CHAPTER SEVEN: In Which Wufei Gets in Trouble
WARNING: slight N/C
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It was a very nice yacht.
Heck, it was a fantastic yacht! Almost like a floating mansion. Bedrooms, bathrooms, a fully-stocked kitchen, a hot tub, you name it! You could live on the thing for a year and never miss out on any comfort. It was the latest word in nautical comforts. It had to have cost a fortune.
Wufei would have gladly blown it sky-high if it meant he could get back to dry land.
"Pretty nice, huh?" Robbie bragged, leaning against the railing and grinning at him.
Wufei sat down on a deck chair and shrugged. "Yeah."
"My dad has a deep-sea yacht, too, and a jet. You should see them. The deep-sea yacht is twice as big as this one."
"Sounds nice," Wufei said absently, reaching down to scratch his calf and glancing toward the dock. Where was the Colonel? Robbie had said they would be leaving in an hour or so; he'd already spent forty minutes being shown every little luxury on board this floating temple to greed.
"My dad's a Colonel in the army."
"Oh."
"So what does your dad do?" Robbie sounded slightly peeved.
Wufei looked up quickly - what was wrong with him? He didn't want the blond to toss him off the boat after he'd gotten this close. "Uh... he's Vice-President of a software company." This marina was exclusive and expensive; his so-called dad had to be presented as well-off.
Robbie sneered a little. "Oh, a business man." His nose tilted a little. "My family has always been in the army. My grandfather was a General."
"Cool," Wufei said, trying to put a little enthusiasm into his voice and failing. Robbie sounded like a five year old playing the My-Dad's-Better-Than-Your-Dad game. How infantile could you get?
"You're Asian, right?"
Wufei blinked at him. "Yeah, last time I checked..." he said sarcastically. What now?
Robbie grinned again, humor restored. "So feisty. You know martial arts?"
"Uh..." how was he supposed to answer that?! Not with the truth - Robbie wouldn't believe it, anyway. "...a little."
"I have my brown belt in karate." Robbie bragged.
Great, here we go again. "That's pretty cool," he managed the enthusiasm this time.
"I can show you some moves, if you want? While we're waiting for Dad."
"Uh... okay..." Wufei couldn't think of a way out of that. The next thing he knew, Robbie had pulled him to his feet, grabbed his hat and flung it on the deck chair, and had stolen his sunglasses.
"There. Can't do karate with all that stuff on." Robbie looked very pleased with himself as his eyes flicked over Wufei's hair and face. "Besides, you're pretty."
Wufei immediately turned red. "You do know I'm a guy, right?" he demanded.
"No - I thought Anthony was a girl's name!" Robbie laughed.
Okay - so he'd burst his bubble another way. "And I have a boyfriend."
"Is he here?" Robbie took an exaggerated look around.
Wufei scowled at him. "No."
"Then, who cares?!"
And the next thing Wufei knew, Robbie was standing behind him, arms around him as he guided Wufei's own arms through movements he'd learned when he was four. Wufei had to bite his lip to keep from correcting him every three seconds. His father must have paid for Robbie's brown belt. After ten minutes of this, he was fairly certain he was going to scream.
Luckily, someone intervened.
"Robbie... who's your friend?" A deep voice asked.
Both boys turned sharply, to see a well-dressed blond man lounging in the doorway to the cabins, watching them with amused eyes.
"Hey, Dad!" Robbie said cheerfully. "This is Tony. He was fishing in our spot."
"I was not!" Wufei protested hotly.
"Ah, a little fireball, I see." Robbie's father looked even more amused. "Well, you boys have fun. We'll be pulling out in about five minutes - unless your parents don't mind you riding on boats with strangers, Tony, you may want to go ashore."
Wufei shrugged. "They don't care."
"Well, if you're sure." The Colonel didn't look very worried. Probably thought it would be easy to soothe 'Tony's' parents if they were irate. He looked like the kind of man who used his charm to get what he wanted - and if charm failed, there was always money.
Wufei knew a lot of people like that.
He didn't like any of them.
Robbie turned back to Wufei, sliding his hands around his waist and then up his arms to grasp his wrists, moving him through yet another awkward kata step.
If he didn't stop this, Wufei was going to punch him.
*
*
*
Duo sat on the couch, watching television, or pretending to, while he waited for his laptop to chime.
Waited for an email from his 'Fei-chan, telling him everything was all right.
He was tired, but he couldn't rest.
Not yet.
He'd go to bed just as soon as he got that email.
*
*
*
Robbie finally stepped back, about ten seconds before Wufei lost his temper and dumped him overboard. "Whew - that takes some energy, huh? You hungry?"
Wufei opened his mouth to answer when the yacht's engines thrummed to life and the big boat started moving. Panic tried to clutch at him and he deliberately forced his mind away. "Maybe."
"You're so contrary. What do you like to eat? We've got pretty much everything. How about pizza?"
"Okay." He followed the blond below decks - glad to get away from the sight of all that water rolling by - and toward the galley. Halfway there, he glanced into an open room and stopped short. Robbie hadn't shown him that room - it was a small study, with a nice computer. He wondered how much information the Colonel might have stored on it, and if there was any chance of his hacking into it?
Then he thought of something else.
"Shit!"
"What?" Robbie turned around and saw him staring.
"Oh... uh..." Hey - another opportunity! This was his lucky day! "I was supposed to email my boyfriend - do you think I could use your computer?"
"Well, it's my dad's, really... but I guess he wouldn't mind."
"Where is he, anyway?"
"Oh, he likes to steer the boat away from the dock. He'll be in the captain's chair for another half hour, playing with the thing. Showing off for his friend."
Oh... like father, like son, huh?
You know, if this guy is a normal teenager, I think I'm glad to be abnormal.
"So I can use it?"
"Sure. I'll put the password in. Then I'll get the pizza. Want something to drink?"
"Sure." Wufei watched while Robbie typed something in, then connected the computer to the 'net. As soon as the other boy was gone, he was in the chair and logging into the generic email server they used while on undercover missions.
He tapped his finger against his lip for a moment, thinking. He could tell Duo exactly what was going on - but he'd have to admit he was at a marina, on a boat, and hadn't told his koi anything about having to go near water. Oh well - he'd just have to suffer Duo's wrath later. He'd been here two days, anyway, and he hadn't freaked out yet.
He typed in the ridiculous - and sort of sweet - email names Duo had picked out for them. He'd protested a little when Duo had showed them to him, but he'd secretly been rather pleased - and they were a lot better than blondielover1 and blondielover2, which is what his baka had set up for Heero and Trowa.
To: dragonslover
Fr: deathsdragon
Max.
Hey.
Here and fine.
Went fishing - caught three big ones. Met a guy with a yacht - well, his dad's yacht - on it right now. Has a computer and everything. You'd like the hot tub. Place is like a mansion on water. His dad's a Colonel. Cool, huh?
Tried to show me some karate. Guess you know how good I was at that! Like I can do karate... ha!
I might be back early. The friend I told you about is supposed to show up soon. Hope so - miss you. Email you again later when I get back to the cabin. Guess it's about time for bed where you are - sweet dreams.
Tony
He looked at the door quickly, but there was no sign of Robbie. He slid a hand into the pocket of his shorts and pulled out a tiny device he'd carried - just in case. He attached it to the back of the computer, typed a few keystrokes, and the contents of the hard drive were immediately being emailed to Heero's address. The transfer would continue even if Robbie thought the 'net was disconnected.
He reread his message, hoping it was plain. The 'friend' was the informant, of course... Duo would get a good laugh out of the karate lesson, if he wasn't planning on how best to strangle him for not telling him everything about the mission.
Well, maybe by the time he got back, his lover would have calmed down...
...he hoped.
A step at the door made him grab for the mouse, so he could hit the send button.
"What are you doing in here?" The Colonel's voice demanded. The door shut sharply, and a big hand covered his before he could move. He watched as the man's eyes scanned the email.
"Uh... Robbie said... I could email my friend... I'm sorry if..."
"No, no. It's all right." The Colonel clicked 'send' himself, then smiled down at Wufei. "It's all right," he repeated, grey eyes echoing the smile. He didn't move his hand, and Wufei's own eyes widened. "Where is Robbie?"
Wufei had to swallow before he could answer. "Um... he said he was going to get pizza."
"Junk food! Ah, to be a teenager again!" The Colonel's other hand ruffled Wufei's hair. He hoped it was his imagination that made it seemed like his hand lingered, rubbing some silky strands between his fingers. Wasn't like Wufei could actually see it.
"Well," the man said, stroking his thumb along the back of Wufei's hand, "he'll be a good fifteen minutes - frozen microwave pizzas, you know?"
"Oh... okay..." Gods, what had he done? Wandered into a pedophile's study? What was it with these Oz officers?!
"You do realize you've invaded my inner sanctum?" The Colonel teased, sliding a hand up Wufei's arm to rest on his shoulder. His thumb continued to move, stroking along his collarbone now.
"S-sorry," Wufei allowed himself to sound more nervous than he really was. If the man was a child molester, it was doubtful that a first confrontation would go beyond a few touches. He'd been felt up by Oz soldiers before - they all had - it wasn't something he couldn't handle.
"Oh, don't apologize. You're a very delightful invader... and you can make it up to me." He straightened, and tugged Wufei to his feet. "You know, your parents should be more careful of you. Letting you just go anywhere - didn't they ever warn you about taking rides with strangers?" One big hand grasped his chin, tilting his face up, and the other settled on his hip.
Definitely a pedophile. He wondered if the Doctors had known and elected not to tell him?
"H-how... what do you mean, m-make it up to you?" He let his eyes go very wide, playing the part of a frightened young boy for all he was worth. Quatre would be so proud of him. The longer he could keep the man talking, the less those hands would move, and the sooner Robbie would come looking for him.
He hoped.
"Like this." He'd expected a coaxing explanation, not the sudden press of lips against his. His instincts demanded he kill the man on the spot, but he forced them back. He put his hands against the man's broad chest and pushed, instead.
The Colonel laughed against his mouth and tried to deepen the kiss, his tongue searching for entrance through Wufei's tight-pressed lips. One hand was tangled in his hair now, the other had moved to cup his bottom.
Wufei's temper flared. No one was allowed to do that except Duo! And he wasn't in chains or restraints!
He drew back his hand, fingers curling into a fist...
There was a knock on the door.
"Colonel? Your guest is here." A voice called.
The man swore and straightened, tugging at the hem of his shirt. "One moment!" he called, then looked down at Wufei, who had quickly dropped his fist. "We'll talk more later, before we go back to shore," he smiled, tracing a finger gently along the boy's cheek.
Wufei ducked his head and nearly ran for the door, trying to keep acting like a so-called normal fifteen-year-old would. He opened the door and slipped out, barely looking at the man waiting outside, and ran in the direction of the galley.
That one quick glance was all he needed - he knew who the informant was, he'd seen his picture before. Heero had worked with him on a mission.
His brain was working overtime. The man hadn't been on the boat when they'd left shore, so he either flew - not likely, he'd heard no helicopter and the man didn't have wings - or used a smaller boat to get here.
He was betting on the boat. And he was going to find it.
He was going to use it to get off this damn yacht.
If he couldn't' find the informant's boat, then he was going to swim.
He started up the steps to the deck when a hand grabbed his arm, yanking him back.
"Where are you going?!"
