[Now I believe there comes a time
When everything just falls in line
We live and learn from our mistakes
The deepest cuts are healed by faith]
--- Lyrics to 'All Fired Up' performed by Pat Benetar
A Silver Lining Part 49
"There are only two staircases in the whole building," Dawn stated as she pointed to the sketch of the building layout that Wufei had drawn with her help. With her free hand that was not holding up the image, she pointed to the front door on the image and continued, "Through the front doors, you go straight down the hall and up one of the two stairwells. It's the one that's closest to Collins's room. On the exact opposite side, there the back door can only be opened with a resident card."
Pointing to the two sides of the image, she added, "And there is a fire escape on the west and east sides of the buildings. The hallways face north and south and there are two large windows at either end of them that do not open to the fire escapes. Those are the only ways in and out of the apartment complex." All around, the agents listening in nodded their understanding.
All eyes turned to Zechs for command, knowing him to be the best at arranging tactical recoveries in large facilities. Straightening, the tall man began, "Wufei and Anna, you both take the roof with the cables. If needed, you'll have to lower yourselves through the windows at the end of the hall where there's trouble.
"Heero and Noin, the two of you will be stationed in the middle of the north stairwell while Trowa and Sally take the south." Zechs then looked to the braided pilot and concluded, "Duo and I will go to room 706 for Collins."
The braided pilot's violet eyes widened at the suggestion, but nodded firmly. Heero did his best not to voice the concern that was building in his own chest at the thought of his partner going into the heart of the loin's den. Sighing deeply, the tall blonde commented, "With any luck, we're just being paranoid in taking so many precautions and we'll simply take into custody without any trouble."
Biting her lip, Jasmine asked, "If there is trouble and Collins has men crawling around the area, what should Dawn and I do?" Her blonde friend beside her nodded as she bit her lip anxiously at the thought of being left behind.
Quatre ginned, "I'll be watching after you both. We'll be moving another few blocks out of harm's way." He held up the radio that was strapped to his belt and explained, "I also have to keep communications open with the other teams that are moving into the area, in case they're needed."
Instantly, the shoulders of the two prostitutes relaxed and they smiled in appreciation. After a brief exchange of handshakes and well wishes to his friends, the Arab pilot led the young women from the alley.
With the diagonal scratches on her face in plain sight, Anna turned to Wufei and suggested, "We better get a good start in getting up to the roof with our gear." She looked up to the still dark sky and stated, "It's going to start getting light out before long."
Nodding firmly at that, the Chinese pilot gripped the large bags of cable as the redhead shouldered a heavy bag of weapons. They only gave a small nod to their lovers before quietly slipping from the alley where they had been hiding, two blocks away from the apartment complex. After giving the first team twenty minutes to get a head start, Trowa and Sally made their way out onto the street.
After another ten minutes, Heero turned to his lover and kissed him soundly. Resting their foreheads together, he whispered, "Be careful." Unable to trust his voice at the moment, Duo forced a smile and mouthed the words, 'You, too.' Reluctantly pulling away, the Japanese Preventer smiled back before moving out of the alley with Noin at his side.
The long silence that followed in that alley dragged on for what seemed like hours. Looking to his watch, Zechs announced, "We have an hour before the Colony lights start going up. That's good. With any luck, if there is anyone looking after Collins, they'll still be asleep by the time we get to him." Duo swallowed hard and nodded as he checked the pistols at his belt for the umpteenth since arriving at the alley.
Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Wufei's voice rang through their earpieces, "Agent Mist and I are in position and ready."
"Agent Water and I are at our station, as well," Trowa whispered over the transmission.
Then Heero spoke quietly, "Agent Fire and I are ready as well. The last team can move in when ready." At the lump that filled in his throat at hearing his lover's voice, Duo swallowed hard once more.
Zechs spoke into the small microphone resting against his cheek, "Roger that. We're moving in now." With a nod to his braided partner, he waited until Duo straightened and returned the nod before moving out of the alley.
When they reached the tall apartment building, the two agents walked quietly through the front door. As the building owner had promised after his interrogation with Trowa and Anna, there was no front desk clerk present to get in the way. Slowly as not to make too much noise on the old wooden stairs, Zechs and Duo climbed the northern stairwell.
Sally and Heero were waiting in the doorway that led to the fifth floor. Looking over their shoulders as the other Preventers moved past, they nodded to them that all was still quiet from what they had seen. Without a word to their friends, Duo and Zechs continued on their way up the stairs.
Their breaths held when they reached their destination, the two pilots stepped out into the hallway of the seventh floor. Halfway between them and the room that they were looking for, there was a tall man passed out on the floor-the only sign of life in the dim corridor. An empty beer bottle was lying just past his limp hand. Peering out the corner of his eye, Zechs nodded to the braided pilot that turned to him in question. Quietly, they headed down the hall.
In the stillness, the sound of a pistol safety clicking off was their only warning before the lifeless body suddenly jumped up before they could get too close. With a smug smirk, the tall man stated, "Never saw the likes of you around these parts. And what business do you have here this early in the morning?" Gesturing to the one of the doors behind him, he asked, "You wouldn't be trying to pay an unwelcomed visit, would you?"
His eyes narrowed fiercely, Zechs's hand moved swiftly to remove the gun at his hip. Before the man before them could blink, he fired a bullet into the tall man's forehead. As the still, bloody form fell back, several doors suddenly opened and bullets rained down at the two agents. Quickly diving into the opening of the stairway, Duo and Zechs narrowly avoided being hit by the stray shots.
"Everyone," Duo shouted into his microphone, "We need back up on the seventh floor immediately! We're taking fire!" His eardrum nearly blew at the sudden explosion that went over the transmission. He and Zechs cried loudly in pain as they quickly removed their earpieces.
From over the gunfire, Anna's voice shouted, "Wufei and I just took out the fire escapes so that Collins can't try to make a break for it! Duo, Zechs, let us know when there is a break in the gunfire so we can move in!"
Once their earpieces were back in place, they could hear further gunfire as Sally's voice yelled frantically, "We have gunmen that are climbing up from the lower floors! We're trying to hold them back so we can get to you!"
Immediately after the call, Noin cried, "These assholes are all over the place! Everyone's going to have to hang tight for now!"
Cursing sharply to himself, Zechs gripped one of the many guns strapped to him and turned into the hall, firing several rounds at the heads peeking out of the opened doors. Duo took over when the blonde pilot pulled back and together, they traded covering the doorway that was being blown apart around them.
Several minutes passed and only a few of their attackers had fallen. Growling deeply, Zechs gripped one of the grenades in his pocket and gritted, "We don't have time for this! Shoot to injure unless you're sure it's not Collins!"
Carefully leaning into the hallway, the blonde pilot hurled the smoke bomb deep into the hall with Duo following in suit. The smoke quickly filled the hall as the two agents covered their mouths with their shirts to the sounds of cries and rough coughs from the men that had been firing on them.
A gun in each of their hands, the Preventers stormed into the cloudy hall. Raising their weapons, they fired on the tall shadows stumbling through the smoke around them. When the men were close enough that it was clear they were not Collins, they were shot mortally. Just as they were making their way down the hall, a room to their right suddenly opened and the light from within spilled through the haze.
Damien raised his own gun and fired two bullets onto Zechs. Falling back with a loud cry, the blonde agent's blood sprayed in the air. Stunned, Duo watched his partner fall through the dark smoke to vanish from sight and shouted, "Zechs!" His eyes narrowed, he turned to the tall brunette and froze at the pistol aimed at his forehead.
With a deep growl, Damien hissed, "Drop it." Swallowing hard, the braided pilot raised his hands and allowed the gun so slip from his fingers. With the smoke lowering to waist-height, the only proof that the weapon was out of reach was when it clanged against the ground.
Footsteps hammered up to the floor from the northern stairwell. Both Heero and Noin stilled in the bullet-ridden doorway with wide eyes when they found the American at gunpoint. His eyes blazing on the two agents, Damien shouted, "Lower your weapons or he's dead!"
The last of the smoke dissolved to reveal the bodies lying on the ground. Hissing in pain, Zechs sat up so his back was against the wall as he put pressure to his bleeding right shoulder and left leg. Looking up, he glared dangerously at the tall brunette.
"I said lower your weapons now!" Damien screamed when no one moves. Swallowing hard, Heero finally raised his hand and slowly bent at his waist to lower his pistol. Noin followed the same actions, her eyes on her injured husband. Swallowing hard at the sight, she narrowed her gaze on the man responsible for harming him.
Slowly turning his sweat-dampened face, the braided pilot fought the whimper that filled his throat at the sight of his distraught lover. His voice little more than a whisper, Heero breathed, "Duo..."
His brown eyes widening, Damien laughed and looked to the pilot at the end of his outstretched pistol. "Duo?" he chuckled deeply. "So you're the one that got away." Glaring at the trembling agent as he met his gaze, the tall man yelled, "You won't be so lucky now!"
"No!" Heero cried, his eyes wide as he prepared to run forward as Damien began to pull the trigger.
Just before Heero and Noin, two figures crashed feet-first through the two large windows at their end of the hall. Smoothly landing onto their feet, Wufei and Anna emptied the guns into the stunned gunman while shards of glass flew around them. Wide-eyed, Damien stumbled back as the gun fell from the bloodied remains of his hand. His nearly unrecognizable body fell into a limp heap.
In the stillness that fell in the hallway once more, Anna raised her fisted hands into the air and cheered, "Fuck! I love my job!" Beside her, Wufei rolled his eyes and chuckled deeply. Noin and Heero ran past them and their jovial air quickly faded into concern as they watched.
Kneeling beside her husband to help put pressure on his wounds, Noin looked back to Wufei and Anna to suggest, "You better check on Trowa and Sally in the southern stairwell. We lost contact with them." With firm nods and worry in their eyes at the mention of their lovers, the two pilots charged down the hall and into the stairway.
Lost to the shock of everything that happened, Duo's legs gave out. As he crumpled to the floor, Heero caught him as he cried his name in concern. Holding onto the trembling pilot in his arms, the ex-Wing pilot carefully lowered him to sit on the floor across from Zechs. With his own hands shaking, he cupped the braided agent's face and kissed his lips soundly.
Reluctantly pulling back once more, he locked eyes with the stunned young man and whispered, "I'll be right back." Only able to understand part of what was spoken to him, Duo nodded.
Jumping to his feet, Heero ran down the hall and kicked in the door to room 706. Holding his pistol out with both hands steadying it, he stalked carefully into the tight living quarters. When he reached the hallway, his eyes widened at the sight of Collins standing in the center of the room as he raised one of his own guns to his own head.
Making his mark, the Japanese agent fired and hit the assassin's armed hand before he could pull the trigger to take his own life. Collins screamed in pain as his bloodied hand dropped the pistol. Closing the distance between them with a swift charge, Heero hit the butt of his gun into the side of the recoiling man's head. Knocked unconscious instantly, the hit man collapsed roughly to the ground.
His cobalt eyes narrowed on the still assassin, Heero opened the com to the transmitter and announced, "This is Yuy. Collins has been detained. Repeat. Collins has been detained."
* * * * * *
Moments later, the remaining Preventer teams pulled into the parking lot beside the apartment complex. Ambulances lined the streets and police officers kept all civilian cars off the street. Sitting beside Zechs as his wounds were tended to in the back of one of those ambulances, Noin smiled to the agents that approached, "Great timing, guys. You missed all of the fun." Their eyes wide, the Preventers that just made the scene took in the hectic scene around them.
In one of the other ambulances, Heero smiled warmly as he sat beside his lover with a cup of water that he managed to find. Gently taking hold of his partner's hand, he said quietly, "Drink this."
When Duo took the cup from him, he wrapped his arm tightly around his shoulders. After the close call that they had, there really were no words to express everything that was going through them at that moment. The unspoken words were spoken through their embraces and kisses instead.
As Duo sipped from the cool water, the ex-Wing pilot kissed the side of his head. "It's almost over, love," he whispered reassuringly.
Lowering the cup, the braided agent turned to him with shimmering eyes. Finally, their investigation that had once looked grim after so many setbacks turned a corner. There was suddenly a light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel. Duo smiled brilliantly at the realization that the White Out Organization was finally going to be brought to an end. Nodding, he managed a small, "Yea."
* * * * * *
Inside of Collins's apartment, the assassin glared at Wufei and Sally as they stared down at him. His wounded hand had been bandaged and he was cuffed to the chair that he was sitting in. "I already told you that you're not going to get anything out of me," he sneered.
There was a cheer from the bedroom and Trowa entered the room, a laptop in his hands and a pleased smile on his lips. "Oh, you won't have to tell us anything," he chuckled deeply. The hit man paled at the sight of his computer.
"Looks like you forgot to destroy the files on your hard drive, here. This should tell us everything that we need to know without having to strike a deal." Turning to the pilot walking up behind him, the Latin pilot inquired, "How long would you say we could have this encoded message cracked, Anna?"
With a smug smirk, the redhead shrugged, "Oh, I'd say a couple of hours at the most." Both Sally and Wufei smiled darkly at their detainee.
Looking back to his friends, the Chinese pilot told them, "Do it. We'll see that he gets the proper medical treatment his hand needs before handing him over to the other Preventers. They can read him his rights." The pair turned on their heels to set about their task.
* * * * * *
The following afternoon, the President of the Earth adjusted his long tie as he gazed upon himself in the tall mirror of his suite. He smirked to himself. This was to be the first of many days to follow that would be a defining moments for him- one that he had planned carefully for years. All that he needed to do now was wait for the limo that would take him to the arena where he was about to address the people.
Admiring himself in the reflection, he chuckled deeply, "Perfect look for the camera as they capture the attempt on my life." There was a soft knock on his door behind him and without looking back, he called, "Come in."
While the door opened, he turned and grinned, "You must be my escort to-" The white-haired man's eyes widened in shock and his skin paled as his voice caught in his throat.
His hands folded before him, Duo stood in his Preventer uniform and grinned, "Well, I am your escort, Mister President. Just not to where you thought you were headed." Glaring heatedly at the young man, the old man reached into his dress coat for the pistol he always carried. The braided pilot, however, was much faster in removing his own weapon and aiming it at the man before him.
Behind Duo, the door opened wider. Heero, Trowa, Wufei, Quatre, Anna, Sally, Zechs and Noin entered the room. All in their Preventer uniforms, the tight-knit group glared heatedly at the President as he stood with his mouth hung open. They made a line behind their friend and remained still while he did the honors that they only saw fit to give to him.
Stepping forward, Duo kept his gun still aimed at the man who conducted the organization responsible for immeasurable suffering. His violet eyes narrowed, he spoke in a clear and threatening voice, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law..."
* * * * * *
Lady Une smiled in relief as she spoke into the receiver of her cell phone, "That's wonderful, Agent Spark. See that they're all cared for and brought back to the Earth so that we can set them up with new homes and jobs so they can get on their feet again." After the affirmative over the other line, she closed the flip to her cell and sighed deeply as she sat back in her leather chair at her desk.
At the knock at her door, she punched called, "Come in." When the door slid open, she smiled brightly at the agents that entered. All looking as weary as they were happy to have finally reached the end of their trying case, the group of pilots grinned to their Commander.
His right arm in a sling and his right leg in a cast that he mobilized with a crutch under his good arm, Zechs smirked, "Just wanted to inform you in person that the ex-President is now in a holding cell and awaiting the pretrial for his case."
Rising from her seat, Lady Une moved around her desk to embrace and kiss the cheeks of the ex-Gundam pilots, Sally, Zechs, Noin and Anna. She gazed to the stunned group with tears in her eyes and whispered brokenly, "I cannot tell you how damned proud I am of all of you. This case would never have been solved had it not been for your efforts."
With a quick wipe at her eyes, she grinned, "I've been receiving calls all day of hundreds of people that we've finally been able to locate thanks to the data on Collins' laptop and the confessions of the White Out agents that we've already brought in.
"One man by the name of Blake has been particularly happy to assist in our finding his comrades that were not mentioned on the files, now that we have him in custody." A smirk tugged the corner of her lip as she commented, "Misery certainly loves company."
The relief and satisfaction at the news was evident in all of the pilots as they smiled to her. Waving her hand, the emotional Commander shook her head, "Now go home. Get some sleep. I don't want to see any of you for at least a month. I'll pay you for your time off."
She turned to Quatre and told him, "And you, get back to your bride-to-be and see that she is pampered with these last few weeks of her pregnancy."
Laughing, the blonde Arab nodded, "Yes, madam." All but running, he led his friends from the room as they hurried to get back to their everyday lives after their long ordeal. On their way out, the other agents expressed their gratitude to the young woman for her generosity.
Heero and Duo, however, remained behind. When they were alone with the Commander, they turned to each other nervously. Looking to the pair, Lady Une tilted her head and frowned deeply, "Is there something wrong, Heero? Duo?"
After exchanging another glance to each other, the ex-Wing pilot stepped forward and replied, "Duo and I have been talking quite a bit about what would happen when this case was finally over." He took a deep breath and kept his eyes locked with the young woman as he stated firmly, "We are giving you our resignation."
Much to their surprise, Lady Une blinked in surprise, but gave them a warm smile. With a firm nod, she said, "While I would normally be at a loss in knowing that I would be losing two of my best agents, I also agree with you that it's time you both moved on from all of this."
She looked from one pilot to the other as she continued, "Between the war and this case, you've both been through more than most people have to deal with in a lifetime; and I do not think any less of either one of you for wanting to have some sense of normalcy." The Commander's smile grew as she told them sincerely, "I want to let you both know that I wish you nothing but the best in life. I certainly hope that we can move onward as friends."
Both Heero and Duo smiled to each other. Looking back to her, Duo grinned brightly and nodded, "Thank you. That certainly would mean a lot to us." He swallowed against the small lump in his throat and extended his hand as he said quietly, "It's been an honor working for you, Lady Une." Heero nodded and exchanged his own hand as well.
Chuckling deeply, the young woman shook both hands firmly and kissed the pilots' cheeks. When she pulled back, she winked and gave her last order, "Now, get out of here and don't be strangers."
* * * * * *
With a box of their belongings under one arm, Heero and Duo stepped out of Preventer headquarters with their free hands joined. The sun shown through a clear sky as a fitting start to their new lives as they walked down the street to the parking lot.
Somehow, everything just seemed new to them, not knowing what was in store for them now that they were freed of whatever obligations they felt they had in defending the peace that they fought so hard for. It was time that they finally got to enjoy it.
As they neared the silver Civic that had been sitting in the same spot that Heero had left it months ago, Duo chuckled deeply, "I almost forgot what our car looked like after all of this." His partner gave a light snort, but nodded his understanding. Carefully storing their belongings into the back seat, they closed the car doors.
The pair stood before each other. Sensing an apprehension in his lover, Heero gently rubbed the braided pilot's shoulder and asked gently, "Are you all right?"
Swallowing hard, Duo nodded but frowned deeply. He looked away, peering out to the city through the opening of the parking lot. "It just doesn't seem real, you know. The bad guys were stopped and we're moving on from everything that we were familiar with." Looking back into the cobalt depths watching him, he asked in little more than a whisper, "What are we going to do now?"
At that, Heero smiled and ran a hand through his long chestnut bangs to peer into his best friend's violet depths better. "We take up Quatre's offer to stay with him and Relena at one of his estates until we figure that out," he answered quietly. "We take one day at a time for a change. Personally, I don't care where we end up or what we do, I just want you there with me and I'll be happy."
A few small tears filled Duo's eyes at that, but his smile was brilliant. He launched himself forward to wrap his arms tightly around his lover and whispered brokenly, "Gods, I love you, Heero."
Holding the trembling ex-pilot in his arms, the Japanese youth kissed his cheek and replied, "And I you." They pulled back enough to kiss each other deeply. When they pulled back, Heero smirked, "Once we've rested, I plan on showing you just how much."
There was a mischievous glint in Duo's eyes as he hummed, "I'm going to have to hold you to that." With a deep chuckle, he kissed his lover soundly once more before moving around the car to slip into the passenger seat.
Closing the door after him as he started the ignition, Heero looked over to the braided young man beside him and grinned, "Ready?"
Duo leaned over to take the ex-Wing pilot's left hand in his own. Squeezing it, he smiled back, "Now I am." Heero pulled the slender hand in his own to his lips and with a wide smile that few ever saw, he moved the car out onto the street.
Almost an hour later, Duo looked back over his shoulder to look at the last glimpses of the city they left behind. Under the bright sun, the long stretch of the town shimmered brightly against the stretches of fields like a silver lining in the distance. At the thought, he smiled to himself before looking ahead to the unknown.
TBC...
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