25 Sep 2000
Woo-hoo! At long last, I think I broke my writer's block! ^_^v It's short, but still... heck, I'm just relieved to finally have written SOMETHING! *^_^*
Hope you enjoy it! DARK warnings still apply, and ol' Yoiko is not kidding about that. :) Also, this part is wretchedly, mercilessly short, but please don't beat me for it. ^_~ I'll do more just as soon as I can! ^_^v
Since it's been so long, I guess a reminder is in order for those of you who are still with me. We last left Heero in the clutches of the killer, Mel. Quatre was able to identify the killer from his signature on a store receipt, and Duo and Wufei went to the man's house to "pay him a visit," completely disregarding the legal process. ^_~
"What makes you so sure the house is a dead end?" Zechs asked quietly, knowing Trowa wasn't going to. Quatre's wearily shadowed eyes raised slowly from the pile of documents related to the five victims.
"The same thing that makes me sure Mel is the killer," the blond answered grimly. "We're missing something."
Duo leaped forward, gun drawn and brought to bear on the front room in one smooth motion. It was incredibly well-done, his body a study in grace and economy of motion to rival a cat's...
... and it was all for nothing. Duo's shoulders slumped as he took in the sight of the empty room, from the shabby, overstuffed sofa and frayed throw rug to the dusty knicknacks littering the coffee table. The music which had lured them here continued to blare through the entertainment unit as Wufei walked up and warily placed a hand on Duo's shoulder. Both pilots jumped when the video monitor activated itself with an electronic shriek that drowned out the music.
"Hello, this is a recording," the blond man from the pictures said, smiling out at them. Beside him, Heero sat motionlessly, dressed in a navy sailor suit that was apparently designed to make him look small and fragile... or it could have been the presence of the tall, grinning blond man that made Heero seem so vulnerable. The former Wing pilot was smiling vapidly, his eyes wide and empty.
"Son of a bitch..." Duo muttered.
"If you've gotten this far in search of me, well done!" the recording continued. "I can only hope that at least one of you is the famous Duo Maxwell. Honestly, you couldn't have done more to broadcast that the Preventers were on the case. And the former Gundam pilots, no less! Did you think I was some kind of idiot, that I wouldn't recognize Heero Yuy when I saw him?" Here the man paused to stroke Heero's dark hair. Hazy blue eyes blinked rapidly for a moment.
"Or Maxwell and his trademark braid? Or even that Chinese boy that killed Khushrenada?" Wufei froze, the blood draining from his face, leaving a greenish tinge to his bronze skin. He remained motionless until Duo grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him from the room.
"Come ON!" Duo yelled, and as they hurried back down the hallway and out the door, Wufei heard the recording continuing.
"Well, dear Preventers, you've come farther on the trail than any of your predecessors... but I'm afraid your celebration will be short- lived. I can only hope that there's at least one Gundam pilot among you..."
"Hit the deck!" Duo cried, and he and Wufei flung themselves to the ground, covering their heads as the house behind them blew up.
"I need everything we can find on this man," Quatre said, his bright blue eyes almost as piercingly intent as Heero's customary glare. Behind him, Zechs and Trowa provided glowering backup to his request, and the harried Preventers clerk looked from one to the other and swallowed hard, nervously nodding his dark head. "Melvin Coneely," Quatre continued. "I want to know his entire life history, right down to how many fillings he has in his teeth."
"Yes, ma'am! Uh, yes, sir! Right away, sir!"
"Let's get out of here," Wufei said, and rose shakily to his feet, his body still pumping with adrenaline in the explosion's aftermath.
"Yeah," Duo agreed, grimacing as he stood. Shrapnel from the explosion had cut a gash in his right leg, long but not deep. "Nothing serious," he said, noticing Wufei's gaze. "C'mon."
"Back to headquarters?" Wufei fell into step as Duo started limping back the way they'd come.
"Yeah. You know, the best thing about Quatre is he never says 'I told you so.' "
"He doesn't have to."
"No, he sure doesn't."
"How did you know there was a bomb?" Wufei asked.
"Gut instinct. Wish I could say Q was rubbing off on me," Duo answered with a grim chuckle. "But the truth is, if I was a murdering bastard who wanted to take out a couple o' Gundam pilots, that's what I'd have done. Except I wouldn't have had such a long delay."
"He's toying with us."
"Yeah, Wu-man. I think he is."
"Ah, ah, ah, precious," Mel said, tapping the syringe and swiftly injecting it into Heero's neck. "Can't have you getting all independent on me, now, can we? No, we can't." Heero's eyes faded again into the hazy, mindless state that Mel had grown to adore. Once again assured of the pilot's helplessness, Mel went about pulling the boy's clothing away, unveiling the smooth skin and finely sculpted limbs.
"Oh, you darling, precious boy," he whispered, and pressed wet, needy kisses against Heero's silky smooth skin.
Heero blinked, staring up at nothing.
End Part Four
Yoiko ^_^v
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