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Part XVI “Do you remember anything, Hilde?” Quatre asked gently.
She sighed, briefly closing her eyes. “I had been having some bouts of insomnia, so I decided to do some paperwork. I kept the lights off because I didn’t want to wake Duo up. I had gotten to the living room before I realized that there was someone in the house. “There were two of them and they had guns. I screamed and tried to dive behind the couch. However, I was hit. All I remember after that is hitting the floor, Duo calling my name, and even more gunfire. It was just too dark to see anything. I’m sorry.” Duo squeezed his wife’s hand. “Babe, you don’t have anything to be sorry for.” “I thought we were safe,” she said quietly, her eyes never leaving his. “That all of this was finally over. I should have known better.” “I don’t want you thinking like that, Hilde. We’re going to get these bastards. I promise.” She looked as if she was about to protest. However, knowing her husband, she merely shook her head. “Just be careful, Duo, or I’ll kill you myself.” “Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a broad grin. He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll be back in a bit, babe. Wait right here?” She smiled. “I guess so, unless that cute orderly comes back first.” Giving her one last kiss, Duo rose and followed Quatre out of the room. Once they were in the hallway, Duo’s cheerfulness faded. “What have you found out, Quatre?” “I’ve narrowed the transmissions to Earth, northern Europe.” “Old Romefeller country, huh? I guess that gives us some idea of what we’re dealing with.” “Maybe,” Quatre replied, “but this has a different feeling. This seems to be about revenge.” “The past seems to have a way of coming back and biting us in the ass, doesn’t it, Quatre?” The braided-hair man sighed. “Have you heard from Heero and the others?” “There’s still no word from Trowa,” the Arabian admitted, his eyes growing troubled for a moment. “Heero is bringing Relena here, so Noin can keep an eye on her and Hilde. Wufei found Sally tied to a tree somewhere in South America. She’s a little worse for wear but basically okay. They’re both reporting back to Une at the Preventers.” “What about Zechs? He’s not going to be happy that someone went after his little sister and Heero was the one to save her.” “He and Noin are also on their way to report in to Lady Une.” Duo shook his head. “The whole gang’s back together again. All we need is Dorothy Catalonia and we’d have a nice little reunion.” “Dorothy disappeared a few years ago,” Quatre stated. “I doubt we will be running into her.” “Keeping tabs on an old flame?” Quatre shot Duo a rare annoyed look. “I feel sorry for her, Duo. She lost everything in the war. We still have a few things to hang on to.” Duo glanced back at the door of Hilde’s room. She was his salvation after the battles. She gave him a reason to live and that kept him sane. After the war, Dorothy didn’t even have that much. “So, when will Noin and Relena get here?” Duo asked, breaking away from the depressing chain of thought. Quatre glanced down at his watch. “In a few hours, I’d say.” Nodding, Duo went back into Hilde’s room. Knowing that they would be leaving in a few hours, he wanted to spend as much time with his wife as possible. Quatre turned and headed toward the cafeteria. The couple would want some privacy, and he desperately needed some coffee. |
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