"Ahh, this is the life," Odin said, leaning back in a padded armchair. "Two weeks and nothing to do. Isn't that great, kid?"

            Instead of responding, the boy opened his book. They were on a minor colony in the L-3 cluster. Odin said it was a vacation. The boy didn't know what they were vacationing from. Things had been slow for a while now. The Alliance's grip was getting stronger and rebellions were becoming infrequent.

            He started to read again. It was about the creation of the colonies. There had been conflict even back then. People killing other people. Assassinations from the shadows. That was what humans did, he supposed. Although half the time he couldn't understand why. If everybody left everybody else alone life would be easier to live. Odin tapped the book. The boy looked up at him.

            "I'm hungry. Want to get something?"

            "Sure."

            Soon they were out in the busy street. This colony was small, but it was jam packed with city. The streets were narrow, twisting through the city like snakes. Buildings were crammed into every available spot. Occasionally there would be a tree or two. As they waited at a crosswalk, the boy glanced up. Gray metal wall stared back at him. The colonies had lost their clouds a while ago. It cost a lot to keep the projectors running and the Alliance didn't like it. The Alliance didn't live here though. Even if the clouds were just tricks of light they were better then nothing.

            "Come on, kid." Odin said, putting a hand lightly on his shoulder. The boy shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket as they continued on their way. The yellow-haired man was looking around, a strange smile on his face. It was sad…but happy too…and a little distant.

            "Is something wrong?" the boy asked. Odin shook his head.

            "I'm just feeling a little nostalgic."

            "Nos…talgic?"

            "Mm-hmm. I grew up here. Lived here until I was fourteen."

            "What happened then?"

            "Nothing I like to talk about. Suffice to say that I became what I am." Odin sighed and looked up. The boy wondered if he were looking for the clouds too.

            "It started out so simply you know? One kill. That's all I had to make. It was a man I didn't even like." He shook his head. "Word of advice, kid. Never kill a man you hate. It makes you feel empty afterwards. You don't even know what to do with yourself. So Lowe gave me an order and I killed again. And again… The rest of my childhood was completely wasted. By the time I knew how to get out of it, it was too late."

            "Was Lowe your father?" the boy asked. Odin blinked, as if just realizing he was there. Then the man smiled. It was an expression that was a little fond, but angry too. Odin always seemed to smile like that. Now though, the boy knew why.

            "No. I just took his last name when he died. Shot…right below the heart. It took him three days to die."

            "Who killed him?"

            Odin said nothing and the boy understood. He looked down. Odin must have cared about the man a little. Otherwise why did he take his last name?  But if Odin did care, why had he shot him?

            "Orders are orders, kid," Odin said, seeming to read his mind. "And I was too stupid to know any different. A lot of things have happened in my life…but nothing has ever come close to the pain of that moment."  Odin clapped him on the back, voice changing from distant back to normal. "Not that you would know anything about that."

            The boy said nothing. His heart didn't hurt anymore. Nothing hurt anymore. Nothing felt anymore. Even the distant memories were nothing. It was all right though. Things were better this way. Caring was what caused all the trouble. As long as he didn't care at all, everything would be fine. The only thing that mattered was what he was told to do.

            Odin stopped. It was so sudden the boy walked a few steps away before realizing. The man was glaring at something across the street. A building with a high wall surrounding it and two mobile suits standing on guard. A military instillation. Judging from the size it probably had about ten mobile suits. It seemed a lot for such a small colony. But this colony, despite its size, was the communications hub for the entire L-3 cluster. Whoever controlled it pretty much controlled everything.

            Suddenly the man walked away with long, angry strides. The boy had to jog to keep up. Why was he so mad? They had hid here because of the military installation. Odin had said that the best way to take a break was right under the enemy's nose. So it wasn't as if Odin hadn't known it was there.

            "Why are you so mad?" the boy asked. Odin stopped again and gave him a hard angry look.

            "Why do you think I'm mad? The damned Alliance is taking over everything! These are our colonies. They have no right. Don't you care at all?"

            The boy shrugged and looked away. There was nothing to care about. If the Alliance wanted to take over, so what? People might die but people always did. Why did Odin care anyway? He used to work for the Alliance. He had helped bring this about.

            "Oh I forgot. You don't care about anything do you?" the man said bitterly. "I bet if L-1 was destroyed you wouldn't even care, would you?"

            "Why should I?"
            "Because it's your home."

            The boy glared at him.

            "I don't have a home."

             Odin stared at him. The anger faded replaced by an entirely different emotion. Sadness…pity. Why was he looking at him like that for? What difference did it make if he had a home or not?

            "You had a home once…" Odin said. Even his voice was sad.

            "It's gone. Boom. Destroyed. Isn't that what you told me? And you're the one who did it. Why do you feel sorry for me? Why do you feel sorry for something you've done? It's stupid."
            "That's because I have something called a conscience." He was back to being angry again. "You know, you could use one too."

            "An assassin doesn't need a conscience. All an assassin needs to do is follow orders. All the rest doesn't matter."

            "Look, kid. I've been doing this far longer then you've been alive. No seven-year-old twerp is going to tell me what I don't need."

            The boy shook his head and walked away. Odin had always told him that a conscience only got in the way. Why was he saying now that he needed one? Odin had told him not to get too attached to anything. Odin had told him that the only thing that mattered was following orders. Now the man was telling him something completely different. It didn't make any sense.

            "You're going to be one hell of a monster when you grow up," Odin said, falling in step beside him.

            "I'm only doing what you told me to do," the boy muttered.

            "Yeah. I know. That's what makes it so pathetic. You're going to be a great weapon to whoever gets hold of you. God help us if it's the Alliance." Odin shook his head. "I'm beginning to wish I had killed you that day…"
            But he hadn't. He hadn't and the boy couldn't help but wonder why. Why had Odin taken him in? Why had Odin cared for him all that time? The young, childish part of him wanted to believe it was because Odin loved him. It was stupid. He knew it was. But he couldn't think of another explanation.

            They walked in silence for a while. The boy kept his eyes on the ground. There were so many people around him. He didn't like looking at people anymore…especially in the face. Every one of them he might have to kill one day. Odin didn't either, he noticed. Wherever they went together it was like the only world was them. Odin never talked to anyone unless he had to. Odin never got attached to anyone. Maybe that was why Odin hadn't killed him. The man had wanted someone to talk too. Someone he wouldn't have to kill.

---

            By the time they got to the entertainment section of the colony, the boy's stomach was grumbling.          The entertainment area took up two whole blocks. Restaurants and shops were piled on top of each other in huge buildings that seemed to almost touch the high metal ceiling. Something was wrong though. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely off. There was only a small crowd milling along the narrow sidewalks. A lot of people just seemed to be hanging around, watching.

            The boy glanced up at Odin. By the look on the man's face it was obvious that he too knew something was wrong. Everything was so quiet. As they walked up the street there were more people just standing around. It was like they were waiting for something. The boy glanced across the street and stopped. A man with a long black trench coat was standing there, staring at him. Or maybe at something beside him. Turning his head, the boy saw a restaurant. Inside were a bunch of people in uniform.

            "Are we really on vacation?" the boy asked.

            "Not for long if we stay around here."  Odin put a hand on his shoulder and started guiding him away. They had only gotten a few feet when a group of soldiers marched into the street just ahead of them, blocking off the exit. The boy turned almost at the same time Odin did and saw more soldiers blocking off the other end of the street.

            "It's a trap!" someone shouted. Then everything happened at once. Rapid gunfire ripped through the air. Suddenly bullets were everywhere. People in the street were screaming. Some were firing, others just trying to get away. Odin grabbed his arm and yanked him against the wall, just as the window he'd been beside shattered, sending a silver rain of glass scattering into the street. Gun muzzles poked from the window and started firing into the crowd.

            "Give me your gun," Odin said, raising his voice over the noise.  "Now I want you to get in that little alley over there and hide."  The boy obeyed without really thinking about it.    The alley was nothing more then a narrow gap between two buildings. It was so narrow that he could touch the opposite wall. The boy hugged himself and stared out into the street. He wasn't sure if he was scared or not. He wasn't used to all this chaos. Not that he hadn't had chaos in his life…but usually it only involved him…not so many other people.  Odin ducked into the alleyway then, gun held up beside his face, ready for anything. He probably wasn't used to this either. An assassin worked alone.

            "Is this a rebellion?" the boy asked.

            "Looks like it, kid."

            "Didn't you know it was going to happen?"

            "No one told me."

            "So this is a rebellion not linked to the organization?"

            "Maybe, maybe not." Odin shrugged. "They don't tell me everything."

             A soldier appeared in their line of view. He hoisted his rifle. Odin got him in the arm. The soldier dropped the heavy rifle on the ground, then whipped a pistol from his belt with his good hand and shot at them. The boy pressed himself against the wall and felt the rush of air as the bullet sped just past his nose. Odin cursed and shot at the soldier again. This time, a hole appeared between the man's eyes and he slumped to the ground.

            "And to think, it only took you two shots," the boy said. "You must be getting nearsighted in your old age."

            "Ah shut up kid. Not everybody can be a crack shot like you…and I'm only forty-seven."

            "That's what you said last year."

            "Hn," was all the old man had to say about that. It was a little worrying though. The boy had heard that old people had the tendency to slow down. Slowing down in this line of business usually meant getting killed…or gotten rid of. He didn't want it happen to Odin. Odin was the only thing he had. If he could stay forty-seven forever, that would be just fine.

            The gunshots faded soon and the streets were as silent as they had been noisy. From where he was standing, he couldn't see much more then the dead soldier. Odin lowered the gun a bit. The boy watched him, waiting for an order.

            "Stay close," Odin said in a low voice. The boy nodded and kept just behind him as they left the alley. The outcome of the fight was obvious and a little surprising. A small, ragged group of rebels stood among dead and dying soldiers that were more then half their number. One of the rebels spotted them and lifted her gun.

            "Drop that gun!" she snapped. Instead of obeying, Odin slipped the gun into his own jacket and held up his hands.

            "I'm on your side."

            "I said to get rid of the gun!" the woman yelled. A man standing nearby came up to her and lowered the muzzle of the gun. The woman glanced at him angrily but did as she'd been ordered.

            "Who are you?" the man asked.

            "Are names really important?" Odin asked.

            "They are if you want to live!" snarled the woman. The leader waved her into silence.

            "If you are with us. Why didn't you help us fight?"

            "That's not my area of expertise." Odin folded his arms and looked around. "So…who ordered this little…charade?"

            "Charade?! We spent months planning-"the woman started.

            "Why do you ask?" the leader snapped, glaring at the woman. She opened her mouth as if to say something. Then closed it and blushed. The boy could see right away that this woman was a serious liability. With the right provocation she would tell everything.

            "Ah. I see," Odin said. "You did this entirely on your own then?"

            "Yes," the leader said. The boy looked around. There were many soldiers dead, yes. But there were many others as well. People who didn't look like they'd been involved at all.

            "What's the point?" the boy asked.

            "We're trying to liberate our colony. That's the point," the woman said. "Soon all of L-3 will be free of Earth's control."

            "Not like this it won't. You didn't even do anything."

            "What would a child like you know?" the woman said.

            "And just what help do you think this is?" Odin said. "The military base is still there. They still have control of all communications. They have mobile suits that can crush you into dust. What do you think you've accomplished by this?"

            "We've shown them how strong we are!" the woman said, drawing herself up There was a chorus of agreements from the others in the group. The leader, strangely, remained silent.

            "And how do you plan to fight against the Leos?" Odin asked. "Those guns aren't even going to make a dent."

            "Show them how, Charlie!" the woman said. A big man with a bald head grinned and lifted two rocket launchers onto his shoulders.

            "Just two?" the boy said. They couldn't be serious. "There are a lot more then two mobile suits."

            "Ha! Shows how much you know," the woman said. "The street behind us is too narrow for them to fit through and they would only be able to fit two on this street. So two launchers should be enough, don't you think?"

            "What if you miss?" the boy asked. The rebels didn't answer, just looked to the leader. The boy did as well. The man didn't say anything. His eyes were fixed on somewhere far away. He had known they didn't have a chance, the boy realized. The leader had known this was all pointless, but had done it anyway. What was the sense in that? The silence was broken by a low rumble of thunder. No…not thunder. Something else. The ground vibrated gently underneath his feet. Soon the bulk of the giant suit appeared. The boy watched as it came closer. Even from that distance, the boy could see another one was behind it.

            "Oh God. Might as well kill me now," Odin muttered. The boy looked at him. Huh? Without a word, Odin went up to Charlie and took one of the rocket launchers from him.

            "Odin…" the boy started.

            "Get out of here, kid. They deserve at least one good shot."
            "But…"

            Odin glanced at him, green eyes as distant as the leader's had been. The eyes of someone expecting to die. No… No he couldn't die. He couldn't stay here and let himself be killed just to help a bunch of idiots.

            "You go back to the apartment. You remember how I told you to break into the communications system?"

            "Yes."
            "Do that and get on frequency X39.75. That will get you directly to the higher ups."

            I can't do it. The boy wanted to say. I don't remember. You have to do it. You can't leave me. But he knew that Odin wouldn't listen. There was nothing the boy could do. Wait a minute… There was something. He had a mission. Odin had given him a mission. He had to do it and do it right. He wouldn't be sad, because on a mission there was no room for being sad. On a mission there was no room for anything.

            "What do you want me to tell them?" the boy asked. His voice was cold. Odin didn't like it when he sounded like that…but the boy couldn't help it. His voice always came out that way when he didn't want to feel.

            "Tell them… Tell them I made a stupid mistake."  The boy nodded and turned.

            "Kid," Odin said.

            "Hm?"

            "You might want this." The boy turned. Odin was holding out the gun. The boy took it, slipped it into the hidden pocket of his jacket and started to walk away. There was the sound of booted feet. Once again, soldiers were blocking the way out. This time though, there were more of them. They hoisted their rifles, aimed and waited. There was a loud thud and a shadow fell over him. The boy turned and saw that the leos had arrived.

            "You're surrounded," the lead one said. "Surrender now and you'll not be harmed."

            "Surrender this!" Charlie screamed. There was a loud roar as the rocket launcher went off. At first, it looked like a dead on hit. But then the mobile suit leaned back. The missile went on unheeded and slammed into the top of a nearby building. The second mobile suit reacted to this attack by lifting its huge gun. The boy dropped to his knees and threw his arms over his head as the laser coming from the gun ripped through the road not a few feet from him. Debris rained around him, hitting or scratching him as it fell.

            For the second time, bullets screamed through the air. The boy opened his eyes and stood. There was smoke everywhere. He couldn't see Odin…or much of anything for that matter. He had to get back to the apartment. He had to do his mission. The boy ran as fast as he could, stumbling frequently over unseen things.  Suddenly a metal wall appeared in front of him. Unable to stop his momentum, the boy slammed into it and sprawled on the ground. As the boy stared into the clearing smoke he saw a huge metal hand heading straight for him.

---

Notes: Ahhh…this chapter was sooo hard to wriiite. ^^; Dunno why. Sorry for the long delay folks. Went on vacation and all that. ^^; But I got back and finished! See? Seee!? Oh yeah, and a special thanks to Zels! I know there are numbers but I can't remember them offhand. Gomen. ^^;

Side Side Note: I can't help it. I love Odin now. I'm sad. *shnuggles Odin plushie*

Disclaimer: I don't own Chicago. Neither the movie nor the city. Though I am the reigning dictator of Illinois. However, since this fic has absolutely nothing to do with Chicago or Illinois, even if I did own Chicago it would be a moot point wouldn't it? Unfortunately, I am neither owner or dictator of Gundam Wing. Someday though. Bwa ha.

Song Quote of the Day: "He had it comin'! He had it comin' He only had himself to blame. If you had been there. If you'd seen it. You would have done the same. Pop. Six. Squish. Uh-uh. Siscero. Lipshitz." Deh heh. Unless you've watched Chicago. It's really wiser not to ask. And all that jazz. Okay! Shutting up now! Honestly! And remember…all you need is love.