[On broken wings I'm falling and it won't be long
The skin on me is burning by the fires of the sun
On skinned knees I'm bleeding
And it won't be long
I've got to find that meaning and I'll search for so long]
--- Lyrics to 'Broken Wings' performed by Alter Bridge
A Silver Lining Part 43
Lady Une smiled as she took a glimpse in her rearview mirror to the two pilots lounging in the backseat of her Sedan. Heero laid stretch out to take up more than half of the seat as he leaned against the car door with Duo nestled in his arms and sound asleep.
The emotional strain that the braided pilot had endured while his lover was in captivity left him exhausted and despite his best efforts to stay awake, he drifted off not long after they pulled out from the shuttle port to return to headquarters. Lady Une couldn't help but smile all the more at recalling how hard the young man tried to stay awake after reuniting with Heero after fearing for him.
With a small smile as he looked down at his partner, Heero gently kissed the forehead resting against his shoulder. There was a soft sigh in response as Duo snuggled closer to him, seeking reassurance even in his sleep that he was still there. Gently squeezing the smaller pilot in his arms, the ex-Wing pilot rested his own head against the window of the door as he closed his own eyes for a moment.
The endearing scene brought another smile to Lady Une's face as she focused on the road again. Despite the fact that Heero looked worse for wear, himself, he certainly seemed renewed in being reunited with his lover. There would be time to ask what had happened while he was held and how he escaped later. The fact that her best agent and good friend had returned safely was all that really mattered to the Commander at that point.
Based on the rage determination that was in the ex-Wing pilot's cobalt eyes when he mentioned Tim, there were more pressing matters to be attended to. Her hands gripping the wheel at the slimy young man being held, Lady Une's own brown eyes narrowed on the road.
From the moment that he was brought in, the little coward had all of them convinced that he did not know anything. To now know that he was withholding possibly vital information threatened to snap every shred of composure that the Commander was holding on to. If he wanted to play games, she was more than willing to join in.
All bets were off now.
Opening his eyes slowly, Heero noted that they were nearing headquarters. As much as he wanted his partner to get the well-needed rest that he only began to catch up on, he needed him alert. Gently brushing the backs of his fingers over the other pilot's cheek, he urged quietly, "Duo. Wake up, love."
With a small hum, the American blinked his violet eyes open and peered up to his partner. His vision focusing, he smiled and muttered, "Hey. Are we back already?" A hand reached up to rub at his eyes.
"Almost," Heero replied softly. Frowning deeply, he said quietly, "I'm going to have to ask something of you."
His eyes opening fully in anticipation, the braided pilot nodded firmly in his resolve to do whatever was to be requested of him. In seeing how his lover was willing to carry out his wishes, regardless of how tired he was and without knowing what those wishes were, the Japanese pilot felt his heart strings tugging at him.
With a quick kiss to the smaller agent's head, Heero told him, "I need you to channel Shinigami for me. If we're going to get anything out of Tim, we can't afford to be hesitant to use whatever means necessary to get the answers we need. I know that you've been through a lot, but we can't afford to wait. I need this from you." And just like that, just because he asked, the violet eyes watching him changed in a blink.
There was a cold, piecing calculation behind them. It was a gaze that made the hairs on the back of Heero's stand, as they had whenever he saw that look during the war. Duo was no more as only the God of Death remained. With a dark and chilling smirk, the smaller pilot nodded firmly, "Done."
Squeezing his lover tightly in appreciation, Heero grinned in relief. Silently, he looked forward to when the nightmare of White Out had been eliminated so that Duo would never have to revert to his frightening persona. 'Soon,' he told himself. 'Very soon.'
As much as he looked forward to his partner finally leaving Shinigami to rest, the ex-Wing pilot was certain that the braided agent wished the same for him in leaving the Perfect Soldier behind for good.
Peering into the rearview mirror once more, Lady Une met the cobalt gaze that looked up when she offered, "I'm sure that you would want to get cleaned up before dealing with Tim." She made a small gesture to the bloody state of his gray T-shirt and blue jeans. "You could use the shower while I look for a change of clothes for you."
Heero shook his head, "No. I'll be going in like this. You said that he intimidates easily, so I want to use everything to our advantage when we deal with the little shit."
Slowly, a smug grin tugged the Commander's lips as the notion of a bloody ex-Gundam pilot handling her prisoner. "Very good," she remarked with a firm nod. "If it is all right with the two of you, I would like to be present. I don't want to miss a damn thing by having to sit back in the observation room."
With a mock air of authority as she straightened, Lady Une smirked, "Besides, I have to be there to be certain that the strict guidelines of proper interrogation are followed and that the prisoner's rights are not violated."
Chuckling deeply, Heero replied, "Of course, Commander Une."
* * * * * *
"You're shitting me!" Anna exclaimed as her jaw dropped at the sight of the very young man that she and her friends had been working tirelessly to find stepping into the room. While Trowa, Quatre and Noin remained still in their own shock with wide eyes, the redhead threw her hands in the air and laughed, "Aw man, you took away all the fun of a kick ass rescue mission!"
As he embraced the young woman when she rose from her seat and approached, Heero chuckled deeply, "Sorry to be a killjoy, Anna, but you were all taking your dear sweet time and I was getting bored waiting." He winked at her as he pulled back when she lightly hit him in the arm with a bubbly laugh.
Duo and Lady Une remained in the doorway of the computer lab as they watched the reunion between their friends. The Commander chuckled deeply and shook her head in amusement during the exchange. The braided pilot, on the other hand, remained still as he focused on the task he had at hand.
Trowa smiled widely as he shook hands with his disheveled friend and pulled him into a one-armed embrace. "Not even a souvenir for any of us from your trip?" he smirked. Rolling his cobalt eyes, Heero was rewarded with another round of laughter as he was tightly hugged by Quatre.
As she approached, Noin shook her head with a lop-sided grin as she commented, "Somehow, I am not the least bit surprised." After sharing a brief embrace with the Japanese pilot, she smiled, "Good to have you back in one piece."
Sighing deeply, Heero nodded and replied sincerely, "Thank you, Noin."
At that, Lady Une entered and announced, "Sorry to keep this short, but we're going to need the four of you in the observation room while Duo and Heero interrogate Tim. He's hiding something and we can't afford to miss anything when he finally does talk. With any luck, something he says will be linked to what you're deciphering on that data chip."
A relief washed over the four agents at the news. Quickly taking up a notepad from his desk, Quatre grinned, "Right behind you."
* * * * * *
After their brief reunion with their missing friend, Wufei, Sally and Zechs stepped into the observation room that looked in on the interrogation room. Smirking, the Chinese pilot folded his arms and leaned against the wall beside Trowa. "This ought to be good," he chuckled deeply, watching the young man sitting in the next room.
"I was half tempted to make popcorn to pass out," the Latin agent remarked. At that, Wufei sputtered in laughter.
Zechs moved to sit beside his wife as he sighed deeply, "I just hope that they spare some of him for the rest of us." With a small, sympathetic grin, Noin patted his leg in consolidation, fully understanding his frustration at not getting a shot at their smug prisoner yet.
Peering over her shoulder from where she sat at the table in the center of the room, Anna raised a hand and announced, "I believe that a friendly wager would be more than appropriate for this occasion. I have twenty bucks that says Heero and Duo will have that asshole crying for his momma and spilling everything in five minutes."
At that, Sally laughed, "That long? I'll see your bet. It'll only take them three minutes." Gesturing to the prisoner in the other room as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck as small sweat beads appeared on his brow, she smirked, "He's already panicking and he's just sitting and waiting for whatever is coming."
Quatre snorted, "Two minutes. Did you see the look on Duo's face? That alone will have Tim wetting himself." The others all laughed at their normally proper friend's choice of words as the betting continued.
Out in the hallway, Lady Une grinned to her two pilots as she walked to the holding cell. "Ready?" she asked with her hand on the door.
Just as she began to turn the doorknob, Heero told her, "Wait." When the Commander straightened, he walked up to the door and stated, "I don't want him to have a moment to prepare himself for what's coming." Reaching to her belt, he removed a pistol from its holster. As he held the weapon up, he explained, "And I'm not about to waste any time playing games."
More than satisfied with that, Lady Une nodded, "Very well." With that, she stepped aside as Heero looked back to his lover. With Duo right behind, the ex-Wing pilot turned the doorknob and quickly stepped inside.
When the door opened, Tim turned in just enough time to see a blood-splattered Heero Yuy stalking towards him with a fiery glare with Duo Maxwell quickly walking ahead of him. His grey eyes widening in terror at the sight of the threatening pair, his mouth opened and closed but he could do little more than whimper.
One swift kick from Duo sent the chair under the prisoner flying out from under him. As he collapsed to the ground, Tim hit his lower jaw onto the metal table with a loud crack, biting his tongue with a sharp cry of pain. Before he could even react, the sprawling young man was gripped by the throat in a choking grip as he was hauled up onto his shaking legs.
Blood rolling down the sides of his mouth, the captive panted heavily with wide eyes scanning the two pilots glaring at him. "W-what the fuck are you doing!" he cried in a gargled voice as Duo continued to grip his throat tightly, sweat rolling down the sides of his face as he desperately tried to calm his trembling legs.
"A little birdie just told us that you're hiding something from us," the God of Death smirked with a deep growl. "We want to know what that is."
The panic in those wide grey eyes grew as he sputtered while trying to catch his breath, "I-I don't kn-know what you're talking about! I d-don't know anything!"
Stepping forward, Heero smirked, "Really? That's not what Angie came to find out." Tilting his head, he asked, "Now what could she have found out that would make her believe that you know more than you're letting on?"
At the mention of Angie's name, Tim swallowed hard as best he could with his constricted throat. His smirk darkening into a sinister grin, Heero answered for him, "You were the one that had told Kent that Angie might have information to our whereabouts when we were hiding at the safe house, weren't you? That was how he became involved with her."
His bloody mouth opening and closing, the prisoner struggled to control his quick breathing. "How would you have known to tell him that Angie was the one he needed to get close to, when we have dozens of data record holders working for the Preventers?" the ex-Wing pilot questioned in a deep growl as he folded his arms.
"That was just a just a shot in the dark," the held young man quickly answered. "Angie was trying to get back at me for that by telling you that I know something to help in your investigation. I swear I don't know anything more than what you know."
Shaking his head, Heero told him, "She took her own life. If she thought that she was getting back at you in any way, she would have seen to it that she got to see you getting what she thought you deserved."
As he reached into his back pocket, the 'Prefect Soldier' removed a folded sheet of paper and held it up. "Angie had planted this note on me as she helped me escape. The note says that she searched Isis's computed before she returned from an important meeting. Most of her records had been erased, but your name came up more than twenty times in the classified folders. Now why might that be, Tim?"
When the young man refused to answer, Duo lifted him from his feet before he could blink, hurling his back into the stone wall with a loud grunt. "I'm not going to wait all night for you to decide to speak up, you little shit!" the braided pilot yelled as the stunned young man came back to his senses.
Frantic, Tim looked to Lady Une as she stood leaning against the wall with her arms folded. "You can't let them get away with this!" he yelled, his eyes narrowed with what rage he could build from his fear. "There are strict laws that protect prisoners from treatment like this!"
With a nonchalant shrug, the Commander replied, "What treatment are you referring to? That you simply fell from your chair and hurt yourself? I certainly don't see anything wrong taking place here."
Tim's face paled in realization that he no longer had anyone coming to his aid. With a wink, the young woman suggested, "Just answer the questions, Tim. It'll be a lot easier for you. We won't be leaving this room until then."
Having reached the end of his patience, Heero removed the pistol from his pocket as he announced, "And I'm tired of waiting." As he aimed the weapon at the wide-eyed prisoner, he removed the safety and yelled, "What are you not telling us!"
"I-I don't," the captive muttered, staring down the barrel of the gun pointing to the small space between his eyebrows.
With a nod from his lover, Duo released Tim with a rough shove. Slamming against the wall once more, the fallen agent collapsed to the ground as he couched violently and wheezed for a deep breath of air at last. Heero bent at the knees to grab a handful of the young man's shirt and pulled him up onto his feet once more.
The room spinning around him, Tim finally focused on the pistol before his face as the Japanese pilot warned, "You're going to have a hard time telling us what we want to know with the barrel of this in your mouth."
Just as Heero forced his jaw to open with one hand while bringing the gun to fill his bloody mouth, Tim screamed in a shrill voice, "All right!" In a rush of words, he stated, "Isis had me assist her in filling the pardon of a prisoner named Jack Collins.
"I was the one who arrested him years ago for possession of stolen weapons and links to several terrorists. Part of the pardon paperwork requires the signature of the presiding law enforcer responsible for brining the prisoner in, if they feel that they are fit to return to society."
Peering from one glaring face to the next, he cried, "That's all that I know! I swear on my life!"
Quickly, Lady Une stepped from the room and entered the next door. Looking to the team inside as they were about to move out, she asked, "You got that?"
With a firm nod, Trowa answered, "Yes, Commander. We're going to pull up everything that we can find on Jack Collins right now."
"Good," she nodded firmly. "I want to be informed immediately when you learn anything. Zechs, Wufei, I want the two of you to take Tim back to his holding cell." With that, she moved back to the interrogation room.
When the Commander stepped back inside, she found Tim lying sprawled on the ground and unconscious with several bruises on his face. With a deep sigh, she turned to the amused pilots. Duo, no longer in his God of Death alter ego, smirked and shrugged innocently, "What? He's still alive."
Unable to force herself to come down on the young agents, Lady Une found herself trying to keep from laughing as she gestured to the door. "Yuy, get cleaned up," she ordered. "Maxwell, look for some clean clothes for him."
Running a hand through her long bangs, the Commander thought aloud, "I have to alert the agents coming in to start the day that they are all on standby to leave on a moment's notice should we need to move them to catch this Collins. Once you're finished carrying out your tasks, you're to rest up until I call on you."
The pair nodded with their affirmatives before going their separate directions. As he stepped out into the hallway with Wufei, Zechs shook his head and chuckled deeply, "Easiest hundred bucks I ever made." Rolling his dark eyes, the Chinese pilot grumbled under his breath about the injustice of missing the win by a mere thirty seconds.
* * * * * *
Sighing deeply as he stepped under the warm spray of water, Heero wiped his face with both hands as he enjoyed the simplistic joy of a hot shower. Reaching for the soap in the small porcelain dish embedded into the wall, his senses came alert at the soft footsteps of someone approaching.
The white shower curtain was pulled back as Duo peered in with a timid grin. The warmth from the water almost enticed him as much as the naked beauty before him.... almost. With a little more confidence in his smile, he asked, "Mind if I join you?
With a grin of his own, Heero nodded, "Sure." His breath hitched in his throat when the American stepped in, revealing his own nude body as he began to remove the small rubber band at the end of his braid. His mouth going dry, he could only manage a quiet, "Gods, Duo."
"You ain't so hard to look at, yourself, lover of mine," the braided pilot winked as he freed his tress to fall against his dampening skin. Taking up the soap, he swirled his index finger in the air and told him, "Turn around."
Without a word of protest, Heero turned his back to the other young man as Duo lathered his hands. Gently massaging the tense shoulder blades as he cleaned his lover's back, the long-haired agent chuckled deeply at the deep moan that his menstruations brought out. "Good?" he asked quietly.
"Um hm," the ex-Wing pilot hummed as his head fell back. Once his backside was cleaned off, he turned with a sincere and soundly kissed his partner. After their tongues enjoyed a brief dance together, he pulled back and whispered breathlessly, "I missed you. And I've been worried sick about you."
Duo swallowed hard, unwilling to trust his voice at that moment as he nodded. Biting his lip, he looked down to his bare feet. Gently taking the soap away from the other pilot, Heero smiled and began carefully washing his partner off.
The remainder of the shower was finished in silence as the two young men cleaned each other off. Once Duo's hair was shampooed and conditioned, he was unable to contain the raw emotions that were threatening to drown him any longer. With a stifled sob, the long-haired pilot began to tremble as tears formed in his violet eyes.
His own eyes widening, Heero finished rinsing the long hair in his hands before turning the smaller agent to face him. Frowning deeply in concern, he gently lifted his lover's chin with a whispered, "Duo? What's wrong?"
Quickly wiping at his eyes as the shower water washed the remainder away, Duo shook his head and breathed, "God, Heero, I was scared to death that I would lose you. I was going crazy trying to do something, God, anything to help and there wasn't a damn thing that I could do. I just felt so helpless."
"Shh," Heero soothed gently as he ran a hand over his partner's head. "It's all right now. I know that you did everything in your power to help me, Duo. That's more than I could ever ask from you in that situation."
Biting his lip, Duo breathed, "I love you." With another sob, he held tightly onto the ex-Wing pilot as he continued to tremble.
With a sad smile, the Japanese agent kissed the top of his head and replied just as softly, "And I you." Tightly wrapping his arms tightly around his partner's shaking body, he gently rubbed his back and waited patiently until the tremors stopped. Once Duo seemed to get a hold of his composure again, Heero pulled back and smiled as he cupped the side of his love's face, asking gently, "Better?"
Inhaling a long and deep breath, Duo nodded and grinned back as he leaned into the touch. Kissing the other pilot's forehead, the once Perfect Soldier smirked, "Good. Now let's go and try to get some sleep."
Once they made their way into their shared office with their hands joined, Heero moved to the closet. Removing one of the two wide mattresses that he and Duo had invested in for the event that they needed to work into the late hours of the morning, he opened the cot and set it in the center of the room. Biting his lip as he watched, the American played with the end of his braid nervously.
With the sheet and light blanket pulled over the mattress, Heero turned back in time to be assaulted by a fierce kiss. Carefully pulling his partner back as he panted for air, the wide-eyes pilot sputtered, "D-Duo? What in the-?"
"Make love to me," the braided agent pleaded quietly. His stunned best friend's mouth fell open as he spoke, "I just want the world to go away for even a moment. I just want to feel you and love you and have you love me back."
Resting his hands on the other young man's shoulder's, Heero asked softly, "Are you sure? Believe me that I want this more than anything, but I also know that you've been through a great deal these last couple of days especially. I don't want this to be something that you might regret later."
Quickly shaking his head, Duo's eyes filled with determination as he reassured him, "I'm fine. And I would never regret this."
With a deep growl, Heero pulled him into a passionate kiss as their hands roamed to undo buttons and remove their clothes. With the last of their attire pooled on the floor around them, the Japanese Preventer lifted his lover into his arms before carefully easing him onto the bed as he lied himself out atop of him.
* * * * * *
An hour later, Noin's eyes widened as the results of her search scrolled across the screen. "That's him," she whispered to herself. Typing a few commands to confirm her findings, she smiled in elation, "That's him!"
All but jumping from her seat, the young woman shouted to the others that had been working alongside her for nearly a whole day, "We've got our asshole!"
TBC...
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