Part 22
"Geez, look at the sharks !", Duo hissed with disdain when he saw the massive crowd of journalists outside of the Memorial Medical Center.
And actually, it looked like every journalist in the galaxy was here. They were restrained from entering the Medical Center by armed GSA agents, but there was a good twenty meters between the car, in which they were, and the door.
Heero tensed immediately when he saw the crowd. Too many people, too little space to move. So many opportunities for an attack. The Prussian blue eyes were scanning the mass of people outside, evaluating the potential danger. And Heero soon realized that the most threatening danger was being crushed by the journalists before they even reached the front door. Because there was not a chance someone could aim at Quatre and hope to get him in such a mess. The Japanese man turned to Wufei and Trowa.
"We need to get Quatre inside as quickly as possible", he said, receiving two sharp nods as answer.
Quatre looked up. He had spent the whole drive with his hands between his legs, staring in the void and desperately trying to obliterate the blind panic that threatened to overwhelm him. He could feel Heero's unease as he too felt the aftershock of his lover's emotions, and was fighting with all his control so as not to incapacitate him, a thing which was mobilizing much of his energy. So he just nodded to Heero to signify his agreement, shooting an almost heinous glare to the journalists outside.
'Even on a day like this, they won't leave us alone !'
"Duo, you take point", Heero ordered. "Trowa, you take left, I'll take right. Wufei, watch our backs. You see a single mike shoved under his nose, you make sure the one waving it won't be doing it again for a long, long time."
"Sure thing, pal !", Duo said grinning maniacally.
Heero turned to Quatre and held out his hand.
"Quatre ?"
The blond young man looked up into his lover's eyes. He felt lost and had no idea of what to do. Right now, he was seeing everything through a blur and only wanted one thing, to see his father and his sister alive. The bright blue gaze here was just telling him 'Come with me, I'll get you to them. Just come with me.' Without thinking any further, Quatre took Heero's hand.
As soon as Duo opened the back door of the car, there was a rush for it outside. Several reporters were knocked out as Duo shoved them into the door, maybe a bit too forcefully. The young American stood protectively in front of the car as Heero and Trowa helped Quatre get out and took protective stances at his sides. Wufei emerged last, and they began to make their way for the door.
These were truly the longest twenty meters in Heero's life. In front of them Duo was not too gently pushing people aside, making way for them to pass. A journalist who had more cheek, or who was just a bit more stupid, tried to push him out of the way and ended sprawled on the floor with his broken camera on top of him and wondering where the hell was the truck that had just driven on him. As another one seemed eager to push through, Heero had enough. Looking positively pissed (which was enough to make some of the reporters back off), he caught the closest one by the collar of his shirt and threw him several feet away as if the man had been made of feathers. This gained the young men a little more space to breathe. But Wufei had to put his fist through a camera's optic lens for the journalists to understand that no, Mr Winner would not be making any comments right now.
As soon as they reached the door, the GSA agents raised their weapons at the journalists, allowing access for the little group only.
"Why, thanks, guys !", Duo snickered at them. "Don'tcha think we could have used the help back there, you big lumps !"
"Just get in, Maxwell", Wufei growled. "Being mobbed by brainless gits is not on my schedule of things to do today."
O.O.O.O.O
"Gee, I want a security service like that", Sally said, watching the scene from her office's window.
"Uh uh, that's not security, those young men are actually his friends", Lucrezia said.
There was a soft knock on the door, and a young woman with clear eyes and long curly hair got in, still wearing a blue surgical gown. She looked tired and went straight to a seat, in which she flopped down gracelessly.
"I'm done", Dr Elisabeth Corday said.
"Lu ?", Sally said with a motion of her head.
"I'm waiting outside", Lucrezia said, catching the hint. "I'll go brief my men about good hospital behavior. Just tell me when you will have that little talk about the case with Quatre Winner, I'd like to be there."
"Okay."
Lucrezia got out after saluting Elisabeth with a brief nod. The two doctors stared at each other for a while.
"So ?", Sally finally asked.
"I did everything I could", Elisabeth answered in a tired voice. "And I suspect it won't be enough. I removed two bullets and an incredible amount of splinters, but I think there are still some I couldn't remove or reach, which will probably start an infection. And then, there's the bullet damage itself. Have you ever seen such a thing before, Sally ?"
"Yeah, only last time I removed one, it was from a corpse in a morgue."
There was a short silence.
"What is your prognosis ?", Sally asked.
"There are four chances out of five he is going to die in the next hours", Elisabeth said dejectedly. "I still have no idea how he could undergo a cardiac surgery in the state he was in, but his whole body is in shock. If he doesn't die from it, there is the infection that will start and we will lose him anyway. I'm not sure we did a lot of good on that one."
"Elisabeth, as long as they're not DOA (1), we have to treat them, and you know it."
"I know, but … do you know just how frustrating it is to operate a patient when you know he is not going to make it ?"
"I know, Elisabeth. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well, I'm not the one who is going to tell this to his son. Poor kid."
O.O.O.O.O
The young men were led upstairs by a kind-looking nurse. As soon as Quatre stepped out of the elevator, Rashid was in front of him. The man's face was ravaged by anguish and sadness, and he did everything he could not to avoid looking at his young boss in the eyes.
"Master Quatre, I am dreadfully sorry for what happened. We failed to protect your father and your sister. We …"
"Rashid !", Quatre interrupted. "It's … It's not your fault. I know you did what you had to do. I am not blaming you for what happened."
"But Master Quatre …"
"I heard one of your men was shot. Who was it ?"
"Auda."
Quatre winced, recalling the image of a nice man who always had a smile for everyone.
"Please see that his family is warned, Rashid. And … once the police are done, could you please ask them to send us the body so we can return it to L4 ?"
"Yes, Master Quatre."
Rashid bowed and left to his men to give out instructions. Quatre took a deep breath and tried to calm down, only to find out it was impossible. The nervous tension was eating him, and not even Heero's hand in his could ease it, since Heero was as worried as he was.
"Mr Winner ?"
Quatre looked up and found himself staring at a tall woman with honey-blond hair tied in to french braids and light blue eyes. She was wearing a white blouse and had a stethoscope around her neck, like most doctors around.
"I am Dr Sally Po", she said. "I am the head of the surgical unit who treated your father and your sister."
"Are they alright ?", Quatre asked eagerly.
Dr Po tensed.
"If you would please come this way", she said. "We are going to ICU, that's where your sister is. I'll explain on the way. We're having a little problem that I will need to discuss with you."
"We're following you."
Sally shot a look at the four young men behind Quatre.
"Is this a problem if they come with me ?", the blond young man asked.
Sally was about to tell that it actually was, before noticing the anxious look on Quatre Winner's face. The young man was unconsciously crushing the hand of the Japanese man at his side, who didn't seem to care that much about the physical pain, but was actually quite successful at hiding he was a nervous wreck (but Sally was not a doctor for nothing). The young man with the braid was very pale and eagerly waiting for an answer, and crushing the hand of the tall young european-looking boy at his side. The last one was gritting his teeth and apparently did not intend to be left behind.
"This is Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton and Chang Wufei", Quatre said. "I …"
"They can come with you", Sally said before Quatre could finish.
"Thank you."
O.O.O.O.O
Sally led the five young men along the corridors of the hospital.
"I treated your sister", she started to explain. "She is going to be alright. We were very lucky and could remove the bullet quite easily. There will be no bad consequences, at least physically. She will recover fully. She woke up about ten minutes ago and asked for you."
"What about my father ?", Quatre asked, dreading the answer.
Sally shot him a sad look.
"He just went out of surgery. I'm afraid you will have to wait for a little while to see him. I'll let you see your sister, and then I'll ask you to come to my office. The GSA investigator is there, and there are some things we need to talk about. Then I'll take you to see your father."
Sally stopped in front of the ICU ward and opened the door. A nurse looked up.
"Hi, Dr Po", she said.
"Hi, Lara. We're here to see Mrs Winner. Did you give her her pain medication ?"
"It was put in the IV five minutes ago, Dr Po."
"Good. Mr Winner ? I'm sorry, but I can't let you all get in here."
Quatre looked a little taken aback.
"It's okay, Cat", Duo said. "You go see her. She needs rest, we will stop by later. You go see her and reassure her."
"Duo …"
"He's right, just go, we will wait for you here", Heero said, pointing at the window in the wall that opened on the ward.
"Okay", Quatre said, reluctantly letting go of Heero's hand, and following Sally inside.
The four remaining young men went to stand by the window, watching Iria's pale face on the white hospital sheets from afar. Duo's jaw was clenched as if he was trying very hard not to cry, and Wufei suddenly realized it was probably the case. Trowa was holding his hand and slowly caressing it with his thumb, but he was at a loss what to do exactly. Duo had told him what Iria meant to him. Suddenly, the American turned away from the window.
"I have to call Hilde", he said in a strangled voice.
"Then let's go find a phone", Trowa said softly. "And I'll warn the nurse over here to let Cathy go up once she arrives."
"You guys stayin' here ?", Duo asked Wufei and Heero.
The Japanese man didn't even react. His gaze was fixed on Quatre and Iria inside the ward, and he unconsciously raised his hand to rub his chest in that same gesture Quatre had when he was in too much pain from his empathy. Duo saw that and shot him a worried look. Wufei saw it too.
"Go call your sister", he said. "We're staying here."
O.O.O.O.O
"Iria ?"
Iria slowly opened her eyes. Everything was blurred, and it took her a few minutes to realize who was there.
"Quatre", she said in a rasped whisper.
"I'm here, Iria. Everything is okay, now."
"You …"
"I'm fine, Iria", Quatre said. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I was not hurt."
"Father ?"
"I don't know yet. I'll tell you as soon as I know."
"Mrs Winner, this is Dr Po. How are you feeling ?"
"Can't … feel my legs."
"Is it normal ?", Quatre asked, a bit panicked.
"Yes", Sally said. "The anesthetics are gradually wearing off. We will be running some tests soon, but there was no damage to the spinal cord."
"Thank you, doctor", Iria whispered.
Her face paled a bit, but she managed a tired smile to her brother.
"We'll let you have some rest, Iria", Quatre said. "I'll come back later with Duo and the guys, once you have a room of your own. Just rest."
Iria nodded weakly and closed her eyes again. Sally checked some of the machines around and added some drug into the IV, before leading Quatre outside again just as Duo and Trowa were coming back.
"I called Hilde, Cat", Duo said. "She said she would take the first shuttle with David."
"She doesn't have to !"
"She wants to. Oh, and Dr Po ? Trowa's sister is supposed to bring us some stuff, it's alright if she comes up when she arrives ? We warned the nurses."
Sally nodded.
"Let's go to my office", she said. "Kimy will beep me as soon as your father is conscious enough for a visit, Mr Winner."
O.O.O.O.O
It took some time for everyone to settle in Sally's office. Quatre, Trowa and Duo greeted Lucrezia Noin, Wufei and Heero only offering sharp nods. She offered her sympathy and explained her role in the story while Sally had some chairs brought for everyone to sit down. Then, the young doctor went to sit behind her desk and took out some notes.
"Okay, I told you we had a problem, because it appears two inquiries are stepping on each other, so to say. It's a problem of ammunitions."
The young men all stared blankly at her. Lucrezia went to Sally's help.
"It is clear that this attack was planned because of what happened at WEI recently, but it appears the killer is someone Sally was investigating about when she was a visiting forensic pathologist on L5-A0206. She autopsied his victims back then."
"How can you be sure it's the same killer ?", Wufei asked.
"Because the type of ammunitions he uses is very unusual. KTPs (2)."
"Cop Killers ?", Duo asked, his eyes widening. "They were shot at with Cop Killers ?"
"I'm lost", Quatre said. "What are KTPs ?"
"This is some kind of hollow point ammo", Heero explained. "Most people use hollow point nowadays, I personally use Silvertips. But KTPs are the most destructive hollow points that exist, so destructive that they are banned for use on humans. Not that it prevents people from using them. You can shoot someone through three phone books and a bulletproof vest with them. They can be used underwater if they are lined with kevlar. Not many people in the trade use them, because Silvertips are more than enough to get the job done, in most cases."
"How do you know all that ?", Sally asked.
"Personal experience", Heero replied dryly.
There was a short silence.
"Anyway, this links the attack to the cases I was investigating in the L5 colony cluster. I was a forensic pathologist there during the gang war, and I autopsied several people who seemed to have been killed at random in the streets, with no links to the gang war. I actually had a serial killer hiding behind the slaughter of the gang war. And curiously, there were no more victims once the war ended. And the files concerning my victims suddenly disappeared. I only have my own notes left."
She began to ruffle through her notes, looking up names.
"I have seven victims. Li Xiaolu, Wan Haozha, Shou Lien, Gao Li Zu, Han Shiawo, Tsen Li and …"
"Long Meiran", Heero said.
Everyone turned to Heero and Wufei paled visibly.
"What !", he said. "How do you even know about this ? What does that mean ? You autopsied my wife ?", he added for Sally.
Sally didn't know what to answer.
"You said the files disappeared", Heero told Sally.
She nodded.
"I was the one who stole them. I also crashed the computer system to make sure nothing remained. It was the last thing I did for Treize Kushrenada."
"My wife was killed by Lady Une ?", Wufei insisted. "She was assassinated ? On purpose ?"
"Who is Lady Une ?", Sally asked.
"Oh no", Lucrezia sighed.
"ENOUGH !", Quatre yelled, earning a blissful silence. "Good. Let's start again. The person who shot at my father and my sister happens to be the same you were hunting on L5 and is responsible for the death of Meiran. That person being Lady Une. Do I get it right so far ?"
"As far as I know, yes", Sally said, "except I have absolutely no idea who that Lady Une is."
She turned to look at Lucrezia.
"Time to fill me in, don't you think, Lu ?"
"Yeah, I think so", Lucrezia said. "I'll try to do it short. Am I allowed to reveal your role in the story ?", she asked Heero.
Heero shrugged.
"Okay, so here it is", Lucrezia started. "Mil is currently working undercover as Treize's personal assistant to gather proof to bring the Doctors, Dermail and Kushrenada in. The inquiry was triggered after several charity workers working for WEI were threatened. As Quatre began working for WEI Charities and cutting links with KI, the Doctors hired Heero Yuy to eliminate him. Heero refused to accomplish his mission and decided to protect Quatre instead, thus becoming an outcast in his community. So the Doctors hired Lady Une, a hired killer to take care of the problem. She is the one responsible for this attack, and for the murders on L5. Did you get everything ?"
"You mean apart from the fact your story doesn't make any kind of sense to me ?", Sally said. "I don't understand a thing, all I know is my killer has a name now. And I suppose arresting her is not Milliardo's top priority."
"No", Lucrezia admitted. "His own inquiry is almost complete, but the goal was not to arrest Lady Une. It can be done, though. It is my role, and yours now."
Quatre suddenly got up to kneel in front of Wufei, who was still very pale, staring in the void ahead with eyes wide in shock.
"Wufei ? Are you okay ?"
The Chinese man gulped.
"She … she killed Meiran. My wife bled to death in my arms because of her. Because the damn bitch has no respect for human life and wanted to have some thrill with blood ! Meiran sacrificed her life because a psycho wanted to have some fun !"
No one could find anything to answer to that. Quatre took one of Wufei's hands in his and squeezed it. Sally was ruffling through her notes trying to find the ones concerning Meiran back when she suddenly stopped and looked more closely at Wufei.
"I remember you", she said suddenly. "I remember you from the day you came to take the body. I didn't know she was your wife. I .. I thought you were her brother."
Wufei looked at her. The sadness was alive again in his eyes, but there was something else in the jet-black depths now. Something akin to cold fury and rage.
"I had enough of a motive to want her behind bars when she was only attacking you", he told Quatre, " but now … now, it is a question of honor. Justice must be served for Meiran to rest in peace. Now that I know who to blame, I will personally see that she is brought to justice and answers for her crimes."
"Wufei, you … I understand. But don't forget … that it will not bring Meiran back", Quatre said softly.
"I know that. But once it's done, I can let her go. Lady Une is the reason I have been living in the shadow of a ghost until now. Once she is chastised, I can let Meiran go."
Quatre hugged his friend tightly, and Wufei clung to him like a desperate child. His head was spinning. He wasn't really sure the last half hour had really happened, but he was feeling far too nauseous for it to be only a dream. And for once, Wufei found himself glad to have friends around him in such an occasion. It had been hard to think he had lost Meiran because of a random shot in the streets. It was even worse to learn she had been killed by exactly the same sadist that was currently after Heero and Quatre and who had burnt Duo's orphanage. That woman was sick.
"We're here for you, Wu", Duo said, as he got up too and put a comforting hand on Wufei's shoulder.
"That's Wufei, Maxwell", Wufei said automatically, but a bit more weakly than usually.
Quatre only let go of Wufei once he was sure his friend was not going to break down. Trowa got closer, took a good look at Wufei's pale face and held out a hand to help the Chinese man get up.
"Let's find you a bathroom", he simply said, and led Wufei outside before anyone else could react.
Duo found the strength to let out a weak, but sincere smile.
"I do have the best boyfriend in the world, uh ? He's even able to predict when people are gonna throw up."
Quatre didn't manage the smile. He was feeling slightly sick too, but he controlled it. Most of it came from the fact that he was panicked and in no shape to block out the emotions that had come from Wufei. Heero was a bit pale too, feeling the aftershock of what Quatre was experiencing and not handling it too well. Quatre took his hand and snuggled into his arms.
"It's okay", he murmured. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."
"I … I hope so. We need to work out something …"
"I know. As soon as we get the time, I'll need to teach you how to block me out sometimes, especially when I start diffusing what other people feel like this. And I definitely need more training, things are getting out of hand. I just … It never occurred before. I think we might need Iria's help once she's better."
Heero gave a little crooked smile and ruffled through Quatre's hair.
"You sure you're going to be okay ?"
"Yes. I'll just need some rest, and I'll be fine."
Duo watched the little exchange with mixed feelings : his heart was positively melting at the cuteness of the scene, but a little pang of jealousy remained behind. Duo hushed it very quickly, before Quatre could feel it. 'That's how it's gonna be from now on, so I'd best get used to it now. I promised Cat I would. I won't start lying to myself again.'
Lucrezia and Sally just looked at Quatre with wide eyes, wondering what the hell he was talking about, but a glare from Heero suddenly made them think of a hundred things they would rather be doing than asking what it was all about.
"Can I see my father now ?", Quatre asked.
Sally checked her beep.
"Kimy sent me a 10-4, so it must be okay. I'll lead you to the ICU Special Ward, we needed to keep him isolated from other patients. And also, it's safest, you need an accreditation to get in."
"Let's go, then", Duo said. "I'll fetch my boyfriend on the way before Wu starts molesting him in the bathroom."
"Duo …", Heero started.
"Yup ?"
"If you can't think of anything else to try and cheer us up, please shut up."
O.O.O.O.O
Wufei wasn't really sure how he ended in front of a toilet vomiting almost everything he could remember eating, but once it was done, he felt no better. He was still dizzy and only vaguely aware of where he was. Strong hands helped him get up, led him to a sink and someone opened the tap. Wufei rinsed his mouth and splashed some water on his face before looking up at the mirror, meeting his own haunted face. The room came into clearer focus as did the young man behind him. Trowa.
"Are you feeling better ?"
"I honestly don't know", Wufei answered in a whisper.
"Figures", Trowa said.
He was standing just beside Wufei, just at the right distance to offer support if it appeared the Chinese man needed it, but not close enough for Wufei to resent this as an invasion of his personal space.
"Do you want to go back now, or would you prefer me to leave you alone ?", Trowa asked.
"No. I mean, I don't want you to leave. Just … give me a minute."
Trowa nodded and just stood there. Wufei closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, his mind going through the calming technique almost automatically. Trowa's presence at his side didn't feel … intrusive. And Wufei felt good just knowing someone was there, just in case. The two young men just stood silently for a few minutes before a soft knock on the door interrupted them.
"Wu ? Tro ? You in there ?", Duo's voice called softly from outside.
Trowa's green gaze flickered to Wufei, silently asking if he should let Duo in or not. Wufei nodded, and Trowa went to open the door. Duo's head poked in.
"How ya doin' Wufei ?"
"I … I am trying not to think what I'd do to that woman if I had my hands on her right now."
"Oh … well, uh … do you feel well enough to get out ? 'Cause Cat's beginnin' to worry, which means Heero's beginnin' to worry, and that's a bit too much for me to handle alone right now so …"
"I'm coming", Wufei said, following Trowa outside the room.
No sooner had Trowa gone out that Duo caught his hand. It was very strange to see the young American like this. He was bravely holding up a facade, but it was obvious he felt almost as panicked at Quatre, at least to people who could read the signs. Realization dawned on Wufei that Duo had almost lost the only person vaguely resembling a parent he had ever had again. And suddenly, his own pain seemed to lessen as he realized what his friend was going through right now. Not to mention Quatre. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Wufei joined the little group, ready to follow Sally to the ICU Special Ward.
It was not very far actually, and when they turned the corner, there were two people waiting there. Catherine and Relena. The auburn-haired girl was holding a bag and apparently introducing herself to the blonde one. The conversation stopped as the little group came into sight, though. Relena stepped forward to Quatre.
"Relena ? What …"
"I heard a news report", she said. "I … I am really sorry, Quatre. I just wanted to be sure that you were fine. And Mother and Father told me to say this to you : if you ever need anything, just go to them. As for me, well … I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I stayed there for a while with you. I thought you could use a friend …"
Her voice trailed off as she looked at the four young men behind Quatre. Before she got the wind knocked out of her as Quatre suddenly let go of Heero's hand to hug her.
"Thank you", he whispered. "You don't know what it means to me. Thank you."
"You're welcome", Relena said, still fighting to breathe, " but suffocating me isn't going to help."
Even Duo stared with wide eyes at the statement, but the most people managed were little smiles. No one was really in the mood to laugh out loud. The strange feeling was cut off as Dr Corday opened the secure door to the ward from the inside. She looked at the group outside and shot an interrogative look at Sally.
"Those young people will wait inside in the lobby, Elisabeth", the blond doctor said. "I'd like you to look out if any other family members come. You can take them to see Iria Winner, and then send them here in the lobby. How is he ?"
"He answers to pain and light stimuli, but I'm not sure he's conscious. Not more than one visitor, and not too long. And no interrogation", she added with a sharp glance to Noin.
"I won't interfere", the GSA agent said. "I just need to make a phone call and to talk to Sally about something."
"Good, that's settled, then", Sally said. "Let's get everyone settled in the lobby, and I'll give you more info."
O.O.O.O.O
(1) Yeah, another acronym ! This one means Dead On Arrival ! Why am I so happy about that, somebody tell me ?
(2) There you go for my little lecture on weapons and ammunitions. Please everyone thank Patricia Cornwell for lending me her knowledge. KTPs are a type of very destructive hollow point ammo. You can shoot somebody through three phonebooks and a bulletproof vest with them. When lined with kevlar, they can be used underwater. But the fact that their use is banned on humans has been added by me and is, alas, purely fictional. The name Cop Killers is the one Cornwell uses as a common nickname for this type of bullets, given that they are usually used by dealers and criminals because of their devastating effects.
Silvertips are the most common hollow point ammo around. They are manufactured by Winchester.
And for those of you who don't know, hollow point ammo implies a bullet with an explosive point. When the bullet penetrates the body, the end opens like a flower and cuts everything in its way.