Chapter Two
Duo drove on for hours. He only stopped to use the rest room, fuel up and to grab some food for lunch. He made sure to pay with only cash so he could not be tracked. And he had thrown his cell phone out the car window soon after he left Quatre's mansion. He could not risk Heero hacking into some system and finding out what direction he was headed. Though to be honest, if anyone thought on it long enough they would know that the only other person he would go to other than Quatre would be Hildie. They had been friends for so many more years and he would even be willing to call her his best friend. After he had driven for almost 12 hours, excitement filled him as he drove into Twin Falls Idaho. He was about halfway to his destination. He wondered if he should pull over and find a motel for a night. If he did not he still had another 12 hours of driving. It would be very careless of him to continue driving to be honest, and he told Quatre that he would be careful, but if he stopped, that would give Heero time to catch up with him.
He pulled into a Holiday Inn, deciding it would be best for him to get some rest. When he thought of it logically there was no way that Heero could track him. The other man had no idea where Duo was going, and there was also hope that Quatre came up with a good cover story and no one would be suspicious of his absence until the morning. Yes, it would be ok. He would just rest up a bit.
Duo paid for the room in cash, ever weary of leaving an electronic trail that Heero might be able to follow later on. It was 8 at night and he was exhausted from all of the driving. He was grateful when he walked into the room and saw the queen sized bed made neatly, ready for him to fall on it and sleep. That was exactly what he did.
xxxx
Duo woke the next morning feeling better than he had the morning before. For one he had not been abused and used like he had before. He was also filled with a small sense of freedom that he had gained within the past 24 hours, but his stomach was telling him that freedom was not all that he needed to survive. He was much in need of some food, and thankfully the motel served a continental breakfast. He used the bathroom and bushed his teeth before making his way down to get some food.
As he had his bacon, mixed fruit and pancakes he though about what his day would be like. He had another almost 12 drive, though if he drove a little faster he could make it in less time, but he would have to be careful. The car could go fast, but that did not mean he had to go as fast as he could down the highway. He could speed up though, and get away with it and get to his destination in only 8 hours. Yes he would have to do that. Time was of the essence now that it was daybreak. He quickly finished his breakfast up, eager to get out and on the road again. He gathered his things when he got into his room and used the television to check out as it was offered to all the guests. He quickly went to the car, praying to whatever God there was that it was still there. Not to say that the area he was in was bad, but it was a damn nice car and who would not take a chance to snag that if they could? It was still where he had parked it the night before. Relief washed over him and he got into the car, placing his suit case in the passenger side seat as he had before. He started the car and it purred to life again. It was so quiet, yet so powerful at the same time. It surprised him, but he did not have time to marvel at the beautify of the car. He had to get on his way.
He was back on the highway in no time and gathering speed. He soon hit 90 and thankfully there were not many cars out yet. He would have to maintain the speed but keep an eye out for cops. He was way over the speed limit but he had to get where he was going as fast as he could. Again, he only stopped to use the restroom, get fuel and eat lunch. It only took him 9 hours with breaks and soon he was pulling off the highway and into the quaint mountain town of Salida Colorodo. He had driven over one thousand miles and he was finally in the town he needed to be. Now he just had to find Hildie's mechanics shop. He had a vague idea of where it was as she had once said she was in the heart of the beautiful city. The streets were clean and bustling with the people heading out for dinner in the heart of the city. As he drove slowly down the street he saw the mountain rising from the horizon. It was a beautiful site and he understood why Hildie had chosen this place to settle down after the war.
He was able to find the shop in question easily as it was the only mechanics shop on the strip. He pulled into the parking log and looked through the large front windows of the building. He could see a worker helping a customer but he could not see Hildie. He hoped that she was there because he did not know her home address. He got out of the car, making sure to lock it before heading into the shop. When he walked in it smelled of oil and grease. He relished in the smell, taken back to the times of the war when he would work on DeathScythe. He missed working on his machine as well as other things, but he could not dwell on the past, he had to look forward to his future and his great escape. He looked around. The front of the store was small with a handful of seats and a few stands with small car parts on display for sale. The bulk of the store was behind the long counter that stretched almost the entire width of the front of the building. Behind the worker stood shelves upon shelves of custom and manufacture car parts. This was mostly a specialty store for high end cars but someone looking for an ordinary set of breaks for their ford could come and be serviced as well. Duo missed all of this, and he also missed his friend. Whom he could not see. He waited for the couple in front of him to finish purchasing their parts before he stepped up to the counter.
"Good evening sir. What can I help you with tonight?" The young man behind the counter inquired. He did not look older than 19 and Duo wondered just how much he knew about any of this. Then again, he was fixing up cars and stealing them when he was only 16.
"Hi, yes. I am looking for the owner Hildie Schbeikera. I was wondering if I could speak with her?" He asked, hoping she was there.
"Oh yes! She is just in the back. Let me get her for you." The young man made his way back through the shelves and disappeared as he turned a corner. The wait was not long and as the two walked out of the office they were discussing some unknown matter. Hildie was dressed in scruffy jeans and a blue t-shirt. She looked like she belonged in the shop. Duo waited for the woman to notice him. He had not seen her in over 2 years, and he could not fight the huge grin that was plastered on his face.
She started to speak right before she made it to the counter. "How can i help you si-" She stopped short, having turned her head as she attempted to ask the question, but it fell short as her eyes met with Duo's. There was a moment, a pause as she seemed to process the fact that her friend was standing before her. "OH MY GOD! DUO!" She screeched and launched her self over the counter and took him into her arms in a squeezing embrace.
"Hi Hild. I missed you too." He hugged her back, missing her just as much but due to the circumstances he was able to contain his joy. He had other things on his mind.
She pulled away, keeping him in arms reach and looked him over. He knew she would find things different but he tried not to think about it. "You look thinner then when I last saw you. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine. Listen Hild, can we talk somewhere private?" He wanted to get back on the road and he did not have time to bask in the reunion.
Hildie looked around. "Yeah we can go to my office." She turned to the young man still standing behind the counter. "Trevor lock up for the night. Go ahead and start stocking the new items please."
"Can do." He smiled and headed around the counter the proper way to lock the store up.
Hildie took Duo's hand and lead him to the back where he office was. They walked past all the car parts and to a small room in the back of the shop. It had a small desk with a computer on it, a chair for the person behind the desk and one chair in front. A filing cabinet sat in the corner of the room behind the desk and that was all that adorned the room. It was simple but practical. Hildie motioned for Duo to sit in the chair in front of the desk before she grabbed the other chair and moved it so that they were sitting almost knee to knee in the small room.
"Wow Duo. Its been over two years. I can't believe you're just suddenly here." The young woman smiled, clearly excited to see him again.
A small smile graced his lips. "Yeah, it has been a long time and to be completely honest I'm shocked that I'm here too." He scratched the back of his head, the smile growing a little smaller. He had to admit it was nice seeing her, but he had to get down to business. "Listen Hild. I have a favor I need to ask of you."
"Yeah sure, shoot."
He sighed. He hated just coming here, asking for something, and then leaving, but this was the last hope that he had. She just had to have what he was looking for. "Okay, do you remember that safe house that you were holding onto during the war?" Hildie nodded. "You never told anyone else about it did you? Accept me?"
"No. I never told anyone. Why?" There was a sense of concern creeping up on her face. What was this all about?
"And you still haven't told anyone about it?" The women shook her head indicating she hadn't told a single soul. "Awesome. I need you to tell me where it is."
There was silence. The gears in Hildie's head were going into over drive as she tried to contemplate why Duo would need such information more than 2 years after the war had ended, and why did it matter that no one else knew about it. Of course it was still there and of course she had kept it a secret all these years. No one ever knew if a war would ever break out and the pilots would be needed again, but why would Duo need it now in a time of peace. The only way to find out was to ask. "Can I ask why you need to know Duo? Well, you know why its so important it stay secret."
"Listen Hild, a lot of stuff is going on in my life right now and to be honest I don't have time to explain it all right now. I have to find out where this place is and get out of here as quick as I can. So can you please help me?" A look of desperation filled his features. He took her hands and squeezed them, as if to reiterate his point.
"Whatever is happening, I want to go with you Duo. You can tell me on the way and I can take us to the safe house." She insisted suddenly.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, Hildie. I don't want you to get pulled into this."
"Duo, you're like my brother. I will not let you do this alone. You're going to take me with you!" She demanded, a stern look on her face.
"What about your store Hildie? Who will take care of it? Plus I don't know how long I will be gone. You can't come with me."
"Taylor can run the store while I am gone, and I have a few other people who work here. With him running it everything will be fine." She smiled, proud of herself for coming up with the idea.
"That kid can't be older than 19. Do you really trust him to take care of this store for an extended period of time?" Duo looked skeptical. He was doing his best to keep her from going with him. He did not want her to get hurt. He would never forgive himself if she did.
"Taylor is 21. And I've been training him as my assistant. He knows how to do everything to keep this store running if I want to go on vacation or do something else. I'm not worried about it, and you shouldn't be either. What I'm worried about is you and why you would need the safe house so suddenly. In fact, I wont tell you where the safe house is unless you take me with you." She put her foot down, her brows coming together in determination.
Duo sighed. There was no way of getting around it. He would have to take her, and she would want to know everything, but to get away from the horrible hell he had been living it was a small price to pay. She was right after all. They were like siblings, and he could tell her everything. So it could not be that hard to tell her what had been happening to cause him to do all of this. He finally nodded his head in agreement. He was afraid he might regret this decision, but he had to get going. It was getting late and he needed to get back on the road.
Hildie smiled and squeezed his hands. "Okay its settled then. I will leave the store in Taylor's hands and we can head out. I just have to run upstairs and grab a few things from my place and we can head out."
Duo hadn't even thought about the second story to the building, but thinking back he recalled seeing it before he pulled into the parking lot. Of course Hildie would live so close to her passion. He nodded his head as she let go of his hands to go talk to Taylor and grab her things. He stood after she left, a feeling of dread filling him. Thoughts of what could happen filled his head as he walked back out to the front of the store. He really didn't like this idea, but he was stuck with no choice at this point. He would have to go along with it to get what he wanted. He sat down in one of the chairs that lined the large front windows and waited for Hildie. It wasn't long before she was coming from behind the counter with a duffel back slung over her shoulder and a large grin on her face.
"Okay! Lets get going!" She beemed. She had changed into a pair of nicer looking jeans and clean green t-shirt. Duo stood and lead the way out to Quatre's car. As they approached it Hildie whistled at it. "Wow! This is an amazing car Duo! Looks like a Bugatti. A W16 engine with quad turbocharge. This is an amazing car, but its mpg isn't that great. But its crazy fast with a top speed of 253 miles per hour. Its expensive to. I hear its going for over 1.7 million. Where did you get this car Duo?"
Duo smiled sheepishly. "Borrowing it from Quatre. I asked for a fast car and he gave me the fastest one he had."
"Wow talk about putting trust in a friend. This has got to be one of his most expensive cars. Its one of the fastest cars in the world Duo!" She exclaimed, her excitement evident as she looked around the car touching it tentatively.
"Well, lets get going. Are you going to tell me where I am going before we leave?" He inquired, keys in hand. He hit the key fab to unlock the door and let her into the passenger side.
"Actually, I was wondering if I could drive. It's kind of hard to get there, and if you want to get to the safe house I want to take back roads to get there. Safer that way."
Duo hesitated. She was right. The back roads was the best way to get to any safe house. It was harder for someone to follow you, but at the same time the back roads would take longer, and he was in a hurry to get as far away as fast as possible. Then again, on back roads you could speed as much as you wanted because there were fewer cops. He nodded and handed her the keys before making his way around to the passenger side. He opened the door and moved his suitcase into the small backseat. Hildie climbed into the drivers seat and tossed her bag back with Duo's. She smiled at him and started the car up. She had a huge grin on her face. She was clearly excited to be driving such an amazing car.
"I've always wanted to drive a Bugatti. This is going to be fun." She grinned from ear to ear.
Duo looked at her skeptically. "Just don't get us killed, okay?"
Hildie looked at him in mock horror. "ME?! Nonsense, I'm the best driver around these parts."
Duo rolled his eyes and looked out the window. "Then we should get away from this town as fast as possible."
Hildie laughed and pulled out of the parking lot into the evening traffic. They were on their way, and Duo was relived that they would be getting to somewhere safe soon, hopefully. He had no idea where they were going or how long it would take, but he had faith in his friend that they would get there quickly and safe.
End Chapter