend tightly. "Our time together has meant much more to me than just great sex, Quat, and you know that," he whispered in the other's ear. "You've been a great friend, the best ever and a fantastic, healing lover. You'll always have a secured place in my heart."

The disguised man stood back and studied Duo's face, memorizing it as much as possible. "I want you to remember, Duo, that if things don't go as planned, if you need to run and hide or to retreat, you can always come back to me. I'll wait for as long as I can before I give into the need to find someone to fill the hole in my heart your leaving is creating. I won't go colony playboy again," he smiled sadly, "but I now know that I need to have someone special in my life, someone to love. You've shown me what I can have with someone, Duo, and now I think I'll always crave it."

Duo was at a loss for words, not knowing what he could possibly do or say to make his friend feel better. The long-awaited and dreaded boarding call sounded over the sound system by a deep, male voice, breaking up the awkward moment and leaving few words of goodbye left to be said. "Please, be happy, Quatre. As happy as I'm going to be once I'm with Heero again."

"And I do wish you all the happiness in the world, Duo," Quatre said, rushing to say what he needed to express as people around them began to queue up to enter the shuttle. "Your being here has helped me, more than you can know. Now I know I can love again, and I'll probably always long for you whenever I think of the time we've spent together. It hurts now, but I know it was worth it."

"Love you, buddy," Duo whispered, giving the blond man a last embrace before he turned and more or less fled to the boarding gate. He didn't have the strength to turn around and see if Quatre was watching him leave; he knew he was. He just couldn't bear to see the look of hurt he knew was on the handsome face, that wasn't how he wanted to remember Quatre Rababera Winner. He chose instead to remember the beautiful blond man as he had been that morning, when he woke up: the blond tousled hair falling gently over the smooth forehead, soft, sleepy-blue eyes that opened to greet the new day, and the gentle smile on his perfectly shaped lips a moment before he was kissed good morning. That was how he was going to remember his best friend.

Xxxxxxxx

The ten hour trip to Earth passed by without a hitch, and Duo barely remembered it from the numb daze he'd slipped into once the shuttle left the L-4 dock. Once again his feelings and concerns for Quatre clashed with the excitement he felt at the idea of finally being reunited with Heero. His heart was battling the grief at leaving one friend behind and feeling joy about the days to come.

His hair and eyebrows were bleached almost white. He and Quatre had done it just that morning, matching the photo fixed into his travel visa. He was dressed in expensive clothing, and looked the part of a rebellious son of a wealthy colony family being sent to Earth to attend college, and that was his story if asked by officials regarding his visit.

Quatre had arranged for him to be met at the spaceport by one of Rashid's daughters to back up the story for his travel, of leaving L-4 and visiting family friends in Saudi Arabia before beginning the next term of school. Once they arrived at the Maguanac's residence, he and Rashid were to collaborate to work out details on how to approach Kai and bring about the return of Heero's memories and freedom.

After the shuttle's landing, which was smooth and seemingly effortless, good enough to impress the former pilot, Duo successfully made his way through customs and played his part perfectly of the rich and arrogant young man, too full of himself to waste time on official matters. With his papers passing inspection, he soon found himself standing in the air-conditioned terminal and looking through the sea of dark-skinned people, dressed in light colored clothing. He was well aware that he stood out like a sore thumb with his fair skin and bleached hair, not to mention his tailored clothing. At least, he thought to himself, his contact would easily be able to spot him.

Not one minute had passed after he exited the customs room before he was faced with a smiling girl with skin the color of rich, dark caramel, hair as black as space that was pulled up into a knot at the back of her head. She had big brown eyes that sparkled with youthful enthusiasm and he guessed her to be around seventeen as his eyes scanned her entire appearance, taking in her petite frame and curves of a young woman. She was dressed in a soft lavender skirt that fell straight from her hips to the top of her ankles and, over a short-sleeved, white and fitted blouse was a draped, diaphanous shawl, the exact same color as her skirt. He noted the small white and yellow embroidered flowers scattered on the edges of the skirt and shawl that added a touch of femininity to the girl's appearance. But above all, it was the girl's white dazzling smile, so like her father's, that identified her as the person he was supposed to meet.

"Mr. Sullivan?" she asked, using part of the name Rashid had been told he'd be going by. Her smile, still in place, told him that she knew full well he was the person she was to bring home.

He nodded. "And you are?"

"Jasmine Rundalla," she answered with a slight bowing of her head. "If you will please follow me, I have a car waiting for us just outside."

Readjusting his shoulder bag, Duo motioned for her to lead the way, then walked close to the girl's side as she led him though the busy terminal towards the entrance of the building; no words passed between them the entire time.

The moment he stepped out of the protected environment, a blast of dry heat assaulted him. He gasped, and spent a long, drawn-out moment struggling to breathe in the hot, dry air.

"This way, Mr. Sullivan," the girl said, taking hold of his arm and pulling him forward to a long white car, sitting in the no parking zone.

A large man, looking like a member of the Maguanacs Duo had met during the first war, jumped out of the driver's seat and rushed to open the door for the two young people rapidly approaching.

The cool, air-conditioned interior of the car came as a welcome relief to him as he breathed in the cooler air with gratitude. The drastic change in temperature and lack of humidity, that was always present in the colonies, came as a bit of a shock to his body. "How the hell do you people live here? I can hardly breathe!" he gasped after the driver entered the car and shut the door, letting the cold air coming from the vents cool the interior even more.

The girl sitting next to him smiled shyly and shrugged one delicate shoulder. "I suppose you just get used to it," she replied. "My father told me that he'd had a hard time adjusting to the environment in a colony when we visited them after the first war. He said it was cold and the air humid inside those structures. I suppose the extremes between our Earth, or rather, my home, and the colonies would take some time to adjust to."

Duo nodded and wiped away the moisture on his upper lip that had formed in a matter of seconds in the hot, arid climate of Saudi Arabia. "I lived on Earth for a while and when I went back to the colonies, it did take me a couple of days to get acclimated to the humidity caused by the environmental controls. But I forgot how damned hot it was here. Last time I visited, it must have been your winter, because it wasn't this bad." His heart pricked at the memory. His first visit to this part of the world had been just after Heero self destructed and Quatre had found him hiding in a desert sandstorm and had taken him in and become his friend. Who knew then how much the two would come to depend and care about each other?

He hoped his smile at the girl didn't reveal the quiet ache in his heart the memory cost him. "And do me a favor and call me Gray, alright?" He decided he liked the name he'd taken on L-4, Grayson Williams, and he'd stick to the first name until he took flight with Heero, then they'd both have to come up with new identities again. Quatre had come to call him Gray in public and while they were at work, and he'd liked the sound of it coming from his friend and lover's lips. He supposed he'd developed a sentimental attachment to the name because of it, and was finding himself reluctant to let go of it until he absolutely had to.

"How's your father?" he asked, feeling the need to keep some polite conversation going.

"He's well." The girl's smiled showed she was pleased by his inquiry of her father. "But he misses Master Quatre. Is he truly alright? Last time they spoke to each other, my father said Master Quatre seemed very sad."

Guilt jumped up and stomped on Duo's stomach. No doubt he was the source of Quatre's unhappiness, and he was desperately sorry for it.

"Are you alright, Mr... I mean, Gray?" the girl asked, looking concerned. "You don't look very well," she added.

"Just tired from the shuttle trip," he answered, berating himself for not schooling his emotions better. It seemed that being around Quatre, even for such a short period of time, had broken down some of his former defenses, his masks.

"Why don't you rest then," the girl suggested. "We have about an hour's drive ahead of us."

Duo nodded in agreement. He didn't know if he would be able to sleep or not, but he would welcome the chance to avoid any further banal conversation. Taking the jacket that had been slung over his sleeve, he folded it up to form a make-shift pillow, then situated it between the back seat of the car and the door. Laying his head on it, he welcomed the goose bumps that were forming on his skin, finally cooling from his few moments out in the one hundred plus temperature outside. He promptly fell asleep, missing miles and miles of monotonous desert landscape consisting mainly of sand and rock.

It seemed as if he'd only been asleep a few minutes before Jasmine woke him with a gentle shake of his shoulder. He reluctantly left the cool temperature of the car to rush inside the grand house that had the appearance of being crafted from the desert sands itself. The pebble-like stucco exterior matched the color of sand perfectly and the tall date trees that surround it, giving the area some shade, gave it an over-all appearance of being a desert oasis.

Then Rashid was standing in front of him, his massive arms encircled Duo's smaller frame easily. "Welcome!" the older man's voice boomed, then stepped back, releasing the young man in order to get a good look at him. The large smile on the man's face dropped a fraction as he spoke. "Somehow it just doesn't seem like you, Master Duo, without that brown braid of yours."

Duo shrugged, ignoring the feeling of loss he felt whenever he was reminded about his once long hair. "Some things have to be sacrificed for the sake of freedom," he answered.

Rashid's face softened further as he looked fondly at the young man. "I had come to believe that I would never see you again, Master Duo. I'm glad that belief has now proven to be a waste of my time."

Duo smiled back. "I am too, Rashid. I am, however, sorry about your separation from Quatre and that you're forced to stay dirt side. I know that in many respects he's been like a son to you."

"It has been... difficult," the tall man replied, a touch of sadness on his face. "But if it was the price to pay for his freedom, well, it's like you said, some things have to be sacrificed for the greater good. But come," he smiled grew once again, clearly dismissing the conversation that was clearly becoming uncomfortable for him, his white teeth were glaringly bright against his dark skin. "I have food awaiting us and a family anxious to hear about Master Quatre."

The remainder of the afternoon that marked the first day of his return to Earth, was spent in happy conversation with Rashid and his family, who were indeed eager for any news or stories about the young Winner male heir, an intricate part of their lives before and during the war.

It was later that evening, after the sun had set and the cooling desert was granted a short reprieve from its brutal heat waves that Rashid brought Duo into his study and until the wee hours of the morning, they studied the information on Kai Ozuka that had been gathered by Rashid for Duo's benefit. They put their heads together and formed strategies designed to find a workable plan and timetable regarding his approaching Heero and then bringing Duane Hannible to Brussels in order to have him begin his work in trying to restore Heero's memory to him.

Early the next morning, Duo placed his call to Duane's cell phone. After a few minutes of greeting each other, the older man assuring him that he and Debra had not been found out, the former gundam pilot alerted the hypnotist that the time had come for his services to be put to good once again and gave him an approximate time when he should be ready to leave Chicago. With a sigh of relief escaping his lips as he hung up the phone, Duo felt that the wheels of change were at last in motion to finally and justly return what had been taken from him.

Continued soon