Author: Merula
Pairings: implied 2+1
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Yaoi, post war-ness, OOC, NCS, songfic with no lyrics.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine. 'Crash and Burn' belongs to Savage Garden.
Not Alone
The apartment was cold and empty. It reminded him of the war years, when he lived a solitary life, living only for the mission. It was then he had learned the value of friends, of companionship. After the war they had banded together, brothers who had done the impossible. The five pilots were inseparable... for a time. Heero was alone again, only this time he knew it. He had no missions to lose himself in, no overpowering enemy to defeat, nothing. He wandered for a time. That time faded quickly as the Mariemeia Incident reared its ugly head and brought the pilots together again. After Mariemeia, Heero was the first to extend the olive branch to Wufei, and the two of them joined the Preventers together.
Wufei and he had gotten an apartment together, and Heero felt the pangs of loneliness fade... for a time. Wufei fell in love with Sally Po, and the two of them got engaged. Heero was to be their best man. He had been living by himself ever since Wufei had moved out to live with Sally. Fei had been a good roommate, and as much as Heero hated to admit it, he was lonely now without him. Duo had offered to come and stay with him, but Heero had seen the mess in Duo's office at the salvage yard and had decided against it. Heero could deal with a lot of things, but a messy home was not one of them. Now, standing here alone in the silence of his apartment, he regretted his foolish decision.
Heero sighed and turned the radio on for noise.
Heero sighed. He had seen the way Duo had looked at him and knew the braided baka had feelings for him. That was really what had stopped him from having Duo move in with him. It was fear. He was scared that if he let Duo in he would get lost in those longing looks, and might never find his way back to who he was. No, it was safer to live alone then to lose control. After all, his control was legendary, and there were too many people counting on it. Heero dressed quickly, turned off the radio and left for work.
A domestic disturbance call came over his car radio on his way into work. That wasn't his area usually, but it was an emergency and he was only minutes away. Punching in his code, he responded and pulled in to investigate. It was bad. He had to physically restrain the husband and cuff him to a railing outside to stop him from beating his wife. Once he was cuffed, the husband - a large man with an old crescent shaped scar on his left cheek - went strangely quiet, regarding Heero with a hateful gaze. That wasn't the worst part, what he found inside was worse by far. The wife was badly beaten, but she refused to let Heero help her.
"My baby," she cried again and again, gesturing down the hall. "Please help my baby."
Heero nodded and proceeded down the hallway. At the far end the hall he noticed blood spattered on the wall and drew his gun. He needn't have bothered. The man was naked from the waist down, wearing only a white ribbed tank top soaked with blood. Based on the blood splatter pattern, the victim had been shot in the hallway and had staggered back to the bedroom where he had collapsed. The body clutched a pastel pink nightshirt in its left hand.
Shit, he thought to himself, there is no way that shirt belonged to the woman he had seen. That must mean it belongs to... Heero turned and stared kicking open doors at a fevered pitch. No, oh god no, he pleaded inwardly as he searched the rooms. He found the child's body in the last room, naked and still. Death was not an uncommon companion to Heero in his line of work, but the death of a child was not something he could ever get used to. Reverently he closed the door, and walked forward to the realm of the living.
The regular police arrived ten minutes later and Heero happily handed the scene over to them giving them the al the details he had observed from the scene and a number he could be reached at. His drive to work was interrupted once again, this time by a call from Preventers headquarters.
"Yuy."
"Heero, Fei here, we've got a problem."
"Details?"
"It's the activists again," Wufei said quickly, "and Heero, this time they have hostages."
"Where?"
Wufei rattled off an address and told Heero he was on route also. Heero merely grunted and continued driving, plugging the address into his cars GPS unit so it could plot him the fastest course. He looked at the route outlined and frowned, he knew that area. It was in the older industrial complex, out where they were dismantling all of the old mobile suits for salvage... Duo! That was where Duo was working these days. The car rocketed through the town at unsafe speeds. If the activists discovered who he really was...
Heero slid into the parking lot with the stench of burning rubber and leapt from his car. Damnit, it was the salvage yard they were hitting. The activists were a radical environmental group that blamed mobile suits and their pilots for the destruction of earth's precious eco system. Never mind that the damage was done long before mobile suits were even invented. If mobile suit pilots were bad, then Gundam pilots were the kings of evil, since a single suit could do far more damage then a squad of Leos. Please let Duo be safe, please...
"Agent Yuy, I have commander Une on hold," A sergeant said holding out a cell phone. "She needs to speak with you now."
Heero swallowed his rising anxiety and reined in his control.
"Yuy."
"Heero," Une sounded relieved. "Thank god you beat Wufei to the scene. Listen, the activists have got Maxwell inside. They haven't made their demands known as of yet, but when they do I have my best negotiation team on its way to deal with them. Listen Heero, as far as we can tell they don't know who they've got, so Maxwell is safe for now. What I need from you is to keep Wufei from doing something stupid. Understood?"
"Affirmative," Heero said calmly, "I'll keep Chang in check."
"You're a good man Heero," Une said, "and don't worry, I've got my best negotiators coming. We'll settle this quickly."
Heero handed he phone back to the waiting officer. "Agent Chang is to report directly to me for briefing. Under no circumstances is anyone to give him any information, understood?"
"Yes Agent Yuy," The sergeant said snapping to attention. "Where will you be?"
"I'll be over there in my car," Heero said pointing to the still idling vehicle. "Inform me if there are any changes."
Heero didn't wait for a reply; he could feel his control slipping.
Heero shook his head to try and clear it. He had to clear his mind, if he didn't Duo might... might... Dammit! All right Heero, he told himself, Une is counting on you to control this situation, and Duo is too. You can do this, you have faced harder challenges then this and come out on top. Control is the key. A car tore into the parking lot and an anxious Wufei hopped out and grabbed the first man he saw and started barking orders. The sergeant came up, relieved the beleaguered man, and pointed out Heero's car to the angry agent. Fei stormed over and pulled open the passenger side door of Heero's car.
"Yuy, what is the meaning of this?" barked Wufei. "I show up on my assignment and find that I have to get all my info from you? What's going on?"
Heero turned and looked at Wufei, "I'm in charge because Commander Une ordered me to take control. Do you have a problem with that?"
Wufei huffed and slid into the passenger side seat pulling the door closed behind him.
"Why did Une pull me?" Fei asked in a smoldering tone.
"You know why," Heero said calmly. "We're dealing with the activists. They hate all pilots, especially us."
"She doesn't think I can deal fairly with them?"
Heero sighed, this wasn't going to be easy. "You know they would love nothing more then to get their hands on one or more of us. What would you do if they offered to exchange hostages for you?"
"I would try to trade out as many bodies as I could for my own," Wufei replied, as if the question was a dumb one. "It is the only just thing to do."
"No." Heero replied calmly, "It would be the stupidest thing you could do. The hostages have a chance of leaving alive; they are innocents to these eco terrorists. You are one of the five great devils, and they would gladly trade their lives for yours. You would be walking into a death sentence."
"I am not afraid to die if the cause is just!" Wufei snorted indignantly.
"Neither are they, and killing you is just in their eyes. I am planning on keeping you and me out of sight of the fanatics so that we don't put ourselves or the hostages in danger."
"How could our being here endanger the hostages?" Wufei demanded.
Heero gave Wufei cold look, "Do you honestly think that they would hesitate to start killing hostages if we refused to trade ourselves? To them they are only bargaining chips, alive or dead."
Fei sighed and nodded in agreement. "In this you are correct Yuy, I will bow to Une's judgment, though I do not like it. Tell me, what is the plan?"
"We need to hold tight until the negotiators come, Une said she sent her best."
"Very well, I shall wait here with you then," Fei said getting comfortable. "We shall see what Une has sent us together."
Heero nodded with a serene look on his face, but inside the doubt continued to build.
The negotiators were not what either man had expected. A large limo pulled up flanked by two cars front and back. Rashid stepped from the lead car and began barking orders. In no time a small kevlar tent was constructed around the limo, obscuring it from view, and upon its completion Heero and Wufei were invited to enter. Heero noted a TV crew pulling in as he stepped inside the bulletproof tent. One of the Maguanac core pulled open the door and allowed the two men to slip inside. Already seated inside was Quatre, and to Heero's surprise, Relena Peacecraft.
"Commander Une wasn't kidding, she did send the best," Heero said with a genuine smile.
"Where is Trowa?" Wufei asked, all business.
"He's outside with the security detail," Quatre said with a tired smile. "Don't worry about him being recognized, even I don't recognize him when he doesn't want me to. I have every confidence he'll be fine."
"You aren't planning to go in there are you?" Heero asked.
"No," Quatre soothed, "I am going to stay out of it unless I have to join in. I know how these guys are, and the mere sight of me would drive them into a tizzy. It will be Relena's show, I'm just here for support."
"Surely you have no intention of sending the vice foreign minister into negotiate with these hoodlums," Wufei protested.
"Relax Wufei," Relena said, age and experience adding some maturity to her tone. "There is a camera crew going in, all volunteers. They are going to set up a live feed between this command center and their command center. We will talk face to face as it were, over the airwaves."
Fei nodded, "Good enough, as long as the vice foreign minister is not in harm's way." Wufei passed before speaking again. "Tell me, I'm certain you have many more important things to attend to, why stop to negotiate for a few salvage workers?"
Relena paused, but only briefly, "Lets just say I owe an old debt that needs repaying, and this is a partial payment on it."
Wufei nodded, "We all owe Commander Une for something."
Relena hid her smile, "Yes we do Fei. Yes we do."
Rashid poked his head inside the car. "We have live feed. I'll connect you on your signal master Quatre."
"Very good Rashid," Quatre smiled, "Gentlemen, if you would join me on this side of the limo, we can watch the entire exchange on these two monitors."
The three settled in and Quatre gave Rashid the signal. A mans face snapped into clear focus, a face Heero had seen before just this morning. There could be no doubt about it. The square jaw, large powerful frame, and crescent shaped scar on his right cheek. It was the husband from the double homicide from this morning. He smiled at the camera.
"Hello there Vice Foreign Minister Peacecraft, what an unexpected surprise. I knew they would send someone good to sit and chat with me, but I never once figured it would be you."
"I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage." Relena responded. "You know my name, but I don't know yours."
"My name is unimportant," the man said with a casual wave, "you can just call me The Judge."
"The Judge? Is there to be some sort of trial?"
"Why yes," The Judge smirked. "I'm planning on putting the Gundam pilots on trial today, and if they are found guilty of the crimes for which they stand accused, they will face execution."
"And what crimes are they being accused of?"
"Why of being Gundam Pilots of course," the Judge purred. "They took the law into their own hands and took countless lives, and caused wanton destruction of our precious Eco-System."
"Why did have to capture so many innocents to try so few men?"
"Oh, not all of them are innocents. In fact one of them is to be the first trial today." The camera panned to the left. "Relena Peacecraft, I believe you know Duo Maxwell."
Heero's heart froze in his chest for just a moment. His worst fear had just been realized.
And there has always been heartache and pain, And when it's over you'll breath again, You'll breath again.
Duo gave the camera a lopsided smile, "Hello Relena."
"Are you OK?" She asked him, a note of concern in her voice.
"The boys here played a little slap and tickle with me before you arrived, but I can safely say nothing is broken... yet."
The camera turned away from Duo and back to the Judge, "As you can see Miss Vice Foreign Minister, 02 is the genuine article."
"You realize of course that this trial of yours is basically an excuse for cold blooded murder," Relena said her eyes narrowing. "I was sent in to free all the hostages, and that goes for Duo Maxwell as well."
The Judge chuckled and shook his head, "There will be no conditions like that Miss Peacecraft. The trial and execution of the pilots is not negotiable. What is negotiable is how many others need to die as well before the others surrender themselves to me."
"It may take weeks to locate the other pilots," Relena offered. "And even then you are not giving me anything that I can take as good faith that anyone will be released."
"Miss Peacecraft," the judge said his face going cold, "You and I both know where the other pilots are, so stop playing dumb with me."
"I'm not sure what you are getting at?" Relena asked.
Judge smiled a sad little smile, "Very well then, I'll call your bluff. The security around your car is primarily Maguanacs, led by Rashid. He never goes anywhere without Quatre, so 04 must be there with you, probably to aid in the negotiation. Wherever 04 goes, 03 tends to follow, so it's a safe bet that Trowa Barton is there with you as well. Further more, I know this case was assigned to Wufei Chang, pilot 05, because I made it clear that I wanted to deal with him when I called the Preventers. And as for Heero Yuy, pilot 01..."
The judge picked up a cell phone and pressed the speed dial option. In side the car Heero's phone broke the silence of the back of the limo as all three pilots turned to stare dumbly at it.
"He graciously gave his cell number to my men this morning," The Judge sneered.
Heero angrily shut off his phone and glared at the smug face on the screen. Relena offered the Judge her best diplomatic smile.
"It's true that Agent Yuy is here with me, but the others are not. Yuy was in close proximity, and I suggested to Commander Une that it wouldn't be safe to have more then one pilot here so she sent Agent Chang elsewhere. Quatre couldn't make it because he is on L4 for business, but he insisted on sending me some support since the core was here on earth for drills. As to the location of Trowa Barton, I can use your logic and assume he too is L4 with Mr. Winner."
"You are lying, the others must be there," the Judge hissed.
"Agent Yuy, would you join me?" Relena asked calmly. "Since this gentleman seems to think you know him, maybe you can explain the facts to him.
Heero made his way past the camera, his face frozen in perfect soldier mode. The smug look on the Judge's face turned into an icy stare as he scowled at the ex Gundam pilot.
"We meet again 01."
"Why?" Heero asked flatly.
"Because I hate all of you, and will not rest until I see you all dead."
"Why that family?"
The Judge chuckled at that one, "They were on your immediate route into work. I wanted to see how the 'Perfect Soldier' handled a not so perfect situation. The husband put up a little fight, but stopped when I told him I would spare his daughter and wife if he cooperated."
"You killed the daughter, and then proceeded to beat the wife half to death," Heero stated coldly, "the husband sacrificed himself for nothing."
"Now Heero, that is not strictly true," the Judge said with a hurt look. "He died to give me a little entertainment while I waited for you."
"The cops must have been your men."
"They were, and the call that came in on your radio was from my men as well. You should be flattered, it takes a bit of doing to jam and reroute Preventers communications. It was all staged for your benefit, and to serve as a warning that I am serious in my intentions about killing hostages - young and old - if I don't get my way."
"What will you give me?"
The Judge paused, "How about the children? Since you seem so disturbed by the deaths of the little children, I'll swap the ten children from day care for you."
"Deal," Heero agreed, "Now here are my terms. The children are to be released and allowed to reach the safety of the base camp. Once the last of the children has stepped inside. I will exit and come unarmed to take their place."
"No good," the Judge frowned. "What if you take the children but then refuse to come in their place?"
"If you have not seen me within the five minutes of allotted time I have specified," Heero said, "you may begin executing your prisoners until I do arrive."
The judge sat quietly for a moment, "Well, since I can't ask you to trust my good intentions, I will have to trust yours. But be aware 01, if you are not inside this building exactly five minutes after the last of the children enter the tent, I will start decorating the parking lot with blood."
The live feed cut off then, and all hell broke loose inside the limo.
"What in the Hell you think you are doing Yuy?" Wufei shouted angrily. "You never told me that Duo was inside. We can't let that maniac kill him or you!"
"There is no way I can let you enter that building Heero," Relena added.
"I must," Heero said, "It's the only way I can save..."
"Oh Heero," Quatre said softly, his space heart telling him volumes.
"There are over one hundred people in that building," Wufei yelled, his anger undimmed. "Trading you for just ten is nowhere even close to equitable. You should make him give us at least a quarter of the hostages."
Rashid poked his head in the car, one hand cupped to his ear. "They are sending out hostages... Ten in all... Looks like all children..."
"I have to go," Heero announced, and stepped out of the car into the tent. "Rashid, after I enter the building I want you to make certain none of the other pilots enter it. Two of us is bad enough."
Rashid nodded, "I already have men headed through the sewers to infiltrate the base from below. I will make certain you are the last pilot to enter the building."
Heero nodded handing over his Preventer's gear to Rashid, "Also, no matter what else happens, The Judge is not to leave alive, understood?"
Rashid nodded grimly, "Perfectly. Good luck Heero, may Allah be with you."
Heero merely nodded. Once the last of the children has stepped through the flaps, Heero stepped out with his hands raised. Hang on Duo, I'm coming.
The guards at the door frisked him roughly before tying his hands behind his back. He was shoved and prodded as they marched down the corridors to the main room where the Judge was holding court. It was a small conference room that was used for board meetings. Heero recognized it from the one time Duo had convinced him he needed back up. Duo hadn't really needed him, it was actually a surprise birthday party for Heero, and it was then that Heero realized just how much Duo had cared for him. He had so much to make up for. Then he stopped that train of thought. Not now, there would be time for that later. Now Duo needed his best, and he had to give it his all.
"01,' Came the chill voice of the Judge, "So nice of you to join us. I was kind of hoping you would be late so I could give the Princess of Pink a bit of a show, but I guess she will have to settle for watching you two die on public TV. That should be enough of an enticement to draw the others to me don't you think?"
"I would never underestimate a Gundam pilot," Heero warned.
"Oh I don't plan on it," Judge smirked. "Gentleman, please take 01 and give him he same examination you gave to 02. We don't want to play favorites."
The crew were very through indeed. First they had to "soften him up". This consisted of one or more thugs holding Heero, while another of their clan used his abdomen as a punching bag. When Heero could barely stay on his feet, they move on to stage two. His clothing was shredded and his every orifice was searched. He was pronounced clean, and then the final humiliation began. Each of the five men took a turn, and Heero withstood everything they did to him without making a single sound. It was meant to humiliate him and break his spirit. They failed miserably. His training had been intense. This method would not break him. He had no doubt that they had done the same to Duo. It wouldn't have broken him either. He held on to that thought.
Heero stood when the last man finished, ignoring his nudity and the pains of his body. His face was pinched into a death glare that had not been seen since the wars. He looked at each man in turn, his icy gaze chilling. One of the men cracked under the intensity of his gaze and threw a punch to his face. 01 staggered backwards a step, and resumed his silent stare. The man rocked back to hit him again, but the others grabbed hold of him.
"Not in the face, man. The boss told us specifically not to mark the face."
"He's not human," the shaken man mumbled. "I'm telling you he's not human."
"I'm not human." Heero said without trace of irony in his voice. "Five grown men have just beaten and raped a teenaged boy whose only crime was to trade his life for the lives of children. If that is what it means to be human, you can have it."
"You smug bastard!" The shaken man roared breaking free of his companions grasp, fists swinging.
Blessed darkness swept Heero into his tender embrace...
~*~
"Heero..." A familiar voice hissed in his ear.
Heero registered the boy's voice and several other facts at the same time. Fact - he had been dressed in some sort of jumpsuit and now strapped sitting upright in a chair. Fact - he could feel aches in his ribs and a slight sense of disorientation, probable concussion. Fact - he was not alone, someone was sitting next to him, calling out to him
"Duo?" Heero murmured quietly, still in a daze.
"Oh thank god," Duo spoke quietly. "When they brought you in here all quiet and bleeding, I thought for sure they had gone too far."
"I'm here Duo," Heero murmured, "You're not alone."
"Heero?" Duo asked softly, concern edging back into his voice.
"Sorry," Heero murmured shaking his head to clear it, "my thoughts are pretty jumbled right now. I think I took one too many shots to the head."
Duo's brows lifted in amusement, "Heero Yuy, did you just attempt to put a humorous spin on our predicament?"
"You are absolutely right," Heero said in a deadpan tone, "Make that two too many."
"Damn," Duo scoffed, "I may have to get a new routine. Maybe I should play the straight man for a while."
"I'm not looking for a straight man," Heero said, his tone soft, "just a partner."
Duo fell silent for a moment, "Heero, are you sure you're all right?"
Heero took stock for a minute, "Two cracked ribs, bruises, and mild concussion. But," and he met his friend's eyes, "you're with me now, so it's okay."
Duo opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again, at a loss for words. It was at this moment that the Judge returned with the cameraman and a few others in tow.
"Well 01, I see you have regained consciousness," he cooed triumphantly. "Ready for your trial?"
"Don't you mean execution?" Heero corrected, "I mean, the verdict you are going to pass isn't really in doubt, is it?"
"No," he agreed, "but every condemned man deserves a trial, fair or not."
"Not every man," Heero said softly.
The judge pointedly ignored Heero's comment and turned to look for the cameraman. The small man was sitting slouched in a corner, awaiting his cue to return. With a wave, the cameraman rose and took up a position in front of the Judge.
"Are you ready?" The judge asked.
"Yes," replied an oddly familiar voice.
"Let's finish this then," smiled the Judge.
"Agreed," The cameraman said and pulled the trigger.
A blinding beam of light shot from the camera, and the headless body of the judge fell lifelessly to the floor. The other activists didn't have a chance. They also fell. The cameraman didn't waste a moment. Tossing aside the now useless camera he quickly began loosening the restraints from Duo and Heero. Heero blinked confusedly as he tried to focus on the face of the man who had just killed his torturers.
"I was wondering when you'd make your move Trowa," Duo said as he pulled one arm free.
"Trowa?" Heero said confused.
"Yes Heero, it's me." Trowa's green eyes met his calmly. "I'm sorry for taking so long to make my move, but I had the give the Maguanac core enough time to secure the hostages." He tapped the headset in his ear.
"When did you come in?" Heero asked, "I thought I made it perfectly clear to Rashid that no other pilots were to enter after me."
"Don't be angry with Rashid. I didn't come in after you, I came in before you did Heero," Trowa said, loosening Heero's bonds. "I was the one who volunteered to bring the camera in for the exchange."
"That was dangerous, you could have been discovered." Heero protested.
"I was the only one who noticed," Duo said playfully. "Trowa is good at blending in, but no where near as good as I was."
"C'mon, let's get you two out of here, Rashid can clean up the rest of this mess." Trowa said pulling Heero to his feet.
"What about the rest of the gang? If they escape, they might try something like this again! We have to get them all," Heero demanded.
Trowa brushed his bangs aside and looked Heero deep in the eyes, "Rashid will make certain that none of them will ever make trouble like this again. He knows quite well the risks of having such fanatics on the loose."
Heero relaxed then and threw his other arm over Duo, "Let's get out of here."
Duo grinned and gave him a gentle squeeze, "You got it - partner."
~*~
It had only been two weeks since the incident, and already the apartment was a mess. Heero stepped over the game console and games scattered in front of his big screen TV, and made his way into the kitchen. The dishes were still stacked in the sink where he left them, and a pizza box was haphazardly tossed on top on his trashcan. This was exactly what he had predicted would happen if Duo moved in. A warm smile crossed his lips as he reheated some coffee in the microwave, a trick Duo had taught him. Duo was Duo, and there was nothing he could do to change it. There was no two ways around it; Heero would just have to hire a maid to pick up after his braided baka.
He threaded his way back through the clutter to his bedroom, warm coffee in hand. Ever so gently he eased the door back open and looked inside. What he saw warmed him more then coffee ever could. Duo was sprawled across the bed, his hair loose, his breath even. Heero just stood there sipping his coffee and gazing fondly at his partner, his soul mate. A small sigh escaped his lips and he repeated the mantra that had been a part of his life for the last two weeks.
I'm not alone.
OWARI
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