Syndicate Part 2
Heero half listened to Duo talk as they ate dinner. The other half of his mind was preoccupied with cataloguing the on-goings in the dining hall, and what the Syndicate might have put his mission on hold for.
It was supposed to be a simple mission; get in, locate the target, befriend him, and lure him away. The Syndicate would take care of the rest, with Heero ready to give them any information or material they needed, before he released the target and vanished from said target's life. The Syndicate had arranged for Heero to live on the same floor as Duo Maxwell, and they knew from the information they had gathered on Duo's personality analysis that he would naturally befriend Heero.
As such, Heero hadn't planned to stay at The Academy for longer than two weeks; it would not have taken any longer than that to get Duo away from the Academy once they were friends. Now, staying under the radar would be hard. As Duo had said, transfer students weren't common, and already, the other students were taking him in and talking in hushed voices.
"Sorry," Duo said. "Like I said, we don't get a lot of transfer students and it excites us."
Heero shook his head. "I understand. I'd be curious too, if I were them."
Duo chuckled. "With your looks, it's hard not to attract attention."
"My looks?"
"Yeah. Unruly hair like you just rolled out of bed. Obviously of mixed descent by your skin color but blue eyes. Perfectly comfortable in your own skin; you don't look like you're intimidated in the least by the fact that you stand out and are obviously the 'newbie'. The girls are already tripping over themselves to get on your radar and the guys are trying to figure out if you might be a threat."
"Waste of their time," Heero said.
"What do you mean?"
Heero shrugged. "Even if I was nervous in this new setting, I'd never show it. Showing it would be a sign of weakness and the weak are easily devoured."
Duo laughed. "Devoured? I doubt anyone here is capable of devouring anyone."
"Okay, maybe not devouring," Heero admitted. "But still, it's a waste of their time."
"Explain," Duo said, furrowing his eyebrows
Heero leaned forward, so Duo automatically did the same.
"I'm not interested in girls."
Duo stared at him for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "As in...you're gay?" he whispered.
Heero changed his expression to a slightly panicked one before schooling it. "Sorry," he muttered, wiping his mouth quickly. "I shouldn't be so forward. I don't usually advertise the fact. I'd be really grateful if you keep that information to yourself. Excuse me." He stood and headed for the door.
"Hey!"
Heero paused, but Duo nudged his shoulder. "Follow me."
Heero followed as Duo led the way out of the dining room and up the stairs to their floor. Opening his door, Duo gestured for Heero to enter.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Heero started.
"I'm not going to do anything except talk to you, Heero," Duo interrupted.
Heero entered the room, but didn't stray further than just beyond the door. With a sigh, Duo closed the door. Leaning a hip against his desk, he crossed his arms, then uncrossed them, sticking them in his pockets as he slouched a little.
"Sorry," he muttered. "That was really insensitive of me. I didn't mean to come off like...like that. It's just that...there aren't a lot of us in this Academy. Maybe three, including you."
Heero fixed a tentative, surprised expression on his face. "You mean...you are?"
"Yeah," Duo said sheepishly. "Not something to advertise around school, y'know?"
Heero nodded slowly. "So, it's okay to...think of you as a friend?"
"Of course!" Duo blurted out. "I kind of want to say that even if I weren't gay, I'd have nothing against being friends with you, but it's strange to say that when I am. Gay, I mean. And your friend. I'm babbling."
Heero offered a shy smile. "I'm not sure why I let it slip," he confessed. "I mean, I know what you mean about not advertising it around school. It just...happened."
Duo nodded. "Just...be careful." Then, he grinned. "But I got your back, buddy!"
"Thanks, Duo." Heero glanced at Duo's clock and shifted his feet. "I'm going to go back to my room. I'm...kind of tired. First day moving in and all."
"Yeah," Duo said. "Get some rest, Heero. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Heero opened the door. "Good night, Duo."
Entering his own room, Heero closed the door behind himself and leaned against it. He didn't bother turning the light on, and stared at the green light on the power bar of his laptop.
Given the arrangement by the Syndicate for Duo and Heero to be situated so close together, it was impossible for Heero not to start his mission right away. He would have to take it slow until he was given the all clear to go ahead with the mission, but it was a start to create common ground right away between the both of them; to give Duo something to relate to Heero right away.
It felt like a child's game. All Heero had to do was the follow the information the Intel gave him, and pick and choose what information he wanted to exploit in order to arrange how quickly the mission could move. Duo Maxwell had been thoroughly studied, his profile created by Intel so that Heero could almost control every one of Duo's reactions by choosing his words carefully and schooling his expression appropriately.
But for some reason, Heero felt a twinge of unease as he used the Intel this time. He knew from his notes that Duo was perhaps the most innocent of all of Heero's mission targets; in fact, he would be the only one who wouldn't understand who the Syndicate was, or what they could possibly want from him.
Shaking his head, Heero went to his laptop to check for a status update. It wasn't his job to worry about the target's feelings. His only task was the follow his mission. Heero had learned, from a very young age, that nothing mattered more that successfully completing a mission.
No matter what, or who, was the cost, Heero Yuy did not plan to fail another mission.
TBC...
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