Woke Up One Morning... Part 25
This was not supposed to happen. I was supposed to have more control over the situation than this.
I always have control of the situation.
Krutza's lips only remain pressed roughly with mine for a heartbeat before I pull back, seeing nothing but blood red for a few, panted breaths.
Jesus Christ, he has no idea how close I came to tearing him apart! It took every ounce of strength behind my fury to not lash out when those arms wrapped around me without warning or my wanting it along with that forced kiss.
It was all too much like that time... everything about what happened just now took me back to that night in the alley I have done my best to bury. All of the smells, sounds and the physical pain rushed back in the blink of an eye.
And all of this has to be pushed back because of the damned cover I have. Shakily, when my vision returns to show a startled Jesse a few inches away from me, I force a chuckled, "Easy, pal. I don't normally kiss on the first date."
His brown eyes widening, Krutza allows that all to sink in. I've officially broken his M.O. Always going after tourists since they are not looking for a long-term relationship, he's used to getting his way the first and only night. This restraint against his persuasion has completely caught him off-guard.
My initial fears that he may have felt the wire disappear with that reaction. If he had, I would not be dealing with a civil man right now.
Using his surprise to my advantage, I smirk and walk past with a suggestive, "That doesn't mean it's out of the question for the second date." 'Over my fucking dead body," I think to myself as I step out of the room and head for the front door.
Trowa's voice breaks in with a hint of worry, "He just reached for something inside one of the vases that I can't make out. Heero, I hope you're in position to make a move. Duo, get the hell out of there. Now."
Just as I reach for the doorknob, Krutza swoops in and blocks my path. By instinct, I make my hands wrap behind my back before he can see the tight fists that they've balled into in an urge to defend myself. "Okay," he chuckles, raising his own hands in a show of surrender. "You win," he nods.
Raising an eyebrow, he asks coyly, "What if we planned on that second date now? Any chance that you'll be able to break away from your co-workers long enough for another night on the town?"
Despite everything that I'm feeling right now, I grin brightly, "I think that I can certainly pull that off. Let's give it a couple of days. Now that I know where you live, I can just stop over here after eight again on Friday." Pleased with that, the weasel bows at the waist in a show of acceptance over the suggestion.
Behind my back, my hands clench and unclench a few times until the tension fades enough for me to bring my right hand out for a handshake. "Thanks again for the nice evening," my voice continues to roll out without any hint of the malice I hold.
Taking my hand and bringing the back of it up to his lips, Krutza has no idea how much he is tempting fate right now. Every inch of my skin is crawling, but I force my smile to grow and keep its sincerity.
"Friday, then," Jessie nods firmly. "I appreciated your company tonight, Jeffrey." Stepping aside, he turns the doorknob and holds the door open for me with a polite, "Have a good remainder of the evening."
I wave back and move through the doors, keeping my pace as leisurely as possible regardless of how my instincts are wishing I would run. Slipping back into my rented car, I pull out of the stone-paved driveway and turn myself to face the front gates as they slowly swing open.
When I am driving down the winding road of the hill, my hands begin to shake as the walls I had put up begin to crumble. It takes a couple of attempts to find the pack at my waist to turn off the wire transmission. All but ripping the ear piece from my right lobe, my eyes are beginning to sting with the threat of tears.
Goddamn it, why the hell did all of that have to come back? This is exactly why I absolutely hate being the bait in these situations.
It's all I can do to stay focused on the road enough to get back to the hotel safely. Parking the car, I get out and without really paying attention, I move for the emergency exit to climb its stairwell to the third floor.
As I step into the middle room of the three we have secured, I completely ignore my teammates gathered at the table processing their data gathered from my time with Krutza. Only registering a few looks of relief directed at me, I leave my equipment on the nearest table and move right for the bedroom, closing the door behind me.
I don't even bother changing and just flip the light switch on before move to my bed. Sitting on the mattress edge, I stare out the large window... willing the demons away that have no intention of going anywhere.
My attempt to not appear fazed didn't seem to pay off too well as I hear a few worried voices in the living room. And there is only a moment of that before the main room's door opens and Heero's voice speaks quietly to the group. As one pair of footsteps nears the bedroom, a small herd of them move to step out of the room all together.
Not long after the main door closes, the bedroom door opens. The soft click from a certain utility belt clasp sounds and the door is closed again. As my silent visitor approaches, the tears return to blur my vision of the brightly lit town just past the hotel.
Stepping before me, Heero slowly reaches down to place his hands in my own and knees. places I can't convince my eyes to move down to see more than the top of his head. The last thing that I want to do is come apart in front of him.
"Duo," he urges in little more than a whisper, "Please look at me." Biting my lip and with effort, I make my eyes peer down into the concerned cobalt watching me. With a deep frown, my husband breathes, "What happened was not your fault."
He's not referring to that kiss with Krutza. I know that. 'Ro is the only person I ever confided in with that incident. And the only reason I had told him about it at all was because I had had a few after a night out with the guys.
Fuck, this is just so damned hard to have to deal with the memories. To deal with the fact that I was just past the age of twelve when I ran into the wrong alley for cover on L2 one night during a rare release of rain. To be reminded once again how I had been attacked by some sick bastard who laughed at me the whole time he broke me.
"It wasn't your fault," Heero reassures only slightly louder than before, rubbing the backs of my hands with his thumbs soothingly. He understood me enough to know that kiss earlier was going to bring that night back.
A sharp cry escapes me when the damn finally breaks. Sagging forward, I wrap my arms around my legs hanging off the side of the bed.
Instantly, Heero is gently pulling me down to the floor with him and pulls me into his arms so that he can rock me back and forth. "It's alright," he tells me quietly in my ear before placing a few kisses along my head. Tightening his hold on me, he reminds me, "I'm here. Let it out and let me take it on."
To be honest, I really don't know how long we've stay curled up like this by the time my shaking and quiet sobbing finally calms. Finally able to get a handle on my emotions, along with those sights and sounds from that alley, I pull my face away from Heero's shoulder to wipe at my soaked face.
Squeezing my shoulders against his chest as I remain seated in his lap, my lover kisses my forehead. As he looks down on me with that warm, relieved smile, the breath that I had finally managed to bring back to normal catches. "Welcome back," he smirks, rubbing the end of his nose against mine.
And all over again, I fall for him.
I take a deep, slow breath that comes out a little shaky as I frown sadly, "Sorry. I shouldn't have let that send be back there, but he just grabbed and kissed me without warning... without my wanting it..." My voice trails off in a crackle and Heero shakes his head to stop me from continuing.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Duo," he tells me matter-of-factly. Gently pressing his lips against mine in a chaste kiss, he asks, "Are you okay now?" Nodding, I shift enough so that I can get to my feet along with him.
A shudder runs through me at the thought of the others being here when I got back. Hesitant to know the answer, I still lower my head and question? "What did you tell the others to get them to leave?"
Heero rubs my lower back as he replies, "I didn't tell them a thing. They delegated the work that needs to be done between the scanned shots you had taken as well as who is on the night watch for Krutza's home and decided to call it in." Tilting his head a bit, he comments, "And you know that even if they suspected anything was wrong, they would never push it by asking."
That I do know to be true, by first-hand experience with them. It's our own little code of privacy if ever there is a private matter. Still, it's better to know that they weren't asked to leave so that I could have a moment.
A deep sigh puffs out of my lungs and I rub my tired eyes that I'm sure are red and puffy now. Absolutely exhausted mentally and physically, I shift for the bed while removing my shirt and unfastening the belt around my jeans. Heero wordlessly turns to draw the window curtains closed before he sheds his own clothes down to his boxers, following my lead.
In the dim light that is still peeking through the edges of the window frame, I smile in appreciation at him as we both get under the blankets. Wrapping myself around him as tightly as I can, I whisper, "When you go back to your bed tonight-"
"Nothing in this life will be able to pry me away from you tonight," 'Ro's voice cut me off, the resolve perfectly clear as he presses me closer to him. Shaking his head, he vows, "I will be here through the nightmares and when you wake up in the morning."
There's a lump in my throat that I have to swallow past. Unwilling to trust my voice, I nod against his shoulder that my head is pillowed on.
Back in the darker chambers of my mind, a sickening contrast of how different things were between my only two... experiences. With tears creeping into the corners of my eyes, I breathe, "You know that you're my first and only... right? That won't change."
And Heero always has been, as far as I am and ever will be concerned.
Smiling so that I can hear it in his voice, my husband responds quietly, "I know that." His hand takes mind and places it over his chest where I can feel his pulse as he tells me, "With all of my heart."
Rendered speechless at that, I bite my lip when my vision shimmers again. A kiss falls on my forehead and 'Ro tells me softly, "Stand down, Duo. It's my watch now."
That is all it takes for the last of my reserves battling my exhaustion to break. Sighing, my heavy-lidded eyes close and I reluctantly go into the unknown world of nightmares that are sure to come on for me.
Yet, there is a sense of reassurance that those demons won't be capable of their worst thanks to the arms around me.
* * * * * *
Just as promised, Heero spent the entire night in the same bed with me, calming me when I would wake with a start and the cold sweats. It had been a rough evening for the both of us, but we managed to get about three hours of straight sleep by the end of it all.
Grinning down at me when I am finally coming to, he leans in to kiss me soundly and mutters, "Good morning." I grin widely and reply in kind while rubbing my tired eyes. With a wide yawn, I'm suddenly made aware of something...
This is the first morning that we've been able to wake up together since we left for this mission over a week ago. 'Ro had kept his promise to stay by my side. My chest warm over the sensation of being wrapped around him at my first conscious thought, I snuggle closer as my husband chuckles deeply in my ear.
Burrowing my head in his shoulder, I close my eyes to inhale him deeply. "Thank you for staying," I sigh against his skin.
Lightly running a hand over my hair, 'Ro smirks, "Like I said, nothing was going to pry me away from being here for you." Hearing that vow a second time has my heart skipping once again in my chest.
As pleasant as it is, just being with my husband like this right now, we both know that it can't last forever. Reluctantly, we finally pull away to dress and check the other hotel rooms to see if the rest of our team is awake.
The first room we check is the one that Wufei and Trowa share. Chang answers our knock on their door and greets us with tired smirk as he steps aside and allows us to enter. Barton is seated at the main room's round table, typing away at his laptop. He pauses in his work only when we walk in.
Looking up, our Latin friend's frustration is clear in his face and eyes as he sighs, "We have a bit of a situation."
Great. Exactly what we wanted to hear.
When Heero and I sit across from him, Trowa frowns, "I was trying to see if I could still hack into the database for the security system protecting Krutza's home for another break-in to gather up evidence." Dry washing his face with his hands, he looks back up and shakes his head, "But the format for the system is blocked by a whole new transcription that will take me a week or two to crack."
My eyes widen at that news, a chill running up my spine. Why would it suddenly change overnight... after my time in the house?
"Do you think that Krutza knows something is going on?" my husband asks before I can.
Chewing on the inside of his cheek a moment, Tro admits quietly, "I don't know. It could be a simple matter of a turn-over that the database runs on its own for added security- like a resetting of a computer to confuse anyone trying to get in." His frown deepens as he voices what we're all thinking, "But the timing for the turn over is more than a little unsettling."
Wufei takes the last chair and with a stack of printed off pages in hand, commenting, "But all of the cameras and radios are functioning. If Krutza did suspect anything, he hasn't been able to find them. Bryant is sleeping after had last night's watch and Tyson took over. Neither of them have found anything wrong with our recordings."
That is more than a relief to hear. Maybe there is a chance that the change in the security system was a basic reset. Still, it's something that I have to keep in mind for the next time that I am in Krutza's estate. He could still suspect something but hasn't had the luck of finding the bugs we've set.
Running a hand through my bangs, I ask, "What about the shots that I took last night of the documents in the file cabinet?"
"I'm working on that along with Agent Link over our connection with headquarters," Wufei answers, holding up the papers he has been holding onto. "On a few sheets of the paper, there were in transcription that needs to be translated with what we know for codes used. It's taking time, but we should have it all completely translated before the end of the week. I need to be here for the next hourly update from Adam on his team's progress."
That's even better to hear. With any luck, there will be something we can use as the smoking gun to bring Krutza into custody before I ever have to meet with him again.
Another thought crosses my mind- everyone on the team will be occupied for at least an hour, if not more. I catch Heero looking at me from the corner of his eye with a flash that I know he is thinking the same thing I am.
Rising from my chair, I stretch with a groan. "Well, since we have some time before the it's my turn on watch, I'm going to get a shower and do something about food."
My partner gets to his own feet and snorts, "And I better be around to make sure you don't use all of the hot water before I can use it."
Trowa is already reengaged in his work to have really paid attention to what we said and Wufei is busy sorting through the papers in his hands to read anything more into it. Almost giddy at having some more alone time that Heero and I could really... make use of, I have to work at keeping my face from splitting in the smile that spreads.
Waving on my way to the door with my husband right behind me, I smirk over my shoulder, "We'll be back over in a little bit, guys." Buried in their work, they just wave back without looking up.
As my hand reaches for the doorknob within arm's reach, it suddenly flies opened and Tyson sails into the room with his opened laptop cradled in his arm and Bryant right behind. "Guys," he pants heavily, brown eyes wide and skin pale. Alert, my back straightens along with 'Ro's as Trowa and Wufei quickly get to their feet.
Whatever the hell has both of these men, both two of the coolest and calmest ex-military men I've known, so up and excited must be big. Tyce had even forgotten to knock before entering so that we could clear his entrance.
Grinning widely, he holds up his laptop while kicking the door closed behind him and announces, "We have something!"
TBC...
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