Part 7
Wufei and Quatre were silent all the way back to the hotel. When they finally reached their rooms, though, Quatre couldn't help asking :
"So, how did you find Duo ?"
Wufei smiled.
"What did you expect ?"
"More shouting, actually, since you're both very stubborn."
Wufei looked thoughtful for a moment before he finally found the words.
"I am not saying that Duo is my best friend at first sight, Quatre. But he is someone who cares for you and wants you safe. You trust and love him and he feels the same for you. For me, that's enough. If we're meant to become friends, then it will happen just like this, but I still need a little more time for this. And less nicknames", he added with a smile. "I hate people who don't call me right."
Quatre mock-winced.
"I'm afraid you will have to give up on that one, Wufei. Duo just loves giving out nicknames to everything and everyone. Even his car has a name. And you don't mind me calling you Fei."
"It's different", Wufei said. "I've been knowing you for more time, and it's a diminutive, not a distortion of the name my mother gave me."
Quatre smiled affectionately and squeezed Wufei's shoulder.
"You may try to talk him out of it, but let me warn you about one thing. Try to order Duo to do one thing, and he'll do just the opposite to piss you off. Even if the thing you ordered him to do was exactly what he had planned to do. He's like that. He just can't stand to have someone controlling him."
"You can control him alright", Wufei said pointedly.
"Oh no, I can't. I just happen to have my own ways of asking for things that make it impossible for Duo to refuse, that's all. He does the same with me, we both know it and find it very funny."
"Point noted", Wufei said. "It does not augur good for my future relationship with Maxwell, but at least I'm forewarned. I suppose you gave him similar warnings about me."
"I did", Quatre said, stifling a yawn. "Allah, I can't believe how tired I am. I'll just go to bed now, or I'll be up to no good tomorrow."
O.O.O.O.O
Heero got up the stairs silently. He never used lifts when he didn't have to, knowing how much they had a tendency to break down just when you needed them to go faster. The next part was the tricky one. Neutralizing the cameras in the corridor and silencing the two bodyguards in front of the door without killing them. But at least, keeping his mind on this part of the mission made everything clear for Heero and prevented him from thinking too much about what was supposed to take place next.
'Get going, Yuy', he thought as he pushed the door to get into the darkened corridor.
He slid along the wall to stay out of reach of the first camera. Once he was right under it, he unplugged one of the black wires coming out of it. The little red light on the machine went out. The same operation was repeated five times as Heero proceeded along the corridor. When it came to the sharp turn that led to Winner's suite, though, he stopped. Now, everything was a matter of speed.
Heero jumped out of the corner and aimed his fist right at the first bodyguard. The man fell on the floor unconscious. The second bodyguard got up but the butt of the Glock hit him at the back of his head, and he joined his colleague on the floor. Heero opened the door of the suite with a fake electronic key and slipped inside. All of this took exactly seven seconds, and didn't make any noise.
The room was completely dark, all blinds and drapes shut. Heero blinked several times, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness until he could make out the form of the massive bed at the other end of the room. He began to make his way towards here, a firm grip on his Glock. In a few seconds, it would be over. The mission would be accomplished, and he would move on to something else.
'Do you realize that this is ridiculous, Yuy ?', the little voice in his head started. 'Move on. You don't know how to move on. You haven't moved on since Odin died. All you've been doing is replicate what your life had been with him, except that now you're all alone. That's not moving on. People usually call that denial.'
Heero's grip on the Glock began to tremble. Not now.
'Yeah, try to shut me up', the voice kept on. 'You did that quite well for two years. Well guess what ? It doesn't work anymore. And you know why, don't you ? Because you know I am right. And because you know who I am. Why do you want to erase me so badly ? Don't you want to find back who you really are, do you prefer being a soulless droid for the rest of your life ? Well, okay then, go ahead, and shoot the kid. If you can do it. I bet you everything you own, including me, that you won't do it. Because it's wrong. Because your conscience, me in another way, will not let you do it. You knew this before you came here. But then, why did you come here at all, when you knew you were going to fail ?'
Heero was literally petrified. He clenched his hand around the Glock, the contact of cold metal bringing him back to reality. He had to do it. Never mind that it was not right. He had been paid to do this, he would fulfill his contract and start something else. 'No feelings', he reminded himself. 'Just aim, and pull the trigger.'
He took the gun up, aiming at the bundle of covers in the bed. But then, said bundle of covers started to move and a blond head emerged out of it. Blue-green eyes turned to the killer standing in the middle of the room.
'I told you so', the little voice said.
O.O.O.O.O
Quatre knew someone had gotten into his room immediately. He also knew who it was. He settled on not moving for now, keeping his breath steady, and letting the killer come closer. If Wufei was right, he was probably in the deepest trouble he had ever been. His gun was not even within his reach. If the man was in, it probably meant that the bodyguards were down. Wufei was sleeping in the room next to him and had apparently not heard anything.
'You're on your own for this one, Quatre', the blond thought bracing himself. 'Just pray for it and hope that you were right, or you probably won't see the lights tomorrow.'
Quatre concentrated a bit and felt a wave of confusion wash over him. The killer was off-balance and disoriented, but he kept on walking. To Quatre, it looked like his killer ('I am being possessive', Quatre thought absentmindedly) was having a conversation in his head, and that it didn't go as well as he expected. But then, Quatre heard the distinctive noise of a gun being armed.
'Okay, no time for hesitation now', he thought. 'Either what I have planned works or I am dead or seriously injured."
Quatre pushed back the covers and sat very slowly in the bed, turning his gaze without hesitation to the killer. What he saw almost took his breath.
The man was the most handsome Quatre had ever set his eyes upon. A bronzed tone of skin, high cheekbones and slightly almond-shaped eyes clearly indicated Asian origins, but the man's eyes were blue and his hair a deep rich brown. He was dressed all in black, with a long leather coat, and pointing a gun straight at Quatre. The blond young man moistened his lips and took a deep breath before he trusted himself to speak without his voice shaking.
"You came", he said. "Finally."
The man frowned in surprise. Quatre could feel him wondering if he had forgotten something on his way that could have signaled his visit. He smiled.
"How did you know ?", the killer finally asked in barely more than a whisper.
"I feel you all the time in my head. I have since the first day you broke into my bedroom on L4."
O.O.O.O.O
Heero was more than surprised to hear this, although it didn't show on his face. But somehow, his target seemed to understand it, because the young man kept on.
"I remember when I found this card on my desk, I was so mad at you and the people who had hired you. I couldn't see why anyone would want me dead. It sounded ridiculous."
He had a point, Heero thought. It was ridiculous. But then, why was he, Heero Yuy, standing there with a gun, ready to shoot ? 'Because you've been paid for it, you baka', he snapped at himself. 'Keep your mind on the money if you can't think of anything else.'
Quatre frowned.
"May I ask you what your name is ? Your real name, I mean, not that 'Perfect Soldier' thing."
"Why do you want to know ?"
"Just grant me my last wish, okay ?", Quatre said with a smile. "If I am going to die tonight, I'd like to know the name of the person who has the arrogance to see himself as a suitable judge of who should be alive and who should be dead."
"I am not the judge, only the executor."
Quatre only raised an eyebrow, and Heero heard his next words as if someone else was saying them.
"My name is Heero Yuy."
"Heero Yuy", Quatre repeated. "That's a pretty name. Japanese, isn't it ?"
Heero nodded, while mentally slapping himself for giving out so much info. That was not how things were supposed to go on. 'Just shoot him already!'
"Well, Heero", Quatre said, "I have some other questions. I suppose you're not in a hurry, since you got me here unarmed."
Heero gave that a thought, and nodded once to show he was ready to listen, and maybe answer.
"What are you here for ?", Quatre asked.
Heero opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. Damn. Definitely not going right. Maybe he should just stick to the old standards.
"I am here to kill you."
"Then why am I not already dead ?"
Good question, Heero thought, but he didn't answer.
"I have just one thing to tell you", Quatre added. "I don't intend to die just because someone turned me into a pile of dollars for you to grab. I am not just a name on paper or a pile of credits. I am a person. Someone with feelings, memories, loved ones and duties and responsibilities. It's a lot. Do you think you can kill all that, Heero? Do you think you're up to it ? Or do you know, just like me, that you are never going to do this ?"
'Make him shut up', Heero thought. 'Just shoot. Don't let him talk any further. Mission. Mind on the mission. Get the job done. Now !'
But he was unable to pull the trigger, completely paralyzed.
'He is right', the little voice started again. 'You cannot do this. You know it's wrong. You know it's bad. But if you don't do it, then you're as good as dead. So what's your decision, now Heero ? Will you finally deal with who you really are, or keep on with that solitary existence, 'cause no one in their right sense could call what you have a life.'
Heero didn't have time to give a second thought to that. Quatre had gotten up and out of the bed. The young man was only wearing boxers, and his body was almost glowing white in the dark. He took a step closer, and Heero saw his eyes lose their focus.
"Why have I been drawn to you like this, Heero ?", Quatre said, his voice a bit uneasy as his breathing became labored once again. "Why you, of all people ? Why is your soul screaming in agony like this, and why do I feel like I am the only one who can help you ? Why can't I give up and try to get away from you ? I don't know, but I just can't. You're always here, somewhere in my head. And you're screaming so loud it's deafening."
Quatre took another step and held out his hand.
"Why so much pain, Heero ?"
Heero started when he saw that Quatre was actually crying. Big tears were rolling down the delicate cheeks as Quatre pierced the killer's eyes with his own. The Arabian rubbed his chest as if in deep pain. He even began to choke on his own tears.
"Why ? Why are you calling out for help, Heero ? What happened to you that made you turn away from life, and forget what it was like ? What made you close your heart and seal it over wounds no one can see but me ? It hurts so much, Heero, I can feel it. So much. I can't imagine how you can stand that everyday. So much pain. So much sadness. I just .. I can't …"
Heero was unable to do anything but gape as the living image of his inner despair was walking towards him. Suddenly, Quatre clutched his head as if experiencing a very bad headache. He fell on his knees on the carpeted floor, and let out a deafening scream of pain. Heero didn't remember ever hearing everything like this. It was just as if someone had torn his heart apart, exposing all the wounds and putting salt on them to make them bleed. He lowered his gun, and looked, completely lost, at the prostrated figure at his feet. Quatre was still on his knees, clutching his head and rocking slowly back and forth, muttering under his breath. Tears were now streaming down his face, and he was fighting to find his breath. Heero looked around, not knowing what to do. He knew now for certain that he would never kill Quatre Winner, although the reason for it was not very clear.
"Get out of my head !", he snapped, a note of fear very discernable in his voice.
"I can't", Quatre choked on the floor. "I can't … I want to, but I can't. It's too much, you suffer too much, I can't get out. Just … go away before someone comes, or they'll get you. Please."
Heero's eyes widened. The person he had come to kill was asking him to go away before security would come in and chase him ? Heero started to think that maybe someone had put something in his food ('Nonsense, you always prepare your own food'), or that maybe he had taken some kind of drug without knowing it, but the world just didn't make sense anymore. His fighting instincts told him it was the right thing to do, but somehow, Heero was loath to leave Quatre in pain on the floor here.
'Great time to find out about your protective nature, Yuy', he thought at himself. 'What do you think you can do anyway ? Why do you want to do anything in the first place ?'
'Because this is all your fault ?', the little voice in the back of his head suggested.
Heero didn't have time to wonder any further. Someone gave a mighty kick in the doors, and they slammed into the wall as Chang Wufei stormed into the room.
O.O.O.O.O
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Wufei's eyes shot open when he heard the deafening sound unmistakably coming from the room next to his. He sat up in bed and listened intently. There was absolutely no sound coming from the corridor, which was not normal. Any normal bodyguard, or conscious bodyguard, would have rushed into the nearby room if they had heard that scream.
Wufei got up and fumbled to find back his pants. How come no one had heard this ? Quatre sounded like he had had his throat cut. 'Bad analogy, Chang', Wufei said to himself, wincing as a dreadful picture crossed his mind. 'People who get their throat cut cannot scream.'
Wufei finally put his pants on and got out in the corridor. He saw the two limp forms on the floor in front of Quatre's doors and hurried to them. He kneeled besides them and checked for a pulse. To his relief, there was one, they had just been knocked out.
Wufei crept closer to the door. It was closed, and the lock had not been broken (since it was electronic, it was hard to pick). Wufei stuck his ear to the door, wincing some more when he heard Quatre's voice. His friend was sounding like he was choking on his tears. And then, Wufei heard a second voice. A voice he had never heard before. He didn't take time to think some more. He removed the two bodyguards from the floor in front of the door. Firmly planted on his feet, he took a deep breath before breaking the doors open with a mighty kick.
Wufei was not prepared for the scene he witnessed. Quatre was kneeling on the floor, crying without restraint and clutching his head. In front of him stood a tall man, apparently Japanese, who was looking down at Quatre, and limply holding a gun in his right hand.
O.O.O.O.O
Heero seemed to have lost all ability to move. He was standing with the gun in front of the young man he had come to kill, but had been unable to, and then that other one stormed him. Chang Wufei, his mind told him, reminding him of the little facts he knew about the man. Not fast enough.
One second, the Chinese was in front of him, and the second after he had jumped in the air, and his foot collided with the side of Heero's face, sending him hard into the wall. Heero dropped his gun under the shock, but was fast enough to block the next blow and ran for the door.
O.O.O.O.O
Wufei was left disoriented by the man's reflexes. His second blow had been easily deflected, and now he was escaping. Wufei followed as fast as he could. The bodyguards were starting to come around, and actually, the killer almost stumbled on them on his way out. Wufei came to one of them and hurtled him on his feet.
"Do you have a weapon ?", he snapped.
"Yes, sir", the man answered weakly.
"Then shoot him !", Wufei said indicating the running man in the corridor.
Quatre appeared at the door just at that time, his cheeks still moist with tears, rubbing his chest and holding onto the door to keep himself steady. His mind recorded the scene in about a second. Heero running down the corridor for dear life, Wufei ready to run after him and the bodyguard, weapon raised and ready to shoot Heero.
"NOOO !"
Before either Wufei or the bodyguard could do anything, Quatre launched himself on the man and grabbed his wrist, pulling his arm upwards. The bullet hit the ceiling. Quatre turned around just in time to see Heero disappear through a window, before he collapsed on the floor, his legs unable to support his weight after that. Wufei ran to him and kneeled at his side, cradling the blond young man on his lap.
"Quatre, what the hell did you do that for ?", he scowled. "He tried to kill you !"
"No he didn't", Quatre said, exhausted.
He had dark circles under his eyes, and a fine sheen of cold sweat was covering his body. Wufei held him closer and frowned. Quatre was beginning to shake, probably both from the cold and the shock. His pulse was beating erratically and his pupils were dilated. Wufei had to try and keep him awake until someone competent would examine him. But was there even someone competent for that kind of things ? Empathy was not a disease. Although most physicians in space knew about it, it was yet an understudied matter, considering the limited number of true empaths around (people with limited empathic perceptions were quite common on the colonies, but true empaths like Quatre were actually rare). Wufei doubted that Mr Winner's physician could do anything for Quatre. And Wufei knew that this time, simple meditation techniques would not do the trick.
"What do you mean, he didn't try to kill you ?", he asked, trying to hide the worry in his voice.
"That's what he came for, but he couldn't do it", Quatre explained between short gasps. "He couldn't do it, he hurts too much … too much. He cannot hurt me now, it's too late …"
Quatre's eyes began to drool.
"Stay with me, Quatre !"
Panick was now clearly discernable in Wufei's tone. Quatre smiled weakly.
"It's okay, Wufei", he whispered. "It happens when I push myself too much. I'll be fine."
"I'll believe that once you're not green and cold-sweating and shaking and starting to burn in fever", Wufei said, wiping Quatre's brow with his hand.
"Don't worry", Quatre said. "Just … call Duo, okay ? He … He'll know what to do."
Wufei's frown increased but he couldn't add a thing before Quatre drifted into unconsciousness. The two bodyguards came closer, shame very visible on their faces.
"What should we do now, Laoshi ?", one of them asked.
Wufei reached his decision very fast.
"I'll take care of him and send for someone who can help him. You will not say a word of this 'major security breach' to anyone, not even Rashid."
The men nodded. Wufei shook his head dejectedly. That was the part they would be more than willing to accomplish, since they would not be proud to admit that they had let a killer in and out of their young master's bedroom without being able to stop him.
"I hope that in the future, you will try to accomplish your duties with more vigilance", Wufei added acidly. "This must not happen again. Or you can consider yourself fired."
The men nodded again, more nervously. Wufei sighed, then lifted Quatre up and bore him back to his bed.
O.O.O.O.O
Heero slammed the door of his hotel room behind him. He took off his leather coat and dumped it on the floor, before he hurried to the bathroom. He turned the tap of cold water and washed his face several times, before he could stand looking at himself in the mirror. His own Prussian blue eyes stared back at him with a lost look that he couldn't remember ever seeing on his face. Wait, that was not exactly true. He had felt that lost and confused before. When he had heard on the news that Odin was going to be executed, and that he was going to be left alone in the world.
Heero shook his head, his damp hair sending droplets of cold water everywhere. He could not kill Quatre Winner. Odin would have refused to do it too. He had been in a rush and bored when he had accepted the mission. It had been a mistake. Heero was feeling very bad about the whole thing, and if there was one thing of Odin he didn't want to let go that was the little sentence he had been told the last time he had seen the man alive. 'Act on your emotions'.
"Looks like the little blond one messed up with your head, ne, Heero ?", he told aloud to himself.
That was another thing he needed to figure out. From the first moment on, he had developed a strange kind of relationship with Quatre Raberba Winner. The young man had said that he could feel Heero in his head all the time. Heero did not really understand what that meant, but he had to admit it had been almost too easy to approach his target. As if the Arabian was trying to get closer to him, even defying him to get closer.
'And look what happens when you do. I don't know where that came from, but looking at your pain straight in the eyes is kinda unpleasant, isn't it ?', the very familiar little voice said.
"Yeah", Heero answered out loud. "It hurts a lot. A lot more than I thought it could."
He smiled as he leaned back on the wall. Great. Now, not only was he listening to the little voice, he was answering too. He rubbed a point between his eyes, before reaching his decision. He was not going to kill Quatre Raberba Winner, but there was a way for him to get out of it alive too. Or anyway, a way for him to make sure he never acted against his conscience again. He was not going to kill Quatre Winner, and he would make sure that no one else could. He still had a few questions to ask that young man. Okay, if he was being honest with himself, he had a lot more than a few questions to ask Quatre Winner.
'That's so great, Yuy. And to think it all started with you having the hots for a target.'
"I didn't have the hots for him", Heero protested weakly. "And stop talking to me like this."
'I can't stop. I am you. I will only stop if you want me to. Or if someone helps you to make me shut up.'
"Now that's an idea. I bet you know the perfect someone, ne ?"
'Don't you ?'
Heero sighed. He looked at himself again in the mirror. This was not the right mood to be into to do what he was about to do. He shook his head, then glared at the mirror. That was more like it. If he had been easily impressionable, he could even have scared himself. 'Just think about how much you're going to scare the wits out of them', he thought.
He came back into the bedroom, took out his cell phone and dialed a number. Someone took the line.
"I want to speak to J", Heero said before the person at the other end could utter any kind of greeting.
"J is in a meeting with his colleagues, Mr Yuy."
"Then tune me in on the com channel of the conference room. They can all hear what I've got to say."
"Just wait a minute, Mr Yuy."
Heero's forefinger tapped impatiently on the phone as he listened to the incredibly corny waiting music. Then, there was an audible click as the line was taken.
"We are listening, Mr Yuy", J's voice said.
"All of you ?"
"Yes. Do you call us to tell us that your mission is completed ?"
"Not really. I have a question to be exact. What did you have in mind when you asked 'me' to eliminate Quatre Raberba Winner ?"
Silence.
"You know I have principles. You know that once I would have come closer to him, I would find absolutely no reason to kill him. No suitable reasons, I mean."
"You mean that one million dollars is not a suitable reason, Mr Yuy ?"
"Hardly for me. One million dollars is the reason I put up with the likes of you and occasionally get rid of some of you. I do not kill for fun, I thought you knew that. I have principles. The only reason I accept to work for you is because it helps the world to be freed from some of your nastiest colleagues. Quatre Raberba Winner does not fall into this category."
"We pay you to do a job, Mr Yuy. To perform some kind of service."
"That's where you are wrong. You pay me because I am the best and because you find it safer to have me on your side. Well guess what, J ? I am not on your side anymore."
There was another silence. When J spoke again, Heero could feel the nervousness in his voice. That made him grin evilly.
"What exactly do you mean, Mr Yuy ?"
"I mean that you should not have overlooked where I come from, J. You should not have forgotten who my master was. He didn't like you, and I start to understand why. I am even beginning to think that I betrayed his memory when I first accepted to work for you. This is a mistake I will not make again."
"Should I take this as the end of your collaboration with us ?"
"Actually, someone intelligent would have said that this was the end of your life, my dear J. Because, you see, this little affair happens to have pissed me off."
There was a distinct gulp at the other end of the line.
"You sent me deliberately on a target that you knew I would not be willing to kill. You did this either because you don't care about my principles, which is an insult to my professionalism, or because you wanted to test me."
Silence. Very tense silence, Heero noted before he kept on.
"If my first guess is the good one, then I'm not willing to work with people who overlook who and what I am so simply. You tend to forget a bit too easily that I am a human being, J, you and all the others. Not simply a hand and a gun. If the second guess is the right one, then it means you don't trust me because you know what you asked of me. Either way, you made me waste my time."
Heero let out a snort of cruel laughter.
"And do you know, J, what I hate even more than you crime lords and filth of the universe ? You know what really makes me go wild ? It's people who make me waste my time. When I meet one of those, I'm just ready to liberate the world of their presence … for free. Just because that would cause me an immense pleasure to do it."
"Mr Yuy, wait … We can probably find some arrangement …"
"Now, listen to yourself, you're trying to lose more of my time. It's too late, J. You upset me. Deal with it. For me, you and your guys are no more than a bunch of living corpses. I will not go after you, but if one of you crosses my way, he is as good as dead."
Heero paused to let the words sink in.
"Oh, and, just so you know, I think I should warn you that sending someone else after Quatre Winner would be a very bad idea. Since I sort of intend to make sure that this young man's goals are achieved, anyone trying to get him will find me in their way. And you know what it means, ne ? People who 'find' me in their way have a very bad tendency to end up dead, that's strange."
"We paid you half of the prize in advance, Mr Yuy."
"I shall consider this a payback for the fact that you almost made me lose my sanity on this case, J. And maybe I'll buy flowers for your funerals with it. That is, if there's enough left of you once I'm done with you to actually bury anything. Sayounara."
And Heero hung up, feeling, for the first time in a week, completely satisfied by what he had done.
O.O.O.O.O
In the conference room, five old men were staring at the phone emitting loud beeps. H was the first to react. He picked up the phone and dialed a strange number.
"Kushrenada ? We have a problem. We need to meet you and Dermail as soon as possible. And, if you can, bring Une with you."