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Trowa hangs up the phone, and allows himself several seconds to stare thoughtfully at the dark screen, while facts and hypotheses begin to slot together in the back of his brain.
Then he pushes his chair back and stands. He has work to do.
First order of business: he tells Catherine. That Duo's in trouble; that he's going to go investigate and provide backup. That he doesn't know how long it'll take, but it'll probably be several days to mop up everything. I'll be in touch, he tells her, and rests a hand on her shoulder briefly. Cathy, biting her lip, leans into the touch. Call someone if you don't hear from me for a day or two, but I'll be fine. Don't worry.
I'll be back soon, sis.
Cathy believes him, because she always does, and because it's true. (Odds are excellent, anyway, which is as close as life gets.) But she's quiet and subdued for the rest of the evening, and before bed she slips into his room to hug him once, hard.
He hugs back, because it's Cathy.
Second order of business: he tells the ringmaster. It's not the best time for Trowa to leave, but it's not the worst. They're getting everything in place for the upcoming Earth tour right now, and practicing and double-checking every act to get all the details perfect. Jimmy Walsh and Cathy will have to take care of the lions, and Cathy might swap out their partnered highwire act for an older solo one, and Jenny Trieste will be her replacement target girl. But unless it's a much bigger disaster than anticipated, Trowa should be back before the tour begins.
He'd go anyway, and he'll stay as long as he needs to. But the timing does mollify the ringmaster.
Une's information is, as expected, useful.
It's very much in her style: efficient, organized, and understated. Someone else compiled this initially -- and some of the original intel bears Duo's unmistakable stamp -- but Une has been studying it. Scattered here and there are brief comments about particularly speculative or unreliable items, clearly Une's from their precise and biting bluntness.
Trowa takes his laptop to Milliways. Time is pressing, and there's a lot to examine.
He rents a room for the evening, to do his work in peace. Focus will make this go faster and better; there's no relaxation to be found in the main barroom. He takes a look around first -- he's been up here for curiosity and reconnaissance, but never rented a room to really use -- and then gets to work. He goes through the information three times, noting details and building up a picture of the situation on L2, and goes to sleep when it seems prudent to. The need for sleep is another limiting factor, and Milliways allows for a much more efficient use of his own world's time.
A night at Milliways is less than an hour at home. It's useful.
Before he goes upstairs that night, he leaves a note with Bar.
Duo,
If you end up here, contact me.
-Trowa
He'll take the note back when Duo's found, and it's no longer applicable. Until then, it'll stay. He'll check in.
The next morning, Cathy hugs him again, and shoves a bag of slightly burnt cranberry-grapefruit muffins at him. In case you get hungry on the trip, Trowa, she tells him, and share some of those with Duo too! Trowa accepts both, slings his duffel bag over his shoulder, and heads for the shuttleport.
By noon, he's in the L2 cluster, and making his way towards his next destination.
Then he pushes his chair back and stands. He has work to do.
First order of business: he tells Catherine. That Duo's in trouble; that he's going to go investigate and provide backup. That he doesn't know how long it'll take, but it'll probably be several days to mop up everything. I'll be in touch, he tells her, and rests a hand on her shoulder briefly. Cathy, biting her lip, leans into the touch. Call someone if you don't hear from me for a day or two, but I'll be fine. Don't worry.
I'll be back soon, sis.
Cathy believes him, because she always does, and because it's true. (Odds are excellent, anyway, which is as close as life gets.) But she's quiet and subdued for the rest of the evening, and before bed she slips into his room to hug him once, hard.
He hugs back, because it's Cathy.
Second order of business: he tells the ringmaster. It's not the best time for Trowa to leave, but it's not the worst. They're getting everything in place for the upcoming Earth tour right now, and practicing and double-checking every act to get all the details perfect. Jimmy Walsh and Cathy will have to take care of the lions, and Cathy might swap out their partnered highwire act for an older solo one, and Jenny Trieste will be her replacement target girl. But unless it's a much bigger disaster than anticipated, Trowa should be back before the tour begins.
He'd go anyway, and he'll stay as long as he needs to. But the timing does mollify the ringmaster.
Une's information is, as expected, useful.
It's very much in her style: efficient, organized, and understated. Someone else compiled this initially -- and some of the original intel bears Duo's unmistakable stamp -- but Une has been studying it. Scattered here and there are brief comments about particularly speculative or unreliable items, clearly Une's from their precise and biting bluntness.
Trowa takes his laptop to Milliways. Time is pressing, and there's a lot to examine.
He rents a room for the evening, to do his work in peace. Focus will make this go faster and better; there's no relaxation to be found in the main barroom. He takes a look around first -- he's been up here for curiosity and reconnaissance, but never rented a room to really use -- and then gets to work. He goes through the information three times, noting details and building up a picture of the situation on L2, and goes to sleep when it seems prudent to. The need for sleep is another limiting factor, and Milliways allows for a much more efficient use of his own world's time.
A night at Milliways is less than an hour at home. It's useful.
Before he goes upstairs that night, he leaves a note with Bar.
Duo,
If you end up here, contact me.
-Trowa
He'll take the note back when Duo's found, and it's no longer applicable. Until then, it'll stay. He'll check in.
The next morning, Cathy hugs him again, and shoves a bag of slightly burnt cranberry-grapefruit muffins at him. In case you get hungry on the trip, Trowa, she tells him, and share some of those with Duo too! Trowa accepts both, slings his duffel bag over his shoulder, and heads for the shuttleport.
By noon, he's in the L2 cluster, and making his way towards his next destination.