4. The Titan

It started out as a gentle touch, which grew into a rather rough shaking. Duo took a deep breath, inhaling hair, then spluttering a bit and shifting. "Hey Baby," he mumbled. "How about some breakfast?"

There was a shifting above him, warm breath grazed his ear before a low voice rumbled into it. "I swear when this mission is over I will strangle you to within an inch of your life."

Duo blinked then, pushing himself up a bit, reaching up to flop his hair out of his face. Heero was sitting above him, fully dressed. "It's morning. Everyone's asleep," he said quietly. "The bodyguard is in the bathroom with a girl who's sick. We should go. Now."

"Yeah. Yeah." Duo winced a bit as he sat up. Had she slipped him something? Or had he really just fallen asleep as she brushed his hair? God, he was such a tool sometimes. He reached for his shirt and slipped it on.

"Have your phone?"

Duo slapped his pockets and looked around, it was on the floor by his shoes. He made a face as he slid it into his pocket and shoved his feet into his shoes, then fished for an elastic to tie back his hair.

"Hurry up."

Duo nodded and stood. They stepped slowly out onto the landing and down the six wide carpeted steps to the main room, the center of which was graced by a bubbling hot tub. Holiday lay flopped in a lounger beside it, a towel draped over her slender frame. They could hear someone retching in the bathroom. They slipped down the entranceway, and out the door into the opulent hallway, which overlooked the still-buzzing casino floor.

Duo flipped on his phone as they walked, moving like they knew where they were going. But no one paid them any mind. No one made it inside who wasn't supposed to be there. "Six twenty three," he read after a moment. They stopped casually at the map across from the crystalline elevators. Three floors up and down a hallway that led away from the casino.

Heero gazed down at the casino floor as the elevator rose. "Seriously, you okay?" Duo asked him.

Heero glared.

"She recognized you, huh?"

"That's what she said. She said she'd always wanted one."

"What, a gundam?"

"No, a gundam pilot."

Duo snorted and looked away. "It couldn't have been that bad."

"I think need another shower."

"She wasn't a yak."

"I think I preferred the yak."

"She didn't get that far, did she?"

"No, but that isn't the point. What about you? She dragged you off pretty fast."

Duo laughed as the doors opened. "She just brushed my hair."

"Sure."

"Hey, believe me. I actually have some self-respect, you know."

"Sure." They headed down the hallway. "Do a lot of people…actually live like this?"

"Bored rich bastards do, I guess," grunted Duo. "I don't know!"

"You infiltrated well."

"Better than you. But you know I do."

Heero shook his head. "I've never understood how you do it. You stand out so badly."

Duo laughed as he rapped on the door. Heero had told him that once before, before they were friends. When they were just fellow pilots with the same mission, suspicious and untrusting of one another, unable to form bonds because weapons don't form bonds.

The door flew open. Wufei was seething on the other side. "Where have you been?"

"Getting laid," said Duo casually as he entered. "Hey, Quatre. Glad we could make it?"

"Sorry we're late," said Heero.

"You're not, really," said Quatre with a smile. "We're still waiting for Trowa." The room was not as opulent as Holiday's, but it was beautiful, none the less. The entranceway led to a wide sitting room, two bedrooms branched off on either side. The curtains were drawn, but even through them one could see more flashing neon lights.

"Laid?" Wufei couldn't help but ask Duo, who spied his stuff from the other hotel in a chair. He rummaged through his bag until he found his hairbrush and went to work re-braiding his hair.

"Oh, well…I did get to play kissy face with a celebrity."

"Who?" Wufei scoffed.

"Holiday Winter."

"Eww!" Quatre made a face.

Wufei turned a bit green. "That woman is a brainless slut, Maxwell."

"Yes, but that brainless slut got us into the hotel. Cuz we were smokin' hotties!"

Heero made a noise from where he had flopped on one of the couches. "I'm killing you when this mission is over."

"Oh, like you can complain. Guys, you should have seen the gorgeous Asian chick who could--" he froze a moment. "Who uh, couldn't keep her hands off of him. Hey, Heero, did you see her before you left?"

"No. Why?"

"Ah, no reason, I guess. So, hey, we're all here sans Trowa, whether we whored ourselves or…where do you think Trowa is?"

"I have no doubt he'll be here."

"Right. So can we get this meeting underway?"

"Breakfast is arriving momentarily," said Quatre. "I thought we could discuss the plan over coffee."

Duo tied off his braid and turned to face his fellow pilots. "Sounds good to me." He saw their faces and grimaced. "If we had been caught climbing or crawling in, we would have been seen as two guys trying to get into the Titan for some reason. By doing what we did, if we were caught, we would have been seen as two guys trying to get close to Holiday Winter for some reason. We did not actually do that much with those girls, okay? They got us in the Titan. I saw it as an acceptable trade-off, and an excellent cover. Please to not be judging me, okay? And Heero, you're just going to have to forgive me."

Heero made a dismissive gesture. "I wouldn't have gone along with it if I didn't think it was an acceptable plan," he said.

"It's fine, Duo," said Quatre. "We all have to do what is necessary."

"I still think it's disgusting," said Wufei.

"Well don't get too close or I'll give ya cooties," Duo sneered back.

"Please," sighed Quatre as there was a knock on the door. "Let's all get along."

"Room service," called a familiar voice.

Wufei answered the door, stepping back with a snort of surprise. Quatre and Heero grinned and Duo couldn't help but burst into laughter as Trowa entered in full waiter's uniform, pushing in a massive cart of food. "You bastard!" Duo laughed. "How did you get in here?"

"I carried a crate of live eels through the service entrance," said Trowa, loosening his tie.

"Now see, Maxwell, that is an acceptable way of infiltrating a building."

"What, rather than playing boy toys with some starlet?" asked Trowa, tossing his jacket across the back of his chair.

"What?" Duo looked at him. "How did--"

"Room service," Trowa said patiently. "I was there with strawberries and champagne at four this morning. You really need to get to Earth more, Maxwell. You're kinda pale." He smirked and dumped out some silverware on the table.

"Shut up, it worked."

"I'm not judging. You all right, Heero?"

"Sure."

"None of us are judging," Quatre said gently. "Now let's eat." He gestured to the cart, which they treated like a buffet, loading plates full of steak and eggs and fruit and cheese and filling mugs of coffee before gathering around the table.

"So, any new information?" Heero asked before attacking his plate.

"Very little," Quatre told them as he laid his napkin across his lap. "The Preventers are hoping to have a time, date, and location soon but our informants are not very helpful."

"I still think it's gonna be on the roof," said Duo.

"In front of everyone? One of these rooms would be much better," said Wufei. "Why show everyone what they're doing?"

Duo rubbed his eyes. "Because when you hide away in a room like this, people wonder what you're up to. It's also harder to get out of."

"He has a point," said Trowa.

"Perhaps," said Quatre. "But we just don't know."

"We'll keep working on it," said Wufei. "We're bound to catch a break."

Duo nodded with a sigh and poked his eggs.

They ran names and hacked databases until Duo's eyes hurt and he got up to stretch. Heero and Wufei had both stopped for a break; Wufei was draped on one of the couches, taking deep meditative breaths; Heero was seemingly unconscious on one of the large beds.

Duo peeked in on him. "He okay?" Quatre asked from behind him.

"I'm sure. He had a hard time, I guess. I can't believe they bought it."

"He isn't sure they did," said Trowa from the computer. "He says that someone recognized him as a gundam pilot."

"Lotsa people recognize Heero as a gundam pilot," sighed Duo.

Quatre shook his head. "I suppose he didn't like the plan much."

Duo shrugged. "I was not climbing the Titan casino with suction cups carrying a glass cutter in my teeth. I thought if we could just get someone to let us in, it would work out easier for everyone."

"I agree," said Quatre. "Persuasion, rather than force."

"Has he said more about where he was all this time?" Trowa asked.

"Yeah. All over. He looked at a cabin in Australia. And then he was hiking in Tibet…you shoulda heard him, Q. I've never heard him talk like that. Something about a place where you could find God. It sounded so strange coming from him."

Quatre smiled warmly. "Sounds human to me."

Duo shrugged. "Maybe so."

Trowa slammed the keyboared too hard. "Dammit! The connection just vanished."

Wufei pushed himself up a bit. "Hm?"

There was a knock at the door.

Wufei straightened, adjusting his jacket as he headed for the door. "Do you not see the sign?" he demanded. "Do not disturb!"

Another knock. Trowa closed the laptop. Quatre glanced at Duo, who moved to the end of the entranceway to watch.

Wufei opened the door.

It was Kiki, dressed in pants and boots with tall heels now, a jacket over her corset. "Hi," she said with a tilt of her head. "Is this where Heero ran off to?"

"What?" Wufei demanded.

"How the hell…" muttered Duo.

"No. This is a private room. I suggest you--" Wufei got no further, for Kiki moved like lightning, kicking straight upwards to catch Wufei in the chin and send him flying backwards. She strode in right past him as he recovered.

"Hi Duo," she said with a smile. "Is Heero in? Are these your friends?" She turned before he could answer to engage Wufei, who had come charging at her.

Duo stepped backwards. Damn it! She was meeting Wufei move for move.

"We've been discovered," said Quatre. "Trowa?"

Trowa hit a sequence on the laptop and it started sparking and smoking.

Wufei fell. Kiki turned that smile back on Duo. "It was really rude to leave without saying goodbye. You don't know how much you upset poor Holi." She struck. Duo dodged and caught her arm, hoping to twist her around.

He was on the floor before he knew it, watching her deal with both Trowa and Quatre, who had moved in. Wufei grunted and stood up. "Get up, Maxwell."

"Yeah, I got them," said Kiki into the air.

"Dammit!" Duo rolled over and grabbed her ankle. She brought her other foot down on his wrist and he winced.

But this was enough of a distraction for Trowa to get a hold of her and flip her to the floor. "Stop," he commanded. "I don't like fighting women."

There was a tremendous crash of glass in the bedroom. "She's distraction." Heero said from the doorway. "Time to move out."

"Hey, Lover," Kiki smiled as she rolled to her feet. "I told you I knew you were a gundam pilot. We don't need to fight. We're both after the same thing. Let's work together."

There was gunfire out in the casino. Alarms went off. "Damn it!" she snarled, looking towards the door. "They're coming." She ran for the door. "You boys better hurry!" she called back.

"Duo," said Heero, turning back into the bedroom.

"No! I said I wasn't climbing the Titan with suction cups!"

"Find your own way up then," said Heero. "And who said anything about suction cups?" He glanced at Duo once more then jumped right out the broken window.

Duo clutched at his chest much the way Quatre did when troubled. "I hate it when you do these things!" he shouted after him.

"Duo! Are you going with him or not!" Trowa called.

He lunged for his bag, snatching the most important stuff from it and shoving them in his pockets as he slid on his jacket and gloves, then snatched the jump drive from his laptop before seizing a couple of the guns Quatre had brought. "No way! I'll see him on the roof."

"With me then," Quatre said, slapping a clip into a gun as he followed Wufei to the door way.

Trowa paused a moment, then went towards the window and peered out, snorting a laugh before jumping out after Heero.

"Let the acrobats have their fun," muttered Duo as he came up alongside Quatre.

"Right."

"Plan?"

"Let's see what's out there."

An explosion rocked the building.

"What the hell?"

"Someone else got wind of the deal," said Quatre.

Wufei shook his head. "Someone less subtle than us. We probably should have taken the same tactic. Let's go!"

They saw the men with machine guns in the crystalline elevator before it opened. Duo skidded to a halt so fast he nearly fell, flipping the safety off both his guns. "Wrong way! Wufei, Quatre, find the stairs!"

Wufei protested but Quatre seized his arm and backed away even as the elevator doors opened. They all dove for doorways as the hall exploded in gunfire. Duo set his teeth angrily as leaned out to pick them off. He had never wanted to be a part of this sort of thing again. A bullet smashed plaster off the wall by his face and he ducked back a moment before returning fire with deadly accuracy. Another explosion rocked the building. People were screaming, there was gunfire elsewhere.

"We're in the middle of a mob war," Quatre groaned down the hall. "How stupid…"

"Stairs!" Duo shouted. "I'll cover you!" He fired into the elevator, letting a few shots go wide to shatter the glass around them. As they ducked he felt more than saw Quatre and Wufei make a break for the stairs.

They were either fallen or scattering. Duo lunged forward and tackled one of the last ones, turning to fire at another, yanking the machine gun away from him before diving into the elevator and hitting the button for the uppermost floor even as he shoved one of the bodies out. He crouched close to the doors, checking the clip on the machine gun. Maybe half. Would last him a little while, at least.

The glass wall beside him shattered and he rolled away, tilting to glance over his shoulder. The casino floor was a scene of complete and utter chaos. Men in gray and black outfits were racing through it. He turned to glance at the body still in the elevator with him. There was no insignia anywhere Duo could see. Who were they? And why were they going to all this trouble? They weren't L2 gangs.

There was another crack as another bullet hit the elevator, which stopped suddenly. All was still a moment. And then the doors opened with a pleasant ping.

He didn't see anyone right away; he kept low as he crept out, wondering which way was best to go.

There was a shout, and about fifty men came racing down the hallway that overlooked the casino. There were more on the other side. Duo winced and ran down the hall away from them, cursing under his breath. The stairs were at the end of the hall in front of him, at the T intersection. He didn't stop to make sure the doors were open; he fired the machine gun into the knob and lock to be sure before bashing through.

A bullet just missed him as he caught himself on the railing.

"Maxwell! Curse you!"

He looked up. Wufei was on a level above him. "Where's Quatre!"

"Here! Hurry, Duo!"

But Duo was already stumbling up the stairs, turning to fire as the door bashed open again, spraying bullets into the entering forms. When they backed off he turned and charged up the rest of the way, breathing hard. "I didn't agree to this sort of a mission!" he snarled.

"What sort did you think it was, Maxwell? We'll send you to pick flowers next time!"

"Please do!"

"Stop!" gasped Quatre. "It's a dead end."

"What?"

Quatre gestured as Duo arrived behind him. It was indeed a solid brick wall. "Then why have stairs go all the way up?" he asked, then thought to look up.

There was a trap door.

"Look out!" Duo turned the machine gun on it, splintering the lock, even as there was a shuffling of feet directly below them.

Wufei linked his hands. "Winner!"

Quatre stepped up with one graceful move, shoving the trapdoor open. "Move me higher, Wufei!" He called. Duo turned to hold back the men climbing the stairs, firing a short burst of machine gun fire.

"Lower, Wufei! Lower!" Howled Quatre, actually jumping so he caught the edge and swung even as gunfire rattled over his head.

"Is this what's expected of an executive?" Duo asked as he kept firing down the stairwell.

Quatre let go and hopped down. "They're everywhere."

"Too bad we don't have a bomb," grated Wufei.

Quatre smiled and pulled a small grenade from his pocket.

"You are so my kind of executive," laughed Duo. "Hurry up, I'm nearly out of ammo."

Quatre pulled the pin with this teeth and tossed it up through the trap door. There were shouts and screams and then a huge explosion. Duo took a step at the same moment and the next thing he knew was rolling down the stairs. He hit the landing with a groan.

"Duo!"

"Go!" He groaned, pointing the machine gun awkwardly down the stairs and firing off a burst. Wufei tossed Quatre through then leaped nimbly to the edge, instantly vanishing from sight. "Back off!" Duo roared as he scrambled to his feet.

"Stay outta this, Sweeper trash!"

"Oh, real original, Jerkwad! I've never heard that one before!" He fired off one more blast before launching himself up the stairs full speed, throwing the gun's strap over his shoulder before jumping and catching the trapdoor edge. He hiked himself up and rolled to a crouch on the Titan roof.

It was a war zone. There was still smoke everywhere from the grenade and bodies were scattered about. Dark shapes moved along through the primly trimmed gardens, brandishing guns of all shapes and sizes. The crack of gunfire surrounded him.

He kept himself low to the ground as he headed towards the large structure that graced the roof. It was two stories high, almost all glass and steel, like a gigantic greenhouse. The top story was all reflective one way glass, the lower story glowed and Duo could see people moving within.

There was a whistle and he flattened himself as some sort of canister grenade flew over his head only to hand twenty feet behind him and begin bellowing a sickly smelling smoke. Duo grimaced and kept crawling. This was insane!

There was a crack of gunfire ahead, and Duo looked up in time to see Wufei knock Quatre down and then go flying backwards himself. Duo cursed and got up to run towards them. "Wuffay!" he shouted, sliding down beside them.

"I'm fine, Maxwell," Wufei grunted through his teeth.

"You're bleeding!" Indeed, blood was seeping from somewhere under Wufei's dark jacket.

"Nothing I can't handle."

Quatre pushed himself up a bit dazedly. "Duo, we've miscalculated. This is an all out gang war. Oh, Wufei…"

"These aren't L2 gangs. No gangs are armed like this anymore. This is something else. Trowa!"

He had just spotted the lithe form creeping from hedge to hedge. He stopped and tucked and rolled to them. "What happened? Wufei, did you get shot? That was careless."

"Shut up, Barton."

"He was protecting me," groaned Quatre.

Duo took a breath. The sickly smell was creeping towards them. "Where's Heero?"

"We split up. Don't worry about him."

"Who's worried? Dude, Wufei is wounded and I don't think it would do well for the Winner corporation to have their CEO caught in the middle of a gang war."

"What are you saying?" Quatre cried.

"I'm saying that Heero and I will take care of this." It was the reasonable, logical conclusion. "It's gonna take the two of you to get Wufei out of this mess without getting killed." One couldn't do it. Duo knew he couldn't.

"Why don't you take them and I'll go with Heero?" Trowa asked.

It was tempting, but he dismissed the idea. "For about a trillion reasons which we don't have enough time to get into now, mostly including me having less to lose and knowing L2 better." And there was no way he was leaving Heero behind. No how, no way.

Trowa hesitated, then nodded and reached to seize Wufei. "Come on Quatre. Let's get out of here."

"But…but Duo…" Quatre started to protest.

"Hey. It's me," he assured them, then turned away, trusting them to find a way out as he shuffled through the garden, keeping his head down as bullets whizzed through the air.

He was almost to the building. He straightened and emptied the rest of the machine gun into the glass wall and the running gangsters, then charged forward and used it like a club on those still standing. "This sucks!" he snarled as he smashed another one in the head. The threw the useless gun away and seized his pistols as he charged through the entrance. There weren't many inside. They were all out holding off the attackers. Nice. He picked them off as he circled around the opulent living quarters, then capped a guy in the knee and seized him as he screamed. "Where's the weapon?" he demanded.

"Up…upstairs," he groaned.

There was a rain of gunfire right outside. Duo pushed the guy towards it instinctively and ran for the plush, red-carpeted stairs. It was one big room, with a big beautiful bed Duo would have stopped to admire any other day, along with all sorts of other amenities. The shades along the back of the room were closed. There was no one there. They had all been guarding below. That wouldn't last long.

He looked around, peering under the furniture. There was nothing here. "I shoulda dragged him with me," muttered Duo.

There was a soft noise from the couch on the back wall. Duo raised his gun and stepped towards it.

There was a little girl stretched out on the couch. Eight or nine, maybe, with soft dark hair that tumbled everywhere and an old-fashioned gray dress over a wiry frame. Duo approached her slowly, sliding his guns away, even as she pushed herself up and blinked at him with strange eyes the color of polished granite.

Oh, hell no.

The gundam pilot and the little girl stared at each other for a long moment. "Hi," he said finally. "What are you doing here?"

Her gaze was intelligent but innocent. "I don't know," she replied. "He said I was going to a new home."

"Who did?"

"The scientist man."

"Are you…are you the weapon?"

She giggled a little. "I'm Ahli," she said.

"I'm Duo," he said. He looked her over. Could it be true?

He saw her look behind him, eyes going wide. He brought an arm up as he turned, blocking the blow coming right for his neck. "Hi, Kiki."

"Hey, Duo." She fired off another lighting punch, followed by a kick. Duo blocked one but not the other, falling against the chair. "Let's not fight about this, okay?"

"Is she…"

"Oh yeah. Potential perfect soldier right there."

"Shit." He struck and she blocked, then kicked him hard in the stomach, doubling him over. She seized him and shoved him backwards. "You're kinda pathetic, Duo."

"Ah, if I had a nickel," he grunted as he slowly rolled to get back to his feet.

Something silver flashed as she strode towards him. "You aren't going to give up? Don't make me do this."

He winced some. How hard had she hit him?

There was a flash of motion and she spun only to go flying backwards into a chair and tip over onto the floor. "Don't make me do this," said Heero. Duo hadn't even seen the strike.

She cursed him in Japanese; strongly, if Duo recognized the words, and launched herself at Heero, who hardly broke a sweat as he blocked and dodged her attacks. A hint of a smile touched his mouth, which seemed to send her into a frothing rage. Her swings were getting sloppy and her kicks poorly aimed. Heero stuck his hands in his pockets as if bored, still moving to avoid her. Duo shook his head. He was such a damned show-off sometimes!

She crouched to grab her dropped knife and thrust at him, but he merely sidestepped. "Stop," he said. "Just stop."

"I'll kill you!" she gasped. "It doesn't matter if we have the weapon!"

"I said stop."

"You'll have to kill me!"

Heero sighed and then was in motion; the first punch actually sent her crashing against one of he glass walls, which cracked behind her. He strode up to her before she had a chance to recover; seized her by the jacket, and then just shoved, kicking the window behind her at the same time so it shattered as he pushed. She screamed as she vanished from view, falling in a rain of broken glass.

"That won't kill her," groaned Duo.

"I didn't expect it to," he said. "Where are the others?"

"Wufei was shot protecting Quatre," said Duo. "I don't think it's serious, but I dunno. Q and Trowa are gonna get him out of here. I told them we could handle this."

Heero nodded. "Where's the weapon?" he asked.

Duo sighed and turned to look at Ahli, who had watched everything with a calm wariness.

Heero followed his gaze and stared a moment, then looked away, cursing quietly.

"Yeah," said Duo. "Did you suspect?"

"It crossed my mind. I tried to remain optimistic."

"Hey," Duo came over to sit beside Ahli on the couch. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah. Why were you fighting that lady?"

"We think she wanted to hurt you."

"Duo, we don't have time."

"We are not snatching up some kid without a bit of reassurance. We're here to keep you from being sent to someone who wants to hurt you," he told her, wondering if this was the truth, if those people who had sent Heero to a facility wouldn't do the same to this kid. "We want you to come with us now."

She nodded slowly, then looked a bit worriedly at Heero. "Oh, that's Heero. I know he's kinda scary but he's totally a good guy."

"Duo, now."

"Come on," said Duo, standing up with a slight wince.

She leaped up instantly and slid a hand into his, and as they reached the stairs reached out to take Heero's hand as well, smiling up at him a bit nervously.

He looked down at her in surprise and their gazes locked. Did something pass between them? Duo couldn't help but wonder. But then the moment was gone and the three of them hurried down the stairs and towards the back of the structure. "Where are we going and how are we getting down?" Duo asked.

"We have choices. Elevator shaft?"

"It's clear glass, Dude. It'll be like a carnival shooting booth."

"Good point. Over the side it is."

"The side?"

"Bring your suction cups?"

"No!"

Heero made a sound that could have been a laugh and released Ahli to run ahead as they left the building and circled a large pool. Several bodies floated in the water; in the artificial light the blood looked like purple clouds.

There was a crack of gunfire behind them. Duo picked up the pace, tugging Ahli along. Why couldn't it have been a briefcase full of plutonium?

Duo ducked through the shrubbery to find Heero peering over the edge, adjusting a grappling claw still clung there. "Some of them came up this way. It's how we'll get down."

"You're gonna carry the kid."

He nodded and knelt. Duo directed her to climb onto his back. "Hold on tight," he said. "Don't let go, and don't look down."

She nodded and clung to Heero's neck. "A little less tight," he grunted, and she obeyed, adjusting her grip. Heero peered over then just stepped out into the air, turning to catch the rope as he fell. Ahli shrieked a bit.

"Dude!" Duo groaned. "Careful!" But Heero was already swarming down the rope hand over hand and didn't look up.

Duo sat on the ledge and seized the rope before sliding down and starting down himself. Even as he did the building rocked with another explosion, and there was a tink of a bullet hitting the wall beside him. He looked up, there were shapes hanging over the wall. He cursed as he let go with one hand to grab his gun and fire up into the smoky shadows. The rope jerked. "I think we're gonna lose the rope, Buddy!"

"Slide!" Heero ordered from below. Duo could hear Ahli give another little scream. Duo groaned, fired once more then hit the safety, dropped the gun and let himself start sliding, thanking all that was good that he had remembered his gloves. He couldn't recall Heero wearing any. Ouch.

The rope came loose when he was still a story up and he hit the ground hard, rolling to his feet with a groan. He turned to face Heero, who held out his gun. "You dropped this."

"Oh shut up," he grunted, shoving it in his belt. "Leave her on your back. Let's go."

"Suggestions?"

"My place," he said shortly as they ran. "I have hideouts."

"Acceptable."

"The only problem is getting off New Vegas and getting to V08."

"I have a personal transport," said Heero.

"Your hands okay?"

"Fine."

There was an explosion behind them. Fire was pouring out of the Titan, people ran everywhere. No one could follow them through such chaos.

"My clothes!" Duo groaned. "My good boots!"

"Those were good?" Heero asked without looking.

"Yes, they were comfy! And they didn't smell like yak!"

"I think I'm done with the yak jokes."

"What's a yak?" Ahli asked.

"I dunno, but they smell funny!" Duo replied.

They slowed to a walk several blocks away and caught a tram towards the spaceport; it was nearly empty, people having run either to or from the fire which could be seen from a distance, reflected against the closed solar shields. Duo gazed back it, and could only hope his friends had gotten out alive.