Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Murder and a Music Box ❯ The Man From Shanghai ( Chapter 3 )

Author's Notes: I want to thank Sailor Firestar for reviewing. It means a lot to me to get reviews so thank you!!! I'm glad you like this story. I'm having fun writing it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. Got it? Stop asking!!!

Warning: This chappy has a little bit of bad language in it. Also, more yaoiness, which is always nice.

Enjoy!

The Man from Shanghai

Needless to say the next morning I felt like shit. My head was aching, and I had pulled a muscle in my back from the early morning actives. So I rolled around for a moment and groaned because that's how I felt. Plus, it seemed appropriate at the time.

Then I opened my eyes and saw the man in bed next to me. For a minute I couldn't remember his name. That is until he opened his eyes, and I remembered his name slipping off my tongue in a few choice situations.

"Heero," I said huskily and realized how thirsty I was. "I need some water." So I got up and began to stumble toward what I hoped was the bathroom but happened to be the closet.

"Good morning to you to, Duo," Heero said as he gently pulled me into bathroom and got me a cup of water.

When I glanced in the mirror I realized I looked just as bad as I felt, and I greedily drank the water and refilled my cup.

"Why did you have to take my hair down?" I asked as I looked at myself in the mirror again. It was really messy and I wasn't looking forward to brushing through it.

Heero laughed and handed me a couple aspirin. "I didn't take your hair down, you did."

Well, that was embarrassing. However, I didn't try too hard to remember everything that happened because I knew it would all come back given time, unfortunately. I really just wish I could forget all the stupid things I've done while drunk. For the time being I just downed the aspirin with a couple more glasses of water and took a piss.

"I'll make something for breakfast," Heero said as he exited the bathroom, "if you feel up to eating."

"Yeah, I think I could stomach something," I said and washed my hands. Then I went back to the bedroom to search for my clothes. I found most of them, but only pulled on my boxers. Not that it really mattered. Heero had already seen me in some compromising situations. But it did feel kinda weird to sit on someone else's furniture naked. Not that I mind using my own furniture while unclothed, but maybe it's just me.

When I went out to the kitchen and sat at the table I noticed Heero wasn't wearing any boxers. But then it was his place and if he wanted to cook naked that was his prerogative. I, however, would have been terrified of the fire hazard.

"What made you decide on The Blue Angel? Are you new to town?" he asked as he sat down some coffee and a plate of toast with butter and boysenberry jam on the side in front of me.

"No, I've lived here since college," I said and took a sip of my coffee. Then I tried to force my swollen brain to remember why I had gone to the bar the night before. When I finally remembered, and felt like an ass, I buttered my toast and answered him. "My friend recommended it, Amir Winner." I took a chance with Mr. Winner's name, but I really didn't have anything to lose. Plus, I hadn't gotten any work done last night. Well, I had. But not the kind I was supposed to.

Heero glanced up from his coffee at the name Winner. "I don't know any Amir Winner. I know a Quatre Winner, though."

Okay, that literally felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. Which I had been on several different occasions, so I was quite familiar with the sensation. If my head hadn't felt like it was going to explode I might have taken in the information and thought about it a bit. Instead I just got a number of pictures going through my head of Quatre and Heero doing what Heero and I had done the night before. Which made me annoyed and a little bit jealous, which made me even more annoyed.

But despite all those emotions boiling just under the surface I kept my cool and took a sip of coffee. "I know Quatre too. How well do you know him?" I asked and tried not to grit my teeth too much.

"He came in a few times," Heero said calmly and took a bite of his toast. "Why? Is he your boyfriend?"

"No," I burst out and hurt my head. "I barely know the kid."

"Who is Amir Winner then?" Heero asked and took a sip of juice.

"His father, Quatre's father."

"Wait, wasn't he murdered about a week ago?" Heero asked.

"Yeah," I said somewhat despondently. I didn't feel like playing around anymore, so I decided to come clean. "I'm a private detective. Quatre hired me to look into different routes the cops aren't interested in at the moment."

"Well, you do one hell of an undercover job, Detective," Heero said and smiled.

I shook my head but couldn't help smiling too. "You don't happen to have any other information for me, do you?"

Heero shook his head and began to gather up the plates and cups. "No, but maybe you should talk to a guy named Chang. He introduced me to Quatre about six months ago. I think he may have known Quatre's father."

Chang. The name sounded slightly familiar at the time, but I couldn't place it.

"Thanks," I said and stood up. "I guess I should get on my way then." Heero merely nodded and kept his back to me as he rinsed the dishes.

I put on the rest of my clothes and realized I was missing one sock, but I figured it wasn't worth searching for. So I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door. "Thanks for breakfast, Heero," I said and reached for the handle.

Just as I was about to leave he put a hand on my shoulder and began to pull my hair into a ponytail.

"See you around," he said when he finished and I turned to leave.

I swear he was wearing that devilish grin again as he shut the door, but I didn't think anything of it. That had apparently become my motto for the past few days. All I was looking forward to was a shower and a nice long nap. Hindsight can sure be a bitch.

* * *

The rest of that day felt like a blur and by the time I woke up the morning after I was refreshed and thinking much clearer. After the usual morning routine, and spending an obscene amount of time trying to get through two nights of tangles, I dropped by my office.

I was relived that Ignatius was doing fine and spent a few minutes feeding him some lettuce and carrots, his favorite. I was about to settle down and flip through Mr. Winner's little black book when the phone rang. Okay, I was really about to set up a game of Candy Land to play with Ignatius, but then I was gonna get right down to work. But that's not really important.

So, like I said, the phone rang a couple times and I answered it. "Maxwell Private Investigator."

I heard a small and slightly apprehensive voice on the other side of the line. "Duo? This is Quatre Winner."

"Hey, Quatre!" I said trying to sound upbeat for some reason. "What's up?" Really, why is this kid calling me after two days? That's what I thought at the time, anyway.

"I was just wondering how things were going. The police haven't gotten a hold of me and neither had you so I was just worried," he finished with a deep breath.

"Well, I've been working on it," I half-lied and then felt a little bad. I hadn't really gotten much done at all in the last few days. "I was about to go have a chat with a guy named Chang."

"Chang Wu Fei?" Quatre said and sounded a little surprised. "I haven't heard from him in months. How did you find out about him?"

I gave a little laugh at that. "I'm a detective, Quatre. I supposed to find out about people." I decided to leave out the part about Heero for the time being. What was I supposed to say? I slept with a friend of yours and he told me?

"I know, I just didn't think of him. Sorry."

And there he went pulling the old pathetic card again. I don't know who is worse, him for pulling it or me for buying it. "No problem, Quatre. You doing okay?"

"Yeah," he said and I had the perfect picture of him nodding meekly. "As well as can be expected."

"Good, I'll give you a call in a few days then. Or I'll drop by if I find anything new. Sound good?"

"That's sounds great, Duo," he said, "Anytime after four is good. I should be home."

Well, we said our goodbyes and I put Candy Land away. Then I pulled out the black book to look for a Chang Wu Fei. I found him, name and number. But I like seeing people in person as opposed to talking to them on the phone. That way I can see their eyes and see if they are lying. Yeah, yeah, I know it's not a fool proof method. But then I'm already resigned to the fact that I am a fool.

So, I left my office and went for a drive to Mr. Chang's apartment. It was a really nice place. The kind I could never afford. But then if he was friends with Mr. Winner that made sense. I gave his doorbell and ring and waited.

A girl with short dark hair answered the door. "Yes?" she asked and sounded a little annoyed.

"I'm looking for Chang Wu Fei, or Wu Fei Chang. Whichever way he prefers his name."

"Oh," she said and looked confused, "he doesn't live here anymore. You can check the office for some information on him."

Okay, that was annoying. "Thanks. Did you ever know him personally?" I threw that in because I guessed she could've been his ex and got the apartment when they broke up.

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I moved in right after he left. Sorry again."

I nodded and walked away, toward the office.

When I got there I immediately started asking questions. Well, after the guy with thinning hair asked to help me that is.

"I'm looking for a Wu Fei Chang. This is his last known address so I was wondering if you had a forwarding address or anything?"

"Hmmm," the man said and clicked some keys on the computer he was sitting at. "Yes, we have a forwarding address. I'll print it out for you, sir."

Yeah just because he said "sir" doesn't mean he was being polite. He said it in that I'm-really-snooty-and-am-just-saying-sir-to-infuriate-you kinda way. But I did my best to ignore him at the time and asked the next question on my mind. "How long ago did he move?"

"Hmmm," the man said as he started printing the address out, and he clicked another few keys. "About six months ago."

"Right. Thanks," I said as I grabbed the sheet from his hand and started walking toward my car. Six months? Well, at that moment I had an epiphany. Maybe not the kind of epiphany that James Joyce intended, but it was pretty revolutionary to the case since I'd been going on very little to began with.

Well, here it was. This Chang fellow moved six months ago. And Heero said he was introduced by Chang to Quatre about six months ago. Then Quatre said he hadn't heard from Chang in months. Well, that all added up to Chang not being seen for months and maybe he knew something. Or maybe he didn't, that was a possibility too. But like I said, I try to be optimistic.

As I got into my car I glanced at the address. I was afraid it was gonna be some safety deposit box in Switzerland or something, but it wasn't. It was an address very close to my very own office. In fact, it was just down the street. So, I headed in that direction.

Actually, first I made a stop to get some lunch. I was faced with a really tough dilemma. There was a smoothie shop on one side and a Fatburger on the other. Well, I made my decision and walked to my car, with my burger and drove while I ate. Probably not the smartest thing I ever did, but I was wearing black slacks so none of the stains really showed up.

I pulled up to the address fifteen minutes later and much fuller. It was a bunch of dingy office buildings with doors that opened up right off the street, just like mine. Chang's address was on the second floor so I hopped up the stairs and gave the name plate a glance. It read "Chang's Translation Services," and was slightly crooked. I gave the handle a turn but it was locked.

"Damn it," I said but knocked anyway.

After a minute I heard movement inside and a voice called, "shei ya?"

"Shi wo Duo Maxwell," I said in perfect Mandarin. But I already mentioned I minored in Chinese in college, right?

"Qing lai," the voice said again and opened the door. I made the immediate assumption that this was Chang Wu Fei, but he didn't look like I expected him to. His hair was jet black and hung to his shoulders. His once fine suit was disheveled, and he had bags under his dark eyes. But I walked in anyway, since that's what he asked me to do.

"Ni shi Chang Wu Fei ma?" I asked.

"Shi," he said as he shut the door after me. "What can I do for you?"

I smiled at his sudden switch from Chinese into English. "I just wanted to ask you a few questions is all."

He slumped down at a ratty desk and set his eyes upon me. They were cold and hard. Not many people could withstand a stare like that, but I just gave him a cheesy smile and sat across from him.

"I'm guessing you don't need anything translated, Mr. Maxwell. So what do you want to ask me about?" he asked the last part slowly, like he was forcing himself to remain calm. It was kinda funny actually. I've never seen anyone get annoyed with me that quickly before.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions about Mr. Winner. Did you know him?" I said casually and leaned back in the chair.

He stared at me for another minute like he was trying to burn holes in my skin with his eyes. Or maybe like he was trying to read my mind, but I just kept up the pleasant smile and stared back. Finally he answered me. "Yes, I knew him."

I nodded. "So, how well did you know him?"

He gave me another stare, and I was getting pretty tired of it, but I kept smiling. "Who hired you, Mr. Maxwell?"

"That's really not any or your concern, is it?" It wasn't really a question. I was trying my hand at intimidating him. It didn't work.

"Who hired you?" he repeated.

I sighed. This really wasn't going anywhere so I told him. "Quatre Winner."

He nodded and smirked. "Thought so. To investigate his father's death, no doubt?"

"Yeah. Hey, how do you know about that?"

"It was all over the papers, Mr. Maxwell. I think anyone who can read knows about it." he answered, but the smirk was gone.

Yeah, I know it was a stupid question. But sometimes my mouth moves before I can think about it. Am I the only one? "Fine," I snapped back, although I felt like I was losing.

"Did Quatre tell you to come and see me?" Chang asked still staring. I swear he never blinked.

"No," I answered and finally felt like maybe I could get the upper hand. "Heero Yuy from The Blue Angel suggested it."

Well, it backfired when he laughed. It was actually more of a bark then a laugh, and I moved back at the sound of it. Not that I was scared, it just kinda caught me off guard.

"Listen, Mr. Maxwell," he said when he stopped laughing just as suddenly as he started. "I don't know anything about Mr. Winner's death, so you can be on your way."

Well, I smiled at that. Finally I had something to go on. "I didn't ask you about Mr. Winner's death, did I Mr. Chang?"

He went back to glaring at me but didn't speak. So, I stood up and rested my hands on his desk. You know, to try the intimidation thing one more time.

"I just wanted to know how you knew Mr. Winner, that was all. But now that you mention it, what do you know about Mr. Winner's murder?" I took the time to say murder really slowly, just for the effect and to see how he reacted.

Chang jumped up immediately and his eyes looked like they were on fire. He pointed one shaking finger at the door and shouted. "Get out of my office, Mr. Maxwell! I won't ask you again!"

I had him, but I didn't want to push it. So, I gave him a menacing grin and headed for the door.

The chinese man was still fuming, but as I walked out he called after me. "Quatre Winner isn't everything he makes out to be," he said and smirked as the door cut off his face from view.

I shook my head but I had that strange feeling again. Like a nagging in my stomach and it really annoyed me. I didn't fully ignore it this time, but I figured that Chang was up to something. He was really suspicious and I was gonna find out everything about him that I could. Also, as I got into my car I vowed to learn a large array of Chinese expletives. The next time I met Chang Wu Fei I was gonna be prepared.


* * *

More Author's Notes: So, what did you think? Please review and tell me!! I'll write faster and everything if I have reviews. Man, I'm pretty shameless.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know this chappy was really fun to write. What do you guys think of Wu Fei? I like him, so I was just wondering. . . . Also, I got the title of the chappy from an old movie "The Lady from Shanghai." Interesting film. Okay, now go and review!!! Thanks for reading!!!