CHAPTER THREE:
“Damned bastard did it again! Just when you think everything’s going well, he strikes with no warning whatsoever! Goddamn it!”
Everyone in the rather claustrophobic meeting room, tried to avert their gazes from the furious ones of Chief Inspector Zeman, none more so than Heero who suddenly had an acute fascination with his writing pad. It didn’t help that Kazuya and Mitsuomi had been glaring at him all morning and Heero wasn’t even aware he had done anything wrong…yet.
“All right!” Zeman barked impatiently. “I want all squad units stationed at every damn club, bar, restaurant, hell even the fast food joints at all times, got that?! Every fucking alley should be searched! Anyone looks remotely suspicious, I want him arrested…what is it, Dean?!”
“Uum…it’s just that there’ve been several reports of high school kids running around with swords and claiming to be the murderer…should we arrest them all as well, sir?”
Zeman counted slowly to ten before replying with great impatience. “What the hell have I been trying to say, Dean? I don’t care if they’re a bunch of ten year olds! Just get them all and maybe they’ll learn their lesson by not waving those damn things around! I want all the sword shops in this city interrogated by you two!” He pointed towards Kazuya and Mitsuomi. “Yuy! You join them!”
“What?!” came the simultaneous cries from the three men in question.
“You have a problem with the arrangement, gentlemen?” Zeman asked coldly.
Kazuya and Mitsuomi exchanged a wary look before glancing at the flushed officer sitting behind them. Heero met their gazes with a steady one of his own, although his heartbeat was racing a bit faster than he would have liked. He could already tell that today was going to be a nightmare.
“Good! So if we’re all done standing around and looking like a bunch of fucking morons, maybe we can get moving sometime today, huh? Huh?!”
The police officers rose out of their seats in a hurry, everyone trying to leave through the narrow door at the same time to escape the wrath of their angry boss. Heero waited patiently, noticing that Kazuya and Mitsuomi were making their way out of the room without even waiting for him. Sighing softly to himself, he finally rose to his feet, tucked his notepad and pen into the pocket of his large black overcoat and began to make his way out.
“Yuy,” Zeman called out suddenly causing the younger man to stop in his tracks.
“Yes sir.” He could see the lines of strain around the chief inspector’s eyes and for a moment, Heero felt something akin to pity in his heart. He could only imagine the pressures Zeman faced from the higher law enforcement officials. He knew Zeman had a lovely wife and two young children he liked to brag about when in a good mood and Heero could only picture the strain this case was putting on his family.
“I know you don’t like the idea of working with those two,” Zeman said quietly. He scratched his hair lightly – at least what was left of it – and sighed. “But if you want to work your way up the ranks, you’ve got to suck it up and deal with it, son. They’re good at what they do, but I know you can be so much better when you put your mind to it.”
“Than…thank you, sir.”
Zeman trained his dark green gaze on the younger man for a long minute. “Say…Yuy.”
“Sir?” Heero was unaware of how tightly clenched his hands were within the pocket of his coat. “Is there something else?”
“Hmm…no…nothing,” came the quiet reply as Zeman began to walk towards the rookie. He stopped by the door and turned around to stare at Heero again. “You wouldn’t keep anything from me now regarding this case, would you, Yuy?”
/Duo holding him. Duo whispering wicked threats into his ear. Duo’s hands upon him. Duo’s lips against his skin, his taste…oh God./
“No, sir,” Heero replied with a smile that felt forced.
“Good, because I wouldn’t want to have to do something drastic if I find out the truth,” Zeman replied with a firm pat on Heero’s back. “Have a good day son and bring me back something to work with.”
“Ye…yes, sir.”
Needless to say, Heero’s stomach was a queasy mass of guilt for the rest of the afternoon.
As expected Kazuya and Mitsuomi made no bones about their dislike for the rookie assigned with them. They had made Heero wait in the car while they went into the local martial art stores or schools to question the owners and instructors under the pretext of needing him to call for back up in case of an emergency. At the sixth dojo they stopped to interrogate, Heero was about ready to smash something in the car namely the two men sitting before him.
“Can’t I just come…?” he began but was quickly silenced as Mitsuomi pinned cold black eyes on him.
“You know your role in all of this, Yuy. So why don’t you sit back and be a good boy, hmm? Consider this a little break from all the…hard work you’ve been putting in lately.”
Kazuya gave a light snort as he stepped out of the car. Heero suffered a patronizing pat on the cheek by Mitsuomi, his jaw tightening with anger as he watched them walk into the building. With a loud growl, he slammed a clenched fist into the headrest before him, closing his eyes and falling back to the seat as he tried to control his breathing. He wasn’t doing anything in here. Sitting in this car and allowing Kazuya and Mitsuomi to treat him this way wasn’t going to cut it. For all they knew, Duo could very well be plotting his next raid and they were busy looking in ordinary dojos and sword stores like amateurs. What a joke.
The sound of high-pitched laughter and giggles had him opening his eyes quickly. Glancing out of the window on his left, he noticed a group of boys and girls on the sidewalk all with mobile phones or some kind of modern day gadget of some kind in their hands. They were apparently laughing over some pictures someone must have sent over a girl’s cell phone. However, that wasn’t what had Heero’s eyes widening in recognition. It was the school uniform. It was the same that Ren had been wearing the other day!
This was the perfect opportunity. He’d have to try to ask one of them a few questions at least. He stole a quick glance towards the dojo and seeing no sign of Kazuya or his sidekick, Heero stepped out of the car and without a backward glance, walked briskly towards the teenagers. He sincerely hoped he didn’t have his ‘scary’ face on – he had been told that on more than one occasion by visitors to the station. His frowning countenance did have a knack of sending suspects into mutinous silence.
“Hey there, excuse me for a minute,” he began as he tapped one of the boys’ shoulders gently.
“Eh? Whaddaya want?” came the expected question as curious blue eyes peered up and into the officer’s with wariness. Heero eyed the mussed blond (obviously bleached) locks and the teen’s distrustful visage with a wry smile. Wasn’t it only a few years ago that he too had been in high school? Although, he had definitely not looked this…rebellious.
“I’m looking for someone that goes to your school,” Heero began quickly, noticing that the boy’s friends were beginning to look back at them in curiosity. “He has multi-colored hair…mostly blue and red and he goes by the name of Ren.”
“Ren?” The boy looked confused and then to Heero’s chagrin, turned back to yell at his friends. “Hey, this guy’s looking for Ren? Anyone know any Ren with blue and red hair?”
This brought a round of laughter from the teens and Heero suffered it quietly, although his smile was now tight. He was really going to throttle this kid. The teen shrugged and turned back to face Heero. “See? We don’t know any Ren. Sorry.”
“Hey, hurry up, Shindo!” One of the other boys yelled out. “We’ll be late!”
“Yeah, yeah, coming!” Shindo gave Heero a mock salute and ran to catch up with his friends leaving the officer even more frustrated than ever. How he wished he could light up a cigarette to calm his nerves now, but he, unfortunately or fortunately, didn’t smoke. His father had died from the cancer stick three years ago – there was no need to spread the love of nicotine around. He ran fingers through his hair in frustration, glancing towards the dojo across the street with a light snort of disgust. Kazuya and Mitsuomi still weren’t done.
“I know Ren,” said a quiet voice – so quiet that Heero was sure he had actually imagined hearing it. But turning around quickly, he found himself staring at a rather pretty teenage girl, dressed in a short, pleated black skirt and a white dress shirt that had been tied into a bow over a well-toned torso. Her black hair was done in two long plaits that fell over her shoulders, her school bag draped across her body as she shuffled from one foot to another.
Heero took a quick glance around the vicinity to be sure he wasn’t actually listening to the wrong girl. But only a few passersby and cars drove by to interrupt the hot and otherwise still afternoon air.
“You…you know Ren?” he asked again, his heart beginning to pound faster in his chest as he stole another quick glance at the dojo. He couldn’t be sure but he had a feeling that Kazuya and Mitsuomi were on their way out.
The girl nodded softly. “Yeah…he’s in my class.”
“And what’s his full name? Where does he live? Do you know?” Heero reached into his pocket to bring out his notepad, and noticed the girl take a step back as if in fear. “It’s okay,” he reassured her quickly. “I’m just going to take down some notes, that’s all.”
“Did he do something bad?” the girl asked with a wary glance at the notepad and pen. “He doesn’t talk much in class. Just kinda spaces out every time. Doesn’t look like the kind of guy who’d hurt a fly.”
An image of Ren’s maniacal features on that rainy night came to mind and Heero shook his head quickly. “So does he come to class everyday?”
“Sometimes…not all the time…”
“Do you know his full name?”
“Uuum…Ren…Ren…”
Heero tensed as he heard the familiar voices of his superior officers. Shit! Shit! This was definitely not the right time to stop his interrogation! “Look,” he said hastily as he scribbled down his name and an address on a piece of paper. “I want you to meet me here this evening? Do you think you can? I’m not going to hurt you. I’m only a police officer…off duty, okay?”
The girl raised a brow as she took the note. “Did Ren do something bad?”
“No, no, he hasn’t done anything bad…but promise me, you’ll meet me here this evening, okay?”
“Sure…whatever.” She tucked the note into her bag and continued on her way with a light wave.
“I don’t fucking believe it. You leave him for five minutes and he goes to chat up high school girls,” Mitsuomi stated quite loudly, causing Heero’s cheeks to flush in embarrassment as he made his way back to the car.
“I was bored,” he said simply, smirking inside as he watched both men exchange a look and then burst into laughter.
“He was bored!” Kazuya cackled. “Tell you what, rookie. We’ll take you to a place where you’ll find real women, okay? A good screw never hurt anyone.”
Indeed, Heero thought ruefully as he settled back in the seat, feeling the beginnings of a pounding headache. All I really need is a good long screw.
He arrived at the meeting place – the Central Park – much earlier than he had written on the note. He was impatient and yet excited about his new find. Learning more about Ren was going to help him in this investigation, he just knew it! He sat down heavily on a bench, opening up the bottle of water he had bought from a vending machine, to drink thirstily from it. He closed his eyes and relished the taste of the cool liquid, almost moaning in pleasure as the water went down his throat and into the pit of his stomach. Savoring the last drop, childishly darting out his tongue to shake the few drops upon it, he opened up his eyes a little to stare at the bottle, only to barely catch the figure of someone watching him from behind a tree.
What the…?
Heero sat up quickly, eyes now alert as he stared harder at the position he had noticed his watcher. There was no one there now, but he was sure that someone had indeed been looking at him.
Stupid. There are still visitors around here. It could be anyone just looking this way. So why…
He noticed his hands were trembling slightly and that his heartbeat was still racing a mile-a-minute.
…why had it felt like it was Duo watching him?
It was true that no one had ever seen the killer’s face, so it would be easy for Duo to walk around the city during the day and no one would give him a second glance.
Breathe, Heero. Breathe…you’re just being jumpy that’s all. Just…just nerves…
“Hey there!”
He lifted his head quickly, forcing a smile to his visage as he noticed the girl walking towards him. She was out of her uniform and now dressed in pair of jeans and a black t-shirt which emphasized her young but firm bosom. Heero rose to walk towards her, but suddenly felt his feet rooted to the ground as his gaze fell upon the undeniable figure of the man that had haunted his very thoughts and dreams from the moment their eyes had met.
Duo!
He was dressed in an oversized black sweatshirt, hands buried into its pockets. His customary baggy pair of jeans was laden with silver belts and buckles, black boots crunching the grass as he walked past the couple. His hair wasn’t loose this time around, but rather in a tight braid which fell down his back and moved gently with each step he took. A red face cap covered his head and was lowered to cover his eyes as well, but there was no denying the quick and almost mocking glance that was thrown Heero’s way.
Heero glanced quickly towards Duo’s hips.
No katana.
Time stood still for those few precious seconds as both men appraised each other and it was only interrupted as the girl stuck her face into Heero’s view with a puzzled look on her features. “Hey, what’s wrong with you, mister?”
“Hu…huh?” He was torn – torn between staying with the girl or going after the man but a sharp nudge from her settled his dilemma. “Fuck! What did you do that for?” He held his stomach in pain, groaning as he was led towards a bench.
“Sorry about that,” the girl said quickly with an apologetic smile. “I have to be home in an hour and if you want to ask me questions, you had better ask me now before I change my mind.”
Heero knew there would be no need to look for Duo again. He was sure the man had disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared. Just what was he trying to pull? Was he deliberately taunting Heero into knowing that he still existed? Or was he simply trying to make a statement that no one would ever catch him? Damn but he was one cocky bastard.
“I didn’t really punch you that hard, did I? I know I’m in the kendo club and all…”
“Kendo club?” Heero asked quickly. Kendo was closely related to sword fighting, wasn’t it?
“Well…not really,” the girl said, causing Heero to blink in confusion. He must have asked that question out loud. “We use shinai – you know…bamboo sticks instead of real swords.”
“Yes,” he agreed with a small nod. “I know it does…but I had no idea your school offered Kendo classes. Did…eh…did Ren participate in such classes?”
“Ren?” The girl shrugged and scratched her head lightly. “He did come a few times but he didn’t do anything. My name’s Midori by the way.”
“Heero…Yuy.”
“Hiiro?” Midori asked in surprise. “You don’t look Japanese.”
“Ah…thanks…?”
“It’s not really a compliment,” the girl replied with a small smile. “Do you know how to do Kendo?”
A long time ago, when he was a little boy but not any more. “No…not really,” he said with a light shrug. “But you said Ren did appear once or twice, correct?”
“That’s right,” Midori replied with a sigh. “I always thought he was cute but he would never really talk to anyone, you know? Besides the teachers of course.”
Heero was still desperately trying to piece together the different personalities of Ren in his mind. On the one hand, there was the psychotic kid that had almost killed him and then this quiet, unassuming teen in everyday life.
“Did he ever talk of brothers or sisters or his family at all?”
Midori shrugged lightly. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never really talked to him remember. Although…”
“Although what?” Heero asked quickly, desperate for any sort of information at this point.
“There was this guy that did stop by after school to pick him up one time.”
Heero felt his heart leap into his throat. “A…guy? Do you know what he looked like?”
“No…”
“Please!” Midori’s eyes widened at the fevered look in Heero’s blue eyes and shrank back a little. Sensing that he was beginning to lose his only witness, Heero took a deep breath and smiled softly. “I’m sorry…I’ve just had a really long day.”
“No kidding, Hiiro,” the girl stated flatly. “Maybe you should like chill, you know? I know you guys are on the hunt for the killer…but I don’t think Ren did it.”
“I don’t think he did it either,” Heero replied softly. “But he might be in danger if he knows the person behind it, which is why I need you to remember what the guy looked like.”
Midori stared into the pleading blue depths and had to flush a little at the intensity within them. “Well…I really wish I could say I saw him well enough, Hiiro, but I really didn’t. All I saw was his back…and Ren following him. He was wearing a hood…you know those sweatshirts with a hood over them? Yeah…so I can’t even tell you what his hair looked like…sorry.”
“Did he wear baggy jeans?”
“Baggy jeans?” She pursed her lips in thought. “Hmmm…maybe…I can’t really remember either.” She lowered her gaze shyly. “I’m really sorry.”
“No, it’s okay,” Heero said with a small nod. He lifted a hand indecisively, not sure if to hug her or to pat her head. He settled for the latter and received a ‘are you kidding me?’ look on her pretty features. “You were a big help to me anyway and I’m glad we had this talk. Do you want me to escort you home?”
“Uuumm….” She looked around, her blush darkening as if embarrassed to be seen with him. “Sure…but you can’t come all the way to my house. My mom’s going to kill me if she sees me walking back home with a guy.”
Heero laughed softly and rose to his feet. “Sure, Midori. I’ll stay as far away as I can…hold on a second…”
He flipped open his cell phone, turning away from Midori as he did so. “Hello? Wufei, what’s up?”
“What’s up is that you had better get your ass down here, friend. I’ve got something on this Reiki you keep talking about and man it’s good.”
Heero grinned in pleasure. “Sure thing. I’ll be there in less than an hour.”
He tucked the phone into his pocket, almost yelping as Midori moved closer with a cheeky smile on her visage. “Who was that? Your boyfriend?”
“Wha…what? My boyfriend? I’m not gay!” Heero protested, feeling his cheeks heat up at the accusation even though another image of Duo’s lips against his had him groaning inwardly in dismay.
“Sure you aren’t,” the girl teased as she began to lead the way to her home. “Don’t worry, it can just be a little secret between you and me.”
Next Chapter
Gundam Wing Fiction
|
|