Shadows of Silence
by Shadowed Tenshi
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything else related to it. If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this. All I own are the original characters in here, but more about them later…^-^. Now go read the story!!
Part 1
"Duo! Hey, Duo! Over HERE, Duo!"
Duo Maxwell looked up from the pile of scrap he was currently sorting through and laughed at the site before him. Howard stood near the doorway that linked the scrapyard and Duo's office, a pile of packages precariously balanced in one hand and two bags clutched in the other hand.
"You know, I COULD use some help here, Duo, instead of just being laughed at." Howard grumbled good-naturedly and slowly stepped towards him, oblivious to the bottle lying a few feet in front of him.
"Howard, NO! LOOK OUT!!" Duo shouted, racing down the pile of scrap. He jumped a twisted heap of rusty metal, landing in the dirt. He took a few seconds to steady himself before he was off again. He darted around a group of other workers, yelling "Get back to work!" as he drew nearer to Howard.
Diving on the ground, Duo managed to knock the bottle out of the way in time. But, in doing so, he had landed right in Howard's path. He tried to get out of the way, but only succeeded in tripping Howard with his foot.
"What the--!" Howard yelled, cut off when he landed on top of Duo. Packages went soaring through the air. "Someone catch those!!" he yelled.
"I got 'em!!" yelled one of the other workers. Duo looked up to see the young man successfully catch all 7 packages in his arms, with the 2 bags hanging from one wrist. "Here you go, sir." he said, walking up and placing the packages on the ground in front of Duo.
"Good catch! It's Andrew, right?" Duo said, disentangling himself from underneath Howard.
"Yes, sir." Andrew said, running a hand through his reddish-blond hair.
"That's a useful skill there, Andrew. Where did you learn that?" Duo asked, finally getting to his feet.
"I used to work at the circus, sir. A guy named Taylor…, no, Trowa, taught me how to do that."
Duo did a double take. "Trowa?!? Any idea of his last name, kid?"
Andrew scratched the back of his head. "I think he said to call him Barton. Trowa Barton."
"Well, I'll be. Isn't that the kid with the weird bangs, Duo?" Howard said, dusting himself off.
"That's clown boy, alright!" Duo chuckled. "Now, who sent these flying missiles, Howard?"
"Three's spare parts for that beat-up truck of yours, one's from Hilde, one's from Quatre, and the bags are the stuff you asked me to pick up for you." Howard replied, ticking them off on his fingers.
"Okay, but who is this one from?" Duo asked, confused.
"Don't know. There wasn't an address on there."
'Hmm…wonder who would have sent this?' Duo mused, examining the package marked breakable. Just then, the whistle blew, signaling the end of the workday. "Okay, pack it up, guys! Go home! Day's over!"
Slowly the workers packed up their stuff and, one by one, filed out of the yard, each heading his own way. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, Duo. I know you'll wanna get home." Howard said, making his way to the gate.
"Yeah, I just gotta finish a little paperwork before I lock up and call it a day." Duo said, stretching. "See ya later, Howie!" he shouted, making a face at his friend.
"Don't call me Howie!" Howard yelled back, smiling as he left.
Duo walked into his office and grabbed what paperwork he had left to finish, stuffing it into a bag. He crammed the packages from Hilde and Quatre, as well as the mystery one, into the other bag, leaving the car parts in his office. Making one final check of the grounds, Duo locked up and called it a day.
"I wish that I could make her see. She's just the flavor of the week. Yeah, she's the flavor of the week. She makes me weak." (1) Duo sang the last few bars of the chorus, swinging the 2 bags, one in each hand, back and forth. Suddenly the ominous rumble of thunder could be heard. Or simulated thunder anyway.
"Oh, man I forgot they were gonna make it storm today." Duo grumbled, a frown replacing the normal smile on his face. Since the colonies were man-made, all weather conditions, like the current rainstorm that was approaching, had to be simulated, in order to make life on the colonies realistic.
Duo groaned, yanking his hat down lower to shield his face from the freezing rain. He shifted both bags to his left hand, then took off running while digging his house keys out of his pocket with the other. He raced the last few blocks to his house, trying unsuccessfully to beat the cascade of raindrops pouring down on the streets.
Dropping the bags on the steps, Duo fumbled with his keys. He jammed the key into the lock, turned the doorknob, and kicked the door open, grabbing the bags with one hand. He ran inside, slamming the door behind him. He dumped the bags on the kitchen table, then made his way to the hallway closet.
Grabbing a plush black towel from one of the shelves, Duo peeled off his dripping wet shirt. He wrung most of the water out of his shirt in the sink, then tossed it into the laundry hamper. Drying off, Duo made his way to his room, grabbing a t-shirt and jeans from his closet. He kicked off his wet jeans and threw them in with the rest of the dirty clothes.
Pulling a dry shirt over his head, Duo grabbed the TV remote with one hand and flopped down on the couch. He switched the TV on, changing the channel to the local news station just in time to catch the tail end of an announcement.
"Citizens are advised to be on the lookout for this unidentified mobile suit and its pilot. We'll keep you updated as more information is available." the reporter finished. "And in other news..."
Duo sighed, clicking the TV off in unison with the ringing of the videophone. He got up to answer the call. "Hello?" he muttered tiredly.
"Duo, have you seen the news lately?" It was the cobalt blue-eyed ex-Gundam pilot, Heero Yuy.
"Nope, unless you count the last minute of the 7:00 edition." Duo grinned, dragging a chair to the screen.
Heero chuckled, a rare occurrence from the Japanese pilot. "I don't think that counts, Duo." he said with a small smile. The half-smile disappeared as fast as it appeared, a serious look replacing it. "Lady Und has called a meeting, tomorrow morning at Headquarters. How fast can you get here?"
"That depends on whether I pack or not. What's the rush?" Duo asked.
"Hn." Heero quirked an eyebrow at the American, studying him for a moment before continuing. "I'd better start from the beginning then. Rumors are that the scientists who developed our Gundams have held onto the original plans and have developed new ones, apparently for new pilots as well."
"WHAT!?! I could've swore we got rid of them all!" Duo shouted, almost falling out of his chair.
"Almost all of the plans, Duo. Almost. J must've held onto a backup copy." Heero shook his head. "He was always saving stuff to his personal laptop."
"WHAT!?!?!?" Duo shrieked. This time he did fall out of his chair, landing with a loud thump on the carpeted floor. "What do you mean, his personal laptop? Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?"
"Because I didn't think about it until now, Duo." Heero sighed before continuing. "When we deleted the plans from their lab, I looked around for J's laptop but couldn't find it. I assumed he had hidden it somewhere where it couldn't be found. I thought it had blown up with the lab."
"You thought. Why didn't you tell us about this? Or at least me?" Duo shrieked.
"Because I didn't want to alarm anyone. And you, with your big mouth, probably would have told the other pilots and the Preventers."
"Oh, great. JUST great! So, now we have, what, 5 new Gundams running around now?"
"3, actually. One is being updated and repaired and the other is waiting on a shipment of gundanium alloy."
Duo sighed, running a hand through his bangs. "All right, tell Lady Une I'll be there. Any idea when the next shuttle from L-2 leaves?"
Heero disappeared off-screen for a few seconds, before reappearing with a sheaf of papers clutched in one hand. "There's one leaving at 8:35. Can you make that one?"
"I should be able to. I'll pack a small bag and leave immediately."
"Good. I'll make the arrangements." Heero said before he hung up.
Duo stood, stretching for a few seconds, before heading towards his bedroom to pack. He made a quick stop by the hall closet to grab a black duffle bag and backpack before resuming his journey.
Walking into the room, Duo dumped his luggage onto his bed and immediately headed for the closet. He opened the doors and started throwing clothes onto the bed. Once he was satisfied that he had everything he needed from the closet, he moved on to his dresser and repeated the same process.
Dodging into his bathroom, he grabbed the necessary items he needed from there. A pack of elastic hairbands, his hairbrush, his toothbrush and his toothpaste found their way into his bag as well as other things.
Finally satisfied, Duo grabbed his jacket and bags and left, locking the door behind him. He walked down the front steps and hailed a cab. Getting inside, he gave his destination. "Shuttleport, please. And step on it."
Notes
(1)—Lyrics from "Flavor of the Week" by American Hi-Fi. I couldn't get it out of my head while I wrote this, so it ended up in here.
Andrew is one of my many original characters but you'll learn more about him later on….. or will you?