They arrived outside the dry cleaners fifteen minutes before Maxwell's appointed time. They'd come up with a plan on the way - Maxwell would go in first, try to bide some time, while Heero disabled the security system. Maxwell had what credits he'd managed to save on him, hoping to buy some time with a payment, though he doubted Alex would let him off so easily.
Heero watched the kid enter the back door to the cleaners. Maxwell paused briefly in the doorway, throwing a glance over his shoulder where Heero was hiding behind a dumpster. Heero realized with a grunt that the kid was scared. He'd been on the run from Khushrenada for over two years, and he was scared of a local punk. He shook his head. Maxwell was one complicated person.
Hugging the wall, keeping out of the camera's line of sight, Heero crept up to the back of the building. Finding a foothold on the uneven bricks in the wall, he managed to climb the few feet to disconnect the camera. Someone would notice eventually, but Heero was betting that everyone inside would be too busy with Maxwell.
Dropping down to the ground, he entered the back door, peering in cautiously. The smell of steam and freshly laundered clothes hit him as he eased inside the dark building. He noticed another security camera panning the floor of the laundry, pointing away from him, fortunately. He slipped through racks of clothes hanging in plastic bags, avoiding the movement of the camera as much as possible. He timed the camera's pan of the floor, moving slowly toward the offices he'd seen earlier in the back.
He could hear voices emanating from the little room. The door was cracked slightly, yellow light spilling out into the darkened floor, gleaming like a beacon to guide Heero's way. He waited until the camera panned again before slipping the rest of the way to the door.
A harsh bark of laughter assailed his ears as he crouched down next to the door, using the racks of clothes to hide himself from the cameras.
"Come on, I've got over three hundred here!" he heard Maxwell say.
"You owe five times that, Duo!" Heero recognized the voice as belonging to the blond thug from the night before.
"I only borrowed twelve!" Maxwell argued.
"Interest," the blond spat. "To be paid in full. And since you can't pay… looks like you just have to come work for us." Heero didn't like the implications in the man's voice.
"Get away from me," Maxwell spat. Heero could hear movement, a rustling of clothing and Maxwell's sharp cry. Heero turned slightly, peering through the crack in the door. Alex had grabbed Duo by the arms, leaning in close.
"Maybe I ought to take some of what you owe my father, now, pretty boy," the blond leered.
Maxwell struggled in the larger man's grip. "You son of a bitch!"
The blond cracked his hand across the kid's face. Maxwell's head jerked back sharply, blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Don't talk about my mother, slut," the blond hissed, nodding at someone out of Heero's view.
Maxwell lifted his head, glaring at the blond. "Fucker. Fine. You have me. Let Vy go."
Now Heero could hear the muffled sobs of a frightened child as the blond's shorter companion dragged a small girl into Heero's line of sight. Alex shoved Duo down into a chair before pulling the girl out of the other man's hands. He pressed her small body against his and ran a large, club-like hand over her hair.
"Don't know if I should. She's really cute, Duo. She'd fetch twice as much as you. Have you had her yet?"
Maxwell let out a strangled scream before launching himself off the chair and at the blond. Heero stood. Time to intervene before the kid managed to hurt himself.
He knocked on the office door.
"Who the fuck…" he heard someone mutter before the door was flung wide and Heero found himself face to face with the dark-haired thug – Mueller, he believed Duo had said his name was, Alex's right-hand man.
Heero quickly surveyed the room. The child was on the floor, crying loudly. Alex had one hand wrapped around Maxwell's throat, but the kid was doing a good job of clawing at the man's face.
As Heero stepped into the room, its occupants froze, almost comically. Alex pushed Maxwell away. The kid tripped over the little girl and landed on his ass. The girl leapt at him, winding her arms around Maxwell's neck and burying her face in his shoulder.
"Who the fuck are you?" the blond demanded, momentarily forgetting the two at his feet.
Heero didn't answer him for a moment, giving Maxwell time to move both himself and the child a few feet away from Alex.
"I'm Mr. B…Maxwell's accountant," he deadpanned. He thought he could hear a strangled laugh from the floor.
Alex just blinked at him. "How the fuck did you get in here?"
"Through the door." He slid his hand into his pocket and drew out a stack of credit notes, what was left from the five thousand Khushrenada had given to him originally.
"What the fuck is that?"
Heero rolled his eyes. Alex's father must be the brains of the family. He flipped the stack of credit notes with his thumb. "Money. Creds. Plastics. Redbacks. Moolah. Do you locals have a different expression for it? You have to forgive me; I'm not from around here."
On the floor, Maxwell whispered something to the little girl. The child nodded, then crawled to the opposite end of the room, wedging herself between two filing cabinets.
Alex reached out and snatched the money. He flipped through them quickly. "Jesus, there must be…"
"Fifteen hundred. I believe that should take care of Mr. Maxwell's loan, plus any interest that might have accrued." He stepped forward and help the kid off the floor. "Now, if you don't have any further business with my client…"
"Fuck this shit!" Alex exclaimed, throwing the stack of credit notes at Heero's feet. "I don't accept. The little pansy's coming to work for my father. That was the deal."
"That was not, and you know it!" Maxwell shouted, his swollen face red with anger.
"Just give it up, Duo. My father just wants you to do a few jobs for him. A couple hours of your time and your debt will be erased."
Maxwell shook his head. "I'm not gonna do anything illegal and both you and your father know that." He bent and picked up Heero's money. "I have payment. Take it and let us leave, jerk."
Heero could see the blood rising to Alex's cheeks. He heard Mueller move behind them and saw the blond's almost imperceptible signal to his partner. Heero moved before Mueller did, shoving Duo out of the way, swinging around to block the man's fist with his arm. Mueller swung with his other fist, catching Heero with a glancing blow to his ribs as he turned. Heero grunted but kept hold of the man's arm, twisting back into the thug, gaining the leverage he needed to slam Mueller over his shoulder and into the ground.
Alex stepped forward, growling almost like a rabid dog as he lunged for Heero. They went down in a heap, Heero twisting in mid-air in order not to take the brunt of the fall. He got in a lucky punch to Alex's face, causing the blond to roll back, clutching his nose and howling in pain.
Heero scrambled to his feet just in time to avoid a kick in the stomach by Mueller. Heero countered with a blow to the guy's neck, sending him crashing into a desk, his head glancing off the edge. He landed on the floor with a thud, blood oozing from a gash above his eye. He didn't move.
Heero whirled to face Alex, freezing when he saw the man on his feet, gun in hand.
"You thun ob a bith!" he screamed, blood pouring down his nose. "You boke by dose!"
Heero tensed, ready to throw himself at the man. He had one chance, one shot at getting the gun pointed away from him and bring the man down.
He didn't get that chance.
Before he could move, Maxwell flung himself at the blond, sending them both to the floor, rolling around, struggling for the gun. Heero moved forward, intent on helping Maxwell. Alex rolled and pinned Duo under him. Heero couldn't see the gun. He lunged toward the two, digging his finger's into Alex's hair, yanking his head back.
The gun went off. Heero jerked back as blood splattered his face.
Neither of the two figures on the ground were moving. Heero could hear someone breathing raggedly. Then Alex slumped forward, collapsing on top of Maxwell, who began to struggle in earnest, trapped beneath the body.
"Heero? Heero! Fuck… get him off me!" Heero could hear the panic in the kid's voice. He bent down, pushing the now-dead weight off Maxwell. The gun slipped from the limp hand, clattering to the floor. Heero stared at the hole in the man's chest, right over the heart. The bullet must have gone all the way through, he thought, absently wiping blood off his face.
Maxwell was covered in blood. A heart wound bled profusely and the kid's once-gray shirt was now sticky red. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, face pale as a sheet, his eyes glued to Alex's body. Slowly he moved his gaze to the front of his shirt. Seeing the blood, the kid started to hyperventilate.
Heero knelt, grasping the kid's upper arms, shaking him slightly. "It's not your blood. Calm down."
Maxwell's eyes were open wide, straying again to the body. "He… I… god…"
"Snap out of it. We have to get out of here." A strangled sob was his only answer. Heero sighed in frustration. He didn't have time for this. He raised his hand and smacked the kid across his bruised face. The kid cried out softly, turning his eyes to Heero.
"With me? Good. We need to leave."
"But… I…" Again he looked to the body.
"Maxwell. Duo! Are you with me?" At the sound of his name, the kid looked back at Heero and gave him a small nod. "Good. We have to go. We have to get your girl out of here. Do you understand?"
"Y…yeah. I understand."
"Okay. Come on. We don't know who else may be nearby," Heero replied, standing and pulling the kid up with him. "Go get your girl. I'll be right back."
He headed for the door, picking up the pack of credits that were still on the floor and pocketing it, before checking on the other man quickly. He was still breathing, but his eyes were making rapid movement beneath his eyelids. He wouldn't be unconscious for too much longer.
He hurried out into the main laundry room. A quick search yielded a plain, black coat that would fit Maxwell, and his own jacket he'd left there earlier that day. He grabbed the two off the rack and hurried back to the office.
Maxwell had coaxed the child out from between the filing cabinets. Heero tossed the black coat to him. "Take off your shirt and put that on. We can't go out into the streets covered in blood."
The kid paled even more, but did as he was told, stripping the shirt off and flinging it to the ground. Heero did a quick sweep of the room as he waited for Maxwell to change. He didn't see any signs of monitors for the cameras, so the security system must be housed somewhere offsite. Heero swore softly, knowing their pictures would be aired colony-wide in a matter of hours. They had to get out of sight, off the streets and in a safe location until he could get them off colony.
"Heero?" Maxwell stood near the door, the little girl's hand clenched tightly in his. She was still crying, but quietly, as if she knew they now had to be careful. And maybe she did. Street kids were very intuitive.
"Let's go. We need to get out of the area as quickly as possible."
"We've gotta go back to my building," Maxwell said, pulling the little girl closer to him.
"Idiot," Heero replied. "That'll be one of the first places they look for you."
"I know," the younger man replied. "That's why. We have to get the others."
"Others?"
Duo sighed. "You didn't think she was the only kid I'd taken in, did you? I'm not leaving them there."
Heero could feel a very sudden, painful headache coming on. How had this job turned so complicated so quickly?
"Fine. But we don't have a lot of time," he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Most of the kids have lived on the streets a lot longer than I have," Maxwell snapped. "They can be ready before you have a time to take a piss."
"You'd better hope so," Heero replied, walking for the door. "Remember, *you* are my priority. I save my own ass first, then yours. If the shit hits the fan, they're on their own, understood?"
Maxwell as silent as he and the girl followed Heero out the door. "I'm not abandoning my kids until they're safe, promise or no," he said as they exited the building.
"Then you'd better think of a place to stash them, and quickly," Heero replied, leading them down the street. "We're getting off this colony first thing tomorrow."
Behind him, the kid grunted. The little girl let out a hiccuping sob. The blood pounded behind Heero's eyes. What a mess. A small part of him wondered if two million was really worth this misery.