Thanks to everyone that reviewed! Sorry for all the updating- I have the week off, and so I have some time to write...
Deliveryman Two Part 9
Heero and I walked down the hallway behind the guy Quatre had sent to fetch us. My sixth sense was beginning to ring alarm bells that had something to do with Heero and what was going to happen next, but heck if I could figure it out.
I really should've though.
Heero had been doubtful of me and mistrustful of Trowa. Out of the five of us there was only one who had out and out fought against us of his own free will. Who had faced Heero on a battlefield.
We were lucky that Heero didn't simply leap on Fei and tear his throat out when we walked into the room.
I don't think it helped matters any that Fei was still wearing his Preventers uniform. I doubt Heero had any fondness for that particular outfit either.
As it was, when we walked in the room and Fei turned to greet us, I at least caught the growl starting in Heero's throat. I flung an arm around his waist, holding on as tight as I could as he bared his teeth at a suddenly pale Fei.
"Heero! 01! Stop it!" I hissed in his ear. He froze at the sound of my voice, but his body was still tense under my hands.
"05's possible betrayal is factored at 98 percent," Heero's voice was not the cold Perfect Soldier I expected, but a snarl, as if a wolf had developed a voice. "I do not trust him!"
"Fei, step back," I told the pale man in front of me. As I said Fei's name, Heero's growl intensified.
Crap.
I backed out of the room, pulling Heero with me. I pushed him against the wall, next to the door.
"We need Chang," I said into his ear. "He and Winner have the information we need. Promise me you will not attack him?"
"Yes," his voice still held that rough edge. "I will not attack Chang until you give me permission."
Well, that was better than 'no'.
"Or Winner." I said and wondered where Quatre fell on the scale.
"Or Winner," he agreed.
I let Heero go and stepped back into the room, Heero right behind me. Wufei had moved to the far side of the room and was talking in a low voice with Trowa. They looked our way, and I saw the looks that they gave Heero.
Not good. I started to feel uncomfortable. My sixth sense was still ringing.
"Over here," Quatre waved us over to the sofa he was perched on. I elected to sit across from him and once again, Heero dropped down at my feet. That habit was seriously disturbing me, but since I guessed it would make it easier to tackle him, I let it go.
Trowa and Wufei joined us. Trowa sat down beside Quatre, and Wufei stayed slightly to the side, standing. I guess he didn't feel comfortable sitting for some reason.
"Heero," Quatre started. "Tell us what happened?"
Heero looked to me. Uh...
"Report, 01." I told him.
"I was moved out of the hospital by a group of Preventers agents. I recognized some of them. Noin. Merquise. They gave me a sedative and when I awoke I was on the satellite that 02 discovered me on. The doctors were there. They experimented on me with different substances. I do not know all the types. The result was to create a super-soldier who would not question orders. They were not pleased with the results. I managed to break free and destroyed the lab in the process. The doctors fled, leaving me on the satellite."
Well, that was brief. I had the feeling that Heero was leaving a lot out for some reason.
"Why were they not pleased with the results?" Quatre questioned.
"I would not obey orders."
"Why not?"
Heero showed his teeth. It was not a smile. "I did not like their orders."
"So what did you find out?" I asked, deciding that a change of subject was in order.
"Well, the Preventers are hip deep in the New World Order, for starters." Quatre said. I saw Heero's head turn in Wufei's direction and thought it prudent to rest my hand on his shoulder.
"Une created a special division- headed by Zechs and Noin, filled with people hand-picked by them. This division's main purpose was apparently heading security for the NWO council members. However, that is only a small part of their job."
"What's the rest of it?"
"Information gathering- spying to be more precise. Blackmailing. All in the name of strengthening the NWO, forcing other nations to join. Apparently Dorothy Catalonia is also involved as well. She is acting as Relena's 'ambassador' with several of these nations."
In other words, she was the one delivering the ultimatums. Bet she enjoyed that.
"Does Relena advocate these methods?" I couldn't imagine the princess agreeing to these tactics.
"From what Une said, she not only knows about it- but it was her idea to free the doctors." Quatre shook his head. "Une kept insisting that the whole purpose of NWO was a good one. They wanted to bring peace to the world."
"She wasn't intending to actually use force, merely the threat of it, according to Une." Wufei added. "However, the real mover appears to be Merquise. Who knows what Relena really feels? He could be speaking for her."
"So where do the doctors fit in?"
"O was less than helpful, but apparently they are the weapons division of this little enterprise." Quatre sighed. "O is here. I didn't want to leave him behind on Earth. All of my bases are here in space."
Bases? Quatre had more than one of these?
I pushed that discomforting thought away. All it did was intensify my 'bad' feeling.
"You said you have an idea of where J is?"
"We traced that call- he's in a high security base on Earth." Quatre shrugged. "We can't do anything at the moment though. We have to wait for them to make a move."
What? Why? We knew what they were up to! Then again-
"Well G is still out there..." I said softly.
"I thought G was dead." Wufei frowned as he looked at Heero.
"I did not eliminate G." Heero's voice was rough.
"But J said- and O..." Trowa protested.
"And they've been so truthful before," I snapped. That stopped Trowa, but not Wufei.
"How can we trust Heero?" He protested. "He's been in their care- he's obviously unbalanced. How do you know he's telling the truth? How does he?"
Wufei is not the king of tact. Anyone else would've waited until the subject of said discussion was out of the room at least.
Jerk.
Heero was tense, a coiled spring under my hand, but he did not leap at Fei as I expected him to. Maybe his promise was holding him in check? I looked down and caught the fleeting pain that flashed on his face, followed by the neutrality of the soldier.
"How do you know O and J are?" I retaliated. "I trust Heero." Heero gave me a brief grateful look.
"Of course you do," Wufei took in a deep breath. "But he's not the same man that we knew."
"Of course not," I interrupted him, trying to stay calm. "Or you wouldn't dare talk about him like he wasn't here."
That made Fei look ashamed for a moment. But it didn't stop him.
"Duo- you can't close your eyes to this. It's obvious to us, and would be to you if you stopped to think about it."
"To us?" I felt my temper hit the boiling point. I looked over at Quatre.
How long had they spent in his company? Had they asked me to report? This dismissal of Heero infuriated me.
"Heero is exhibiting irrational behavior Duo." Quatre said calmly. "You have to admit it. It would be safer to keep him elsewhere until we finish."
Keep him? I knew what that little phrase meant. Oh no.
I was not happy with 'bases'. I was not happy with 'waiting'. And I was not happy with 'keeping'.
I got to my feet. Heero moved when I did, standing behind me.
"Keep him? He's Heero. Not some fucking animal. You want to keep him out of this? Fine. I will take Heero with me and keep him out of this. You can let us know when it's over." I was out of the room a moment later, Heero a step behind me.
I walked quickly down to the docking bays. I didn't need Quatre's permission to take a shuttle and go home. I'd take my chances on Earth or L2. Fuck this.
Yeah, not the most rational of me, I know. But their lack of loyalty distressed me. The sit back and wait attitude did too. Just wait for NWO to move?
We reached a docking bay and I stopped in amazement when I saw what it contained.
Scythe.
Here? How? I saw the blast marks on the leg. It was the one that White Dog had built for me. How the hell had Quatre gotten it?
Why in hell did he have Scythe?
Heero grabbed me and pulled me along with him towards the suit.
"Heero?" I managed.
"Directive 02DS." The soldier replied.
Directive? Who would have..? Oh no...
A few of Quatre's people tried to get in our way. Heero sent them flying. We were in Scythe's cockpit before I could protest.
"We can't..."
"We cannot leave Deathscythe Hell, version 2 in the hands of the Winner faction. It is needed."
Winner faction?
Heero pushed me into the seat, squishing in beside me. "Take us to..." and he rattled off a series of coordinates.
"Whose directive is this?"
"G. He directs you under SPER0202."
I knew that code. During the war it that was the code that meant G had information for me.
My stupid precog chose that moment to kick in again. It liked the idea of going to G.
What the hell. Going to G was better than nothing.
Sides, it would give me the opportunity to slice some bits off of him in peace until he fixed Heero.
I grinned and fired up Scythe's engines.
TBC...
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