The Urchin: Part Sixteen
By Banshi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the end of the "debriefing", it was decided that G would stay at the clinic with Leslie and the other doctors rather than be surrounded by all of the children at either the Winner house or Duo's "shack".
It had taken a great deal to restrain Ben when G had given his critique of Duo's living situation. And the old man hadn't even commented on Trowa's presence beyond the "good job" in return for helping with the rescue. If he hadn't been used to it, it would have taken a great deal to restrain Duo after that one.
Now everything was alright. G had given them files and then gone elsewhere. Duo could hear Trowa breathing gently in sleep and all of the children were quiet. Slowly he felt himself relax and was drifting off when a noise brought him back to full consciousness. The shrill whine of an engine ... correction, of an expensive engine.
Looking at the futon so close to his own, Duo saw the eye-shine as Trowa awoke as well. As one they moved away from the futons and to the windows, listening rather than looking for what was going on. There was the rustle of many people moving as silently as possible, and then the whine again.
The vehicle was casing the neighborhood, possibly looking for them. Possibly on totally unrelated business. It wasn't safe either way with the authorities on the take, but one was significantly more dangerous than the other.
"Do you think they're here for us, or the kids?" whispered Trowa, standing very close to Duo so that only the other man could have heard him. Duo shivered at the feel of Trowa's breathe on his ear before shaking off the sensation and giving the situation some thought.
"Don't know yet, lets wait and see." Trowa nodded and they went back to listening to the vehicles progress through the streets and the movement as the children hid from it. Suddenly, Duo saw a light, waving in even strokes from one side of the street to the other and back again. Children scattered so as not to get caught in the beam. The didn't have to scatter far, the beam was aimed high, and at the windows of all the buildings along the street. Duo and Trowa looked at each other, knowing the thought that echoes simultaneously in both their minds.
Us.
They both lay on the ground as the beam made its way past Duo's windows, highlighting nothing that would tell the searchers that the building was occupied by any more than another gang of kids.
"We are in it deep Trowa." Duo's whisper sounded loud in the silence, though it hadn't been anymore than a breath of sound. He saw Trowa's nod out of the corner of his eye. Together they crawled along the floors until they were at the front door, opening it to get a better look at the situation, but only a crack.
The car was a sleek grey, or some other color that looked grey in the dark. Duo remembered the line about cats and chuckled silently. Trowa gave him an odd look, but he was getting used to that. They both watched the car slide down the dirty streets and turn the corner, continuing to shine lights at all the windows. They had escaped detection, but it was obvious that someone thought that they were important enough to detect for. Maybe Gibraltar had decided to haul the street-rat in for a personal sermon on how inferior such animals from L2 were.
He looked back at Trowa, taking in the elegant features and absurd hair. In the dark, Trowa looked flawless, and a little frightening. Not for the first time, Duo felt all the doubts and depression crowd his mind. He really was inferior compared with the other pilots. Not as a pilot, but as an example of humanity. They all had skills that were suited to peacetime... even if it was preserving that peace. Trowa had the circus, and the lions, and his sister. Trowa had a home.
Duo felt the twinge of guilt that he was becoming familiar with. It was similar but different from the guilt that accompanied thoughts of Maxwell Church. Duo had taken Trowa away from his home, even if it had been Trowa's choice. They both inched away from the front door as the seconds ticked by and the car didn't return. Leaning with his back against the closed door, Duo let out the breath that he hadn't noticed he was holding. he had to wonder how he let his thoughts wander so badly when they were neck-deep in secret goings-on and malicious plots.
Gibraltar was rebuilding Deathscyth, and Duo was agonizing over his maybe-could-be love-life.
Duo could feel the rage start to bubble up again, and forced it back down. At this rate, he'd explode in one massive, violent tantrum. He was looking forward to it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
continued in part seventeen