15-Nov-2002
Title: Magic Happens Part 19
Author: Ebonydove
Archive: aenai.steelsong.com
Warnings: language, lots of sap, slight angst, yaoi. Also wanted to mention that I have taken great liberties with Duo's past, so for you purists out there... don't hang me.
Spoilers: none
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: still not making any money off anything here...
Story: Heero & Duo are on the run from a group after a code Heero has. Duo struggles with the aftermath of being buried alive as it rekindles memories from his past.
Author's note: Feedback craved more than chocolate covered Duo's... well not really, but it's a close second. ><
I had argued long and hard about who was to go on our little expedition and who was to stay behind, but everything I had said fell on deaf ears and I found myself wedged between Trowa and Quatre in the back seat of one of the P's hummers. Heero and Fong were in the front and talking quietly in Mandarin, making me wish that Wufei had continued my lessons beyond the basics.
I rechecked my .38 twice and shoved it back into its holster and heaved a heavy sigh. I was disappointed that my .44 had never been recovered and would be sure to investigate if it had been kept as a souvenir by one of my kidnappers.
"Duo?"
I looked over to Quatre who was already in his tactician's mode and quirked a grin at him. It was really funny how easily we all slipped into old patterns, and how comfortable we all were with them. I hadn't even batted an eye at that 'don't screw with me' tone Quatre was currently using, or how not one of us even wasted a thought that someone other than Heero should drive. Trowa was already dressed head to toe in black with his sniper's rifle ready and was currently applying black greasepaint over his face for further cover in the shadows; assuming his role as point and pitch. I wanted to giggle.
A small hiss from Quatre stifled that. "Duo, this is the first time you've been out with us since joining the Preventers. I don't want to remind you that things work a little differently. There are rules to consider now that we hadn't always thought about before."
I heard a derisive little snort from Fong up front and repressed the urge to smirk.
"You can't go in there guns blazing or anything, despite your... "
"Just cause." Trowa added succinctly.
"We are not completely sure where Wufei and Relena might be, and who knows what our target will do once she realizes that we've figured her out."
"I want to know what the hell Wufei was thinking rushing to Relena the moment he got word of this whole thing. He should have waited for us." I mean really, it was very unlike him. Wufei was always our steady even pace, even when he was jump up Jesus pissed. Heero cleared his throat in a nervous way I hadn't heard from him before. When I looked back over to Quatre I'll be damned if he didn't have a slight blush tingeing his cheeks. I didn't want to seem pissy, but once again I had felt out of play on something. It prompted me to ask. "What am I missing now?" No one answered me so I crossed my arms over my chest and glared hard at Trowa, the only one who was going on business as usual. "Tro?"
"Relena and Wufei are involved."
I could almost feel my blood pressure raising in increments as I sat stunned in the back seat. Heero wouldn't even spare me a glance in the rear view mirror that he had strategically positioned so he could shoot me furtive glances on the ride there. I chewed on my bottom lip about that tidbit of information. "How involved?" I finally asked.
"Now isn't the time, Duo." Heero said calmly from up front.
"Fuck off, Heero love." I almost kept the snarl out of my voice and had to shrug when he at last looked in the rear view and met my eyes. "Someone spill it. Now."
Heero's engagement to Relena had been a huge charade to throw off our target. Wufei was the one who was really involved with Relena from the start, and had cleverly got me so wrapped up with Preventers business and chasing after Heero that I hadn't even noticed. Forget our little overdue chat, I was gonna knock him on his ass when I saw him next. It made sense to me now how frazzled everyone was when I entered the little swaree, because the chances of Heero and I getting together were definitely in our favor and that would have blown the whole rouse to spacedust. "Someone should have just told me the whole plan from the beginning. All this cat and mouse shit really makes me angry." I couldn't help acting petulant about it. It was about trust.
"I agree, young Duo." I heard Fong say as he elbowed Heero in the ribs. It brought a small smile to my face. If I didn't know better I thought that Heero had been adopted by the guy.
"You tend to be emotional and hyperactive when it comes to matters involving Heero and Relena, Duo. Based on past experience, we thought it best to let it play out this time."
Once again leave it to Trowa to lay it on the line for me. I couldn't deny what he said either. I was a bit hyper when it came to Heero and Relena, always had been, so I grunted a non-committal truce and turned my attention back out the window.
Relena's place was absolutely deserted when we got there. We pulled up the main drive, which was very unusual, but I gathered we were still going for the surprise thing. Heero and his friends arriving to see his bride-to-be shouldn't be misconstrued as being hostile after all. But then again...
Trowa slipped out the side door and was gone in the matter of moments. Quatre and I slid out casually and began to chat amiably as we strolled up the front walk to the huge wooden doors to the front of the estate. Heero and Fong were still in the car waiting to see how we were received before moving in behind us.
I felt more than heard the shot that was fired as it whizzed by my head making a tiny breeze in its wake. I grabbed Quatre by the arm and we dove for the ground landing in a row of rose bushes. We scrambled through the thick prickly mass of sickly, sweet smelling flowers to the other side of the hedge before darting around to the side of the building, which was our closest cover. My mind registered the sound of the hummer's doors being slammed shut and I knew that Heero and Fong were out of the car and probably headed for the opposite side of the building.
"Whose great idea was it to walk up the front walk?" I hissed at Quatre while I made sure he hadn't been hit.
He gave me a sparkling smile and shrugged. "So much for taking them by surprise."
"So how do we get in now?"
"Secondary plan. Servants entrance around back. Trowa should already be on the second floor. Heero and Fong will come in from the first floor office. Heero always leaves the latch on the bay window slightly ajar and has rigged the security system to double loop so it looks as if no-one is in the room when in fact he can come and go as he pleases."
"How'd Tro get in?"
"Roof."
I smiled. It was just like old times. I clicked the safety off my .38 and nudged Quatre behind me. He stayed low against the side of the estate in the shrubbery, avoiding the windows and the sweeping open spaces of the front lawn as it sloped up to the house. It only took a minute at the most to get around to the back part of the house to where the door to the kitchen was. With a silent gesture to Quatre I stopped our forward movement to make sure there weren't any surprises. They were expecting us and knew we had figured out their plan to undermine Relena and Qautre's progress for establishing free trade among the colonies. The anti-trust laws that they were proposing would break the monopolistic hold that StarQuest held over the resource satellites in many of the colonies. And that all boiled down to the assassination attempts to remove Quatre and Relena from their playing field. Heero, Wufei and the Preventers, Fong, Trowa, even myself, we were all just obstacles to get to the two of them.
Being a pawn made me angry. Being buried alive made me even more so. And the object of my ire was standing in front of the servant's door smoking a cigarette and holding his machine gun loosely in his beefy hands. The same hands that had wrapped themselves around my neck and the space port on L1 and tried to bash my skull in, and was the last thing I remember seeing before waking up six feet under.
"Duo? What's wrong?"
I smirked a wicked smile at Quatre and watched his eyes go big and wary at my expression. "I'll be right back." I had a little score to settle.
End Part 19
(:./ebony/magic19)
