CHAPTER 23 - Take 'em Out
A/N: Words in = ... = are words sent in code :)
Osborne came back to awareness slowly. For several moments he was confused - he sat upright but couldn't move, his jaw felt heavy and numb, and he couldn't seem to focus his eyes. After the initial confusion he realized he was strapped into a chair in the big conference room, angry voices all around him. He blinked rapidly until his vision cleared, and saw the five teenagers sitting around the table. Lady Une and Doctor Po were there, and a furious-looking Major Hernbeck was in one seat with two armed guards behind him. Agent Burks sat quietly at the far end of the table, staring intently at something. Osborne swung his head around - it felt twice as big as usual and as heavy as a bowling ball - to see that his eyes were firmly fixed on Agent Chang.
The Chinese boy had his cool, arrogant mask firmly in place but his high cheekbones were flushed. Osborne's ears were ringing too hard to understand the words that were flying hot and hard around the room. He didn't feel up to trying, either - he let himself slide back into darkness.
Wufei would have loved to join him. This had to be the most embarrassing meeting he'd ever been in. Hernbeck was bringing up example after example of Wufei's so-called insubordination and carelessness. Then Une or one of his friends would reply, their voices hot or cool as their personalities dictated, taking up for him. Hernbeck's furious voice would outline a mission he had personally planned and list exactly what Wufei had done 'wrong,' only to be shot down by the reasons why Wufei's actions were exactly right.
The Major was now down to disparaging remarks about antisocial behavior and alienating other Agents. Une calmly replied that she 'wasn't hosting a kegger.' Wufei wanted to crawl under the table and pull the chair in after him - but that remark made him snicker. It made Duo laugh out loud, and Heero grinned at his lover. Then he caught Wufei's gaze and closed one eye in a slow wink. That surprised the Chinese boy so much that he forgot to be embarrassed.
At least, he did until Hernbeck finally roared, "And he's gay! On top of everything else, he's a fag!"
Wufei turned white, the pencil he'd been tapping idly against the table dropping from frozen fingers.
How...?
He had sudden wild visions of surveillance equipment and cameras set up in his bedroom last night - ridiculous, but how else would Hernbeck know...?
"Yeah, you little shit." Hernbeck was sneering at his astonished face. "Thought you were keeping it all a secret, didn't you? Why do you think I had you take those extra psychological reviews? I knew you were hiding something, I just never thought it was something so disgusting! I..."
"Enough!" Une said sharply, staring at Wufei and wondering why on earth he suddenly looked so relieved? Hernbeck subsided and she turned her cold eyes on him. "As Commanding Officer of this sector you should know the Preventers' stand on sexual preferences. You should be able to quote it." She raised an eyebrow and waited. Hernbeck set his lips stubbornly and stared back. Une looked amused and turned to Sally instead.
"Doctor? Perhaps you'd care to... enlighten... the Major? Oh!" She stopped as if remembering something. "I meant former Major, of course! Enlighten Mister Hernbeck."
Not even 'Agent.'
That thought went through every other head there - except Osborne's, of course - and most of the faces grinned. It was as good as an official announcement that the man was out of the Preventers. The Maj... Hernbeck glared at the smug faces with impotent fury. How dare they...?
"Sally?" Une's gentle prompt wiped the smile from the Doctor's face - she was abruptly all business.
"Right. Preventers Official Guideline #17-A: 'Sexual preference of Agents shall not be inquired if unknown nor discussed if known, and shall have no bearing upon mission planning, performance ratings, rank promotions or any other aspect of Preventer practices, save that spouses or partners shall not be teamed without express permission from their Commanding Officer." She stopped and gave the former Major a sweet smile.
The man deflated like a leaking balloon.
"So," Une said briskly, "that brings us up to four prosecutable offenses - attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, forgery and falsifying documents - and at least nine violations of Preventer Guidelines. Each one of those is subject to internal prosecution, and carry sentences that mean a nice long time in the Stockade. I think that - yes, Quatre?"
The blond slid a folder across the table to her.
Wufei realized which one it was and winced.
"I think you might find a few more violations in there." Quatre told her calmly, ignoring the surprised looks from his friends. He hadn't had a chance to tell them about Wufei's finances. Well, they'd learn soon enough.
Lady Une opened the folder, her eyes bright with curiosity. She turned over a few papers, looking puzzled, then realized what she was looking at. "Wufei!" She said, her tone reproachful.
He flushed slightly and turned his eyes away, glaring at the wall.
Sally and the other pilots had to sit on their curiosity while she went through each bit of paper, making notes on a pad. Finally she sat back, studying the figures she'd written down, and pushed the folder over to Sally.
Trowa was sitting next to the doctor, and gazed over her shoulder as she went through the contents. Soon enough they were wearing matching scowls, glaring at Hernbeck.
"This is just mean," Sally finally said, handing the folder to Duo, who looked like he was going to explode if he didn't find out what was going on.
Trowa nodded, agreeing with Sally, his visible eye dark with anger. Hernbeck had tried to ruin Wufei's life, run down his body, break his spirit - that he'd added ruining his finances was just insult on injury. It almost made him angrier than the rest of it.
Heero and Duo went through the folder together, with mixed reactions. They were both furious that this had happened - but managed to communicate to each other that this meant 'Fei probably had very little money saved. Which in turn meant he was going to need a place to stay when they got back to Earth. Which meant it was going to be that much easier to get him into their apartment.
"Where he belongs." Duo muttered under his breath.
*
They were out in the hall a few minutes later, discussing events in low voices while Une quietly lectured Wufei. The Head of Internal Affairs had taken over inside the conference room, smiling with a certain grim anticipation at the deflated former Major. That had been the last thing they'd seen as an aide closed the door.
It was a memory they'd treasure.
Sally and Quatre had gone back to searching through Wufei's financial folder, adding up the total of the compensation check that everyone knew Une would be ordering . Trowa was listening, occasionally reminding them of various bonuses they had forgotten. Duo and Heero were watching Wufei, amused that he was able to hang on to his arrogant mask although he was looking anywhere except at Une.
They all looked up, curious, when Hernbeck's little wide-eyed secretary came hurrying down the hall to hand Une a folded paper. She didn't wait for a response, just scurried away like she expected them to pounce. Une rolled her eyes and opened the note. Her amused expression quickly faded to her normal cool business-like one. She turned to her watching Agents.
"Apparently all the leaks aren't plugged yet - the Mercenaries have found out something is going on - they're packing up to move."
"Well," Duo smiled, "we can't have that, can we?"
"Not at all," Quatre agreed.
Heero, Wufei and Trowa just grinned.
"Wufei..." Sally started, and he leveled a glare at her. "...be careful?" she tried, smiling, and he smirked at her in return. Her smile became a grin. Wufei was tough, he'd be all right. They needed his knowledge of the area. It was the mercs she ought to be concerned about.
As if!
*
Wufei was once again crouched on a tree branch, sharp eyes watching a group of men gathered below him. Circumstances were a little different this time - he was well-fed, well-rested. His body was relatively pain free. The men milling below were the ones with the worry and stress.
Best of all, the four most important people in his life - the only people he would trust with his life - were hidden in strategic spots around the clearing, ready to back him up.
He didn't think he'd ever quite appreciated security so much.
Dark eyes went back to their study as Wufei shook himself from any thoughts that weren't mission related. He had a job to do and he was going to do it. He knew these men - had learned over the weeks of his last mission which ones were dangerous and which could be safely ignored. Or at least not worried about - ignored wasn't the right word. Even fools could be dangerous under the right circumstances.
His fingers went to the small device on his left wrist, touching it in a pre-determined rhythm. An invention of Heero's, it looked like an ordinary watch, but the small flat button on the side actually transmitted the gentle taps he was making to other devices on his friends' wrists, causing them to vibrate. They only worked for short distances, but were invaluable in a situation like this. He sent his partners the information they were going to need, letting them know who were the most dangerous targets.
Boss Man wasn't there, but they hadn't really expected him. Any hint of trouble would send the man scrambling for cover, leaving his employees to face any danger or clean up any messes. All they could really hope for was that someone would be willing to make a deal - and give them Boss Man's name.
If that didn't happen, they would have to rely on publishing Wufei's sketch. Although he knew he was a fair artist - his friends claimed he was more than fair, but he knew that was only praise - he had only seen the man in the flickering light of gas lanterns and campfires. Not to mention that he'd been above him, looking down. The likelihood of someone recognizing the sketch was slim.
'Slim to none,' he thought, a smirk twisting his lips. It just made it that much more important that his operation succeed. They couldn't allow the man to start this up somewhere else. Even with someone less inept than Major Hernbeck to combat them, they could cause untold damage before they were stopped.
He finished transmitting the information the other pilots would need and got ready for his own part of the plan. These were the most dangerous of the mercenaries, a fact Duo had found amusing, if the words he was sending now were any judge. He cited the men on the trail, hunting for Wufei, as his example. Wufei smirked again, remembering the loudmouthed pair of searchers, and sent back a quick line of code.
= Not all of them are fools. They send the morons to do the least important work. =
= Patrolling isn't important? =
= It wasn't considered important in those areas. Why do you think that's where I set up base? =
= Smart, Wu-man. =
Wufei rolled his eyes, sighing. Only Duo would manage to send a nickname through code.
His eyes flew back to the camp below as men began to get to their feet. Apparently the impromptu evening meeting was over - time to move. He gathered himself carefully, waiting for the signal. Heero was technically the leader of this mission, although the others knew they would be on their own once the action started. Wufei kept his eyes fixed on his target, a tall, broad man he was certain was second-in-command of the entire group. He spared only enough attention to be sure of where the other targets were going, watching them in his peripheral vision. He trusted the others' abilities, but it was always best to know where your enemies were.
The device on his wrist vibrated, mayhem broke out in the clearing, and he launched himself at his target, landing feet-first against the man's chest and knocking him over backwards. A single blow to his neck and the man was unconscious. Wufei never really stopped moving, rolling over to get back on his feet, holding a defensive pose as onyx eyes searched for a secondary target. He saw some lower-level mercs heading for Quatre, apparently considering the small blond an easy target, and flung himself after them.
He knew Quatre probably wouldn't need the help, but there were four of them and most of the action elsewhere was already over. He saw Preventer uniforms moving into the area even now. He reached the men just as they reached Quatre, and took one out with a quick kick to the back of the head. Two of the others turned sharply, while the fourth kept going for Quatre. Wufei didn't worry about him. He saw one of his opponents pull out a gun and moved quickly to disarm him. The second man clawed for his own weapon, and Wufei turned nimbly, placing the man's partner between himself and the gun.
Too bad the other man was desperate.
He shot his partner without hesitation, and turned the gun back to Wufei. The Chinese boy didn't hesitate either - he jumped for the man, turning in midair and slamming his foot against his temple while the gun discharged harmlessly into the empty space where he'd been standing. The merc lost his hold on the gun as he was knocked flat on his back. Wufei landed in a crouch, one hand going for a split second to press against his injured rib even as he had his own gun covering the fallen merc. The rest of the clearing was already under Preventer control - it was only a moment before an Agent he didn't know was cuffing the man. Quatre came to stand beside him, his own opponent out cold.
"Are you all right?" he asked, pitching his voice low.
"Yes."
"Wufei... I saw you holding your rib."
"Just jarred it a little. That's all."
"All right." Quatre said slowly, but Wufei noticed that he kept his eyes on him, even when Duo came over and flung an arm around his shoulders.
"You still fly around like Superman, Wu." he said, laughing.
"I thought Heero was Superman." Wufei replied dryly, watching as Agents led the mercs from the clearing.
"Yeah," Duo grinned, "I guess I should call you Spiderman. You sure can climb trees now - can you go up walls, too?" His tone was the light teasing Wufei remembered from the war - he was surprised to find that he had missed hearing it. It gave him an odd sense of happiness, although he replied with his usual curt tones.
"Exercise your observation skills and find out."
Duo laughed and leaned closer, pitching his voice low. "Aw, c'mon, 'Fei... you ought to tell me some of your secrets now... I mean, after last night..."
Wufei turned dark red and glared at him.
Duo laughed again and ran for his life.
*
They chose to stay and help with cleanup operations, moving through the cold night of the jungle sweeping for mercs that might have escaped the planned strikes. At the same time that the pilots and their backup had hit the clearing where the leaders met, other teams had descended on supply points and the dorms the mercs thought were so well hidden; Wufei had found them all during his mission, so they weren't coming across many stragglers.
"Boooooring..." Duo whispered, standing beside Wufei as they checked yet another empty hidey-hole. Wufei only rolled his eyes. The other boy hadn't left his side since they'd left the first clearing. Wufei suspected he and Heero had agreed on this before the mission even started. As team leader, Heero was required to help bring the prisoners back to base, and they were only now receiving messages from him again, meaning he was back to help with the search.
"I don't think we're gonna find anybody, Wu." Duo complained, still pitching his voice low. Just because there didn't seem to be anyone hiding around them didn't mean there actually wasn't. Better safe than sorry, and Duo knew it.
He had no intention of endangering his own life - or Wufei's.
'Nope - got way too many plans to risk that...' he thought, a wicked hentai grin spreading across his face. Wufei turned to ask him a question, saw that look, and started backing away. He remembered that grin from last night.
"Duo..."
"Why, 'Fei-fei... where ya goin'?" Duo asked, slinking after him as his grin got broader.
"Now's not the time, Duo." Wufei didn't stop his retreat.
"Not the time for what, 'Fei?"
Wufei opened his mouth to answer and they both froze, then dropped to the ground. They'd heard something move in the jungle outside the tiny clearing they were in - someone was coming, trying and failing to muffle their footsteps. The two Preventers ghosted their way along the ground and into the undergrowth, waiting.
A moment later, two large men came stumbling into the clearing, their clothing in disarray and their eyes wild. Wufei felt Duo go still beside him and shot him a curious look. Almost immediately the device on his wrist started receiving code.
= We are *definitely* taking these two out! =
= Why? =
= You don't recognize them? =
= They're just some patrol guards. =
= Who are they? =
The last question was from a new sender - they easily recognized Heero's signal.
= Can you see their faces? = Duo asked him.
= No - my position is on the other side of the clearing. =
= They're the ones from the path - when we were first here. =
Wufei's 'watch' received the code for 'use all necessary force', and his eyebrows shot up his forehead. Apparently Heero knew exactly what that meant, and it made him as angry as it was making Duo. He shook his head slightly, confused, but sure that if his friends... lovers... friends were this upset, it would be for good reason. He sent back an 'affirmative' a split second after Duo did.
= Get ready to move. = The order came from Heero as the two men, groaning and complaining and barely remembering to keep their voices low - or what they seemed to consider low - sat down and began unlacing their boots. Wufei shook his head sadly - only idiots would be removing their footwear when they might have to run at any second. No matter what else they might have done, stupidity would be a good enough reason to take them out.
The device vibrated for the second time that evening in a signal to attack, and Duo and Wufei both launched themselves at the men in the clearing. Heero came diving out of the undergrowth at the same time. The mercs only stared - wide-eyed and slack-jawed - and were on their faces with hands cuffed behind their backs in seconds.
"So," Wufei said, watching the mercs with one eyebrow raised at the others, "why were you so determined to take care of these two?"
Heero and Duo exchanged glances, and Heero shrugged.
"Because," Duo muttered, glaring at the bound men, "they were also the ones who went by the tree when we were at the river."
Wufei gazed at him blankly.
"Do you remember what they were discussing?" Heero asked calmly, never taking his own eyes off the men.
"Huh? Oh!" Wufei abruptly turned red, then faintly green as he as he looked at the two cowering men. One was just terrified, but the other, although he was obviously frightened, was gazing at him in a way that made his skin crawl.
"Recognize you..." he muttered, his eyes narrow. "Little brat's been wreaking our equipment, ruining our supplies..." His eyes flicked over the Preventer's uniform and narrowed. "Wished I'd really caught you now!" he spat. "Dirty rotten cop! Always messin' up business. Woulda screwed you so hard you wouldn't uv walked straight for a month! Woulda shoved it so far..."
"I would advise you to stop speaking." Heero said coldly, his blue eyes shining with controlled rage.
The man subsided, though he continued to mutter under his breath.
Duo turned away, fishing out his communicator to call the capture in. Heero walked over to stand beside Wufei, who was glaring at the man with raw anger in his dark eyes. He was still a little green. Heero put an arm around the small waist and those bottomless black eyes turned up to him. He didn't speak - he let his eyes do his reassuring for him. Wufei huffed and looked away from the men, watching Duo as he chattered over the radio - but Heero felt him lean into the touch.
Just a little.
He smiled.