A/N: Okay, my lovely readers. I am pleased to say I completed the writing of this fic last week and I am now in the period of editing so the updates will now be weekly until the fic is complete. Which is probably a good thing due to how this chapter ends...

Song for the chapter is Another Sad Song by Lower than Atlantis

Chapter Twelve

Mistakes From Time to Time

There is one place I've spent more time than I think is reasonable for someone like me – a war hero, a charming young man, a generally good guy. That place would be in a cell. I'd experienced it during the wars, hell, I had far too much experience then and it was something that as an undercover agent I gained a vast amount of experience of too. As sometimes you just had to get yourself arrested to be extracted and it was just one of those things.

I didn't expect to be in a cell now, not now that I was an actual Preventer, but it seemed my little stunt had pissed off some guy I shouldn't have so I was sitting in a holding cell as I waited for Wufei.

My mood was alternating from pissed to flaming pissed. I'd been stripped, fingerprinted and suffered every kind of indignity possible. I'm sure one dude was kinda handsy on purpose but then I was in a defenceless position so I went along with it all. As really, I was screwed until Preventer intervened. Until Wufei intervened. I figured maybe I was being taught a lesson as the time ticked by – that maybe I was being taught not to be an asshole and play by the rules as my actions had consequences or whatever. I imagined that was what this was – some kinda lesson – and the idea was making me slam my fists against the wall, not at full strength as I had more sense than that, but at least it got some of my damn frustration out. Fuck yeah. Probably did deserve this.

I sat on the bed, the hard wood only padded with the tiniest of mattresses, and thought of all the times I'd waited like this to be bailed out. But usually, undercover, I was someone else, I was a different identity and not me. Shit. I wondered if they'd let me rot in here.

When Wufei came, I'd napped on the cot and been given food – which said something about the length of my stay – and it was a quick "wham bam thank you ma'am" kinda exit to the place, me almost feeling like sticking my tongue out as I left, my Preventer firearm given over reluctantly by the man who had taken it away. The last thing that was given back was the ring and I put it on my finger, feeling the heavy weight of it and looking at it for a second longer than I needed to. I had felt odd without it and I'd only been wearing it a few days as it did provide some comfort, some connection, even though he wasn't fucking there. And I fiddled with it as I walked, following a step behind Wufei as he led me out to one of the Preventer armada of vehicles.

"I'm surprised," I said to Wufei. "I thought you were gonna let me rot in there."

There was no real fight to Wufei and he merely nodded at me as he sat beside me in the back of a black town car. To be honest, it fucking freaked me out. That was mine and 'Fei's thing – verbal sparring. That he was as smart and quick as I was and could give me a tongue-lashing like no one else could. I mean, Heero was quick and all but in a different way – he was more deadpan and he would give up with me when it was clear I'd won but Wufei had an answer for everything. And now he had nothing to say.

Was he pissed at me? Shit I had every reason to be pissed at him but thankfully for him, my little solitary confinement had calmed me down and I wasn't ready to rip his head off anymore. Which was good. But his mood was fucking off.

"You okay?"

He looked up, his eyes skittish and I knew something was up – what I had no fucking clue but I'd never seen 'Fei not meet me in the eye. It was one of those things. Wufei could stare anyone down with those calculating eyes and shit, he had done it to me on one too many occasions. He just wasn't the sort of man who backed away from direct eye contact and it was the first time I'd ever seen him do it so obviously.

"Yes. We have a meeting. I need to prepare for it, Duo."

I noted the use of my name. Okay, not entirely a rare thing but "Maxwell" was his usual MO so when he actually called me by my name I always took a little more attention to his words as shit, it usually meant something. I swallowed, anxiety creeping just below the surface. This was it, I guessed, me thrown out of Preventer and Wufei was trying to make it easier for himself. After all, he'd wanted me and after all, I'd been a damn waste of his time and effort, fucking it up within a day of arriving in London and shit, it proved that all that effort he put into me was kinda wasted.

It was a melancholy thought. I always thought my worst mistakes weren't the shit I did intentionally – it was the shit I did just being a thoughtless idiot. I never actually intended to hurt people. I never intended to hurt Heero the way I did. Or 'Fei. Or Quat. Fuck, I don't think I ever actually hurt Trowa but I'm sure I did it by default by hurting Quat but hell… Fact is I hurt people unintentionally and maybe me being a damn disappointment was how I failed Wufei. That I did dumb shit, flashy shit, thinking I could singlehandedly take down one guy because I was just being damn me.

"I'm sorry, man." He glanced up then and I saw he looked really fucking awkward then as I apologised. "I didn't mean to fuck this up."

Take your Duo Maxwell apologies as they come, people, because I don't do it often. I continued and I saw him tense as I opened my mouth as though he wanted to interrupt me and I shook my head.

"No, I get it, you're the boss and shit and I should listen. That was what we agreed and I deserve whatever Zechs' punishment is. I'm a big boy, 'Fei, I can handle it."

He was about to answer, his mouth opening, but he closed it and looked out of the front window. "We'll walk from here."

We were stuck in traffic but the behaviour still seemed a little weird and I was chalking it up to a crazy day. A day which involved a chase through an underground station and a spell in jail. Though in hindsight, I'd had worse.

The Preventer Field Office wasn't that far away, a few blocks, and I didn't mind stretching my legs, feeling the air on my face and breathing in the city. The sidewalks were not as busy now but there was still a steady stream of people shopping, carrying bags, looking in stores full of designer clothes or whatever. It was when we arrived at the Field Office that Wufei turned to me and asked for something I didn't expect.

"I need to take your gun."

I frowned at him. "So I am being fired."

Oh yeah, Mr. Obvious – they are going to continue to employ you when you have been arrested and spent a lovely few hours behind bars but I supposed maybe that he would fight for me. Or someone would fight for me. Or I'd get a chance to fight for myself and prove that I was a worthwhile agent. Maybe I needed some discipline. But I could learn that, right? I could do that. I would plead my case. I could buy Zechsy baby a book of all the sexual positions he could use on 'Fei. And then I'd sorta freaked myself out with that thought and left it where it belonged, in the dark, dark recesses of my mind.

"I need your weapon."

"Fine… geez, stop being all mysterio."

I handed it over and then looked searchingly at me. "Knives?"

"Left 'em home," I replied and opened my arms wide in an offer for him to search me but he only nodded and we were walking towards the scanners, him with both of our weapons.

I couldn't question it anymore nor did I want to as we walked a familiar path – the same route we had done only a day ago – and I was prepared for my lecture, my reprimand, for Zechs fucking Merquise to be a superior shithead, prancing around and telling me all my failings as a person and as an agent. Or that's what I figured he'd do and I would listen. Yeah I'd listen like a good boy and nod and hopefully tell him what the case meant to me. I'd even tell him about Solo if I had to. If I needed to say that Roth was the man who had taken lives away from me and explain what it felt like to see someone slip away in your arms as a child. I never used this shit. I never told people my sad sorry past as shit, I didn't want sympathy as every action had shaped the man I am today but I'd use it. I'd use every weapon in my arsenal.

The door was ajar and I heard raised voices inside. I recognised Zechs but also the woman and I pushed the door open to see Une – which made me raise my eyebrows. Man, I was in trouble if the boss lady travelled here. What, it had been six or so hours since my arrest and here she was, in front of me already and I really wondered exactly how badly I fucked up for her to travel to London super speedy like that. I really didn't want to think about it.

Their conversation stopped as soon as Une clocked me, sitting at the head of the conference table. But her eyes didn't say anger, instead they said sympathy, and Zechs looked towards me and then Wufei as the door was shut behind me. The whole situation seemed fucking ominous and I glanced around at three pairs of eyes all looking at little old me. My hand automatically drifted towards the back of my head, scratching at the place behind my braid as I'd always damn done and it was a tell as plain as any I had. As this was not normal and I felt nervous.

Une looked at me and pointed towards a chair near her. "Take a seat Agent Maxwell."

I coulda asked for more of an explanation but instead I moseyed over and took the chair, trying to play this casual as I was not sure what I was going to be told, what was going to happen, so no jumping to conclusions and all.

"You've taken his weapon, Agent Chang?"

The question seemed weird and I looked towards Wufei who had perched his ass on the shiny conference table rather than taking one of the large leather plush chairs.

"Yes," he answered.

"Okay… I don't mean to sound rude and all but really – have I screwed up enough to need you, Commander?"

She took in my words and hell, if I was being fired I could say the word "screwed." Hey, 'least it wasn't "fucked."

"No, Agent Maxwell, you may have 'screwed up' but I wouldn't be here for such punishment despite your… challenging nature."

I smirked at how she drew out the word 'challenging' and I saw her frown and she looked towards Zechs who was stood, arms folded across his chest, and she waved a hand at him.

"Merquise?"

"Early this morning an attempt was made to kidnap Relena."

"An attempt?" I questioned, suddenly very damn puzzled.

"She is still at the hospital in Sanc recovering and she had her full security team with her… including Yuy." I saw him struggle over "Yuy" and my eyes met his, challenging him. "The attempt was thwarted. While the kidnappers seemed very capable and skilled, it seemed that they were inept at actually getting Relena out of the building."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked but I was catching up – my brain was catching up to the situation, to what I was gonna be told – and I looked towards Wufei who wouldn't meet my eye at all.

"We are telling you this," Une started, taking over from Zechs as though she could sense the hostility between us yet she paused and took a deep breath. "We are telling you this as we now understand that this was not a kidnapping attempt on Relena. It never was. It was only in the aftermath that… Heero was found to be missing."

I heard her words but my brain did not compute. First, it sounded damn odd for her to say 'Heero' and I'd found it oddly reassuring when Zechs was being all "Yuy." And secondly the word "missing" seemed like bullshit.

"Missing?"

Zechs took over again, Une glancing down at her fingernails or something and I levelled him with a look of pure contempt.

"The kidnappers used jammers, drugs, a variety of techniques and they overwhelmed Relena's security staff. From what we understand, Yuy went missing at 08:24 after he attempted to take over direct guard duties of Relena."

I swallowed. "I don't…"

The words faltered on my lips – shit, I didn't get it and I felt something tight in my throat.

"There's more, Agent Maxwell," Une said and I looked up at her and I hated her sympathetic glance and I hated her damn pristine uniform and shit I hated everything about this organisation. "If you wouldn't mind?"

The words were directed at Zechs who produced a laptop that had been sitting on one of the chairs and he opened it, pushing it across the shiny surface of the table. There was a video on the screen, the small triangle in the center to be pressed and whatever was on there would begin.

"This came through approximately two hours after his disappearance."

I looked at Zechs and then found my finger tremble as I pressed play. I expected it – oh shit, this whole thing made me expect the worst – but hell, when I saw it, fuck, my world tilted on its goddamn axis.

The footage was grainy – which I was damn sure was some crazy ass style thing rather than a statement about the recording equipment as fuck, everyone and their goddamn dog can afford a basic recording device – but I could still see it. The room was square, the walls metal I guessed or stone or something but it was difficult to tell. I wanted to take in the details of the location – the only light source from a single bulb embedded in the ceiling and I needed to see that before I looked.

As there was Heero. He was stripped down to his boxers, his head dangling forward on his chest, his hands tied behind his back and his legs strapped to a chair. I could see… fuck, I could see signs of torture, a deep lacerations across his chest, some bruises on his skin and… I saw his head lolled awkwardly as though he was trying to retain consciousness but damn struggling.

My instincts, shit, my instincts were to reach out and touch the fucking screen as he had never been like this – never been vulnerable – and I wondered who had the chemical shit to do this. To make him so weak. So helpless. So powerless. And it was clear. I knew.

Suddenly a figure appeared on the screen wearing all black and a ski mask and he walked towards Heero, pulling his head back roughly by his hair and I saw the sweat on his skin even in the poor lighting with the poor image quality. The masked man cocked a gun close to his head and Heero didn't flinch, didn't react even, but I could see his eyes fluttering as though he was fighting to stay awake.

"Talk for the camera," the words were from the masked guy but they were distorted, changed and mangled – the voice unrecognisable as human and sounding hollow, robotic.

Heero jerked his head, his moment of defiance rewarded by being pistol whipped across the face and fuck, I flinched to see his head swipe to the side, to see him spit blood on the floor. The hand on his hair released and the man ran a finger along the cheek that had been impacted by the gun and I felt a feeling of disgust coil in my gut as he touched Heero like that. My hands had already been in fists, my fingernails deep into my skin but fuck, that made it worse. I felt the ring, that ring that was symbolically linking us together, and it felt too tight, too hot or something against my skin as my hand clenched.

"Follow the script."

There was silence for a moment as Heero moved his head slowly, his face then looking straight at where the camera was pointed. I saw heavy bruising around his eyes, his nose was bleeding and maybe his lips were too as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Duo," he began and his voice was strained and it fucking killed me as I could see his eyes, so damn blue, and even through the screen I felt something inside me break seeing him like that. "Don't do what he says – don't come after me –"

"That's wasn't the script!"

The response was a kick levelled at Heero's side, momentum taking him and the chair he was tied to down to the floor and I heard the grunt of pain as he hit the ground and shit, the next one too when another kick was levelled at his stomach. I could feel my heart beating too damn fast as the man left him on the floor, bound to the goddamn chair, and he approached the camera.

"Duo Maxwell. Gundam Pilot 02," he said, the voice damn eerie and devoid of humanity when it had been altered so fucking much and I couldn't make out much about him as his eyes were the only part of his face not covered by the damn ski mask and they looked fucking dark in the limited light. "You have 72 hours. No Preventers. No help. You and only you – otherwise I put a bullet through his head and I'll make sure the entire earth sphere sees it." He laughed then, which sounded full of reverb, full of the odd sound of whatever the fuck was manipulating his voice. "Find us. I'm sure you'll work it out. You're a clever boy."

And with those words he walked back towards Heero, pulling the chair, and him along with it, back upright. And Heero rocked with it, his breathing laboured, his chest heaving, and I saw him look up through his bangs as he tried to communicate to me one last time, his mouth moving but no sound. The guy then ran the gun up his chest, finally resting it against his heart before he turned back towards the camera.

"And if you do… maybe I'll kill you instead of the person you love most."

With those words, the image blurred and the recording cut off. It didn't matter that it had stopped. I had that vision of Heero ingrained on my damn retinas – bound, helpless, bleeding – and I felt myself shake, my body react, and I was dodging my way out of the conference room, finding the fucking men's room as I threw up my guts into the bowl.

The physical reaction made me feel no damn better as I slumped against a stall wall, my breathing erratic and my heart beating far too fucking hard as I took in shaking, heaving breaths.

I had seen a lot of shit, dealt with a lotta pain, but I couldn't deal with him, with the man I goddamn loved, being tortured. And as I took in lungfuls of air, steadying myself, I knew – fuck, I promised – that I would find Heero, get him back and kill every last motherfucker that got in my way.