Title: Exercising an Option
Author: Gina Lin Genre: Romance, Adventure, Action Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+S, 13+6 Warnings: AU, Language, Violence Rating: R Archived: S_E Updates, GWFF, SDQB, FF.net
Chapter 23
McGuire stuck his pistol in the small of Quatre's back and pushed him inside the partially ruined doors.
"You don't have to do that, I came willingly," said Quatre levelly.
In the combined glow of candlelight and flashlights, Quatre sought out Trowa's face.
"Why didn't you go?" he asked Trowa, locking eyes with him, as McGuire pulled his hands behind him and bound them with a nylon cord taken from a pocket.
Trowa merely shook his head a few times and averted his eyes. He'd already given the terrorists holding them enough leverage.
McGuire marched Quatre over to the sofa where Trowa was similarly bound and pushed him down on to it, then went back to stand guard at the door.
"I had to do this," said Quatre in a harsh whisper to his partner. "I couldn't let Duo and Heero suffer, they have nothing to do with this!"
"And you do?" fired back Trowa low tones of outrage. "It's bad enough I got caught, but you turn yourself over to these animals?"
"I know what I'm doing," hissed Quatre. "Did it ever occur to you that I simply wanted to find out if you were still alive?"
Trowa's head jerked back in surprise.
They were quiet for a few moments, then Trowa exhaled on a shuddering breath.
"I don't know what to say," he finally whispered mournfully in the gloom.
"Don't say anything," said Quatre in a voice choked with tears. "I knew you wouldn't go, that you'd be waiting for me. I wish you'd gone, but at the same time, I'm so grateful you're staying with me. Isn't that awful?"
"No," said Trowa very quietly. "Because I feel the same way. I can't even imagine being without you."
Quatre nodded and wiped his face by rubbing it on Trowa's shirt.
"I have to think now," he said as much to himself as to Trowa, his face still muffled against the taller man's shirt. "Everything's going to be all right."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo's head lolled against the seat of the car as Heero drove to Sally's house.
"I called her, she's waiting for us, called an ambulance," said Wufei.
"Stay with me, Duo," said Heero, reaching over and shaking his knee.
"Sleepy," mumbled Duo.
"Wufei, try to keep him awake," said Heero. "I don't want him to lose consciousness if we can help it. At least not until we get to Sally's."
"He's lost enough blood that he's probably going into shock," said Wufei.
"I'll try tilting the seat back," he added, reaching forward from the back and pulling down the lever to lie Duo down.
"Better," said Duo. "Not so dizzy."
"We're almost there, Duo," said Heero. "We'll get you to a hospital."
"Heero?"
"What, koi?"
"You didn't leave me."
"No," said Heero, as they pulled into Sally's driveway. She was standing at the door and ran down to meet them.
She launched herself at Wufei as he climbed out of the back and opened the passenger side to get Duo out.
"Oh my God, look at you, you're covered with blood!" she gasped, holding him at arm's length and examining him in the porch lights.
"It's not mine," he said grabbing her fiercely and burying his face in her hair.
"Oh thank God," she said against his neck.
"I need to help Heero get Duo into the house, he's the one that's hurt."
"Yes, yes, of course," she said, pulling back reluctantly. "The ambulance is coming, they should be here soon. I called Hilde, too. She'll meet you at the hospital."
"You called the police?" asked Heero, coming round to help lift Duo from the car.
"Yes, I called them," said Sally. "They said that they have to bring in the FBI, this falls within their jurisdiction."
"Kidnapping, extortion, international terrorism and attempted murder, you bet your ass it does," muttered Heero.
"The local sheriff is coming here, though, to ask question you."
"I'll talk to him," said Wufei. "You go with Duo to the hospital."
They heard distant sirens, and turned around. "The ambulance," said Sally unnecessarily. "Paramedics and the sheriff."
"Leave him in the car, then, we don't want to move him anymore than we have to," said Heero.
He knelt down next to Duo on the driveway. "Almost over, koi," he said, and took Duo's hand and pressed it to his forehead, then his lips.
The ambulance pulled up to the curb, and two paramedics jumped out of the back, with a large first aid kit.
"He's in the car," said Sally to them. They went round back and pulled out a folding gurney and pulled it alongside the car. Heero moved back.
"He's got a gunshot wound to the left upper arm, and it's broken," said Heero. "Lost a lot of blood."
"We'll take good care of him," said one of the paramedics, a broad- shouldered Amerindian with his long hair braided into two tight plaits down his back. He grinned at Heero reassuringly in the flashing lights.
"You two playing cowboy?" he asked, good-naturedly.
Heero shook his head. "I need to talk to the sheriff about it," he said. "Can't really say."
"Let's get him in the ambulance, he's stable," said the other paramedic, a tall muscular woman with short graying hair and an authoritative air. She closed the med-kit.
"Good first aid, you kept him from bleeding to much," she said.
"Can I ride with you to the hospital?" asked Heero. "I'm not from around here and I don't know the way."
"Not supposed to unless it's family," said the Indian man, "He a friend of yours?"
"We're lovers," said Heero, quietly. "He's got a sister, she'll meet us there."
"Get in," said the man. "Not supposed to let anyone but spouses and family members come along, but screw the dumbass rules this time, right Marnie?"
"Yeah, I aint' saying nothin," said the tall woman said. "I'll lie out my ass and say you're his brother or something if we get nailed on it."
"Thanks," said Heero.
"No problem," said the Indian man. "Get in and stay out of the way."
Heero jumped up into the back of the ambulance. "Is all that his blood?" asked Marnie, taking in Heero's bloody shirt for the first time.
"No," said Heero. "I took a few hits to the face, but nothing serious."
"We'll take a look at you when we get done with your friend here," she said. "Sit down, you look like hell."
"Can I sit next to him?" asked Heero.
She nodded as the ambulance took off with lights flashing.
"Sure, he's stable, and he keeps saying "Heero". Is that you?"
"Yes," said Heero.
"Well, it'll be a half hour before we get there. I checked him out, called the hospital and gave him something for the pain. He's gonna be groggy, but talk to him. It'll help keep him calm."
"A half hour?" asked Heero.
"Yeah, for worse emergencies, we have life flight helicopter, but since it's not a head or chest wound, we're okay taking a bit more time," said the woman.
"Duo," said Heero. He reached for Duo's hand. "I'm still here."
"Hi, Heero-baby," said Duo in a slurred voice. "Doesn't hurt anymore."
"I'll say," said Heero, a tiny quirk of a smile on his bruised face. "You sound wasted."
"Yep," said Duo. "Keep thinking I hear music or sumthin."
"No, just me."
"I'm glad you're not dead Heero-baby," he said drunkenly, as a tear slid down his face and onto the white sheet under him.
"I'm glad you're not dead either," whispered Heero.
"I never got to use my gun," said Duo. "Guess I'm not Billy the Kid after all." He sniffed loudly.
"Baka," said Heero fondly and rested his head against Duo's good shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wufei and Sally watched the ambulance drive away.
"I need to speak with you," said a compact red headed man getting out of a gray truck marked Sheriff on the side.
"Can we go inside?" asked Sally. "Wufei has blood all over him."
"That your blood?" asked the sheriff, tipping back his hat and looking squarely at Wufei with piercing steel blue eyes out of a weather beaten face.
"No, it's not," said Wufei. "Some of it was the man's who just was taken away in the ambulance with a gunshot wound."
"And the rest?" asked the man.
"Came from one of the men that have taken hostages at the inn," replied Wufei.
"I guess before I ask you anything more, I better let you know your rights," said the sheriff. "I'm Roy Layton, by the way."
"I'm Wufei Chang. Let's go inside, and I'll tell you all I can," said Wufei.
He and Sally walked arm in arm into the house, Layton following them.
"I had to call in the FBI," said Layton when they came inside.
"So I heard," said Wufei.
"Please sit down" said Sally. Layton removed his cowboy hat and sat down in an armchair.
Wufei looked down at his shirt. "I don't want to get blood all over your sofa," he said.
"Take it off and give it to me," said Layton. "Evidence."
Wufei carefully stripped off his bloody t-shirt.
"Got a plastic bag?" he asked Sally.
"Sure, in the kitchen," she said. She turned to Wufei. "You left some of your things here, I'll get you a shirt." She left the room.
Layton raised a ginger colored eyebrow. "You and the young lady involved, huh?" he asked.
"Is that question part of your official investigation?" asked Wufei stiffly, sitting down and folding his arms over his bare chest.
"Nope, just nosey," said Layton, grinning in an easy, open fashion.
"You'll mostly be talkin to the FBI, son, but in the meantime, I need to know what's goin on up there."
"There were at least 3 men that I saw, probably more," said Wufei. "Armed with automatic weapons, knives, wearing camouflage, two-way radios, night vision goggles. Mercenaries or terrorists, not burglars. They took the owner of the inn, Mr. Kushrenada, and his partner Mr. Merquise hostage, and also two friends of mine, Trowa Barton and Quatre Winner. Quatre Winner exchanged himself for my other two friends, the two men who went off in the ambulance."
"And why would Mr. Winner do that?" asked Layton, his weathered face creasing with puzzlement.
"Mr. Winner is the only living male heir of a deceased international industrialist," said Wufei. "He offered them himself and any amount of money they wanted to release his friends."
"I'd say that was damn brave if it didn't make me cringe," said Layton. "Giving in to bastards like that only encourages them, in my experience."
"I tried to convince him otherwise, but Mr. Winner is a very stubborn man," said Wufei, shaking his head.
"Sounds like," said Layton.
"Well, at least the three of you got out more or less intact," said Layton. "Now, you wanna tell me what happened to that fella you tangled with?"
"He's dead," said Wufei. "I had my katana with me and I killed him with it when he shot at Quatre and me."
"And what pray tell is a katana?" asked Layton, raising his brows again.
"Asian style sword," said Wufei. "About this long," he extended his arm.
"Sounds nasty," said Layton. "And you killed a fella who had an automatic pistol with this katana."
"Yes," said Wufei. "We hid and I surprised him."
"Well, I'd say that was some mighty fine stealth."
Wufei looked slightly embarrassed. "I am a master of jeet kun do," he said simply.
"Whatever you say, son," said Layton, grinning at him.
"I have a shirt for you," said Sally, coming into the room holding a black t-shirt.
Wufei stood. "I need to clean up first, please."
"Of course, you know where the shower is," she replied.
He inclined his head slightly in thanks, and took the shirt from her.
"That's an interestin' fella you've hooked up with, Ms. Po," remarked Layton.
"You have no idea," said Sally, a small smile breaking through her worried glance in his direction.
Author: Gina Lin Genre: Romance, Adventure, Action Pairings: 1+2, 3+4, 5+S, 13+6 Warnings: AU, Language, Violence Rating: R Archived: S_E Updates, GWFF, SDQB, FF.net
Chapter 23
McGuire stuck his pistol in the small of Quatre's back and pushed him inside the partially ruined doors.
"You don't have to do that, I came willingly," said Quatre levelly.
In the combined glow of candlelight and flashlights, Quatre sought out Trowa's face.
"Why didn't you go?" he asked Trowa, locking eyes with him, as McGuire pulled his hands behind him and bound them with a nylon cord taken from a pocket.
Trowa merely shook his head a few times and averted his eyes. He'd already given the terrorists holding them enough leverage.
McGuire marched Quatre over to the sofa where Trowa was similarly bound and pushed him down on to it, then went back to stand guard at the door.
"I had to do this," said Quatre in a harsh whisper to his partner. "I couldn't let Duo and Heero suffer, they have nothing to do with this!"
"And you do?" fired back Trowa low tones of outrage. "It's bad enough I got caught, but you turn yourself over to these animals?"
"I know what I'm doing," hissed Quatre. "Did it ever occur to you that I simply wanted to find out if you were still alive?"
Trowa's head jerked back in surprise.
They were quiet for a few moments, then Trowa exhaled on a shuddering breath.
"I don't know what to say," he finally whispered mournfully in the gloom.
"Don't say anything," said Quatre in a voice choked with tears. "I knew you wouldn't go, that you'd be waiting for me. I wish you'd gone, but at the same time, I'm so grateful you're staying with me. Isn't that awful?"
"No," said Trowa very quietly. "Because I feel the same way. I can't even imagine being without you."
Quatre nodded and wiped his face by rubbing it on Trowa's shirt.
"I have to think now," he said as much to himself as to Trowa, his face still muffled against the taller man's shirt. "Everything's going to be all right."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Duo's head lolled against the seat of the car as Heero drove to Sally's house.
"I called her, she's waiting for us, called an ambulance," said Wufei.
"Stay with me, Duo," said Heero, reaching over and shaking his knee.
"Sleepy," mumbled Duo.
"Wufei, try to keep him awake," said Heero. "I don't want him to lose consciousness if we can help it. At least not until we get to Sally's."
"He's lost enough blood that he's probably going into shock," said Wufei.
"I'll try tilting the seat back," he added, reaching forward from the back and pulling down the lever to lie Duo down.
"Better," said Duo. "Not so dizzy."
"We're almost there, Duo," said Heero. "We'll get you to a hospital."
"Heero?"
"What, koi?"
"You didn't leave me."
"No," said Heero, as they pulled into Sally's driveway. She was standing at the door and ran down to meet them.
She launched herself at Wufei as he climbed out of the back and opened the passenger side to get Duo out.
"Oh my God, look at you, you're covered with blood!" she gasped, holding him at arm's length and examining him in the porch lights.
"It's not mine," he said grabbing her fiercely and burying his face in her hair.
"Oh thank God," she said against his neck.
"I need to help Heero get Duo into the house, he's the one that's hurt."
"Yes, yes, of course," she said, pulling back reluctantly. "The ambulance is coming, they should be here soon. I called Hilde, too. She'll meet you at the hospital."
"You called the police?" asked Heero, coming round to help lift Duo from the car.
"Yes, I called them," said Sally. "They said that they have to bring in the FBI, this falls within their jurisdiction."
"Kidnapping, extortion, international terrorism and attempted murder, you bet your ass it does," muttered Heero.
"The local sheriff is coming here, though, to ask question you."
"I'll talk to him," said Wufei. "You go with Duo to the hospital."
They heard distant sirens, and turned around. "The ambulance," said Sally unnecessarily. "Paramedics and the sheriff."
"Leave him in the car, then, we don't want to move him anymore than we have to," said Heero.
He knelt down next to Duo on the driveway. "Almost over, koi," he said, and took Duo's hand and pressed it to his forehead, then his lips.
The ambulance pulled up to the curb, and two paramedics jumped out of the back, with a large first aid kit.
"He's in the car," said Sally to them. They went round back and pulled out a folding gurney and pulled it alongside the car. Heero moved back.
"He's got a gunshot wound to the left upper arm, and it's broken," said Heero. "Lost a lot of blood."
"We'll take good care of him," said one of the paramedics, a broad- shouldered Amerindian with his long hair braided into two tight plaits down his back. He grinned at Heero reassuringly in the flashing lights.
"You two playing cowboy?" he asked, good-naturedly.
Heero shook his head. "I need to talk to the sheriff about it," he said. "Can't really say."
"Let's get him in the ambulance, he's stable," said the other paramedic, a tall muscular woman with short graying hair and an authoritative air. She closed the med-kit.
"Good first aid, you kept him from bleeding to much," she said.
"Can I ride with you to the hospital?" asked Heero. "I'm not from around here and I don't know the way."
"Not supposed to unless it's family," said the Indian man, "He a friend of yours?"
"We're lovers," said Heero, quietly. "He's got a sister, she'll meet us there."
"Get in," said the man. "Not supposed to let anyone but spouses and family members come along, but screw the dumbass rules this time, right Marnie?"
"Yeah, I aint' saying nothin," said the tall woman said. "I'll lie out my ass and say you're his brother or something if we get nailed on it."
"Thanks," said Heero.
"No problem," said the Indian man. "Get in and stay out of the way."
Heero jumped up into the back of the ambulance. "Is all that his blood?" asked Marnie, taking in Heero's bloody shirt for the first time.
"No," said Heero. "I took a few hits to the face, but nothing serious."
"We'll take a look at you when we get done with your friend here," she said. "Sit down, you look like hell."
"Can I sit next to him?" asked Heero.
She nodded as the ambulance took off with lights flashing.
"Sure, he's stable, and he keeps saying "Heero". Is that you?"
"Yes," said Heero.
"Well, it'll be a half hour before we get there. I checked him out, called the hospital and gave him something for the pain. He's gonna be groggy, but talk to him. It'll help keep him calm."
"A half hour?" asked Heero.
"Yeah, for worse emergencies, we have life flight helicopter, but since it's not a head or chest wound, we're okay taking a bit more time," said the woman.
"Duo," said Heero. He reached for Duo's hand. "I'm still here."
"Hi, Heero-baby," said Duo in a slurred voice. "Doesn't hurt anymore."
"I'll say," said Heero, a tiny quirk of a smile on his bruised face. "You sound wasted."
"Yep," said Duo. "Keep thinking I hear music or sumthin."
"No, just me."
"I'm glad you're not dead Heero-baby," he said drunkenly, as a tear slid down his face and onto the white sheet under him.
"I'm glad you're not dead either," whispered Heero.
"I never got to use my gun," said Duo. "Guess I'm not Billy the Kid after all." He sniffed loudly.
"Baka," said Heero fondly and rested his head against Duo's good shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wufei and Sally watched the ambulance drive away.
"I need to speak with you," said a compact red headed man getting out of a gray truck marked Sheriff on the side.
"Can we go inside?" asked Sally. "Wufei has blood all over him."
"That your blood?" asked the sheriff, tipping back his hat and looking squarely at Wufei with piercing steel blue eyes out of a weather beaten face.
"No, it's not," said Wufei. "Some of it was the man's who just was taken away in the ambulance with a gunshot wound."
"And the rest?" asked the man.
"Came from one of the men that have taken hostages at the inn," replied Wufei.
"I guess before I ask you anything more, I better let you know your rights," said the sheriff. "I'm Roy Layton, by the way."
"I'm Wufei Chang. Let's go inside, and I'll tell you all I can," said Wufei.
He and Sally walked arm in arm into the house, Layton following them.
"I had to call in the FBI," said Layton when they came inside.
"So I heard," said Wufei.
"Please sit down" said Sally. Layton removed his cowboy hat and sat down in an armchair.
Wufei looked down at his shirt. "I don't want to get blood all over your sofa," he said.
"Take it off and give it to me," said Layton. "Evidence."
Wufei carefully stripped off his bloody t-shirt.
"Got a plastic bag?" he asked Sally.
"Sure, in the kitchen," she said. She turned to Wufei. "You left some of your things here, I'll get you a shirt." She left the room.
Layton raised a ginger colored eyebrow. "You and the young lady involved, huh?" he asked.
"Is that question part of your official investigation?" asked Wufei stiffly, sitting down and folding his arms over his bare chest.
"Nope, just nosey," said Layton, grinning in an easy, open fashion.
"You'll mostly be talkin to the FBI, son, but in the meantime, I need to know what's goin on up there."
"There were at least 3 men that I saw, probably more," said Wufei. "Armed with automatic weapons, knives, wearing camouflage, two-way radios, night vision goggles. Mercenaries or terrorists, not burglars. They took the owner of the inn, Mr. Kushrenada, and his partner Mr. Merquise hostage, and also two friends of mine, Trowa Barton and Quatre Winner. Quatre Winner exchanged himself for my other two friends, the two men who went off in the ambulance."
"And why would Mr. Winner do that?" asked Layton, his weathered face creasing with puzzlement.
"Mr. Winner is the only living male heir of a deceased international industrialist," said Wufei. "He offered them himself and any amount of money they wanted to release his friends."
"I'd say that was damn brave if it didn't make me cringe," said Layton. "Giving in to bastards like that only encourages them, in my experience."
"I tried to convince him otherwise, but Mr. Winner is a very stubborn man," said Wufei, shaking his head.
"Sounds like," said Layton.
"Well, at least the three of you got out more or less intact," said Layton. "Now, you wanna tell me what happened to that fella you tangled with?"
"He's dead," said Wufei. "I had my katana with me and I killed him with it when he shot at Quatre and me."
"And what pray tell is a katana?" asked Layton, raising his brows again.
"Asian style sword," said Wufei. "About this long," he extended his arm.
"Sounds nasty," said Layton. "And you killed a fella who had an automatic pistol with this katana."
"Yes," said Wufei. "We hid and I surprised him."
"Well, I'd say that was some mighty fine stealth."
Wufei looked slightly embarrassed. "I am a master of jeet kun do," he said simply.
"Whatever you say, son," said Layton, grinning at him.
"I have a shirt for you," said Sally, coming into the room holding a black t-shirt.
Wufei stood. "I need to clean up first, please."
"Of course, you know where the shower is," she replied.
He inclined his head slightly in thanks, and took the shirt from her.
"That's an interestin' fella you've hooked up with, Ms. Po," remarked Layton.
"You have no idea," said Sally, a small smile breaking through her worried glance in his direction.