Chapter 6 - Preparations

Warnings: bad words, Duo pain/torture. PG/PG-13, maybe?

* * *

A few minutes later, Harrings approached Duo with a canteen of water. "Drink up," he directed,
tossing the canteen to the ground in front of the hostage.

Duo glared daggers at Harrings. "I'm cuffed, remember?"

Sighing, Harrings produced a gun. "Don't move while I recuff you." Duo complied, figuring that
he didn't need to add a gun wound to his considerable list of injuries, and soon his hands were
cuffed in front of him, instead. "Now drink before the Lieutenant returns."

//Don't need to tell me twice,// Duo thought, lifting the canteen to parched lips. Before he took a
swig, though, it occured to him that it was probably drugged. //Oh, hell.// Duo drained the
canteen. //What difference does it make if I go to the facility awake or asleep? It's not likely they'll
be giving me a window seat so I can see where we're going.// "There, happy?" he asked for the
second time that day.

Harrings rolled his eyes and picked up the empty canteen. "You act - even look - like such a child,
it is impossible for you to be of any consequence to OZ," he hissed, throwing Duo a disgusted
glance. "How pathetic."

Duo smiled faintly. "I think I'll take that as a compliment." Years on the street had taught him
innocent looks made people a little looser with the change in their wallets. It also made people
less likely to believe you were the one stealing their apples.

Already the drugs were taking effect; Duo became less aware of the dully thudding pain of the
re-set bone in his arm and the gash across his hip, and his vision began to darken. Purposely
relaxing, Duo succumbed to the pleasantly heavy sensation he felt and fell asleep.

* * *

Harrings inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when the pilot slumped over and began to snore
soundly. He had the feeling the boy'd be a huge nuisance. Cursing his luck of becoming the
second-in-command on the Gundam expedition, he lifted the long-haired pilot in his arms and
surveyed the progress on the salvage operation.

"Sir!" one of the young, idealistic privates ran up and saluted Harrings. "Preliminary
determinations on the debris have been made, sir!"

Harrings sighed faintly, feeling a headache coming on. Today would be a long day. "Go on,
Private."
"Prelimary studies reveal a strong possibility the Gundam that self-destructed was Gundam 02, sir.
The Aries that performed the . . ."

Harrings stopped listening at the words 'Gundam 02.' //THAT Gundam?? This boy is the pilot of
. . . Gundam 02?// Glancing at the slightly-troubled, but otherwise innocent face of the
15-year-old in his arms, he began to feel a little flame of hatred rising in his heart.

Gundam 02 had killed his brother.

* * *

Several hours later . . .

* * *

Duo groaned and sat up - and immediately regretted the effort as his thin frame reminded him of
the numerous injuries he'd sustained. Groaning again, he flopped back on the floor and tried to
ignore the throbbing of his wounds. He was more than a little suprised to find the huge, bleeding
gash across his hip had been dressed and his complex fracture bound tightly, if not casted.
//Guess they do hafta keep me alive,// he thought wryly.

//Damn . . . where am I?//

The room was lit by a single lamp hanging in the middle of the room, but was otherwise dark. It
seemed to be made of classic plaster and tile, like a classroom. Duo glared at the wall. He was
willing to bet they hadn't picked up on the mini-detonators in the heel of his boots - Duo was
proud of the assortment of break-and-enter materials he could hide on his person - so it would be
a good chance he could blow out the wall and take off.

Haha. Duo rolled his eyes. Not even OZ was that stupid. Reinforced steel probably hid behind
the paint job. With a snort his lifted his head enough to turn it and look at the door.

Not even a LOCK!? Duo dropped his head back to the floor heavily. So much for escape now.
Besides, at the moment he didn't even have a clue as to Heero's location, so it probably would
have been futile to attempt to locate him. Duo imagined accidentally walking into the sleeping
quarters of a keep of OZ soldiers and shuddered. Yuck.

The door slid open, startling Duo, who scrambled to his feet, ignoring his injuries for the moment
even as they screamed in protest. Stumbling before regaining his balance, he scowled at the
incoming OZ soldiers.

"On your feet already?" asked a mildly mocking Harrings, stepping in behind a beefy man. "I'm a
little suprised." Duo watched longingly as the door shut behind the sergant, but running out that
door, unarmed and injured, would have done absolutely no good. First he needed a gun. Then,
he needed Heero, Spandex Superboy. After that, Duo could accomplish anything at all.
Duo shifted his gaze to the large soldier with Harrings and winced a little. He could already see
where this was going. Any street kid who'd ever owed money knew. All Duo could do was pray
it was over quick.

Harrings leaned against the wall just inside the door. "Meet Private Ferris," he said with a smug
smile.

Duo rolled his eyes over to the beefy soldier. "I see."

"Private Ferris is here to make sure you cooperate. I'm sure we'll have your full compliance?"

Duo glared at Harrings. //At least the silence code makes things simple.//

Harrings glared right back, a smirk pulling at his mouth. "First of all - what is the name of your
companion? Which Gundam does he pilot?"

Silence.

"Gundam pilot 02, may I remind you that Private Ferris *will* enforce an answer."

Silence.

"Answer me or answer to Ferris!" Harrings roared.

"I f***ing HEARD you!" Duo shouted back. "Screw you and your little OZ friends!"

Immediately a big, beefy fist drove itself into Duo's cheek, sending Duo stumbling into the wall so
hard he felt as if he'd dislocated the shoulder he landed on. He collapsed to the ground against the
wall as he lost his footing. The fist was followed up with a foot to Duo's ribcage, and despite all
efforts to contain it, a scream ripped out of Duo's throat as air whooshed out of his lungs and
somthing cracked - again. Wheezing, Duo curled around his middle and squeezed his eyes shut
against the pain of breathing as he swore not to cry.

Footsteps indicated the approach of Harrings, and Duo opened his eyes to look up at the sergant.

"You know I can have much worse done to you," Harrings said.

Duo nodded mutely, not knowing how else to respond.

"Then why don't you tell me what I want to know?"

Duo opened his mouth to reply and was surprised when he choked and felt a thick, salty taste in
his mouth. Swallowing back the blood, he shook his head instead.

One of Ferris' big hands grabbed the front of Duo's shirt and dragged him upright, hoisting him
right off the ground and holding him there. Harrings' fingers wrapped around Duo' jawline and
turned the boy's head to face him. "Just between you and me," he nearly whispered, "I would love
to see you suffer, rot in prison, and die. And I can make it so. Do you want to die that way, or
painlessly - an execution with a hanging? Because if you answer me, that's all it'll be. Quick and
simple."

Duo listened, scowling, then smirked as Harring's wrapped up. "Then let's you and me make a
bet," he suggested hoarsely. "I bet you can't do any worse to me than has already been done.
And I've been through a LOT."

Harrings scowled. "That would be a foolish bet to make, boy." He dropped his hand from Duo's
neck and looked up at Ferris. "Give him something to cry about."

Duo grimaced. This was going to hurt . . .

Ferris grinned ferally and slammed a big old fist into Duo's torso before dropping him. Duo let all
the air in his lungs out with a whoosh as he fell, stumbling. Ferris followed up with another
punch, then another, until Duo slid to the ground, choking on the blood that kept rising in his
throat.

Harrings watched everything coldly. "I hope you learn something from this," he said quietly. "If
you don't . . . " he sighed as if regretting something.

"Stop the bullshit," Duo growled thickly, and a trickle of blood slid from the corner of his mouth
to his chin. "What happens if I don't?"

"Then I guess we'll just have to use your fellow pilot as an example . . . I'm sure no one will mind
if I kill him."

Duo winced, grinding his teeth together. //Heero . . . damn it! Damn damn damn damn damn . . .
// Not even the Perfect Soldier was likely to survive being beheaded or a hanging or a firing
squad. As he struggled to find an appropriate reply, Ferris settled the issue by landing a final fist
in that magic place in Duo's stomach, sending the boy into blessed unconciousness.

* * *

4 hours to landing.

Trowa checked the ETA again and settled back in the pilot seat of the air carrier. It would be a
long day; he prepared to fall asleep and let the autopilot take over.

As he closed his eyes, he couldn't help thinking about Quatre. The young Arabian had spent -
Trowa did a few quick calculations - 42 hours straight awake. During that time he had exerted all
his influence as the Winner heir to obtain the air carrier for the Heavyarms Kai and the Sandrock
Kai and worried himself about Duo and Heero's safety almost to the point of a heart attack.
Finally the boy had fallen asleep an hour ago, only after Trowa had assured him he was fine
piloting the large carrier alone, and only after being reminded that worrying about Duo and Heero
wouldn't make sure they were safe.

Trowa frowned slightly, being a bit worried himself about the condition of his fellow pilots.
Heero would be okay; Heero could withstand Gundam explosions. Duo . . . well, Duo could be
knocked out by a punch in the stomach. Trowa supposed there was some sensitive spot down
there that made Duo vulnerable, but it didn't really bode well for the rest of his body. Besides
which, Duo still acted like a kid.

Trowa thought about that for a moment. Sometimes Duo acted with remarkable clarity, but most
of the time he acted plain dumb. How much of that laughter and those smiles were genuine, and
how much were just a mask - like the mask of indifference Trowa himself wore?

If Duo survived this mess, Trowa was going to have to talk to him.

* * *

Once again Duo woke up in an unfamiliar room. Moaning, he forced himself to sit up despite his
older and newer injuries all screaming in protest and a splitting headache threatening to
overwhelm his skull. //Today is *not* a good day,// he thought darkly, waiting for his eyes to
adjust to the darkness of his new cell.

This cell was much darker, and much larger. There was no facade here, and the room appeared to
be made of steel or some other durable metal. The door, much to Duo's delight, had a lock - but
it was a 7-button code, meaning it could take hours to crack.

Duo himself was on a small, hard cot, and a First Aid Kit with a message attached - ~~Keep your
friend and yourself alive~~ - was next to his leg. Duo blinked at it, then looked up to see another
cot. This one had a *still* sleeping Heero on it, attached to an IV. Duo grimaced a little at
Heero - the Perfect Soldier lying on a bed strapped to an IV didn't jive with Duo's image of his
partner-in-terrorism.

Swinging his legs over the bed, Duo took a deep breath, winced at the pain, and stood up on
wobbly legs. For a moment he just stood there, trying not to fall. Once he gained his balance, he
pulled his cot over next to Heero's and sat down on it, opening the First Aid box and preparing to
clean Heero up.

* * *

The first thing Heero noticed was excruciating pain in both legs and his arm, and the next thing he
noticed was how much it hurt to breathe. Then he realized someone was pushing his shirt up his
chest.

That wasn't right. Struggling, he tried to move from his supine position, but something had his
arms tightly secured to one another, making it difficult without pain. Abruptly he heard a gentle,
semi-desparate voice murmur in Japanese, "Maa, maa. Daijoubu, Heero-san, Daijoubu!"
Something was familiar about the voice, but he ignored it and lifted his knee towards the voice
forcefully, striking something.

"OW! Dammit, Heero!" Immediately the perfectly inflected Japanese disappeared into a string of
American curses just as Heero finally managed to open his eyes. "Holy f-in' . . . shit Heero, you
just *had* to hit me in the *ribs*, didn't you!?"

Duo Maxwell was sitting next to the Japanese pilot, curled around his clutched chest area with his
eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenched. He didn't look to be in any better shape than Heero felt.
"I didn't know you knew any Japanese outside of curses," Heero said, realizing his voice was
raspy and hoarse from dehydration and lack of use. "I mistook you." It wasn't an apology,
merely an explanation of a path of action.

One of Duo's violet eyes opened and examined him. "Yeah, well . . . all that manga-reading had
to pay off, right? Besides, L2's a pretty mixed colony - can't live there long without learning some
other languages. Can't read much of it - Japanese, I mean." He straightened again with a wince,
then directed, "Lay down and don't move so I can get these bandages around you."

Heero frowned slightly and tried to remember what had transpired before he had blacked out, but
all he found was a big 'blank'. Frustrated slightly by the memory loss, he asked, "Where are we
and how did we get here?"

Duo who was about to apply antiseptic to Heero's midsection, paused, then visibly paled.
"Actually . . . well, um . . ."

Heero applied the Glare of Death(TM), and the self-proclaimed God of Death flinched slightly.
"Tell me."

The braided pilot took a deep breath.
"We'reinanOZfacilitybecauseIhadtoblowuptheWingandthenDeathscythecrashedandIhadtoblowitup
butOZfoundourcrashsite," he gushed out.

Heero actually blinked, then lowered his brows into his customary pissed look. "You WHAT!?"
he growled, causing the other pilot to flinch.

"Um . . . well, it's a long story . . . hell, we aren't going anywhere . . . " and Duo launched into a
full synopsis of the past 2 days.

"Omae o korosu." Heero gave Duo another Death Glare as the boy finished the lengthy story.

Duo sighed heavily and once again began to apply antiseptic to the laceration and burns Heero
had sustained. "Get in line. Anyway, you'll hafta wait 'til your mobile," he pointed out. "This'll
sting." Duo gently rubbed the cleanser onto Heero's chest.
"Why didn't you blow us up with your Gundam?" Heero demanded, ignoring the sting of the
antiseptic.

"I . . . I had hoped that there would be achance at rescue," Duo answered, then grimaced at
something. "Brace yourself." Heero felt a suddn, sharp pain, then Duo held up a bloody slice of
Gundanium. "This was in your side." He tossed the piece aside and bent over Heero again.

Heero felt the slightest bit of agitation at Duo's inattentiveness. Supressing the emotion
ruthlessly, he snapped, "We'd better off dead than in OZ's hands."

Duo's eyes flickered up to meet Heero's, and a dangerous gleam was there. "That's what *you*
think. In between life and death, Heero, always choose life if you can! Cling to the chance,
Heero! You and your goddamn kamikaze attitude . . . maybe it's the Japanese blood . . ." Heero
glared at Duo, and the latter actually rolled his eyes this time. "You're attached to an IV, Heero.
You're not gonna look very intimidating."

Heero averted his eyes to the ceiling and wondered for just an instant what made Duo so immune
to his death threats. Then he realized that such a train of thought was extraneous and shouldn't be
an issue. //Both Duo and Relena,// he thought. //They both make me thing of strange things . . .//
"You know to keep that huge mouth of yours shut, don't you?"

A huff of annoyance came from the direction of the braided pilot. "I'm not quite that thick,
Heero."

"Good." There there was an extensive silence.

"I'm also not gonna give up that easily, Heero."

Heero snorted. "What do you plan to do? We know nothing about this plce. To attempt escape
would be suicide." He turned his head to look at the other pilot.

Duo looked up to meet Heero's eyes, a smirk flickering across his lips. "I thought you'd be just

fine with that . . . oh, stop glaring at me like that. I take it back." He carefully tugged Hero's shirt
back over his stomach. "But seriously . . . It's been at least a day, maybe two since the
schueduled mission. By the time I blew up Deathscythe, Trowa and Quatre may have already
found our location. Which would mean they'll be here sometime in the next 8 hours, I think." He
smiled vaugely. "Maybe we could send a flare up to help them find us, or . . . " he shurgged. "I
dunno."

"Baka." Heero pressed his pis together. "You don't even have a way out of this cell. Don't be a
stupid captive."

"Better'n being a dead one," Duo noted.

"Sometimes one equals the other," Heero pointed out coldly. One thing alone could be credited
to Duo Maxwell, and that was his stubborness.

"And sometimes one can save you from being the other," Duo shot back. "Besides, I do have a
way out of this cell. There's a 7-number code lock on the door, and I have this." Duo reached
back and produced a lockpick from somewhere in his braid.

Heero struggled to sit up. "This is crazy."

"Thank you." Duo grinned lopsidedly, and for the first time Heero noticed the large bruise on his
cheek. It looked like the bone underneath had been broken. "If we die escaping, it's still better
than alive and captive, right?" Duo threw Heero's own philosophy back at him.

Heero glared at him. "If we survive this, I *will* kill you."

* * *

Maa, maa - comfort sounds
Daijoubu - It's okay
Omae o korosu - Altogether now: "I'm going to kill you."

I finally finished the sixth chapter! yay! THank you to all who wrote and asked me to finish.
Chapter seven and the epilouge are coming (hopefully) soon!