Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is not mine. Duh.
Fangs of the Wolf
Chapter 29
Don't Stay
They got tired of beating his back raw after he fell unconscious a second time. They left him lying on the floor for a moment, and as if from far away, he could hear sounds of Dermail speaking, shouting at someone for something. He sounded worried. Almost scared. But Duo didn't listen, didn't struggle to hear; if he did, he might start feeling the pain. That would be bad.
It was like a low hum, a kind of buzzing. An annoying one that wouldn't go away, like a fly that couldn't learn its lesson. He recognized several parts of it – the scraped skin, the bleeding, the flashing pulse of pain that flared with every heartbeat. The catch of the belt buckle against already-broken flesh was a new one, but it reminded him enough of a heeled shoe against a purpled bruise, something he'd felt before. If he likened the two to one another, somehow that made it easier. Oh, yeah, his body seemed to respond, and like a worn shoe, the memory cloaked the pain in a veil.
It took some time, but finally someone came back to him and stepped on his shoulder. There was the heel he remembered. And though the gushing feel of blood seeping down his arm was never something he'd felt at the same time as the heeled shoe, it reminded him of the gangs and their switchblades, and that helped, too. Someone cursed and kicked his side, right where someone had kicked him earlier.
"Find something, dammit! We're running out of time!"
Shit. Shit, he was coming to. What the fuck was dredging him back to the surface? Why was he coming back?
"What were their names again?"
"There's a Quatre Raberba Winner, sir, a Chang Wufei, and a Heero Yuy. That's all we know so far, though we think there's at least one other."
Heero.
Shit. He was such a fucking sap. If Heero's name alone brought him out of his stupor, then...
But wait. How did they learn about Heero and Wufei and Quatre? It couldn't...
"Find their families! They're friends! Send out some men – we have men outside still, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Find someone they care about, quickly! Find anything you can on them-"
"We can't, sir."
"What the hell do you mean?"
"There's... some sort of block on them. A firewall. We can't hack it."
"A fire... you motherfucker!" Duo felt the kick this time with every fiber of his consciousness, and for the first time in forever, he reacted to the pain and coughed, hunching into the blow as best he could. Shit. He tasted blood on his tongue and remembered his bleeding cheeks. Shit.
"Tell me how to beat them. Tell me their weaknesses! The only way for you to survive is to tell me everything you know! Damn you!"
Duo's silence met with a kick to his face. On a short cry, he rolled onto his side. His shoulder wound bled sluggishly, and Duo felt underneath him a small pool of his own blood. He wheezed in a quick breath and felt pain stab at his sides.
Dammit. The pain – he shouldn't have risen out of his stupor. Now – now he had to fight to keep them from the information he had. Keep them from the flash drive he had tucked in his hair.
"Go ahead, fucker." Duo spat out the blood on his tongue. Fuck. Internal bleeding? "Kill me. Then kiss my ass. You can't do shit if I'm dead."
Dermail kicked him again. "How dare you. How dare you little freaks – Treize! Get Treize! He knew about this bitch, maybe he'll know about them." Dermail stepped away from him. "Well? I said go! And you! Get me something – something for him. Just make sure it'll hurt."
"Yes, sir."
Duo struggled to sit up, but the blood made his hands slip and the chain tugged tight. One short effort to get free stopped once his side lanced fire through his frame. So much for that.
"You know? You – you're pretty smart. But you already know that." Duo turned his head to the side and curled his gaze around until he could see Dermail, pacing and rubbing a hand over his face. "You." He stopped and stared down at Duo. "You will tell me what I need to know. They're strengths. They're weaknesses. Fucking everything. Do you hear me?"
Duo didn't bother to answer. He slid his eyes closed.
"Bastard!"
The impact of the dress shoe on his ribs brought a cracking sound and a new type of pain. He wheezed in a breath and felt the new fire in his side, the spreading, twisting visage of agony. He doubted it was the first one, though; the pain felt similar to other places along his torso. He coughed as more blood swelled into his mouth. Yeah. Internal bleeding.
He struggled to his stomach and let the blood ooze from his mouth. Dermail simply kicked him again, and as he fell to his side, he choked on his own blood. He turned his head and hacked, convulsing. Pain rose up and down, along his back, his side, his face and head and just everywhere. He could only hope now that death came, and before he truly did talk – or before the damn flash drive fell from the jostling. Just how well had Treize tucked it back in? It was originally fairly well-placed, but Treize...
Tears slid into the blood before he could stop them, tears that came from his struggle for breath. He lifted a hand to his throat on instinct, but Dermail stomped on it. His scream was garbled and only served to choke him again. He arched his back and hacked.
No. He wouldn't accept death. Not now. Not yet. He still had work to do. He still had people to protect.
"I'm here, uncle."
"Treize. You know them, right? Those four? Those men?"
"Yes. I'm the one who told your men who they are."
Duo took the distraction as his chance, and with one quick movement, he turned to his side, spat the blood out, and kicked the back of Dermail's knee. The man fell like a rock, but Duo managed to dodge well enough to avoid being crushed beneath the man. He flipped his braid around and grabbed one of the shards, heedless of the sharp edges that cut into his fingers. He rolled onto Dermail and pressed the shard to his throat, just close enough for the man to understand his position. The bastard looked terrified. Good.
"Don't move," Duo hissed, and Treize and the other men beside him halted. Duo stared right into Dermail's eyes as blood dripped onto the man's face. Duo spat some on his face and watched him flinch. "Looks like things have changed, Dermail. Huh?"
"Don't be ridiculous. These men will kill you."
"But you'll be dead, won't you? At least I won't be going alone."
"You wouldn't dare." Dermail turned his gaze to his men. "What are you doing? Shoot him!"
"They shoot, you die. The resulting jerk'll stick this shard straight into your throat. They're probably scared for their paychecks." Duo pressed deeper for emphasis.
"Do it! He's weak! He's-"
Duo slid the shard up just a millimeter, just until Dermail realized it was cutting him. Spilling blood. Then the man went silent. "That's better," Duo muttered. "Some fuckin' silence." More blood spittled onto Dermail's face. It was starting to look like an abstract painting.
Of course, now Duo had no idea what to do. If he killed the man, he was toast. If he tried to move, he would be stopped by the chain, giving the guards and Treize the chance to shoot. He was trapped. Stuck.
But at least no matter what happened now, this bastard would not be getting to the others – or to those they cared about. He just needed to have faith in their ability to stop this organization.
He grimaced. No, thanks. He'd rather be alive to see it. And Heero.
Yeah. He very much wanted to see Heero again.
He just didn't know if he could live long enough.
"Quatre!"
Trowa's shout echoed down the stairs as they watched the blond fall again, just as he had at the start of the gunfight that had just ended. The youngest member was clutching his chest again, his eyes wide. "Rib," he managed, then, "he's bleeding."
"He's been beaten," Heero said in a dead, clipped voice. He didn't look at the blond, but rather the staris above them. "Of course he's bleeding."
"No – no. Worse." Quatre struggled to his feet for a third time. Trowa once more helped him up and grounded him, this time by knocking shoulders. "Much worse. It's like his organs are weeping. It's internal."
"Is he all right?" Trowa asked, accepting Quatre's words without question. He helped the boy as they started ascending, wary of being ambushed again.
"He – no – I don't know. He's still fully focused, fully aware. Fully – he's... I don't know. His emotions are... different now."
"Different?" Wufei pressed. The man's face twisted.
"I can't describe it, but his emotions have triggered some in Chief Khushrenada, as well." Quatre stumbled on a step and leaned into Trowa to keep from putting too much weight on his injured leg. Trowa easily supported him.
"How so?" Wufei's teeth were clenched.
"He was startled, but now his emotions are flashing around. I think he's considering his next move."
"Bastard!" Wufei hissed, and then he was moving just that little bit quicker. They checked the fourteenth floor quickly, but there was no one.
"They've all convened on the top floor," Heero noted. "Trowa, can you go up to the roof and make sure they have no escape route?"
"Of course." Trowa slowly let go of Quatre, double-checking the blond before he left. Quatre waved him away with a reassuring smile.
"Quatre. How many?" Heero stood by the door, ready to run through. Wufei stood on the other side, in the far corner where he wouldn't be blocked by the door.
The blond closed his eyes and concentrated. Duo took up the largest portion of his awareness, his entire being slamming the blond with a constant stream of pain – back, side, head, heart, lungs. Everywhere. But small, tiny portions were doled out around the floor. Quatre could feel much more now that he was closer, and he counted each flash of emotion as it passed. But as he opened his mind to the others, Duo's presence only resonated more strongly. It made him sweat. "About – ten. Twelve? There are a few over there." And he pointed. "They're all converging on Duo's location. There's only about six ready to welcome us. The others are either heading to Duo or are already there."
"To clean up?" Trowa mused over their communication links.
At that, Heero bashed the door open.
The men waiting for them opened fire, but Heero had ducked back around the door into the stairwell. His eyes were carefully dead, the same as they usually were when he fought, but there was a hard, tight edge of terror.
Quatre fell flat to the floor and, as Wufei and Heero turned to him in concern once more, pushed out from the safety of the wall and shot three men in the leg, then one again as he fell. Heero took his back, and Wufei shortly did the same.
Wufei grabbed Heero's arm as two men ran off for shelter. Quatre picked one of them off as she left. He chased the last. Heero turned to Wufei with narrow eyes. "Yuy, go after Maxwell. Save him."
Heero nodded and left without a word.
Wufei watched for a second, then went after their youngest to make sure he was still alive.
His playtime was over. Duo could hear other feet entering the room, knew more bullets were ready to meet his back than before. He had no more time to wait.
How close were they? How injured? Dermail had sounded scared. Did that mean they were almost here? Maybe... maybe they would be all right?
You know... just in case he died here.
"You bastard." Dermail shifted slightly underneath Duo, as if testing his strength. The shard slid up his throat, and a fresh line of blood fell to the floor.
"Being a street orphan, I've put that possibility up as a good option, actually," Duo said with a smile. But his breathing was heavy and garbled by good-sizes puddles of blood. He was fucking dead. It was only a matter of how long he had, and of who he was going to take with him.
If nothing else, he needed to decapitate this company. If he did, the resulting confusion and panic might be enough for the others.
He just had to be willing to die for it.
Heero.
He didn't know if he had the strength to leave that man.
But was he willing to have Heero die?
He scowled. No. No, he was not.
"Duo Maxwell. You can't escape from this room, no matter what you do."
Treize. The man had called in back-up, which had most likely eased the way for Heero and the others. He'd also stayed the others' hands, if he'd heard correctly. The man was playing. It made Duo grin widely. The look must've been scary; Dermail's breath sucked in. "Escape? Bitch, I had no intention of going anywhere."
"You will die."
"And so will all of you. Your uninvited guests will take care of the rest." Duo had to have faith in that, if nothing else.
Now the man really started squirming, but Duo only had to dig in. Dermail gurgled.
"No!" a soldier shouted.
Gunshots pounded through his ears.
Duo closed his eyes, prepared for the pain, but it didn't come. He jerked in surprise. Opened his eyes.
Dermail slammed one hand on Duo's injured side and darted out from under him, heedless of the red line that trailed on his neck like a flame.
Duo hung his head in shame as he fell to the ground and gasped. He'd lost him. His last chance to be something other than the damsel in distress, and he'd lost it. He should've taken it when he had the chance.
"Fire! What are you fools doing?"
Duo turned to face his death and jerked again. Before him stood a tall figure, two guns pointed straight toward his troupe of enemies. Four were already down.
"Trowa?" he breathed.
"Duo. Hold on. The others are here to get you. They should arrive soon. Guys? He's still alive. I will protect him until you get here."
"Trowa-" Duo watched as Dermail slid behind his guards and grabbed Treize. "Dermail – Dermail and Treize are – fuck!"
"Treize and Dermail are escaping," Trowa said calmly, and Duo understood that the man was speaking through those communication devices they'd had before. "I'll hold the rest here."
Trowa shot two men before they could decide who to shoot first.
They all seemed to believe the biggest threat then was Trowa, and the remaining men turned their guns to him.
"Don't underestimate me!" Duo shouted, and raised himself with a contorted leg. He aimed and threw his shard just as well as he could with his hands trapped against one another. One guard grabbed at his shoulder as the shard hit below its mark. The guard's shot went wild, striking another in the foot. Trowa took out three more as they shouted in confusion.
Then two more gunshots fired, and as Trowa ducked in front of Duo to defend him, another guard fell to the floor. The guards parted into two groups, three on one side, two on the other, their eyes darting behind them. After that, Duo couldn't see to follow the gunshots. Trowa grunted once, enough to make Duo struggle up, to tell him Trowa had taken a bullet for him, but other than that, all he could hear was gunfire and screams, and his lungs, already filling with blood, suffocated under the scent of sulfur.
He tried to sit up and felt the damn chain hold him in place, even as Trowa fell to one knee. "Trowa – Trowa, fucking move-"
"No need. It's over."
And just as he spoke the words, the gunshots stopped. Duo coughed then and felt blood fall in splats to the floor. "I – how? Who was...?"
"Duo."
Duo's head snapped up.
Maneuvering around Trowa was Heero, his gun held at his side. His gaze caught the blood everywhere and narrowed. "Duo," he said again, his voice even breathier than the last time, and he dropped to Duo's side. "I..." Heero closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, they pierced Duo. "I got your message."
Duo smiled, even as blood backed up in his mouth. "Thought you would. You're always a little too arrogant – always thinking you know other people's answers before you ask the questions."
"Did you mean it?"
"Yuy," Trowa said, holding his side as he stood, "is this really the best time?"
"Yes," Heero said without any hesitation whatsoever. It made Duo laugh, even though doing so hurt like he'd never thought it could.
"Of course it is, asshole. I may run 'n' hide, but I never tell a lie."
Heero smiled then. "That's what I thought. "Trowa, can you call an ambulance?"
"Of course. As soon as I find a phone. I'm sorry I didn't get to the roof, Heero – I needed to arrive here immediately."
"Don't be stupid. You saved his life." Heero looked Duo over more thoroughly then and froze as his gaze strayed to the chain. "Duo. What...?"
"Did you think I just sat here takin' it?" Duo didn't bother moving now. He didn't have to anymore. "You're stupid."
Heero wordlessly leaned over and pulled at the peg in the ground. It fucking came up like it's been buttered. Duo glared at him. "Do you know where the keys are for this?"
Duo shook his head and decided laying down would be a good idea. He grimaced as his back touched the puddle of blood. Was that hygienic? "Nah. And that bastard stole my lockpicks after I got outta the cage."
"Cage?" Heero echoed.
"Um-hum. When I escaped and talked to Wufei..." Duo's breath hitched. "Wufei? Quatre? Where are they? Why aren't they here?"
"They went after Dermail," Heero answered. "Stay calm." He brushed Duo's hair from his face. "Duo, I... I have to go after them. I need to... they have to be stopped. I..."
"Go, moron," Duo breathed, smiling. "I'll live if you live."
Despite the blood everywhere, Heero kissed Duo's brow. "I will live," he promised, and raced off.
Duo watched until Heero was gone, then looked at Trowa. "Having fun yet?"
Trowa only rolled his eyes. "I'm going to grab a phone from a room next door."
"And leave li'l old helpless me alone?"
Trowa smiled. "I doubt you're helpless, even now."
Duo stuck his tongue at the tall bastard and let him leave without another witty remark. Then he struggled to grab a second shard from his hair. Funny. He felt much better now – less pain, less fear. Less anything. Was he dying? Or was he happy to know they were all right?
He closed his eyes and strained his hearing. He thought he could hear Trowa in the room next to him. Maybe... maybe it was just that he'd been able to see those cobalt eyes again. Maybe that was it.
Maybe he was just stupid and romantic and thank the gods Heero was okay.
Thank everything.
And then he snapped up, and even though the movement made every millimeter of his body flare up like he'd stepped into Hades' private torture chamber, he managed to get his feet underneath him and pushed up from the ground until he was swaying on his feet. He couldn't get his back straight; every time he moved, his side and back sprang new flash fires over his pores. He felt blood playing racing games down his body.
"Wufei," he whispered, and stumbled forward.
Wufei might just be about ready to make a mistake that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
For almost thirty years, he'd been planning for the moment when the world would stop at his command. When his efforts and his money would bring him more than anyone thought they could dream. Why not take the world? Why not create a war if it meant greater power? What was wrong with accepting the difference in people? The power, the intelligence, the ability to follow intellectual pursuits? He was born to a well-to-do family with an old line of nobility with an IQ over 160. He was born exceptional. What was wrong with using the abilities given to him for what he wanted? It was his right to take what he had the power to take.
What the hell had gone wrong?
"Treize, we're taking the helicopter. Have you called for them? Have they arrived?"
"Yes."
"Yes, what? You called them, or they arrived?" Dermail turned around the corner and rushed to his private elevator. It would lead to the roof.
"Both, uncle."
"Fine, then. Good." Dermail ran a hand through his hair. "We'll take care of this. We'll get them. We'll take care of it. I don't need any of those fools. You alone will do."
Treize didn't answer, but stopped and turned. "Ah. Wufei."
Dermail turned. Treize faced a man he'd never seen before, a man with blood on his clothes and black hair pulled from his face. "Who are you?" Then it clicked. "Wufei? You're one of them?" He turned to Treize. "You know him?"
"Of course. He's my lover."
Dermail gaped at his nephew, but the ma named Wufei reacted with a snarl. "How dare you, Treize Khushrenada! We are no longer lovers! I would never be with a man acting as you have! You – you allowed my friend to be tortured! You joined Romefeller! You – you have no honor!"
Treize simply smiled, even though the man had a gun trained on him. "Then shall we begin?" He pulled out his gun, and though Dermail was surprised the young man didn't just shoot Treize, his nephew seemed unperturbed.
"Yes. And so help me, Treize, I will see you dead!"
A/N: Wow. The end is near. Be prepared – I suspect only two to three more chapters, maybe a little more.
