Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mission: Wings of a Dove ❯ Chapter 3 FINALLY!!!!!!!! ( Chapter 3 )

Stander Stuff: I don't own G-Wing, and neither do the rest of you, so you have to suffer with me! HA!

A quick author's note on top of all this: I apologize both profusely and from the bottom of my heart for not updating in so long. Family troubles and the modern crisis of being a teenager finishing high school took top priority for a while there. I'm not trying to make an excuse, I just think you all deserve an explanation for my inconsistency. But! Now that it's summer and things are running a little more smoothly, I plan on focusing on what I really want to do, and that's finish this fic!

Quatre's POV:

I watched Wufei walk out of the room in quite a huff, and couldn't help but sigh. Sometimes he just couldn't get a long with everyone without throwing a hissy fit over something. I clenched my fist to help me keep my mouth shut; I didn't want to say anything I would regret later.

Still… I wondered why he couldn't just let Sparx alone. She was part of the team now. Personally, I was surprised that in less than twenty-four hours, the rest of us were getting along with her just fine. Duo helped with that plenty, I'm sure; the two of them are regular jokers around each other. But she's a little peculiar, don't you think?

I supposed Wufei had a good point when he doubted her reasons for being here. After all, who would subject a handicapped six-year-old to so much danger?

I shook all these floating thoughts from my head and turned my attention back to the rest of the group. Duo was fiddling with the computer, while Heero and Trowa were both looking as if they had a lot on their minds, but didn't know how to say it.

"So what do we do now?" I asked out of morbid curiosity. Obviously we were going to do something, but the particulars were always nice to know.

"All we can do now is wait for Commander Une's orders," Heero droned distantly.

"Sparx will get them in short order," Duo commented, "she's good like that."

"Who's to say that?" Trowa wondered aloud. I could hear the irritation in his voice. "You said it yourself; you haven't seen her in years. Things can change."

Duo spun around in his chair, causing his braid to whip over one shoulder as he glared at Trowa. "What's with you guys?! We've worked with women before, why can't you adjust with it like we did in the war? She wouldn't be here if she wasn't fully capable and qualified."

"Relax, Duo," I replied. I set a hand on his shoulder in the hopes of settling him down a little. "We all remember that, but think about the situation here. Sparx is trying to take care of a six-year-old boy who isn't like most children. It's really not safe for her to be here as long as he's with her."

By the hopeless look on Duo's face, I could tell he knew I was right, at least in part. He hadn't seen her since long before she took Shiloh into her care. None of us had dealt with a situation remotely similar to this one, all the children we had worked around were somehow victims of the war. All those children…

I again shook such thoughts from my head and turned my attention back to the problem at hand. The Desert House Group was causing a lot of innocent bloodshed and it had to be stopped as soon as possible.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"This is all the information Commander Une faxed," said Sparx. She laid out a small stack of papers and scattered them over the now empty kitchen table. "These two info packets go to Maxwell and Yuy. She wants you two to crawl among the scum and see if you can't find any inside information. We're not sure how tight security is, so she supplied full portable kits to make any other fake IDs if need be. Once you're done with the inside work, find a safe and fast way to get all the information to me and I'll take care of getting it to HQ. The rest of us have little more to do but wait and be on our guards."

Wufei slammed his fist into the table in anger. Young Shiloh jumped terribly in his seat and stared at him in fear; he looked as if he were about to cry. It would have served Wufei right; I would've liked to see how he would handle a crying child…

"Mission accepted," Heero complied, ignoring Wufei completely. "When do we leave?"

"At dawn," Sparx answered. "I suggest you prepare yourselves and rest; it won't be very safe to fall asleep on this three day mission, so you'll be at risk of fatigue by the end of the mission."

"Why aren't you going?" Wufei challenged.

"I'm not needed on this mission," she answered coolly. "The time for me to display my skills will come soon enough, and you'll be eating all your discouraging words by then."

"I highly doubt that…"

"Suit yourself, but when I'm proven right, I'll just say I told you so."

"How childish."

"You should look in a mirror."

"Quit bickering," I quipped. "That kind of talk isn't needed right now."

"My apologies, Mr. Winner," Sparx replied sweetly and smirked at me. I felt a little relieved that at least one of them would admit defeat when requested to. At that point, Heero and Duo stood from the table and left to get ready for the next day's mission.

I checked my watch and couldn't help but sigh. It was almost one o' clock; we had missed lunch because of this crazy ordeal.

"Sparx, do you think Shiloh is hungry?" I asked. I couldn't help but wonder, seeing as he was a growing child.

"He should be," she mused. "Sometimes it depends on his mood. I'll see what's in the fridge." Sparx stood up from the table, immediately clung to by Shiloh, who held tightly to her leg and glared at me. I passed a curious look to Trowa as the pair of them passed to get to the refrigerator, but he didn't seem to take much notice in them, he was too busy reading some of the papers that were spread out on the table.

"Where did you get all this information?" Trowa asked after a moment.

"What do you mean?" I heard Sparx ask from behind me. I could tell she was rummaging the fridge by the half muffled sound of her voice.

"Commander Une has never taken the time to send us all this information before when we've gone on more important missions. Why now?"

"Oh, that's not info from her. That's research I've done on them."

"I take it you're a good hacker?"

"One of the best;" she replied, "but only when I can take the time. I may be thorough, but I'm slow. A lot of that is only calculated guess work anyway."

"I see…" Trowa picked up another paper and started to read it. He sparked my curiosity, so I picked up a few papers to look through them. I had never known half of what was on the papers. Old attack sites, revisited attack sites, possible future sights, three of which were highlighted over in red, and all of which had already been attacked…

"For guesswork this is frighteningly accurate," I mused aloud. I heard the fridge door close, and little feet prance back to the kitchen table. Shiloh sat down on the other side of the table with a glass of milk and a very content look on his face.

"It may be accurate," Sparx commented, "but it's still only guesswork. Not all of it has been correct. I only take down what would match some of the DHG's more common strategies for attacks."

"Do they stick to them?" Wufei asked, also browsing some of the papers. He sounded as if he'd forgotten all about their verbal scuffle a few minutes prior. What a faker…

"They never use the same strategy twice, but there's some sort of pattern to it, I just haven't figured it out yet. The accurate guesses of mine are just lucky ones." Sparx reappeared, walking to Shiloh and placing a plate in front of him. He squirmed excitedly and picked up the half sandwich that sat on the plate and happily began to munch. An awkward silence followed, and I quickly became restless.

Despite my hunger, I got up from the table and made to walk around the mansion a little before taking the time to eat. I made my way through the entry hall toward the library, my intent being to walk around the indoor pool for a while. But the library doors were closed… Well, being the polite person I always tried to be, I listened to make sure it was clear before trying to knock on a room that might be empty. I held my ear close to the door, expecting to hear only silence.

"Yes, I know." I was slightly taken aback to hear Heero's voice. No one talked back to him and there was silence for a moment or two before he said,

"I know that, Relena, but I don't intend to let that happen."

Ah, so he was talking to his significant other on the phone. My curiosity started to eat at me a little, so I stayed where I was instead of listening to my better judgment.

"I understand. … I'm aware of that too. … No, I won't be alone, Duo is coming with me. … Understood. … Fine. I- … I love you too."

There was a click, most likely the end of the conversation, and I hightailed it away from the door before risking getting caught. I would never put it past Heero to try and shoot me if he knew I heard something he might not want anyone to hear.

Instead of cutting back to the kitchen, I kept going, taking the "scenic route" to my room on the second floor. I had some emails to check up on anyway, so lunch could wait a little longer. I entered my room, pulled out the desk chair, and sat down. I sat there a few minutes to reflect on nothing in particular, as I was partial to doing when no actual thinking was required of me. As I did so, I glanced around my room, just looking at some of the things I had collected over time that sat around collecting dust, my lengthy line of pictures on my dresser was something I tended very much to stare at. My eyes drifted to my bed, which looked very inviting for an early afternoon nap. At that moment I spotted something on my pillow; what was that? I stood from my chair and walked the few steps to my bed. It was an envelope, with my name written in large letters across the front and neatly placed on my pillow. Figuring there was no harm in picking it up to look at it, I did just that. Upon closer inspection, I recognized the handwriting immediately. With some excitement I tore open the envelope and pulled out its contents.

There were two pieces of paper folded neatly together. The first one made my eyes pop out of my head. How had she gotten these?! She must have booked reservations years ago for them to be so close at hand, and if she had she certainly couldn't have planned on my coming along. I hastily looked at the other paper; it was a short letter, once again in her perfect handwriting. I felt my cheeks start to burn as I read the note.

"She wouldn't…" I muttered allowed. When I realized who I was talking about, I quickly changed my mind. Oh yes she would, there was no doubt about it. As I finished reading the letter, I felt my cheeks burn even more; and yet I still achieved a somewhat sly grin on my face. Dorothy had always been one for wild nights… She was demanding, but easy to please in certain subjects…

Feeling my face grow a little hotter for various and unmentionable reasons, I decided to put the letter under my pillow where it was safe and try to focus on the serious situations at hand. Of course, this new development would make it more difficult than it had been before. Ah well, perhaps I could make myself useful somehow.

I made my way back downstairs to the kitchen, fully intending to make a large sandwich for myself to satisfy my hunger. I sincerely hoped that the idiot grin on my face wasn't noticeable enough for anyone to ask questions about it…

I made it back to the kitchen without running into anyone, as it was to my mild relief. No one was here now, so I rummaged through the fridge in silence, finding the bread, mustard, and ham. A very simple lunch, but as satisfying as any food can be.

I had just finished making my sandwich and sat down at the table, when Shiloh came waltzing into the kitchen with a shallow box in his hands. He froze for a moment upon spotting me, but walked timidly to the table in spite of my being there. Reaching up, he plopped the box on the table with a sharp thud. He crawled up onto a chair, setting himself upon his knees and rubbing his hands together excitedly. I watched him both in mild humor and great interest as I glanced at the box. A 1,000 piece puzzle. I wondered how long it would take for him to give up on it and look for something else to do.

By the time I finished my lunch, I was skeptical of my own premature judgment of him. He had a full corner of the border done and was working on fitting a few suspicious looking pieces to the inside of the corner. What an odd way to work a puzzle… Shiloh watched me closely as I stood from the table, set my plate by the sink, and left the kitchen. A backward glance caught him still staring my way. It was a little disconcerting, but I tried to ignore it.

I was terribly restless; I reasoned with myself that it was because two of my comrades were leaving for a mission soon, and I was inwardly longing for some action. Knowing that they'd be gone and in danger without my being able to do anything about it bothered me a little. So, to occupy my mind, I decided to go wandering around the mansion. My goal was actually to search for people to talk to, particularly Sparx, but I knew it would take too long if I went looking. Instead, I wandered about, hoping to run into someone who might know where she went.

I wandered aimlessly for about fifteen minutes, and as luck would have it I ran into Duo. I suspect he was on his way to take a shower, because a towel around his waist was his only source of modesty at the moment.

"Hey Quat," he greeted casually.

"Hi Duo. You're just the person I wanted to see."

"Ah, lucky me! Whaduya want?"

"I was just wondering where Sparx might be."

"First place I would look is the garage. I gotta warn you though, if you're trying to be friendly and get to know her better, you won't get too far. She's not a talkative person."

"That doesn't matter. I just want to make her feel welcome."

"Right… Well, good luck," Duo muttered skeptically and walked off.

"Right…" I replied as he passed me. I shrugged off my sudden sense of doubt and turned around, walking in the direction of the garage. I admired the mansion in all its glorious detail as I walked.

This estate was among one of my favorites. Despite its size, it had a very modest air within it. The carpets were a gentle shade of off-white, with only a dark shade of green bordering the edges. I liked the off-white a lot better than the usual deep reds or blues in most of the Winner Estates. The furnishings were more modern as well; with the exception of the study and music room, there was almost no Victorian style to speak of. Light-colored wood grains and stainless steel was the norm.

I finally stepped into the garage, puzzled as to why Sparx would be here. I had found Duo's answer a little confusing, but I hadn't questioned him.

At first it seemed no one was here, but I walked in to take a look around anyway. The garage was enormous of course, packed full with vehicles and equipment bought solely for the pleasure of having it.

The sharp ping of metal on concrete caught my attention, and I spotted the shine of ebony hair behind an old hummer.

"Hello Sparx," I called in friendly tone as I walked over to her.

"Oh, hello Mr. Winner…" she answered, sounding preoccupied. "What brings you out here?"

"I just wanted to see how you and Shiloh are adjusting here?"

"The friendly greeting routine?"

"Uh… yes," I chuckled. "I guess so." I watched her carefully work with a messy knot of wires in a small metal box, and mentally slapped myself as I remember. She was an electrician, that's why she was out here.

"Duo warned me about the friendly greeting routine," she said somewhat lightheartedly.

"I'll have to get him back for that," I replied.

"Hmmm… Could you hand me that broken toaster over there?" she requested, pointing to the desired object that was close to me on the workbench. I handed it to her and she passed me a slight grin as she took it from my hands, careful not to touch me as she did. I suspected it was because her hands were black from her work.

"Thank you," she replied, gazing at her reflection briefly in its dull finish. "Stand back," she requested spryly as she turned away and lifted the toaster high over her head. With a great heave, Sparx hurtled it into the floor, startling the living daylights out of me and smashing in the entire side of the toaster. A few screws went scampering across the floor.

"What in the world…" I muttered aloud. Sparx picked up the toaster and set it down gently on the workbench. She pulled out a screw driver from the mass of junk on the table.

"Well, you gotta open the clam before you can get to the pearl," she told me matter-of-factly.

I was at a complete loss as to what she was talking about, so I just watched. She pried the plating off the toaster, carefully moved some of the inner contents, and pulled out two of the heating coils perfectly.

"What are you doing?" I finally asked. She pushed the rest of the toaster off the table and let it fall to the floor.

"A project," she answered evasively.

"I see…" It was clear to me now that she was patiently tolerating my presence, rather than enjoying my company. I stayed a few more minutes, just curiously watching her, but after a while I started to feel awkward. I left, softly saying "see you later", but I don't think she heard me. Duo was right; although she was friendly and polite, she was neither talkative nor social. Being the perceptive person I try to be, I realized right then that, in all likelihood, we would never know much about her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

All of us had gathered in the kitchen. I stifled a yawn, trying to get myself to wake up. Being woken up at 3:30 in the morning wasn't my idea of a good way to start the day. I felt especially sorry for Heero and Duo, as they were the ones leaving for a three-day mission. It was Sparx's brilliant idea to wake us all up, and strangely she seemed to be the only one who was fully conscious. The only one who wasn't in the kitchen was Shiloh, as I assumed was a wise idea.

As the previous day had worn on, my concern for Heero in particular grew especially frantic. He was being sent on a mission with four cracked ribs, how much good would he be in such condition. Upon speaking to Commander Une about it, it was explained that Duo would be doing the dirty work with Heero controlling the more complicated tasks of hacking and gathering information. That did little to ease the tension between all of us.

Duo yawned loudly as he walked into the kitchen. I don't think he expected all of us to be standing there, because he looked slightly taken aback at the sight of us. Heero, who was sitting at the kitchen table with his computer, shut the laptop with a quiet snap and carefully stood.

"I suppose I should wish you good luck," Trowa mused aloud. There was no humor in his voice whatsoever.

"I don't believe in luck," Heero answered as he packed the laptop away in his small duffle bag.

"Thanks for the thought, big guy, but we don't need luck!" Duo tried to lighten the grave atmosphere with his false good attitude.

"Here, take these," Sparx commented out of the blue. She handed them each a very small metal box, welded shut on all sides and seeming to have very little purpose. I recognized them after a moment, associating them with the "project" she had been working on yesterday. Perhaps now my curiosity about it would be answered.

"What is it?" Duo asked skeptically, turning it about in his hands to examine it briefly.

"They're a new invention of mine," Sparx answered proudly. "Wave Conversion Boxes for a simple name. In theory, they're supposed to help mask your radio signals should you decide to talk to each other when you're not in the other's immediate presence. That way the DHG won't detect you for at least ten minutes longer than the usual conversation ability time."

"In theory?" Heero repeated, of all things sounding slightly amused.

"There's no reason why it shouldn't work properly," she answered reasonably.

"Gee, that's comforting," Duo retorted.

"You shouldn't need to use it anyway. You two are supposed to have a solid plan worked out by the time you get there."

"Then we won't need them," Heero replied, attempting to hand his little box back to her. She pulled her hands away from their position crossed over her chest to avoid the object being shoved into them.

"Take it anyway," she requested sternly. "If you don't need it, then don't use it, but take it for precaution's sake."

"They might not even work…" Duo muttered.

"Oh have some faith!" Sparx pleaded shortly. IT was safe to say that was the end of that topic. Wufei stood a little ways out of the group, and I heard him mumble something about women being too pushy.

"I heard that," Sparx shot back in his direction.

"Like I care," Wufei retaliated.

"I get to drive!" Duo proclaimed, trying desperately to avoid yet another childish argument.

"Oh," Sparx said, her attention immediately turning away from Wufei. "Don't take the Hummer; it won't make it out of the garage, much less to HQ."

"Why…?" I asked after a moment, caution creeping over me.

"I took out the transmission switch," she answered nonchalantly. "It's in the Conversion box I gave to Mr. Yuy."

"You WHAT?!" I panicked immediately. My father had bought that vehicle shortly before he died. "That was a vintage Hummer! It was the first one off the production line!" I yelled. To say I was annoyed would be a little bit of an understatement, but I wonder now if I had been over reacting…

"Oops," Sparx muttered, then shrugged. "No worries, I'll fix it. I just gotta go find a new switch for it, no big deal."

I caught wind of Wufei chuckling quietly to himself. Apparently he found it funny when other people besides himself were upset or annoyed at Sparx. But I quickly collected myself, trying hard to convince myself that I could trust her to fix the problem at the next opportunity.

"Just take one of the other vehicles, Duo," I said. Duo shrugged as if it were no big deal, but the grin on his face told me he would probably try to take one of the antique cars. It was an assumption I quickly obliterated. "Just don't take one of the collectibles."

Duo frowned in great disappointment, but didn't argue. With little more to say between us all, Heero and Duo made their leave. I yawned, fully intending to go back to bed and not really sure why Sparx had woken us all up in the first place. But as I shuffled out of the kitchen toward the stairs, I couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that crept over me. I wasn't quite sure how well this mission would turn out. With the Desert House Group as the center of attention, no one knew…