Love-child fic Part 8
Heero and Trowa were in Quatre's office, bent over the remains of the robot. I had to suppress a shiver when I saw it laid out on the table. Even in pieces it gave me the creeps. I half-expected it to pull itself together and come after me again.
"Hey Duo," Trowa looked up and gave me a faint smile. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah, just fine."
"Doctor clear you?" Heero asked, frowning slightly.
"He did," Quatre answered for me. "Though he said we should keep an eye on Duo, just in case. He doesn't see any traces of the drug left in his system, but better safe than sorry."
"Good," Heero's frown vanished and he turned to the laptop beside him. "We managed to break into the program, but other than Duo being the target, we haven't managed to find much else in there."
"Let me take a look," Quatre moved to the laptop and Trowa leaned over his shoulder.
I moved closer to the table. The robot was in pieces- we'd already done some major damage, but it looked like the guys had completely dismantled it. "Any other surprises built in?"
"Not that we found." Heero ran his fingers through his bangs. "All the needles had the same kind of stuff you got hit with. Apparently, they wanted to knock you out. Did Quatre tell you about the ship that was out there beside us?"
"Yes. It looks like someone is hunting pilots."
"Or hunting you."
That wasn't a comfortable thought. "Nah. I'd bet I was targeted because I'm the easiest one of us to get to-"
"You're also the best of the pilots." Heero countered. "If someone needed a pilot for something- you'd be the logical choice. But- it may not be because you're a pilot. They may have wanted you for something else. You can't overlook who put the box on your ship- and what he kept trying to do. You turned him down a lot, Duo. Maybe he got impatient."
My stomach twisted. "This seems really extreme-"
"Duo, some people are willing to go to extremes to get what they want. You know that."
"I know that." I admitted. "I just don't like thinking of it in these terms- you know- applied to me?"
"I don't either." Heero reached out and tugged the end of my braid. "But I don't think any of us are going to let you out of our sight for a bit. Just in case."
"Interesting," said Quatre and I felt my face heat up- until I realized he was talking about the program. "Heero- come look at this."
I followed Heero, and we both bent over the screen. "What is it?"
"This here," Quatre tapped it with his fingers. "Where the program is given the specifications of its target. Do you see what they used?"
"A DNA scan." Heero frowned.
"So?" Trowa asked before I could.
"Well, the last time I did one of those was right before Operation Meteor."
"Dr. J gave me one too."
"Duo? Trowa? I know you weren't the intended pilots..."
"I didn't." Trowa shook his head.
"I did- not right before- but G said he was testing the equipment-"
"And have you done one since?" Quatre asked.
"No."
"Which means this is someone who has access to those records."
"Impossible- it's not like the docs left them hanging around." I protested. "I know G had everything ready to be erased."
"Then this is someone who managed to work around that."
"You'd have to be pretty clever to work around the docs' fail safes," I pointed out.
"Unless it's one of the doctors." Heero frowned. "We don't really know what happened to them."
"If it is one of them, then why not just approach us directly?" Trowa ran his fingers through his bangs. "Why try to catch Duo?"
"It could easily be someone who worked with them as well," Quatre tapped the screen. "Or simply someone who was determined enough to find the information. We need to be open to all possibilities."
"So, we know they have a copy of my DNA scan. Which means they could send more of these after me." I turned to look at the broken robot. I really didn't want to deal with another one of those, but it looked like it was very possible. "So, what do I do when the next one shows up? Try to follow it back home?"
"It won't go home unless it manages to get you." Heero snapped.
"But we need to know who sent it, right?"
"If that's a suggestion that you play bait-" Trowa frowned at me.
"No, no," I said hurriedly as the three of them glared at me. "Just in case. I doubt they are just going to give up. Not when they were willing to go to such extremes already."
The other two were still glaring, but Quatre looked thoughtful. "That's a good point. It's more than likely that they will try again- and if we can get them to do it when we're ready for them..." He trailed off as Trowa and Heero turned their glares on him. "What? We can't just lock Duo up someplace safe forever!"
Heero muttered something under his breath that sounded like "why not?" but Trowa smiled.
"What do you have in mind, devious one?"
The look Quatre turned on me made me very uncomfortable. "Well, it's just the barest beginning of a plan, and Duo would have to agree of course-"
"Of course." Heero cut in.
Quatre grinned. "But if we can pull it off, we can figure out exactly who is behind this little game-"
"Then I'm in," I said before the other two could object. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder."
"All right then. Here's what I have in mind..."
~*~
"I really don't like this."
Heero was bent over the robot, a set of tools beside him. I looked up from the screen to find him looking at me. Trowa and Quatre had gone off to make 'arraignments' nearly an hour ago. I'd been going over the plan, looking for possible problems, but my mind kept wandering off on tangents.
"Don't like what? Did you find something?"
"This plan of Quatre's."
"I'm not sure I really like it either, but he's right- it's the best chance we have to find out what's going on."
"You're taking a big risk."
"So are the rest of you," I pointed out. "Can you think of a better way?"
"I wish I could." Heero looked back at the robot. "I just keep thinking that they might send more than one of these next time- and I won't be there."
That sounded almost like he- well, it was an opening to talk about the other thing that had been bothering me all morning.
"Heero? Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
Taking a deep breath, I blurted out: "Why did you kiss me earlier?"
He looked up and blinked at me. "I guess it was sort of bad to do in front of Quatre- it's just I was relieved that you were okay. You really worried me."
My expression must've done something interesting, because he suddenly turned a light red color. "You don't remember...? I thought you were awake-"
I'm sure my face turned a color that matched his. "I thought that was a dream-"
"No," Heero shook his head. "You weren't dreaming."
"But you weren't there the next morning!" That came out differently than I had intended.
"I went to shower- I was going to come back- but you woke up- and then the crate-"
Oh.
"Duo?" His fingers brushed my cheek. When had he gotten so close? "Are you mad that I did?"
"No!" Damn, I must be incandescent now. "No, not at all."
"So you wouldn't mind if I did it again?"
Before I could answer, the door swung open and Trowa and Quatre walked in. I caught the wink Quatre gave me as Heero slid quickly away and sighed.
"All set?" I asked.
"Yes. Ready when you are."
TBC...
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