Trowa, a bit shaken up, was one of the only seven that remained at the party. The DJ was packing up; the band was dismantling. The other four pilots were in a daze. Heero, who secretly harbored feelings for Misty, kept up the façade by chugging beers. Duo also turned to alcohol, but just for his nerves. Hilde had said she would show up at ten or so, but still she hadn't shown her face. Even Quatre had resorted to a beer or two.

Trowa looked down at his drink. He and Misty had ordered daiquiris, but as he looked down at hers on the coffee table, he noted his had a slight film to it. Then he saw the tiny needles stuck into the beers that the other three sipped from.

"We've been...drugged," he remarked...right before he blacked out.

Misty Antagonu was led to an office in the Marquees mansion. She sat down on a couch and looked around. A fire crackled in the corner. Her grey eyes moved to the large desk sitting in the center of the room. She carefully eyed the chair, which was turned to face the window, away from her. She heard the door slam, and glancing over to the door she saw she was alone. Except for whoever was in the desk chair.

She silently walked to the desk, breathing hard. Walking in front of the chair, she saw her captor. Zechs Marquees sat bound and gagged with duct tape, an obvious prisoner in his own home.

"Zechs!" she exclaimed, tearing off the tape from his mouth. Starting on the silver tape tying his wrists, she relayed her story.

"...And now I'm here. Of course I knew it was a sham...but I didn't know you would be here," she said, tearing off the last of the tape. The young OZ official moved his jaw from side to side.

"Misty, I really have no idea what is going on. Somebody knocked me out and then I was here," Zechs told her, but she was occupied. She searched the drawers of the desk, looking for a gun. Zechs, struggling with the bonds around his ankles, almost fell down with the chair. Misty expertly ran her hand up her leg and pulled a knife from its holster.

"Forgot I had that," she said cutting him free. People entering the room interrupted the scene. Once more a gun was pressed to Misty's bare back. This time she was handcuffed. She and Zechs were both led to the basement.

"You have a prison system now, Wind?" she hissed.

"I'm remodeling."

"Wonderful! Just wonderful!" she whispered. The two officers were taken to a darkened room and shoved in.

"You talk too much- both of you!" the one in charge said in a heavy French accent. Systematically, two of his minions hit them over the head with the butts of their guns.

Heero was the first to regain consciousness first. He looked around. He was obviously in some sort of a holding cell. He could barely see anything, but around him he noticed that Quatre, Trowa, and Duo were also in the dark room.

Looking behind him, he saw Misty. She was on her side, with a wound to her arm. Her blonde curls lay spread across the concrete floor, and a ring of gunpowder on her exposed back. He stood up, walking to her side. Lifting he arm, he saw that she was cuffed, too tight for her graceful wrists. He knelt, holding her hand and seeing, beyond her, Zechs sat, leaning against the wall.

"She's okay, soldier," he said dryly. Heero gently set her arm down. At that she woke up.

"Trowa?" He walked away. Now all of the pilots were conscious. Misty stood up and ran to Trowa. He put his arms around her waist, and she gripped his crest. Standing on her toes to see over his shoulder, Misty saw the other pilots.

"So...we're all here- with Wind framed. The question is- who's the Frenchman who brought us here- and why. Hey, Wind, what was this room before you "remodeled"?" Misty asked.

"Computer room- hence the sign, CR-1..." he said emotionlessly. Duo pulled out a paper clip and tapped on Misty's shoulder. She turned and held out her hands while the American pilot picked the lock. She looked up and studied the vent system.

"Way ahead of you," Trowa said, giving her a leg up.

"Hold on- I need someone taller. Wind..."

The soldier stood and walked over until he was under the vent. Trowa helped Misty onto his shoulders, and she went to work. Wobbling, the girl fell back, catching herself before she fell off. Zechs grabbed her calves to steady her, and she tried to open the vent. Compromising, she stuck her fingernail into the nail groove and twisted her thumb. The nails fell one at a time, someone catching them each time.

Finally she pulled out the panel, which dropped to the floor, rattling on the hard surface. They heard yells from outside.

"And up she goes..." Zechs said, pushing her up. She slid into the vent as everyone else pushed their way up to the vent. Trowa came up first, and the two of them pulled all of them. Last to come up was Duo, whose legs dangled in the air when the soldiers came in. Misty took both of Duo's arms.

"Go! Go...I'll get him," she hissed at Trowa. True to her word, she pulled up Duo and took off- in the opposite direction. Duo went off with her.

"It's a really good thing these are bigger than most ventilators...or you would get the bad end of the deal," she remarked.

"And you've been in vents a lot?"

"It's required- you have to be able to navigate any vent system...yeah."

"By the way, happy birthday..."

"Hilde called. She's worried about you. God, I really wish I was wearing a longer dress."

"So do I. Nice ass."

"If I could reach back there I would kill you," she commented, wiping out a soldier with her knife.

Across the vent opening Zechs, Heero, Trowa, and Quatre walked through the complicated air systems. Zechs seemed amused by the only aspect of the mansion he hadn't seen.

"They're so clean...almost antiseptic!" Heero rolled his eyes as he followed the OZ official.

"Alright...you're certifiable...but that was a long timer ago!"

"So when do you think we'll find Misty and Duo?" Trowa asked.

"When we do. I can see the only lit office...I see Misty's bag. Let's go," Heero said, lifting the vent. Trowa dropped down, took the black purse, and went out of view. He reappeared carrying a gun. Jumping from the couch, he barely reached the inside of the passage.

"Keep moving. Misty will probably head to the kitchen."

Trowa was declared psychic. Misty and Duo dropped from the vent onto the tiled floor. Duo went to the fridge to see if it was full.

"Are you armed?" Misty asked. With sandwich in mouth, Duo nodded. She walked up to him, put her hands in his pockets, and pulled out a gun. He turned around, shocked.

"You've crossed my boundaries...I'm only being fair," she remarked. She paged Trowa.

"Please...put it on vibrate..." she whispered. The only thing she needed was all four pilots being shot. As she pressed the 'send' button, both of them heard the faint buzz of the Preventor's pager. Duo looked around for the perpetrator.

"It's a little early to have wasps in here, don't you think?" Duo asked.

"That's not a bug...that's Trowa!" she said, raising her voice a bit. She got up on the counter and once more undid the screws on the vent opening. The four pilots dropped into the kitchen. Trowa dropped to the floor to help Misty down. Seeing the beer in Quatre's jacket pocket, she grabbed it, popped off the top, and downed it.

"No!" all of the pilots yelled in unison.

"What? I am of legal age...today!" Misty said, with a slight slur. She passed out almost instantly.

"That's the problem with atheletes...they have a high metabolism. Okay, Zechs, you're in charge. How can we get out fast?" Trowa asked.

"Wind. We go out of this room to the dining room and then out of the back door. Let's go," Zechs said with a glare. Trowa sighed and picked Misty up. The seven went through the large kitchen to see five armed guards.

"Go now!" Zechs yelled to Trowa. Half- carrying, half-pushing Misty, he ran out the door past the soldiers, who were busy trying to shoot at Zechs and the pilots. He ran to a van and opened the doors. He gently laid Misty on the back seat and hot- wired the car. Dropping a gun on the horn, he let the horn blare out as he looked for his fellow pilots. As Heero and Duo appeared, he got in the back with Misty.

She had fared better than everyone else who fell for the beer had; she was just barely awake. She sat up to see Trowa and put her arms around him. She rested her chin on his shoulder and tightly gripped his arms.

"Don't leave me again..." she pleaded quietly. He nodded silently. Th spy and the silencer reunited for longer than three minutes. Silence reigned.

Everyone else piled into the van with Heero driving.

"Where to?" he yelled.

"We really won't be safe anywhere other than a hotel. A good one- maybe I can tap into their system. How about the one on tenth and Myrtle?" Misty said as she took the proffered caffeine pills from Duo.

Trowa looked over to Misty. So calm and so silent after all of this she was.

He fingered the ring he had in his pocket; surprised it was still there. He couldn't do it- he couldn't propose. But he wanted her. He put it away, where it would be safe. The soldier watched her take Heero's laptop.

"All right...we find the address...the phone number...hmm...okay, we're in. Six rooms...boo ya!" she whispered. She then gave Heero directions to the Beau Rivage.

Next Chapter: Misty and Trowa contemplate their relationship; Misty gets her presents- all of her presents; Quatre discovers Heero's feelings for Misty.