Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ ZER0 ❯ Patience ( Chapter 9 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Vinyl-Koneko 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense / Psychological / Police / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.18.2002 | Updated On: 10.14.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.4K | Visits: 399 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense / Psychological / Police / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.18.2002 | Updated On: 10.14.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.4K | Visits: 399 | Status: Completed
Title: ZER0 - Part 10 - Patience
Author: Vinyl Koneko (Emily), roguegirl@att.net
Rating: R
Warnings: language, angst, death, blood, gruesome stuff, yaoi
Archive: Want it? Take it. Just give me credit, please.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. I just like to play with them and make them play with each other.
Comments: *Emphasis*, 'thought', [flashback], /written/, //lyrics//. Patience is the Third Heavenly Virtue and is defined as the ability to bear pains or trials calmly and without complaint. Much help from http://saints.catholic.org/patron.html because I can't bullshit the name of a church even if I wanted to.
*~**~*
April 8, 201 AC
*~**~*
Being in charge of this particular assignment, Heero had to go report Duo's revelation about the murder pattern to Une, so Duo and Quatre went out to investigate the location that had shown up in Heero's inbox. Originally they had tried to trace back the IP address the message was coming from, but the sender - who was assumed to be the killer - knew how to cover his tracks very well, so the most likely explanation was the source was a laptop plugged into a public phonejack in a library or someplace similar.
They pulled up at 48 Emmitt Street in Lower East Manhatten, which looked more like a house-turned-business. Or according to the sign out front, support group. Together We Stand Strong's purpose was to help abuse victims heal by sharing their experiences and finding various catharsises with the other members. 'Which will most definitely require a lot of patience, the next virtue we should be following.'
"This would be easier if we knew what the killer looked like," the blond Arab commented.
[Duo looked forward in time to see a man whose face was obstructed behind the bill of a Yankees cap right before plowing into the man.]
["Was there anything distinguishable?" Trowa asked, grabbing a pen and notepad from the conference room table in case there was anything Duo could come up with.
"Um...he was wearing a Yankees cap."
Quatre pinched the bridge of his nose. "Duo...it's New York. *Everyone* wears a Yankees cap!"
The amethyst-eyed American held his hands up defensively. "Hey, don't yell at me, it was all I could distinguish! The hat was covering the guys face! He seemed to be about Wufei's size but with a smaller build, but that's all I can tell you!"]
"Maybe he'll come to us. If not I guess we'll have to ask for a list of people who have ever volunteered here and go through each person one by one."
Quatre shook his head. "I still don't like it."
"I never said I did."
They approached the door carefully, not knowing whether to knock or just let themselves in when a small girl opened the door, her eyes peering through the slight crack.
Quatre crouched down to the girl's level so as not to frighten the little girl, who couldn't have been older than five and looked like she had never seen a stranger before in her life. "Hello. My name's Quatre, and this is my friend Duo. We'd like to ask some questions. Is there someone we could talk to?"
She nodded mutely, scurrying away quickly and shutting the door behind her. About two minutes later a boy came to the door. He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, and Duo couldn't help to think back on how at that age, he was preparing for war.
"Tanya said that you wanted to ask questions."
"We'd prefer to talk to your parents," Duo said, wondering if the boy would be able to help or if somehow they got the wrong address.
"They're not home. It's going to rain, so if you want to talk, you should come inside."
They nodded in gratitude and followed the boy, whose name turned out to be Lloyd, into the house. It was bigger on the inside than it appeared outwardly, and seemed to have a garage in the back that was used for the support group meetings.
"Do your parents run the support group?" Quatre asked.
"My mom does. My dad pilots for a shipping company so he isn't home a lot."
'Could it be the kids' father?' "Does anybody help your mom run the group?"
"Mr. Weaver comes in a lot. He's quiet and listens really well, so he helps the people that come in, but I don't like him."
Duo's curiosity was piqued. "Really? Why not?"
Lloyd shrugged. "He always smells like raw meat, and one time I think he had blood stains on his clothes and hands, but he said that he was using red clay and it doesn't wash off easily."
Duo looked at Quatre for some sort of confirmation. His friend nodded in agreement. "Red clay can looked like dried blood when it's on your hands and clothing, but it doesn't stain skin and it doesn't dry like a liquid."
The boy didn't look surprised that Mr. Weaver was most likely lying. "It probably would have been smarter for him to say it was ketchup or paint or something."
"Do you have a picture of Mr. Weaver?"
"Yeah, probably. I'll be right back." Lloyd left, leaving Duo and Quatre standing in what looked like a family room. There were books, photographs, and a computer decorating the space. Lloyd came running back with the picture in his hand. "This one was from Christmas. Mr. Weaver's the guy in the middle with the Yankees cap. He always wears that damn thing."
Duo looked up from the photograph, eyes meeting Quatre's immediately. "Do you know where we can find him?"
"Uh...he talks to Mom a lot about some guy named Jerome or something like that."
The name triggered a memory in Duo's mind.
["Saint Jerome Emiliani, watch over all children who are abandoned or unloved. Give us the courage to show them God's love through our care. Help us to lose the chains that keep us from living the life God intended for us. Amen."]
"Thank you for your help, Lloyd. We best be going now," Quatre said, pulling Duo to the door. When the got back in the car and down the street from the house, Duo let out a sigh.
"I think we got him. There's a St. Jerome's House in the Bronx."
"Duo, how do you know this?"
He smiled weakly. "I just do, and let's leave it at that."
*~**~*
"We have a suspect now. All we know so far is that his name is Weaver and we have a recent photo and a couple addresses on where he might be found, but otherwise, we still don't know. There's no real proof that it was him, either, besides the claim of a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy that Weaver might have had blood on his hands and clothes." Duo put the photograph down on the conference table, allowing Heero, Trowa, and Wufei to look at it.
Wufei was looking at the image with a deep frown set on his features. "Does this picture coincide with the man you ran into back towards the end of January?"
Duo nodded. "Down to the damn hat."
"We might want to put some agents watching the house in Manhatten because the boy could be putting himself in danger relinquishing that information to us," Quatre added. "It might not follow the pattern, but we can't take any chances at this point. Especially since we've gotten so close now."
"All right." Heero looked at each of the former-pilots pointedly. "Duo and I will check out St. Jerome's House tomorrow afternoon. Quatre and Trowa will go through all of the Weavers in the area and find out which one is ours. Wufei, go get agents from the public safety division out from of the house in Manhatten. Weaver has been out of our grasp for months now. It's time we change that."
*~**~*
"Hey, Heero? Can't you take someone else to St. Jerome's with you instead?"
"You're better with people."
"Yeah, but it makes me nostalgic, and not in a good way."
Heero looked confused, not understanding the connection between St. Jerome's House and Duo's past. "Doushite?"
"It's, ah, well...it's an orphanage, Heero."
"Duo, gomen, demo it is an assignment." He cupped Duo's face between his hands, forcing the American's eyes to his. "You just have to be strong."
Just then, Heero's laptop started to beep, causing him to shoot the computer a deadly glare, which made Duo snort.
"You've got mail."
*~**~*
End Part 10
Author: Vinyl Koneko (Emily), roguegirl@att.net
Rating: R
Warnings: language, angst, death, blood, gruesome stuff, yaoi
Archive: Want it? Take it. Just give me credit, please.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. I just like to play with them and make them play with each other.
Comments: *Emphasis*, 'thought', [flashback], /written/, //lyrics//. Patience is the Third Heavenly Virtue and is defined as the ability to bear pains or trials calmly and without complaint. Much help from http://saints.catholic.org/patron.html because I can't bullshit the name of a church even if I wanted to.
*~**~*
April 8, 201 AC
*~**~*
Being in charge of this particular assignment, Heero had to go report Duo's revelation about the murder pattern to Une, so Duo and Quatre went out to investigate the location that had shown up in Heero's inbox. Originally they had tried to trace back the IP address the message was coming from, but the sender - who was assumed to be the killer - knew how to cover his tracks very well, so the most likely explanation was the source was a laptop plugged into a public phonejack in a library or someplace similar.
They pulled up at 48 Emmitt Street in Lower East Manhatten, which looked more like a house-turned-business. Or according to the sign out front, support group. Together We Stand Strong's purpose was to help abuse victims heal by sharing their experiences and finding various catharsises with the other members. 'Which will most definitely require a lot of patience, the next virtue we should be following.'
"This would be easier if we knew what the killer looked like," the blond Arab commented.
[Duo looked forward in time to see a man whose face was obstructed behind the bill of a Yankees cap right before plowing into the man.]
["Was there anything distinguishable?" Trowa asked, grabbing a pen and notepad from the conference room table in case there was anything Duo could come up with.
"Um...he was wearing a Yankees cap."
Quatre pinched the bridge of his nose. "Duo...it's New York. *Everyone* wears a Yankees cap!"
The amethyst-eyed American held his hands up defensively. "Hey, don't yell at me, it was all I could distinguish! The hat was covering the guys face! He seemed to be about Wufei's size but with a smaller build, but that's all I can tell you!"]
"Maybe he'll come to us. If not I guess we'll have to ask for a list of people who have ever volunteered here and go through each person one by one."
Quatre shook his head. "I still don't like it."
"I never said I did."
They approached the door carefully, not knowing whether to knock or just let themselves in when a small girl opened the door, her eyes peering through the slight crack.
Quatre crouched down to the girl's level so as not to frighten the little girl, who couldn't have been older than five and looked like she had never seen a stranger before in her life. "Hello. My name's Quatre, and this is my friend Duo. We'd like to ask some questions. Is there someone we could talk to?"
She nodded mutely, scurrying away quickly and shutting the door behind her. About two minutes later a boy came to the door. He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen, and Duo couldn't help to think back on how at that age, he was preparing for war.
"Tanya said that you wanted to ask questions."
"We'd prefer to talk to your parents," Duo said, wondering if the boy would be able to help or if somehow they got the wrong address.
"They're not home. It's going to rain, so if you want to talk, you should come inside."
They nodded in gratitude and followed the boy, whose name turned out to be Lloyd, into the house. It was bigger on the inside than it appeared outwardly, and seemed to have a garage in the back that was used for the support group meetings.
"Do your parents run the support group?" Quatre asked.
"My mom does. My dad pilots for a shipping company so he isn't home a lot."
'Could it be the kids' father?' "Does anybody help your mom run the group?"
"Mr. Weaver comes in a lot. He's quiet and listens really well, so he helps the people that come in, but I don't like him."
Duo's curiosity was piqued. "Really? Why not?"
Lloyd shrugged. "He always smells like raw meat, and one time I think he had blood stains on his clothes and hands, but he said that he was using red clay and it doesn't wash off easily."
Duo looked at Quatre for some sort of confirmation. His friend nodded in agreement. "Red clay can looked like dried blood when it's on your hands and clothing, but it doesn't stain skin and it doesn't dry like a liquid."
The boy didn't look surprised that Mr. Weaver was most likely lying. "It probably would have been smarter for him to say it was ketchup or paint or something."
"Do you have a picture of Mr. Weaver?"
"Yeah, probably. I'll be right back." Lloyd left, leaving Duo and Quatre standing in what looked like a family room. There were books, photographs, and a computer decorating the space. Lloyd came running back with the picture in his hand. "This one was from Christmas. Mr. Weaver's the guy in the middle with the Yankees cap. He always wears that damn thing."
Duo looked up from the photograph, eyes meeting Quatre's immediately. "Do you know where we can find him?"
"Uh...he talks to Mom a lot about some guy named Jerome or something like that."
The name triggered a memory in Duo's mind.
["Saint Jerome Emiliani, watch over all children who are abandoned or unloved. Give us the courage to show them God's love through our care. Help us to lose the chains that keep us from living the life God intended for us. Amen."]
"Thank you for your help, Lloyd. We best be going now," Quatre said, pulling Duo to the door. When the got back in the car and down the street from the house, Duo let out a sigh.
"I think we got him. There's a St. Jerome's House in the Bronx."
"Duo, how do you know this?"
He smiled weakly. "I just do, and let's leave it at that."
*~**~*
"We have a suspect now. All we know so far is that his name is Weaver and we have a recent photo and a couple addresses on where he might be found, but otherwise, we still don't know. There's no real proof that it was him, either, besides the claim of a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy that Weaver might have had blood on his hands and clothes." Duo put the photograph down on the conference table, allowing Heero, Trowa, and Wufei to look at it.
Wufei was looking at the image with a deep frown set on his features. "Does this picture coincide with the man you ran into back towards the end of January?"
Duo nodded. "Down to the damn hat."
"We might want to put some agents watching the house in Manhatten because the boy could be putting himself in danger relinquishing that information to us," Quatre added. "It might not follow the pattern, but we can't take any chances at this point. Especially since we've gotten so close now."
"All right." Heero looked at each of the former-pilots pointedly. "Duo and I will check out St. Jerome's House tomorrow afternoon. Quatre and Trowa will go through all of the Weavers in the area and find out which one is ours. Wufei, go get agents from the public safety division out from of the house in Manhatten. Weaver has been out of our grasp for months now. It's time we change that."
*~**~*
"Hey, Heero? Can't you take someone else to St. Jerome's with you instead?"
"You're better with people."
"Yeah, but it makes me nostalgic, and not in a good way."
Heero looked confused, not understanding the connection between St. Jerome's House and Duo's past. "Doushite?"
"It's, ah, well...it's an orphanage, Heero."
"Duo, gomen, demo it is an assignment." He cupped Duo's face between his hands, forcing the American's eyes to his. "You just have to be strong."
Just then, Heero's laptop started to beep, causing him to shoot the computer a deadly glare, which made Duo snort.
"You've got mail."
*~**~*
End Part 10