Part 2
AC 198, August 6th
The rather extensive crew of servants and bodyguards was embarking on the three private shuttles that would be used by the Winners to go from one colony to the other. The first one was reserved for Mr Winner, his son, and Mr Chang, and the two others were supposed to carry around the crowd of assistants, secretary, servants, security members and technicians that such a trip involved.
When Quatre and Wufei stepped into the shuttle, the blond boy dragged his personal trainer to the back compartment, leaving his father in the main part of the shuttle. Wufei suspected Quatre to have slammed the door in the face of his bodyguards with a lot of pleasure. He sat down in one of the leather chairs and looked outside.
"What about your father ?", he asked.
Quatre shrugged.
"He's going to be on the phone for most of the trip anyway, we'd only be in his way if we stayed there. And I wanted to talk to you in private."
Wufei raised an eyebrow.
"About what ?"
Quatre took out the ace of spades and handed it to Wufei. The Chinese man looked at it and frowned.
"When did you get that ?"
"Not before I asked you to come with me. I found it on my desk just after our last training session."
"Does anyone else know about this ?"
"You know what it is, then ?", Quatre asked.
Wufei nodded.
"He has been active on L5. Did some nasty jobs for one of the triads. The news talked about it for about two months. They said he is a real stalker, that he comes after his victims, breaks into their lives, leaving the cards behind, until he finally kills them."
To Wufei's surprise, Quatre didn't seem moved by the description.
"How come you only have two bodyguards if you've got the Perfect Soldier after you ?"
"Because I am not scared, and because I had to find a reason to make Rashid not tell my father."
"Your father doesn't know ?", Wufei asked in disbelief.
"No. I'm not telling him, or he would probably try to 'keep me safe', if you know what I mean."
He looked into the jet-black eyes.
"You think I am crazy to take it like that ?"
"Crazy is far too weak a word for what I think. If I didn't know you, I would have you checked right now."
Quatre smiled.
"I have my reasons", he said. "For one thing, I hate to think that some petty crime lords should get away with their crimes and try to eliminate anyone who threatens their power. And second, I have always hated to be considered just as another line in the Winner genealogy. People around the world and the space colonies know my name and what it implies. But they don't know me."
There was bitter edge to Quatre's voice when he said these words.
"Does it mean you have to play the bored rich kid and endanger your life by playing with a trained assassin ?", Wufei asked seriously. "You must have a real death wish."
"Believe me, I don't. I just have a hard time to accept that some people could want 'me' dead. When I haven't even done a thing, and when the only things I intend to do is help the ones who need it. I mean, I am doing what I feel is right. It can't be wrong to help the needy, can it ? And yet, some people resent that so badly they want me dead. For money or power. I can't understand that kind of things."
"How do you expect to get out of this alive ?"
"I am not totally unprotected. You are with me, and I trust my own abilities. And I have a great advantage."
"Which is ?"
"I can always know if he is near me or not. He doesn't know it, but he left a trace. Strange how your feelings can linger in a room even after you left it."
"So you intend to use your empathy on him also ?"
Several thoughts shot through Wufei's mind. Maybe Quatre was ill. Maybe Quatre was mentally unstable. Maybe he had just dreamt the last half-hour and he still had to get up and dressed to join the shuttle. But that felt too true. Quatre smiled, half-guessing Wufei's thought.
"I am not mad, Wufei. I am not playing with my life either. I don't plan to die any time soon. All I want is for my first business projects to go alright, considering that I am personally and emotionally involved in them. And I'm not going to let anyone come into my way and kill me just because they were paid to do it. They'll need to find something more to stop me."
Wufei stared into the green-blue eyes. Quatre was serious. He was not afraid. Wufei began to smile too.
"I don't like it", he said, "but it's not like there's anything I could say to make you change your mind, uh ? You're as stubborn as your father."
"Finally something we have in common", Quatre half-joked. "You think you're up to the challenge ?"
"Challenge ?"
"Yeah. You and me against the Perfect Soldier. You don't want to know who he really is ? Because that's what I want to know ultimately. Who this guy is."
"Did anyone ever tell you that your life must be pretty boring for you to look for such dangerous hobbies ?"
"My life is not that boring, thank you !", Quatre said indignantly. "In fact, it has become far less boring since I know you", he added more slowly.
Wufei blushed slightly, embarrassed by the compliment. Quatre was always that way. Damn polite and all, but always straight to the point when things came into the field of emotions. But this was a nice thing to say, Wufei thought. That his friendship had brought something more to Quatre's life somehow made him happy. Along with the realization that Quatre's friendship did actually bring him a lot more than he had at first expected. And that the innocent-looking blond boy sitting in front of him was somehow a more complex person than he had believed him to be.
Wufei had learnt a lot of things about Quatre these last five months, but he suddenly felt like there was a lot of things he still didn't know. A lot of people were expecting Quatre to be a gentle obedient boy because he looked so damn gentle. And it was true that Quatre could be really sweet with the people he loved. But Wufei was one to know that getting on the wrong side of Quatre was dangerous business. And apparently, the Perfect Soldier had just done that.
O.O.O.O.O
Five hours later, the two young men were staring outside at the stars. The trip from L4 to L1 would have taken twenty hours on a regular shuttle, but the Winner shuttles were much faster than that. Ten hours only would be necessary for them to reach L1. Quatre and Wufei had enjoyed some lunch in the back compartment. They had talked about a lot of things, and were now simply staring at the stars in silence.
Quatre shifted in his seat, watching his companion as he was looking away. From the moment he had first seen Wufei, he had been surprised by the sadness echoing from the man. A deep, devastating sadness. It didn't show on Wufei's face. The Chinese man was smiling a lot, even laughing a lot. But something bad must have happened to him for him to send out such a deep despair. It was so intense that Quatre didn't even have to focus on Wufei to feel it. In the contained area that the shuttle was, it was almost suffocating him. Quatre hadn't thought that asking Wufei to come with him would have such an effect. He had trusted his mental barriers to block the negative emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. But today, he was obviously tired.
Quatre rubbed his chest, trying to make the throbbing pain in there go away. He didn't want Wufei to realize what was going on, he felt like he was spying on him already. But he couldn't hold back the tear that rolled down his cheek, nor the sob that echoed strangely in the compartment.
Wufei looked up to find Quatre clutching his chest and crying. He gave a start.
"Quatre ! What's wrong ?"
"It's okay", Quatre whispered. "Just give me a minute, and I'll be fine."
Wufei frowned.
"You're not sick because of the shuttle trip, are you ?", he asked suspiciously.
Quatre shook his head, trying to regain a grip on himself.
"Did you try to understand what I am feeling ?", Wufei finally asked, his voice a bit cold.
"No !"
Quatre looked up.
"Please, Wufei, believe me, I would never do that to you ! I haven't tried to use my empathy on you. It's the contrary, I've done my best to block you out, but I can't ! Your emotions are too intense, too deep ! They take over me, and I can't stop them !"
Wufei gaped. He tried to say something, didn't find anything intelligent to say and closed his mouth. Quatre wiped his tears away and took Wufei's hand. The Chinese man gave a start, but didn't pull his hand away.
"Why are you so sad, Wufei ? What happened to you ?"
"Don't you know already ?", Wufei asked in a small voice.
"No. I am not a mind-reader. I can only know what you feel, not why. Wufei, I … If you don't want to talk about it, I'll understand. I mean, this is not my business, this is your life, and I have no right to ask for any explanation. I just … I wish you would trust me enough to tell me what it is."
Wufei looked at Quatre. The Arabian's face was still distorted with pain. Wufei had a feeling that he was looking straight at what was happening in his heart. He had done his best in the last year not to give in. He had been strong, forcing himself to live day after day. He had left his home to try and forget, and now he was facing his pain again, in the eyes of his friend. His friend who was now suffering as much as himself.
Wufei squeezed Quatre's hand.
"Close your eyes, Quatre."
"Uh ?"
"Do as I say. I can't talk with you if you're in pain like this. Close your eyes and relax."
Quatre nodded and obeyed. He concentrated on Wufei's voice.
"Breathe slowly. Concentrate on your breathing, and nothing else. How it comes into your body, bringing you oxygen, how it comes out, washing your blood clean. Easy."
Quatre took deep breaths as he was instructed and slowly relaxed. He felt the pain leave. When he opened his eyes again, it was gone.
"Whoa, how did you do that ?"
"Simple meditation technique. It is used to empty your head and help people go to sleep, usually. Don't you have some way to block those things ?"
"I do. But nothing worked this time. I think you should teach me how to use that one properly."
"I will. It's very easy, you should have no problem with it."
Quatre took another deep breath and sighed with relief.
"I feel better."
Wufei smiled.
"I suppose that is the moment where you start firing the questions."
"Wufei, I told you, if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine by me. I didn't want to get involved in your pain."
"I want to tell you. By all means, I owe you an explanation."
"You don't owe me anything, Wufei. Do it if you feel comfortable with it, but don't feel forced."
"I don't feel forced. I probably should have told you straightaway. And you probably should not have kept this to yourself all this time if it was that obvious. Tell me that our training sessions were not a nightmare."
Quatre laughed softly.
"That's the good thing about martial arts, it works only if you're focusing on what you're doing. I didn't have any problem during the sessions, don't worry. But you're right, I should have told you something. It's just … I already felt bad, you know, like I had broken into your head or something. I think I was afraid you might take it badly."
Wufei had to admit that it wasn't completely unfounded. If he had found out a few months ago that Quatre could feel his sadness, he could have been very angry about it. But now, Quatre and Wufei were friends. And it had been a long time since Wufei had had a friend to talk to. It had been a long time since he had had any friend.
"I had to leave L5", Wufei started. "I had to get away from everything. The martial arts school, my house … It was just too painful. Everything there reminded me of her."
"Who ?", Quatre asked timidly.
"My wife", Wufei said, almost in a whisper.
"You're married ?", Quatre asked, his eyes widening with the shock.
"I was. She was killed last year."
"Wufei, I'm so sorry."
Wufei swallowed hard. He had never told this story to anyone. Of course his family knew, but they had not been the greatest support in this. To them, Meiran had died bravely, and crying over her would have been an insult to her memory. So Wufei had not cried. And now the tears were burning his eyes, so he closed them to try and prevent them from rolling down his cheeks.
"Her name was Meiran", he continued in a strained voice. "We got married in AC 190. We were running the martial arts school together. And we were hoping to have children soon."
Quatre remained silent, patiently waiting for Wufei to let it all out.
"There has been a little war between gangs on my colony. Some foreign crime lord trying to take over the triads, and they were not happy about it. People were shot at random in the streets, caught in the fires. Meiran was one of them. She left one day, I can't even remember why, and she never came back. I found her body on the street. She had been shot in several places and had been left there. She literally bled to death."
Wufei sniffed.
"I was told to be strong. My family told me it was fate, and I had to accept it. But it seemed so unfair. Why did it have to be her ? She didn't do anything to deserve that. I wanted to scream and shout, but that's not what is expected of the heir of a fighting clan. All they wanted me to do was get over it and move on. But after a few months, I realized I couldn't do that. So I ran away."
Wufei shivered.
"I'm such a coward. I thought I could run away from my pain, but it's so foolish. My pain is inside of me, and it can never leave me. Even if I run as fast as I can, it will follow me and catch me again."
Quatre got up and opened his arms to Wufei. When the Chinese man hesitated, Quatre took a step forward and took him in his arms.
"You are not a coward, Wufei", he said very low. "You are one of the strongest persons I ever met. But you need to let your pain out. Or it will destroy you. It's not a shame to cry because you lost someone you loved. It's not a weakness. It only shows that you care, that you have feelings. That you are human."
Wufei shivered some more. He found himself unable to hold back his tears. They came flowing down his cheeks as he began to sob uncontrollably in Quatre's embrace. Everything else seemed to disappear except for the mind-numbing pain throughout his body, and the strong arms holding him. Wufei would have been unable to say how long he cried, but the tears finally dried, leaving him more exhausted than he himself had believed possible. The first thing he met as he looked up was the kind smile of Quatre.
"I'm sorry", he said in a hoarse voice.
"Sorry for what, Wufei ? Crying ? Cracking up and proving that you're only human ? You don't have to be sorry. It's okay. It's normal."
Quatre helped him settle more comfortably in the leather chair.
"You're tired. You should get some sleep before we arrive. I know for a fact that this kind of little crisis can leave someone completely worn out. But I bet you're feeling better now."
Wufei was stunned to realize that it was true. He was actually feeling better. Not well but better. Quatre seemed to understand what was going on.
"You'll be alright, Wufei", he said with a smile. "I am not saying that all the pain will go away, but it will lessen, and you will start to live again. But mourning is a normal process that shouldn't be ignored. You need time to adjust."
"How do you do that ?", Wufei asked.
Quatre looked puzzled.
"Do what exactly ?"
"I don't know … I did my best not to cry for the past year, and here you come and say a few words and I turn out to be a fountain."
"I don't really know how I do that, Wufei. It just happens. I think I could look for the clichés and tell you I listen to people with my heart and soul. I see no other way to say it."
"Thank you, Quatre."
"You're welcome, Wufei. It was the least I could do. You helped me a lot, you know. It's my turn to help you now."
Wufei smiled weakly. He felt a bit dizzy. He was not used to crying his eyes out like this. In fact, he could not remember when was the last time he had cried.
"Sleep, Wufei", Quatre said. "You need it. I am not going to impress anyone if my bodyguard has red eyes from cry and lack of sleep."
Wufei suppressed a chuckle as he dozed off. A strange warmth surrounded him. It must be what it's like, he thought. To find a true friend. You can tell anything to them, they don't judge you. They listen, and they accept. They let you cry when you need to, then bring a smile on your face again. This was Wufei's last thought as he fell fully asleep.
O.O.O.O.O
Heero Yuy was watching L1's main spatioport through electronic binoculars. He had chosen his point of observation carefully : the roof of a not so high building just outside the main gate of the spatioport. A place from which he could see the shuttles coming into the colony, and the persons coming out of the great terminal.
The Winner shuttles would arrive any minute now. The dense crowd of journalists armed with cameras and microphones was a perfect clue of it. The local police force had even secured the area, and black limousines were waiting not far from the main gate. Of course, there were also many curious people who just wanted to have a glance at the Winner heir. No wonder, the young man would probably be on all the national news tonight and on the front pages of most magazines tomorrow.
Heero shot a discreet look behind him. The man was still there. That stupid git had been following him since he had come back on L1 four days ago. Apparently, the Doctors didn't trust him enough on that contract. Heero was more than just annoyed by it. He didn't need to be constantly watched to do his job. In fact, that was more unnerving than anything else. But taking care of that problem would have to wait for a little while. Heero needed to watch carefully what kind of security was around the Winners to define a strategy. Then, he would have to track his target so as to understand how this habit of sneaking out he had been talked about could be a help to him.
O.O.O.O.O
"Wufei."
The Chinese man's eyes shot open. He straightened up quickly in his seat, ready for any kind of attack, but the only attack was the explosive pain in his head that chose to spread at that moment in protestation. Wufei winced, shook his head and tried to focus.
"Headache ?", Quatre asked with a smile.
Wufei groaned and nodded. He hated headaches. He didn't have them very often, but he supposed that crying, space travel and sleeping curled up in a seat was a good combination for one. He rubbed a point between his eyes. When he opened them again, Quatre was handing him a glass of water and a pill.
"Aspirin", the blond young man said. "Once we're in the hotel, we will probably find someone to bring you tea or something. And I think a hot shower could help too."
"Thanks", Wufei muttered, gratefully swallowing the medicine.
"We'll be there in about ten minutes, I thought it was better to wake you up before. Landing is not comfortable even when you're sitting correctly in your seat."
Wufei settled more comfortably and looked out of the window. They were being directed to the central gate of the main spatioport.
"How are you ?", Quatre asked.
"I've been better, but I'll live."
"You sure ?"
Wufei sighed.
"Yes, I'm fine. I just need food, cleaning and rest."
"Good."
"I suppose there is going to be a great commotion outside."
"Probably", Quatre sighed. "Journalists and all, not to mention tourists and people who are just waiting for the opportunity to gape at me. But we're not stopping tonight."
"Stopping ?"
"It means we won't stay there on the street for hours answering to questions. If journalists want interviews, they will have to contact our press assistant. But I am afraid that won't prevent us from being on the news."
"Great. I look like a rag doll."
"A bit", Quatre admitted with a soft laugh. "And your eyes are red, but I suppose you can use sunglasses against that."
"Whatever. It's not like I really care being on TV."
"You've been on TV already quite some times."
"That was just because every actor wanting to do his own stunts went to my school to learn stuff, that's all."
"Now he's being modest. You're a celebrity too, Wufei. You can't change that."
Wufei sighed heavily.
"Well, I would be glad if your own celebrity made everyone forget about me. After all, I'm your employee here. Personal trainer and bodyguard. Officially at least."
"You're not officially my bodyguard. People would start asking questions if they understood that Chang Wufei is actually protecting me. They will think I received death threats and I am taking them seriously."
"Well, you received death threats, although in my opinion you're not taking them seriously at all."
Quatre smiled.
"Your sense of humor is almost back, I think no permanent damage was done to your brain."
Wufei smacked him lightly on the head, a move that he actually made quite often. Every time Quatre showed the beginning of a "make fun of Wufei" mood.
"Keep on like this and I'll make sure your next training session is so exhausting you will have to crawl out of it", the Chinese man threatened jokingly.
"Okay, okay", Quatre laughed, raising his hand in defeat. "I give up. But you know what, you're definitely going to have trouble with Duo."
"Why that ?"
"Fun is Duo's middle name. And you won't be able to smack him like you do to me."
"Why not ?"
"I'm not saying. You just try and you'll see", Quatre said with a smile.
They got out of the shuttle fifteen minutes later. They didn't bother about their luggage. There were about a hundred persons whose job it was to make sure that everything would arrive safely at the hotel. Mr Winner, his personal assistant, Quatre and Wufei made their way towards the main gate, bodyguards discreet and on watch. Wufei's eyes widened a bit when he saw the crowd waiting for them outside.
O.O.O.O.O
Heero went back to looking at the front door with his binoculars when a wave of commotion passed through the crowd of journalists. He had seen the three shuttles arrive. Now was the critical time. Heero needed to evaluate how many bodyguards there were in the middle of all those people, and if they were going to cause any trouble.
Mr Winner got out, followed by the blond boy Heero had seen on the pictures. His target was speaking to a Chinese young man who looked a few years older than him. Heero frowned. He had received no information about that man, absolutely no data. The man was not wearing a suit, but a traditional Chinese costume. The more he looked at that man, the more Heero was sure he had seen him before, but his memory did not let him access to the precise circumstances. Heero brushed the thought away and concentrated on watching the scene, as Mr Winner and his son distributed smiles and waves to the cameras around.
O.O.O.O.O
Wufei and Quatre were almost blinded by the flash of cameras as they stepped through the doors of the spatioport. Wufei swore in Chinese and rubbed his eyes, only managing to make them more red.
"I catch one of these damn reporters, I'll make him eat his camera", he growled.
Quatre smiled.
"Just be yourself and it'll be fine."
"I am myself. I am in a bad mood, I have a headache, and I was just attacked by a blinding light. My reaction is totally normal."
"Where has all your Asiatic Zen attitude gone ?"
"Dunno. Probably in the part of my brain that was just destroyed by the damn flash."
Quatre laughed. Wufei was amazed to see how much the young blond man seemed in his element. Quatre was smiling gently to the cameras, occasionally waving to someone. He didn't look nervous.
"My, doesn't it look like you've done it all your life ?", Wufei said.
"Not all my life, but part of. My father took me to quite a lot of receptions, actually. They're not that bad, anyway, all they want are a few pictures, it's not that much. Although I'm quite sure this one over there is from a tabloid. You'll see that tomorrow, every reader of the L1 Sun will wonder who is the hot Chinese guy I'm dragging around with me."
"Just what I needed for my reputation", Wufei said rolling his eyes.
He didn't get any answer. Quatre was looking around, his eyes a bit unfocused, scanning the crowd as if looking for someone. And suddenly he looked up, straight to a small building just across the street. Wufei looked there too and noticed a dark figure on the roof, holding what looked suspiciously like binoculars.
"Is that him ?", Wufei whispered.
Quatre just nodded, and smiled brightly.
O.O.O.O.O
Heero gave a start when his target began looking around and suddenly raised his gaze, looking straight at him. How on Earth had the young man noticed him ? But there was no mistake to be made, the blond young man was staring directly at Heero, his green-blue eyes bright with something that looked like … satisfaction. Heero frowned. He saw the Chinese man ask something, but couldn't read on his lips what it was. The target nodded and smiled brightly. Then, he lowered his eyes and went into one of the waiting limousines.
Heero put the binoculars aside, perplex. He didn't understand what had just happened. He hadn't been followed there, except by the stupid brat behind him who was about to learn the real meaning of the word pain. None of the bodyguards had detected him either, none of them even thinking to look up for a possible threat. But the blond young man had just looked around for a few seconds, before looking straight at him and smiling. That was not normal. Targets were not supposed to act this way. They were supposed to become paranoid and hire extra security, and do all sort of stupid stuff because of the fear. Heero had seen no extra security of any kind, except for that Chinese man he didn't know.
The killer shrugged and put the binoculars back into the sport bag he had been carrying. He took out a 9mm Glock and pointed it directly at the man who had been following him and who apparently thought he was well hidden.
"Get out !", he barked.
He saw the man give a start and shakily coming out of the shadows.
"You work for the Doctors ?", Heero asked icily.
The man nodded nervously.
"They paid you to follow me so that they could be sure I'm doing my job."
Nervous nod again. Heero lowered his gun and shot the man in the right kneecap. The man let out a yelp of pain and fell, his sane leg unable to support his suddenly unbalanced weight.
"Tell them I'm doing fine and I don't need a nanny", Heero said, his face blank. "And that next time I find one of their cronies following me around, I'll send him back in little separate boxes."
With those last words, the killer left the roof in the fading lights.