07-Apr-2002
revised: 16-Jun-2002
Title: Magic Happens
Author: Ebonydove
Pairings: 1+2
Warnings: none
Author's notes: Duo's POV. Duo has joined the Preventers and is on L1 to see Heero.
Feedback craved.
Disclaimer: Go where the money's made. It ain't here. This is just for fun.
By the time I got back to the hotel I was so wired there was no way I was going to be able to sleep anytime soon. Depressed and wired, not a good combo in my book. At least I knew when I was getting depressed and could do something about it, instead of letting it run over me like a freight train. I was itching to be anywhere but the four walls of my hotel room, nice as it was. So being not tired, I decided to take a walk and found myself in a little Chinese restaurant about a block from the hotel.
I loved it as soon as I walked in. It was a tiny place with red walls and dark wood panels. Delicate curtains of gold and green fringe hung down in front of the booths providing privacy to eat. I could smell the spices and feel the warmth from the steam seeping through the place from the kitchen. A little old man that looked like he should be in some kind of cartoon took my order, speaking in Mandarin the entire time. He seemed impressed that I answered him back. My dialect was a bit off, but I had only just learned it from Wufei during the past year and a half, and I was still rusty. Up until then I used mostly English or Japanese.
Shit. So much for not thinking about him for two seconds.
I ate my lo-mein and watched the local news on the vid, watching people as they came and went. After about two hours I decided to head back and get some sleep when I saw a couple of guys come in through the alley door. At first I thought they were cooks, but at second glance they were too well dressed to be working in a kitchen, especially the little dinky one this place had. So I non-chalantly slid back into my booth and watched them. The old guy and I had got along and I had an idea that these punks were up to no good by the way the old man's body language shifted from friendly to tense as they proceeded to sit down in the back of the restaurant.
I chuckled into my green tea. Punks. What they needed was a role model. Maybe I should join Big Brothers or something. I could teach them how to pick a lock in fifteen seconds or less, using dumpsters as a vehicle for transporting stolen parts, hotwiring, small explosives use...
In my distraction I failed to see the third guy until he stepped in from the alley and walked past my booth. And he didn't look like any street thug. The one guy was really just a kid, dressed in baggy pants and a t-shirt. I noticed the brand new running shoes though. The other was older, and was in shorts and a pullover. He had expensive shoes on too. But the third had on pressed pants and a dark blue shirt, with a leather coat that went to the ground. Long enough to hide a good-sized assault rifle, or maybe a shotgun.
I smiled into my cup. Some things just don't change even with the passing of time. My well-honed terrorist instincts kicked in the moment I saw him slither by and join the other two who had proceeded him. As I sipped my tea, I did a mental check of what I was packing in case things got ugly. My .38 was resting comfortably concealed under my pant leg in its harness. Then I remembered my .44, which I had almost forgotten I had with me, until I felt the dull end of it at my side just under my third rib. Trowa always used to pick on me for carrying such a big gun, but I liked to make an impression. Two Boeing knives, one in each boot, a hunk of C-10. Hey, ya never know. Some detonation wire, and a Baby Doll. I think I was covered. I probably had more arms on me than the whole damn local police force around here. Like I said, some things don't change with time. I guess having a gun in a shoulder harness strapped to my side, and having enough explosives on me to take out half a block were some of those things that I was going to be comfortable with for a long while yet.
The old man brought them over tea and spoke softly to them as they sat in the dark corner. Their conversation went from normal to heated in a few moments. Although I spent all that time with Wufei and could order myself some food without ending up with squid, my Chinese was still pretty poor, so I had only bits and pieces of what they were talking about. As the argument began to get louder, the older kid flashed a look towards me, that I caught as I took another sip of my now, cold tea. The conversation got very quiet, than stopped all together. Then the kids abruptly left, followed by the older guy a few moments later.
I was still young, and dressed pretty plain, but I suppose the Preventers jacket did scream I was a cop. I'd have to remember that. I assumed the well-dressed guy did too. With the excitement over, I paid my bill and got ready to leave glad they didn't stick the place up. The old guy gave me a smile and shoved a bag of lemon cookies in my hand as I left. Like I said, he was nice old guy. I gave him a polite bow that Wufei would have been proud of and headed out.
I gave the alley and the street a good once over, but nothing seemed odd. I had really good street sense after all those years being in them, and that little episode in the restaurant screamed of a shake down. Maybe protection. From what in a nice area like this I could only guess. I shoved my hand into my pocket, tucked my cookies under my arm and walked the block back to the hotel and settled myself in for the night.
I woke the next morning without an alarm at five thirty. Just like I had every day that I had been in the wars. That kinda unnerved me. I hadn't woken up without the help of music or an annoying beeping in a while. I got myself around and called a cab to pick me up to take me back to Relena's residence where I'm sure Heero would already be, doing his peliminary sweeps and security checks. Then I got into the shower. When I came out of the bathroom, I dug into the cookies that I had left for breakfast. My eyes immediately flashed to a white envelope that had been shoved in the small brown bag.
At first I thought it was the receipt from the restaurant, so I relaxed. But me being me, I picked it up gingerly anyway and checked it for wires before I opened it as I was toweling my hair dry. When I opened it though, I found that it wasn't a receipt. In fact, I didn't know what the hell it was. It was a plain, white piece of paper with a bunch of letters and symbols neatly written on it. I placed it on the table next to the bed then began to braid my hair. That's when I got the willies again. I did a full body shiver this time.
Now, I knew I was out of practice with the whole espionage thing, but my instincts came screaming back again. Loud. Louder than the night before in the restaurant when those punks showed up.
I slowly moved back to the bedside table and pulled my .44 from its holster and fingered the safety off. Unlocking the door and deadbolt, I opened the door a crack and crouched low to the floor. I didn't detect any movement or hear any sound in the hallway outside my room, so I opened it a bit further. I looked down the hall both ways and found nothing. I went back inside and closed the door.
Ever since I stepped onto this colony I had the feeling that something was out of place. It almost felt as if I was being watched. I shook my head and chuckled trying to remind myself that the wars were over and I wasn't being hunted anymore. Whatever had spooked me was gone now, and I tried convincing myself it was just a draft.
Yeah, right.
Anyway, I finished getting dressed, and packed up my stuff. Heero and I were going to swing by the hotel tonight to pick up my bag before catching our flight out so there was no reason for me to drag it around with me all day. I tucked the gun back into its holster, secured it and pocketed the envelope with the weird letter and made my way downstairs to catch my cab to Relena's. I munched on my lemon cookies happily and decided I'd deal with whatever was unnerving me after the party. I was probably just nervous being thrown back into the mix with Heero and Relena. But I for one was not going to refuse Heero anything. If he wanted me to back him up, I'd be hovering over him like a vulture over fresh kill.
The ride back to Relena's seemed to happen in instants. I walked around to the back and through the kitchen a little impressed at how people seemed to give me a wide berth. Seemed Heero let them know I was coming. I found my way to the main receiving room and then went down the short hallway to the main ballroom. I scanned the room trying to focus on anything that seemed out of place at the same time trying to get an idea of where Heero was lurking.
It struck me funny how easy it was for me to slip back into old habits. With my adrenaline up from the mornings' mystery at the restaurant, and my senses as sharp as they'd ever been, I was glad to be doing something constructive. Boring as Hell, but constructive all the same. I was even more glad that I had brought my Preventers uniform. I always looked like a million bucks in it. I even had it all pressed and polished before I came to L1, just in case I happened to see Heero while wearing it.
After all I had come on business. Yepper. I chuckled to myself earning an odd look from a nice looking old lady nearby.
Then I felt other eyes on me. I scanned the room and saw Relena looking at me very intently from the other side of the room. She had a forced smile on her face and was speaking in hushed tones to Heero, who was directly behind her and nodding his head slightly. It piqued my curiosity, but I held my position. He never looked up at me watching her watching me, and I figured he knew what she was staring at anyway just by the defensive posture she was taking. I wondered what she was saying to him and why she was looking at me so seriously.
I wanted to guess that it was about him leaving with me to join the Preventers, but what kept rolling around in my head was that I wanted him to leave with me, for me. I let out a little aggravated puff of air that blew my bangs up a little. I had already lied to myself enough on this trip so far. So I gave myself a mental kick in the ass and reminded myself not to read into things that weren't there and focus on the task at hand. A few dignitaries approached Relena; and Heero once again faded into the background. Relena almost seemed relieved as she turned her gaze from me to the people addressing her. I watched her for a few minutes more then turned my attention back to the room.
It was pretty basic, drinks, waiters milling about with refreshments on silver platters, people discussing politics, and how to maintain all the hard work the wars had accomplished, the usual. Then the hairs on the back of my neck stood up for the third time since I had arrived on L1. Heero was making his way over to me, gliding through the crowd, without so much as ruffling any of the ladies' dresses. It was uncanny that I could feel his approach before I saw it. But I wasn't certain it was the reason for all the hair on my arms to stand up and dance a jig.
"We're done here. I've turned everything over to Trakener, who is taking over for me." He said quietly once he was close enough for me to hear him without being overheard by anyone else.
"You confident in his abilities?" I asked, giving him another out just for good measure. It earned me a small glare like I had insulted him somehow. I raised an eyebrow and scanned the floor again for anything unusual among the crowd and serving staff.
"Hand picked." Then he moved to stand next to me. I felt him place his palm flat on the small of my back and gave me a little bit of pressure to move me forward a few steps. It made me want to shiver and slide my eyes closed, as I felt the warmth of his hand pressing against me. I turned my head just enough so that I could see his profile as he stood beside me. He projected such power. It was like the air was charged with static and just that slight contact with him made my knees start to tremble slightly. I was trying not to think about why he was leaving his hand where it was, even after he had gotten me to move up a bit, when I noticed him sweeping the crowd with his precise vision as if he was looking for someone specific. "Above, on the balcony, next to the pillar."
I followed his sightline to see a young woman smartly dressed in a dark blue pantsuit. I met eyes with her and gave a soft smile as she nodded to us. I was impressed. "Hand picked or hands on?" I teased.
Heero gave me a look and a smirk making me want to burst out laughing. "Completely professional. Come on." I felt his hand slip down and brush over my backside lightly before he had dropped it back down to his side. He then turned towards the kitchen so we could leave discreetly through the back entrance, which was fine with me. I was finding the atmosphere stifling.
It was like he had made the temperature in the room go up a few degrees, just by being near me. I pulled at my collar a little and tried to ignore his fleeting touch and what it had done to make my blood race. I turned and gave a last parting look to the people in the room, and then to Relena who was conversing with an older gentlemen on the far side of the room. She seemed so sad to me. When she saw us heading across the floor to the door that led out, she paused in her conversation and gave me a warm smile and a tiny wave before returning to her guests. I heard Heero clear his throat in impatience so I followed him out of the room. Apparently I wasn't the only one looking forward to a change of scenery.
We walked past a few trashcans that were on the side of the residence, to where he had his bike stashed. He tossed me a helmet and nodded for me to get on behind him. I hesitated. I had been expecting a car or something, and found myself nervous about getting on behind him. I was thinking along the lines that he may have suspected why I came here, and being pressed up behind him might give myself away. I was still pondering the whole palm on my lower back thing when he shot me another impatient look that had a touch of confusion in it at my hesitation. Ignoring my raging hormones, I shrugged and got on. "I was expecting a car."
"More mobility and easier access to tight areas." He recited straddling the bike and kicking it on. "And faster." I'm sure I heard a little chuckle before he gunned the bike, spinning it around and taking off.
It was true. The bike was damned fast.
Turns out we were heading for his apartment. I waited on the bike as he ran upstairs and gathered his bags. This time when he came down, I did laugh out loud. He had two black duffels, one in each hand and his laptop in a shoulder bag. Maybe it wasn't just me that didn't have a whole lot of possessions after all. Maybe all Gundam pilots packed light. "Why are you laughing?"
"All this time with Relena, and that's all you have?" I hadn't meant to make him feel self-conscious, but he could have had anything in the world he wanted.
"It's all I need." He answered plainly. I just shook my head and laughed again. Same 'ol Heero. Never have anything with you you didn't want left behind in case of the need for a hasty exit. He handed me the bags, which I stuffed in front of me and slung the computer over my shoulder, settling its weight on my back as he got back on the bike. Then we took off for my hotel to pick up my one bag, and then get to the spaceport in time to catch our flight back to Preventers HQ. I know I must have been grinning like an lunatic, but being on the back of Heero's bike, racing down the asphalt, with nothing but a few bags and his laptop made me feel so nostalgic. For two seconds I couldn't have been happier.
I chatted about nothing as we took the stairs up to my room. Once in the hallway though, I went silent. It was that sixth sense thing again screaming at me that something was wrong. Heero felt it too, 'cause he already had his gun drawn and out in front of him. He shot me a look and we fell into a familiar pattern of staying low and moving fast. We got down the hall to my room, finding the door kicked in and the place in shambles. Somebody really tore through the place. We did a quick scan and seeing that there was no sign of anyone, relaxed a bit. "What exactly were you working on?" He asked me as he tucked his gun back into the back of his pants.
At first I didn't know what he was talking about and then I remembered the incremental half- truth I had told about me being on L1. I really wasn't working on anything though, and I thought he knew that. I guessed from our conversation in Relena's sitting room that he knew I didn't have Preventers business and that I was on a mission of my own; sort to speak either from my nervousness or Wufei's call, but here he was asking me about the Preventers again. My only other thought was that Wufei had told him I came here to see if there could be a future for us, as I had confessed to him before I left. And it was most certainly not a professional future with the Preventers I had been hinting at. I shrugged and put my gun away. "Heero, to be honest with you, I don't know what this is all about."
"Wufei said you had business here."
Guess number two, Wufei's call. I met the piercing eyes and knew I had to come clean. The last thing I needed was Heero Yuy suspicious of me. "It was personal, not Preventers business that Wufei had called you about and why I had come here to L1." He digested that and seemed to accept it, because he turned without further word to start helping me gather up my scattered belongings. I stood there for a few moments to try to get a read on him at that little bit of information, but he just went on like business as usual.
Then the paper dawned on me. I still didn't know what that was all about. I pulled it from my pocket as Heero shoved the last of my clothing into my bag. "Maybe it has something to do with this." I handed him the sheet of paper and watched as his face became more and more serious as he read it. I figured the room getting trashed was just the kids from last night trying to scare me off for seeing their little shakedown. It would be easy enough to find a Preventer in a hotel a block away, especially if they had stuck around and followed me. Highly unlikely, but I suppose within the realm of possibility. I began telling him of my little visit to the local Chinese place down the street and about the guys I saw trying to shake down the restaurant owner, when he interrupted me.
"Where did you get this?" He asked suddenly fixing me with an almost alarmed look.
Seeing that look on his face made my stomach do a summersault. It was reminiscent of the wars. "I found it in a bag of fortune cookies and lemon drops that I got for helping out an old guy at a Chinese restaurant last night."
He shoved the paper back into my inside pocket and grabbed my bag pushing it into my arms. Then he grabbed me roughly by the sleeve; dragging me to the door. "We have to leave. Now."
"Heero, what the fuck is going on?" I hissed, feeling panic start to creep up from my gut. Nostalgia was one thing, but now I felt like I was reliving a mission gone bad.
"I'll explain once we get to HQ." We shot down the hallway, stopping at the top of the stairs. I hadn't even realized when he'd taken his gun back out and figured I better follow his lead. We flew down the stairs and hopped on the bike, jetting off towards the spaceport and our waiting shuttle.
We made it to the spaceport in a blink. Heero was racing like the hounds of Hell were nipping at our heels. The bike screeched to a halt near the gate to the shuttles and he froze. The hairs on the back of my neck rose and I found myself wanting to duck for cover. He killed the engine and signaled in silence for me to help him roll the bike behind a bunch of crates. Unloading our stuff and handing his laptop to me to swing over my shoulder, we crouched behind the bike. Staying low, he watched as two men stalked the grounds around the shuttle that we were planning on taking back to earth. He turned to me and told me to stay put in a voice reminiscent of more dangerous times. Then he disappeared and I was left trying to piece together just what in the name of peace for the earth and colonies was going on.
End Part 4
(:./ebony/magic4)
