Hey guys! Thank you so much. Thanks you soooo much for the reviews! It is encouraging and strangely it is very difficult to find time to write these days. The shole I am trying to be a productive adult thing ruins it.

Anyways! I appreciate them just as I appreciate you all!

On with the Fic!...

Ch 34

The screen blipped on at the other end switching from the darkness to the image of Marcus filling the screen. His hair was clean and gelled to the side in the way he had kept it since he was able to get out from the prison. His broad smile seemed to spread widely across his face showing many glistening white teeth. He looked both pleased and surprised as soon as he surmised who the person calling him in fact was. "Wufei! How good of you to finally call. I have been sending you emails and you have not been responding. Shame on you." He leaned forward on his desk locking his fingers together and smiling serenely at the screen. "I'm glad to see you in one piece. It seems as though revenge has treated you well."

"It has." Wufei responded. Short and clipped. It was how Marcus was used to dealing with him anyways. It would be comforting to him to see that Wufei had not changed much in the months he had left to go on his hunting game after all things Donovan.

"I did enjoy your little love note with the picture of his guts hanging out. His face looked like he was positively in pain and well worked over. You are welcome for any of the assistance I was able to provide of course. Have you given any thought to any of my emails? Coming back into the fold? You were quite the ideas man; even if your information is now outdated as far as the Preventers go we could always utilize you in other positions. I was quite disappointed when you took off last time. It was an unfortunate incident you had to see I am sure." He smiled deviously knowing full well that he was courting the ire of Wufei and simply not caring.

"Actually yes I have given it some thought and I would like to come back into the fold. I dealt damage to Donovan and now my life seems strangely boring. Plus anything to gain vengeance on a government that thought to throw me away is always a bonus as well. But I do have one new caveat." Wufei stated. He waited. The man was patient when it came to gaining ground, but never when it came to potentially important information.

"Oh? And what would that be Wufei?" He was trying to not look too interested. Wufei could read it through the small screen of the untraceable connection on his laptop.

"I have acquired a new companion of sorts, one that would be a very overqualified asset to operations for you. A pet in the way that Trent is to you." Wufei smirked at the camera.

Marcus's eyebrows rose at Wufei's words. "Really now? You have found someone that suits your tastes and is an asset you say? I am intrigued. You don't speak highly of many people. Do I happen to know who this one is?" He frowned wary. He seemed to know the answer was something he would not welcome before Wufei could confirm or deny it.

"Duo Maxwell."

The silence over the lines was deafening except for the high pitched whines these coms sometimes gave off with solar interferences.

"Maxwell you say. Pilot zero two of deathscyth. He is your…pet?" He was frankly skeptical and Wufei could read that intensely through the screen. He was not having the information that had been lobbed his way. There was no way that Duo Maxwell would be owned by anyone. Not the one from the war that was spontaneous and said fuck everyone including death. There was no way.

"Times have changed and he has too. He has an interesting tale of woe and I have been gone for some time. It was not that hard to convince him that I care and that Une was the enemy that we were all trying to face down and destroy. That the Preventers had now turned into oppressors and needed to be dealt with. I found him injured and he is clinging to me as if I was the only thing keeping him in this life." Marcus's face showed he still did not believe the words that were coming out of Wufei's mouth. "We should meet and you can listen to him and see for yourself. He is not the same trickster that you would fondly remember."

"No one changes that much." Marcus challenged.

"I did." The line was silent, but it looked as if he was thinking rather than completely concluded with the conversation. "It took me two months in solitaire to come out the other side a brutal shell of who I was as you well know. It has been much longer than that since you have seen him. The last time you supplied him was over two years ago. He's changed." Wufei insisted.

"You won't come back into the fold without him." Marcus asked and Wufei nodded. "We'll meet on my terms. I will send you the destination and we will meet. I will see Duo myself in person and we'll go from there. If there is any possibility that this is a trap for me Wufei I will have you executed on the spot with Duo. If he does not show up the same thing applies only it will be a hunting game. Am I making myself clear?"

"Perfectly." Wufei said. "We must all take precautions in times of hostility I understand."

"You and he are to come alone. I will of course be bringing an armed entourage to use force if I have to. I'll send you the details shortly." The line went dead as Marcus hung up. He seemed a little disturbed at the end there. Like rage was just at the end of his range and he was planning on taking it there soon. Wufei shut the laptop down and looked over at Duo who had been sitting on his bed.

"Do you still think that you are up for this?" He asked. It was more out of courtesy then actual questioning if Duo would be able to handle this undercover mission. He knew they were ready or he would not be contacting Marcus asking to let Duo into an operation. It would be too risky otherwise. He was asking because after all he did just call Duo his pet… Hopefully the violet eyed boy would be okay with this. It was going to take actual acting on his part.

"Yes master Chang." He stuck his tongue out in jest. It was the most Duo move that Wufei had seen yet since he had brought Duo from Neo Tokyo. The time here had been good for him it seemed. Wufei packed away his laptop for now and got up to go to the kitchen. It was nearly lunch; he'd check for instructions from Marcus on a meet up spot soon. He paused when he felt a hesitant hand on his elbow. Turning there was Duo looking concerned and hesitant.

"Is something wrong Duo? Pertaining to the mission perhaps?" Wufei ask. If there were any concerns it was important to talk it over now when he knew that he was not being monitored or bugged.

"It's just. I feel like I should mention it. Your contract… You know that makes you a target for the government right? You know that as soon as they stop needing you it's going to be your death sentence right?" He looked honestly concerned. Wufei tried not to let any emotion play across his face.

"You let me be worried about that when the time comes. Right now they have no idea where we are and how to kill me if that was what they wanted even." Wufei said and left the room quickly.

Duo. He had that effect on people, the ability to make them care. It was frustrating and something he had been coming to terms with since he began having to be around the boy constantly. He invariably got under skin and wouldn't leave.

Wufei shook his head and went to the kitchen. Shortly later Duo came out and sat on the couch reading a book. He had found some of the few that Wufei had in English. There weren't many since he preferred his Ancient Chinese philosophers that were long dead, but there were a few English books among the shelves.

He turned and attempted to focus on his work in the fridge. He needed to get his freedom from the oppression of being hunted constantly and now he had that in exchange for working with the Preventers. He knew that they would not let him off if he did not have some sort of a permanent watcher and that night after visiting Une he went to the emails in the war to see if there was any insight into his old fellow pilots. Duo's countless emails had instantly caught his attention. He read them straight to dawn that morning. And was disturbed to find that he had fallen into some form of understanding of what was happening to Duo in his life. It was dismaying to someone who had vowed to be independent from any relationships.

But it had given him a way to have a handler that wouldn't report on everything he did. If he could show Duo the folly in trusting the organization the way that he did; if he could show him what was going wrong with that entire thought process really, then perhaps it would be okay. Perhaps he could be free and get away with not being monitored constantly. It was worth a shot. And that shot was Duo.

Except these last few weeks actual emotions began to get entangled in the conversation and would blind side him without him realizing. Duo appeared to be accepting everything he was saying at face value. It wasn't as if Wufei was set out to deceive Duo in any way, it just was that he had no interest in being friends again. He had spouted about trust, but he didn't trust Duo, as the saying went, as far as he could throw him. There was no way that he would be accepting his help if he was in a jam. What he had warned Duo was the truth. If it came to it he would shoot him dead.

But every once in a while his conscious would whisper no you wouldn't and it would throw Wufei through a loop again. This was not what he wanted. He did not want to be tied down. He wanted his freedom and he was getting it. That was it. Nothing would stand in his way. Not Une. Not Marcus. Not the other pilots. Not Relena Peacecraft herself and certainly not Duo. It just would not happen.

Marcus had requested that Wufei meet him in an abandoned warehouse on a burnt out district of Moscow. The old one. It was cold of course. There were not many times of the year where the Russian area of the Eurasia continent was warm. Duo was bundled up in a wool coat that matched Wufei's black one. They had picked them up on the way now that they knew the destination that Marcus wanted them to meet him at. When they stepped inside the vacant building it wasn't noticeably warmer, but at least it blocked the wind that would have dropped the temperatures to a much more frigid environment. A team of men approached them as Wufei had been expecting. Marcus never lied when he said he was going to do something. They had men training guns on them as the others stepped closer to pat them down for guns. They were asked to take their jackets off and were patted down again. Wufei had made it very clear to Duo that he wasn't even supposed to have knives on him. He allowed himself a gun, but Marcus would know that Wufei never went anywhere without one. It was an innate trait of the pilot.

When the entourage was satisfied one got on his cell phone and called in to wherever Marcus was waiting and they were handed their coats back. From the other end of the hanger Marcus approached with his ever present lackey Trent at his side. Wufei stepped forward and Duo stepped in time behind him and off to the side. He never strayed more than a foot away from Wufei. He had schooled his features down to what hopefully would be seen as a neutral compliance, with a touch of hard edge to it as Wufei had asked him to.

They met in the middle of the hanger and Wufei nodded to Trent and Marcus. Trent had the courtesy to turn a little pink and look at the floor. Wufei tried to not let anything slide onto his features by Trent's move. "Hello Wufei. It is good to see you. And Duo too. This feels like such a reunion. We just need your Gundams on flatbeds and the beginnings of haggling prices for this to be exactly like old times. I do miss those. Business was booming." He looked at both of the smaller teens and nodded to Duo, "So I hear that you supposedly want to work for me. Why should I believe you?"

Duo didn't say anything until Wufei turned his face in his direction and nodded. Giving permission. "I have been treated poorly under Une and the Preventers. I am not interested in working for them any longer."

"But you could do anything then? Why us?" Marcus probes further.

Duo looked to Wufei before answering. "You know what I was doing for the Preventers. You tried to have me killed. I almost let that happen. They also put me in a position where I had to kill children. I would like to pay them back for that." Marcus studied him for a bit. Looking for the deceit that he could smell, before looking over at Wufei.

"I don't see how this could work." Marcus said.

Wufei shook his head. "Then it appears neither of us will be working for you." Wufei turned swiftly to walk back in the other direction and Duo moved to follow hovering close not leaving that foot comfort zone.

They were halfway to the door when Marcus's voice rang out. "Wait." He called out.

Wufei turned and stated, "I do not like being jerked around Marcus. You of all people should know that." Marcus waived a hand as if asking for forgiveness and asking them to come back over at the same time.

"What would you suggest he do for us?" Marcus asked. He was considering it. Wufei could tell.

"I would think he would make an excellent mechanic." Wufei suggested. He turned and put his hand on Duo's cheek, whom to his surprised leaned into it and half lidded his eyes like he yearned for it. "You have suits that need to be repaired before they are shipped to your loyal customers. He can easily fix them."

"They don't need to be fixed." Marcus pointed out, but his eyes were narrowed on Duo even though Wufei had relinquished his touch from Duo's face. Trent look shocked.

Wufei scoffed "Of course they do if you want double or triple the profit. He is the best." Wufei praised. "You know that it is difficult for your customers to get the suits working since the government protocol that registered all mobile suit mechanics locations went out. They can't hire them or have them move without arousing suspicion. Duo would increase your profits on each one at least double if not more."

"I suppose." Marcus began. He was almost to the breaking point. Wufei could sense it. But if he pushed too hard, it could end it. He will already be watching them once they began working for him; any shoving would make it be nearly impossible to do anything to defuse the rings. "What exactly would you gain by this Wufei?"

"You need me to edge out competitors and tell you Preventer tactics. I want Duo close by and out of harm's way. I take care of what is mine." He glared eyes narrowing at Marcus, who smirked back in what he must have considered as understanding. "Besides, no one you have can match his prowess on any mission I may need assistance on. He would be helping me out in many more ways than one."

They stood there staring at each other, waiting for the other to flinch. Trent who was never very good at sitting still kept looking at Wufei to the ground to Duo and back to Wufei. The adrenaline and victory was beginning to rise within Wufei. He could feel it.

"Fine." Conceded Marcus. "He can begin as soon as he kills someone that you order." Duo didn't even flinch next to him. Just stood stock still. He wasn't the boisterous young boy that Marcus remembered from the war that was for sure. He was grown up and deadly. Shadowing Wufei and Wufei was a twisted being of his former self.

Wufei grinned serenely. "I was hoping you would say that." Wufei replied letting a smile he knew came off as more killer then anything else seep onto his face. He knew it because it was the same one he felt when he was carving into Donovan on the Martian surface beneath his respirator. "Do we have to limit it to one? I know exactly which people I have in mind."

"One for now, Wufei. Let's not be greedy."

TBC...

The circle worked last time. Lets see it work again! Please. (Giving you googily eyes)

-Silverserpent