24-September-2001
Title: An Honorable Enemy Part 6/8
Author: Enigma
Written: August - September, 2001
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: {wait and see}
Category: Angst, Mild Shonen Ai, Friendship, Morality, Squick, OOC
Enigma Story Category: G-Boys High Adventure!
Archive: GW Addiction, Sweet&Sweet
Warnings: Angst, very mild shonen ai, friendship, morality, squick, sermonizing on the treatment of prisoners of war, language, plot-related OOC, etc.
Reference Point: In case you don't recognize the OZ pilot, he appears in Episode 13 teamed with Lt. Alex and while he appears to be a real bastard there, I envision him differently here. The action in this fic fits into the series timeline between Episodes 10 and 12.
Disclaimers: I don't own any of the GW Universe. I'm not making any money off this story. It's written out of love, so please don't sue me.
Notes: When captured and badly beaten by OZ, Wufei's existence hangs in the balance. What could possibly motivate an enemy pilot to risk his own life to save him?
//thoughts//
A musical chime announced that there was a message awaiting the South African teen as Mueller connected to the OZ computer network.
"All right!" He nearly cheered as he found a message from his old gambling buddy and he opened it eagerly. Reading quickly, he discovered that he wasn't the only one who didn't much care for Tuberov's oppressive command style. In fact, the method he'd chosen to use to prevent the older man from having him court-martialed was simplicity itself and it would work with McNeil's help, he was sure of it.
Mueller smirked as he thought about the probable look of shock on the disgusting aristocrat's face when he received a copy of the security videotapes that McNeil had obtained for Mueller that included the many derogative comments about Treize Khushrenada and Lady Une. Blackmail wasn't beneath the man dedicated to returning to fight in the service of the ginger-haired Russian, and Mueller was pleased that his friend had no problem with it either.
In fact, McNeil had wanted to use the tape immediately to try to get Tuberov expelled from the OZ forces as soon as possible, hating him for his obvious intentions of ousting "His Excellency", someone that the Security officer was as dedicated to as Mueller himself was. McNeil had pointed out that Khushrenada was Duke Dermail's nephew and he thought that the insults to the Alliance leader's blood relative might be all it would take to achieve the goal.
However, Mueller knew that while Dermail might not be willing to go that far, Khushrenada certainly wouldn't allow the insults to the woman he was so fond of to go unanswered.
Typing a short note of thanks, Mueller let his friend know that he'd received the encoded records and that he'd take it from there, planning to send the threat to Tuberov when he was closer to actually leaving the Chinese countryside and returning to duty.
Within his original request, Mueller had mentioned needing to locate a safe haven for an injured person who could not be treated at an OZ-controlled facility. No additional identifying information for Wufei had been given, but McNeil had said nothing about that matter in his initial response. Not terribly disappointed, the Aries pilot assumed he was on his own to find help for Wufei, something he had assumed would be the case from the very beginning.
Feeling relieved that half of their problems seemed to be solved, Mueller gave himself a short break and finally changed out of the overly-colorful clothes he'd worn to bed.
With a smirk, he set aside the puce and chartreuse silks in favor of his soiled yet more functional uniform and then left the shed in search of a safely hidden place to build a small fire in the hopes of preparing something hot to eat or drink. Coffee was unavailable, but he had found an old metal container of tea leaves and he wondered if Wufei might not have preferred that anyway. He was wrong about that, racial stereotypes often are, but he was successful in building a fire that he would keep burning slowly throughout the day, the simple presence of the cheerful flames brightening his mood even further.
Enjoying his second cup of tea and watching over his sleeping companion, Mueller was startled by a soft chime from the laptop and he quickly scanned the newly arrived message.
"Well, well, well," the South African teen chuckled happily. "Remind me to play poker with you again sometime, Scott! You pay off your debts far better than I ever could've hoped!"
To his utter amazement, McNeil had located an area near an Asian mountain range that had refused to acknowledge OZ's leadership. Even though there were small skirmishes occurring there between rebel forces and the local government, Mueller had to agree that Wufei would have a better chance of recovering in peace in the isolated region.
Jotting the information on a scrap of paper that he then shoved into a pocket and sending a brief note of thanks, Mueller began to make plans to contact someone there to arrange for Wufei's transfer to their care. He was relieved that the neutrality of certain service groups that were the direct descendants of the International Red Cross hadn't been compromised, now he only needed to think of a way to get the injured Gundam pilot there in the first place.
*****
Afternoon sunshine spilled across the mound of blankets in the middle of the shed and an agonized voice growled softly as Wufei learned the hard way not to try to roll over in your sleep when you've got a sprained ankle and a half-dozen other injuries.
"Kisama!"
The Chinese teen carefully moved back into place, noting that the levels of pain seemed somewhat lower than he remembered from the morning but it was still nigh intolerable. Moving more carefully, he glanced around the room and wondered where his companion had gotten off to.
"Mueller?" Wufei said softly at first, fearing that perhaps their hiding place had been discovered. When he realized there was nothing to indicate trouble, he called again somewhat more loudly, "Mueller? Where are you?"
"Coming!" A cheerful voice called back and suddenly light poured in on him from the open door that led to the lean-to where the truck hid. "Hey there! How're you feeling, Wufei?" The Aries pilot smiled at him and pulled the door shut again before stepping closer.
"Hn," Wufei snorted feeling comfortable enough for some of his usual surliness to creep into his voice. "How do you think I feel, baka? Trapped in the middle of nowhere? Injured and without qualified medical assistance? Barely able to move and unable to care for myself?"
Mueller's expressive eyes were wide as the younger man's voice softened and added, "Stuck with only an enemy pilot for company?" The brown orbs filled with amusement as Wufei finished "ranting" with, "And finding myself growing rather impressed with my new friend? Fairly well, all things considered, I guess."
Unable to contain the relieved laughter that he felt, Mueller chuckled openly and then crouched down by the injured boy and commented dryly, "Well, I'm glad that you don't hate me, Wufei, but I really doubt that you're feeling 'fairly well'. In fact, unless you found a healing potion while I was outside feeding the fire, I'd tend to expect that you still feel pretty lousy."
Before he could ask again how the injured youth was doing, Wufei's stomach growled noisily and both men looked surprised.
"Hungry?" Mueller asked hopefully.
"I'm not sure," Wufei admitted, frowning at himself. "I don't know how long after having a concussion one should wait before eating."
Mueller looked at him and commented thoughtfully, "Your eyes look better, but maybe we shouldn't rush it. I found some tea, how about a cup of that and then see how you're doing?"
Wufei wrinkled up his nose in disgust and asked in a small voice, "Tea? Is that all there is? No coffee or cocoa?"
Again the Aries pilot laughed at him and shook his head, "Sorry, but no. This isn't the Hilton, you know. We're lucky to have what's here."
"I know," Wufei sighed deeply. "Forgive me, it's just that I've had some bad experiences involving tea." The Chinese boy didn't elaborate and he certainly had no idea that the future held even more of the same, negative experiences that would involve a certain blond Arab at that.
Nodding, the taller teen assured him, "It's okay, Wufei. You just caught me off-guard. How about I put some more water on to heat and then do a quick check on the injuries, okay? After that, we can have some tea and I can update you on some new developments."
Interest in the promised information filled Wufei's face and he nodded carefully, pleased that the small motion hadn't triggered a new wave of pain. "Sounds good to me, Mueller, thanks."
End Part 6
Enigma
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