August 3, 2000
Here's what I got done today; please keep in mind that the standard disclaimers apply. ^_^;
"Duo!" Quatre yelled at the top of his voice, his hand clamping down on the writhing boy's shoulder and spinning him about. Violet eyes widened slightly as Duo noticed him at last.
"What?"
"Where's Heero?"
"WHAT?"
"WHERE'S HEERO?"
"WHAT?"
"I SAID! WHERE'S! HEERO?!"
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
Quatre growled in exasperation and grabbed the end of Duo's braid before weaving his way through the crowd, completely ignoring the outrage of the man Duo had been dancing with. The music was so loud, he could feel the thrumming of the bass in his chest, making a nauseating accompaniment to the sick lurching of his heart. Duo trotted along behind him, fending off the groping hands of the dancers they wove through, and Quatre grimly led him out the door.
"Heero's gone."
"What?"
"Maxwell, you heard him," Wufei said sourly through the open door of a black car. "Get in."
"I heard, but I don't believe. That bastard! He was supposed to be staking the place out!"
"Maybe he got a lead, and followed a suspect out," Wufei suggested, smoothly pulling out into the street a bare second after the last car door had closed.
"I don't think so," Quatre answered, and Duo couldn't help but notice his pallor. "I don't think he left on his own."
"Shit," Duo breathed. "You don't mean..."
"I think he found the man we were looking for."
"Remember, Heero can take care of himself," Wufei pointed out. "Even if he did meet with the murderer, there's no reason to panic. He might even beat us back to the office."
"Heh. Yeah, you're right," Duo said, and leaned back comfortably in his seat. "Nothing to worry about. Damn, I was really hoping that busy-handed pervert was the one. I guess this means we can't arrest him."
"No," Wufei said, with the barest hint of a smile curving his lips.
"Well, let's get on back to the ranch," Duo said, wearily scrubbing at his face and frowning when his hands came back covered in glitter. "I need to scrub this crap off, and it'd be a shame not to be there to see Heero. I bet he has the guy gift-wrapped already."
"Oh, you're waking up," a voice said, and Heero's eyes opened blearily, struggling to focus on the blurred shape of the man leaning over him. "Don't worry; it won't be long now." There was a flashing of silver blades, and then the chill of cold metal pressing against his skin as scissors sliced cleanly through the tough, tight denim all the way down the sides of his legs.
With a muffled grunt, Heero forced one deadened arm to move - it flopped over all of one inch, the hand lying limply beside him instead of clamping powerful fingers around his abductor's throat.
"Now, now," the man admonished, lightly slapping the offending hand and returning Heero's arm to its previous position. "Don't be a naughty boy. You soiled your clothing, so it has to come off."
"Omae..." Heero mumbled, but the numbness creeped up to grab his throat, and he couldn't move, couldn't speak...
The man watched, smiling in satisfaction as his captive's eyes went wide and wondering, one brief flash of fear shining in them before that spark of intelligence faded. The boy lay utterly still but for his breathing and the occasional blinking of his wide, soulless eyes. Smiling, the man lifted one of Heero's hands, spreading the fingers. When he let go, the hand and arm remained just as they had been positioned. After a moment's pause, the man then pushed at the corners of Heero's mouth, shaping his soft lips until a mindless smile curved them.
"Perfect," the man said, and hummed a merry tune as he went about removing the shreds of the boy's clothing. The boy stared blankly up at nothing, blinking occasionally, his soft, vapid smile frozen in place.
"So where the hell is he?" Duo asked for the millionth time, and for the millionth time, Chang Wufei barely resisted the urge to snap at him.
"I don't know," he answered.
"The hell with this! We can't just sit around here until Heero shows up in a park somewhere!"
"What do you plan to do?" Wufei asked, grabbing hold of Duo's slender arm to stop his frantic pacing.
"I don't know!" Duo snapped in return, then sighed. "Look, I know he's a big boy, and he's more than capable of taking care of himself. But if it were me, I know he wouldn't stop looking till he found me. He sure as hell wouldn't sit on his butt in the office waiting!"
"Just stop it!" Quatre cried, and Duo and Wufei both turned to him in surprise. His hand was pressed to his chest, and his mouth was drawn into a pained frown. "We can't waste time fighting. We have to figure out a way to find this killer before... before he..."
Duo wordlessly tore free from Wufei and resumed pacing.
"Ok, what do the victims have in common?" he muttered.
"The clothing," Quatre said suddenly. "They're all dressed to the hilt, and that kind of clothing doesn't come cheaply. I can try to track down where the killer might have bought it."
"And I have something to take care of," Wufei said. "I'll be reachable on my pager if anything comes up." With that he left, his head held high and a determined set to his shoulders. Duo glared at his retreating back, then turned in time to see Quatre get up and head for his own office.
"Unbelievable," Duo muttered, but repented of his uncharitable thoughts a moment later. They cared, and they would do their best to resolve the case, and their best was a damn sight better than most anybody else's.
"Think, Maxwell," Duo said, pounding his head softly against the wall before pushing himself away and pacing again. Try as he would to concentrate, the image of Heero's face kept swimming through his mind, and he couldn't seem to stay focused. Heero... Duo was honest enough with himself to admit, at least in his private thoughts, that he loved the stern former pilot. Ever since they had first met, Heero had been such a big part of his life... and part of what he loved best about him was Heero's ability to come back from anything. In all his life, nobody had been able to withstand the curse of Duo's love, except for Heero... until now.
Duo stopped pacing, dug the heels of his hands into his eyes for a moment, then sat at the head of the glossy table in front of the files Quatre had laid out. The five victims had nothing in common, nothing except for the stunning clothing, the remains of an unidentified drug in their bloodstreams... and... their last meal...
"The champagne!" Duo cried, and tore out of the office at a dead run, his braid trailing behind him.
End Part Two
Yoiko ^_^v
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