Author's Note: This fits with chapter forty eight of Witness.
Diary of a Protected Witness Part 37
Running Out of Time
Ah, and more on the whole "shit hitting the fan" thing...
On the heels of our finding out about the tabloid photos, while we were having a big planning session (and whether they let me or not, I was thinkin' I might find a way to play with the rides at that amusement park), Trowa called.
Turns out he'd spotted a couple of suit-wearing Feds at the circus and had to cut and run himself!
Everything was pretty much spiraling out of control again, and I found myself afraid for my friends, and for my lover, and pretty much anyone else that rat-bastard Khushrenada might go after in order to flush me out.
I hated his fuckin' guts.
I mean, it's one thing to want to silence someone who's got dirt on you; but to stoop to attacking orphans, blowing up cars, shooting up homes--? That was just outrageous. I wanted to march myself into Khushrenada's office and fuckin' tell him what a loathsome asshole he really was.
But maybe that's what he wanted--to goad me into rash action.
Fuck, I've never needed goading to take rash action. It's kinda my middle name--or my modus operandi, if you will. I'm the king of spontaneity.
But even I'm not stupid enough to walk into a trap like Khushrenada was trying to build. Nope. No way in Hell.
Going after him alone would be sheer suicide, and I had way too much to live for!
I was gonna trust 'Ro and 'Fei to keep all three of us alive long enough to bring Khushrenada down the legal way. (Though if I thought I could've gotten away with sneaking in and slitting the guy's throat in his sleep...I might've been sorely tempted.)
Anyhow--Heero headed off to town, while Wufei and Catherine and I started making preparations to leave.
I decided to give Chang and the girl a little alone time, and told 'em I was headed out to the barn for a few odds and ends we might need while camping. (Yes, back to dodging bear and moose, dammit! But at least they fought fair, unlike Khushrenada's goons.)
As I was gathering up some twine and shit, I noticed the gunpowder and explosive stuff in the bins under the work bench. And it struck me that we might just have need of something along those lines. I mean, even if we didn't need it for the bad guys, maybe we could use it to scare off a marauding moose. Or even a boorish bear, hm?
Now, back when I was with the Reapers, we'd done a bit of dabbling in that sort of stuff. I mean, it doesn't take rocket science to make a Molotov cocktail, y'know? And yeah, I'd thrown a few in my time, when we were at odds with other gangs and looking to stir things up. I was no saint, that's for sure.
At any rate, I put my ill-gotten education to a slightly better use, quickly looking over the ingredients at hand, and rummaging through some drawers to find adequate props. Turns out those circus folks used quite a range of explosive devices in their special effects and magic tricks. And Cathy and I had spent enough time playing around in the barn and working on her knife-throwing that I'd had time to tinker before and make some slightly more potent versions of the magic smoke trick.
But this time I wanted something substantial. I wasn't sure how much it'd take to scare off or blow up a moose, (I mean, just how big are those suckers?) so I did my measuring and mixing with as much care and caution as I could under the circumstances, selecting stuff that wouldn't be a hazard to cart along in a backpack--but that could be triggered when needed.
I found the perfect "vehicle" in the form of some of those silly balls that have a battery and speaker inside--they make noise when moved or shaken, and dogs just love 'em. I took out the noise-making parts and replaced them with my explosive mixture, and then rigged it so that about twenty seconds after you turned it on, it'd short out and set off the explosives.
And they were more potent than the simple flash-bangs that the magicians used; there was enough power in one of them to take out anyone within a ten or fifteen-foot radius. Not exactly high explosives, but certainly enough to slow down the bad guys we were almost certain to encounter, assuming I hadn't used them all up on four-legged monsters.
I didn't limit myself though. I threw together several of the smoke bombs used in the disappearing act, in case we needed to do some disappearing of our own. And then I started to put some spare explosive powder in some baggies, for emergencies.
Hell, my whole life was a fuckin' emergency these days!
I was so caught up in my mixing and measuring that I didn't hear anyone enter the barn until Chang's voice spoke up suddenly from right behind me.
"What are you doing, Maxwell?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin, sending gunpowder scattering in about fifty directions. "Jeezus, Chang! Give a guy a heart attack, why doncha?"
I turned an accusing gaze on him, and he smirked unrepentantly. "I repeat--what are you doing that makes you so very jumpy?"
"Nothin'!" I growled, stuffing my illicit booty into the duffel bag, and turning around and brushing off my hands.
He eyed me skeptically, a keen gaze running over the containers I'd lined up on the workbench. "Doesn't look like 'nothing,'" he noted. "Are you fooling around with magic tricks while we're supposed to be readying ourselves to leave?"
Rather than explain my rationale, I let him think I was more or less goofing off. "I got the twine and duct tape an' stuff--figured I might bring a smoke-bomb or two as well," I told him.
He gave a shrug, turning his attention to Catherine, who'd walked in behind him. "Just make sure you don't cause a fire hazard," he cautioned.
"Chang-baby," I teased. "I am a fire hazard. Why I've been told my body's so damned hot, it should be listed as a dangerous weapon--"
Catherine laughed aloud, shaking her head. "Want me to make him disappear again, Wufei?"
"I wish," he sighed. "But unfortunately, we need him now more than ever."
The pretty little circus girl grinned wickedly at him, picking up one of the knives from her act and tossing it into the air, catching it in a well-rehearsed move. "I could just scare him a bit--" she mused.
"I'm not afraid of you," I shot back defiantly.
"No, you've seen how precise I am, haven't you?" she acknowledged.
"Chang hasn't," I pointed out, thinking maybe I could give her a chance to show off her talents a bit, and cinch her place in Chang's heart; if he hadn't been interested in her before, he would be after he saw how very competent she was with a blade.
I walked over to stand against the backboard she used for her practice. "C'mon, Cath! Part my hair for me," I challenged.
"No!" Wufei said sharply, stepping between us and heading my way. "Maxwell, you are not to play fast and loose with your life!"
"I'm not," I insisted. "She's awesome, Wufei. She never misses!"
"There's no such thing as 'never,'" he insisted.
Catherine's eyes flashed indignantly. "I beg to differ!" she called out hotly. "Like Duo says, I never miss."
Realizing he'd inadvertently insulted her skills, Chang turned and tried for some quick damage control. "I'm not saying you do--or would--" he sputtered. "But you must understand, taking even a one in a million chance with Maxwell's safety at this juncture would be foolish--negligent of me, even. Yuy would have my head if he found out, and rightly so."
"Aw, let her throw just one," I urged, wanting him to see how impressive she was. "She can go for an arm or something--nowhere near a fatal shot if she misses--which she won't!"
Dark eyes turned a stormy look my way. "You're a protected witness, Maxwell. I can't allow such nonsense, even if I know the risk is minimal."
"C'mon--I'll give you twenty bucks if she so much as nicks me--" I glared back at him. "You sayin' you don't trust her, 'Fei?"
It was beginning to annoy me that he wouldn't take a little leap of faith and prove to Catherine that he believed in her ablilities.
He fumbled for a response, knowing that he might alienate her if he refused. "If it were my life, I'd gladly place it in her hands. But you are too important to too many people for such foolishness."
"Fine then," I grumbled. "You do it then. You go stand by the target and let her throw one. Prove that you believe she's as good as we both say she is!"
Chang eyed the back board warily, and I couldn't really blame him. It's a pretty big leap of faith to trust someone's aim to the degree we were talkin' about. If I hadn't posed as Cathy's target before, I wouldn't have been so confident.
"I see no reason to--" Wufei began.
"You mean you don't have the balls to," I countered, shaking my head. "Big, tough cop, hm?"
"I have nothing to prove to you," he snarled.
"No, but you should prove it to Catherine," I retorted. "You said if it were your life, you'd place it in her hands. So put up or shut up! Prove you aren't a pansy-ass chicken and that you trust her aim!"
"Duo," Catherine cut in, casting a concerned look towards the simmering Chinese man. "You're not being fair. He doesn't have to pro--"
But Wufei cut her off, scowling darkly at me. "Fine! And you'll owe me twenty bucks when this is over!" He stalked across to push me aside and take my place against the back board.
I grinned triumphantly at Catherine and took a seat along the side of the practice space. "Have at 'im, Cath!" I urged, eager to see her in action.
The spunky circus girl took her mark, idly hefting the knife and testing its balance. I thought I saw a flicker of concern in her eyes, but then they gleamed with steely resolve, and she raised her hand to take aim.
I caught a glimpse of the barn door behind her opening, but was too focused on the determined and scared-shitless expression on Chang's face to look over.
The blade flew end over end in a smooth arc, and embedded itself alongside Wufei's shoulder, close enough for him to have felt the air of its passing.
"Yes!" I hissed in satisfaction. Granted, I'd lost twenty bucks--but seeing Chang so close to shitting his pants was well worth it.
Um, although, when Heero came storming in and chewed us all out for playing around like that, I kind of reconsidered a bit. He was really upset. Seems he thought his partner was really about to die for a second there, and didn't like the momentary panic it caused.
Hell, if we'd known he'd be getting back just then, we'd never have played the little power game. But it was all in good fun--really.
Fun that ended the instant Heero told us there were FBI agents in town sniffing around for us.
TBC...
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