Masquerade

��Wufei was typing away at the computer. He scanned the messages that had just come in. Resting his head in the crook of his elbow, he clicked the topmost message.

��She's gone. If you want her back, come to the Burgundy train station at 9:00PM sharp tomorrow.

��Wufei had to read the message 3 times before it sank in. Instead of panicking (like he wanted to do), he called the hospital. The secretary at the counter checked and saw that Sally Po from room 205 had been released from the hospital. A woman named Dorothy Catalonia had taken her to her house.

��So it was obvious who Wufei called next. Unfortunately, Dorothy wasn't home. Wufei had no choice but to tell the rest of the pilots.

��"What?! You can't be lying, but seriously, Wufei, Sally being kidnapped? This isn't funny!", Duo slammed his palms onto the oak dining table.

��Wufei simply led them to his room and clicked into his inbox.

��Wufei checked his folder for Sally's previous message.

��"I don't know. My guess is that the Conquistadors have my password and they've destroyed it."

��"No matter", Heero started. "We will believe everything you say. All you have to do is tell us what you know so far."

��On hearing Wufei's story, they all went back to their respective rooms to see what they could rack up.

��Heero was surprised to see it was Wufei. "What do you want?"

��Heero didn't even turn around or stop typing. "Shoot."

��"I called the hospital. It seems that Sally was released and signed out by Dorothy."

��Now Heero stopped and turned around. "Dorothy Catalonia?"

��"I presume you want me to call Relena to see if she can get the truth out of Dorothy." Heero turned back around and started typing again. Not until he heard Wufei leave the room did he pick up the phone by his desk and punch in Relena's cellular number.

��Relena stopped. "My phone. Probably another advertisement." She said a "hello?" and almost dropped the phone.

��"Heero! Why are you calling? Did something happen to Sally?"

��There was a pause at the other end. "Is Dorothy with you?", Heero's voice asked.

��Relena searched and double-checked ,"No, when I called in the morning, she said she had gone over to the hospital to see Sally."

��Heero had to hold the phone a foot from his ear at Relena's reply. Unfortunately, he didn't avoid all of it.

��"What!? Heero, who could have done such a thing. "Despicable horror! Heero, I'm coming over to your place now."

��Poor Heero didn't even have the chance to open his mouth to object before the line clicked off. After a few seconds for confirmation that Relena had actually left the line, he sighed and went back to typing.

��Noin sat back until she was resting with her back on the soft cushions.

��Heero continued to speak ,"Sally is gone without a trace. The new enemy, or Conquistadors, have taken many pains to cover up any evidence they might've missed." After that, he got up and left.

��Noin wrinkled her forehead in a frown. "What's up with him?"

��Duo half-sighed and explained ,"He's just as nervous and jumpy as any one of us here."

��All were silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

��"Why do you think they captured Sally?", Quatre's soft voice broke everyone's concentration.

��Noin's frown deepened. "I don't know. We can only wait and find out."

��Sally came awake slowly. She wondered where she was...the air smelled different...this definitely wasn't her room...

��Her eyes snapped open at the thought that she had been captured. She tried to twist her head around, but after a few tries in the darkness, she realized she was strapped to a chair.

��Sally held her head up high and snorted. "Humph! You bet I am! Just let me go and I'll-" a finger crossed her lips. Enraged, Sally bit it. The person, whoever it was, took it away, hissing in pain. "You'll pay for that, Sally", a voice whispered savagely in her ear.

��Sally stopped when she recognized the voice. "Lieutenant Hitchcock!"

��The Lieutenant's laughter rang tauntingly in the small confines of the cell. "So, the Major has found my identity. Took you long enough, Sally. How is your dear Wufei doing? He's not hurt, is he..."

��"Don't you dare lay a finger on Wufei! You touch a hair on that boy's head and you have me to answer to when I bust out of here!"

��The Lieutenant tipped Sally's face to face his. The half-Chinese looked at the face she had hated all these years and without warning, she spat. Hitchcock wiped the spit with a corner of his sleeve. To Sally's disgust, he was smiling.

��"Very good, ex-Major Sally. Still have that old fiery spirit. Good, good. You'll need it for what you're going to go through soon..."

��Sally was once again enveloped in darkness, and she began to struggle against her bonds until the ropes were lathered with blood. Only one thought kept her going.

��Wufei, where are you? Are you hurt? I have to see if you're all right!

��Sally couldn't measure the hours she spent in that hellhole. All she knew that was she was falling. Falling, falling, into the grateful, welcoming arms of sleep.

��She knew what was happening. The Conquistadors will come for you soon, Wufei.

��This is injustice! Shut up! You're acting like a weak woman!

��That's what Sally wanted me to know. She wanted to prove that women were not as weak as I'd thought them to be.

��It's clear now. Thank you, Sally, for the lesson that took me too long of a time to learn.

��Women are the same as men. Not in the same way, but in the brains and the guts to stand up for what they believe in. We do the job, only sometimes getting the clear meaning of it.

��"I got it. Sally wanted me to know that people were created equally."

��"What did you say, Wufei?", Duo's voice interrupted his thoughts.

��Duo shook his head. "Yeah, really, Wu-man, nothing, aye? I heard exactly what you said, it's just that I don't believe you could ever understand or even further accept the theory."

��Wufei smiled, and his smile got larger at the confidence in his words. "Well, I do, so you can't say a thing."

��"Don't call me that. I'm not a weakling such as you. I don't need a nickname."

��Wufei was just passing Heero's room, still in his good mood, when the Japanese pilot's door opened. Heero's cobalt eyes showed the faintest spark of surprise. "Were you waiting for me? I didn't hear a knock."

��"No, I was just on my way to my room. Why?", Wufei's energetic mood dropped away at Heero's next words.

��"I found where Sally is. She's being kept in the dungeon of the old French palace of Versailles, in the outskirts of Paris."

��Heero turned away to go back into his room. "I won't tell you because you'll only get madder and do some stupid things like going to Versailles alone and getting back Sally by yourself."

��Wufei slammed his fist on the wall. How could he read my mind like that?

��"If you're thinking why I know your little plan, well, it's actually written all over your face."

��"Well, don't just stand there, go to your room and find out what that site is. I'm not telling you the site, but I told you the place, didn't I? While you're at it, tell the others that we'll have a meeting after dinner", Heero turned and closed the door with a slight click behind him.

��Wufei rushed to his room as fast as he possibly could.

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