Chapter Six
Duo hadn't been asleep, that much was obvious. When Quatre came in, he found his friend crouched down in front of the window with a look of unhappy and intense concentration on his face.
"Duo?" Quatre asked tentatively.
The other pilot looked up. " Hi," he said softly. "You're looking a lot better, walking and everything." He gestured for Quatre to come over.
"Yes, I'm feeling a bit better, but Sarah says not to push it." He knelt down next to Duo, and looked at whatever his friend was looking at.
"This window gets a good view," Duo said. "It's been my main view of the outside all week. At least there's not as much rain here as there is back on earth."
Quatre examined the little gadget Duo had found. It was obviously a recording device. So they weren't to have privacy even here. They could smash the thing of course, but there was no guarantee that this was the only one, and smashing it would give away the fact that they knew they were being watched.
Quatre only half listened as Duo kept up a seemingly endless stream of small talk, most of which focused on the weather and the state of Quatre's health.
"Maybe when the sun comes out you'll start feeling better. They say that the weather can really affect a person's health. Do you have a window?"
Quatre shook his head. "No, but I can't imagine that looking out over a parking lot will improve me any." He sat back and regarded their little eavesdropper. Clearly they couldn't plan an escape right now, but there were other things that needed talking about, and perhaps they could throw their listeners off the track.
"I spoke with Sarah before I come over here," he began, quietly.
Duo looked up. "Oh?" he said. "And what did you talk about? The joys of sibling rivalries? Infectious diseases? By now you two should have plenty of topics for conversation." He smiled wryly.
"I think she was trying to apologize." Quatre hoped that his lies would sound convincing. "I'm not sure if I handled it very well. I sort of blew her off. But maybe she meant it. Maybe she really has changed. Maybe we can trust her."
"Maybe you have a temperature," Duo replied, frowning.
Quatre gestured to the chip. "She is my sister, after all. There were some jealousies between us when we were children, but that's over now. Maybe we've both finally grown up. I have to give her a chance, Duo."
Duo frowned. He didn't know quite what Quatre was up to, but he was willing to follow along. "I'll be honest with you; I don't like her. But you have to do whatever you think is right." He stood. "Do you think you can walk? I don't think you should strain yourself, but some exercise might be good."
"You're probably right."
Quatre allowed Duo to help him to his feet, and they left the room.
"Do you think they planted stuff on us too?" Duo asked.
"If they did, there's nothing we can do about it. I don't think so though. Sarah spoke freely enough when we were in the hall. It was just in the room that she was careful. We'll have to hope they didn't, because if so, there's nothing we can do. We can't use Breese all the time; it's too slow, and they'd figure it out soon enough." He stopped and turned to face Duo, leaning against the wall, ostensibly to rest. "It has to be now, Duo. We've got to leave. I don't know the details, but I have a nasty feeling that Sarah is up to something. She wants to run some tests on me." He frowned. "I'm not going to stick around here and wind up as some sort of specimen on her lab table."
"Did she really apologize?"
"Yes, but it was just an act. She said as much in the hall." He sighed. "She also seemed to realize that we were planning a break out for tonight. She threatened to kill you if we tried. But she may have been bluffing."
Duo shook his head. "It was no bluff, Cat. They've been playing gentle with us, iron fist in a velvet glove and all of that, but I don't doubt that she could do it, if she wanted to."
Quatre turned despairing eyes towards him. "So what do we do? I won't stay here, Duo, I just won't. We've given so much of ourselves to this horror, I can't lose this too."
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking, but we're under what appears to be a sort of martial law now. I didn't want to worry you when you first woke up, but I haven't been allowed to leave the hospital since your sister got here. At first it was reasonable; they didn't want the plague to spread. Isolation made sense, but that danger has passed. I think OZ may have taken over this colony."
"So they've succeeded. Damn."
"We can worry about a failed mission later. Right now we have to worry about ourselves, and getting out of here."
Quatre turned to look at him, startled. This was Duo's home. He had been the one most passionately concerned about its welfare. Now he didn't seem to really care at all.
"Are you sure you're okay about this?"
Duo nodded. "Yeah. It's just another colony now."
That was when Quatre's sixth sense woke up. "It was that person that died, the one you said you knew."
"Well, she's dead now. This colony is just like any other to me now. Maybe a few more memories, but nothing special." He looked down, his face set in a calm mask of total despair. His eyes were dry. Any tears that had needed to be shed had come and gone already, and would not return.
'This is why I fight OZ,' Quatre realized. 'To stop this sort of thing; to prevent anyone from ever looking the way Duo does right now. No one should have to be woken up by a phone-call at two AM to be told that they're beloved child or spouse is dead, and will never come home again. No one should have to hold a friend's hand, and feel it growing colder and colder as the minutes pass. These things shouldn't be.' At that moment he knew what Duo was going through.
"We'll get out," he said softly. "We'll get out tonight. We can meet up with Heero and Trowa, and make a plan. We'll make those responsible for this horror pay, Duo. We will make them pay, or we'll die in the attempt."
Duo looked up. "Don't say that, Quatre," he said very quietly. "Don't ever talk like that. If you become vindictive, I'm giving up all hope for the human race."
Quatre was surprised to find his voice shake when he replied, "I'm just afraid that if we don't do something, they will." Images crashed upon his mind. "They'll turn everything into death and destruction. They'll take our pathetic, persecuted world, plunge it into darkness, and eat it alive and howling." His voice had sped up, and he put up a hand to block the flickers or red and black that flashed across his vision.
Duo stepped back, almost afraid of the words themselves. "Quatre," he said sharply. "Quatre stop. What are you talking about?"
He opened his eyes. "I don't know. Nonsense mostly; a bit of subconscious nightmare coming back at me. Probably Sarah's mucking about with my mind knocked a few screws loose. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."
"What exactly did Sarah do?"
"She went off into a tangent about my being a 'new-type.' I'd never heard to that, have you?"
"I've heard a few things. Is that what happened this morning? I saw your face, and heard you say hello. I thought I was going to die for a minute, it hurt so badly."
Quatre stared. "You actually heard me?"
"I think I did."
"That's it. We've got to get out of here. Sarah is eager as a kitten to exploit these abilities. I'm interested, but I'm not interested enough to let her anywhere near this. She's the type who would think first of how to use anything to kill people. I've already devoted far too much of myself to that ugly art. You have as well. Everything of any value we had has gone into it: Our skills, our intelligence, our families, our time, even our very will probably end up being given to it. I can't let this new ability of mine be used for murder."
Duo was thinking. "I wish I had more contacts in this hospital. Vincla was the only one I knew very well, but she died."
Quatre decided not to comment on the unusual coincidence. Of all the people to get the plague, the only one who dies is the one person who might have been of help getting them out. It was possible, or course. It just seemed a little too convenient.
"The doors are all kept locked, at least from the inside. Even doctors don't have keys; they have to get an OZ soldier or someone to let them out."
"There are soldiers here?"
Duo nodded. "You haven't seen them because you haven't been down on the lower floors, but they're everywhere. They're at least two or more beside every door, and they check everyone's IDs before they let them out."
"So even if we could get a hold of the keys somehow, we'd still have the guards to deal with. Anything else?"
"Well, they know what we look like, and they know that you're OZ's pet project right now. They're not going to let you just waltz out of here."
"What about you?"
"They'll just shoot me. I have no intrinsic value to them. They've kept me around because Sarah said that first communication would be easier with someone you already knew pretty well."
"You knew about this?"
"Only bits and pieces. I've been eavesdropping a bit, but none of it made any sense until just now."
But Quatre was still thinking. "Assuming we can get the keys, will there be any other difficulty in getting out?"
"You mean besides the guards? Well, that's it for the hospital. But keep in mind: I haven't been able to leave the building since OZ got here. Like I said, we're under martial law. For all I know, the streets are cluttered with soldiers, or we might be able to make a clean get away. There's no way of telling."
"Okay. There's nothing we can do about the unknowns. But have you seen anything out of your window that we should worry about?"
"I've seen a few soldiers here and there, but if we're quick and cautious we should be able to avoid them. The main problem is the soldiers in the building; and getting the keys, but you have a plan for that?"
"I may, though I'm not sure if it will work. But what about the guards?"
Duo looked thoughtful. "You know, those doors are locked by electricity. It's a stupid way of doing things. There was a lot to be said for a good old-fashioned padlock. If I can disconnect the power, not only do we unlock the doors, but we also leave those boys in the dark. They'll never see us coming, and they definitely won't see us go."
"Can you do that? That is, without getting yourself shot?"
"Yeah, I think so. What about you? Will you be all right?"
"I should be. If things work out."
"What if-" he had been about to say 'what if they don't?' but he swallowed the words before the escaped. Things had to work out. There not working out just wasn't an acceptable possibility. "Good luck, Quatre."
"Same to you. And Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't need anyone else to die for me. Be careful."
"Will do."
Duo hadn't been asleep, that much was obvious. When Quatre came in, he found his friend crouched down in front of the window with a look of unhappy and intense concentration on his face.
"Duo?" Quatre asked tentatively.
The other pilot looked up. " Hi," he said softly. "You're looking a lot better, walking and everything." He gestured for Quatre to come over.
"Yes, I'm feeling a bit better, but Sarah says not to push it." He knelt down next to Duo, and looked at whatever his friend was looking at.
"This window gets a good view," Duo said. "It's been my main view of the outside all week. At least there's not as much rain here as there is back on earth."
Quatre examined the little gadget Duo had found. It was obviously a recording device. So they weren't to have privacy even here. They could smash the thing of course, but there was no guarantee that this was the only one, and smashing it would give away the fact that they knew they were being watched.
Quatre only half listened as Duo kept up a seemingly endless stream of small talk, most of which focused on the weather and the state of Quatre's health.
"Maybe when the sun comes out you'll start feeling better. They say that the weather can really affect a person's health. Do you have a window?"
Quatre shook his head. "No, but I can't imagine that looking out over a parking lot will improve me any." He sat back and regarded their little eavesdropper. Clearly they couldn't plan an escape right now, but there were other things that needed talking about, and perhaps they could throw their listeners off the track.
"I spoke with Sarah before I come over here," he began, quietly.
Duo looked up. "Oh?" he said. "And what did you talk about? The joys of sibling rivalries? Infectious diseases? By now you two should have plenty of topics for conversation." He smiled wryly.
"I think she was trying to apologize." Quatre hoped that his lies would sound convincing. "I'm not sure if I handled it very well. I sort of blew her off. But maybe she meant it. Maybe she really has changed. Maybe we can trust her."
"Maybe you have a temperature," Duo replied, frowning.
Quatre gestured to the chip. "She is my sister, after all. There were some jealousies between us when we were children, but that's over now. Maybe we've both finally grown up. I have to give her a chance, Duo."
Duo frowned. He didn't know quite what Quatre was up to, but he was willing to follow along. "I'll be honest with you; I don't like her. But you have to do whatever you think is right." He stood. "Do you think you can walk? I don't think you should strain yourself, but some exercise might be good."
"You're probably right."
Quatre allowed Duo to help him to his feet, and they left the room.
"Do you think they planted stuff on us too?" Duo asked.
"If they did, there's nothing we can do about it. I don't think so though. Sarah spoke freely enough when we were in the hall. It was just in the room that she was careful. We'll have to hope they didn't, because if so, there's nothing we can do. We can't use Breese all the time; it's too slow, and they'd figure it out soon enough." He stopped and turned to face Duo, leaning against the wall, ostensibly to rest. "It has to be now, Duo. We've got to leave. I don't know the details, but I have a nasty feeling that Sarah is up to something. She wants to run some tests on me." He frowned. "I'm not going to stick around here and wind up as some sort of specimen on her lab table."
"Did she really apologize?"
"Yes, but it was just an act. She said as much in the hall." He sighed. "She also seemed to realize that we were planning a break out for tonight. She threatened to kill you if we tried. But she may have been bluffing."
Duo shook his head. "It was no bluff, Cat. They've been playing gentle with us, iron fist in a velvet glove and all of that, but I don't doubt that she could do it, if she wanted to."
Quatre turned despairing eyes towards him. "So what do we do? I won't stay here, Duo, I just won't. We've given so much of ourselves to this horror, I can't lose this too."
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking, but we're under what appears to be a sort of martial law now. I didn't want to worry you when you first woke up, but I haven't been allowed to leave the hospital since your sister got here. At first it was reasonable; they didn't want the plague to spread. Isolation made sense, but that danger has passed. I think OZ may have taken over this colony."
"So they've succeeded. Damn."
"We can worry about a failed mission later. Right now we have to worry about ourselves, and getting out of here."
Quatre turned to look at him, startled. This was Duo's home. He had been the one most passionately concerned about its welfare. Now he didn't seem to really care at all.
"Are you sure you're okay about this?"
Duo nodded. "Yeah. It's just another colony now."
That was when Quatre's sixth sense woke up. "It was that person that died, the one you said you knew."
"Well, she's dead now. This colony is just like any other to me now. Maybe a few more memories, but nothing special." He looked down, his face set in a calm mask of total despair. His eyes were dry. Any tears that had needed to be shed had come and gone already, and would not return.
'This is why I fight OZ,' Quatre realized. 'To stop this sort of thing; to prevent anyone from ever looking the way Duo does right now. No one should have to be woken up by a phone-call at two AM to be told that they're beloved child or spouse is dead, and will never come home again. No one should have to hold a friend's hand, and feel it growing colder and colder as the minutes pass. These things shouldn't be.' At that moment he knew what Duo was going through.
"We'll get out," he said softly. "We'll get out tonight. We can meet up with Heero and Trowa, and make a plan. We'll make those responsible for this horror pay, Duo. We will make them pay, or we'll die in the attempt."
Duo looked up. "Don't say that, Quatre," he said very quietly. "Don't ever talk like that. If you become vindictive, I'm giving up all hope for the human race."
Quatre was surprised to find his voice shake when he replied, "I'm just afraid that if we don't do something, they will." Images crashed upon his mind. "They'll turn everything into death and destruction. They'll take our pathetic, persecuted world, plunge it into darkness, and eat it alive and howling." His voice had sped up, and he put up a hand to block the flickers or red and black that flashed across his vision.
Duo stepped back, almost afraid of the words themselves. "Quatre," he said sharply. "Quatre stop. What are you talking about?"
He opened his eyes. "I don't know. Nonsense mostly; a bit of subconscious nightmare coming back at me. Probably Sarah's mucking about with my mind knocked a few screws loose. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."
"What exactly did Sarah do?"
"She went off into a tangent about my being a 'new-type.' I'd never heard to that, have you?"
"I've heard a few things. Is that what happened this morning? I saw your face, and heard you say hello. I thought I was going to die for a minute, it hurt so badly."
Quatre stared. "You actually heard me?"
"I think I did."
"That's it. We've got to get out of here. Sarah is eager as a kitten to exploit these abilities. I'm interested, but I'm not interested enough to let her anywhere near this. She's the type who would think first of how to use anything to kill people. I've already devoted far too much of myself to that ugly art. You have as well. Everything of any value we had has gone into it: Our skills, our intelligence, our families, our time, even our very will probably end up being given to it. I can't let this new ability of mine be used for murder."
Duo was thinking. "I wish I had more contacts in this hospital. Vincla was the only one I knew very well, but she died."
Quatre decided not to comment on the unusual coincidence. Of all the people to get the plague, the only one who dies is the one person who might have been of help getting them out. It was possible, or course. It just seemed a little too convenient.
"The doors are all kept locked, at least from the inside. Even doctors don't have keys; they have to get an OZ soldier or someone to let them out."
"There are soldiers here?"
Duo nodded. "You haven't seen them because you haven't been down on the lower floors, but they're everywhere. They're at least two or more beside every door, and they check everyone's IDs before they let them out."
"So even if we could get a hold of the keys somehow, we'd still have the guards to deal with. Anything else?"
"Well, they know what we look like, and they know that you're OZ's pet project right now. They're not going to let you just waltz out of here."
"What about you?"
"They'll just shoot me. I have no intrinsic value to them. They've kept me around because Sarah said that first communication would be easier with someone you already knew pretty well."
"You knew about this?"
"Only bits and pieces. I've been eavesdropping a bit, but none of it made any sense until just now."
But Quatre was still thinking. "Assuming we can get the keys, will there be any other difficulty in getting out?"
"You mean besides the guards? Well, that's it for the hospital. But keep in mind: I haven't been able to leave the building since OZ got here. Like I said, we're under martial law. For all I know, the streets are cluttered with soldiers, or we might be able to make a clean get away. There's no way of telling."
"Okay. There's nothing we can do about the unknowns. But have you seen anything out of your window that we should worry about?"
"I've seen a few soldiers here and there, but if we're quick and cautious we should be able to avoid them. The main problem is the soldiers in the building; and getting the keys, but you have a plan for that?"
"I may, though I'm not sure if it will work. But what about the guards?"
Duo looked thoughtful. "You know, those doors are locked by electricity. It's a stupid way of doing things. There was a lot to be said for a good old-fashioned padlock. If I can disconnect the power, not only do we unlock the doors, but we also leave those boys in the dark. They'll never see us coming, and they definitely won't see us go."
"Can you do that? That is, without getting yourself shot?"
"Yeah, I think so. What about you? Will you be all right?"
"I should be. If things work out."
"What if-" he had been about to say 'what if they don't?' but he swallowed the words before the escaped. Things had to work out. There not working out just wasn't an acceptable possibility. "Good luck, Quatre."
"Same to you. And Duo?"
"Yeah?"
"I don't need anyone else to die for me. Be careful."
"Will do."
