A man was sitting on the stairs outside my apartment.

Heero saw me stiffen and said quickly, “It’s okay. It’s Wufei. I told Relena to send him over as soon as he got to the States.”

“Just out for a nice stroll?” Wufei rose to his feet and held out a hand. He had just a hint of an accent. “It’s no wonder Relena is having a cow.”

Heero smiled as he shook Wufei’s hand. “Now, that’s a sight I’d pay to see. Duo Maxwell. Chang Wufei.”

I murmured something polite. This was the man who had searched for Quatre, the man who had found his grave in the hills. Chang Wufei looked no older than I, he had onyx eyes, longer black hair pulled back, and a lean, strong body.

“I wasn’t sure you’d leave Mexico.” Heero said. He unlocked the front door and let everyone inside.

“Not much left for me to do there. Dekim’s dropped from view. He left a note officially requesting a medical leave of absence. We think he’s left the country.”

“Kuso. When?”

“Yesterday.” His gaze shifted to me and he said quietly, “I’m very sorry about your friend. I tried to get Heero to give you some warning, but Dekim was too fast. He had everything planned and set up before he sent the crew to exhume him.”

“A warning wouldn’t have helped.” Nothing would have helped but it was kind of him to have tried. I got the impression he was usually kind. “Arigatou, Chang-san.”

“Wufei.” He turned to Heero. “Do you think he’s headed here?”

“Not yet. I almost wish he were. I’d bet he has other fish to fry.”

Wufei grimaced. “Let’s hope not. How close is he?”

“Too close. The anthrax is almost at the point where they want it. He could strike anytime. That may be why he’s left Mexico. He wouldn’t have done it without reason.”

“He just disappeared?” I asked. “How could that happen? Weren’t people watching him?”

“He’s probably been planning this for a long time,” Wufei answered. “He went into a building on the Paseo de la Reforma and never came out.”

“That should never have happened,” Heero said.

“I agree,” Wufei said. “But it did.”

“And what did Relena say?”

“What didn’t she say? She’s foaming at the mouth. She sent a man to pick up Mueller, Dekim’s secretary, and put pressure on him. But I doubt if he knows anything. Relena’s not sure which way to turn.” He smiled at me. “You’ve unsettled everyone by staying here, you know.”

I didn’t return the smile. “Too bad. It may be the only way to get Dekim. You couldn’t even keep track of him when you had him in full view.”

He flinched. “True.” He turned to Heero. “Rescue me. Give him one of those intimidating glares.”

“You’re on your own they don’t faze him.”

“No?” He looked back me. “Interesting.” He smiled again. “Then could I throw myself on your mercy and beg a cup of coffee? I came here straight from the airport.”

I nodded. “I’ll make some. If you promise me it’s not an excuse to get me out of the room so you can talk to Heero.”

“Well, actually it was.”

He looked like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, and this time I found myself smiling. “Then you can make your own coffee. No secrets.”

“Okay, I was only trying to keep you from worrying.” He glanced at Heero. “Relena thinks she knows who Dekim sent as a hit man. The local police said one of their informants told them Odin Lowe is in town.”

“So it is Odin.” Heero said. “I’ve heard of him.”

“But you’ve never seen him?”

“Once. From a distance.”

“He’s good?”

“Very good.”

“You couldn’t recognize him?” I asked.

“I don’t think so,” Heero replied then turned to Wufei. “Can Relena get me a photograph?”

Wufei shook his head. “Lowe has no police record.”

“How could that be?” I asked.

Wufei shrugged. “He appeared out of nowhere three years ago. The name’s probably false, but we can verify. We have practically zero on this guy.”

So the killer had a name, I thought. He might be faceless but he had a name. Odin Lowe. Wufei turned to Heero. “You asked me to gather additional information on Dekim before I left Mexico, but I came up with nothing more than you know already.”

“Damn,” Heero said. “I was hoping for a break.”

“And what do you know already, Heero?” I asked.

“He grew up in the slums as one of twelve children. His father was a laborer. We located a social worker, Lamia, who covered the zone and was familiar with the family. She said there was never enough to eat and they were packed like rats, and when Dekim was eight, he was taken to the clinic twice in one month with severe bites.”

“Only him? What about the other children?”

“No, evidently the rats liked little Dekim.”

“Pleasant.”

“But things got better for him. His brother died the next month and Dekim didn’t have to sleep on the floor anymore. He took over his cot. Then his oldest sister died and there was suddenly more food to go around.”

“How did they die?”

“Food poisoning.”

“Dekim?”

“Maybe. But the social worker said food poisoning was pretty common in the slums. When there’s so little food, the kids eat almost anything in sight.” He paused. “But even if he didn’t do it, he might have recognized the advantages of being an only child.”

“There were other deaths?”

“In the next five years three sisters and four brothers died.”

“How?”

“More food poisoning, two drownings, two knifed in alleys.”

“The social worker didn’t suspect anything?”

“Not until we started investigating. In fact, she was a little indignant that we were asking questions about Dekim. Lamia admires him. She described him as a polite, hard working little boy. He hardly missed a day of school, which was extremely rare. He fought his way out of the gutter and joined the army when he was sixteen. A local success story God knows, she couldn’t have many.”

“Are his parents still alive?”

“His father died in an earthquake when he was twelve. His mother was injured in the same quake but lived another three years.”

“He has two surviving siblings?”

“One. Another brother died eight years ago. He has one remaining sister. She’s twenty-one.

“Did you try to contact her?”

“She wouldn’t talk to any one about Dekim. She’s a scared little rabbit.”

“Which probably keeps her alive.”

“Do you want to try to use her?” Wufei asked.

“Against Dekim?” Heero shook his head. “No ammunition there. Besides, she’s survived this long. It would be a pity to rock her boat now.”

“My God, do I actually hear a note of compassion? You must be getting soft, Heero.” He turned to me. “No wonder he doesn’t intimidate you. He’s becoming a wuss.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I said dryly. “Now, if you’re finished, I’ll go make your coffee.”

He held up his hand, palm forward. “I swear.”

I went into the kitchen and opened the cabinet door.

Flesh-devouring rats… The image was terrifying, but the thought of a little boy committing fratricide was even more frightening. Cause and effect.

So that was how monsters were created.

[Note: This *is* an AU story so it doesn’t really matter anyway…but… I don’t know (and don’t really care to know) Dekim’s actual history… so I borrowed bits of the bad guy from the book’s history. ^^;;;]

***************

“He seems to be taking it well.” Wufei’s gaze was on the kitchen door through which Duo had disappeared. “Tough guy?”

“Sometimes,” Heero said. “He’s definitely a survivor.”

“Not if he stays here.”

“He won’t leave.”

“And you won’t let Relena have her way.”

“I won’t treat him like an animal,” he said harshly. “He deserves better.”

Wufei’s lips pursed in a soundless whistle, “You appear to have a problem. You’re going to have a hell of a time keeping Relena from taking him.”

“Do you think I don’t know that? Relena’s almost as big a threat as Odin Lowe. That’s why I wanted you here.” He paused. “I may have to leave him for periods of time. I need him protected.”

“He’s valuable. Relena will see to it.”

“I don’t trust Relena to do it right. All she’s concerned about is making sure he’s available to the CDC. I trust you.”

Wufei shook his head. “That’s not why I was sent here. I have a job to do.”

“Your job is Dekim. Dekim may come here.”

“And he may not.”

“He’s the key. Even if we get Dekim and Trieze, who’s to say that someone else won’t get hold of that mutated anthrax? He has to stay alive until we find a cure. You know damn well that your government is scared to death of that anthrax.”

Wufei nodded slowly. “Good argument.”

“Good enough?”

“I’ll stay around… for a while.”

Heero felt a rush of relief.

“You like him.” Wufei was studying his expression. “It’s not just that he’s our ticket out of this mess.”

“He didn’t deserve this.”

“Innocent bystanders get in the way, and things happen.”

“He’s had enough. I want him safe.”

“Coffee.” I entered carrying a tray. I frowned as I noticed the sudden silence. “You’ve been talking.”

“Nothing you would have found interesting,” Wufei said. “I’ve just convinced Heero that since he’s become a wuss, he’s inadequate to the task of guarding you. Would you mind if I help him on occasion?”

“Not at all.” I put the tray down on the table and poured coffee. “But it seems a pretty thankless job. He tells me I’m not even safe here.” I shot Heero a look. “And he refuses to protect me from snakes in my shower drain. So what good is he?”

“Ah, yes, the old black-mamba-in-the-drain trick,” Wufei nodded solemnly as he reached for his cup. “I’m very good at taking care of that. Amazing what you can learn from watching James Bond movies.”

“There are only two cups.” Heero pointed.

“I don’t want any coffee.” I started across the room. “I’m going to my darkroom and develop the roll of film I took this afternoon.” I raised a brow. “Unless you want to check for a mamba in the drain.”

“You do it yourself,” Heero said evenly. “And if you find one, call for Wufei.”

***************

The red glow of the darkroom light made the faces in the prints seem strange and sinister.

There were pictures of clowns and musicians and tourists. I had taken similar photographs in the French Quarter hundreds of times before and they hadn’t made me uneasy.

But then one of these faces might belong to my murderer.

One of these faces might have watched me bury Quatre that day.

My eyes were suddenly burning with tears.

Shit. I had been fine, almost normal, and then the memory of Quatre had come out of nowhere and ambushed me. Would it always be this way?

***************

“What was the hurry?” Heero asked when I came out of the darkroom twenty minutes later. “What did you think was on that film?”

“Probably nothing. I don’t like undeveloped film. I’m always afraid something is going to happen to it.”

“Like L2?”

I nodded and glanced around the apartment. “Where’s Wu?”

“He went to see if he could locate an apartment nearby.”

“It’s not likely with Mardi Gras so close.”

“But Wufei is very persuasive.”

“Like you.”

He shook his head. “Wufei and I are nothing alike. He has a much more accepting and gentle nature about him.”

“Accepting?”

“His wife Meiran got on the wrong bus in Tel Aviv four years ago. She was going to visit her mother. It blew up before she got there. Terrorists of Trieze’s.”

“Terrible.”

“Another innocent bystander. But the world seems to target innocent bystanders these days. They’re easier to kill.” He shrugged. “Wufei was able to let it go.”

“I like him.”

“So do I.” He looked at me. “But it didn’t keep me from putting him between you and Dekim.”

His sudden intensity made me uneasy. “Because of the blood samples.”

“Hai.” He glanced away from me. “Because of the blood.”

My uneasiness was increasing. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day. I’d like to call Sally first. Could I use your portable phone?”

He handed it to me. “Let me know if there’s a problem with her, okay?”

I nodded and started for the bedroom. I hoped there was no problem with Iris. Everything else was going wrong. Please, God, just let this one thing go right. I stopped at the door. “Do you need to take a sample tonight?”

“Iie. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Well, if you change your mind, let me—”

“I told you I don’t need it dammit.”

I threw up my hands in self-defense. “Okay. Okay.” I closed the door behind me, shutting him out. All I needed now was an edgy Heero barking at me. I dug out Sally’s number and quickly dialed it.

Ten minutes later I returned the phone to Heero.

“I couldn’t reach Sally, but I spoke to the head nurse. Iris is doing fine.”

“Good. Now, where are those pictures you developed?”

“Still in the darkroom. Why?”

“I thought I’d study them and see if I recognize anyone.”

“Do you think you might?”

“We assassins belong to a small and select group. There’s a chance.”

“Baka. You’re not… like them.”

“You’re mistaken. You can ask Relena. I was trained very hard to make sure I was a very good assassin.” He moved toward the darkroom. “Go to bed. I promise I won’t disturb anything.”

“Why were you trained?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes. It matters.” I wasn’t sure why, but it mattered very much to me. “Relena mentioned—” I searched my memory. “Nakoa. What’s Nakoa?”

He was silent for a moment and I didn’t think he was going to answer. But then he spoke. “Nakoa was another Tenajo. It was a U.S. biological research facility on a tiny island in the South Pacific whose purpose was to develop vaccines against possible germ warfare attack weapons. A rare bacteria escaped from one of the level 4 laboratories.”

His face was without expression. “Everyone died. No survivors.”

I stared at him sick. “Everyone?”

He nodded. “The bacteria entered the central air-conditioning system of the complex that serviced both the laboratories and the private quarters of the scientists who worked there. Forty-three men, women, and children.”

”And Dekim had something to do with it?”

“Oh yes. We didn’t know who was responsible at the time but we found out later that Dekim had one of the scientists in his pay. That scientist smuggled out various bacteria to Dekim who then sold them to other terrorists. But Relena started to figure out what was going on, so Dekim needed to destroy evidence and stop the investigation in its tracks. Dekim’s scientist then planted the bacteria before he took off and went into hiding. It was too dangerous for Relena to send anyone to the island to continue the investigation. Nakoa will be a wasteland for the next fifty years.”

Men, women, children— they all died because of Dekim. “Why didn’t I ever hear about it?”

“We covered it up. It wasn’t too difficult. It was a top secret installation and nobody wanted to admit it existed anyway.”

“A cover-up?”

“You’re horrified? I know how you hate them. But I’d do it again. We didn’t know who was responsible and we had to find out. It took me years to figure to make the connection to Dekim and Trieze.”

“Were you one of those scientists who worked on Nakoa?”

“Hai.”

“But you lived.”

“I was in Washington, giving a report. It was all over by the time I got back. Relena met me in Tahiti to break the news.”

His voice was level, without emotion. He might have been talking about the stock report, but the indifference was a lie. I knew him better than that now. “Gomen.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. It was a long time ago. I was different.”

“Bullshit.”

He smiled faintly. “You don’t believe me?”

“I believe you protect yourself by denial just like the rest of us.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he said wearily. “I know it’s getting harder all the time to know what’s right and what’s wrong. It used to be simpler. Getting Dekim was right. Everything else was wrong.” He looked into me eyes. “And that’s how you feel now, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s the way I feel.”

“Let me give you a hypothetical question. If, in order to kill Dekim, Iris has to die too, would you let it happen?”

“Don’t be crazy. You know I wouldn’t.”

“Then you’re not nearly as bad as I was. At one time I would have let anyone on earth die to make sure I got Dekim.”

I shook my head. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Your faith is touching but misplaced. First, I was the devil incarnate and now—”

“Good God I’m not saying you’re an angel. You’re just not a monster. And neither am I. Dekim is the monster.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Count on it, buddy.”

I strode to my bedroom and shut the door behind me. I needed to shower and go to bed and close out everything. I hadn’t needed Heero’s story to cap off this horror of a day. But

I had asked for it. No, I had demanded it. I had needed to know. Why had it been so important to me?

Probably simple curiosity. Heero was an important and integral part of my life now. He was helping to keep me alive. Surely it was natural for me to want to know what made him tick.

***************

Heero spread the photographs out on the table.

It was like trying to identify somebody at a masquerade ball.

A clown in full makeup, the musician with the wig and fiddle, the old bag lady with the thick veil. Even one of the teenagers was wearing a Darth Vader mask.

It could be one of them or none of them. How the hell was he to know?

Study them. A body position, an expression might trigger a fleeting memory.

He sat down at the table and began to study the pictures.

***************

CDC, Atlanta

“Go take a nap Zechs.”

Zechs looked up to see Otto standing beside him. “I will. I just want to run one more test. I don’t know what the hell is wrong. The anthrax should be overwhelmed by those anti-bodies, but it’s not.”

“You said the first test was promising.”

He nodded. “But the second showed mega resistance.”

“Let me run the test for you. You haven’t had any sleep for the last twenty-four hours. What good’s a team if you don’t use the teammates?”

“Soon.”

“Noin called and told me to make you eat and rest. Do you want to get me in her bad graces?” Otto glanced down at Zechs’ microscope. “And I have to admit I want to get my hands on this baby. It’s interesting that they used cash to deliver the bacteria.”

Interesting. Otto was always objective. Zechs had been like that once. Science for science’s sake. It was a comfortable way to work. That comfort had gone down the drain when he’d been sent out in the field during those first years of the new HIV research. He had learned to put faces and voices to the death statistics. It had seemed to be everywhere. Those babies infected by untested blood supply had nearly destroyed him. He and Noin had been trying to have a child for the last couple of years and he had felt the pain of the parents of those babies. “Yeah, very interesting. How would you like a few of those twenties stuffed in your pay envelope?”

“Hey, don’t give me a hard time just because you’re beat. I didn’t mutate this anthrax.”

“Gomen.”

“You should be. Call me if you need me.” Otto walked away.

Zechs shouldn’t have barked like that. Otto was a good guy. He couldn’t help being what he was. Zechs was just frustrated because of the lack of progress.

No, because he was scared. What if the antibodies didn’t work and this mutated strain had no cure? What if this was the Big One? Ever since viruses like HIV had appeared, he’s had nightmares about the Big One, the virus or bacteria that couldn’t be stopped. Someday it would rear its ugly head in some rain forest or genetics lab. It was only a matter of time. It was out there somewhere.

He just hoped to hell it wasn’t on this slide in front of him.