Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the GW characters, just a very active imagination.

Note: Thanks to KS for editing – and editing again – and to everyone who has been reviewing.

The Danger of Underestimating Your Enemies:

I couldn't remember ever having met anyone called Irving, although it did seem very vaguely familiar. I wasn't even sure if it was a first name or a last name. My brain kept throwing up the extravagantly ridiculous information that Quatre's sister who'd died in the War had been called Iria. That wasn't much help.

There were little scurrying thoughts running over the surface of my brain, like mice's feet. Underneath, there was the utter certainty that, whatever happened, I couldn't let anyone hurt Wufei, and the knowledge that we were on a ship.

Not on L2, but on a ship, and moving.

Both positive things.

Moving in every sense, along a corridor. I had the business end of a revolver firmly pressed against the small of my back, and the guy holding it looked like the bastard offspring of a barn door and a side of beef. There were two other sets of footsteps shadowing us; sensible guys, not taking any chances with the captive. Even if he was still a bit groggy from whatever chemicals he'd inhaled, and they did have his best friend as a hostage.

I ended up in a bedroom, propelled inside by a good shove from the beefy guy. It looked like anyone's bedroom; not the torture chamber I'd been expecting. There were books and some nice reproduction antiques and a beige carpet and a framed photograph of three kids; two little girls in frills and ringlets, and an older boy in one of those dumb sailor suits that kids wear at the more exclusive private schools.

I'd been expecting some scary villain but the man who turned to face me was old, grandfather-old, with bleary blue eyes and liver spotted hands that shook slightly.

'Maxwell.'

'Yeah.' Not much point in denying that. The door clicked behind me. This was it? I was actually being left alone with this old guy? 'Who the hell are you?'

'Jocelyn Irving.' He said it like it should have meant something, and looked mildly irritated when I shook my head. He actually clicked his teeth in annoyance.

This was just – surreal. All I could think of was that maybe I'd killed someone he was close to in the War, and this was some sort of revenge, except it seemed a bit weird that he'd waited so long.

'I'm a councillor for L2.'

I shrugged. That must be why the name sounded like I'd heard it before; it must have been mentioned in a news bulletin or something.

'I was also one of the original investors in the Gundam Deathscythe.'

OK, that grabbed my attention. This was somehow about Scythe?

'You were never even meant to be a pilot; G needed someone expendable to test the machine. And then you stole it! That was never part of the plan; I should never have listened to the old fool, but he convinced me that you were perfect. The original pilots, boys from good families, had been killed in the initial trials. Their parents weren't as devoted to the cause as they should have been; they started asking awkward questions. No one was going to care about a street kid who was only good for one thing.' He did that icky lip-licking thing again, like a lizard. 'G protected you; he said he needed you whole until the machine's flaws had been fixed. Then I could have you, but the two of you messed it all up.'

He was leaning right into my face; spraying me with spittle. Ugh.

'Right. Excuse me for not co-operating with your mad plan to destroy a planet full of people. Is that what you want; a freaking apology?'

'Oh no.' His thin lips curled into some grotesque grimace that was maybe meant to be the Master Villain's gloating smirk. 'Not at all. I want you.'

No.

I'm not sure if I actually said that aloud. I hoped not, because in my head it sounded awfully like a plea.

'And what? I'm just supposed to lie down and take it?' I demanded. 'Screw you!' I hoped it came out as brave and confident.

He licked his lips. 'If you value your friend's life. Oh, yes, I very much expect you to do exactly as I tell you.'

'You do not want to hurt him. Do you have any idea what Milliardo Peacecraft will do to anyone who so much as touches him?'

I got a thin smile in return. 'Somehow, I don't think I need to worry about that. And you, Maxwell, should be concerned for yourself.'

I wasn't a kid any more.

I could fight; I didn't have to take this. I was not the cowering seven year old kid in my head. I wasn't. I was twenty three. I was on a ship, on a ship that I actually knew, and that knowledge was a weapon. Just like the awareness of Shinigami stirring.

It was not going to happen.

I jerked back just before his lips touched mine. The last person who'd kissed me had been Heero. This old fucker wasn't getting anywhere near me.

Irving just laughed creepily. 'The famous Maxwell spirit, yes. Such a lovely thing. I've been looking forward to this for so long.'

'Am I not a bit old for you? If you're into screwing kids?'

'My tastes are rather eclectic. Such a lovely young man,' he crooned, one finger touching my cheek. 'Oh, I've been dreaming about this for years.' He hummed happily to himself, stroking my jawline. 'You cost me a great deal of money; do you know that? I invested billions in that machine, and never saw a penny in return.'

'Screwing me won't get it back.'

'No, but it will give me immense pleasure.' His tongue sneaked out, wetting his lips. 'And I think you rather underestimate your value. I know several people who would be more than happy to pay extravagant amounts of money for the privilege of some time alone with a Gundam pilot. I was certainly willing to perform certain favours for the pleasure of your company. Oh, yes.'

'Don't you fucking touch me or I'll break your neck.' OK, I'd put up with the little bit of above-the-neck action, letting him ramble on and trying to work out what the hell this was all about, but no way was the bastard going any further south. That was exclusively Heero-territory. 'You're not worried about that?'

'Oh, not at all. My guards said this was insane. Alone in a room, with a former pilot. They wanted you drugged, or bound at the very least, for my own protection. But that would have taken all the fun out of it. For the first time at least. Later, it may be amusing to experiment a little. There are so many interesting drugs with such interesting effects on the human body…and the idea of having you in chains…'

A little pool of spittle was actually collecting in one corner of his mouth as he drooled over the lovely thought of having Duo Maxwell in bondage. Fuck that. Heero would kill me if I ever let this creep near me.

'But, oh, the first time, I wanted it to be just us. To be you begging on your knees for me to touch you. To do anything I wanted to you. So lovely.'

'You're insane,' I said flatly. 'No fucking way.'

'Yes, fucking way, Maxwell. If you place any meaning at all on your friend's health. My head of security is listening to this. All I have to is say one word, to sound like I'm not remotely enjoying myself, and Chang will suffer for it. Is that you want?' He ran his hand slowly down my braid. 'I'm looking forward to seeing this down. So very beautiful.'

'Don't touch me, I said!' I tossed my head, and the braid flew out of his hand. He was mad. Totally mad. But, Jesus, Wufei…And really, he didn't need drugs or chains or even threats because the little kid in my head had already curled up in terror, and knew the easiest way to get through this was just to give in and hope it wouldn't hurt too much.

Think, Maxwell. The Shinigami voice in my head was clamouring for blood; how easy it would be just to kill him off. It was easy to be Shinigami; a bit more difficult to be Duo Maxwell because Duo actually had people he cared about. And Duo was fucking terrified.

The next voice that managed to get heard was Heero's. Saying I could do this; that I knew exactly what to do, and where I was, and just how I could save myself and 'Fei. No way was I going to let anything happen to Wufei. He was only here because of me; he wasn't going to have his life ruined because of that loyalty.

Irving was laughing softly as I spun to the door, testing the lock, just in case. You'd be surprised how many people don't bother changing the combination when they buy a ship. Too lazy, I guess.

He had.

'What are you doing?' He sounded only mildly interested as I twirled the dial on the locking mechanism. 'It's locked. You can't possibly escape. And even if you did get out, I have guards on the other side of the door.'

'I'm not trying to get out.' I heard the dial give that little click when it settles into place and turned back to look at him. 'Here's a head's up, since you obviously missed Abduction and Assault 101. If you're going to kidnap someone, it's really not a great idea to do it on a ship he designed himself.'

And damn, I was really going to have to be more careful about who bought my designs. Some sort of screening system for potential rapists.

'You can't get out.' He said again. 'You don't have the combination.'

I shrugged; not too worried. It would be easy enough to work it out, once I had time.

'Did you read the manual when you bought this ship?' He looked blank; they never do. 'One of the safety features on this model is an optional precaution against terrorists or pirates, which you purchased. The locking mechanism on the master cabin door has a special feature; a combination code that overrides all other codes anyone can enter.'

He shook his head, looking as frustrated as a toddler who'd had his teddy taken away. He'd be on the ground throwing a tantrum in a second. 'I don't have any idea what you're talking about. You still can't get out.'

'You're not listening to me, you asshole. No, I can't get out. Not yet anyway, but nor can you. And your guards can't get in.' The grin stretching my mouth was pure Shinigami. 'So here's the deal. You're locked alone in a room with a very pissed off Gundam Pilot. Still think this is fun?'

'Dolan! I need you and your men in here now!' he barked, and there was a new voice floated over the intercom. '

'He's right, Mr. Irving. The door's shut fast. I advised you against this if you remember…'

'I still have Chang,' Irving snapped at me. 'I only need to say the word and…'

'You have Chang.' I let Shinigami take over this bit. 'I have you. If your goons touch one hair on his head, I'll start carving you up, one little piece at a time.'

'You don't even have a weapon!' It was one last bluster. I could see it in his eyes, looking at me.

My alter ego is a damn scary guy. There was poetic justice in there somewhere. Shinigami had been born on L2, born out of darkness that guys like Irving had created.

He was yelling something about cutting the door open when I switched the intercom off; not a problem. It was a tempered steel alloy. Even if the guys on board had the right equipment it would take hours. And in the meantime I had my would-be rapist alone in a room full of potential weapons. I went for the framed photograph, smashing against a corner of the table and choosing the longest shard of glass. Just as good as a knife.

The photo fluttered free; the three little kids falling face downwards. When I walked back over to Irving, I had the glass in one hand and the picture in the other.

'Who're these kids? Did you rape them too?'

He was on the floor, very pale. The very real danger he was in had suddenly sunk in.

'No. My grandchildren. It was an effort for him to get the words out, in between wheezes. Good. Or maybe not. I didn't want my handy hostage having a heart attack. Not until I had Wufei with me and knew what the hell was going on.

'Yeah? Those kids you abused; they probably had grandparents who cared about them too. You ever think about that?'

He just blinked at me. Those kids hadn't counted. They'd been orphans, or their parents hadn't been able to protect them, or just hadn't cared. They were the sort of kids who could be hurt and no one would give a damn.

'Here's how we're going to play this.' I had the jagged end of glass at his throat. So easy, it would be, just to slice through sagging flesh and watch the blood run. So very easy…

I needed him alive, and just about managed to wrest Shinigami down with the promise of soon. I thought very hard about Wufei.

'You are going to call Dolan and tell him to bring Chang here. Unharmed.'

He started some sort of protest, and I ran the glass across his cheek. A thin thread of blood trickled down his skin. It was a mistake in one way; I could feel the darkness stirring at the sight of blood. Not in another; Irving looked into my eyes and flinched at whatever he saw there.

'Now.'

Before he could say anything else, the intercom crackled into life, and Wufei's voice, cold and urgent, demanded to know what was going on.

'Duo! Are you all right?'

'Fine, 'Fei. What kept you? Getting slow in your old age.'

There was a torrent of curses in Mandarin. 'Open this damn door, Maxwell.'

'Yeah. One sec.' I touched the glass to Irving's throat. 'Here's what's going to happen, you asshole. You're going to tell me the code for this door this minute. If you don't, I'll work it out anyway, and you'll have two uber-pissed Gundam pilots in this room. What's it to be?'

He rattled off a string of numbers and letters, too scared even to think about refusing, and I entered them and then neutralised my code. Shinigami wanted to kill him anyway, just for the hell of it. I was sort of glad we needed to keep him alive for information; whatever he'd done, the idea of killing an unarmed old guy was pretty repulsive.

Wufei came in like the Charge of the Light Brigade on steroids; he'd probably have come through the door if I hadn't got it open in time. He had Dolan in front of him; the bodyguard looking like he'd just attacked some heavy machinery with his bare hands. He also had his hands cuffed behind his back.

'Are you all right?' Wufei flung himself at me; simultaneously checking me for injuries and hugging me hard enough to crack ribs. 'What the hell is going on?' He saw Irving cringing on the floor and did a double take. 'Who's that?'

'He's called Irving. Says he sits on the L2 council.'

Irving, at that point, made the mistake of standing and reaching out one hand to me. Big mistake, actually. Wufei moved in a blur of flying black hair, and Irving was suddenly stretched out on his nice pure wool carpet.

Wufei shook his head; showing me a slim black rod in one fist and gesturing at Dolan. 'Cattle prod; I took it off that bastard. He should be out for an hour or so.'

'How many of them?'

'Six, I think.' He proceeded to empty Dolan's pockets and we shared out the spoils and then went hunting.

There were seven of them in the end; including the pilot.

"Is it just me,' I asked after we'd taken the ship, shut the baddies up in an empty hold and settled ourselves in the flight deck, 'or is it downright insulting that Irving thought he could take the two of us with that handful of no-hopers?'

Wufei gave a grim little laugh. He wasn't even breathing hard; I'd seen him look more dishevelled after a heavy petting session with his boyfriend. I was a wee bit less immaculate. One of the fuckers had tried to grab my braid and it was starting to unravel. Showed how out of practice I was; I'd forgotten to stuff it under my jacket. I didn't bother when we were just sparring at home.

'From what Dolan said, I think they assumed we'd still be mostly out from the drugs. And they thought they had the perfect plan anyway.' He shook his head, marvelling at other people's incompetence. 'Did he say anything about why we're here?'

'Lots of bullshit about how he'd invested in building Scythe, and I screwed up his plan.' I made a face; we'd brought Irving along with us, and he was dumped in one corner, still out for the count. 'Really, I have no clue what's going on. And we're headed for Earth, not L2.'

Wufei nodded; he'd checked our co-ordinates too.. 'ETA?'

'About seven hours; we've were unconscious for a pretty long time.' I suddenly found I was grinning; mirroring the exact expression on Wufei's face. 'That was sort of fun, wasn't it?'

He sniffed dismissively. 'They were hardly worthy opponents.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Yeah, yeah. Still beats the hell out of PlayStation. Now, I'm going to call Heero, assuming the ship's comms are working.'

'Of course.' He produced a cell phone from one pocket. 'I took this from Dolan. I'll call Zechs.' He headed out, giving me that bit of privacy.

Heero didn't answer at first, then I got a barked 'Yuy.'

'Hey.'

'Duo! Duo, is it really you? Are you all right? What's going on? Duo, say something!'

'I will if you give me a chance, love,' I said quietly, and that shut him up for a minute and then he started babbling again, talking half to me and half to Trowa.

'Trowa's there? You got him out of prison?'

'Not exactly. He's in my custody, and helping with the investigation. Duo, what's going on? Where are you? Is Wufei with you? Zechs called to say what had happened. I've been going out of my mind; are you on L2? Do you want me to come and meet you?'

'No need,' I managed to chip a word in when he paused to breathe. 'We're heading for Earth.' Conveniently, the shuttle co-ordinates had been set for Europe, although France instead of Sanque. 'We were sort of abducted, but it's OK now. I don't really know what's going on. Wufei tasered the head baddie and his goons don't seem to know anything.'

This produced another deluge of questions and then Trowa was suddenly on the line.

'Are you all right?'

'Look, guys, I'm fine,' I said forcefully. 'There's stuff we need to talk about. You know what's happening on L4?'

'It's all over the news,' Heero said tersely. 'What the hell is Quatre playing at?'

'Not sure.'

'Duo,' Trowa had apparently grabbed the 'phone back; I couldn't work out why they didn't just turn it to the speaker function. 'I'm so sorry about everything. You know Quatre would never have done something like this, don't you? Not to you?' He was almost pleading.

'I know that, Tro.' I could hear his sigh of relief on the other end. Poor guy. Of them all, he probably knew best what going back to L2 had been like. He'd grown up with his own version. 'I don't think he's doing any of this willingly. But we can sort that out. I think it's all to do with that David Souhef guy. He's in it up to his ass.'

Trowa snorted dismissively. 'Hardly. He wouldn't have the brains or the guts to do something like this. He probably thought that stupid little secret society of theirs was the greatest adventure of his life.'

'What secret society would that be, exactly?'

'Not secret at all,' Trowa said scornfully. 'It was a ridiculous little rich men's club. They used to meet every couple of weeks or so and have a gourmet meal and make grandiose plans for gaining colonial independence. Political assemblies are forbidden on the colonies, so it was all hush hush; they pretended it was some sort of business group. Quat loved the secrecy of it all, sneaking around behind everyone's backs. Well, you know what he's like.'

'Except those ridiculously grandiose plans have suddenly come true.' That was Heero again; I wondered what he'd been up to for the last couple of minutes. 'For God's sake, Trowa, you knew this was going on all along and you let Quatre swan off to these illegal gatherings.'

'What was I supposed to do; lock him up?' Trowa demanded. 'He'd have only got out somehow if he'd wanted to.'

'We can talk about Quatre later,' Heero chipped in. 'Duo, I've been checking the co-ordinates from this call. You're on a shuttle registered to a Jocelyn Irving. Correct?'

'Check, yeah. He's the guy who tried to abduct us. Well, me, really, but Wufei insisted on coming with me.' I gave them a quick synopsis of the last couple of hours.

'He tried to rape you?' Almost, I could feel sorry for Irving, hearing that tone in my lover's voice that was tantamount to a death sentence. Almost. 'Is he still alive?'

'Wufei knocked him out. But he's still breathing. And don't worry; he didn't hurt me. We're just waiting for him to wake up to find out what all of this is actually about.' I grabbed the end of my braid for a quick nibble. 'I don't get if it has anything to do with what's going on on L4, or if he's just an opportunistic bastard who happened to be in the right place at the right time.'

'Wrong place,' Heero said grimly. 'No, it's too much of a coincidence.'

'He said I was a bribe.' I shrugged. 'I don't know what he meant. It was almost like I was this good conduct prize for something he'd done. He's starting to move a little bit, so…Oh, wait, here's Wufei. Just a sec. I'm going to set up a vidcam so you can see what's going on.'

While I did that, Wufei dragged Irving into a sitting position, not being overly gentle about it. I could feel a faint hum of approval at the back of my skull; Shinigami gloating over our prisoner. Wanting blood.

Heero was in Preventer uniform when I got the camera fixed up and could see them both. Trowa was in civvies, not a prison jumpsuit or anything. It looked like they were in someone's office; Heero's laptop was on a large wooden desk, surrounded by piles of files. It seemed like forever since I'd last seen them.

'It's good to see you.' Heero was staring into the screen as if he'd never seen me before. 'Duo..'

'Me too,' I said, smiling at him, trying to let him see how very good it was. The world was suddenly OK again.

'You're hurt,' he said suddenly, half-lifting one hand as if he could touch me. 'You've got a bruise on your cheek and there's blood on your arm.'

'It's nothing. Honest. 'Fei and me had to take down Irving's bully boys; some of them weren't too co-operative. We're both fine.'

'I'm going to kill him,' he said suddenly. 'My God, if he'd hurt you…'

'He didn't, 'Ro. Look, can we please - not talk about it right now?' I'd tell him how I'd felt, eventually, when I was actually in his arms with all that warmth and strength wrapped around me. I'd tell him how terrified I'd actually been to have every nightmare abruptly made real.

Instead, I turned away from him to face Irving, letting Shinigami off the leash to make the threats. Wufei would be able to control him if necessary. Facing two Gundam pilots, two very angry, armed Gundam pilots, Irving didn't even bother to put up a token fight but sang like a canary on Death Row.

'Barton. Dekim Barton. It's all his idea.'

It took me a minute to work out who Dekim Barton even was; then I looked over at Wufei.

'I thought he was dead!' Thinking about it, I didn't know why. I'd just assumed; he'd been old and he'd never been mentioned after the War, and I'd never really given it much thought. I'd never wanted to. For me, Barton was the monster who'd locked a young boy in a lab with his mad scientists and given orders to turn him into the perfect weapon, using any means possible. When the boy had somehow still exhibited signs of remorse and compassion, he'd ordered re-training.

'Not dead.' Trowa's voice was scarily emotionless. It was years since I'd heard him sound like that. Before he and Quat hooked up. Of all of us, he was the only one who'd ever met Barton. He'd been raped by his son, all those years ago.

'You were …. a bribe.' Irving took a couple of shallow breaths. 'You're not that important. But you were a small incentive for me to support Barton.'

'Support Barton in what?' I asked intently. I knew now that if Quatre had any part in this that he'd been forced. No way would he voluntarily get involved in any scheme of Dekim Barton's. 'This L4 independence thing? Why's Barton care about that?'

'That's just the start.' He wheezed a couple of times, probably choking on dust bunnies under the desk. 'He – oh, God, he'll kill me if I say anything.'

'Yeah, and I'll fucking kill you if you don't! And I'm the one who's right here with the knife. Talk!'

'Operation Meteor,' he ground out. 'He wants to do it again, but the way it was originally planned. Before you and your friends messed it all up for us! He's planning to destroy the Earth.' Once he started talking, it was like he couldn't stop. 'That's what you were for; my incentive to allow his men to take over security posts on L2. I'm in charge of internal security on the Colony; it was easy.'

Wufei and I exchanged glances; in the background I could make out Heero's and Trowa's voices, but I was too intent on Irving to listen to what they were saying.

'He wants L2 to declare independence as well?' Wufei ventured.

'No, you fool! I told you. He wants to recreate Operation Meteor, the way it should have happened. He wants to drop L2 on to the Earth.'