Title: Written in Blood
Author: AstroKender
Pairings: 2+5, 3+4
Rating: action/mystery
Warnings: Slight Duo torture
Spoilers: None.
Notes: Takes place after the Eve Wars of Endless Waltz. Everyone works for the Preventers.
Disclaimers: I own nothing...not even my computer. So obviously GW isn't mine. Don't sue.
The black Jeep squealed to a halt outside of Duo's apartment. The braided boy jumped out grimly, surveying the yellow police tape with a critical eye. With a sigh, he brushed it aside and unlocked the door.
Violet eyes stared at the mess in despair. The police had nearly tore the place apart looking for clues. He bent down and righted his coat rack. With a heavy heart, he removed his jacket and hung it up.
"I'm home." He whispered.
Slowly, he made his way into the living room, determined to ignore the bloody writing on the wall. It took some searching, but he finally found his answering machine, its little red light blinking angrily. Putting the cushions back on his worn out couch, he sat down, placing the answering machine on the mangled coffee table in front of him.
Duo stared at it for a long moment, willing it to have something, some piece of vital information. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the button.
"This is Duo Maxwell. I'm not here right now cause I'm out kicking bad guy ass. Leave a message and I'll get back to you." Duo smiled.
"Hello Duo, this is Charles Horner, we met the other day. I tried you cell phone number, but I couldn't get through to you, so I was hoping to catch you at home. I have discovered the cause of death for Seishu. The Ambassador had enormous amounts of Microbial toxins in his system. His liver was completely destroyed and his esophagus was burnt raw by stomach acids. This led me to believe that Seishu was poisoned."
Duo leaned forward. This was not what he expected.
"Poisons produced by fungi such as molds and mushrooms are called mycotoxins. Some of these chemicals are among the most toxic poisons known. After quite a bit a research, I found the toxin to be the Deadly Amanita. It has no distinct taste or smell, and the toxins cannot be destroyed by cooking or drying. Its poison, phallin, dissolves the blood corpuscles. Just a small piece of the mushroom Amanita phalloides or Destroying Angel is sufficient to cause death, because it has no specific antidote."
Duo wearily rubbed his eyes. This was bad news for sure, and made a potentially serious case even more dangerous.
"There are two problems with this discovery. One is that, even with the median lethal dose of 0.1 mg to 0.3 mg of the toxin per kg of body weight, it still takes days to work its way through the system. Death from Amanita phalloides poisoning usually results from hepatic and/or renal failure and occurs 4-9 days after ingestion. This man died in two hours. Which leads me to believe that, not only did Seishu receive a direct injection of the toxin, but also this form of Amanita was mutated to be even more deadly."
"Great." Duo huffed. "Did you have any good news Doc?"
"The second problem is even more bizarre. You see; the Destroying Angel has been extinct on earth for almost two hundred years. It doesn't exist."
Duo's eyes widened. "Wha-?"
"My only explanation is that the Deadly Amanita was taken up to the colonies as part of the terra-forming project when the colonies were first created. I regret that I don't know anything more than that."
"That's okay, Charlie." Duo whispered to the small black machine. "You've earned your rest."
"I have my suspicions about the body they found this morning. As soon as they bring it over, I will test it for traces of Mycotoxins. I'll call you when I find something out."
Duo hung his head.
"Be careful, lad. Who's ever up to these murders is crafty indeed. You'll need to be on your toes to catch him."
The message ended and with a click, the machine began to rewind. Duo stopped it and gently removed the tape. He always knew there was a reason why he kept such and old model. Slipping the tape in his pocket, him laid back for a moment, deep in thought.
He jerked his head up as a loud crash echoed through the apartment. It had come from the kitchen. Slipping his gun out of its holster, Duo ran towards the sound. His skidded to a halt at the entrance to the kitchen, eyes wide.
A figure stood in the back doorway, wearing a ski mask. A can of gasoline lay on the floor, emptying its contents onto the tiles below.
"Oh that's original." Duo said sarcastically.
The dark figure chuckled and lit a shiny silver Zippo. Duo's eye widened as it was tossed to the floor. Belatedly, the braided boy fired his pistol in quick succession. He cursed as the figure disappeared into the darkness and moved to follow him. But just then the gasoline caught, shooting flames up between him and the doorway.
"Shit."
Duo looked frantically around for something to put the fire out, but halted as he caught whiff of a familiar odor. He stared fearfully at the stove, a soft hissing sound telling him he was right.
"Shit!"
Not wasting another minute, the American ran out of the kitchen, flames licking at his heels. With a grunt, he flung himself through the glass picture window, just as the house exploded.
Duo landed hard onto the damp grass, slivers of glass falling around him like a deadly rain. Panting, he tried to rise, only to fall back down again as a searing pain shot up his right leg. Wincing, he jerked a large shard of glass out of his thigh. Pressing his hand against it to slow the bleeding, his free hand grabbed his phone and dialed Trowa, who lived only a few minutes away.
He cursed feebly when no one answered. Violet eyes watched helplessly as the only place he called home since Maxwell Church went up in flames. Laying his forehead against the wet grass, he struggled to breathe against the sudden pain in his chest.
A low roaring of a motorcycle was heard, heading this way. The engine stopped and Duo tried to raise his head, but didn't have the energy. Warm arms suddenly wrapped around him, and seemed to tremble slightly. The braided boy looked up into worried obsidian orbs.
"Duo! Are you all right? What happened?"
"It was him, WuFei. I know it! It was the guy we're after." Duo sat up suddenly. "The neighbors! We gotta get them out-"
"Shhh..." WuFei said. "Your neighbors were temporarily relocated the day of the break in. Their houses are empty. Duo slumped backwards in relief.
The sound of fire engines filled the air and WuFei helped the American to rise. "I know you don't feel like dealing with reporters right now." He picked up Duo and sat him in the passenger seat of Shinigami. He walked his Kawasaki over to the black jeep and, with a heave, set it in the back. He made sure it was secure, then walked around to slip into the driver's seat.
"Let's go home." The Chinese boy said.
Duo said nothing. He merely stared at the rearview mirror, watching as his home burnt to the ground.
End Part Nine
(:./astrokender/written9)
