A Gundam Wing AU
by Gemini1
Lucky Chapter 13: Duo Maxwell is in trouble
Note: This chapter is from Duo's point of view.
It's strange to be sitting on the other side of the interrogation table. Even though it's been years since I was a cop, I still remember what it felt like to be interrogating a suspect; the psychology I used, the threats, it's all fresh in my mind, providing me with an interesting perspective as a newly minted detective tries, and fails, to get some sort of confession out of me. Honestly, what are they teaching the kids at the academy these days? He is the most unconvincing actor I have ever seen. And I've seen Heero Yuy pretend to be nice.
Heero and Quatre aren't in the room right now, much to my surprise. I thought Heero, at least, would be chomping at the bit to work out some of his frustration from this case on me. I wonder if they're behind the mirror, watching me roll my eyes and lead the rookie on a merry chase.
Finally, the kid leaves the room and I'm on my own. I know this routine as well. I'm supposed to sit here and stew on my supposed guilt. Theoretically, if they leave me here long enough, I should crack like an egg and start confessing to every sin I've ever committed. It would probably take a while; I've sinned a lot. But, since I'm guilty of nothing more than the usual slightly illegal and definitely immoral activities, all it does is leave me to contemplate the woman in whose hands I've now placed my life.
Hilde. She's an interesting woman. She looks like a strong wind could knock her over, but she's survived more in the past couple of weeks than the average person deals with in a lifetime and though she's got some new scars and bruises, she still came out of it no worse for wear. She's an interesting combination of vulnerability and strength. She makes me want to protect her like some dashing hero in a romance novel, but I suspect the minute I even try something like that, she'd kick my ass. An image of her from last night pops into my head, unexpected but not unwelcome and I'm suddenly glad that I'm sitting down behind the table. She surprised me last night. She started out timid and uncertain, but not even halfway through our sex marathon, she had me on my back and was barking out directions like a drill sergeant. I was completely under her thumb, so to speak.
I wonder if I'm falling in love.
It's an interesting thought. I've never been in love before. I've been in lust, a lot. But even though I definitely lust after Hilde, I want more from her. I want her to like me. I want her to laugh at my jokes and worry about me. I want to make her happy. I want her to be safe. I've never been scornful or afraid of love like some people I know (cough Heero Yuy cough), but I do feel slightly foolish for grinning like an idiot every time I think about her. I'm supposed to be a badass, but somehow, around her, I turn into a damn lovesick teenager.
I wonder how she'll react to the rescue team I sent her. Howard and Dorothy aren't exactly normal people. Hell, Dorothy makes a living grinding people under her pointy boots and Howard is a convicted felon. But I trust them to keep an eye on Hilde, and they've got the pulse of the criminal world. If anyone can find information on Trieze, it'll be Howard and Dorothy. They've been working on it for a while now, Trieze is very good at covering his tracks. I could have just left them to their own devices, but someone will have to interpret all the info they gather, since it's not exactly obvious what things mean. Nothing is as easy as it is on T.V., and often the clues that lead to the bad guys are buried deep under layers of crap. I hope Hilde can figure it all out, since I'm apparently out of the game for the time being.
I used my only phone call to get a hold of Dorothy, so I'm without a lawyer at the moment. I should have asked Dorothy to call my lawyer for me, but I was so focused on keeping Hilde safe and getting my ass out of this sling, that I didn't think to ask. I suppose Quatre would let me call my lawyer if I asked nicely.
God, what a mess. When I find Trieze Khushrenada, I am going to kick his ass several times over for what he did to me and Relena. And then I'm going to kill him slowly for what he did to Hilde. I don't trust the law around here. Trieze is slick and his lawyer is slicker. He'll get off again.
I am brooding on this when the door opens and my lawyer steps in. "Good to see you, Duo. I was just thinking about buying my wife a new car." He jokes with me as he drops his briefcase on the table and settles himself in. The young cop follows and he looks surly. Now that my lawyer's here, he'll have to behave.
"Who called you?" I ask, thinking Dorothy must have done me yet another favor I'd have to repay. She's offered in the past to let me pay off my debt by prostrating myself at her shiny vinyl feet, but I've so far managed to convince her that cash is king.
"Hilde somebody. She said you were in trouble again." He opens the briefcase and flips through a yellow legal pad. "She filled me in on what happened." He grinned at me and looked over the gold rims of his glasses, studying my expression. "She sounded cute. Latest conquest?"
"She's more important to me than that." I reply without thinking.
"Hmmm." My lawyer studies me for a long moment before going back to his notepad. "Well, Duo, you're in trouble, that's for sure."
"I sure am." I agree. I am definitely in trouble.
A/N: Hello loyal readers! Thank you so much for sticking by me while I puzzle this whole thing out. I've gone back and made some changes to the existing story and I'm working on the next chapter. Action! Adventure! Whipping! Let's see where this goes...