Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Mystery of DM ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

See chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter note: Okay, just in case people get confused, no this is not a gender-change fic! Duo is most definitely a guy (and most of us want to keep him that way!) Just whenever Diana is in control of their body, the body will be referred to as a "she" even though it's still male. Everyone all set? If not, please let me know and I'll try to clarify! Now, on to the chapter!

"yadda" speaking

`yadda' thoughts

`yadda' mindspeech

-

"Hey Howard! Call for you." Paul stuck his head into Howard's office. The balding man looked up, pushing his sunglasses back up.

"Thought I told you to block all but the important ones," Howard grumbled. He had just found the time to get caught up on all the paperwork his salvage company generated.

Paul grinned, knowing the old man was secretly pleased at the interruption. He hated doing paperwork and often waited until the last minute before finishing it. "Yeah, you did. But these guys wouldn't call unless it was important. And they refuse to speak with anyone except you. So what should I tell them?"

Howard shoved the work away, disgusted. "Put them through." Paul's grin widened as he ducked back out. A few swift keystrokes later Howard's screen blinked to life, showing Quatre with Heero leaning over him. Howard leaned forward, his sunglasses slipping down his nose once more. The two boys looked worried. "Hey Quatre, Heero. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Howard." Quatre nodded, glad they were finally speaking to him. "Have you heard from Duo recently?"

Howard frowned. "No, I haven't heard from the Kid since the war ended. Why?"

Heero leaned forward, his cobalt eyes clouded with an emotion Howard was hard pressed to identify. "Have you heard from Diana recently?"

Howard leaned back, settling himself in his chair; this was going to be a long call. He took off his sunglasses, face losing all mirth. "How did you find out about Diana?" Quatre quickly explained the situation, Howard getting angrier as the events were told. "Damn that J!" Howard slammed his fist down, papers fluttering to the floor. Paul stuck his head back in at the sudden outburst.

"Boss? What's wrong?"

Howard ignored the title. "Bring up this ships personnel file and get ready for the Kid to call."

"We'll be there shortly…" Quatre began.

"No!" Howard cut him off, startling nearly everyone with his vehemence. "If the Kid left then it's because she didn't trust you guys. And if she finds you here then we'll never see her again. Got it? Stay away until she contacts you and specifically tells you to visit."

"Howard," Heero spoke into the lull as Howard regained his breath, "do you know what happened to her?"

Howard searched Heero's face, nodding at what he found. `He's worried about her but he's hiding it.' "She was almost raped by one of the new workers. I should have listened to Duo and Shin; neither of them trusted that guy. Ever since then, if she doesn't trust someone she'll let one of the others control the body until that person leaves."

"Runs and hides," Quatre mused. He closed his eyes. "Dear Allah. But why won't she talk?"

"That's part of the trust. Her voice is very distinctive and the guy found it irresistible. He kept yelling at her, ordering her to scream for him. That's how we were able to find her and stop him before it went any further."

Heero's eyes darkened with suppressed rage. "Where is he?"

Howard chuckled, shivers running down Quatre's spine. "You're two years too late. Shinigami already took care of him." Howard sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Look, I'll ask Diana to let you guys know she's fine. Otherwise, just give her time to adjust. With Duo and Shin vouching for you guys she'll come around eventually. Anything else?"

Quatre shook his head. "No Howard. Thank you. We'll call off our search and wait. But," he looked Howard straight in the eye, his own pleading. "Please tell her we're worried. That we hope she's safe." Howard nodded and terminated the call. He slumped back in his chair, drained. Not even Paul's whistle roused him.

"Poor kid can't ever get a break. I'll make sure we have a room for her to use. Oh, I pulled up the personnel file and everyone currently on board is someone Diana has dealt with before. So there's no need to play shuffle with them."

"Good." Howard stared off into the distance, trying to figure out what J was thinking. Paul watched him, knowing exactly what was going through his bosses mind. They both jumped when the vidphone flashed, an incoming call yanking them back to reality. Howard let the call through, eyebrows drawing together when the screen remained blank. The two words appeared; Identify please. Howard started to chuckle as Paul roared with laughter, clutching his stomach. "You haven't lost your touch, Kid. It's just me and Paul. No one else is in the room." Instantly the words vanished, replaced by the image of Duo/Diana.

"I take it the other pilots contacted and informed you." She kept her voice low, making sure she wasn't overheard.

"They did. At least as much as they could. How are you holding up?" Howard asked, concern evident.

Diana sighed. "Not well. I'm just not used to being out this much. I'll be there in a couple of days. Have you…?"

"We've already checked the crew," Paul interrupted her. "Everyone here is someone the three of you know, checked and cleared. And we'll have a separate room when you finally do get here."

Diana smiled in relief. "Thank you, both of you. Is there anything I can work on when I get there?"

Paul chuckled. "Well," he drawled, "you can always help with the paperwork. You know how the old man here loves to get it done on time." Diana giggled as Howard glared at the two of them.

"Are you two clowns done?" He asked, sourly. Diana managed to get her laughter under control before Paul. Paul left right after, starting the process of finding Diana a room, still shaking with mirth. Howard glared at his retreating back before looking at the screen once more. "Diana, they mentioned that you can't call either Duo or Shin. Are you completely blocked?"

A quick shake of her head answered his question. "I can talk with them like we've always been able to. They just can't take over. I'd be more of a wreck if that was gone too." She shivered and hunched over. "The worst part," her voice dropped even lower, "the worst part was I was dreaming about … it … when I got locked out. And then to wake up to find someone pinning me down, someone I didn't know…" She shivered again, arms wrapping tight around her legs, drawing them close to her chest. "Then more people running in that I didn't know; Duo and Shin both screaming…" Her voice trailed off as she began to rock back and forth.

"It'll be alright Diana." Howard tried to sooth the panic-stricken young boy/girl. "We'll find a way to let them back out, assuming nobody kills J for doing this in the first place."

Diana's rocking slowed then stopped as Howard continued to speak. She looked up when he finished, a strange light in her eyes. "Shin wants J," she stated, eerily calm.

Howard took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. "Then we'll make sure to save him for Shin." Diana's answering grin sent waves of dread down Howard's spine.

-

Quatre stretched, easing his tired muscles. He had just finished calling Trowa and Wufei back to the house, canceling the search. Glancing over at Heero, Quatre raised his eyebrows in surprise. While Heero was working on a laptop, it wasn't his. In fact … "Heero, what are you doing with Duo's computer?"

"Seeing if there's anything in here that can help us, anything he might have written about Diana." His fingers flew over the keyboard, eyes intent on the display. "Most of it seems to be his thoughts on us."

"Do I even want to know?" Heero glanced over, one eyebrow raised. Quatre let out a weak laugh. "Rhetorical question, I know. Tell us when you find something." Heero nodded as Quatre left, attention once more focused on the machine in front of him. After a few minutes the fevered pitch of clicking keys faltered and died. Heero drew his eyebrows together, puzzled. Rising to his feet, he carried Duo's laptop over to his own, connecting the two. Examining the coding displayed on Duo's screen, he nodded and transferred the file he found onto his computer. After disconnecting the two laptops, he wiped all traces of his search from Duo's computer. When completed, he took his laptop downstairs to join Quatre, a small smile on his lips.

Quatre looked up as Heero entered the living room, a cup of tea poised halfway to his mouth. He placed it down when Heero's expression registered. "You found something."

Heero nodded. "A double encrypted file."

"How," Quatre began, puzzled.

"The file name uses one encryption, the contents another. This was the only file protected like that; I had to do quite a bit of digging to get it." Heero sat down, choosing one of the numerous armchairs dotting the living room, his laptop balanced on his thighs. Flexing his fingers, he leaned over, focused solely on breaking the code and reading whatever Duo had gone to great lengths to protect.