Author's Note: I'm particularly fond of this chapter...hope you are too. It was SO much fun to write.
Boot Camp Part 59
Settling Old Scores
By late in the afternoon, things were beginning to simmer down at Camp Peacecraft. Lieutenant Wolfe cautiously stuck his head in the infirmary door to check up on his wounded superior.
"Looking for someone?" came a voice from the side, and Doctor Po strolled in from the next room.
"Is Captain Chang up and about, ma'am?"
"I'm right here," Wufei said, pushing himself up from the pillow, using his uninjured arm. "Situation report?"
"Kushrenada's guards are all locked up, except for two that are away on leave, and I took the liberty of putting warrants out on them. Reinforcements are enroute to staff the camp."
"Our reinforcements? Or theirs?"
"MSC troops. Colonel Une's been given complete authority over Camp Peacecraft by the prison board and the Peacecraft Foundation. Earth authorities have been dispatched to come get Kushrenada and hold him for trial. They should be here tomorrow morning."
"I suppose that means the shoulder wound wasn't fatal," sighed Wufei a bit wistfully.
"I went over and treated it after I got you settled in," Doctor Po told him. "It was messy, and will probably affect his use of that arm in the long term. But after a unit of plasma, he's fine. In pain, but fine." She resumed her rounds, walking over to check on the sleeping and/or resting boys from Team Wing.
"I want to see him," Duo spoke up suddenly, raising himself from his pillows and fixing an urgent gaze on Captain Chang.
The officer scowled back at him. "Whatever for?"
"I got my reasons," Duo said rather defiantly. He glanced aside as Heero sat up and eyed him searchingly. "The bastard tried to kill me--more than once. Don't I deserve five minutes of his time?"
"That's not the point. What do you need to talk to him about?"
"A few things." Duo raised his chin resolutely. "You can be there," he said, as if making a concession of some sort.
Wufei snorted wryly. "No shit, Maxwell. I run this camp. I can be anywhere I want."
Duo flushed a little at that. "I jus' meant there's nothing I'm gonna say to him that I wouldn't want you to hear."
"I should hope not," came an even drier reply.
The boy heaved a frustrated sigh, rubbing a hand reflexively across his sore chest. "There's just--I wanted to tell him--"
"You want to rub his nose in the fact that you won," said Heero, fixing a knowing look on his lover.
"No--well, maybe. Partly."
"Face it, Maxwell," chimed in the MSC officer. "You want to gloat that all his underhanded deeds got him exactly what he deserved. His 'chickens have come home to roost', in a manner of speaking."
"Huh?"
"He got his," Heero smirked.
"Can I see him or not?" Duo demanded, his bantering attitude conspicuously missing.
"I'll arrange it," Wufei sighed. "And, yes, I will be present. He will be restrained. And you will be kept out of his reach."
"Aye, sir."
"Anything else, Wolfe?" asked Captain Chang, resuming the interrupted conversation with his subordinate.
"The hospital called. Merquise is out of intensive care and his condition's been upgraded."
"Is he conscious?"
"Oh yeah," drawled the Lieutenant, with amusement. "His doctor said he's fit to be tied, demanding news on what's happening here at camp, and asking for a vid-phone so he can check in."
The smile that spread across Wufei's face was breathtaking.
"I expect him to call any time," Wolfe added with a smirk.
Wufei threw his legs over the side of the bed, looking at Doctor Po with a raised eyebrow. "Since I played nice and rested when you ordered it, may I get out of this bed, find myself a change of uniform, and resume my duties, Doctor?"
She grinned rather triumphantly. "Why, yes, of course you can, assuming you continue to take sensible precautions until that arm is fully healed."
"Yes, ma'am," he said gravely.
"I'll see that he does," added Lieutenant Wolfe.
"What about me?" Duo demanded. "I didn't even lose any blood! Can I get up?"
Sally smiled benevolently. "If you promise one more session with Doctor G, of course you can."
"But--what do I need him for?" came the clueless response. "I'm fine."
"Don't worry, Maxwell. I just want him to confirm my belief that you won't suffer from any severe post traumatic symptoms." Her glance strayed to the other team members. "Besides, you can introduce the rest of your team to him; they're each ordered to go as well."
"What?!" Heero demanded, sitting up sharply.
Quatre and Trowa even took notice by then, glaring up from their comfortable resting place on the couch. "Why all of us?" Trowa asked.
"Because I saw the way you all looked at Duo this morning. Nearly losing him had a profound effect on each of you, and I think it would be wise for you to discuss it with a professional, at least once." She waved a hand dismissively, amid their muttered protests. "Doctor's orders," she cooed, strolling out of the room to take care of some paperwork.
Duo looked at Heero, and then Trowa and Quatre. "Sorry guys. Guess it's my fault you gotta see the shrink."
Quatre shook his head ruefully. "It's our own fault. If we weren't so obvious this morning--"
A teasing gleam entered the indigo eyes. "You all were really scared, huh?"
"You have no idea," Heero drawled wearily.
Trowa was silent, his back against the couch and his knees drawn up to his chest under the heavy blanket.
"Tro'?" Duo asked, noticing the green-eyed boy's withdrawal from the discussion.
"He had it worst," Quatre told Duo. "He saw you get shot. He really thought you were dead."
"Missed my kisses, eh?" Duo teased, hoping to coax Trowa out of the funk he was in.
The auburn-haired boy looked up quickly, his gaze sliding to Heero, and a slightly panicked look on his face. "D'you have to bring that up, Maxwell?" he asked tautly. "I was really hoping to not antagonize Yuy today."
Heero shook his head. "It's okay, Barton. I'm ready to put that whole miserable mess in the past."
Duo sniffed slightly. "But I was getting so much attention," he protested.
"Too much," Quatre muttered.
"Ah, you miss my kisses, too?" Duo asked.
"You kissed Winner?" Heero demanded, his dark blue gaze suddenly riveted on his lover.
Duo turned a wide-eyed look to his team leader. "Uh--well--just the once--"
"Just once?" echoed Heero, turning a baleful look on Quatre.
"He was demonstrating!" Duo protested, trying to avert impending doom. "When Tro' and I didn't want to get 'into' it...he showed me what we should do."
"Winner kissed you?" Heero said coldly.
"Stop helping, Duo!" Quatre urged. "Just shut the fuck up!"
"So everyone on the team got to kiss everyone?" Heero demanded, his expression bleak.
"Pretty much," Duo mumbled, clutching his blanket to his chest nervously. "Everyone except you!" he added helpfully.
Heero stood up and walked towards Quatre and Trowa.
"Yuy!" Wufei cautioned, but was waved aside with an impatient gesture.
Heero got to the couch, and reached to pull Quatre unresistingly to his feet.
"Look, Heero," babbled the blonde. "It was just a demonstration--an example, if you will-- It didn't mean--mmph!"
He was cut off as Heero pulled him into his arms and kissed him deeply and lingeringly.
"H--hey!" Duo protested.
"Drop it, Maxwell!" Wufei ordered, trying not to grin. "You deserve this."
A long moment passed before Heero finally released a slightly panting Quatre, gently pushing him back onto the couch. Then the team leader took a firm grip on Trowa's wrists, and brought the former acrobat to his feet and up against him.
This kiss lasted just a bit longer, and looked just a bit more intense, and Duo nearly whined in protest, literally squirming where he lay. "Yuy!" He frowned deeply. "Barton?" His indigo eyes turned pleadingly to Quatre, who just shrugged with a rather bemused expression on his face.
And finally Heero released a breathless teammate, giving him a small, conspiratorial smirk before easing him back onto the couch beside the blonde.
"'Ro?" came a very small, rather wounded voice from Duo's bed.
Heero turned around and walked back over to his lover. "There," he said with satisfaction, sitting on the edge of the bed, and sliding an arm around Duo. "Now we're all even. All of us."
"But--but I never kissed Quatre in front of you," Duo murmured petulantly.
"And you never will," Heero told him firmly, bending to place an even deeper, more intense kiss on his partner's lips than he had on the others'.
"Mmm..."
Wufei rolled his eyes, torn between amusement and exasperation. "I'd say 'get a room,' but you're already in one, and you'd probably take me up on the suggestion." He stood and brushed himself off, looking at the lieutenant who was still leaning in the doorway, shaking his head and chuckling quietly. "Let's go get me a uniform and some dinner." He paused on the way out. "Will we see Team Wing at the mess hall, or are you four going to stay here and make out all evening?"
"Decisions, decisions," Duo gasped, having just been allowed up for air by his passionate boyfriend.
Quatre smirked. "I was just going to say 'great idea,'" he added, turning a predatory look towards Trowa before pulling him into a kiss of their own.
"Kids!" muttered Wufei, turning and stalking out of the infirmary, his lieutenant alongside, and a very content smile on his face.
~*~
When the four boys from Team Wing walked into the mess hall as a unified group, cheers and clapping broke out from almost everyone present.
Ben was on his feet in an instant, rushing to greet them and ask what had happened and how they were. But he was just part of a crowd, as they were surrounded by well-wishers and curious fellow-inmates.
It was nothing short of miraculous that they even managed to squeeze a meal in between answering questions and filling the gaps in information for their friends; but somehow they did. They were finally able to make it public knowledge that Duo and Trowa had never betrayed their teammates, and that it had all been an act from the start. And amid apologies from those who had been unkind, and pats on the back from those who admired their daring plan, the foursome ate their meal and settled back into their companionable existence.
When Captain Chang arrived, he made the wry observation that the next day's morning announcement was clearly unnecessary. Then he commandeered the chair next to Heero's from one of the other recruits, and slid in next to his friend.
"I spoke to Merquise," he told him, fighting to keep from smiling like an idiot. "He's thrilled that we got the goods on Kushrenada."
"He should be," Heero agreed. "No one has more reason to hate the man."
"I do!" Duo piped up from his other side, busy making up for the previous night's lack of dinner by eating enough for two meals.
"Okay...present company excluded," sighed his team leader.
"He's even more thrilled that you four came through alive and more or less well."
"Ah, but I'll bet that's nothing compared to how thrilled he is that his hot Asian lover-to-be is okay," Duo said in a sultry undertone.
"Maxwell, I swear to God if you don't curb that mouth of yours, I'll have you cleaning latrines for the rest of your life!" Wufei snarled, blushing crimson.
"When you blush, 'Fei," Duo noted cheekily. "It ruins the whole 'I'm gonna punish the shit out of you, Maxwell' thing."
It was obvious that Duo was feeling particularly cocky; and for the time being, Wufei was happy to let him. So he merely glared half-heartedly at the smug boy, shaking his head. "When do you want your little tête-à-tête with Kushrenada? He leaves in the morning."
The playful expression on Duo's face faded away into a pensive one. "No time like the present," he shrugged, pushing away the nearly-empty plate, and standing up.
"I want to be there!" Heero announced suddenly, rising to stand beside him.
Wufei glanced at Duo questioningly.
"Sure," shrugged the braided boy, secretly grateful to have Heero's solid presence at his side.
"You want us along?" Quatre asked, glancing aside to indicate Trowa too.
"Naw," Duo said with a wave of his hand. "You two go on back to the barracks for a little 'alone' time, why don't ya?"
Trowa gave a small, wry snort. "Yeah, y'don't have to twist my arm," he muttered, standing up and pulling Quatre to his feet, openly putting an arm around him as they headed for the door. "Take your time guys," he called over his shoulder.
Heero rolled his eyes. "Great. Now we can't go back to the barracks for--hours, probably."
Duo chuckled. "I'm sure we can find somewhere else to go." He raised an eyebrow suggestively. "I could use a shower."
"For God's sake!" Wufei blurted. "It's a public shower, Maxwell. Have a little decency."
"I've been showering with, like, forty guys for weeks now, Chang. I'm not real self-conscious any more," Duo pointed out as they headed for the door.
"Well I am," Heero warned. "At least about--that."
"What? You wanna go find another broom closet?" Duo smirked.
Captain Chang pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "I don't even want to know," he groaned.
"Good," Heero muttered under his breath. "Cuz I don't want you to."
Austin caught up to them on the steps of the mess hall, calling out for them to wait. When they turned to face him, he stopped in front of Duo, hanging his head rather sheepishly.
"Maxwell--I wanted to apologize." He jerked his chin to indicate the mess hall behind him. "Not with everyone else. I kind of owed you a personal apology, for almost messing things up for you last night...and for what I called you." He shuffled his feet restlessly. "Sorry."
"Apology accepted," Duo said graciously, glancing aside at Heero's rather smug expression. "Yuy--is there a reason for that smirk?" he asked suspiciously. "You didn't threaten--?"
"No!" Austin said hastily. "Though if I hadn't come to my senses, he might've had issues with the things I said to his boyfriend."
"You fixed things quick enough," Heero assured him. "I know how bad it looked for Duo and Trowa." He did, too. He recalled his own jealousy and hurt, even when he knew the plan. Knowing hadn't made it easier to watch his lover get so close to someone else. But at least the conversation they'd shared in the infirmary helped clear the air and get them past the awkwardness.
Austin held out a hand, which Duo shook. "Anyhow, Maxwell--and Yuy. My team and me--and I-- we're all behind you guys. I mean, if we've got to lose to another team, yours is the best."
Wufei was practically bursting with pride at how well his efforts to build team spirit between the rival groups had worked. Not that he felt he could take credit for it. The boys had accomplished it on their own. But he felt a measure of pride for having facilitated the achievement.
"Let's go, boys," he suggested, wanting to get the interview with Kushrenada over with. He didn't want Duo near the man at all; but if it was going to happen, he wanted to get it done.
~*~
Treize Kushrenada was in a holding cell only slightly larger than the solitary confinement he'd shoved Duo into a few short weeks earlier. His hands were cuffed together, and linked by a chain to the cement wall behind him...a precaution Wufei had ordered before he went to get Duo. He'd also ordered two extra guards, unarmed and trained in hand-to-hand, to stand on either side of Kushrenada the whole time the boy was in his presence. There was no way in Hell he was going to risk letting the sadistic man lay so much as a finger on Duo.
Kushrenada looked up from his bunk as Captain Chang entered the building with Duo and Heero in tow, his tawny eyes widening at the sight of the braided boy. The last time he'd seen him, he'd been lying motionless on the cold, hard ground. It was a fond memory for the hate-filled man.
"I might've known," he spat coldly. "You've got more lives than a cat, Maxwell!"
"Well, you know us gutter rats," Duo quipped, his indigo eyes dark with a gleam of malice they rarely showed. "Numerous as cockroaches and twice as hard to kill."
"Take your L2 street talk somewhere else," growled the former warden.
"Oh, I will," Duo assured him. "But I had to see you first."
"Come to gloat, eh?"
The boy shook his head. "As much fun as it'd be to rub your face in the fact that you were outsmarted and beaten by a bunch of wet behind the ears kids, that's not why I'm here. I've come to give you what you want...your brother's killer."
Both Wufei and Heero turned stunned looks to the braided boy.
But Kushrenada didn't even look surprised. "I knew you did it!"
Duo walked closer, until he was within a foot of the bars that separated them. "I didn't do it, asshole. But I saw who did."
"You witnessed the murder?" Wufei demanded.
The boy glanced over his shoulder, eyes downcast. "Yeah, I did."
"That's a likely story," scoffed Kushrenada.
"Oh, it's no story," Duo crooned in a low, dangerous tone. "But I'll tell you one." He reached out and took hold of one of the bars, almost as if bracing himself, and he looked squarely at the hated warden. "The night of the murder, I broke into your brother's apartment. I was a talented little thief, and that complex was just about as easy as they come." A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth, but never reached his eyes. "Anyway, I'd climbed the fire escape and gotten in through the window, like I always did. Most times, I could be in and out in under five minutes, with enough shit to hock to buy food for a week. But your brother had prime stuff! Man, he could've fed my gang for a month on what I could pick up in fifteen minutes in that apartment."
"You fucking--!"
Duo held up a hand for silence, wagging a finger as if scolding a child. "If you want to hear the story, K., you have to shut up and listen."
Glaring daggers at the boy, the warden subsided back into silence.
"That's better," Duo murmured, his voice so cold that Heero barely recognized it.
The Japanese boy shifted his weight, as if to step closer to his partner, but Wufei placed a restraining hand on his arm, shaking his head in warning. He didn't want to break the spell between Duo and Kushrenada until he'd heard the rest of the boy's story.
"Anyhow--" Duo went on as if oblivious. "I filled up my backpack, but before I could get from the bedroom back out to the window by the fire escape, I heard a key in the lock. About all I could do was dive under the bed and hope whoever it was didn't notice a few things gone." He cocked his head, eyes distant, as if replaying the scene in his mind. "So there I was, flat on my stomach under the bed, hands over my nose just in case there was enough dust to make me sneeze. And these two guys came into the apartment in the middle of some kind of fight. They were arguing and stomping around so much they never noticed the open window." A faint flicker of emotion crossed his face, and he grimaced slightly. "But then, they went from fighting to 'making up'. Next thing I knew, they were on the bed I was hiding under, going at it like rabbits."
Kushrenada's eyes flew wide, and he stood up, approaching the bars menacingly. "My brother was not gay!" he snarled.
But his denial only made the boy raise an eyebrow and give him a patronizing smirk. "If you say so, K. Maybe it was just the way he kept screaming 'fuck me harder'. But I got the distinct impression he was."
The warden lunged for the boy, but was held back by the handcuffs and the two guards.
"Maxwell--!" Wufei said sternly.
"I'm just tellin' you what I heard," Duo replied defensively. "Anyhow--after-- the two of 'em got to arguing again. One wanted the relationship public, an' the other didn't. Next thing I knew they were throwing shit, an' then fighting--then one stabbed the other." He closed his eyes momentarily, reliving the sound of the knife sinking into flesh over and over, as he lay under the bed with both hands clasped over his mouth to keep silent. Heero took the opportunity to step up next to Duo and slide a reassuring arm around his waist, murmuring soothingly under his breath.
"Go on," urged Wufei gently.
"He--he fell right next to the bed--an' we just kind of--stared at each other for a second. He never made a sound--he just--died." Duo paused, running a hand across his eyes, and then went on quickly, as if to get it over with. "The other guy--the killer--he kinda went a little nuts--talking to himself and pacing. I think he even cried a little. An' then he started going around the room, wiping stuff off and gathering up as much as he could carry. When he finally left, he'd pretty much cleaned the place out. And as soon as I thought it was safe, I got the hell out." He folded his arms across his chest. "I didn't kill your brother, K."
"That's a lie!" scoffed the warden. "You were the one who broke in. You got caught in the act and killed him. I notice you 'conveniently' didn't ever see the killer's face. Yet you claim to know who it was."
"Yeah--when he reached down to take his knife out of your brother's back--I saw a tattoo on his hand."
"And why didn't you tell us about your 'tattooed man' when you were arrested?" demanded the warden. "Because he didn't exist! You just made him up now to try to convince your new buddies you aren't the fucking murderer I know you are!"
"I didn't make anything up!" Duo snapped. "I didn't tell the cops because when I was arrested--I saw the tattoo again--on the hand of the cop who put the cuffs on me."
"My partner?" Kushrenada's face paled in realization.
Wufei and Heero both gaped in amazement as all the pieces fell into place...the brother having a relationship with Kushrenada's partner on the force...the fight over making it public...and the fact that there was virtually no evidence at the murder scene; it had been wiped clean.
Duo began laughing quietly--almost desperately. "Y'mean your partner was fucking your brother? And you didn't know?"
Kushrenada seemed to snap at that, suddenly flinging himself at the bars and screaming obscenities at the boy. When one of the chains broke, he nearly got a hand free, and Wufei hastily pulled Duo back, shoving him into Heero's arms and ordering the guards to subdue the infuriated man.
"Son of a fucking bitch, Maxwell! Next time let me know when you're gonna drop a bomb like that!"
Duo merely stared in fascination as his long-time enemy went mad with rage, throwing the two guards aside more than once before running out of strength when his wounded shoulder caught up with him. At that point, he sank to the floor, leaning wearily up against the bars and gasping for breath.
Duo shook off Heero's arm, and walked closer, his dark eyes gleaming. He knelt in front of the shaken warden, looking intently into his face.
"D'you believe me?"
Kushrenada made a small sound, almost a whimper--and then he nodded, closing his eyes in defeat.
"Good," Duo said brightly, rocking back onto his heels. He gave the man a perfectly evil grin, and then his face went still and serious, and he leaned in close enough to almost whisper. "Because I made it all up."
"Wha--huh--?"
A deadly smirk curled Duo's lips, and something truly cruel shone from the indigo eyes for an instant.
"W-why?" whispered Kushrenada.
"Just to fuck with you," Duo shrugged, apparently oblivious to the shocked and horrified stares of his two companions.
"You little bastard!" screamed Kushrenada, throwing himself forward again, only to be yanked back by the guards while Duo nimbly ducked back and stood up.
The braided boy backed up until he encountered Heero's immoveable chest, and stood laughing quietly as the two guards dragged the raving, screaming man away, calling for a medic to go get some sedatives and Doctor Po.
"The fucker's gone off the deep end--!" one guard blurted while dodging a flailing arm.
"Maxwell--outside!" ordered Wufei, his tone livid.
Heero ushered his teammate out, keeping a worried gaze on the too-happy boy, as he turned him to face Captain Chang.
"What was that all about?" demanded the officer.
Duo turned an unrepentant face towards him. "He deserved that and more! All the head games he's played...I'd say he got off easy."
"Easy? You offered him closure about his brother's death--and then told him it was all just bullshit! How is that 'easy'? I thought you didn't lie!"
"I don't. But he doesn't deserve to know the truth," Duo said firmly.
"That's not for you to decide. I didn't bring you here to torture the man, Maxwell. You can't be judge, jury and executioner, or you could end up just like him!"
Duo smiled icily. "Then I guess I'll just have to settle for being the executioner," he shrugged.
Heero had been silent, thinking over all of K.'s cruel games and machinations. Then he looked up at Wufei steadily. "You have to admit, Chang, as harsh as Duo was--he did deliver justice--nothing more, and nothing less."
Duo slid an arm around his lover, gradually shedding the cold, calculating expression he'd donned in front of the warden. "I'm glad you understand, 'Ro."
"I never said I didn't," Wufei pointed out. "But the way you played him--" He shook his head. "You have a dark side, Maxwell."
"He's not the only one," Heero said coolly, recalling his own depths of anger.
"True," conceded the officer. "But he hides it better than most." He gave the boy an appraising look, not sure how to feel about the latest facet of his personality to be revealed. "It took me by surprise for a moment."
Duo looked a bit chastened, glancing up at his guardian from under his bangs. "Sorry if I disappointed you, sir. But where I came from, you had to be hard enough and cold enough to survive. Y'learned to use those parts of yourself when you needed to. Didn't mean you had to embrace it--to stay hard and cold. It just meant you had to have it there in reserve--for when things got too--"
"Too horrible to comprehend?" Wufei asked gently, thinking of a twelve-year-old boy cringing under a bed while someone was brutally murdered a few feet away.
"Yeah--" Duo breathed, leaning on Heero.
They started back across the compound, the Japanese boy keeping his lover close as they walked.
"Just one more thing, Maxwell--" Wufei added. "Which story was true--that you know who the killer was? Or that you made the whole thing up?"
"I didn't make anything up," Duo said somberly. "I saw the murder. I saw the tattoo. I saw all that blood... And when the cops arrested me, I knew who the killer was. If I'd told them that, before I got anyone to believe me, I'd have ended up dead too."
"I've no doubt you would have," Wufei agreed, trying to imagine how horrifying it must have been to see the killer's tattoo on the hand of the arresting officer. "Damn it, Maxwell. It's nothing short of miraculous that you've lived this long," he blurted in frustration.
Duo chuckled, sounding much more like himself. "Aren't you glad you weren't my guardian all along?"
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Then I never would have lived this long."
"At the very least," Duo speculated. "You'd be sportin' grey hair instead of black."
The Chinese officer laughed, reassured that the boy's intense meeting with Kushrenada was behind him, and he was regaining his emotional equilibrium--at least until the next crisis. Gods, Yuy, do you know what you've gotten yourself into with this one? Then he saw the way his friend was looking at the braided boy--the warmth and certainty in the deep blue eyes--and he knew that Heero knew exactly what he was getting into, and couldn't have been happier.
TBC...
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