Author: Karen, The Huntress
Rating: R
Warning: AU, angst, violence, language, adult situations.
Pairing: 1x2, 3x4
Feedback: Always appreciated.
Archive: DHML Archive, Shades and Echoes.
Summary: After Heero Yuy, Agent 01 rescues Quatre Winner, Agent 04 events are set in motion that finally give Heero a reason for living.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters.
A Reason for Living Part 1
Temping Fate
Footsteps stuck hollowly along the stone walkway. The compound's lights glinted off the sentry's rifle. A vague silhouette flattened against a perimeter wall trying its best to blend with the midnight shadows. A brief flash of filtered light danced along an automatic's cold steel barrel as the weapon was held close to the black-clad man's cheek.
The nearly full moon had been unusually bright but now its luster was subdued by streams of wispy clouds and the hidden figure hoped that it would remain that way awhile longer.
One more open space, one last dash. The sentry's footsteps faded.
A relaxing sigh escaped over Yuy's lips. Listening for the slightest sound he cautiously moved forward again...staying low, crouching like a cat. The lateness of the hour had aided his undetected movements but he was not so foolish to think that he was the only person stirring around in the dark.
Squares of light, copying a window's contours, flooded the ground below one of the occupied rooms on the first floor. Yuy's objective lay just three more beyond his position.
Faint voices carried into the night. Someone lit a cigarette; the flame momentarily pulled a face from the darkness less than twenty feet away. Muscle tensed, Yuy froze in place. Finally the last obstacle between 01 and the desired window stepped back inside.
Taking a moment to regroup Yuy checked the clip on his Beretta. Commander Une would have had a fit if she knew her agent had once again forsaken HQ's standard-issue regulation weapon.
While more firepower would have been preferred 01's arsenal had to be light that was an important key to getting in and out quickly. Smoke and flashpoint grenades would also, no doubt, be put to good use sooner or later.
The moon peeked out flickering through the drifting clouds. Its shimmering beams touched Yuy's piercing blue eyes raising tiny sparks within their widened pupils. Then as if frightened by the brooding glare the silvery orb of heaven retreated back into the cloud's misty veils.
Once more he listened then breathed in deeply before letting out a slow, steadying exhalation. Allowing a brief encroachment of nervous tension, just enough to sustain the edge that heightened his senses, Yuy maintained the alert state that could mean the difference between success and failure.
Laying his pistol at his feet, Yuy's hand traced up the windowpane stopping above the inner latch. From his belt pack a suction cup fitted with a glasscutter was attached to the dirt-dimmed glass. Carefully he turned the hardened tip until a full circle was completed. A gentle pull freed the severed glass creating a hole large enough to allow access to the latch. The window slid up smoothly.
With a similar fluid motion 01 took up his pistol and silently slid over the sill then the window came down as easily. "Maybe no one will have cause to hold ground's inspection tonight." Yuy thought to himself as he checked the directional indicator built into his watch.
Listening through the micro-receiver pressed inside his ear he tried to isolate 04's tracking band signal. A door to the left seemed the most promising. The door eased open, twin pinpoints of blue stared into the vacant corridor.
So far the building's layout matched the mental blueprint secured in Yuy's memory. A long hall stretched out to the right and, if his memory served him correctly, Yuy knew that the darkened passage led to the basement.
It had been six days since 04's last communication, before that daily reports as ordered, then nothing. Une has allowed for equipment failure but there had been more than sufficient time for 04 to find an alterative contact.
Finally it was decided that the agent's halted transmission meant that he had been discovered or, worse yet, was no longer alive to send the signal. Now 01's assignment was to find out exactly what had happened.
Quickly Yuy covered the length of the hallway. In the eerie silence an irregular beep-beep sounded through the micro-receiver. However the anticipation created by the weak but audible signal was tempered by the uncertainty of its origin.
Was the band still on 04's wrist? It could possibly be laying off to itself far from his fellow agent. If so Yuy knew that there was a good chance that he might never learn what happened. And what if the wrong people had discovered the band's real purpose? Was the signal true or a trap?
There was a distinct possibility that 04's name had become part of a thick file locked away in Une's office and that Yuy, too, could join many other agents to become one more unsolved case with his fate unknown.
But he didn't want to think about possibilities or lists or fate. He knew that no matter how thoroughly a plan had been put together that luck was often the deciding factor. "Lady Luck" had been on his side in the past but like many women he had known, luck could be fickle. He hoped that now was not the time or place for the "Lady" to decide that desertion was her best option.
"The Lady can be a bitch." 01whispered in the darkness.
A door slowly materialized from the dusky gloom. Again the layout matched the mental map. A pleased smile crossed Yuy's lips as he squatted beside the door at the corridor's end. It was unlocked.
"Maybe it's a good omen." he mumbled to himself as the door softly closed behind him.
Narrow steps parallel to the rough stone wall reached down to the damp, chilled sub-floor. A single bare light bulb showed the last tread. Another door. This time it was locked.
Back to the belt pack. A pick effortlessly rearranged the tumblers inside the knob until it turned in his hand. Light gleamed off the small but deadly pistol pressed against 01's chest. Steadily he pushed the door back with the toe of his boot ready to drop into a defensive position at the first sound or movement.
Muscles constricted, ears strained as the space widened. Eyes darted from side to side surveying every inch of the room revealed by the opening door. Thin shafts of moonlight poured through a window on the opposite wall. Dust swirled between the window and the illuminated pool produced on the gritty floor. Musky odors wafted from every chilled corner.
01's eyes gradually adjusted to the limited light to pick out a form curled against the stark stone wall. The gun's barrel redirected its aim at the indistinct outline...his finger drew back the trigger enough to save that fraction of a second needed to finish the pull.
Closer...no threatening movement. Closer...a face began to emerge from the gloom. The barrel drooped lower as 01 rested one knee on the damp floor and leaned forward. It was 04! He was bloody, bruised but the rapid rise and fall of his chest confirmed that he was alive.
Yuy's tender touch produced a sluggish flinch. With obvious effort 04 responded turning his head toward the warm sensation on his arm. At first no change registered in the captive agent's expression then his eyebrows drew together in a puzzled frown.
"Heero?" Yuy's name rose weakly from a raspy throat.
Fighting to focus on 01's wavy image through eyes that were partly swollen shut, 04's voice repeated the question in an almost inaudible murmur. "Heero?"
"It's all right Quatre" Heero replied trying to put a tone of reassurance in his voice. "I'm here to get you out." he promised.
"How?" 04's faint voice wondered before it lost the last of its strength.
01 carefully slid his arm beneath his friend's battered body lifting him gently but quickly, "Don't worry," he answered in a labored whisper, "I have a plan."
It took most of 04's remaining energy just to pull his feet under his sagging body. His knees were rubbery, his legs heavy, reluctant to respond. Heero straightened Quatre's left arm across his shoulder then slid his other arm around 04's back coming up under his right side.
As Heero half carried his fellow agent toward the door doubts began to plague his thoughts. As hard as Quatre was trying to help he was in no condition to look out for himself. Retracing the route back up the stairs, through the hall and off the grounds would take three times as long under present circumstances and the chances of being discovered were multiplied tenfold.
01 stopped at the door to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. "There has to be an easier way." Then as if guided by his very words the moon slipped from her cloudy cover and the patch of light on the floor brightened.
"Forget the stairs." Heero's inner voice ordered. Of course they were in the basement, the window opened on ground level.
Mentally berating himself for missing the clear solution 01 cursed under his breath. He had been trained to explore every possibility, to use every resource available. The relief of finding 04 alive had temporarily sidetracked what should have been second nature.
Ever so often something happened to remind Agent 01 that he was indeed human, not some infallible machine. That he had emotions no matter how hard he fought to suppress his feelings. This was one of those times.
Resting Quatre against the outer wall Heero's fingers closed over the window latch. The initial pull did little to move the aged catch. Another, more intense tug broke the rusted seal. Suddenly the latch popped free, the panel fell forward with a shrill squeak. Only 01's agile reflexes kept the frame from a loud crash with the wall.
Heero cut his eyes down at his fellow agent, shook his head in a relieve manner then cautiously let the window hang down on its hinges. "Ready?" he asked kneeling beside Quatre.
Quatre nodded. Stringy stands of dust-dulled blond hair slipped over swollen eyes and bruised cheekbones but 04 did his best to stand.
Struggling under Quatre's mostly dead weight Heero hoisted the injured agent through the open space rolling him clear. Pushing his pistol into his belt, 01 clawed his way over the sill coming to rest by his counterpart. Heero chest heaved in winded pants filling his lungs with fresh night air.
Quatre's breathing was heavier, thick with fluid and pain. Heero could only imagine the punishment 04 had suffered. He was afraid Quatre's injuries were serious and he knew that the wrong movement could aggravate them further but he had no other choice but to take that chance. If they both were to get out alive he could not afford to be but so careful.
Quatre lay on his back. He stirred then moaned as he blinked to chase away the spinning stars overhead. "This is crazy." he declared still staring at the whirling traces of starlight.
"Shhhh!" Heero ordered knowing how easily sounds carried on the constant currents whipping around the garden.
01 gathered his feet under him squatting by a thick shrub. "We're all a little crazy to be in this business." he stated sarcastically. But deep down in his soul he knew that "this business" was more sheer insanity than being just a little bonkers.
After years of driving himself to the limits, Agent 01 knew all too well. Traveling alone, never being able to fully trust anyone, always suspicious, always ready. There were nights he couldn't sleep for the nightmares. Many other nights he would collapse too exhausted to care. Heero Yuy was tired and now more often than not, angry.
He had lost friends and colleagues on both the colonies and the Earth. The job had ruined every relationship he ever had. Heero had begun to wonder if he had become callous, hardened by so much evil and senseless killing. And he was so discouraged...for every evil vanquished another rose to take its place.
How often had he heard, "They knew the risks." That knowledge didn't ease the frustration and certainly didn't dull the heartsick pain. Heero looked over at Quatre. 01 had done a lot of things in the name of justice but right then none of that righteous indignation was worth a damn. This was no longer an assignment this was personal!
Heero set his jaw determined that this time 04 wasn't going to become another statistic filed away in Une's office. Yes, Heero Yuy might very well be crazy but he was getting his friend out tonight and heaven help anyone who got in his way.
"Come on!" Heero barked with a sharpness that surprised him.
04 winced but took hold of Heero's hand and pulled up. Calling on the last of his reserve power Quatre followed his rescuer across the garden to the perimeter wall. Several times he staggered, Heero shored him up.
Almost to the wall...almost to freedom.
Then the sound that 01 had been dreading since his arrival at the enemy's lair echoed through the crisp night air. The unmistakable snap of a weapon being armed put every nerve on edge.
Instinctively Heero froze. Again his ears listened tensely to give him a direction, a target. 04 dropped to his knees cursing his weakness and his inability to help.
"HALT!" a voice ordered from beyond the tree line.
A burly man supported by a modified version of a double-barrel shotgun stepped from the shadow's fringes. The end of the convincingly nasty weapon leveled off at 01's middle. Reluctantly Heero raised his hands in a posture of surrender.
Face to face with the phantom voice Heero studied it owner's demeanor. The man didn't appear to be in any mood to mess around. Even though Heero still held his Beretta securely in his hand, it did little to make the odds come down on his side. If he had been alone he might have chanced it, counting that his reflexes were better and faster than the guard's but he was not alone.
Without a word the shotgun totting man gestured with the business end of the barrel. Heero understood the silent "request" bending slowly from the waist and allowing his pistol to drop to the sandy soil.
The odds were shifting rapidly, moving further away from any hope of escape. On the ground 04 moaned...the guard took notice. "Good." Heero thought.
The shotgun's barrel dropped as the guard shifted his weight for a closer look. 04 groaned again.
"Get up!" the man snapped near Quatre head.
04 didn't move.
The guard reached for Quatre's arm with the clear intension of making the blond man comply with his curt command.
"Can't you see he's hurt?" Heero stated starting forward.
The gunman straightened sharply. "Stay where you are." he growled. The shotgun rose to emphasis the order.
Heero tried to display one of his practiced concerned expressions. "I was just going to help him." he answered calmly as to not arouse any doubts about his sincerity.
"I'll help the trespassing bastard!" the shotgun's owner announced.
The stubby weapon pivoted in the guard's hand, the butt aimed downward, full force, toward the base of Quatre's skull. Heero coiled his muscles ready to spring into action in his friend's defense.
Suddenly Quatre rolled up slinging a handful of gritty soil in the advancing man's face. That was all the opening that 01 needed.
Shooting the guard would have been the quickest way to resolve the matter but shots make noise and noise attracts attention. 01 certainly didn't want the entire compound's population joining the party so he opted for the next best solution.
Heero lowered his shoulder planting it squarely in the stunned man's midsection. A whoosh of air was quickly followed by a gut-deep groan. The contact drove the guard backward but the force caused his finger to tighten on the trigger. The shotgun discharged with a deafening blast.
"DAMN!" Heero swore through clench teeth. Now 01 knew that he had only minutes to finish the fight.
Recovered from the initial impact the guard swung the shotgun like a bat. Heero dodged and sidestepped the wild swing. His vision still clouded and anger dictating his actions, the shotgun came around again. This time when 01 ducked he plowed into the raging man's knees knocking his opponent off balance.
Mustering up all the strength he had Heero landed a right uppercut aside a jutting jaw. The guard grunted once then went over like a felled tree. 01 staggered backward shaking his throbbing hand and checking his knuckles for damage.
"That bastard has a hard head." he stated as he knelt next to his partner.
"Heero let's go." Quatre yelled, "This whole place is going to be down on us any second."
As if on cue spotlights flared on transforming night into day. Alarms blared and voices rose to an excited pitch. Heero retrieved his gun and pushed Quatre in the right direction. "Move!" he shouted above the sound of gunning engines.
04 suddenly found that his physical reserves were still in force as both agents scrambled for the outer wall. As 04 clawed his way up the wall Heero caught Quatre around the waist to expedite his partner's passage to safety.
A muzzle flash exploded in the shadows. 01's answering fire came in quick bursts of two sets. The painful yell that followed confirmed that at least one shot must have found its mark.
Heero caught hold of Quatre again this time boosting 04 over the wall's rim, how he landed on the other side was his problem. One leap and Heero's hands folded over the top. Pushing the toes of his boots into the stone's rough mortar seams he pulled his body up and laid over the top.
He heard the bullet at the same instant it struck sparks beside his head. The near miss was more than enough encouragement to slide his chest the rest of the way over. Grabbing the rim with both hands Heero centered his body landing feet first on the opposite side just as a burst from an uzzie ripped over his head.
Wrapping his hand around a smoke grenade Heero's thumb flipped the arming switch. With a perfect sidearm fling the gaseous bomb catapulted over the wall. Blue-gray smoke belched up thickly in spiraling columns.
Beyond the compound's boundary Heero could just make out choking and gasping. "They really should cut down on their smoking." he informed 04 with a satisfied smirk.
A hundred yards separated the agents from a four-wheel drive Range Rover that Heero had hidden by the road. 04 collapsed in the passenger seat barely able to fasten his seat belt. Heero turned over the engine and almost engaged the gears before the clutch was completely depressed.
The compound's lights faded, the private road leading out would soon be a memory. After checking the rearview mirror to see if anyone had taken up the chase 01 took one hand off the wheel and laid it on Quatre's shoulder. "How are you doing?" he asked not bothering to hide his concern.
Quatre was breathing roughly and his color was paler than usual. A sheen of sweat shone across his forehead and his cheeks were clammy to the touch. 04 braced his hands on the seat and managed to straighten up a bit, "I'll live." he sighed but it was evident that he was in a good deal of pain.
"We're going to make it." Heero promised before returning his attention to the road.
Quatre sighed and moped back damp hair from his pain-dulled eyes. "Yeah we always do."
Heero was about to congratulate himself on another successfully completed assignment. "Almost home free." he muttered with an optimistic sense of relief. But the relief was short-lived.
The brief respite from the pressures of his job ended as the Rover rounded a curve. Headlights flooded the windscreen. A hard-topped jeep and a car parked side by side effectively blocked the agent's intended escape route and backing up the solid blockade six soldiers bearing automatic assault rifles took aim at the Rover.
Heero's foot went to the clutch ready to shift into reserve. At that point, he decided, retreat was the only option. Out of the corner of his eye to the right Heero saw an overgrown path, probably the original way into the compound, following the ridge of an embankment.
The route rose some thirty feet above their present position until it disappeared over the hill's knoll. Without a second's consideration 01 jerked the wheel at a head-spinning right angle, climbed the embankment and skirted the grassy road's rutted lanes.
The shocked troopers scrambled for the jeep and car except for one man who mounted a motorcycle. Gunning the motorcycle's engine he took off over the same rise to the upped road. With the bike being lighter in weight and more maneuverable the lone rider soon caught the speeding Rover.
"Hold on!" Heero warned through clench teeth as he shifted gears. The tachometer's needle climbed steadily.
04 winced with each rut and pothole but said nothing. Heero was doing the best that he could and "Besides," Quatre told himself, "he would rather be jolted than be dead."
Pistol fire spat red flashes in the darkness. "I think he wants you to stop." 04 observed dryly with a good amount of sarcasm in his weak voice. Heero hoped that Quatre's attempt at humor would help him fight the threatening faintness of his injuries.
A hint of a smile crossed Heero's lips. "Do you think I should?"
The motorcycle's single headlight reflected closely in the rearview mirror and neither 01 nor 04 had to venture a guess as to the intensions of the rapidly approaching vehicle.
An occasional break in the tree line let Heero see the main road as it weaved back and forth below. At its curves and bends its width widened but in the straighter sections the cross-measure was acutely slimmer. A glance in the driver's side mirror showed dust pluming up in thick clouds as the jeep and car sped along to catch up.
It suddenly occurred to 01 that he had no idea how long the road ran and that, at any moment, it could literally dissolve into the surrounding forest. In that case the term "dead end" could well apply to both fleeing agents.
"Time for some relocation." Heero announced as he studied the road ahead and the parallel path below. His lack of knowledge of the road's length, the muffled throbbing of the motorcycle and their quickly diminishing space to the pursuing vehicle's dust cloud offered him no other alternative.
Further breaks in the wooded border gave Heero fleeting glimpses of the opposite bank. From his angle of sight he mentally figured, no, guessed that the sporadic gaps matched but whether or not the alignment was perfect...01 gripped the wheel, made one of his gut decisions and hoped for the best.
To 04 and the bi-wheeled pursuer's surprise Heero turned hastily to the left. The rear tires spun then momentarily grabbed hold of the grainy surface before they lost contact with the ground. The Rover launched off the bank, sailing over the lower road just as the jeep passed beneath. Several seconds of whistling wind then the Rover landed on the far bank with a scraping thud barely slipping in between two broad tree trunks.
The tailing motorcyclist was so absorbed in the chase that he blindly followed the Rover's "flight path". It wasn't until the bike was airborne did the rider comprehend what he had done.
Unfortunately the man on the flying motorcycle was about to learn a brutal lesson in aerodynamics. His machine's lighter weight that had allowed him to close the gap was now a definite disadvantage. Instead of copying the Rover's successful landing both ride and rider flew squarely at the branches of a massive oak. Clamorous crunches of metal and the sonorous snap of tree limbs attested to the lethal conclusion of the rider's ill-fated flight.
One bounce over the embankment put the Rover back on track but not with the comfortable lead Heero wanted. Accelerating as much as he dared did little to increase their separation time from the doggedly determined soldiers. Tires squealed around a curve, the Rover shuddered but held to the slippery surface.
04 sucked in a centering breath and pushed up straighter in his seat. "Give me your gun." he demanded even though his face was ashen and pain was evident in his eyes.
"Can you manage?"
04 held out a halfway steady hand, "Just give it to me dammit."
Heero chanced taking one hand off the steering wheel long enough to slap the Beretta into Quatre's outstretched palm.
04 lowered the window, "Let them get closer, I'll aim for the tires." he yelled above the whining wind. As the Rover slowed the jeep came up fasted that Quatre expected. The din of racing engines and rushing air muted the keen crack of two shots.
"Damn!" 04 cursed loudly, clearly upset with himself. Although speed and the Rover's weaving were the main contributors to the missed shots, 04 knew that his weakened condition was just as much to blame.
Heero glanced over at his frustrated partner, "Wait a minute, if I'm not mistaken..." the sentence trailed off as he pulled a mental roadmap from somewhere inside he head.
01 picked up the pace. If he remembered correctly about a mile ahead a side road intersected with the one the Rover now traversed. Heero's well-practiced driving skills kept the space separating the vehicles within acceptable limits and soon the distance to the crossroads was covered.
At the intersection Heero abruptly turned the wheel and applied the brake and clutch in unison. The Rover's rear end came about as the adjoining road allowed for the sideways slide. The momentum carried the rest of the rotating vehicle with it until the Rover faced the way it had come.
"I've had enough of this shit." Heero hissed as he shifted into forward gear. Smoke poured from spinning tires before they caught with a lurch. 01 could imagine the lead driver's bewildered expression as he realized that the Rover he had been chasing was now bearing straight for him.
Heero narrowed his eyes until they were blue slits, "Take your best shot."
Without warning the jeep's windscreen erupted into a spider web of cracks and ragged lines. Whether or not the bullet struck the driver could not be determined but the effect was the same. Skidding along the road's edge the jeep clipped the bank, careened back over and fishtailed sideways down the center line.
Heero jerked the wheel hard to the right skirting the marginal measure between the road's shoulder and a considerable drop into a rushing creek. Stones and loosened dirt tumbled over the fragile fringes as the Rover's tires fought to hang on.
Friction sparks spewed in a starburst spray as the jeep's front end gave way plowing into the pavement. The driver of the car reacted too late to the out-of-control barrier blocking its path. The car struck off-center. Air currents caught the undercarriage lifting the hurling "missile".
For a brief moment the occupants experienced the sensation of free flight then both vehicles hit hard. The impact rolled one on its side. Metal sheared off. Window glass bowed and burst outward in a forceful shower of splintered shards.
Heero guided the Rover back onto the solid surface well out of the way and stopped in time to watch the jeep's completed roll that ended with the still spinning tires pointed toward the sky. The car plowed into the inverted mass of twisted steel. Flames licked up the sides belching out hot, wavy vapors.
Heero protectively covered Quatre as an exploding fireball sent a surge of superheated air over the Rover. Staying low, shielding their eyes from the fiery brightness, the victorious agents thanked the fates for delivering them yet another time.
04 leaned heavily against the passenger door pressing an arm across his aching ribcage. Shallow breaths rattled in his lungs and sweat glistened on his pale face. "Looks like we pulled it off." he declared watching fire-tinted smoked boil blackly and orange fingers of flames claw into the night.
"Yes we did." Heero agreed being certain to put the emphasis on "we".
TBC...
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