1998
This sucked!
Duo grimaced as he limped to the Principal's office. Fortunately, the haversack didn't weigh much, he sighed. It had seemed an endless few hours before he'd managed to shoo Ken off after dinner. Much as he'd liked to chat but in his line of work, friends were more of a liability - or a luxury.
One Duo couldn't afford at the moment.
Perhaps during easier times...Perhaps things could be different. Besides, Ken was getting to be a little too friendly for his liking.
Heero had once remarked that he attracted too much attention. Damn the boy, Duo huffed. He hated it when Heero was right. Duo didn't know why he did it, how he did it. He just did.
"I must be in the wrong line," the boy muttered under his breath. He liked attention too much to be an effing spy. Pity the attention he got was always from the wrong people. Maybe he should be more like Heero or Trowa...
Duo bit back a twinge from his ankle even as he mentally chuckled at the thought. He'd have to have that properly taken care of when he got back to base - maybe a nice hot compress...
He reached the office without mishap, his ankle only slightly tingling from the slow walk from the students' wing to the administrative section of the school.
"Humph...For a posh private school, ya'd think they'd have more computers everywhere," the longhaired boy grumbled as he picked the lock open. Checking that no one saw him in the darkened corridor, Duo slipped inside.
Grim-faced, Heero tapped out the coded message, signalling Duo to start uploading the remainder of the virus components. Thankfully, the mission was in its final phase. Once the virus was uploaded into the OZ system, he could blow the joint. He didn't think he could risk another day in the facility without being detected.
Today alone had been a massive game of cat-and-mouse - after questions started being asked about Trowa's absence. Even though officially, Trowa had been 'dismissed' and his term of service terminated, that didn't stop his fellow workers from wondering. That was one disadvantage of a long-term infiltration mission, Heero frowned as he waited for Duo's reply. One tended to get to know others, and there was always one baka too many that had the damned curiosity of a cat. Almost like...
Heero smirked. Once this mission was over, he had another - a more personal one - to take care of.
All the solitary nights he spent in the facility - when he wasn't hacking into one information system or other, that is - had finally firmed his resolve. It had taken Duo's shying away from him to make him realise how much he'd wanted more out of their so-far platonic relationship. There was something in the longhaired boy that appealed to him, strangely enough. And it wasn't the fact that Duo was one of the few that could actually make him laugh, either. No, there was something else - something deeper. And the American boy had hinted at feeling the same way towards him so many weeks ago, Heero realised. But lately, Duo seemed to have changed his mind. At least, outwardly, Heero mused.
The screen lit up with data, signalling that Duo had finished uploading the virus from his end. Now, it was up to him.
"Ryoukai," Heero whispered as he inserted the disk that held the final bit of the computer virus. His mind wandered again as he waited for the virus to upload, turning once more to the braided American that had begun haunting his thoughts of late. Duo had stopped his more obvious overtures, Heero noted. In fact, the longhaired boy had seemed to be embarrassed at actually having attempted anything in the first place. And when Heero'd confronted him about it that morning - it seemed so long ago - Duo had actually seemed flustered, surprised even. And yet...
Heero scowled in the darkness. He knew he'd hit on something that morning. Something that Duo wanted to keep hidden and yet wanted to share. With him.
"Chik'so!" Damn this mission! Damn this mission for coming in at the wrong time!
Duo hummed softly as the virus uploaded itself. Soon, the mission would be over. As soon as he received Heero's confirmation message, he would be well on his way to the pick-up point.
The American glanced at his watch. 1.30 a.m. It was still early, and by the way things were going, he'd have everything wrapped up in half an hour at the most. That left him two whole hours to get to the rendezvous point to meet up with Heero.
"So I'll be there an hour early," Duo grinned to himself. Not that Heero would appreciate his punctuality, of course. He'd most probably be scolded for not using the time more fruitfully.
Like hacking into OZ files via the school's computers.
"Hmm," Duo pondered, rubbing his chin in mock concentration. "Maybe I will just do that." Duo leaned closer towards the terminal as he typed in potential passwords. A pull-down menu appeared on the screen as one password caught. A small half-smile lit up his face as he scrolled down the list of particulars. "Okay...Let's see what this place is about," he muttered softly, clicking onto the school background information.
Several pages of run-of-the-mill information were called up and Duo skimmed over them. What a bore, he yawned as he scrolled down the screen, slumping affectedly over the desk.
Until a small paragraph caught his eye.
Duo sat up almost immediately as he speed-read the short section. So short that it might have been missed had he not been looking specifically for it.
The school was privately funded by several major players in the Romefeller Foundation. And no less than two of them were linked directly to the Specials, the organisation that pulled OZ's strings.
"Hoo boy," Duo whistled softly as he shook his head minutely, quickly memorizing each line.
The last sentence had him gulping nervously. The principal was a Romefeller activist - with direct connections to OZ.
"Uh-oh. This is not a good place to be," Duo groaned. Perhaps he'd risk Heero's scolding after all...
A silent flashing at the corner of the screen indicated that Heero's confirmation message had come in. Just in time, Duo smirked as he changed screens and prepared to acknowledge Heero's signal. His skin was already crawling and he just itched to get out of this place...
"Good evening, Mr. Maxwell."
End Part Four
Shirin
Please send comments to: shirini@pc.jaring.my