Ch 26

Part One

"Hold on," Heero warned his passenger as he checked the rearview mirror and saw that the CPD cruiser had pulled into the right lane in an attempt to pass them. He suspected it was trying to pass them to identify him as the driver and he knew that if the officer saw him they would immediately pull them over. At this point no matter what happened the end result was going to be the same. They would have to run.

He glanced over at Hilde who had braced herself against the passenger door and had pinned the cat carrier tightly against her lap. She gave him an approving nod. Heero couldn't see a trace of fear on her face. He gripped the steering wheel with both hands and slammed his foot on the brake.

The Mustang lurched forward as it skidded to a stop. The pursuing CPD cruiser passed them, evidently not expecting the sudden stop. Heero stomped the clutch, slapped the shift knob into reverse and gunned it. The Cobra snarled as it cruised in reverse away from the incoming cruiser. Heero waited until the car had picked up considerable speed before snapping the car around with a wild J-turn. Once they were facing the opposite direction he forced the car into first gear and opened the throttle. The Ford's 428 V-8 engine screamed as it hopped off of the pavement with its wide tires, leaving hot black skid marks in its wake. The smell of burning rubber and waxy olefins from the open injectors filled the cab as the car clawed at the ground and shot off down the street.

Heero threw the heavy American muscle car into a slapdash zigzag pattern to avoid oncoming traffic. He gritted his teeth in frustration as the car oversteered with each sharp turn. He barely managed to reign it in to keep it on the road.

The CPD unit was on their tail again but this time with its lights on and siren wailing.

"Just up there," Hilde said as she hugged the cat carrier tightly to her chest. "Take a right up there!" The Mustang took the right turn in a chaotic slide and barely missed plowing into the front of a transit bus.

"Now left!" Hilde commanded. Heero complied and grunted as the car's rear end slid with the turn. He counter-steered* the best he could and allowed the heavy car to take the turn without any traction before straightening it out onto the new street.

He didn't know how Duo could stand having a vehicle that constantly felt like it was trying to wreck itself. Heero found the handling of the Mustang surprisingly difficult to manage and couldn't help but think that the powerful, sleek and chaotic car fit his partner's personality perfectly.

Finally the police headquarters came into view. He opened the throttle it, blew through the parking lot at a breakneck speed and skidded it to a stop beside the mobile suit training hangar.

Part Two

Duo reflexively coughed as his throat began to choke with blood. He bit back a pained groan as another strike landed against his jaw. He wouldn't give his attacker the pleasure of hearing him suffer. He forced his best smile and let the blood gather in his mouth. His hands had been handcuffed behind his back. He strained against them and felt the raised edges of the cuffs cut deeper into his wrists as he leaned forward on the cold, metal chair. The increased gravity was taking its toll on his body and he was finding it increasingly difficult to hold his head up. A few drops of his blood escaped his lips to color the floor between his feet.

"Now tell us who you're working for," Alex growled. He grabbed the back of his head and forced him to look up.

"Aren't you tired of askin' me the same question over and over again? How about we mix it up a little? Don't ya wanna know my favorite color?" Duo croaked playfully before spitting his collection of hot, coppery blood hard into his attacker's face. "Red!"

He received a punch to the chest in response. He winced and gasped as his lungs deflated upon impact. It took him a few moments to gather enough breath to speak.

"Guess it's a good… thing...that you didn't really like Hilde… huh? That means I don't gotta… pretend… that she didn't give me these…" Duo said breathlessly as he tilted his head to better expose the splotchy dark hickeys Heero had given to him the night before. His taunt had its desired effect. Alex was glowering over him with his fists raised to strike him again and for a moment Duo thought maybe he may have actually cared about her.

"You are disgusting," the man snarled as he wiped the spatter of Duo's blood from his cheek with his sleeve.

"You know what's disgusting? Lying to a girl and pretendin' to be her boyfriend. You fucked her too, huh? Had to go all the fucking way for your disguise, right? Nice guy right here. You may think I'm foul, but I would never crush someone's feelings for my own gain," Duo rasped with a scowl. He was angry, and he didn't care if anyone knew it. "So fuck you. You can pound on me all you fucking want but I ain't tellin' you shit."

Duo knew he was frustrating the other man. He could see the irritation evident on his face and hear the anger in his voice. He could have kept quiet and not said anything but he figured the outcome was going to be the same whether he talked shit to this asshole or not. He was trying to let this drag out for as long as he could to try and give Heero and Hilde enough time to escape the colony, so why not have a little fun?

He looked up through his his bangs at Alex who was flexing his hands in and out of tight, menacing fists. Behind him Miles was tending to the scientist Duo had strangled half an hour earlier. The frail, nerdy little man was gingerly rubbing his neck and casting worried looks in his direction. Duo sighed. He didn't want anyone's pity, especially from someone he had wouldn't have thought twice about killing.

Duo had an unusual relationship with death. He didn't fear death itself. He knew that the reaper was going to come for him sooner or later. What concerned him about dying was hurting others. He didn't want anyone to mourn him. He didn't want Death** to take him just yet because he didn't want to hurt anyone who he would leave behind. When he had first left for Operation Meteor in Deathscythe nobody cared about him. Maxwell Church was gone and with it Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. Solo, his closest childhood friend, had been killed in the plagues that had swept through L2. He had nothing left to lose, and nobody to leave behind.

Now he had friends. He had the guys on the Lennon. He had Howard. He had Hilde and Heero. He couldn't die now. Not yet.

"Why don't you just tell him, Duo? Why put yourself through this?" Miles was pleading with him from just behind his assailant.

"I'm not tellin' you shit," Duo hissed. He spat another wad of sticky, bright red blood at Alex which won him a backhanded slap to the face. He leaned back heavily into the chair, tilted his head back and laughed bitterly. "Man, just wait until I get outta these cuffs..."

"Such tough words from such a failure," Alex said darkly as he grabbed him up by the throat. He felt the chair fall away from beneath him as he was lifted from the ground and yanked up until he was teetering on his toes. "I can see right through you, Duo Maxwell. I know who you are. I may not know who you're associated with now but I know your past. You're that failed Gundam Pilot 02. The one they had shown all over the news. You're a wanted man. Preventer and the ESUN have plastered your face all over the networks. After I get what I need from you I'm going to turn you in for the bounty so stop trying to antagonize me to make me kill you. No, my pathetic little friend, you're going to live. You're going to rot in a fucking jail cell on Earth with all of the other useless pieces of space shit."

Dark grey spots had begun to materialize in his vision as his airway was being forcefully obstructed. Duo tried not to look like he was struggling for breath but his body had begun its automatic reflexive gasping in an attempt to save itself. Alex smiled with satisfaction as he noticed him straining to breathe.

"But first you have some information I need, and you're going to give it to me." The man murmured with a wicked smile before releasing his neck. Duo landed hard on his knees but somehow managed to keep his head from falling to the floor. He strained against his handcuffed wrists and felt the warmth of fresh blood spreading down into his cold palms. He blinked away the darkness that had been threatening to blind him and saw that Alex had crossed the room to Miles and the scientist, who now was avoiding looking at him.

He must not care for my shade of lipstick, he thought with sick amusement as he licked his own blood from his bottom lip. Alex returned with a confident grin and Duo didn't have to see what was hidden in his hand to know what was going to happen next.

"I'm a failure, huh? You can't even get a fucking answer out of me without druggin' me up. Nice one. Hope you're proud of yourself."

"I'm going to be proud to report all of your truths to my superior," Alex said with a smile as he grabbed him by the shoulder of his jacket and forced him back into the chair.

Part Three

The hangar filled with a symphony of yells and gunshots as Heero and Hilde dashed over the prone unconscious body of the guard who had been assigned to watch the entrance of the training hangar. Heero could see a training model of the L2 CPD Virgo at the far end of the hangar. It was their only option. As they ran he turned to fire blindly at formidable mass of officers who were now in pursuit of them. They scattered and ducked away in response, giving them a few seconds to gain more ground.

Hilde was fast and Heero was finding that he didn't have to compensate for her in any way. She was keeping up with him fine and seemed set and determined to do whatever he asked of her. He was beginning to see why Duo had fallen in love with this girl in the first place. Despite her sunny disposition and pretty face it was obvious that the soldier she had once been was still awake within her. She was showing no fear or hesitation while under fire.

They had made it to the catwalk unscathed. Hilde was taking the steps of the narrow catwalk two at a time as she ascended to the level of the cockpit. Heero followed her. The CPD Virgo's cockpit was open and ready to receive them as they approached it. Heero leaned over the catwalk and emptied his magazine at the officers. Three fell to the ground while the others sought cover. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Hilde was already in the pilot's seat. She had shoved the cat carrier into the under seat compartment and had initiated the suit's startup sequence. Heero could hear the familiar spooling of the gyros behind him. He holstered his gun and backed into the cockpit. As they scrambled to switch places a gunshot popped loudly from a catwalk overhead and in the next moment a bullet had struck the right side viewer panel, barely missing Heero's head. The bullet implanted itself into the corner of the monitor and in doing so sent a splash of shrapnel against Heero's face and right eye. He reflexively grabbed at his injured eye and when he pulled his hand away he saw it was coated with blood.

"Shit," he snarled as he squeezed his eye shut. He could feel the offending shard scraping against the inside of his eyelid.

Hilde had closed the cockpit door and the sound of bullets ricocheting from outside filled his ears. The inside of the cockpit was cramped and designed for only one pilot. She had perched herself on his lap as if it was the most natural thing to do and looked over at him as the activation sequence completed.

"Heero, your eye!" She gasped. Heero shook his head and grabbed the flight controls. The exterior cameras activated and revealed to them the activity inside the hangar. A hoard of officers had filled the foot entrance of the hangar and an armored truck had arrived to assist them. Its machine gun was spraying the front of the suit with bullets.

"I'm fine," Heero grumbled as he commanded the Virgo to move across floor. The men on the ground began to retreat and take cover. The truth was he wasn't fine. They were down one monitor, he was short one eye and he had no idea what weapons the suit was outfitted with or if it was even battle ready.

He couldn't see the weapon controls at all. "Hilde, you're going to have to help me."

She had turned to sig sideways on his lap and was peering into his face with a pensive expression. Heero could hear the cat meowing helplessly from beneath the seat.

"You just fly us out of here. I'll take care of the rest," she said adamantly before turning to face forward to rest her hands on the Virgo's arm controls. The suit hummed loudly as she pulled its beam cannon from the mount on the back and aimed it at the armored truck.

Part Four

Duo had tried using plenty of drugs in the past. He had grown up in a culture where drug use was as common as having a glass of wine at dinner. In the short time he had experimented with them he found that he and stimulants didn't get along. While his friends would revel in the sensitivity of color and sound he found himself spiraling out of control into a vortex of anxiety and paranoia.

Eyeshine had done that to him the first time he had tried it. Everyone he knew had lamented about how wonderful they felt on it and how the world just seemed to make more sense. Duo had the opposite experience. He didn't know if the formula for these new pills was the same, but he knew that this wasn't going to be a fun time.

He could feel his heart beginning to pound heavily in his chest as the toxins from the pill began to seep into his bloodstream. The hushed voices of his captors speaking nearby seemed small and lightyears away. The scientist had gone to wait for Alex in the shuttle on the floor, leaving Miles and Alex behind on the catwalk with him. He forced his heavy head up and twisted on his chair to look at the Gundam still docked behind him and frowned. He felt like a failure and couldn't help but feel ashamed for letting Heero and the others down. He had come so close to stealing the suit.

I wonder if they made it out okay, he wondered as he turned back around to stare at his boots. He had confidence that Heero would make sure Hilde was safe. The other pilot had never let him down before.

He sighed and closed his eyes. He let the darkness behind his eyelids fill with the images of Hilde and Heero and found himself smirking at the thought of them. He was lucky to have known and loved such beautiful people.

He felt his throat tighten at the idea that he would ever see them again. If Alex made good on his word he would be locked up for the rest of his life in the most secure prison vault imaginable: the Chasm Vault, ESUN's maximum security prison. It was where they sent all of their most dangerous inmates and even as a Preventer agent he had never met anyone who knew its location. He had no hope that anyone would find him there. Heero had broken him out of plenty of brigs, but this was a whole new level of security. For all he knew the Chasm Vault wasn't even on Earth. It could be anywhere in the solar system, and he had no hope that even his brilliant friends would be able to find him.

I might as well be dead, he realized. I'm sorry… I'm so fucking sorry. I actually thought I could do this. I thought I could do something right for once. I shoulda known how this was gonna end. I'm letting you both down. I fucked this up...

I don't wanna leave you...

Part Five

They had cleared the colony and were on a course for Mars. Heero reached out to type the code for the Lennon's encrypted connection. Almost immediately Trowa's face illuminated the COM.

"We need a pickup, I'll send coordinates." Heero said tersely. He could make out the faint expression of alarm ghosting over Trowa's face. Heero figured the former Heavyarms pilot hadn't expected to see him and Hilde crowded in a cockpit when he answered.

"Okay. Where's Duo?" Trowa asked calmly.

The proximity alarms began to sound and as Heero looked down into the scanner's display he saw something had appeared within range. He looked up and tried to focus his good eye on the dark figure that had uncloaked in front of them. He pulled the Virgo to a stop. Hilde had manipulated the manual zoom and soon the entire center monitor was filled with the image of what Heero first recognized as Deathscythe Hell. Upon closer inspection he noticed that it was a different suit, but remarkably similar to its predecessor.

"Duo!" Hilde exclaimed with relief. Heero felt an unusual tension building in the center of his chest and immediately knew something was wrong. His suspicions were verified when the Gundam didn't answer Hilde's hail.

"He's here," Heero muttered in response to Trowa, who was waiting on the opposite end of the COM with a confused expression.

"Duo? Duo, are you there? Please, answer me!" Hilde was calling desperately through the COM, broadcasting over a general channel. Heero frowned. The hail would have been heard from anyone within range.

"We've deployed the Zan," Trowa reported over the encrypted connection. "It should be there soon. Hang in in there and be careful."

"Understood," Heero said before closing the connection. Hilde was shifting uncomfortably in his lap.

"Why isn't he answering me?" She said with frustration as she continued to hail the motionless Gundam. "Duo?! Duo, are you there? Is that you? Can you hear me? Say something, damn it!"

The speaker crackled with an indistinguishable sound. Hilde fell silent and Heero could feel her body tense against his own as a low, ominous whisper finally pierced through the silence.

"It's time you came with me…"

The Gundam shifted and had reached behind itself to reveal two massive objects. It held them high over its head before a pair of jagged, violet glowing beams illuminated of the ends to form two flickering blades. Heero immediately sent the Virgo into a retreat at the sight of the twin beam scythes. He could hear a strange, dark yet familiar chuckle over the COM.

Duo...

Heero immediately recognized his lover's voice. His body went numb with shock as his mind tried to to process what he was seeing. He was operating on pure instinct by running away. His body had already realized what his heart was refusing to believe as true.

"Shinigami is back from Hell, and now it's time for you all to come back with me!"

Footnotes:

* "Opposite Lock: also known as counter-steering, deliberate use of oversteer to take a turn without losing momentum." - Wiki

** Death: Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and a parody of several other personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton usually carrying a scythe AND HE TALKS LIKE THIS.

/AN: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. My old laptop finally gave up yesterday morning. :( The old 2006 MacBook Pro had a good run. She just couldn't keep up anymore. Poor thing was leaving out words left and right, was missing half of her letters on her keyboard, and kept passing out while trying to load documents. It had been limping along for a while. I finally put her to rest in the closet and went yesterday to replace her with a super advance, uber shiny younger model. Unfortunately things have changed quite a bit in ten years. Now I have to get through that awkward adjustment period of getting to know a new machine and getting comfortable with a new keyboard. So bear with me for a few days, ne? ^^'/