Heero had pretty much ransacked Duo's apartment. He felt only a little guilty, but he knew that if Duo knew the situation, he wouldn't mind. Heero needed some clothes and other things. He couldn't wear the same outfit forever. Duo's clothes fit him surprisingly well, and Heero had even managed to find some halfway normal clothes. He wondered if Duo ever actually wore them or if they had been presents that he'd stuck in the back of the closet. Heero did feel guilty at having to take some money, but that was also necessary. Heero'd run out of money, and he needed to get a shuttle ticket somehow.
Heero walked out of Duo's room with one of Duo's old suitcases. He was surprised to see Hilde sitting up on the couch, a hand to her head. She seemed disoriented.
"Where...Heero?" She asked.
"Duo's gone in with the rebellion now."
"The who?"
He really didn't feel like explaining. "You've missed a lot. Turn on the TV, and watch the news. It'll tell you all that happened." Heero moved to the door, briefly wondering if Duo's TV were broken along with everything else in the apartment.
"Wait, Heero! Where are you going?"
Heero looked back over his shoulder. "Earth. Relena's been shot."
"Shot? Wait! Heero!"
Heero didn't wait, though. He left the room, closing the door behind him. If she were really persistent, she'd follow him out and bug him some more, but she didn't.
Heero knew it was stupid to go to Earth. It was likely that people from the rebellion were waiting for him. Plus, he also felt some responsibility for Duo. After all, they were comrades, and he knew that Duo must not be in a very good situation. But he needed to see Relena.
Besides, maybe once he got to Earth, Zechs would decide to stay and watch his sister while Heero could slip away without his shadow.
****
Duo'd been in cells before. Hell, he'd been captured many times. He'd rate this cell at about an 8. It was actually well-lit, and he had a chair and a table. The food wasn't that bad, and the room temperature was pretty good. However, just the fact that they had locked him up knocked several points off.
The worst thing was that Duo hadn't been expecting this so he hadn't brought anything that could break him out. So he was stuck with being used by the rebellion to further their goals.
This sucks, Duo thought as he put his feet up on the table. On the plus side, the people were kinda nice. Bant, the guy who'd pretty much forced him into this, was always nice to him. Of course, that didn't change the fact that he was a prisoner, but it was better than the OZ soldiers that always beat him around.
Duo figured he'd just bide his time until the opportunity arose to break himself out. He didn't want to do anything that would risk getting Hilde or Heero killed. But...even at the expense of other people? Duo hated moral dilemmas.
Speaking of which, where was Heero? He was supposed to have been watching Duo's back. Duo hoped nothing had happened to him. Heero might not be the friendliest guy in the world, but Duo didn't want him hurt.
Duo heard the door opening behind him but ignored it. Fighting the guard wouldn't do him any good.
"Duo Maxwell. How'd you let yourself get talked into this one?" Duo recognized that voice.
He got up and turned around to see Noin standing in front of the door with her arms crossed.
"Noin! I don't suppose you're here to rescue me," he grinned.
"Not exactly. I'm a part of this rebellion."
"What?"
"It was the only way. Zechs and I stumbled across this rebellion while it was still relatively small. Zechs went to the earth to meet with the Preventers, and I decided to stay here and infiltrate the rebellion. I've been stuck here ever since."
"I see. So you're not really into this stuff, then?"
Noin shook her head. "I feel sorry for the people of L2, and I can understand some of what they're saying. But I don't believe that fighting is the answer. It just means that more innocent people will die."
"Yeah. I know."
"Duo, we're going to get you out. You can't do any good here."
"Yeah, but if I leave, they'll blow up my apartment. I don't think I could get there fast enough to help anything."
"I've got it covered. They're going to be preparing to send troops out to Earth tonight. You're supposed to go with them. That's when we'll get you out. You'll head straight to Earth and meet up with the Preventers. Got it?"
"Got it. What are you going to do?"
"I have to stay here. We need someone on the inside to see what they're doing. I've already been in so long that the rebels have a strong trust in me. I can't leave."
"Gotcha."
Noin turned around and put her hand on the doorknob. "Duo, if you meet up with Zechs at some point...tell him I'm okay."
Duo nodded. "Sure. I will."
She smiled. "Thanks."
Noin left.
Duo stood for a minute, then sat back down in the chair and put his feet up. Looks like he'd better rest up before the big event tonight.
****
"This is it," Sally said, looking up at the apartment building.
They'd met up with their contact not too long ago and had worked out the plan for tonight. Sally and Wufei would be preparing for the launch, but first they had some other business to attend to.
They got inside the building to the lobby area. Usually the word "lobby" conjures up a fairly high-class establishment, but the word is used lightly here. The room was simply an empty space with a desk and some couches.
"I'll go up and get her. You notify the landlord," Wufei said.
"Wufei," Sally said sternly, hands on her hips. "No offense, but I bet she'll be more willing to go with me than with you. You don't have the most welcoming personality."
Well, she was right. Wufei generally didn't like telling people that they had to evacuate. It was necessary now, though. Wufei nodded and waited for Sally to disappear into the actual residents' area.
****
Sally knocked on the door, loudly enough so that whoever was in there would hear, but not so loud as to give somebody a heart attack. The door opened slowly, and a young woman poked her head out.
"Yes?"
Sally smiled. She'd never actually met Hilde, but she'd heard about her. "Hilde, hello. My name is Sally Po, from the Preventers."
Hilde flung the door open. "Do you know where Duo is?"
"Yes, actually. And we're planning to get him later tonight. First I need you to get all your stuff. It's not safe here."
"Why not?"
Sally sighed, "I'll explain while you pack."
****
"These are their homes! I'm just supposed to tell all these people to leave?"
"Yes." Wufei crossed his arms and just stared at the landlord. The guy seemed to be a cross between really pissed and really skeptical.
"Who are you to tell me to evacuate my building?"
"I told you. My name is Chang Wufei. I'm with the Preventers." Wufei pulled out his wallet and flipped it to his ID card, showing it to the man.
That seemed to take some of the anger out of him.
"But...how long do we have?"
"Maximum is 7 hours, though I'd prefer if everyone were out in 5."
The landlord shook his head. "How the hell am I going to get all these people out of here in 5 hours?"
Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather they all die in 7 hours?"
"Wufei! Do you have things taken care of here?" Sally came up behind him. She had a knack for doing that.
"I believe so," Wufei turned to greet Sally and Hilde. Hilde seemed a bit shaken by something. No doubt Sally had told her exactly what had gone on.
They were to keep a special eye on Hilde. She'd obviously become an easy target for the rebels because of her connection to Duo. They couldn't let her be taken again.
"Oh, by the way, could you keep this quiet? We don't want word getting out of what we're doing," Sally said to the landlord.
"Keep it quiet!? How the hell am I supposed to do that?" The man seemed about to crack.
"Don't worry," Sally smiled. "We'll help as much as we can."
****
Murker had led them to a grimy bar a bit aways from their hotel. It was a quiet day outside. A couple pedestrians were walking, but most people must be staying inside. Trowa supposed that the threat of fighting had scared a lot of people. Once they reached the bar, Murker held up a hand.
"I should go in first, and...uh...explain the situation," he said.
Trowa nodded and turned to the street as the man left. "Did you actually leave your sword behind?" He asked Dorothy.
"Of course. Why?" Dorothy was staring across the street at a pet shop.
"Because you're going to have to get ready to fight bare-handed, then." Trowa crossed his arms and tilted his head down. He mentally counted off seconds.
"What?" Dorothy turned to him.
3, 2, 1.
Trowa straightened just as 3 men came rushing out of the bar. They didn't seem to be trying to hide anymore. The men had thought to take the two by surprise, but they hadn't expected that Trowa would guess what their plans were. Trowa grabbed one of the men by the sleeve and swung him around into the wall of the bar. Another man threw a punch at Trowa, but Trowa caught his arm and took a swing at his attacker.
He heard Dorothy giving a little battle cry. He figured that she could take care of herself. Right now he had more to worry about as it seemed that the men had reinforcements coming.
Trowa was caught by surprise as somebody grabbed him from behind. He'd gotten sloppy. While he struggled with that attacker, another man punched him in the face. Trowa elbowed the man at his back and turned, kneeing him in a rather sensitive area. He immediately swung around, throwing a punch at the man behind him.
"Trowa, they have guns!" Dorothy yelled just as Trowa heard a gun fire.
He turned around to face the unpleasant end of a pistol.
****
It was a fairly long flight to L4. Actually, it wasn't that long, but it felt like forever. Quatre normally tried to keep good posture, but he allowed himself to slouch down in the seat just this once. He looked out the window at the earth. It was still beautiful. It always had been. Quatre almost wished he didn't have to run the Winner business. Then he could go and live on Earth.
Lady Une sat across the aisle from him. She was also quiet. There were some various government officials, but, otherwise, the shuttle was fairly empty.
Quatre wished he could be more of a help. If he were just doing something, then he could take his mind off other things. Like if Heero were okay. Or where Trowa was. Quatre sighed. He wished that Trowa would've visited him at some point in the past year. They had gone their separate ways because they each had their own lives to live. Quatre had been okay with it at the time, but now he was starting to regret it.
"Hey! Turn on the TV!" Somebody called out. There were some whispered questions, but somebody got up and switched on the viewer at the front of the shuttle.
Quatre glanced up, wondering what was going on. Then he sat up straight. It was one of his sisters, Lira. But why?
"My name is Lira Juny Winner, acting head of the Winner estate. As you all know, the Winner family has dedicated their lives to helping those in space. We've given money and resources away to the people of the colonies so that they may live comfortably. However, some of you may not be aware of the conditions in one section of the colonies, the L2 section."
Quatre nearly fell out his seat. What was going on? Lira wasn't the acting head of the estate!
"Quatre?" Lady Une had come over to sit next to him. He just shook his head. He didn't know a thing about this.
****
"The L2 colonies live in poverty, and they are receiving no help from the government. We have done all we can, but we are also restricted in the amount of help we can give."
Trowa mentally thanked the large viewscreen that the city had and used the momentary distraction to disarm his opponent. He grabbed the gun and pointed it at his attackers. Then he looked back up at the viewscreen. He didn't like the way this sounded.
****
"The Winner family places the wellbeing of the colonies above the policies of the earth. That is why we have chosen to support the rebellion that has started on L2. We will do what is necessary to see that they are successful and that the L2 colonies are saved."
"What!?" Quatre cried out.
Lady Une put a hand on his shoulder. "Turn this shuttle around now! We aren't going to L4! Not with this," she ordered.
"Wait! I have to go there. I have to see why." Quatre stood up.
"Quatre," Lady Une started.
"I have to go!"
****
"This may come as a surprise as the Winner family has always practiced pacifism. However, we feel that this situation has reached a point where the only solution is to use force. The time for talking has ended, and now is the time for action."
The Winner family was supporting the rebellion? Quatre. No. Trowa knew that Quatre wouldn't have anything to do with that. That meant that they had done something to Quatre to keep him from interfering.
Trowa had paused too long. Somebody hit him in the back, and he fell onto the ground, the gun sliding out of his hand. The man aimed a gun at him, and Trowa knew that he didn't have the time to dodge. Not with his injured leg. He heard the shot and braced himself for the bullet. He never felt it.
The man fell over on top of Trowa. Trowa pushed him aside and looked up to see Dorothy pointing a gun at where the man had been standing. Her shoulder was bleeding from where a bullet had grazed her, but she was obviously okay. She pointed her gun at some new rebels that had appeared.
"Well, go!" She shouted as the men rushed towards her.
"What?" He got up slowly, afraid to put too much weight on his leg.
"I'll cover you! Now go to L4. Go help Quatre! He needs you right now!"
Trowa didn't say anything. He simply nodded and ran the other direction as best he could with his wounded leg. He picked up one of the guns as he left. It could come in handy later. Trowa heard the sounds of fighting behind him, and he knew that Dorothy would do all she could to keep the men away from him as he went to leave L2.
She was right. Quatre needed him now.
****
Quatre stared down at the pod's controls. It had taken a lot of convincing, but he had managed to persuade Lady Une to let him take one of the small pods that the shuttle had. He understood why the government officials couldn't go to L4, but Quatre had to get there. He had to see what was going on.