Author: Merula
Pairings: 1x2x1
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Yaoi, Preventers, evil doctors, angst, clichés
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine.
Well, here is the beginning of my official Embrace Your Cliché fic for September. I took the 'Embrace your Cliché' thing very literally. I wrote down all of my clichés and tried to see how many I could make work in one fic. Obviously some won't work here, but hey, I've got a huge list of those that will. I'm hoping it's not too painful to read. It will remind you of some of my other stories, but that's the point, right?
Here We Go Again Part 1
I was in the shower when I heard the phone ring. Since I was at the shampoo stage, I just cursed and kept going. By the time I got myself out of the shower and to the phone the call would've already been directed to voicemail anyway.
I still decided to finish up fast. There were only two people who would be calling me this early in the morning, and since I had just gotten back from a mission, I was betting on the other.
My roommate had been gone for the last 72 hours. He was due to be home today and then we were due for some time off. We hadn't planned anything big but I was looking forward to it all the same.
I finished and turned the shower off, squeezing the excess water from my hair and grabbing a towel. Once I was somewhat dry, I walked out into the hallway and picked up the phone. I hit the button for voicemail, sure that the message would be Heero's usual 'mission complete, on my way home' kind of thing.
It made me smile. It was nearly an old-married-couple thing, and though I knew we'd never be a couple, much to my regret, having Heero in my life as my best friend was good enough.
Or so I kept trying to convince myself.
My phone told me I had one new message and recited the digits. Sure enough, it was Heero's number. Thank goodness. I always hated it when they sent him out on one of these classified need-to-know jaunts. That usually meant dangerous, and I wasn't there to watch his back. I had given up arguing about it with him and Une, but I still didn't like it.
The phone clicked in my ear, and the message started.
"Duo, it's me," Heero's voice sounded cracked and awful, static was buzzing through the connection and I wondered where he was calling from. His next words made me forget about the connection.
"Mission failed."
My stomach lurched.
"I won't be able to make it back." He sounded calm. I couldn't breathe. "I transferred the needed data to Une and now... I'm going to take out as much of this place as I can before they get me."
No.
"I- I have to tell you a few things. My will is on my computer. My password is Odin. You're the executor- I know I can count on you to take care of things for me." I closed my eyes. No. This wasn't real. This was a joke...
But Heero didn't joke. Not like this. He wouldn't.
Another sound cut through the static on the phone. Something that sounded a lot like gunfire.
"Damn. I'm out of time."
No...
"Duo- I love you."
Static, gunfire.... And then the sound of the line going dead.
"If you wish to delete this message...."
I put the phone down on the cradle.
I wanted to curl up and wail. I wanted to scream. I wanted to wake up and find out that this was all just some horrible nightmare.
I made myself pick up the phone and dial. I waited for the connection.
I never knew he felt that way about me. Hell, if I had I would've tackled him years ago... If only I had tried! But I was so sure that Heero wasn't interested in anyone that way, let alone me. He never said... he never even looked... Damn it.
"Preventers." The voice on the other end said cheerily.
"This is Agent Maxwell, ID # 2DHSE, I need to speak with Commander Une right away."
"Please hold."
I waited; pushing my grief to the side, knowing that giving into it right now would be a mistake.
Even though I wanted to.
Another person I loved dead- or dying. Why hadn't I said anything to him? Why hadn't I reached out and grabbed hold of him when he was there?
At least he had given me that final message. I had missed my chance to give him one of my own.
Maybe. I would need to work hard to get the chance I needed...
"Une here."
Showtime.
"Yuy called me. I want to retrieve." I told her flatly. I couldn't let her hear my pain, had to show her I could handle this.
"You can't. He requested that no one be sent in after him. I asked. He said the risk was too high." She sounded regretful- a chink in her armor. All I had to do was convince her...
"Commander, let me rephrase. I am going to retrieve. With or without your help." I heard her inhale sharply.
"You don't know where he is."
"You don't think I could find out?"
A moment of silence.
"He might be dead already."
"Do you know that for sure?"
Another silence. Then:
"You know he told me specifically not to let you go in after him."
That made my chest hurt. He'd known I'd want to try. It was an effort to keep my voice steady.
"Are you refusing my request?"
Ten minutes later, I was on my way. Une had cleared me, though I wouldn't have time for a full mission briefing. All I knew was that Heero was in some kind of secure medical research facility. I had a copy of the blueprints downloading into my computer, and Une had promised me backup.
I would still be the first on site. I would have to go in to the facility alone, but the backup would be there soon after, and they would have medical with them. If I ran into trouble, they would come after me.
I had objected to that part, but Une had insisted.
The drive passed in a bit of a blur. My brain was occupied with the task ahead, my internal clock ticking down the time since Heero's call.
If he hadn't gotten into too much trouble after the phone call, he would've spent some time fighting back, causing what destruction he could- it had to have taken at least some time...
Right before I reached the area, Une called me.
"Scan the sky," she told me when I answered. "Supposedly things went bang in a big way. The locals wanted to go in, but the place refused- said it had it's own fire teams, claimed it was an accident... I told them to play along for a bit."
Sure enough- there was a faint cloud of black just ahead.
"When was the last explosion?"
"About twenty minutes ago."
Maybe timed... but maybe he set them off...
"Got it."
"Your backup is thirty minutes behind. They will be at your entry point waiting. Once they reach there, they will contact you, so put your communicator on."
"Does Heero have his?"
"Not on a solo." She reminded me.
"Right. Anything else?"
"Bring him back to us Duo."
She signed off before I could think of a reply.
I got to the entry point with no trouble, which surprised me.
I found out why when I got closer.
The building was in full lockdown mode. The windows were covered with metal shutters, the doors with gates- no wonder Heero had said he wouldn't make it out. I wasn't sure I'd make it in.
I circled the building carefully, looking for cameras, guards, and the all-important way in.
One of the doors was missing a gate. I frowned. One way in was never good.
As I watched, a young man in a security uniform staggered out the door, one hand over his mouth. He was coughing, his face twisted up and red. He stood swaying on the grass for a minute, and then fell over.
This was really not good.
I reached back into the bag I carried over my shoulders, hoping I had forgotten to take out the thing I needed. It wasn't part of the standard kit, but I had needed it last time I had used the bag.
Sure enough, the mask and the small tank of air were still there. I had about half a tank left, hopefully enough to get me into the building and out again with Heero.
I fitted the mask on over my face and headed towards the door.
As I passed the security guy, I bent and checked for a pulse. He had one, and I was relieved. That meant whatever was loose in there was a knockout drug and hopefully not fatal.
I entered the building, gun in hand, air tank on, expecting to be challenged... and found myself walking around bodies.
It looked like the alarms went off and all the guards had rushed into the building- without checking the air. That suggested that the tranq wasn't part of their lockdown procedures. Had Heero done this?
I made my way through the building, stepping around sleeping people, feeling as if I was wandering through Sleeping Beauty's castle looking for the princess.
Heero would kill me if he ever heard that thought.
I headed towards the main labs- those had been the places that Heero had to gather information from, and at a guess, they would be on his list of things to destroy. I really hoped he wasn't in a vent someplace, or in an elevator shaft, a victim of the drug in the air.
Maybe he was someplace watching me- if he was the one who administered the knockout drug, it was possible... maybe I had gotten here in plenty of time... but if that was the case, he should've been able to get out by now...
The main lab was easy to find, not so easy to get into, as the building's lockdown had blocked all access doors into it. I managed to find a computer and hack my way in, also releasing the lockdown on the rest of the building. I wanted the Preventers in here fast. I also gave myself a skeleton key code while I was in the system- I didn't want to be locked out of anything else.
As I stood in front of the lab doors, my communicator crackled to life in my ear.
"02?"
It was Quatre.
"Hey 04, you part of my backup?"
"You didn't think we were going to let you ride off to the rescue by yourself, did you? Status?"
"No sign of 01. I'm about to enter the main lab. Building was in lockdown, some kind of tranq was released into the air- don't come in here without a mask."
"Roger that. Will report to Commander and stay in contact. Let us know what you find."
"Got it. About to enter lab."
The doors slid open after I keyed the code in and I gasped. The lab was a wreck.
Bodies were everywhere- security and white lab coats... and most of them lay in pools of blood. These people had not been knocked out.
Around the perimeter of the room were glass tubes, most of them now shattered, their contents scattered in pools of fluid on the floor. The things that had been inside nearly made me lose the contents of my stomach. These researchers had been doing some Very Bad Things.
I scanned the room again and caught a flash of black. I moved closer, stepping over bodies, keeping my eyes away from the walls, and found Heero.
He was lying half in and half out of one of the cylinders, unconscious. It looked like they had been trying to stick him into it when all hell had broken loose. His gun was still clenched in his hand, and I recognized it as the one he usually kept concealed in a special holster- they must not have searched him thoroughly enough.
Not that I had been able to find the thing when he'd tested out the holster either...
His other arm was covered with tubes and needles. What the hell had they been doing to him?
I put my hand on his throat, and took a deep breath.
He was alive. His heart was beating- slowly, but it was beating.
"04?" I said into the communicator.
"Right here."
"I found 01. He's alive. I'm pulling him out."
"Acknowledged. Status?"
"Unconscious. Looks like they were pumping him full of something..."
"Med team is ready. Commander has acknowledged the need for a full team- they are on their way. Come on out, we're waiting for you."
"We're on our way." I freed Heero's arm and lifted him up and over my shoulder.
As I turned, I caught sight of one of the guys in a lab coat lying face down a foot or so away, no sign of a bullet wound. He looked... familiar. Curious, I poked at him with my foot, turning him over.
"Goddamn fucking hell!" I swore.
"What?" Quatre's voice sounded startled. "Duo what is it?"
"Doctor J!"
TBC...
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