The Stylist
Summary: In this chapter, day 6 of the bet ends and day 7 arrives and then they have to scramble to win it, and AZEROCOM isn't as easy a target as they had hoped.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Gundam Wing or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story.
Warnings: AU, male/male pairings, language
Chapter Ten
Day 6— almost a sleepless night for some
"So what do we want besides winning the bet for 'Fei featuring the hottest male models in other studio's fashions?" Duo asked. He waggled his eyebrows at Heero, adding, "And getting a little nookie on the side."
"Bring down Zechs. Maybe let the media get a holda some of those surveillance tapes of him molesting Trowa, if we could disguise Trowa's identity, of course," suggested Hilde.
"Destroy ZERO and, if necessary, AZEROCOM!" Heero said. "That's a danger to humanity."
"I'm good with all of those," Trowa said. "What about OZ?"
"We should be able to fit OZ in," Sally said with a touch of sarcasm. "Think for a minute. There aren't many of us, and a lot of targets, boys and girls."
"We shall break into groups and attack each at their weakest spots," Quatre put in, already thinking of a plan of attack.
"Clearly, with ole Treize, his defeat is in the bag. We've been loading the media with content, content, content. Duo and Trowa are fashion stars, so the bet is already won," Hilde said.
"Not entirely," Wufei said. "Remember who he was, a linchpin in the OZ organization. We must ensure his total downfall. I must do that. Yes, I'll see to that."
Sally cleared her throat. "I believe this is something Hilde and I can assist you on. The only way to stop Treize is to attack his products and close down OZ operations in Sanc. Somehow…"
"I have some information that will help you," Howard said. "Although Mr. Winner here owns a great deal of Sanc property, I bought out many OZ loans years ago. They aren't aware of who the Sweepers Bank is, but the point is that I hold the loans on all the OZ buildings in Sanc, including that monstrosity of a studio in uptown and a major building close to where we are now. I've been thinking of calling in all the loans of OZ and their associates." He grinned, proud to have shocked them all, and full of the knowledge that he had another shoe to drop.
"Wow! You'd be rich then!" Hilde cried out.
"Oh, not really. Sweepers Bank would be and the stockholders, who are mostly the old Team Sweepers I flew with," Howard went a little teary-eyed at the memory.
"Then it is possible, actually possible," Quatre said. "With Hilde, Sally, Wufei, and Howard working together, we might stop Treize and OZ. That leaves the problem of locating ZERO." He drew a deep breath, and then went on. "Duo, Heero, and Trowa believe they must destroy the ZERO station, once we locate it. If Zechs interferes, it is Heero who will take him on, and then join them. Since I'm not fully recovered—"
"—That's right. You stay out of the attack on ZERO," Trowa said.
"I don't plan on being a burden to any of you—"
"Nuh, oh," Duo groaned. "Here it comes. In spite of his near-death experience, Quat will lead the charge, wrassling ZERO on his own."
"I absolutely will not 'wrassle' anything. I will join you with Rashid here and the Maguanacs as backup."
"He's right," Howard said. "You will need a team of trained mercenaries. There is a lot of security around those buildings."
"And how would you know that?" Hilde asked, her voice oozing with suspicion.
And that is when shoe number two dropped.
Howard ventured a wicked grin, suddenly looking years younger, like his familiar devil-may-care self, and then he gave them location of the five engineers, all five engineers alive and active— at the heart of ZERO.
"We have so much to do and very little time," Quatre said, wincing from sitting in a cramped position. "I believe I have devised a strategy of attack on all fronts."
The flinch was not lost on Trowa. "You have ten minutes and then I'm hauling you upstairs, where you are going to rest."
Quatre tossed him a sly smile. "So demanding you are. Ha!" He did lay out his strategies and argued against some changes and modifications to his ideas, mostly when it came to minimizing his activity.
"Are you critiquing the job before I've finished describing it?"
"Yes, but… go ahead," Wufei said, backing off. "It's just that I believe my team knows best how to handle Treize, under the circumstances."
Quatre gave in a little, but came on strong when pointing out the roads with access to the AZEROOM site and how to set watches for activity.
"As long as you aren't one of those lone watchmen or part of the invasion plan," Trowa said.
"Leaving me to be where? Do what? Paint my nails?"
Before the argument could develop further, Rashid assured Trowa that he would make certain Master Winner kept a low profile, while assuring Master Winner that his skills would be put to use.
"Then we're done for tonight." True to his word, Trowa showed off his upper body strength and picked up the only slightly smaller man and carried him to the elevator.
"I shall notify you when dinner is ready," Wufei called after them, catching Trowa's head nod before the elevator door closed on them.
"Trowa! Stop! I have details to settle! And I can't leave my businesses in limbo!"
Trowa, unimpressed with Quatre's arguments, humored him a little, saying, "Yeah, yeah… those are all calls you can make when you are resting horizontally in bed," and pressed the "UP" button.
Hilde, Sally, and Wufei put their heads together to create a detailed outline of all they needed to do. Rashid notified his corps to prepare for armed combat against OZ and then tried to listen in on what Howard was doing, while keeping an eye, or two, on Miss Hilde.
Howard stuck around to make calls of his own. He had only a few hours to complete the banking forms and initiate contact with the five scientists at the AZEROCOM lab campus. For any plan to work, they would need the doctors' cooperation.
Heero didn't consider himself to be part of the strategizing group, having heard enough to suit him for now, and told Wufei he'd get dinner started, dragging a recalcitrant Duo along.
"I wanna have input, 'Ro! I rarely got to do that. It was 'do this Maxwell' or 'here's the plan, get going, Maxwell'. And now I gotta chance to—"
"Do you really think we aren't going to have our opportunity to wing it later?" Heero asked, his own knowing smile appearing briefly. "This way we get some time together."
"Gotcha," Duo said, satisfied with how things worked themselves out in the end. After the previous night's group camp out, he was pretty much done taking the abstinence route.
Heero demonstrated cutting up a chicken and let Duo do a second one. They seasoned and put the pieces into a huge pan, and then slid it into the oven to roast. Duo was eager to chop vegetables again, so Heero helped him choose appropriate ones and let him at it. Duo tossed the onions, carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnips with oil and salt and pepper.
"I'll help you add the vegetables to the chicken so they can all finish cooking together," Heero suggested.
Heero's help nearly made Duo drop everything on the floor. Laughing, Duo asked, "Maybe I'll do this alone and reward you for all your help when I've successfully finished?"
Between stolen kisses, heated looks, and light touches, they constructed a salad and dressing.
An hour later, Trowa came to the kitchen to collect a platter and dinner for Quatre. "Ahem? Is there any food-making getting done in here or is this a private party?"
"Aw, 'Tro, you're a bit early," Duo said. He pulled his braid out of Heero's possessive grip and tucked in his shirt.
"It's all right," Heero said. He finished buttoning his shirt and ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it further. "Take the most done pieces. And there's salad."
"Thanks. Smells good." Trowa took their dinners up to his room. "Quatre needs his rest," he said, but he was unable to keep the smile off his face when he said it.
When Heero noticed Duo's eyes following Trowa out with a look of longing, he decided he should say something to help overcome the envy he guessed Duo was feeling. "Duo."
"Huh? What?"
"They aren't really leaping forward as fast as you might think."
"You mean having wild and crazy sex night after night after knowing each other for a few days?"
"They had a connection in the past which they have rediscovered, or so Quatre told me. It isn't a leap but a continuation."
Duo shrugged pretending indifference and tossed the salad with the dressing they'd made.
"I know you'd like us to move things along a little faster."
"I kinda do and then I'm just not sure." Duo looked into his eyes; large blue pools of concern met his. "I mean I'm sure I really, really want you. Really. You are the hottest male in all Sanc, probably the universe but I haven't seen that much of the universe. But I'm not sure where we're heading… and it wouldn't matter except that with you I care. I really care."
"I care for you too."
"Here we've gone from just meeting to practically living with each other and after tomorrow, what happens to us?"
"I don't know."
"I have to think about this," Duo said. "Do I go back to Howard's garage, being a mechanic? A part-time car parker for Quat? Where do I live? God, 'Ro, I have no apartment to go back to, and I can't just live here… live off 'Fei's largess for who knows how long?! I'm not really a model. I'm not really anything! Not like you… and Quat… even Tro' has ... doesn't matter. I feel—"
"-A little lost?" Heero asked, and then enveloped him in a hug. "I do too, even though my situation seems more secure. I know without you in my life I have nothing to look forward to, nothing meaningful. Things, but no content. If that makes sense."
For now, this answer was enough for Duo. He smiled, feeling the warmth of those steel-bending hands rubbing his back, the incredible strength of that body pressed against his. The contact, the words- it all came to more, way more than Duo had asked for and it felt so good. So good to be important to someone. Knowing where he'd live and what he'd do didn't seem nearly as important as having someone to do it all with. But… things never turned out so well for the people he loved.
"Let's see how tomorrow ends," Heero suggested. "It will be a whole new world out there if we are successful, and you'll have me and Chang, Barton, and Winner ready to build all our lives into something better right alongside you."
Duo shook his head. "You can sure talk a good game when you have to," he said, smiling. "Tonight, WE are going to have some…ah…" Do not blow this with some stupid remark!
"Bonding time?"
"Oh, yeah, serious bonding time, even if we do have to get up at the crack of dawn later."
Heero ducked his head, embarrassed. "Okay. I promise to—"
"-No promises! We'll just see how it rolls, okay?"
"Mission accepted," Heero said and added an eye roll for Duo's amusement.
Duo paused to look him up and down. What a lucky guy he was! "Do you ever wonder if Quat masterminded this?"
"The snowstorm? Impossible."
"Not that, but Trowa…me… getting this modeling bet thing?" Duo shook the crazy idea out of his head. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!
"Maybe he gave you the chance, but it was you who sold Chang on the possibility—that you had what it took to work hard and win that bet for him. But don't ask Winner—you'll give him a big head." Heero looked askance at Duo. "He might ask us to refer to him as Master-mind Winner."
"Heh, heh…Sure glad you liked, um, me better than…"
"Better than, say, Hilde?" Heero asked, a smile quivering at the corner of his mouth. "You would have ended up on the couch."
"Me?!"
"She and I would have gotten the room." Heero laughed at Duo's expression.
Duo relaxed. He felt pretty sure that wouldn't have happened. Heero has a really odd sense of humor. "You got me with that one. Do not do that again, though. The images that puts in my poor battered brain… not good."
Heero checked his phone. "This reminds me. I need to talk to Rashid about his security protocols and synchronize them with all of ours."
"Better do it now while he's here," Duo recommended.
After dinner, Hilde and Sally had tons to do in order to double-check the research data, make the final selection of the photo shots, collect the latest productions numbers, and edit the video content- everything they needed finished for the next day's presentation.
"We'll see you later," Hilde told them all, as the two women left the table.
Howard was firmly ensconced in an armchair, making more calls and taking notes.
Rashid was stretched out on a sofa, appearing to nap, while keeping an eye on Howard and other times, the sprightly Hilde bounding out of one office and into the other, and putting in an appearance to share their progress with whoever would listen. Rashid was listening, pleased with the security upgrade from Mr. Yuy—free of charge. He sent Master Winner a test signal, which was received and returned moments later. All was satisfactory.
Wufei cleared away the remains of the dinner, packaging leftovers for a meal some another day, hoping there would be another day, while Duo and Heero cleaned up.
Suddenly, Howard slammed a hand on a side table and pushed himself to a stand. "Got to go now. Thanks for the dinner. You've all turned out to be very nice young men," he declared, noticing he was nearly alone by this time, "wherever you are. Rashid? You still giving me that ride back to the garage?"
"I am ready, Sir." Rashid stood, fully awake, straightened his shirt, and said goodnight to Wufei and, when she appeared moments later, Hilde.
"Let's see if you've still got it in you to beat the stuffin' out of OZ, heh heh…" Howard wheezed a chuckle and moseyed to the door.
Rashid was at his heels, not letting the curious man out of his sight.
"No need to see me out, Chang. I know the way and I'll make sure the door locks behind me."
Howard paused in in the doorway, nearly getting run over by the much larger Rashid. "Duo! Heero! Listen up! I'll see you all at 4 AM. Use the remote entry. Duo knows what I mean. Get a good night's sleep."
"I'm throw'n in the towel," Duo said, giving the dishtowel he'd been using a final toss to the granite countertop. "C'mon, 'Ro, we ain't got much time, so…?" He shook Heero's shoulder and pushed.
Heero reached out, his hand drawn to Duo, touched his chin, and when his violet eyes fell shut and his warm sigh misted across his knuckles, Heero came just this close to caving in and kissing him in front of anyone who could see them. He wanted to save that and more for private time, though.
"Then you'd better move, Maxwell," Heero growled in a way he knew Duo would love.
With a nod to Wufei on their way out, Heero allowed a little smile to stretch across his face anticipating what Duo might have in mind. Duo was fun. Duo was sexy and experienced. Duo was exciting. And passionate.
"Oh, wow," Hilde said sighing. "Didya see that?"
"No, and I don't need to hear about it," Wufei tossed out. "Go to your hang out and sleep." If you can.
"He adores Duo… throws him these long, smoldering looks," she sighed again and then had to run to catch up to the elevator.
Duo wasted no time undressing once he had Heero behind the closed doors of his bedroom. No letting Heero linger over each and every button. No, sirree. His nimble fingers expertly unbuckled, unbuttoned, unlaced. Then he slip, tugged, pulled and flung clothing without concern as to the proper folding or hanging of the expensive garments.
"In a hurry?" Heero asked arching one eyebrow.
"Yep. Just stay put and I'll get the socks."
He observed the awesome scenery stretched out before him. Heero's naked body was like a landscape where the bedside lamp cast soft glowing light over the highs and shadows over the lows. So perfect and smooth. When he looked up, checking Heero's reaction, their eyes met a moment.
"I was enjoying myself," Duo said, pretty certain that he was staring back as dreamy-eyed as Heero.
Heero he ran his fingers down his arm. "I'm having a problem keeping my hands off you," Heero whispered.
"Ahhh," Duo said, "then don't." He sighed, loving the feeling of Heero's fingers passing through his hair, pulling him down on top of him, and kissing him. Losing control, Duo ground their hips together, making it absolutely certain how he felt about him.
Ordinarily, they'd have no reason to rush. They had found each other again and should have been able to take their time discovering one another, inch by delicious inch. Easing into sex slowly. Giving Heero time to get used to it, adjust to it, accept and trust Duo.
But, if they were going to get four hours of sleep, they only had ten minutes to play.
Duo decided not to give him the opportunity to change his mind, because he might have. He wasn't so sure he was ready for more intimacy, even if he talked as if he was. Duo knew the feeling. Wavering on the edge. Going all-in homosexual was momentous to a serious man like Heero. Which Duo took to mean: don't make him have to decide or approve, just give him a heavenly taste of what it could be.
Heero's chest was hard with muscle. His skin so hot it burned. His kisses deep. His tongue penetrating and as strong as the rest of his body. Not a single disappointment.
Duo's hands slowly stroked, and then before Heero could have any second thoughts, he slid lower and started to lick his erection from the base to the tip and back and forth a couple of times. Heero moaned and bucked and twisted and gripped his shoulders hard, but didn't object or push him off. Good to go, then. Duo moved back up and enveloped the tip with his mouth. Smiling around the object of his affection, currently, he listened to Heero's gasps and cries (just wait for this next trip, babe) and without warning, he swallowed the rock hard erection whole.
Heero yelped. His body trembled and he began panting. "S-slow down," he said.
Duo paused to look into his eyes. Lustful dark pools of need stared back at him. His mouth open, breathless. Duo used his tongue to tease and his hand to polish him off into a boneless mass.
Not wholly boneless and not for long either. Heero dragged him up and kissed him again. "God, Duo…"
Duo didn't know when he moved his arm, but he certainly felt Heero's hand latch onto his weeping member. Unable to control himself, Duo just let him finish the job.
"Oh, yeah, b-babe."
They both collapsed, falling asleep that night thinking, not saying, just thinking about how much they loved the other man sharing the bed.
Day 7 - Final Reckoning begins
It was frightfully cold and still dark outside when Trowa, Duo, Heero, Quatre, and Howard completed preparations. The hidden underground garage was lit brilliantly with overhead spotlights, so nothing would be missed, and heated only to near-comfort level, because, as Howard said, "if you're cold, put on a jacket, stupid!".
Miles away, the Maguanacs inspected weapons and loaded their own vehicles, which exceeded military standards for tactical vehicles- all capable of operating under on-road/off-road conditions and loaded with armor and weaponry, including the latest armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot-tracer. In an hour, Rashid himself would arrive at the secret entrance to Howard's underground garage and collect Quatre, leaving his second in charge, Amed, to lead the Maguanacs to the secreted site.
With the determination he had inherited from his father, Quatre had made his case for participating the night before. Convincing Trowa hadn't been easy, but an agreement had been reached. He would ride with Rashid in an ultra-armored HUMVEE- theoretically safer—but, at least, requiring him to fight less and strain his injury. But that was then. Now Trowa wasn't so sure his lover should be out of bed, super-healing blood or not.
"The Maguanacs will be doing the fighting, not me, so stop worrying," Quatre told Trowa.
"You're not completely healed internally, I know, so don't hide it from me, if you want me not to worry about you," Trowa said sternly.
"I feel fine, actually. Having Heero's healing blood along with my own high tolerances for harsh conditions is nothing short of amazing. I'll be perfectly fine in another hour or so, I'm positive. I know you care about my well-being, and I love that, really… so I'll promise not to lift anything heavier than a handgun for personal protection, if that helps."
"It does." Trowa leaned their foreheads together, holding the other man in place, feeling his warmth, his breathing and his love. "I can't live without you. I know that now. Even if you change your mind about me."
"Oh, God, Trowa stop it," Quatre whispered. "You know I love you."
The shorter blond dragged their lips together and kissed Trowa hard. He could feel wetness on Trowa's cheeks from tears. Grief was still a part of Quatre's life, the loss of a mother he never knew and of a father who'd sacrificed his life for him marking the day he left his childhood behind for good, but Quatre had tucked it deep inside his heart where it would always remain a part of him, and using it like sand in an oyster, turning out pearls of strength. Now, he used his strength to will Trowa's sadness away, healing them both.
Trowa, Duo, and Heero were dressed according to their roles: nephews of three of the doctors dropping by for a short visit on their way to a fun-in-the-snow park miles up the mountains. Trowa wore loose, flannel-lined, khaki jeans and a green turtleneck, silk. Nothing less would touch his skin, he vowed, now that he'd worn the best. His gray and gold down jacket would cover it anyway. Brown knitted hat and tan leather gloves were stuffed in the pockets.
Duo looked like a street punk wannabe— just a little too clean to be real—in mostly black jeans and hoodie, braid tucked under. His insulated coat was black and charcoal grey. Black leather gloves and boots embellished the monotone look. His attention was totally absorbed with watching Heero.
There he was with his tousled dark hair and stormy blue eyes, looking adorable in his faded jeans, red and blue plaid flannel shirt and piles of winter wear at his feet. Duo watched Heero caress a mean little M4 carbine—air force standard issue {it's great in close quarters, light weight and small, and allows you to engage targets at extended range with accurate, lethal fire}, stuff a Beretta semi-automatic pistol into his belt loop, and then finish hauling and loading weapons into the back of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class military all-terrain vehicle.
Hot, hot, hot! Hitting on all my cylinders! Duo had the urge to reach out and grab his sex-in-plaid boyfriend (mine!), rip off his clothes and have a repeat of the night before. Despite the temperature, maybe.
The vehicle and weapons all came from Howard's stockpile. How he had accumulated the vast assortment of killing material- no one asked. Howard had a lot at risk in this mission, financially, while the younger men had their lives and futures riding on the outcome.
"Geez, 'Ro, couldn't you have found a more expensive car for this mission?"
"Not in the allocated time period, no."
Duo just stood and stared at him until both men smiled. Heero, you are so weird-funny.
"Apparently, Howard keeps a nice fleet of all-terrain SUV's," Heero said. "And he assured me you could fix this one in a pinch."
"Oh, sure, I suppose he thinks the lock-breaking tools I keep on me can work miracles on a computer-module run vehicle." Duo sighed. "Speaking of miracles, why do you think ole Professor G didn't think I was worthy of getting superpowers like you?" he asked.
Heero frowned, thinking, then said, "I believe he thought your natural skills and intelligence were your superpowers and that you didn't need to stockpile anymore."
His words sounded more than simply genuine, slightly seductive, or maybe it was that Duo wanted to hear them that way. He blushed slightly. "Oh, so you think he was saving some for Tro' or 'Fei? Heh, heh… that's pretty funny, you know?"
Satisfied to have made Duo laugh a little, Heero smiled and nodded assent. "Now that I've loaded everything, we should be on our way."
Duo was still musing on Heero's answer as Trowa and Quatre came into hearing distance. ""I get what yer saying. Some of you got the brawn, while others of us got the brains."
"You are putting me in the brains category, I hope?" Quatre asked.
Trowa appeared offended, but wasn't. "I am assuming only the best outcome from this stream of consciousness."
"With Chang-Fu in the brawn department, heh heh," Duo laughed. The night before, Heero had told him that he could refer to him as his boyfriend, if he wanted to, and that brought a special little joy to Duo's heart.
Trowa sighed. "You have no right to be so cheerful at this hour."
Heero tried to cover his smile. "He worked hard for the right, believe me," Heero said, sobering and before anyone could further comment or ask questions he added, "Let's go."
(o)
By the time they were close to their destination, a blush had touched the snow drifts. A thin mauve line appeared on the distant eastern horizon signaling the dawn of a new day.
Heero pointed out another SUV leaving a sparkling snow-dust trail on a converging route through the snow-covered landscape. They had driven close to four hours out of the city into the open country. No problems had been encountered up to this point. They had seen, in fact, no one on the road, up to this point. Their road ended in a few miles, according to the GPS, at government land and high security facilities. They were almost there and then this.
"Incoming in two minutes," Heero reported.
"Is that calculated or just a guess?" Trowa drawled, teasing Heero a bit.
"Whodoya think it is?" Duo asked.
"Merquise is texting me," Heero answered, scanning the horizon and then reading the message. "It's him in the SUV. He wants to talk."
"When doesn't he? Loves the sound of his own voice. Damn… If he knows what's up, who else? The asshole wants to stall us so OZ can rev up their security, is what he wants," Duo surmised, irritated that this was messing with their perfect timetable.
"Let's hope he's just tracking our movements and that he doesn't know what we're up to," Heero said.
"And that he hasn't had help ZERO-ing in on us," Duo added.
"So to speak," Trowa tagged on.
"That road comes off one exiting the palace grounds," Heero noted.
"Right, this is your chance to shine, Yuy. Buy us as much time as you can." Trowa looked out the side window, focusing his binoculars on the SUV and an intersection coming up on their right. "Okay, tell him to stop at the intersection, which is probably his goal anyway. We'll beat him by—"
"About thirty seconds," Heero said, opening a bag of small explosives, picking out a few, loading them into his heavy coat pockets, and dropping the rest back on the floor. "Just enough time for me to get out."
Duo slowed into a slide on the icy road. He leaned into Heero grasped the back of his head and mashed a kiss on his lips. He pulled away, saying, "Don't forget your hat, babe!"
Heero chuckled, but did jam on a wool cap and grabbed the M4 carbine. "I don't remember parting ways like that before."
Duo hadn't a chance to reply before Heero had the door open and was carefully stepping through snow and ice toward the slowly oncoming SUV. "Good luck." Duo whispered, then, staying in first gear, applied the gas slowly to regain traction and avoid skidding as he accelerated ahead.
(o)
A wan sun iced Zechs Merquise in a cool glow as he stood brandishing pair of swords, one in each hand.
"Put down the gun, Heero Yuy, and let's do it Winner's way, with swords!" Zechs Merquise cried out.
"This is ridiculous and you are an idiot," Heero declared.
Even though he knew that the other man was practically a puppet controlled by ZERO, he was disgusted by his weakness not to fight it, come to his senses, and take control of himself. Alas, he concluded that Zechs truly was a wimp-ass at heart.
When a blow swept close, he jumped out of the way; another sword cruised over his head before falling and skidding in the icy road. He considered simply blowing a hole through the man and ending the nonsense, but being a grown-up in a time of litigation for actions of violence, he tossed the M4 to the side and recovered the sword.
"I guess I am an idiot, too," he muttered. He took a couple practice swings. "So, this is where you get to rant and tell me why we are doing this."
(o)
"Government property? Or OZ?" Trowa wondered aloud as Duo slowed to a full stop.
Duo shrugged as if to ask, "Is there a difference?" and lowered his window. He leaned out, couldn't reach the keypad, so then climbed onto the car seat, resting on his knees, and stretched further to tap in the pass codes supplied by Howard, via the doctors, supposedly, to gain entry to the main gate.
"Fucking gorilla arms to do this," he griped.
Long gone was his pleasant mood. He'd feel extra put-out from now on. He should be back in bed enjoying a little more Heero time, not tasked with saving the world—or whatever. What was so bad about being a brain-controlled fashion icon?
"Hope those codes are the real thing," he muttered as he regained his seat. "Be real stupid to end it all here."
Howard trusted the access codes from the five "doctors" that he and Trowa were scheduled to meet, but Duo didn't feel compelled to have faith in any of them. But I have no choice, do I? And Heero-would he ever show up? Trowa acted like he didn't care, but Duo knew the uncertainties were all troubling him.
"Gate's open. We should park about now," Trowa said, resigned to do the job and get it over with as quickly as possible.
Duo parked facing the exit, ready for a fast get-away. "We made it this far. Do we wait for Heero or just go in and assume he finds his way here?"
"In. Maybe we can do this fast." Trowa gazed out the window into the indefinite distance. "I can dream."
"If you can dream, so can I. Okay? Let's go have our reunion with our charming uncles." Duo slapped on a smile and hopped out of the car.
They entered through the front door, and then their passage was blocked by armed security. Duo could feel the tension rise in his friend, the vein throbbing in his neck.
"Hey." Duo greeted the guard. Young, untested. I could take them both down in an instant, if I had to.
"There are only two of you. We were told there would be three," the guard said.
"Yeah, there's another dude. He got held up by… an old friend, but he'll get here, so be on the lookout and bring him along. He's really missed Uncle J." Duo looked up and gave the young man a big, relaxed smile.
Trowa wanted to get going and asked, sounding as impatient as he was, "Can you tell us where we're meeting them, or should we just wander around?"
The guard, uncertain, told them to wait as he turned away, muttering into his remote speaker. A few seconds later, he waved them forward. "I am to conduct you to the meeting room."
"Cool," Duo said, beaming with put-on, good-natured, easy friendliness.
Their footfalls echoed a little, adding to the perception that the building seemed empty: the heavy clumping of the guard, the near-silent "sssh" of Trowa's walk, and the light "smoosh" of Duo's boots. He heard no other steps following them as they passed what seemed like miles and miles of intersecting hallways breaking up walls of doors and darkened glass. It wasn't actually all that far, but the interminable repetition of sameness and the lack of other people made it seem endless. It conjured up images of mazes from a rat's-eye-view he'd seen on video game.
To keep from feeling lost, he kept track of distinctive features. He knew Trowa was super talented at spotting and remembering the location of security cameras and devices. Not to be out done, Duo looked for distinguishing markers. When Duo looked hard, a few of the rooms they passed could have been offices. He and his best friend had poured over Howard's detailed maps, studying their possible escape routes, looking for the likely location of ZERO. Duo had committed his map to memory, but now he wanted to match what he was seeing to the digital diagrams he'd studied.
Trowa, as he put it, was reserving space in his brain for registering all the security measures he could detect. No map was perfect, no information complete.
The guard stopped at a door and knocked before opening it. "Your guests are here," he announced.
Duo caught Trowa's movement, a quick gesture pointing out the laser "people-counter" near the floor. Without missing a beat, they both managed to look natural as they stepped over it. Anything to mess up the data collection. Just like old times.
Feet shifted, shoulders hunched forward expectantly, and an excitement rose from the small group of five unusual men gathered at a spotless, unadorned board table.
"Hey, dudes!" Duo exclaimed with warmth in his voice, as if knew these men and had seen them recently.
In case their conversation was being recorded or someone was listening in, he had adopted a snowboarder persona from his limited talents. About as far from his car mechanic, fashion icon identity as he could pull off this early in the morning. Trowa could do anything; be anyone; fit in anywhere. Talented dude.
"This place is crunchy cool! Why have we never gotten to sightsee before? We do get the grand tour today, right?"
Professor G, distinguished by his long nose, mushroom-shaped hair and a long scar on his cheek, stood to embrace him. "As long as you don't practice any athletics in the halls. What do you call it? Parcour?" When he got close, he pushed a ring into Duo's hand and whispered, "blue is safe to talk."
Duo laughed and went on in the lingo of the snowboarders that he and Trowa were impersonating. "Naw, that was last summer. We plan to shred the gnar latez today though. There's freshies on the super-jib up there."
"Hi. Good snow courses around here," Trowa translated. He did not feel it was necessary to confuse the old duffers and refused to fall into difficult, insufferably difficult, lingo this morning. Instead, he was playing the part of the older, tolerant cousin. "We hope to do some snowboarding later today. After our visit."
Doctor S corrected the position of his prosthetic nose and smoothed his spiked gray hair, and then smiled as he drew Trowa in a hug. While passing an identical ring into his hand with a whispered "Blue is cool", the older man told him, "Same goes for you, nephew. No acrobatics!"
Doctor J pushed aside his mechanical-looking goggles and held out a cybernetic right arm. "Where's—"
Duo laughed to cut him off. His ring was glowing a dull red. "-'Ro's coming. He ran into an old school chum who went squirrely on the slopes and garage-saled out and—"
Trowa explained, "- he got detained."
Master O rose from his chair; his was an imposing stature topped by a shiny bald head. After sharing his expertise in many forms of martial arts, Master O had parted on bad terms with the young, impetuous Chang Wufei—according to Howard. Certainly, the powerfully athletic man with a scowling face reflected little love for any of his "nephews."
"I don't think your nephew will make it," Trowa said matter-of-factly. He turned toward the last man, who he knew had a close relationship with Quatre. "You're nephew will be late. Catching a ride with…friends, if he can make it."
Instructor H chuckled, his rotund belly bouncing a little. He had a receding hairline and a thin, dark mustache sticking straight out at each end. "He always loved having his freedom. I do hope he can come." He looked around, silently collecting group consent. "Shall we proceed then? We can catch up on your exciting lives while we give you that grand tour you've always wanted."
And so, snowboarding dudes Duo and Trowa, set off with the five men who had engineered the largest mind controlling project ever constructed.
Duo threw an arm over Trowa's shoulders, noting as he did it that the other man was still a little taller than he. "So, Possum, enjoying the tour so far?"
Trowa raised a single eyebrow his way, recognizing his friend was easing up on the lingo. "Sure thing, Little Scooter."
"So nice and homey," Duo remarked as they walked the stark sterile halls. "You know, without that overdone decorator look."
"Yeah, love that gray-green paint. Reminds me of something," Trowa said.
"It does. What would you call that color?" Duo asked.
"Merquise mold."
(o)
"I have a blue house with a blue window. Blue is the color of all that I wear-" Duo sang, off key. His ring glowed blue. They could talk freely.
Trowa checked the ring in his hand and smiled. "-I'm blue da ba dee da ba daa."
Two of the older men were fiddling with strange-looking equipment which, Instructor H explained, "—will let us pass through most of the security locks more easily."
"Some areas are off-limits even to us," the other explained, "because of structural work being done for additional server data storage, needed as the information grid expands."
They continued to move deeper into the complex of buildings connected by corridors until they stopped at a tall steel door.
"Here is where we all suit up," Doctor S explained. As built-in cabinets of matching stainless steel were opened, everyone reached for a set of blue coveralls and shoe booties. "We'll be entering an extreme-clean area. Even with air scrubbers, particles of dust can get past and ruin delicate materials and machinery."
"Isn't that the point of our being here?" Trowa asked.
"Embedded in each of these pieces of protective gear are security beacons. One missing bit and the moment we enter, containment would begin. We'd be suffocated."
"Great," Duo groused, slipping into his shoe coverings.
Special masks, goggles and head gear were next. Professor G demonstrated how to test the gear, using Duo as his test subject. No one wanted to set off containment procedures, so they all copied what was done until G was satisfied they were safe to enter.
Instructor H opened the steel door using one of the mechanical devices he'd been playing with earlier, and then led them into a cavernous, dimly lit room. The fluorescent lights were far-spaced; they couldn't see the limits to the rooms' edges. Besides the squeaks of shoes and boots over the rubber matted vinyl flooring, the only sound they heard was a faint background hum.
The room wasn't as warm as it might be, to Duo's liking, although it was warmer than the corridors of the main building. He was glad to be over-dressed. He figured most of the building had been closed up since the big snow storm- with the heat turned off. It sure seemed pretty deserted. He wondered when he'd feel warm again, and immediately his mind leaped to Heero.
"This is the outer shell of ZERO," Instructor H told them. "We will begin here. Once we've disabled this part, we can begin on the next layer of electronics and programing.
Like an onion, we shall peel off the protective layers. After that, if we are successful, will be the central core, and somewhat veiled in mystery. If you look hard, you will see the Eye of ZERO. It glows, see?"
It was at this point that Master O finally spoke up. "A mystery it is not, and let me explain. I've been opposed to this operation from the start. But since it seems that you are intent on destroying this mastery of mental control, I must warn you that without the secret weapon, you will not be successful."
Duo started laughing. "T-the s-secret… we-a-pon?"
Master O's deadly expression sliced through Duo instantly, cutting off his laughter. "This is why I was against entrusting our secrets to these…children. Not serious enough."
Trowa pulled a gun on him. "This serious enough for you? Tell us where to get the weapon."
"Barton, so violent a personality. I was going to tell you without your using force." Master O frowned and crossed his arms over his chest until Trowa lowered his weapon, and slipped it in his pocket- although the bulge under his jacket remained a visible reminder that he would use it if required. "Very well. The secret codes are embedded in an old buster rifle in Howard's possession."
"We gotta get word to him!" Duo said, turning to Professor G and Doctor J, entreating them to help. "Heero's on his way. It's not too late, possibly, for him to go back, meet Howard halfway? We've got to try!"
"I'll call Howard Sweeper," Master O said. "I want Chang to bring it. I find… I long to see his face one more time….after all…"
"In the meantime," Professor G said, as Doctor S gently persuaded Trowa to put the safety on his gun and stow it away in a less noticeable place, "we shall begin what we set out to do."
"Which is?" Trowa asked, hand ready to pull the gun out again.
"We intend to 'rewire' AZEROCOM so it will destroy itself," Doctor S answered.
A ripple of excitement ran through the doctors as the men anticipated getting down to business. Doctors H and J found open terminals and the typing began.
"Oh. You just do that, then. Um, what can we do to help?" Duo asked.
Trowa, who did not trust computer code to resolve his issues, looked around. "We could start by blowing this building."
"That would be inordinately stupid. You'd be stopped before you get the weapon to destroy the core, and that would spoil everything. We need to distract ZERO, and this process will take time," Doctor O warned them.
"Yes, yes, he's correct. Using improper force attacking ZERO directly would attract attention to what we are doing," Professor G said. "What we could use is a lookout and a little diversion. If you need to destroy something, do it farther away."
"Got it, 'G'. As long as O gets through to Howie and he can find this mysterious rifle and 'Fei is free to take a little drive-," Duo said, rattling on nervously.
Professor G let them out the steel door, and wished them luck.
"Even if Chang does," Trowa reminded him, "It's a four hour drive to get here."
"Fuck! That's right! I hope the Maguanacs are close and can help!" Duo shouted, sounding on the verge of panicking.
Trowa did too, but then he didn't want Quatre getting into the thick of it either, and the fighting now seemed inevitable. "No easy in and out mission this."
"You got that right, but then had any of them in the past ever been?" Duo mused.
Trowa looked thoughtful. "I don't recall. But I know that it's hard risking my life now when I have someone to live for."
"Then we'll have to be smarter and take fewer chances," Duo said.
(o)
"Do you think we should get closer?" Quatre asked, not that he usually questioned the leader of the Maguanacs mercenaries. He was just so terribly worried for Trowa and the rest of his friends holed up inside.
Rashid's forces were spread out, dotted around the AZEROCOM complex of buildings providing surveillance and keeping communication channels open. With the improved smartphone safety protocols Heero had installed, he could operate completely incognito with everyone, a dream of his at one time now a reality. He smiled with the thrill of that power.
"One of the troops has observed a line of armored vehicles making their way from the north—not from Sanc. These have the OZ logo inked in unobtrusive locations, for instance, on the bottom edge of the vinyl roof coverings."
Danger level yellow, for the time being.
"We are not under siege at this time and I do not want engage them and trigger the enemy forces unduly. It is possible that the mission may be accomplished before the OZ forces arrive and we can avoid all confrontation. Remember, we are here for backup not leading the charge."
"Or setting one," Quatre said in a low voice he didn't think Rashid could hear. "Yes, yes, of course. I know, but I have nothing else to do but think." And worry myself sick. He was even too distraught to concentrate on Trowa through his empathetic link.
"And fret. Just wait; watch for changes on this meter. It is measuring ground disturbances."
Having a job to perform was exactly what Quatre wanted. His face brightened. "Like from an explosion? Okay, thank you. I can do that."
One blip, just one tiny blip of activity, and I will be going in. That he promised himself.
(o)
The steel door slammed shut behind them. Duo tore off his mask and goggles.
"First thing," Duo said, "is getting out of this suffocating gear." He ripped off the booties and started on the rest of the protective clothing.
Trowa mirrored his activity. "I'll go left as far as the diagram shows… there's a connecting building after that. I can watch for anyone coming from the main hall entrance."
"'K. Then lay a line of small charges, but wait to set them off until I signal you."
"What are you going to do, Duo? Not that I don't trust you to be careful."
"Attempt to destroy a block of the AZEROCOM server storage bank," Duo gestured to the right. "Down thata way."
"That's some distraction." Trowa smiled. "You always did like blowing shit up." He rechecked his layout of the complex on his smartphone. "I see the one you mean. I can get to this other one."
Duo dug out a heavy bag and handed it to Trowa. "You'll need this much kill power."
"Yeah, okay." Trowa didn't remember having ever detonated that much dynamite.
"And this'll give you two minutes to run like hell," Duo said, adding a length of fuse to his friend's outstretched hand. "If you don't wanna, no matter. I can do it, 'Tro."
"I'm fine with it."
"A real one-two punch that outta give ZERO a hiccup and cause a bunch of confusion as to where the real attack is coming from," Duo agreed.
Trowa sighed. "Okay. Signal '02' when you are ready."
"Yeah, like old times, you know, where you send '03' when you are ready. Count to five after the last signal, whosever it is, and then light and run."
Trowa shook his head. "Fine. Just…stop looking like you're enjoying this part too much."
"Heh, heh… can't help it, bro'!" Duo chortled and dashed away.
Trowa loped off in the other direction; counting the smaller charges he'd need if the room layout was anything like the one they left the 'doctors' in.
(o)
"Oh! No!" Quatre cried out. "They've struck in two places! Which way do we go?"
Rashid was on his cell shouting directions to one of the corps clusters. He looked over Quatre's shoulder at the readings which had so excited his younger master. "Your friends have been very busy. See this? Yes, you can see that line of OZ reinforcements have split, intending, I'm sure, to enter the compound at these two points, dividing up, which is exactly what your friends are counting on, and passing up the place where the important job is being done. Just as your plan suggested, Master Quatre."
Rashid scratched his mustache, thinking a moment. "I'm sending troops to both ends of the complex to the aid of whoever's inside—likely Mr. Barton on one side and Mr. Maxwell on the other."
"Go on then," Quatre said. "I'm finding Trowa and going that way."
"Amed and his team will follow you."
Quatre closed his eyes, placed a hand over his heart, and focused all his attention on locating Trowa's special emotional imprint. Blotting out the noise and chaos around him forced a level of concentration he feared would bring on a headache later, but he had to find Trowa!
(o)
Duo ran from the far end of one flaming building to enter the next one. He had been trained in demolition and those memories were flooding his brain. Dealing with explosives and incendiary devices seemed to come naturally. In fact, he felt a moment of wooziness and his brain cleared. He remembered a lot more than he had before.
"The mind-blocking system must be failing. Those docs' know what they are doing 'cause it seems to be working," he messaged Trowa, adding his new location.
"Agreed. Work your way back. HOLD UP! Getting update from them… rewiring working, but… damn! Now ZERO rebuilding itself and regaining strength!"
"I'll blow this building and get back to your location."
He felt another tremor from the agitated ZERO system. Heero's face came to mind, a youth's face, and a wonderful rush of warmth filled his chest. He remembered being just a kid and seeing Heero for the first time… and knowing instantly that the guy was special. I remember. Maybe Heero hadn't been infatuated with him, and it seemed highly unlikely that he had been, but Duo sure knew he'd been crazy about Heero—way back then.
And now? He was falling in love and not at all certain he wanted to do that, because, in his life, love upended everything. But it was out of his control now.
"Hey, Tro'? Haven't heard from 'Ro. You?" Duo messaged his friend.
"No." Trowa cut off the communication hearing pounding footfalls coming his way. He raised his gun into position and was about to step out from behind the door he'd been using as a screen, when a flood of well-being washed over him. He dropped the weapon and leaned out.
"Quatre! What are you doing here?"
Quatre ran up to him. "We are here to help. OZ is on its way—right outside these walls! They are also moving into position at the opposite end of the complex."
"That's where Duo's been." Trowa looked at him a little hungrily, and then put his arms round him and pulled him close. "I wish you wouldn't put yourself in harm's way like that. I worry about you." He was lightly flushed and his voice sounded hoarse.
Quatre was thrilled he had that effect on the man. "We'll watch each other's back."
"Sir," Amed interrupted, timidly. "We should hurry."
Trowa pushed away and Quatre quickly introduced Amed, the young Maguanac who had accompanied him. Trowa shook hands with the man about his own size and age.
"Let's begin by blocking their path. We can damage the building over there that connects to the outside and slow OZ down."
"Our plan exactly," Amed said with a determined look and toothy smile.
They led the small contingent of Maguanacs to destroy part of the next block of servers, blocking an entry point, and eventually find where the doctors were at work, all the while routing out any security guards that got in their way.
All the time in the back of his mind Trowa worried if in the end it would all be for nothing. Did Howard find or even know about the secret weapon Master O was talking about? Had he contacted Wufei? Had the meeting with Khushrenada and his own problems been put to rest? Was Wufei on his way? Would he get here in time?
"Trowa! Calm down!" Quatre entreated him, feeling a headache coming on.
TBC