Chapter 039: Old Numbers

Though he'd never admit it to anyone, stalking the halls of HQ trying to thwart whatever attack was going down gave Duo a bit of the rush he'd been craving.

Since his hospitalization in December Une was slow to send him on interesting jobs and largely stuck him with remote work or boring surveillance. His week long trafficking case was the sole exception, but the orders not to intervene made it all the more emotionally draining. To be denied the ability to take any of the actions he desperately wanted off planet left him thriving on the necessity to take action in his current situation. It didn't matter how tired he was or how important obtaining backup was to securing HQ, when it came down to it he was glad to finally do something.

He still hated to see innocent people in peril, but for now there wasn't much he could do to change that. Once he found a working cell phone he could call for help. He'd already tried sending an email from one of the office computers but the internet was out. Whoever these people were, they did at minimum plan ahead. Before leaving the workstation he commandeered he stole some scissors and tucked them into his boot.

It didn't take long to hear two voices speaking down the hall. One voice sounded on edge and angry. The other was laid back but had a gruff quality. Duo froze and waited to see where the voices were headed and if he could eavesdrop. He was glad for the stealth skills he picked up on the streets and perfected during the wars. Going undetected was such a second nature to him that he could do it no matter his exhaustion. Unfortunately the two men had nothing of importance to say. Duo listened to them express a growing impatience with their operation, which was of mild interest. Eventually one of them, the one with a gruff voice, declared he'd head to the restroom and they'd meet up later.

This was good news. Duo knew where the bathrooms were located. He doubted these people would've noticed the two small individual restrooms on the floor, and banked on him going to the main one.

Keeping out of sight he waited until the two parted and silently made his way to his destination, several steps behind his target. He took a second to think of a strategy. As a former street kid he was not above ambushing a man whose fly was down. On L2 you took any advantage you could get. First you tried not to get into a fight, but if that failed and you were unfortunate enough to find yourself in one, no trick was too dirty. But that wasn't an option here. On the streets you could jump a guy taking a piss in public. The restrooms at HQ were built for privacy.

Sinks were communal along a mirrored wall. The rest of the design was individual stalls with floor to ceiling walls. He had no chance to jump anyone if they were inside. He could wait to hear the telltale sounds of a sink, and hope the man both washed his hands and paid enough attention to the task that he'd miss Duo in the mirror. Alternatively, he could sneak into the main area and jump him when he opened the stall door. At least the floor to ceiling partitions would keep him visibly hidden.

Only one of those options would maintain the element of surprise, and he acted fast. Making sure the safety was on his newly acquired gun, he hid it on his person just like Heero taught him. A gunshot would alert everyone to his presence, so firing his weapon would be a last resort. He needed to dispose of these men as quietly as possible. It was the safest option for the hostages as well as the best way to buy time.

Instead of the gun, he palmed the scissors. They were larger than his knife and thus more versatile. Duo softly padded into the main area of the restroom, scanning across the row of stall doors to see which had a red "occupied" light on above the handle. He waited.

When the door opened inward the man standing inside jumped at the sight of Duo. With impressive reflexes he deflected a blow from Duo's scissors, breaking the arc of his swing through sheer brute force, and letting Duo know that he did not want this fight to rely on strength alone.

If the strongest man won he'd lose.

In response Duo shot out his left hand in an attempt to twist Gruff's arm away, but instead found himself turned around and manhandled. He had no choice but to allowed himself to be walked clear across the room and slammed into a wall. The scissors he'd so carefully stolen dropped from his hand to the floor with a sharp clang. He felt the grooves of subway tile pressing into his face as Gruff leaned forward to pin him with his body weight.

He had zero chance of winning this fight with strength alone.

The glazed tile was smooth enough for Duo to slide down the wall and slip from Gruff's grasp. He dropped himself low and spun around. His left hand clutched onto the Gruff's arm, and his right reached for the man's neck in an attempt to drag him downward. For good measure Duo kneed him to disrupt his center of gravity. Gruff grunted when hit, the sound amplifying in a way that worried Duo. If he was very unlucky, someone would hear them.

Taking advantage of their new positions, he pushed with his legs off the wall and shoved Gruff backwards until they slammed into a closed stall door.

Twisting out of Duo's reach proved easy for the stronger man. Gruff pushed Duo violently away from himself, and though Duo stumbled backwards and to the side a few steps he didn't fall or slam into the sinks that were now behind him. What Gruff didn't expect was for Duo to quickly lunge forward and kick him square in the chest. The air in his lungs expelled all at once with great force and he was left trying to catch his breath. The sound of his wheezing echoed off the tiles, accompanied by strange sound as the interconnected stall partitions rattled.

Duo allowed a second to be impressed with himself for hitting his mark.

Gruff was taller than him, even taller than Trowa. Wufei would be so proud of him. He'd been a Preventer for six years before disappearing and for the last half of those years he trained in the Preventers gym with Wufei. His friend proved time and again that his martial arts training made him the toughest Gundam pilot to beat in hand to hand combat. Initially Duo lost every fight, but he also adapted and learned. In the time they trained he mixed some of Wufei's martial arts moves into his street fighting. A year into being sparring partners and he started to win here and there.

Wufei dubbed his determination and fighting style "kind of terrifying."

As Gruff tried to get his breath back Duo grabbed him by his shirt and proceeded to repeatedly punch his face, hoping to decommission him for the rest of their fight. Blood smeared his hands. When he reached back to swing again Gruff swiftly dodged to the left, escaping the hit and sending Duo's fist brushing up against the stall door. He grabbed Duo, and they struggled until both fell to the tile floor.

Duo scrambled to his feet. He didn't get the chance to make a move. Gruff, on his knees, grabbed a trash bin and hurled it at him. As Duo dodged he felt a yank on his braid and was unceremoniously jerked back to the floor. The sound of the trash can smashing into the sinks was deafening. It rang in his ears as a weight settled on top of him. Gruff straddled him, swinging fists towards Duo's face that he blocked with raised arms. If they stayed in that position for too long Duo was certain his arms would break or fracture.

It was a struggle to gain any kind of leverage on the larger man. Gruff was in full control. He was heavy, and his punches were ferocious.

Duo's bones began to hurt from repeated strikes. His fight or flight instincts, coupled with his inability to free himself, gave way to an adrenaline rush and all out panic. From his position laying prone he couldn't punch his way out. He couldn't roll over, and if he did it would only grant his assailant the perfect opportunity to strangle him to death. He had to be smart, and treat this like a fight with Wufei. When he won those, he won with his brain, not his brawn.

Out of nowhere, two thoughts in rapid succession came to mind.

I can never let Wufei know he used my braid against me.

I can still use his mass and center of gravity against him.

Duo shifted his feet, tucking them as close to his body as he could until his legs were bent and his knees pointed towards the ceiling. He gave up his defense, lowering one arm until his elbow blocked Gruff's leg from advancing. Then he grabbed the man's shirt mid-chest with the other hand. Before Gruff could take another swing or break his arm he yanked him forward by the shirt until his arm was tucked close to his chest, his elbow resting on his stomach. The motion inched Gruff closer to losing his balance. With feet firmly planted, Duo lifted his hips with all his might into a bridge pose. The combination of both actions changed his center of gravity and sent Gruff falling forward, forcing him to use both hands to catch himself. He grunted in surprise when his hands planted shoulder width apart well above Duo's head.

With little time to spare, and still on his back, Duo shot his arms straight up across the floor above his head, and locked both hands together to form a loop around one of the arms supporting Gruff's weight. He quickly pulled downward with all his strength and bent the larger man's elbow inward, trapping it against Duo's chest.

He felt Gruff struggle and fail to free himself. For a second the man tried to swing at him with his other hand only to realize without using it to brace himself he'd face plant into the floor.

Gruff was angry and finally spoke. "You fucker I'm-"

He didn't get to finish his thought. Duo shifted his foot to lock Gruff's leg place and lifted his hips again. With an arm and a leg immobilized on the same side of his body, Gruff lost his leverage and what was left of his balance. He was rolled by Duo, who effectively reversed their positions. The move was such a surprise that Gruff didn't take the opportunity to strike again.

His split second delay gave Duo the chance to punch him hard. Then he grabbed Gruff's head with two hands and shoved it into the tile. It hit with a crack and Gruff's eyes rolled before they shut. He was breathing, but not moving.

Duo launched himself backward to sit on the man's knees as he caught his breath. One glance at the body underneath him and he wasn't entirely sure if the man was unconscious, had a concussion, or was going to die from a hemorrhage. The fight was more brutal than he'd hoped. He was not ready for an opponent with so much physical strength. His heart was pounding against his ribs and his entire body pulsated.

Reaching into his back pocket he was surprised the zip ties he confiscated from the first man he fought were still there. Deep pockets were a godsend. He adjusted himself, sitting upright so his weight was on his own knees rather than on Gruff, and started to tie the man up. Breathing heavily he stood and automatically looked around the restroom for something to gag the man with.

He stumbled a few steps to grab paper towels but paused when he turned got a distanced look at the man on the floor. He didn't need to gag him. There was no way he'd wake up soon enough to cause trouble, and he definitely didn't want to block any airways in case he needed his mouth to breathe. Instead, Duo dropped the paper towels to the floor and searched Gruff's pockets.

He checked twice. "No fucking phone?" He was furious. "The fuck is wrong with you people?"

Standing straight he spotted a gun sitting innocently on the counters by the sinks. As he checked the clip and turned on the safety as he spoke to the unconscious man. "Next time don't put your weapon down when you're taking a piss."

Duo looked up and caught his reflection in the mirror. He joked with Ravi that she'd looked better but she was radiant in that conference room compared to what he saw in the mirror. To say he looked rough was an understatement. There was no doubt his face would deeply bruise and his hair was an absolute mess. Blood in various states of drying covered his hands, face, and clothing. He wasn't sure whose it was.

Turning on a sink he wet his hands and smoothed out his hair enough to keep the stray bits away from his face. He dried them without bothering to wash with soap. There was no point. They'd only get bloody again.

Every motion increased the ache in his battered arms.

For a second, when Gruff pinned him, he wasn't sure he'd survive the fight. The adrenaline that aided him was fading fast and all the pain he initially powered through began to rear its ugly head. Ignoring his injuries, he hid the second gun in a boot and leaned over to grab the scissors off the floor.

He still needed all the weapons he could get. And a damn phone.

He really needed a phone.

The good news was he knew exactly where to go next. The unconscious man's friend was waiting for him up on the roof, and the stairwell leading there was close. If Gruff never showed for their rendezvous the man he dubbed The Angry One would go looking for him in the restroom. Even an idiot could figure out that something was going very wrong with their plans if they found the mess Duo had no choice but to leave behind.

It wasn't just that a man would be left restrained and bloody on the floor. With trash everywhere and blood smeared on the tiles it looked like a tornado of raccoons ransacked the place.

He couldn't be sloppy enough to let this guy's friend find him. He'd take care of him before that happened. Maybe with luck The Angry One would talk, and Duo could get some information on the location of the bomb they were supposed to have.

And if he was really fortunate, The Angry One would have that phone he needed.

Heero was sound asleep when the cell phone on his night stand began to vibrate. It took him a few seconds to realize what the sound was and awaken just enough to deal with the call. He was unhappy to grab the phone and even less happy to see an unknown number. Picking it up he answered in a husky and sleep-laden growl "This better be an emergency or you better be dying."

The line was quiet for a moment before a familiar voice startled him fully awake. "So it's the former but definitely not the latter though not for a lack of people trying."

"Duo?" Heero was scared and Duo heard his sheets getting violently tossed aside.

"Long story short I need backup at HQ and I'd rather hear your voice than some operator." Duo sounded strained, and he grunted as he spoke.

Heero switched to speaker and was already getting dressed "What's going on?"

Another grunt. "Moving a body. Don' worry he's not dead. I don't think." Duo gave a suffering sigh. It sounded like he was stretching sore muscles. "Listen. Seven people, far as I know, infiltrated HQ. As of now four of them" he strained on the word four and Heero heard an immediate thud "are down." Duo was breathing heavily. "They brought a bomb and that's what I'm workin on next. Shouldn't be too tricky. They didn't even pick a good spot to detonate so I don't think they're really demolitions guys."

Heero paused putting on his boots. "A bomb?"

"Yeah no biggie." Heero heard more background noise he couldn't quiet place. "But I'm pretty sure they got Une in her office at gunpoint. Dunno their motive. There's a few hostages on the sixth floor in our conference room but they were okay when I left 'em. There's a fake desk clerk in the lobby, too. He's probably still there but I think he'll surrender easy if you just train a gun on him while he's outnumbered. He's jumpy, not suicidal. Only brave when he thinks he can't be beat." Duo chuckled darkly but the sound held pain, too. "Hell, remember that mission on L3? When I said it would work an' you didn't believe me? A laser pointer would do the trick. Scare him into surrender."

"Roger that."

"I'll call ya back when I've got this thing disarmed. I'm up on the roof lookin for whatever mess they made. I'm tellin ya these guys don't make sense. Blowing the roof? To what... fucking... end..." His voice trailed off, distracted.

"Duo? Duo!"

He heard Duo whisper in awe "Hostia!" and his stomach dropped. He never asked Duo what that meant, but through years of context he knew it was something along the lines of "damn!"

No matter the case, it didn't bode well in this circumstance.

Duo whistled in appreciation looking at he mess in front of him and the gear laid out next to it all. "That's a whole lotta explosives. Yeah that'll do no matter where ya put it." He could hear Heero begin the run through his building's stairwell and he knew their time on the phone had to end soon. While Heero was one of the finest Preventers, he alone was not sufficient backup to guarantee a positive outcome with HQ, Une, and hostages on the line. The longer they stayed connected the later troops would be dispatched.

He figured Heero probably already sent a text to Wufei and Trowa, but there was no way to tell and he didn't care to ask. He ignored Heero's words of concern about the quantity of explosives and simply told him "I'm hanging up so you can call backup and I can concentrate on the bomb. I don' see a timer. I think these guys wanna trigger after they've left, but they don' know how long that'll be so they gotta keep it loose. But I got this, 'Ro. Don' worry." Duo paused for a second before he quietly added, "thanks for never changing your number."

The line disconnected and Heero immediately dialed Preventers Central Dispatch, which was operated through a series of remote locations and would be unaffected by any happenings at headquarters. He spoke as soon as the line picked up knowing it would be recorded. "Agent Heero Yuy, ID Zero Whiskey One November Golf Nine Five requesting bomb squad, tactical team, and emergency services to Preventers Headquarters. Hostages reported. I'm taking point. ETA seven minutes. This is not a drill."

He hung up as he reached his car, giving a voice command to dial Wufei. Trowa lived outside of the city but Wufei was nearby. They'd work the scene together and bring Duo back safely. He didn't particularly care about anyone else.

He just wanted Duo safe.