Jungle Rot

By: Wildfire Sky

Next installment in the "Jungle Rot" story. Glad that everyone is sticking with me through this so far! It really means a lot to me…really. If you're wondering, finals did go well and I am thoroughly enjoying my Christmas holiday. Happy Christmas and Merry New Years! Please remember to R&R!

Jungle Rot

Chapter Ten

Duo impatiently tapped his foot against the broken cement that covered the landing pad. This was one of the reasons he hated traveling…the unexpected. The cheap and old helicopters were a cesspool of mechanical problems, all the more evident now that they were sitting in the sweltering early evening humidity, an hour and a half away from the borders of Brazil and another three away from where the distress signal was. Wufei was somewhere in the hanger, no doubt as frustrated and impatient as Duo was feeling right now. They were losing precious time, very precious time, and ever moment they wasted meant that Heero and Relena waited longer and longer for rescue.

"Well, the engine is completely fried," said the pilot as he came around the front side of the helicopter and moved towards Duo. "The compressor in the turbo shaft gave out, from what I don't know. Could be the weather, could be bad construction. Either way, to replace it is going to take at least another half-day, a full day if you want it done right."

Duo groaned, leaning his head back against the body of the helicopter. "What about the other helicopter?"

The pilot pulled out a rag, cleaning his oil-slicked hands. "Now she might get us another sixty miles before she putters out. One of the gas lines is cracked and leaking fuel. To be honest, with the friction we're lucky the damn thing didn't explode mid-flight!" he looked a Duo was a pathetic shake of his head. "I can't take them back up, either one. I'm sorry, but for the sake of the crew and passengers, we have to ground them both."

Duo looked up, spotting a flustered looking Wufei leaving the large hanger. Behind him, a small, disgruntled looking man glared after the Chinese man's departing form, his hands on his hips in a defying stance. Duo nodded towards Wufei in greeting as the fellow Preventer stopped in front of them.

"What did you do to him, man?" Duo asked, watching at the small man disappeared back into the hanger.

Wufei glanced over his shoulder with a bitter sneer. "He owns a Cessna, but won't give us a ride into Brazil. He gave some repulsive excuse that only proved his cowardice to me."

"Did you threaten him?"

Wufei glared at Duo pointedly before his lip turned up into a sly smirk. "It depends on your definition of 'threaten'. I merely encouraged him to cooperate, but even that didn't work."

The pilot nodded in agreement. "The people of South America are very strong willed. They grew up in a threatening world and such action will not easily sway them to the needs of foreigners. Perhaps if you offered him a little incentive…"

"Are you saying the threat of imprisonment isn't incentive enough?"

Duo grinned. "I think he means that you need to pay the man."

Wufei's face turned a dark shade of red, his eyes narrowing. "Pathetic! I will not succumb to some lowly creature who allows himself to be poisoned by money!" he voice steadily grew louder. "He degrades himself and his family's name! Injustice! He should be cast from the earth like the shameful scum he is!"

Duo looked around at the curious stares of the soldiers. "Wufei, my man, keep your voice down."

"I will not keep my voice down!"

Duo simply backed away, letting Wufei deal with his frustrations in own way…without endangering his eardrums. The pilot was back over by the helicopters speaking with one of the other pilots at the warehouse. Their conversation seemed to be going much smoother than Wufei's had, the native pilot nodding and walking away to the hanger. Duo stopped next to the pilot, waiting patiently.

"He says that they'll fix our birds at a discounted price." The pilot grinned loosely, "It seems that there are some in South America who do not support these rebel groups. I suggest you get some rest, Agent Maxwell. We'll be here for some time…"

"Actually, we might be leaving much sooner than expected." The pilot and Duo turned as Lieutenant Becan approached, his smile wide. Wufei was following behind, looking much more pleased now. "I believe that this entire situation may just have worked out to the better for all of us."

Duo crossed his arms, leaning against the black steel of the chopper. "Oh yea, and how's that? Did you learn how to sprout wings?"

Wufei glared in Duo's direction. "It seems that Commander Une is putting more pressure on the Brazilian government than they care for. In fact, as we speak, two of their newest helicopters are currently in bound from the capital. They'll be here in an hour."

Becan nodded his head in enthusiastic agreement. "And these babies are outfitted with those new SPE-1000X that we've been hearing so much about."

The pilot let out a low whistle, his eyes twinkling with excitement. "Sonic Propulsion Engines…originally manufactured for spacecraft, the designers decided to refit them to fit on military aircrafts. These things are so powerful, if you were near an open, running engine, it would rip the skin right off your body and you'd never realize it…at least on a jet. Helicopters are much more safer." The pilot smirked, "Agents, you are in some kinda luck! Once those birds arrive, we'll be over the crash site in less than an hour. We're in the express lane now!"

Duo smirked, "The express lane is where I live."

Rain was still pouring down around them as Heero was marched into the tiny village at gunpoint. The natives had already gathered, the men standing at the forefront, their weapons at the ready. Even in these new times, they preserved their ancient culture, no one had more than a spear or bow covering their completely nude body, each comfortable with their nakedness. Heero ignored the free breasts of the women that stood beneath the protective shade of their huts and they in turn, ignored them. Leaving the dealing with these strangers to their strong men.

Leonardo pulled Heero to a stop as an older man stepped forward, his lean muscles still pronounced, even in his ailing years. He walked confidently up to Leonardo and Massimo, who had flung Relena over his shoulder again, his dark eyes tracing their two larger forms critically. A younger man moved with him, his walk not as confident as the old man's.

The old man spoke in a quick, chopped language, his eyes narrowing. Leonardo sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Do you speak English or Italian?" he asked. The old man's frown deepened and Leonardo glanced at the gathered. "Do any of you speak English or Italian?"

The people were silent and glaring. Leonardo sighed again, shaking his head. He brightened slightly as Roberto emerged from the group, shoving them aside roughly as he made his way over.

"Did you see anything?" Leonardo asked, not bothering to lower his voice. "Any search parties or unwelcome visitors?"

Roberto opened his mouth to speak when the young tribesman interjected. "You are the unwelcome visitors here!"

The Italians looked at him in surprise. Heero merely kept quiet, concentrating more on an escape route should things go bad, which they rapidly were. Whoever the youngster was, he had some influence with the people, for the very moment he spoke, they tensed as if ready to attack. He needed to be ready to grab Relena and run like hell. He didn't expect to make it far, but maybe he could gain enough time to hide Relena and distract his pursuers long enough to grant her escape.

Leonardo glared at the youngster. "You speak remarkable good English for a savage."

The tribesman's eyes narrowed. "I am no savage, nor are my people. I studied at Oxford, you barbarian, in order to help my village as a doctor."

"And yet you wear nothing, like a savage."

The tribesman stiffened, glancing down at the old man. "I still hold my culture dear to me…as any honorable man would."

Leonardo unshouldered his rifle, causing the tribesmen to step back hesitantly. "Well, then, if we speak of culture you should know that it is in the European blood to lay waste to all that oppose us. Even brainy savages like yourself."

"You Europeans are nothing but disease carrying murderers!" the young tribesman growled, "Get out of our village, we want nothing to do with you!"

Leonardo took a step forward menacingly, "We require shelter from the rain as well as food and drink. We'll not be here long…"

The old man suddenly leapt forward, speaking quickly and waving his hand about. The young tribesman smirked. "I've taught my father some English…he says you will receive nothing but death if you do not leave now. I suggest you listen."

Leonardo remained calm even as the men pressed in much closer, their razor sharp spears pointed at the ready to kill. He simply looked at Roberto and nodded towards the old man. Before anyone realized what was happening, a loud crack shattered the tense air and the old man's head snapped back, blood spraying from his throat as he collapsed to the ground, shaking in sputtering in his death throes. Even as the son began to cry out in horror, two of the tribesmen leapt forward, their spears racing towards the Roberto. Two more shots rang out and they fell in bloody, twitching heaps, their spears clattering to the ground useless. Roberto took aim again, this time at one of the women nearby.

"Tell your men to drop their weapons!" Leonardo commanded, his own rifle aimed at the son's head. "They'll listen to you, won't they? If you don't want us to start killing the women and children, you tell them to get the hell back!"

The son stared at Leonardo bitterly. "Damn you…ah!" he cried out as a bullet ripped through his shoulder. Another man started forward but the son held up his good arm, speaking quickly. The man stopped, unsure but obedient. The son looked back at Leonardo, his hand moving up to clutch his shoulder. "We will give you your food and drink…but at first light tomorrow, you will leave this place."

Leonardo smirked, giving the boy a mock bow. "Fair enough. Massimo!" The big man moved forward and Leonardo spoke to him in Italian. "Take the bodyguard and the Princess into one of the huts, the boy's hut. Tie the bodyguard separate from her. We'll dispose of him tonight."

Massimo glanced at Heero with an almost pitied expression, but nodded. Shifting Relena on his shoulder, he took Heero's lead and with a firm jerk, led them into the village. Leonardo looked down at the bleeding boy. "Be so kind as to show us to your comfortable hut."

Massimo sat nearest the prisoners as the day slowly came to a close, the sun still blocked by the torrential downpour and thick mass of trees. He never moved his head, but still watched the bodyguard and his charge sitting next to each other, one waiting for death and the other dying. Leonardo and Roberto had left the hut once the captives were secure, speaking of an important discovery just outside the village. Massimo knew deep down that it was the missing tail end of the plane, the one piece that would bring rescue to the helpless sitting near him. For some reason, he felt glad for this…now, the search party knew where they were and would come quickly. On the other hand, that meant he would be required to kill them all, a task that he'd grown to hate more and more. He wasn't born for this…he was the son of a proud, but impoverished family. His father worked hard to make ends meet and had always encouraged his children to do the same. Out of all of them, he turned to crime…like a fool he sold his soul to the criminal subculture.

A pitiful groan reached his ears and Massimo looked over at the bodyguard. He was sitting nearest to him, his head against the wall and mouth slack as he took in labored gulps of air. Every so often, the boy would cough, flecks of blood flying from his mouth and staining his already dirty clothing. The girl still remained unconscious, now with fever. Massimo, against his orders, had taken a step in the right direction and gave her a small dose of liquid that would calm her sickness and protect her from further disease. Although it would not cure the fever, it would remove her from danger. The bodyguard had watched him do this, his face impassive but his sharp eyes grateful. Massimo had purposely put them close together, ignoring the stern glare of Leonardo. He could careless if that weaker man had a problem with it. If anything, he could simply crush the man's jaw and then no longer would he frown.

The bodyguard coughed again, this time it seemed longer and harsher. He keeled forward, his body shaking with exertion as he hacked up his lifeblood. For a moment, he remained like that, bent forward, eyes closed, his chest moving with each labored breath. Massimo turned away. There was nothing he could do more him…not anymore. He'd seen the wound and its festering infection. At this point, only a highly trained doctor could save him, and even then, unless the boy had a will to live, he would most likely die.

"…take…take her away…"

Massimo glanced at the bodyguard. Contrary to what that idiot Leonardo believed, he was well versed in English. It was just better to pretend that to constantly be talked to. How the bodyguard knew this he did not know or dwell on. Such thinking was a waste of time. The boy looked up at him, his face tight with pain.

"…take Relena away from here…I know you won't harm her…"

Massimo quirked an eyebrow. This boy was certainly bold. He would leave his precious cargo in the hand of someone he only knew as an enemy? Either he was too trusting, or a moron. The boy heaved in a breath, forcing his body upright and back against the bamboo walls. He licked his dry, cracked lips, squinting open one eye to stare at Massimo directly.

"…l-last request…"

The jungle outside drew dark with the dead sun sinking beneath the horizon. For just a moment the rain let up, as if as shocked as Massimo was by this comment. It was absurd…almost laughable. Even if Massimo actually considered taking the girl away, he'd never get far before Leonardo and Roberto were after him. Shaking his head, Massimo stood up and the rain began to fall again. He walked over to the bodyguard, towering over him. The boy simply stared up at him, unafraid and uncaring. The giant man clenched and unclenched his fists, wondering if he should just break the boy's neck and let him die quickly. He knelt down, wrapping his large hand around the boy's neck. The bodyguard's heart rate never jumped, not even for a second. He just sat there, watching and waiting.

"You should kill him. Be merciful."

Massimo's hands leapt from the bodyguard's neck, the rifle already up and at ready before he fully turned. The young Oxford boy was standing on the top step of the hut, one foot halfway through the door as he observed the two of them. With a small shake of his head, the tribesman entered the hut and stood just inside the entryway.

"You can't see that he's begging for it? He asked you to care for the girl, so he obviously knows he's going to die. Why delay the inevitable?" he took another step forward, eyes sliding towards the sleeping woman. "She is indeed a precious cargo, I've read about her during my studies. If not to honor his dying request, you should protect her because she gave you the freedom to decide to kill her."

Massimo lowered his gun. "Out. Now."

The tribesman snorted. "Don't act like a dumb brute, it doesn't suit you. Perhaps if you accepted your talents, you wouldn't need to fall into such a pitiful state whenever someone comes around."

The black man glared, angry that his act was no longer holding up. "My reasons for acting how I do are my own."

The tribesman held up his hands in mock surrender. "And I'm not asking you to reveal them. What I am asking, is that you find a better way to use what you have. Construction rather than destruction." He walked towards Heero slowly, his hands still up in a defenseless manner. "If I may?" He knelt down next to the dying man, gingerly pulling aside the soaked clothing that covered the jagged shrapnel. "It's been pushed in further by something…and there is a risk that it may have punctured an internal organ…most likely the stomach." He lowered the shirt back into place. "He will most likely suffer a terrible death…that is, unless you plan on killing him before then?"

Massimo grunted at him, jerking his head in a signal for the tribesman to move away. "He will die when he must."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." The tribesman walked to the door. "I'll say it again, honor his final wishes. It's what any man with true honor would do. Even the lowliest of men deserve to have their final wishes carried out."

Massimo glared at the retreating man. "Leave. His fate has already been decided."

The tribesman nodded, and walked out into the rain. "As well as your own."

The black Italian glared into the darkness before looking down at the bodyguard. The boy was now slumped forward, his chest shaking with each breath, more and more blood pumping out from his wound. Massimo glanced towards the door before lifting the boy out of the growing pool of blood and leaning him against his Princess. For now, he would let him enjoy the final moments he had.

"Thank you…" Massimo looked down in surprise at the now awake Relena. Her tied hands were clasping the bodyguard's, but her eyes locked with his. She didn't expect and answer, nor did she wait for one. Instead, she simply looked at the bodyguard, snuggling closer to him and watching his strained face with love filled eyes. Eyes that Massimo's mother once had for him…

The big man moved back into his spot and closed his eyes. He would let them rest undisturbed. No reason to make the passing any worse. The hut was filled with silence for what seemed like hours unlike Massimo heard the heavy boot steps coming up the hut steps. Opening his eyes, Massimo looked towards the door. Roberto stood there, an unlit cigarette clamped between his lips as he looked from Massimo to the prisoners.

"Bring them." He said with a cruel smile as Relena's head jerked towards him. "It ends now."

Happy happy happy Christmas! From San Antone to you! Happy happy happy Christmas! Let's celebrate, yahoo! Drink plenty of nog, eat plenty of cake, we'll be up up up til' it's late late late! Ooooohhhh! Happy happy happy Christmas from all of us to YOU!

Yea. In a drunken stupor, I was up til about 1 o'clock last night, screaming that at the top of my lungs with my equally drunk friends. Don't you just love the holidays? Please R&R and have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!