Chapter 4: The Fire

Dressed as a casual civilian, Heero walked among the streets of a wealthy neighborhood outside the main city of the Cinq Kindom, looking for the address of the suspected contact working for SpinTech. The rain had stopped and twilight was slowly approaching. The air held a cool dampness in the still, overcast sky. Finally coming close to the house he was looking for, Heero carefully eyed each grand structure before settling on the one which held his prize.

"Holy shit," Heero murmured to himself barely above a whisper when he realized whom the address of his suspect belonged to. He walked past the mansion with haste, not wanting to look too suspicious if he lingered about the home of one of the richest men in the world, David Bowman, for too long. Heero had seen his castle-like home on one of the covers of an entertainment magazine, or at least that's what he tried to tell himself. He most recently recognized the place after hearing on TV that the Vice Foreign Minister of the Cinq kingdom, Relena Darlian, had moved in with her long-time boyfriend. It was a shock to him…to say the least. He thought her morals were somewhat…purer than that. But what was he to do? He hadn't spoken to the girl in years. She was probably much different now…

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Dave had gotten home later than Relena expected. She wondered what type of "business" he had been doing. He sat down at the dinner table laggardly, his light brown locks damp from walking in the rain.

Relena looked at him intensely. She tried to tell what he was thinking, what he had been doing. Whatever it was had worn him out tremendously. Although Relena usually comforted her overworked boyfriend after a long day, tonight was different. As she gazed at the man who sat across from her, Relena felt like an outsider. She kept quiet the whole meal, lost in her thoughts.

Dave was too tired to notice his girlfriend's unusual silence. With a great yawn, he excused himself from the table, kissing Relena on the forehead before announcing he was retiring for the night. Relena just sat at the table, stunned. He hadn't even sensed something was wrong. The girl's disappointment tugged the ends of her mouth to a frown. 'What am I going to do?' she wondered helplessly.

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Heero monitored the security of David's house from the yard next door. He counted only a couple of guards, probably stationed there for the protection of the Vice Foreign Minister, rather than the businessman himself. Waiting for the night to act as his shield, Heero situated himself behind a large bush while the deep periwinkle of dusk slowly consumed the sky. Pulling out a handheld computer, he transmitted his latest findings to Preventer Headquarters.

Keenly observing his surroundings, Heero noticed that the guard patrolling the side of the house facing him had disappeared from some time. Waiting another few minutes, the young man had the distinct feeling that something was not right when the guard still had not returned. Taking the chance of being noticed against the glowing, purplish, but not quite night sky, Heero crept over to the Bowman property.

Immediately he sensed something was wrong. The back door was ajar, and no guards were to be seen. Heero carefully slid his gun out from under his jacket and released the safety. He was not going to be killed tonight. He wouldn't let Wufei have the chance to say, "I told him so." Therefore, Heero decided he would be cautious. He was not about to get in the middle of something that did not concern him.

He stepped in the house, careful not to trip on the two unconscious bodyguards who were sprawled out on the floor of the hall. Hearing sounds from what appeared to be the kitchen, Heero went in that direction, only to stop short when he noticed a small golden heap on the floor of the dining room. Cautiously making his way over to the bundle, his eyes widened in realization of what-- who it was…Relena.

She appeared to have fallen out of her chair after being knocked out from behind. Heero rushed to her side, checking for a pulse. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he found it still as strong as ever. He pulled the girl up and rested her in one of the dining room chairs, noting out light her tall, yet tiny, frame was to maneuver. He lifted her chin up, but her head drooped after he took his hand away, golden tresses spilling softly over her pale face. Heero could have very well stayed there all night studying this creature he had only seen at a distance over the past few years, but thought the better of it. Right now, he had to deal with the attackers, who were apparently still in the house. He would return for her shortly.

Slowly approaching the kitchen, Heero heard a murmur of voices.

"Would you just light the damn match already?" one harsh voice spoke.

Heero peered in the open doorway, hidden from view. Two men were hovered about the stove creating what would look like a small kitchen fire gone horribly wrong. A good plan, which might have worked. These people may have been able to get past a couple of guards, but they were not going to be so lucky with him.

Gazing towards his gun, he remembered a vow he had made so long ago. He did not have to kill anymore. He would not…and he hadn't for the past seven years. There was a better way to go about this. Replacing his gun in its holster, Heero ran towards the men and unleashed a variety of skillful martial arts moves on them before they even knew what had hit them. However, he was not quick enough to stop the fire they had ignited moments before. After a few minutes of trying to stop the rising flames, Heero gave up the lost cause and jumped over the two battered bodies on the ground. They weren't dead, but after an encounter with the Perfect Soldier and a few broken bones, they would probably wish they were.

Flying towards the dining room, Heero scooped up the sleeping angel he had left there before, both just making it out of the backdoor before a beam fell, blocking the exit behind them. Smoke was rising thick in the air and sirens could be heard in the distance as Heero rushed Relena to safety, heading towards his earlier hiding spot.

He gazed down as her fair form, features glowing by the light of the fire. She started to mumble, drifting in and out of consciousness, but as Heero held her tighter to him, she breathed the one word his heart could not handle.

"Dave," the half-conscious Relena murmured as she felt the warm embrace of her hero surround her.

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Her words had hurt him, more than she would ever know, but Heero was on a mission--a mission to discover the truth. If that meant finding David Bowman in a ball of flames, Heero was determined to do so. Laying Relena down behind the neighbor's bush, Heero ran back to the Bowman house. He needed to save Dave and get him to safety before the police arrived.

The backdoor being blocked, Heero ran to the front and, using his coat as a flimsy shield, he entered a hall of fire. Choking on smoke, he found Dave upstairs, unconscious from the fumes. Heero dragged the heavy body out of the room, glaring as he watched David's documents--all valuable evidence--go up in flames. He also noted the two men who started the fire were now gone.

Heero deposited Dave's body next to his girlfriend's, out of view before both the rescue squad arrived and the nosy neighbors, gaping at the blazing mansion in their nightclothes. Heaving a great sigh of relief, Heero slung Relena over his shoulder and grabbed onto David's arms, carrying both away from the scene, taking a long route through neighbors' backyards before reaching his car. Retreating from the havoc of the burning estate, a very tired Heero Yuy proceeded calmly to a Preventers' issued apartment nearby, used when agents were traveling in the Cinq kingdom. Gazing at the two unconscious forms as he drove, Heero groaned, as he knew it was going to be a very long night ahead of him.