Runaway
Based on the song by Linkin Park of the same name
Duo looked up as he pushed the button on the cross walk to cross the street. Graffiti covered the sign and the sidewalk around it. Duo pulled his cap on tighter as he stared into the sky. It was gray as dust and looked as if it would rain soon. Duo was full of mixed emotions. He was so confused that he didn't pay any attention to where he was walking. Duo was mad because Heero had all of sudden disappeared and hadn't bothered to tell anyone where he was going. Heero had promised that he would stay put and try to live a normal life but not even a month later and he had broken that trust that Duo had in him. Up until a day earlier Duo had been looking for him but had had no luck. Trying to stop the emotions Duo looked around to see where he had subconsciously taken himself, it was Trowa's neighborhood. In fact he was only a block away from Trowa's apartment, only Trowa wasn't there. In fact, that was why Duo had stopped looking for Heero. Trowa had been found dead in his apartment early the morning before, murdered. And Duo was being blamed for it. The police had already talked with Duo, they hadn't arrested him but he knew that it would only be a matter of time.
*flashback*
"Did you or did you not murder Trowa Barton?"
Duo stared at the cop through narrow slits of his eyes. "I told you no!" he said with pure hate in his voice.
"Now, Mr. Maxwell, you don't have to have such a bad attitude about this. You said that we could ask you a couple of questions."
Duo turned in his chair to look at the other cop that had been searching his apartment. Duo wished now that he had demanded a search warrant he didn't realize that they were going to accuse him of murdering one of his friends.
"Look, right now we don't have very solid evidence that you were the one who murdered Trowa Barton"
"Then why are you asking me if I did it 10 times?" Duo interrupted.
"I haven't asked you 10 times I only asked yo-"
"3 but that's enough" Duo interrupted once more. "I told you that I didn't do it and I don't know who did! And I would appreciate it if you would stop wasting your time with me and get out of here and try to find the real killer!"
"Come on, let's go." The 2nd cop said. "We're not getting anywhere here and his place is clean."
Duo watched them leave as he walked to the bathroom to take a shower. As he turned on the water tears gathered in his eyes but he pushed them back in and told himself that it was just the steam.
*end flashback*
Duo turned down a different street so that he wouldn't have to walk by Trowa's apartment. The cops were most likely still there and they might want to question him again. Duo had gotten a call that morning telling him not to leave town. Duo now toyed with the idea, after all, when had he ever listened to the cops? But just as Duo turned the corner he saw the two cops who had come to his apartment the day before. Duo cursed under his breath when he saw them and turned around, hoping that hadn't seen him.
"Mr. Maxwell! Mr. Maxwell!" one of the cops yelled as he and his partner ran after Duo.
Duo stopped and turned. "Look I have nothing to say to you." Duo said.
"What were you doing here?" the cops asked when the caught up with Duo.
"Taking a walk, is that a crime?"
"No but why were you talking a walk in the same neighborhood where your friend used to live?"
"I didn't come here on purpose, it was subconscious."
"Or maybe you just came from killing Wufei Chang?"
Duo looked at them with pure disgust. "For your information it's Chang Wufei, it's Chinese custom to say the last name first and, I just talked with him this morning, he's not dead."
"Don't play stupid with us, Mr. Chang was found dead in his car just an hour ago in the parking garage of where he used to live. He was shot, just like Mr. Barton. How long have you been out walking?"
"45 minutes and I have a witness as to when I left. I checked my mail before I left my apartment and the guard saw me and I bet there's a surveillance camera that places me at my apartment and not Wufei's!"
"The surveillance cameras at Mr. Chang's building were shut off for repair and until we can confirm your alibi we're going to have to take you in for further questioning."
"I did not kill my friends!" Duo yelled as he turned and ran. The cops chased him but luckily Duo was in better shape than they were so it didn't take long for Duo to loose them. After Duo was sure he had lost them he stopped to catch his breath.
Rain started to fall as the clouds let out their fury. Duo felt like punching the brick wall out of anger. Once again his eyes teared up as he remembered that two of his friends had been murdered. His anger returned just as quickly when he remembered that he was being blamed for the deaths. He blamed his tears on the rain and prepared to cross the street. As he was waiting to cross he thought he heard someone yelling for help in the ally way to his left and on the other side of the street. Suddenly there was a loud crash of thunder but Duo thought that he might have heard a gun shot as well. Duo started to cross the street with his eyes still on the alleyway as a man walked out and looked around. The man put something in his coat pocket. A gun. As the man looked in Duo's direction the two met eyes. Recognition hit Duo in an instant.
"Heero!" Duo yelled.
Heero ran in the other direction and Duo ran after him. As Duo ran past the alley way he lost sight of Heero and was about to keep chasing him when he remembered the supposed gunshot. Duo turned back down the alley.
"You might not want to go down there." An old man said as he took another drink from the bottle he had hidden in a paper bag.
"Why?" Duo asked.
"Well not unless you want to see a dead man…"
Duo ran as fast as he could to the end of the alley.
Duo slid to a stop when he came to a body. Blood was pouring from a wound in the back of the head. The hands of the victim were tied behind their back, it looked like an execution. Duo turned the still warm body over. He stifled a cry when he saw who it was.
"HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME!" Duo yelled as he looked at the body of Quatre. A passer-by ran to find help and a moment later he returned with the two cops who had been chasing Duo. They ran up and saw the body.
"Duo Maxwell you are under arrest for the murder of three people."
Duo punched the fist cop and took his gun. He pointed it at the second cop who had had trouble getting his gun out of his holster. Both cops froze.
The tears now flowed freely down Duo's cheeks. The realization that his best friend had killed his other four friends was too much for Duo to bear. Duo put the gun to his forehead. As the cops ran forward Duo closed his eyes and pulled the trigger…
Heero watched silently from the shadows. He had doubled back to see what would happen. When Duo shot himself Heero smiled inwardly, Duo was next on his list. Now Heero wouldn't have to kill him. Why Heero took the job from the mysterious stranger, no one will know. Maybe it was because Heero decided to follow his heart and his heart told him to take the job and murder his friends. Heero was found dead in an abandoned warehouse less than 24 hours later. The police decided that it wasn't suicide. They figured that Heero had gone to collect his pay and his employer turned on him. But we will never know what really happened…
Owari…or is it?
