Chapter Thirty-eight: And Flights of Angels
"So we're fairly sure that he's the one that jumped." Mirek said.
"I'm positive. If I remember Heero Yuy correctly, it's him." Anna said firmly.
"I agree. Yuy was always obsessed with his mission. If this is his mission, he'll finish it no matter what." Wufei agreed.
"How are you going to find him? Tokyo's the most populated city in the world." Cavel pointed out.
"Finding people is Anna's specialty." Wufei said.
The girl rolled her eyes. "It was. He's got a point. If it were Quatre it would be easy, his blonde hair would stick out like a sore thumb. But Heero's Japanese, he looks like the other two million people out there."
"If his modem's still running, I can track the laptop." Mirek said. "But if he's shut the modem off, we'll never get him."
"Go for it." Anna said. Mirek left the living room and disappeared into the room with the computers.
"Maybe you should tell Chase, Anna." Wufei said. "Or, we could fake a threat on her. He would come."
"No, I'm not telling Chase. And how would we publicize it in time? Go on TV and hold a gun to her head? That might look a little weird."
Wufei shrugged. "If you're convinced that boy is in danger, we may have to take drastic measures."
"If we have to take drastic measures, they'll be practical drastic measures." Anna said.
"Jack might have his cell phone." Cavel said quietly.
Wufei and Anna looked at him. "You know his number?"
Cavel nodded.
"Try it."
"I've got a lock on Heero's prototype!" Mirek shouted.
"Where?" Wufei called back.
"It's right downtown. Where that big bazaar thing is going on?"
Anna frowned before her eyes lit up. "I know where that is. Chase and I went down there one time. It's an annual thing. Lots of people."
"Heero wouldn't endanger that many people, do you think?" Wufei asked.
"There are lots of alleys in that part of town." Mirek said, coming back into the room, carrying a portable tracker. "We'd better hit it."
"He's not answering his phone." Cavel said, hanging up the phone in the kitchen.
"All right. Wufei, Mirek, take the north end of the street and work your way south. Cavel and I will start at the south end and work our way north. Between us, we should be able to spot him." Anna said.
"What if we can't?" Wufei asked.
"Start yelling."
Jack wove his way through the displays in the bazaar, Trowa following behind him. The young man was actually enjoying himself and the warm weather. He and Trowa were both in civilian clothing, and Trowa had gotten his arm bandaged by a doctor with a 'private' practice.
Trowa was several feet behind him, but kept Jack within sight at all time. He was torn between being pleased and worried about their situation. Jack, now free of the burden of belonging to OWN, was starting to relax, and when he relaxed, so did Trowa. However, there was something in the back of the ex-Heavyarms pilot's mind that wouldn't go away. It was an old instinct that simply would not go away.
Jack stopped at one of the booths and glanced over some of the merchandise. Trowa came up behind him and looked over his shoulder.
"Crosses?" he asked.
Jack looked up at him. "Sure. Aren't you religious?"
"Not really."
"You should be."
Trowa's lips curved up in a half smile. "Maybe. Are you?"
"You should know."
The massive crowds around them buzzed and hummed, shopping and talking. The two of them stood silent, and the owner of the booth took care of other customers.
After a moment, Trowa reached around Jack and pointed to one of the crosses on the table. It was small, gold, and it had two tiny garnets, one on each end of the top part. "That one's pretty." He said.
"Yeah, it is." Jack said with a nod. Trowa moved on, stopping at a booth several feet away. Jack reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "How much for this one?" he asked the woman running the booth.
"For such a cute young fellow, I'll only charge fifteen yen." She said.
He grinned. "You're too kind. Arigato." He paid for the necklace, and wandered over to where his friend was. "I got you something." Jack said, startling the taller man out of his thoughts.
"Ne?" Trowa asked.
Jack held out the cross to him. "Everybody should be religious sometime or another." He said with a smile.
Trowa slowly took the present from him. He met Jack's gaze. "Thank you, Jack." He said softly.
Jack smiled. "Hey, what are friends for, ne? Come on man, I'm starving. There's got to be something to eat around here."
They hadn't gotten very far down the street when Trowa froze. He was sure he had seen a familiar shock of dark brown hair, but the figure had blended into the crowd to fast. That instinct was hitting him hard. He glanced back at Jack, who had found a concession stand, one last time to make sure he wasn't watching him. "So long, Jack." Trowa blended in with the other people; in the direction he had seen Heero Yuy.
Jack turned around and asked Trowa what he wanted, just to find that it wasn't Trowa behind him. Jack's blood stopped cold in his veins. Something was wrong; Trowa wouldn't just disappear like that. Unless…
"Trowa!" he cried, dashing into the middle of the crush of people. It could have been Victor, or it could have been anything. "Trowa!" he called again. There was no sign of his friend.
His mind raced. Had they been followed? Jack didn't remember any feeling of being stalked, not since they'd gotten to Tokyo. His eyes darted from side to side, trying to catch sight of the man.
"Trowa!" he shouted.
Trowa heard him, but his senses were totally focused. He knew Heero was there, and he knew why Heero there. This would be a fine ending, as long as Jack stayed away.
Heero was watching Trowa sway in and out of the crowd, and he heard someone call Trowa's name, but he paid little attention. This was his mission, and nothing was going to interfere with it. Nothing.
Wufei and Mirek were slowly working their way through the crowd from one end, and Anna and Cavel were headed for them from the opposite direction. Vaguely, Anna thought she heard Trowa's name called once, but dismissed it. The four met in the middle of the bazaar.
"Nothing." Wufei said. "I thought I saw him, but I lost it."
"Same here." Anna told them. She looked around. "Look." She pointed upward. There was a building that was slightly taller than the rest, and it had easy roof access.
"You're thinking we could see them from up there?" Mirek asked.
"It's worth a shot." Anna replied. They headed for the rooftop.
Jack shoved his way past the people, calling Trowa's name periodically. He couldn't see anything past the mass. "Where is he?" Jack muttered to himself.
Trowa turned off the bazaar street and into an empty side street. It wasn't an alley because it had other streets connecting to it, but no one was there because of the festivities close by. He stood at one end and waited. His wait didn't last long.
Heero appeared on the other end of the street. The two men stood, facing each other, neither one saying anything.
"If you think you're avenging him by killing me, I'm afraid you're mistaken." Trowa said calmly.
"Omae o korosou. Not just for him, Trowa, but for all of us." Heero replied.
"There's a lot you don't know about, Heero. Killing me will only make things worse for the rest of you." Trowa replied.
Jack was at his wits end. He couldn't find him anywhere. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and cleared his mind. And then he knew.
The four got to the roof and spread out to the corners. "I see them." Mirek said. They all rushed over to where he was standing.
"He's a dead man." Wufei said.
"Crap." Anna muttered. "We have to get down there."
"No, Anna. We'd never make it." Wufei said.
"We can try, though!" Cavel exclaimed.
"I can get a clear shot of Heero." Mirek said.
"He's a traitor." Anna murmured.
Jack threw himself into a run at the end of the street. He wouldn't let it happen, he couldn't let it happen. The man was his best friend, his mentor, the only person that cared about what happened to him. He would not let him die. He wasn't a traitor. He wasn't.
Heero aimed, and Trowa stood there silently. He wasn't even going to attempt to shoot back because it wasn't worth it. They would all find out the truth eventually whether he was alive or dead. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.
"Do you want me to stop him?" Mirek asked.
"No." Anna and Wufei said together.
"You can't just let him die," Cavel said.
No one could answer him.
Jack let out a sob of air as he heard the click of a gun.
"Damn!" Mirek exclaimed. "Jack Avis!"
They looked up the street, and sure enough Jack was running straight towards Trowa from a connecting street.
Heero began to put pressure on the trigger. "Mission, complete."
"Trowa!" Jack screamed.
Trowa's head snapped up at the sound and he saw Jack. "Don't, Jack." He whispered. He looked back at Heero. Pull the trigger, pull the trigger, damn you, he thought, willing him to do it before…
The deafening crack of Heero's gun resounded through the street. He had shot too late.
Jack Avis stood in the direct line of fire. He simply stood, and all fell silent. Trowa held his breath and waited for the wave of pain that accompanied a gunshot to wash over him. It didn't happen.
"Jack?" Trowa whispered. "Jack,"
Heero didn't even realize that he'd shot the wrong man until Jack slumped backwards.
The young man inhaled a shaky breath and felt himself falling backwards. He then felt something warm embrace him and he realized he was in someone's lap on the ground. It looked like it was going to rain, Jack thought.
Trowa cradled him in his lap and held his head. "Oh, God no, not Jack, I told him I'd get him out,"
Heero's arm quavered and he dropped the gun. He couldn't say anything as he backed away from what he'd done.
"Trowa?" Jack murmured. "Trowa?"
"I'm right here, Jack."
"He didn't get you, did he?"
Trowa choked out half a laugh. "Get me? No, Jack." He sighed. "Jack. Why?"
The younger man's fingers brushed across the cross that Trowa was now wearing. "Everybody has to believe in something," he whispered.
Trowa ran his fingers through the dark hair and turned an angry glare on Heero. "Why? Are you so blinded by missions that you've gone back to killing innocent people? I promised him! I promised him I wouldn't let anyone hurt him." Trowa hissed at him. Tears spilled down his cheeks. "He's only a boy,"
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," Heero said so softly that Trowa could barely hear him.
And when Trowa heard it, he ignored it. Jack sought for his hand and Trowa gave it to him, squeezing gently. "You'll be okay." Trowa murmured.
"Trowa, promise me," he said, but was interrupted by a chest racking cough. "Promise me you'll tell them," he choked.
"Tell them?" Trowa asked.
"You know what I mean," Jack said. His voice was fading.
"I can't, Jack. I can't."
Jack pulled his fingers from Trowa's hand and wiped one of the tears away. "You have to. Promise me, please." He insisted. "One last favor, ne?"
Trowa grasped his hand again. "I promise."
Jack nodded. He smiled up at Trowa. "What are friends for, ne?" he said softly. Trowa forced a smile for him. Jack's eyes closed and his head fell limply against Trowa's arm.
Trowa leaned further over and held him tight against his chest for a long moment. He kissed Jack's temple, and laid him gently on the ground. Sirens wailed in the distance.
"Trowa," Heero started.
"Get out," Trowa growled. "Get out of here! You're a worse traitor than I am, Heero Yuy, because he was innocent."
Heero stood there for a moment longer before vanishing from sight. Trowa's shoulders slumped. He touched Jack's cheek in a sign of farewell. "And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." He said quietly.
"So we're fairly sure that he's the one that jumped." Mirek said.
"I'm positive. If I remember Heero Yuy correctly, it's him." Anna said firmly.
"I agree. Yuy was always obsessed with his mission. If this is his mission, he'll finish it no matter what." Wufei agreed.
"How are you going to find him? Tokyo's the most populated city in the world." Cavel pointed out.
"Finding people is Anna's specialty." Wufei said.
The girl rolled her eyes. "It was. He's got a point. If it were Quatre it would be easy, his blonde hair would stick out like a sore thumb. But Heero's Japanese, he looks like the other two million people out there."
"If his modem's still running, I can track the laptop." Mirek said. "But if he's shut the modem off, we'll never get him."
"Go for it." Anna said. Mirek left the living room and disappeared into the room with the computers.
"Maybe you should tell Chase, Anna." Wufei said. "Or, we could fake a threat on her. He would come."
"No, I'm not telling Chase. And how would we publicize it in time? Go on TV and hold a gun to her head? That might look a little weird."
Wufei shrugged. "If you're convinced that boy is in danger, we may have to take drastic measures."
"If we have to take drastic measures, they'll be practical drastic measures." Anna said.
"Jack might have his cell phone." Cavel said quietly.
Wufei and Anna looked at him. "You know his number?"
Cavel nodded.
"Try it."
"I've got a lock on Heero's prototype!" Mirek shouted.
"Where?" Wufei called back.
"It's right downtown. Where that big bazaar thing is going on?"
Anna frowned before her eyes lit up. "I know where that is. Chase and I went down there one time. It's an annual thing. Lots of people."
"Heero wouldn't endanger that many people, do you think?" Wufei asked.
"There are lots of alleys in that part of town." Mirek said, coming back into the room, carrying a portable tracker. "We'd better hit it."
"He's not answering his phone." Cavel said, hanging up the phone in the kitchen.
"All right. Wufei, Mirek, take the north end of the street and work your way south. Cavel and I will start at the south end and work our way north. Between us, we should be able to spot him." Anna said.
"What if we can't?" Wufei asked.
"Start yelling."
Jack wove his way through the displays in the bazaar, Trowa following behind him. The young man was actually enjoying himself and the warm weather. He and Trowa were both in civilian clothing, and Trowa had gotten his arm bandaged by a doctor with a 'private' practice.
Trowa was several feet behind him, but kept Jack within sight at all time. He was torn between being pleased and worried about their situation. Jack, now free of the burden of belonging to OWN, was starting to relax, and when he relaxed, so did Trowa. However, there was something in the back of the ex-Heavyarms pilot's mind that wouldn't go away. It was an old instinct that simply would not go away.
Jack stopped at one of the booths and glanced over some of the merchandise. Trowa came up behind him and looked over his shoulder.
"Crosses?" he asked.
Jack looked up at him. "Sure. Aren't you religious?"
"Not really."
"You should be."
Trowa's lips curved up in a half smile. "Maybe. Are you?"
"You should know."
The massive crowds around them buzzed and hummed, shopping and talking. The two of them stood silent, and the owner of the booth took care of other customers.
After a moment, Trowa reached around Jack and pointed to one of the crosses on the table. It was small, gold, and it had two tiny garnets, one on each end of the top part. "That one's pretty." He said.
"Yeah, it is." Jack said with a nod. Trowa moved on, stopping at a booth several feet away. Jack reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "How much for this one?" he asked the woman running the booth.
"For such a cute young fellow, I'll only charge fifteen yen." She said.
He grinned. "You're too kind. Arigato." He paid for the necklace, and wandered over to where his friend was. "I got you something." Jack said, startling the taller man out of his thoughts.
"Ne?" Trowa asked.
Jack held out the cross to him. "Everybody should be religious sometime or another." He said with a smile.
Trowa slowly took the present from him. He met Jack's gaze. "Thank you, Jack." He said softly.
Jack smiled. "Hey, what are friends for, ne? Come on man, I'm starving. There's got to be something to eat around here."
They hadn't gotten very far down the street when Trowa froze. He was sure he had seen a familiar shock of dark brown hair, but the figure had blended into the crowd to fast. That instinct was hitting him hard. He glanced back at Jack, who had found a concession stand, one last time to make sure he wasn't watching him. "So long, Jack." Trowa blended in with the other people; in the direction he had seen Heero Yuy.
Jack turned around and asked Trowa what he wanted, just to find that it wasn't Trowa behind him. Jack's blood stopped cold in his veins. Something was wrong; Trowa wouldn't just disappear like that. Unless…
"Trowa!" he cried, dashing into the middle of the crush of people. It could have been Victor, or it could have been anything. "Trowa!" he called again. There was no sign of his friend.
His mind raced. Had they been followed? Jack didn't remember any feeling of being stalked, not since they'd gotten to Tokyo. His eyes darted from side to side, trying to catch sight of the man.
"Trowa!" he shouted.
Trowa heard him, but his senses were totally focused. He knew Heero was there, and he knew why Heero there. This would be a fine ending, as long as Jack stayed away.
Heero was watching Trowa sway in and out of the crowd, and he heard someone call Trowa's name, but he paid little attention. This was his mission, and nothing was going to interfere with it. Nothing.
Wufei and Mirek were slowly working their way through the crowd from one end, and Anna and Cavel were headed for them from the opposite direction. Vaguely, Anna thought she heard Trowa's name called once, but dismissed it. The four met in the middle of the bazaar.
"Nothing." Wufei said. "I thought I saw him, but I lost it."
"Same here." Anna told them. She looked around. "Look." She pointed upward. There was a building that was slightly taller than the rest, and it had easy roof access.
"You're thinking we could see them from up there?" Mirek asked.
"It's worth a shot." Anna replied. They headed for the rooftop.
Jack shoved his way past the people, calling Trowa's name periodically. He couldn't see anything past the mass. "Where is he?" Jack muttered to himself.
Trowa turned off the bazaar street and into an empty side street. It wasn't an alley because it had other streets connecting to it, but no one was there because of the festivities close by. He stood at one end and waited. His wait didn't last long.
Heero appeared on the other end of the street. The two men stood, facing each other, neither one saying anything.
"If you think you're avenging him by killing me, I'm afraid you're mistaken." Trowa said calmly.
"Omae o korosou. Not just for him, Trowa, but for all of us." Heero replied.
"There's a lot you don't know about, Heero. Killing me will only make things worse for the rest of you." Trowa replied.
Jack was at his wits end. He couldn't find him anywhere. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and cleared his mind. And then he knew.
The four got to the roof and spread out to the corners. "I see them." Mirek said. They all rushed over to where he was standing.
"He's a dead man." Wufei said.
"Crap." Anna muttered. "We have to get down there."
"No, Anna. We'd never make it." Wufei said.
"We can try, though!" Cavel exclaimed.
"I can get a clear shot of Heero." Mirek said.
"He's a traitor." Anna murmured.
Jack threw himself into a run at the end of the street. He wouldn't let it happen, he couldn't let it happen. The man was his best friend, his mentor, the only person that cared about what happened to him. He would not let him die. He wasn't a traitor. He wasn't.
Heero aimed, and Trowa stood there silently. He wasn't even going to attempt to shoot back because it wasn't worth it. They would all find out the truth eventually whether he was alive or dead. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable.
"Do you want me to stop him?" Mirek asked.
"No." Anna and Wufei said together.
"You can't just let him die," Cavel said.
No one could answer him.
Jack let out a sob of air as he heard the click of a gun.
"Damn!" Mirek exclaimed. "Jack Avis!"
They looked up the street, and sure enough Jack was running straight towards Trowa from a connecting street.
Heero began to put pressure on the trigger. "Mission, complete."
"Trowa!" Jack screamed.
Trowa's head snapped up at the sound and he saw Jack. "Don't, Jack." He whispered. He looked back at Heero. Pull the trigger, pull the trigger, damn you, he thought, willing him to do it before…
The deafening crack of Heero's gun resounded through the street. He had shot too late.
Jack Avis stood in the direct line of fire. He simply stood, and all fell silent. Trowa held his breath and waited for the wave of pain that accompanied a gunshot to wash over him. It didn't happen.
"Jack?" Trowa whispered. "Jack,"
Heero didn't even realize that he'd shot the wrong man until Jack slumped backwards.
The young man inhaled a shaky breath and felt himself falling backwards. He then felt something warm embrace him and he realized he was in someone's lap on the ground. It looked like it was going to rain, Jack thought.
Trowa cradled him in his lap and held his head. "Oh, God no, not Jack, I told him I'd get him out,"
Heero's arm quavered and he dropped the gun. He couldn't say anything as he backed away from what he'd done.
"Trowa?" Jack murmured. "Trowa?"
"I'm right here, Jack."
"He didn't get you, did he?"
Trowa choked out half a laugh. "Get me? No, Jack." He sighed. "Jack. Why?"
The younger man's fingers brushed across the cross that Trowa was now wearing. "Everybody has to believe in something," he whispered.
Trowa ran his fingers through the dark hair and turned an angry glare on Heero. "Why? Are you so blinded by missions that you've gone back to killing innocent people? I promised him! I promised him I wouldn't let anyone hurt him." Trowa hissed at him. Tears spilled down his cheeks. "He's only a boy,"
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this," Heero said so softly that Trowa could barely hear him.
And when Trowa heard it, he ignored it. Jack sought for his hand and Trowa gave it to him, squeezing gently. "You'll be okay." Trowa murmured.
"Trowa, promise me," he said, but was interrupted by a chest racking cough. "Promise me you'll tell them," he choked.
"Tell them?" Trowa asked.
"You know what I mean," Jack said. His voice was fading.
"I can't, Jack. I can't."
Jack pulled his fingers from Trowa's hand and wiped one of the tears away. "You have to. Promise me, please." He insisted. "One last favor, ne?"
Trowa grasped his hand again. "I promise."
Jack nodded. He smiled up at Trowa. "What are friends for, ne?" he said softly. Trowa forced a smile for him. Jack's eyes closed and his head fell limply against Trowa's arm.
Trowa leaned further over and held him tight against his chest for a long moment. He kissed Jack's temple, and laid him gently on the ground. Sirens wailed in the distance.
"Trowa," Heero started.
"Get out," Trowa growled. "Get out of here! You're a worse traitor than I am, Heero Yuy, because he was innocent."
Heero stood there for a moment longer before vanishing from sight. Trowa's shoulders slumped. He touched Jack's cheek in a sign of farewell. "And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest." He said quietly.
