JailBreak

Installment Three

Hilde wedged the door closed with a final yank and turned back to the familiar one room apartment. The bare wood floors creaked under her step as she moved to the center of the room to reinforce her old memories. She crossed the room and stood in front of a bookshelf filled to capacity with worn novels, their canvas covers scratched and threads fraying along the edges. Along the top of the bookshelf were countless homemade wooden frames, their occupants mostly photos of young children, all tired and dirty, but also all smiling.

Duo walked into the room and was met with a sight he was all too acquainted with. The one room was small and cramped, a bed pushed to the far corner, a small oven and range along the opposite wall standing beside a refrigerator. The walls were packed with shelves full of mementos from her life long commitment to the ragamuffins gracing the top of her bookcase. He walked up behind Hilde and let his gaze meander across the photos over her shoulder. Duo paused in a moment of rare serenity to consider those bright faces. . .and how easily interchangeable they were with the ones he had known. . .had been. . .and had probably left in his wake. His chest was crushed by a sudden wave of remorse at the thought of the lives he had taken and the orphans he had undoubtedly created. His eye caught Hilde glancing up at him and he quickly smiled at her. Instead of smiling back and forgetting about the strange glimpse into his serious side like everyone else did, she furrowed her brow and looked at him questioningly. She wasn't buying it. Duo racked his brain trying to think of some way to quickly reassemble his happy-go-lucky facade, but before he could do anything she turned back to the photos. Duo let out a silent sigh of relief that she had only questioned him with her eyes and not her voice, though he wasn't sure if the look she had given him hadn't been any worse than the Spanish Inquisition, despite the fact that not a word had been uttered between them.

Hilde had felt, rather than seen, Duo walk up behind her. She quickly suppressed the blush creeping up her cheeks when she felt his breath caress her bare neck and tried to focus on the photos. Her eyes searched for the single photo of her when she was ten and still had long dark hair. She wasn't sure why, but Hilde suddenly became self conscious and hoped Duo didn't recognize the smiling girl in the photo as the suicidal pilot he had saved from OZ's brainwashing. She glanced up to see where his eyes were focused only to catch a remarkably out of character look of depression on his usually carefree face. When he saw her looking however, he quickly smiled at her, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. . .. Hilde watched him, confused, but after a few moments, she realized they were staring at each other and quickly turned back to the photos, seeking out hers. She couldn't get her mind off the look on his face, though, she found. Her thoughts continued to wander to it while they looked at the pictures. He just looked so sad, and it made her want to hold him and tell him everything was okay, though she was sure she could never do that, and didn't even know why she wanted to. Hilde found her photo in the dead center of all the others tried to keep Duo from finding it too.

Duo was content to watch her facial expressions rather than think about sad things like the people he had killed or his younger life. He was amazed she had let him keep his hand on her hip. He thought she'd clobber him for sure on that one, but here he was -- in one piece. He liked holding her, and he liked being close to her. He'd tried to be as normal as possible on that one, and it wasn't hard. His arm felt right at home around her waist, and her body seemed to fit perfectly against his. The hard part was acting nonchalant. He had to force himself to look like it was no big deal that he was latched onto this beautiful girl. His heart even fell a little when she released his hand at the door. Duo had not forgotten the feel of her small hand, calloused from MS piloting, in his larger and stronger one, and he doubted he ever would. Her looks were very deceiving, he realized. If one looked on her from afar, they would only see a small girl, but as soon as she was backed into a corner, she could probably claw her way out like a tigress, possibly taking out men twice her size.

Duo was picturing that jerk Chief of hers in a fist fight with Hilde (Hilde was winning), when he noticed a flickering change in her eyes. He was about to look back at the photos to see what had caused it when she turned away and walked over to Bridget who was bent over the range, boiling water or something. The older woman wiped her hands on a dish rag and turned to see Hilde walking toward her.

"Bridget, it's getting late -- where are-" Before she could finish, Bridget raised her hand and smiled.

"I know what your going to ask. They are probably outside dawdling until I yell at them to come in and eat. I'll go call them in. . .." She turned to the door, but Hilde stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Let them stay out a little longer. . .it'll be dark soon, they should enjoy it while they can."

"Nonsense, child. They'll be thrilled that you came home! Besides, they'll probably be mad at me for not calling them in as soon as you got here as it is," she said with a smirk. She turned back around and jerked the door open once again, Hilde and Duo following. Bridget stood out in the middle of the alley, Duo on the stoop, while Hilde's small frame barely blocked the doorway. The old woman cupped her hands to her mouth and took a deep breath before yelling, "Marcus, Janis, Quentin! It's time you three came in! There's someone here to see you! You better get your hides in here 'afore I have to come looking for you!"

There was a distinct creaking of metal moving against metal, then a scuffling of feet followed by the resounding clink of a tin can hitting the ground. What sounded suspiciously like hushed voices moving almost inaudibly on the air piqued Duo's interest; the childish pitch sparked a familiarity in him that was hard to ignore. Three peaked faces blossomed from the darkness, leaving Duo stunned with deja vu. When Hilde pressed past him to join Bridget in their line of vision, the wary urchins abandoned their relative safety to hurtle themselves at her with shrieks and yells of elation. "Hilderberry!"

"Hilderberry?"

"Huckleberry-Hilde!"

"Schwopapa?"

"Hildeeeeeeeeeey!"

"Oh boy..." He received a prompt elbow in his ribs. He looked up to glare only to realize it had come from Bridget. He held his tongue. For a while.

*

An hour later Duo found himself seated on the floor between Hilde and a dusty, dark haired boy who kept giving him covert looks, a bowl of watery soup resting in his lap. He'd accepted it, along with a stale slab of bread, out of courtesy, but he didn't have the heart to do more than nibble at it, knowing all too well how much an extra meal meant around here. Hilde had barely touched her portion either, but that was because of the amicable conversation she was eagerly having in turns with the three children. She seemed to have nearly forgotten his presence all together, and that was fine by him. He was learning plenty by sitting back and listening avidly to everything she candidly said, now that she was safe at home with her family. That thought brought a snide smirk to his lips, and at the same time, a wistful glimmer to his eyes. He shook it off immediately. A single question jarred him out of his respite.

"Are you going to go back to jail, Hildey?" Innocent words from an innocent mouth, looking on with innocent eyes. He realized he was holding his breath for her answer.

"No." The freckled girl seemed slightly disconcerted by her terse response.

"Don't be stupid, Jani," Quentin scolded his sister. "People who break out of jail don't go back. Unless they get caught, of course."

"Oh. . .. Are you going to get caught, Hildey?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Duo verbally stepped in with an air of confidence.

"I'm glad. Geoffrey used to live down the street, but he went to jail for stealing from a neighbor and hasn't come back yet." Hilde's eyes darkened.

"Jani, Geoff died in jail, remember? He's not coming back." The girl's brown eyes looked up at her blankly.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Marcus took the opportunity to change the subject.

"So what was it like in jail? Were there big burly guys with names like Bubba and Earl?"

"No," was all he got for an answer.

"Well didjya get into any fights?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it, Marc." Crestfallen, he allowed Quentin to steer the conversation in another direction.

"So are you gonna go back to fighting? I bet the Alliance would love to get their hands on some new recruits."

"There's no good money there. And money is what I need right now."

"C'mon Hilde," the ten-year-old Quentin defended. "You know as well as we do that we can get along without you sending us credits that you can't spare."

"I don't want to see you three just 'getting along', Quent." It seemed the boy had touched a nerve, as Hilde went on. "I want to see you getting ahead. You should all be in school, but you're not. You have to spend your day trying to steal what you need to live."

"You haven't gone to school in five years, and you're doing OK."

"Look at me, Marc. Do I really look 'OK' to you? I certainly don't feel OK, but I would go through it all again if I thought it would help you three. I would spend the rest of my life in solitary confinement if that was what it took to give you normal lives."

"They put you into solitary confinement?"

"Yes."

"For how long?" Janis asked quietly.

"One week for the assault of an officer."

"You assaulted an officer?" Duo was surprised, to say the least.

"He had it coming."

"I'm sure he deserved ever fracture you gave him. But what are your intentions now, Missy?" Bridget eyed her while sopping up soup with a piece of bread. Hilde smirked slightly.

"With all these soldiers around I bet I could rake it in as a prostitute- Ow!" She picked up the heel of bread and handed it back to Bridget before brushing the crumbs out of her hair.

"I never want to hear you even joking about something like that. Your lucky to have gotten so far in your life without being forced into that line of work. I've seen children your age an' younger already dying of the syphilis."

"Yes ma'am."

"And that's another thing! Since when are you too old to be callin' me Grandma Bee like the others? You act like yer fifteen goin' on forty."

"But Granny," Janis was explaining, "Hildey is a Mobile Suit pilot now. She is all grown up."

"She even brought someone home with her this time," Quentin supported. "She's never done that before."

"I bet she's fallen in love with him," Marc teased in German. Duo wasn't sure what the kid had said, but Hilde's reaction was very amusing.

"M-Marcus!" she managed to choke out. She wished she had never taught them all the language. On second thought, it was good that she had, because otherwise he'd just have said it in standard.

"First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!" The three of them were ganging up on her. All she could do was pray that Duo didn't speak German. When she saw him laughing his intestines into knots, though, she realized he didn't have to; the tune was very recognizable.

Fortunately, she was saved from taking any immediate action by Bridget's cane rapping them lightly on the head, once apiece.

"It is very rude of you to talk so that our guest cannot understand, but it is even worse to embarrass Hilde so. Let us at least pretend that we're civilized enough to hold a polite conversation."

"Yes Gram!" The chorused in mock salute.

"Which reminds me. . .Hilde, your friend Alexis came by about a month ago looking for your legal guardian." Hilde's hand hovered over her meal.

"And. . ?"

"And I met her out on the street and convinced her that I was your grandmother." Hilde relaxed and let a breath escape. "Janis, dear, would you go get the envelope Alexis gave me? You know where it is." With a nod Janis got up off the floor and scuffled over to the bookshelf. She found Hilde's photograph and took the crooked frame off the shelf, handing it to Bridget. Bridget fumbled with the latch on the back for a minute before handing it to Hilde to open.

"Sorry Angel, but my rheumatism's acting up. The letter is behind the picture." Hilde noticed Duo looking over her shoulder at the picture and quickly flipped it over. After undoing the latch she pried the splintered wooden back off and a pristine white envelope fell into her lap.

Duo had immediately recognized the girl in the photo as Hilde. She must've been about nine or ten in the picture, judging by her height relative the doorframe she was leaning on and the missing canine in her smile. Her blue-black hair fell about halfway down her back and was pulled into two uneven pigtails. The clothes she was wearing were oversized, so much so that the collar of the sweater she was wearing almost fell off her shoulders and the hem was around her knees. Before he could inspect it further, though, she caught him scrutinizing it and flipped it over. He was pleased with the blush staining her cheeks and decided that watching her was better than a mere picture any day.

He was brought back to reality by Hilde's "hmph" and accompanying smirk as she read over the contents of the letter.

"Well what does it say?" Marc was looking up at her expectantly. In fact, everyone was looking at her, waiting for an explanation.

"My uncle finally kicked it."

"And?" Bridget pressed.

"And after all these years he's admitting that I'm alive. . .he left everything to me."

"Yay!" cried Quentin, Janis, Marc. . .and Duo.

"No, not 'yay'," she corrected while she continued to read. "'Everything' includes debts. And Uncle Werner was a terrible gambler. If I want to collect on my inheritance, I have to go talk to the appointed lawyer on. . .R186." Duo seemed to be the only one who didn't know why a strange hush had fallen over the group. He looked around confusedly before hazarding a question.

"What does that mean?"

"That means I'd have to go home."

"So what do you plan on doing, Angel?" Bridget stood and took everyone's dish, and Hilde rose to help.

"What are you talking about? There's no point in going back there." Hilde stuffed the letter back into its envelope before tucking it into her pocket. "Why waste that much of my savings on a ticket to R186, just to be saddled with what probably killed Werner in the first place? No thank you." She took the bowls from Bridget and walked over to the sink. "I prefer being poor to being in debt. Besides, what would I do with that scrap yard of his?"

"Scrap yard?" Duo looked up, his attention captured. Hilde just glanced over her shoulder.

"More like Mount Shrapnel in his back yard." She pushed up her sleeves and turned on the faucet. "When my sister and I were little, we would climb up the bigger ones and stick flags on the tops." Duo came up behind her and whispered something in her ear.

"Big enough to hide a Gundam?" Hilde turned off the water and twisted around to stare at him with a cocked brow before answering.

"Indefinitely." Duo grinned. This was more than he could have hoped for; a pretty girl and a place to hide out, all wrapped up in one neat little package.

"Hilde my dear, I have a feeling that this is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship." He turned to the very confused group and announced, "The lady and I have a little business to discuss, if you'll excuse us." He wrapped an arm about her shoulders and led her outside.

The alley was lit only by the artificial half moon, and despite all his stealth and grace, Duo still stumbled over the junk that littered the cracked pavement. When Hilde finished laughing at him, he made his proposal.

"I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse." Duo cracked his knuckles and his lips slid into a smarmy grin. "I need a home base; a place I can hide my Gundam and generally chill out between missions. You need an income. I suggest that we work together to fulfill these necessities." He waited before going on.

"I'm listening. . ." she abetted.

"You claim the inheritance, debts and all, and in exchange for a place to sleep at night and a corner of the scrap yard to store Deathscythe away from prying eyes, I will get the joint to start turning out a profit."

"You really think you can save that business? I don't know what Werner has been living on these past few years, but I'm almost certain the scrap yard wasn't it."

"Lets just say I've got some good connections."

"What about the spacebus tickets?"

"Just leave that up to me. A few clicks on a keyboard and it'll can all be taken care of." Hilde pretended to consider his offer, even though in reality she would have accepted any proposition that would allow her to stay near him. But she'd be damned before she let him know that.

"Deal." They shook on it and returned to the relative safety of the apartment so that Hilde could announce her plans to her family.

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