Surviving on Your Own

Hunting

Making my way to L1 HQ, I'm nervous. I haven't been in space since the end of the war, and I'm unsure of what I'm going to find out about Yuy. The thought of him being involved with some kind of drug operation leaves me feeling uneasy. If he is, I think I just might try to send his head through a wall. A brick wall preferably.

Stalking through the lobby, my shoulder makes contact with a newb who wasn't paying attention to where he was going.

"Watch it, man," the brute scolds me.

If I wore my usual uniform, with all my little badges and shit, this fucker wouldn't talk to me this way. "You watch it, asshole."

"Fuck you, chink. Go back to China."

"Excuse me?" I bellow, anger filing my veins, hands clenching into fists.

He taunts, "You heard me. Chink."

Before I can even think, my fist flies through the air and makes contact with his cheekbone. Bigot bastard falls to the ground and I pounce on him. We scrap until we're dragged apart by surrounding people.

"You're fucking nuts!" The bigot screams at me, wiping blood off his face.

"You shouldn't talk to your superiors like that. I'm a Lieutenant and I can have you fucking fired for what you said to me!"

His eyes widen, face pales, as he stutters, "I-I-I'm so-sorry Lieutenant!"

"Lieutenant Chang Wufei," someone says. Looking over my shoulder, I see Commander Reyes. "Please come with me."

He doesn't seem too happy with me, and I don't blame him.

"I have heard of your notorious temper," he explains. "If I catch you in a fight again, I'll send you back to Une."

In the elevator, I appraise him in the reflective gold doors. Commander Reyes is a lean Hispanic man with a military crew cut, the posture of a soldier.

"Don't reprimand my men like that. No one here is under your direct command unless I put them there. You cannot threaten to terminate anyone," he scolds me in an even voice, but not in a patronizing way. I appreciate that.

"It won't happen again, Sir."

The doors open, and Reyes places a hand between them. "This is the floor Mr. Yuy works on. Go down the hall, and turn right. His office is the last one on the left. Let me know what you find."

I nod, exit the elevator and make my way to Yuy's office. Knocking on the door, there's no answer, and the blinds are drawn shut over a small window to the left side of the door. I open it, and there's no one here. There's two desks, everything's neat and organized, meticulous. A smirk twitches on my mouth. It's so like him. Une has to be wrong about his involvement in this maybe drug stealing bit. But why isn't he here? It's Friday morning, Yuy should be working.

Exiting the office, I stop by the next door which is wide open. A gangly man sits hunched over a keyboard, typing away. I knock on his open door, the thin man looks up nervously, pushing his thick rimmed glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "Can I help you?" He asks in a shaky voice.

Stepping through the threshold, I ask, "Do you know Heero Yuy?"

"Yes," he answers and appears even more edgy.

"Do you know where he is?"

He shrugs, "He hasn't been in since Tuesday, and neither has Noah."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I ask, "Who's Noah?"

"Uhh, Noah Andrews is our partner. We three work in this department. Noah worked in here with me for a while, but moved into Yuy's office a few months ago. I was surprised," he stammers quickly, wringing his hands under his chin.

"Why is that?"

"Why is what?"

"Why were you surprised?"

"Oh, because Mr. Yuy doesn't seem the type to like company. He doesn't exactly have the most sunny disposition." Ha, yeah, I agree. But this guy looks like he scares easy.

"Do you know when they're suppose to be back?"

"Monday, I guess. Noah took yesterday off too. I don't know where they are."

"Thanks," I say. As I'm about to leave, I turn and ask, "What's your name?"

"Randal. Randal Melnikoff."

I return to Yuy's office, and attempt to hack into his desktop. I've never been the computer wiz that he is, so I can't even by pass his password. Returning to Commander Reyes, I tell him I've found nothing, except for Yuy's mysterious absences. He gives me Yuy's and Andrews addresses, and orders me to check on their status. So far, this doesn't feel good.

At Yuy's apartment, I find nothing but a barren place that hardly looks lived in. I had to break in, and I feel like I'm invading his privacy, but there's literally nothing here except a few drawers of clothes. None of them full, same with his closet. Searching his bathroom, I run my hand along the underside of the sink. A fabric bulge is duct tapped underneath. Yanking it loose, I pull out a round black canvas case. Upon opening it, I find the inside filled with needles. Fuck. They don't look used, but why would he need so many?

I leave for Andrews apartment after not finding anymore evidence of anything in Yuy's place. Now his place, this Noah character, is a fucking pigsty. Filthy, clothes strewn everywhere, dirty dishes in the sink , on the countertops, and all over the kitchen table. Molding food plastered to all these deserted plates, bowls, and cups. The large bed in the bedroom looks slept in, and the bronze sheets are covered in sweat stains, and white-ish stains that are indicative of sexual intercourse.

On closer inspection, I find powdery residue on the wooden surfaces of the kitchen table and coffee table in the living quarters, accompanied by thin scratches in the wood façade, most likely from a razor blade. Multiple grooves overlap, creating an abstract form on the exterior of these tables. That foreboding feeling in my stomach gains weight. If Yuy's associating with this person, then that can only mean trouble.

Rummaging through the clothes, I find one small baggie filled with a white substance. I pocket it for testing. There's men's and women's clothing strewn about the bedroom. When I come a cross a green tank top, my heart plummets.

Heero has been here. This is so far from good. What has happened to my comrade? Maybe I'm not the only one who's struggling with this new peaceful era. Winner has been forced out of his position for gambling. Is it such a far-fetched theory that Yuy might be using drugs? If that's the case then what of Barton? What of Maxwell?! I'm no shining example of peace time adjustment. Maybe my former brothers in arms are struggling as much as me...maybe they need me as much as I need them.

My last-ditch chance at finding out where these people are leads me to looting through a desk. A drawer reveals a laptop to me. This isn't Yuy's personal computer because I was able to get past the password in two minutes. Scanning through files, emails, and correspondents, I find that Andrews, Yuy, and a woman named Landi have left for L2 yesterday.

Does this include Maxwell? It is simpler to picture Maxwell involved with drugs than Yuy. Maybe they stayed in contact and Maxwell's dragging Yuy down. It would be so typical of that Baka.

I'm going to have to go to L2, but unfortunately, I have to call Comannder Une first.