Disclaimer – If you recognise it… I don't own it.

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Heero's POV

I will admit that I didn't obey Howard's instructions. I had tried to look for Duo. I had a few clues that I could follow, after all. He was in a hospital, or at least attended to by nurses. And he was with a Saint that Josiah knew. By the way Howard had described it, Josiah knew this Saint well.

I tracked Josiah Sanchez's history from his birth to the current day. I investigated every nurse, paramedic, doctor, EMT and other medical personnel that he had come into contact with, whether they were trained at the time or not.

It was a staggering list. Josiah had served with the Rebels and with a regular Army at various points. He had attended college for four years to gain a Psychology degree. He had been a Sweeper. He had even been a 'Smokey' himself at one point. And now worked for the ATF.

Which didn't make any sense to me, if the police were so hated by Truckers, why was he still considered one of them, despite his profession? And why had he been on the PeaceMillion?

He had travelled extensively as a child, with his missionary parents. He had numerous hospital visits logged, most predominantly in the last four years.

There were hundreds of names to cross-check. And it was slow going. Even after I removed all the names with which he had only had contact once, those who had retired and those who were ineligible for other reasons.

It was an almost impossible task. And I still hadn't found Duo, when he was declared missing.

Seeing him walk through the doors, made my heart soar. He was alive. He was awake. He was coherent. He was still Duo.

It was only when he straightened up, after his bow, that I realized just how much he was the old Duo.

The Mask was back in place.

"Mister Maxwell," the Judge stared at Duo, "You were reported missing just under four days ago."

"I thought so," Duo grinned, "I made good time."

"Why did you leave the hospital?"

"I never liked hospitals much," Duo shrugged, "And I heard I was needed here. So I checked myself out."

"Checking yourself out, Mister Maxwell, requires that you inform the staff that you are leaving."

"Really? No one ever told me. I didn't want to waste time."

"Well, then, Mister Maxwell, on which side do you stand? Prosecution or Defence?"

"With them." Duo waved a hand in our direction.

"That was a rather swift answer."

"I always stand with them."

That gave me hope. He still cared for us. He wasn't going to leave us. At least not yet.

That had been one of my fears. That Duo would just give up on us. After all, we hadn't been the first to fail him. At some point his generosity and kind nature would have to give out.

"Very well, Mister Maxwell. Are you willing to testify?"

"Willing and able."

"First surrender your weapons." One of the Court Guards insisted.

"Take them yourself." Duo declared as he placed both hands behind his head.

It was a classic surrender pose. The only variation was that he didn't interlock his fingers. That suggested that he didn't trust the situation. That he thought he was still in danger. The time to move his hands into a defensive position would be less the way he was standing. There were only two conclusions I could draw from the action.

He didn't trust us to watch his back. Or it could be that he wasn't used to having anyone he could trust. I hoped it was the latter rather than the former.

The guard removed the paired weapons carefully, while his partner kept an eye on Duo.

"They wouldn't have done any harm," Duo shrugged, as the guard moved away from him, "They're only water pistols. You can keep them."

"Mister Maxwell," The Judge frowned, "I must ask you why you are making a mockery of my court!"

"I don't mean to." Duo replied wide-eyed.

"Then your appearance is an accident?"

"This was not my idea." Duo waved at himself, "I have been trying to avoid this outfit since I was about twelve years old. And, up until now, I have succeeded. When some of my friends came to give me a ride, they gave me a choice between this, hospital scrubs and the hospital gown I was in. I went for the one thing that would be the most dignified. I do apologize if it seems like I am mocking your court, but it was not by my choice. This is a hangover from a nickname I have carried for many years."

A careful selection of words. He wasn't intending to mock the court. But he didn't say that he wouldn't have done it anyway.

"Are your friends present now?"

"These particular friends are not currently in this Court Room." Duo announced, after a quick glance around.

Again, careful selection of words. For I could see the red-shirted man that had held the door open for Duo had retreated slightly, and now stood only one step outside the Court Room.

"Very well then. Do you swear by your God or Goddess that the evidence you shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I run. I hide. But I never tell a lie." Duo countered, "I don't think you want me swearing on my God. God of Death, after all. But I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that what I shall say shall be the truth and nothing but the truth."

"Then take the Stand."

Duo walked slowly up to the Stand, and sat down in the seat. He tilted his head forward, to allow his hat to fall into his hands, before placing it on the stand in front of him.

"Mister Maxwell," The Prosecution lawyer stood up, "Can you describe how you came to be involved in this case?"

Duo carefully and precisely explained the entire situation from the first moment he was approached to when he left Quatre's manor. The only detail he left out was exactly what the threat was, only mentioning that he had been blackmailed.

I could sense the others getting angry as we realized that Relena hadn't just been a part of the Conspiracy, but that she had been one of the leaders.

Wufei, for one, went pale when he realized just how close he had come to being in Duo's shoes.

"What were you blackmailed with?" Our lawyer asked. All four of us cringed. We didn't need the information getting out.

"The five of us fought in the War," Duo shrugged, "The Gundam War. We think we were the youngest on any side that actually fought. We all made mistakes. And people paid for those mistakes. After the War, we were all given pardons. As were all the other soldiers. But as we had not been directly underneath anyone, we were classed as a separate group. I was told that they would revoke our pardons."

"What were these mistakes?"

"Things I would rather not go into." Duo replied, "But if you want mine. I blew up part of a hospital, while rescuing a friend. Granted, it was a military hospital. But it still was a hospital. I do not know how many people were injured, or even died."

"You never checked?"

"I had other things to do." Duo shrugged, "I don't know how many people I killed during the War. I don't like to think about it. After the War, I didn't want to kill again. Only I didn't have choice."

"You truly believed that they would carry out their threat?"

"Miss Relena has never liked me. I blame our first meeting. If it would hurt me, she would. I doubted that she would hurt Heero. But she knew I would not risk any of them."

"You are sure it was Relena?"

"I met her during the War. Didn't know who she was at first. But I got to know her a little. I know her. I can tell the difference between her and a look-alike."

"What happened after you left Mister Winner's house?"

Duo carried on telling his story. I heard Quatre gasp when we learnt where Duo had hidden initially.

"And can you identify those people, who were part of the Conspiracy?"

"Yes," Duo nodded, "Claudia Mann. Karla Stone. Quinton Nielsen. Hung Tanner. Mizuno Toshino. Bahadur Isa. Relena Darlin, nee Peacecraft. All of whom are sitting at the Defence table. Also part of the Conspiracy were Jun Xue and Commander Une."

I froze. I could hear the others suck in breath as they realized we had missed one. But why had Duo not mentioned him before?

"And where is Mister Jun?"

"Dead." Duo replied bluntly, "But that occurred much later. If I may ask, where is the Commander?"

The title surprised me. He called her Commander? I would have thought that Colonel was more appropriate. Given what Une had done to him.

"We will get to that later. How did they describe what you would do?"

"I would come when called. I would go when sent. I would do what I was told. I was never to be seen. I was never to be heard. Once a month I would meet one of them and receive money off which I was to live."

"How would you describe it?"

"I can't." Duo closed his eyes, "But they also called me a servant, a slave, a weapon, a tool. I preferred the description that Jun used. I was their Attack Dog. I occasionally retrieved items. But I was predominantly their Attack Dog."

"Could you describe what you did?"

It wasn't any easier listening to the list than the first time. And this time it was more complete. Mentioning everything from murders to theft. He even stated how he started shop-lifting to stay alive.

The worst part was watching his face. I'm not sure whether it was because he wasn't strong enough to hold his mask, whether it was because I knew the mask existed, or whether it was because I was really looking… But I could see the pain in his eyes. The pain that the smiles and grins tried to hide… And failed.

Oh, he fooled many people. They really believed that he wasn't hurting. That he was in control. And he was. Only it was sheer will-power and determination that kept him going. He showed the right emotions at the right times. But I knew he just wanted to cry.

I wasn't the only one. I could tell by the way Trowa, Quatre and Wufei were staring at Duo that they could see the same thing I did. Quatre's hands were pressed firmly over his heart, until Trowa forced them down and into his grip.

Every word from Duo's mouth was the truth. He doesn't tell a lie, after all.

The lie was in his face… In his posture… In his movements.

He wasn't letting anyone know how hurt he was… How broken he was.

Only we could see it… For the first time, we really saw beyond the mask while it was in play.

I wished he would talk to us. Using the sign language he knew so well. But his hands stayed silent. It wasn't a lack of inability. I have known him to carry on two simultaneous, but completely different, conversations without worry.

And he could use his hands. He would every so often reach out and quench his thirst from the glass on the Stand.

Duo hadn't given up on us. But he wasn't talking to us, either.

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Reviews are my candy. I go on a writing spree with each one. Trying to earn them.

Constructive criticism encouraged.

Milliefluff – Glad you enjoyed the chapter.

Hellfire – Thanks for the tea! Love it. Only got a runny nose now. And that's intermittent. So I'm fine.

BlackRose-FlowerofDeath – I hope you enjoyed this.

Juniperjupiter – Thanks for the review. Nice to know you liked it.

Illusion-Factory – I'm more a fan of the Magnificent Seven series. And I had to put the tag line from Smokey and the Bandit in there. It was necessary. Nice to see that someone is spotting my references.

Anonymous Void – Watch out, the Truckers protect their own. And you got the song right… So well done.

Arialee – When Duo kicks butt… He kicks butt!

Katerina Shinigami – Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards. And I like suspense… At least when I'm the one writing it.

King1234 – I have no intention of stopping. And I hope the quality continues to be sufficient.

Wind Dancer1981 – Thanks for the review.

Solitaire – I may not be old enough. But there are re-runs on telly. And my dad is a huge fan.

Bunch-o-Nuts – Keep on reading. I'm not going to make this short or sweet.

Lilly – I hope this is soon enough for you.

Whitetiger1589 – Nice to hear from you. Thanks for your support.

Toraus – Glad you thought so.

Fauxsey – Nice to know you enjoyed it.

Peaceful Angel – My old music teacher was hated by most of my year. They saw him as a bigot. I learnt the truth. He was trying to hide insecurity. That's when I learnt about masks. Glad you enjoyed the chapter.

Zuzanny – Keep on waiting. The girl knows when to keep her mouth shut.

Kage Elric – Don't worry about long reviews. The fact that you are a regular reviewer is enough for me.

Dragon'sRubyEyes – Thanks for your complements.

Kay – Everyone seems to think Duo could carry the outfit off. I just wrote it for the laughs. At this point, I'm slightly torn between wanting to see a picture of Duo in the outfit and worried that it wouldn't work.

Once again, thanks to all my reviewers.