Dignity and Honor
by Max
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
Note: This is a war story. It's written kind of as venting from this week's WWI class. Also, the tech is always a bit higher in my stories.
It has been said that what someone hasn't a concept for, one can't see. At fifteen, Duo thought he understood that idea and he thought it was fine justification for all manner of achievement.
Short term, messy infiltrations weren't hard to get oneself into. It was a little harder getting out, especially if you wanted to take shit with you. After all, it was only a matter of time until someone found the bodies.
Duo whistled as he carried the box of antibiotics and bone binders to the jeep he'd decided on. The food, some clothes and blanket kinda shit, and a nice video game system he'd found in someone's private quarters were already tucked neatly away. The box in his arms was the most important and the most fragile. Quatre and Heero both had the flu that was going around. Duo was sure that Quatre already had pneumonia and he didn't expect Heero to be far behind. Stupid fucker wouldn't do what he was told.
"Cadet!"
Duo pushed the box in a little farther, his heart both beating faster and freezing politely, just to prevent overheating, as he silently chanted for whatever cadet not to be him. He was wearing a cadet uniform. Nice pants and if he could get the damn strips off them, he might keep wearing them.
"Cadet!" This time the word was said calmly, and read way more dangerous to Duo than the first.
He turned in the direction of the voice and gave a sharp and proper salute.
The man staring down at him was some shit alright. He was like 30 cm taller and outmassed him by another 30 kg. There was something odd, destabilizing about the man too, as if somehow both of them were more out of place than not in the small remote base.
"Did you get my jeep fully packed, Cadet? What's your name?"
Duo took a deep breath, let his face melt into a warm smile, "Duo Maxwell, Sir!"
"Do you know who I am, Cadet Maxwell?"
"No, Sir," Duo said honestly, because soon to be deceased would have been really shitty rude.
"Well," the man said, blue eyes narrowing, a line forming between them, "I am Col. Treize Khushrenada. The base you're stationed at is the worst shithole I've ever had the misfortune of being stranded in. Do you wish to say something in defense of this shithole?" Treize held up a hand, his nose flaring just slightly. "And I would like you to consider that I was forced to land here by enemy fire, which your base was in no way equipped to help me against. Your mechanics can't repair my shuttle. The chief medical officer is, apparently, on vacation, and you're the first soldier in this misbegotten disgrace of a base to be able to give me a proper salute. What do you have to say for yourself, Cadet Maxwell?"
Duo took a deep breath, teeth on edge for a moment while he considered the odds of shooting this guy and making off with the jeep full of supplies while not dying or getting followed, because neither of those outcomes were gonna help Heero or Q-ball worth shit. "I'm just here doin' da best Ah can," Duo said, honestly, "Sir."
"More cannot be asked of a man. I am in need of a driver. Have you touched in evasive driving tactics in your classes yet?"
"Ah know a bit," Duo said.
"Well, then Cadet, let's leave before my adversaries realize I have changed modes of transportation. You've already moved all of my things?"
"She's as packed as she's gonna get," Duo said, nodding emphatically.
As if on cue, a couple of much larger trucks pulled up. Duo's mind went wild with what might be in them. Please to all the gods, he wanted a new actuator for his left knee. Once they were on the road, it looked like three guys, easy peasy, and he could have it all!
Treize studied him, the grin that Duo hadn't taken care to hide. "You shouldn't be so excited to see action, son. Some things, once lost, are hard to regain."
Duo looked up at this guy, his crisp blue uniform, the pomade perfect hair, and who the base was so easy to take made more sense. Everyone had been scrambling to take care of this guy. "I'm just trying to be a good team member and make sure that our goals are accomplished."
Treize nodded as if Duo had said something too profound for his age. He gestured towards the jeep with a white gloved hand.
Duo paused for a moment, then it clicked and he ran forward to open the passenger side door. 'Here, here, my little one,' said the Spider to the Fly.
Jumping in the other side, Duo lost a little of his polite cadet personna. A few minutes of that was about all he could stand. He didn't even have to shoot his way out of the base. The guard stood at attention as Duo sped up on his way out. It took all his will not to flip the dude off as he went too. They were not more than a kilometer away when bombs that Duo hadn't set went off, sending flame and billowing smoke well above the forest.
Treize tugged at each finger of his glove as he pulled his hand free. "Do your best to remain calm. Traitors to our cause are attempting to bring about the end of my life. There is every chance that we will have a violent encounter with them. You must remember that the beauty of war, the sanctity of men's souls, is at the heart of our willingness to face death and persevere."
The hair on the back of Duo's neck was standing up though, his gut tightening. It was the acid of explosives in the air. Just at the edge of his auditory capacity were angry engine sounds. "Yah, yah, yeh, kill'em dead. Got'cha."
The jeep left the forest into a clearing and Duo floored it, leaving the main road and heading away from the lake and bridge. Mech cleared the tree line and first one, then the other of Treize's trucks turned into flaming marshmallows. The blast that would have had them left a crater where asphalt used to be.
Holding on for dear life, Treize held onto some hope that the local boy might know something useful.
They disappeared into the darkness of forest on dirt road that left the jeep trying to fly in some moments.
"Hang on," Duo growled as they excited the cover they had, dropping down a steep, but shallow hill onto a frozen lake. Mech were on them almost as soon as they were visible.
Duo cranked the wheel, hitting the breaks, sending them drifting in a slow spin across the lake. He flicked on the cruise control and spun around in his seat, on his knees, he leaned and pulled, groaning as he pulled an already assembled rocket launcher from the back seat.
"Do you know how to use that," Treize growled.
"Shaddup," Duo growled back, focusing on the viewfinder as he aimed for the weakest point on the mech.
"Shoot!" Treize shouted, but Duo held, waiting, breath held. When he fired, it hit the one mech, flicking it around into the other, and sending them both rolling back towards the trees.
"Shell," Duo shouted holding out his hand.
Treize reached into the case in the backseat and grabbed one of the huge shells. Duo loaded it with practiced ease, aiming where he expected the mech to rise from the forest. When it did, he put the shell through an already damaged cockpit shielding.
Small arms fire, like little firecrackers decorated the edge of the forest.
Duo dropped the larger weapon back towards its case. He thought about the distance to the far side of the lake, the distance back towards the infantry behind them, the likely numbers of infantry. Hunched down to try to protect himself from some of the fire, he pulled the jeep out of the slide, deployed self sealing snow chains, which he hoped would give him speed and traction and make unexpected noise as he took them right back towards their attackers.
Comprehending the strategy, and accepting that it was the best, given the options, Treize stood up, his pistol held expertly and picked off enemies, one by one. Pop. Pop. Pop. Blood splattered, seeping purple into the blue of sleeve.
At the last minute, Duo jerked them sideways, retracted the snow chains and slide hard enough into the trees that one tipped and two of their enemy fell, as they scrambled back.
Treize was out of the jeep, pulling a second pistol, executing his traitorous former team members. Duo drew his pistol, staying in the jeep for a moment while he cleared the path before Treize.
When he thought all attention had shifted to Treize, he stealthed from the jeep, into the forest, using a much quieter blade to dispatch over confident and maybe a little frantic men who clearly thought their coup was going to go better than this.
When finally it was just the two of them left, dawn filling the forest with pale light still tainted with blood particulates and smoke hanging in the no longer innocent air, they stood their pistols trained on each other.
Duo had long since lost his hat and his braid lay on his chest.
"What if," Treize said, head tilting back, those blue eyes watching Duo as if he were the fly and Treize was a much bigger spider, "You work with us to bring justice to all people."
Duo's nose pinched, his lip twitching with contempt. He sucked all his spit together and spit blood and saliva on the forest floor. "How about I just shoot yer rich, spoiled ass now?"
"Death in battle should be dignified."
"Ain't no dignity in death. Ya just shit yerself and swell up terrible if ya don't get put in the 'cycle system."
"You don't strike me as a man who misses opportunity," Treize said, trying again, his own aim locked between Duo's eyes. "I think you could be an asset. I also think you were taking things in that jeep that mean a great deal to you. This can come out as a win for both of us. Today is not the day we should die."
"Ah expect today's as good as any," Duo said, refusing to acknowledge that he had plans, that he was going somewhere, that there was someone waiting for him, that there was someone else to catch.
"Have you ever killed a man you've fought with? Ever killed someone who protected you?"
"No." There was the slightest twitch by his eyes.
"Let's not take that away from you," Treize said. "The rest of my men will be here presently. After I lower my weapon, I want you to take the jeep and go. You were never here. Or stay. There is about a hundred and fifty of them. You are not completely unknown, Duo Maxwell."
Duo swallowed. He didn't really want to die. He flicked his safety on and holstered his weapon. When he looked back up, he still wasn't dead, so then the next step was to run like hell. He scrambled into the jeep, hands shaking, stomach threatening to up end those sausages he'd chosen to carry in his belly. The jeep failed to start. He tried again and the engine roared. For just another moment, he turned to look back at the older man.
Treize gave him a proper salute, then ran off towards the main road.
Duo asked for everything the jeep could give and make the darkness on the other side of the lake without bullets coming his way.
Later, underground, in a retrofitted tunnel that had probably served in WWI for all he knew, Duo knelt by Heero. The ground was the same dirt that Earth had had in WWI, if that helped at all. At least it was enduring dirt under his knees.
His hands were as clean as he could get them. He'd only gotten limited pairs of sterile gloves, an oversight on his part, he'd admit, so he was using the last pair while he seated Heero's IV.
Heero, pale and down with full out pneumonia now, looked him over, those blue eyes judging him. "You shouldn't have done whatever you did." Coughing punctuated his words. "It was too big of a risk."
The sound of Heero's voice was heaven, warmth, light. Duo grinned, so happy he could cry. He took a deep breath, paused for dramatic effect, and declared, "Ah ALMOST died, Ah'll have ya know! Ah took out a couple of mechs, while skidding across a frozen lake - that was some choice drivin' on mah part!"
Heero's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Why do you have to make everything more than it is? You exaggerate everything."
"I love you more than life," Duo said, grinning stupidly.
Heero snorted dismissively. "You don't take anything seriously. This is all some big game to you!"
Duo started the flow of the medicine, knowing that it would put Heero to sleep while it fixed him. "Yeah? Someday, Ah'm gonna be a doctor and save lots'a lives an' yer gon be mah husband."
"Idiot," Heero said, voice slurring as he slipped into healing sleep.
Duo curled up on his side, enjoying the warmth that Heero's fevered body gave off. "You jus' wait'an see."