random snippishness

[windandwater]

Duo glared at the vidscreen, still absently clutching his wounded shoulder. "Listen, Lady," he snarled, dropping all pretenses of proper decorum, "Someone put a *hit* out on *my* *family*. Someone who didn't care that they were shooting up a room full of politicians and diplomats and bigshot. This is *serious*. You know that this is pretty much just a courtesy call, Lady. Either I get the Preventers help in this, or I go vigilante and smear the asses of whoever did this all over the ground. You know I don't lie, Lady. And I don't make idle threats, either. You know I have the resources and the know-how to pull this off, and you *know* there won't be one scrap of evidence that you'll be able to find to tie me in with *anything.* So... what's it gonna be?"

On the vidscreen, Lady Une's expression shifted from furious to wary in a matter of seconds. She sighed finally, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "It is times like this that I wish I did not have you removed from the Preventers roster, just so that I could punish you for your misbehavior!"

Duo just shrugged, which made him wince in pain. "Well, if that means the Preventers are taking this case, then I'll be on the roster soon enough. And I didn't even have to use my trump card!"

Une frowned. "Trump card? Maxwell, you already threatened to single-handedly destroy anyone who had a connection to the events that happened tonight, without caring a whit about laws and trials or even humanitarian intervention. What possible trump card could you use?"

"Only that the guys who attacked the function tonight wanted my father *alive.* There's something in that head of his that someone really wants to get a hold of."

"The virus..." Une whispered.

"And the cure," Duo added. "So if you didn't want to use the Preventers to investigate the reason why a bunch of politicians are either dead or wounded, and you didn't want to use the Preventers just to help me sleep better at night, you'd *have* to bring the Preventers in to protect Dr. James Rowland Stevens."

"Well played, Maxwell," Une replied. "I trust that you are in a secure location so I will expect you to come to Preventers Head--"

"No."

Une frowned. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean, no. These guys were serious, Lady. And if they're the professionals I'm willing to bet they are, they'll be ready to try to take out my family if we come *close* to Preventers Headquarters. It's the obvious place for them to run to."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Duo broke out into his trademarked grin. "How about *you* come *here*?"