20-Mar-2001
Been a while since I've worked on this one...gomen. HEY ZOI!!! 5+R in this one!!
author: Dan
title: Need Some Distraction
archive: GWA
timeline: after EW (part of the "Prices paid" arc)
pairings: 2+1+H, 5+R
Warnings; yaoi, unconventional pairings, whispering of yuri (can't seem to not write it ^^;;), sap
Disclaimer: NOT MINE! I don't own Gw or its lovely, lovely characters. I just borrow them. I promise not to break them ^.^. just remember college student=poor
I woke up to Dorothy shaking me hard enough to make my teeth rattle. Her face was pale and tense, a look that made my stomach do a slow roll before twisting into a hard knot. Dorothy was already on her feet. My eyes narrowed when she slipped into a shoulder harness. I knew she carried, and had authorized it, but Dorothy never went out armed unless she thought something dangerous was likely to happen. I looked up into Dorothy's eyes and they were as distant from my understanding as the moon. It was as if a switch had been thrown to conceal my sweet, loyal friend. "Cat, what's going on?"
"There's been another bombing." Her voice was iced over; fury hummed underneath it like the warning growl of a large cat. "Hilde was caught in it. Chang called. Both Maxwell and Yuy were on their way there. The L4 delegate was caught in the blast as well."
I pressed my palms against my eyes and rocked for a moment. "When? Where?"
"Fifteen minutes ago, at the suggested site for the SI home office. That's why Hilde was there, and the delegates. Apparently the L4 delegate was hassling Hilde, and that's why they were in the building at the time." Dorothy turned around to look at me. I reached out to touch her, gently, and she grieved for just a moment. For one moment she let me keep her steady, then she pushed away to compose herself. "We can be there in ten minutes."
"Make it five."
We didn't talk on that tense drive. My stomach had twisted itself into a hard knot of fear, guilt, and grief that refused to go away. We had nothing on Hilde's condition. At that moment I couldn't care less for Albright's status, but Hilde.Hilde worried me. Scared me senseless. I couldn't stand to lose her. It didn't make sense to lose her now, after the insanity of the war--for her to die now would be the ultimate insult from God.
The harsh daylight made the blast seem so much worse than the one before. Darkness had given the other one a surreal distance, blurring on the bloody edges. Sunlight gave us no such comfort. I pressed my hand to my mouth and moaned. It was either that or scream.
I saw Heero first as I walked towards the ruined building. His face was perfectly blank, but when he looked at, me his eyes drown me in his sorrow and fear. I just reached out to hold him for a moment and rock. Jonathan came running towards us on his long legs; his eyes were dark with more emotions than I could put a name to, but they ripped him apart.
"They haven't found her yet. Fuck, I didn't know she would be there today. I didn't know." I placed two fingers on his lips and quietly hushed him. Heero stiffened in my arms before gently untangling himself. He brushed his hand over my hair.
"Wufei wants to see you," and then he vanished into the rushing crowd of EMTs, firemen, police, and rescue personnel. I swayed for a moment at the loss of his support before collecting myself.
"Jonathan. Make sure this place is closed to everyone. And I mean everyone. Get Une and Sally in on this, and have them talk to Dorothy. We might be looking at a terrorist attack." I laughed to myself a little. "As a civilian, I shouldn't be here."
Jonathan gave me a curt nod and jogged off. Give the boy some orders and he's good to go. I stumbled towards the ruined building, half-blind by fresh tears. Hilde had joked that we would need to demolish the place before it could be usable; that joke seemed horribly macabre now. Hands caught me and held me against a warm chest. I let Wufei hold me, and it was like I was holding up him for a little while. He breathed into my hair. I reached up to stroke his cheek.
"She'll be alive." She had to be alive. She just had to be. After everything that she's been through, she had to be alive. One person who should have been here wasn't. I couldn't find him. That thick braid should have been the first thing I saw. "Where is Duo?"
"He is with the search crews. He started digging at the rubble with his bare hands, until they dragged him away to bandage his bleeding hands." Wufei pointed to the long braid that I could barely make out over the field of strewn brick bits. "There. He's been there since they got started."
Duo was covered in the thick white dust of the ruined concrete. I couldn't see his face, but his movements were those of ruthlessly controlled fear. He nearly blended in with the rest of the rescue crew. His shirt rolled up to his elbows and his lower face covered by the now gray mask, but one quick flash of his eyes and I could see the desperation.
I made a move to go to him, but Wufei held me tight against him. I relaxed against him. He was right. Now was not a good time to try to comfort Hilde's lover. Duo was the type to need distance, and something to do. He needed to feel like he was doing something to help her.
"Do they have any idea of..of.well," I couldn't figure out the right way to ask the question.
"They think Hilde and Madeliena were at the floor level." Wufei sounded tired, bone-achingly tired. "But if they were far enough away from the blast site, they should be fine."
I touched his cheek. "There was no way you could have known."
He looked at me, and the pain in his gaze was older than it had the right to be. "I can't ever seem to protect what I love."
I winced at that, and then, very deliberately, kissed the palms of both hands. "You have protected us, many, many times. But sometimes-"
"Shit happens." Sally was walking towards us with a grimly determined look on her face. "There was nothing either one of you could have done. Now could we stop the guilt fest and get on with the rescue operation?"
Trust Sally to put things in perspective with the truth. She surveyed the scene in a manner that reminded me so much of Hilde that it brought a fresh bout of tears. She smiled and gently brushed her thumb over my cheeks, removing the tears. "Don't do that; Hilde would get upset."
That made me laugh--a weak shaky one, but a laugh. "You're right." I made a helpless little gesture with my hands. "What should I do?"
Sally jerked her thumb behind her. "Keep those mongrels at bay."
The reporters had already come sniffing around. It made me growl low in my throat. I understood the need for news media, but the way they feed on the suffering of others enraged me. "I'll handle them."
"Don't alienate them, Relena." Wufei's voice held more amusement than warning.
I turned to him with wide, innocent eyes. "Who, me?"
Sally gave me a little push towards the gathering horde, but not before whispering in my ear. "I'll take care of things on this end. You make sure those idiots out there don't make it worse."
I nodded. I trusted Sally to bring order to the reigning chaos. In so many ways, Sally was like a protective older sister to the pilots and I. She was fiercely protective and loving, but definitely not above giving one of us a quick boot if she felt we needed it. She'd take care of things.
The reporters started yapping as soon as I neared them. The mere cacophony of their voices made the headache brewing in my temples throb, and threaten to double. I held up my hand for silence. It took them a few minutes, but when they realized that I wasn't going to talk unless they shut up, they settled down. And who says reporters are stupid?
"One question at a time, please." They all started waving their hands around like excited preschoolers. I scowled at them before I caught myself, and was amazed when they reacted like I had scolded them. Their heads went down rather sheepishly. "I don't have a mike, so you'll have to be quiet. The story should be worth it."
That got a few quick grins from the younger ones. It was rare for me to break out of the strict etiquette that had been beaten into me, but the highly informal setting and the stress of the situation merited it. "I can't tell you details at the moment. The police will issue an official statement when we have a better idea of what happened. No, I can NOT comment on speculation."
There were a few shouted questions--some very good ones, surprisingly enough--but I shook my head. "I am not at liberty to give you detailed information at this time. Obviously, there was an explosion, and the police and fire departments are currently searching for survivors and the cause. There will be an official press conference later in the day."
"Minister Darlian!" A fresh-faced girl with huge brown eyes pushed her way to the front of the crowd. "What are you doing here? You weren't here during the explosion, were you?"
She was young enough that curiosity and honest worry warred in her voice and eyes. Everything she felt was reflected in those honest brown eyes. I smiled at her. "I wasn't here during the blast. This is the site of my pet project; I came as soon as I heard."
"By 'pet project,' you mean the Special Investigations Bureau?" An older man with salt-and-pepper hair asked.
"Yes. But there will be an official press conference for that as well."
"Not nearly as much fun, Minister," a younger man protested. He had a lightning-quick grin and probably just oozed charisma when he was one camera. "We don't get to banter with you."
I laughed at that, and it wasn't bitter and hurting. Sometimes moments like this reminded me that I liked my job. I bitched and moaned about it, but honestly I liked it. "I'm probably not supposed to do this right now; however, I'll see if I can arrange an informal press conference sometime. For right now, we don't know exactly what happened, but we will."
"Sounds like a promise, Minister Darlian," the older gentleman stated.
"It is."
End of Part 10
(:./dan/distraction10)
