Title: Tracking Onyx

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters. This story is for entertainment purposes only and I'm not making any profit from this.

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It had been a long day for Duo Maxwell, all of it spend at the computer. This was the part about his job that he hated. Taking a target down was one thing, but doing research to get to that point. Well it simply sucked. But Duo supposed he couldn't complain. Being a head hunter, or bounty hunter, whichever you wanted to call it, for a living was better than patrolling the streets or being stuck in an office any day. Plus the pay wasn't shabby either. It also helped that Duo was good at his job, and got most of his marks quickly. Except for his current one.

Onyx was a criminal wanted by both, the federal government as well as some of the top name underground bosses of the world. Why? Onyx was a killer, a seemingly uncatchable one at that. And his main targets were selected key figures in different crime rings. That alone wouldn't have been bad, but in two or three occasions there had been some innocent deaths as well. The main reason why Duo had taken on this target.

Now, two weeks later he regretted his decision. As it turned out, nothing was known about this man? Woman? Nothing. Which was making Duo's job a lot harder than it should have been.

"Where are you, you son of a bitch?" Violet eyes narrowed at the screen. He knew there was something he was missing, but...

"Hah!" Fingers flew over the keyboard, bringing up an image of bad quality, but it was enough for Duo to find out what Onyx looked like. "I got you now. Be prepared to meet your maker."

-----

"How the hell did he slip past me? He didn't even know I was waiting for him." Duo growled as he stood in line for the check in. He had planned to intercept Onyx when the target had left the hotel, but the slippery bastard had gotten past him.

Duo knew better than to try anything at the airport. Acting for the feds or not, if he were to pull a weapon here there would be some serious consequences. Not something he felt like dealing with. So he decided to follow Onyx and get him then.

"Please put your suitcases on the scale Mister." The flight attendant behind the counter sounded like she was nursing a major headache.

Duo looked down at himself. "I only got the cary-on."

That just seemed to irritate her more. "Ticket please."

Following her instruction Duo handed over the piece of paper. The woman took her time looking at his ticket, then typing away at her computer. "Here you go Mr. Maxwell. Your seat will be center row, economy class, 36 E."

It figured, not even a window seat. "When does boarding start?"

"If everything goes according to schedule in an hour."

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"Like anything ever goes according to schedule." The plane was already two hours late for take off, and Duo had just made it into the machine. On instinct he scanned the crowd of passengers to see if his target was around.

Duo couldn't believe his luck when he spotted the man just a few rows before his. At least that much the gods granted Duo.

That moment Onyx turned around as if he felt Duo watching him. Violet eyes met black ones, and Duo knew where the mans code name came from. They kept eye contact for a few seconds before Duo had to keep moving, or someone would have started to bitch.

He found his seat quickly and buckled in, preparing for takeoff.

"Your hair is long."

Duo blinked and looked to his left. A little girl, maybe 4 years old sat next to him, smiling adorably. "My name is Melanie, what's yours?"

Duo smiled at her, but rolled his eyes mentally. This was going to be a long flight.

----

"-and then mommy said we have to go visit grandma."

Duo looked at his watch. Three hours. Would this girl ever shut up? Duo usually loved children, but in this case...

"Look Melanie, how about you-" The plane suddenly shook violently, causing some of the passengers to cry out surprised. Melanie looked a little pale in the face and whimpered.

Duo felt bad. "Don't worry, its just a little turbulence."

As if to give Duo some back up the captains voice could be heard over the intercom. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are currently experiencing some turbulence and ask you to remain in your seat with your seat belts fastened."

"See nothing to worry about." Duo smiled, and the girl seemed to relax a little. Though her small hands tightened on her arm rest every time the plane would shake. "Just think of it as a giant roller coaster ride."

Duo was sure she was about to reply but whatever it was she replaced with a scream as their world suddenly went upside down. Duo felt himself being lifted out of his seat and noticed from the corner of his eyes a refreshment cart that came careening past them. The plane was going down fast.