Author's Note: Well, it seems like Ike is going to miss me, thus I am able to keep my word, as usual, and give you the latest chapter by the end of this week. Let the suspense escalate! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Warning: language, shounen ai

Through the Eyes of a Professional

To all that surrounded him, he seemed like a typical man. There was nothing unusual with him except for a certain coldness that he held around himself like a second skin, repelling anybody that tried to get to know him. Otherwise, he was above suspicion of both his neighbors and just about anybody who would be interested in his real business.

His name was Odin Lowe and he was a professional assassin that had yet to fail a single job in his thirty years of killing off people in exchange for monetary imbursement.

It was needless to say that he was good at what he did. He didn't make any mistakes that would lead back to either him or his employer and he would never accept another contract that interfered with a previous one. He was quick and to the point and did not waste time with trivial matters like small talk unless it was required to get the job down. He could blend in with his surroundings easily and understood how a normal person thought, taking ruthless advantage of it to ensure that his jobs went smoothly. The last thing he would need to do was to get a witness and have to kill them too in order to bury the truth.

Just now he had received a call from a regular client. It wasn't the first time he had had dealings with the Romafellor Corporation and certainly not the first time Dmitri Tsubarov had contacted him before. What was different was who the target he needed to eliminate was.

One thing he liked to be was inform, especially when it concerned a target. Thus when he began to look up info on this Dwaine Maxwell, he was caught off guard by what he found. Usually when he was hired, the target was someone who was of some great importance, such as a businessman or a politician but never before had he been hired to kill a high school student. He was tempted to quit the job then and there but decided not to. Just because it was some punk teenager didn't mean that he was spared from being killed, no far from it. Sure, he had his self-imposed boundaries and even though this Dwaine Maxwell was at them, he wasn't quite beyond them.

All that meant was the boy was open season.

However, it was almost like some sort of mocking of his skills. There was no challenge in this and he always did enjoy a challenge. The greater the difficulty, the greater the effort he put in. So yeah, that meant he wouldn't put too much effort into this. All he needed to do was to figure out a non-traceable way to kill this kid and collect on the rest of his money.

His standard fee wasn't cheap by any means so this should just be a snap.

--

"I still say we need to do something about that guy," Solo said as they exited the school building. "We gotta show him whose boss around here, ya know?"

"What's with this 'we' shit?" Duo countered. "I don't want to have anything to do with whatever you're thinking. I just want for this to finish up and leave me the fuck alone with as little pain as possible, okay?"

"C'mon!" Solo whined as he practically draped himself all over Duo despite the fact that Duo's backpack was in the way, obstructing him. "It'll be fun!"

"Your idea of fun is different from mine," Duo stated firmly.

"Don't be such a spoilsport!" Solo complained. "Live a little Short Stuff!"

"Keep this up and you aren't going to get lucky tonight," Duo muttered below his breath, too quiet for the childish blond to hear. Aloud, he said, "That's me alright, the spoilsport remember? If I told you once, I've told you a million times, I'm not going to let you walk over me like everyone else does."

"And I wouldn't like you any other way," Solo chirped.

"And now you're just sucking up," Duo retorted. "You'd do better if you stayed acting like a rebel without a cause, you know that?"

"I already tried that and it didn't work," Solo complained.

"So you think acting like a kid half your age is going to have better results, huh?" Duo groused.

"It's better than nothing," Solo mumbled to himself even though Duo heard him clearly, something the blond did not want.

"In this case, nothing would have been better," Duo said dryly. "Might as well give it up lover boy. You ain't gonna win this one."

"I haven't lost yet," Solo replied, "and I'm not about to start now." He paused as he began to rub his cheek against Duo's head affectionately. "Stop resisting and go with the flow. I won't let you get in trouble if that's what you're worried about. C'mon, it'll be fun."

Solo could feel it; Duo was getting ready to cave in. The way he was trembling, he could tell it wasn't in anger. No, this was the type of trembling Duo usually experienced while they were…he probably had a goofy smile on now from the memories but he had to wipe it off quickly so that it didn't ruin any chance he had to persuade Duo into his line of thinking, not that it was hard before but the guy was really putting up a struggle this time around. Maybe just a little push was all that was needed…

"Duo…" he purred into the braided one's ear, his hot breath tickling the smaller one's ear. Duo was practically about to shudder; he had him in the palm of his hands. He blew some air out of his mouth into the flesh of skin that was Duo's ear, hoping to destroy all resistance that he had left.

Instead of stopping and bowing to his greatness, as he had thought he would, Duo pushed himself away roughly and put his foot down firmly on the debate. "I said no!" Duo exclaimed. "I said you weren't going to walk over me and I meant it! I'm just going to wait until your uncle, Quatre's father, comes to a decision about that business deal and that's it. Okay?"

"Okay okay," Solo muttered as he put his hands into his pockets sulkily. "If that's what you want…"

"It is," Duo stated, not falling for Solo's attempt to garner some pity.

Sighing, Solo trudged behind the braided one. He couldn't understand why Duo didn't want to get back at his old man for the crap the asshole put him through and still was. Duo was acting in a manner that was completely different from the Duo that he had come to know over the past few weeks. Whenever Duo's bastard of a father was brought up, Duo's attitude would always change without fail, making him seem like a completely different person. If only whatever it was that his uncle was doing with Duo's father would be finished, Solo was sure that his little boyfriend would go back to the way he used to be; you know, the small, fierce, independent teen who just happened to be able to kick his ass without much of a problem.

If he had a sixth sense, it was going off. His head perked up and he sent a glare in a random direction, green eyes connecting with onyx ones. Well what do you know, it had been a while since he looked at Wufei. The Chinese was watching both him and Duo with a scowl on his face that just made him look crumpled just so. Solo intensified his glare and didn't break it off until Wufei looked away.

Ha, he still had it.

--

Even though he had been caught looking at the two queers, the taller of the two said queers being the one who caught him, Wufei still fumed and desired nothing more than to take his anger out on the very ones that had caused his foul mood.

Only a few weeks ago, he was on top of the world, actually being one of the most popular persons in this entire school, respected and practically worshiped by his peers. Then the new guy, a punk who just happened to belong to a very powerful and wealthy family, had to come in and send his world topsy-turvy by hanging around with the one person that he hated more than anybody in the world. And now he was practically dirt nothing to those that had once respected him. All he had left was his friendship with Heero Yuy but even that was growing tenuous as the Japanese youth was determined to gain back the unwanted attention of Relena Peacecraft who was currently in a relationship with Heero's back-up on the football team.

It was all just screwed up, wasn't it? Things weren't suppose to be this way. The very prison of isolation that he had built around that braided rat was now the very place that he inhabited and he was not happy about it, not one bit. As he had scowled at the two long haired bastards that had put him here, he entertained thoughts of ripping them to shreds, inflicting as much pain as he could accomplish. Then the punk blond looked up and glared at him. He had refused to look away but ultimately had to since the vehemence in that glare was overpowering.

But that still did nothing to quell the negative emotions just boiling below the surface. They continued to fester within him, like an infection, and he was not about to purge it just yet.

He had no plan of action to gain retribution on either of the two; he couldn't think of one that could adequately satisfy his need for vengeance. Oh how he was just dieing to poke out their eyes, rip their hair out, cut out their tongues… Such violent imagery flashed before his mind's eye, each one becoming steadily more graphic than the one before it.

Was he close to losing his mind, he wondered. Maybe, he mentally answered, but he could care less about it. So what? It wasn't as if he had anything else that could be taken from him. At least, nothing of importance to him. If he could, he'd sell his metaphorical soul to just get the opportunity to gain some sort of justice for injustices thrusted upon him by those two…faggots.

He just needed the chance, the opportunity, the opening that would give him all his heart's desires and the satisfaction that all the wrongs bestowed upon him would be avenged.

--

Odin observed his target from the safety of his car, watching the braided brunet enter into a limousine, followed by a long haired blond that he would have probably confused for a female had he not picked out the obvious masculine features.

It was extremely rare to find hair that long, especially if it was a man sporting such hair in the first place. Had he been anybody else, he would have thought the blond was a female, but he had caught the gait, the stance, the air that the boy had and he didn't have to get a good look up close to come to this conclusion. That's why he was one of the best in the business, especially since no one would see him observing it since he was quite a distance away. As for the brunet with the braid, he had been told that he was a male in the first place, thus there was no confusion on that part.

Through his binoculars, he observed their behavior, frowning slightly at the intimate antics but disregarding them as inconsequential. Further observation led him to find out about the Chinese boy that was staring out them with an aura of malevolence. He took note of it but otherwise ignored it. It wasn't his concern if these two boys had an enemy or two.

Anything of importance that caught his eye he would scribble down into a small notebook that he always carried with him when on reconnaissance. From the notes that he took, he would then determine the best way of how to approach his target and then how to proceed in eliminating them. His preferred weapon of choice was his high-powered sniper rifle, the one possession of his own that was his pride and joy. With the right angle, he could take out any person in the city if he so felt like it.

Fortunately, he was a creature of will and restraint. Bullets cost money, thus people cost money and he wasn't cheap, not by a long shot. Everyone had their price in his book; if offered enough he'd cancel his contract right here and now.

The key word being if, of course.

Watching the limo begin to drive off, he put his notebook down and switched gears, proceeding to follow after his target and to gather more information. He'd come to a decision tonight after going through everything that he had collected. He could work on a couple hours worth of sleep unlike the majority of the human race.

Tomorrow, tomorrow would be the last day this kid would live.

Somebody was going to die.