The Stand Still
By: SukiNora
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own them, I just like to play with them.
Pairings: 1+2, 3X4, 5x?
Warnings: Heero POV
Chapter 10
A.N. I have moved three times, gotten a full time job, and completely neglected my fan fiction for months. I apologize. Part of this chapter was inspired by an episode of the X-Files called Orison in season 7. If you haven't seen it, it's so amazingly creepy...but good.
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I wasn't shocked to wake up to the cold space next to me. Disappointed, yes, but shocked? No. In fact, the act had been somewhat expected.
Last night, Duo and I took our first tentative steps into something deeper than the close friendship that we had been so comfortable with for years. I was unsure why he had chosen the night before he would take a trip back in time and become a murderer once more. I thought that we were done with killing, but apparently revenge still warrants death. I just wasn't sure why our relationship had to begin on the eve of it.
I sighed and rolled onto my back, raising my arm above my head to rest the back of my palm against my forehead. I stared at the water stained ceiling of our hotel room and wondered why everything on L2 had to be so dank.
As I laid there, I made a promise that to myself.
"I'll never let Duo come back here," I mumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. This place held only bad memories for Duo. Bad memories and bad experiences. It brought out the worst in him.
Turning slightly, I stared at the spot that Duo had occupied next to me and wondered how long he'd been gone for. It still leaves me breathless to think that he can come and go as he pleases and remain undetected by me. I vaguely said a prayer in thanks that I was not the one he was after. I could only imagine the pain that would be inflicted upon the man he'd been hunting. Or I guess for all I knew, the pain that was being inflicted at that very moment.
As I laid staring at the ceiling, the memories of the previous night flooded back, and I instantly felt my cheeks warm.
My first real kiss, I idly thought to myself, unsure whether or not that fact would later become embarrassing or pathetic. After all I'd accomplished in my relatively short life, I still had yet to master the act that most people perfect at the age of fifteen. I hoped that I would not be plagued by any "late bloomer" jokes, but I was sure that they would come on swift wings upon my arrival back to work, with Duo on arm.
That is, if the guys would still speak to me after this. I couldn't blame them if they didn't. To be honest I wasn't sure if I'd be able to speak to any of them again if they were in my current position.
Here I was, on L2 in a dingy hotel room, waiting for Duo to return after murdering a suspect, effectively ending his career, and possibly my own.
Letting out a deep sigh I rose and sat on the edge of the bed, glancing around the room to see that my bags had been repacked and were sitting neatly by the door. I would laugh at the subtly of the message if it hadn't bothered me so much.
I wasn't sure Duo truly realized what the consequences of his actions were going to be, but apparently he did. He also knew that one of us was still going to need to retain a paycheck once this all was over. Apparently that person would be me. Somehow I wished it was the other way around, that I could take on his burden. While we have both killed in cold blood, I am much less affected by it than he is.
I guess he decided that I had followed him far enough, and that it was time for me to wait until he followed me. Only this time, I wasn't sure I wanted to stop chasing him, and I vaguely hoped that it wasn't only because the decision was being made for me.
I took my time leaving the hotel, taking the time to shower and brush my teeth thoroughly. Each moment I spent in silence, straining my ears so that I may be alerted the second that the door to the room creaked open, signaling Duo's return. It never did.
The check out process took seconds, and then I found myself on the street hailing a cab, though I really had no idea where I was headed. The shuttle port was probably the wiser decision. If I was off colony at the time they placed Duo at a murder scene it would be at least more likely that I wouldn't be charged with aiding and abetting.
Regardless, as I flung the door to the cab open and threw my duffle into the seat next to me, I did not want to go to the wisest destination. Shocking, I thought to myself, straightening my jacket. I never want to do the wise decision where Duo is concerned, and it's always frustrated the hell out of me.
"You'sa Preventer?" The cab driver barked back at me, his accent so thick that it took me a moment to realize exactly what he was asking. He pointed to my uniform jacket enthusiastically to get his point across.
"Yes," I finally responded, half afraid he would poke my eye out with that prodding finger.
"You go to same destination? As other Preventer?"
I wont lie, it took me a moment to understand exactly what my cab driver was trying to tell me. Another Preventer. Did I want to go to the same location as the other Preventer. There was no good way to answer that question. I held my breath, and nodded. After all, how many Preventers could their have been on this side of town. Especially ones in uniform.
Looking back, I knew that it was right decision, but riding in that taxi, I wasn't so sure. I knew that whatever happened that day would be life changing, and most likely not in a good way. I didn't want to watch Duo revert back to the animalistic murderer we were all forced to be as children. That time of our lives should have been behind us now, and replaced by the badge of an organization that maintained peace and order. I had no doubt that Duo's badge would be splattered with blood by the end of the day.
I clenched my fist tightly in my lap as the city began to meld into residential streets. It was hard to believe that one piece of bloodstained metal could shatter the fragile relationship that had just started between the two of us.
I could live with a murderer. I could not live without Duo. Unfortunately, the law would not let me live with a cold blooded killer.
I shivered as I envisioned all the things I thought Duo was doing at the time. The man had no doubt rapped some of the children he abducted, and I knew Duo's particular feelings about such an action. Throughout the entire length of the war, I believe I was the only pilot besides Duo to see the castration of an adult male. I learned very quickly that Duo had a soft spot for children, and would inflict all kinds of damage to anyone who hurt them. I also learned that if he knew any of that damage had been sexual, he had no problem removing the source of the problem. I only prayed that Duo wasn't feeding the said appendage to the old man now.
If Duo would just listen to me, if he would just be smart about this situation, there was a small chance we could get out unscathed, and perhaps go about our lives. If he made it look like an accident, disposed of the body, or even just made one clean fatal shot to the head and claimed self defense, this could all be over. Unfortunately that wasn't really Duo's style, and I knew that.
"Sir, here is house," the cab driver called through the partition. "This is it, ya?"
I turned my head towards the window to the house the driver had gestured to. Looking down the street for a moment in a strange sense of deja vu, it was pathetic that I hadn't figured this out before. There I was, standing about five houses down from the man's original hide out. I wondered how many houses on this block housed more dead bodies than living ones.
Suddenly, I found myself facing the run down pale yellow house that I'd envisioned, only this time it was solidified in front of me. This was the house that contained the man who stole Duo from me.
My feet felt heavy, but I forced them to raise and proceed. I made it onto the porch, with my hand around the doorknob before I realized that no matter what I saw in that house, there was no way it could change my opinion of Duo. It was love. I had been so blinded by love, that no matter what kind of horrific, gruesome form of revenge I came across, there was nothing to make me think less of the man who stood beside me during my darkest hours. The man who tormented me endlessly with domesticity, and forced me to feel human.
As I turned the knob, and gave the door a firm push, I did so with no hesitation or remorse.
The house smelled. No doubt the result of more decaying children. Serial killers that twisted don't stop once they've almost been caught. If he realized he had almost been caught once, I'm sure that he'd quickly acquired some more children to satisfy his disgusting hobby.
I walked slowly down the hallway, my gun poised at the ready, as I made my way into the kitchen with my back facing the wall. I didn't need any surprises, especially not by someone who had been able to sneak up on Duo on their first encounter. On the off chance that I met up with the old man first, I wanted to be ready.
I kept my back against the counter as I roamed into the kitchen. Fruit loops littered the floor, along with a broken bowl and a puddle of milk that had spread throughout cracks in the linoleum floor. A couple chairs had been knocked over, more evidence of a struggle. Everything was so similar, I figured that the circumstances would be the same. Slowly creeping through the kitchen, I searched for any door resembling one that might lead to a basement.
Turns out it was down another hall, and in that hall was something very unexpected. I'd been reaching for the door knob when a small whimper nearly made me jump out of my skin. Sitting at the top of the staircase adjacent to the door sat a little girl with red hair. Tears stained her cheeks, and her eyes were red.
"Are you okay?" I called out, slowly walking to the base of the stairs and extended my hand to her.
"Are you a police officer?" She asked softly, her voice wavering.
I nodded, motioning for her to come down the stairs. "Yes. Was their another police officer here?"
She nodded, slowly making her way down the stairs. I held out both my arms to her and suddenly she came quickly, wrapping her arms around my neck as I picked her up from the stairs, holding her as I brought her into the living room. I needed to find a place to keep her safe.
"Where did he go?" I asked, shifting my hold on her to open a closet. "The other police officer?" I knelt to the ground, pulling her from me and putting her in amongst old coats and shoes. It took her a second to let go.
"Downstairs," she said, the fear returning to her face as she realized that I was going to leave her.
"Stay here, okay?" I asked her, brushing some hair off her face. "No matter what you hear."
She looked unconvinced that it was the correct course of action, so I tried a different technique. Duo had told me that when he didn't want to do something as a child, Sister Helen would make a game out of it. I raked my mind for any game that I could recall children playing. "Have you ever played hide and seek?" I asked her.
She nodded.
"You know, closets are the best places to hide. With all these coats," I motioned to all the clothes handing around her. "No one will ever find you. Promise you wont move?"
For a moment, she stared at me, and it was pretty apparent that she was trying to judge whether my Preventers jacket was real or not. I smiled at her, trying to look like someone she could trust. I hope it didn't come out as awkward as my smiles usually do.
"The other man told me to stay on the stairs. He'll be mad at me."
"No he wont," I quickly answered. "That's my best friend. He's been looking for you. He'll just be glad you're safe. Now stay here."
With a quick nod, I shuffled the coats around her to hide her better and shut the door. I let out a sigh of relief. At least Duo had been smart enough to take the girl upstairs before he did anything rash.
Immediately I realized that there was no way I could keep this under wraps, and pulled out my cell phone as I made my way back to the basement door. I called for back up from the local police department, and was promised that they'd be there in less than ten minutes. I told the operator the location of the little girl and hung up.
Staring at the door, I pocketed my phone and unholstered my gun. I cocked it, and opened the door.
That stench which greeted me poured out of the opening. I stared down that stair case, keeping my back to the wall and my eyes wide as I descended into the dark, red light polluted basement. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and when they finally did, I stepped onto the cement floor, and found myself staring at a man tied to a chair, and my best friend sitting on the floor about six feet away from him. He had his arms resting on his knees, a gun held haphazardly between his legs.
"Duo," I called out. He didn't answer. He just kept staring at that man.
"Aren't you going to answer him," the man asked, neither of them breaking eye contact with each other. It was so surreal. They were just completely engrossed with each other.
"Shut up," Duo growled, gripping his gun tighter, but not moving.
I walked up to Duo, my gun held constantly on the man he'd tied to the chair. I put my hand on his shoulder and felt him stiffen. "Lets go," I said, moving my hand down to grab his arm and urge him to stand. "Let the police deal with him."
He allowed himself to be lifted but didn't stop staring at the man. After getting a good look at his face, I should probably rephrase, he was glaring at the man. I'm not sure I've ever seen that kind of anger on his face. It was definitely something that I never wanted to see again.
"You would leave wouldn't you," the man said as a crooked smile grew on his face. "Let the other law officials handle the situation. But you know that wont make her go away."
Duo shrugged off my hand, cocking his gun and stalked up to the man. "I said shut up," he growled, pressing the barrel roughly between his eyes.
"Don't!" I screamed, reaching out for Duo only to be violently shrugged off.
"Stay out of this!" He yelled back at me, shoving my arm away from him, and momentarily aiming the gun at me before returning it to the original target.
"Duo," I said softly, raising my hands so he could see I had no intention of grabbing him again. "Don't."
"Be quiet, Heero," he growled, glaring at the man again.
"You won't make her go away," the man taunted, his smile growing. "You can't."
Duo's mouth curled up in fury, and pressed the barrel harder against the man's forehead. I could see the wheels in Duo's head turning faster and faster. He was going over his choices, and was obviously having a hard time deciding on a future with me, and trying to make his guilt disappear.
"You already saved someone else, Duo," I said softly. "There's nothing else you can do."
"There's only something you should have done before," the man added.
I turned my head to glare at the man, contemplating shooting him myself.
Duo raised a hand to his face as he closed his eyes tightly, growling in frustration before lowering the gun and pulling at the ropes constraining the man.
"What are you doing?!" I yelled, rushing forward only to have a gun shoved in my face.
"I said stay out of this!" Duo screamed, cocking his gun as he completely untied the man. "Stand up," he growled. "I'm not going to shoot you like a dog."
The man smiled and slowly stood up from his chair. Raising his hands out towards his sides, and opening his chest to Duo. "Go ahead," he replied. "Make her disappear."
At that moment, a lot of things were already starting to disappear, not just the ghost of a murdered little girl. I saw my future with Duo slowly disintegrate as his finger tensed on the trigger. I would be the only witness to the murder would be forced to testify. I'd lie, but there are ways to determine whether or not someone is lying. Ways that an attorney would be sure to test.
"Go ahead," the man taunted, walking a step closer to Duo, so that the gun was pressed against his chest. "Isn't that what you want? For her to disappear?"
At that moment, one of the many red light bulbs hanging from the ceiling exploded behind me. I saw the sparks in my peripheral vision, and instinctively turned my head to see what had caused the bulb to burst. The second I had averted my eyes, I heard the shot.
Turning back, Duo stood in the same position, holding the gun in front of him. The man laid on the floor, cringing in pain and groaning as his life flowed out of him and into a puddle on the concrete.
For a moment, the shot had been deafening. When my hearing came back, I heard the police break down the door, and the little girl in the closet scream.
Even as the police called for the paramedics, Duo stood there, staring down at the man, as he stared up at him. Standing still, Duo lowered his gun, and dropped it to the floor. It was immediately taken into evidence.